Greek Holiday

Sporting my post summer glow after nine glorious days on the Greek Island of Rhodes. What a beautiful, ancient land bursting with history and breathtaking scenery. We stayed at the Elysium Resort and Spa, a fantastic five star hotel with one of the most stunning beaches. If you are looking for pure luxury this is it.

We took the local bus into Old Town, the medieval city of Rhodes almost every evening for dinner. I really wanted authentic, fresh Greek food. Needless to say we ate a lot of Souvlaki and plenty of fresh fish. The weather was perfect, blue skies and sunshine save for the evenings when it was still warm but very windy. We rented a car for one day to drive up to Lindos and the Valley of the Butterflies.

Now makeup wise I switched between my Bareminerals and Estee Lauder DoubleWear which is what I'm wearing in the photo above. I love the whole routine of being at the beach all day to get back to your room, shower and get ready for dinner. It was still pretty hot and humid in the evening and I must say my makeup held up incredibly well. I brought one blush and one blush only, Benefit Coralista! It is the perfect blush and highlight in one.

 Goodbye Greece, until next time....

Fridays Face | Summertime Glow

 Happy Friday lovelies. I love when I have time to sit down and really enjoy putting on my makeup.

Summer is all about glowy, youthful sunkissed skin. I'm all about luminosity but being an uber oily skinned girl this can be rather tricky without looking like a hot mess! I opted for my all time favourite Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation (full review here) for coverage and staying power, I mixed a small amount with a pump of Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer (full review here) which gives the most gorgeous, non greasy glow. The combination is simply divine! I applied with a damp beauty blender for the lightest application.Cheeks were dusted over lightly with Bareminerals ready blush in Aphrodite which is very similar to Benefit Coralista.I think peachy shades are a must of summer.

 For eyes I am still obsessed with the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. I find the shades so flattering to my skintone and eye colour. I'm enjoying sporting an all over lid shade at the moment and these metallic tones really enhance glowing skin.I used my bronzer as a transition colour and Suspect all over the lid and lower lashline. I lined my eyes with Soap&Glory Supercat liquid liner in black. 

What summer makeup look are you enjoying? 

FOTD || OOTD

Necklaces are from an Etsy store called Layered & Long

Hello lovelies. Friday was a glorious sunshine filled day. I went for a fresh bohemian kind of look. I'm not quite ready to squeeze my butt into a pair of shorts so I opted for this maxi skirt from H&M. It is nice and light weight and doesn't cling to wobbly bits. I love pinning my hair up like this as it gives me a bit of volume. For make-up I kept it simple with Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in 4.0, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in light, Bare minerals matte in fairly light,Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Antigua 2, Covergirl Lash Blast mascara and Benefit Coralista lip gloss. Et Voila!

May Favourites

Hello lovelies I know I'm rather late in the day with my May Favourites but better late than never. I really shopped my stash this time as some of these products I have literally had for years! These are just some of my go to products that I can throw on at 6am with my eyes closed. I go through these phases of wanting to use things up and my theory is to use the heck out of them during the work week! I leave weekends and days off for experimentation and brand new make-up. Check out my video below.

Live Laugh Carnival by OPI

Hello lovelies, spring is very much apon us and to celebrate I'm busting out the brights! This has got to be my favourite coral polish to date! It is from the new Brazil collection from OPI and its called Live Laugh Carnival. This is going to look fabulous with a tan and electric on toes! I love this colour and will most probably wear it from now till the end of summer! OPI always comes out with wonderful  collections. I think it is one of the best brands for nail polish. I find it so easy to apply, two coats and away you go.You can purchase OPI polishes pretty much anywhere, I got mine from John Lewis for £11.95. I would say that's quite expensive for a nail polish, but the quality is second to none.

 

What is your go to polish at the moment?

 

 

Thank you for reading

BlondeTeaParty x

 

 

 

 

Melt Proof Make-Up

Hello lovelies! So us gals in the UK are enjoying a much needed heatwave! I don't know about you but I'm loving it! Spending my lunch breaks in the park soaking up the rays because lets face it who knows how long till the next dose of sunshine graces us! With this glorious sunshine comes make-up melt down, how do we keep our faces on all day without looking like a Sweaty Betty?

Taking my inspiration from the lovely Lisa Eldridge heat proof makeup tutorial  http://lisaeldridge.com/video/25786/summer-in-the-city-heat-proof-makeup-tutorial/

Here is what I've been doing.First I prep my skin with Rachel K CC Cream in Neutral- this works as my moisturiser, primer and sun protection. Take a long lasting foundation, I'm using Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Makeup SPF 10, apply with a damp beauty blender. Concealer under my eyes- Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection. I have been loving using cream products for extra stick!so for bronzer I use Chanel Tan De Soleil with a stippling brush and then a cream blush, I adore Chantecaille Aqua blush in Enchanted - this does not budge! Lastly I finish with Mineral Veil by bareminerals as this is the lightest stetting powder on earth. A spritzing of MAC Fix + and away I go! You can always use bronzer to set you makeup instead of powder. The trick here is to use minimal products and layering to achieve a flawless face that won't melt away! This has worked wonders for me. After lunch (touch up time) I just blot with some toilet paper ( classy I know) and my face is a pristine as it was at 6am! Result!

