Hair dying routine | How I go from brown to bleach blonde

Just as a quick disclaimer before I start this off I wanted to say that in no way am I professional hair dresser and I am not qualified to do this. So please do not go by my word but go by the instructions in the box. This kit does use bleach and peroxide which will burn and scald your skin if used improperly. I have someone to help me to apply it as it makes the application process much easier. If you are under the age of 18 I do recommend you ask permission from your parents or guardian, as you are under the age limit of use. If unsure about application please see a specialist who will do it properly and it will be much safer on your part. Anyway enough of the legal stuff now onto the tutorial!

The bleach I like to use is the Bleach London Total Bleach kit which includes a disposable bowl and brush, two packets of powdered bleach, a liquid peroxide and plastic gloves. I start off by poring all of the bleach powder into the bowl and then slowly add the peroxide, stirring as I do so. After about 5 minutes of mixing, the consistency should be of thick cream with no lumpy bits. I then comb through my hair to get rid of any tangles and then apply the product all over my re-growth in small sections. 

Before -

During -

After evenly applying it to the treated areas I let it sit on my head for around 30 - 40 minutes checking it every 10 minutes at the progress. I then do my shower routine as normal by washing it out of my hair with two or three shampoo washes. Once finished I towel dry my hair and apply the Bleach London white toner to any areas that are a little yellow still which is usually my whole scalp, keeping that on for a good ten minutes and then once again washing it off. I finish off this routine by applying a conditioning mask all over my head and leaving that on over night. 

I like to keep this lovely blonde colour as bright as I can so I do like to wash my hair once a week with a purple shampoo and using the repairing mask as my conditioner. 

And that's about it! It pretty easy to get light coloured hair from brown but if you are dying your whole head I would recommend you buying two or three boxes of bleach depending on the length and thickness of your hair. These kits are around £10.99 each and you can buy them at your local Boots store or alternatively you can purchase them online! 

Hope you enjoyed this hair tutorial and I'll be back tomorrow for a new post!

Post soon, 

Love Danielle xxx

Autumn rose | OOTD

Now that the weather is truly miserable, it's about time we started to wrap up and make our selves ready for the winter weather. I've been really enjoying the dark autumnal colours with a pop of something bright thrown in! 

Coat - New Look

Top - Next

Disco Pants - American Apparel

Loads flats - Topshop

Head band - Tu (Sainsburys)

Necklace - Primark 

Lipstick - Mac (All fired up 'matte')

Hope you enjoyed!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

A few of my favourite things

It's been quite a while since I updated you on my current favourites, now i won't make this a November favourites as I don't have enough of each specific genre to show you. But I do have a few bits and bobs that I've been loving and have been making me happy!

First being this beautiful turquoise set of teardrop studs that I purchased as a pack of 3 from Topshop they were originally £10.00 but they were on sale for £3.00! Amazing, for such an elegant looking piece.

Next being my new Autumn/Winter scent. The Ghost eclipse fragrance, I have run dry on my sample size so I had to go out and purchase a full size bottle. RRP: £24.99

Lastly being the lipstick I have been adoring over the past few weeks, it is by MAC and it is called All fired up. It is a beautiful true to colour dark fushia pinky and it applies matte (yet moisturising) and amazingly opaque! RRP: £15.50

That's all folks, only a few bits to show you today! Hope you enjoyed today's mini post!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

November Glossybox | Unboxing

This months Glossybox wasn't themed, so it was just your normal lovely baby pink box! Which I'm happy with! Perfect for using as separators in your vanity. So with out further a due, let's go onto the products! I received 5 products in this box with 2 full sized products too!

Burt's Bees natural lip shine in Blush. This was the only product that I got this month that I would of actually purchased, potentially. It's a lovely sheer gloss that I'm sure will come in useful.

Monu Hawaii facial treatment oil. This lovely 'spa' like smelling oil is a facial treatment that you apply after cleaning and toning. You can also use this as a face mask in oil form by warming it up in the palm of your hands and massaging it in.

H20+ hydrating treatment. This is pretty similar to the Monu oil but a much smaller sample that won't go very far. It is the same process as applying, but I'm not sure why they decided it would be a good idea to put two very similar products in the same box but one being a 30ml sample and the other being a 8ml sample. 

