Happy Hump Day: Operation Beautiful by Laura+

Aloha Roz's Readers! I've been asked to do a guest blog post while Roz is sunning it up on the Amalfi Coast (lucky devil!) and so, because I adore Roz and her blog, here I am, wishing you a Happy Humpday! :)

Some of you might be wondering who I am? Well... I'm Laura and I'm the author of Lollipop Loves. It's a bit of a random blog, just like me! Today's picture to celebrate the hump? This:

I'm a little bit obsessed with Operation Beautiful. If you are not familiar with it, the concept is to make people feel good about themselves. How do you do it? By leaving a little note with a lovely message, like the one above. To be more precise, Operation Beautiful is "transforming the way you see yourself, one post-it note at a time".

I really believe that self-belief and confidence in yourself is imperative to happiness, and little random gestures can brighten anybody's day. Tell me you wouldn't smile on finding a little note staring at you when you are feeling pretty rubbish. The world seems to be obsessing on looks and weights, and with all of the photoshopped images in magazines, it's easy to understand why people (especially women) put pressure on themselves to strive for perfection. But what is perfection?

Let me tell you.

YOU are perfection.

Yes, you!

You with the braces, and you without.

You with the blue eyes, and you with the brown, hazel and green.

You with the blonde hair, you with the brown hair, and you with any colour of the rainbow in between.

You who is a size zero, and you who is not.

Every single one of you.

Beauty is more than looks. It is more than tanned skin, perfectly coiffed hair, a dazzling smile and a slim figure, and this is why I love Operation Beautiful. It spreads the message that (to quote Bruno Mars) "You're amazing. Just the way you are." Warts and all!

To spread the happiness, all you need to do is carry a post-it note pad and a pen and leave an inspirational message where someone might find it - the mirror in the ladies' loos, inside a lift, inside a changing room - anywhere. Anywhere that someone can read it, and anywhere that someone can appreciate it. I know I do, and even though I never find out if someone's read my message, I know that if they have, I've managed to make them feel good, if only for a nanosecond. 

With all the negativity that's occuring lately, isn't it about time we spread some happiness and love?

Don't forget, you are beautiful!

xoxo Laura

Roz: Happy Hump Day everyone! By now I (hopefully) should be developing a rather nice bronzed tan in Italy hehe ;) Anyways a big thank you to Laura for taking over my Happy Hump Day post this week. I have been a fan of Operation Beautiful for a while now myself as I love the message it sends and think it's so true that it's important to spread the love and that it can hopefully lift someone's day when they are feeling a little down. It's such a shame to see the lack of self confidence in girls these days - I even see it in my friends that are the most stunning girls! Love yourself girls; each and everyone of you girls out there are perfect just the way you are ♥ 

About Laura; oh where to start, I just love her blog! She's the sweetest and funniest girl. My favourite bits on her blog are the 'Things I have learned..' posts, her book reviews (we adore the same books!),  '120 Happy Things..' posts and all the beauty, health and wedding planning stuff in between. Overall, it's just FAB so make sure you check out Lollipop Loves now :) xoxo

Bruno Mars - Just the way you are 

Candy Striped Nails by Milly

Hello Dutchess Roz readers. It is Milly from Pearls & Poodles and I am honoured today to be guest posting on Roz's blog whilst she is off holidaying in slightly more sunnier surroundings. I have been lucky enough to meet Roz several times now at various events and she is such a lovely person and brilliant blogger. Needless to say I jumped at the chance when she asked if I would guest post for her whilst she is away.

Following a great response to a recent nail art post I featured on my own blog, I thought I would trot my talons over here and show you my latest design. This technique is really very simple, and can be adapted with any colour combinations you fancy. To create the tips I used some nail guide stickers which you can easily find on eBay; literally hundreds of different designs for a few pounds.

