How To: Get Glitter Roots

There has been a new hair trend taking over Instagram and it’s glitter roots! Not only is it a bit space-age but it’s also a little bit festive with all the sparkles. 

It’s a super easy but super effective look to create that is perfect for nights out, Christmas parties or just to make a bold statement. 

You can either go for a glitter that’s similar to your hair colour if it’s already dyed into a colourful shade, or you can go for contrasting colours. In this tutorial we have gone for a holographic blue against brown hair, so it really stands out. 

I've collaborated with Charlie from the fashion blog Chazabella, she has awesome style and you should definitely check out her blog to find out what she wore to style up this hairstyle!

How to recreate the look

Step 1

Section your hair into a middle parting, even down the back and create a high top bun on each side (just like the classic Miley look). This can be done by pulling the hair up into a high pony tail on each side, twisting the hair around into a bun and then securing this with elastics.

Step 2

Mix clear hair gel and your chosen colour of glitter into a bowl. 

Step 3

Using a brush apply the glitter gel to the roots along the middle parting. Apply more product towards the parting and then brush it out to fade outwards. 

Step 4
Go out and make a statement with your new hair do!

Connect With Me 
Twitter | @Alexandraahowe 
Facebook | Alexandra Elizabeth 
Instagram | @Alexandraahowe

Forget Contouring, This Is How To Master Strobing

If you follow me on social media you will probably know that I have been interning at InStyle magazine within their beauty department (a dream come true for a beauty lover!) and they let me write an article for their online beauty section! 

I couldn't believe it either. It didn't feel real until they actually put it live onto the site and to be honest it still seems so surreal! You can read the original article over here. If you don't want to go on head over there, you can read the same article here below. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think in the comments.

Issey Miyake's SS15 Makeup

We've only just mastered the art of Kim K Kontouring but now it's all about 'Strobing'. Not sure what I'm on about? Check out my guide to getting your glow on Strobing style…

Forget Kim K Kontouring, the latest beauty obsession is all about Strobing. It might sound a little sci-fi, but I'm not talking laser quest here, Strobing is officially the latest way to get a glow worthy of the red-carpet. The secret celeb beauty trick to looking, well, completely amazing, everyone's doing it. Miranda Kerr's supermodel skin? That's Strobing. Kendall's totally enviable dewy complexion and sculpted cheekbones? Yup, Strobing as well.

So what even is it?
Unlike contouring, rather than making the low points of the face appear more shadowed, Strobing brightens and illuminates the high points on the face for that fresh futuristic glow. It's way easier to master and a lot lighter on the skin, so there's no need to worry about it melting off! Summer friendly instead of sweaty? Tick.

Why now?
It all started at Issey Miyake's SS15 show where MUA Alex Box transformed models into glowing goddesses with a futuristic touch. Since then celebs like Amanda Seyfried, Kendall Jenner (rebelling against her sister's famous contouring) and Karlie Kloss have jumped on the brightening bandwagon to rock it on the red carpet.

Ok, so what do we do?

1. Hydrate
To start off you want your skin to be plump and hydrated, to do this massage a radiance-enhancing moisturiser into the skin. I love the M.A.C Strobe Cream, £24.50 (appropriate, non?) as it de-stresses and freshens the skin, and also contains iridescent particles to make your skin glow. The best bit? If you're worried about your skin not appreciating the extra layer of makeup everyday, this lightweight formula also contains anti-oxidants and green tea extracts to help improve your skin condition over time. Nice.

2. Prime
Shimmery products have a tendency to highlight and cling to dry patches of skin, not good. Primer is the answer. Smooth any lumps and bumps or large pores with NARS Light Optimising Primer, £26. It's oil-free and contains SPF15 to help protect your skin against sun damage as well as prepping the surface for getting your glow on.

3. Foundation & Concealer
For this look you want flawless looking skin.  NARS' legendary Sheer Glow Liquid Foundation, £31 has a medium coverage and satin finish to give you an airbrushed look. Don't be tempted to go too heavy with your base, we're going for youthful and dewy not contoured and cakey.

