Amazing Advertisers // July

Hi everyone! So I'm sure you all know the drill by now. At the end of every month, I publish my Amazing Advertisers post which introduces you to the wonderful gals (and ocassionaly guys!) who've been sitting over in my sidebar for the past month. I personally love reading these posts as they're a great way to find new blogs and if I see one pop up on my Bloglovin feed, I always give it a little read. Theres some fabulous blogs and a couple of amazing websites featured this month so do keep reading to find out a little bit more about them.

Image Hair Extensions

At IMAGE we are committed to providing quality real clip in hair extensions at the lowest prices. All of the Remy human hair that we use here at image, has been ethically sourced from the highest quality suppliers and is available in a wide range of colours and lengths. We know that image matters which is why we are passionate about providing the best clip in hair extensions and great customer service. Whether you are a blonde or a brunette or any shade in between, we'll be able to help you find the perfect human hair extensions for you.

Website || Facebook || Twitter 

 Charlotte from Bercie Baby

Hi Guys, My name is Charlotte & I’m a Parent/Lifestyle blogger over at bericebaby.com. I blog about being a first time mum to my baby boy Hayden, Fashion, Beauty, everyday products and everyday life. I am somewhat of a part-time vlogger over on my youtube too HAHA.

Stop by and say Hi – Love meeting new people!

Lotte xo

Blog || Youtube || Twitter || FaceBook || Pinterest || Instagram

Hi friends. My name is Haley. I'm 20 years old and the star blogger over at Haleywood (insert dramatic Hollywood sound effects) I am addicted to shopping and trying new beauty products, so I needed someone to talk to about it another than annoying my family with it. They always tells me I'm the target market for anything. Some people could sell ice to a polar bear. Well... I'm the polar bear.

 I love to write and am so happy to share all the things I am passionate about with y'all. I write blog posts about just about anything from hauls and favorites to personal posts. I love bright lipstick a little too much, watch a little too much TV, have a little too many copies of Vogue, and buy a little too much online, but let's not tell my mom. Come stop by for a chat!!

Blog || Bloglovin || Twitter

Vicky from Beauty Blogging Brunette

Hi everyone, I'm Vicky and I blog at beautybloggingbrunette.blogspot.co.uk. I've been passionate about writing for as long as I can remember and as a trained makeup artist with over two years industry experience, I live and breathe beauty! Beauty blogging enables me to combine the two as well as share the tips and tricks I've picked up along the way with everyone.

I'm on the verge of dipping my toes into the world of YouTube soon to explore the more interactive side of beauty - I'm so excited to share my makeup stories with you all!

Blog || Twitter || Youtube

Claire and Lauren from Stylingo

Hey there you sexy things! Our names are Claire and Lauren and we blog over at Stylingo. As well as being blogging partners, we also work together and live together in a little house that we affectionately call The Bitch Shack. This means that we spend a huge portion of our day talking about the extremely important topics of fake tan, eyebrow shapes and our trauma over the upcoming tartan trend (really though, why?) We decided a couple of months ago that we basically needed other people to talk to about our endless obsession, and so decided to set up Stylingo to share our stupid opinions with the world.

As well as OOTDs, haul posts and reviews, we also like to dish out some top level life advice, so have composed a number of feature posts such as ‘Life Tips From Amanda Bynes’ (which might be a bit tasteless now she’s set her legs on fire) and ‘Why Breakups Are Brilliant’ (you’ll get so skinny now your stupid ex isn’t always feeding you cake, don’t you know?)

We love our little blog and absolutely rejoice whenever anyone says they’ve enjoyed reading it or it’s made them laugh. So feel free to stop by and say aloha!

Blog || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram

Laura from Beauty Best Friend

Hi, I am Laura from UK beauty blog Beauty Best Friend. I have been passionate about makeup for as long as I can remember (too long!) so I decided to set up Beauty Best Friend to share my product reviews and beauty tips with others – the same way I would share my makeup knowledge and recommendations with my best friends.

I am a jewellery designer living in Yorkshire with my husband and 3 cats. (I am also qualified as a beauty therapist, although I have never worked as one.) When I am not testing beauty products and blogging about them I enjoy home improvements, baking and all kinds of creative crafts. I love my GHDs and am on a mission to find the perfect pink lipstick! Follow my search at Beauty Best Friend!

I am always happy to hear from followers, so feel free to get in touch.

