#BLFW Bloggers Love Fashion Week - My Highlights!

I've been talking about it all week on twitter, but for those of you who don't know...this week I attended Bloggers Fashion Week!

The #BLFW (That's Bloggers Love Fashion Week) took place from the heart of London's West End, at Penthouse, Leicester Square. I couldn't believe so many things were packed into 3 short evenings and I was super excited to attend. Now, i'm not a fashion guru and clothes aren't my forte, so instead of drooling over dresses and shoes, I got excited by some other things I found this week, such as accessories and beauty. Not only did I meet so many great brands, I met so many lovely bloggers too.

Here are my top finds and moments from the past few days! 

Taro Collection Jewellery

Oh my gosh it's so shiny!! Like a little magpie I was totally drawn to this stand. I'm trying to be more adventurous in my jewellery choices and these were really cute! I really like the chunky silver chain necklace.

Rachel Black Millinery

The inner Magpie in me was once again attracted to this gorgeous headpiece. All completely handmade, each hair band can take up to a day to make. I loved this flower hair band, and If I were to attend any races this summer, this would be straight on my head, for sure.

Model It Lashes by Alisha White

I like Alisha, she's a tenacious model who has branched out and started her own lash line. Alisha had some gorgeous lashes in a whole variety of types!

Blog Dates

Can't mention Bloggers Fashion Week without mentioning my Blogger date for Tuesday night! The Lovely Beth from 'The British Girl' I love reading her blog, and thought she seemed like a really cool girl, so I reached out to her and asked her if she'd like to come to Day 2 with me! Glad I did, Beth is lovely and we had non stop bloggy chat all night!

The Parlour

 The Parlour were on hand glitterfying the lovely bloggers in attendance on day 3 of BLFW, I saw so many beautiful eye designs throughout the evening and the two fabulous bloggers below caught my eye!

Headmasters

Headmasters were also in attendance at BLFW. They had set up a mini hair styling bar and you could choose a look from their Blowdry collection before their brilliant stylists Jodie & Ian would get to work on you! I told Ian that I like soft waves and love any hair style with a brushed out curl. I gave him total freedom to style my hair... including the brand new set of Dirty Looks Hair extensions I was wearing (I'll be reviewing these soon!)

I felt like such a Disney Princess with my tumbling blonde curls. I was so impressed with how quickly they styled my hair and gave me a look which was very me! I loved how my hair looks and I know who i'm going to be paying a visit to when I have a special night out to get ready for in the future. 

And of course... a night isn't complete without a selfie in the bathroom!

So those are my top highlights from the 3 nights at #BLFW. I picked up some amazing products which i'm going to be reviewing individually over the next few weeks and feel very lucky to have met some wonderful bloggers including - 

April from Beautiface, Beth from Beauty in Beta, Monica from Moth Loves, Beth from The British Girl, Xeena and the gang from Blogging Gals and many many more. I've an awful memory so I do apologize if i've missed anyone.

 Congratulations to Danielle for all her hard work putting on the event and i'm looking forward to the next!

Is a sculpted waist without any exercise possible? - My Lipomassage* Review!

Have you ever wanted to tone up and lose weight without the hard work? Yep! Me too. This month I'd been invited to try something new and very different! So I headed to Endermologie to try out their famed 'Lipomassage*' in a new 15minute express session.

If you haven't heard of Lipomassage* or know what it's about, that's okay because honestly It was all new to me too. So here's what happened during my experience... I met with Pernelle who was going to be giving me my Lipomassage* and she briefly talked me through the treatment and then left the room for me to put on my, what I can only describe as human sock. I did burst out laughing when Pernelle showed it to me, and after instructing me how to put it on, I wrangled myself into it.

Now the human sock, or in technical terms your Endermowear is pretty see through, It does in fairness, have thicker whiter parts to cover the nipple and groin area, but you are instructed to not wear your underwear underneath it, just as a heads up.  When you're all dressed and ready to go, it's onto the table and the session begins.

