/*--------------MBT Reply Link --------------*/ .MBT-replycomments{ background:#ECEAEA; cursor:pointer; color:#fff; margin:5px 0; float:right; border:none; padding:4px; -moz-border-radius:6px; -webkit-border-radius:6px; border-radius:6px; font:10px sans-serif; } .MBT-replycomments:hover{ background:#E7E7E7; }

Monday 19 March 2012

This is what i came home too this weekend :)





Hey guys, super quick post here but i couldn't not post about it. i came home this weekend to find a bunch of goodies on my bed. clearly a trip to primark had occurred during the week. My lovely mum got me a new ( and desperately needed ) big bag for college. as iv gone through 3 bags now since December.. bags arnt made for heavy dance shoes and books these days!

she also got me some very un-exciting, but crucial plasters and face wipes. as i had mentioned that i had ran out of both during the week..
and my ultimate love at the moment, this 'couch cozy ' from primark. which is basically a blanket with sleeves. i have seen adverts for these for 15+ pound on the tv and have always thought it was silly, but for a bargain £3-ish pound from primark, my mum picked this one up.. and dare i say i have only got out of it to shower thus far.. how embarrassing.
(but ill show you all a picture of how dashing i look with it on soon.. just you wait )


Finally, here's a cheeky sneak-peak of what i had to wear for my 'voice' assessment at college last week. very Secretary-like smart.. but iv gotta admit, i was pretty impressed with how cute this blouse my nan picked up from the charity shop she works in, looks on. handy having a volunteering nan, it is.


(got my smart clothes and fake pout on, ready for voice.. )



Have a fantastic week.

Ella Martine xxxx

Friday 16 March 2012

The secret to my winged eyeliner..

Now, lets get one thing straight. its not much of a secret.. but i couldn't think of a better title for today. woops!
Im going to try and make this post as quick and simple as possible. my everyday makeup usually consists of a medium winged eyeliner and a lot of mascara. and i've often had people ask what i use etc. so i thought - why not do a blog post dedicated to it ?

I used to use liquid liner, which i didn't find hard to use and every now and then when I'm feeling lazy i do go back to it, but i have now discovered the magical thing called gel eyeliner. this was about 4/5 months ago, previous to that gel eyeliners were mainly constricted to higher end makeup brands until i saw that maybelline had jumped on the bandwagon. good for them! (and for my purse ;) 

i have now used *Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner* almost every single day for the past 4/5 months, and its still going strong. 


(just imagine this is clean..ha )
The maybelline gel eyeliner comes in a glass container with a silver tin lid. i think the packaging is pretty sleek and doesn't look at all cheep. 


as you can see, iv used quite alot, but this picture was taken about 3 and a half months down the line, and considering i use it everyday, its lasted very well..
There is a very reasonable amount of eyeliner for the price, which at a measly £6, isn't something that's gonna brake the bank. 

now there would be no point buying a gel eyeliner, without having a brush. and maybelline have clearly thought of this too, as the eyeliner comes with a nifty little brush that i Have applied it with before, and it does the job. so if you didn't want to go and purchase a brush aswell, then you could defiantly use that. for me, i like my eyeliner to be super sharp and the flick to be as perfect as i can manage, and i just couldn't get that with the brush that came with it. so instead i use a Bare minerals eyeliner brush.





 This eyeliner brush is extremely thin, making it perfect for precise thin lines, as well as build-able sharp thick lines. 

As you can see this eyeliner is as black as black can get, and that's what makes me love it even more. i have heard lots about gel eyeliners drying out after a month or 2, but im 4/5 months in now, and it may have dried up a little, but is 100% still usable and still applys really well, so i will defiantly be re-purchacing this.

i hope this helped all of you eyeliner lovers out there!

Ella Martine xxxx

Sunday 11 March 2012

A catch-up,OOTD & a Little haul for you all ;)

Hey guys, how are you all?! i know iv been so bad with my blogging recently, but I'm back and here's a little run through of whats been going on if any ones interested!

-Stressful times at college, iv been practising for my assessments, and actually did my singing assessment on Wednesday, which went well :) we had to sing a song in front of an audience and i had about 80 people watching me, so it was pretty darn nerve racking! we had to dress nice, so seeing this is partly a makeup & fashion blog, what better than to show you what i wore ? ;)
funnily enough iv had this dress since i was about 13 and its from tammy.. who would have thought ? ;)

Other than that, i had a week off ill with a kidney and chest infection which was pretty rough, but im feeling much better now *touch wood!*

Now, on with Outfit of the day, then the haul

 excuse the silly face, i was having one of them days when i just couldn't take a serious photo. although i did like how my makeup came out that day, so thought id capture it..

 i know, crap quality and taken in primark changing rooms (which are much improved iv gotta say!)

I'm home for the weekend now and me and my mum went shopping, i got a few goodies and let me just say i am absolutely loving primark at the moment, some brilliant summer stuff in, and i cant wait to get my hands on some dosh so i can have a big spend up!

Now, on to what many of you may have been wanting to see in the first place.. The Haul!

 I fell in love with this jumper as soon as i saw it, and when i saw it was reduced to a fiver, i couldn't resist! unfortunately there were only sizes 8 and 18 left, and i wanted a slouchy fit anyway, so the 18 it was, and it fits fine!