Cover any imperfections or dark circles with a slightly warm-toned concealer. Beware of cooler shades, it might seem logical to cover darkness with paler makeup, but a warmer tone will avoid your under eyes looking ashy. And, let's face it, no one wants that.  Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage, £26.50 is a must. It's two-shade system is super pigmented meaning you can easily get your perfect colour match without piling on loads of product. Remember, the key to Strobing is to make it look as if you just woke up like this. Healthy glow is the goal people!

4. Highlight
The actual strobing part of the process, to get that really intense highlight you need to layer products. A cream highlighter with a powder highlight on top is a guaranteed way to add instant glow with a flawless finish. Benefit's High Beam, £19.50 is a classic cream highlight which has a really easy application with it's handy little brush. Simply dot this along the high points on your face; the cheekbones, cupids bow, bridge of the nose, brow bone, inner corner of the eye and the centre of the forehead.

Set the highlighter in place and remove any hint of greasiness with a light dusting of powder over the same areas of your face. Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed, £30 powder is perfect for this, just make sure you choose the right shade for your skin tone. If you're a paler lady, Moonstone will work a treat, for those of you lucky enough to work a darker skin tone, Opal will look less chalky

My top tip?  If you're wearing a low cut or shoulderless top, sweep the highlighter across your collarbone, it'll do wonders for your all over glow.

Et voila! Ultra-glowy, healthy looking skin in minutes. Strobing never seemed so easy.

Connect With Me
Twitter | @Alexandraahowe
Facebook | Alexandra Elizabeth
Instagram | @Alexandraahowe

Find Your Perfect Summer Red Lip

Red lipstick is a staple product that every makeup lover should have in their makeup bags, it can transform a day look into a glamorous evening look. In this post I'm going to show you some of my favourite red lip shades and also give you a brief overview of which types of red lipstick are most likely to suit you.

What toned red lipstick should I go for?
Pink/Cool toned skin - go for the classic reds or a pinky red.
Warm/Caramel toned skin - go for a burnt orange/red.
Dark toned skin - go for the richer red shades.
Really there is no right or wrong way when it comes to red lipstick, so if you feel like it, go for whatever shade you like!

Some of my favourite Summer reds

Mac Lipstick in Ruby Woo £15.50 and Mac Lip Pencil in Cherry £12.50
Ruby Woo is the classic red lip, with its blue undertone and matte finish. This colour works beautifully against cooler skin tones, just like Taylor Swift.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss in 111 Kiss of Life - £5.49
This lipstick has a mix of orange and blue undertones meaning it should suit a variety of skin tones. It claims to have a matte finish but I would call it more of a satin when you look at it compared to Ruby Woo.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Harlot - £14
If you prefer a lip colour to be more glossy the OCC lip tars are great. They have a really strong staying power as they do slightly stain your lips. Harlot is a more pinky red and is more likely to suit cooler toned skin.

Mac Lipstick in So Chaud - £15.50
If you have a warmer skin tone this lipstick is a stunner! It really warms up the skin with it's orange undertone, whilst also having a beautiful matte finish. I love to pair burnt orange/red shades with the Mac Pro Longwear Lip pencil in High Energy.

Mac Lipstick in Lady Danger - £15.50
Lady Danger is another staple lipstick, it's such a vibrant burnt orange without being too garish and neon. Again I pair this with the Mac Pro Longwear Lip pencil in High Energy to really get the full potential of the lip colour.

Connect With Me
Twitter | @Alexandraahowe
Facebook | Alexandra Elizabeth
Instagram | @Alexandraahowe

How To: Create Winged Eyeshadow (without tape!)

In this tutorial I'll be showing you how to create the perfect winged eyeshadow without having to use tape, which can increase your chances of fine lines and damaging your skin. 

The lighting the day I filmed this totally doesn't justify the look, but if you follow the steps it will look like the original photo. One day I will be able to get some proper lighting rather than relying on natural light. 

