Dress to impress your Valentines date!

‘The look of love’…

Whether you love it or loath it, Valentines Day is looming and the oh so famous ‘look of love’ has never been so desired; the romantic movies that promise love at first sight, fireworks and butterflies- realistically, everybody has to embrace their inner Bridget Jones… minus the big knickers.

From makeup, hairstyles and innumerable ensembles waiting to be worn, every woman wants to look their best to impress their lucky date!

Of course, confidence is the key, but a little makeup here and illusion there never hurts- shhh nobody has to know!

Dressing gowns and hair rollers at the ready, the first step is makeup.

Predominately for a romantic date, either with your boyfriend or a blind date, a makeup look can either go two ways: a natural glow or glamorous and sexy. Glam will always get those heads turning but if you want to achieve that flawless finish and show the true you, my natural look is ideal.

This look is all about creating a natural glow, the perfect way to create a beautiful shimmer over a romantic, candlelit dinner.

Simply apply your ol’ loyal, high coverage skin products from foundations to concealers to provide a base for your glowing look, and then onto highlighter- my favourite as you can probably tell.

I created my look using the Sleek-contouring pallet; the highlighter is perfect and isn’t too overpowering. Simply sweep it over your cheeks, cupids bow and brow bone to create that illuminating, romantic look.

Tie the look together with a natural lip and eye pallet. I went for the beautiful shimmery, earthy tones in particular because they create definition, making the eyes pop whilst not overpowering your natural look.

With a cute curl in your hair or a sleek up do, this look will give you the confidence to ace any date-whether the date meets your standards or not… oh well, you look fab! 

Confidence is sexy

Now, for all of you that like to make a statement, how about trying my sexy, smoky eye look?

Red. It screams confidence and can empower any woman. You know what they used to say, when times are tough, lather on the red lipstick and you’re ready to conquer the day; you will be sure to smash the sexy look with a loyal stick of red lippy in your purse.

Pink makes the boys wink, but red will go straight to their heads- confidence is the seasons best accessory and will never let you down.

There are so many beautiful shades of rouge for you to try; from rosy reds to deep burgundy, there is a shade for every skin tone. Get testing girls and sport the red lips to complete your sultry look!

It’s time to swap the earthy tones for smoky shades that will compliment any eye shape or colour. Start with the outer section of the eye and blend the shades from dark to light towards the inner corner, adding a shimmery silver to create a glamorous finish.  Add your favourite mascara and black liner to emphasize the length of your lashes- now you can flutter those lashes and flirt all night with my sexy, glam look!

To achieve these looks I used:

·       Urban decay eye shadow pallet- Vice 2

·       Sleek face Contour Kit

·       Estee Lauder (48A33) Hot Kiss Shimmer lipstick

·       (The natural lip shade) Rimmel- Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in shade 16

The ultimate slimming dress!

This Missguided, zip detailed, bodycon dress is perfect for a romantic date and so slimming for those who want to show off their curves. The front zip and V-neck detailing, elongates the body and creates the illusion of extra height- brilliant for somebody like me who isn’t gifted in the height department, but girls with long legs, you can still effortlessly rock this dress! The zip is also perfect for Valentines, enabling you to control the amount of cleavage on show; unzip if you’re feeling daring or modestly keep it up to leave a little to the imagination!

The extra zip band pulls in the waist and instantly slims, creating the illusion of the oh so desired hour glass figure- whether you have been blessed with curves or a straight up and down figure, this dress will create curves that you never knew you had!

Team with your favourite nude heels and pastel clutch or go bold with some monochrome accessories!

I love this wrap styled, River Island number, a brighter alternative to the nude Missguided dress.

The wrap style creates the illusion of a sexy, slimmer waist whilst the added black belt with rose gold detailing compliments the style of the dress. The detailing also creates an optical illusion, drawing the eyes attention to the belt, complimenting the waist further- who wouldn’t want a slimmer waist?

The plunging neckline is perfect for those who want to show off their assets and the peachy, rose colour is perfect for a date- the sexy shade of love and a potential blossoming romance!

