Merry Christmas

Autumn Ombre Nails

Ombre hair may have been a passing phase but Ombre nails are right on trend!

I have seen ombre nail designs in lots of magazines recently so thought I would bring you a tutorial to get your nails looking hot to trot this autumn!

All you need is 3 to four coloured varnishes and a make up wedge.....Simple!

I chose Teasy does it, Diva of Geneva and Glitzerland all from OPI.

Here is my Video tutorial showing you how to achieve this look!

Hope you like this look.

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

3 More Inches!!!

As a self confessed lover of my own long locks you can imagine my devastation when my hair started to snap when I was brushing it! I have grown my hair for years and have major hairdresser anxiety when I see them reaching for their scissors! I am one of those clients that sits in the chair and demands that only millimeters are to be cut off.....my hair is thick and quite dry and coarse in texture and always has been.

For some reason my hair seems to be having a rebellious phase and seems to be snapping off so off I trotted to Space NK to get a hair mask in the hope that it would repair my hair back to its former glory. I was thinking of going for a bumble and bumble mask but when the sales assistant came over and advised a different product I just assumed she would be trying to get a bigger sale!

She recommended Micheal Van Clarke 3 More Inches pre wash treatment. It contains a cashmere protein and amino acid blend which acts as a reparative treatment which should slow the ageing process of the hair and help the hair grow longer more quickly!

The Cashmere protein should help the hair repair and give it strength, leaving it looking more healthy. You can either put it on the hair and let it dry in and then leave it over night or pop it on the hair for at least an hour before washing it out. You are advised to use the 3 more inches shampoo and conditioner (I haven't but probably will give them a try at some point).

After the first use I noticed a difference straight away and was really happy, I don't normally have to wash my hair more than twice a week but after using 3 more inches I didn't need to wash my hair for a week! I use this treatment every other wash and have found it to be a great product. It's priced at £29.00 and with the size of the bottle it will last ages (even with my thick mop!).

So after being skeptical of the sales assistants agenda all I can say now is Thank you! This is a great product and although it smells slightly funny it is now firmly one of my essential bathroom must haves!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Fashion Friday - Autumn trend tips from Anya Sarre

I have a special guest post for you all this Fashion Friday! Its come all the way from the USA from Anya Sarre who is one of Hollywood’s most influential trendsetters. A nationally recognized celebrity stylist, Sarre is known for her impeccable eye and ability to tie any look together with the perfect accessory. Named “Best Television Fashion Stylist” for her appearances on Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and countless other media outlets, Sarre is the go-to fashion expert for Hollywood’s biggest celebrities.

She is sharing the hot must have Fashions this season to ensure that you are Cozy, Confident and Fashionable this Autumn!

Fall fashion is all about warm colors that exude feelings of confidence, warmth, and comfort. It's the simplest season for clothes in terms of color and style, as it allows the most comfortable options to be worn and accepted as stylish. In fact, as long as you feel like you look good in what you're wearing, your mood and attitude will be greatly lifted and appear appealing to other people. Just being confident will make you feel and look gorgeous.

For fall days spent doing any activity, whether it be party-venturing, casually running errands, or relaxing in your home, there are a few outfit choices to choose from that flatter any body shape and look.

• Cardigans

Cardigans from boohoo.com

Cardigans are a superb choice for fall fashion due to how versatile they are when matching an outfit. They are useful when wanting to cover up certain areas of the body, to be warm, or to create a cute fall outfit. When choosing cardigans for fall, look for mostly neutral colors.

• Spandex Skirts

Skirts from boohoo.com

Spandex skirts are the go-to item when you're feeling much too elegant and feminine for jeans or other kinds of pants. Not to mention, they look adorable when matched with cardigans, an over-sized sweater, and boots. They're also great due to their body-forming material, creating a flattering look on almost any kind of body shape.

• Leggings

Leggings from boohoo.com

Leggings are a wonderful chic choice due to their warmth and versatility. They match spandex skirts and boots in an almost unbelievably perfect way. You can create a fashionable look with neutral leggings beneath a boldly, fall outfit, or even with brightly colored leggings under a neutral outfit. There are many options to choose from; in fact, creating an outfit with leggings may be more fun than actually wearing it.

