Spring Time Florals

I don't know about you, but I'm finding all this grey sub-zero weather a little boring now.

I'm lusting after waking up to sunshine dappling through the blinds, ciders on the terrace and the first sightings of Daffodils poking their heads out of the earth.

Yes, I am lusting after Spring.

I think it would be silly to think that we are out of the chilly weather here in the UK, so instead I', looking for other ways to get a little sunshine and Spring-time happiness in my life.

Namely, my wardrobe!

Asos, £65

Asos, £45

Topshop, £26

Oasis, £55

Topshop, £65

These jeans are my favourite, they're fab!

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

7 Beauty Sins

1. GREED What is your most inexpensive beauty product and your most expensive?

I love MUA's eye shadow palettes, which retail at £4 each which I think is just outstanding value. 

One of my more expensive 'beauty' purchases has been Fitch by Abercrombie & Fitch which costs about £50 which for a clothing store fragrance is pretty outrageous!
But, I do just love the scent, even though it's actually intended for guys I just love it. Plus I always get compliments for it!

  

2. WRATH Which beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? 

I really can't make up my mind up about Collection 2000 Concealer. Sometimes I think it looks okay, but a lot of the time I find that it just sits on my skin and makes it look wrinkly! But I hear so many good reviews that I just can't bring myself to throw it out!

3. GLUTTONY What is your most delicious beauty product?

Well, I have two!
The first is another MUA product. Their collaboration with Love Hearts produced my favourite lip balms in the world, and they just smell SO delicious! They are a mix of vanilla ice cream and candy - I really love them! (See here for my initial review.) 
Sweet Kiss is my favourite.

My other yummy beauty product is Dirty Works' Coconut Caress Body Butter. It's a great moisturiser that makes my skin really smooth and soft with the massive bonus of how gorgeous it smells! I love that after I've used it my room smells great too!

4. SLOTH Which beauty products do you neglect due to laziness?

I don't think I wash my face enough. 
Now, before you think I'm a horribly smelly ogre that doesn't shower - stop right there! Of course I wash my face in the shower!
But, I use face wipes most days to take off my make up, but I really would like to follow this up with a face wash. 
My two favourites are Superdrug's Tea Tree and Peppermint Face Wash which I use when I'm feeling a little spotty.

My other face wash is Clearasil's Daily Clear Vitamins and Extracts Wash Mask. It's great as it can also be used as a face mask! 

I really should just take the 5 minutes each night to really make sure all the make up is washed off my face. 

5. PRIDE  Which beauty products give you the most self confidence?

I always feel better when my skin has a little bit of a sun kissed glow, so my first confidence product is fake tan. A lot of people think you need to spend a lot of money on tans, but I stand by Boot's own which retails at £8.99 which compared to how much you can spend on tans is really good value. I find that Soltan's Beautiful Bronze in Medium to Dark does the trick!

My other confidence boosting product is O.P.I.'s I'm Not Really A Waitress. Some of you might think this is a bit of a funny choice, but I always notice people's nails and I think how people care for their nails tells you a lot about them ...a little shallow I know! 

This is my favourite nail polish, putting it on just makes me feel a little more put together even if I'm not wearing much make up. (See my review of the polish here.)

So these were my 7 Beauty Sins, I had a lot of fun writing this and I am now determined to use face wash tonight! Haha!

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

The Oscars

I was really looking forward to oooo-ing and ahh-ing at the glamorous ladies' dresses from The Oscars last night.

But if I'm honest, I'm not totally blown away, boo.

Having said that they actually do all look stunning but you know...I've just seen them look better.

Maybe when you're an A-Lister The Oscars just get a little mundane and boring and you just throw any old thing on....(Meow!) 

Here are my favourite looks from the night.

Both Jennifer Lawrence's and Anne Hathaway's dresses took me all day to like. When I saw them this morning, I really wasn't impressed. I thought Jennifer looked like she was wearing old curtains(Sorry Dior!) and I just didn't think Anne's was flattering. 

BUT, now I've totally fallen in love with Jennifer's gown but I'm still on the fence about Anne's.

I don't think many women could pull off this colour but it looks perfect on Jessica Chastain.

Forget Selema, but how lovely does Vanessa Hudgens look? Such a babe!

I didn't actually think much of Jennifer Aniston's dress (so I won't show it to you!) but this photo caught my eye, they just look so in love! 

Now, I think I've saved the best for last. Wait, scratch that! This is by far the worst outfit of the night...

Brandi Glanville...you need to take a long hard look at yourself, I mean that outfit? To The Oscars?

No. Just no.

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

Pamper Yourself With Wahanda

 I had a bit of a pampering day today.

And better than that, it was a reasonably priced pampering day!

I booked myself a haircut at Parlour Hair via the voucher website Wahanda. This meant I got my hair cut and styled for a measly £15!

Parlour was a really lovely salon, if you’re in Birmingham I recommend that you check it out!

And I recommend that everyone check out Wahanda.com. They have all sorts of vouchers and money-off deals on lots of beauty/health/pampering activities, no catch!

After my hair cut I went to Boots and had my brows tinted and waxed at the Benefit counter.

