makeup

Our London Bedroom Tour

Hello everyone, I know I haven’t done a post in absolutely forever but today I wanted to talk about our bedroom. We will be moving in July and I wanted to do a post on our room, how we decorated it and made the space work for us before we move.
So we are currently renting a 4 Bedroom Victorian Terraced House in Greenwich I have been living here for 3 years and Zac moving in with me last year.  Our room is on the top floor, we have the whole floor to our selves as it’s an attic conversion. It is large but it is a bit of an irregular shape and it has sloping ceilings which limits the wall space and head room (but we are both short so its fine for us).

When renting, you are limited with what you can do, so work with what’s there. When I moved, this bedroom was part furnished. It had a large bed with a massive headboard which was taller than the wall which meant the bed was away from the wall and kind of abandoned in the middle of the floor, there was a chest of drawers which matched the bed, a wicker arm chair and a side table. We moved the arm chair into the living room down stairs. I put the chest of doors and side table into one of the other bedrooms but the bed was too big to dismantle so I decided to keep it in the room and make it work.

I took the headboard out of the posts to open it up and turned it round to use the foot board as the headboard; this allowed me to push the bed up against the wall maximizing the floor space. When Zac moving in we needed more storage space. So we looked on Gumtree.com. Gumtree is perfect if you want a furnish a room when your renting as you don’t want to be investing loads of money if you are going to be moving in the near future. There is so much Ikea furniture on Grumtree for under £20 most of it barely used and in perfect condition and its already put together so no flat pack disasters.

So here’s our room.

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The room is light and bright as there are two sky lights in the bedroom and one in the en suite. We chose white bedding as it makes the room seem even brighter and therefore bigger. We also hung an over the door mirror over the door to the en suite to maximize the space. We have gone for mostly dark furniture with a few warm beach wood pieces to tie the sky light frames with the bed we added a light wood washing basket and tv stand to bring it together. We also chose to ascent the room with coppers and metallics to add different textures and sophistication to the room.

We wanted the room to be tidy but livable so we kept a lot of things open like the cube storage in dark wood which we keep in the cubby hole (as we call it) we have filled it with photos, books, our initials and special things. We also keep the products that we use every day out on top of the dresser to make things easier in the mornings.

And this is my desk -I am very proud of it, I love how its all black and this desk lamp with wood and copper details (from George at Asda!) goes so well with everything. Before I put the desk in, this space was unused and it just looked messy but this Ikea Micke Desk fits perfectly between the dresser and the wall giving my enough headroom to sit comfortably and work and it has plenty of storage. I keep my hair dryer, straighteners and curlers in the cupboard on the left, paperwork in the to drawer and stationary in the smaller drawer.

Moving on now to our en suite. It’s neutrally decorated with a cream tiled floor cream walls, glass walk in shower and glass sink. To tie it in with our bedroom with have some black and beach wood ascents and grey towels.

Next to the bathroom in a large build in cupboard. It has a sloping ceiling again but we use it as our wardrobe where we store our hung clothes, shoes and our extra bits and pieces. It’s not that exciting but here you go …

Everything in our room is inexpensive and can easily to taken with us when we move. Like I said before Gumtree is amazing for getting cheap furniture. I picked up this 5 drawer Ikea Kullen chest of drawers for £15, Two 3 drawer Ikea Kullen dressers sold as a pair for £25 and this Ikeas Micke Desk for £10.

ikea gumtree furniture

Primark candles smell so good and are so cheap. I have the Cedarwood & Myrrh glass candle on our bedside as well as in the bathroom. I also have their vanilla defuser in the bathroom, a vanilla column candle in the lantern, a vanilla and coconut jar candle on the side and vanilla tea lights in everything else 🙂 I love to lite candles at night and it keeps the room smelling amazing.  All the other ascents in the room are  from the highstreet, the copper bowl and gold tea light holder is from George Asda and the black wire basket is from H&M.

I hope you enjoyed having a look round our bedroom. If you have an questions or comments leave them bellow. Have a lovely day.

Rimmel London Nudes.

I am a real fan of Kate Moss’s lip stick collection for Rimmel London. They come in such a great range of colours, they are really long lasting and costing only £4.99 from most dug stores -they are my go to lippy. Kate Moss recently brought out a new Nude Collection and again I was not disappointed.

This new collection features 5 gorgeous lipsticks in a range of beige shades, a clear lip conditioner and 5 nail polishes in an irresistible range of nudes. The collection is so on trend for this season and will see you through the summer and well into autumn/winter. For me it’s their lipsticks again that have caught my eye. I have purchased shades 43 and 48, 43 is a buttery caramel colour, it’s not far off my natural lip colour but just takes away the pink tone so it works really well against my olivey skin. 48 on the other hand is a rich dark beige almost chocolate, which would made a perfect nude against dark skin but for me it works as a chcocolately statement lipstick -I love it because it is still defiantly a beige shade and not a red or plum tone. There is a colour to compliment every skin tone and with its same long lasting finish as in Kate’s previous collections they will last. Perfect against your summery skin.

What’s in my makeup bag.

I recently had a sort out of all my makeup. It was such a mess -eye shadow dust and black liner splodges everywhere. The other morning I had a rummage for my tweezers my hands got so covered in makeup, I’d had enough. From that point I knew I needed to have a sort out. I had all sorts in my makeup bag, things I hadn’t used in ages and all just taking up space and making it even harder to find what I am looking for.

It is always good to have a sort out, make up is expensive and you don’t want to be chucking everything away but most makeup products have a 12 month use by date on them so it is important for hygiene to throw away old products. It is best to invest in products you know you are going to use everyday to make your money go further. I cleaned up all my makeup and washed my brushes and then sorted them in to the products I use most often and ones that I might use again in the future.

