Beauty and Bentley

Okay, so I've done a couple of these posts already so I'll keep the intro short, Femme Luxe gift me some items and I write up a review and post some content for them but as always all opinions are my own, so now that we've got that out the way let's chat about what I picked up!

I love this jumper, it's a beautiful shade of lilac/pink and the cropped style makes it perfect for changing seasons and different kinds of weather, it has that light springtime colour but it's also got that high neck to keep you warm so you could wear this in all kinds of weather which I love especially living in Scotland. I have noticed that most of the cropped items from Femme Luxe are very cropped this item isn't too bad but it's just something worth noting, some will love that, I personally like things to be that little bit longer so they meet up with my high waisted jeans and don't expose too much skin. I picked this up in a size L (10/12) and it fit perfectly.

Iris - White Knitted Crop Jumper

This little jumper is really cute, I like to wear it off one shoulder for that slouchy casual look. This is another item you could wear in different weather depending on how you style and layer it. It is very cropped and I would recommend wearing it with a strapless bra if you prefer to have nothing showing. I picked this up in a size M/L (10/12), I would say it is pretty true to size and fits great but if you prefer a more oversized fit like myself then you could probably go up a size, I was just hesitant to do this because of that off the shoulder style.

This is another really pretty coloured jumper which you can also pick up in black, grey, nude and green. I ordered a size L (10/12) and I'm not 100% sold on the fit of this jumper, one of the arms is tighter around the wrist than the other which is a little annoying and it is quite oversized so I think it would perhaps look better pulled in around the waist with a belt or sized down but I would be worried it would be too small around the wrists if sized down. 

I hope you enjoyed this little mini-review and I'll have another one for you in the next few weeks. As I've mentioned in previous posts Femme Luxe is an affordable brand offering you all of the latest trends so the quality isn't always the greatest but of course, you get what you pay for and Femme Luxe is all about bringing you on trend pieces at affordable prices.

I've always wanted to be one of those people who wake up super early and get loads done in the morning but unfortunately, my love for my bed and sleep usually takes over and I end up hitting snooze way too many times before eventually dragging myself out of bed. At least that's how I had been living for many years until 2020 hit and the Covid-19 virus forced the world into lockdown and I decided this was as good a time as any to finally make some changes in my life, I read The Morning Miracle by Hal Elrod and it really helped motivate me and change my mindset and for the last 18 days I've woken up without issue at 6:30am! I'm still surprised that this is something I've actually been able to do and stick to, so I thought I would share some habits that I highly recommend implementing in the mornings to start your day off right.

Most of us have something (or a list of things) that we wish we could do if we just had more time in the day, well there's a simple solution, wake up earlier and you will have more time in the day. How much earlier you wake up is totally up to yourself, maybe you just want an extra ten minutes to enjoy a cup of tea in peace before the rest of your household wakes up or maybe you want to start creating your own business and need at least an hour. Just remember that waking up in the morning shouldn't be a chore when you're telling yourself every morning that you're tired or you don't want to get up yet or you just need another five minutes in bed you're telling your subconscious that you aren't excited about living your life, it's all about mindset.

It can be difficult but try to stop hitting snooze every morning you just make things more difficult on yourself and will feel sluggish when you finally do get up. When your alarm goes off, get up, you can make this easier by placing your phone/alarm away from your bed so you physically need to get out of bed to switch it off. Another good idea is to try and wake naturally with the sun by leaving your curtains or blinds slightly open or buy an alarm clock with a wake-up light (I'm definitely going to invest in one of these for the winter).

This one may seem silly but if you make your bed straight away when you wake up in the morning it makes you instantly feel like you've achieved something, it's that first tick on your daily to-do list and as a bonus, it makes it less tempting to crawl back into bed.

During the night as we're sleeping, we become slightly dehydrated so it's recommended you drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning before you reach for your usual tea or coffee. It's also great if, like myself, you struggle to drink enough water in general, this way you've got that first glass out of the way before you've even started your day.

Do something every morning that lets you work on self-development or better yet do all of the above. This is going to be personal to yourself and your lifestyle but I highly recommend picking at least one thing that you really want to start doing and set aside 5-10 mins each morning for it. This is when you can really start to see some changes not only to your morning but your life in general, I've finally started working out every morning and I'm feeling so much better about myself and it leaves me feeling much more motivated for the rest of the day.