What I used |

Eyes |

Mac 24-Hour Extended Eye Base

Mac Paint Pot in Painterly

Mac Eyeshadow in Wedge

Mac Eyeshadow in Satin Taupe

Bdellium Tools Blending Brush

Mac Pigment in Blue Brown

Sigma Small Tapered Blending Brush (10% off with code INNOVATINGBEAUTY available here)

Mac Fix +

Mac Eyeshadow in Soot

Sigma Pencil Brush (10% off with code INNOVATINGBEAUTY available here)

Sigma Tapered Blending Brush (10% off with code INNOVATINGBEAUTY available here)

Mac Eyeshadow in Brule

Mac Pro Longwear Eyeliner in Definedly Black

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Face |

Mac Sculpting Powder in Sculpt

Lips |

Mac Lip Liner in Boldly Bare

Mac Lipstick in Kinda Sexy

Connect With Me

Twitter | @Alexandraahowe

Facebook | Alexandra Elizabeth

Instagram | @Alexandraahowe

How To: Stacked Naked Wedding Cake

A couple of weeks ago I was given the task of creating a 4 tier naked wedding cake for a family wedding. Most commonly they are just Victoria sponge but for this one I made a different flavour of cake for each tier. I made banana for the 12”, Victoria for the 10”, carrot for the 8” and coffee & walnut for the 6”. This cake is easy enough to make even if you aren’t an experienced baker, it was my first ever time making a cake like this. You can make it far easier if you have the same flavour for each tier as you can just make a massive batch of the batter.

To figure out how much of each ingredient you need for the different sized tins this is how i did it;
For example, I have a recipe for an 8” tin but I need it for a 12”, I divide 300g of flour by 8, then times it by 12 = 450g of flour. Then just do this for all the ingredients. Sometimes you’ll just have to round it up or down for things like eggs.

What you will need;
Ingredients for your cakes and buttercream
4 cake tins (12”, 10”, 8” & 6”)
4 cake boards (12”, 10”, 8” & 6”)
Cake leveller or cerated edged knife
Piping bag with a large and small round nozzle
Palette Knife
Cake supports (you can purchase supports from your local cake decorating store or on amazon, you can also use bamboo skewers)
A selection of flowers (peonies, gerberas and gypsophila are popular ones)Presentation board/stand
Flower picks (you can purchase from your local cake decorating store or on amazon)
Cake topper
Icing sugar for decoration (Optional)

How to create the cake;

Step 1 | Bake 2 cakes per tier, making sure you line the tins well with baking paper to make it easier to remove them from the tins once baked.
Step 2 | Level the cakes with either a cake leveller or a cerated edged knife, so they’re all the same height. 

Step 3 | Place the bottom cake on each cake board, pipe a layer of icing onto the top and smooth out with a palette knife, then place the other cake on top.
Step 4 | Add 4 cake supports into each cake in a square at least 2 inches in from the edges.
Step 5 | Place each tier on top of each other.

Step 6 | Place the cake onto your presentation board/stand.
Step 7 | With a small piping nozzle, pipe along around the edges of each tier to hide the cake boards. To smooth these edges I just ran my finger along the buttercream to look that little bit more rustic.
Step 8 | Arrange your flowers onto the cake using flower picks.
Step 9 | Around the flowers add the berries using the buttercream like a glue. Arranging the berries in clusters tends to look most effective.
Step 10 | Add your topper.
Step 11 | Sprinkle icing sugar over the cake for the final touch (Optional)
Step 12 | Serve and enjoy the cake!

Soft Summer Glow Makeup Tutorial

Some of you may or may not know that I have a YouTube channel, I started it quite a long time ago now but I had a little break away from it, I felt like I needed to have more experience and training before advising and showing people how to do things. Also, I was quite young when I started it and I don't think many people would listen to a 15 year old telling them how to do makeup.
Recently I decided to get back into my YouTube channel, I loved creating makeup tutorials and just the whole process of making videos.

I asked you guys on twitter what you would like to see and most voted for a summer glow tutorial, so here it is! I hope you enjoy and please subscribe to my channel and leave any requests or questions in the comments below!

Shop The Trend: Palm Leaves Print

I have recently fallen in the love with the palm leaves print trend, it's the perfect summer staple this year. I've already bought a few products in this print which I will show you all styled up when I go on holiday in a couple of weeks time.
If you aren't into small and busy floral prints, this is the perfect alternative as they tend to come in quite big prints that aren't quite as flouncy. It also comes in such a range of colours and styles you can really incorporate the trend into your own style and wardrobe.
Almost every shop I go into at the moment have featured this print in their summer collections but I've picked out a few items that have stood out to me ranging from high-street to high-end to save you from hours of browsing!

