The Faux Bob - Granite City Style

Hi everyone, so today I am going to take you through a quick and easy hair tutorial for you gals out there who maybe like me don't want to spend too much time on your hair but still want your lovely locks out of your face for a while.

What you will need

Curling Iron

Dry shampoo (if you have day old hair/grease prone hair)

A Large Grip hair clip
A smoothing comb (ideally)

As many bobby pins as you have! (I cannot stress this enough)

Hair Spray / finishing spray (if you live in Scotland LOTS of hairspray!)

Step 1:

If you have day old hair I suggest using a little dry shampoo, not only to make it more manageable, but if like me you have grease prone hair it will also make for a nicer finish.

Step 2:

Clip the top layer of your hair on top of your head (or wherever comfortable and out of your face) and using the curling iron curl even sections of your hair. You can make it as curly or wavy as you want it will all depend on the look you are going for, I tend to make it fairly wavy rather than hardened curls. Spritz the layer with hairspray and then do your top layer.

Step 3 (OPTIONAL):

Once you have curled the entirety of your hair flip all of your hair upside down and gently backcomb the roots of your hair to give yourself a bit of volume (spritz again with hairspray) If you do backcomb and it goes a bit awry then just give it a once over with the smoothing comb.

Step 4:

Sweep all of your hair over to one side and begin rolling your hair upwards into a bun / ball of awesome hairiness. And (this is not the techy techy term) START PINNING!

ET VOILA

So guys that's that the hair look I've been loving so far this Summer, if you have any questions for me about this tutorial or have any suggestions of what you would like to see in the future be sure to drop me a comment, tweet at me on Twitter or come find me on Bloglovin!

Hope to hear from you soon!

H. Elizabeth xx

What I Wore | Casual Mondays through Sundays

Hello everyone, computer problems are still reigning supreme over at our house, diagnosis slow with a case of the human lazies. Sorry guys!

Anyway I know how much all of you readers, fellow bloggers and indeed vloggers out there love a good ol' 'what I wore post' so here goes my millionth. Today's outfit is very casual but I like to think classy and incredibly comfy, my personal summer favourite.

What I wore on my body

Top - Plain black 3/4 sleeved slinky top, Dorothy Perkins, this top is so comfortable and form flattering especially for curvacious ladies like me and it honestly cost me £3 in a sale.

Bottoms - My one true bottom love, dark jeggings, Urban Outfitters.

What I wore on my head and face...and neck actually

Hair - Oh no it's all gone!!! Not really, but stay tuned for my faux bob tutorial coming up later this month!
Face -  Benefit PoreFessional Pore Minimiser / Primer
L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Make up (Porcelain)
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Fair)

Eyes - L'Oreal Colour Riche Eye Pencil (Midnight Black)
Clinique Mascara (whose name eludes me, sorry guys!)

Neck - Another lovely gift one from my future sister in law. I believe this lovely futuristic / grecian style statement necklace is from Topshop.

Hopefully you have enjoyed my casual what I wore post today, I really just wanted to do a sort of plain ish style 'WIW' post because I feel a lot of the time, whether explicitly or implicitly, the online foakals will lead readers and viewers to believe you need to break the bank in order to look good and feel confident within yourself...well I'm calling it! This outfit was achieved in under £20 and I feel fantastic when I wear it (unless I bloat!)

So stay tuned for some up and coming hair tutorials, little life posts and fingers crossed for a spending splurge sometime soon! If there is anything you would like to see more of or if you would even like to see something a bit different going on on the Granite City Girl drop me a comment below, come chat to me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date come follow me on Bloglovin!

Catch you on the next one.

H.Elizabeth xx

New Additions | Feeling Comical

A few weeks ago I went on a bit of a spending binge, I'm afraid it progressively got worse the further along I my dissertation was coming, probably as a result of filling the void where my social life used to exist... but I'm pleased to report that it is indeed working its magic. So I thought it was high time to post something, since hibernation/dissertation mode has also robbed me of my blogging time and since this binge is literally all I have to share right now, here are my latest and greatest wardrobe buys!

