The Dungaree Craze Inspired By Alexa Chung

Alexa Chung's style just seems perfect in every way, every time I see a photo of her she looks utterly perfect. Over the years she's been seen sporting a range of styles of dungrees and recently they have become increasingly popular. I especially like how Alexa styles her dungarees with baggy tees, red lips and a pair of loafers. I thought I'd put together a little collage of the best dungarees that are available at the moment for an affordable price. They're great for summer, especially festivals - I think they're a staple piece you must have in your wardrobe!

£85 - Bitching And Junkfood 

£15 - Topshop

£45.50 - Asos

£22 - Boohoo

£38 - Topshop

£20 - Boohoo

£35 - Urban Outfitters 

Do you have some dungarees you just can't live without? 

Turn That Frown Upside Down

I stared this blog thinking "I'm going to blog every day", undoubtedly - that did not work out. This past week and a half I have been doing absolutely nothing...well, I've been watching Lost (that kind of counts as nothing.) The reason I began this blog is because I'm a stay at home girlfriend with a devoted, caring and loving boyfriend who provides for me. I'm not just a lazy bum, I can't work or study at the moment due to mental illness. Yea, I'm a nut. I thought that it would give me something to do, something to be involved in and I really do love it. 

Sometimes the life just gets drained out of you, and you have no motivation to do even the most fun things. I haven't seen my family in a month, and have continuously cancelled on my friends when we've made super exciting plans. Having a shower even feels like a struggle. 

It's so easy to continue to hide and pretend everything is ok when life reaches this point, but really - you should do the opposite. Scream it out your window - "I am not ok!" And it's super ok not to be ok. Emotions demand to be felt, and demand to be expressed - if you don't express them, they'll just store up inside you until you explode and they all spill out at once. 

Maybe you feel like you're not good enough in some way, or that you're not lovable/likeable. Whatever the problem is, someone feels the same as you - and you're not alone. If you read this and feel like you need to talk about something, you can always talk to me. 

Email - natashamaryward@yahoo.co.uk

xxx

White And Gold - Summer Make Up

Out with the old and in with the new! Literally 99.9% of the time I wear black eye liner, so I decided to swap it for something a bit more fresh and summery. White eye liner is becoming so popular recently I think, along with coloured mascaras (I need to get a blue mascara, oooh.) I applied BarryM's White Kohl Pencil to the bottom water line and smudged it down, and with an eye liner brush I used MUA's Immaculate Collection Palette Shade 14 near my tear duct, along the top like an eye liner and winged it out in a cat like shape. If I was feeling a bit more daring I would have added the same golden shade to my crease, but I'll leave that for another day. 

Here's a list of products I used to make this look:

Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer 

Bourjois' Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder

Mac's Blush In Buff

Revlon's ColorStay Eyeshadow In Addictive (dark brown shade for brows) 

MUA's Immaculate Collection Shade 14 

BarryM's White Kohl Pencil 

Benefit's They're Real Mascara 

Topshop Lipstick In Maccaron 

Also I got this floral crown in Primark for £3! Bargain, right!? What are your Summer make up looks?

Beauty Purchases

I went sort of crazy recently and wanted to buy everything on the make up counter. Fortunately my boyfriend managed to calm me down and I only bought a few things. Sadly, I couldn't get the Stella palette In The Light as it's been sold out for months! But I did get some lovely things instead. 

1. Sleek i-Divine Au Naturel Eye Shadow Palette, £7.99

2. Sleek Face Form Contouring and Blush Palette In Light, £9.99

3.  Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Powder, £6.99

4. Topshop Cheek Duo In Desert Sun, £12.50

5. Katy Perry Cool Kitty Lashes, £5.95

6. Topshop Lipstick In Macaroon, £.8.00

7. Topshop Lipstick In Infrared, £8.00

8. Real Techniques Core Collection, £21.99

 I bought these Sleek palettes because I watched Zoella's video about her drug store favourites, and I'm definitely not disappointed. This is the first contouring palette I've bought, and I'm definitely a fan of the bronzer and highlighter. Unfortunately I really don't like the blusher, It's an orange pink with a lot of shimmer - no thanks! The eye shadow palette is brilliant with matte and shimmer shades ranging from white to black. 12 shades for £7.99 seems like a good deal to me. There's not much fall out and they stay put all day, too. I really love the Sleek packaging (probably because it reminds me of Nars), and I love the huge mirror on these compacts too. 