Product links in order from left to right 
Missguided | Tropical Print Halterneck Backless Crop Top £15 and Tropical Print Jersey Culottes £25
ASOS | Mix & Match Multi Leaf Print Bikini £10-£18
Roberto Cavalli | Tropical Print Lace Insert Jersey Dress £670
New Look | Khaki Leaf Print Twist Front Underwired Racer Back Bikini Top £17.99 and Khaki Leaf Print Strappy Side High Waisted Bikini Bottoms £11.99
New Look | Orange Palm Leaf Jacquard Zip Back Skirt £19.99
Warehouse | Tropical Palm Culotte £36

Win A Limited Edition Mac Eyeshadow Palette

So I have been away for a little while! It was the classic university deadline time, so that was my number one priority. 

To say a little thank you for sticking around and an apology for not posting recently, I thought I would do a giveaway of this gorgeous golden, perfect for summer limited edition palette from the Mac Wash & Dry collection which is worth £25.50! It's easy enough to enter, just fill in the rafflecopter form below and then you're sorted. 

For the rest of the summer I'm aiming to get around 2 posts up a week, and I'm also planning on doing youtube videos again, so for one of the entries I would love to see what kind of posts you would like to see on my blog, it'll help get my creative juices flowing. 

I hope you're all having a lovely summer and I will speak to you soon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Step away from the #KylieJennerChallenge

This 'challenge' is starting to really grind my gears. I've never seen people be so foolish in my life! I understand that people like to try things out and experiment, but then there is taking things too far. Just because something has become a trend doesn't mean you have to follow it.

These lip suction devices that are going around are so bad for you! I'm no doctor but I have done my research and have read up on what professionals have said. A few people have been stupid enough to use shot glasses, hairspray lids and more random objects to create the effect. I've not seen any have a happy ending.
Is it really worth the risk of premature wrinkles, burst blood vessels, bruising and more for just 30 minutes of plumper lips?
It makes me completely cringe to see people with their lips looking extremely uncomfortable and unnatural, most end up looking like poor Jeff Fungus from Monsters Inc.

This trend should really be called the #JeffFungusChallenge. 

Some beauty bloggers claim that you can use these safely if you don't have them on your lips for too long and use it on occasion, but if you are going to do this on a regular basis it will still cause the long-term effects.
The only positive to this is that at least it's not lip injections where you're pumping chemicals into your body.
I'd be happy to create a tutorial on how to create fuller looking lips with just makeup, if that is what people would like to see? You can simply wipe makeup off at the end of the day.

If you have been thinking about getting these devices, please PLEASE reconsider!

What are your thoughts? Have you tried them out?

How To Balance Studying, a Job and a Blog

If you didn’t know already, not only do I write this blog but I am also studying fashion at university and I work at MAC during the weekends, so I have a pretty busy lifestyle!
I often get people asking me how I balance between all these and still do my hobbies like tennis and going to see friends. I can tell you now it’s not easy but it is doable so here are some of my tips that I would give to anyone else in the same position. 

Be Realistic
When thinking about getting a part-time job look into realistic hours, think to yourself ‘Are you already struggling with time management?’ If so maybe look into a few hours a week, if not you could go for a couple of days a week. 
If you have a blog, having a post schedule can be pretty handy but don’t be unrealistic, don’t aim to post every day of the week, maybe once or twice. That’ll be enough to keep your readers interested in your blog.

Give yourself weekly goals
I try to set myself weekly goals, so if I have a particular project going on for uni I will set days to aim to do certain parts of it. I may even set myself a couple of hours to go through press emails, updating my blog, replying to comments or even researching up new ideas for future blog posts. 
Having goals set at the start of the week will push you to be more motivated to get stuff done, rather than just being very here and there about it. I love my little to do list from Paperchase by Rifle Paper which I have staring at me on my desk all the time. 

Have blog posts and social media scheduled
Sometimes I will have one week that is jam packed and then the next I will have a lot more time. So during my less busy week I will try write up a few blog posts and then just schedule them to post during my busier weeks. This means I don’t end up with weeks of no posts coming up on my blog as this can cause a drop in followers and views. 
You can do the same with social media, for example I use Hootsuite to schedule tweets, as sometimes when I’m doing uni work I’m trying to stay away from it so I can focus better or I’m at work so I don’t have access to social media. 

