Outfit of the Day| Monochrome Love

Top- River Island
Jeans- Topshop
Scarf (TK Max) Similar
Shoes- H&M
Lipstick-check out my previous blog.

I'm not usually a fan of high-necked tops but I seem to have start to collect a few with this feature and I have actually fallen in love. This top is from River Island and is so cosy, warm and soft. I LOVE IT!  I find it easy to pair with most things as it is quite versatile. The Jeans are Topshop 'Jamie' high waisted jeans. Very comfortable and stylish!
The scarf and lipstick add a pop of colour to a monochrome outfit.

What is your outfit of the day? What are you currently loving?

Love Claudia xx
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Mac Lip products| New favourite!

This is the lipstick I have been waiting to afford for the past few months. It is beautiful, and I love love love it! *Cheesy Grin*

Mac 'Russian Red' lipstick with Mac 'Cherry' lip liner! Okay, so you may be thinking 'I don't wear red so I won't be able to wear it- wrong! It looks great with most my outfits! (Granted I have a rather monochrome wardrobe but its still lovely) and I do not wear red... Ever!

Although it is a matte shade, it is surprisingly moisturising, and applies really smoothly. The lip liner, I feel, is a must for any dark or bold lip- it adds that extra staying power and really gives a nice edge as its easier to fill in. If you haven't tried a lip liner before I suggest you do, I never thought of it much before but I have really seen the difference since I've started using one!

 


What lipsticks do you like at the moment? Is there something that you want to buy?

Mac Russian Red lipstick
Mac Cherry lip liner

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Love Claudia xx

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Do you need a boost?| Volumising hair tutorial

I love my hair. The colour, the softness.. but not the thin fine hair itself. I'm one of those gals who go to great efforts into trying to get texture and volume in my hair, because lets face it; sometimes we just need a boost!

Today, I'm going to show you how I get a bit more volume back into my hair, using drug store products.

Today I used Herbal Essences 'Uplifting Volume' shampoo and conditioner. I've never tried this one before, and my my my it smells divine! That is if you like oranges of course! I tend not to stick to just one hair care brand as I find my hair can 'get used' to that one product and then it doesn't seem to work as well. *sigh*

Step one: Wash and towel dry your hair! Twit-twoot!

Step two: Now my hair isn't particularly frizzy, but at times I find it to be a bit too.. fluffy? This Frizz Ease smells lovely and makes my hair nice and sleek at the ends without weighing it down. An added bonus is that it has heat protection in it! Apply 2-3 pumps to your finger tips, and evenly distribute throughout your hair focussing on the middle to end lengths.

Step three: Okay! I know this looks a bit weird but it is a very important step! Tip your head upside down and blow dry downwards. I use my tangle teaser as it detangles my hair without pulling and I would highly recommend getting one! (See below to find out where you can get these products).

 WOAH! haha!

 So as you can see we have a small amount of volume going on here, if you want to stop here by all means do. I, however, am going to add some texture to my hair as it seems to hold volume better...

 Step four: I have been using this Bouffe dry shampoo for the last few weeks, and at first was not sure. Having used it multiple times now I do like it a lot, you just have to be careful not to put too much in (as it can feel dry and weird?!). I recommend using this in short sharp bursts at the roots! It comes in most peoples hair colours too, which means no weird white hair!

To finish off, I use the tangle teaser and rub my roots in circular motions. This is similar to backcombing but I feel it is less harsh. Then add hairspray if you want lasting hold!

For my hair, this is as good as it really gets!

Do you have any styling advice to add extra volume? What's your routine?

Herbal Essences Volume Shampoo and Conditioner
Frizz Ease Serum
Tangle Teaser
Bouffe Dry Shampoo (Dark Blonde)

Love Claudia xx

10 Beauty Hacks| From me to you

So today I thought I would share 10 tips and tricks that I find useful either on a daily basis or once every now and then. These are personal beauty tricks that I use and I hope you find them just as helpful as I do!

1. FOUNDATION
Mix foundation with moisturiser- this will help keep your skin moisturised during the winter months, it will help your foundation last longer (especially if you're waiting for pay day), and it will help add a natural dewy glow. I find this great, as the cold harsh wind can dry and irritate my skin.

2. MOISTURISER
Lay your moisturiser on its side to allow the cream to fall to one side of the pot to avoid it getting underneath your nails!

3. EYELINER & EYESHADOW
Place sellotape under your eye, following the bottom waterline and then out to where you would put your eyeliner flick. Use this as a ruler to get a straight winged liner and to get a straight even line when applying eyeshadow.

