asos exclusive nail rocks on sale!

ASOS Exclusive Nail Rock collection 

Last year when I went down to the ASOS HQ, I got to see some awesome ASOS pieces and some ASOS exclusives. I loved this little collection of exclusive Nail Rock wraps which are designed in conjunction with some ASOS clothing pieces, and seeing as they're now on sale for just £7.50 I thought i'd just pop up a little post on them! I have the matching jacket for one of the styles, and I absolutely adore it. Here's just a little sneaky peek of what it looks like on - snap taken from another different blog post so ignore what i'm holding for now! I really love these Nail Rock designs, totally innovative and different to just standard nail designs - I love anything a bit off the cuff, a bit unusual. Fell in love with these when I saw them at the event and just had to share their prettiness while they're cheap!

You can check out ASOS's designer Nail Rock wraps here and they're currently on sale for just £7.50.

What do you think of Nail Rocks? Do you like them? Do you think you'll pick up a set now they're on sale? What do you think of the ASOS clothing collection - do you rate my jacket?

Love, Zozo
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Disclaimer: Jacket gifted to me for free from ASOS, Nail Rocks viewed at ASOS HQ. 

soft bronze look with the body shop

creating a soft smokey bronze look using entirely the body shop 

I really rate The Body Shop. I know it gets neglected and can be forgotten about and i'd definitely not say its at the top of everyone's radar for makeup especially, but I always find some nice bits by them in there. I'm a big fan of some of their skincare pieces, I think they're a great price point and they always work well on my skin. In fact, The Body Shop is one of my most blogged about brands - yes, honestly!

I was excited to pop along last month and check out some of the new Body Shop releases for 2013, and lo and behold there were some beauts in the Makeup range. First up is the new Smoky Eye Palette and I have the one in Smoky Moonstone which has four shimmery bronze/brown shades in it.  I used every single shade for the look above and all together they create a gorgeous soft bronze smokey look. I think the shadows are good, quite softly pigmented - not too intense - and they have little to no fall out at all. My favourite part of the palette is the two mini brushes, they are actually proper small versions of their full size brushes and they are actually great. A million times better than the plastic applicators you normally get in a palette!

On my skin i've used the Extra Virgin Minerals Foundation which is fairly lightweight but still with good to thick coverage. The shade I have is 105, but on reflection 102 would definitely have been a better suit for me, this one is a tiny little touch too dark I think. It feels soft and creamy on the skin and doesn't transfer off onto clothes - it also has that gorgeous dewy finish.

To complete the look i've gone for their new Dazzling Rocks in Golden Copper, and they've added shimmer and sparkle to my cheeks, but in a nice subtle way. I wasn't expecting to love these as much as I do. I've used the bronze rocks as contour, and the peachy ones to highlight - and I *never* use a bronzer as a cheek product but I simply loved the radiant glow this gave me. Totally learned something new today - I should not be afraid of a little subtle bronzer!

Of course i've popped on a little of a new mascara by Rimmel and this amazing lip product which is by Stila - but more on those two later ;).

The foundation retails at  £14 which I think is very good indeed, with the eyeshadow palette sitting at £14 too and the Dazzling Rocks are £16. What do you think of The Body Shop? Do you like this look I created? Would you buy their makeup?

Love, Zozo
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Disclaimer: The eyeshadow palette and the dazzling rocks were given to me free for consideration before Christmas by The Body Shop PR and the foundation was from CEW. 

sometimes, i get a lil over emotional

"Stay where you are until someone finds you" - but who'd ever think to look for me here? –Alice (Alice in Wonderland) 

Actually I don't even think it's getting over emotional I think it's just me being me. I'm a soppy sop. The biggest ever. Really. I'm one of those people that if in the wrong mood, i'll cry my eyes out at the most ridiculous thing - like even just someone telling me my hair looks nice, or an advert on the tv where there's a couple, or watching a YouTube video of a baby smiling or something stupid. I've always been this way and while it can be something sad, it's usually a trait I think is a good thing to have. While most of the time i'm hard as rocks, my core is as soft as it gets. I cried my eyes out like a six year old at Adventure Time last week, I mean, c'mon.