Have time for yourself
Try to not make things become a chore, make sure you still get time for yourself. Sometimes I get my best ideas when I'm at the gym or just going for a walk through town. If I give myself a couple of hours a day just to do whatever I want, sometimes that'll be just watching youtube videos, giving my self a manicure or chilling with my housemates. I find that I become much more productive when it does come down to getting on with work.

If you’ve already put yourself up to be juggling all these things, you’re probably already a very organised person. But if you aren’t so much, then hopefully following the few pointers I’ve said above will help you that little bit more to becoming better with time management.  

Budget Beauty Storage

My beauty corner really needed a tidy up and some new storage, but being a student I was on a bit of a budget. I found all these storage pieces at H&M Home, they were great value and really good quality which often lacks in budget products. 

I now store all my current skincare products and perfume on the small wooden tray £9.99, it keeps them all in one place and displays all the pretty packaging instead of them being stuffed up in a tin. I pop all my cotton pads in the glass jar £6.99 which keeps them clean and means I can chuck away the packaging cotton pads come in as it's not particularly attractive. Finally I got the set of 3 storage boxes £12.99 where I now store all my makeup brushes and other beauty accessories, I like how they are all different sizes and the heights are great to display brushes. 

My beauty corner now looks a lot more refreshing and modern and I haven't had to bust my bank! I think I'll be purchasing more from H&M Home in the near future. 

Le Keux Vintage Photoshoot Experience

Whilst I was working in Birmingham over the summer last year I came across this adorable vintage salon at The Custard Factory called Le Keux Vintage Salon, you can get your hair cut, coloured and styled and they also hold hen parties and photo-shoot packages.
My sister was turning 21 in September and really wanted to treat her to something extra special. She's always had a love for pin up girls, especially Marilyn Monroe, so I thought taking her to have a vintage styling experience there would be perfect.
It's normally £99 for a pin up shoot but at the time they were offering 2 for 1 so we went along together. We had such a lovely experience, we had our hair and makeup done and then we got to pick out our outfits from an amazing range of vintage clothes. Then we had our photos taken in all sorts of different sets, from a little cafe, hairdressers, dressing table and a sofa that looks like a cadillac! We really felt like we had stepped back in time!
To top it all off they even have their own range of makeup products and brushes that they use and you can also purchase.
If you have a friend or family member that loves all things vintage, this is the perfect present for them!

Triple Chocolate Chunky Cookie Recipe

My favourite cookies in the whole wide world have to be Ben's cookies but I can only get them whenever I am in London (You have to try them if you are there!). 

So, I thought it was about time to try and make my own thick and chunky cookies to replicate them for when I am at home. These are so quick and easy to make, it's pretty impossible to go wrong!

Ingredients for 12 cookies:

200g Softened Butter
300g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
275g Self-Raising Flour
75g Cocoa Powder
1 Medium Bar of White Chocolate (I used 120g of Milky Bar)
1 Medium Bar of Milk Chocolate  (I used 200g of Cadburys Dairy Milk)

Now it's time to put it all together:

Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6/200°C/400°F.

Step 2 | Cut out and put baking paper onto a couple of baking trays.

Step 3 | Beat together the butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth.

Step 4 | Beat in the egg until fully combined.

Step 5 | Sieve the flour and cocoa powder and gradually mix into the rest of the mixture.

Step 6 | Knead the dough until there are no more crumbly bits.

Step 7 | Break up the chocolate bars into rough chunks and knead them into the dough.

Step 8 | Roll into roughly golf sized balls and place onto the baking trays.

Step 9 | Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Step 10 | Leave them to cool on a rack for about 20 minutes.

Step 11 | Then enjoy!