4. ACNE
Apply a couple of drops of lemon juice to acne to help lighten the scars. If you have sensitive skin then diluted it down in some water.

5. SHAPED EYEBROWS
Stray hairs in your eyebrows? Apply Vaseline and comb into the desired shape, do this for up to 3 months or until the stray hair is no longer..err stray?

6. SPLIT ENDS
Part your hair down the middle into two sections. One at a time, twist each section tightly, then using your index finger and thumb, lightly backcomb the twist. This will help you identify split ends so they can be trimmed away! Hurrah!

7. UNDER EYE CIRCLES

Apply concealer in an upside down triangle under the eyes (big base along the underneath of the eye with the thin tip down) this will help cover dark circles better.

8. PLUMP LIPS

If you want to make your lips plump like Kim Kardashian, try adding a few drops of peppermint oil to your lipgloss!

9. BIG EYES

Use a white or light shimmery coloured eyeshadow by the tear duct area of your eyes to create an illusion of bigger brighter eyes.

10. CONDITIONED HAIR

Coconut oil is a great way to repair damaged hair. Apply evenly throughout your hair and leave overnight (yes your hair will look super greasy but it’ll be worth it, place a towel over your pillowcase to protect it from the oil). In the morning shampoo twice to get rid of the oil and condition. Va-wala! You have beautiful soft shiny hair!

Hope you find these tips useful!

What tips do you have? 

Love Claudia xx

Wild Food Cafe | Review

 So, on Wednesday 12th November I found myself in London with my boyfriend Ashley, for our anniversary. Normally we'd find wherever looked fairly pleasant to go to eat and settle for that. However, for some reason we felt like being healthy and was drawn to a quirky little cafe called 'Wild Food Cafe' near Covent Garden which serve fresh raw ingredients, specialising in vegan and vegetarian nosh!

 Inside is a very laid-back and unique atmosphere where the eating area is open planned. This is so that you can see the kitchen while your meal being prepared, which personally I think is a nice touch. The tables are minimal and shared with other customers so you have to grab a seat when you can. Even so, it was nice to just sit down after strolling through the shops and getting to look out onto the quaint little street down below.

We ordered our drinks and both decided to have the 'Vibrant Green' juice. It came out looking gorgeous with the pretty flower petals on top, and my goodness it tasted gorgeous too! This juice had only nutritious fruit and veg in:

Apple, Celery, Cucumber, Spinach, Parsley, Lemon, Ginger. 

Lovely!

We ordered our food and it came out pretty quick. I had 'The Wild Burger' which consisted of a shiitake, raw olive and dulse burger in wholemeal wheatbread served with sweet potato wedges and a side salad. Ash had the 'Wild Falafel' organic pistachio, olive and coriander superfood falafel balls with hummus and baba-ganoush, spouted quinoa tabouleh, red pepper dressing and tahini sauce. As we both wanted to try each others we shared each dish.

The burger is a great alternative if you aren't a meat-eater or if, like me, you like to try out foods you haven't eaten before. The sweet potato wedges were lush, some of the best I've ever had- and that's a statement!

I love falafel's, and let me tell you- Wild Food Cafe do it SOOO well! It was so tasty and would actually return just for that!

Have you ever been to the 'Wild Food Cafe'? Where would you recommend next time?

Check out the website: http://wildfoodcafe.com/

Love Claudia xxx

Clinique Moisture Surge | extended thirst relief

Okay, okay, okay so I may be late to the party on this moisturiser, but I can safely say I am in LOVE!

 I have been using this pot since June and it has lasted me so well (hence why there is only a teeny bit left), especially as it is on the more pricier side of your everyday moisturiser. But, nonetheless I think it is so worth it and I will be purchasing this again!

On my sensitive skin it feels like the Gods have come down and soothed away any dry imperfections on my face (including small areas of eczema) without irritation or redness! The consistency is an oil-free gel rather than a cream and when applied to the face it feels cool and refreshing.

I am, by no means a girl who puts a lot of effort into my skin routine, however, I do find in the winter months that my skin feels extra dry and that maybe my skin needs to quench it's thirst. This moisturiser, in my opinion does it so well and sinks in pretty quick too!

The thing I really love about this product is that it is multifunctional. Not only can you use this as a moisturiser, before or on top of make-up (yes, I did say on top!), it can also be used as a 5 minute mask. Just apply, and blot off the excess afterwards. AMAZING!

What is your favourite moisturiser? What do you think of the Clinique Moisture Surge?

Love Claudia X