Must Have Skirts For Spring/Summer 2014

It's all about getting your legs out this Spring/Summer in all kinds of gorgeous skirts! What do you mean it's raining, tights are your new best friend girls! Here's a pick of my favourite offerings from Asos this season.

1. Asos Burnout Midi Skirt £38.00 
The flock detailing on this mid length skirt really caught my eye, perfect for walks alongth beach front on your summer holiday!

2. Asos Maxi Skirt With Splits £18.00
Be daring in this split to the thigh maxi skirt, it's sure to get you some attention!

 3. Asos Full Midi Skirt In Scuba (with pockets) £35.00
Pastel never really went away this season, think pink for Spring/Summer in this floaty midi skirt!

4. Asos Full Midi Skirt In Scuba £35.00
If pink's not your thing, look fresh in mint instead!

5. Asos A-Line Skirt In Arrow Print £30.00
My favourite of the bunch, this sixties style a-line skirt is the perfect way to showoff your pins!

6. Asos Pleated Midi Skirt £28.00
For something a bit different, go for this emerald green pleated midi skirt for a fun, floaty look!

7. Asos Pencil Skirt With Mesh Overlay £35.00
Be daring in the office with this pencil skirt with mesh overlay, who says office wear has to be boring!

8. Asos Step Hem Mini Skirt In Stripe £30.00
Nobody will accuse you of looking boring in this step hem mini skirt, it's certainly a better alternative to the 'Skort' trend!

What will you be wearing for Spring/Summer 2014? Let m know below!

*This post was written in conjunction with AccessAllAsos.*

A Few Recent Buys

I had to satisfy my shopping addiction (yes HAD to) at the weekend but thankfully I managed not to spend too much money. I bought a few really great things and was really happy with what I got so I thought I'd share them with you all.

Let's start with this gorgeous bright red tea dress from Primark. It's the perfect transitional dress, I can wear it any time of the wear seeing as it looks great with black tights and a chunky cardi but will look equally amazing in the summer paired with bare legs and cute sandals. Don't you just love the print as well, it's more of an edgy floral print and not too girly!

I also picked up with super cute necklace from Primark for only £3, such a bargain! It's slightly difficult to tell from this picture but it's gold and pale pink. They also have it in pale blue so I might have to pick that one up too! Primark do some really great statement necklaces but I like that this necklace isn't too chunky cause they can look a little thick around my neck.

Tea Dress - £13 Primark

Finally on to my beauty buys from Boots, I picked up two Barry M nail polishes in 'Matte White' and 'Black'. I absolutely love the quality of Barry M nail polishes plus they come in so many colours at such a decent price, they really are hard to resist! You might be thinking Black and White are strange choices for nail polish but I'm really loving doing nail art at the moment and a decent black and white polishes are essential in most designs.

Barry M Nail Polish - £2.99 boots.com

I was also very excited to pick up one of the new Revlon Colourburst Matte Balms in 'Unapologetic, a bright pink shade. These have been much hyped since their release a few weeks ago and I absolutely love lip crayon so I couldn't not try them out. I'm really impressed so far, they have a minty scent to them which feels really fresh especially first thing in the morning and they go on like a dream. They are matte finish so they so show up a few dry bits on the lips but nothing a bit of balm apllied beforehand can't sort out. The pigment is fantastic, really bright and vivid, just how I like my lipsticks!

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm - £7.99 boots.com

OOTD - A Girl And A Spotty Dog

Leather Jacket - H&M 

T-Shirt - H&M 

Jeans - Miss Selfridge

Boots - Kurt Geiger 

Necklace - Accessorize 

This is a really casual outfit for me, in fact I hardly ever wear trousers, I'm nearly always in dresses and skirts! Obviously skirts are not exactly practical for taking the dog for a walk, especially in 40mph winds like on the day we took these pictures. Apologies if I look a little wind swept! So everyone meet Freddie, my gorgeous, giant Dalmatian. I thought it might be fun to include him in my outfit post seeing as I spend so much of my day with him, he's my baby even if he does weigh 40 kilos!

This is a typical outfit for me when I'm not really doing much, I walk Freddie every day so comfort is essential and these jeans from Miss Selfridge are the comfiest I've ever worn! I definitely recommend Miss Selfridge if you're looking for a new pair of jeans!

Oh and I just thought I'd throw in another fun little gif below just to show you that Freddie isn't really that well behaved, he was just being bribed!

Sunday Sounds #2

PLAY WHILST LISTENING

Firstly I'll start with an apology, I forgot to do a Sunday Sounds post last week, oops! However I have a real treat for you this week, an amazing song called 'Let Go For Tonight' by Foxes. I have been absoloutely loving this song, it just makes me feel really happy, like I need to go crazy and dance! Obviously as long as there's no one else around.

