Ditch The Slap For Summer.

June 17, 2013

Summer’s here, sun cream’s flying off the shelves and we’re all out in the garden having BBQs. Well, perhaps one weekend each month we have the luxury of such weather, being begrudging citizens of the United Kingdom. The first thing we see after the teensiest hint of sunshine is an absolute fake-tan army, patrolling the streets, our shitty beaches, or even just loitering around the local Spar with a couple Calippo lollies – a complete onslaught of orange. I hate it. It’s probably one of my most anti-beauty blogger opinions, and may even get me banished from the blogosphere but, I bloody hate fake tan. It’s nigh impossible to get done properly, unless you’re in the know and of a well-padded bank account, which we all know accounts only for the tiniest minority of Britain’s population. Instead, we get faced with young girls and ladies committing one of many ‘sun’-kissed sins: streaks/OTT orange pigmentation/different coloured foundations to fake tan – it goes on and on. Not to mention the grim side effects. You’re either going to smell funny, drip brown liquid over all your belongings/bedsheets/boyfriends, or take the other option and get cancer, or just botch up your facial skin quality by whapping on the slap and causing breakouts.

Now, how much of Britain’s fake tan obsession do you think spurns from the media, or peer pressure? I’d say a damn good amount. When I was in high school, I was relentlessly bitched at by the chavvy girls due to my ghostly white complexion, usually in a guise of being utterly perplexed that I didn’t bother slapping colour on me that was a good 10 shades darker than the Snow White pigment I was born with. As long as you take care of your skin properly, it doesn’t matter what damn colour it is. If you consistently shave, exfoliate and moisturise, your skin will look radiant and healthy in the sun regardless! You don’t have to add further stressors to your life by thinking you can’t leave the house without a 2cm layer of paste all over you. It’s just bizarre to me.

But I’m not the only one who feels like embracing my natural tone and working with it. Here are some pale celebrity goddesses:

Rooney Mara

 

Taylor Swift

Nicola Roberts

Amanda Seyfried

Charlotte Free

My main change to my beauty regime that, unless I’m going on a night out, I have completely and utterly cut out foundation – sticking instead to using just moisturiser, concealer when necessary, and the odd bit of powder on my t-zones. This has been going on for nearly a month now and I cannot begin to explain how much of a difference it has made my complexion. My skin is clearer than its ever been, my freckles are proudly mooching around my cheeks and the overall finish is much cleaner and natural. Being so pale, I find it difficult to find any foundation that actually suits me for more than a season anyway, so I thought I’d brave being naked for a while and get to the root of the problem, that foundation was only covering up and worsening anyway!

I say: give it a try. And if it doesn’t work, you can send me nasty emails. But I’m pretty damn sure you’ll see great results and you’ll learn to feel comfortable with the quality and shade of your own skin tone within no time – no more wasting time and money on bottles of orange gunk – let the warmth of summer bring out your natural glow. If you’ve tried to cut out any beauty product recently – let me know how it went! Here’s a blatant piss-take photo from my holiday in March, where I braved Morocco without bothering with fake tan:

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REVIEW: L’Oreal Préférence Mousse Absolue in Natural Darkest Brunette.

June 16, 2013

Back to my namesake ‘Ebony’ locks, not a moment too soon. Being born with jet black hair and having it slowly fade over time from the sun and whatnot, I’m forever popping the darkest dark brown hair dyes on that I can – just to top up the colour without making it look like a weird black wig. If you’re a fan of super dark hair too, you might be aware of the weird bold all-over colour that comes with using jet black dyes: it’s always better to use a really dark brown one so it remains multi-tonal. And this dye has it all:

This revolutionary product allows you to apply your base dye in one application and then, if you have medium/short length hair, there will be enough in the bottle for you to reuse it for top ups or root applications. Due to its clever double cylinder design, you don’t have to faff about with the usual chemistry lesson of mixing all the lotions and potions together (which can often go wrong if you’re as dippy as me, and has in the past), instead just using the pump to apply straight on. This makes for a quick and easy hair dye session! If you have short hair, the box says there is enough formula for two applications and a root touch-up; medium length is enough for one application and a root touch-up and long hair is just one application in a box. I was pretty dubious about this claim, given that my hair is past boob-length and generally, one box of hair dye is never enough and I come out looking like a patchy bastard. However, I was pleasantly surprised: it covered the entirety of my thick mop consistently and came out great.

