BUMBLE AND BUMBLE QUENCHING MASQUE

Hey guys! In America I treated myself to this intensive conditioner from Bumble and Bumble. Pricing at $38, it's definitely not cheap but I wanted to treat myself and seems as I have just got into using these deep conditioners I thought I would give it a try! The smell alone is incredible, it reminds me of bubblegum and it leaves my hair feeling super soft. You're only supposed to use it once a week so I will get quite a few uses out of it which I'm happy about.It's for hair that can get a bit dry and it's also supposed to make hair strong and de-tangled. When using, you shampoo as normal and then run this all through your hair and leave it on for around 10 minutes. This is the only annoying thing I found because 10 minutes is not really long enough to get out of the shower and do something else, but it's also quite a long time to wait around in the shower without getting your hair under the water! Anyway it's not a huge problem and it makes my hair feel super healthy after, so I would say it's definitely worth a splurge if you feel like treating yourself soon! It is available in the UK and retails at £30 online, I'm not sure if you could find it any cheaper at one of their stands though!

Lauren x

ILLAMASQUA MULTI FACET PALETTE REVIEW

Hey guys! I picked up this Illamasqua palette on their online sale and although I paid £22.50 for it, you can now get it for £13.50 (devastated!) if you're quick. I was super excited to try out this palette because it includes a couple of their 'cult' products such as Brow Cake and Cream Contour. I went for the palette named 'Aura' because the colours appealed to me more, however they do have another on offer I think!
On first impressions I do have to say I was a little disappointed with it because it was a lot smaller than I had imagined it to be, and I would have been annoyed if I had paid the full price of £45 for it! However upon using it I can tell that the products should last quite a while and they are such a great quality that it kind of makes up for it!

The packaging itself is gorgeous as with all Illamasqua products, sleek shiny black with their logo and I do love that it includes a big mirror making it great to take around with you. Also included is a little brush, one end for brows and the other eye shadow. The palette itself includes a highlight, blush, contour, brow powder, and four shadows, all with different uses.

Cream Highlight in Aurora - gives a very subtle sheen to your cheekbones which is very nice, and I have also used it under my eye to brighten up the area; which it also worked for too!
Powder Blush in Tremble - I actually already have this blush in full size so I know what it's like, but it is a very nice light pink, it doesn't come out as bright as it looks so don't let that put you off!
Cream Contour in Hollow - This is one of Illamasquas' cult products and it didn't disappoint. It's really easy to use with your fingers and it gives such a nice tone on the cheeks, love it!
Brow Cake in Thunder - This was the product I really wanted to try and I was worried it wouldn't match my brows! However it turned out fine and I am already converted. You literally need a tiny bit, it is so pigmented and really goes far. I love it.
Shadows in Vison (white), Servant (peach), Feint (reddy/brown) and Machine (black) - I like all of these shadows, they're great quality and very pigmented, especially Machine. I have to say though Feint is my favourite because it's such a great crease colour to warm everything up and blend it together! I also get no fall down when using them which is a huge plus!

Overall I am totally loving this palette right now and it's very rare to find a palette you can use everything daily from, definitely worth a look at if you've been wanting to try some of Illamasquas products!

Lauren x

KAT VON D MAKE-UP

Hey guys! So whilst I was in America I was of course going to pick up some make-up that we can't get a hold of easily back home, starting off with the little set from Kat Von D. I've heard a lot of amazing things about her eye liner especially, however I don't normally get on with felt tip style liner pens so I thought I would go for this set which included a full size mascara and a miniature liner for $20. Oh how I wish I got a few of these! The eye liner is amazing, one of the best I've ever used. The tip on it so so precise, it literally only takes me a few swipes to get my normal cat-flick. The colour pay-off is so good as well, it's no wonder they call it Tattoo Liner. Normally with felt tip liners I find that it smudges up to the top of my eyelid, but I've had none of that with this one. I will definitely be looking for a full size online once this ones run out.

The mascara included in the set is called Immortal Lash, and I've been really liking that as well. The wand is a little different than the really thick ones I'm used to, but I find that this separates my lashes really well and lengthens them a lot, too. It leaves them feeling flexible still, rather than hardened and stiff like I find with some other mascaras. I do have to say though if I want more of a 'going-out look' I do like to put another mascara over the top of it just to add a bit more volume. 

So over-all I will definitely be repurchasing the liner if I can find it, but I'm still not 100% on the mascara yet! Have you tried any products from Kat Von D's range? What do you think?

Lauren x

NEW YORK CITY

Hey guys! Last week I was in New York for the week with my university and of course I had an amazing time! I thought I would do a quick post just to share my experiences and what I got up to, plus all the usual touristy photos and stuff! So let's get into it!

We arrived in New York on Monday morning and after an 8 hour flight, we were pretty tired. Luckily our hotel wasn't far from the airport and although it wasn't the best hotel around, the room was huge and it was so close to everything we needed, including being only about 3 blocks from the Empire State Building! The hotel was called Pennsylvania, and like I said the room size was good but some of the hallways had a slight resemblance to The Shining which wasn't the most comforting of thoughts, haha! Anyway back to New York, I went to a basketball game (which Jay Z and Beyonce just happened to be at), The Empire state, got amazing pizza, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, China Town, Central Park, Little Italy, Times Square, and everything in between! Instead of blabbing on for ages, I thought I would just show a few of my favourite photos from the trip. I'll save things I brought for another post so here are just a few snaps!

