THE CATCH UP #3 AND #4

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Hello again guys! I have not been well *surprise surprise* so haven't been able to upload or create any new content, I've literally been in bed nursing a headache, cuddling my hot water bottle and watching Youtube, so not too exciting, but I thought I'd mesh #3 & #4 entries together and throw it back to a couple of weeks ago to share my first ever make over experience with you guys. Let me catch you up...

• Thanks Influenster! I was invited by the Influenster Team to receive a complimentary makeover from Marc Jacobs Beauty and John Lewis, Oxford Street. Marc Jacobs have never really been a brand on my radar so I've never tried any products from their beauty range nor have I ever had a professional makeover, so I was super excited to see how this would all turn out.

• The deets. I booked a 10:00am appointment and being half asleep I was a little conscious of being watched by other shoppers but the makeup artist, Michelle made me feel completely at ease. She started off with cleansing my face and applying the Under(Cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer - I love cream primers, the feel of silicone based primers is really off putting for me, but this was moisturising and it smelled amazing. Next, Foundation. Marc Jacobs' foundation line offers 22 shades, with very few options for people of colour. Michelle told me of hopes of the brand being more inclusive in the new year, seeing as its parent company, Kendo, successfully created 40 foundation shades in the Fenty Beauty collection! 
• To achieve my shade, Re(Marc)Able Full Cover Foundation in Honey Deep and Cocoa Light were mixed together. Instead of pumping out the product it's dispensed via a dropper and honestly a little goes a long way. Its full coverage but super lightweight, not tacky or cakey at all and created the most flawless base, I absolutely loved it and if they do extend the foundation line in 2018, I will be investing in my shade. My undereyes were concealed with the Remedy Concealer Pen in Shade 06 Deep. I love concealers that brighten my under-eye without looking ashy and I think the shade flattered my skin tone and blended in perfectly on top of the foundation without creasing. 

• Even More Deets. I am obsessed with eyeshadow palettes with earthy warm tones,  so was really drawn to the Scandalust Eye-Conic Longwear Eyeshadow Palette. At £39 it's pricey, but honestly...it is worth it. I could really see the pigments quality and its sleek packaging screams luxury. What also really impressed me was how well the brushes picked up the without needing to swirl it in the pan, light pressure taps was all that was needed. After applying the Under(Cover) Perfecting Coconut Eye Primer to my lids, Michelle created an autumnal orangy-gold shimmer halo eye and finished it off using the Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara. This mascara really surprised me with how full and long it made my lashes. To finish Air Blush, Lines & Last Night was added to the apple of my cheeks and Dew Drops Coconut Gel Highlighter were tapped along the high points of my cheek bones. (P)outliner Longwear Lip Pencil Prim(rose) and Le Marc Lip Crème, Slow Burn were used to create my peachy nude lip. 

I was really happy with the finished look, while I prefer to look like I've been "contoured by the gods", it was a nice change to achieve a softer, almost natural look, that let my eyes be the centre of attention.

As if the makeover wasn't enough, I was kindly gifted a sample size of the Velvet Noir Mascara to take away with along with a personalised face chart.  If you want to know more about the range I would recommend booking yourself a consultation at your local MJ Beauty  counter. Even with Michelle stopping to serve people at the till, I really felt she took her time with the application process, explaining the history behind the brand and each product in exceptional detail throughout the consultaion. The experience was really informative and I left feeling much more knowledgable about the MJ range and 100% sure that the Scandalust Palette is for sure going on my Christmas list! 

The makeover was an awesome experience, such a lovely treat and I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity by Influenster. 

Have you tried Marc Jacobs Beauty?

Lavinya - x

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SCREENSHOP APP: THE FALL OF THE BLOG EMPIRE?

Primark Roll Neck (similar NEW LOOK - 25% OFF!) | Primark Joggers (similar NEW LOOK - 25% OFF!) | QED London Faux Fur Coat Via TK Maxx use WIN20 for 20% off  | Vans Low Top Skate Shoe via NEXT The Label |  Primark Clear Glasses (similar MISSGUIDED - 50% OFF w/code CYBER50 )

Shop My Outfit:

The Kar-Jenners are the family the world loves to hate - if they're not trying to sell T-shirts of themselves superimposed over musical icons (looking at you Ken & Kylie) or culturally appropriating (I'm looking at alllllllllll of y'all) or leaving us on read as we wonder if Kylie or Khloe are/are not preggo (who gives a shhhhh), they are no doubt doing something that has my Twitter TL blowing up.

The K women are flawed, no doubt about it. But I like them...lol #dontjudgeme

I especially love Kim, you can't deny she has a unique and covetable wardrobe.

And just when the twitter world was just starting to forgive her for Halloween (which by the way was ridiculous because dressing up as Aaliyah was a reach for her...but it wasn't cultural appropriation) she had to go and provoke the blogging world by launching the Screenshop App.

Like most bloggers I use affiliate links, which means I link the exact items from outfits I have shared with you in my blogposts, instagram or other social platforms. Alot of time goes into creating content and I think its only fair that in some circumstances I can earn (in my case a very very very small) commission. But here comes along the Screenshop App - that has basically been dubbed "The Shazam for fashion" - that replicates an outfit by generating a feed of similar products from a single screenshot. You can imagine this type of news was not well received in the blogosphere. I certainly was shook.

...then I thought "lets try this ish out..."

First of all, the app is free - good start. Next, I put the app to the test and I was able to find the exact jumper and its designer, plus alternatives that are almost identical - definitely impressive.

Excited I tried another pic - unfortunately this time the results were a bit hit and miss. 