2 True pro Sparkles nail glitters. This is a very simple gold glitter that will come in handy for nail design. Even though I have many gold glitter pots already, another one in my collection won't hurt!

Lollipops Paris eyeliner in 701 Goodbye Moon. This is your simple twist up black khole eyeliner by a brand that I haven't heard of before but I'm sure it is good either way. I don't usually wear pencil eyeliner but it may come in handy one day!

So that is everything, I didn't love this box as much as last months due to products that I probably won't use. But let's hope the Christmas box will be better! Hope you enjoyed, make sure you follow me on bloglovin' to keep up to date with all my blog posts!

Post soon!

Danielle xoxo

Inside my beauty essentials bag

No matter the weather or where I am going I always carry my little emergency pack with me, filled with all sorts of beauty goodies that I would feel lost without. I bought this beauty of a bag at a little boutique called Glow and Co which I did mention a few posts ago. It has this beautiful pop art esque design in front of a vibrant pink background! Most defiantly up my street and it was only £11.00, bargain.

First off in my bag of goodies I have some roll on deodorant, for obvious reasons. Nobody likes the smell of bio, now come on! My personal favourite is the tesco's own brand in the blue fresh scent. 

I then have some lady items including tampons and some feminine deodorant and yes us girls have the problem with a wiffy woohoo from time to time so I have no shame in saying I use one! Haha! Girl power!

I also like to keep my miracle hair product with me, the Schwarzkopf BC bonacure colour freeze treatment, this beauty of a serums, it will clear up any frizz immediately with only a pea sized amount! Worth a buy, but a little hard to find I got mine at my local Sally's beauty supply, or you can alternitavly purchase it from a local Schwarzkopf hair dressers! 

Lastly I like to keep a small pocket mirror, for any makeup touch-ups, a few kirby grips, some headphones and the lipstick I am rocking that day. Today I am wearing the Loreal collection exclusive in Liyas pure red!

Hope you enjoyed!

Post soon,

Love Danielle xoxo

Macs Velvet Teddy dupe

So, everyone and their mother is obsessed with kylie jenners lips, and when the information came out that her iconic lipstick was Velvet teddy by Mac. We all went out to buy it, but before I did, I had a brows through my makeup collection to see if I had any dupes and oh my did I find the perfect twin. Its the Collection matte lip cream in Cotton candy, and comparing it side to side with Velvet Teddy, you really can not tell a difference, the only major difference is the price! You can easily splurge on a £19 Mac lipstick or you can get dupe for £3.05!! That's a £16 saving which is why at the end of the day I didn't get Kylies lipstick, but instead went for the cheap twin! Pick up yours in your local boots store or on the Boots website!

Happy shopping!

Love Danielle xoxo 

The battle of the beauty advent calenders

For all of us beauty addicts when it comes to Christmas time (yes I did say the C word at the start of November!) beauty advent calendars are on the top of our lists to buy, and because there are SO many different varieties to chose from what better way to make your choice than with my top 10 picks for this year!

1. Candy coated countdown by Benefit Cosmetics. £60.00 

As we all know Benefit hits one of the top marks when it comes to christmas packaging, and with beautiful, luxury products you can't really say no. At a £60 price tag you get all your favourite Bene-goodies including benetint, highbeam and porefessional. You also get some little extra goodies like note pads and hair bobbles in this hamper, so all in all a good mixture of things. But at that price tag, I'm not sure if I'm biggest of a benebabes to splurge on that much.

2. No7 beauty calendar. £35.00

If your a big No7 fan, you will adore this. It comes with 24 mini sized products with quirky beauty quotes inside each door. It's supposedly worth a value of £135.00, so if your a fan, I would run out and get it. It also comes with a mixture of items including their iconic lipsticks to eyeshadows and even includes a few makeup brushes!

3. Ciaté Polish calendar. £49.00

If your a nail polish hauder you might faint over this one, a house shaped calendar with all of the famous colours hidden inside, it also comes with textured polishes and even tools. So if you swoon over nail art, this is probably your sole mate!

