Bright like neon love

Illamasqua nail polish in Rare





My current nail crush Illamasqua polish in Rare. After a day of wearing the polish nude I decided to quickly scrawl faces on them. The day after they were papped at LFW and I was chuffed to find the picture on Topshop.com's home page!
It's the first Illamasqua polish I've purchased. I don't really know why it's taken me so long to invest as they always receive rave reviews! I wasn't dissappointed. The colour is ever brighter in real life (if you can believe that) and I wore it for 5 days without it chipping after 2 coats. The pigment is really bold compared to cheaper polishes and applied really smoothly. Now which shade to go for next...

//Emily

She Is A Rainbow

A shoot I recently Art Directed and Styled for VOLT. To see some behind the scenes photos visit Fred Butler's blog.

Photography & Layout Rebecca Hawkes
Styling & Art Direction Emily Beard
Make up Anne Sophie Costa
Hair Haruhide Ishizaki
Model Tessa@Select
Make up assistant Danielle Byrne

Urban Decay Lip Junkie

Urban Decay 'Lip Junkie' in Wallflower

As a recent convert to the Lancôme Juicy Tubes club, I have found myself being very picky with lipgloss. For me, I get chapped lips very easily, so a super sticky and long lasting gloss is much more suited to my skin than the lighter glosses such as MAC Cremesheen.
That being said, Urban Decay's Lip Junkie is not that sticky. After an initial 5/10 mins of super shinyness most of the product is absorbed leaving a light yet smooth sheen. It easily applied over any dry patched with minimal tugging and a short time after application eliminated the dryness completely.
Lip Junkie is said to 'help lips grow fuller gradually' without 'burning plumpers'. I have tried more 'severe' feeling plumper glosses and have seen more of an immediate reaction, but it is true that the gloss does not sting in any way. It seems to be that the effect is meant to be achieved over a prolonged amount of time rather than instant.
The colour of the product is fairly sheer and with warm tones as opposed to a blue pink. The hue I tested is 'Wallflower' which is fairly similar to the colour of my own lips, which could explain why it appeared more sheer than strongly pigmented.
The only thing that puts me off slightly is the mint taste, but that is more personal preference than a detriment to the product as I am not a fan of mint. However I can see the appeal of the taste being more fresh as opposed to fruity.

For me, it's a great day to day gloss that has staying power but can still appear natural. I will definitely be using this gloss a lot in the future!

Urban Decay is cruelty free brand.

(images by me)


//Emily

Bionic

Rings H&M, Nail Varnish ORLY

Current favourite rings. They kind of remind me of the Margiela rose gold ring set. I can dream...

//Emily

W.I.P it good

W.I.P polish in Electra, Ring Disney

When I was in Urban Outfitters a few weeks ago I noticed new nail varnish brand 'W.I.P'. On further investigation I'm guessing it's owned by UO as there seems to be no info on the internet about it whatsoever, and UO appears to be their only stockists .

I couldn't resist snapping up the polish in Electra. Look at it! The green glitter has a almost festive vibe going on, and I'm a sucker for the big flecks of rainbow glitter amongst the smaller bits. To me it's pretty similar to the more pricey OPI Rainbow Glitter, so it's also a pretty good bargain. I can't wait to road test it layered over other polishes...

(images by me)


//Emily

My work on sale in Urban Outfitters

I don't really talk about it too much on here, but with fashion imaging being a strong passion of mine I do a lot of fashion illustration along with films and art direction. I recently was given the opportunity for some of my illustration and art direction work to be displayed and sold in Urban Outfitters.
These pictures were taken at the Covent Garden location. I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity and the UO team have been very lovely throughout the whole process.

Images by Rebecca Hawkes

//Emily

Stop telephonin meeee

Sorry, couldn't resist a tedious Gaga reference title. Anywho, my phone has been looking a bit depressed recently. I bought a deco phone case when I first got my new phone, but months/years of bunging my phone about and throwing it in my bag meant all the best bits kind of fell off and I was left with a zebra gem sticker and a raggy looking heart thing.
I ordered a new case from Lucyboots who I found on facebook. She doesn't ridiculously overcharge like so many other sellers I looked at, and custom makes them so you don't end up with nasty bits you don't really want.
My camera's packed up so enjoy my dodgy webcam face/hair and this photo from Lucy's facebook.

//Emily

Crime Scene

When I discovered that Lime Crime's make up line was available in the UK (in Space N.K) I couldn't resist an investigation.

The first colour collection entitled 'Candyfuture' is the result of Xenia's years of blogging under the name 'Lime Crime', initially posting tutorials of the elaborate make up she wore. This has now moved to her blog doedeereblogazine, where she still expresses her love of make-up and signature personal style.

I went for the 'centrifuchsia' shade. Though extremely tempted by the lilac and black, I knew I couldn't carry them off on a day to day basis, though they would be a stylist's dream!

The lipstick itself has amazing staying power! Once I had applied, the colour didn't fade at all. It was not an overly glossy texture and didn't look really plasticy, and felt almost like a lip balm than a lipstick. As someone who is easily prone to chapped lips, I found it to be refreshingly moisturising and not drying like many other brands.

The packaging(as you can see) is totally representative of the 'Lime Crime' style and doesn't look at all cheap in real life. It's also nice to see more individual packaging where many make up brands opt for a safer and minimal approach.

Now which shade to go for next...


(all images me)

//Emily