 Blog || Bloglovin || Facebook || Twitter  || She Said Beauty

Kari from Brown Eyed Beautie

Hello fellow beauty lovers. My name is Kari from the beauty blog, Browneyedbeautie. I have enjoyed watching beauty videos on Youtube and reading beauty blogs. I just couldn't believe that so many girls (and guys), shared a similar passion like I did. I wanted to be apart of that, so a started my own blog. I love having the opportunity to share and connect with others. I love to shop and discover the endless of products to test out and tell others what I truly think. I also post makeup tutorials, hauls, along with reviews and post a specific beauty topics. I am lover of all things beauty. I hope you stop by my little corner of the blogging world and hope you enjoy!!!

 Blog || Bloglovin || Twitter || Instagram || Pinterest || Google + || She Said Beauty

Mallzee

Here at Mallzee we make shopping online fun. Not only that, but we tailor your shopping experience just for you! Yes, you heard us - we’re your own personal shopper. Simply take a quick quiz so we can see what you like, choose your brands (we stock over 200 brands from ASOS to Bloomingdales) and then voila! A whole wardrobe of your favourite brands and the clothes that suit you all under one roof. 

Sounds awesome, right? Well, there’s more… you can sign up with Facebook so you can shop with your friends. Not sure about that top for the party on Friday night? Create a poll and let your friends decide! Not sure what it will go with? Add it to your wardrobe and Mallzee will pick other items to style it with – it’s really that good! Even better, when you shop with us, you’ll earn Mallzee dollars to put towards your next purchase! It’s free to sign up and we’re paying you to shop, I hear you say? Yup! Don’t say we’re not good to you. So what are you waiting for? Sign up to Mallzee (http://mallzee.com/Account/Register) for free today and join the shopping revolution. 

  Website || Twitter || Facebook

Laura-Beth from Laura Beth Makeup Artist

Hi! I'm Laura-Beth from www.laurabethmakeupartist.blogspot.com, an 18 year old fully qualified Make-Up Artist. I specialise in fashion and special occasion make-up and I'm fascinated by new collections on the runway every season, my life long dream is to work at fashion week. However, I am deeply interested and qualified in TV, Theatre, Film, Hair Styling, Photographic and Special Effects Make-Up as well. I am just 100% obsessed with every aspect of make-up, fashion and beauty!! 

On my blog you'll find everything from hauls and reviews to 'Get The Look' make-ups and tutorials. I enjoy every aspect of blogging and the community and I'd love it if you took a few moments to have a look around my blog, if you do be sure to leave a comment or message and I'll check your blog out too! xox

Blog || Twitter || Bloglovin

I hope you enjoyed discovering some new blogs to read and websites to browse! Let me know if you head over and follow any of them in the comments below, I'd love to know.

If you'd like to advertise with me in September, get in touch by sending an email to kljohnson1990@gmail.com.

Lots of Love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Couture Girl has been shortlisted for a Cosmopolitan 'Best Established Beauty Blog' award. If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for me here - I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

Elf Makeup // HD Powder, Blush & Mineral Lipsticks

Elf is a brand I’ve often wanted to try due to its super cheap price tags and frequent comparisons to more high-end brands but for one reason or another, I’ve never got around to placing an order on their website. Theres been numerous occasions when I’ve sat trawling through the website for hours on end but the choice is so vast, I was often left unsure what to buy. With this being said, you can imagine my excitement when the lovely people over at elf asked me if I’d like to try a few bits and pieces and share my thoughts with you guys. The products I was sent to try are their HD Powder, powder blush and two mineral lipsticks. Keep reading to find out what I thought about each of them ...

High Definition Powder (£6.00)*

As I just said, I often find myself browsing the elf website and the one product that always catches my eye is this High Definition powder, purely because of its 'HD' name. For some reason it strikes me as the kind of product Kim Kardashian would use and it sounds like a pretty good dupe for the well loved Makeup Forever HD powder. The elf website claims that it "creates a "soft focus" effect to the skin and masks fine lines and imperfections for a radiant complexion." I was quite sceptical about these claims before trying the product but I have to say, they're right.