6. Avoid your phone/social media 

I think we're all aware that we spend too much time on our phones/social media and it can feel like an almost impossible habit to give up but I find it's easiest to do so in the morning when you're focusing on other tasks. Try even if just for 20-30 mins in the morning to set your phone aside and have that break, I also recommend that you avoid going straight on to social media as soon as you wake up, it's just not good for your mental health to instantly be scrolling through Instagram pictures the second you open your eyes.

This is one that I always struggled with, I don't like to eat first thing in the morning but of course, it's so important if you want to start your day off right. Ideally, you want to have something healthy but making sure you at least eat something will stop you having an energy crash and loss of motivation before you hit lunchtime.

So there you have it seven simple habits to implement now to start your day off right, I hope that you enjoyed this post and consider trying out a few of these tips tomorrow to have a more enjoyable and productive morning.

Lash artists take great pride in their work, well most of us do, and as such, we spend a great deal of time trying to create the perfect sets for our clients however time is money so it is important for us to try and work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Below I've listed four simple tips to make lashing quicker and easier without compromising on quality.

1. Have everything prepped for clients arriving.

Plan ahead of time and have everything you need set up and ready to go for your first client, also keep in mind how many clients you have that day and the time/supplies you need to redo your set-up between clients. Being prepared means you can start working as soon as your clients arrive and save time.

2. Lash the inner and outer corners first.

Most people find the inner and outer corners of the eyes the most difficult to lash so it's best to start here and get them out of the way first then you can move quickly and easily through the remaining lashes and finish your set in good time.

3. Use taping techniques.

Don't be afraid to use tape to get into those inner and outer lashes or to work through the natural lash layers, use a gentle tape or detack and it won't be uncomfortable for your clients. I have an ebook going more in-depth on layering and mapping techniques which you can pick up here if you're interested in learning more.

4. Make sure you are using the correct glue.

You need to make sure you are using a glue that matches your skill level, check that the curing time of your glue matches up with how quickly you can work if it cures too slowly you will need to hold the lash in place for longer and this will slow you down, use a glue that cures too quickly and it will already be cured by the time you try to place the extension on the natural lash which will mean you have a lot more lashes brushing off during the treatment that you'll need to redo and it could lead to some serious retention issues.

I hope you found these tips helpful and remember that it's all about making your life easier and working smarter not harder!

Okay, so this product isn't going to be for everyone, some people find the whole faux freckle make-up trend a bit weird but I love it! I've been wanting to try out a faux freckle product for a while now and initially I was going to purchase a product called Freck, arguably the most well known faux freckle product on the market but whilst looking for this and finding it sold out everywhere I stumbled upon the Freckle Tint from Lottie London.  After doing a bit of research I realised this was a much cheaper alternative that seemed very similar so I decided to try it out instead.

This freckle tint costs £6.95 and contains 3ml of product, which really isn't a lot of product but to be fair you only need to use a tiny amount per application so I don't think it works out too expensive at all especially if we are talking cost per application. It comes in a pale pink box with holographic writing down the side and the bottle itself is white with the same holographic writing, I really love the look of the packaging it's simple but still fun. It's also worth noting that this product is both cruelty-free and vegan and the Lottie London website has a dedicated vegan page. 

The product itself is really easy to use, it has a thin brush built-in, you can just dot on as little or as many 'freckles' as you'd like. Then all you need to do is tap the product into the skin using a sponge or your fingertips to give them that natural look and voila you're done. I will also mention that I have natural freckles but they get completely masked when I'm wearing make-up so I do like to try and go over my own natural freckles as best I can. I personally like to work in sections, applying some freckles and blending as I go so they don't set in place and end up looking too harsh, I think this is also a great way to do it so you can see where you might need to add more or blend more etc. The colour of the tint is a deep brown with red undertones which gives a very natural look, just be careful as you use the tint over time it does build up a bit around the cap and you may end up needing to wipe it clean and waste product, but you can avoid this by taking your own clean brush and using the excess rather than dipping back into the bottle. Overall, I find this freckle tint easy to use and I love the results that it gives, I've tried using other products in the past to create faux freckles like eyebrow pencils etc. but I found they never looked natural enough for me to be truly happy with the results, this is definitely something I'll continue to use and will repurchase again in the future. In fact, I'm now intrigued to try out some other products from Lottie London so if anyone has any recommendations let me know!