What's your fail safe melt proof makeup? I would love to know :)




Thanks for reading BondeTeaParty x

Fun in the Sun Summer Essentials

Hello lovelies!! Are we enjoying this sunshine or what?!! For those of you that don't have the pleasure of living in the UK, we don't really get much of a summer. These past couple of weeks has been gloriously hot and super sunny! As wonderful as stripping off and basking in the sun all day is, alot of us are forgetting to apply sun protection. I can't stress enough the importance of wearing an SPF, even 30 minutes in the midday sun can give you sunburn. The suns rays are at its strongest from 12pm-3pm so during this time if you are out and about, you should be wearing a hat to protect your head and have plenty of sun protection on exposed skin.

When looking for a sunscreen make sure it has both UVA and UVB protection or what is also known as broad spectrum, as this will insure you are protected against both levels of the suns rays. UVA penetrates the lower levels of the skin, while UVB penetrates the top layers of the skin, the main culprit of sunburn.


Here are a few sun care products I have been using- for my face I have been loving, actually adoring Bobbi Brown BB Cream SPF 30, this smells of being at the beach! It's got great coverage, loads of skincare benefits and feels light and fresh on the skin.

For my body I've been using Garnier SPF 30 Light & Silky, a light non sticky formula that's high in protection and easy peasy to apply!

another great find is the BareMinerals SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen UVA/UVB Protection, this is perfect for those who don't like sticky suncream or have very sensitive skin. This is great for joggers because its a powder and it wont make you sticky or uncomfortable, you won't even know its there. Its great to have in your hand bag for one of those days you're out to lunch and didn't anticipate any sun action, whip this out and your protected from head to toe! This is meant for face and body, its free of chemical sunscreen and best of all will not clog your pores!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by :)            

 

BlondeTeaParty x

My Summer Foundation Routine- Sweat Proof Makeup

 

Hello lovelies here is my new summer foundation routine! This is going to be my go to summer essentials! I wanted to test this out, so yesterday I got up put my makeup on at 9am, got on the tube to go to my parents house in Surrey. Went for a pub lunch with my little sister and my mum. Sunbathed in the garden till 5pm. Went to the cinema as it was orange Wednesday so two for one cinema tickets and two for one at Pizza Express!! what a deal, even got two for one on the dough balls! result!!

Then my sister dropped me off at the station, I got home at just after 11pm and no joke my face was still intact! No shine, no smudging,no wearing off ! I am impressed!! Usually I'm a shiny beast by noon. This seriously is the best combination of products I have ever used. I swear by mineral make-up in the summer because it literally sticks to your skin whereas liquid foundation will melt regardless of how matte it is and how much powder you put on top. So all in all I am ecstatic with this routine!!

 

Watch my video below to see how I apply my summertime foundation routine

 

                                                    
                                                               Products Mentioned

                Diorskin Nude BB Creme - nude glow skin-perfecting beauty balm spf 10 shade 002
                                                 Mac Pro Longwear Concealer NW20
                               BareMinerals Ready spf 20 Foundation Medium Beige N20
                                         Kevin Aucoin The Sculpting Powder Meduim
                                          BareMinerals Ready Blush The Aphrodisiac
                                                       BareMinerals Mineral Veil
                                                                      Mac Fix+
                                                              BM Kabuki brush
                                                          BM Flawless face brush
                                                           Hana K blusher brush






Thank you so much for stopping by :-) What are some of your summer must haves??




BlondeTeaParty x

Summer Fragrance

So the sun is finally shining and I feel like summer is here. Time for a new summer fragrance yay!
I picked up one of the new Polo Big Pony Collections from Boots ( got to get my points)

This is described as fruity floral. It is a blend of cranberry and tonka. I find this fresh and sweet at the same time, just how I like it. Lovely for summer evenings. I love the colour combination.

Summer Goodies

So I went on a mini shopping spree the other day, in search of some fancy sandals. I have got tiny feet (size 1-2) so its really hard to find shoes that aren't falling of my feet. So I pop into Dune, and low and behold they are having a mega sale, and I found these beauties!! Originally £65 each down to £36 each! bargain! and the sales assistant said the size 3 comes up really small that she had to go up a size, perfect for me. They actually fit well are are just what I had in mind. The bracelet and the ring in the left hand corner are from Banana Republic, sticking with the gold and brown theme I thought these would go hand in hand with my gold sandals and a black maxi dress!
Watch my summer haul below :-)

I also fancied a big floppy hat to wear on the beach or by the pool. I came across this beauty in Banana Republic on sale from £39.00 to just £13.50!!
This is going to look the bomb with a white or navy bikini!
         

I love blue and white stripes, can you tell ;-)

Happy Summertime everyone!!