The powder looks bright white when its first applied but when blended into the skin (I use a Real Techniques Powder brush) its translucent and un-detectable. I really like this as it has a very natural finish and sets foundation and concealer perfectly without looking cakey. I also love the texture of this product as it feels silky soft and really does help to smooth the skin. I find my makeup looks more refined and flawless after using this product than it does with a standard powder. I don't have any complaints about it other than the packaging which I'm not keen on. The large black pot is pretty bulky so isn't particularly travel friendly and doesn't fit in my every day makeup bag. It can also be quite messy due to the way the products is dispensed too but I can over look these things as it sets my makeup perfectly! 

Powder Blush | Candid Coral (£3.75)*

I’ve been really enjoying wearing blush lately which is something I never thought I’d say as once upon a time I was so anti-blush that I didn’t even own any. However, after a bit of experimenting I’ve discovered that when applied properly, it can really enhance the overall appearance of my makeup and add more definition and radiance to my face. You might have heard me say it before but I’m definitely more of a peach than pink girl so this elf powder blush in the shade ‘Candid Coral’ couldn’t be more perfect for me. 

It’s a beautiful pale peach shade with a slight gold shimmer running through it. It isn’t massively pigmented but I don’t mind as I find it gives my cheeks a nice wash of colour without being too overpowering. I also love that the shimmery undertone highlights my cheekbones and gives my face some radiance. I’d actually say this blush is a slightly less pigmented version of NARS Gilda and the packaging is almost identical too. For only £3.75, I really can't fault this blush and I'd recommend giving one of them a try.

Mineral Lipsticks | Barely Bitten & Natural Nymph (£5.00 each)*

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know how completely obsessed I am with lipsticks. Seriously, I never get bored of buying and trying them and they’re definitely my favourite piece of makeup to experiment and change my look with. Now although I love lipstick, I’m quite particular about how I like it to look and feel on my lips. I’m not interested in matte lip products due to the fact I suffer with dry lips and it tends to make them look ten times worse and I don’t like anything too sheer either. I know, miss fussy pants!

Luckily, the elf mineral lipsticks aren’t either of those things and instead sit somewhere in between. I find them pigmented and long-lasting whilst still being very moisturising, the perfect combo. According to the elf website they’re made with a blend of exotic oils, natural waxes, vitamins and plant extracts which helps to keep the lips hydrated and soft throughout the day. I have to say I agree with this as they glide onto with ease and feel very luxurious to apply. The two shades I received are ‘Barely Bitten’, a neutral rosy pink shade (think your own lips but better) and ‘Natural Nymph’, a peachy nude. Barely Bitten is definitely my favourite shade out of the two as Natural Nymph is far too pale for my liking. However, the formula of both is lovely and I'm sure if you like a pale lip, you'd love Natural Nymph!

Overall I'm really impressed with all of these products and I can 100% say I'll be ordering more products from the elf website. If you're looking for high quality products with affordable price tags, look for further than elf. You can find the website here and they often have amazing discounts and offers so do keep your eyes peeled for those.

Have you tried anything from elf? Do you like their products?

Lots of Love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Couture Girl has been shortlisted for a Cosmopolitan 'Best Established Beauty Blog' award. If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for me here - I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

Wedding Guest OOTD // Wish Want Wear

Dress - Wish Want Wear* | Shoes - Matalan | Clutch - Dorothy Perkins | Rings - Pandora

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well and having a great week. Its the weekend, yay! Before I start this post I'd just like to point out that the flash has made my legs look totally bizzare in the photos above. Just incase you were wondering if I had dodgy fake tan on, nope, I haven't. Anyway, dodgy flash legs aside, let me get back to the point of this post. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you might of seen some tweets and photos flying around about a wedding I attended last weekend. It was my boyfriends cousins wedding and the whole day was an absolute dream. Everything from the dress, venue and decor was perfect and if I could sum up how I'd want my wedding to look, that would be it. Its safe to say the bride and I have scarily similar tastes! Anyway, before I go off on a tangent, I want to talk to you about the beautiful dress I wore for the day.

I was recently contacted by a fabulous company called Wish Want Wear who offer an amazing service where you can hire a designer dress for either four or eight days, wear it for a special occasion then send it back. In my opinion, this is completely genius as I for one could never ever afford to spend thousands of pounds on a designee dress and lets face it, most of us ladies (don't deny it girls!) only wear our 'special ocassion' dresses once and then leave them to collect dust in our wardrobes. The other great thing about Wish Want Wear is the fact they will send you your dress of choice in not one but two sizes to ensure it will fit you perfectly. Now thats what I call good customer service, talk about covering all bases.