Comic Print Midi Skirt - Miss Rebel

You know I just had to! Having just visited the London Super Comic Con 2014 back in February when I bought this I was in super geek comic pop arty mode. I have since worn this once it's a lovely fit for girls with a fuller figure with lots of curves like myself, however there is a rather unfortunate word placement on the skirt with the word 'crack' being right across your booty.... comical indeed!

Star Wars Baggy T - H & M

My new best ever favourite sleepy loungy comfy top ever. This top is never off my back it's quite a long fit so on hot nights I'll wear it as a nighty and it can always be paired with my loverly furry sleepy boots. As you can see I have been a very indoorsy person as of late....I blame sheer exhaustion from university but I promise as Summer rears its head things will get better!

Space Shorts - Topshop

Oldies, goodies and I wish I could still fitsies!!! These faded space patterned shorts got me through Summer 2012 / 2013 in style, before the pre graduate pounds crept onto my waist!

Spacey, Geekery Jewellery

As you can see from the pics above I love accessorizing my geekery clothing with equally geeky jewellery like my star trek emblem earrings which I acquired from London Super Comic Con 2014. If you'd like to know where I got the specifics leave me a comment below!

Well those are my latest and greatest comical geeky best buys, if you guys have been loving any and all things 'geek' lately drop me a comment I would love to check those out. As always you can find me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date with the latest Granite City Girl posts catch them all on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth xx

What I Wore | Fairytale Fashion

Yaaay it's that time of year again (well that one day a year we get here in good ol' Aberdeen) where the sun has got his hat on and makes our great city glitter, Summer! And what better way to celebrate than to dig out the wardrobes summer finest, and in turn celebrate the up coming release of Disney's Maleficent at the end of May.

What I Wore on my Body

Vest - 'Who is the fairest of them all' Metallic Fairytale Vest, H & M (incredibly comfy!)
Jeans - High Wasted Light Wash Jeans, Topshop
Feet- Plain black pumps, New Look

What I Wore on my Head and Face 

Hair - Iron Curled Ends (using straighteners) otherwise straight all over.
Face - Nivea Moisturizer
Collection Lasting Perfection (Fair)
Eyes - L'Oreal Colour Riche Crayon Le Khol (Midnight Black)
I used a trio of colour from my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
Lips - Burts Bees Lip Balm

Given the weather has been so good my skin has been behaving incredibly well (I put it down to the rays we Aberdonians have been catching lately!) and all I have been using on a daily basis is my regular moisturizer and a touch of concealer to get rid of any redness or blemishes, fingers crossed this continues throughout the coming months!

So that is my homage to fairytales and princesses of Summer, it may be a tad dull but I'm afraid this is often as bright as we get here in Aberdeen. I have been working on a few new hairstyles inspired by the vintage ladies of the 1950's and 60's in addition to a few You Tubers I have been loving lately (Cherrydoll Face to name one, go check her out!) so if you enjoy trying something a little vintage and something a bit different stay tuned for my take on these timeless classics.

As always you can catch me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date with the latest with Granite City Girl follow me on Bloglovin, catch you on the next one.

H. Elizabeth xx

Rituals | Foaming Body Wash Review

So as you may know from a previous post a fee months back I bought Glamours latest and greatest beauty box and I was so over the moon, intensely excited to try out all of the new products. Now I find myself needing to use an invisibobble over a regular hair tie, I am in love with the lush lashes Miss Manga has continued to give me and I wouldn't be without my minty Burt's bees!

However there was a wee surprise product which I did not expect to love even half as much as I do and that is the Rituals Zensation Organic Rice Milk & Cherry Blossom Foaming shower gel sensation... Quite a mouthful I know! 

Usually unless there is a fantastically amazing sounding scent such as my Philosophy Apple pie gel, a wildly luxe brand like Molten Brown or even something a bit different from Lush, shower gel doesn't tend to enthuse me. So upon throwing this into my gym bag only last week I didn't think twice about what I had in store!

Scent

First of all the smell, my goodness the smell! Mouthwatering, sweet and positively luxurious. I tend to get confused hearing things like 'cherry blossom' or 'rice milk' unless it's spelled out for me like apples or strawberries I am pretty clueless. But such a gel deserves a beautiful name, top marks for my refreshing and femininely scented body after using this foamy delight.

