An Evening with Farfetch at London Makeup School

Since working full time I hardly have time to do other things but last Thursday I was lucky enough to have a day off work which allowed me to attend Farfetch.com's first beauty event to celebrate the launch of the new beauty section on their website. Farfetch is an online website that houses items from 400 luxury boutiques as well as its new beauty section which will include luxury beauty brands such as Space Nk & Chantecaille.

Held in the London Makeup School near Shoreditch, the night consisted of food & prosecco, live makeup demonstrations & meeting new people. Usually my social anxiety would kick in full scale & I'd give it a miss but I'm so glad I went in the end. The Farfetch girls were so welcoming & as well as meeting new people, I saw a couple bloggers I already follow.

Sue, one of the London Makeup School tutors, showed us how to recreate some of the key looks from SS16, my favourites being the smokey eye look and the Au Naturele! It really makes me want to learn how to do eyeshadow properly!

As the event drew to a close we were given goodie bags to take away with us that each included a skincare product. I was lucky enough to get a Chante Caille rice and geranium foaming cleanser. One of the new brands that will feature on the site. Even though I've never heard of the brand before I love cleansers, so I look forward to trying it.
Big thank you to Ayesha from Farfetch for inviting me!

Check out the new beauty section on Farfetch.com here!

love&kisses, Tee xo

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New In: Lipstick Haul

Left: Makeup Revolution Lipstick in 'Rebel With Cause'
Top to Bottom: Primark PS Love Liquid Lipstick in 'Nude'
MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in 'Kooky'
Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer in 'Velvet Rebel'

When it comes to makeup, I just about do my eyebrows nowadays if I have time. However, I've been loving the sudden surge of liquid lipstick products on the beauty market lately. The easy application of a lipgloss with the finish of a lipstick. Perfect! So I've decided that I want to get into lip products more because I can't have carmex as the only thing I use for life. My current favourite lip combo is L.A Girl Lipliner in Cocoa combined with NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in 'Stockholm' which is the perfect nude lip for me. 

I picked up these four products; three from Superdrug and one from Primark. Makeup Revolution has always caught my eye due to their palettes so I gave them a look. The two products I found are pretty similar in their colour which is like a dark fuschia pink, this is probably why the names are similar. One being a lipstick (which smells like Refresher sweets) and the other a matte liquid lipstick (which does not smell nice). The PS Love liquid lipstick, a pinkish nude, was a random purchase in Primark because I wanted to try it out, I don't like the gloss on this one and the brush is tiny so it's hard to apply. Kooky by MUA, a dark purple colour, is something I have wanted for so long now but it's always out of stock in my local Superdrug, turns out they changed their packaging and brought it back again in Marble Arch's store so I was so happy to finally get it. 

I won't go into much detail as I'm not that clued up on these kind of things but if I find anymore I'll be sure to post them here.

love&kisses, Tee xo

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Hair Care: Recommended Products for Natural Hair

These products are recommended based on my experience.
I don't even know if anybody will be interested in this post but I get a lot of lovely comments on my hair so I thought I'd share some of the products I've been using for a while and highly recommend. This post is mainly aimed at girls with afro-textured hair because most of the products are quite oily/greasy & I know they work better on that type of hair from my own experience but are not limited to that audience only.
They may/may not work for all but hopefully for some ...
 

 Organics Hair Mayonnaise (Conditioner)

If you do not have this in your life...GIRL!

This is probably the MOST recommended of all the products I'm going to list.

I use this as a conditioner and let me tell you it has saved my hair in the process. It is great for weak and damaged hair as stated on the front but guys, this does wonders for your hair I'm telling you. I use probably 1/2 or 3/4 of a tub all over my hair (the more the merrier) and then put a plastic cap on top or cling film works too and leave for about 30 minutes. Wash it out and then I'm good to go. It's been really good for my scalp and keeping my hair soft. So I definitely recommend this!

Blue Magic Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner (Grease)

 

Even though it's called a conditioner, this is actually a grease.

We all know by now that coconut oil is great so I'm not surprised this product works well. I just use this when I grease my hair and it is very moisturising and stays like that for a good amount of days. I don't know what else to say about this apart from if you're looking for a good grease for your natural hair this might be the one. I have used this Blue Magic grease for a long time and can say it has been great in keeping my hair greasy for a good few days and not drying out instantly.

