Ombre Louise

Some of you are most likely really bored of all the Made in Chelsea talk over Twitter and Facebook, especially after every episode on a Monday however, I have to blog about Louise!! I actually love her. Yeah people say she's weak and stuff but really you don't know what it's like until you have been through it yourself! I've recently gone through a very similar situation so I have a lot of respect for her.
Louise's fashion is just so diverse, she looks amazing when she's dressed all glam but also looks great wearing trainers! I'll post some Louise fashion pics below :)
Her ombre effect hair is just so long and lush, I'd swop hair tomorrow with her if I could! [keep dreaming Lor.....]

I've recently used the Loreal Wild Ombre dip dye [and yeah it does work!]
To make it look gradual then apply the dye to the ends of your hair first. Leave it about 10/20 mins and then apply dye to the middle section. Blend each section using your finger, this will just avoid a harsh line.
My hair is pretty dark so the ends didn't go blonde like Louise's however they went a lighter brown and I love it! You can definitely see a difference. The instructions are so easy to follow and I would recommend it to anyone! I'll be posting some pictures on of my hair soon :)
Here's some of my favourite Louise pictures;

Oh and here's a funny one to end the post ;) -

L∆ur∆ xo

Southampton Style Hunting,

I recently took part in a style hunter competition in the West Quay shopping centre. Here's some of the best styles we scouted....

It was good to see so many different styles, also nice for people to get scouted for looking good. People around us really do influence our style, since being at uni my style has changed so much! The guy in photo #3 looked wicked!
The winners were #1 & #16 who won a £50 shopping card for West Quay, not bad ;).

Who's your fav?

l∆ur∆ xo

A new me,

As my first year of university starts to end I suddenly realise how much has changed since September. It sounds like a long time but it has flown by! I've learnt so many new skills so far, whether it's hair & makeup, photo-shop, photography or even just life skills I really feel like I've grown up.

I've started this blog again, as you can see I've deleted many of my old posts. When finding inspiration for a blog I saw a lot of people posting pictures everyday about what they were wearing. With this hectic schedule I have going on recently I just haven't had time. My blogs been spruced up a bit to my own style rather then using the style of other people. I will post about fashion of course but just not as frequently as others. I also share pictures of my styling along with hair and makeup practice in the links above so be sure to check those out if you're interested!

I'm still a little unsure about my plan after uni, but hey, I'm a first year. Just loving my experiences now and just having fun whilst learning along the way.

I've changed so much this year already, a lot has happened which has been a bit of a wake up call but I'm pleased with how things are. I feel content at the moment, feeling focused and looking forward to a nice long summer!

I'll post about some of my favourite people/influences soon along with my work once we've handed in!

l∆ur∆ xo

Notion Magazine

I'm currently working on an Editorial Styling unit, our brief is to research a magazine and recreate our own 6 page magazine based on your chosen mags ethos and style. I've chosen Notion, this isn't a magazine I had really come across before. It's much different from your top fashion mags like ELLE, VOGUE, DAZED ect... Notion has such a twist! The main focus is music, something which everyone is inspired by! Notion is well known for choosing the latest 'hot' acts of the time and inspiring the readers with the amazing fashion editorials. Plus, the magazine is so nice, shiny, glossy and just so inspiring! I love how the cover isn't over loaded with headlines and slogans, they allow the reader to just enjoy the concepts. There isn't pages and pages and pages and pages of ads either which I really like! 

Music has such a huge impact on fashion, so many of us try to look like our fav artist/band by wearing clothes we have seen them in. Notion also allows us to discover new acts, people we haven't heard of before and new fashions we can try. Acts which aren't as typical as Rihanna for instance (as much as I do love her, she is always copied!). Notion magazine just says it how it is, no frills and NO GOSSIP. We get to understand the real person behind the scenes. They also feature lifestyle, culture, parties, gig & listings.

It's interesting too to learn about all of the work which goes on just to make this mag happen every month. All of the fashion directors/assistants, beauty editors, music editors, creative directors, art directors, fashion and beauty teams, publishers, marketing, finance and interns! My list could go on and on. It must be such a great feeling to know you have helped to make an issue happen. 

ELLE, VOGUE, DAZED, Marie Claire, i-D ect.. are all great magazines and I love reading them every month but I have really enjoyed looking into something new, just taking a different view on things and moving away from the obvious choices for a change. There are soo many magazines out there, ones which you wouldn't even now existed but it's always worth just venturing out to find something new which could really inspire you!

I love the overall look of Notion magazine, it reminds me of a blog just printed on pages. I love the text, pictures, styling (thanks Alexis Knox!), language and the arrangement of everything. Please go buy!!

What's your fav magazine atm?

l∆ur∆ xo

Gothic Romance

Black Lace Blouse: Miss Selfridge

Red Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Heels: both from New Look

Clutch: Accessorize

Cream Lace Blouse: Miss Selfridge

Velvet shorts: River Island

Black Hair Bow: H&M (a few years old)
Hair, Makeup, Styling & Photography by; Laura Clifton

Here's my latest photo shoot for my 'Gothic Romance' trend. This was part of a project for university, I was pleased with the outcome so I thought I would share it with you. :)

When I think of gothic I think black, lace, dark, embellishment & texture. I wanted to keep this within my look however, I did want to change it a little by using lighter colours to slightly soften the look.

The location was perfect! It holds so much character and just the right amount of 'quirky'. I wanted the setting to look like an old house, I thought this would fit in well with the over all look. The hair style was inspired by a gothic shoot Amanda Seyfried modeled for. (Click here to view the shoot)

Here's an example of a photo shoot which inspired my overall look;

To view the full shoot click here.
I didn't want to 'copy' the shoot however, I used it as a starting point when thinking about poses and outfits. I think the hair is just amazing too!! I love the tones, this portrays the trend and the season well.

Overall, I am so pleased with my images. Considering this was my first shoot on location! They capture the look I was aiming for and the edit has added the vintage element to the pieces. Please leave your comments and feedback. :)

l∆ur∆ xo