Tim Walker - Story Teller at Somerset House

One of my favourite photographers is Tim Walker. I think he is, without a doubt, the world's most visually exciting and influential fashion photographer. Walker's work is dazzle with life, full of magic, and plenty of humour. You can imagine my excitement when I found out that Somerset House is currently hosting a major exhibition of Tim Walker's iconic photographs and props at their East Wing Galleries in London.

Supported by Mulberry, Tim Walker: Story Teller showcases 175 of Walker’s most fantastical works from the pages of the world’s leading magazines: British, French, American and Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and The New Yorker among many others. A couple of weekends ago I made my way to Somerset house to check out the exhibition! Here some sneaky pictures I took during my visit to share with you all..

 

The exhibit is free and open to the public until 27th January 2013 (link)

I love going to museums or exhibitions in the weekends, do you?

How and why to use an eyelash curler

One of my can't-live-without beauty products would have to be an eyelash curler. I am always recommending my friends to buy one because I think they are such little miracle workers! My lashes are naturally quite flat and don't have much of a curl to them so using a curler makes all the difference to really open up my my eyes and give me a more doll-eyed look.

Over the years I have tried several brands and two of my favourites would have to be the Shu Uemera curler (review here) and the MAC full lash curler. I recently lost my Shu Uemera one that I'd had for quite some time so I decided to repurchase my MAC trusty old favourite!

About their Full Lash Curler MAC cosmetics says "Curls lashes. Adds all natural glam! An artist essential: a pro-quality tool. Shapes and curves lashes into all-natural curl. Primes them for mascara or false lashes. Use it pre-lash and pre-mascara. Easy to use. Designed to curve gently round the lash line. Works with a simple squeeze and release motion! Totally tearproof!"

Here some before and after pictures to show you the difference...

A lot of people always joke and say it looks a bit like a tool of torture but I promise you it doesn't hurt at all and they are very simple to use. Trust me there is no need to fear the curler ;) 

Here is how to use them:

• Always use your eyelash curlers on clean eyelashes. Never curl lashes after you apply mascara because as the mascara dries, lashes can stick to the curler & be torn from the roots; damaging your lashes. If necessary, use eye makeup remover to remove old mascara.
• Next, simply spread the handles of the curler and center your upper lashes in between the upper and lower pads. Place the curler at the base of the upper lash line, as close to the roots as possible, without pinching your lid. Now squeeze gently! Hold for five to ten seconds and release. Once you feel more comfortable with your new tool, try walking the curler out to the end of the lashes as opposed to just clamping it down. This will give your lashes a more natural, and less harsh looking curl. Repeat on the other eye and don't use the curler on your bottom lashes.

Left eye curled - right eye au naturel! See the difference?

Now that your lashes are all lovely and curled just apply 2 to 3 coats of your favorite mascara, wiggling the wand from root to tip.

I'm currently loving the Clinique high impact extreme volume mascara - £17

And voila! Spidery long lashes in a snap!

For even longer lasting curled lashes here a little tip; with your blowdryer on low heat, blow air on your curler for no more than 5 seconds. Touch the metal. If it's hot, let it cool for a few seconds. You don't want to burn your eyelid. Now just continue to use your curlers as per the above steps. Heating is not necessary to use an eyelash curler; however, the heat will make a noticeable difference in curling your lashes.

MAC Full Lash Curlers retail at £14/$20/€23.50 and are available online or at your local MAC counter.

Do you use an eyelash curler to give your lashes more POW?!

Box of crayons...

That time of the week again....
(oh and not to freak you out but it's only 13 sleeps until Christmas!)

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better!" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Hump Day :)

PS: How cool is this crayon art work? I really want to make this myself! It was trending on Pinterest a little while ago and I pinned it straight away to my crafty ideas/DIY board for a future DIY art project. The lovely Milly from Pearls and Poodles actually tried her hand at crayon art recently and blogged about her step-by-step tutorial here (link). Looks cool don't you think? 

Mint winters day OOTD & new cross bracelet

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you would have already seen my picture post of two bargains I picked up in the H&M sale last week. I was quickly popping into my local store buy some socks (of all necessities) and got distracted by the sales racks where I found this lovely cropped mint knitted jumper for only £15! Even though it's now winter and you might see mint as more of a spring colour I see no reason why to shy away from brightening my winter days with colourful outfits. This is me in my new jumper on Sunday, where I combined the mint jumper with my favourite bright pink winter wooly snood scarf.

Do you like this colourful look for winter?

To keep warm I paired it with my super snug tan UGG boots!

I have also been meaning to show you this new fine side cross bracelet that I got from ASOS a few weeks back. It is from their ASOS collection and you can get it in silver, gold and rose gold. It looks more gold in this photo but mine is the rose gold one.

Get it here for only £6 (link)

I was back home (yet again!) this weekend to celebrate St Nicolas with my family. It is my favourite Dutch tradition because it is an evening full of laughs, presents and the most yummy St Nicolas treats!

I definitely indulged in a fair amount of Speculaas this weekend....

Dutch Speculaas Chunks - you can find my recipe here (link). The gym is definitely calling my name this week after my indulgent but fun family weekend but hell it was worth it ;)