During the session you're to lie down on the table in a similar fashion to the woman on the screen. I decided to have my express session target my waist so chose the waist-ing away treatment.

The actual Lipomassage* is what i can only describe as an odd experience, but it was enjoyable! Pernelle was answering all the questions I was firing off at her during the treatment and she really knew her stuff! The treatment is sort of like having your skin kneaded, like you would to dough, but by motorized rollers with a suction tube in the middle. The therapist follows the little arrows on the screen to work out where to roll and which direction. 

In all honestly, I saw and felt zero difference after my treatment, and that's no surprise, as even the website states that you will need to have 6-8 weeks of treatment... and those are 35minute sessions! 

Would i stick it out for 6-8 weeks? Hmm, probably not, and the reason being at around £50 per session, one session a week... you could see results in the gym for the similar time frames and for far less money.

 However, if you've bags of dosh and prefer getting a massage than exercising, then this is the treatment for you - but be aware, that to maintain your sculpted figure, you'll need to have at least one session a month... for the rest of your life.

For more information about the Lipomassage* you can check their website here - LPG Lipomassage

*Although this experience was complimentary for review purposes, it has been reviewed openly and honestly. My Pale Skin will never publish a false review.

Get the Look! Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars) Inspired Make Up!

Ashley Benson always looks incredible on the Red Carpet, and she's the inspiration behind my latest Celebrity Styled look. The shining star of this look has to be the MUA Undress Me Too Palette which costs only £4.00!!  The Undress Me Too Palette is a Perfect dupe for Urban Decay's Naked 2, and almost a 10th of the price. 

The colours are incredibly pigmented, and It's hard to believe how many shades you get for so little money. If you don't have this palette, go get one! I'm a fan of MUA and after testing this palette out, I will certainly be buying more from the range.

Want to get this look? Here's the full product list of what I used - 

• Primer - Benefit Porefessional
• Foundation - Mac Prep & Prime BB Beauty Balm Extra Light / Mac Studio Fix NC15
• Concealer - Mac Studio Finish NC15
• Powder - B. Cosmetics Pressed Powder Light/Medium
• Contour - NYX Taupe
• Blush - ELF Blushing Rose
• Eyebrows - Sleek Eyebrow Palette Light / Urban Decay Naked Basics
• Eyes - MUA Undress Me Too Palette
• Eyeliner - Eeyko Skinny Eye Liner
• Mascara - Bourjois Paris Volume Clubbing, Ultra Black
• Eyelashes - Perfect Eyelashes by Agnes Dos Santos, 'Glam'

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this look, and i'm always open to ideas for which look to recreate next. As always, if you'd like a tutorial for this, let me know in the comments. xx

March Wish List!

I've been thinking about my wish list quite a lot over the past few days. I've lost count on the amount of times I walked into Boots determined to buy products in the 3 for 2 or made my way into Space NK to play with products I've been lusting after for weeks... yet every time I've walked out with nothing.

What I'm really wishing for, aren't really products that I can just pick up on my way home from work, or grab during my lunch break... it's something a littler more than that. This is my sort of personal improvement wish list. 

1. Brighter Whiter Teeth. 

I used to be a smoker. I quit last last year, and am in the difficult process of trying to freshen up my teeth and get them pearly white. I'm looking forward to the day I can wear a bright red lipstick out and not be worried about if they make my teeth look yellow. It's funny how much confidence can ride on just one thing.

2. Clear Skin

I've been working hard on trying to fix my skin and give it the love that it badly needs. It's not there yet, but i'm getting closer. I keep imaging the day I look in the mirror and see perfect skin staring back at me. 

3. Longer Hair 

The third and final personal improvement I'm trying to conquer is my hair. I'm still dreaming of the possibility of one day having beautiful thick one length hair.  I can't wait until the day I can go to the salon and walk out with a Hollywood style big bouncy blow dry! Until that day rolls around, i'm going to be looking into extensions.