 

 ORS Heat Protection Hair Serum (Heat Protector)

This product was actually recommended to me by someone else. Years ago I followed this american black girl on Tumblr and she had such amazing long natural hair so I messaged her asking if she had any tips and she recommended this. Not gonna lie it took years until I actually bothered to buy it but I should have done so a long time ago. Believe it or not I've never used heat protector before this, which means my hair is probably so damaged in places but the first time I used this and my hair went dead straight I was so shocked. It smells good and is oily so it moisturises your hair as well as protecting it. Saves all that greasing the hair before straightening to get it straighter (DON'T do that) I feel like my hair straightens better with this, as well as, using my carbon comb whilst straightening.

 

Organic Root Simulator/ORS Olive Oil Sheen Spray

To end the list, a spray but not just any spray. This spray is the one! I'm pretty sure most black people have this in their household already lool but I'll still include it. I've noticed that when my hair is feeling a little dry I spray this on the ends and edges and brush it through and my hair is softer and easier to maintain. This is great for spraying over hair to add a little more moisture or a little sheen. I sometimes spray it over my bun when I'm done to add a sheen to it but it's also great on the scalp. Also if you have braids and just want to moisture your scalp it says on the tin it's good for that.

Hair after washing vs Hair after straightening

I've listed the products in the order that they would be used from washing hair to styling it. All these products can be found in Paks and other hair shops. If people want any further info on them from my experience, contact me on my email in my sidebar rather than my comments so I can give a direct and thorough response. I'm not a hair expert, these are just my opinions and although they might not work for everyone, every tip helps I guess.

love&kisses, Tee xo
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Beauty For Less

Would you believe me if I said I'm in loveeee .. I got both of these for under £5!
How about under £3 then.
Being the bargain hunter that I am, I'm always looking for ways to get expensive products for cheaper. Usually eBay comes through in those situations but this time it did not. I've recently been feeling to do false nails again. I'm starting to miss them and I've been wanting grey nails for ages now. The only grey I could find that I liked was OPI's Cement The Deal but for £11.95 I couldn't justify it. Also I was about to splurge on a new camera so £12 for nail polish was looking hella expensive! So I decided to search the internet in hope of a cheaper alternative. Lowe & behold!


FRAGRANCE DIRECT

An online site that sells popular beauty products for up to 70% less. Guys, I paid 99p for the Revlon nail polish and the Sally Hansen one came to £1.99. God is good! They would of come to nearly £10 if I bought them in a shop. With tracked postage (£1.99) and a little 5% discount code I found on Google it came to under £5. Tell me how I went from £11.95 OPI dreams to paying under £5 for two big name brands.  They also stock some high end fragrances and other makeup items like Mac & Bobbi Brown makeup as well as Calvin Klein lipsticks for £1.99 & L'Oreal ones for £2.50. They do state that occasionally some items they sell are unboxed or damaged (this will be stated in the product details) but everything is brand new & genuine. My nail polishes weren't damaged though & 100% like the products you'd buy instore, they came a week after ordering and were packaged safely in a box. I love the colours & can't wait to do my nails again. I knew I had to share this site with you guys, it doesn't stock everything but it's definitely worth a search before settling for high street prices.
I recommend searching by colour for nail polishes/lipsticks.
Use 'Treat10' to get 10% off until the 19th April 2015 if you check it out!

How could I not bring you in on such greatness!

love&kisses, Tee xo
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D A I S I E S

Products used: Miss Sporty Black Nail Polish, Rio Yellow & White Nail Art Polishes and Dotting tool.

Daisies seem to be a big thing right now. I keep seeing them on a lot of clothing and that reminded me of this nail art that I saw a while ago and have been wanting to try for ages. I think it went okay for a first attempt, even though it smudged a little. I'm not a fan of black nails so I didn't do it on my own nails instead I used my nail display wheel.

