200 Followers Giveaway!

This weekend I reached 200 followers on Bloglovin! When I decided to start blogging along side my Youtube channel I was so worried that no one would ever follow my blog and that it wouldn't catch on but now it's so lovely to read your comments about you liking my content and to see my followers slowly but surely creeping up. As a thank you I am going to be giving away a £20 ASOS voucher along with a few other surprise little bits and pieces.
ASOS is one of my favourite places to shop as you can get such a variety of brands, clothing, accessories and beauty products. It's also great for us students as they always have some sort of discount going on. As everyone has different styles I thought I would do a voucher so you can use it on something you've been eyeing up for the past few months or for a lovely impulse buy.

You can enter my giveaway using the Rafflecopter app below and the rules are as follows;
You must follow my blog on Bloglovin as this is where I reached the goal but all other entries are optional, the more you do the more chances you have! The giveaway is running for 2 weeks and will end at midnight on Sunday October 12th and the winner should be announced within the next few days after the closing date.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I look forward to seeing what the future holds for me and my blog and again a big thank you to each and every one of you for supporting me.

My Everyday Autumn Makeup Look

The final look using the products mentioned in this post. Photo from my Instagram @Alexandraahowe

I originally wrote this post for Chloe at http://www.thechloelook.com/2014/09/guest-post-everyday-autumn-makeup-look.html but I thought I would also post it for you guys to see.
I went on a bike ride the other day and saw conkers mixed in with fallen leaves on the pathways so I’m now officially calling it Autumn. When Autumn comes along I say goodbye to bronzer and coral shades and move onto deeper pinks and a paler skin tone. 

For my base I use one of my all-time favourite products the Porefessional by Benefit, I use it all year round as it’s perfect for creating an even base and reducing the amount of oils on your skin. Then for foundation I use the MAC Face and Body Foundation (the palest shade of course) with my Sigma F80 Flat Kabuki Brush and just apply a thin layer and buff it right into the skin. To conceal my dark circles and blemishes I use the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer and just use my fingers to apply this. Before I set the foundation and concealer I apply Moon Beam by Benefit to my cheek bones as a soft highlight with my fingers. Using the Real Techniques Powder Brush I set the base with the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural and then finish the skin off by applying the MAC Blushbaby Sheertone Blusher with the Real Techniques Blush Brush.

For the eyes and lips I start off by filling in my brows using the HD Brows Kit with the Sigma E65 Small Angle brush, at the moment I'm using the Dark Brown shade but this varies depending on my hair colour. As a base for my eyes I use the MAC Painterly Paint Pot just with my fingers and take this write up to the brows and then to set it I use the MAC Eye Shadow in Brulé with the Sigma E40 Tapered Blending brush. For my eyeliner I use the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink with the MAC 263 brush which is a really sharp angled brush which creates the perfect winged eyeliner. To finish off the eye I use the Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara which is just amazing! Trust me.

Then to finish off the entire look I use the MAC Lustre Lipstick in Plumful and just apply that from the stick, it's definitely a staple Autumn lipstick to own! 

What are your staple Autumn products?

Fashion News: Game of Thrones Stars Become Face of Fashion Brands

Some of you may know from the occasional tweet that I'm quite a fan of the TV series Game of Thrones and recently I've noticed that some of the actors have now become the face of big fashion brands. This is one of the first shows other than reality or soaps that I've seen several actors work along side fashion brands, I keep wondering who will be next from the show to sign up, my bets are on Emilia Clarke also known as Daenerys Targaryen.

Sophie Turner normally known as Sansa Stark in the show is currently the face of Karen Millen. She has gorgeous red hair and pale skin that works beautifully with the warm colours and floral patterns in the collection she is modelling.

"We really admire sophie's talent and ambition. She has a real presence and warmth, great personal style and is brimming with confidence and energy. She was a natural choice for us." - Karen Millen Insider.

At just 18 I can imagine there will be plenty more modelling opportunities for Sophie either with Karen Millen or many other brands. I'm looking forward to seeing her again in season 5 next year, and maybe some more shows or films in the future. 

Now onto Kit Harington also known as Jon Snow. I'll start off by expressing my absolute desire for this man, he is just pwoar! He's currently the face of Jimmy Choo mens clothing and their new fragrance. In the show he wears a lot of dark coloured clothes and is usually layered in lots of animal skins, so it's nice to see him all suited up for a change. He's still in dark colours, but I think they just suit him perfectly, especially with his long dark locks and facial hair. 