So that's it! Those are the three major things I'm wishing for this March. I would love to hear from you if you have product recommendations or ideas on how to tick off every item from the list! Leave a note in the the comments or you can email me: em@mypaleskin.com xxx

Sleek 'Supermodel style' Chic!

I love nude make up. There's something about it which just makes me feel oh so sophisticated. 

For this look, I gave my Katy Perry Oh Honey! lashes a second chance. I stopped being lazy and cut them down to size. I teamed them with a my B. Dollhouse nude lipstick, and a sleek blow dry to try and get that supermodel chic vibe. Sometimes big hair isn't always the way to go and i'm doing my best to improve my blow drying skills. Most days I just rough dry it and be on my way, as I find it hard to get the level of volume, bounce and shine perfect without using rollers.

I'd love to hear your blow drying tips! Post them in the comments xx

DSM Moisurizing Carrot Cream* Review!

Over the past few weeks I've been trying out a new moisturizer. I picked up the Dead Sea Minerals Moistuizing Carrot Cream* from Jojoba Cosmetics at the Professional Beauty London show. 

At the show, I was fortunate enough to be able to choose any two products from the Jojoba Cosmetics stand and I chose the Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask as well as this Moisturizing Carrot Cream*.

What I liked about this cream is that it contains a whole heap of different vitamins such as vitamins A, E, C, B1 & B2, which help to treat the skin as well as minerals from The Dead Sea which are said to have extensive benefits. Anything that's going to improve my skin is a winner with me. I'm really trying my best this year to up my skincare game and I've put this cream to the test. 

I wish tub creams came with some sort of spatula or scoop to keep them contaminant free, but I haven't come across one that does so far. The Carrot Cream* comes in a 50ml tub and I'm a fan of the packaging, it makes it feel a lot more special than my typical go to Nivea Cream.

The cream has a a pretty smooth consistency and glides onto the skin fairly easily. It's light in texture and easy to apply. I find the Carrot Cream* is absorbed within a minute or two by my skin and doesn't leave a greasy layer on my skin.

Since switching to the Moisturizing Carrot Cream* from my Nivea cream I have been surprised at how much my skin has improved. My T Zone is no longer oily and i'm not getting breakouts in that area any more. My skin seems smoother and has generally picked up. However, i'm honestly not sure if that's because i've stopped using Nivea Cream, or because of this new moisturizer. The only way to tell really is to switch back to Nivea for a week or so and i'm hesitant to do that as I'm getting on so well with this one.

My Final thoughts are - so far, so good! I've been using it every morning and night and my skin has picked up, with less breakouts and less oil produced! Anything that will be an improvement to my skin is a winner with me so I'm happy to report good findings with this.

DSM Moisturizing Carrot Cream* can be bought from Jojoba Cosmetics as well as other retailers online.

Have you tried a Carrot Cream before? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Note: *This product was provided for free for review purposes.

A Sweet Surprise...

I often feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have an incredibly supportive (& handsome) boyfriend and tonight I came home from a day at work feeling a little deflated. I promptly walked into the bedroom to grab my PJ's and found this gorgeous little box staring at me!

I think I may have squealed, numerous times before I even opened it. I can't believe how sweet this necklace is! Even the packaging is adorable. As a couple we're obsessed with pretzels. They're one of our favourite foods and  we bake them together from scratch quite often... a trip to Westfields can result in numerous trips to the Mr. Pretzel stand, and now I have my very own pretzel to wear all the time!

M knows me far too well, he's perfect for me and so this is necklace! My Roberto Cavalli necklace can go back in the Jewellery box, because it's Pretzel time every day.

I've now got the cutest pretzel around my neck, a smile on my face and a very big craving for a warm buttery snack. 

A Wearable Editorial Look...