Ryan clearly has a robe on but the app gives me tops in a similar tie up fashion - fair enough. The glasses selection, however, was really disappointing. To me, the styles have no similarity to the original. I've really struggled to find a pair of 90s oval sunglasses at high street value and not even the Screenshop could help.

This got me thinking about how similar the app is to our blogging process because this is exactly what bloggers do when the original item we want to link is a. out of stock,  b. not online or c. unlinkable...we provide alternatives.

If you checked out my previous post - here - you would remember me saying I couldn't wait to share my new faux fur coat with you guys. A gorgeous dusky purple coat by a brand called QED London. Unfortunately it is now sold out on the TK Maxx website and the brand sadly don't have a site of their own.

*Update - since then I've actually found the coat on ASOS! here but similar have been linked below:

Shop My Coat & use the Black Friday Codes for MORE money off!

ASOS - WIN20 FOR 20% OFF!
MISSGUIDED - CYBER50 FOR 50% OFF!
BOOHOO - GOGOGO FOR 30% OFF!

The arrival of the Screenshot app initially brought fear to my heart. To be a small blogger in a very saturated industry is already hard and now a potential app could replace any need for us at all. But then I realised I was only thinking superficially.

People follow bloggers because they like who they are and respect their opinions on products, style choices etc. Blogging should be about more than "hey guys buy this!". I genuinely love sharing my outfits, style and my life with you guys and I think this is what keeps us engrossed in our favourite bloggers.  For me my interest in a particular blogger means I will always go to the horses mouth for any info before anywhere else. And the loyalty to do so stems from the community they've built based on them sharing their interests authentically across their creative platforms - something I hope I am doing.

Personally, I think the app could be a good way to source items that celebs are wearing or for when the "where did you get that _______ from?" question goes unanswered by certain people on IG - c'mon you know the stingy types.

Bottom line...bloggers, I think were gonna be ok.

Whether your a blogger or not what do you think about the app?...and my coat lol :)

Lavinya- x

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THE CATCH UP #2

Hey guys! I know I’m cutting it a bit fine with yesterdays post but I didn’t expect Sunday to come around so fast! So Monday becomes Sunday, lawl I promise I will get better with sticking my uploading days (can we at least applaud the fact I am uploading at all though?? Lol) Lets catch up lol…

·      M&Co SS18 Press Day. On Monday I attended the M&Co press day, I was kindly invited to see their Spring/Summer 2018 Collection at Gallery Different, Fitzrovia. It’s was my second time attending a press day so I was little nervous as 1. I was going by myself and 2. I had no idea what I was supposed to do once I got there! I had expected the person who invited me to be in attendance but came to realise on arrival that I was clearly on my own. Luckily a very kind member of the M&Co team took me around the showroom, explaining the new pieces to be released next year. The womenswear collection was fresh with statement embroidery pieces to be mixed and matched with core basics like white jeans, maxi skirts etc. I particularly loved their occasion wear floral patterned dresses and a tweed jacket that was very chanel-esque. I was kindly gifted my own customised flower bouquet by Hiding In The City florist who were onsite and lunch c/o Social Pantry. Not a bad way to spend a Monday, eh?!

·      I did it! I haven’t been feeling too well this week partly my own doing as I’m a person who seems to come alive after 9pm, which means I end up going to sleep at 3am! I cant help it I just seem to be most productive at these hours, but unfortunately its wreaking havoc on body. Physically at 3am I feel fine but even if I was to still get 8 hrs sleep I wake up with a terrible headache, dark circles and just feel absolutely exhausted. Because of this I haven’t really felt up to making new content and so I decided to repost a pic I took this time last year, would you believe that this pic sent my following on IG from 1.7k to 1.8k! I finally passed 1.7k that I’ve been stuck on for months but after all the bellyaching I did on my last catch up post, it seems it had more to do with my content than the IG algorithm! My post usually generate 150-300 likes max but this post got over 700+ likes (in Oct 2016 it received 600+ likes) guess I have to give the people more of what they like!

I know that followers is a part of the blogging game but I don’t want to get caught up in it. Last time I mentioned it I kind of felt quite bratty for moaning about followers, it’s such a 1^st world problem and I was in my feelings because I was watching everyone else’s platform grow and being child shouting “what about me!” lol. I was told in the comments in my last post to focus on the content and the following will take care of itself and that’s what I plan to do.

·      Rolling with the homies. I haven’t seen my work colleagues in 5months but Vin and Phil are more than work colleagues there like my little brothers. When I left my work place I needed some time to adjust to life without the stress of that place and they respected that and gave me space to be me. We finally ended our hiatus on Saturday and met up for Nando’s and a catch up. Honestly I never realised how much I really missed them and how important it is to be around people who really root for you and care about you. I admit I have consciously removed myself from the company of others as I felt they no longer had my back. I felt it for a while but lately I been making stronger decisions even if that means being on my own. The boys are good people though and I didn’t stop smiling and joking the whole time we were in each others company. We went to see the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, but the official ones are not yet up so we admired the high street shops who have already got into the Christmas spirit. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

·      History in the making. Today I picked up the December issue of Vogue with the beautiful Adwoa Aboah gracing the front cover. I cannot tell you the last time I bought Vogue - it was a very loooooooooooooong time ago. I am super excited to see what the new editor Edward Enninful will bring along with his more diverse team. Very exciting times! The legendary makeup artist Pat Mcgrath killed this 70s bold look, I can’t take my eyes off it. I can’t wait to go through it, I’m thinking quiet time with coffee and morning pastry. Have you picked up a copy?

Ok I’m off. I should have been in bed 4hrs ago, getting my beauty sleep ahead of an exciting treat I have booked for later this morning! Can you tell I am all over the place with my sleep routine, blog uploads and life in general? Perhaps that’s something I will work on this week.

Lavinya- x

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