#julylondonmeetup photos and vlog

on saturday I went up to London for the #julylondonmeetup organised by the amazing Helen, she'd been planning it for what seems like forever and you can definitely tell- it was such a lovely weekend! I did a vlog of the whole weekend but I'm rubbish at remembering to film so sorry it's a bit all over the place! It was so lovely to finally meet everyone- especially Lauren who I've known for like two years but hadn't met yet!

On the saturday I met Ellie for a quick drink before we headed down to Tiger Tiger and did lots of chatting and got amazing lace eyelashes applied to us by Paperself- I went for the rose ones which are so cute! After that we did some shopping, topshop photoboothing and then went for food- there was even some dancing in the street to One Direction which got us lots of strange looks from people on the buses! The Sunday was very relaxed and a few of us went shopping and just had a girly day out which was lovely! It was so nice to finally meet everyone and I hope everyone that went had a really good time as I did!

I'm currently getting around to sorting out the videos I have from New York so I can upload a vlog, I stayed at Helen's for a couple of days after the #julylondonmeetup and only got home late last night so I haven't had a chance yet but they will be up soon!

Here's some links from people I met, don't forget to check them all out as they're all amazing and have such good blogs which I'm sure you'll love!
Helen
Ellie
Lauren
Sam
Ana
Clare
Natalie
Jordan
Christina
Vicky
Grace
Kat

my top five favourite lipsticks

Seeing as I'm such a lipstick junkie I thought I would do a video showing you my top five favourites! Sorry there's not much brand variety here by the way but I tend to stick with Revlon and if I want to treat myself I get a mac one!

night time skincare routine for combination acne prone skin

my skin is combination and acne prone and when I asked if this post was something you wanted to see I got a good response so here it is! I like to keep my skincare routine quite minimal  as I don't enjoy taking my makeup off so the quicker the better for me! I also don't like lots of heavy products sat on my skin so I favour ones which sink in quickly and don't leave residue sat on the surface of my skin overnight.

EYES: Firstly I remove my eye makeup with the L'Oreal gentle eye makeup remover. I like this one as it's very gentle and doesn't sting but it does a good job at removing eye makeup- it's also resonably priced too!

CLEANSE: Then I use the Emma Hardie moringa cleansing balm and a wet flannel to remove my face makeup. This is my favourite part of the routine as the cleanser smells amazing and feels so luxurious on the skin. It also leaves your skin very soft which is great! I bought the cleansing balm after skincare queen Caroline Hirons raved about it so many times. It's pricy so it might be worth trying to find a tester pot to buy before getting the full size so you don't waste your money

TONE: Next I use the Pixi Glow tonic all over my skin to tone and efoliate. This was also a Hirons inspired purchase, I'm going to be controversial though and say I don't really see the hype around it but maybe that's just me! I don't dislike it as it leaves your skin feeling refreshed but it just seems a bit 'meh' to me- nothing special and quite expensive for what it is

MOISTURISE: Then I use the Lush vanishing cream as a moisturiser. This is perfect for people who's skin can sometimes get oily as it's very lightweight and sinks in easily and doesn't leave a residue which heavier ones often can. I like using it at night time too as it's got lavender in which is a nice night time scent
BLEMISH TREATMENT: I leave the moisturiser to sink in for around 10 minutes and then I dab the origins super spot remover onto any blemishes. I really liked this when I first got it but I think my skin has gotten immune to it or something as I don't think it really does anything any more, boo! (Sorry I forgot to include it in the photo by the way but I didn't have time to take the photos again!)

LIP BALM: I then finish it off by using Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream on my lips, eyelashes and eyebrows to put some moisture back into them

I don't know if this was interesting or something you would like to see more of but if it is then please let me know as I can do one for my morning routine etc!

everyday hair routine for long wavy hair

I always get loads of comments and questions on my hail (I don't know why as it's a mop most of the time and I hardly even brush it aha!) My hair is very long and wavy and can be frizzy at times. I also haven't had it cut in almost a year, shhh don't tell anyone!



OH AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 1,000 YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBERS WOOOO!



I was sent the ghd style and protect gift set for review purposes and I have featured it in a fishtail plait hair tutorial post. This does not influence my opinion and it is 100% honest as always

watermelon nails

it's not such a secret that I have a small massive obsession with watermelons (we're talking top, phone case, nails etc) so I thought I'd take up Laura's request and paint my nails with watermelons and then take photos with a watermelon wohoo! (do you reckon I can say watermelon any more?!) I would of taken these photos while wearing my american apparel watermelon top but it' s packed for holiday, boo!

