Life Lately

Life has been incredibly busy recently, work is non-stop. In between prepping for photo shoots I've managed to squeeze in some spring summer press days. It's always weird seeing summer clothes just as I've dug out my winter tights and I'm already looking forward to bare legs and summer sandals again.

Marbled jewellery at the Arcadia press day

It's all about the botanical print for next season

I'll take both please! Super furry sliders from Topshop

Perfect pineapple loveliness for your next summer holiday

Ideal for beach strolling

A gorgeous beach bag from Fiorelli

I also attended my first baby shower and made my first nappy cake which I was pretty proud of!

The vital ingredients for my nappy cake

The finished article!

It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas in London with the colder weather and street decorations popping up everywhere. I can't wait to put my tree up now!

Giant baubles in St. Christopher's Place

I made these delicious peanut butter cookies to help me get through a weekend of work. Suffice to say there are none left now!

Peanut better cookie time!

I hope you all have a great week!

Sx

Tips From The Pros: Carrie Jones

I've had the pleasure to work with Carrie on many jobs both in the UK and abroad. She is a beautiful person inside and out and I've never seen her without a red lip! Carrie has been a make up artist for almost a decade working for clients including Reiss, Tatler, Clinique, Stylist Magazine and with celebrities including Gok Wan and Ollie Murs. 

Here Carrie shares with me her top make up tips including how to get the perfect red lip.

Nars Sheer Glow £31 BUY HERE

My favourite foundation is Nars Sheer Glow. I use it on myself and my clients. It gives fantastic coverage yet allows the natural glow of your skin to come through.

Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick £21 BUY HERE

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat £22.50 BUY HERE

The best concealor for covering blemishes has to be Bobbi Brown. However I find it a little too heavy for under the eyes so use the iconic Touche Eclat by YSL. It's an icon for a reason, containing light reflecting particles so dark circles vanish.

Lancome Hypnose £22.50 BUY HERE

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes £10.99 BUY HERE

Lancome's Hypnose mascara is my favourite but at £22 is a little pricey so I've found L'Oreal's Volume Million Lash also does a great job on the lashes.

Mac Cremeblend Blush £18 BUY HERE

Without a doubt the best blushers are MAC's Cremeblend Blushers. They blend into the skin effortlessly and last all day. I like to apply them with a flat stipple brush (Mac also does a great one). My top tip would be to invest in some good quality brushes. The initial expense is well worth it as you'll be surprised by the difference they make to your make up routine and if you look after them they should last a lifetime.

Mac Studio Fix Powder £21.50 BUY HERE

I always have Mac's Studio Fix Powder in my make up kit. It's a multi-tasking product so can be used as a foundation, making it great for after work touch ups as it takes the shine away and provides good even coverage. Again, I recommend using this product with a brush and not the sponge provided as applying with the sponge can make the powder look a little heavy.

Dermalogica BUY HERE

As for moisturisers I swear by Dermalogica (a Sunshine & Stripes favourite too!) The products are effective whatever your skin type and I've never known anyone to react badly to them.

Maybelline Super Stay 24 Colour Lipstick £8.99 BUY HERE

I wear red lip stick every single day and the best one I've come across (and believe me I have tried a beauty counters worth of them!) is by Maybelline. Their Super Stay 24 Hour Colour Lipsticks do exactly as they promise. I swear, I put it on in the morning and it is still perfect when I take it off at night. If I'm working at a red carpet event I always use them because I know I won't have to worry about the colour smudging or coming off.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil £16 BUY HERE

The best body product that I use on every single model I work with is Honey Bronze from The Body Shop. It's a dry oil that makes limbs glisten and glow.

Mac Nail Lacquer £11 BUY HERE

When it comes to nail varnish I use Mac. Their colours paint on beautifully and last longer than any brand I've tried; I always wear them myself. I just wish they'd do a wider variety of colours to choose from!

HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette £25 BUY HERE

The one product that I can't live without has to be my HD Brows Eyebrow Palette. The colour range suits everyone and they last all day. I've even used them on underwater shoots and believe me the  brow stays put! People often overlook the brows when doing their make up but they are so important to helping define the face.

Thank you so much Carrie, I'm off to buy the Maybelline lipstick now!

Carrie's work can be viewed here.

Images: Carol Hayes Management, ASOS, Bobbi Brown, John Lewis, Amazon, L'Oreal, Allure.com, House of Fraser, Dermalogica, Maybelline, The Body Shop, Mac, HD Brows

New Jeans Love

Jeans £190 Acne Studios

A few months ago I was in Liberty doing some fantasty "if I had a money tree" shopping when I came across the perfect jeans by Acne Studios. They look good on the derrière and are a little bit boyfriend in style but without the taper so felt much more modern. Yet however much I fell for them the £190 price tag meant they stayed on the rail (mortgage to pay and all that).

Jeans £35 ASOS

Then perusing ASOS for a job I came across these and couldn't press the add to shopping cart button fast enough. I love the wide straight leg, the above ankle length and the oversized shape which is surprisingly flattering. I've been wearing mine on a weekly basis with a breton stripe or grey sweater and my beloved Stan Smiths but paired them with a tucked in shirt and high heels for date night recently. These are fast becoming my new favourite jeans...thank you ASOS.