I was also lucky enough to get a tour of the Garment District which was a real big eye-opener to the city. Our tour guide was so great and I really discovered that everything in the City is something, everything has a story behind it and it really sucks you in to the atmosphere of the place. Everyone is busy, going somewhere, working toward something or otherwise, and that really makes all the hustle and bustle seem worth it. It's somewhere I definitely want to go back to. Back to reality for the moment though!

Lauren x

BLOG NAME CHANGE

Hey guys! Just a quick update - I've changed my blog name. My blog will now come under the name www.laurennnhobbs.blogspot.co.uk. I've decided to do this for a couple of reasons - one being that it will match all of my other social media accounts and emails which just makes things easier, and secondly because I wasn't happy with my blog name anymore.
As I've grown with my blog, I realised that I don't write about Fashion as much as I thought I would, making my old blog name a little mismatched compared to my content. If I keep my blog name a bit more simple then that means I can write about whatever I want, and not have to keep worrying that my content isn't what I've promised from my title. Anyway I'm in contact now to move my followers and everything over so that will be happening soon! Goodbye Your Fashion Penpal! :)

Oh and also - I've just got back from New York and am working on a couple of posts from my trip - stay tuned! :)

Lauren x

BLEACH LONDON HAIR DYES

Hey guys! Today I've got a post about BLEACH LONDON hair dyes. Being relatively new to the concept of dying my own hair I found them incredibly easy to use so I thought I would do a little review for you! Having tried one from the range a couple of months ago, my sister brought me a lovely little set from them for Christmas with lots of different colours to try, and having used a couple of them I thought I would show you my thoughts!
The bottles in the set have 50ml of dye each which was plenty to cover the amount of dip-dye I have at the bottom of my hair at the moment. In the set you get 6 amazing colours to try out with pretty self-explanatory names, which include Awkward Peach, Rose, Blullini, Washed Up Mermaid, Violet Skies and Sea Punk. I've use two of them so far and I've been really happy with the results!

Firstly I used Blullini. All you have to do is wash your hair as usual, towel dry it a little and then place the dye all over the area you want, making sure to wear rubber gloves! I also recommend separating your hair and only doing small sections at a time so you make sure to spread the dye out evenly. You really have to make sure you massage it in properly rather than just rubbing it over too! This is the effect I achieved on top of blonde hair - I'm not sure it would work on darker hair.
After 15 minutes (although I left it on for about 40 - I just wanted to be sure!) you wash it off with warm water and dry as normal. The dyes wash out within 2-10 washes depending on the intensity/ how much you've used. I thought this colour came out so well and it's really nice to just change up your hair for a little bit!

Once the Blue had gone I went for Violet Skies. This didn't come out as bright as I thought it would but I still like it a lot! It's more of a silver colour with purple undertones. Really pretty! Every dye has the exact same process. Now I just have to choose which colour to go for next!
Have you used any of the Bleach London dyes? What do you think?

Lauren x

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone! Happy new year to you all! I hope everyone had a great night and is excited for the year ahead, I know I am! I feel like this year is going to be my year, I'm not normally one for resolutions but this year I definitely want to improve myself, starting with my blog. I've had my blog for a while now but I want to start being a lot more consistent with it and hopefully making it a bigger part of my life. I've also got a few big things happening this year, like turning 21, becoming an auntie for the first time, hopefully passing my driving test, my first trip to America - and all that is within the first few months! I am super excited and I think this year is going to be the best one yet!

But that doesn't mean that I had a bad 2014! Looking back I had a lot of good things happen last year. I thought I would share a few of my highlights of last year, it's good to look back and smile!

• On January 13th Jack asked me to marry him. It was perfect and I was totally overwhelmed! We haven't got any concrete plans on when or where it's going to happen yet, only ideas, we're just happy being engaged for the moment!
• Another thing with Jack, we celebrated our 3 years! We went to London for a mini getaway, our favourite place!
• I finally started driving lessons! I was super nervous about doing it which is probably why I put it off for 3 years, but I finally got the courage to start and I'm so glad I did. Next month is my test!
• I went to Slamdunk festival, and I got a private show with the All American Rejects. I have loved the Rejects for a looong time and this was just perfect. 6 of us in a room and them playing, I could barely believe my eyes.
• I went back to Butlins for the over 18s weekend with my sister and friends. They are such fun weekends, if you haven't done it before I definitely recommend it!
• I went to Tenerife for a week with Jack and two friends. It was such a nice week, Tenerife was gorgeous and sunny and just what we needed!
• I spent a LOT more time with my friends, which I love. I really know who my best friends are now and I'm so lucky to have them all, I don't know what I would do without them.
• I left my last job. A good thing for me because I really didn't like where I was, and although I had a few friends there I was unhappy and I'm glad I left to find something else.
• Me and Jack went back to London for his 21st birthday for a couple of nights! 
• And on top of that, there has been a lot of parties, a lot of fun days out, a lot of my friends 21sts, and lots of other things!  

Looking back, I definitely had a good year last year, it obviously came with some downs but I'm not going to dwell on them. Onwards and upwards from here! :) How was your guys years? Is anything big happening for you this year? I'll leave you guys with a few photos from my New Years Eve party, I spent it with my family and friends and it was an amazing night, I hope you all had a great one too!

Lauren x