One issue that I would have with the reusable aspect is, if you’re going to be wanting to use it again: tread very carefully whilst applying. Once it was done, the bottle was covered with dye – so you may want some baby/make-up wipes on hand to wash it all off before you store it for next time. Incredibly, and almost dubiously, L’oreal claim that you can keep the hair dye indefinitely for your next application – which is brilliant if you have short hair, I could imagine it transpiring to be highly cost-effective! Speaking of, get down to Superdrug: the hair dye is currently on offer for £8.99, instead of the usual £10.99 price. If you’re looking to buy other beauty products in your next shop, however, I’d suggest Boots as the hair dye is currently included in their ‘Buy-one-get-one-half-price’ offer, but it’s at the full price of £10.99 there. I’m tempted to stock up on them, given they apparently never go ‘off’ or ‘weird’!

The next part of my little hair transformation is that I’ve bought some white-blonde streak extension pieces on eBay that I’m going to dye pastel mint green and pop into my hair for a colour injection, every now and again. The main irk for people with dark hair is that it’s nearly impossible to go white blonde and then brightly coloured without making an absolute pigsty of your hair’s condition. So I’m just going to dye some random Russian woman’s hair and clip it onto my hair instead…

Tweet me @Ebzo

Discovering a Goldmine: New Look Generation 915.

June 15, 2013

You’ve got to be ‘kid’din’, right? Yes, I am talking about the child/teen section of New Look and yes, I am raving about it – at the disgraced un-teen age of twenty. A couple of weeks back, I was eyeing up the influx of denim trend in the regular section, particularly the denim dungaree dresses, and randomly got the brainwave to have a quick gander at the kids’ stuff – on the premise that, if – with my pathetic size 3 feet, I fit in the shoes – surely I’ll fit in the clothes? And I do. And the range is pretty damn good. There are nigh-identical teen-size alternatives to almost every staple piece from the adults’ section, without VAT, so at a fraction of the price. And here’s another bonus: you can still use student discount on top! Here’s an example of some of the things you can buy:

g915 sports luxe crop t-shirt £9.99 | g915 high-waister denim dungaree shorts £15.99

Par examplé, the average price for a dungaree style piece in the adults section, be it shorts or a dress style, gravitated around the £30 mark, whereas, the kids’ versions were only around £22.99. I’d recommend the line to anyone under a size 10 on the whole – I’m a size 6 and have bought an age 9 crop t-shirt, age 13 high-waisted dungaree shorts, age 14 skater skirt and an age 14 baggy sports luxe crop. And I think all of those combined came to approximately £35 – wowzers. One thing I was a tad disappointed with, however, was the thinness of both shirts that I bought: totally see-through for ultimate bra exposure. Great. Annoyingly, for the first time in my history of New Look perusing, the website is down, so I can’t show you any examples of the g915 offerings, but I’ll be sure to update the post with pictures once it’s back in business.

Now I’m going to be scouring the high street to see if anyone else offers the same versatile sizes!

Tweet me at @Ebzo

REVIEW: Bare Minerals Prime Time Brightening Foundation Primer

June 13, 2013

I can’t say I’ve ever been crazy about buying primers before: my skin’s reasonably quite ruly when it comes to oiliness and I’ve recently taken the plunge to not wear foundation unless I’m going out. However, of the ones I’ve tried, this one is definitely fighting me for Benefit’s ‘Porefessional’ #1 title in my must-haves, upon receiving it recently. That said, there are huge differences between the two products: the Bare Minerals targets redness, which is portrayed in its yellow-based tone, whereas, the Porefessional is more of an all-rounder which would be suitable for all skin types. This makes me a big fan of the Bare Minerals, as I’m very pale skinned with an annoying pinky undertone, which is coming out in the sunshine as a glorious reddy undertone – how gloriously attractive that sounds. A thin layer of this beauty smoothed in after moisturiser and I am good to go. Here’s a little swatch on my paleness: (don’t fear, it rubs in to a less scary colour!)