I'm in a world of my own half of my life. Wandering around the city thinking i'm in some kind of music video, watching the people as they pass by and daydreaming about what i'm going to do in an hour or so. I never know where i'm going or where i'll be in advance, I plan my life for the 24 hours i'm living in, and then do it again the next day. One thing I always plan for and probably dream about when in my make believe music video, is to one day completely and utterly fall in love. But oh, what I would give, not to stumble but to *really* fall in love. I'm definitely a hopeless romantic. I will take you to the park for a picnic, i'll make you a mixtape on an old cassette (or even a vintage cd these days..), i'd write you a letter - I love all that stuff. I spend most of my life pretending i'm Norah and that one day when i'm out and about looking for Fluffy, i'll find my Nick and we'll spend our lives geeking out over music and stuff - that is the actual romance I dream of, almost daily.

However, while I do spend most of my time musing over our encounters with boys with my four best girl friends, I also spend a lot of my time determined to push past that and continue being a ~career girl. I don't really see much wrong in dreaming of living your life with someone else, but I also don't see anything more wrong about living your entire life for you. Actually, scrap that, you should live your life for you entirely, and when the day comes, the missing puzzle piece will just slot into place and he will just be a part of you. I think my problem is that sometimes I try to push wrong pieces into the puzzle that look like they might fit from a distance but actually they just get wedged and stuck. It's always the piece under the sofa, or the piece that turns up stuck to the bottom of your sock three days later in a place that you never thought to look that fits into the gap perfectly.

It's easy to waste a lot of time invested in someone, or in the words of Emma Koenig, create elaborate fantasies about your life with someone based entirely on their Facebook profile, or get hung up on why they haven't text or called. I think growing up and rushing in to things too quickly with men has now eventually made me hit that wall of realization that ultimately, I am very happy on my own, but I am a lonely soul. My observations of my own recollections with men and also the girls around me are that there are several ways you can go about softening how you feel, and I think in this modern age, depression can sink in to young people quicker than the older generation would like to believe. We're over saturated, we live for the Internet, and we're always in touch with people. Having my phone stolen made me realise just how many people I do sit and text or whatsapp on a daily basis, and it was at a point where I don't actually think it was healthy.

If you're feeling lonely (like I do), or you're on the cusp of your twenty-fourth year on this planet (like I am) or you really just long for a cuddle at night (..sob) I think the only way you can progress is by enveloping yourself in your friends and your aspirations, and by doing so distracting yourself from boys. Some of my friends are heartbroken still, some are pining after boys who don't care about their feelings. Some just want to be loved. It's not an uncommon feeling - infact my most "asked" thing on Tumblr is from girls anon telling me they're heartbroken and they want reassurance. I've had my heart broken so many times I can't actually even begin to put in words how I feel about that. However, something I think I do very well and what you can do to is learn how to bounce back, proper Alan Partridge style. You have to look at it this way, if you're not smiling one day, you might not catch his attention. If you're not happy, you wont look approachable. You could have already accidentally sabotaged meeting him already by not looking like you actually want to meet someone, or accurately reflecting your vibrant and happy personality.

The way I see it, is that while I am still young, I want to party til my legs can't stand no more, I want to party until the sun rises, I want to scream until my voice hurts. My heart might feel sick, but my head doesn't, and sometimes you have to follow what you know is right for you, and i'm telling you now, your head is right - every single time. The thing that can be hard to grasp but I would shake you until you see it is that he was just one of several. You had fun, you had a good time, but it wasn't right for you. Take what happened and learn from it. The stupid saying about kissing frogs is clearly a good thing to say in this situ, but it's actually kind of true in a reflective way. You might have hearts in your eyes and think he's perfect, but actually, each time you meet a new man, you're just ensuring he didn't have any of the qualities the last frog had. So really, you're not kissing a ton of frogs, you're kissing a frog, then a lizard, then a dragon.. then.. some kind of ultimate..dragon. Or something.

There's no pressure to catch up with your friend. Half your friendship group might be married, half might have 2.4 kids, half might have just bought their own houses. I have none of these things, but half of my girl friends do. If those are your priorities in life, that's great. And everything works out at a different pace for everyone. Becoming the future generation we can hopefully start to smash these stereotypes that at 18 you go to Uni and then at 22 you're married and at 25 you have your first kid, or whatever, because we can be fiercely independent now in this free country where we can determine where we want to be and that's our prerogative however quickly or slowly it takes to happen. Society tells us we have to fall in love, but society also reports that divorces are at an all time high. Why bother wasting time chasing after a terrible man, when you can be happy on your own dancing around your bedroom in your pants to Vybz Kartel at 3pm on a Monday (ahem) until he comes and finds you - and thinks that is hilarious and loves every little bit of you, for you.