• Shoes

The final defining touch to any outfit! There are two options for a great fall look, which are both simple and easy to fall back upon in any situation. From closed-toe flats to a more intense statement, consider patterned and other multi-colored flats. But don’t forget about your boots this fall! Whether they're short or long legged boots; heels or no heels, they're going to look wonderfully cute with any outfit.

What do you think of these fashion must haves? Are there any Autumn style tips you have?

Thanks Anya for your fashion tips! 

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Movember - Nail Tutorial

I'm sure many of you have seen lots of men sporting random facial hair this month in aid of Movember?!

For those of you who don't know about Movember its a whole month that is dedicated to growing moustaches to promote awareness for Prostate and Testicular cancer charities and also raise vital funds.

Over the past few years I was an official Mo-Sista as I used to work with Bespo'ke Male Grooming here in Bristol and they would always have a team growing their mo's throughout movember. Although I can't grow a Mo myself I can still support and that is what I am doing with this weeks nail tutorial!

So that us girls don't feel left out here is a way for you to join in and promote awareness for Movember this month....

So we can all be MO-Sistas too!

The water decals that I used are from Sparkly Nails in their eBay shop which you can get to here 

All you need is a base coat, coloured varnish, water decals, tweezers, bowl of water and a top coat!

Here is my video tutorial showing you exactly how I got this look....

If you want to support Movember and don't know anyone doing it this year please feel free to support Bespo'ke Blokes by clicking here to go through to their donation page!

Good luck to all the Mo growers out there!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Atopalm - Product Review!

I don't know about you but at this time of year my skin can be all sorts of special! The change in weather can make my skin quite sore. Moisturising is key to healthy looking and feeling skin but this year I have even had trouble finding one that doesn't sting my skin!

Well the skin care fairies must have read my mind as I received an email from someone asking me if I wanted to sample a product called Atopalm. I had never heard of this range so had a quick Google search and thought I would try it out.

Well I have been pleasantly surprised as it has done wonders for my skin! The range claims to be Paraben free and contain ingredients that mimic the structure of the skins natural lipids which aids the restoration of the top layers of the skin. I always like to give products a try for a few weeks before I review them so that I can give an honest opinion but I can say that after the second day of using it I knew I had been introduced to a good thing!

The Cream I was sent was the Atopalm Intensive Moisturiser, which is aimed at Dry / Sensitive skin. It is quite thick so a little goes a long way which is always good as you know its going to last a long time! It is also recommended for the body too so dry elbows and knees no longer need to be an issue!

A 100ml pot of the Intensive Moisturising Cream is £25.00 and I can hand on heart say its worth every penny! There is a whole range of products available on their website Atopalm.

Having used this product for nearly three weeks now my skin is feeling completely soothed and is looking a lot brighter especially for this time of year!

Have you ever tried Atopalm? What did you think?

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

I was sent this product for test and review purposes. The opinions in this post are my own and completely honest. I have not been compensated in a financially for this post.

Kryolan - Make Up Is Science!

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Kryolan Event where they were revealing their new looks and launching their re branding of their packaging and products!

Kryolan is a product range that I love and work with all the time....the quality is high and gives an amazing finish!
The family run business was first established over 65 years ago and was developed with a combination of a love for theatre and science mixed together. It has been a leading product range over the years with TV, Film and Theatrical professionals and now its set to be even bigger and better than before!

They revealed six new Make Up looks which were amazing, Here are my three favourites!

The work and talent that went in to these looks is phenomenal and definitely made me want to go home and do some makeup straight away!

We were also lucky enough to receive goody bags which were jam packed with great products!

The goody bag included a Faceliner, Eye Shadow Primer, Lipstick, Eye Shadow and an amazing product called Make Up Blend! all of these I have put pictures on my facebook page with descriptions (otherwise this post would go on forever! You can see them here).

The event was amazing and having the opportunity to see the people behind the brand was great, you got a feel of the passion they have for their brand and can now completely understand why they are so successful.

I have a huge love for Kryolan and hope that one day I will get to see their lab in Berlin to see where the magic really happens!

