Bonfire Night

Remember Remember The Fifth Of November

Yesterday I got to attend a Bonfire Night at a National Trust property where I am a volunteer photographer and therefore, naturally, took a lot of images.

I'm pretty happy with these images and so wanted to share a snippet of them with you!

Have a safe and brilliant Bonfire Night!

Love El

xxx

Ankle Boots Lust List

With the colder months drawing in (well they're pretty much here) I always look forward to being able to wear boots again, and I know I'm not the only one that feels this way!

I just love boots, they're comfy, warm and can look amazing. So I have put together this blog post with a couple of pairs of boots from 5 different stores and wanted to share it with you.

(Click the images to take you straight to the boots online)

Miss Selfridge

I wanted to start with Miss Selfridge because I am officially obsessed with the embroidered boots in the left image! However they are £85 and I definitely cannot justify that amount of money on boots that could be out of fashion soon, although they are amazing! I also LOVE these contrast zip boots that are an elegant twist on the plain black ankle boot.

River Island

If you were looking admiringly at the Miss Selfridge embroidered boots but they're out of your price range, worry not as River Island have created their own! These River Island Western style boots would be perfect for adding a twist to an outfit, perhaps a twist on a feminine outfit.

Asos

Following on with the Western style ankle boots, I have some serious Chloe Susanna boots dupes for you, so if you love those you'll love these Office dupes on Asos! I thought that since this post has been very black themed I would add in these beautiful sand coloured boots from Faith on Asos.

Zara

Zara make some seriously nice boots and sticking with the no black theme just a little longer I think these grey boots are definitely of that high standard. Then just going back to the black boots I think these high heeled classic black boots look stunning.

Jack Wills

Chelsea boots have become an absolute essential for me over the colder months and I'm definitely lusting over these 2 pairs from Jack Wills, and look, they're not black!! (Although you can buy them in black if you want to)

New Look

Just a bonus pair of ankle boots for you.

I tried these on yesterday in New Look and fell in love, I love the higher heel with the gold accent, think I'm going to have to go back and buy them!

I hope I haven't made you want to spend too much money, but sorry if I have!!

(I definitely want to spend a lot of money now!)

Love El

xxx

Cornwall - September 2016

It just wouldn't be the same if I came back off holiday and didn't post some pictures of my time away!

This post would be way too full of photos if I showed you every image I took while away but I really wanted to show you these images I took on Harlyn beach.

I'm not sure there is anything I'd rather see whilst standing on the beach then the sight of 3 horses being ridden up the beach and then through the sea! It was amazing and I wanted to share the photographs.

Love El

xxx

Makeup Through The Ages

Recently I have seen quite a few videos about makeup and beauty through the ages.

I have seen ones that are generally iconic for that particular decade and one, that stood out to me the most, was realistic beauty through the ages by Karolina Żebrowska.

I found this video so interesting as it shows the different sides of what was happening through each decade. You can watch the video here, and I recommend you do!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =t__RhUyZMDM

So today I thought I would use my inspiration from Karolina Żebrowska and show you different sides of makeup from 1900-1950, using images from google.

1900-1919 Makeup:

Commonly known as the Edwardian Era, where makeup was a taboo:

Lower class women generally found work in domestic services or in factories. Therefore makeup was not worn.

Upper Class women would usually be found enjoying the finer things in life, having tea with their friends, planning meals and sometimes would be involved in charity work. Nannies looked after their children and made the meals. However, makeup was not worn unless women worked in movies.

1920 - 1929

Wearing makeup really took off in the 1920's.
As I'm sure you're all aware The Great Gatsby is of course an example of the type of makeup that could be seen in the upper class 1920's, cinema had a tremendous influence on these women. Smokey eyes and bold lips were worn through out this era. 

For the lower class women in the 1920's there was again a lot of women working in domestic service, one in every nine.

1930 - 1939

The 1930's were a horrendous time due to the great depression which effected pretty much everyone, but there was still a certain class divide through out this time. Many people struggled with losing there job, little altered for women's jobs and the women who had employment were working in the factories or domestic service, although due to better education jobs such as teaching, being a clerk and nursing were sometimes done by women.

