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Hello!

So yet another month is over, how is it already nearly March? But I won't complain as March is my birthday month and I turn the big 2 0, leaving teenage-hood behind *cry*. But for now, I thought I would go over my February favourites with you.



Firstly, a big favourite has to be the Nivea Men Post Aftershave Balm in Sensitive. After watching NikkieTutorials (one of my favourite YouTuber's ever, seriously, check her out, she's fab), I have been using this as a primer religiously and it's brilliant. Silicone based primers are awful on my skin as they clog my skin up, but this doesn't. It's rather cheap and you don't need too much at a time, just rub it into your face until it goes tacky and apply your makeup over the top.



Carrying on with the makeup favourites, I've been loving this Extra Sculpt Star Volume Mascara from Kiko. It makes my lashes so long, and works really well on my bottom lashes when I'm wearing falsies on the top, although I have to be careful as the brush is quite big. I'm almost out of this, so I need to find another mascara to obsess over.


Talking of false lashes, I have found my holy grail. The Ardell Demi Wispies are perfect. I prefer more natural looking eyelashes, and these do the job just right (as you can see I wer these a lot and I only have one pair left). I wear these on an everyday basis, going out and even to work. I feel that they add a bit more drama to a look without going overboard, which is basically what I'm about.


This is just a small favourite, but the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine top coat is great for making your nails look super shiny, especially when combined with the Gelly Hi-Shine polishes. I prefer shiny nails to matte ones, I'm not sure why, I just do.


Next I have this double ended brush from Primark. The one ens is a pencil brush, which is great for lining the lower lashline with eyeshadow, but also for cut creases to create that definition. The flat end is actually amazing for contouring the nose with powder, which I did not expect when I bought it. For only £1.50, I don't think anyone can go wrong with this.


An obvious favourite of mine if you have read any of my recent tutorials is the Substitute For Love shade from the Zoeva Cocoa Blends palette. Considering that when I first got this palette, I thought that I wouldn't use this particular shade, I've been using it a lot. I find it to be the perfect transition shade, although I do want to try Chickadee from Makeup Geek as it looks like a slightly brighter colour to this.


My next favourite is coconut oil. I recently featured this in my hair care routine, but it really is amazing. I'm going to try oil pulling with my teeth soon using this, but I'm kind of scared how it will taste. I've heard it is great as a face moisturiser too so I may try that as well.


I've never really used a body scrub before, but this has changed my view completely. It smells gorgeous and works really well. I use it twice a week, and now I don't think I'll not use a body scrub again.


I've only just started using this, as I just finished Snow Fairy, but it smells gorgeous. I think I still prefer Happy Hippy, but this is a close second. When I first used it though, it was so runny I thought I was going to be stained pink, but I'm doing okay so far.


Moving away from beauty, I've been absolutely adoring this necklace from Missguided. It goes really well with just a plain dress to add a bit of extra something. I've recently stopped wearing chokers and things all the time, and I quite like this as a simple but bold piece.


Next I have these earrings that I got at Accessorize in the sale after Christmas. I love silver jewellery (my aim is to have rings on every finger like Phoebe from Friends), and these earrings are so cute and delicate, I pretty much adore every piece of silver jewellery from Accessorize to be honest. I took my stretcher out over a year ago now in order to wear matching earrings, so I am starting to grow my collection.


My phone case is definitely one of my favourite things, ever. Yes, I know that there have been claims of these cases being filled with acid, but it's so pretty I'm gonna take the risk. Although I was disappointed because it said it was unicorns on the case, but when it arrived, it's just regular horses. But still, so, so pretty.


A definite favourite of this month was from the beginning when I saw Black Stone Cherry, Shinedown, Halestorm and Highly Suspect at the Carnival of Madness. Shinedown are one of my favourite bands in the entire world, and have been since I was 16 so it was amazing to get to see them again, alongside the other 3 incredible bands. While I realised I am far to old to be screaming in a mosh pit like when I was 16, it hasn't put me off wanting to go to another concert soon. (Steel Panther, anyone?)


Recently I have been starting to read more, which is great as I used to be an avid reader but I sort of fell out of love with it I suppose. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is actually amazing, and I can understand what all the hype is about, and I really want to see the film once I've finished the book.


My all time favourite of this month, and will probably be my favourite of every month until they break, has got to be my Doc Martens. I've always wanted a pair, but I didn't want a conventional pair that everyone else has, However, I'm not one for spending a lot of money on a colourful pair of shoes that I will never wear. So I spent a long time just accepting that I'm too difficult and that I'll just have to go for a regular pair. But then somewhere, someone from Doc Martens must have heard my silent prayers and came out with these. They are the 1460 8 Eye Boots, and they are actually mens, but who cares about that really? I love wearing the colour black, and when I saw these were not only all black (even the label), but matte black, I knew I needed them. And they were in the sale, so they were basically meant for me. It's been pretty much impossible to get me out of these because I love them so much, i will literally make anything work with them.


I hope February has been a fab month for you, and I'll see you next time.

Layla x









Hello!

