#GIRLspiration

So the topic of this post was inspired by Adam's #GIRLspiration posts. He asked for people to think about their #GIRLspiration's and answer question about them. I chose Karen Brady to write about, you can see the post here. 

When I was trying to decide, I realised I have so many inspirations for so many different areas in life. To put them all together would make the perfect women in my eyes, so I'm dedicating this post to all the strong, powerful, beautiful women of the world who inspire me every day!

Cheryl Cole
#GIRLspiration for her style, attitude and beauty

Karen Brady
#GIRLspiration for her tenacity, business mind and for always empowering women in business

Reese Witherspoon
#GIRLspiration for her acting, beauty, being a spokesperson for women and being a fellow shorty

Michelle Mone
#GIRLspiration for her business mind, beauty and boobs!

Kim Kardashian
#GIRLspiration for turning herself into one of the world's biggest brands; and taking every opportunity to do so

Kate Middleton
#GIRLspiration for always looking, acting, being, flawless. And for being a Princess, obviously

Cameron Diaz
#GIRLspiration for her acting, humour, beauty and honesty

Britney Spears
#GIRLspiration for her voice and being my ultimate girlspiration growing up

Blake Lively
#GIRLspiration for her effortless style, for giving us Serena van der Woodsen and for taking Ryan Reynolds away from us

Who are your #GIRLspirations (or #GUYspirations) and why?

Love Lauren xx

Hot Hair, 3/4 wig review*

If you read my blog often, you'll know I literally never accept PR samples/products, but when Hot Hair offered me the opportunity to review on of their 3/4 wigs I took them up on it. 

Literally the weekend before I was having a chat to my friend about the state of our limp, lifeless hair and decided we should save up for proper hair extensions. I knew it would set me back hundreds, and I don't know anyone that has had them before to ask for advice so I was a bit nervous.  When the Hot Hair offer came up, I decided it would be great to try one of the 3/4 wigs to see whether it could be a good substitute for having the extensions and would save me a lot of money in the long run! After having a browse of their website, I decided to go with the Brianna 3/4 wig. 

I always worry with any type of hair piece about not getting a great colour match. As I've never dyed my hair or had highlights, it's really light on the top but really really dark underneath from the sun lightening it (guess I should start sunbathing upside-down! I could have sent in a photo for the team to decide which colour would suit me best but I decide to try my best judgement an go for 'Golden Wheat' as shown in the photo below. 

The wig came in a branded shoe box type box which is so handy for storing it. All the old hair extensions I used to have ended up getting matted in a carrier bag so this is definitely a great idea to keep the wig in good condition. 

The photos below show the unboxing of the wig. The photos are completely unedited to show you the true colour of the product. 

Princess hair (*love eyes*)

This photos show how the wig is attached to your real hair. There's two slide combs at the top and bottom with one clip either side to keep it in place. 

Testing the colour match. Colour match is the most important thing about buying hair pieces. This photo is completely unedited so you can see how perfect the colour is to my real hair.

Anyone that knows me will know I'm awful with my hair. I can just about manage to brush and straighten it, let alone anything fancy but this was so easy to put in! you literally just need to slide the comb down through the crown of your head, clip into place and then backcomb a layer of hair back to cover the join between the wig and your real hair. 

As this wig is synthetic (not real hair), you can't put any heat on it so I loved that it had so much volume in. My hair is so flat and lacking any oomph at all, this is just what I needed. 

Due to the wig being synthetic, I did find it quite shiny in comparison to my real hair so it sprayed it with a bit of dry shampoo to dull it down which did the trick!

(please excuse the bad light - I was losing daylight!!)

Overall thoughts

This hair piece is so perfect for a night out, it takes all of a few minutes to put in and instantly looks perfect which I love. I'm going to take it to work when I have evening events so I can have that instant glam in a few minutes without any effort at all! Even though it's more of a short term fix than something to wear all day every day (simply because you can't add heat and style it out) it's definitely a product I would have bought myself for an instant fix. 

I love how my hair looks when it's long, thick and full of volume wearing this has made me want permanent hair extensions even more now! Oh my poor bank...

*PR gift

DIY Acrylic like Nails for 13p!

What if I told you that you could have a full set of acrylic nails for 13p, done by yourself at home, using six easy steps...

I used to spend an absolute fortune getting a full set of acrylics done every 4-6 weeks at local salons. I used to watch everything they did, and then one day decided I wanted to give it a go myself. Obviously I had no formal training and relied on my memory and youtube tutorials to learn how to do them. If I'm being completely honest they weren't great, I mean, they were okay, and cost a fraction of the price but not quite as good as a salon. 

 I tried the packs of stick on nails for a while but mine are so tiny they would never fit properly and fall of an inappropriate times; so I decided to try a new technique and starting searching the internet for all the tools I needed for my EASY to do, DIY acrylic nails and tah-dahhhh...

Now I can share my secret!

You will need:

- An acrylic nail cutting tool - You can buy it here for £2.19
(I'd strongly advise against trying to use scissors - it hurts and turns out horrible!)