So, grab your best lipstick, wear whatever you feel comfortable in and seize the moment, or you'll die regretting the time you lost over him. Be who you want to be, grab life by the throat and then when you're busy being a big whirlwind of awesome, a boy will grab you in a flash and he'll accompany you along your way. Oh but, it's totally fine to continue dreaming about meeting him one day.

 You may say, i'm a "dreamer." But I know i'm not the only one.

Love, Zozo 

x

Disclaimer: I know this sounds like ke$ha/Andrew WK wrote it, but seriously, just go and party hard.

benefit fine one one

quick, call fine one one!

Nothing makes me rofl harder than a good Benefit Cosmetics pun. Okay, well apart from this from Tard The Grumpy Cat (I actually died earlier.) But I am still a huge fan of their cutesy little hilarious named products that they keep releasing year after year. I have to admit, when I got the invitation for this it had a big picture of the stick on it and my immediate thoughts were - okay, what the beejesus is that all about!? Like, it just looks so bizarre I think. Yet again pushing the boundaries and creating innovative products as Benefit seem to do so well that company after company then rush to follow, Fine One One is a cream blusher, in a stick form.

I know on immediate first glances it looks a little like a roll on deodorant (just me who thought that?) but it's actually so cute and dainty to hold. I actually like the rose gold shiny packaging, and it's got a little police style logo that encases the Fine One One type face on it. It clicks open, and then rolls up using the little roller slide thing at the bottom of the pack.

Now, what it is, is a double cream blusher and highlighter in one. So you swoop it on your cheeks, and then blend using either a blush or your fingers. It does come out a little stripey at first, but it's so easy to blend together. The highlighter adds this really subtle sheen touch to the skin and makes the corals and pinks glow on the cheeks for a fresh, dewy look. I don't have particularly oily cheeks so I find its fine on it's own, but if you have slightly more combi skin you might want to set yours with a similar shade of coral blush. And yes, I can report, it is perfect for paleys!

I'm gonna be honest, I was not expecting to love this as much as I do. I've worn it every day this week, and personally in my eyes its a winner. I think because it's so easy to dab onto cheeks, I find this much more of a go-to cheek product rather than my cream blushers in a pan. I never thought a product like this would make its way into my favourites but I think Fine One One has rushed to the scene of my blusher emergencies, and solved all my woes. Pow. I know it's somewhat of a glowing review, but I feel like i've fallen head over heels for Fine One One!

Fine One One retails at £23.50. What do you think of Fine One One? Too gimmicky for you or up your street? What do you think of the shades, and the way you apply it? Let me know!

Love, Zozo
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Disclaimer: Benefit gave me the Fine One One free for consideration and Tard the Grumpy Cat
would probably *hate* that i've featured him in this post, gaaawd.

youtube: 50 random facts about me

Just a lil note to say i've popped a new video up on my YouTube channel, please do head over and subscribe if you like what you see and let me know if you enjoyed it - I might just get cracking on some more! If there are any tags you'd like to see in particular, let me know!

Love, Zozo

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tie dye deathly hallows nails

tie dye nails with 'deathly hallows' logo

This is a set of pictures ive had kicking about for a while but I just found them and thought i'd share with you just how easy it is to do a tie dye nail! There's something so Saved By The Bell ish about these nails in this colour combo and I simply adore them! 

All you need to do is grab some of your favourite coloured polishes - but make sure they're from the same colour family undertones wise so they blend nicely - so for example here i've done a pastel look. Splodge on or paint on stripes in all different colour combos, but only do one nail at a time. While it's still wet, take your average run of the mill cocktail stick (left over from Christmas perhaps?) and just merge all of the colours together in random swirls, horizontal lines or vertical twists. It takes a little practice to get it right, but I quite like that every single one of my nails is different! 

Then slap on some top coat and pow, you're done! For the Deathly Hallows logo (I know it's wobbly, im not a pro nail artist!) just use Models Own's Nail Art Pen, in Black. Of course you could do anything here, I might try it with a cutesy little anchor next!

What do you think of tie dye nails? Gonna give it a go? I know the symbol is a little wobbly, but would you try something like this at home? Let me know what you think about these!

