Review: The Luxe Life by Fleur de Force

 If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have noticed that I recently met Fleur de Force at the signing of her new book The Luxe Life in Birmingham. If you haven't heard of Fleur, she is one of the leading 'beauty guru's' on YouTube, and is the person who got me into beauty four years ago! Meeting her, her husband Mike and her little dog Piglet was such a pleasure, and really got me in the mood for reading this second book...

First of all, what I really like about The Luxe Life is that it's a hardback and so is more durable and worth the extra bucks. Secondly, the design is beautiful, it has a rose gold spine and a nice light modern style to it, which sets up the attitude of the whole book - sophistication with a modern, young twist. The inside is just as beautiful, with Fleur modelling the contents of the book in various pages.
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The Luxe Life is what Fleur defines as the 'older sister' to her first book The Glam Guide (review here), which I think is an apt description. This book is less of a basic guide and more of how to really amp up your life through the smallest details. As much as I enjoyed her first book, it was a beginners guide, and I felt that I knew quite a lot of the tips and tricks through being an avid beauty lover myself. The Luxe Life however, has taught me a lot more about different topics such as decor, hosting and also the art of gifting. I believe that I am getting this book at the right time, as I am currently at that age where I care about my surroundings aesthetically and just want to start carving a nice life for myself.

Another thing I enjoy about both of her books is that you can pick them up and read a random chapter. If I want new hairstyle designs then I can go skip straight to that part to gain more inspiration. Because of this feature, these books make excellent coffee table/guest bedroom books as they are well-suited to the casual reader. 

As much as I wanted to show snippets of the inside of the book, I believe that you should really purchase the book if you want to see more. Check out Fleur's Instagram for some of the photography inside the book! The Luxe Life  retails at £18.99 however it is currently £9.00 on Amazon.

I would love to know if this book is something that you are also interested in, so let me know in the comments below. Also be sure to follow my blog on Bloglovin! I would love to see you subscribe!

September 2015 Favourites!

I haven't done a favourites in so long, so I thought you guys deserved an update on what I am loving! This month I was in India and so it was a...different month to all the rest for sure.

So before jetsetting to India, I wanted to update my Ipod and while I did do that, I wanted to listen fully to an album I had never listened to, and so I chose Maroon 5's album V 'cause I like Maroon 5 and that was all the reason I needed. I love this album now! My favourite songs are 'In Your Pocket' and 'This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like a Mother*****r' the last one fit to a tee in regards to the blistering heat I was in. I love all the other ones too, but I thought you guys should check out those two! Another favourite is Dan Brown, I love his books, he is just so captivating when he writes! I have read all of the Robert Langdon series (which I think are my favourite), and I took Angels and Demons to India for another reread since I know it's awesome and I won't get bored. I also took Digital Fortress which I have never read and that was such a good read! Again, it's fast paced and a real page turner and it's got so many twists in it that you'll be astounded! If you love learning new things on a range of different topics then Dan Brown's books are something to check out. What I love is that his books are fact based, however it's the events that are fictional and so you can really get sucked into the book! I'm so not obsessed.

Make up wise, I've been obsessing over my new NARS blush in the shade LibertÉ  (£23.00/4.8g) because it's such a different colour for me! It's an burnished apricot shade, which adds some colour and life to the cheeks but also some definition as well. Honestly, I've been wearing it every day now that I have come back (I didn't want to risk anything happening to it in India, so I didn't take it). I will do a full review on this products very soon! So be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it! In India I did discover some gems which can withstand the excessive heat and the MUA Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tints (£3.00/2.5ml) in the shade Bring it Back was one of them. It's a nice sheer wash of brown which surprisingly didn't crease or budge, and when applied it doesn't look too much either, which I preferred because when your face is melting off, less make up is usually better! The price is very affordable and I am really happy with the product as a whole! If you haven't tried eye shadow sticks before then this is a nice introductory one! The last favourite I have been gravitating towards is the Loved by Lou Lesage tinted lip balm, which was part of the My Little Dream Box I got a few months ago. I like that this is more of a lip balm than a tint, it's so nice and nourishing that you can still feel it on your lips after an hour. Also the tint is lovely too, it's not too strong and you still can have that choice of how deep you want the colour to show. This is a really nice product that is perfect for any handbag!

That's about it for my favourites! What are your favourites this month? I would love to know! Also if there are any Dan Brown fans out there let me know in the comments below!

Be sure to subscribe and  follow me on Bloglovin' so you don't miss out on any of my posts! I would love to see you around!

My In-Flight Essentials!

I feel like it's a bit late to do a post like this since summer is almost over but on Thursday I will be on my way to India, which is scary and exciting at the same time! I love to travel and planes are my absolute favourite form of transport. Since I travel abroad often I thought I would share my inflight essentials which  help the journey go a bit smoother!