- The nails - You can buy them here for £1.96 for 500 nails

(make sure you buy then whole nail, not just the tip)

- Nail file

- Nail glue - you can buy it here for £2.79

So based on these prices, (assuming you already have a nail file), a full set of acrylic nails will cost you 13p. Much better than the £28.00 a salon charges right?

Step One:

Measure out all the nails so you know which size fits which fingers. 

I find it easier to lay them out in order as if your hands were being laid it. Easier to make sure you're gluing the right nail to the right finger because once it's on, it's not coming off! My packs come in sizes 0-9 so for reference I use: 

(L-R) 9, 8, 7, 8, 5     5, 8, 7, 8, 9

I have TINY fingers!

Step Two:
Take off all your nail varnish and push back you cuticles. I run a nail file over the surface of my nail to make a rough surface as I've found it helps the nails stay on for longer but this is optional. If you don't rough up the surface, your nails will still be in pretty much perfect condition when the acrylics come off, unlike they are when you have them done in a salon!

Step Three:

Glue on each nail and hold for 3 seconds until the glue is set. You only need a small amount of glue as it spreads out when the nail is pressed on. Don't worry how long they are, we'll cut them down in a minute!

Step Four:

Use the nail cutting tool to cut the nail to the length you like. This is what I love about doing my nails this way, I can choose the length. It's best to cut small amounts at a time because once it's gone you can't stick it back on!

The nails will look very straight and square at this point but don't worry!

Step Five:

File down the nails to your required shape. I like my nails to still be quite square with round corners but it's a completely personal preference. Once you're done filing, wash your hands and nails thoroughly, to ensure the filings don't get stuck in the fresh nail varnish, it's not a good look and I have done it before when I was being super lazy!

Step Six:

Paint, paint, paint! Obviously the hardest part of this process is decided on a colour!

If you try these out for yourself, don't forget to send me photos!

Love Lauren xx

Me-Time Tag

Thanks to the absolutely beautiful Jessica from Making It Up for tagging me in this. Me-time is so important to me, without it I honestly go a little crazy, so it's great to share this time with you guys, and find out how you spend your Me-time too!

What do you watch or read during me-time? 

I watch… Either, a good girlie film; I love Sex in the City, In her Shoes, Mean Girls etc, Netflix although I’m still in mourning from finishing Orange is the New Black about 3 months ago (!) or catch up on something trashy like Real Housewives or TOWIE.

I read… At the moment I’m obsessed with Lesley Pearse books. I have two more left to read until I have to start extending my collection again. I’m also reading Hotel Babylon which is an absolutely fabulous read for anyone working in the hospitality or London events industry. You wouldn’t believe the things that go on in hotels behind closed doors! I have a lot more in the series to read so I need to get a move on. I’m hoping I’ll get to read a lot now I’m commuting into London every day!

What do you wear during me-time?

I have a ridiculous amount of loungewear clothes, like it’s a bit of a joke. I love anything from Victoria’s Secret PINK and pretty much live out of their clothes when it’s comfort over style! I also have an insane amount of love for my onsie, especially because it’s soft and has ears – what more 

could you want? 

What are your me-time beauty products? 

During me-time, I'd prefer not to have any makeup on, mainly because faceplanting my light grey sheets isn't going to end well with a face full of slap. I do however love a little pamper with exfoliators, moisturisers, and anything else I can find in my endless supply of products. 

Current favourite nail polish?  

Ohh such a hard question! If I had to pick just one, I’d say it’s Avon Nailwear Diamonds in Mystic. It’s quite a subtle shade so perfect for work but still have all the shimmer and glitz when the light hits it. So beautiful, if you don’t have it, you should!

What do you eat/drink during me-time

If it has an insane amount of calories, it’s going in my mouth. When I was at uni my housemates and I used to have the biggest fat food shop and spend a whole day baking literally everything you can think of then spend the whole of the next day in front of the TV eating ourselves into an oblivion… oh those were the days! I don’t think hot drinks (I know, shocking) so I’d have a big glass of squash, or if I’m at my parent’s house then a cocktail expertly made by my dad!

Current favourite candle? 

I love candles, but I’m not a candle snob at all. If it smells beautiful, I’ll love it, regardless of the brand! I love anything fruity or fresh and really dislike spicy smells!

Do you ever have outdoor me-time? 

Outdoor me-time for me is relaxing outside around the Nirvana spa pool in the summer, or sunbathing. For me, me time means relaxation and not doing much so that usually means I’ll be inside where no one can see the state of me!!

Would you ever go see a movie alone? 

That’s something I don’t think I’d ever do! I mean, the cinema is ridiculously expensive as it is, and you have to be appropriately dressed to be in public, and you have to sit straight in your seat surrounded by other people. I’d rather be starfishing across my bed stuffing my face whilst texting/tweeting on my own than in the cinema!

Favourite online store? 

Tough one! For a solely online store, I love Missguided for fashion and Look Fantastic for beauty.

Anything to add? What else do you do during me-time? 

Me-time is really important to me, without it, I’ll literally go insane. Working onsite at events, we can work 21/22 hours a day, every day for a week so I need that time to de-stress and relax. I love yoga for relaxation or even just laying on my bed daydreaming and planning my next move whether it be thinking up ideas for events, planning a holiday or a surprise for a friend. Planning relaxes me! 

Love Lauren xx