My week in pictures - the restaurant edition

This week was purely about food, i visited two new restaurant that i have never been to in Birmingham and i loved each one, both had different themes and ambiances.

The Arabic style lantern light was from a Arabic restaurant and the food was exquisite! Tried some new dishes which was great, the second pic was from a grill house but the decor was lime green and lemon yellow with a beautiful Arabic decor, this is the writing from the Holy Quran and it looked beautiful and i liked how the black contrasted with the green and yellow. Lastly i had to take a pic of my OTT nobbly bobbly ice cream a childhood fave and they still taste the same!

MAC Hey Sailor collection for SS12

If you’re a lover of all things nautical, prepare to get excited about the new Hey Sailor! collection from MAC Cosmetics.

An oceanic themed collection of bright colours and bronzers, the new range has everything you need to get set for summer whatever the weather.

While the collection comprises a full range of face, eye, lip, nail and body products, there also is the limited edition Red Racer lipstick, the cheekily titled Nude On Board longwear bronzing powder, and the Man Rays shimmering body oil. Gorgeous!

Also don't forget to check out the Zoom Waterfast Lash mascara too. In a luscious shade of black, it really doesn’t budge.

Available for eight weeks as of May 3rd, prices start at £9.

The must have hand cream!

Images courtesy of Google


These hand creams are from the L'Occitane and if you have not heard of this brand then you better pop down to their nearest store because they have amazing hand,face and body products. They use natural ingredients and i would recommend booking a consultation with these guys because during my consultation the staff were vey professional and i got to use the WHOLE new brightening range.
At £8.00 these hand creams are popular with celebs and the public, so many are sold each day and the cream works wonders for your skin.
As stated on the L'Occitane website, 'A super-smoothing--and best-selling--synergy of 20% Shea Butter, honey and sweet almond extract, blended with the light and alluring aromas of jasmine and ylang-ylang essences. Texturally pleasing balm glides on and miraculously absorbs to help heal and protect dry or dehydrated skin. Anti-oxidizing vitamin E helps nourish. Invites even the most hard-working hands to a fresh beginning'.


Have you ever tried the hand cream or any other product from L'Occitane?

NEW Chanel make up for the summer season 2012

Swatches of the whole collection.

Images courtesy of Google

Here is another amazing collection by Chanel and this time it's the summer collection! Chanel has captured the essence of summer perfectly while replicating the natural glow of sunbathed skin with luminous bronze, gold and copper tones. Playing up a radiant complexion with season-perfect lip shades, from fresh pastels to bright corals.

I like the lip shades and the bronzers because i feel that they are the stars of the whole collection and they truely represent summer, Chanel never fails to impress the crowd, the colours and quality are always at it's best. I guarantee this will be another hit with the public.

Violent lips - temporary lip tattoos

The South African flag!

Images courtesy of Google


These lip tattoos have been out for quite some time now and there has been a mixed reaction with the public, kind of a love/hate relationship.

At first when i saw these i thought how bizarre and a crazy idea to have patterned lips but now i think it's outrageously awesome! Violent lips have covered a vast range of patterns and designs... which includes animal print, floral print, patterns such as lace and polka dots, bedazzled look that has OTT glitter, different flags, with words and my fave the candy sprinkles look. The range of designs never seem to stop growing and the application is really easy to do, these last upto 4 to 8 hours and they are easy to remove too! just by using a baby wipe or baby oil with a cotton wool bud.

Currently some designs are being sold at Topshop, £1o for each pack, pack includes 3 tattoos.

Would you ever try these out?

Featured on the bloggers homepage

I was shocked to see one of my blogposts on the homepage of Bloggers amongst other popular blogposts, i would always check to see if any of my posts where on the homepage and i used to think, there are many so many bloggers what are the chances of MY post being featured here... but now i am aiming for blogger of the day, if you check out the bloggers homepage, the editors pick 3 bloggers daily to be the blogger of the day and i am still waiting for that day to come!

new falsies...

Both came with an instruction leaflet and glue.

'natural' ones

girly ones

Currently i am having an obsession with false eyelashes and what better way to shop from ebay, i found a really good deal for these ones and i wanted to add these to my kit.
So far i have 4 pairs but i am always on the look out for natural ones and dramatic ones.
Lately so many celebs have been endorsing eyelashes... from Girls aloud to Katy perry!
You can buy Katy's products from Topshop, i have seen the collection and they seem very basic and natural to me.
I hope to do my future eye looks with these falsies so you can see how they look on me.

Time for nail art

It's been a while since i did some nail art, if you remember while back i did a nail art tutorial for vintage roses here's the link: http://zaras-bowsandpearls.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/vintage-floral-nails.html

I decided to get my polishes out and create some random effects, i used only Barry M nail polishes and i created two looks, the first look kind of reminds me of the sea hence the pearls and the teal/white combination. I have never used this colour combination and i think it does work really well.

The second look is based on a 'rock chick' theme i used a hot pink for the base coat and the instant nail effects in black to see how it would come out and again i am loving this combination too.

Make up in chocolate that is!

Like i promised here is that chocolate make up set that i absolutely adore, truly is every make up artist's dream to have one. Thought I'd take a pic before it's all eaten up. What do y'all think?

