Guest Post by JustEllie | Makeup For Pale People...What?

Today's post is a guest post by the fabulous Ellie Hawkins of JustEllie. Be sure to check out her blog and follower her on Twitter!

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As many of us out there in the big wide world are extremely pale (I know I am) we find it hard finding  makeup for milky white skin impossible to actually get "ivory" makeup without the orange tinge. For Christmas last year, I received NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia. After the hype of course it was on my Christmas List! I must say, yes it's pale and a good colour match but for £1 it's expensive for what it is. I find that with certain primers and powders that throughout the day, the foundation actually separates which isn't flattering at all and makes me so self conscious to wear it as I feel like I need to constantly pop to the toilet to top up. After realising that it's the foundation reacting with my other face products, I went on the hunt...

Before getting NARS Sheer Glow, I was using a No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Calico which I found too dark, but after practicing as well as using my new pale makeup which is from Tesco, it's a match made in heaven! I was on the hunt to find a new powder and concealer a few days before a party and I came across Barbara Daly which is perfect for pale skin!

I found the powder so silky and soft as well as being pale (practically white) as well as the concealer being so silky as well as creamy which makes a change compared to Collection 2000 Concealer, which was actually too pale for me (yes I am that white haha!). The staying power of both of these products are great especially for their price tag! I seriously advise you all take a look at the Barbara Daly range the next time you're in Tesco, as not only do I swear by them, but so does my Mum!

I hope this is helpful for all you pale people out there, let me know your makeup you've found for fair skin!

Ellie x

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GiftBuzz Interview & Wish List

I was emailed by the lovely Frederica at Gift Buzz, designed to help you browse tonnes of unique and interesting gift ideas for any occasion, and even save them to your wish list and buy them online later! It's filled with an array of goodies from baby and adult clothing and accessories to home ware and entertaining gadgets. I was asked to create my own Wish List, showcasing all of my favourite gift ideas from their website and then was asked to take part in an interview about my experiences being a 'Plus-Size Blogger in a Size 8 World'

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Check Out My Interview Here

Check Out What's On My Wish List Here

My Wish List is filled with weird and wonderful things, so I hope you enjoy looking at them! Let me know in the comments below what you think of the items I chose, which is your favourite one, and what you thought of my interview!

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Guest Post by Sophie Wood | Perfectly Defined Brows

Today's post is a guest post by the fabulous Sophie Wood of Slogger. Be sure to check out her blog and follower her on Twitter!

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Hi! I'm really excited to be writing my first guest post! My name is Sophie and I'm 21, from England. I am very passionate about beauty and will be attending Beauty College in September to become a therapist! I thought I would start with an introduction...so let's get down to the actual post.

My post is going to be about how to give yourself defined brows at home. They are similar to the HD Brows but don't have the same fancy name. The keen beauty people will notice I didn't do threading but that is near impossible to do on yourself...I'm very sorry in advance for the close up photos of my face...

So I thought I would do a before shot.

So, there is my face. Yep. There I am. No, I am not in the nude, I am wearing a boob tube dress thingy!

First of all you need to tiny your brows. I use Refectocil in the shade natural brown because it is the best colour to use. With natural brown you are able to use as little or as much as you want. If you want dark brows leave it on for longer and vice versa. So, you have a little bowl and squeeze about 2cm of the Refectocil in. You then need to add 5 drops of the 3% Oxidant. If you want to use a larger amount you would need 4cm of Refectocil to every 10 drops of the 3% Oxidant. You would only use that much if you are doing eyelashes AND eyebrows.

So once you add the drops it should look like this. Mix it up for about 1 minute to get a stodgy consistency. It is then ready to apply. Use a small brush to apply as it is better at controlling the tint.

If you want to only get a lighter tint then only lightly brush across the hair; do not get it on the skin if possible. I wanted a darker brow as that is popular right now so you need to push harder to get the tint onto the skin - that way you will ensure a darker shade. (Not the prettiest photo..). I left mine on for 45 seconds to ensure a dark colour but not jet black as that would not suit my skin tone. When done, simply wipe off with Aloe Vera gel.

So, hopefully in this photo you can see that my brow, untidy as it is, is not a lot darker. If you are not happy with the shade, then simply add some more tint for a shorter time. But make sure you do the same on the other brow!

