My FashionistA Custom Palette

I decided to treat myself to a gorgeous FashionistA palette the other day while I was in Superdrug

If you are thinking about getting one now is the time to do it as they are doing a great offer 

You can pick your own style of palette and then fill it with either 4 gorgeous products for £10 or 6 for £15

I went for a four palette and decided to go for blushes and a bronzer 

Here are the colours I went for 

            Dubai                     London                          Amber Glow                  Blushing Coral

All the colours are really pigmented so do be careful or you will end up looking like a clown!

I'm really happy with all the products I chose 

but there were loads of other gorgeous shades to choose from 

and also some lovely eye shadows

The great thing about these palettes is that all the products in the range are designed to fit in all the palettes

so it is easy to mix and match

Great for travelling! 

Have you tried any of the FashionistA products?

What did you think of them?

Jen <3 

Halloween Through the Years!

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year!

I always have big plans for my costumes and then end up leaving it until the very last minute and throwing something together!

I really don't like going out and buying full costumes I much prefer to get creative and come up with my own!

I thought I'd give you a run down of some of the costumes I have worn over the years 

Alice in wonderland

I think I was only 18 when I wore this costume (God I feel old!)

This costume was bought for me by my friend when she was in Florida 

I'm pretty sure it was a Leg Avenue costume which you can get online 

Lady Gaga 

I can't remember what year this was but Lady Gaga had only just really made it big

So I was one of the only Gaga's I seen that night

I just pulled this together with bits I already had 

I did buy the wig though which was an absolute nightmare I was ROASTING all night! 

Leopard

I love leopard print so I decided that I would go as a DIY leopard in 2010

I got the jumpsuit from H&M and the ears from ASOS

I bought a tail and gloves from Claire's but the gloves were just a nuisance so I hardly wore them 

I loved my make up for this look 

I actually done a tutorial on it last week over at Laura's blog

you can see it here

Finally here is last years outfit!

Again the make up was my favourite part of this look

80's Madonna!! 

I wore sum cut off leggings, A black tutu

A black bodysuit (which was actually underwear) A leather jacket with cut off sleeves

and a TONNE of necklaces!!

So for the past few days I have been trying to plan what to wear this year

I have a party to go to on the Friday night and I'm also going out on the Saturday night

On the Friday night me and Craig are planning on going as LMFAO

I think this will be so funny if we can pull it off!

God knows where we are going to find a pair of leopard print leggings that will fit Craig though

On the Saturday night I want to go as Tinkerbell! 

I already have the perfect dress that I just need to attack with the scissors to make it more fairy like :)

Have you all decided what you are dressing up as yet?

What are your Halloween plans?

Jen <3

Beauty and the Beach - Ibiza Fever!!

After seeing it on a few lovely blogs 

I decided to enter Travel Supermarket's Beauty and the Beach Competition 

which you can enter yourself here

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/beauty-and-the-beach/

The competition involves creating a holiday look

which includes hair, make up and nails 

using your own original photography

So I thought what better to use than my actual holiday photos!

So this year I went to the wonderful white isle 

IBIZA!!

Ibiza is an amazing island where literally anything goes! so you can afford to be a bit more out there with your look than you normally would at home!

So here are my holiday looks Ibiza style!

Nails

These are the ultimate clubbing holiday nails 

Sunny and glittery what more could you want! 

Here's what I used 

Two coats of Sally Hansen French White Tip

Two coats of Missguided Splash polish in yellow 

One coat (on half the nail) of Technic in Carnival

HAIR

My hair tends to flick out a lot in the heat 

so I really prefer an up do on holiday!

and I like to do one that is versatile enough to take me from day to night

you can see my up do tutorial here

I like to change it up with different accessories

and when I'm hitting the clubs at night I like to get rid of my side fringe 

as those places can get sweaty! and sweaty separated fringes are NOT a good look 

Pleating the front section is a really good way of getting that hair out of your face 

and you basically don't have to worry about your hair again for the rest of the night!

*proof that this hair do holds up! this is me at the end of the night lol*

MAKE UP 

I don't wear any make up during the day on holiday

there is nothing worse than ending up with a big white face because it has been covered in make up all day! 

but at night time on in Ibiza there is only one thing for it

GO ALL OUT! 

Now this isn't something I would usually rock on a night out in Glasgow

but it was Cream opening night at Amnesia 

and I wanted to do something pretty special!

This look was created using a gold base 

MAC Pro Acrylic Paints  (High Def Cyan and Rich Purple)

 LOTS of glitter!!!

and some BIG fluttering eyelashes!

