Champagne & Celebrities.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of accompanying my partners Mum to a Black Tie Charity Auction with a Caribbean theme. We had a wonderful time, dancing, drinking champagne and meeting a few celebrities. It was a fantastic evening that raised both money and awareness for Rainbows Children's Hospice.

Me and William Roache, aka Ken Barlow from Coronation Street.

Me and Andy Abraham who won 2nd place on the X-factor in 2005.

An event like this of course required a new dress, something elegant and formal yet still stylish and fun. Luckily for me as soon as I walked into Lipsy (bag no.3) there it was, the perfect dress; Black with silver running through it, floor length, a split up the side, £65.. I was in love. 

This dress is a stretchy fit so it hugs the figure perfectly and the front wrap hinds any overindulgence. The v-neck is low, but no too low that you can't wear a bra and the side split shows just the right amount of leg. The sleeves were wider when I purchased this dress but as I only have small shoulders it kept slipping down, a few stitches though and this was fixed immediately. As stunning as this dress is I will warn you the back is not lined like the front is, it's not see through but you may see lumps, bumps and panty lines.

I accessorised my dress with plain black peep toe stilettos, Pandora earrings, Pandora ring and Tiffany bracelet. My hair was loosely scraped to one side and held with pins, which I then hid with a sparkly hair comb, and then softly curled with GHD straighteners. My makeup was a similar routine to to the one from my Hollywood Glamour night, except as my hair was down I opted for black khol liner on the bottom lash line, bolder false eyelashes and a darker lip.

Dress - High Neck Version, £65

Shoes - Similar Here, £65

Clutch - Similar Here, £10

Earrings - Same here, £45

Ring - Same here, £145

Bracelet - Same here, £130

Eyelashes - Same here, £5.49

Eyeliner - Similar here, £16.50

Lipstick - Select Cosmo, £15.50

I love getting dressed up for events like this, do you?

How To.. Brows.

I used Sleek Makeups Brow Kit in Dark £8.49 @ Boots.

Your eyebrows are your best accessory, they help shape your face and frame your eyes so you should take care in how you present them. Perfect brows should be based around the natural shape, size and colouring, ideally starting from in line with the centre of your nostils and ending diagonally from the edge of your nose past the corner of your eye.

Here I have created a step by step guide to get those brows you've always wanted as unfortunately we can't all be blessed with beautiful big brows.

1) Using an old and clean mascara brush, brush your eyebrows up and out.

2) Take your tweezers and see where your brows should start and end and then pluck any stray hairs.

3) Using the angled brush in the brown wax create a smooth sweeping line from inside to out just below or on the bottom line of brow.

4) If your eyebrows aren't very full do the same again along the top of your brows, ensureing you create a nice finish.

5) Still using the angled brush and wax coat the hairs from 1/4 of the way in and fill in any gaps. Ensure to use the brush in outwards strokes following the way the hairs are growing.

6) Very carefully and gently in upward strokes fill the inner part of your eyebrows. The inner part should be lighter than the outside.

7) Taking the rounded brush dust the brown powder over your brows carefully, only a small amount is needed.

8) Using a light matte eyeshadow or white eyeliner, highlight under the arch of your brow, be sure to blend it well.

Brush up & out - line underneath - line above & fill outer edge - carefully fill inner brow and highlight arch.

I hope this was helpful! What are your tips for getting the best brows?

Hollywood Glamour.

Katy Perry Lovely Lolita Lashes, Boots£5.95 - Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express Mascara, Boots £7.99 - L'Oreal Super Liner, Boots £6.49 - 17 Brow Sculpting Pencil, Boots £2.89 - Sleek Make-up Brow Kit in Dark, Boots £8.49 - Old Mascara Brush - Versace Cystal Noir Miniture, Gift - Rimmel Stay Matte Primer, Boots £5.99 - Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in 303 & 400, Boots £7.99 each - Rimmel Natural Bronzer, Boots £5.99 - Elizabeth Arden Brush & Other Brush, Prices Unknown - 17 Plum Puff Blusher, Discontinued - Rodial Stemcell Superfood Lipbalm, Debenhams £17 - Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+, Boots £29 - Elizabeth Arden Lip Pencil in Bare, Gift - MAC Lipstick in YASH, Mac Store, £15.50.

So tonight is my beautiful friend and work colleagues 30th birthday party and for this special occasion she is hosting an Oscar Awards Night themed party! That means beautiful dresses, stunning hair, glamorous make up and best of all, my boyfriend in a suit! I cannot wait!

When it comes to my hair I am very much a creature of habbit, scraped up or down naturally, not very glam! So for tonight I have treated myself to a french plait done at the hairdressers, that way I can have my hair off my face how I like it, but looking perfect for the theme of tonight.

For me, an up-do requires beautifully bold eyes, a slightly bronzed cheek and that perfect shade of nude lipstick.

My Routine For Tonight

I will first use the Clinique moisturizer on any areas of dry skin, only a small dot is needed as it spreads along way. I will then apply the Rimmel primer to my T-zone and eyelids. Now we're ready for the foundation. I use these two shades of Rimmels 25hour stay foundation so that I can highlight and contour (see image below). This long lasting foundation is brilliant if you're going to be out all night dancing as it doesn't budge! However, for young supple skin this foundation is perfect, it covers spots without that caked up look you might expect from a thick foundation yet stays quite dewy, unfortunately if you have very dry skin or in the words of my mum "old wrinkly skin" you may find this foundation to be too thick.

Eyes next. Create a bold, winged line with L'Oreals Super Eyeliner on your top lid (see image below for different styles to practice, I tend to do a mix of  1 & 5). This liner lasts all night and drys pretty fast. Once it's dry take the glue from Katy Perrys Lashes, included in pack, and apply to the line of the fasle eyelashes. Wait 20-30 seconds, for the glue to become sticky, then starting out the outside stick them down as close to the lash line as possible. I use a hair grip to help me press the corners down. I'm not one for dark kohl eyeliner on my bottom lashes so instead I use Rimmels brow pencil. I then use my Maybelline mascara to coat both my top and bottom lashes.

Only very recently have I started using Sleek Makeups Brow Kit and I am already in love. I start my brows by brushing them up and out with an old mascara brush, I then pluck any stray hairs with the mini tweezers. Next use the angled brush to line the bottom (and top if you desire) of your eyebrows from inside to out using the coloured wax, next give your brows a sweeping of the wax to fix them in place and then using the other brush dust over the coloured powder. For perfect shaped brows see the photo below.

Kissable lips. I apply a tiny bit of Rodial Stemcell Lipbalm to make my lips look softer and fuller, as well as moisturizing them, which in this weather is a must. Then using Elizabeth Ardens Lip Pencil in Bare, I line my lips to make them look fuller, fill in with MACs lipstick in Yash, kiss a tissue and my lips are done.

Finally, a sweep of Rimmels bronzer, where we used the darker foundation, a slight touch of 17 blush on my cheek bones for a natural rosy look and a spritz of Versace Crystal Noir and I'm ready to go!

I hope this was helpful. What are your favourite beauty products/tips?