Jeans ASOS, Shirt and shoes Zara

Images: Farfetch.com

Life Lately

Life has been incredibly busy recently, work is just non-stop. In between prepping for jobs I managed to squeeze in a few press days. It's weird seeing summer clothes and shoes just as we are entering winter, but I'm already looking forward to bare legs and open toe sandals again!

Gorgeous marbled jewellery at Freedom

It's all about the botanical print next season

Yes please I'll take both! Furry sliders at Topshop

Dreaming of a summer holiday so I can use this pineapple clutch from Topshop

The ideal striped espadrille for summer strolling

Perfect beach bag from Fiorelli

I also went to my first baby shower and made my first nappy cake which I was pretty proud of!

Putting together all the ingredients for the 'cake'

The finished article!

Christmas has most certainly arrived in London and I'm already looking forward to decorating my Christmas tree.

Giant baubles in St Christopher's Place

I made these delicious and incredibly easy peanut butter cookies to help me get through a huge weekend of work. Suffice to say I've scoffed the lot!

Peanut butter cookie time!

I hope you all have a lovely week!

Sx

What I Wore

Here's a little round up of the outfits I've worn recently.

Shacket Topshop, Sweater Zoe Karssen, Skirt Mango, Boots Topshop

Heading out for a day of press days and appointments for a shoot rocking a bare leg, before the weather turned chilly and I had to dig out the opaque tights.

Coat COS, Sweater Gap, Jeans Topshop, Trainers Adidas

Going on a shoot requires comfortable clothing that I can move in as I'm often dashing around, bending over and kneeling on the floor, so skinny jeans and trainers are a must for me.

Top Gap, Skirt Vintage, Shoes Miu Miu, Bag LK Bennett

It was a dear friends' baby shower this weekend so I decided to get a little dressed up, any excuse to wear heels as I can't in my day to day job! I was gifted this gorgeous dotty clutch bag at the LK Bennett press day this week and couldn't wait to use it, so here I am clashing spots and stripes holding the nappy cake I made from scratch!

Hope you all have a great week.

Sx

The Beauty Review

The seasons have changed, so I've been trying out some richer beauty products along with a couple to help deal with my skin which has gone a little bonkers recently.

Hand Salve £9.99 Burt's Bees BUY HERE

I suffer with very dry hands so I keep a tub of this on my bedside table and rub it in every evening. Et voila! In the morning they are smooth and soft again. The formualtion is a  rich, thick balm so you really don't need much. It smells heavenly due to the rosemary and lavender oils and contains a blend of beeswax, olive, sunflower and sweet almond oils to deeply moisture parched skin. When my feet are tired and rough I treat them to a splodge of this, put on a pair of old socks and by the morning they are soft again.

Secret Concealor £19.50 Laura Mercier BUY HERE

Work has been crazy busy recently, as such my diet and sleeping patterns have suffered resulting in dull skin, under-eye greyness and my favourite, lots of little spots. I've been attempting to drink more water and eat more cleanly, while externally I've been applying Laura Mercier's Secret Concealor. It's a waxy and creamy formula, making it easy to blend into the skin. It contains vitamin E to help the skin retain moisture and vitamin A to improve the skin's elasticity, making it a multi-tasker for around the eyes. I use my ring finger to pat some around my eyes to mask the tiredness. I then seal it with a little brush of powder. Some people may be concerned that using something so moisturising to cover up blemishes would be counterproductive, however I haven't found this to be the case. I usually blitz my spots with tea tree oil, letting it absorb into the skin for a few minutes, before tapping some of the concealor on and around the spot. And hey presto! I look like I've been getting 8 hours sleep a night and drinking gallons of water!

Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam, from £30.50 Shiseido BUY HERE

Japanese skincare company Shiseido have been in business for over 140 years, producing great products that fuse technology and natural elements for incredible results. I love cleansing my face with coconut oil, but when I found this cleanser at the back of my bathroom cupboard recently I thought I'd give it a try. It's a very dense cream so you really only need a fingernails worth to wash your entire face and neck. I like to splash my face with water before lathering it up in my wet hands then massaging into my face for a good minute or so. It completely gets rid of all my makeup, mascara and London grime that I've accumulated during the day. Make sure you remove it thoroughly with water before opening your eyes because it stings like crazy. Afterwards my skin feels squeeky clean but not tight or stripped, and it smells soapy and fresh.

Life Lately

Life lately has been super busy with work, travel and life laundry including searching for a new kitchen (sooooo time consuming!) Yet I think it's very important to fit in some fun things, so here's what I've been up to.

Wahoo! Well done Norris!

Watching the boyfriend do yet another marathon, this time in beautiful Eastbourne. You can read about his endeavours here.

While the boyfriend runs I eat gelato!

Being the support team for a marathon is hungry work so I had to fill up on the best gelato in Eastbourne at Fusciardi's.

Visiting the Art Gemini Prize

Heading South of the river to support a friend who was exhibiting at the Art Gemini Prize exhibition.

Perfect Stripes From Chinti & Parker

Squeezing in a few press days in-between prepping for photo-shoots and spotting this beautiful stars and stripes cashmere sweater from Chinti & Parker.

Faux Fur Coat £95 Topshop

Coveting this camo fur coat from Topshop.

Date night drinks

Making time for date night with the boyfriend.

I hope you all have a great week!

Sx