Professional Beauty North

Hello everyone :-)

Today I went to the Professional Beauty North in Manchester. It was a two day event showcasing loads of new products and techniques. There were stalls which sold stock for beauty salons, there were fake tanning stalls, a HD brow centre and also show areas where you could watch demonstrations etc. 

We got there for when it opened at 10 so we could have a good look around before Uni. We went looking to learn about new beauty products and to hopefully get some bargains for ourselves!

 I wasn't disappointed but I'm glad we went early, it got absolutely packed towards mid morning and I don't think I could have stood that the whole time. However, it didn't ruin the morning at all! The atmosphere was great with loads of people into the same things as you are. 

I treated myself to some lash extensions, some china glaze autumnal nail polish, a home teeth whitening kit AND I finally took the plunge with the HD brow treatment! Here are my purchases:

I have been wanting it done for a while and finally went for it. It was only £35 for the treatment and you also got a £5 discount off any products with it too! I absolutely LOVE the results, have any of you had the treatment done? What do you think? Here are my before & after photos....

Before HD brows:

After HD brows:

I love how you can see little hair lines to make them look more natural! I am going to use the HD palette to make them a little darker as that is just my preference but I'm definitely a fan. They change the whole look of your face and I love the shape! I really didn't think my brows could look like this. 

It was also a really quick, painless procedure of tinting, waxing, plucking and threading. My therapist also gave me tips on how to best grow my brows for my best shape. So it was great! I would definitely recommend. 

I am also going to do a future blog of my results from my 7 day teeth whitening home kit for you when I get to the end of my 7 day treatment. I have done the first day today and can already see the results, so I can't wait until after a week of treatment! 

Before teeth whitening...

After day 1 of treatment....

I can already see results!!

I know my teeth weren't too bad to begin with but I can see the beginnings of tea stains on them so I wanted to get them gone while I'm ahead! My teeth also feel so smooth and I have not yet experienced any sensitivity so fingers crossed. I will keep you posted! 

Thanks for reading,

Saffron xoxo 

Cosmo Careers

Hello everyone, 

Last night I attended the Cosmo Careers Masterclass in Manchester. It was for people interested in working in fashion, whether it be designing, PR, journos etc.... So I met some fab people & saw loads of fabulous outfits! 

On arrival we had champagne and mingled with everyone for half an hour. Then we were taken into the lecture theatre where we saw an amazing panel of: the Cosmo editor, a designer for Missguided, a buyer of luxury labels, a PR from BooHoo, a fashion journalist who is known for her Catwalk to Curvy column in Cosmo and finally, a PR from Gorgeous Couture. 

What an amazing panel!!

We also saw out fabulous goody bags laid out ready for us. 

The talk began with the panel introducing themselves and then editor Louise asked the panel a series of questions which would give the audience some great insights into the industry and their best advice and tips. We were given insights into where they began and how they worked their way up, tips for CV writing, interviews.... A whole raft of information. It was all so inspiring! 

At the end of the session, they opened up for the floor for half an hour so that we could ask them any questions we may have. This was great and made the session really personal. 

Even though some of the information given didn't directly apply to my field of PR (if it was a design question for example), it didn't matter! You could apply a lot of the information to the PR field anyway and it was valuable to get an insight into the fashion industry as a whole too. 

It was a thoroughly enjoyable night which ended with the opportunity to walk up to the panel at the end of the session for any final questions. One of the main bits of personal advice that has stuck with me is to always be open to learning new things. I think sometimes when you are going to interview, you feel like you need to know everything, where in reality- you don't! The industry is constantly changing so there is no way that you will ever know it all.

Definitely keep an eye out for future Cosmo Careers events- you meet a fantastic panel, people and walk away with some priceless advice! 

Thanks for reading,

Saffron xoxo 

Dressing for success

Hello :-)

To start this post, if you don't follow @PRDiva on twitter- you really need to! Her tweets & blogs are funny, educational and stylish. 