I loved this look, I felt amazing

I just wish I had taken more photos of it! 

So there it is, my Beauty and the Beach entry! 

I'm just gutted that summer is over :( 

Oh well bring on the wooly jumpers! 

Jen <3 

Emmys 2012 - Best and Worst On The Red Carpet

I kept my eyes open as late as I possibly could last night

to tune in to the E! coverage of The Emmys Live from the Red Carpet 

unfortunately I did fall asleep during it 

but before I did I seen some absolutely beautiful looks, and some well... not so much

Citrus colours were big news last night with Oranges and Yellows popping up all over the place! 

  Julianne Moore - Christian Dior Couture     Clare Danes - Lanvin              Kaley Cuoco - Angel Sanchez

Padma Lakshmi - Monique Lhuillier     Leslie Mann - Naeem Khan    Ginnifer Goodwinn - MoniqueLhuillier

I loved these bright colours they looked so refreshing! They gave me a lovely summery feeling even though I was tucked up in bed with the heating on while watching it! 

Leslie Mann had some gorgeous Turquoise jewellery on which I would never think to team with orange but I seen her getting interviewed and it looked amazing!

I will for sure be tuning in to E! again tonight to watch The Fashion Police 

So in true Joan Rivers Style I will give you a few of my best and worst dressed nominees.

I wonder if they will agree with me!

First up - Worst Dressed Nominees

Lena Dunham in Prada 

I feel like she has borrowed someone else's dress that is far too big for her! 

It is totally shapeless and makes her look much bigger than she actually is 

I'm also not loving the hair I think it looks a bit messy 

Sofia Vergara in Zuhair Murad 

I LOVE Sofia 

She is gorgeous, funny and has a figure to die for 

but this dress makes her look like a tacky mermaid

It does show off her gorgeous figure but she was spilling out of it up top when you seen her on camera

Lucy Liu in Versace 

Lucy looks a bit like a disco ball here 

I would have loved to have seen her following the yellow trend 

I have seen her in yellow before and it's beautiful on her

it really suits her skin tone! This washes her out

Now it's time for the Best Dressed Nominees 

Kat Dennings in J.Mendel

This dress was stunning on her 

the detailing on the bodice was beautiful and pulled her in at all the right places 

She was joking during her interview that she was worried about spilling out of it 

but like she said, her boobs aren't going anywhere so she may as well make the most of them! 

Good on you Kat, people would pay big money for those bad boys! 

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen

WOW Kelly looks amaazing in this!

I would never think to match my hair to my dress but this totally works for her

The shape that this dress gives her is absolutely beautiful

I am loving Kelly's style right now, everything I have seen her in has been gorgeous

Emily Vancamp in J.Mendel 

J.Mendel was definitely winning the designer wars last night in my eyes

I would absolutely love to try this dress on or have somewhere to wear it to!!

I love the colour even though it's not something I would have really thought of before

and I love the sheer neckline it shows enough skin without looking trashy.

So that was my round up of the 2012 Emmys

I was SO glad that Homeland cleaned up on the award front as it is my new favourite programme

and I can't wait for the new season to start next week!

Clare Danes looked amazing I hope I look that good when I'm pregnant!

Who are your best and worst dressed nominees?

Jen <3 

BARGAIN ALERT! Eyelure eyelashes

I would be terrified to add up the amount of money I have spent on false eyelashes over the years!

I have toyed with other brands from time to time but I always go back to my trusty Eyelure 101's

So yesterday I popped into Superdrug to get some for my night out

and noticed that the 3 for 2 deal was on 

This is a deal that comes around quite regularly 

and I always take advantage because I know I will get through them

However there seems to have been a bit of an oversight on Superdrug's part

Eyelure have brought out these promotional packs of eyelashes recently which include a free set!

I don't know if this is the case for every style 

but it did include my beloved 101's

and I also picked up a pair of 107's 

which are slightly less dense

 and more winged at the outer corner 

So for because of the 3 for 2 offer 

AND the free set in each packet 

I managed to pick myself up 6 pairs of lashes for the price of 2!!!!

now that's what I call a BARGAIN!!! 

Jen <3

The Friday Faux Pas #1

This is a new little feature I'm starting

I like to keep my blog fairly positive 

but I am all about honesty! 

Friday is a happy day usually 

So hopefully if I spread a little bit of negativity on a Friday nobody will notice too much! :)

Todays Friday Faux Pas 

is one that seriously grates on me!!

It is (in my humble opinion) the most hideous piece of footwear known to man...