Elf Cosmetics UK were having a twitter competition for people to upload a wearable editorial look under the hashtag #elfEditiorial. I had some spare time and an elf Palette I've yet to try, so I made an off the cuff look.


I picked this 32 piece warm shadows palette up in one of my February hauls. You can see the full haul here!

I used a green/gold and a blend of pinks form my palette to make my wearable editorial Look. Try pairing it with a pair of denim shorts and a vintage tee for Summer Festival make up.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Would you wear this look? what would you create with this palette? 

Update: OMG! My look won the #elfEditorial competition! how exciting is that? I never win anything! I've just won £50 worth of Elf Products for posting this look on twitter! Amazing.

Pink Hair, Don't Care! - Body Shop Hair Chalk Review!

Oh my god. I freaking LOVE these hair chalks. I don't even know where to begin. I  don't think  I've been this excited to post up a look. This pink hair made me feel like a total badass and definitely needed some bright pink lips and a leather jacket to complete the look.

I picked these hair chalks up from The Body Shop online. They're usually £5 each, but I managed to get 35% off and free delivery using one of their promotional codes so the two chalks cost me a whopping £7.50! Absolute bargain! 

The packaging has easy to read instructions and the general gist of it is pretty easy. Place a towel around your shoulders to catch any fallout... i'll be honest I didn't do that and I didn't notice any on my shoulders, but I'd recommend a towel to protect your clothes! 

You place the colour pad onto your hair with your thumb underneath and slide it down your hair. brush through it and give it a spritz of  good ol' hair spray to lock in the colour!

The chalks come in little plastic pots, here's what they look like out of the packaging and with their lids off so you can see their colours.

I boldly went for it when doing my hair. I did my whole hair, and worked the two chalks in to have an eclectic mix of pink, blue and lilac hues running throughout.

I found them really easy to apply, and if I felt the colour was too vibrant in one area a couple of swipes of my Tangle Teezer toned the chalk down by gently brushing it out.

With light blonde & bleached hair, it's always a worry that when you put any sort of temporary colour into your hair it's going to stick and not wash out, I can assure you that when it came to washing my hair,  the Body Shop Hair Chalks washed out on the first wash. I used my regular L'Oreal shampoo, followed by my purple shampoo and Mon Platin Hair Mask and my hair was back to normal and bright blonde straight away.  

So here's to the badass pink look that lasted a whopping 4 hours before I washed it out, remembering I had a few important work meetings the next day. 

I even attempted an Ombre lip to go with it... not too keen on my ombre lip attempt, sometimes things don't always work and y'know it's always good to try new things. However, I'm loving the pink hair and I really like my first experiment using hair chalks.

Also... apologies for the massive amount of split ends going on in my frizzy hair... hair cut badly needed.

Have you tried The Body Shop Hair Chalks? What looks would you like to see me create with them?

Mon Plantin Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask* Review!

A few of you guys have been asking about my latest hair mask I've been talking about on twitter recently... and here it is! I picked up the Mon Platin Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask* from Jojoba Cosmetics at the Professional Beauty London Show. 

Now I'm never one to be bowled over or convinced by miracle hair masks. I used to get my hair cut & coloured at a well known high street hairdressers and every time it came to the hair washing, I dreaded them trying to push their special conditioning hair mask, or deep intensive treatment on me. It's only £15 they would say... on top of the £140+ it would cost me every month to have my hair done. Gulp, needless to say I always abstained! 

At The Professional Beauty show, I was offered any 2 products of my choice from the JoJoba Cosmetics stand to try out. I chose this Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask* and one other product I'll tell you about soon. 

I hadn't really heard that much about The Mon Platin range and had no idea what to expect.

According to the website this Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask* is 'an exclusive mask developed with the help of advanced technology for the treatment and care of dry, colored or permed hair or for split ends.' 

