Fluffy Skirts and Banana Milkshakes

Top - H&M | Skirt - Motel* | Bag - Betsey Johnson (thrifted) | Boots - Topshop

Okay, I know I only posted this skirt a few weeks back but here I am with it again. Staples are perfect for those days when you don't really know what to wear.  It doesn't take a fashion genius to throw on an oversized baggy top and a statement skirt, does it? I wore this out to lunch with my boyfriend when I was back at home last week. I tend to visit the vegan buddhist cafe a minimum of 5 times whenever I'm home from uni. Tofu salad and banana (rice)milkshake... yes please.

I would also love it if you nominated my blog in 'Best Personal Style - Newcomer' in the Company Blog Awards!  I've left it quite late because I wasn't sure if my blog really fit in with the category, but lately I've been including a lot more outfit posts so hope it does! It would really mean so much to be nominated so if you can spare a few seconds, I'd really appreciate it :)

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

Nominate Me For a Company Style Blogger Award? ♥

I know I'm a little bit late to the party with this but I've just thought, why not?! I know my blog has primarily been beauty but I hope over the past few months you've noticed the move towards personal style. It would really mean the world if you could nominate my blog here for Personal Style - Newcomer! I know it's a long shot and there are a lot of incredible blogs out there but your nomination would mean the world. I would be so so grateful and I can't even express how much it would be mean for my blog to be recognised, especially by Company, my all time favourite magazine. If you have a moment nominate - it will only take a minute of your time :) 

Thank you! 

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

FOREVER REPURCHASED

Four things I always have in my stash...

Origins Gin Zing Moisturiser - This is an example of giving into the beauty blogging hype, but one I don't actually regret. The light, gel-like consistency means that it sinks into your skin quickly without leaving it oily or irritated. My skin always feels refreshed and hydrated ready to put on foundation. No more morning freak outs realising that I'm going to need a good half an hour to smother my skin in Nivea. Plus, this little pot is definitely worth the money - I'm only on my second pot after using it every day since last August.

Benefit 'They're Real' - What can I really say besides I just love this mascara? I've tried out so many and nothing touches this. Plus, it lasts forever. Nothing will be replacing my beloved Benefit mascara anytime soon.

NARS Sheer Glow - Most days I go for a tinted moisturiser but my "special" foundation is always Sheer Glow. The perfect mid-point between matte and sheer, I love the luminous, immaculate finish this foundation gives.

L'Oreal Micellar Water - A must in my skincare routine. I'm not a fan of taking my make-up off with a cleanser so always use this pre-cleanse. It disolves your make-up and is far kinder to the skin than face wipes.

What are your most repurchased items? Do you use any of these?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

MOONS AND STARS

Crop Top (sold out but available in other colours) & Duster Jacket - Ette 

Skirt - MotelRocks* 

Flatforms - Jeffrey Campbell 

I somehow managed to wear nearly all of my my favourite brands at once in these photos... Jeffrey Campbell, Ette and Motel. I've been wearing this skirt from Motel to death lately. I'm pretty late to the moons and stars print party but I love it anyway. You can always count on Motel to bring out an infectious print. Their statement skirts are just so versatile and easy to throw on. I paired it with my Ette crop top and fringed jacket thinking this outfit wouldn't really "work" but somehow it did. If you aren't lusting after Ette's items on a weekly basis then you're missing out. I love their site, it's an amazing mixture of vintage / customised and new pieces. I'm a sucker for anything vintage that no one else will have, and Ette are perfect for that. I'll admit, my crazy witch girl jacket rarely leaves my wardrobe but I've decided I'm going to start getting it out a lot more often. I'm kind of dangerous in it, though. Glasses smashing, fringing getting tangled around other's peoples legs, etc,... Be warned.

Do you like this outfit?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

Building Up a MAC Palette #2: 'Embark' Matte Eyeshadow

MAC 'EMBARK' - £10.00

The MAC palette. It's that one item which gets every beauty blogger's heart racing. I have been chasing the thought of building up my own for some time - but it's an expensive, if not addictive, enterprise. Some of you may remember from this post that I recently bought a MAC quad. I started off with four shimmery staple shades. But now I've got the MAC virus - which mostly consists of obsessively googling swatches and forecasting my budget for the next year. Sigh. It's going to be a long and drawn out process, but I want to get it right. I've always loved collecting things and I find the idea of slowly putting together a beautiful palette of professional shades so exciting.  I'm going to be documenting my MAC journey as I add new shades and will be making the most of an audience of beauty experts. Basically, I need your advice.