Love, Zozo
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bourjois aristo clash nails

bourjois aristo clash nail collection in purple fiction and fashion gris gris

Bourjois always do in my opinion some of the best nail varnishes on the high street that money can buy. I remember being dazzled by their newest additions to the So Laque range (woah was that nearly two years ago?!) last time they expanded the range dramatically and those shades are still some of my go-to ones now. It was really nice to see when a little capsule collection called Aristo Clash entered my life that they had again created some new versions of the So Laque range. Perfecto! Aristo Clash is all about pretty muted transitional shades that can't help but scream "Paris!" to me. 

The So Laque polishes are probably my favourite Bourjois ones, just because they seem to apply so easily. They're always thick, and gorgeously pigmented as well as having potentially the best brush on the high street - I find it so easy to get a gorgeous curved application with them. 

I *thought* my favourite was Purple Fiction after wearing it for a week, and then I applied Fashion Gris Gris and in this snow it was love. I think it's going to be a go-to shade of mine, one of those perfect classics that you know you can throw on whatever the weather. Later on in the week I layered mine with my Nails Inc Special Effects,  you can take a nose on my instagram at what that looked like here.

There's a couple of other little bits in the Aristo Clash collection,  a purple eyeliner and a soft lilac shimmery eyeshadow pot. Read about the full collection on Beauty Junkie London - she's got some fab snaps that show it off perfectly.

Aristo Clash is landing in stores from February.

What do you think of Bourjois Nail Varnishes? Do you like the So Laque? Do you think these colours are cute or are they not your cup of tea? Excited for Aristo Clash? Let me know!

Love, Zozo
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Disclaimer: Both the polishes were sent to me free for consideration from Bourjois.  

getting naked: a fresh, dewy look with urban decay naked basics and foundation

Naked Basics Palette and Naked Foundation by Urban Decay

I think i'm the only girl in the world who doesn't have an original Naked or Naked 2 palette. Seriously, I am. There is only one reason I never succumbed to it (no matter how many times I wanted to) and that is because as a makeup hoarder I already have a million and one shimmery nude and bronze colours, so it was just not worthwhile me investing in it. What I don't have much of, however, is a bunch of matte nude shades. This little miniature palette is called the Naked Basics, and it just covers the ground for the basis of a nude look. Now I don't really do nude much - eek - preferring my bold winged eyeliner and bright red lips, but I decided to really try and embrace my natural skin look with this palette. I also have the Naked foundation, which i'll chat about a little later on.

I used the shades W.O.S, Naked 2, Faint and a tiny little bit of Crave to create this look. The shades feel soft and creamy, and really easy to blend. There's something so satisfying about dipping your brush into the silky softness of a matte eyeshadow that a shimmer or heavily packed glitter one just can't compare to. That combined with the fact that the palette is housed in a sort of rubbery soft packaging means it feels luxe and gorgeous to hold and apply. I found myself applying it in an almost dainty little manner, trying to make the most out of my eyes as they were naturally. The palette is different to the two other Naked palettes, it's much smaller and will pop in your makeup bag easily. I think what they've done here is very clever, now I don't know about you but when I go on holiday I like to go bare faced as much as possible but also love cheating a little bit. This palette to me screams *take me on holiday!* not only because of its miniature travel size but also because of the shade selection. I think this is the ultimate travel companion.

The Naked Skin Foundation is water based but with a good coverage. It sinks into the skin almost immediately and doesn't leave that tacky feeling you can get with foundations. It's got a nice fresh faced coverage that feels weightless and pure. I apply my foundations using my (clean!) fingers, just because I always prefer the finish to that of a brush. I loved how easy this was to glide on and how it only took a little work to get it looking gorgeous. It's oil and paraben free, which is always good to know. Now, how well did it sit on my pale girl skin? In the bottle, it looks terrifying. The shade I have is 0.5, which is a pale pink undertoned shade. However in the bottle my immediate thought was - too dark for ghosties surely? I gave mine a good shake - essential - and went for it it, expecting to finish up like an Oompa Loompa. However, incredibly surprised. It is an almost near perfect match to my skintone! A little darker than i'd like, if i'm honest - but my skin is naturally much paler in winter - so this gets a huge thumbs up from me! I've been wearing it a week or so now, and it seems to last most of the day looking good, so i'm thrilled with that. It comes in 18 shades, so it looks like it does well to cover all bases of skin tone.