After doing the same to the next brow it is time for the painful part, the waxing. I use a small wax pot and "just wax" in the sensitive skin make. I do not have sensitive skin but it is always best to have a sensitive skin tub just in case. So, using a thin waxing stick pull down the hair in the SAME direction as the hair growth. Apply a medium thickness of wax to ensure you get the hair off - too thick wax and you can end up with bruising - not attractive.

Pop the wax strip on and push a lot of pressure on the strip. Too little pressure and you won't get any hair off - and you'll bruise. Pull the wax strip off in the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. It just makes sense right?

As you can see, I have done the wax in two parts. I could have done it all in one but if there was a little bit of wax on the larger chunks of hair that would come right off and I would have a gap in my brow - not attractive. Doing the waxing in two parts allows you to control the hair you remove. Continue with the top part of the brow and the middle too. Repeat on the other side.

Next up you may need to remove some small hairs that the wax won't take up so use a pair of tweezers to remove these. Now, after this step you would move onto the threading but as I have already explained that would be impossible on yourself, but if you would like a demo let me know (you can follow the link to my blog and contact me here). So, next we move onto trim. Yes that's right, we're going to trip the brows.

Using a brush, comb your hair upwards and you'll see that some chunks are higher than others. That is a no go. Using stork scissors, trim those hairs that are sticking up further than others. This is a tricky part but you need to really concentrate on this.

Your brows have been pulled, pushed, waxed, trimmed, plucked and tinted. You're finished! You should take this moment to step back from the mirror and look at both brows together. Whilst you do this please remember that brows are sisters, not twins. One may be higher than the other but that is due to the way your face is - no face is perfectly symmetrical.

So, there you go. I really hope you enjoyed my guest post and I look forward to looking at your comments below

xoxo

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To The Beach | Collaboration With Sally Wills

This week, I have been working along side fellow Plus Size blogger, Sally Wills on a fashion and lifestyle guest post, inspired by Sally's amazing 'To The Beach' series on her blog. Our challenge was to create a beach style for the other blogger and give our top five tips on body confidence and accentuating our curves for the upcoming summer months!

Through talking to Sally and drawing inspiration from her previous blog posts, I got the impression that Sally was a confident and had a unique personality. Sally screams a combination of a girly, colourful and sometimes vintage personality to me, which I really wanted to bring through in my style creation for her.

You can check out Sally's post in our 'To The Beach' collaboration on her blog here:

or by following Sally on Twitter to keep up to date with her posts here:

@SallyWills

Through talking to Sally and drawing inspiration from her previous blog posts, I got the impression that Sally was a confident and had a unique personality. Sally screams a combination of a girly, colourful and sometimes vintage personality to me, which I really wanted to bring through in my style creation for her.

My Style Creation for Sally
[All images are courtesy of the corresponding online stores, I do not own the right to any of the images used]

Tropical Cheeky Bikini Top // Forever 21 // £14

Tropical Cheeky High-Waisted Bikini Shorts // Forever 21 // £12

Embellished Woven Jersey Beach Kaftan // Very // £27

I chose the floral print bikini as it was something girly that I think really expressed Sally's personality. I also loved the style of the top and shorts; the top has extra support under the bust area, which can be very flattering to a larger figure - at least it's something that always makes me feel more confident when wearing high cut or bikini tops. I also love the strap detailing, as it draws attention to the upper bust and away from the stomach area - something that I swear by for accentuating a plus size figure. I'm really loving the high-waisted styling of a lot of bikini shorts at the moment as they are very flattering, drawing attention to the curves around the waist, and the cut out sections give it a more unique look. I also loved the vintage style pattering and colour combinations which scream summer to me. The bold patterns are also very flattering to a plus size figure. I wanted to keep the cover-up really simple, due to the bold colours on the bikini. I chose the Very kaftan because the flowing style is very slimming and I think it's a really nice length. One of the major issues a lot of my plus size friends have is their upper arms, so I wanted something which would cover the upper arms, but still have an element of see through-ness (this is the only word I can think of to describe it!). I wanted to keep a colourful element to the styling to suit Sally's personality, though, and I really loved the green embellishment on the neckline, which I think went well with the colours in the bikini also.

