Mini Boots Haul

With the January sales in full swing, I took full advantage whilst purchasing the products I had lusted after, throughout the month of December. 

I've wanted to try out Philosophy products for a long time, so my first stop was definitely going to be to their counter! I picked up this "Sweet Fluffy Cupcake" shower gel for half price and besides being one of the prettiest shower gels I've ever bought, it smells incredible! As the name suggests, my whole shower was left smelling of cupcakes, as was I! Since this product also doubles as a shampoo my hair was also covered in the scent of fairy cakes and though I was skeptical about using it as a shampoo, it worked brilliantly and its thick consistency left my hair so shiny.

It is no secret that Real Techniques brushes have been raved about by beauty bloggers for the past few months, so I was desperate to get my hands on some. I've started out by getting the Expert Face Brush, as it was the one I needed the most and since they aren't too expensive I'll definitely be going back for more!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm always on the hunt for products that promise to tame my curly hair. Since I've used (and loved) Bumble and Bumble products before, I decided I try out this Calming Creme on my coarse curls. I'm not 100% that this product has done much more to my hair than any other product, but I want to use it for a little longer to see if it has any real effect.

Let me know what you got in the sales this month! 

Frankie x 

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Review: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

After much anticipation for the newest addition to the Urban Decay Naked Collection, I had to get my hands on the Naked 3 palette when it launched in the UK. Since my friends know me so well, I received this gorgeous palette for my birthday a few weeks ago and it was by far one of the best presents I received.

I'd heard a lot about this palette and read quite a few reviews, as I was debating whether or not I really needed another Naked Palette, since I already own the first two. The thing that I first noticed about the shadows in the palette was how much more pink-based they were compared to the other palettes. The original and second palettes were very similar so I think the change in colour was one of the reasons I wanted the palette in the first place. However, the pink undertones also make the palette a little harder to work with than the first two palettes, as you can never go wrong with brown neutrals, but pink-ier shadows can be slightly more difficult. Generally, I think green eyes tend to look the best with pink-y toned shadows but I have actually loved the way these shadows have looked on my brown eyes. I would just advise that when using this palette to pair one of the more pink shadows with one of the more neutral shadows to keep the eyes from looking diseased.

I was very happy to see that Urban Decay had once again included a few matte shadows in the colours 'Limit' and 'Nooner' as I tend to find, as with all my Naked palettes, they make a great base shadow to bring together the other high-shimmer shadows. So far, I've used this palette for casual smokey eyes and everyday looks but, as always, there is a lovely variety of much darker colours toward the right side of the palette. My favourite shadow in the palette is the darkest shade, in the colour 'Blackheart' as it is almost identical to one of my favourite MAC shadows in the colour 'Beauty Marked'. Adding this colour to the outermost part of the eye would vamp up even the most innocent of makeup looks.

The palettes packaging was one of my favourite parts of the product, the beautiful rose gold case ties in perfectly with the pink-toned shadows and the indenting in the metal keeps it looking different and interesting. I definitely think Urban Decay made a good choice by sticking to the metal case from the second Naked palette. Though I loved the original felt packaging, I found the metal far more practical, especially when travelling. Like the second palette, the Naked 3 comes with another dual ended brush with a flat shader brush on one end and a dense, fluffy crease brush on the other. This, along with the huge mirror in the palette, makes it perfect for on the go makeup.

I'm extremely excited to use this palette more and I'm so happy and grateful to have received it. For someone who was just getting into makeup, I would probably recommend starting with the second of the three palettes as the colours are the easiest to work with and since the palettes are quite expensive, I think it's better to start with a safer colour palette, but if you want to try something a bit different without straying too far away from brown neutrals, then this palette would be absolutely perfect.

Frankie x

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The Requirements of Normality

From an early age children are instilled with the idea that "it's okay to be different", but is this a realistic thought? Is it really okay to stand out from a crowd and not change your own beliefs and thoughts in order to fit into the norm? On paper, the answer to these questions is of course, yes, it is okay, however this idealistic approach is often distorted when actually put into practice.

We all know that humans are natural born conformers, we can't help it - we copy each other's dress sense, ways of talking, attitudes, often without a second thought; but what happens if someone breaks away from the norm and does things their own way? Realistically? Judgement. Judgement happens. As humans we can't help it. We judge. We see things being done differently and our natural instincts tell us it's wrong, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do things because we fear the judgement of the people around us. This whole deranged philosophy is the reason many people change who they are in order to fit into the requirements of being "normal" and sacrifice being their own person (and usually their own happiness) in order to fit in.