At £21 for a 30ml product – but only £17 through QVC, it does seem a little steep – but each application only requires the tiniest of presses on the pump, so it should be cost-effective and long lasting. It’s definitely a good product to use if you’re about to embark on a wild night out, great for avoiding the oil slick/patchy red-face-man look after you’ve been throwing too many shapes at the latest Justin Timberlake song. It’s also proved pretty good as a standalone beauty product; applying after moisturiser on one of the bizarre heatwave days we’ve had of late (cue pensive stare to the now-rain drenched window), can be really effective if you fancy getting a bit au naturel. This is especially fun if you’re freckly.

There is one thing that I disliked about this product and, annoyingly, it could be a big off-putter to some: the scent is strong. I’m talking really strong. Nothing repugnant or bad-smelling, just mildly medicinal to the extent that I’m always quite dubious about putting it under my eyes, lest they get all watery. I still use and would recommend the product, I would just suggest that in future, it’s made with less perfume. I mean, why does primer need to be scented anyway?

I would’ve done a picture of me actually wearing the product but I have a nasty heat/stress rash on my face at the moment, so you’re not going to get a clear indication of how it works. Grr. I will update the post with pictures when I’m a bit less haggard-looking.

Pros: Works effectively – covers up red marks/smoothes surface, little goes a long way.

Cons: Smells a bit like you don’t want it invading your retinas. Then again, I don’t think the smell of anything would make you want it on/in/around your retinas. Ahem.

Would I recommend: Yes. Particularly to those with normal/combination skin of a lighter tone, with a pink undertone.

Tweet me @Ebzo

WISHLIST: June

June 12, 2013

1. Dahlia Ava Tassel Hem Dress with Lace Detail – £68How quirky is this dress? I have the perfect fedora and platform boots for it. It would also go beautifully with #4 – the RegalRose ring. 

2. ASOS shirt – £18 | I’ve been traipsing around the high street looking for a really simple plain white shirt to wear with the plethora of collar pins/statement necklaces I’ve been coveting recently. Thanks to Clara from CountessDuBlush for this find!

3. Boohoo Annie Oversized Vintage Jumper – £15 | I’d like this in coral and jade, please and thank you. The coral is on trend with the current pastel madness and is one of the very few colours that actually makes my pale skin look semi radiant, or at least alive.

4. RegalRose Zuri Turquoise Knuckle Ring – £17 | Massive fan of this brands stuff, not a particular fan of their price tags though. After losing my first midi ring last week, I’m scared to buy this. But I must. I must. Big on the stacking/OTT rings trend at the moment.

5. Company Magazine Fashion Forum Ticket – £25 | Plus travelling, plus food – argh. If I get a job within the next couple of days and secure some proper income, I am so very there. I’m also looking for someone to car pool with – I don’t have a car myself, but I did this with some bloggers to London Fashion Week last year and it worked really well and was cost-effective! Let me know if you fancy it!

6. Urban Outfitters Casio Pink Mini Digital Watch – £20 | The black Casio watch in a similar design has had me hovering over the ‘buy’ button for years, but this pink one might just have me sold. I’ve seen one in a mint green at Button & Bow however, that I might nab instead!

7. Boohoo Arwen Extreme Suedette Flatform Wedge – £25 | Why do I have to have pathetically small size-3 feet, which are always the first size to sell out? I want these and I want them badly. They’re the perfect ‘ALT’ernative to sandals if you’re a bit too gothy for them, like me. I’m on these as soon as they’re back in.