Going Matte - I decided to go one step ahead and add a super dark brown shade to my collection. Embark is slightly too dark to be that one-wash wonder but it makes an incredible contour shade. I used to be all about the glitter. Matte shadows just felt too boring and like a waste of money. But Embark has definitely changed my mind - they add a whole extra element to your eyes which I just can't skip anymore.

My Style - Neutrals. Pastel pinks. Soft glitters. Golds. Lots of brown.

A Perfect Palette? - Something versatile, mostly consisting of the colours I listed, with a range of finishes but mostly glitters with maybe 4 staple matte shades. I'm open to versatility but anything too dark is a no. I'm still on the look out for that perfect highlighting shade, too.

Where You Come In - I want to know your must have shades, your tips for a perfect palette, the best finishes, what not to miss out.

What do you think of Embark? What shades would you recommend?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

EAT PRETTY: EASY AND HEALTHY 5 MINUTE VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

To make vegan cookies all you need are a few simple ingredients: 

Oats

Mashed Banana 

Coconut Oil / Sweetener of Your Choice (honey / maple syrup / agave) / (You could also substitute coconut oil for just sweetener and a little bit of water to bind)

Cacao Nibs 

Extras are totally up to you! I used: 

Raisins
Cacao Powder

Almonds 

Vanilla extract 

Cinnamon 

Shredded Coconut

After drooling over vegan cookies on Instagram I finally gave these a shot. To my amazement, they were incredibly easy to make and I whipped up a mixture in -5 minutes. These are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth whilst eating something incredibly healthy and nourishing.
All you do is use about 2 cups of oats, a mashed banana, add in your extras, bind with coconut oil and sweetener. If you don't already have coconut oil in your cupboard take this as an opportunity to go and buy some - the health benefits are insane. It really is trial and error and you can experiment with what you add in or add extra banana etc. I'm sure these would be lovely with just oats, nuts and banana. The banana does make the cookies very gooey so if you aren't a huge banana fan you might want to add in more ingredients / flavours. I particularly loved the raisins in this because cacao nibs are quite dry - you don't get that melted, gooey consistency from the chocolate chips. You then shape them into cookies and bake at 190 for around 15 minutes. But keep checking- they burn quickly!

Will you be trying these?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

TEEN IDLE | The Primark Mint Leather Skirt

Coat - Minkpink via Urban Outfitters 

Crop Top - H&M 

Skirt & Clutch - Primark

Boots & Bracelet - Topshop

You know those trends which you start off feeling nauseated by but end up falling for? Tartan. Check. Pastels? Check. I'm sure pastels become a trend every time spring comes around. I found myself saying in my much practiced Miranda Priestly tone, "Pastels, for Spring? Groundbreaking..." but there is something fun looking like a sweet shop gone wrong. I don't think I've ever been leaning towards so much colour in my life. I feel like you can have a lot of fun with pastels without being a total fashion victim.

This skirt has become one of my statement pieces this season. Everyone expects it to be an expensive brand, but nope, just a tenner from Primark. It's such great quality given the price and looks so cute on. Same for the clutch, I think I only paid £4-6 for it. I'm not one to do "Primark hauls" - I find the place too addictive and you come out with £50 worth of junk you don't need and then weep over wasted money. But every now and again I see something in there which I just have to have. 

I've been listening to a lot of Marina & The Diamonds lately which is what the title is all about. Is anybody with me in that Marina is pretty much singing about your life? 'Teen Idle' sums up mine. Maybe it's because I'm freaking about turning 20 in a few months. Sometimes I look back on my teenage years and think things like "I should've gone to prom", "I wonder what it's like to actually stay friends with people from school". I was so much a non-conformist that I even refused to write anything in the year book, even though those things would probably be hilarious to look back on now. Then I remind myself that I'm still kicking back in a pair of Dr Marteens and really don't care that much anyway. Yet here I am, giving into pastels. Funny what a little bit of a time can change.

Do you like this outfit? Are you wearing pastels?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

DIY OMBRE: BODY SHOP HAIR CHALKS

HAIR CHALKS BY THE BODY SHOP IN 'FALLING FOR BLUE' AND 'TICKLE ME PINK' - £5.00 EACH

You just have to change things up every now and again, right? I haven't coloured my hair in years. I used to be that girl in high school getting put in detention for having bright red hair. When I had to dye it brown to cover up the colour, I brought out those awful rainbow clip-in extensions. When they threatened to kick me out of school, I dyed my hair blonde to be ironic. Or to look like Courtney Love. Either way, my shot at irony by having the 'popular girl' hair colour kind of stuck. And left me with majorly damaged hair in the process. So I guess they won in the end.

