Cruising Through Summer

Dress - & Other Stories

Shoes - Topshop

Hat - & Other Stories 

Sunglasses - & Other Stories

Necklace - Zara

Bag - Topshop

Wouldn't this outfit look great on a boat cruising down the French Riviera the wind brushing past my hair as I hold onto my oversized hat, drinking champagne with a strawberry in it laughing along with my friends? 

One day...

You can probably tell I had a little splurge in Other Stories but they have the most beautiful summer collection I just kept picking up new things in store this dress is a lovely lightweight fabric that drapes unusually on the body and I love anything dropped waist. My favourite metal is rose gold so when I saw this necklace in Zara I quickly snapped it up as pink tones suit my complexion more. These sunglasses are amazing for summer I love the blue reflection I feel that they immediately add a coolness to your look so even if you are sweltering in the heat these shades hide it. I got these wedges last summer and they add a really great height but as there's a platform they are really comfortable and I adore the straw texture on the heel.

Love at First Sight

You know that feeling when your eye catches and your heart starts beating really fast and everything starts to disappear so there's only you two in the room, you make your way over and you just know you're meant to be together fate has brought you together. Well that's exactly what I'd experienced when I was in Topshop and saw the perfect sandals just waiting on the shelf it was as though there was a glow around them, gleaming proudly just waiting to be tried on. Black block heeled sandals with snakeskin straps and holographic details these were what I've been waiting three months to find they were exactly what I'd been looking for to add to my shoe collection. I tried them on and glided across the shop floor, a perfect fit the heel seemed to elongate my legs and I felt unstoppable with these shoes I could walk with confidence into any crowded room and breeze by in these heels. 

I didn't feel that it was right to leave them, no I couldn't I needed them in my life I wouldn't stop thinking about them and also what if they only have one last pair in my size? I couldn't find any member of staff available so I went to the counter and asked for them in my size it felt like forever until she returned with a brand new pair in a box (it was the last pair). The lady serving me complimented them saying how gorgeous they are and at such a bargain (£55) it would be rude not to get them - this woman was my soul sister! I wore them the same night and kept sneaking looks, admiring how they looked who needs a boyfriend when you can have shoes that will never let you down and ALWAYS make you look great?!

Please excuse me while I sign up to shopaholics anonymous...

Shoes - Topshop

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Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

What's in my Festival Make Up Bag

Now for Part Two of my Festival Trilogy (Part One here) what I put in my festival make up bag, I think for festivals you don't want to be messing around with eye shadow palettes or perfecting your brows you just need to strip back to basics and pack whatever's the quickest and easiest to apply. If you're in your 20s or teens it will be socially acceptable to wear as much glitter and face paint to hide dark circles at festivals whereas if you're above 29 I'd recommend swapping glitter for a gold metallic eyeliner and a bronzer this Marc Jacobs liner is sophisticated yet fun. 

For nails you'll be wanting to paint them a colour that will hide any dirt that can get under your nails I'm going to use Revlon's Wintermint which has a scent of chocolate mint to it when dry and as it's a glitter it's really durable. 

Taking a sample size moisturiser will be much more beneficial than your everyday one as you can throw it out after the festival so it's less to take back with you, I'm using a Clarin's Hydra Matte Lotion sample. 

I'm going to pack an eye roll on to soothe my eyes on a morning especially when wearing face paint and glitter that could irritate my under eyes this will be a saviour to you when you've just woken up in your tent and are craving a clean shower. Packing some hair grips to keep your hair off your face will be helpful you could even jazz your hair up with headbands and flower crowns to distract away from your unwashed hair.

