Messy Shiny Autumn Eyes

I don't really wear makeup in the summer. But as soon as autumn comes around I like to plaster the stuff on. Here is my take on a evening look.

 Eyes and skin prepped with Simple Sun Kissed Moisture Cream, Clinique Tinted Moisturiser and Revlon Colorstay Concealer. My eye brows have a life of their own and my skin is far from perfect. 

 Hope this is an okay 'How-To'! Enjoy. 

1. Line upper and lower last lines with any Shiny eyeshadow stick. I am using Elf Jumbo stick in #3D4

2. Use fingers to press a loose power on to eye lid and crease. Pack it on. I'm using a combination of 2true in No. 3 and a MAC sparkle pot. 

3. Using a random freebie black eye liner that smudges nice and easy along the upper lash line. None of this liquid business. I'm not very good at tidy eye make up. 

4. Continue with the black eye liner on the lower waterline and smudge onto lash line.

5. Use the jumbo stick on the inner corner, up and down.

6. I like to use a travel size mascara for the lower lashes. This is a travel size Clinique High Impact Mascara. Lovely stuff. 

7. Now my favourite bit. Literally cover your lashes in as much mascara as you possibly can. I like over the top spider eye lashes, the clumpier the better. I'm using Rimmle Volume Flash Scandaleyes.

8. Leave one eye to dry and start on the other. 

9. Once they are both dry, apply a few more coats. 

DUNAHHHH!

Let me know what you think of my messy evening eye look. 

Love 

Finella x

Factors of Autumn

AUTUMN IS FINALLY HERE! 

I love autumn, or fall depending on your continent. Everything goes into sepia, the jumpers come out, the scarfs embrace you and everything seems cosier then summer. I even like the rain, I LOVE the mud and adore the puddles. 

Here are a few of my essentials when it comes to the third season of the year. 

Alarm clock is not the best one to start with, my bad. This is an essential because i am not a morning person, and i really dislike getting up when its still dark out side. I don't like the light and dark ratios at this time of year. But hey, you can't have everything right?! 

BLANKETS & SLIPPERS! Need i say more?!

Yes to the obvious - gloves & scarfs. This is a pair from Toast, yes they make me look like a hobo, but i can still use instagram, got to weigh up the pros and cons! 

Carmex and lip salves in general life savers. 

Barry M - Navy 292. Topshop - EN POINT. Essie - eternal optimist. Barry M - Raspberry 273.

Keep EVERYTHING moisturised. everything.

Jumpers and anything knitted. This is a & Other Stories Number (Found on the cheap in TK MAXX)

Its time for the pretty flats to come out. I'm all about comfy dancing shoes. These are Carvela.  

Yummy drinks, if your a real blogger it would probably be something exciting from Starbucks. But these are good enough for me. 

And yes, candles. Scents like Silver Sandlewood and anything that smells like old man is right up my street. 

All these lipsticks are Rimmel. They just do it right (& cheap).

Nothing like getting into bed and reading a book. I fancy re-reading some of the gems on my bookshelf this month. 

Maybelline - MOSS FOREVER 620. Max Factor - Prussian Blue. Mmmmmm.

More knits and cashmere. 

Nivea Essential care is the best night long moisture. And a red lip was meant to be worn with a scarf and bobble hat right?! (AVON - Smitten Red)

Hope you've enjoyed my factors of Autumn. 

Enjoy trick or treating & orange trees.

Finella x

TO FRINGE OR NOT TO FRINGE.

This is a big question.
one that could have serious consequences. 

or it could be wonderful.

i ask myself this very question around this time every year.

Do I or dont I embrace the fringe?!

There are so many beeaauuttiful fringes around at the moment. 

(Thank you Pinterest!)

I'm starting to put on my warmer clothes, pulling my boots and coats on. and to me, nothing goes better then the cold and a fringe. its just what i am used too. But it is a decision i like to think long and hard about. 

I have dabbled with the fringe before:

There are pro's (Its super cute)

there are cons - its a pain in the butt and requires constant attention. 

What do i do?! do i hold onto my comfort blanket fringe or do i let my forehead feel the breeze this AW?

AMERICA.

I recently visited the US of A with my family, mainly to celebrate my lovely cousins wedding! It was one of the best weddings i have ever been to - the yanks do it gooooooood! The whole trip was just incredible. My dad was born and raised in america, so it was great to be able to see where he grew up. These photos pretty much sum up the trip. I have no doubts i'll be back very soon. 

P.S Yessss i ate a lot! Peace.

REVIEW: Aussie Miracle Dry Shampoo

Does exactly what it says on the tin: Aussome volume. 

I seriously rate this dry shampoo and i've only used it a handful of times. It doesn't leave any residue on the hair, it gives great volume as well as eradicating pesky limp and greasy hair. Do be careful not too use too much through as your hair starts to feel like sandpaper. But other wise a great product. Just spray lightly into roots and give a little rub.

Heres a before and after. 

Ermmm....

Not a great look.

Then this happens! Dunaahhhhhhhh

DIY: "not overly distressed" Levi cut off denim shorts

What you will need:

Pair of old jeans (I am using Levi 550 relaxed fit Mens Shorts) – make sure they are roomy on the waist

Scissors

Tweezers

Tape measure

Pencil/chalk

1.

Find a pair of old jeans that have a loose fit and are comfortable around the waist. I found these 550’s on ebay for around £7 – bargain.

2.

make sure they fit. Theres no point doing this DIY with a pair of tight jeans – tight is not the desired look. I had a look on pinterest to get inspiration by typing in “cut off levi’s”. By having something to base your shorts on, you're not going to go overboard on the distressing.