What’re you drooling over this month?

Tweet me @Ebzo

NEWS: Primark Comes To ASOS.

June 12, 2013

And after finally checking out the hype – YES, I’m bloody happy about it. I saw the endless tweets last week, which caused a stir about the bizarre news that Primark was to finally be available online through everyone’s favourite online shopping portal: ASOS – but I was not convinced. The first thing I posted went along the lines of ‘OH shit, let me guess: the prices are horribly inflamed and have rendered Primark/ASOS into something completely alien to Primark, which is marketed heavily on its affordability’, so I didn’t bother having a look. And then I got tonsillitis. Probably karma for being a presumptuous cynic, but there you go – until recently, I hadn’t checked the line out. But hot damn, hats off to you guys: it’s impressive, and most importantly, quintessentially Primark-priced.

The main trends that I’ve noticed are sport/varsity, denim and florals (oh, and an odd array of random onesies – bit weird for summer), which all seem to be aimed at a younger buyer: I could quite easily see the entire range on the post-sixteen-year olds wreaking havoc on Leeds/Reading Festival, which’d be a nice change from the bum-revealing shorts that we ended up dubbing ‘womb-lining shorts’ by the end of the weekend last year, due to their lack of leaving much to the imagination. Anyway, the line is definitely young, flirty and really quite damn cool. Here are some pieces that I’ll be hoping to snap up:

1.Polka Dot Cut Out Denim Shirt Dress – £15 | 2. High Neck Cold Shoulder Crop Top – £6 | 3. Floral Print Prom Dress – £17

What do you think of the new collection?

Follow me on Twitter @Ebzo

NEWS: Rookie Mag Appoints New Editor.

June 12, 2013

When I saw this job listing in May, my little heart dropped and I wished – just for a few fleeting moments – that I could be that little bit older, that little bit bolder and arguably a good deal wiser. If you’ve followed me for a while, or seen my application to the ELLE Edited By The Interns 2013, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of the founder of RookieMag.com: seventeen-year old Tavi Gevinson. She has presented me with many an existential crisis at my twenty-years of age, having embarked upon her career from the mere age of eleven – leaving me to swallow my dashed hopes along with my long-lost ability to pull off a blue fringe and instead, consistently nag my sixteen year old sister to get her arse in gear and start some kooky blog. I digress: Rookie Mag has chosen a new Editor. Fanfares at the ready please, dun dun duuuuh: and it’s none other than Danielle Henderson, founder of the Feminist Ryan Gosling meme/blog/book. Now, when I discovered this, admittedly I was a little downhearted as, personally, I feel like the only being of vagina-possession who a) doesn’t give two cahoots about Gosling b) therefore, didn’t find anything to do with Gosling being posed as a loveable feminist even remotely funny/informative/entertaining. I’ve already formed a duvet fortress to dodge the daggers and disbelief.

But I’m a black sheep in the Gosling world, and once I found out that Henderson and her friend had happened upon the idea whilst making prompt-cards for her Feminism revision at university, I was all in: revision and a book deal in one? Colour me beyond impressed. One thing that did hit me with a sense of wonderment however, was that unlike Gevinson and, from the looks of it – the bulk of the writers at Rookie who seem to gravitate around eighteen – Henderson is thirty-six. She’s already a writer for the site, sure, but is this indicative of a mothering figure taking over some proceedings at Rookie? Don’t get me wrong, I’m inspired by Henderson’s achievements and I can see why that would be a good thing to bring to the forecourt, especially given her accolades are quite alternative and internet-related, which is something Rookie just loves. So maybe it’s just me, but I love the idea of a bunch of late teens doin’ it for themselves – just as my admiration for Gevinson has flourished mainly because of her age-to-success ratio.

Either way, I wish all the best for the new editor and hope to see a post about her inauguration later on today. I’m guessing she’ll be asleep now, being stateside – dreaming dreams of awesome. It’s not even 9am here and I’m inspired. Hell, I even did weighted squats this morning and I’ve yet to consume even a thimble of tea. Bring it on Wednesday, today is excessive blog catch-up time/tonsillitis-beating/Soother-suckin’ day.