Thank you so much for inviting me along to be part of it all!

For all my pics from the day and a closer look at the Kryolan products pop over to my facebook page here and have a peek!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Cher Lloyd Fragrance

I was invited a while back to attend the Cher Lloyd Fragrance launch which i couldn't attend but the loves over at FBbeauty sent me a bottle of the fragrance to try out!

Well as a thirty year old I'm not quite sure if its ok to say this but that I actually quite like it!! I have to say I had my reservations that it was another pop star launching a perfume and it would probably appeal to the teeny boppers....well I can now eat my words or class myself as a teen bopper (I don't mind either!)

The fragrance is bottled in a Diamond shaped fushia pink bottle (now we all know I love pink so I was sold pretty much straight away!)
The fragrance is sweet but not over the top, its combination of cassis, exotic Kiwi, white chocolate and vanilla to name just a few give a sweet, light and lasting scent.

At £15.00 for 30mls this is a great gift idea with Christmas on its way!

Have any of you tried Cher's fragrance? What did you think?

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Make Up Monday - Halloween Make Up look

This past weekend saw lots of Halloween celebrations and I was amongst them!

I was doing Halloween Makeup at the Big Chill Bar in Bristol for a charity event they were running....not only were we making other people look positively ghoulish but it meant we had to dress up too! I wanted to go for something that was still pretty but a bit more out there so I donned a long red wig and vamped up my make up to match!

To go with my make up I added a scar that ran along my throat and down my chest for a bit of added Halloween effect! To get this effect I used a product called Rigid Collodion which make the skin tighten and indent creating a scar like area.

Here are my two Halloween make up video tutorials.....

Halloween Make Up Part 1 (Make Up only)

Halloween Make Up Part 2 (Finished looked and scar effect)

You can also take a look at some of the make up I did at the event here

I hope you celebrated in style!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Fang - Tastic!!

As we all know Halloween celebrations will be at an all time high this weekend and many costumes will need some Fangs to complete the look!

I have some individual fangs that I used last year which is great but the glues has all dried up and I need them to stay put all night! Well some clever little sausage gave me a tip to use Fix-o-dent!
Yes, I know its for popping your dentures in but this is kind of the same?!

You can get fix-o-dent or a similar product from your local chemist for around £3.00 and it will keep you fangs in place for hours!

Fang-tastic eh?!

Happy Halloween!

Grace xoxo

Halloween Nails - Mummy Nails!

Here is my second Halloween Nail art design......its a Mummy design!

STEP ONE - Paint the nails with a white nail colour, I have used Alpine Snow from OPI but you can use any white varnish that you have.

 STEP TWO - Using a black nail art paint and striper brush paint the bandage detail, make sure you make one thicker line for where you will put the eyes.

 STEP THREE - Add the eyes! I have made bigger dots with white and then a smaller dot inside with red.

Thats its for this years Halloween Nails but there are more designs from last year for you to look at for more inspiration!

Happy Halloween.

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Halloween Nails - Frankenstein!

As Halloween is a week away I thought I would do a couple of nail designs!

The first one is Frankenstein! And they are really cute....even if I do say so myself!

 Meet Frank!!

 STEP ONE - Paint your nails with a green nail colour, I have used one from OPI but any green will do.

 STEP TWO - Use a black varnish or nail art paint to create the hair along the tip of the nail.

 STEP THREE - Use a dotting tool to create the eyes, add a big dot of white and a smaller dot of black for the pupil.

STEP FOUR - Use a black nail art paint and a stripper brush to add the details of the mouth and eye brows!

This design is quite child like but its so cute that you could get away with it!! What do you think?

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Bristol Fashion Week A/W 2012

Last Friday I was invited to attend Bristol Fashion Week. I have been to the show for the last couple of years and was part of the make up team for the spring summer show earlier this year!

I can be honest and say it was actually really nice just to be watching the show this time, and getting to watch some tasty male models strut their stuff on the catwalk is not really a hard job!!