When it came to choosing my dress, I knew I wanted something that was a bit different to what I'd normally go for and something I'd feel glamorous yet classy in. The choice on the Wish Want Wear website is absolutely amazing and there really is something for every occasion so wether its your birthday, engagement party, graduation or like me attending a wedding, you'll find a dress to suit your taste and needs. As well having an amazing range of styles to choose from, the designers on offer are pretty amazing too including Chanel, Herve Leger and Cavalli just to name a few.

So after trawling through hundreds of dresses for what felt like hours, I finally decided on the Rachel Gilbert 'Sian Sequin' dress which is a beautiful salmon pink shift dress covered in sequins and beads. The embellishment is so well designed and the mix of sequins on the top half and beads on the bottom half means its not too in your face or disco ball-esque. The weight of the dress is insane (its so heavy) but as I said, its been so well designed and I felt so glamorous wearing it. As the design is so detailed, I decided to go very minimal with accessories and kept things simple with a pair of nude court shoes from Matalan and a nude bag from Dorothy Perkins. I obviously wore a corsage around my wrist too as lets face it, no wedding outfit would be complete without one of those bad boys.

If I were to buy this dress at its RRP, it would set me back a whopping £1030 (ouch!) but to hire it from Wish Want Wear it costs a much more acceptable £140. Now I don't think £140 is cheap by any means, thats still a lot of money to spend on a dress but its a small price to pay if you're getting to wear the dress of your dreams for a special occassion. Plus, there's lots of other dresses available for less than £100 on the website if you are on a smaller budget. I've fallen head over heels for almost all of the floor length gowns they have to offer and I'm wishing it was my prom again so I could hire one. Seriously, you wouldn't look out of place on a red carpet wearing one of them. Beautiful!

If you've never heard of Wish Want Wear before, I can't recommend you check out their website enough. If you have a special occasion coming up, you'd be silly not to see what they have to offer. I'm in love with the whole website and concept and I now need another event to attend so I can hire a show-stopping dress!

Do you like the idea of hiring a designer dress? What would you choose from the website? 

Lots of Love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Couture Girl has been shortlisted for a Cosmopolitan 'Best Established Beauty Blog' award. If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for me here - I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

The New Beauty Box in Town // Beauteco Box

I have to be honest when I say, I'm not a massive lover of beauty boxes. When I first started blogging I signed up for Glossybox and although I thought it was a genius idea getting a surprise box delivered to my door every month, I was often left disappointed by the contents. I'm not disrespecting Glossybox in any way as I did enjoy receiving the boxes, I'm just giving my honest opinion when I say I don't believe they were value for money and for that reason, I cancelled my subscribtion.

With this being said, I've never looked into other beauty box subscriptions as I didn't want to risk signing up and being left disappointed again. However, when I was contacted by Beautecobox a little while ago and asked if I'd like to try their July box*, I couldn't say no. After reading about the concept behind their box and seeing the products up for grabs, it was an offer too good to miss out on. Unlike other beauty boxes, Beauteco offer their subscribers a 'menu' each month that gives them the option of not one, not two but three different boxes. Each box contains a different mixture of products so you can choose the one that suits your tastes and needs best which is a really thoughtful touch. To top it off, the box the products arrive in is 100% recyclable and the products inside contain ingredients that are safely biodegradable too. Yay for an eco-friendly beauty box!

I decided to go for menu two from the July options and the contents are very impressive as four out of the five products I received are full size. The four full size products include Neal & Wolf Elevate Volumising Lotion (RRP £11.95), Neal & Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment (RRP £12.95), Art Deco Shadow Base (RRP £8) and Art Deco Soft Kajal Liner (RRP £6.75). Add all of that plus the 10ml sample of Pukka Radiance Serum (RRP £6.40) and this box is worth a whopping £46.05, more than three times the £10 plus £2.95 p&p this box retails for.

I haven't actually tried any of the products I received yet other than the eyeliner which is fabulous but I plan on doing individual reviews when I've had chance to try them all thoroughly. I will say one thing though - the Neal & Wolfe hair products smell incredible and as a lover of hair care, I'm so excited to try them out. I love the deep purple and cream packaging and the bottles are humongous! I'm also intrigued by the eyeshadow primer as it isn't a product I ever think of using so it will be interesting to see if it does make my eyeshadow last that little bit longer. The Pukka serum sounds fabulous too - anything with the term 'radiance' in the name will more than likely get a huge thumbs up from me. Who doesn't love injecting their skin with a healthy glow?

