Let's Go Lashes/The Nail Base review

As you may have read in one of my earlier blogs, I love having long and beautiful lashes without the hassle of having to clog them up with a bucket full of mascara. Becky from The Nail Base in Widnes, (where I regularly go to get my fabulous statement nails done), very kindly asked me to come back and help her out with a temporary lash extensions course she was taking; I was very happy to oblige and let her practice her technique on me in exchange for a fab set of new lashes! I have to admit, I am so chuffed with the outcome.

I had previously visited The Nail Base to get this amazing new LVL Lash treatment (see my previous blog for more details) and due to the quality of the results, I jumped at the opportunity to try out these new Let's Go Lashes (2 week temporary lashes). I have had lash extensions previously in the past, and to be frank I was not entirely impressed with them - they were supposed to last for about 6 weeks, and looked fab for about 2 until they begun to fall off and leave me with bald spots. I felt much more at ease at The Nail Base than I did at the spa I had previous set of lashes done; Becky was very accommodating, gentle and sympathetic in considering how delicate the eye area is, and how certain eye and lash treatments can feel uncomfortable. I must admit, I felt virtually no discomfort during this treatment, but that may be because I am used to applying a lot of eye makeup and I am not squeamish around that area.

The only thing that may deter people from this treatment, is the fact that the lashes are applied with your eyes open - initially it is a strange sensation, especially with being able to see the tweezers so close to your eyes. To be honest though, having experienced the application of lash extensions both with my eyes open and previously with my eyes shut, I much preferred having them applied by Becky with my eyes open. I felt like I was much more aware of what was happening and how far into the treatment I was. It did also help considerably that Becky explained everything she was doing during every step of the treatment. The lashes are applied with the eye open due to the fact that we are supposed to have around 5 sets of lashes, (I was surprised to find that out!) and by applying them in between these sets, the resulting look of the treatment is a lot more natural.

So here are the results of the treatment:

My lashes before Let's Go Lashes - baring in mind I have had the LVL Lash treatment, so my lashes were pretty long to begin with...

Sorry for the rough pic! 

My lashes with Let's Go Lashes - my lashes are visibly longer and look extremely natural in my opinion!...

Two days on from the treatment, I have not lost any lashes as of yet; natural lash fall is expected, but I should apparently only lose about 4 or 5. Let's Go Lashes are made of silk, meaning they're super soft. These lashes are supposed to last about 2 to 3 weeks, which is a much more realistic estimation compared to the 5 or 6 I have been promised by previous treatments. Due to the recommended time span of these lashes, I think they are fab for holidays or special occasions. They are themselves water proof, but they do not react well to the oils and chemicals in waterproof mascara or oily makeup wipes, so that is something I am required to look out for when wearing the lashes.

The price of that lashes is yet to be confirmed, but if you are interested in the treatment, I would recommend following The Nail Base on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theglitterranch?fref=ts

As well as lashes and nails, they do a variety of treatments that I would definitely recommend checking out. I seriously cannot praise The Nail Base enough for the quality of their work and the friendliness of their service; I have been visiting Bon and Becky since I was 16 and I have not once been disappointed with their work.

Thanks a lot for everything girls! You really are fab x

Dye Day Friday

So, I have always been a big fan of the tie dye pattern from quite a young age. I think it's quirky, colourful and a great Summer and festival fashion staple. I decided to give it a crack myself and spruce up some of my old white tshirts I had lying around.

 I thought the best place to start was to check out some forums and tutorial videos on youtube - I will post some of the best videos and tutorials I could find at the end of the blog for anyone else who wants to give it a go themselves! To be honest I wouldn't really advise giving it a go without visually watching someone else do it on youtube. I tried to dye a spiral into one of my shirts without watching a youtube tutorial first, and went at it a bit blind with written instructions and it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. The good thing about tie dye is though, even if you do mess the pattern up a bit, it still looks pretty sick.

 After reading up on how to tie dye (and only doing a half arsed job at watching tutorials), I went to Hobby Craft to see if I could pick up a kit or some equipment. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a specific tie dye kit, and Hobby Craft only provided dyes and salt; I was a bit sheepish trying it for the very first time, and was worried I wouldn't do it right without solid instructions and products, so I decided to order a kit off of Amazon. This is the kit I used:

 It costs £17 from Amazon and includes red, blue and yellow dyes, a pair of gloves, elastic bands and enough salt product to dye up to 5 shirts. I think this is pretty good value considering you can literally buy plain white tshirts from Primark for like £3, and I have seen some vintage shops sell hand tie dyed tshirts for about 20 to 25 quid. It's a fun thing to do and it's pretty fab wearing a tshirt that you know you've dyed yourself.