This week I have noticed her blog about 'Dressing for success- The Publicist's wardrobe'. 

Link:

http://pr-diva.com/2011/01/inside-the-publicists-wardrobe-6-do-or-die-pieces/

I found this post very useful as I am just starting my professional wardrobe and it's always great to get some guidance! 

She lists a number of professional must haves for the PR wardrobe:

These are my 6 Do-or-Die Pieces for the communications professional:

1. A great pair of Jeans – They can be from Target or they could cost a car payment. As long as you are comfortable and you can either dress the jeans up or down, a great pair of jeans is a must. From those Saturday morning pre-event planning I’m-on-my-hands-and-knees-doing-what moments, a great pair of jeans can be your saving grace. Oh, and make sure they make your bum looks good in them and aren’t “Mom Jeans”. I can write an entire post on that alone!

2. A tailored suit – My grandmother had many fabulous, tailored pieces. I never understood why she was so adverse to “buying off the rack” but little to my knowledge (hey I was young) she sometimes bought off the rack and had it tailored to her fit. I have learned that tailored items make the woman. Nothing says LOVE like sliding into a suit jacket that fits you perfectly and doesn’t make you look like you are about to HULK out of it or are playing pretend in your mother’s dress clothes.

3. An umbrella – Who wants to look like a drowned rat at a client meeting? Wait, who wants to look like a drowned rat period? Purchase a small umbrella that is convenient enough to tuck into your handbag or briefcase. Technically an umbrella isn’t a wardrobe necessity but an accessory. Trust me, an umbrella is a must or at the very least a poncho. Ok, scratch the poncho idea.

4. Little ” ” dress – For me, a little black dress is great but a little ” ” dress is fabulous. If you want to wear color, wear color. Wear what you feel comfortable in but just make sure it looks professional and sophisticated but most importantly feel like a million dollars in.

5. Classic white shirts – I used to loathe white clothing. Abhor it! But as of late, I have come to realize the versatility of a classic white fitted tee or a white button down shirt. White shirts can be worn under blazers, under sweater, or by themselves. Pick out a few white shirts–they don’t even have to be “classic”.

6. THE HANDBAG – Or the briefcase. Make your personality shine with a statement piece or go classic. If you are usually a bit more conservatively dressed, hit them with a killer handbag but make sure it is useful and not totally for show. You are going to need it to fit in things for your arsenal (smart phone, tablet, etc).

One of the things which I have already discovered for myself is the importance of a good size handbag. When I started my career in PR, I began with a small bag and quickly discovered that this wouldn't be sufficient! So I swapped it for a medium size bag which too wasn't big enough, so at the weekend I am treating myself to a large business bag which is stylish but also functional! 

I have found an umbrella a necessity too! Particularly in Manchester! I have also got a fab tailored jacket from H&M (pictured...)

I love this piece as it smartens my outfits up and goes with pretty much anything! 

What do you consider to be professional wardrobe must haves? 

Remember: if you don't look like you look after yourself, your clients won't think you can look after them! 

Thanks for reading,

Saffron xoxo 

Smokey eyes

I love the smokey eye make up look for autumn winter! I in fact wear this look pretty much all year round but just use lighter shades in the spring/summer months. 

Above is my lighter shade smokey eye look. I know it is not the traditional smokey eye, but I still class it as a smokey eye due to the black liner and darker shade on the crease of my lid. 

For this look, I firstly fill the inside of my eyelid with Rimmel black kohl eyeliner. This really helps to bein out the colours in my eyes. I then use my MAC eyeshadow brush to apply a matte gold colour out of my Kardashian Beauty Khloe palette. I then apply the light shimmer over the top, from the same palette. I finish off the shadow with the light brown colour from the kardashian palette in the crease of my lid and also spread it out a bit towards my brow bone at the edge of my eye. I then apply the black kohl eyeliner into a cat eye look to finish it off and apply a light shimmer around the corner of my eyes to brighten them. I like a lot of mascara so I also apply a lot of that too. This picture below illustrates how I do this look...

