It's been a while...

Oh my gosh this feels strange to be writing on here again, long time no blogging! I've been really really busy with my second year of university and looking for a job as I'm currently going onto a placement year.

In terms of my blog I'm currently in the process of redesigning and giving it a new look that fits me more and just looks more appealing. I'm going to make it my aim to blog a lot more and to do a wider variety of of posts and content. As I now have 16 months off of university for my placement year I'm going to have a lot more time to blog and travel and get out and about and do things to actually write about.

I'd really enjoy any ideas anyone has for any posts or what you'd like to see me writing about or doing. I've also changed my social media links and you can find me on Twitter and Instagram under @eleanortheresa_.

                                                                     Ellie xoxo

Thick/Curly Hair care & Routine

For years and years I have struggled with my hair as it is very thick and weighty to style and care for. I have always dyed my hair and at one point in my life straightened it whilst it was wet (I can hear hairdressers all over the world screaming in anger). Now I'm at a point in my life where I am looking after my hair properly, it's at a good length and I love styling it. A lot of the time I'm also asked if I'm wearing extensions or just in general how I style it.

To begin with, I always wash my hair with some sort of L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner combination as I always dye my hair with a L'Oreal kit and find that it always works well with my hair and leaves it in the best possible condition. When my hair is wet and fresh from the shower I spray my heat protectant from the roots down and same with the L'Oreal Elvive Damage Care spray which I find helps with my hair as it gets incredibly dry. The last step in my pre-styling routine is to add the Umberto Giannini Frizz Off Blow Dry Cream and this helps with keeping the frizz away from my hair and to make it manageable.

I then obviously blow dry my hair and straighten it to just get rid of my natural curls as the final look of my hair styled with curlers looks a lot nicer when its straight to begin with...

Once my hair is straight, I section it ready for curling...

I then take a section of hair about 15cms wide ready for curling...

I then take my curlers and wrap the hair round away from my face for about 10 seconds, the key to the loose curls is to have big pieces and apply heat for a short amount of time to get to loose look. I also NEVER curl from the roots, I start curling from about half way down to again give the curls a loose look...

I continue this process until the bottom section is complete, alternating from curling in towards my face and away from my face to give the curls a bit of definition...

The whole process of curling my hair will literally take me about 20 minutes, even though my hair is thick and there's a lot of it, it's a quick process.

I then go round and spray my hair with a hair spray and a climate control spray from Lee Stafford which I find just helps to keep away any little fly away hairs and keeps my hair looking tamed...

The final step is to then run the VO5 nourish my shine serum to keep my hair looking shiny.

The products I use on a daily basis after I style my hair to keep it looking nourished and healthy.

I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe even found a new product that you could use if you have hair the same as mine! As always, leave me comments on any other posts you'd like to see and follow me on Instagram & Twitter - @ellie_christmas

                                                               Ellie xxx

Winchester Vintage Market

Winchester is renowned for being an old city with fascinating architecture, old buildings, wonderful independent shops and well-known retailers. The market is held up and down the streets of the city on the first Sunday of every month and there is an array of antiques on sale, from stuffed animals, to furniture to 20th century gardening tools. There is also a few vintage clothes stalls but beware they are VERY pricey (as all vintage clothes normally are!) It's so great to walk around the market looking at all the stalls and being inspired for interior decor and to find old little nic nacs that were around in my childhood and to take a trip down memory lane. Whilst at one of the stalls one of the women told me about a huge vintage outlet in Winchester called Molly's Den with over 250 tradesmen and women and it's open 7 days a week so if you live in the South East, it's definitely worth a visit! 

The Dolce Vita

Charlotte Tilbury is known for making some of the most beautiful make up products and one of my latest purchases definitely lives up to that name. I brought the palette The Dolce Vita which consists of gorgeous gold and brown tones which I find works best with my green eyes. The staying power of these shadows is PHENOMENAL, I can put these on early in the morning and by the end of the day I will still have a perfect smokey eye which hasn't budged all day. The pigmentation of not only this palette but nearly all of the palettes have tried is absolutely amazing and you only need to use a tiny bit of product. What would say is that if you are looking for a palette that is going to last a long time and really look flawless on the eye and bring out your eye colour, a Charlotte Tilbury palette is for you!

As always, let me know what you think via my twitter or instagram @ellie_christmas
                                                                           Ellie xoxox

The best ever handbag

A couple of months ago I went a little bit cray cray in the Zara Sale and fell in love with a little grey leather handbag. I knew that when I saw it I just had to buy it and I would be in love.  The handbag is a grey leather bag with a white leather pouch on the front, it wasn't until I got home that I realised that the the front pouch actually had a removable clutch bag which just made me fall in love with the bag even more. I've been using this bag for a while now and I can honestly say I've never loved a bag so much, its practical and it looks pretty! I can honestly say, Zara, you did good with this bag.

As always, let me know what you think and what you'd like to see next via my twitter and instagram @ellie_christmas
                                                                             Ellie xoxo

Did you know you've got a hole in your jeans?

This has to be one of my favourite outfits I've put together recently, it kinda makes me feel street and a bit more update to date with recent trends. I am absolutely in LOVE with my new ASOS skinny jeans because A) They are incredibly soft and fit like glove and B) they have a rip on the knee and I've been looking for the perfect pair of distressed jeans. I paired it with my one my favourite Zara sale purchases which is a chiffon crop top covered in Pineapples and I just feel summery and bright and colourful in it. My other favourite Zara sale purchase are the sunglasses which cost me just £9.99 (bargain of the year! Although people calling me Elton John in them) and lastly my ever so trusty, ever so lovely Nike x Liberty trainers which I don't think I'll ever fall out of love with! 

As always, let me know what you think and what you'd like to see me post next via Twitter & Instagram @ellie_christmas 

                                                             Ellie xoxox 

Summer BBQ Look

When it's sunny in England, everybody knows you have to make the most of the sunny weather. One tradition my family has is a big family party at my aunties farm every year and I thought I'd share my make up look and outfit with you guys. I've gone a bit OTT with my shopping recently and I'm wanting to wear everything I own at the minute, I brought a long top/dress from Urban Outfitters which I paired with some light jeans for the base of my outfit. For ages I've had my eyes on the Monki maxi cardigan and I've never had the money when I wanted it and I've never been sure on it but I saw a long cardigan/kimono in Urban Outfitters and I fell in love, I wore this just for the chilly evening to keep me warm. I've also naughtily splashed out on a Charlotte Tilbury pallet and a beautiful natural nude lipstick. I brought the pallet The Rock Chick which is a grey smokey pallet, the shadows are really pigmented but the colours come out so beautifully and blend so easily on the eye. I then went with a nude lip because obviously if you have big grey/black smokey eyes, a nude, subtle lip will compliment it really well, the lipstick I went with was Bitch Perfect, again, by Charlotte Tilbury and I just feel the whole make up look worked well with the outfit and looked lovely for a casual summer BBQ.

As always, follow me on Instagram & Twitter - ellie_christmas and let me know what you think and what you'd like to see next!
                                                                     Ellie xoxo