Autumn beauty trends to trial

I thought for this blog post I would share with you some of the wearable trends I've been seeing around and what products I would use to achieve these fab looks. I have to admit I am a summer girl through and through, so a part of me dies a little inside when the weather changes in October (especially with all this rain we've been having in England). But I'm looking beyond this dull weather at the beautiful trends we have to play with this autumn.

Some of them are easy to pull off and others may seem slightly scarier. 

If Halloween isn't a great opportunity to trial these looks then I don't know what is! I reckon let's just be bold and just go for it! Share with me your pics on Instagram @pennyw28

Trend #1 - Dark grey / blue nails

Difficulty rating - Easy-peasy

The colour of the season is Chanel's Orage, which is a mix between a dark blue and dark grey. Chanel seem to always navigate the trends when it comes to nails but we must remember there are other great nail varnishes out there for a fraction of the cost. Barry M for example are fab for a glossy mani and for just £3.99 a paint pot, it's a bargain! My top pick to achieve the dark nails look is Barry M (Grey). While they may lack imagination and creativity with the nail colour name, I promise they make up for in highly pigmented, long lasting colour.

Or you could adapt this trend to suit you more and opt for an elegant pastel grey tone - I reckon this would look amazing against pale skin tones. My fave for this look is Bourjois So Laque in 003 BCBeige

Trend #2 - Mauve eyeshadow

Difficulty rating - OK, this could be tricky

I love this look because I have brown/green eyes so it really brings out the green in my eyes. But what I love even more about this trend though is it literally suits everyone.

Chanel Illusion D'ombre in 83 Ilusoire is a beautiful deep purple with specks of glitter in to make your eyes pop. This shade suits everyone and is so light that you can build up the look to suit what you want. The first few layers go on as a grey / purple shade and then as you build it up the purple really starts to present itself.

Or you can try Stila shadow pots in Iris. This is a really plummy shade and immediately gives amazingly pigmented colour on the lids. Pair this with a smudging of black kohl liner to give the eyes some definition and lashings of mascara.

Stila (left) and Chanel (right)

Stila (left) and Chanel (right)

Trend #3 Black cherry lips

Difficulty rating - Oh em gee, I couldn't ever pull this off!

I admit I can be scared of bold lip colours, I just feel that everyone is staring at my lips. I remember one time I wore a bold red/orange colour and one of my guy friends came up to me half way through the night and said these killer words: "Alright there smudgie?!". I rushed to the loos and spotted the horror of all horrors, my lipstick had smudged all over my top lip, great!

But fear not, I told myself I will continue to persevere! So, back on the lipstick horse I rustled through my collection to find colours to suit this trend and came up with the following: Rimmel's Kate lipstick in 04 (a deep cherry purple colour), Revlon's Super Lustrous lipstick in Berry Couture and Rimmel's lasting finish in 128 Starry-eyed. The latter is probably the most black cherry-esque, but I think when it comes to dark colours on your lips find one that you feel comfortable with and that lifts your complexion. When testing lipsticks use your fingertips as experts say this is the most similar part of your body to your lips.

From left to right: Rimmel Starry-eyed, Revlon Berry Couture, Rimmel 04.

Of course, the ever popular trend of full eyebrows is here to stay for the autumn as well. I've taken a while to get on board the thick eyebrow train, but now I'm on I'm never getting off. I love the definition they give to my face.

Other trends showing themselves are high ballerina buns, low voluminous ponytails and lips coated in colourful glitter. If you're testing any of these out please share with some photos with me, I'd love to see what you're up to!

Sleek Make-up's Pout Polish Is The Bomb!

Wow, I feel awful - I haven't blogged for almost seven months. That's a lifetime in blog years and I deserve a slapped wrist. So much has happened in seven months, so I'll try and fill you in one short paragraph… I've bought my house with my boyfriend, which we are loving, I've been to Ibiza, I've had a birthday, I've taken up hula hooping and managed to do the race for life while hooping, I've spent a shocking amount of money on makeup and skincare, I've booked a holiday to Berlin for November and my boyfriend's sister welcomed into the world a gorgeous baby boy. All in all, a great seven months! To ease me back into the blogosphere I just wanted to do a quick post about what I'm loving right now. With this confusing weather my skin is really suffering, but it's my lips that suffer the most in this strange, one minute warm, next minute freezing weather. I need constant moisture to keep my lips supple, but in the dull winter I also crave a pop of colour for my lips, but I've always found it difficult to combine those two requirements. That was until I found Sleek Makeup's Pout Polish. These little pots are so moisturising, plus they smell fantastic and have SPF15. When you see the colours in the tester pots they look really bright, but they are more subtle when applied to the lip. If you are seeking a bolder colour, you could wear the balm over a lipstick for that extra wow-factor or mix and match to customise your own desired colour. These were only around £5 from Superdrug and I really recommend them as a budget buy for winter. They don't last particularly long, but I am always topping up my lip balm so that doesn't really bother me. I bought Raspberry Rhapsody which is a magenta/purple kind of colour, which is amazing and I also bought Peach Perfection, the soft peachy colour looks amazing in the pot but for me it's just a bit too subtle on the lip - but it's great for someone who is looking for a really subtle, barely there look. Overall a great cheap buy that does what it says on the tin!