4. The Body Shop beauty calendar. £50.00

As a body shop fanatic this really tickled my fancy, it includes both skin care and makeup. So really does cover all grounds, and the great thing about this one is they send the proceeds of every holiday product purchased to the War Child charity to help children in need get an education. So it makes you feel good about yourself whilst enjoying your Christmas goodies!

5. Lush 12 days of Christmas. £49.99

Now I know this isn't technically an advent calendar but if you love your baths and you love lush, I'm sure you wouldn't mind opening a door every other day instead. It includes all the well known Christmas lush goodies and some online exclusive 'retro' items as well! So if your a Lush fanatic like my best friend Lucy from vintagesmilesxox is then you better snap it up before they're all gone!

So once everything is said and done, my decision was a hard one to make. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on an advent calendar but I also wanted something exciting enough to make me pumped up for Christmas again. Drum roll please... At the end of the day my heart lay with the No7 beauty advent calendar. The packaging stole my heart and the fact it has makeup brushes in too. Makes me as excited as child of Christmas Day!

I hope you enjoyed my advent calendar post, but at the end of the day If you can't afford a beauty advent calendar (because let's be honest, they're pretty pricey) you can always make your own at home, which I'll DIY for you sometime this month! 

Happy holidays 

Love Danielle xoxo

October favourites

Now that Halloween is over and done with it's time to start singing Christmas carols and get into the festive mood. But before we do let's look back on the month we had and I'll share with you my hits & misses and my highs & lows. Firstly trains have been a big past of my month, I seemed to be on them more than usual and spending a lot more on them. Either way, train journeys really give me inspiration for blog posts so all in all not that bad. Moving onto the good stuff; products! 

I bought this beautiful makeup bag back at the start of October in a lovey little shop called Glow and co. They have a few dotted around the country and they practically sell everything, from candles to jewellery to makeup bags. Handy little shop in my local village! This medium sized beauty hamper was £11.00 and it came in a large 'wash bag'  size and a little card holder size. Also in many different variety of patterns and designs including cats, pugs and deer! So cute, and so handy to keep in my handbag!

I found this lovely little second hand hat in my local Barnardos charity shop. It is a dark navy colour with an adorable little bow on the side. And it's small enough to fit my tiny little head which is fab! I bought this for £6.99 which is a bit pricey for a charity shop but I just couldn't resist! 

Keeping with the clothing theme I've been really loving my black brogue shoes which I did by primarily for work but they are so comfy and they seem to go with everything that I might have to buy another pair to last me though the winter! I got these from River island for £12.99 which is a bargain!

Moving onto makeup and beauty items, there hasn't been a whole lot I've been really loving besides a few things. One being my go-to dark berry lipstick that I wear pretty much everyday. It's called Begulded by Topshop and at £6.99 its pretty cheap hydrating lippy. The other thing has been the Too Faced eyeshadow pallet in Boudoir Eyes which consists of 9 coloured shadows ranging from light to dark and matte to shimmery so an all round day to night pallet. It's on the little pricey side at £29.00 a pop but well worth it for 9 beautiful shades, in my opinion. My favourites being 'Satin Sheets', 'Lap dance' and 'Voulez-Vous' all perfect colours for the autumn/winter period!

I hope you enjoyed this months favourites, now bring on the Christmas shopping and mulled wine! 

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

Sunny autumn days | OOTD

Now that the cooler weather is here, it's time to ditch the crop tops and go out and get your thick coats and tights ready. I am fully prepared now for autumn with my dresses and brogues, to bring you some of warmer outfit of the days ready in time for the Christmas period!

Outfit details -

Structured boyfriend coat - Marks & Spencer's A/W 2013 line £99.00

Floaty cobalt blue dress - Boohoo.com £20.00

Pointed shiny brogues - River Island £14.99

Structured black handbag with gold hardware - Primark £14.00

Other details - Black opaque tights and gold and pearl bracelet are both unknown brands!  But duplicates can be bought rather easily, and if the day is particularly cold I may also chuck on a thick scarf just to keep me extra toasty! 

