My top afrobeat tunes right now!

I love afrobeats with a passion, here's what I'm rocking to right now! 

1. Tiwa Savage - Kele Kele Love 

2. Wizkid ft Wale - Murder 

3. EL - Shelele

New Illustrations!

Hi guys, a while ago I went to HobbyCraft and I stocked up on promarkers so I've been non stop drawing, even in lessons when I have a little spare time. So here's what I've done!

1. 2014 Bridal

I've been trying to come up with ideas for this collection however it's not easy to create wedding dresses because there's a certain way they're supposed to look so It's coming on bit by bit lol.

2. 2014 Summer Ready Wear 

This is a bit of complicated green and pink crop top and looks quite cool in a drawing, however I would really like to see someone wear it Lol.

3. Drawing Blue hair with Pencils 

4. Inspired By Pin up girls!

5. Drawn, scanned and edited 

6. Beyonce on the run outfit

6. 2014 Bridal

Getting to know Izzy

Hi everyone, as you guys know I do interviews a lot on my blog and I think they're a really good way of getting to know people and I interviewed Izzy this time and she has A blog called Izzy K and you can find that by clicking here. We became blogger friends and so I asked a series of questions in one area she likes (beauty). You can talk to me, Izzy and Harriett on Beau Bloggers, where we have talks about blogging here. Lets get started!

1. What is your current facial wash?

Currently I'm using Simple's refreshing facial wash gel, smooth facial toner and vitamin foaming cleanser. I love their product range so much and it's perfect for people who have sensitive skin like me.

2. Do you exfoliate?

I exfoliate about once a week, because I think its important to keep your skin in good condition, but I don't want to over-do it.

3. What moisturizer do you use?

I'm using 2 moisturisers at the moment...both by Simple (surprise surprise!). I'm using the protecting moisture cream and hydrating light moisturiser.

4. Do you or did you have acne prone skin?

Luckily I've never had acne prone skin. I get the odd spot every now and again but I wouldn't go as far as to call it acne. In fact I have the complete opposite problem where my skin's way too dry.

5. What foundation and concealer do you use?

The foundation I'm wearing a lot at the moment is Wake Me Up by Rimmel. The concealer I'm using is match perfection by Rimmel.

6. What foundation and concealer do you recommend?

I would recommend the Wake Me Up foundation and concealer to anyone, but in particular those with tired looking skin that want to add a bit of a glow to it.

7. What do you think of false eyelashes?

I love big, dramatic lashes so I think that false lashes are a life-saver. The strip of lashes are quick to apply, but I find it can be a bit difficult to do and doesn't always look natural. I prefer to use the individual lashes, but they are a bit fiddly to apply.

8. What brand of mascara do you use?

I have two favourite brands of mascara that I love to use together: Soap & Glory and Rimmel. I find the Soap & Glory mascara is great for length and Rimmel is great for volume.

9. Sephora or mac?

I've never actually used either. I feel so inexperienced! But if I had to choose which one I would like to try the most I would say Mac. I'm dying to try their lipstick.

10. What makeup tools do you use in make up application?

I use the Real Techniques Foundation Brush for foundation...obviously. Then I use Superdrug's powder, bronzer and blusher brush. I also use Avon's angled eyeliner brush for eyeliner and other eye makeup that requires a small brush.

11. List the products you use on your face daily

When I start the day I use moisturiser, foundation, concealer, eyebrow pencil, bronzer, blusher, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick/gloss and powder. Then in the evenings I use the facial washes I listed above.

12. What is your favourite eyeshadow if you use any?

My favourite eye shadow palette is Barry M Summer Love as it is really bright and cute. I would love to get my hands on a Naked palette though.

13. Do you use pencil or liquid eye liner?

I use both pencil and liquid eyeliner, but for different things. Pencil eyeliner for my waterline because it doesn't smudge. And liquid liner along my eye lid because it looks really bold.

14. How often do you poke your eye with either pencil or mascara?

 Daily. I constantly poke myself in the eye with mascara. I'm actually so surprised that I've got eyes left.

15. Do you sometimes leave the house without makeup on? 

Hardly ever. Makeup is the first thing I put on in the morning and I rarely leave my room without it. I've gotten so used to wearing it, I don't feel myself without it. #tooaddicted

16. What do you think of makeup?

Ever since I can remember I've loved putting makeup on. Most people think girls wear makeup as "a mask of insecurity". But lets face it, makeup is ridiculously fun to apply.