CANDY STRIPES

I used No.7 nail polish in Snowflake for the base. Now this isn't an amazing white, it is a little streaky and required 3 good coats to achieve an even and opaque finish, but it was the only white I had so it had to suffice. For the candy stripe tips I used Barry M polishes in:

304 - Mint Green, 309 - Pale Pink, 308 - Pale Purple, 307 - Lemon Ice Cream, 306 - Pale Blue.

After applying the white base coat I waited...and waited some more until it was completely dry. If the nail polish is slightly tacky, the nail guide stickers will just rip it off and make a big fat mess. Next I took the nail guide stickers and placed them on my nails, making sure they were lined up as straight as possible. Once happy with their placement, I painted the tips with my chosen colours. Again, it is important to wait until the tips are totally dry before gently peeling off the stickers.

 Et voila. :)

A really fun and colourful take on your typical french manicure.

Thank you Roz for letting me gatecrash your blog and share this post with your readers. I hope you are having a fantastic break away and eating lots of pizza and gelato!

Is this something you would try?

x Milly

Roz: Thanks Milly for this awesome post! I looooove these fun nails. They are super funky and creative! Pearls & Poodles is such FAB blog - Milly has an amazing sense of style (she actually inspired me to finally go and get my long lusted after Alexander McQueen scarf), her beauty and hair reviews always inspire me and OMG she is miss cupcake extraordinaire!! Definitely recommend you check out her blog now if you haven't seen it before. Thanks Milly again - you are such a darl :) xoxo

Volume Refresher Spray - Beauty Junkie London!

"Hello lovely readers of Dutchess Roz, I’m very happy to be doing a guest post as this is a blog I absolutely love. So hope you enjoy!

First off, please can I just ask that you excuse the angry face… the ‘before’ picture shows that I was clearly very unhappy at how much the volume flops out of my hair over the day... 
Sadly, vanishing volume is something I ‘suffer’ from on daily basis (being a tad over dramatic there…) but I do have fine hair, and whilst I do what I can, I do need an extra helping hand. As the day goes on it does tend to flop. This is why the John Frieda Volume Refresher Spray has become my new savior and earned a place in my handbag.

The reasons I like this over other dry shampoo is that it manages to add volume but without making hair all crispy or dirty feeling – when some other brands do. There is another product I'm going to talk about over on my blog soon does deliver amazing volume but I don't like to use it too often as I don't like the ‘dirty’ feeling.

The final result of a quick spritz around the roots and a ruffle with my hands - hence the messiness. But that's what I'd do to refresh at the end of the work day if I was going out, so it's a fair idea of the difference it would make. It definitely gives my hair a boost, but not to the point where I'll be mistaken for Dolly Parton... which is a good thing for me.

Plus the can is only a little bigger than a small hairspray can, so easily fits in my handbag. Any bigger and it wouldn't be practical.

So there we have it, a speedy review of my currently volume boosting essential!
Thank you for having me as a guest blogger Roz!"

Thank you SO much Jen - Make sure check out Jen's fantastic Blog 'Beauty Junkie London'  now ♥
Jen is one of the bloggers I have been following for yonks; I love her honest reviews and am so lucky that I have got to know her in person since moving to London because she's one of the loveliest bloggers around! Mwah thanks again Jen xoxo

La Bella Italia! #

Hey my lovelies,

I am sooooo excited because tomorrow morning (very early) I will be off on my summer holiday to la bella Italia for a whole week with a girlfriend of mine. We will be going to Naples for one night and then soaking up the sun, gazing at the amazing scenery, eating the delicious food and exploring the sites in the Amalfi Coast! See below what my trip might be like......

OMG soooo can't wait! :)  This means however, no blog posts from me next week - because I will be taking a little break to try to relax and really enjoy some 'off' time!

BUT not to worry, I asked some of my favourite blog friends if they'd be willing to do a guest post on Dutchess Roz while I am away. So some GREAT posts are lined up for the next week; make sure you check them out :)

Ciao everyone!!! xoxo