A night at the Ball!

Hello. Hope you are all well!

As you may have read in my last post I had a very hectic but totally awesome weekend! Friday night was my Teacher's Ball and I absolutely loved every minute of it! It was brilliant to get together with people that have completed 4 years of uni alongside me and just celebrate!

Upon arrival, at the Park Plaza in Nottingham, we were greeted with a glass of champagne or bucks fizz and were allowed one photo by the photographer. Above is mine with all my favourite people (minus a few sadly) and I love it. They printed it off for us for free and I just think it's a lovely sentiment to keep and look back at!

About an hour later we were allowed into the function room and the tables looked lovely! We had previously picked our own seats so we could sit with our friends and all our places had little name tags. As you can see I was sat opposite Sammy from Bellini Beauty :P

Next up...food!

The food was delicious! Very yummy! I started with some sort of quiche (can't remember exactly what it was haha) lightly diced in balsamic vinegar. It was very tasty and I was very hungry so I also devoured the side bread roll too!

For mains I ordered pork, along with a bit of black pudding, adorable baby apples, potato/parsnip and green beans. This again was yummy. However the pork was very rich and I got quite full quite quick!

Dessert. Now it looks as though I had two but...I originally chose chocolate brownie a while back, however I've discovered that chocolate doesn't agree with me too well so I've given it up. So, when I was faced with chocolate I knew I'd just have to leave it! BUT, my very kind housemate/friend Vicky very nicely offered to swap it for her strawberry cheesecake so I could enjoy a dessert. It was really good of her so thank you...and the cheesecake was lovely! :)

So...what did I wear?...

I absolutely loved my dress!!! It was totally ME with the pretty pink colouring and sparkles on the front. I also love the back of the dress :) It was really comfortable and I felt a little bit like Cinderella or something hehe!

I've never had a proper prom before so I treated this as mine and went all out. The nude clutch bag and shoes are from New Look and I already had my Thomas Sabo bracelet. I had my hair styled by a hairdresser and was really happy with it. I've never been so volume-ised haha!

If you want to know what I did for makeup, you can check out my Get Ready With Me: Teacher's Ball video....

Just click the photo :)

And then it was time to party...!!!

UD Basics Palette Review/Look

Hello.

Urban Decay knew what they were doing when they created this Naked Basics palette, let me tell you!

If you saw my Urban Decay Haul, you'll know that I actually picked the palette up as part of a package. It was coupled with the UD Flushed Palette, which to be honest was the one I was most interested in. I thought the Basics Palette would just be a nice bonus...

Wrong. The first time I used it I knew it was going to become a firm favourite of mine. I love how all but one (Venus) are matte shadows and the colours all compliment each other so well.

The ultra cute sizing of this palette makes it even easier to reach for when it comes to travelling. It's ideal for me, being between homes as a Uni student! The next time I go back to my student house I doubt I'll even bother lugging back my Naked1/2 palettes back with me...instead I'll grab this little guy!

I've literally been using the Basics Palette almost everyday since I first cracked into it and I've developed a bit of a system in terms of how I use it.

My favourite eye look at the moment, pictured above, is achieved by using all 6 of the eye shadows. And yes, I know my skin isn't great on the photo but what can I say? I have troubled skin :( So please ignore the spots and what not and look at what I think is a pretty natural eye look :P

I work along the palette in the order they appear from left to right.

1) I apply Venus to the inner corners, blending it across to about mid-way of my eye.
2/3/4) I blend Foxy, W.O.S and Naked 2 across my eyelids, building the colour and adding a bit of depth
5) I work Faint into the crease of my eye to create a subtle definition. I find using a good blending brush (like the Mac 217) ideal for this part.
6) When I'm happy with my eyelids I use a angled-eye brush to line my upper lashes with a bit of Crave to create a slightly thicker lash line without the intensity of a liquid/gel liner.

Done.

It's a very quick simple everyday look...sometimes I skip step 6 depending on the occasion.

I love how blend-able the eye shadows are, as always with Urban Decay, and I would recommend this palette to anyone. If you haven't tried Urban Decay eye shadows before I'd say this is a good one to start with and it's not a bad price at £20 :)

NOTD: Barry M & Andrea Fulerton

Hello!