For the traditional smokey eye look, I searched online for inspiration. I found a couple of pictures which helped me to achieve the look....

I would wear this make up in the evening when going out. I personally feel it is too harsh for every day wear and enjoy dramatising my look for night time. 

Pictured here is my evening meal smokey eye look, using the same Kardashian palette as listed above and using the same method but with the darker shades. I also apply lashings of mascara. 

For a meal, I don't go too dark with my smokey eye look, but for a night out I would go even darker and use false eyelashes too! I will post this look at the weekend as I use a different palette for this make up. 

What kind of look is your favourite?

Thanks for reading,

Saffron xoxo 

My fave PFW looks on & off the catwalk

Hey guys & dolls :-) 

I have found myself completely inspired with some of the looks at Paris Fashion Week this year. I am not usually a massive fan as I find almost every designer had wayyy too much fur in their collections- and I am completely against real fur! 

However, this year I have been presently surprised at the amount of fur on the catwalk- what I like to see! So, my favourite designer of the whole week has to be Stefano Gabbana! I can't even tell you how much I love his looks and his finale was absolutely amazing! Here are a few of my favourites....

I absolutely LOVE the designs... The prints... Everything!! What do you guys think? 

This was the amazing finale....

(Apologies that they are Instagram screenshots- but I wanted the pictures straight from Gabbana himself!) 

I also fell in love with this-

It's obviously not from PFW but I just love the picture and the outfits. I am in LOVE and obsessed with the whole collection. 

I am still in complete awe of my usual culprits at PFW off the catwalk! Miranda Kerr & Kim Kardashian! 

How amazing does Miranda look?!

And I am loving Kim's new laid back style...

I also thought her make up was amazing here...

As it is such a change for her! Probably one of the most dramatic make up looks I have ever seen her with. The dress is pretty amazing too...

If not a little too booby! She somehow manages to pull it off in a classy way. 

I would just like to finish with a picture from one of my other favourite designer's collection this year- Stella McCartney...

AMAZING!! 

What have you liked from Paris fashion week this year? 

Thanks for reading,

Saffron xoxo 

Nivea in shower moisturiser

Nivea in shower moisturiser is my new favourite product! I thought this would be one of those products that shouldn’t work but it actually does! When I first saw this advertised I thought it was a great idea and a time saver but I wasn't sure if it would really work. 

I get really itchy skin if I don't moisturise after a bath/a shower so I was sceptical whether this would still leave me with itchy skin after drying myself. I have quite sensitive skin anyway and Nivea products have always suited me, so I thought I would give it a go!

I bought it last weekend and have used it ever since. If you have dry skin then it may not be nourishing enough alone but for normal skin like mine it’s great. I have been using the almond oil formula for dry skin and have not yet tried the one for normal skin. But the dry skin version is extremely nourishing and leaves your skin feeling so nourished without any residue! I love this because I can get dressed and going straight away!

I would definitely recommend this product if you want speed but still the feel of nourished skin. You wash your body with your normal body wash, then apply this when you are ready to leave the shower- simply rinse off, dry and go! 

The price is £3.65 for 250ml and £5.15 for 400ml. I normally buy this in asda but I found it at a steal price in home bargains for £2.99. 

Definitely try it out and let me know what you think :-) 

Saffron xoxo

What are your breakouts telling you?

Hello everyone, 

I came across an interesting post on Lauren Conrad's blog (www.laurenconrad.com), which tells you what your breakouts mean! I am usually not someone who has breakouts very often but lately I have been getting them which drew my attention to this post. The post can be found at: 

http://laurenconrad.com/blog/post/beauty-911-what-acne-breakouts-mean-skincare-beauty-tips-lauren-conrad-september-2013

Have a look guys and girls. Even if you are not someone who suffers with regular breakouts, you will still find the post very interesting as it talks about the Eastern tradition of face mapping. 

Let me know what you think,

Saffron xoxo