NOT NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.

Every year when avoiding being that annoying person everyone blocks/mutes on Twitter around New Year's Eve, I find myself making a mental list of expectations/things I plan to do in the approaching new year. I never really communicate the list in full to anyone when New Year's Resolutions conversations arise and this is mainly because I am 100% aware that whatever happens in a given year and whatever lessons I learn will not be discovered intentionally.

 But as everyone knows, the number one rule of life is that if you post something you need to do on the Internet, you have no choice but to get that shit done. So here's my 2015 to do list that I would like to have done by this time next year:

• Get my Skin Care game on point and have a solid regime in the bag.
• Get better at eye makeup.
• Go on Holiday. (I cheated here as I already have one booked for next year but it's always nice to know at least one will be getting done)
• Get my first tattoo.
• Find a comfortable balance between A-Levels, working and blogging.
• Make more blogging friends and put myself out there more with regards to my blog.
• LFW.
• Get skinny or learn to love myself trying. [Sidenote: I am tumblr.]
• Have more pride in my achievements.
• Say yes more but also say no more. Fuck sitting on the fence.

(There's no going back now, it's on the Internet so it's set in stone, wish me luck!)

Happy New Year to anyone who reads my blog and if you don't, I'm sure you're not that bad either so have a good one!

Olivia xo

My Drugstore Monday Morning Face

One of my favourite things about being a girl is that you can wake up and literally decide whether or not you want to be pretty that day. Whenever I wake up hating life (a feeling usually exclusive to Monday mornings) and want to avoid looking like an extra from The Walking Dead here's what I reach for and a brief summary of why...

The bases of choice

All of these provide a nice light-medium coverage that evens everything out without being heavy in the slightest. The Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation does this in a thicker way but is still by no stretch of the imagination thick; it just feels a bit like you have something on. However, the Garnier BB cream which I have in the lighter of the two shades and the Max Factor CC cream, which I surprisingly got in the darkest of the three shades in the range, are weightless on the skin. For this particular Monday Morning I went for the Garnier BB cream because my skin was feeling pretty shitty and I didn't want to slap on foundation. Let's ignore that it's probably an equally counter productive choice...

Eye Bags and Lips

Featuring my brand-less looking Collection concealers...

All of these concealers are incredible but I've admittedly been off the Collection Lasting Perfection one that everyone and their Aunt May rave about in the blogosphere for quite a while because it dries out my under eye area when set. However, for old times sake I gave the shade 2 a go today and was pleasantly surprised. I simply cannot go on without mentioning the LA girl Pro Conceal which managed reached Holy Grail status in like a week. I use the shade Creamy Beige and though it isn't Nars Creamy Radiant, it sure is the better version of MAC Prolongwear for me.

Bold lips on Mondays are hit and miss with me. Sometimes I like one as a distraction from my not so Chanel eye-bags but most of the time I cannot be bothered (today being the latter). Therefore, I used my Helen E Lip crayon in Beauty Queen which is a creamy and pigmented nude dream, with my NYX butter gloss in Praline which I want my entire life to smell like.

Blot, Bronze, Blush and...Glow?

Alliteration fails suck. 

My drugstore choice of Bronzer is the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer which I really like because it doesn't turn into loose powder when you put a brush to it so you get quite an even coverage that steers clear of being muddy. 

Rimmel Transparent powder is also a drugstore go-to but for blotting away the disco ball nature of my face. 

I feel like I'm on an eternal quest for the right blusher brush and so because I didn't want to be reminded of said quest I applied my NYX cream blush in Natural and blended it out with my fingers.

Keeping on the creamy track I used the L'Oreal lumi magique base as a highlighter which wasn't as intense as I'm used to but was a nice natural touch.

Lashes

I always feel like I'm not maximising my mascara's full potential by having two on the go at once so now my fave mascara (Maybelline the Falsies) has dried up and I've cracked open it's back up, the Collection Does it all Mascara. Both are waterproof because I have seriously watery eyes and though the Collection isn't a show-stopper that gives any sort of False Lash effect, it is excellent for day to day wear and super affordable!