Hope you enjoyed my first autumn outfit of the day!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

October Glossybox | unboxing

Coming home to a glowing little yellow box on my door step, which was practically calling my name, I was more than ecstatic. As this was my first Glossybox, I was probably more excited than most people as I didn't know what to expect. Granted I did watch a few unboxing videos of previous boxes but nothing seemed to get me in the mood to subscribe. Until the beautiful Lucy from Vintagesmilesxox showed me last months box, and knowing Octobers would be Pop art. I just had to get it! So as soon as I glimpsed at the words Glossybox on my door mat, I whipped off the outer box quicker than lighting to see all the goodies I had received, and I must admit, I am very impressed! 

The first product I saw peeking out was the very fancy French named Masque Crème Fraîche de Beauté by Nuxe, a very well know brand which I was very excited to see. This cutie is a hydrating face mask that soothes and rehydrates for 24h, for all you non French speakers like myself out there! RRP: £19.50.

Another skin care item I received was the Être Belle Liplift peel, a replenishing lip exfoliant! I was very excited to get this, it is perfect in time for those cold winter months that are rapidly approaching! RRP: £12.95 (full size).

Moving onto makeup I got this very familiar looking YSL esque product that was the So Susan Flutter mascara. This one didn't wow me as much, it has a very basic wand with basic formula, but we shall see it could be a miracle worker who knows, but I most probably will do a review soon enough! RRP: £14.95

The other makeup item is the Rimmel London matte BB cream, again not super fussed on this, matte formulas arnt my best of friends, as it doesn't really do much for my dry skin, so I may give it away! RRP: £6.99 (full size)

I also saw a nail polish peeking through and it is the Ciaté nail varnish in Talent Scout, a beautiful bright flat purple colour. Considering Ciaté are my all time favourite nail polish brand, of course I was over the moon to receive this! RRP: £9.00 

Last but most certainly not least I got a small sample of the Yves Roches Quelques D'amour which is this lovely musky, deep scent that is perfect for autumn/winter. I will defiantly be repurchasing this in the full size! And this miniature size is perfect for travel! RRP: £33.00 (full size)

So that's all the goodies I received! Considering the total of the box is over £100 paying £10 is a steal! I shall keep you all updated on my progress with all these products!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

Autumnal makeup picks 2014

If you know me in person you will know I like to rock the bold, dark lips and severe winged eyeliner on an everyday basis. So when it comes to choosing my autumn makeup picks, the decision was easy as pie. I have a variety of different products ranging from eyeliner to foundation. 

A pale girl like myself can be quite hard to buy foundation for so when I saw this beauty that I also featured in my recent September favourites posts, not putting it into my top picks would be unthinkable. The Loreal Infallable 24h foundation in porcelain is the perfect cool toned foundation is just right for the pale girl that I am! At an RRP price of £12.99 it's a complete bargain!

To coincide with this lovely foundation my number one concealer is the cult favourite Collection lasting perfection concealer in 01 fair, this heavy duty product really does hide all sins including under eye circles and any nasty spots. It dries to a powder finish, so no need to powder after! And at a price of £4.99 a bottle, it's my go to concealer! 

Moving on to eyebrows I've really been enjoying the MUA lux eyebrow pencil in dark blonde. It's retractable, it's ashy, it's perfect! Everything I need in an eyebrow product, it's a great value at £2.99 so worth picking up!

Eyes! Obviously I had to include some gel eyeliner and my current obsession is the Loreal gel eyeliner in black, it's a 'life proof' eyeliner that doesn't budge for anything! It's at a price of £10.99 a product I only need to buy once every six months! 

Going with the eyes I had to include my all time favourite mascara, which is the Barry M showgirl volume mascara which gives your lashes that fake look without wearing the falsies! £4.99 is the price of perfection!

Lastly I wanted to pop in a lipstick and this berry lip is perfect for this time of year. Avon lipstick in golden wine, the glossy-ness of it really hydrates your lips but doesn't move around like other glossy lip products. It does climb up the pricier scale of lipsticks at £17.99 a pop, but it's so worth it for this multi-tonal beauty!

(Tools are both Real Techniques and can be picked up online or in your local Boots or Superdrug store.)

Hope you all enjoyed my Autumn makeup picks!

Post soon! 

Danielle xoxox 

The beauty blogger tag: Get to know me!

So I saw this cute little tag on Beauty 101's blog and thought what better way for you readers to learn more about me and my beauty ways than the beauty get to know me tag? Pretty perfect right? So let's get straight onto the questions!