Sensation

The feeling of the gel wasn't like the traditional foamburst you would expect from the likes of imperial leather, instead the gel is just that quite a runny gel like consistency much like a shaving gel rather than a shower gel... If you understand what I mean. It doesn't take too much to work the gel into a foamy lather of sweet smelling goodness and glides off your skin as smoothly as it leaves it.

My one and only criticism of this gel is that a little doesn't really go a long way, I was given a travel size in my beauty box and that really only did for two and a half washes, so I would say this is more a once in a while luxury product, no use for daily washes. Definitely recommend for those of you looking to add a bit of luxe to your shower routine.

RRP £8.50 (200ml, From Bath & Unwind)

Criticisms

If you guys would like me to review anything else which was included in this specific beauty box drop me a comment below, and if you guys have any recommendations for me for other beauty boxes you may have tried let me know and I will definitely check them out! As always you can catch me on Twitter and of course if you want to see more of my latest and greatest follow me on Bloglovin. Stay tuned folks.

H.Elizabeth xx

The Apology Post - Let's Catch Up

Hello everyone, so hopefully you have all noticed that I have been awfully awfully quiet as of the past couple of months so I would like to first and foremost apologize and promise it won't happen again any time soon. I also want to take this opportunity to summarize where I have been, what I have been up to and what you can expect from the Granite City Girl in the coming months!

Below is a list, as I do love listing everything, of everything, or rater most things, I have been up to the past two months of absence!

•  Solo trip to London to the London Super Comic Convention 2014. (Study purposes)
• Uni, Uni and more Uni. Dissertation was a killer but at least I got to do it on comicy, Marvely superhero goodness.
• My granda finally finally got out of hospital after nearly 3 months in high dependency!
•  After almost 6 years I quit my job at our local bakery to find something a bit different.
• Beginning multiple news jobs before finally settling at a city center aesthetics clinic which so far I love!
•  Training for my 10k's one of which is next week and another next month.
• Non stop wedding planning, as I type there is currently 83 days and 18 hours to go until the big day and I am so excited, stay tuned for my wedding updates and meltdowns!

Lately on the beauty side of things I have been experimenting quite heavily with vintage styles like the pin up looks, barrel rolls, victory rolls etc, which I will make a couple of detailed posts on shortly. I'm going to try and do a few summer hauls, wee life posts and event posts for you guys.

So I hope you stick around to see what I have in store in the next stage of my life post university! As always I am on Twitter and you can always follow me on Bloglovin.

H.Elizabeth xx

What I Wore | I've Been Lazy!

I'm afraid recently I have been slacking, not only with my blogging but honestly with my overall dress and appearance! Studying has taken over my life I'm afraid and I do apologise as soon as May comes I'll be back on the hardcore blogging, scouts honour. 

But for now here is another what I wore post to hopefully keep you going through this Granite City drought!

What I wore on my body

 

Jumper - Black 3/4 sleeved jumper, Topshop

   Dress - An oldie oldie black strappy dress with white florals

                                           Tights - Supercosy, Asda (ever faithful)

            Necklace - Lengthy key necklace, Urban Outfitters (apologies for the lack of close up)

What I wore on my head and Face

 Head - Lazily straightened, GHD Straighteners
Tres Emme Heat Defense Spray
Face - Still trying to go easy on my skin while my blemishes get to calm down
L'Oreal Infallible Foundation (Porcelain)
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (Fair)
Eyes - Easy on the eyes still too!
L'Oreal Colour Riche Eyeliner (Midnight Black)
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara

Lips - As many of you will know from my 'lippy' post I have been trying some new lip products and I have fallen in love with an oldie from my make up collection and that is Rimmels Coral Gold colouring. I love the way it looks against caspery skin as all of you red heads out there will know we can't wear a deep red without looking super intense (and if you can comment below with what you've been using!) The slight shimmer to this also means it's not too matte but not too glossy, striking a perfect balance for me!

This post hasn't showcased anything brand new from my wardrobe and just goes to show that you don't need to break the bank to create a new look for yourself, go and have a good rummage! If you've found any hidden gems lately comment below or share your OOTD! As always you can catch me on Twitter for a chat, or if you want to keep up with the latest Granite City posts you can give this blog a follow on Bloglovin!

H. Elizabeth