 So all apprehension aside, I sat myself out in the garden on top of a bin bag and gave it a go; it is actually surprisingly so much easier than I thought! The pack came with clear instructions and steps that is perfect for beginners. Basically, all you have to do is soak your shirts in this warm salty solution for about 20 minutes, wring them out, fold or scrunch them up, hold them in place with elastic bands and start to dye your shirts however you like.

 I then left my tshirts in plastic bags for about 24 hours, rinsed them and hung them up to dry. Here is how they came out:

 I don't think that's too shabby for my first time! I plan to do it again and hopefully achieve some more ambitious patterns and cleaner results. When I get enough practice in, I'm hoping to start to sell a few (for a good price of course), so watch this space :)


Recommended links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZGwVMs5lBg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbjWkiQ5DtI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGldlCg4Sf4

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-tie-dye-an-old-white-shirt-or-a-new-shirt-/step2/Presenting-your-choice-of-dyes/

Fruit Salad

Hello all!

Recently I've been noticing an increasing trend in bold and colourful prints on the high street and online clothing websites. The sunny weather has definitely inspired some lovely and vibrant Summer styles, but I particularly feel as though fruity prints are the juiciest. Fruity prints are fun, bright and bold, and represent everything I think Summer fashion should be about. I myself own a few examples of fruity fashion and I have been scouting the internet and high street for a few ideas which may inspire the lot of you. I would love to know what you all think and whether you think fruity prints are as sweet and delicious as I do!



TOPSHOP:

This is one of my own personal fruity bargains that I picked up from the Topshop sale for a mouthwatering £15!

This juicy Topshop minidress is a bit more expensive at £38. If you love this print, but fancy something that covers up a bit more flesh, Topshop sell a similar midi dress in the same print for £45. The print also comes in a crop top for £22, and a pair of leggings for £30.

I think this is gorgeous. The yellow base colour looks fab with the contrasting red watermelon print. This would look lovely as a Summer day dress/ casual night dress for your jollies, and would really compliment a banging tan. A lovely little Summer purchase for £38.

This cute little banana bralet is perhaps a subtler approach to sporting the fruity print. It would provide a fun splash of fruit to a pair of denim shorts without being too bold or making too much of a statement. Price: £26.


MISSGUIDED:

This is one of my favourite pieces. I love the colour, the detail of the print and the lace on the collar. The peachy print is cute and fun without being too over facing. I got this dress in the Missguided sale for £9.99! Absolute bargain.

This Missguided pineapple print playsuit is really sweet and edgy. It would look great as a cossy cover up by the pool or at night with a cute pair of sandals for a casual drink. Missguided sell this playsuit for £14.99, as well as a swing dress (also £14.99) and a crop top (£9.99) in the same print.

Like the Topshop banana bralet, I think this strawberry bodysuit could be a subtle way to wear the trend. The colours aren't necessarily 'stand out', but the piece is still fun and playful and quite Katy Perry-esque in my opinion. Price: £14.99.

AMERICAN APPAREL:

These watermelon print shorts are super cute and very festival friendly, but may end up hurting your wallet at a hefty £54.

I love this lemon print drop cossy! It's cute and sexy, and another subtle was to wear fruity prints. The downside to a costume like this however, is that it's bound to leave a wicked tan line if you're not savvy with holiday bikini rotation. I think this is quite reasonably priced for American Apparel at £38.


VARIETY PICKS FROM ASOS MARKETPLACE: 

I adore Asos Marketplace. It's a great website to find and discover quirky new clothing lines and to snap up individual one off pieces for a great price. Here is what I have managed to find from a variety of marketplaces...

I love these shorts! The contrasting turquoise short and yellow banana pocket makes a great Summer colour combination. I think these are a bargain at £15 from the seller 'WesternTropics'.

This vintage fruit print top is very cute and Summery and a great fashion statement. A reasonable purchase at £20 from the seller 'Miss Lawes Adores'.

This sheer vintage fruit blouse is a gorgeous piece. The length also means it could potentially be worn as a dress by the more adventurous. Sold at £27 from one of my favourite marketplaces, 'Vulgar'.



And that's the pick of crop! If anyone feels inspired by this blog, I'd love to see pictures of you sporting your own take on fruity fashion. Send your snaps to: ellatroup@aol.com.
Ta-rah!

