January Favorites

January has been an interesting month for me to say the least. We are only 1 month in to 2015 and I can tell its going to be a great year. I'm excited for the ups this year but maybe a bit worried for the downs. Anyway, I'm going to be sharing with you my January favorites- things that have gotten me through this FREEZING month.

First of all is my Boucle coat from H and M. This coat is the perfect compromise between fashion and practicality, as it keeps you super warm, and is really on trend and easy to throw over any outfit to spice it up.

Second of all is my high heeled tan Chelsea boots from New Look. You wouldn't think they were comfortable but because of the wide heel they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. They are really versatile and add a lot of height.

Then an off topic item is my ukelele. I'm not a musical person and I can't play many instruments but the ukulele is so fun and easy and it's great to have a sing along to with your mates around the fire. It's also a really good cure to boredom.

Then my final favourite is a drink. Chocolate milk. It's so underrated and I love it so much! It's really refreshing, however really unhealthy.

Thanks for reading! 

Instant Teeth Whitening Kit Review

As a dancer- white teeth are an essential for amazing stage presence. Over Christmas I may of drank a tad too many soda drinks, which may of made my teeth slightly- off white. So I invested in an instant whitening kit. And I'm going to review it for you.

The kit comes with 4 components. 14 teeth whitening strips, a whitening toothpaste, whitening accelerator, and a tooth polish. The whitening process is set to go over 7 days. 

For me the whitening strips worked for about 4 days then i drank a can of soda which seemed to take me back too square one. They were very gradual but tasted really disgusting, and because they dissolved, this horrible sticky goo was left in your teeth until you brushed them. But to be fair they did work.

Before you use the whitening strips you were supposed to push this accelerator thing on your teeth. I forgot to do this a couple times but it didnt really make a difference i feel, so it didnt matter.

The component that did it most for me is the whitening tooth paste. After about 3 days I saw SERIOUS results and it left my mouth really clean and smooth. I wish they sold this separately because it works really well. 

Lastly it was the tooth polish. I have had a love hate relationship with this stuff. Its nice because you can drink soda without worrying it will stain your teeth but it feels really unpleasant and that you have something constantly o your teeth, so I ended up scraping it off out of boredom.

I'd say over all my teeth are about 2 shades lighter. They are really white just after brushing but then kind of get darker throughout the day which is confusing. I bought it for twenty pounds on sale from fourty so its good value!

Thank you so much for reading!

How To Strengthen Ankles For Dancers

I must apologize if you're a non-dancer before I start, however if you play Netball or Hockey, these will improve your game as well! If you've read my previous posts, you will know I've recently been on crutches so I have to strengthen up my ankles again, so why not make a cheeky little post about it.

Releve Rises

So first is an exercise very specific to dance. By simply raising your heels so you are completely on the balls of your feet is a great ankle and calf strengthener. It may seem hard at first but only rise as high as you can go without your ankle shaking because if your ankles shake too much you could cause an injury. Also keep your weight over your big toes. When you get really good you can  do single releve on one foot. Repeat the releve 40 times for a good strengthen.

Resistance Band 

I know what you're thinking- not really an easy exercise if I don't have one of these things. Well first of all resistance bands can be found for  only two pounds in Primark! WOW! But also you can get them from any online dance shops, gym shops, or even a pair of tights will work! 

All you have to do is wrap the band around the balls of your feet whilst your foot is flexed, then point your feet without scrunching your toes. You don't need to point the toes because its a ankle exercise and the band will stay on for longer if you don't move your toes too much.

Heel Drops

Find a small box or a step to stand on. Put the ball of your foot on the actual step with your heels dangling off the edge. Let your heels go down, and then use your ankles to bring them back up to a right angle with your toes. This will also stretch your calves.

Thankyou so much for reading and I hope this helps!