I've gone a bit contouring mad lately! I saw this in Topshop and had to get it. I haven't really tried this out much and I'm slightly hesitant, but I'm sure I'll get into it. This looks like it will be really good for when I'm in a rush. Unfortunately every eye-shadow/powder product I have bought from Topshop has broken and it has gotten everywhere, and I'm really not a fan of the cheap plastic packaging. We shall see! 

Another face product, tut tut. I also can't believe I've only just bought this, and I am officially in LOVE!!! Every bronzer I have bought previously has been a little too orange and hasn't blended well, but this is literally perfect. I recommend this to everyone - I think they do a lighter shade too. 

Here's a swatch of the two lipsticks I bought from Topshop - macaroon and Infrared. Infrared is the bright ass orange, and I am so proud of myself for being brave enough to wear it - I have too many red lipsticks and need to start being experimental. Macaroon is a lovely bright baby pink and will be great for Summer. I don't know why but when I apply Topshop lipsticks they really do set into the creases in my lips and make them look so dry. Maybe I need to ex-foliate more, who knows. They stay on like a dream and are very pigmented, though. 

I don't think Real Techniques brushes and Katy Perry lashes need any comment, we all know they're amazing. What are your recent beauty purchases?

Beware Of Fake Products!

So I've always wanted one of these palettes, but I don't really have enough money to spend £36 on one make up product. A few days ago I saw an Urban Decay Naked2 palette on ebay for £18, and I didn't hesitate to buy it. I didn't know there was such a thing as faking these products, so even though this is such a bad experience I'm glad I've learnt something from it. As soon as I opened it I noticed a few little things that were suspicious, and when I googled it I realised how common it is. Here are some of the things I noticed: 

It's such a shame people feel the need to do this, and I hope the fact that I've been through this means you don't have to. Here's some tips about buying a product from anywhere that is not a reputable website/shop:

• Ask if they have proof that the product is genuine. Anyone who decides to sell these off has bought them in bulk, usually online. They will have an online receipt if they are genuine. 
• Compare the product they are selling to people's pictures of the genuine product. 
• Does it come in the exact packaging that Urban Decay sells it in? 
• Does it come with other products that are sold with it? (e.g. lipgloss, primer etc.) 
• Usually if it is fake they will only show one bad quality photo so you cannot see the difference, ask for high resolution photos zoomed in. 
• Read the reviews for this product - has anyone complained about it being fake?
• Look at the details - is it the exact same font/image/colour?

Hopefully I can get my money back for this, and I will definitely let Urban Decay know about him as it's not fair that he is making money off of their success and reputation. 

Please make sure to be careful when buying beauty products off of these websites. 

Recent Favourites

I've picked up a few things recently that I've sort of fallen in love with. I think we can all agree that getting lovely little bits n' bobs brightens up the dull days. Here's a list of what I got from right to left: 

• Whittard's Luxury White Hot Chocolate - I know right. White hot chocolate. It's blooming amazing! £5.50
• Williamson Tea's Earl Grey - I got this on my weekly shop and it's amazing, it has a touch of orange in it which tastes great. £2.05
• Anatomicals You Need a Blooming Shower! Rose Body Cleanser - A little of this goes a long way and it's so foamy, and the smell is to DIE for. £2.79
• BarryM White Kohl Pencil - White eye liner is becoming really popular I think, so I had to pick some up. This one is pretty soft and the line comes out very defined so I recommend it. £2.99
• Model Co Shine Ultra Lip Gloss Berry Pink - This was a free gift from Glamour Magazine this month and it's worth £12, is super shiny and literally tastes like berries. You should go grab it!
• Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - My friend raved about this so much, and now I've got it I'm super impressed. My dark circles have literally vanished! £4.19
• Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil - My friend gave me this because she doesn't use it, but if you have oily hair it is a must have. It nourishes and gives your dead hair volume without adding any unnecessary oil! £7.00
• Topshop Lipstick In Whimsical - I swatched about 12 lipsticks in Topshop and I was drawn to this one. It's a coral baby pink and stays on like a treat. £8.00

I thought I would add that this free lip gloss has a mirror on the side! Why doesn't every cosmetic company do this!?

Model Co Shine Ultra Lip Gloss In Berry Pink.

Topshop Lipstick In Whimsical.