The Benefit girls were super friendly and put concealer on my brow area after to cover up the redness! And the brow wax and tint was only £18 which I think is pretty good value.

All in all it was a lovely day and I feel a lot better about myself, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Now, I’m off to try and emulate the style that my hairdresser did to my hair, making it lush and voluptuous!

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

Shoes For Your Feet

I love heels.

Usually I go for one with a nice platform or chunky heel.

But recently something has been creeping up on me.

Something weird.

I want to see more...foot.

Suddenly I'm gushing over strappy sandles where the foot-to-shoe ratio is at the opposite end of the spectrum to my usual preference.

What's more. I've never liked the word 'stiletto'. I always thought it was a bit chavvy. But now, it's scattered all over my internet browsing history. 

I think it has a lot to do with Carrie...

Anyway, here are a few of my favourite feet-baring stilettos of the moment.

1. £99, Dune.
2. £15, Kurt Geiger.
3. £75, Kurt Geiger.
4. £790, Net-a-Porter.
5. $100, Aldo.
6. £45, Asos.

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

A Fool For Tulle

For as long as I can remember I have been in awe of Carrie’s Versace Couture dress that she wears in Paris.

I just think that is breathtakingly beautiful.

A thousands of layers of delicate tulle, what could be more romantic!

Now that my Graduation Ball (Eek!) is on the horizon, I’m starting to look at dresses to wear to the big event.

In a dream world I would wear Carrie’s dress, but sadly I don’t think Versace or Couture are in the budget…damn.

There are some nice dresses with a nod to tulle and Carrie, but they don’t quite get it right for me…

Coast, £160

Lipsy at Asos, reduced to £66.50

Milano,com, £32.50

FreePeople.com, £444

The one exception is this almost sickly sweet dress which I would love to wear. But at £444 it is but a dream…

FreePeople.com

I love the sweetheart ballerina neckline and the dusty pink is the perfect hue.

However, all is not lost.

Lipsy's new V.I.P. spring range is promising!

£95

£100

£110

I only wish that they were in more delicate pastel colours. But, I think I will be keeping my eyes on these.

No harm in popping into town to try a few on is there!

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

Fabulous Febrarury

I don't know about you guys, but I am so excited that it is February!

Seriously, the whole 3 days of it so far have been sunny (although very windy and still cold - boo!) and for some reason I have just been in the best mood!

Thanks to February, not only do we have Valentine's Day to look forward to (See here.) But, we also have PANCAKE DAY!

With February also comes the invasion of all things spring-y to the shops. Here is what I have my eyes on...

1. This lovely pale pink top has a slash neck (which I am so in to right now!) and is only £4 in the sale at Dorothy Perkins!  

2. This dress is beautiful. Such a classic shape, cinching in at the waist and floating out over the hips plus there's more shoulder action as it is slightly off the shoulder! From Topshop.

3. This sparkly embellished collar by Karl Lagerfeld is the perfect way to snazz up a crisp white shirt.

Available from Net-a-Porter. 

4. I've not been brave enough to purchase a leotard yet, but perhaps this one will be my first? Here.

5. Another lovely summer dress. Champagne picnic anyone?

Jack Wills, £39

6. Spring time jeans in sweet pastels from New Look, only £16.99

7. Another item that I am a little afraid of, hats. But this one is so dreamy, surely it's worth it? Just £12.50 from Uniqlo.

8. This one is a bit of a wish upon a star kinda thing. I've had my eye on this stunning metallic pink mac from Burberry for a few months now. I mean, does it get any better than this?

Burberry, £2,000.

9. I love to spruce up an outfit with a flash of leopard print. These £8 pumps from H&M are perfect, and guilt free!

10. Finally, a dip dye jumper. I'm not sure that dip dye hair is the right way for me. So, I'll get it out my system with this sweater from Fashion Union.

These are my picks for February, what are yours?

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB

Nail Art Theft

As previously mentioned, my camera is broken.

Now, being a blogger being an aspiring blogger I understand that a camera is pretty essential to presenting an enjoyable blog.

But, being a student I understand that I cannot just go and buy anything my heart desires at the drop of a hat. (Or the drop of a camera in this case, dropped and then trampled on - boo.)

However, I will not let this tragedy prevent me from sharing something with you.

I am going to steal borrow from another blogging site...! But I promise, you'll think the crime will be worth it when I show you the goodies!

So without further ado, here is an amazing nail art tutorial from The Beauty Department.

See! Didn't I tell you it would be worth the theft?!

The Beauty Department is a blog with contributions from various people, including star of The Hills Lauren Conrad!

As I'm getting in the mood for V-day I thought I would try this out.

I painted the base with Barry M's Strawberry Ice Cream and used selotape instead of Washi Tape - which I've never actually heard of. Is this an American thing? - And to do the heart detail I painted over with Barry M's inspiringly titled Red Glitter. 

The selotape worked pretty well and only took a tiny bit of the nail polish off. I think this might have been because I only painted the base layer a few hours before I did the heart.

So if you can't get your hands on this Washi Tape, do not fear!

My housemate S said she thought it was cute but that it would be awful to actually wear on V-day.

What do you think? Too cheesy?

Follow @hummingbirdxxxB