 I have bleached hair, and the split ends that come with it. I've been working on improving the quality of my hair over the past 6 months or so. That means no straighteners, and minimal heat styling. I blow dry my hair on a medium heat and I barely use my curling tongs any more since I've started using rollers again. I was interested to see what difference this could make to my hair.

I have to say, on first opening, this product smells incredible. Like absolutely incredible. The scent of the honey really pulls through it makes this smell wonderful.  

It has quite a thick creamy texture and feels luxurious. Over the past 2 weeks I've been using this as a replacement for conditioner to get some much needed love into my hair. I use it by first applying to the ends and the bottom third of my hair and massaging in, before moving up to the mid section and roots. I leave it on for 5 mins or so and then wash it off.

One thing I've found since using this, is my hair almost seems curlier and more wavy. I'm not complaining as I love a beachy waved look, but I have no idea why! My hair definitely has more shine to it and it feels soft and silky. There's no greasy residue left by it, and my hair isn't weighed down like I would have expected seeing as it has olive oil in it. 

Overall, i'm very pleased with this product, it smells fantastic and gives me glossy wavy hair! What more could a girl ask for? 

Mon Platin Honey & Olive Oil Hair Mask* is available to buy from Jojoba Cosmetics for £19.07

[HAUL] NYX Cosmetics Haul!

I recently attended the Professional Beauty London show. (You can read about it here!) and I manage to pick up some goodies from the NYX stall. I've shown you guys a few FOTD featuring the 2x Matte Lipsticks I picked up, but here's the full haul!

NYX had a trade show offer for up to 20% off everything! The stall was incredibly busy and I found it quite difficult to get close to the products. If it were quieter, I think I would've ended up with buying much more! There were quite a few things that I would have liked to have bought from NYX when i found their concession stand at Next in Westfields Stratford, but the stand was in bad shape and many of the lipsticks were contaminated and I couldn't work out what had been used and what hadn't. 

Luckily for me, I had no such problems at Pro Beauty!

So let's look at what I got, shall we?

I have a thing for a nice matte finish, and i've heard very good things about these setting sprays. I find that powder often looks cakey on my skin, and if I can set my face without using powder, that would be pretty cool. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

I couldn't get one, without the other... so I picked up the Dewy finish setting spray. I really hope it doesn't make me look sweaty! I've no idea what to think of this, and I'll post up a review of it after i've tried it.

I love the colour of this 'Sweet Pink' lipstick. Love it. I'm a sucker for a nice matte pink lipstick. It's vibrant and has just the right amount of girliness. I'm going to save this one for one of those days where I feel like adding a nice kick of colour to brighten up a look.

It glides on really easily and doesn't seem to tug. The pigmentation is strong with this one! Cannot wait to try it out!

The second matte lipstick I picked up 'Tea Rose' is one i'd consider a day to day lipstick. it reminds me of my Mac Pink Plaid, and i'll be interested to see a swatch of them side to side.

I've swatched the two Matte lipsticks side by side so you can see the difference in colour. 

This  NYX Black Label Lipstick is an unusual choice for me. I have a love/hate relationship with shimmery makeup. Maybe because I wore too much of it in the 90's/00's as a young girl, but there's something I just don't like about sparkly lips. 

However, this was in the bargain bin for £1 and I sure as hell wasn't going to leave it there for that price.

Back to Matte, and I couldn't buy NYX lip products with buying one of their highly praised soft matte lip creams. I've heard so many good things about these! But I admit it, I played safe and went for a dusty pink shade.

This stuff glides on like a dream. It's my first step into the world of lip creams and I'm really liking how it feels so far. (Swatch in the background is the Tea Rose lipstick from above)

And finally, an NYX sharpener. My Milk Jumbo eye Pencil is in a desperate need of a good sharpen, I picked this up for the bargain price of £3.50 at the trade show and it's a definite must have for Jumbo Eye Pencil fans!

That's it for this haul. I'd love to hear what you think of the lip products and setting sprays! Which are your favourites?