Topshop Eye Palette In Game On

So Topshop have new make up products out for Spring/Summer 2013. This eye palette is one of them, and as soon as I saw it I had to get it. Topshop used to do really lovely cream eye shadows a while back, so I'm so glad it's back. They also have a new lipstick shade (bombshell), a "face sculpting palette", some brush sets and blush sticks. I think they've hit it right on the head, I think this year it's all going to be about the neon lip and dewy skin. 

There's four shades in this cream eye shadow palette and they're all metallic. There's a medium blue, a brassy pink, a silver, and a gold. In the palette the colours look quite scary (I've never worn pink on my eyes before) but when you actually put them on, they blend so well and look lovely. It will set you back £12.50 for one of these which I think is reasonable as you get 4 and the product is so good. It sets well and lasts a while too. 

Putting this silver cream eye shadow on literally took me a minute and it looks lovely on it's own. You could use it as an eye liner, too (or if you're feeling super daring some as a highlight.) I think this is so perfect for the fun events to come this year including festivals and days out in the sun. I highly recommend this. 

What new products have you fallen in love with?

Winston The Kitten

Look how cute he is! Me and my boyfriend got a kitten today, and we already love him so much. His name is Winston and he's 16 weeks old, he's super tiny and has a cute little eye patch. He's going to be like a new best friend to me, and I'm really looking forward to being his mum! 

I think if you can, you should buy your kitten from a shelter. Unfortunately we couldn't, but we bought him from a lovely lady who shelters cats who need a home. It's growing more and more common to keep your cats indoors, and I really think this is a good idea (aslong as you have plenty of space for him/her to explore.) Or if you let them out, make sure you definitely get them microchipped. I heard about this GPS gagdet you can attach to their collars! So if they've been taken, they're lost or injured - you will know exactly where they are. Cool right!? 

Look forward to many more cute photos of Winston. Do you have a cat? What's their name and why?

Electra Heart

Here goes another copy cat make up look! I love love love Marina & The Diamonds and her Electra Heart look is amazing. She has dewy skin, rosy cheeks, thick eyebrows and HUGE false lashes (with individual lashes on the bottom.) And not to forget the heart on her cheek, I love how she's turned the classic drawn on beauty mole into something modern. Unfortunately I don't own a pair of false lashes - yes I know, it's terrible. I just have never wanted to wear them, so why waste the money? 

Here's a list of the products I used to recreate her look: 

Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream

Rimmel's Hide the Blemish Concealer 

17's Instant Glow Bronzer 

Natural Collection's Blushed Cheeks 

Revlon's ColorStay 16-Hour Eyeshadow In Addictive 

MUA's Immaculate Collection Pallete Shade 18 (as a highlight) 

Rimmel's Exaggerate Eye Liner 

Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Flex Mascara 

Benefit's They're Real Mascara (for bottom lashes) 

Do you like Marina Diamondis make up look? Who's you make up inspiration?

The Vintage Look

I have decided I must try out different make up looks to be slightly adventurous. Today I tried to mimic Dita Von Teese's make up, but I didn't end up looking like her at all due to my olive skin (damn you Arabic genes.) That's part of the reason I put the pictures in black and white - but I think it just adds to the vintage feel anyway. Dita has strong dark eyebrows, thick liner with a straight flick, bright ass red lipstick and a little fake black beauty mole below her eye. She always wears false lashes too, but I don't actually own a pair because my lashes are pretty long anyway. I think this is such a lovely look, I'm definitely going to try to do some vintage hairstyles too. 

I look more rockabilly here due to the scruffy hair and handkerchief headband. Oh well! 

Do you like vintage make up/hair styles? Maybe you should try it out too! 

Banana Bread

Baking is one of my favourite pastime but I've haven't made banana bread before. It's funny that they call it banana bread, it's not like you want to lather it in butter and make a ham sandwich with it. It's more like banana cake. I had a few bananas which were going a bit mank so I thought I'd put them to good use. 

Here's what ingredients you neeed

285g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

110g butter plus extra for greasing

225g caster sugar

2 free-range eggs

4 ripe bananas, mashed

85ml buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

And here's how you make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture.

5. Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.

6. Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.

7. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Rimmel Kate Moss Coral Lipstick 110

I usually stay away from wearing pink lipsticks and I'm not sure why. This lipstick has been sitting in my make up bag untouched for months, but I finally decided to start wearing it. 

I think this is such a pretty colour and is apparently a matte finish, but it doesn't feel that matte. I would honestly describe it as a gloss finish, but there you go. 