Now you have read my guide to achieving a look that will leave you feeling glamorous and sexy, you can meet your lucky date with confidence, knowing that your new look will make his jaw drop!

Quick little catch up and a few pretty purchases!

Hello lovelies, so this isn't a post about one item in particular but a few recent purchases that have been lucky enough to make it into my collection! But first of all.. what is going on in the world of Laura? One word: Business. Me and my lovely boyfriend Sam have decided to start a little business; a health and nutritional programme named Herbalife. I love taking care of myself, inside and out, and my family have lived off of the Herbalife products since 2011 so it makes sense to carry the flame and share it all with you!

So, I'm not a whizz kid about nutrition but because of my Journalism degree, it makes sense to go down a root driven by social skills and meeting new people. Sam also happens to be doing a Sports Science degree, so just this once… just this ONCE, I'll let him take the reins (a very rare occasion I have to add). With his knowledge and my social skills, it's a match made in heaven- although with two very bold personalities, it will definitely put our relationship to the test! I will be getting a kick start on our new Herbalife blog very soon, so I will keep you posted- whether it will be LAURA & SAM or SAM & LAURA is another question. 

Secondly, this may be first in beauty blogging history.. but me and my lovely friend Lisa at The Beauty Type  (and fellow beauty blogger) are planning on moving in together for our second year of uni- how exciting! I can tell our passion for all things beauty will bully our bank accounts, but I can't wait! 

Onto my little purchases...

[these photographs have not been taken by myself] 

These Primark beauties are, well, beautiful! And the price is even better… £6!!! They were in the sale (whoever knew Primark has sales?!), I picked these up today and I can't wait to wear them already. The bright, Scarlet red adds a pop of colour to any outfit; wear with jeans to transform a casual look into a quirky number or your favourite LBD to add a little personality. So they're from Primark, and from personal experience, any shoes I've had from there have crumbled within a couple of weeks, but oh well- look how pretty they are! 

I absolutely love this Glamorous Floral Shirt from Bank Fashion! I just couldn't resist and anybody who knows me would know that buttoned up, collared shirts are my thang.

It's floral, bold and just perfect for spring- whoever said you can't prepare for your spring/summer wardrobe already? That's organisation in my eyes.
Team with jeans and some pumps for a casual look or your favourite wedges, leather look leggings, and over sized clutch for a sexy evening ensemble! I'm even thinking of teaming this with a knitted jumper; perfect for the winter chill but with a little hint of spring…ahh!
It's a piece I can't wait to go crazy and experiment with and I will post soon my outfit choices, look out!

So it's a favourite for many, but this Sleek Blush by 3 Palette in Lace was a very obvious purchase for me after my previous post on Sleek's famous contouring kit. The deep pink and orange blush are matte whilst the middle rose shade has a hint of shimmer, perfect for the upcoming spring. The middle shade looks gorgeous if you are trying to achieve an understated natural look whilst the brighter shades inject a bit of colour for those nights when you hit the town! A fab purchase and a definite recommendation!

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
As you can see, my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer has seen better days. The poor  condition of the packaging says a thousand words, or just three… I love it! I've seen many blog about this beauty so I thought i'd see what all the fuss was about, and I am now making a fuss. It's definitely long lasting and gives perfect coverage throughout the whole day. It has achieved what hundreds of concealers promise but fail to do- the majority I have tried- and I absolutely love it! For such a good price, if I were you, I'd jump on the Lasting Perfection Concealer bandwagon right now!

L'Oreal Paris- Mega Volume Miss Manga
Finally, The new L'Oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga mascara is kinda growing on me. On first application, like many mascaras, it's clump city- not a good look if you want your eyelashes to look… well, human. But after a little while, it does what it says on the tin, bottle, tube or whatever you want to call it. It does give that 'manga' appearance; lashes that go on for ever and a defined look that gets heads turning. But overall, it's not a mascara I would wear during the day for a natural look- maybe for an evening do when my eyelashes need to be manga-fied.