Lip balms will be your best beauty friend I wouldn't recommend wearing a strong coloured lip as it can dry your lips out and it's annoying when you have to reapply it try a tinted lip balm like Maybelline's Baby Lips in 'Cherry'. A tinted balm will moisten your lips while adding a soft colour to them Baby Lips is ideal as it's £2.99 so isn't too valuable incase you lose it. You can always take a clear balm too if you'd prefer above is Lip Smackers Coca Cola as it smells of cola bottle sweets and comes in a handy tin so you don't have to worry about it getting smashed. Some face paint is always good to take and join in on the fun by creating fun patterns on your face and joining in with the crowd I've got pink and blue paint.

I'm going to take a glitter stick which my friends bought me as a joke but I fully intend to wear it, this is a moisturising balm stick with glitter which you can swipe on your skin to leave a trail of glitter, as this is a balm it will hydrate your skin instead of drying it out.

For the base of my face I'm going to put some of my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in a sample pot as it has SPF 20 this will provide a good coverage, moisture and protection against the sun. I can't go without a brow product but for easiness I'd recommend a tinted brow gel as it's compact, tints your brows and brushes them in shape I'm using Benefit's Gimme Brow. For concealer I'm taking my Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer as it's a cheap product to replace and has amazing coverage and lasts all day I won't be taking any brushes I'm just blending this in with my fingers. I don't feel like myself unless I have eyeliner on so I'm taking my Loreal Perfect Slim Liner as I've used most of it so after the festival I can just replace it and it's my favourite liquid eyeliner. I'll probably take my Rimmel Kate Moss Mascara as it's nearly finished so I can just leave it after the festival, I would recommend just using up products for festivals don't take brand new ones or any expensive products in case you lose them.

Make up wipes are an essential after a long night partying you'll want to remove all the glitter and face paint from your face to start again the next day they're also handy to wash yourself down with. Not the most sanitary option but if you're only there a few days it shouldn't be too bad just take a long shower after! 

I'd pack some hand sanitiser to put in your bag and breath spray as after you've brushed your teeth you may want to keep your breath fresh through the day and a bobble or scrunchie is handy to keep with you incase it starts raining and you want to have your hair tied back and off your face.

What are you taking in your festival make up bag?

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Snakes Got Your Tongue

Top - H&M

Shorts - Next

Bag - Urban Outfitters

Sunglasses - River Island

Shoes - Topshop

I feel that this look is the ultimate city girl about town it's a shame I'm not back in London to take it for a spin down Bond Street, I also love these longer tailored shorts they are so comfortable and look more chic than shorter shorts. I also prefer to wear this blocked, boyish silhouette as it provide a more understated femininity and is great for days when you're going to be busy moving around. This is an ideal business in summer look which is suitable for work, leisure time and going for cocktails on the night. 

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Easy Festival Hair Style

If you're heading to a festival this year or just want a pretty up-do I've created this simple hairstyle that I'll be wearing at T in the Park it takes less than 5 minutes to create and lasts all day. Getting your hair away from your face and hiding unwashed, slightly greasy hair and still making it look cute may seem like a bit of a challenge when you're wanting to go enjoy the festival but this style is done in no time and will have serious hair envy from onlookers. 

What you'll need for this style is hair grips and a headband if you want you can not put a hair accessory in if you want to keep it simple and sweet.

I'm going to use this flower headband that I made last year I was inspired by Millie Mackintosh's that she wore to Glastonbury 2013 so I went to a craft store and picked some ivory fake flowers, branches of fake greenery, craft wire and a simple black headband. I then placed the flowers around the centre of the headband and wrapped wire around each of the flower stems then I added the green leaves assorted through it and cut off any excess. It can take a little time to get the flowers adjusted to how you want them to be but it's so much more fun creating your own and picking the style and flowers to go on it than just buying one. 

Put the head band on your head and if it's really heavy secure it with grips either side so it will stay in place.

Next you'll need to have some hair grips ready for pinning the hair in place the more you have the more secure the hairstyle will be.

Start off by taking your largest front fringe section and sweeping it behind your head and over the headband.

Secure it in place with a hair grip.

Take a large section of your front hair and plait it behind and away from your face then wrap it around the back of your head and secure with a hair grip.