Juicy Couture Desert Glass Beach Tote // Simply Be // £86

Imogen Oversized Sunglasses // Simply Be // £9.99

Coral Leather Beaded Strap Sandals // New Look // £19.99

As I stuck to black as the main colour for the clothing, I wanted to add some bright colours to the accessories I chose for Sally. I am really loving the photographic elements to bags at the moment, and I thought that this desert bag from Simply Be was perfect for any kind of beach, especially with the bright pink sunglasses design. I also really liked the turquoise colour in the bag as I think it's a colour that goes really well with Sally's brown hair. I didn't want to stick to one colour for the accessories, but wanted to keep a similar under-colour running through, so I went for a pink as this colour. I like the coral colour in the sandals, as they don't draw attention away from the bikini with their pale colour, but can make skin look more tanned being a light colour. I love the strap design in these, as well as them being wide fit. I chose the New Look sunglasses for their peachy undertones, as well as their main colour of purple, which I think goes really well with Sally's brown hair and are much more fun than standard black sunglasses.

My Top Five Tips & Tricks For Plus Size Beach Bodies

1 | Sexy Doesn't Mean Slutty; Every woman wants to feel sexy, whether it's for someone else or for their own self confidence. Unfortunately, a lot of women and girls in the modern age think that they have to wear next to nothing to look sexy - but this couldn't be more false! Wearing clothing that flatters your figure and accentuates your best features, whether that's choosing colours to make your eyes stand out or drawing attention to a specific body part, is incredibly sexy. For plus size figures, wearing high waisted bikini shorts can help to smooth down the problem areas, as well as accentuating your natural curves.

2 | Take Good Care Of Your Skin; Healthy skin can help to boost your confidence ten-fold, no matter of your size. I use Bio-Oil every other day on my problem areas, especially on my upper arms and my thighs, which help to reduce cellulite and really boost my confidence. Before using the Bio-Oil I used to hate wearing sleeveless tops and shorts/skirts, but now I am much more confident in doing so.

3 | Don't Hide In Dark Colours; Whilst black can be a slimming colour in some senses, style plays a big part in this too. Just sticking on a black swimsuit won't shed any pounds from how people perceive you. By not hiding in the shadows and wearing brighter colours that compliment your personality as well as your skin tone and hair colour can not only boost your confidence, but can help other people to see past the shape or size of your body and concentrate on you, the person.

4 | Choose Your Clothing Carefully; One of the major issues I have being plus size is that I fall in love with so many fashionable trends that don't suit me and tend to waste money on buying things that don't suit me just because they are in fashion, rather than choosing clothes that suit my body shape. This is no different when it comes to beach wear. Whilst I love fashion, and love keeping up with the trends, you don't have to own every trend going to look fashionable and feel confident about yourself. There is so many trends out there, sticking to the ones which flatter your body shape won't mean you will be left with nothing to wear.

5 | "Haters Gonna Hate"; Why should you let the way some stranger will glance at your for no more than a few seconds ruin your time? Having fun and brushing off looks from strangers is something that is incredibly difficult to do, and something that I have struggled with on numerous holidays. I know, it's an incredibly difficult thing to do, ignoring people who may be judging you for the shape of your body, but you will never meet them again, and their opinions and meanness should have no direct affect on how you feel about yourself. Remember, you have friends and family who love you for you, and if you keep telling yourself that, you will be able to have fun. The more fun you allow yourself to have, the less you will be bothered by other people. The best time I have had on a beach is when I ignored all the other people and decided I was going to go on the banana boat, despite all my friends being skinny and looking, what I thought at the time, as much better than me. What I realised after going on the banana boat was that I was so involved in having fun and enjoying myself (as well as clinging on for dear life to the banana) that the way I looked didn't bother me at all. People are judgemental and will have their opinions whether you are petit, plus size, short or tall - ignore them and focus on yourself - you'll have a much better time!

I hope you have enjoyed my first collaboration! Don't forget to check out Sally's post on her blog [[The Human Mannequin]] to see what beautiful outfit choices she has made for me. If you have enjoyed this collaboration and would like to see more or if you have some more tips and tricks for beach body confidence, let me know in the comments down below!

www.forever21.com // www.very.co.uk // www.simplybe.com // www.newlook.com