So I went to London Fashion Week and what happened? Other than constantly pinching myself and thinking 'Omg what am i doing here!?'. Just like my time at LFW AW15, I was running around backstage, interviewing makeup artists and stylists and going to shows for Yahoo Style. 

I've been allll over London, wrecked a pair of shoes, bandaged 6 toes, drank about 200 bottles of coconut water  and it has been GREAT fun. Of course it's not all sunshine and roses though , there was a 5:30am start on Saturday and also an absolute wreck of a thunderstorm but here's a full summary and photos of what happened at LFW SS16...

It's all very well and good rocking giant purple eyeliner and blue lips on the catwalk or the Somerset House quad but can ANY of these looks actually translate to the real world? 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!

Can you believe it's the middle of October already?! It doesn't even feel like it thanks to this mild weather - but Halloween is right round the corner!! Whaaaat.

Personally, I love Halloween - it's such a great excuse to really play around with makeup and to wear looks that you would NEVER normally wear, but becomes totally acceptable for one night of the year. Same goes for clothes - like the playboy bunnies in Mean Girls!

Imagine my excitement when Fragrance Direct got in touch to give me a HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE. The deal was that they would send me a lovely box of Fragrance Direct goodies and in return, I had to create an "Urban Witch" makeup look. Win-win situation for me!






Check out the lovely package I got sent! So many goooooodies and some really great brands in there!

Urban Witch is actually quite a hard theme, because there's not much special FX or creative detailing involved. It's a shame, because I love doing intricate work - check out last year's Hand-drawn Halloween Lace Eyemask design. 

For this Urban Witch makeup look, I did strong, exaggerated brows in bruised purple hues with lots of dark and smoky purple colours across the eyes and lips.

For reference - here's me before I Fragrance-Direct'ed my face.






I then decided to turn the lights off and use a candle, for extra spookiness... check out the change in colour and mood!! Scaaaaaary.

Speaking of scary - I then proceeded to SET MY HAIR ON FIRE. No joke, I put the candle down and then leant over for the camera and ohhhhh man, hair smells awful when it's burnt.

Thankfully I have lots of it so a DIY trim was on the cards!







Big thanks to Fragrance Direct for such a fun challenge (and the awesome freebies!!) For more beauty bargains - check out www.fragrancedirect.co.uk  - it's free delivery on orders over £40 with code FREEDEL40!


By Zoe Dubs
xXXXx

I love that phase after you've just bought new makeup - you know what I mean? You end up using your new makeup every single day for the next 2 weeks, getting a little rush of "this is the best thing everrr" everytime you use it. A bit like that fluttery feeling when you're in the first throes of romance? Well, I'm currently going through that romantic "new relationship" feeling with my Stila In The Light eye-shadow palette which I got given at London Fashion Week (see My Stila LFW Haul here!). 

Not to gush wildly about my new cosmetic companion but here we go anyway - the In The Light Palette really is incredible- so versatile, great quality and super useable! Literally, I've used every shade in the box, which never happens with eyeshadow palettes.

Of course, I know words can only take you so far in the beauty blogging world - SHOW ME SOME RESULTS ZOE!! Last week I posted a natural, fresh faced makeup look using my new Stila eyeshadow palette and today we're switching it up and going for a moody, autumn winter vibe using the same tools. 

So my last post was a little introduction to my new Stila goodies, and now I've had some time to play, I did a little makeup look for you!!

I've firmly shut the lid on my summer makeup box but although the fake tans and bronzers have been put on the bench, the glowy look is STILL in. Dewy skin takes a bit of a backseat during summer because it can be mistaken for shiny-face sweatiness (blergh) but autumn/winter is when it really comes into it's own.


Today's look is a real "Sunday Morning" makeup look - really fresh faced, natural and glowing - but still polished and defined. The kind of "I'm not wearing any makeup" makeup which I frequently try to fool Mr FV with. I swear, I've spent absolute yeeeears trying to perfect it!

BEWARE - giant selfies ahead.

So it's been a lucky week for me, not only did I win the biggest blogging gig of my life, I was also lucky enough to win a brand new (limited edition!) Urban Decay eyeshadow palette from London Beauty Queen. Cheers LBQ!

And it's not just any Naked basics palette though, it's the limited edition Pulp Fiction palette, beautifully inscribed with Pulp Fiction quotes and 90’s graphics.

Isn’t it BEAUTIFUL?! I only got it yesterday but I couldn't wait to crack it open and give it a go. Consider this post hot off the press!




What do you think? Is this one for your list?!
HAPPY WEEKEND! Hope it's a lucky one for you.




By Zoe Dubs
xXXXx

Today's review has generated a lot of questions from my Instagram and Facebook followers. Mainly, ZOE, WHAT IS THIS and WHERE DID YOU GET IT FROM? 

In place of the normal "What I Wore To Work", today it's another "What I Wore To The Wedding" special! My gorgeous friends Jack & Olive got married last weekend and I was honoured to attend their beautiful celebrations. 

And what a wedding it was - I'm talking sweeping marble staircases, seven stunning bridesmaids, a performance by Burberry model Roo Panes and six REAL blossom trees brought into the church (I still haven't gotten over those) - I wouldn't expect any less from a Porter Magazine wedding!

So what did I wear?

As a big makeup fan, messing around with new makeup is always fun and when Glo Minerals asked me to create a "Pretty In Pink" look using their mineral-based makeup range, I was like ch-YEAH.

Glo Minerals then sent me three great products to use and I spent yesterday morning messing around with them. It's a bit like that round on Masterchef or Ready Steady Cook where the chefs are given some ingredients and expected to make a masterpiece. But was my look going to be Pretty Pinky or Pretty Stinky? 






What have we got and how did I use them??

With all the hype from awards season fiiiiinally dying down, it seems that The BRITS 2014 were an absolute age ago -  but it's not even been a month.  

At The BRITS, the beauty buzz was definitely all about Jessie J's lilac lips. The Daily Mail had a field day and Twitter was absolutely ablaze with comments but what do you think? Were they a Jessie Yay or were they a Jessie Nay?



Personally - when I first saw them, the first thing I thought was "ICHIBAN - for men!" Ohhh yeah, Jessie J rocking the Joey Tribbiani look. (Classic Friends episode, non?)



I normally love Jessie J's edgy style and attitude. Her lilac lip was soo close to being perfection but the execution was just not right. The lilac shade was too pale, the accompanying bronzer too yellow and there was not quite enough definition in the face to really quite pull off a purple pout.

But hey, I'm not one to throw rocks and not think about what it's like being on the other side.That's right Face Value friends - I'M GOING TO TRY THE LILAC LIPSTICK LOOK and open myself up for judgement!!!


The Weapon Of Choice?

Monday's Valentine's Look post led to a big number of requests asking how I did my face. (I say big number, 3 friends asked and 1 person commented - RADICAL TIMES) 

Never to shy away from pleasing my readers, I've written up a quick tutorial with the products I used. I'd be lying if If i said it was "just a few products" - natural beauty makeup is at least a 5 product job for me! And because it's Valentines, I've used a couple of extras...

For me Valentines should be natural, but an enhanced version of yourself. So a good, clear base for your skin, neat brows plus defined yet natural eyes and lips. 

Not that hard then eh?? Here's how I've done it.