Category Archives: beauty news

I’ve been doing some styling this week; Topshop set me the task of creating a maternity mini-shoot for this advertorial*, finding different outfits for different occasions. A nice little challenge, as it has all been a bit dry on the old fashion front, recently – having an ever-changing figure does not make life easy when it comes to clothes shopping, and so my off-duty uniform has basically consisted of the same pairs of leggings and jeans, worn on rotation, topped off with huge t-shirts and bits of knitwear that I can manage to stretch over my bump!

So a “maternity clothes for every occasion” styling post was just up my street. Granted, most of my “occasions” are very casual – it’s not like I’m going out clubbing at the moment, or finding suitable attire for a dirty weekend in St Tropez – but there are subtle differences! Here we go:

Something Smart for Work

What I have really struggled with, pregnancy dressing-wise, is finding that middle-ground between casual and try-hard. You know when you have to go to a meeting and you don’t want to wear jeans, but you also don’t want to look like an overly-keen candidate on The Apprentice? This dress hits the sweet spot with its smart fabric and “body-con” side panelling.

It’s pretty tight, though, so I took the sex factor down a bit by throwing a nice long cardigan on over the top! The Geometric Bodycon Dress is £30 here (I might be tempted to take a size up, it’s very snug!) and Salt and Pepper Cardigan, £30 here.

Something Slouchy for Home: Part 1

Because – let’s face it – I spend a hell of a lot of time at home, working on my computer. And when I’m squirrelled away, incognito, I just want to be comfortable. So: Topshop Maternity Luxe Charcoal Joggers (a lot softer than the other jogging bottoms and with a kind of “sport-luxe” look to them) and a simple black “slubby” t-shirt. The joggers are £28 here, the T-shirt is £14 here.

Something Slouchy for Home: Part 2

Well, a girl has to have options even if she is staying at home! This outfit is a little more structured, though – the ponte leggings are quite thick and firm, more like trousers than leggings, and so you could throw on some boots and a leather jacket with this and feel confident meeting the outside world. It’s kind of like…smart slouchy. I’ve had loads of compliments on my Salt and Pepper Jumper (£36 here) and I have to say that the leggings (£20 here) would be fine post-baby too, as well as being useful from very early pregnancy when you can’t bear to wear anything tight in the tummy region.

Something Familiar for Everyday

My old daily “uniform” was always jeans, a vest top and a plaid or checked shirt. It’s what I feel most me in. And so this is probably my favourite outfit. So much so that I’ve done two options! Both great for everyday trips into town for appointments and events, meeting friends, going for lunch, doing stuff at the weekend… The first version shows the Soft Checked Shirt (£38 here) with dark grey Leigh Jeans (super-skinny, nice soft feel, £38 here) and a grey ribbed vest (£6 here).

Version two is a bit double-denim; dark-vintage Leigh Jeans (go down a size – all the other washes seem to run true to size but these came up a little bigger on me! They are £38 here) with a peach-coloured vest (£8 here) and Oversized Chambray Shirt. The shirt seems to have disappeared from online, but it might be in-store still…

Something Dressy for Evening

Actually, I say evening, but this little black dress is just as suitable for daytime with some flat ballet pumps. Dresses with full skirts like these do tend to make you look very pregnant, but I quite like that – the resulting shape is somehow quite cute and feminine! The lace panel detail on the shoulders of this LBD is lovely, too… £28 here.

Something Different Because…

I almost forgot about this one; I picked out a top in a colour that I’d never usually wear, just because I thought that it might make a nice change. I’m still not 100% sure whether this kind of shade suits me – what do you think? It’s the Maternity U-Neck Top (£18 here). I’ve gone for black jeans with it (Leigh again, I just really like the fit) but actually, it would be quite nice with something grey.

You can find Topshop’s Maternity Collection online here.

*This post is a Topshop advertorial. For your reference, I am usually a UK10 and all of the items shown are a UK10, so fit true to size except where noted. I was 28 weeks pregnant when the pictures were taken. Hope that helps!

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It’s not hard to understand why women today are under increasing amounts of pressure to look and feel a certain way. Airbrushed images of stereotypical perfection are practically force-fed to us on a daily basis; everywhere we look there’s an incredibly poised and traditionally beautiful woman in her undies attempting to sell us an idea of ultimate confidence. If we just buy that lipstick/drink that beverage/wear that dress/use that face cream we’ll become the person we’ve always wanted to be! I’ve grown up believing that my body in its natural form is not to be celebrated; if anything it’s something to be ashamed of and wrapped away, simply because I don’t look like the six foot Amazonian Goddesses that strut down the runway or feature on the front covers of my favourite magazines. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colours and forms, and it’s vitally important that women are represented in all their glory – on the telly, in magazines, within the fashion industry and as part of beauty campaigns. None of us are the same and that’s what makes us all beautiful; if we were all carbon copies the world would be a very dull place indeed, so it’s vitally important that we learn to embrace our imperfections or differences and celebrate them. Whether you’ve got a wobbly bum, greying hair, laughter lines or all the freckles, you’re beautiful just the way you are.