Repeat for the other side and secure drift away hair in place with a grip if you want a more sleek up-do but as this is for a festival I'm going to leave it a bit more looser and carefree.

Now take two large back sections of your hair and plait them separately then wrap them towards the other side of your head and grip in place do this for the other one too.

Now if you have a small section of centre back hair I looped this up the centre of the plaits and wrapped it in them then gripped in place.

If you're wanting a sleeker style hair spray any fly away hairs and use more grips for security but for a casual, bohemian look loosen the plaits and pull some front stands of hair out to fall beside the face.

I've finished the hairstyle off with some reflective sunglasses that I got from New Look you're all ready to party in the sun (or rain if you're in the UK) this hairstyle is really easy to do and it's always easy to distract attention from greasy hair to giant flowers on your head. 

What festival are you going to this year?

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Please excuse my terrible tan lines I know they're horrendous...

Just Rolled Out of Bed

Cami - Brandy Melville

Bralet - Gilly Hicks

Trousers - H&M

Necklace - Forever 21

Birkenstocks 'Arizona'

I decided on a really casual look today as I woke up at 12pm which for an early-riser is quite shocking I feel as though half of my day has been wasted so I did simple quick make up and swept my hair away from my face. I figured that I'd just spend today in the garden and finish reading Issue 3 of Porter Magazine I have been so busy at work, sorting student finance out and organising things for my sister's prom i haven't had a spare minute so I figured a sleep in isn't too bad. 

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Natural Collection Haul

When I was in Boots a few weeks ago I was sampling concealers with my sister and we went over to the natural collection stand as it had a fairly big mirror so I could see what the concealer looked like against my skin but then we noticed the make up and and price. When I first started wearing make up at age 12 I used to go to Boots with my sister or school friends and we would buy make up from Natural Collection mainly because it was all under £1.99 and was simple to understand not like the intimidating Loreal or Maybelline counters! By the time I was 14 I had pretty much the full Natural Collection counter every nail polish, eye shadow, lip gloss but as I grew up I moved onto Max Factor, Benefit and MAC letting me completely forget about my make up collection when I was 14. My sister and I then visited 'Nostalgia Lane' as we looked back through the eyeshadows and nail polishes remembering the names of them and my first mascara the people in Boots must have thought we were slightly crazy. 

To me Natural Collection reminded me of when I first began experimenting with make up seven years ago (oh god I feel old) even my 'blue eyeshadow phase' and trying out lip glosses in every colour they had. I have never used make up as a cover up I started using make up because I have always enjoyed it and how it makes me feel when I wear it, I enjoyed wearing different colours it fed my creativity. When you're younger you have less restrictions you don't know that you probably shouldn't wear blue eyeshadow and liner you just get handed this palette of colours that you can experiment with and create all these different looks you wear blue eyeshadow because it's the colour of the sky and bright pink lips because its like your favourite ice lolly. 

Even now I do make up tutorials because I enjoy them it's like a form of dressing up I don't ever get put down on whether guys don't like my make up because it's not natural it's something that I enjoy I'm not doing this to impress others. This turned into a way more deep post than I intended but moral of the blog post is if you enjoy something don't let anyone else take it away from you.

Now onto the haul!

I bought the lipgloss in 'Barley' it just puts a sheer shimmer coat on your lips and doesn't last very long a bit of a duff purchase but I was sucked in by the rose gold colour. I picked up the blush in 'Peach Melba' which I believe is a colour dupe for MAC's 'Melba' blush I really love this peach/pink colour it's great for summer. I also picked up a couple of the eyeshadows in 'Butterscotch' the pale pink one and 'Barley' the gold shimmer I love this gold it has amazing pigmentation and really stands out on the eyes it creates a great beach look.

Above are the swatches as you can see for £1.99 they have really good pigmentation and colour payoff. 

Have you saw any make up favourites that you used to love?

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