Isabelle

Fitness Inspiration

Like my eye makeup inspiration- this will be a lot similar. I am currently on a diet- I mentioned in my sales haul post I was on a journey to drop a dress size and fit into my goal jeans- I DID! I'll admit I'm very bad at dieting. I can't help but cave in for something I crave. But if I'm being honest, what I've found is, if you down a cup of green tea, then go for a run- its alright! (This is no scientific conclusion but it works for me)

First of all, my ultimate inspiration is Emily Ratakjowski. If you don't know who she is put it this way- the brunette in the Blurred Lines video. She has the PERFECT body, and guess what. She had it from a young age so she has had it given to her on a plate. So unfair. She has a tight little waist, a toned bum and skinny legs, what more could you want of a body?

See what I mean? WISH I had her body.

Not only has she got a great body- but a KILLER sense of style as well. I love this little blue dress, it makes her legs look long and elegant and the baby blue makes her olive skin tone pop.

Secondly, I take inspiration from the Spring Breakers girls. They are the complete opposite reason from why I love Emily. I love the spring breakers girls because they haven't got the standardized 'model' body like Emily, however they do have a little extra on them, meaning they aren't twigs, but they have amazing bodies, which I think are really hot. 

Thankyou so much for reading!

Isabelle

Eye Makeup Inspiration

My favorite thing about makeup is dressing up the eyes. I have gathered alot of inspiration from countless youtubers, but I can knock it down to two that I watch the most. 

The first is Vivian Vo-Farmer. No doubt you would of seen her before on instagram, or twitter as she is very well known for her beauty and style. She is so beautiful! I love her every day makeup, in fact it is very similar to my own. Her style is a mix between light grunge and chic, and its my fashion inspiration as well. I forgot to mention, her hair is very famous on tumblr, lovely, long brown locks.

I gather its pretty hard to see her eye makeup in this, however I love her style! Her hair is amazing as well. I can imagine it being very annoying though!! Just a side note- check out those abs! 

Her hair in this is just amazing, on her channel she has alot of tutorials on how you can achieve similar looks to hers. But honestly no matter how hard I try, my hair will never look as good as hers!

So finally a picture of her makeup, probably what you're reading to see. As you can see she wears a strong brow, with smoky eyes, winged liner and full eyelashes, with a cherry lip. It screams summer, and to switch it to fit the fall theme, just add a dark mauve lipstick and you're set. 

www.youtube.com/user/viviannnv

Moving on to Diana Curmei, from the youtube channel easy neon. Before I start can I just point out how beautiful she is. Her face is so inviting and so perfect. On her channel she gives tutorials on many different makeup looks and they are all very unique and not just the safe smoky eye most youtubers go for.

She is so beautiful, it annoys me to look at her. Her minimal eye makeup in this pair with the orange lip nicely and nothing is incorrect about this picture.  I love her flawless skin finish aswell.

This is the look I hope to attempt NYE. The eyes are completely matte which make them look so perfect and big. I like shimmer however I feel it can be messy if not done correctly. I love her eyeliner. It is gel eye liner she uses and as soon as i get chance im going to buy some as I've been safely sticking to liquid long enough!

This is what I mean by unique. GREEN EYELINER. Who would of thought? Funnily enough I tried this and it did not look the same on me as it did on her but there is always hope. For this look she used this inglot liquid that transforms any eye shadow into eyeliner. Quite cool if you ask me. 

www.youtube.com/user/easyneon

And finally, I guess I should show you my eye makeup. I have about 3 day to day makeup looks. The first is inspired by Vivian Vo Farmer. It incorporates a bit of shimmer, and is a messy smoky eye. The second is A clean matter smoky eye, resembling Diana's and Kylie Jenner's. Finally, my natural look which is inspired by Emily Ratajkowski's makeup in the blurred lines video.

This is my messy smoky eye. I use a dark shimmery brown, a mauve matte colour, and a lights gold for this look.

Thankyou so much for reading, and I hope you check out these youtubers! Let me know post suggestions down below!

Isabelle

Sales Haul

So, I was playing hockey early December, and stupid me- stood on the ball and have got ligament damage in my ankle. So I can't go to the sales. But fear not, that is what online shopping is for! So I ordered a couple things from boohoo, asos, and misguided. To be fair, some things were late Christmas presents but I did buy myself some nice clothes as well.

First thing I got from asos I wont show you on, as I don't think that would be particularly smart. I bought a strapless bra, which is an essential for the way fashion is going at the moment. With all the spaghetti strap  shirts and dresses, this piece is vital!