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

Fresh Mint Check & Neon Heel #ColourMeMarch

In celebration of #ColourMeMarch at the Cheltenham Races this week and Ladies day tomorrow, I've put together an outfit that is sophisticated but with a pop of colour! This skirt from Zara is so comfy and the print really brightens up the outfit, you can get a top with the same pattern to make it into a co-ord but I found the black top made all the colours in this outfit really pop. 

 | Zara Top |  Zara Skirt | Schuh Heels | 

| H&M Necklace | Lulu Guinness Clutch (Similar) | Pandora Ring |  Rotary Watch |

The Cutest Cases + Discount Code!

My last phone case was on the brink of falling apart and having an iPhone 5C it's not the easiest to find a good range of cases as most high street stores only sell cases for the 5 or 6. 

For a good while I've followed Wonder Forest who is a very talented blogger who posts a range of how-to's for blog design to your classic beauty and fashion posts. Not only that but she has her own range of phone and tablet cases on Casetify that are her own very cute illustrations (Click here for her collection). I loved the little cat design as it reminds me of my cat from home and it's just so damn adorable, so of course that was the one I went for. 

On Casetify you can get the cases made to the majority of phones and tablets which is great for us 5C users! There are also plenty of other collections if Wonder Forest's isn't to your taste. 

The print quality and the material quality is really good, much better than some I've bought off Amazon and high street stores. I can't wait to get some more cases from here! 

They vary in price depending on your devices size and for some you can also pick the style of the casing but you can get $10 off your purchase by using the discount code Q4CQEP and they also ship worldwide for FREE! 

Which case would you go for in Wonder Forest's collection? I want them all! 

The Best Eye Primer Ever.

I have the most awkward skin, the majority of my face is dry but then I have really oily eyelids. I have tried out eye primer after eye primer and I've only just found the perfect solution to avoid that annoying creasing of eyeshadows and printing of eyeliner.
MAC's Prep + Prime 24-hour Extended Eye Base has worked a dream for my eyes. It's £16 for the tube so it's not extortionate and for how well it performs I think it's worth every penny!

Normally I would come back home after uni or work, or even just see in the mirror during a toilet break that my eyeshadow or eyeliner would be all over the place.
After seeing that this primer claims to be sweat-resistant I thought I would try it out. I popped it on and did my eye makeup as normal at about 9am before work, I then came back home at almost 7pm and my eye makeup hadn't budged a bit!
As my eye products are now staying put I don't need to bring them in my bag to top them up, which not only saves bag space but I'm also not using up as much product so they'll last so much longer.

The product is really soft and smooth, it blends out translucent so it's perfect for all skin colours and you only need the tiniest amount to cover the entire lid. I even pop a little bit on my under eyes before concealer to reduce that from creasing too.
From now on this is my staple eye primer and it will be forever in my makeup bag!

Have you tried out this primer or now tempted to try it? Would recommend any others? Leave your comments below! 

A Big Thank You

The other evening I was watching a programme called 'The Gift' that is currently viewing on BBC. It's a programme where people can reach out to someone they want to say thank you or sorry to. It really touched me and it made me think about all those I would like to say thank you to, those who have made me become the person I am today. Not only that but in the past few months I've been going through a lot of emotional stress alongside anxiety due to events which I talked about in this post and I've needed people around me more than ever before.

I thought I would trace back to my childhood and think about those who helped me with my first stepping stones in life.

I would love to say a huge thank you to;
- the teaching assistants at middle school who gave me somewhere to feel safe from bullies and belong, they also gave me a sense of purpose at school by giving me responsibilities and new friends.
- to the coaches at Stage Coach who helped me build confidence through performing. This helped me so much in standing up to those who put me down and ever since I have also been the biggest chatterbox!
- to the counsellor who helped me getting through recent events and supported me in my fight to get safety shutters on my bedroom window.
- to my friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin! You're amazing and I love you all to pieces.
- to my family, what could I do without you? You brought me into the world, given me amazing experiences, raised me in a happy and homely environment and supported me through everything!
- and to basically anyone who has opened up opportunities for me to be a part of.

I know this neither a fashion or beauty post but it's definitely something that I think everyone should do. Some of those who helped me through my life probably don't know how much they have meant to me and I wish for some day that they'll see this post and it'll make them smile.

I'd love to see other people write a post like this so I thought we could make this into a tag, simply with the title, A Big Thank You. I'll message some people who I'd like to see do this tag and if you want to do this on your blog then go ahead and send me your post links when it's up!