I painted the nail black first, took about 3 coats to get it thick enough, then i poured a little of the yellow and white polish into a pot (seperated) and used the dotting tool to make the circles. I've had dotting tools for a while now, I got 5 for 99p from eBay and they actually work really well, you just dip them into the polish and simply make dots. 
 

love&kisses, Tee xo

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Product Spotlight: Olive Oil Heat Protector

ORS Olive Oil Heat Protection Hair Serum

I'm not usually one to share hair products on my blog mainly because there aren't that many that I use but I have been looking to get this product for ages and after finally purchasing it, it will forever be in my life.
A long while back, I asked a girl that I followed on tumblr (can't find her page anymore), who had the loveliest long hair, for some tips on how she kept her hair in good condition and this is a product she recommended to me. Now, I never use heat protectors which is bad but I am glad I got round to purchasing this. I used it in my hair yesterday when straightening it and I seriously don't know what I was doing without it before. It straightened my hair so much nicer and left it feeling soft and moisturised. I'm trying to use heat protecter now because I want my hair to grow a bit more before I cut the ends. This product I highly recommend for girls with afro type hair as it is quite oily. It smells like olive oil and only cost me £3.99 which is worth it for how it leaves my hair afterwards. 

[Hair straightened using product & current hair length]

love&kisses, Tee xo

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Yin Yang

Products Used: Barry M 'Matt White', Black Nail Polish, Black Striper

My nails are back. I took them off for a while because I'd had them on for ages but I finally did them again. I love doing my nails. I use opaque full cover nails from eBay and cut & file them to my desired length. Another thing that comes with my love of nails is nail art. I'm trying to learn all different designs and Yin Yang is one of my favourites. I love the symbol itself and what it stands for. The idea of balance and how one thing can not exist without the other e.g day & night, light & dark, good & bad. I've wanted a small tattoo of the symbol on my ankle for ages but that's a big step for me. I painted my nails white for the base, used the striper to make the curved line and filled it in with the striper. Then used the black nail polish and white nail polish to make the dots, I forgot about my dotting tools but I could of used them too. White nails for summer. Yes!

love&kisses, Tee xo

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April Beauty Purchases

 W7 Camouflage Concealer Kit, Dotting Nail Art Tools, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails - eBay |
Benefit Products - Debenhams

It's been a while since I did any kind of purchases/haul post. Not because I haven't bought anything (as if) but because I buy too much and then can't be asked to photograph it all. So I thought I'd keep it small and show my new beauty purchases instead. eBay is so underestimated. Believe me, it probably has everything for the best prices. I swear by this Sally Hansen nail strengthener and I couldn't find it in any shop near me so I was so happy to see it on there. The dotting tools are to add to my neverending nail kit and this W7 concealer palette is something I've wanted to try out for a while to use for my eyebrows. I hope it's good.

Now. This mascara. Holy grail product for sure. This is the only mascara that makes my eyelashes stand out so much more but doesn't make them look unnatural. Added bonus that they are selling it in a pack at the moment with the Benefit High Brow Glow pencil. It's a bit harder to blend on my skin than concealer though so I'll probably not use it.

love&kisses, Tee xo

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P.S Thank you for the love and support from my 'Yellow' blogpost! Glad so many people liked it! 

My Top Threes | Nail Polishes for Spring/Summer

 Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine 'Blueberry' | Primark P.S Nail Polish (No Name) | Barry M 'Peach Melba'

If you follow me on instagram (tiiaaxo), you will see that a lot of the time I have painted nails. I am slowly becoming a nail addict. I have my own nail kit from eBay which I am using to practice acrylics with. In my previous Top Three post you would have seen my new nail stand which I love and can't wait to fill up. I just love painting my nails and having them stand out even when my outfits don't. Ramble over.
 
These are my top three nail polishes for spring/summer. I tend to go for bright colours all the time but I am loving these particular pastel shades at the moment. As a big fan of Barry M for a long time I am always checking out their collection and these are two of the recent ones I've bought. The 'Blueberry' is a lovely shade of blue which I can't wait to try out on my nails I've been looking for the perfect blue shade for a while & this is it. The 'Peach Melba' is my new favourite Barry M polish overall. Peach nails are just urgh. *insert lovestruck face* Basically. The lilac shade is part of Primark's new nail polish collection and it only cost a £1! They have all the basic shades that you would need for a nail polish collection so I recommend checking them out. I have three different brands of lilac nail polish and this is the only one that comes with a nice thick brush so well done to them. Don't sleep on Primark, they are moving on up!

love&kisses, Tee xo

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P.S I am slowly making changes to my blog as you might have noticed. New blog banner, adverts on the side. Trying to make it more me. 