1) Entertainment

Whether it be a books, music or a magazine, I love to take the time I have and turn it into a sort of relaxing pamper session. Although in longer flights you can utilise the inflight entertainment I still like to take something of my own incase I don't feel like watching what's on offer.

On this trip I am taking Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (£7.99) with me, it's something I have read before and so I can settle into the fast paced story-line knowing that I  love the book and won't get bored half way through.  If you haven't read this book and love learning about religion and history with some scandalous theories thrown in then this book is definitely one to read!

My iPod is another thing I can't live without, so I'll be taking that whilst trying out my new Phillips SHE3900 In-Ear Headphones (£30.00), which look so cute! (my go-to earphone brand is Sennheiser, but I thought I would try something different for a change!).

2) Clothing 

If you are on a longer flight, like mine, the plane usually gets pretty cold so I'm taking a pair of fuzzy socks in my carry on item so that I can change into them once I'm on the plane. It's usually best to wear layered items, and some sort of jacket is always needed so I'm taking my Abercombie and Fitch jacket which I have had for years and it's still warm and comfortable (Similar one here).

3) Beauty

No surprise here that beauty manages to get it's foot in the door into all of my posts! I'm going to depot my La Roche Posay Cleanser (£11.00/200ml) and Moisturiser (£15.50/40ml) so that I can refresh myself at my layover in Delhi, and as for makeup, I'll be taking bareMinerals Matte SPF Foundation (£26.00/6g) since its an easy loose powder and my Revlon Colourstay Concealer (£6.99/6.2g) just for a bit more coverage. Another item I would definitely recommend taking is a hair tie - I get really fussy with my hair and although I usually like it out, in the plane I will definately tie it up so that it's not in the way. I usually forget to take one in my bag so I like to make sure that I have one already prepared!

I feel like I am fully prepared for my flight! I would love to know what things you take while you are travelling! I leave on Thursday so if I'm missing something let me know!

The Glam Guide by Fleur De Force

Hey Everyone!

So as soon as I realised Fleur, from the popular blog and YouTube Channel 'Fleur De Force', was releasing her own book, I knew I had to pre-order it so I wouldn't miss a thing. Reading it these past few days (in the midst of my university work) has really been enjoyable. I really wanted to share my thoughts about this with you guys...

Fleur's book is called 'The Glam Guide' and I think what appeals to me the most about this book is that she is giving everyone her expertise and advising everyone about how they should approach topics like make-up, skin-care and fashion among other things. It's not a rule book it's a guide that can be applied to anyone however they like. Everyone can learn from this book, even myself, I found the fashion part the most appealing as I need tips on what to buy and why. That's another thing - Fleur tells you exactly why she is saying something so you can easily see where she is coming from, the book itself is very readable and relatable, like your older sister (who is amazing at everything) sharing her knowledge with you. I love that I get that experience from this book.

I think this is a great starter guide to becoming a woman (as weird as that sounds), how you should take care of yourself and the essentials of beauty. I think it spreads a very positive message, grooming versus being excessively overdone. She remembers who her audience is and so she gives recommendations of her favourite products (which I know well from watching her videos for the past 3 years), but also DIY versions and cheaper alternatives.

She created a section that explained what chemical nasties might be in skin-care and make-up products,  I found this the most enlightening as you hear what people tend to stray from (parabens) but not why. This is a nifty little section and what I liked most about it is that she didn't claim to stay away from it all, since a correlation between an ingredient and cancer does not point to causation.

The presentation of the book is amazing too, I love the rose gold metallic stars on the cover, I also love the illustrations inside the book as well as the photos of Fleur modelling for the topic she is talking about. The mix of visual and text is exactly what you need when you want to think about fashion and beauty. Everything is there for a reason.

I think the part of the book that I didn't learn that much from is the make-up and skin-care bits but honestly that's just me, these past few years I have attained the same tips and tricks on how to approach those areas. Even so, I still enjoyed reading it because I like to hear her thoughts on things, I'm a huge fan of Fleur since she is practically the reason that I got into beauty, her channel on YouTube was the first I subscribed to three/four years ago, and still to this day I still trust her recommendations above anyone else.

I think if you are into things like this - tips and tricks on how to have that balance between everything girl-related, then this book is definitely for you. I think this is a book most girls should have since it covers a lot of topics easily and with the right amount of depth too.
I enjoyed it, I hope you guys will too :)
If you want to buy it you can purchase it on Amazon for £7.49, but it's also available in store at Waterstones and W H Smith (prices may vary)!

It's hard to review books without giving too much away! but I hope you enjoyed this review!

Anjna x