As always the show was full of style musts and fashion essentials for autumn winter, and all the outfits and accessories had been picked from the huge choice of stores with in the Mall, Cribbs Causeway, so you could literally run from front row to the shops in a matter of seconds.....that is after you have collected your goodie bag of course!

Here are a few of my favourite pics from the show....

 Bucks Fizz and Mini Muffins....don't mind if I do!

 The beautiful south west bloggers!

 Mark Heyes and Andrew Barton entertained the crowd

 Heritage chic is a hot trend this winter

A Glam finale!

For  more pics check out my Facebook Page.

BFW is always a good event and a great way to spend a few girlie hours shopping and sipping bubbly! There is also a pamper zone for you to try out and get in a little me time!

Did you go? What was your favourite part?

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

FashionistA - Bronzers and Blushers

You may remember in my FashionistA Double Collection Mascara post I mentioned I had a few other goodies I was going to tell you about, well here one of them. These are the Fashionista Mono Blushers and Bronzers. They are designed so you can make you very own custom palette and even better you can mix and match them to get the perfect look for you!

 I was sent a blusher and two bronzers, but one of the bronzers I use as a high lighter!

 Milan - This is a rosy blush with a hint of shimmer, it is a gorgeous colour which gives a really fresh look to the skin

 Tokyo - A matte bronzer which gives the skin a healthy glow

Barcelona - This is also a bronzer but as it is a lot lighter I have been using it as a high lighter.

Here you can see all the colours on the skin, I have packed them on so you can see them better but when you apply then lightly with your make up brushes they are really nice and subtle.

They are all seperates and are priced at £4.00 each, you can also buy the palette at £5.00. FashionistA products are available from Superdrug stores and superdrug.com.

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

I was sent these products to review. I have not been compensated financially in any way. My opinion is my own.

Fashion Must Have - Statement Necklaces!

I have seen loads of celebrities wearing big statement necklaces which I am loving! So when I was out shopping I thought I would keep an eye out for one myself, if its good enough for the celebs then its good enough for me!!

I had seen some in the H&M catalogue but when I saw them in the shop they weren't quite what I was looking for. Then I came across this one...it's massive and I love it!

 Surprise surprise its from Primark! It was £5.00 and I think it's going to go with smart and casual outfits!

Even with a plain outfit like this one it adds something with out being too over the top!

What do you think of this trend? Have you bought any statement necklaces, if so where from?

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Caviar.....Nails that is!

I know that Caviar nails have been out for a while but I also know that the ranges that are out there can be quite expensive, especially if you want to get a few colours!
Well I just wanted to let you all know that I got some of the caviar beads on eBay from a craft supplier, click here to see the shop.

The beads come in loads of colours and each 40g bag is just £1.99 plus 90p postage (they offer combined postage discount).

 This is a caviar manicure I did on a friend with grey varnish and Silver caviar beads

All you have to do is apply a layer of top coat once you have painted your nails, dip the nail into the caviar beads, wait a minute or so and apply another layer of top coat!

This is such a simple way to brighten up a manicure and now you can do it cheaply too!

Stay Gorgeous

Grace xoxo

Macadamia Oil

Over the past year there have been several variations of hair oils including Macadamia Oil which I have been trying out on my wild mound of hair! Macadamia Oil promises to treat and nourish the hair leaving it smoother and shinier! This all sounds good to me.....but is it just talk or does it actually do what its says?

 Macadamia Healing Oil Spray is a fine mist that absorbs into the hair, it is weightless so doesn't leave a film on the hair, moisturising and shine enhancing.

Deep Repair Masque penetrates and rebuilds damaged hair improving elasticity and giving shine.

The Macadamia Oil product range claims to do the following,

• Provides intense nourishment
• Long lasting tangle + frizz free finish
• Amazing shine and manageability
• Instantaneous absorption
• Light-weight, non-greasy feel
• Extends color treatment life
• Natural UV protection
• Reduces drying time 40-50%

Well I have used it for about six weeks now and I can say it definitely does! I have tried so many different products to try and tame my unruly hair and this definitely has made a difference! And another great thing....it smells amazing too!

Have you tried Macadamia Oil? What did you think?

Stay Gorgeous (and frizz free!)

Grace xoxo