NEW make up product: Lip boom by Alexandra Burke for MUA

Images courtesy of Google

Created by Alexandra Burke for MUA.

Lipstick and highlighting gloss that creates fuller curvaceous lips for a dramatic illusion of volume. This product is somewhat similar to Maxfactor's flipstick but this has a different range in colours.

There are 4 ways to transform your lips.

1. Lipstick alone for a matte look.

2. Lipstick with highlighter applied just to the centre of your lips to create a full volume illusion.

3. Lipstick with highlighter all over for a super-glossy look.

4. Highlighter alone for a sheer pearl finish.

There are 8 amazing shades in the range, available to buy online but will be released in stores at superdrug on the 9th of May... The price, only £3.00 each.

Currently these products are creating a hype and there is positive feedback with this product but i will have to test this out myself to see if this is worthy of a hype.

My week in pictures - girly edition

I noticed while collating, the collection seemed girly and indeed, my week was! 

I bought this insanely cute make up set but it was made out of chocolate! every make up artist's dream, haven't eaten it yet, i will post a full image of the set soon for you all to see!

The second image is a lil nail art kit i bought two days ago, i am obsessing with the holographic glitter... i am such a magpie when it comes to shiny things.

Lastly, some OTT decorated cupcakes, i haven't seen such over decorated cupcakes and i had to include this, reminds me of when i was a kid and baking those cakes from those ready made kits.

It's all about highlighting!

One of the looks you can create, gives the illusion of a fuller lip.

Six combinations to choose from.

Images courtesy of Google.

Max Factor have released a new lipstick named the Flipstick – a double-ended lipstick which features one rich and creamy colour and one light iridescent lipstick shade for you to highlight and also creates the illusion of a more fuller lip.

We once used to highlight face areas such as high cheekbones, below the brows and the cupids bow but now you can highlight the lips too!

Max Factor have come up with three top ways to wear the Flipstick:

If applying both shades at once apply the darker creamy shade first with the light iridescent shade on top for a dramatic look with lots of depth.

To add another dimension to your lip colour try sweeping one shade over your lower lip and the other shade to your upper lip.

For a third look, try outlining your lip with one side of the flipstick, then swap ends and fill in with the other end for a graphic texturized lip.

If the flipstick sounds like something you might want to experiment with then head to Superdrug and pick one up for £6.49.

I am on tumblr too!

You would think one blog would be enough but now i have two!

My tumblr account is simply going to be images ONLY, images that inspire me/that i like or anything random. i try to update it daily but my main blog will always be Bows and Pearls.

I hope you guys check it out 

Here's the link: My tumblr

Another exciting news, I will be starting my own business in make up artistry. I don't want to reveal so much now but i'll keep you updated as time goes on... 

Accessory obsession

Peter pan collar necklaces!

Images courtesy of Google

I have seen these amazing statement jewellery everywhere, from H&M to Topshop and the price varies from £7 - £30.

I think this is the best invention in jewellery since the aztec/bollywood headband.

I love how this changes the look of tees,dresses or any other clothing item that has no collar.

This is just too cute to ignore,and it you can get any style/colour you want it's not just the same beaded one all the time... I do have my eyes on the one they are selling at River Island...

Would you ever purchase this accessory? (because i know i would!!!)

Latest obsession: Magnetic nails

Images courtesy of Google

I finally give in to this craze! nearly every single nail polish brand has released their own line of magnetic polishes.

I have seen some of them but Barry M is the one for me, especially because you are not limited with the design like the others (the usual stripe effect)

When Browsing through the Barry M nail varnishes i happened to like the blue shade more and i have loving the design that is left behind by the magnet (it's the picture at the top)

at £4.99 a bottle am sure it's well worth each penny.

NEW Barry M magnetic nail polishes

Images courtesy of Barry M and Google

HOW EXCITING IS THIS?! I cannot wait to get my hands on this!

Magnetic nails have been creating a stir lately and nearly every nail polish brand had one but now Barry M have launched a new magnetic polish available in 4 colours!!! dark silver, violet, burgundy and blue.

Each one creates it's own design.

How to use: Step 1. Before you start SHAKE WELL. Step 2. Apply one coat and let dry. Step 3. Apply second coat and IMMEDIATELY hover the magnet over the nail for 5 seconds so effects appears.

Currently on sale at boots at a price of £4.99 each, out of all of the possible colours and designs i choose the blue one to be my fave! i hope to buy this soon and review it (that's if it hasn't already been sold out)

Human Fundamentalism by Illamasqua

Images courtesy of Illamasqua and Google

This is the latest collection by Illamasqua and i am loving the outrageousness!

This collection is all about expressing yourself and how you would portray your personality, judging by the colour palette am guessing an outgoing, confident and outspoken individual.
It states on the website that " Human fundamentalism is an explosion of your alter ego. It's becoming who you are not who you're told to be. We stand for freedom of expression, embracing our glorious imperfections and showing the world we're not ordinary but extraordinary, even if the society refuses to accept it."
I like how each collection has a deep meaning to it, Illamasqua is known for it's high quality and bizarre colour collections.
It's great to see collections like this in stores because it allows you to experiment with colour and express yourself truely. 
Seeing this collection made me want to purchase some products, i have never tried Illamasqua products before but i know they never fail to disappoint the public.