BREAKING BEAUTY BOUNDARIES - BEAUTY CHALLENGE AT HOUSE OF FRASER

Photography in this post by Kirsty Smith at Intu Chapelfield.

When at the Beauty Lock-In at House of Fraser, I heard Pippa - the owner of Plain Speaking PR - make comments towards Urban Decay saying that she wouldn't be able to shop there because it was aimed towards a younger audience. In my head I began to question why she thought that, but she is in no way alone in that opinion. My mum, who is older that Pippa but a mum alike, also thought the same. She stuck to what she knows and only recently started getting into brands like Urban Decay, where their marketing is obviously aimed towards younger women with bold makeup - which isn't the majority. When Pippa made that comment it made me a little sad, because I knew that there'd be plenty of products for her to use, but I also understood that it could be intimidating to even take a look.

We are all guilty for sticking to what we know. Even myself. I use bright, bold, daring colours and shapes when it comes to my makeup because 1, I love colour, and 2, to give the illusion that I'm confident. I'd rarely strip my face down to a natural look with minimal foundation and eye shadow because honestly, I'd feel ugly. I wouldn't be confident enough to rock a simple makeup look as I wouldn't have anything to hide behind and I am often envious of seeing fresh faced women who look gorgeous rocking what they've got. And that's what it all comes down to - Confidence. Recently a lovely lady pulled me aside saying she loved my yellow makeup and that 'not everyone could pull that off and I wish I could!' - but why not? Again, confidence. 

So out of this small comment that Pippa made I told her that she absolutely could shop at Urban Decay and that the Heat Palette would look divine on her and later in the night we had a brain wave. Let's challenge Urban Decay along side a brand that's a contrast to them, such as Bobbi Brown, to create a look on a 20 something and a 40 something with each brand using the same products on each of us showing that makeup and style isn't restricted by age, but by our own confidence. We really need to get into a mind set where if we like something, we wear it, regardless of us thinking that it's for 'younger people' or 'that wouldn't suit me'. Dismissing ideas before even taking a look stops us from inspiring ourselves - And I need to stop doing that.

Bare faced and ready to go!

When me and Pippa met at Costa before we arrived at House of Fraser, we both complimented each other on how nice we looked in minimal makeup which was a little confidence boost for both of us before we got going. When going in I was looking forward to getting my makeup done at Bobbi Brown as I am not used to giving myself a glowy natural look and I couldn't wait to see what they'd pull out the bag. After a little talk with Tasmin from Urban Decay and Lottie from Bobbi Brown me and Pippa had picked out the products we wanted to keep the same for our looks and then we got stuck in. Pippa headed over to Urban Decay first with me getting my makeup done at Bobbi Brown. 

The lovely Lottie doing my base.

Lottie is absolutely stunning with every glance back up at her involved a dorky comment from me complimenting something about her. It's important that us women appreciate and inspire each other. Lottie used the Intensive Skin Serum Foundation on my skin which I loved. It made me look so healthy and wasn't heavy on the skin.  She set the foundation with the Nude Finish Illuminated Powder and added the Pastel Peach Brightening Brick (Which I am very in love with and haven't stopped thinking about since) to finish my base. For the eyes she used the Sparkle Stick in Molton Bronze, which she also used on Pippa, with a simple winged liner and mascara. For the lips she popped on the Crushed Lips Colour in  Sazan Nude with the Lip Pencil in Cocoa to give me the perfect nude pout. 

The lipstick from Bobbi Brown

My final Bobbi Brown look.

The lovely photographer Kirsty bounced back from me and Pippa and every time she came over I quizzed her about Pippa's makeup as I was so excited to see what she looked like. When my makeup was done I glanced in the mirror and loved it. It was strange seeing myself all made up but in a very natural way. It got me thinking about toning down my makeup once in a while as I really liked how I looked. I would really recommend Lottie from Bobbi Brown if you want your makeup doing (the winged liner she did on me was bomb) as every step of the makeup she catered to me and made sure that what she was doing was what I wanted. She was incredibly attentive and made me look and feel beautiful.

When I hoped off my chair I scurried over to Pippa, as her Urban Decay transformation was what I was looking forward to most. And oh my GOODNESS did she look amazing. She has the most beautiful blue eyes, so when Tasmin used the Heat Palette on her it made her eyes look absolutely incredible, you can see for yourself below. 

Pippa looking beautiful at Urban Decay. I mean, look at those baby blues?!

Pippa looked beautiful. She definitely looked like she could head out! It was really lovely seeing her in a brand she would never have thought to have tried and I was thrilled when she said she liked how she looked. It was then time to swap over and see what the lovely ladies could do with the same products they'd just used but on the other client.

I'd never gotten my makeup done at Urban Decay, so I was very excited to finally get it done by my all time favourite brand. Tasmin was the lovely lady that had the job of making me look ready for the town and when I saw how perfect and beautiful she looked, I couldn't wait for her to work her magic. I'm familiar with most of the products so it was nice to talk about our favourites and our long lost loves  - the discontinued products. Tasmin was incredibly lovely, easy to talk to and made me feel at ease. I understand that getting your makeup done at counters can be intimidating, but Tasmin wasn't that at all. I would recommend her for and bold looks that you're after (After a glance at her Facebook page she's also very very good at prom makeup).