In comparison to the 1920's the 1930's was a lot more subdued, a lot of luxury activities were put on halt, however the cinema was still being enjoyed. For makeup this meant people were still loving "trends", pale skin was loved by all, but towards the end of the thirties there was a love for an undertone of pinks. Women's eyebrows were plucked very thin, an array of eyeshadow colours were worn and lipstick colours were still bold.

 1940 - 1949

Of course the year of 1945 meant World War 2, this then saw a lot of women working as nurses, working in factories making bombs and aircraft supplies and other jobs that needed to be filled to help out during the war. If by some miracle during rationing women did manage to get their hands on makeup they made themselves look very glamorous. Women started to become very resourceful if they did want to apply some kind of makeup. I was told in my theatrical and media makeup course that the shape lipstick bullet, such as the shape of MAC's lipstick, was because that was what women were used to making, they would make shell caps for war and therefore it was the only shape they knew how to make!

 1950 - 1959

That then finally brings us onto our last decade for this post.

The 50's held place for a lot of housewives, who looked glamorous whilst being the 'perfect wife', their jobs at home included cooking, cleaning, shopping and looking after the children. There were a lot of expectations for these housewives and some did it all while wearing cream face products, red lips, slightly thicker eyebrows than seen previously (thick then tapered towards the end), and towards the mid 50's we even had some winged eyeliner coming into fashion!

The 50's also saw the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, 2 fashion and beauty icons to this day! It is clear to see why they are still so admired.

With their perfect complexions, rosy cheeks and red lipstick, and of course today's ever loved cat eye, they are beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed seeing how makeup has evolved!

This is only a very small section timeline of the enormous timeline that is makeup, but it's very interesting to see how things have changed but also how many trends have actually stayed the same!

Love El

xxx

Tips for Spending Your Money Wisely

(Photography by Amy-Rose)

Now I must admit, I NEVER used to spend my money wisely up until a few years ago when I suddenly thought "Ellie what are you doing, you don't need this, that or the other!" Now I don't mean I went totally over the top but I did definitely buy things I didn't need.

There are just a few things to consider when purchasing something, be it small or large, I now know how to spend my money wisely. These tips can be used when spending your money on pretty much anything, although some are primarily fashion based. 

1. The first tip that I think is very important when spending your money is to have a sensible budget in mind, and if it isn't in budget you don't need it! 

2. Do you really need it?! Can you think of at least 10 times you will: use it, wear it, carry it? (Embrace being an outfit repeater, there is no shame in it!)

3. Even if it's just a small amount money could it be saved instead of spent, and then in later life it could go towards something more important, like a house, car or savings?

4. Do you already have something that looks exactly the same or almost identical? If yes, enjoy the one you already have!

5. Are you just buying into a trend that you've seen on social media and actually your not sure if the trend is very "you" but Instagram has had it's effect on you?

6. Did your friend tell you it looked fab but actually you're not sure?! Don't buy it, go with your gut instinct because chances are you probably still won't be sure once you've made the purchase, and it was actually your friend who should have bought it.

7. Following on from the last point don't let yourself be easily influenced when purchasing anything, the money you don't spend can be put into savings and used for something more important one day, so don't let anyone influence you, it's your decision and your choice.

8. I've now come to the conclusion that I really only need some staple pieces, going on constant shopping sprees feels unnecessary to me and I'd rather have pieces I know I love and can get good wear out.

9. Will you use it/wear it a lot? The cost per wear/use will then be fantastic, even if it's an expensive piece.

10. Buy sensibly. I know that sounds like a very overall thing to say but what I mean is, just really think before buying something, you should love EVERY thing you own.

11. If you decide to buy something that you're not too sure about and bring it home, try it on and style it into the outfits you think would look great. If you're still not sure leave it till the next day when you'll have a fresh mind, and if you're still unsure; take the item back!

I'm always thinking now a days that the money I don't spend (whether a small or large amount) can go towards something important for me one day!

But of course you do deserve some treats, so still allow yourself that.

Love El

xxx 

Natural Makeup Inspiration

First of all, how is it already the beginning of September?!
And second of all, I can't be the only one who is just mesmerised and becomes speechless when they see some of the incredible makeup talents on Pinterest!

There is some amazing talent out there when it comes to makeup application, and I for one am very jealous I don't have that skill!
But I thought I would put together a makeup inspiration board to share with you all.

I swear everyone of Pinterest is incredible at makeup, taking pictures of their makeup and just incredibly stunning!!!

Love El
xxx