Social norm tells us we should all be acting a certain way, doing certain things in order to prepare for a life of doing what we're told but my thought for today is, don't. Challenge yourself to do one thing every day that you really want to do, even if it goes against what is considered "normal" and if you do see someone doing something different, don't be so quick to judge. I can't promise these things will make you the most popular person but I can guarantee you will be a step towards being much happier in the long run, and that I can't stress enough. Nothing groundbreaking ever came from conforming to the norm. 

~ the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion ~ Albert Camus 

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New Years Makeup! - Red, Gold and Sparkly!

With December bringing the Christmas festivities, shops and houses are covered in sparkly Santas and glowing fairy lights and I'm always one to take inspiration from these when I'm doing my makeup. As I'm abroad for Christmas this year, I'll be sporting this makeup look for New Years and I think it would be perfect for any event this month. 

For the gold and sparkly part of my theme I wanted to create a sultry, gold smokey eye using colours that would be very easy to find. 

Starting out I applied the original Urban Decay Primer Potion all over the eye lid, brow bone and a little under the lower lash line. 

Next, I applied "Naked 2", from the Naked Basics Palette, all over my lid and in the crease, up to the brow bone. Using a pencil brush, I applied "Faint", using the same palette, into the outer 'V' of my eye. 

Now, going into the first Naked palette, I applied "Smog" with a blending brush over "Faint" and blending into my crease. With a flat shader brush I used "Half-Baked" onto my lid. Finishing with the palette I like to apply "Darkhorse" into the outer 'V' and using a pencil brush I like to blend it underneath my lower lash line.

To Finish the eye makeup, I'd apply a few coats of black mascara to the top and bottom lashes, after curling them with an eyelash curler.

To incorporate the red part I'd start by applying a dark red liner to prevent any of the colour running onto the skin. This will also help the lipstick stay on longer. Finishing off the look I applied a classic red lip stick all over my lips, I used "Ladybug" from MAC, using a lip brush will make this more precise.

I will, for sure, be wearing this on New Year's Eve and I hope everyone has a great New Years and an even better year ahead!

Frankie x 

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Vacation Vanity

I find applying makeup on holiday a near chore-like experience. Unsurprisingly, attempting to apply a foundation three shades to light, to tomato-coloured skin isn't an easy task. Over the last year or so I have trialled and tested a few tips and tricks to make vacation vanity a little smoother.

First and foremost the most important thing to pack in your suitcase is suncream. It is said time and time again how important it is to protect your skin from the sun and even if you are someone, like myself, who likes to return home with a tan, be sure to regularly apply suncream, particularly on the face. If nothing else, your makeup will apply much smoother when your skin isn't peeling.

Foundation doesn't make the cut in my holiday makeup bag. Mostly because I despise wearing it in the humidity and it does absolutely nothing for the face when it's melting off your skin. Instead, to combat any redness, I like to apply a green primer and I always find not wearing anything on my face does it the world of good.

After this step I tend to apply a matte bronzer to the parts of my face that the sun naturally hits - the nose, cheekbones and chin - which will further cover any redness. After this step I won't do anything else to my face.

As much as I love the classic red lip, I find that holiday skin just doesn't lend itself to the colour. Instead, I like to skip the Taylor Swift red and apply a moisturising, nude lip pencil, like this one from Nars. 

Nars Satin Lip Pencil - Floralies

For eyes, cream eye shadows are my best friend. I love the Maybelline Colour Tattoos and paired with a good eye primer and your makeup will not budge.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo - On and On Bronze

Stick to bronzes and golds and you can't go wrong - either of the first two Naked palettes are perfect for this and are perfect for any eye colour.

Finally, a good waterproof mascara is brilliant for combatting panda eyes and is a great response to the humidity. I'd steer clear of liquid eye liner as I always find it can ruin the makeup I've just done but using a dark brown eye shadow on the upper lash line does the same job of opening up the eye.

I find these tips really help in the hot weather when I do chose to apply some makeup. I would just like to include that this makeup is only something I apply at night and during a day at the beach, I find makeup quite unnecessary and is far, far better for the skin. 

I thought I'd finish off this post with a few pictures from our holiday so far...

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Vampire Purple

Fall makeup trends are fairly consistent each year. Without a doubt my favourite this year has been the surge of this wine-red colour that has been seen everywhere on the beauty stands in everything from lipsticks to eye shadows to nail polishes. I call it 'vampire purple', though it is more of a red, because of its beautiful combination of both warm and cool undertones that show up beautifully in the colour. This particular red makes me feel especially festive this time of year for it's colour matches the standard red baubles that are everywhere in December.