THE KITTEN HEEL

ARRGGGGHHHHH it is hideous!!!

I just think they are so pointless and ugly

I understand that some people have trouble walking in skyscraper heels, but don't want to wear flat shoes

but that's why wedges were invented.

Now I love leopard print, and these are Jimmy's but still...YUCK!

Like the blog name suggests I am a Big Burd!

I'm about 5ft 9 so I certainly don't need the extra height that HIGH heels give me 

but I would seriously not be caught dead in a pair of these. 

My hatred of kitten heels is a well known fact among my friends 

and one of them even joked that she was going to buy these wellies for T in the Park

I really hope someone made these as some sort of joke! lol

So now that my little rant is over! 

Is there any fashion item that you can't stand the sight of?

Do you hate kitten heels as much as me?

Let me know in the comments

and remember ladies

GO HIGH...OR GO HOME

Jen <3 

Video killed the radio star

Evening lovelies

So I done something today that I have been thinking about doing for a while

and I made my first Youtube video!
ARRRGGGGGHHHH

Scary Stuff!!

Well I basically done it because there are certain things that I want to do for the blog 

such as hair and make up tutorials that are just really difficult to do when I'm on my own using just a digital camera! 

I think sometimes it would be so much easier just to film them!

which was why I took the plunge and done my first video! 

I'm aware that a lot you guys are not Scottish which is why I decided just to do The Accent TAG for my first video. Just to make sure you can all understand me before I start making any more videos!! 

Please have a watch and let me know what you think!

If you can't understand me or if I could be talking a bit clearer (I tend to mumble sometimes)

please let me know! and I also noticed I said EHMMM a lot lol so just ignore that! 

Jen <3

The Life Cycle Of A Fashion Trend

Last week I was contacted by the lovely Sally over at Top 5 Beauty

She sent me a really interesting e-mail about an article that was featured on the site.

It was an article written by David. In the article he explores where the latest styles and trends originate 

Do they come from the general public, Celebrities or are they influenced by the economy?

You can view David's original article here

It's a really interesting read as it's something I often think about. Who decides that red is the new black?

Or that tartan isn't just for weddings anymore?!

Sally then decided to do a follow up on David's article 

and get some feedback from bloggers

I was lucky enough to be featured in this fab article! 

Sally asked myself and lots of other bloggers two questions.

Here are my answers 

Jennifer from The Big Burd (@thebigburdblog)

1) Do you feel you have your own individual style, or do you tend to follow trends?

This is actually a far more difficult question to answer than I thought it would be. I mean it should be simple, It’s a personal question, I’m answering it about myself, yet I seem to be really struggling with it.

The thing is I don’t really know if I have an individual style or whether I am only picking out clothes because I think they are fashionable or because I think other people will like them.

I mean if someone told me this time last year that right now I would be wearing a pair of skin tight high shine leggings I would have laughed at them. Yet here I am trying to answer this question wearing a pair of disco pants!! but I do really like them…at least I think I do!

I’m really torn when it comes to fashion. Part of me thinks that people wearing bowler hats look really cool, the other part of me thinks that they look like absolute twats!

In conclusion I was terrible at answering that question and unfortunately I can’t really give you a straight answer! I would say I am easily influenced therefore I probably am a trend follower, without necessarily wanting to be!

2) What is the biggest influence in your fashion choice?

I think the main influence in my fashion choice is my mood. especially when it comes to colour. I probably don’t notice it on a daily basis but when looking back through outfit pictures it becomes more obvious. I have been going through a bout of depression recently and have been wearing more black clothes than ever! I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

I would say I am also influenced by the media, I buy a lot of magazines and watch a lot of TV and I am influenced by the things I see celebrities wearing.

I also thing my style changes depending on who I’m with, different groups of friends, family members, work colleagues sometimes it is easy to feel that you need to dress a certain way depending on where you are or the company you are with.

I am also definitely influenced by my fellow bloggers! reading blogs is by far my favourite way of getting outfit inspiration. It’s so refreshing to see an outfit that’s been styled by the person wearing the clothes and not just put on them by a professional stylist! It’s also nice to see clothes on people with realistic bodies! not airbrushed celebrities!

Like I said in my answer it was a far harder question to answer than I thought it would be!

I'd be really interested to hear what your answers would be!
Please comment below and let me know! 

You can read Sally's full article here

It features lots of lovely bloggers so you can get to see what they all think! 