Anyway if you're wondering how I did these nails then I've done a watermelon nail tutorial so check that out if it's something that interests you! Please let me know what you thought of this post- I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different for a change!

collective clothing haul

I know it always goes down well when I do a haul so I thought I would do another one! As I explain in hte video this is mostly clothing because I did a beauty haul not too long ago, enjoy! My YouTube channel is islaayx by the way!

magic scratch paper inspired nail art tutorial

The Lady Boys of Bangkok have teemed up with Bad Apple Cosmetics to allow me to do a fun nail art tutorial for you all! I've done something a bit different inspired by that scratch paper you used to get as a child where it would be colourful underneath with a black layer on top which you would scratch off in a pattern to reveal the bright colours underneath! This is very different to my usual pretty floral nails so I hope you like it for a bit of a change!
Also how do you like this layout for a tutorial? Is it good or shall I stick to how I normally do the photos and put it into a grid?

♥ start off by painting a base coat to protect your nails- I used the top and base coat from Bad Apple Cosmetics

♥ paint random colours on your nails in whatever pattern you want (this can be as neat or as messy as you want it to be as it will be covered up! I chose to use 'mint candy apple' by Essie and 'barn' by Bad Apple Cosmetics as they were a nice contrast to the colour I used for the top layer

♥ using striping tape (mine is from the Rio professional nail art collection* but you can find it cheap on eBay/amazon) to make a pattern of lines across your nail. This must be done when the polish beneath is completely dry and I'd wait a good half an hour if I was you before putting the tape on to prevent the polish underneath from peeling off once you remove the tape!

♥ Paint a thin layer of the top colour over the nail- I used 'almata' from Bad Apple Cosmetics. While it's still wet peel away the tape, I find it's easiest using tweezers as it can be quite fiddly at times as the pieces of tape are tiny, sticky and covered in nail polish- loveeeely!

♥ once it's all completely dry finish with a top coat to prevent chips and make it last longer- I used the Bad Apple Cosmetics top and base coat to finish the design off

this is a very versatile design as you can use any colour combination you want! I like using the striping tape as it's fairly easy to use and gives very precise lines which would be very hard to make with a striper brush.

The Bad Apple nail polishes retail for £9.95 and are available here

You can check out the Lady Boys of Bangkok's Facebook and Twitter pages too to find out more

I was sent the Bad Apple Cosmetics nail polish to feature in a nail art post but this does not influence my opinion on them and it is 100% honest as always

I never ever did it for a throne

playsuit: lashes of london
necklace: eBay
shoes: river island
lipstick: 'coral tonic' by maybelline

this is the second thing I have from Lashes of London, the first is this dress which I'm absolutely in love with- can I just have everything off of the Lashes website please?! Oh and I thought I would mention, the customer service there is amazing, there was a mix up with my order and the wrong size was accidentally sent but Chanelle was great at sorting it and the right size arrived the next day!

My shoes really don't match with the playsuit but I didn't really know what to wear with it, any ideas please let me know! I can't wait to wear this outfit in the summer, it's so summery!

I'm loving this lipstick at the moment too, it's my first coral lipstick and it's perfect for the warm weather we've been having recently- more sun please!

day to night outfit

here is an outfit idea going from day to night- this would be perfect if you were shopping during the day and then out for dinner and drinks in the evening with the change of the shoes and the addition of the blazer to make it more dressy!
Please let me know if you like this sort of post/video so I can do more ones that are similar!

Day outfit:
♥ dress: H&M
♥ shoes: sebago
♥ bow: birdcage bows*
♥ necklace: eBay (18" one)
♥ watch: river island

Night outfit:
♥ dress: H&M
♥ blazer: lashes of london*
♥ necklace: eBay (18" one)
♥ shoes: amazon
♥ bag: accessorize
♥ watch: river island

I love the blazer from Lashes of London, it's the type of thing that will go with loads of outfits and it's very versatile! It's made of a cream fabric with cream lace over the top which you can't really see in the photos but you can in the video so make sure you watch the video (it's only two minutes long!) p.s. the blazer is currently half price in the sale!! Also how cute is the bow from Birdcage Bows! I love the print on it and I've been wearing it loads since I got it! They have so many different colours and styles avaliable so make sure you check them out (they're also very affordable too!) I have the medium size which is perfect for me, I've worn it like it is in the photos, at the back of my head, at the end of a fishtail plait and at the back of my head with a bun- perfect!

please let me know what you think of this sort of post and don't forget to check out Lashes of London and Birdcage Bows!

destiny is calling me

shirt: next via oxfam
shorts: vintage levi
shoes: sebago
watch: river island
necklace: eBay (buy the 18" length)
lipstick: revlon 'cherries in the snow'

I picked this shirt up in an oxfam in Nottingham when I was staying at Ellie's house the other day, I think I paid £3 for it so it was a massive bargain! I love the baby blue and white stripes on it too, I think they look really cute and perfect for summer! 

I've had loads of requests for a hair routine recently, is that something you'd like to see? What else did you want me to write up? New York wish list? Everyday makeup? Skincare routine? Please let me know if you have any suggestions as I'm kinda stuck for ideas at the moment!