And here's my drugstore picks on my face. It is not a revolutionary make up look but it does the trick and that's all I'm looking for on a Monday morning.

*** May we also note that I made it this far without doing the whole beauty products on a fashion book blogger thing? It was always going to happen though so whatever, it's cool.

What product do you reach for to make you look more awake?

You can check out part two of my Monday Morning series here!

Olivia xo

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS/NYE PARTY DRESS FOR UNDER £30

Having an event springing up out of nowhere and hitting you in the gut when you realise that you have nothing to wear is a problem that I feel content avoiding. What with Christmas presents to buy, having to budget in a brand new £100 outfit is something no one needs in their life...

So I teamed up with House of Fraser to galavant about in the perfect LBD for the Party season that won't break the bank!

Naturally I paired it with my New Look heels (only size 8's left on asos but similar ones here and here) which have recently become my HG heeled footwear choice. I've wanted a pair of Saint Laurent Jane dupes for ages now but I stray too far away from dainty elegance and sophistication to feel comfortable in them. These however, are the perfect androgynous option because of the chunky jagged platform and for £24.99 it was a bargain that I could not miss out on.

Because the dress is black you can really play up your makeup (which I jumped at the chance to do) or add in a statement pop of colour through your accessories or shoes. I concocted an impromptu smokey eye with my trusted Urban Decay Naked Palette and on the lips used MAC's Brave Red which I think is the perfect Christmas sheeny but not glossy red lip.

The arms of the dress add just the right amount of drama to the look to make it appropriate for the Festive season. The flower-like (not floral) pattern is also ties in well with the Christmassy vibes. It think it's a great length on me but I'm 5ft4 so if you're a taller lady I would take that into consideration here.

That being said, my favourite thing about this dress is that it isn't exclusively Christmas appropriate like some of the sequin numbers that emerge in the shops at this time of year. It's versatile enough to wear all year round, especially in Autumn/Winter with some tights, Dr Martens and a nice warm coat.

OUTFIT TIME!

Mela Loves London Flower Lace dress in a Size 10

Would it really be a Christmas blog post
without an obligatory tree-side picture?

Now for the bit that matters most, the price. At £26 you are getting a well made, true to size, understated yet fancy wardrobe essential! If you want to check it out on the website the link is here.

A massive thank you goes to House of Fraser and the lovely team I was in contact with, for sending me this dress and I hope you guys enjoyed this post! 

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to leave a comment of what you think of this outfit below and follow me on bloglovin'!

Olivia xo

THE UNDETECTABLE OUTFIT REPEAT.

It's been a while so hello all!

As we all know, Autumn/Winter is all about outerwear...(biggest understatement of my life).

So naturally, a couple of months ago when I was nonchalantly packing to go to Manchester and discovered a dress in my wardrobe which doubled up as a blazery/kimino-y yet-to-be-named jacket thang I was so chuffed I had to share it. I always have an irrational panic whenever I think I'm outfit repeating and worry that people will remember so always save my outfits for rainy days that never happen- I know it's silly to care about outfit repeating and I should listen to Lizzie McGuire's wise words and shun outfit rememberers but hey ho. I wore this as a dress and as a blazer around the same people and received compliments both times and no one thus far has recognised that it's the same item so it's becoming an A/W 2014 fave! It also helps if you're going away for the weekend or something and cannot be bothered to pack loads- I personally wear this undone with a tee and jeans or as a dress with tights and whatever I'm in the mood for on my feet, foolproof! Now it's creeping into the winter months here in the UK, I plan to layer it up as a blazer with a scarf and hoody so I don't freeze to death. I normally get really annoyed when dresses have visible painfully obvious zips all the way down but this has improved the piece massively so praise the Lord for whoever decided to put one on this! 

In short, who doesn't love a two in one item? Here's it in action!

Dress- H&M

Lipstick- Diva by MAC

Boots- Truffle

Overcoat- As before

Tee- Primark

Jeans- ASOS Whitby Ankle Grazer's

Trainers- Adida's Superstar 80's

What do you think, can you tell it's a dress when worn as a blazer? Let me know in the comments!

Olivia xo