In the past I have never really shopped from missguided but from now on, I definitely will be. The shipping was fast and the variety of stuff is amazing. I first got this white crop top. It has triangle cut outs at the sides which I think is a nice touch. Also at the back it has a nice accent rose gold zip. I think some rose gold jewellery could pull the outfit together nicely. 

For ages I have seen pictures of chic fashionable women on Pinterest and tumblr and do you know what they are all wearing? A loose, baggy, white shirt. So I bought one. Stupidly, I ordered a size 6 instead of an 8 but it still looks baggy surprisingly. It's such a versatile peice and I love it.

Finally I bought some jeans. To be honest with you they don't fit. I put on so much weight over the winter months, I've managed to go up a dress size. In bottoms I was a size 10 but now I comfortably fit a size 12. Which I'm not happy with! So I bought these really nice jeans from boohoo.com in order to motivate me. 

Thanks so much for reading, and please leave me a comment! 

My Top 10 Musicals

Trust me when I say I've seen a lot of musicals. I've seen from All that Jazz to Billy Elliot, to Evita, to Wicked.Yes- some have been bad in my opinion and yes- some have been good. But today I am going to be listing my top 10. I apologize as not all of these will be currently be able to view on stage at this moment of time, but you can buy all of them on DVD barr a few.

Disclaimer: I have not seen all of these on stage, but I have seen all of them on DVD. I understand that the DVD can sometimes be a false representation of the show, but through combining youtube clips and the DVD, I'd say its as good as anything.

10- Little Shop Of Horrors: I am currently apart of this show in my school production. I play the role of Ronette the sassy street urchin. Some of the lines make me feel so much like such a strong, independent woman, my character may as well be Beyonce. When I do the show I will be uploading some pictures! I love this show because its such a fun loving atmosphere, and you fall in love with the dorky protagonist Seymour. He is not attractive in the slightest, yet him cute innocent face would make any girl swoon.

9-The Wizard Of Oz: I have also done this show with my school. However I wasnt as much in the lime light. I was just a background dancer but as they say there are no such things such as small parts, just small people! But I love this show because it just is so child friendly and makes you feel like an innocent child where you truly believe wishes came true. Those were the days.

8- Moulin Rouge: I absolutely love the dancing in moulin rouge. I just want get up and join in when ever I watch it, but then I realize maybe my friends wouldn't appreciate that. Jokes aside, the emotion in this film is unreal, its such a roller coaster from, humorous to sad, to romantic, and then to excited. Nicole Kidman really does portray Satine well! 

7-Matilda: Honestly, Matilda the musical is hilarious! I always used to wish I was like matilda and had magical powers to stop bullies when I was younger, and she just inspired me, also I became a better reader because of it. Its so magical, and I cried when the song 'When I grow Up' was on! It was beautiful.

6- Phantom Of The Opera: My only word for phantom is, WOW! The vocals that Christine does are truly magnificent! I definately would not want to be in a sing off with that character... I always have the song 'Think Of Me' in my head and it gives me goosebumps when she accesses that top B flat! 

5- Cats: I like love the dancing in this. But I must say the costumes earn its place. The vibrant cat suits with the vivid face paint make me so envious and I just want to be in it! 

4-Wicked: Two words, Idina, Menzel. She is so iconic and her voice is beautiful. Honestly, the top reason why I like wicked is because of the song 'Defying Gravity' it's so magical and I think it's a real theatre highlight. 

3-Thriller: I saw Thriller at Halloween this year, and it's so fun! The cast get you up on your feet dancing, speaking of dancing- WOW! Being a dancer I was SO impressed with the quality and the energy, also the outfits were amazing!

2-Les Miserables: You can't really put Les Mis into words until you see It. Whilst watching the film you can definitely enjoy the music. However, when you're watching it first hand, you feel the music and get goose bumps all over.

1-Billy Elliot: Honestly, Billy Elliot makes me cry every time I watch it. I love the story line and 'Electricty' is my favourite peice of contemporary choreography of all time, wow. It is a must see.

Thank you so much much for reading!