Follow me on Twitter @Ebzo

Hey It’s Okay…

June 5, 2013

Not to be a-ok super-duper girly positive 24/7, everyday in a globe-turn. If you’ve ever read Glamour magazine, you’ll recognise the titular reference (god damn, that’s a good word): they have a page in each issue upon which they list a number of everyday things we have to deal with, that we often have to pretend to like. Basically, it’s a collective admittance that we’re not all 100% perfection goddesses, or Karlie Kloss – which is a good thing, sure – until you see Karlie Kloss. So yeah, given fashion/beauty blogs often revolve about the pizazz and sparkle of our favourite products, styles and events – I thought I’d inject a little much-needed mildy cynical realism into the Barbie Dreamworld we seem to be making of the blogosphere. Here is a selection of things that grind my feminine gears:

temp (2)Fashion’s latest ‘IT’ model, notorious onesie-rocker and undeniably Britain’s hottest gurner – Cara Delevingne is the shit right now. When I first discovered her, I was totally on the ‘OMG guiz, it’s so nice to have a model who’s down to Earth and relatable!’ bandwagon – but now I’ve realised: no, oh no son, it is not – give it up. Models are supposed to be beautiful clothes-hangers who possess an attractiveness that ascends the sort of girl next door/girl on Page 3 look your average bloke goes for – not a) avid wearers of tiger onesies b) socialistas who hang out with their celebrity ‘wifeys’ (may I interject and say that I could write an entire post on that word alone) c) on cooking shows with other models. Just when we were already feeling grim enough that we had to make that third microwave meal in a week: we get to watch two beyond svelt models cooking recipes  on YouTube. 

I’m usually  not one for the objectifying of women myself, but the incessant barrage of Cara pictures in which she’s pulling a hideous, downright childish gurn face is just getting a bit much. I’m sorry, but you can’t pose like this:

And then pose like this:

Don’t even get me started on her tattoos. The fact that she’s the same age as me angers me in two brutally honest ways: a) bouts of disgraceful jealousy at her face b) the fact that she acts like an absolute berk and thus, makes fellow 20 year olds seem like berks of an equal measure. Within a couple of months, doing a ‘Cara’ face will completely and utterly be a universally understood term, if not entered into the Collins dictionary. P.s. Cara, you’re still fit.

temp (3)

This summer we celebrate and embrace representing the colour scheme of the Red Light District. Dressing like a fluro stripper sign does not make me want to jump up brandishing my Visa Debit (I’m not going to pretend I’m either brave enough or old enough to possess a credit). Maybe this is something that the naturally tanned should stick to – and no, I’m not talking about you over there, reeking of Fake Bake – it’s something that can only look dire on our generally melanin-deprived skin tones, thanks to our good ol’British weather, surely.

I’m just imagining the tweens of my hometown falling out of Primark with bags laden with top-to-toe neon – think shitty industrial town and you probably already know where I’m referring to. If you really, really must insist on incorporating some of this bizarre trend into your #OOTD, maybe just stick to one piece – like a cool fluro jumper with a crisp white shirt, or a bright green neon satchel. I’m only going to be touching pastel neon with a tentative bargepole though: I’m too white ‘n’ nerdy for anything more potentially garish.

temp

Already touched on this in the last point, with the passive aggressive Fake Bake dig – but oh lordy, I am an ardent disliker of fake tan. Just – why? Okay, the appeal of something like a Garnier gradual tan can be appreciated – granted, it doesn’t smell particularly marvellous and it can often still make you look like  the love child of Pamela Anderson and a zebra, but at least it looks more ‘I’ve just come back from: Portugal – honest’, than ‘I’ve just come back from: Africa – I forgot the suncream’. If you’re naturally pale, embrace it: instead of lathering yourself in mushed up Cheetos in a bid to look healthier and slimmer, why don’t you just stop being a lazy shit and go to the gym? Or hey, just be happy how you are – you probably look damn good anyway.