So whilst you're listening, here's a round up of this weeks top posts on 'A Girl Called Eleanor':

OOTD - A Girl In Leopard and Tartan Print - My very first OOTD was posted this week! I had some really positive feedback so it's definitely going to be something I will be doing regularly on my blog from now on.

Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette - My Mum brought me back this gorgeous eyeshadow palette from the US this week. It has the most amazing colours in it and I can't wait to give it more of a try!

Review - Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 'In Love With Ginger' - I FINALLY found the perfect orange lipstick after a false start last week (see here), it's glossy and bright and compliments my complexion perfectly!

Review - L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara - This mascara has had a lot of hype around it since it's release and I finally got to try it out and see for myself. It's safe to say I was really impressed!

My Favourite Beauty Products This Week are firstly the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara. I only bought it last weekend and it's already become my go to mascara. I'm really loving the look of long, seperate lashes at the moment and this mascara gives me exactly that. Another favourite this week has been my Real Techniques brushes, I have so many of them now and I gave them all a deep clean this weekend. They look like new again now, yay!

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara £8.99 - boots.com
Real Techniques Brushes boots.com

What song  have you been loving this week? Let me know below!

Feeling Blue - Wish List #1

1. Little Mermaid PJs £20 topshop.com

2. Floral Dress £29.99 pullandbear.com

3. Platform Sandals £55 riverisland.com

4. Revlon ColourBurst Matte £7.99 boots.com

5. Effaclar Duo + £11.62 boots.com

6. Print Blouse £22 riverisland.com

7. Duck Egg Pea Coat £89 missselfridge.com 

This week started off officially with 'Blue Monday', what's supposed to be the most miserable day of the year in the UK. Pair that with the awful weather we've been having recently means most of us have been feeling a little down in the dumps. So what did I do to cheer myself up? Well a little online window shopping of course because looking at things I want but can't afford is definitely going to cheer me up! Oh well, I can admire them from in front of my computer screen and dream of wearing that gorgeous blue coat. Nope, it's not working.

Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette

My lovely Mum went on a work trip to the US last week and very kindly brought me back a present, the Urban Decay Ammo Palette. I'd never actually hear of the Ammo palette so I googled it and turns out it's a selection of Urban Decay's best selling eye shadows as well as a mini version of their infamous Shadow Primer Potion and a mini shadow brush.

So this sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me! All the shades are excellent quality, very creamy and most are very pigmented although there is quite a lot of fall out and shimmer so these are definitely to be used before you've done the rest of your face. My only disappointment is that all the shades are shimmery, it could have maybe done with one or two matte shades to make it easier to work with.

(Left to Right: SMOG, MILDEW, OIL SLICK, LAST CALL, CHOPPER) 

(Left to Right: MAUI WOWIE, SHATTERED, POLYESTER BRIDE, GRIFTER, SIN) 

You can probably tell from the swatches above that the bottom row of shadows are much less pigmented than the top row mainly due to them being lighter colours which isn't necessarily a bad thing, they just take a little building up for more colour pay off. Urban Decay also makes it really easy for you by vertically colour coordinating the shadows so you already know what works with what.

The little brush that comes with the palette is surprisingly good quality and is perfect for using to line the eyes or in the socket line and the Eyeshadow Primer Potion of course works really well to keep the shadow in place. If you're a fan of Urban Decay I definitely recommend this palette as a way of trying out their best shadows, plus the palette is small enough to carry round in your handbag for top ups throughout the night, perfect! 

Urban Decay Ammo Palette £23.00 - debenhams.com

Review - L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

I got my hands on the L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara this week even though truthfully I didn't really need another mascara! I couldn't resist the hype and there's been a considerable amount of it about this latest release from L'Oreal. I think it's mainly due to the Japanese Manga reference, what girl doesn't want huge, cartoon style lashes! 

Firstly I have to mention the brush, when I first opened it up I was surprised at how thin the brush was, I was expecting a really fat brush mainly because I think you get more products on you lashes from larger brushes. Not only is it thin and tapered but it's also bendy, a first for a mascara wand I think. (If I'm wrong let me know!) It's been specifically designed for the brush head to bend in any direction although it does take quite a bit of pressure to get it to bend. I didn't manage it without nearly poking my eye out so I can't really say this design feature is all that useful. The tapered shape of the brush however is perfect for getting those inner and lower lashes coated. 

The actual mascara is fantastic, it's very wet but coats lashes beautifully! In the picture above I wanted to show you just how much of a difference one coat of the Miss Manga mascara makes, look how long my lashes are whilst having been perfectly separated and fanned out. It doesn't necessary make my lashes look thicker, that's what eyeliner is for, but it does make them long and fluttery and much darker in colour. It's mega volume name should be changed to mega lengthening instead! As I mentioned the formula is quite wet but it does dry very quickly so there is no worrying about smudging.