She used the same products as she did on Pippa, the Naked Heat Palette (You can actually see my review for that here) and Space Cowboy Moondust for the eyes. She begun with the eyes, unlike Lottie at Bobbi Brown, because for more intense looks there's a chance of fall out. This means nothing gets on your face and ruin your foundation! She did a halo eye on me keeping the mattes outside and a pop of Space Cowboy on the centre. Because there wasn't all the Urban Decay testers that Tasmin wanted, she improvised with other products in Urban Decay but for the brows so had to grab a brow product from Benefit as unfortunately UD didn't have my shade. At this time of year I have very dry under eyes, and as I had taken my makeup of twice already my eyes were noticeably irritated. Tasmin did an absolute amazing job at making sure they were hydrated and didn't look cakey and what an amazing job she did. Look how flawless my under eyes look! She used the Naked Skin Foundation on me to keep me looking matte and flawless,  partnered with the Naked Skin Powder to keep it all locked in. She used the Sin Afterglow Highlighting Palette to finish of the cheeks and the new Hi-Fi Shine Ultra Cushion Lipgloss (Try saying that twice as fast) on the lips for the glossiest of glosses. I loved the final look and the smokey dark eyes is a staple of mine, so I felt right at home.

So overall, what did we think? We completely jumped into something that wasn't what we were used to, and we both came out surprising ourselves. I could pull off the more natural makeup that I wasn't used to, and Pippa looked absolutely gorgeous all glammed up at Urban Decay. In other words, try something new. That bright, pink lipstick that you wish you could pull off every time you pass it? Stop beating yourself down - try it - I dare you. You may just surprise yourself. You can read Pippa's side on her blog here. A massive thank you to Hannah, Tasmin and Lottie at HoF for making this challenge happen, and special thanks to Kirsty Smith for the photos.

PINK AND BLUE - KATIE JADE PHOTOGTAPHY

I'm really getting into my textures and colours more than I have ever been and I adore experimenting with styles and shapes that scare me. The only limit you have is yourself. Katie (Instagram: @KatieJadePhotography and www.katiejade.co.uk) found some really awesome locations to make the colours of my outfits pop! See below the look book of the shoot with all items labelled if possible.

Jacket - H&M

Dress - Topshop

Shoes - Dr Martens - Pascal Glitter

Top - H&M

Skirt - Boohoo - Mermaid Foil Skirt

Jacket - Zara

Bag - Skinnydip - Bianca Bag

Shoes - Topshop

Unicorn Necklace -  I Love Crafty - Unicorn Moon Necklace

HEALTH MOT AND EATING WELL WITH M&S

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to pop down to my local M&S store to meet with an independent dietitian to measure key markers of health. These include cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugars, weight and waist measure. This may not seem too exciting, but after meeting with her and talking about how I can improve on certain areas, I came out feeling incredibly good about myself with a bunch of new foods from the M&S Eat Well range to try out.

If you're like me and hates weighing myself and doesn't keep an eye on whats going into your body, meeting with a dietitian is such a good idea. I eat a tonne of bad foods - McDonalds at least once a week and a sugary snack daily - so I wasn't expecting a good result in any areas. But because I don't eat meat, my cholesterol was surprisingly at a good level. My glucose, waist circumference and blood pressure were also at really good levels, but that doesn't mean I can't pay more attention to what's going into my body. I know it sounds cliche but eating as many fruit and vegetables as possible while including exercise in your routine really does help. It's something that is now constantly on my mind when picking up that bag of chocolate! I learnt that you can improve your blood pressure by keeping salt to a minimum, eating healthy and keeping active. This applies to all of the areas, but to keep cholesterol at a healthy level try and include more eat more fish and oats.

There's no need to completely change the way you live straight away, but start by changing a couple of things around such as having meat free weekends or changing your breakfast to a healthier alternative. I've shopped at M&S for a while now, and tend to run down there on my lunch breaks, and it's brilliant to find a range of food that's focused on eating well. I love cooking up interesting foods and M&S never fails to deliver. The front of the Eat Well range also states how many of your 5 a day it is (So many are 2 of your 5 a day! Amazing!) and so much of the range is Vegan too, which I absolutely love.  Just by changing a couple of meals a week to one of the Eat Well range and you've put yourself on the right path. 

I absolutely loved the Pea & Ricotta Ravioli. I've already told myself that I need to pick it up again one lunch break! It counts as one of your five a day which is also really great. Partner it up with a apple as a snack and you've had a really good lunch. I also tried the Balsamic Glazed Beetroot & Goat's Cheese which is another favourite and counts as TWO of your five a day! A firm favourite of mine, and always will be, is the veggie lasagne. You just can't go wrong. To accompany a healthy diet it's great to sneak in something active, too. When it comes to being active, find a sport you really love (Mines swimming, I hate the gym) and try and make a habit of it. Little baby steps and you'll be on your way. Overall, I'm super happy I dropped into M&S to see where I was at with my diet. It's inspired me to try new things and swap a few unhealthy snacks with a better alternative. The Eat Well range has a pretty sunflower on front so it's easy to spot. The calories, vegan/veggie stamp and the five a day logo on the front makes it really easy to eat healthy. Pop down to your local M&S now to see what the Eat Well range has to offer - you wont be disappointed.

Thanks for reading and have the loveliest day!