I have only ever had bad experiences with tanning, or the furtive handful of occasions that I’ve flirted with it. These have only occurred, as a rule, because of peer pressure – or often, best-friend pressure. First experience: sneaking into the sunbeds when we were only 15/16 for the first (and with no sliver of doubt, my last) time, with my best friend – without being instructed to turn the fan on and, consequently walking like I’d starred in an anal gangbang porno and resembling a packet of Frazzles crisps for the following week. The others generally revolve around the aforementioned gradual tan, which I tried again more recently in March when I went to Marrakech with the same best friend – and predictably ended up a streaky bastard.

If you own a tanning glove: I do not understand you and your kind.

temp (1)

Nights on Twitter where every other post contains a #BGT are my least favourite nights. Yeah, I’m a bit of a pop-culture scrooge: I rarely even watch TV – but if I do, it most definitely doesn’t include: #MIC #BGT #TOWIE etc etc #killmenow. The appeal in these shows is quietly apparent, I know, people do often watch the for the ‘OMG’ factor over the real ‘X’ factor, but in all honesty, I think they’re just a bit pile of crap and I’d much rather watch a bit of The Office US (RIP) or Modern Family. Gotta level with you though: bitches love Snog, Marry, Avoid and I am so one of those bitches.

 

So there you go, a little insight into the less rainbows-and-butterflies inhabited side of my brain. I’d really appreciate it if this caught on and somebody else wrote a similar post, to alleviate me of the ‘youngest old person ever’ feeling and remind me that we’re not all super girly girls, with our virtual pompoms, all the time. P.s. I’ve finished university for the year now – second year: complete. That means I’m going to be way more active on here now, so get following and anticipate much more!

Follow me on Twitter @Ebzo

Missguided Darby Platform Boots.

May 31, 2013

I wasn’t planning on doing a post today, I was meant to be focusing solely on revision – but I literally cannot help myself. This is just going to be a quick post to show you the new huge beauties that came in the post this morning: Missguided Darby Platform Boots i.e. ‘The Boots That Will Threaten Boyfriends’ Manhoods’. When I first spotted these on the gorgeous Sara Luxe‘s site from one of her outfit posts, I mistook them for Jeffrey Campbell Litas, then looked closer and noticed the difference – which perhaps controversially, I completely prefer to most JC shoes. The wooden heel is just too Ikea for me.

Photo on 31-05-2013 at 14.21

After checking where they were from, and discovering they were only £36ish with free Next Day P&P from Missguided.co.uk, I had to have them. And am I glad I ordered them: they’ve snapped back to Out of Stock again now – but you can sign up to get notified of when they’re back in! P.s. You’re going to get some crazy looks if you walk around town during the day in these, people must think I’m absolutely mental but they are bizarrely really comfortable, though I did nearly go over when I started walking and texting: curse you Lancaster cobbles.

Today I teamed them with:

  • Above frilly socks – £1.99 approx on eBay.
  • Collared geometric pattern dress – River Island £15 in sale.
  • American Apparel denim skater skirt – £6.99 approx on eBay. 
  • Long chained clock pendant – £20 Urban Outfitters.

I’m definitely going to be writing up a post about the joys of eBay fashion hunting very soon, I’ve bought some really cool stuff for absolutely nothing recently. I mean – American Apparel, worn once, less than £10? Incredible.

The winner for my Little Birdie London bracelet giveaway was also announced this morning – congratulations to @lauraajarvis for winning. Now I need to rustle up some ideas for my next giveaway! Looking forward to my items from the store being delivered tomorrow, can’t wait to show you all the adorable pieces I chose, like this Lyla Statement Necklace:

Follow me on Twitter @Ebzo!

Order from ELNfashion.com.

May 30, 2013

etsy

Follow me on Twitter @Ebzo for updates!

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