In terms of how long lasting it is, I'd say it's pretty good. It doesn't start to flake off until after around 10 hours of wear which is about average and so far I haven't noticed any smudges or black marks under my eyes at the end of the day. I don't really feel like it's given me manga style lashes but is has given me girly, long fluttery lashes that don't look over the top. This mascara is definitely going to the top of my favourites list!

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara - £8.99 boots.com

Review - Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 'In Love With Ginger'

After my last fiasco with the not so orange lipstick (see here) I think I finally found one I'm happy with, yipee! You know what it's like when your testing every single lipstick in the drug store until your arms are a rainbow of pinks, reds and oranges, well that was me. So this is what I came away with, the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in the shade 600 'In Love With Ginger' a vibrant, orangey red with a glossy finish.  

It is slightly more orange in real life compared to what my camera picked up but not too bright to make it a Spring/Summer only lipstick. The formula is as I said very glossy, it glides on beautifully and yet richly pigmented which is very important to me in a lipstick. The staying power isn't great, it will stay put until you eat or drink something but generally I think that's the price you have to pay with glossy lipsticks so it doesn't really bother me.

Accordig to Rimmel it contains 'polypeptides, hyaluronic acid and natural collagen' which sounds a little scary but these are supposed to be 'super moisturisers' to make your lips 'feel up to 70% more hydrated'.  It does feel moisturising on my lips but I can't say I noticed much improvement in their condition, all I can say however is that it didn't cling to any dry bits which is always a bonus! Oh and I do just have to mention that the frangrance of this lipstick is not exactly pleasant, in fact it reminds me of gone off perfume, bleurgh! You can also taste it when you first apply it but thankfully it disappears pretty quickly!

This colour is just perfect for girls like me with pale skin and dark hair, without being modest I think it really complements my complexion and for some reason makes my eyes look incredibly blue! I'd definitely like to try some of the other colours in the range if they are all as pigmented as this one! 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick - £6.49 boots.com

Have you tried the Moisture Renew Lipsticks? Is there any colours you would recommend? Let me know below!

OOTD - A Girl In Leopard and Tartan Print

Coat - Miss Selfridge
Shirt - H&M
Skirt - Urban Outfitters
Boots - Kurt Geiger (still on the website)
Bag - Accessorize
Necklace - Primark

Wowee I was so nervous about pressing publish on this post, I was so afraid I would look like a complete  idiot but it's done and now live on the internet, eep! So here you go, my very first ootd post.
I went to see my sister at the weekend and she ever so kindly offered to be photographer for me so off we went having no clue what so ever what we were doing but we had fun. I laughed a lot, mainly in an embarrassed 'I'm posing in front of dog walkers' kind of way and together I think we did alright! Oh and in case you didn't already get just how embarrassed I was, here's a gif to illustrate, enjoy.

Review - Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick - 107

After yesterdays disappointment (see here) I made up for it today by picking up the Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in shade 107. It's a gorgeous wine colour and one that I've been hankering after for ages! Normally it's always been sold out, I guess it has to be the most popular colour in the range but my local boots was stocking it so who am I to say no!

I LOVE this colour, it's just so flattering against my pale skin, I like to think wearing this makes me look kinda vampy like one of those girls who goes to a lots of cool, underground gigs. In reality I doubt it does but I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it. I still however can't decide if I'm brave enough to wear it out during the day time, I think this is one just for going out at night!



The texture is lovely for a matte lipstick, really wearable and very long lasting. It certainly doesn't cling to all the dry bits on your lips like some matte lipsticks do. Oh and I just have to mention the smell, it has such a lovely fruity frangrance which sort of makes it feel more high end! I think this will fast become my new favourite lipstick!

Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick £5.49 superdrug.com

Review - Seventeen Stay Pout Lipstick 'Showmance'

 

I committed a beauty sin yesterday, I bought a lipstick without opening it, oops! I was looking for an orange lipstick and I've tried a few seventeen lipsticks already so I thought 'Ooh that looks like a bright orange, I'll get that one!'. Well, it's safe to say I was pretty disappointed when I got home and opened it, it turned out to be not at all orange but in fact more of a pale pink colour. I've included a picture of the colour on the lipstick so you can see why I thought it was going to be orange right?

Now believe me I do not need any more pink lipsticks, I have more than enough but I still gave it a try and actually it's not too bad, it has a slight orange tinge to it but it is mostly pink and quite shimmery. I don't normally go for shimmer but I have to say I think this lipstick is growing on me, it's definitely one I'll keep for Summer.

According to seventeen this is a 'longwear lip colour with stain' which I have to say I actually agree with. I tested it out this afternoon and considering it has quite a creamy texture, it really did stay put. The sheen wore off after an hour but it did leave a bright pink stain on my lips which I actually kinda liked! Yes I was initially disappointed by the colour but I like the idea of these lipsticks so I think I'm gonna give some more colours a try.

Seventeen Stay Pout Lipstick £4.49 boots.com