Thanks to Izzy so much for talking to me! Please do follow and visit her blog via Google friend connect and bloglovin'. She will follow back! Join us in the blogger community too for more convo's and chat about blogging! 

My blogging tips and tricks

Happy Saturday guys! 

This week I got 2 emails from blog readers who wanted me to help them start up a blog. I gave them pretty good advice so I thought I'd turn it into a post. 

Blogs can be made straight away and in 5 minutes. You really want yours to stand out from the millions of blogs out there. Good news is that 90% of them suck and never update. That gives you a little hope! I'll run through what you need to do to set up one.

• Choose a niche (What will it be about)

Mine is about Fashion art, it can be a combination of one. It's not all the time that I stick to my niche. Sometimes I do posts on beauty and apparel.

• Choose a blogging platform (Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, Joomla)

If your unsure, the easiest one to start off with is Google's free Blogger.

• Customize your blog 

You can choose a custom blog template or you can start from scratch, if your a tech guru - you can download a template and then customize it. 

• Post some posts 
• Share your blog and your posts 
• Post consistently 

TRICK ONE: 

Download blogger on the go, or whatever you use

TRICK TWO:

List your blog on Technorati and Ice rocket

TRICK THREE: 

Use www.bloggingtips.com

The design dream.

Hello everyone! Warning this is a bit of a long post, so get comfy!

I was thinking of posts to do and this came into my head so why not? I'll be telling you about my biggest dream yet!

My dream is to be a fashion designer/fashion illustrator (preferably a designer) and I want a penthouse and room for a pony. In terms of how big the dream is it's super big because I want to be at the same level Chanel and Gucci are so it's going to take some work.

I would also like to have everything that would help me as an artist and I'll list the things I'm wanting really badly for art:

• The complete 147 Promarkers set
• The complete Copic Ciao Markers set
• Promarker fine nibs 
• Loads of Promarker bleedproof paper
• Windsor and Newton watercolour 
• Faber Castell Polychomos 
• Windsor and Newton paintbrushes 
• A lightbox 
• A big presentation folio
• A massive suitcase/fold up thing with individual slots for me to keep all these things.
• Finally every pigma micron product ever made! 

The dream is to have a big and bold label that starts off representing feminism and maybe later on a small Male section will be made. I hope it comes true! 

Lauren xo

Blog Update

Hi guys!

I know I haven't posted in 10 days now, that's because of none other but school. It's very busy and hectic! Anyway this is just a quick update to let you guys know that I've not given up on blogging lol. I'm still here. Izzy and I are very busy at the moment but soon we should have a guest post on each blog coming up.

Due to how busy I am, I cannot blog everyday. The best way to keep up is to join my blogger community which is on google and I think I've done two posts on it so far so check that out! Alternatively just click the link here to head over there x

Selfies.

Hi everyone! 

So lately busy isn't even the word! I'm off to Belgium for a day tomorrow and I get back quite late so no blog post tomorrow. 

Today's post is literally about the title and it's about selfies! I'm going to be telling you how to get the perfect selfies. 

Selfies are done with the front camera and it's really easy to capture your face (a full headshot). 

Okay example number 1. 

Might have to tilt your head a bit. This is a pic that has been taken in normal iPhone filter - mono. 

This is the same picture. How creative am I!? 

I have 3 main photo apps and they are: 

• Camwow 

• Retrica 

• Photowonder

They are amazing apps and they make you so beautiful! 

Photo wonder looks like this:

A lot of my pictures have a natural glow to the skin and I use this app to do that effect. As well as filters photo wonder has a lot to fix blemishes and spots.  This is an example of how good it makes your skin look: 

Camwow is another photo app I use. However this one is a filter camera instead of an actual editing app. I have Camwow retro and when you open it, it looks like this (however of course with your scene in it) 

If you swipe right you'll see more effects. My favourite Camwow effect is this one: 

Camwow does have an automatic watermark but that can be cropped out using any basic crop feature. (Btw these are all smiles from my trip to Belgium!) 

Next is my favourite photo app of all! Retrica! With over 200 effects you'll be taking selfies forever lol. I mean literally forever. Look: 

Lol! 

This is what retrica looks like: 

It's pretty straight forward and easy to use. Apple camera also have a pretty good filters for iPhone 4s and above. 

Show me your selfies! 

Instagram and Twitter mention me: @efyalaurenxox 

Guranteed follow and like. 

Thanks for reading! My next post has a lot of selfies in it too. Watch out.