'It is incredibly exciting to work with a brand that is so highly regarded in fashion so it is a real honour to be the face of their campaign.' - Kit Harington

In TV series like Game of Thrones you tend to grow a connection with the character they are, so it is quite hard to see them as someone else, but I felt that these two brands have picked styles that almost match up with the characters personalities as well as their personal styles.

I feel like this post is slightly different to my norm, but if you would like to see more fashion or beauty news type posts, please let me know in the comments! 

Malteser Tiffin Recipe

One of my all time favourite no bake treats are chocolate tiffins and then one of my favourite chocolates are Maltesers, so why not add the two together to create one hell of a delicious treat!?

This recipe is super easy and only requires a few ingredients to create soft, biscuity and chocolatey goodness! If you aren't a fan of Maltesers you can just simply swap them for one of your favourite chocolates.

Ingredients for 16 bars:

For the base:

400g Milk Chocolate

200g Butter

4 Tbsp of Golden Syrup

250g Digestive Biscuits

A big bag of maltesers

For the topping:

300g Milk Chocolate

30g Butter

1 Tbsp of Golden Syrup

Now time to put it all together:

Step 1 | Place a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water and melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together. Stir occasionally until it's smooth and creamy without any lumps. Then take off the heat.

Step 2 |  In a sandwich bag crush the biscuits and Maltesers with a rolling pin until it's mainly crumbs but a few larger pieces of biscuit and whole Maltesers adds a bit of extra crunch. 

Step 3 | Add the biscuits and Maltesers into the melted chocolate and mix together until it's well combined.

Step 4 | Line a 30cm baking tray with baking paper and evenly press down the mixture into the tray making sure it reaches right to the edges.

Step 5 | Repeat the process of melting the milk chocolate, butter and syrup for the topping and pour evenly on top of the biscuity layer in the tray.

Step 6 | Cover the tray in cling film and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to cool and then cut into bars and enjoy!

If you make any I'd love to see, just tag me either on Instagram or Twitter with @Alexandraahowe

Floral Fatale

This Autumn/Winter dark florals are back in trend and I am loving it! I fell in love with this graphic print skirt from Topshop that i bought recently, not only is it super pretty but the material is also really comfortable. I've featured this kimono before in an outfit post, it such a great item to have in your wardrobe as it can really dress up an outfit without being a heavy jacket. The little bag from H&M is perfect for a night out as it's small but big enough for all you need, it zips up and it'll pretty much work with any outfit. I am so ready for the Autumn now, my tan has gone, my dark hair is back and the fashion is much more my style!

Skirt & Necklace - Topshop / Kimono - Missguided / Bag & Top- H&M / Shoes - ASOS 

Lipstick - Captive by MAC / Nails - Pillow Fight by Ciate

My Autumn/Winter Nail Polish Picks

One of my guilty pleasures is nail polish. I have a stupid amount for someone who doesn't do it as a job but I just feel like my hands and feet are naked without it. As the autumn will be soon upon us I thought I'd put together my favourite autumn and winter shades from my collection. 

On the catwalk for A/W 14 there was a noticeable trend of sci-fi and fantasy so I picked out two polishes that fit along perfectly with this trend which are Soho Silver by Nails Inc a beautiful silver and Pacific by BarryM a very mystical ocean blue.
For the classic deep green I picked out Watermelon by BarryM which is a high shine polish so it looks very glossy. 
I love the burgundy plum shades that feature in these seasons and No.7 Temptress and Kiko 243 Plum Red are perfect, they're both very similar shades but Temptress has more purple undertones and Kiko has more red. 
Now time for the nudes shades! Chinchilly by Essie is a lovely pale grey with a hint of brown and I love the name as it very much is the colour of a chinchilla. For a more purple shade, Pillow Fight by Ciaté is great, it's kind of like a lavender grey and then Vanilla by BarryM is the perfect matte nude shade, this has been one of my favourites recently, it's such a beautifully soft shade. 
Then for the final shade I picked out Matt White by BarryM as monochrome has been a major trend and continues to be during the cooler months. I think if it's worn right, white polish can look very elegant.
Do you wear any of these shades or will any of them be joining your collection this autumn/winter?