Taylor Taylor

Hello! I haven’t disappeared – it’s my last year of uni, and apparently I’m great at putting things off so have been squirrelling away at the first half of my Final Major Project for a week. Phew. Anyway, I’m back with a bit of a change, my hair!

My poor thin hair has been looking it’s most boring over the past year, which is unusual for me as I like to have something interesting, so thought it was about time I did something about it. Well, not me as much as my wonderful stylists, Jenny and Marcelo at Taylor Taylor in Spitalfields. I always think if I’m going to get my hair cut (which happens around once a year, oops) I just as well go somewhere impressive, and I definitely made the right choice in Taylor Taylor, it was the most luxurious hair cut I’ve ever had! I’m sure you can tell from the pictures, too. The place is just beautiful.

Both my stylists knew exactly what I wanted, and I was completely confident trusting them with my hair. As you can see if you have a quick scroll down, I opted to go a few shades darker and get a full fringe. I admit, it’s a lot Deschanel, but who doesn’t want to look like her at the moment? I’ve had a few people I know not recognise me, and I’m still having great fun seeing it looks styled in different ways. In the picture my fringe looks a little longer than it is as it’s not had time to spring back up after my blow-dry, before anybody worries about my sight!

My desire for a full fringe began last year when I was talking to Elodie in Paris; she said how getting he fringe had made her feel like a new person. That played on my mind and I couldn’t wait to get a new look. She was right – I have been adjusting to the ‘new Carrie’, seeing what make-up works with my new colour, and which up-dos look best. I’m finally used to catching myself in the mirror. It sounds strange, but I almost feel more like myself than with my natural colour, having spent my teenage years with black and purple hair. I’m excited to show you properly!

Thank you Taylor Taylor! I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face when I left the salon. x

My Routine

I said this when I did my post on how I create my beehive – I’m rubbish at hair. And guess what? I’m rubbish at make-up too! I recently spotted Selina posting about how she stores her make-up and was amazed by the amount of it! As you can see from the picture above, I can fit my essentials in a teacup! I’m certainly not cut out to be any sort of beauty blogger – I own a grand total of 2 shades of lipstick, and about 5 nail polishes! Oops.

Despite the fact I can only ever achieve one look, night or day, I’ve promised a million times over on my Formspring that I’d one day get around to posting about my make-up products and daily routine. And this post nicely coincides with an article I was featured in for Vogue Girl Korea on my make-up essentials – if you can read Korean – take a peek!

Face

I’m gonna put it out there, I’m terrible at taking care of my skin. I hardly ever exfoliate, but manage to moisturise most days, and that’s a biggy for me as I get quite dry across my nose. Thanks to silly hormone related problems, I do get a bit spotty across my jawline, and unfortunately I’ve never found a way to combat that (any advice?!).

So, after making sure my skin is moisturised, I’ll pop on a bit of primer in the form of YSL’s ‘Flash Radiance Skincare Brush”, which allows my foundation to slide on nicely. As for the foundation itself, I seem to switch around as I’m not sure I’ve found THE ONE just yet. At the moment I’m using MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 as it provides quite a strong coverage, which I need to balance out red patches etc. I’m no pro, and just apply it using my fingers.

Then to cover up spots (to a certain extent..!) and brighten up my dark circles, I use a MAC Select Cover-up in NC20. When the lady put it on me in the shop, I looked flawless – unfortunately I’m not as talented! Perhaps it’s something to do with my applying it with a brush meant for eyeshadow. See, told you I was rubbish!

I finish off by lightly dusting some YSL Matt and Radiant pressed powder across the bits of my face prone to look a bit shiny, and then give myself some colour using Benefit’s ’1o’, which is a bronzing and highlighting powder in one.

Eyes

I start off using my battered old Rimmel Soft Kohl eye pencil in black along the water line, and then proceed to the bit that everyone always asks about – the cat-eye flick! I used to use a YSL liquid eyeliner, until I realised that as long as I had a nice thin brush, any old eyeliner would do, so switched the the more economical “Glam Eyes” by Rimmel.

As for the technique, I have to stress that I’ve been drawing on elaborate shapes in liquid eyeliner since I was about 14 (I did the whole scene-kid panda eye thing), so it’s just about getting used to it. But the shape I draw on changes from day to day, and gets thicker every time I go wrong, so I haven’t quite perfected it yet! I’ll just draw a line along the top of the lashes, and go over it until it’s thick and neat enough, and then draw my flick separately like a long triangle, and almost colour it in.

I then use my new favourite product, my HD Brows kit that came in this months Glossy Box, to smudge a bit of the black shadow under my eye in the corner using the softer side of the brush – I find it just makes it a little more dramatic-looking.

I finish off with a few sweeps of Dolce & Gabbana ‘Secret Eyes’ mascara, which I thoroughly recommend!

I then use my HD Brows kit to neaten up my brows – my new favourite thing to do! Coming from a bit of a tom-boy who forgets to actually pluck her eyebrows regularly (you can probably tell from the pictures!), this kit is a lifesaver, as it really defines and shapes them simply using the right colour shadow.

Finishing Touches

Lastly, I’ll do my lips! Now, I literally only own 2 shades of lipstick, a peachy shade from Avon called “Silky Peach” for a more natural look, and a bright red one from Rimmel called “Retro” (No. 220). I’ve never paid much for lipsticks, and never found the need to either. Maybe I’m missing out on something and will convert as soon as I try something from MAC, or Chanel, but until then I’m happy to spend well under a tenner!

This particular red is very glossy, and stays that way for as long as you’re wearing it. I used to have trouble with it bleeding onto my skin until I started using Lipcote, which is a lifesaver. I’ve heard other people say they don’t get on with it, but I’ve found it perfect for keeping my red lippy on all day without any smudges!

And ta-da! That’s it! I’m not sure how I’ve managed to write so much about a job that takes less than 10 minutes! If you have any questions about any of the products, feel free to ask in a comment : ) x

I love you, London

I haven’t felt like blogging too much over the past few days, so excuse my silence. My eyes have been glued to the news and to Twitter, watching helplessly as the city I love so much is destroyed by mindless idiots. It didn’t seem right to post about trivialities like my new favourite necklace, or a hairstyle. Thankfully I am away in Somerset at the moment and my local area in London has escaped any sort of violence too, but my heart goes out to those that have been affected across the country – I could write at length about how angry I am. But onwards and upwards, right? Let’s stay positive that it’s coming to an end.

As you can see above, it’s quite difficult to take a picture of your own hair with a 50mm lens. With arm held at full length, it’s impossible to get anything other than an odd ‘arty’ glimpse, but I hope you get the gist.

At stupid o’clock I decided it would be great idea to have a go at rag curls for the first time, so cut up some fabric and tied it all up. In the morning, I woke up to huge bouncy curls – they were a little messy for my liking, but the perfect way to add volume to my otherwise flat hair. I’ll do it again and photograph it properly next time.

Without using any products, the curls dropped very quickly, so I decided to try something else. There was a beautiful 60′s editorial in this month’s Marie Claire mag that I think I might just have to cut up and stick to my wall. It was full of cropped trousers, knits and pencil skirts..and this hair-do. I think I’ve found a new favourite x

P.S – I sound like such a Marie Claire fangirl, but I just painted my nails with the Ciate Paint Pot that came free, and I love it! Such a pretty nude pink.