So, I found a couple of nail polishes stashed away in a vanity case that I'd completely forgotten about! Not sure how...but I feel like I've got new stuff! :)

Barry M: 167 Lavender Blue. I immediately liked this colour and it has a nice shimmer to it. The purpley-grey shade is a winner in my opinion, so I chose to paint the majority of my nails with this. I applied two coats to give the colour payoff in the picture. 

Barry M: 166 Orchid. As I had also stumbled across this polish, I was keen to use them both so I decided to use this lovely shimmery pink shade for my accented nails. Again I applied two coat.

I must say the Barry M polishes applied like a dream...some of the best ones I've used! I love how the formula is quite thin, yet not runny, and this makes application really easy. The varnish literally glides onto the nail and it seemed to be fairly quick drying too! Big thumbs up to Barry M!...Might have to invest in some more of these nail polishes!

Lastly I added a clear topcoat for extra shine and protection, using Andrea Fulerton's Gloss Up Overcoat. Again I'd forgotten about this but I'm a big fan of this brand too...

Petrol in water

Especially the Andrea Fulerton Trios...The one above is my absolute favourite! Look how it turns out when you layer the polishes...

The picture doesn't in fact do the colour the justice it deserves...SO PRETTY! :)

Outfit Combos: Peace leggings

Hello.

So I had a request a while back, over on YouTube, to show how I wear my 'peace' leggings from Boohoo.com. The leggings in my photos have since sold out, however the outfits would work with similar metallic styled leggings or trousers. 

I saw a window of time to do this for you today...so here goes! Hope it gives you a few tips on how to wear patterned leggings. Enjoy.

First up, and perhaps my favourite look with these leggings, is what I shall call 'warm but classy'. The knitwear jumper can be found here at Boohoo for a bargain price of £8!

I've teamed the look with my New Look boots that I feel 'dress' the outfit up a little. I can't locate these exact boots but you'll find a similar pair here for approx. £20-£30.

And for a touch of bling I've added one of my old favourite necklaces. Any long-chained necklace would work ...I like this one.

With Valentine's Day around the corner...why not go for 'cute & casual'.

I just love this jumper from New Look...It's super soft, perfect for the horrible cold weather in the UK atm, and it's at a relatively good price at £24.99.

As for the footwear...I've gone casual with my Apple Bottom high topped trainers/sneakers. These may be tracked down on the likes of eBay but otherwise a nice pair of converse shoes or something similar would work equally well!

Next up, 'a touch of denim'?!

So, denim has been very popular of late and when I saw this lovely shirt in Primark for just £13 I had to get it! I sometimes wear it fastened right up to the collar or open like this, depending on what look I want to create. Worn like pictured, the shirt gives a nice casual look yet I added those New Look boots again to dress it up a bit! Depends on the occasion I guess!

To accessorize, I added this gold coloured bird necklace. I possibly purchased it from Primark but I can't remember?! But any short chained, large 'pendant-ed' necklace would work :)

This outfit has the 'military factor' about it haha! I love this look with the black extenuating the splashes of gold found on the peace leggings, military-styled jacket and leafy waist belt.

The tight black tunic-styled top was originally from Peacocks but it's an old item of clothing so you can't buy this exact one. However if you're struggling to find one, here's an example. Again, I have a feeling the belt was from Peacocks but this one would work well.

As for the military-esque or 'biker' boots they were purchased from a local shop called Put Your Foot In It, I know cute name! But these type of boots are quite popular so you can pick up a pair in most fashion retailers, like River Island, New Look etc.

The jacket I got from my sister with its label reading 'Cotton Club'. No idea what shop this implies?! Let me know if you do...but, type in military jacket into the search bar of most fashion stores and they'll appear...I'm sure!

And last up, 'comfy and casual'.

Again, although featuring my Apple Bottom shoes, converse styled footwear would do the trick!

On top I've gone for a fairly baggy top, sticking with the gold theme, with the gold cross design and studded shoulder pads. The world seems to have gone stud-crazy recently, and I have to say I like it! Love a bit of studdage :) The top's from New Look (I do love their clothing) and from looking online they seem to have updated it, here. Only £15 now!

So there we go...these are some of the ways I wear my metallic leggings! Thanks for reading.

Ellie x