Overall, the Naked Basics - which retails at £20 on Look Fantastic - and the Naked Skin Foundation - which retails at £27 - get two thumbs up from me Urban Decay! Two products that feel a little classier than some of your other brightly rock gal vibe pieces, you're proving you too can sit in the same category as Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier for sophisticated, up-market nudes.

What do you think of the Naked Basics palette? What do you think of the Naked Skin Foundation? Do you think you'd shop Urban Decay for neutral staples? Do you like this kind of look?

Love, Zozo

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Disclaimer: Both pieces of Urban Decay were sent to me free for consideration from PR.

lana del rey makeup tutorial: cut crease eyeliner

lana del rey makeup tutorial - nude cut crease

I am on the fence about Lana Del Rey. Wanna know why? Well, I really like her as a person, I think she's flipping beautiful and awesome, and I do genuinely like that Born To Die song but I find her voice and style to not quite be my cup of tea. I think i'd just rather listen to June Carter Cash. Anyway, I digress. One thing that makes me melt at the knees whenever I see her is her flawless nude 60s inspired makeup so I thought i'd set about creating a look inspired by it as it makes a gorgeous evening look. Bit of a long post so here we go!

After applying a base to your eyes - for this look I just used my foundation - buff in a bright white matte eyeshadow. I actually used Laura Mercier's Translucent Setting Powder as it's a perfectly nude white and doesn't look too bright eyed on me cause i'm so pale! Then using Estee Lauder's palette in Surreal Skies and MAC's Sketch, softly blend the matte and purple shades through the crease of your eye. Everyone's got different eye shapes here, so this look will come out differently on everyone. Lana's are very different to mine, mine are much more hooded, so the look is a bit different to me than her! Finish the eyeshadow look by taking the softer shades in the palette and MAC's Shroom and blending it into the inner corners of your eyes - to soften the pale white.






Create your base using your foundation and ensure it's applied perfectly and to a fairly matte finish. I used Illamasqua's Liquid Foundation in shade 115 as it's a really pale tone. If you're not quite as pale as me, finish with a paler foundation if you can - Lana's look here is really soft.
Take your cream blusher and really define the cheekbones. I love NARS Penny Lane for this, because it's pink but not too bright. Lana sometimes wears a pop of pale pink blusher, but for this look it's kept very vintage by using muted peaches, purples and pinks. Dusky, sixties, feminine. Penny Lane is perfect for this. I highlighted a bit by using NARS Multiple in Luxor - but remember it's primarily a matte look so don't go too nuts with the highlighter!
Sweep a bit of MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural (mines shade Light) over the top to create the full matte face look.
I defined my eyebrows using my Kryolan Faceliner in brown, and created a strong yet still soft full eyebrow look.








Take your eyeliner, i'm using Bourjois's Intuitive Liner, and apply it all round your eyes. Don't make it too thick on the top, and flick it out to a soft but not too long cat eye. It needs to be ever so slightly pointed upwards. Line the eye underneath too to create the basis for the smoke.
Take MAC's Sketch eyeshadow and really buff it right into the eyeliner. Work firmly but gently to soften the black eyeliner and create that almost bruised, vintage look. Lana has really strong undereye lashes in this look, so I used Benefit's They're Real to lengthen and enhance my lower lashes. I then used The Body Shop's eyeliner in white to line the waterline - a really important little detail.











I have fairly pigmented natural lips, so I dabbed on a tiny bit of the foundation before popping on my nude lipstick - which was YSL Rouge Pur Couture in number 45. I love this shade because it's a soft pink without being too pink, and a nude lip with a little added shimmer. The Rouge Pur is also a really creamy and easy to wear lipstick.





And there you have it! A full Lana Del Rey makeup inspired look.







I'm not saying I look anything like Lana nor is this a perfect representation but I was so happy with the outcome. A simple yet gorgeous sixties style cut crease eyeshadow with liner look that didn't take too long! The whole fresh skin nude look is so perfect for Spring (when it finally rolls around) and I think I shall be taking the extra 10 minutes each morning to do the cut crease look with my eyeliner as it looks so pretty!

What do you think of Lana Del Rey? Do you like her vintage style sixties look? Like this tutorial? Reckon you'll give it a go? Let me know in the comments what tutorials you'd like to see next!

Love, Zozo

x

Disclaimer: Products purchased by me are: Ilamasqua Foundation, MAC Shroom, MAC Sketch, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish. Everything else sent to me free for consideration by PR. The original image of Lana as shown at the top of the blog post came from here.