3.

pop your old jeans on and make a mark where you’d like the shorts to be. THEN add an extra ince. You can always cut more off later, but for now its better for them to be too long then too short.

4.

using a tape measure, measure the length your going to be cutting your jeans and mark that length on the other side, to ensure the legs are matching.

5.

now you have a mark on both of the outside legs. I like to have a bit more material on the inner leg than most of the levi shorts I have tried on, so I mark where id like my inner leg to be also. I flip the jeans inside out and make a line from the outside mark to the inside mark. I then start to cut along this line. When that’s done, flip the leg over and repeat on the other leg. 

6.

Try them on again and make any desired adjustments. I trimmed a little off one leg! Now for the distressing, use the inside of your scissors, run the blade along the edge of the material, fraying the edges. Rememeber that the more you wash them the more they will fray, so don’t go too crazy. You can use tweezers to enhance the distressed look. 

7.

by removing the blue strands you are left with stringy white bits – doesn’t sound great but looks lovely. Pop in the washing machine and you are left with a lovely pair of DIY cut off denim shorts. 

dunaahhhhh! Not too bad for a DIY. 

Enjoy! Any questions please ask. 

six tops for a british summer.

The british summer is a special time. Sometimes its hot, sometimes its not but most of the time it just rains. Splendid. There are the obvious choice of strappy's, vests and crop tops. So i'm not going to waste my time on those. These tops are practical, versatile and perfect for the (slightly) warmer months.

First of all we have this little beauty. summer is all about layering. thin tops are a must. this long sleeve stripy number from zara is slightly sheer and very breathable. this teamed with some cut off Levi's, loverly.

This is about as smart as it gets folk, so don't get too excited. i love the 3D rose detail on this top. it is completely see through, but looks great with a bikini or pretty cami underneath. This can be worn day or night. if your a little bit more adventurous then me, it could look exciting with just a black bra underneath. ohhh ey. she was from river island in the sale a couple years ago. 

Last christmas, when i was a poor poor student i remember seeing this top and thinking, actually i would rather not eat and own this top then spend my money on food. it was love at first site (pathetic i know). it was £17.99 from zara. i love the print. its slightly cropped. a pretty top like this draws attention away from pasty pins at the beginning of summer. guilty. 

Ohhhh this is one of the softest tops you'll ever touch. its from urban outfitters fairly recently. as you may have guessed i am slightly obsessed with stripes. if you'd like a lookbook on how i style stripes please comment :) This top is loose and airy, again, really pretty with denim shorts!

It wouldn't be much of a collection without a denim shirt. as i said earlier, layering is key. cami - demin shirt- thin jumper - light jacket = boom, ready for anything, come rain or shine. i love this oversized option from topshop. a denim shirt is essential in any wardrobe. the options are endless. 

Last, but by no means least, this beautiful v neck is from zara, very recently. I am so in love with this top. its the perfect v neck. i promise you. its striped. and its not bloody cropped. what more could a girl ask for. this top would be perfect any time of the year! 

peace. 

1st july 2014. ootd

So this is new to me. Not overly confident with taking pictures of myself. But hey ho. So this is what i wore today. I bought these jeans at a vintage renewal shop in Falmouth, Cornwall a few weeks ago and basically haven't taken them off since. I adoreeeeee them. This is a very simple, british summer outfit. Hope you enjoy. 

Jeans: Vintage levi 550

Cotton cardi/kimono: Marks and Spencers

Crop top: Topshop

Shoes: Birkenstock Arizona

Belt: Stole from my brother

Bag: 2nd hand from my Granny

peace.

my life through my phone #2

i've always preferred pictures to words.

Heres whats been going on with me in  a few snaps.

i handed my dissertation in and finished my degree in Journalism

i popped to London with my mother

a few beautiful sunny days 

time spent with lovely people

a cheeky selfie

i bought my graduation dress

What have you been up to over the past couple weeks?

peace

finella xx

Oniomania

The ever so reliable wiki describes Oniomania as:

Oniomania (from Greek ὤνιος onios "for sale" and μανία mania "insanity"^[1]) is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction, shopaholism, compulsive buying or CBD or Sushma Syndrome.

Compulsive shopping may be considered an impulse control disorder, an obsessive-compulsive disorder, a bipolar disorder,^[2] or even a clinicaladdiction, depending on the clinical source.

Now I'm going to make an educated guess, and say that i must suffer from this (suffer being the key word).

So i am making a deal with myself. 

NO SHOPPING TILL I'M TWENTY TWO.

my birthday is on the 8th of july. (hint hint)

If i can make it to then i will be very proud of myself.

But to make things a little easier, i have a couple things arriving with the postman in the next couple of weeks. I will do a little haul.

Has anyone got any tips of going cold turkey on shopping?!

Hope you're having a lovely bank holiday! 

peace

Finella xx

P.s its been 11 hours since i made the deal and not only have i not bought anything, i just cancelled my Nasty Gal order. Good bye UNIF pyjamas and beautiful high neck cami. 
GO ME. 

p.p.s 12 hours. Crap. Saw Sammi from beauty crush wearing THE most gorgeous playsuit from misguided. HELP 

haul time.

So, i may have been a bit naughty. I handed in my dissertation 2 weeks ago, and i celebrated with a bit of retail therapy.

For some reason i think England is going through some sort of heat wave, when in actual fact in bloody freezing.

I clearly purchased all these summer clothes in the hope of some better weather.

In the post: stripe tunic - Topshop 

bikini top - h&m 

 missguided gingham, Motel Rocks polkadot & ASOS stripe pencil skirts

maxi dress with lovely big arm holes and a cheeky slit - h&m

 long cardigan - Monki

my outside slippers - birkenstock 

Hope you enjoy my splurge, my bank account didn't.

peace. finella x