Considering beautecobox was only launched in May, I'm very impressed with their ethos, their service and the concept behind this box. If I could choose to subscribe to any beauty box right now, this one would be at the top of my list. You can find out more about it here if you're interested in subscribing and getting your hands on the July box. Keep an eye out for my full reviews on the products I received too - I can't wait to try them!

What do you think of the beautecobox? Is it one you'd be tempted to try?

Lots of Love, 

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Couture Girl has been shortlisted for a Cosmopolitan 'Best Established Beauty Blog' award. If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for me here - I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

My Weekend at T in the Park & What I Wore

Hi Guys! I hope you're all doing well and having a fantastic weekened. I'm at a wedding today (I'm writing this post in advance) so expect a wedding OOTD soon as I've been sent a very pretty dress to wear from Wish Want Wear. If you read my blog regularly or follow me over on Twitter and Instagram, you might of seen that I went to T in the Park last weekend. My boyfriend and I plus one of my best friends and her boyfriend went for the full weekend from Friday to Monday and we had such a good time. Its the first festival I've ever been to and although I felt pretty disgusting not having access to a shower for three days, the banter and music made up for it. We got to see lots of amazing acts over the weekend including Rudimental, Rihanna, Mumford & Sons, Snoop Dogg, Chase & Status, Stereophonics, The Script and David Guetta. It was great to see so many brilliant artists all in one place and my personal favourite was Rudimental - the atmosphere was insane. I've inserted a little clip below so you can see what I'm talking about. Another highlight of the weekend for me was the fairground as I'm like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to rides. My personal favourite was a ride called 'Freak Out' - it swung you almost vertical in the air and it was such a buzz.

Another thing you might of seen me tweeting and instagramming is the outfits I wore when I was there. If you read my festival haul post HERE you'll know that I went all out and bought myself some new festival attire so I thought it would be nice to show you how all the bits and bobs I bought looked on.  I've stated where each item is from underneath the image below and linked to any of the pieces I could still find online. I hope it gives you a little bit of style inspiration if you're going to a festival this Summer and aren't sure what to wear. 

Day One (Left)

Orange Tribal Print Playsuit - Miss Selfridge | Fringed Ankle Boots - Primark | Fringed Bag - Primark  

Necklace - Miss Selfridge | Waist Belt - George at ASDA | Sunglasses - H&M

Day Two (Middle)

Tie-Dye Dress - Missguided | Pac-a-Mac - Matalan | Wellies - Matalan* 

Socks - Primark | Fringed Bag - Primark | Waist Belt - George at ASDA | Sunglasses - H&M

Day Three (Right)

Aztec Cami - Primark | Denim Shorts - Miss Selfridge | Fringe Waistcoat - Primark

Wellies - Matalan* | Socks - Primark | Necklace - The City Rack* | Sunglasses - H&M

I really like all three outfits I wore over the weekend but I think my favourite has to be the blue tie-dye dress from Missguided. Seriously, I'm in love with it. Not only is the tie-dye print and off the shoulder style very on trend at the minute but its also one of the comfiest pieces of clothing I've ever worn making it perfect for a festival. I decided to pair it with a chunky waist belt to synch me in at the waist and my fringed bag which I took everywhere with me to ensure my valuables were safe. I'm so proud of myself for not losing my phone while I was there as I was convinced something would happen to it being the clutz that I am. I'll definitely be wearing this dress again on my holiday to Portugal next month as I think it will look lovely dressed up with a pair of wedges or heels too. Which is your favourite of the three outfits I wore?

Overall I had a brilliant time at T in the Park and I'd really recommend it if you've never been to a festival before. I can't speak for other festivals as this is the only one I've been to but everyone was so lovely and the atmosphere was great. The only downside to the weekend was my hayfever - suffering with hayfever and spending three days in a field isn't good. I woke up one morning with eyes so puffy I could barely open them - all I can say is, thank god for sunglasses! 

Have you ever been to a festival?

Lots of Love,

TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM

Couture Girl has been shortlisted for a Cosmopolitan 'Best Established Beauty Blog' award. If you enjoy reading my blog, you can vote for me here - I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!