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

After I wash my hair, it sort of goes this wavy poofy sort of style then after a day or so it goes quite straight.

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to the salon?

Usually I do it myself at home but lately I've been missing quite a few bits and the brassyness just doesn't want to go away. So from now on it'll be hairdressers all the way!

3. Do you wear the same style everyday or do you change it up?

When it comes to makeup I usually stick to my signature winged liner and bold lips unless I'm feeling adventurous but when it come to clothing I usually dress quite chic and classy but I do have the occasional lazy day!

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to the salon?

Home pampering all the way, who has the money or the time to get your nails done in a salon. I do my acrylics myself, I wouldn't want my beauty diploma to go to waste!

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

Usually after around 5-7 days of wear, I get bored easily!

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?

I'm a little lazy when it comes to my tootsies, I rarely paint them at all unless I wear open toed shoes, which is primarily in the summer.

7. How long does it take for you to put your makeup on?

If we're talking about a full face of makeup and I'm in a rush, probably around 15 minutes but if I have time to experiment can be up to an hour.

8. What do you do first face or eyes?

Face all the way, nobody likes a perfect eye makeup with an ugly looking spotty face!

9. Do you collect makeup or buy what you need when you need it?

I'm defiantly a makeup junkie, I have way more than I'll ever need, and I will keep buying new products because that what my passion is!

10. How often do you wear false lashes?

I've been lucky enough to inherit lovely long thick lashes but I do occasionally pop a pair on to give me an extra flutter!

11. Do you wear a full face of makeup everyday?

Most days yes, I enjoy wearing and putting on makeup, so naturally I feel right with it. But if I'm not going anywhere I won't feel the need.

12. Do you wear makeup when your home alone/with family?

As I said before if I'm not doing anything then no, I don't really have any insecuritys about my bare face!

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Most defiantly.

14. How many high end products do you have?

To many to count that's for sure, but I have about the same amount of low end as I do high end!

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when your getting dressed?

Sometimes I will plan the outfit in my head before hand but most of the time I'll just try a load of stuff on and see what I like!

16. How often do you change your handbag?

I switch up my hand bag for each season but there has been occasions where I've used the same bag for a year or so before I got bored!

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

On a work day, go to sleep at 11 and wake up at 7, and my days off I'll usually go to sleep around the same time and get up at 8/9am!

18. How often do you and when do you work out?

I dance every Sunday and try to do an 'at home' type of work out twice a week!

19. Left handed or right handed?

I am pretty much ambidextrous but my right hand is my dominant hand!

20. How tall are you?

5'11! Big up for my tall ladies!

21. Do you speak a foreign language?

I was born and bred in Germany so I am fluent in German!

22. Do you have any pets?

Yes my lovely, dribble-y, old, fluffy, black cat called Cloud!

23. How often are you on Blogger?

Everyday, whether it's writing posts or catching up on other blogs, you'll always find me on here!

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

Of course! And I reply to everyone of them!

25. Do you keep a list of products you want to try as you see them in posts?

Yes, my notes page in my phone is full of products I want to try!

26. How did you come up with your blog name?

I've leapfrogged through a few different names such as 'velvet--couture' and 'gypsy witches' but they all weren't very me. But I am happy with my blog now and I wouldn't give up the name for anything!

27. What kind of camera do you use for photographs?

I use my camera on my iPhone 6, it gives great quality photos so I really don't feel the need to buy a fancy LSDR.

28. How often do you clean your house?

Usually deep clean once a week and 'pick up' every day!

29. What's your favourite colour?

Pink, white and glitter? (Is that a colour? Haha!)

30. Do you swear?

Very rarely but when I do I get it from Liam as he's a big swearer 

Bonus! What are you doing with the rest of your day? 

I'm currently on the bus home and I'm looking forward to having a Lush filled bath with Michael Bublé Christmas album playing in the background. (Yes I know I it's early but I just can't help myself!)

Hope you enjoyed this beauty related get to know me tag. I'd like to take Lucy from Vintage Smiles (vintagesmilesxox.blogspot.com) and you all reading this too!

Have a lovely day!

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo