Breathtaking Places

Now I can't be the only one who sometimes just goes onto Pinterest or Google Images to look at incredible places around the world, right?!

There are so many incredible destinations around the world and some right on our doorsteps that are just waiting to be discovered, and I think it's time I made some places to go and see them for myself.

These places are just absolutely breathtaking and really whats stopping me from going and exploring...but for now I'll just have to enjoy them through my computer screen!

1. Fairy Pool, The Isle of Skye, Scotland.

2. Hidden Beach, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

3. Le Mont Saint-Michel, France. (I was lucky enough to visit this amazing place on a school trip!)

4. The Alcázar of Segovia, Segovia, Spain. (Apparently one of Walt Disney's inspirations for Cinderella's Castle!)

5. Burano, Italy.

Would any of these incredible destinations make it onto you list of places to see?

Love El

xxx

Pinterest Eye Shadow Tutorial

Welcome to a new makeup tutorial!

After seeing this look on Pinterest I just kind of fell in love with it and decided to try to re-create it.

I left out the eyelashes because you could either use a bit of your favourite mascara or your most natural false eyelashes.

First off I primed my lids with the perfect pink shade, Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Pink Gold!

Then using the closest pink I had I applied this all over where we primed. I used L'Oreal's Blue Intensifier eyeshadow in 222.

I then applied a little of Urban Decay's eyeshadow in Nooner through my crease.

Then grabbing MAC's eyeshadow in Cranberry I intensified the crease to make it more similar to the picture, and it was a pretty perfect match! With this shade you want to try and wing it out a bit more as is done in the image.

Finally taking this pearly white shade from MUA, the picture does ask for a pearl white, I took this under my eyebrow and a tiny amount in the inner corner. The shadow I used was MUA's eyeshadow in Pearl - shade 2.

Just apply your favourite mascara or your favourite falsies and you're ready to go!

Love El

xxx

Autumn 2015

There's just something about this time of year, the thoughts of chilly weather approaching, the warm clothes and hot drinks that fills me full of happiness. A lot of people have told me I'm "weird" for liking this time of year but I think there's nothing wrong with liking the warm tones in the leaves, there's nothing weird with the love of layering up your clothes until you can't really move but at least you can feel your toes, and there's nothing strange about seasons making you feel excited about life.

My birthday is actually tomorrow and I turn 20, yes I'm leaving the teenage years behind, and I'm pretty terrified if the truth be told. So please leave your kind words below to tell me it's not different and I won't suddenly turn into this adult person with more adult responsibilities, and send me a virtual hug. And after my birthday, and before to be honest, I get an overwhelming excitement for Christmas, specifically the run up. As in a joke I once said to my best friend Jess, "the only running I do is the run up to Christmas" ba dum tss, okay, yes that was bad, I know...

So with all this incredible excitement I have for the end half of each year I thought it was only fair to share a mood board of Autumn images that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.....

P.s. I'm sure a Winter mood board won't be too fair behind...

Love El

xxx

New Favourite Songs...

Sometimes it's just essential to sit back and listen to your favourite music...In fact it is essential all the time.

So I thought I would share some of my favourites of the time, and as well as the ones on this list you may as well add all Christmas music because YES I am already enjoying Christmas music, occasionally...

Elle King - Ex's and Oh's

This song is brilliant, and I absolutely LOVE the tune in the chorus. Ever since watching Alex Centomo's OOTW: Peru I'm hooked, and no doubt you will be soon too!

Ellie Goulding - On My Mind

Honestly I usually become obsessed with anything Ellie Goulding so this song has been no exception. 

She is incredible!

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car (Bauke Top Remix)

I initially heard this on my cousin's friend's Zoe Portia's videos (which you definitely have to check out HERE) and just had to continue googling and searching until I found the exact song. Let me tell you I was extremely happy when I finally found it!!

If you haven't listened to any of these songs you must!!

What are your favourite songs at the moment?

Love El

xxx

P.s. Another new discovered favourite song is now Jack Garratt - Breath Life
Found this little gem after writing the rest of the blog post!

Halloween Lips - Graveyard Scene

Hi guys and welcome to another Halloween themed makeup blog post!

On Monday I posted THIS blog tutorial about how to create special effect bruises and bullet wounds.

Today I decided to create a Halloween scene on my lips, therefore came up with this graveyard look. It is super easy to re-create and I'll tell you how! 

If you re-create this look please tag me in the image on Instagram, I'd love to see your looks!

Starting off this look I just covered my lips with a pale concealer - the same shade as my skin colour and completely blocked my lips out. Then to set this concealer I used an almost metallic green eyeshadow, the specific one I used was Grimas's eyeshadow in Shade 740.

I then took a liquid eyeliner, I found one with a brush that has a little movement is the easiest to use! I lined my bottom lip with the eyeliner and this will act as the ground.

I first started off with the biggest grave, this is just half a circle connecting to the bottom lip, filled in with some grey eyeshadow then a cross on the top. I then made a smaller one next to it but filled this in with the black eyeliner, this grave therefore looks like its in the distance.

In order to make our crosses, I would suggest doing your vertical line first and doing it in one quick movement and this is the simplest and most effective way. Then for the horizontal line, do one side and then the other i.e. do one half and connect it to the vertical line and then do the other side and also connect this.

For the birds on my top lip these are just how I used to draw birds at school, but I would just say it is like doing the top of an "m" without elongating the downward lines. (If that makes sense?!)

Finally for the tree start off with 2 vertical lines going from the bottom of your bottom lip (the ground) to the centre of your lips. Then fill in the gap with some brown eyeshadow or pencil eyeliner. In order to create the branches just take your liquid liner and make some wiggly lines coming off the trunk and off other branches (it's probably easier to look at the picture than me explaining! I'm SO bad at explaining things!!) I then added a dot in the centre of the trunk just because sometimes this is where you will see an owl sitting.

And that is all you have to do for this look, it is super simple but so effective!

I hope you enjoyed this look, it is super simple but just takes a little patience!

Love El
xxx

Special FX: Bruises and Bullet Wound

I definitely feel that this is quite a halloween themed look and I hope its not too early but I couldn't resist posting it! 

As you can see most of the cuts and bruises are on a certain side of my face, therefore my story is that perhaps I was shot in the forehead then fell to the ground on the right side of my face.

This is more of a talk through post of how I did it rather than a picture tutorial (I was playing around with my special effects makeup and only at the end thought to take any pictures!)

Now I actually already had all the products because I took a theatrical and media makeup course but I will talk you through how I created this look.

To start off I initially created the hole in my forehead, perhaps a small gun shot, by using Grimas's Derma Wax. Derma Wax is irritatingly sticky so I suggest putting some makeup remover or Vaseline on your fingers. I rolled a bit of Derma Wax into a ball and stuck it to my head, I then smoothed it out to mix with my skin. Taking a plastic spatular, I twisted it in the middle of the wax to create a hole. I took a bit of red eyeshadow and applied this around the hole in my head to add irritation and a bruised look. After this the creating of more bruising took place.

To create the deeper bruising I took Grimas's creme makeup in the shade 601 which is a purple shade, I applied this where I wanted bruising - around my eyes, on my nose, cheekbone and around my "bullet hole".  I then blended this original work out and went over the same places with the same colour of creme makeup but didn't blend this out to create the deeper bruising. When it came to my cheek I stippled on the second layer with a stippling sponge. I then took a tiny bit of Grimas's creme makeup in the shade 401 (a dark green) in the corners of the eyes, around where I usually get dark circles and a little on the outer corner on my eyelid. 

Usually I would take a yellow creme makeup (shade 201) to put on the outer perimeters of my bruises as this creates even more of a natural look but this time I did not find it necessary. I did add some gloss/Vaseline on top of the bruising around my eyes to make it look even more natural, this step definitely helps and adds shine.

The final step was to add some of Grimas's Blood Paste into the hole on my forehead and under my nose. You could use some runnier blood but this is like scab blood and stays in place, so is a lot easier to wear if you are going out with this look!

This is so easy to create and looks fantastic!

Love El
xxx

Apple and Plum Crumble

I have finally started baking properly again, and I am very excited about that AND that means more recipe blog posts!!

Today I am showing you a plum and apple crumble recipe that I have kind of put together from a few from books I own. I tasted a plum and apple crumble whilst out in Cornwall and it was so delicious I needed to make it for myself, so here it is, my makeshift crumble:

Ingredients:

• 4 Plums
• 5 Apples
• 225g Plain Flour
• 75g Butter
• 75g Soft Brown Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Water

The Steps:

First:

Peel your apples and cut them into cubes. Cut your plums in half, remove the stones and also cut these to the same size as your apples cubes.

Second:

Then add your apples, 2 tablespoons of water and your granulated sugar into a saucepan on a low heat to soften.

Third:

Add you flour and butter together in a mixing to make your crumble topping. To combine the ingredients use your fingers to rub it all together, then add your brown sugar, rub together and keep going until it looks like the top of a crumble (small lumps/how it looks in image below.)

Fourth:

Now add your plums to the saucepan, at this point I also added some sultanas we had lying around and cover, leaving to steam. After about 2 minutes I then transferred the fruit mixture into an oven-proof dish, added the crumble topping and placed in the oven (160°C fan oven/180°C) for 40-45 mins.

Fifth:

Take your crumble out of the oven and you are now finished to eat it however you may want to!

I definitely think this is the perfect Autumn dessert!

Love El
xxx