Wonky Lauren

Not exactly a glamorous subject but having nice straight teeth is.   It's something that I've thought about for ages.  When I was younger a lot of my friends had 'train track' braces including my sister but I never did.  My dentist never said that I needed them until I was 16 when all my friends had theirs off so I declined because I didn't want to be the only one with braces until I was like 18/19.   I must admit I kind of regret not having them now because I would have got them free on the NHS but never mind I think at the time it was the right decision for me and a lot of my friends were not happy with the results of their NHS braces anyway. I'm now looking into getting clear braces because they are much more attractive (if you can even call braces attractive) than the old 'train tracks' or retainers and apparently you can barely notice them.  The brand I was looking at are called Invisalign and although they are pricey I don't mind

Not a great deal has happened this past week but the weekend was busy as ever though so here is my WLE. Wear It was my friend's 30th birthday at the weekend and she celebrated at a local pub in Brixton in a beer garden as the weather was perfect for it.  I wanted to dress up because it was her birthday but at the same time it was only a pub garden so didn't want to go too over the top.  So I decided on this maxi skirt that I got from Topshop when I saw Ashley Madekwe wearing it who is one of my style icons and I teamed it with a crop top from Primark and little sandals. Life The pub garden was HUGE I couldn't actually believe it because from the front the pub looks so small and in a residential area which is why the shut the garden at 1030pm but it's still nice to sit in during the day.  You get a real mix of people there and it's full of picnic benches for all to sit on which gets you chatting to lots of new people.  If you live around the Brixto

If you read my last post you will see that I have been doing a bit of research into new make-up brands.  My last post looked at high end Charlotte Tilbury make-up so I thought this post should feature more affordable drug store make-up.  Okay, so Topshop isn’t a drug store as such but it falls in the ‘affordable make-up’ category as far as I’m concerned. When I first heard that Topshop were launching make-up products I was a bit dubious.  I’m never quite sure when a company that specialists in one thing then tries to come out with something else.  However, I’ve heard a lot of hype about their make-up since then and when I’ve seen it in store there’s lots of bright colours which definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Bronzers First up is bronzers, these are new to the Topshop range and there is both a matte one and a shimmery highlighter one.  The matte one looks like it would be really good for contouring and I definitely want to purchase it.  The highlighter looks pretty also

I must admit I didn't really know much about Charlotte Tilbury until I saw Millie Mackintosh wearing her make-up.  And then obviously I was obsessed. Millie has the best skin and it always looks so radiant and flawless.  I find it a lot more trustworthy to listen to opinions of someone who you can clearly see that the product works for rather than someone just raving about it because they're being sponsored. I haven't purchased any of her products yet but I want to so I did a little research on her website  to see what was in store and thought I would share my findings... Beach Sticks The first product I was drawn to were the beach sticks and these come in bronze and blushes or you can get both in a kit.  These are cream formula blushes/bronzers that seem to glide onto the skin for a bit of colour and dewy finish.  My favourite is Ed Vedra which is a bright orangey red. Liquid Eyeliner Pencil Next are these eyeliner pencils that are apparently liquid.  

Another WLE festival edition!  I'm really getting into my festivals this year.  Probably more so because the weather has been nice.  I'm not an outdoorsy person at all when it's rainy and miserable, I just can't hack it! So Friday I attended Lovebox at Victoria Park and here's how it went... Wear The weather was absolutely boiling on Friday.  I think it got to about 32 degrees which is insane for London. So I opted for a cute playsuit because I thought it would be both cool and comfortable.  The one I wore is from Primark and was actually in their beach wear section..  I thought it was really nice though and wear it out all the time.  I teamed it with my Hunters again (any excuse to wear them!) even though it was a bit too hot and also this floppy hat from Next which is great for sunny days to keep the sun off my face. Check my Instagram for pics @wonky_lauren Life So music wise we got to see Sigma, Hannah Wants, Katy B, Duke Dumont and Chase &a

We’re going back in time for today’s post to look at how make-up trends have changed over the years and my own relationship with make-up. Funnily enough I was never a great lover of make-up.  It never really excited me and I never found myself always wanting to buy new stuff when I went out.  My make-up bag was never overfull and I didn’t have much of a clue how to apply it.  I don’t think I was ever desperate to wear make-up when I was little.  I think maybe I was more of a tomboy!  I think I first got into make-up when I was about 14 and started to go to under 18 discos (remember them?!).  I used to borrow a bit of my mum’s make-up and then throw on a tonne of glitter.  I remember wearing lilac eyeshadow to match my lilac outfit.  Something I would never do now bcos I hate anything that’s ‘matchy matchy’. I think I properly started to wear make-up when I was 16 and I got my first part-time job.  I went to an all girl secondary school so never felt the need for make-up be