I had a sudden realisation a few days ago that I haven't done anything "new" with my hair in a stupidly long time. That's when these hair chalks came in. They are the perfect way to get wash-in, wash out colour. I stay away from semi-permanent dyes because of the tinge they can leave in your hair, especially when it's light. It's taken years to achieve this shade of blonde and I'm not planning on messing it up any time soon. Although, changing up the colour is definitely addictive. I'm quite liking feeling like Clementine from the Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. And reliving my goth girl days, crazy hair, chokers, leather jackets and all. Maybe this is my late-teen crisis kicking in?

But onto the actual product. Application is really simple; you simply section your hair and glide the product over it with a cosmetic pad to keep the colour off your hands. It also helps with getting the most of the pigmentation as pressing the pad against the product allows you to pick up the maximum colour. It does get quite messy so be prepared to put a towel over your shoulders unless you want whatever you're wearing to get ruined. But once the product is set I haven't found that it leaves marks on anything.

Everyone knows that hair chalks are drying on your hair. I already have dry hair so I deep condition before using this and prep my hair with a good serum. You have to set it with hair spray which dries it out even more. I finished the look by adding texture spray to my roots, the lengths were a no-go given how dry it already felt. Then I added another layer of serum on top - it needed it. So cons? The dry texture, but that's a given. The idea of hair chalks isn't for daily use - it's for those ones where you want to make an impact. So they are great for one-off occasions, festivals, parties etc. Plus, at £5, you really can't complain.

Overall, I really like this product and I'm glad I picked it up. I achieved the more purple look in the photos by layering the blue and pink over each other to get the super cute mermaid hair effect. I love it. But the block pink and blue looks awesome on its own. You can definitely have a lot of fun with these!

Would you try these? What do you think of this DIY look? 

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

BUBBLE GUM HEART

 

SKIRT - MOTEL ROCKS * | CHOKER - BLACK SHEEP BOUTIQUE | BAG - BETSEY JOHNSON | FLATFORMS - JEFFREY CAMPBELL 

I am back with an outfit post after a month or so of slacking! I'm sorry for being a lousy blogger lately, my life has literally been taken over by essays but I am a free girl for now. I finally bought a remote for my camera so I'm hoping to get lots of outfit posts up whilst I'm home for Easter. I think I say this every time but I am determined to start making my blog more of a "fashion" blog. I go through phases of being really uninspired but right now I have about 3 lists of posts I want to do. Gotta stay ambitious, right?!
How cute is this skirt from Motel? I just can't get enough of pastels right now, it's a trend I didn't expect to fall in love with. I kept this outfit really simple with a little love heart choker, bowler hat and flatforms. I literally have been wearing this skirt to death - it just works with everything!

Do you like this skirt? How would you style it? Are you over-doing pastels like me? 

Lydia Rose,

xoxo

MAC HAUL

Once you go MAC, you never go back. Cliché but true. Being a beauty blogger means that I am constantly reading about and lusting after new brands and items I don't exactly need. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing brands out there. But for me, MAC will always get the first place trophy.

There were so many things I had been coveting. I initially went in with a dark matte shadow for my palette and the infamous 217 brush in mind. Luckily an MUA was actually on hand without a life-long queue (shocker, right?) and she suggested 'Embark' for a dark shade. I tend to stay away from expensive matte shades because I feel that the ones in my NAKED palette suffice. But as soon as I tried this only I realised it just goes beyond them. Sorry UD, but once again MAC gets my vote. This looks incredible for a grunged up make-up look and as a contour shade for a smokey eye. I'll definitely be investing in some more matte shades in the future.

The MAC 217 Brush is a staple in pretty much every beauty blogger and vlogger's make up bag. I feel that I know enough about make-up and treat it as much as a hobby now to invest in some professional tools.  I'm completely in love with the effects this brush gives and it takes my make-up to a new dimension. My only problem with it is, as you can probably tell in the photo, since washing it once the hair has already started to stray slightly. If you have any tips on how to wash the brush to avoid this please leave them below!

The 'Let Me Pop' Paintpot does exactly what it says - makes your eyes pop. It's a really pretty shimmery cream shadow to pat all over the lid or makes an amazing base. It really brings out the shimmer in your eyeshadow when applied over the top and makes it much more long lasting. Finally, after seeing the 'Teddy' Eyeliner in Jayde's make-up video I'd been obsessing after it ever since. I'm not normally one to cash out on eyeliners but this has definitely been worth the ££. It's an intense, bronzey-brown with a golden shimmer running through it. When I'm not feeling thick black liner this makes a nice alternative and actually compliments my eyes a lot more.

What do you think of this haul? Have you bought anything new lately?

Lydia Rose,

xoxo