Lush Lilac Stilettos

 Stiletto False Nails - Primark | Lush Lilac by MUA

Let me just say that MUA used the perfect word to describe this colour, lush is exactly what it is! 

This is currently my favourite MUA polish, it was 'Frozen Yogurt' but that has now been beaten. It is a lovely pastel colour almost pink but you can see the hint of lilac in it. The MUA range only charges £1 for its normal polishes so I am always looking through them in Superdrug to see what's new. You'd think for that price the quality might be rubbish but you really only need two coats & it dries straight away! Aren't their bottles looking a lot like the Essie ones though, cheeky dupe! Highly recommend this range, they also do makeup for a good price as well.

 I decided to do my nails for my friends suprise birthday party & finally got round to using this set of stiletto style nails I picked up in Primark a while back, as soon as I'd painted them I fell in love. I had to take them off the next day for work though, but I'll definitely be doing my nails again soon probably for uni. Which I never mentioned, I got into LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION!

love&kisses, Tee xo

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Vogue's Fashion Night Out: The Goodies

These are the selection of freebies I got last night at Fashion Night Out. Everything was in the River Island goody bag e.g (St Tropez moisturiser, popcorn, bracelet, drink & fake lashes except the glasses which I actually got from Bershka after taking part in a photoshoot which is on their facebook page. I also got my nails done for free by Boom Nails, mint green with tribal zig zags & dots on my thumbs. The goody bag wasn't free though I did purchase yin yang earrings to get it but I didn't mind because I love the yin yang symbol.

 love&kisses, Tee xo

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Escada & Nail Varnish Collection

Recieved my sample from escada today of their new 'especially escada' perfume. So i was expecting a little bottle of it but instead got this postcard with a magazine style peeler with a small cloth sprayed with perfume underneath. My mum told me about this perfume so I requested a sample on their website,it is actually a lovely perfume, smells very nice!! Think I'll be adding this to my perfume collection soon :)

(From left to right ) BarryM: Pink Flamingo x2, Cyan Blue, Grey, Mint Green, Strawberry IceCream - Superdrug.

(I'm wearing the pink flamingo in the escada photo above)

Rimmel London Disco Ball & MUA I <3 U - Superdrug |  Nails Inc London Victoria&Albert | Crackle, Base Coat & Top Coat - Primark | Avon Top Coat.

The first four nail varnishes I bought from the market. I love the bottle of the black one! 

The fourth one from the left is by 'La femme beauty' they are sold in paks hair shop for about £1 & dry quite fast! 

(Last 2 On The Right) Nail Tip Whitener By Miss Sporty, Sally Hanson Hard As Nails - Both Superdrug

Thought I'd share my nail varnish collection with you guys. Plan to make it increase alot this year, love love love painting my nails. If you know any good ones let me know! 

love&kissesxo

Wishlist #1

Wishlist Time!

Thought i'd do a wishlist post today for the first time. Been looking around and seen some really nice things! Dr Martens have been around for ages and i really wanna get a pair, i cant decide between patent hot pink or black yet though.I love the grunge look they bring to some outfits as well. A Blazer is so essential for me right now as i love wearing shirts alot and need a blazer to team them with, ive been wearing my sisters moschino blazer which im in love with but need to get my own asap. Striped Black & White Trousers are another must for me!! Vertical stripes enlongate your legs even though im tall, i love the pattern and im a big fan of black & white together plus when worn with heels my legs will look even longer. The camoflauge coat is just a random fancy ive seen a few people wearing them casually over their outfits and ive taken to them recently. Nude/Pastel/Brown nail varnishes are something ive been meaning to get, i will have to venture out of my favourite brand, Barry M, as they dont do the nude i want. Lastly, a bandana, ive been into the retro look lately and use alot of scarves to tie my hair up so I fancy purchasing a bandana. Hopefully i can buy some of these soon.

Thats all for now,

love&kissesxo