Jen <3 x

Aztec Camera

Possibly my 5th consecutive Black OOTD

See to be honest. I like black 

It makes me feel secure 

However I swear I will try and inject a bit of colour into my next outfit post

A change of scene for you today

This is the kitchen, most of the walls in my house are some shade of beige so it is hard to differentiate between rooms! but this little Tea Time sign is pretty cute, I think it's from Dunelm Mill

Cardigan - Peacocks 

Vest Top - H&M

Leggings - Dorothy Perkins 

Not a very inventive outfit today but I'm not planning on going out I've got a busy day of phone calls to Lawyers because hopefully by the end of this week I will no longer be a home owner :)

For those of you who don't know I own a flat with my ex partner 

When we split up I moved back in with my parents and he stayed in the flat.

It has been a LONG and tedious process (2 years!!) to get my name off the deeds 

and my life has been at somewhat of a standstill because of it.

It is very nearly over though and I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Maybe when the final papers are signed I will do an extra colourful OOTD to celebrate! lol 

Hope you are all having a good week so far!

Jen <3 x

I got my new shoes on!

I'll start by saying I have never bought any sort of clothing or shoes on Ebay...

I know right?! lol 

So I took my first dip in the Ebay pool the other day and I've gotta say I kiiiinda love it 

When these babies turned up on my doorstep

(Well in fairness I had to go to the post office to collect them but you get my drift)

I was super excited if a little skeptical 

I was half expecting them to be falling apart, purely because I had never bought anything off Ebay

but they turned up just as beautiful as I'd hoped they would be!

If I had to describe these shoes in one word it would be FIERCE!

I could do some serious damage with those spikes!

They are suede effect with silver spikes 

and they are actually super comfy

(I will correct myself if I'm wrong after I have actually worn them for a full night) 

I am planning on wearing these to my friends 30th birthday tomorrow night 

There are 26 of us going through to Edinburgh for the night so I'll get some outfit pics to show you! 

I can't wait to wear them 

but...I have heard people saying that a few nightclubs are being funny about letting people in wearing spiked shoes!

Has anyone else heard this?

So needless to say I am a total Ebay convert

these only cost me £18.99 plus p+p which was about £5 as I needed express delivery

have you picked up any Ebay bargains?

Jen <3 x

Poundland Bargains!

I know everyone has been raving about Poundland recently 

I'm sure you have all heard by now about the Stila bargains

Well every time I pass my local Poundland, A shop I once ignored I now go in for a snoop around.

 My local one does have Stila products but the colours aren't for me, 

but I did pick up some amazing bargains

*Uptempo Plum - Ruby Rush - Presto Pewter*

I have been using Sally Hansen nail products for a long time now

and ever since I stopped getting acrylic nails a few years ago Sally Hansen products have really improved the condition and strength of my nails!

I am used to paying around £6 a bottle for these products so when I seen them for £1 I was delighted

When these beauties say Insta-Dry they mean it! I couldn't believe how quickly they dried! 

*Shimmering Lilac*

Unless my eyes deceive me this definitely looks more pink than lilac but hey ho it's pretty either way

I have used HARD as NAILS before but it was the clear version so hopefully this will be just as good!

Since I was on a nail spree I decided to pick these up as well

I usually buy one of these buffing blocks in Bodycare for about 70p but 3 for £1 plus 2 toe dividers was even better! 

Last but not least I picked up this 

It's an exfoliating shower gel with a really lovely vanilla ice cream scent!

I usually go for something with a more fruity smell but I thought this would make a nice change!

I would say I done pretty well for £6!

What do you reckon?

Have you picked up any beauty bargains recently? 

Jen <3 x

OOTD & My Anniversary Gift

Sunday night's #bbloggers chat on Twitter was all about photography

This is something I don't know a great deal about 

So I was really looking forward to picking up some tips!

The main thing I took from the chat was that most readers are attracted to large bright photos 

and are really put off by small photos

Looking at my blog posts I have realised that mine were probably too small. 

I am determined to improve my photography skills and thought this would be the perfect post to try out some new methods.

Dress: Zara

By the way I just realised that in every single outfit post I have done I am wearing all black!

I swear I wear colour sometimes!! lol 

I mentioned the other day in The Boyfriend Tag that Craig had bought me a beautiful present for our anniversary. I totally wasn't expecting this! He really is such a sweetheart 

He bought me a stunning Michael Kors MK-5128 watch 

I'm sure you have seen these babies adorning the wrist of many a blogger but I just wanted to share it with you. 

Such a lucky girl :) and there was me thinking he had forgot our anniversary all together! 

So there it is my new baby :)

I hope you all think these photos are looking a bit better 

It is definitely a work in progress but I am trying 

any more tips would be very appreciated!

Jen <3