Firefly Photography Fashion Shoot

So I decided it was time to ditch the iPhone selfies and take vanity to the next level. My friend Kayleigh and I visited the Firefly Photography Studio in Manchester today for a professional style photoshoot. We were approached a few months ago in town and were given a really good deal on booking a shoot. Little did we know, they would be trying to flog us several photos afterwards for a ridiculous fee. As long as you're strong willed and don't let them persuade you otherwise, you can get quite a good deal out of them.

On the day itself, we were greeted with a glass of wine and a style consultation, which was quite simply a form we had to fill out in order to help them to create our chosen 'looks'. The hair and makeup team were very professional and were obviously very skilled in what they do. I was extremely happy with how lush my makeup turned out, even though it was a lot more subtle than I usually do myself!

We were asked to bring 3 to 5 outfits to be photographed in throughout the day. We were both photographed by 2 different photographers, one of which was particularly better and more attentive than the other; I think all of the pictures I picked to keep from the day were taken by that one photographer only. The company as a whole also came across as pretty disorganised. It just seemed we waited ages in between having our photoshoot and seeing our pictures. It was particularly irritating being told 'only 2 more minutes' about 5 times over half an hour.

But all in all it was a nice day. Nice hair, nice makeup, nice wine and nice pictures as an end result, but I could've done without the stress of a hard sell at the end. I'm not going to disclose how much I ended up spending, but I would highly recommend keeping your wits about you if you ever want to go for one of these photography experiences. DON'T GET RIPPED OFF... because I'm pretty sure I did get ripped off...

But hey, it's only money. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the day. Enjoy!

LVL Lashes Review - The Nail Base

Hello all!

Like many of you, I find applying lashings of mascara to be a very tedious chore. On Saturday, I decided to try out this new LVL Lash treatment that my local nail salon, the Nail Base in Widnes, had recently started to offer. This is a natural lash enhancement treatment, without the need for extensions, which basically involves lifting and perming the lashes.

I have had lash extensions before, which to be honest I found to be very irritating towards the end when they were falling out; the falling out process of the lashes was very inconsistent, so I ended up with like 3 really long lashes on each eye... not a good look. I can honestly say though, that the end result of the LVL Lash treatment is just as impressive as newly applied lash extensions. They feel soft, light, and I do not feel as though I have anything on my lashes, (unlike lash extensions which feel quite heavy and constantly make you feel as though you have false lashes on).

The treatment itself was around an hour, and I found it much more relaxing than the application of lash extensions. I would be lying if I said the treatment was as relaxing as a facial, but realistically anything that involves your eyes or lashes is going to be a tiny bit uncomfortable. It is anything too stressful or uncomfortable though, and Bonita from the Nail Base is always cautious and mindful of her client's needs. I regularly visit the Nail Base to get my nails done, and I am always very satisfied and very happy with what both Bonita and Becky do for me; nothing is ever too much to ask! In the past I have also had spray tans and teeth whitening treatments, which again have been very successful and professionally executed.

So back to LVL. This treatment usually lasts around 6 weeks and costs £45 at the Nail Base (unless you go with a friend to get the treatment done, in which case, Bon knocks a fiver off of each bill). I am extremely happy with how my lashes now look. My eyes look wider and the application of the treatment was even and definitely achieved a very natural look. I would very much recommend both the treatment and the Nail Base itself, which can be found on Derby Road in Widnes, Cheshire.

Here is a before and after picture of the results!
Enjoy!

An Introduction...

Hello to the very few people who will perhaps end up reading this unfortunate and poorly crafted first blog!

My name is Ella Troup, and I am a 19 year old Drama and Screen student who lives in Manchester. I have from a very young age had an unfathomable obsession with fashion, beauty, individuality, looking good and everything in between. I wanted to give this who blog thing a go, as I decided I needed a hobby which is more productive than lazing around, eating salted cashew nuts and watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians... (trashy, I know, but a little bit of trash as a guilty pleasure is good for the soul).

So what am I intending to blog about? Honestly, I am not entirely too sure of that myself. I suppose anything I feel to be interesting in regards to fashion or beauty I will probably attempt to express my invaluable opinion on. I have always been told that I am a dab hand at applying makeup and throwing together outfits, so as things develop, I would like to make a few tutorial videos. I will also post pictures of whatever I am wearing, or review any beauty treatments or new products I also feel will be of interest.

There we have it, all in a nutshell. Just to get the ball rolling, I want to share a picture of myself (vain, I know) so that you are able to put a face to the name, and get a better idea of my own personal style.

Ta-rah!