 Like you may have seen in my window shopping post, I'm all for the crop tops this summer. but seeing as the ones in topshop&river island are £15 +, i thought id pick up this cute little one for 3 pound, why not?

 for my acting and voice assessments my college want us to wear a black skirt and white shirt, and i was shocked to realise i didn't own one black skirt.. surely that's a crime or something? this ribbed bandu type skirt is really well made and isnt too short, i think it was around £6 , and i know ill be wearing it again. i actually think it would look nice with the orange jumper over.
 iv been eyeing this up for a few weeks now in h&m, and finally bought this vest top that Screams summer. i love the colour, iv always loved this kind of green and it seems to be so in this spring/summer, iv seen it everywhere! at the price of £7.95 i thought it would be great with denim shorts, and...

 this black bandu top from newlook underneeth. im abit gutted that i didnt wait longer to get a bandu top because now iv seen some in primark in all different coloures and they'r cheaper and much more detailed! this was £5. Oh well
finally, i got this adorable little onsie pajama from primark, its so cozy and perfect for summer as its so light. i think it was around £6. Im abit of a pajama hoarder, so these are a welcome addition to my collection ;)

hope you enjoyed this long rather rambely post, how have you all been ?!

Leave a link to any recent hauls you have down below and i'll check them out.

lots of  love!

Ella'Martine. xxxx

Monday 5 March 2012

A Hairy Situation.

BROWS BROWS BROWS BROWS BROWS.

I have been getting a lot of questions about my eyebrows since i started this blog, which is kinda strange for me because i really dont think they'r anything special, although i have finally got them exactly how i like them, so here is a post all about Eyebrows!

I first began shaping my eyebrows when i was about 13. Im naturally quite hairy on the face,and whatever hairs i DO have are Dark brown or black so are really obvious.
I used to hate my eyebrows, They were what i like to call Bushes. this of course, was until i discovered Threading.

THREADING.
For those of you who dont know, threading is a method of hair removal that originates from the eastern countrys, but has over the past 10 years become a popular choice of hair removal, a thin, twisted cotton thread is used (in a special way haha )to get rid of unwanted hair removing the hair at the follicle level, which makes it last Way longer than if you were to shave (which i do not reccomend on your face! trust me, iv tried it.. disaster )


Let me tell you now, threading is pretty darn painful. im not gonna lie, if your not one for pain, then waxing may be a bit of a better alternative as it removes the hairs faster. although i have been told the waxing can damage and, in some cases, tear off thin layers of skin with the wax. which doesn't sound to appetizing to me!


for about a year i had my eyebrows threaded, with plucking stray hairs in the resting period. after that i started just plucking my eyebrows myself, until i made a mistake..


i got somewhat OTT with the whole plucking business and i ended up plucking them WAY too thin. PLEASE anyone reading this, do not over pluck your eyebrows! i had to wait about 6 months for them to grow back thicker, in which time they looked Horrible! and even when they did grow back they were uneven.


2 years later, i now pluck my eyebrows myself the majority of the time. maybe once or twice a year i have them threaded just to do all the cleaning up that i cant be bothered to do myself! haha. i also fill in my eyebrows with a pencil, which will be below :) 





My eyebrow before i fill them in. very average, quite uneven and not as full as i would like.





Tadahh! my eyebrows after i have filled them in. I think i have perfected the shape to suite my face shape now, and I am happy with how they look.


To fill in my eyebrows i use a simple and cheap product, that is the perfect colour and does the job! Rimmel London proffesional eyebrow pencil in number 004 'black brown' is the perfect pencil for me. i first heard about it from sammy (Beauty crush) on you tube, and thought id give it ago. i don't think i have ever found a better colour for me. Iv tried other eyebrow pencils when i haven't been able to get this, and they arnt half as good. the colour is pretty natural, and is defiantly not black as the name suggests, its more of an ashy brown. which im surprised matched my hair colour, but it does. and when i tried this in the colour 'dark brown' It was awfully fake looking and didn't match my hair! (so if anyone wants this in dark brown, iv got it lying around somewhere hardly touched!) haha


Very recently, i purchased this clear mascara from 2true at superdrug,as i have been looking for something to set my eyebrows with, as iv found since being at dance college, through all the sweat and face rubbing (delightful!) my eyebrows begin to look very messy after a few hours. this does the job. its very watery and i will probably invest in a different one soon (i cant imagine this doing ANYTHING for your lashes!) but for now, this is just fine :) and at £1.99 who am i to complain?


 awful picture, i know!


Last but not least in this Very long post, are my Tweezerman tweezers. Let me tell you, YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER PAIR OF TWEEZERS OUT THERE! at about 20 quid a pop, theses tweezers are defiantly not the cheapest. but they are probably the best thing i have ever got, they come with a lifetime guarantee and you can send them back to be sharpened for free. these are the only tweezers i have used that actually grab the hairs first time round. I LOVE.


I know, this was an long post, but i have had quite a fair amount of questions on my eyebrows and what i do to them, so i hope this was helpful for some of you out there ! 
I'm so sorry i haven't made a post in a drastic amount of time, i will give you all an update very soon! but in short iv been ill, busy, and stressed! haha, 
i hope you are all well, and had a fab Feb! (cheesy) and if you have any comments please write down below! i can finally reply directly so i can answer you all individually.

Ella'Martine xxxx