This little beige makeup bag was an absolute bargain from Newlook it was £3 in the sale. It’s a nice size as it fits all of my essentials with out take up too much room in my hand bag if I need to do my makeup on the go.

I would probably say I buy most of my makeup from Boots as your points add up quickly on my Boots card and their products are often on 3 for 2. Here is a list of my must haves right now.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Lah Multiplying Mascara £7.99

Maybelline Fit Me! concealer £5.99

Boujour Smokey Eye Trio £7.99

Boujour Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner £7.99

Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil £2.99

Rimmel London Good to Glow Highlighter £4.99

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss £5.45

Makeup bag -Newlook £3

Brush set -Amazon £6

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer Sand 20. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara Very Black 1Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil Black/BrownBourjois Healthy Mix Foundation Beige 54

Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio Eyeshadow Nude Ingenu 4Rimmel London Good To Glow Highlighter Notting Hill Glow 1Makeup Revolution Matte Concealer Stick 01 FairestMaybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner Black

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick By Kate Moss 38Body Collection Eyelash Curlers

If you are interested in how I contour my face. I have the quickest and simplest steps for everyday contouring, link bellow -Complexion Perfection.

https://katielouisaclarke.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/complexion-perfection/

Complexion Perfection.

Everyone’s skin in different but I wanted to share with you how I like to achieve a glowing complexion. For me I believe it’s all about creating highlights and shadows with a slight dewiness to make your skin appear healthy and fresh. I like to start with Bourjois Radiance Reveal Healthy Mix foundation “for a healthy glow and flawless complexion” I apply this evenly and not to heavily across my whole face, this will act as a base for the other products so I like to keep it as light as possible whilst achieving full coverage, I also like to apply it with a medium foundation brush to ensure coverage. If you are in a hurry I like to pretty much leave it there as this foundation isn’t too masking your skin looks great just from this but for the true rich glow it’s time to contour and highlight.

So next I take Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Chestnut. it’s important to choose a concealer that is at least 3 shades darker than your skin tone because you are going to blend it into the natural shadows of your face to give it greater depth. So using the concealer draw a line following the hollow under your cheek bones and across your forehead close to your hair line and then using a beauty sponge blend it out, working the colour until it softens and blends into the foundation below. Subtly is the key.

Next you need to lift the highlights of your face; under your eyes, down your nose and into your T zone. For this I like to use a Light Foundation stick in the fairest shade. I draw a triangle under each eye and then a large T shape down my nose and up into my forehead. Then using my finger I like the blend and soften this colour into the foundation below. You have now created a complexion filled with highlights, mid tones and shadows that give structure to your face.

Finally I like to finish with Rimmel London’s Up and Glow highlighter, it’s a shimmer cream that sits perfectly when applied to the peak of the cheek bones and above the brow for that added glow.  I accompany my complexion with a lick of mascara and i’m ready to go for that fresh faced look.

Contouring can be extremely complex but I find this simplified technique works well and looks great for everyday makeup.

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Want to know how to keep that summer tan for longer, click here.

https://katielouisaclarke.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/glowing/

Want help finding the right foundation for your skin tone, click here.

https://katielouisaclarke.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/my-top-two-foundations/

my top two foundations.

Finding the right foundation for your skin tone and type can be an absolute palaver. There are so many out there you have to consider whether you want a liquid or a mouse, light or full coverage, matte or dew finish and then you need to find the right colour- this is the part I struggled with for years.
foundation colour chart

Here are a couple of tips for finding the correct shade for your skin. Firstly decide what coverage you need, if you have dry or sensitive skin go for something light with natural ingredients also consider a dewy finish as this will be more moisturizing than a matte finish that could dry your skin out further. If you have “normal” skin then you have roam of what ever you like but I would recommend a light to medium coverage, anything too heavy with leave you looking caked and blotchy when it wears off.

foundationPicking the correct shade is the tricky part. When you go shopping for a new foundation I would say wear minimal to no make up so you can a clean base to work from. If you can I would recommend going somewhere like Selfridges or Debenhams or any department store where the staff are on hand and able to advise and test the products on your skin for you. If you are testing the foundation yourself then apply a small amount to the jaw line, this is the palest area of your face and if the foundation matches this area it will blend easily into your neck for a flawless finish.

I have fairly normal skin and prefer to wear a medium coverage matte foundation, my skin has a sandy beige under tone so I have found lots of foundations look too pink against my skin but now I have found my two favorites. Mac Studio Fix Fluid in shade NC15 and Revlon Colourstay in 180 sand beige. Both foundations have a similar consistency and apply really well to the skin with a foundation brush. Revlon Colourstay is a slightly deeper shade which is perfect for night or in the summer when I have a little more colour while Mac Studio Fix is the perfect shade for every day.

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These foundations may not be the right ones for you but they are defiantly worth a look. Let me know what your favorite foundation is by leaving a comment bellow.

Mac Studio Fix Fluid £21.50 http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/158/1231/Studio-Fix-Fluid-SPF-15/index.tmpl?77tadunit=fcb8c5d7&77tadvert=7634424279&77tkeyword=mac%20studio%20fix&77tentrytype=s&cm_mmc=google-_-search-_-brand-_-mac%20studio%20fix&gclid=Cj0KEQjwkIurBRDwoZfi1bGCxocBEiQAmcs-epnSWgx8bwa1z2Lt1-xExAw5Ln0IWG5LKOYe99B144QaAsy_8P8HAQ

Revlon Colourstay http://www.revlon.co.uk/Revlon-Home/Products/Face/Foundation/ColorStay-Makeup-with-SoftFlex-for-Combination-Oily-Skin.aspx