So I decided to go a bit crazy with this tutorial as I feel like I always do serious looks and I wanted to do something a bit more fun. I've been noticing recently that blue eye makeup is becoming a huge trend, and I wanted to try something with this colour. However, I don't feel as though masses of blue eyeshadow suits me that well, hence why I decided to go all out and create a Mermaid themed look. I hope you enjoy!


Firstly I went into my crease with my all time fave transition colour, Substitute For Love from the Zoeva Cocoa Blends palette.


Then I used the blue shade from the W7 Neon Nights palette, bringing it into my crease but also slightly lower down too.


Across my lid, I used Kiko's Infinity Shadow in 277, blending it with that W7 shade.


Then, the star of the show, Kiko's Wet & Dry Eyeshadow in 213. I (obviously) used it wet and packed it on across my lid.


I didn't want eyeliner for this look, so I skipped straight to the face makeup. I lined my waterline with a mix of the 277 and 213 shades.


And this is where it gets unwearable for everyday use. Well, you could wear it to Tesco but I'm sure you'll get a few odd looks.  I contoured with the 277 shade and also applied it to my brows. Then I took some blue glitter and put eyelash glue carefully on my inner corner (CAREFULLY). I applied the glitter over the glue and I quite liked the finished effect.


I then mixed some white glitter in with the blue to create a sort of brow highlight.


Finishing off with Makeup Revolution's Unicorns Unite lipstick in Horn of Magic.


I finished off with a wig and there we are.





A crazy-ass mermaid look.

I hope you enjoyed,

Layla x


Hey all!

I am trying to break away from constant makeup posts as I feel I am stuck in a bit of a rut recently and I want to spruce things up. Recently, I lightened my hair from a dark reddish-purple (it pretty much looked black). It is now a "ginger" shade, and I really like it, although I am hoping to eventually go blonde.



I feel so much better with lighter hair, but of course, using harsh chemicals is very damaging. A couple of years ago, I bleached my hair and damaged it so much, it fell out and snapped off. (If you're interested in my hair journey, here's a post from 2014.) So I didn't touch bleach for 2 years, I didn't even touch permanent hair colours for a year, and I was petrified when I lightened my hair, but I think I did okay, and it's all down to the products I use in my hair. I thought I would share them as I highly recommend them all, although it is a pretty high maintenance routine with quite a few products. I hope you enjoy :)

Coconut Oil



Before I bleached my hair, I used coconut oil in my hair. I left it in for about two hours, and then didn't wash it out before the lightening. Now I put it in my hair overnight before I wash my hair in the morning and it works so well. I have to shampoo twice to make sure it is all out, but it's genuinely a miracle product. I got this tub for £8.99 from Superdrug, and I'm pretty sure it's going to last me a long time because you don't need that much product.


Get it here.

Inecto Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner



I also wash my hair with coconut shampoo and conditioner that I got from Savers. These are pretty cheap, I think they were around £2 each and they work really well. My hair feels absolutely amazing after, as well as smelling really nice.

Have a look on the Inecto website, or check out your local Savers store.

OGX Argan Oil of Morocco


After towel drying my hair to damp, I put argan oil in my hair. This is the first "extra" product I used in my hair, so I guess you can say this is what started my obsession with hair care. This is the only argan oil I've tried, but I don't even feel the need to try another because I love this one so much. It leaves my hair super shiny, although you have to be careful not to put too much in as it can leave your hair greasy. You only need a drop!

You can grab it here.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong Leave In Conditioner


Last spring, I went on a bit of a hype about this stuff, but the leave in conditioner is the one thing I continued to buy. The entire range is incredible and really works wonders for you hair.


With an easy pump spray, I usually use about 5 pumps tops and rub the product in my palms before running it through the ends of my hair.

You can get this on Amazon but I'm pretty sure I bought it from Wilkos.

Schwarzkopf Gliss Spray


This product. It's actually amazing. If there's one thing on this entire list that I would recommend, it would be this. It smells absolutely gorgeous for a start, but since I've been using this I've noticed a major change in my hair. I just spray it onto the ends of my hair, and I've been getting fewer split ends since.


Get it on eBay here.

Schwarzkopf Got2b Sexy Big Volume Mousse


I have such thin hair, so I have layers cut in, but this also helps to give my hair an extra bit of life and volume. It's a spray mousse, and I tend to spray about a palm sized amount (I'm not sure how much you're actually meant to use) and run it through my hair.


Get it from Boots.

IQ Intelligent Styling Heat Shield Protector Spray


Finally, if I am going to be using heat on my hair (which is not often recently as my straighteners blew up on me) I swear by this. I got it from my hairdresser originally, and I think I've been using it for about 3 years now. It smells amazing and works really well protecting my hair.


The spray reminds me of a cleaning bottle, but it has a catch so you can lock it when you're not using it. If you enjoy this, I also recommend their gel hairspray if you want a super hold spray.

Get it here.


Bonus: Dry shampoo is a great way to maintain your hair between washes, as washing it everyday can do more damage than good! Checkout this guide to pick the best dry shampoo for you! https://www.reviews.com/dry-shampoo/

I hope this was of help to you, and that you have some ideas for your own hair care. I really do recommend all of these as I'm incredibly picky with my hair, and I will never use anything that I don't think is good enough. (an almost snobby opinion)

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!

Layla x