It currently retails at £5.49 and I really recommend this Kate Moss line. All the colours are super pretty, cheap and they last well. 

Home Accessories: Ebay Finds

Having a tidy, clean and pretty home makes me feel so much more relaxed and happy. Unfortunately home accessories seem to be so expensive these days, so I had a look on eBay to try and find a bargain. Firstly I found these 40 led battery powered fairy lights (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181042088310?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649) for £4.98 which is the cheapest I've been able to find. I bought two, one set winding around my bed frame and the other around my old Victorian mirror in the living room. They're so pretty! 

I also found this mirror. (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390603423904?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649) How cool is this mirror!? It's for my dressing table and I think it's so old fashioned and decorative. It cost me £22.95 but I honestly think it's worth it.

What homeware bargains have you found recently? 

Hair Oil: Almond vs. Argan

Hair oil is incredible as it benefits your hair in so many ways. It repairs and strengthens your hair, as well as making it silky and smooth. There are many types of hair oil but I have chosen to try out argan oil and almond oil. 

This is Phil Smith's Total Treat Argan Oil "Hair Transforming Cream." It currently retails at £10.99 per 100ml. The texture is creamy, and the smell is a pretty ordinary hair product smell (I'm rubbish at describing things.) I think this product is pretty good at getting rid of frizz and fly aways and has transformed my hair in the blink of an eye. However I don't feel like it actually repairs or strengthens my hair, but is more of just a product that is good for quickly fixing some hair troubles. Also, the price is a bit daunting. I do recommend this for anyone who wants a quick fix. 

This is Dabur Vatika Almond Enriched Hair Oil. It sells at around £1.50 per 200ml. This is an Indian product, and now I understand why Indian women have such beautiful hair. It smells very sweet and obviously like almonds, I think the smell is to die for. Over all I really love this product, I think it really does well to repair and permanently change your hair. It's recommended that you apply this through your ends and massage into the scalp and leave it over night which is a bit of a hassle. I use this once a week and my hair is so smooth and bouncy when before it was frizzy and dull. The price is a plus too! 

Summer Wishlist

Summer is coming and I am lacking some essentials. I've been really wanting a couple of pieces recently, so I thought I'd make a collage of them all! 

1. www.office.co.uk, £58 - I have been wanting some tan wedges for literally years. I wouldn't normally spend that much on a pair of shoes, but I think I'm going to have to because of how nice they look.

2. www.crownandglory.bigcartel.com, £15 - I literally stumbled across this website by searching "floral headband" on Google. They have so many colours and styles at a really good price. As I scrolled down I saw a picture of Zoella (www.zoella.co.uk) from yonks ago with a headband on that she'd bought! 

3. www.crownandglory.bigcartel.com, £15 - This is another of their headbands, both of them are so cute. 

4. www.topshop.com, £36 - This looks like the perfect simple sun dress, and I love the side detailing. They have the same dress in blue and and black too. I also love the crochet side detailing.

5. www.topshop.com, £38 - Topshop is so good for sun dresses. This dress reminds me of a 1920s frock some The Notebook or something. Ah I love it so much!!! 

6. www.azendi.com, £45 - Why aren't choker necklaces more in fashion? I think they're so cute. Remember the tattoo choker necklaces in the 90's? Now they were cool.

7. www.asos.com, £24 - Obviously sunglasses are a must have in the Summer. I especially love these from a brand called spitfire because they have flip up lenses. So if the sun goes away, just flip them up! 

What are your Summer must haves? 

T-Shirt DIY #2 Side Knots

Here's another DIY project I did today with an old white vest. The classic knot tie at the front has been quite popular these past couple of years, so I thought I'd try out doing side knots instead. It was even easier than the last t-shirt I did, and all I needed was a pair of scissors. It also only took 5 minutes! 

Grab a t-shirt that you barely use, in my case it was this white vest. It was totally unflattering as it flared out towards the bottom and made my top half resemble a triangle. Also grab a pair of scissors!

Start to cut the sides of the t-shirt on the seam, making it as straight as possible.

As you're cutting up, leave about 1-2 inches before the arm hole. 

Once you've finished cutting both sides, grab the end pieces from the front and back of the t-shirt and tie a knot on both sides. Use more fabric for the knot to make it a little more cropped. Pop the t-shirt on and adjust the knots if they're not at equal length. Done!

I think this is super cute and just right for Summer. Show me your t-shirt DIY projects!