To some of you this may be a really obvious post but to those of you that are new to make-up like I was about a year ago then this might give you a few tips on which eyeliner will work best for you. Starting off with the basics, you have kohl liner.  This comes in a pencil form and the product inside is a dry, soft and smudgeable texture that works really well on the waterline and tightline.  This is probably the easiest most simple eyeliner to start with if you're new and works well with a smokey eye even if you're rubbish at them because you can just smudge it altogether and no-one will know you started with a really wonky line! My favourite is this one by Bourjois . Next up is liquid liner.  This is the one that creates that lovely winged flick on top of the eyelid that we all strive to get perfect.  Not always best for beginning unless you have a steady hand.  You can get a felt tip type one too which is sometimes a bit steadier but beware if the tip is rather larg

Wear This weekend was an old friend of mine's birthday and we went to a club in Leicester Square called The Penthouse.  I have been here before but only to the nightclub part, it has incredible views across London. They also have a comedy club in there which we went to first.  Comedy clubs are not usually my thing but it was actually really good and one comedian in particular called Zoe was awesome.  You can find out more about the club here. As we were going to the nightclub bit afterwards I wanted to wear something quite dressy so I went for this really cute playsuit from Missguided.  I think Missguided is great for little playsuits and this one went perfectly with my Kurt Geiger wedges. Life If you read my last blog post (How to be successful) you will know that I had a job interview last week. Anyway, I got the job!  I am so so happy because this really will take my career in the direction I want it to go and means that all that studying I have been doin

A slightly different post today from the usual beauty babble.  I’m not even sure where I’m going with this or what I want to title it but I have a job interview today for a job that will hopefully really take my career off and into the right direction.  And it just got me thinking that it’s so important to keep pushing yourself, stay motivated and positive and hold onto the hope that you can achieve your dreams if you just believe and don’t give up. I was never really that clever at school, maybe slightly above average and I certainly didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left.  So I left school at 18 with a couple of A-Levels and went straight into full time work.  But some how I have managed to achieve a lot at quite a young age because I worked hard and was determined to be successful and sometimes I think that is more important than any qualification. So what I’m trying to say is don’t give up on your dreams.  Ever.  Don’t think that just because you’re not that cleve

Yay for more summery posts!  I can’t believe the sun has still got his hat on here in the UK .  The weekend was a bit misog but during the weeks have been nice and bright and I hear we’re in for a 2 week heatwave! So that means we must make the most of the weather and get our legs out but for most of us this can be pretty daunting especially if we’re not ‘shorts ready’.  Here are a few little tips I wanted to share with you on how I prepare my legs for the warmer weather. Firstly in the shower I like to exfoliate.  This is going to get rid of any dry patches of skin, any old fake tan, unclog any ingrown hairs and make your legs nice and smooth. Secondly I take my razor blade and de-hair my legs.  Not the most glamorous thing to talk about but needs must!  I usually just buy the Bic disposable ones and the shaving cream that goes with it and that does a good enough job for me.  If my legs are particularly hairy if we are just coming out of winter and I’ve been hiding

This Saturday I attended the BST Festival at Hyde Park with headline acts such as The Enemy, The Pogues and The Libertines.  Here is my WLE write up... Wear The weather had been so hot and sunny all week and then it got to the weekend and was windy and rainy. Typical.  It wasn't too bad actually, it probably rained for about half an hour when we were there but it gave me an excuse to rock out the Hunter wellies.  I teamed these with a black pinafore from New Look (the children's section), a cream lace top from Next and a rain mac from H&M (not shown).  I only really wore the mac at the end because it was quite warm for most of the day.  I think this outfit was super cute for a festival and if I was brave enough I may have put flowers in my hair! Life I don't think I've ever spoken about my love for Pete Doherty on here before but I am absolutely OBSESSED with the guy.  I know a lot of people don't like him and that's their opinion but I&#

Ruby Woo by MAC is a cult red lipstick that pretty much everyone in the beauty world owns.  I, however, was a bit late to the party on this one.  I love the look of the colour but because of the matte finish I wasn't sure if it would be too much hard work to keep looking fresh and luscious.  And I'm not a fan of hard work when it comes to make-up. Anyway, on my recent trip to Ibiza I decided to purchase this lipstick at the airport.  I tried it out one night when I was out there and I did really like it.  It's such a lovely vibrant colour but you have to make sure you don't have any dry patches on your lip and apply a generous amount because other wise you get those cracks showing up... you know what I mean. I think it would also be best applied with a lip liner which I didn't have with me whilst travelling.  I did have another lipstick called Poppy by Marks and Spencer.  This is a bright red colour but is a bit more creamy and so I layed them together and

Here are a few recipes I have been rustling up lately and thoroughly enjoying. Simple Stir Fry This is really very easy to make, especially if you buy one of the stir fry package deals they do in Tesco and Sainsburys.  I also have a wok which I find much easily to use as it's rather large but you can also use a frying pan.   I like to throw my vegetables in first, I normally go for the mushroom mix as mushrooms are my fave, then after 2 minutes I throw in the noodles, the rice ones are my favourite. Then after another 2 minutes I add the sauce and I like to mix it up here as they have a variety of flavours to choose from.  Then after about a minute it should be ready.  So simple and soooooooo delicious!  Just remember to keep stiring the whole time ;) Broadbean and Sweetcorn Frittatas with Feta and Rocket Salad These are super healthy but filling at the same time.  You make an egg, milk and flour mixture and then when it starts to make a doughy texture y