This colour on the lips is an obvious autumn/winter must and one of my most recent discoveries is this Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the colour 'Damned'. I don't own a huge amount of makeup from Nars, for no particular reason, but the products I do have, I have absolutely loved! This lip colour is absolutely gorgeous for the colder months and works really well with my brown eyes and hair. I was equally impressed with its staying power as it stays on my lips for hours! I would however recommending using some sort of lip balm before applying this product to the lips as I think without it, my lips end up feeling a bit dry and in need of an extra lift. All in all, I am extremely happy with this product and I'd like to thank the wonderful friend that recommended it to me! 

The next vampire purple product I wanted to talk about was this No.7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in 'Damson Dream'. Though this product isn't the best for its staying power and is prone to chipping, it is exactly the colour I am talking about! It has a beautiful wine colour with a lovely, subtle shimmer and it is definitely a colour I will be using a lot in the next few months. I really love this colour though it is a bit of a shame it lacks as a nail polish.

For eyeshadow, I have recently rediscovered an old palette of mine from the MAC Wonder Woman Collection. I loved this collection and this particular palette is the 'Defiance' eye shadow palette, particularly the colours 'Star Studded' and 'Real Drama'. Though 'Star Studded' is more of a pink than a wine colour, when matched with 'Real Drama' it creates a really buildable plum coloured eye look. Though both these shadows are quite sheer, I was very happy with the eye shadows because they can be used for both an everyday eye and a more dramatic look. I don't think either of these are still available but similarly MAC's eyeshadows in 'Sketch' and 'Da Bling' would work just the same.

Please let me know if you've found any 'vampire purple' coloured products that you've liked using and I'll be sure to check them out.

Frankie x

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Winter Fashion - The Wool Coat

Coats are without a doubt my favourite item of clothing. They have the ability to take a t-shirt and jeans from an ordinary look to a sophisticated outfit. Each year I seem to obsess over different coats. Last year was the standard parka that was seen EVERYWHERE over the Autumn/Winter period. This year it is undoubtedly the wool blend coat. To say I have developed an obsession for these coats would be a colossal understatement. I love the androgynous feel to these beautiful peoples and unlike a lot of my favourite fashion picks, are especially practical for this time of year. I have watched in awe of countless people wearing these coats in the streets and I finally got my hands on one last week. Mine I didn't actually purchase myself, it was one of my mum's pieces from a few seasons ago but I have, unsurprisingly, fallen in love with it. The one I've got is a red piece from Alexander McQueen and obviously I don't usually have clothes from designers like this but as I said, it's second hand from my mum. I was intrigued by this coat for is colour and beautiful gold button detailing, the red felt wonderfully appropriate for the holiday season and adds a lovely pop of colour to my usual monochrome attire.My coat came on its first outing with me last weekend to go hunt for Christmas presents in London for my friends and family. I noticed many people sporting a variety of wool coats, but were all equally as fabulous. I'll take this opportunity to apologise to all the people I stared at that were wearing my favourite clothing item...I just really liked your outifts.

I've seen a fair few different pieces that I particularly liked, and a few people I thought wore them perfectly so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you all.

This Topshop find is a favourite of mine for its perfect combination of the woollen coat, with the hugely popular colour blocking trend. This coat would be a great throw-over piece to jazz up a graphic tee and jeans.

When I think of woollen coats, this is exactly what I think of. This classic design and cut is the essence of a winter coat. I mean, HOW can you not love this piece?

I couldn't help myself with this one, it's absolutely beautiful and is styled perfectly in this picture. Because of the overstated nature of this piece, a simple outfit would have to be paired with it, which is perfect for me since my favourite pieces of simple ones.

I'll start with the reason I first came across this picture in the first place, which is the model. I'm not sure who she is but she's all over the Free People website and I couldn't get over how beautiful she was, if I ever find out her name, I'll definitely be doing a post about her in the future. 

Back to coats...I couldn't believe how much I liked this coat when I first saw it. It's military and manly feel represents all the elements I love to feature in my own wardrobe and its knee-length cut makes it extremely edgy as well as flattering to all shapes.

If I can feature the beautiful Alexa Chung in something, you can almost guarantee I will, it's just a bonus she looks so fabulous in this coat. I think her pairing with a button down shirt and satchel gives off a school-boy like style and by adding some statement metallic shoes, Alexa created a gorgeous, fashion forward outfit.

Ginta Lapina is a perfect example of an off-duty model wearing my favourite coats. This Sandro piece works perfectly with the rest of her outfit and her red lip was a noticed touch as well.

I think you guys get the picture, I really, really, really like these coats. I just think they are so beautiful and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I'm so happy to finally have one in my wardrobe and I would highly recommending getting one, if nothing else, it would be an incredibly practical, staple piece to own. 

Frankie x

Instagram//Pinterest - frankieshalom

Tumblr - www.no-admittance.tumblr.com

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