I do find it incredibly frustrating that the beauty industry in particular can be very one-dimensional. It’s hard to relate to the images of perfection (that are often so manipulated that they don’t actually represent the woman behind the camera,) when I’m struggling with a saggy chin and boobs that seem to have a mind of their own. Although we’re seeing more brands embracing diversity, as a whole we’ve still got a long way to go. The importance of these campaigns is paramount to the mental stability, confidence and attitude of future generations – so that they don’t have to battle with the same issues that my peers and I have struggled with. Over the last decade, one of the brands that’s been able to establish and continue a thought-provoking conversation on female beauty is undoubtedly Dove. Their campaigns were the first to break down barriers and illustrate that every woman can be beautiful: it’s just that they have to believe it from within. When their ‘campaign for real beauty’ started over ten years ago, women were possibly at their lowest ebb with only around 2% admitting to feeling beautiful; skipping forward via a few viral campaigns (many of whom went viral before ‘going viral’ was even a thing,) and thankfully that’s changed somewhat.

What do you think about the perception of women in the beauty industry? Are you excited about the changes that have been made so far, or are you concerned not enough is being done?

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So, this is an interesting competition for beauty bloggers and vloggers. L’Oreal The Brush Contest is an international competition to find the next L’Oreal make up artist from a social media source. The winner gets a trip to Cannes to design red carpet looks, and also a one year paid contract. The winner of L’Oreal The Brush Contest will work with L’Oréal to create looks at shoots and beauty tutorials while also working with product development and representing the brand in press interviews. To enter, upload a 3 minute video creating a look on yourself or someone else and bear in mind that key to this is that L’Oreal are looking for ways to make high end make up looks accessible and wearable for anyone. I know perfectly well that loads of hugely talented bloggers and vloggers will instantly think, “oh, I’m not good enough, I can’t win that!” but remember, someone has to win it, so don’t do the typical Brit thing of thinking you can’t. You can. I’d love to see a UK winner on this one because I know we have an incredible amount of talent behind those cameras… if you can’t do it for yourself, do… Read More

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I now have swatches of the Urban Decay Pulp Fiction collection – they’re every bit as good as I hoped they’d be. Pulp Fiction aside, it’s a fabulous capsule collection that I really hope they’ll do more of. It’s great when brands launch new products but when they come in a massive swathe it can be quite daunting, so a tightly edited collection gives us a chance to really focus on the products properly.

As usual, it’s one swipe with the brush – I don’t usually build up colours but these are all the pigment, smoothness and buildability that you’d expect from Urban Decay. Amazing textures that went on like a dream – there is just nothing not to like here. The Urban Decay Pulp Fiction palette – if you removed the Pulp Fiction references – would stand entirely on its own two feet as a brilliant, nude based, smokey eye palette. At £17.50 I think it’s a steal. Shades from bottom to top are: Righteous, Tyranny, Vengeance, Furious and Anger.

For lips, the Mrs Mia Wallace lipstick is a danger-red – a lot of depth to this red that’s coming out rather pink on the swatch – if you love a dramatic lip, it’s this. The lipstick is £15 and the liner £13.

This is literally one swipe – no going back and forth – so you can see it’s a lot of colour all at once. Not sure I’m brave enough for it but oh my, I really wish I was!

Gunmetal Glitter Liner has well defined colours – it’s not just a hotchpotch of glittery bits – and it’s made up of black and a very twinkly silver/gunmetal. It’s £14.

As you can see in the backdrop of the nail colour, there’s a card that gives you guidance on how to create the Mia look – Mrs Mia Wallace Nail Color, £10, is that deep rouge noir shade with a cut of gold shimmer – I don’t think it has as much black as Rouge Noir and even just swatching it on paper, it took three layers to get a very full depth, which it needs. It’s the only piece of the collection that I don’t think really stands out in context; it’s a gorgeous, glossy shade, but it’s likely that you probably already have a version of it in your nail stash.

The collection launches on 1st September.

The post Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Swatches appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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After my raving review of Benefit’s Gimme Brow, many people very kindly suggested alternatives for me to try, or requested comparisons with similar products. I’ve been quite busy (!) but have managed to test out Maybelline’s Brow Drama and compare it.

I ordered the Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara from FeelUnique; £4.99, three shades (I went for the palest) and free delivery. You can’t complain about that. (Though I did have some kind of promo code for the delivery, I think it’s usually £10 minimum.) Maybelline’s Brow Mascara promises to give brows a “sleek and structured look” and yes, I think that it does add a hint of colour and it certainly helps to keep naughty hairs in place. Regardez-vous the photos below. Before:

(Fair-coloured brows, little bit messy perhaps, but to be absolutely honest I have no problems with them as they are. Yes a bit of grooming is always nice, but most days I simply can’t be bothered. Anyway…)

After! Can you see a lot of difference? A little more defined, maybe, and a hint darker? Look, there’s nothing wrong with this brow mascara whatsoever, but Gimme Brow it ain’t. For those who have singled this one out as a kind of dupe, I hate to let you down but it’s not. The Gimme Brow adds volume to each hair so that sparse bits are filled in and everything looks a bit more thick and fullsome: Brow Drama is a tinted brow gel. A nice one, but – as I said – it doesn’t have the same dramatic results, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Left eye (as you look at the screen) done, right eye natural. Now I know I’m doing a weird kind of expression, so ignore that and focus on the depth and thickness of the brow itself. Quite an amazing difference, don’t you think? There’s not actually any real comparison or competition here, because the products are almost entirely different. Like comparing a plumping, scarlet red lip gloss with a slick of lip balm. The Brow Drama grooms and holds very well (especially nice at £4.99) but for me, Benefit’s Gimme Brow reigns supreme. Please do suggest more alternatives and I’ll work my way through!

You can find Maybelline Brow Drama here – £4.99 and Benefit’s Gimme Brow here, £18.50.

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