Graduation Makeup

As you may have seen on my Twitter and Instagram, I have now graduated from the University of York - I am officially a BA (Hons) graduate! Typically, I needed to arrive on campus at 7am which resulted in an incredibly early start. As a result, I carefully planned my makeup for the day and wanted to share it with you today:

Primer: Witch Skincare Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer

Foundation: Essence Pure Skin Anti-Spot Moisturising Make-Up in 01*

Concealers: Essence Pure Skin Anti-Spot Cover Stick in 01*, Essence Match2Cover Cream Concealer in 20* and Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

Powder: Essence Pure Skin Anti-Spot Compact Powder in 01*

Eyes: Essence Big Bright Eyes*, MUA Undressed palette, Essence GEL waterproof eye pencil* and MAC Haute and Naughty Mascara (c/o Cohorted*)

Blush: Revlon Photoready in Pinched Joules Princess*

Lipstick: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Frambourjois and Essence Longlasting Lipstick in 07 Natural Beauty*

First I applied my favourite Witch Primer, which I previously reviewed here, to help keep my make-up in place all day. I had made sure that I packed a variety of concealers to cover up my tired eyes, including my current favourite Anti-Spot Cover Stick from Essence. I also added a touch of Essence's Big Bright Eyes stick to the inside corners of my eyes and blended it in, which really brightens your eyes. I then applied my new Essence foundation with my Real Techniques Core Collection brushes. I'm aware that there's a lot of Essence products in this look, and that's thanks to a wonderful event I attended in Manchester which announced the launch of this European brand in the UK. There will be a more detailed post in the future about my favourite products, but in the mean time I will say that it's a fantastically affordable brand which is also impressively good quality. They are now for sale throughout the UK in Wilkinsons stores and online. This Anti-Spot foundation is only £3.50 and it's packed full of antibacterial properties to fight bad skin as well as cover imperfections, and my skin has been significantly better since I started using products from this Pure Skin range.

Once my base was ready, I moved onto the eyes. I lined my eyes with Essence GEL waterproof eyeliner, which is the best eyeliner I've tried. It glides on smoothly, stays on all day and is easy to create winged eyeliner with. I added some neutral eyeshadow from my MUA palette, then curled and applied my first ever MAC product, Haute and Naughty Mascara, thanks to Cohorted. I love the two brush options which ensures you can coat every single lash, without clumping. Finally I added a touch of blusher, some powder to remove any shine and a neutral lipstick (which I decided to wear on the day rather than the bright red Bourjois). Then I was ready to graduate!

What do you think of graduation makeup look? If you haven't graduated yet, I hope it gives you some inspiration! Do you have any makeup tips for graduation day?

OOTD: Pineapple Style

Hello! Today it's time for a bright and summery look - I wore this outfit to the Access All Asos Epic Summer party and got plenty of compliments. So now it's time to see what you think of it:

Playsuit: Rare London* Sandals: Primark. Socks: Primark. Necklace: New Look. Earrings: Culture Vulture. Sunglasses: Primark

When I was treated to a sneak peek of Rare London's SS14 press day a few months ago, this playsuit stood out to me as my favourite. Therefore I was so excited that Rare London remembered my comment and asked me to style it. I adore the print - pineapples are everywhere this summer and I love it. My obsession is getting out of control - remember that pineapple skirt I recently posted about from Primark? - and I'm certainly not the only one in the blogging world! Ghostparties has shared her love for the pineapple trend and Temporary Secretary also put together a great pineapple themed wishlist, as well as styling this very playsuit (let's not compare, she looks amazing!)

I styled my playsuit with my new 'blogger' style sandals. They were a complete bargain from Primark and amazingly comfortable to walk around London in. I'm quite enjoying the 'ugly sandals' trend, but it's difficult to get the right balance between fashionable and just downright hideous. Hopefully these are the right side of fashionable, and I couldn't resist the addition of a pair of matching frilly socks.

The playsuit itself fits really well. It's made of a slightly thicker fabric than you might expect from a summer piece, but it means that it feels much sturdier to wear. The print is fantastic, and although it's brighter in real life than the pictures convey, it's still a versatile piece for Autumn to wear with black tights and boots. All in all, it's such a fun outfit to wear and that's really what's it's all about! After all, who can say no to pineapples?

Are you embracing the pineapple trend? How are you styling it?

Asos Epic Summer Party

As part of the Access All Asos scheme, I was very happy to be invited to the Asos #EpicSummer party in London. As ever, it was an amazing night full of fantastic bloggers and wonderful food:

There was a great buzz as the event filled up with bloggers from all across the country. There were a great selection of summery stalls, including Pimms and Brothers' cider. I got the chance to try the Cloudy Lemon cider and it was tasty and refreshing - and rather dangerously just tasted of Lemonade! When it came to food, we were treated to hot dogs and ice cream - perfect for Summer!

The most exciting stall at the event for me was the wonderful floral headbands created by The Flower Appreciation Society. I nervously approached the flower stand and was excited to discover that we could choose some flowers, which were expertly combined into a hairband on the spot! I chose a variety of yellows to compliment my outfit, which you can see in my next post. It was wonderful to see all the bloggers wearing some fantastic florals, and the fact that none were the same really demonstrated the skill of The Flower Appreciation Society. It's just a shame that the fresh flowers inevitably only lasted a day!

I also was one of the few bloggers lucky enough to get my nails painted with some Ciate nail varnish by Reecey Roos. I opted for bright pink with one yellow nail to match my headband - as you know, I love my co-ordination! I've finally stopped biting my nails and as a result I'm enjoying experimenting with nail varnish and a huge variety of different colours. Now I need to decide what colour to wear for graduation next week!

Were you at the Asos event? What are you loving from their summer picks?