Beau Bloggers.

Hi everyone! A post ago I talked about creating a blogger community - a place where bloggers can communicate with other bloggers, be friends and get ideas. It's finally been created and given the name Beau Bloggers. Beau meaning beautiful in french. 

You don't have to be a blogger to join Beau Bloggers, anyone is welcome! The beautiful Izzy and I are admin and we have one more space for anyone who wants to join the admin team! 

1. What do we do? 

We talk about the things we love and our daily lives! I'll have 3 people coordinating the group including myself. I'll be throwing great things in such as: 

• A weekly newsletter telling you all about the latest trends and fashion news 
• Convo's and forums about fashion art and fashion 
• Regular chats using whatever platform everyone has 
• Guest posts with some of you 
• Much more!

    2. Who do we want?

• Bloggers who like art and fashion (At least one of them)
• People who read this blog 
• People who would like to do blog posts for this blog 
• People who would like people featured in blog posts 
• People who want blogger friends 
• PEOPLE IN GENERAL LOL! 

    3. How do you join? 

• Contact me via any social network. 
• Instagram and twitter - @efyalaurenxox
• You can email me: laureywilliamsfashion@gmail.com
• Or simply drop me a comment below! 

     4. Things to include when you contact me: 

• Your name and age (As obvious as it sounds some people don't do it)
• What are your hobbies and interests 
• Do you have a blog? Link it down in the message. 
• Would you like to be one of my 2 admin? 
• A brief paragraph about you. 

Please join, the more members, the more fun we can have! 

After doing step 3 and 4 Click here to join!

Getting to know Bella x

Hi guys, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bella who has a pretty little blog called bellaboo. Please show some love and go and visit and follow each blog! Hers and mine! Guaranteed follow backs on GTC (Google friend connect) and bloglovin'! Remember, we love our readers! 

Click here for BellaBoo

Click here for Efya Lauren's bloglovin'

Click here for BellaBoo's Bloglovin'  

Shall we begin! 

                                                                                 

GETTING TO KNOW BELLA<3

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I was in love with all the other beautiful blogs and wanted to make my own.

2. Do you want a career in Fashion? If yes, what and why? 

 I don't think I want a career in fashion but I love business, I would love to work on the more business side of a the industry.

3. What's your favourite brand/clothing line?

I love everything Cath Kidston for bags, home wear etc but my favorite clothes brand is Pull&Bear or Club Monaco.   

4. What goals have you set for you or your blog?

I would love to have loads of posts on everything from fashion to baking and to have lots of readers I can talk to.

5. Sweets or chocolate?

CHOCOLATE. I defiantly don't like sweats but I am a Chocoholic in denial.  Cadburys Dairy Milk is my favourite. 

6. What's your favourite food?

My taste buds aren't exactly 'sophisticated' so I am going to have to say my favorite food is pasta!

7. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

I would probably change my name to something quite similar to now like Ariella or Anabella.

8.  Would you go to a play or a musical? The theater or the cinema?

You are probably most likely to find me at the cinema but I have been to lots of musicals which I have loved!

9. Who is your favourite author and book?

My favorite author is probably John Green and my I have a few favorite books namely: Looking for Alaska (John Green) Is it just me? (Miranda Hart) Bridget Jones's Diary (Helen Fielding).

Thanks so much for talking to us Bella, it was a pleasure and we hope to do more posts with you in the future! Please visit her really awesome blog and watch her youtube videos too! 

My life right now + My blogger community.

Hi guys, a break from the art posts. I'm doing a My life 'atm' post! (At the moment).

So it's been three weeks back at school and it's very stressful, so much work, not much blogging time but I squeeze it in whenever I can. 

I'm currently drawing Cara Delevingne. My favorite model. She's a total beaut. I adore her eyebrows and swag! When it's done I'll show you guys hopefully it comes out right. 

QUICK BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT

This week my collab post with Bella should be coming out so watch out for it!

MY BLOGGER GROUP/COMMUNITY 

I'm building a blogger community/group of readers and bloggers who like the same things as me or as each other, this really means some fashion and art lovers. I would like to get as many members as I can involved because I love making friends!

1. What do we do? 

We talk about the things we love and our daily lives! I'll have 3 people coordinating the group including myself. I'll be throwing great things in such as: 

• A weekly newsletter telling you all about the latest trends and fashion news 
• Convo's and forums about fashion art and fashion 
• Regular chats using whatever platform everyone has 
• Guest posts with some of you 
• Much more!

    2. Who do we want?

• Bloggers who like art and fashion (At least one of them)
• People who read this blog 
• People who would like to do blog posts for this blog 
• People who would like people featured in blog posts 
• People who want blogger friends 
• PEOPLE IN GENERAL LOL! 

    3. How do you join? 

• Contact me via any social network. 
• Instagram and twitter - @efyalaurenxox
• You can email me: laureywilliamsfashion@gmail.com
• Or simply drop me a comment below! 

     4. Things to include when you contact me: 

• Your name and age (As obvious as it sounds some people don't do it)
• What are your hobbies and interests 
• Do you have a blog? Link it down in the message. 
• Would you like to be one of my 2 admin? 
• A brief paragraph about you. 

People who have been invited here!

I sent invites out to a couple of blogs that I think would be interested, that's probably how some of you have landed on this post lol. If you are that's great and I can't wait to work with you and follow the options on step number 3 and 4. If not then simply exit the post. Wait! Don't forget to follow us on GFC on the left hand side! Follow back guaranteed! 

Love you guys! Lauren! x

Product review: Faber Castell graphic sketch kit

Today is going be a product review of the Faber Castell Graphic Sketch kit that came in a pack that I bought from my school. 

To start with I've give the product a 10/10. I've said many times before that Faber Castell are a great brand for all types of artists and their products are super quality and not even that expensive. In the pack that school gave me, Faber Castell and Reeves were the only recognised brands in there so I was really excited and had to buy it. The pack cost me £12.50 and I think it was a really good price and much cheaper than what I should of paid. In this pack there are:

• Faber Castell Graphic Sketch set
• Koh-I-Noor 12 set 
• Berol Oil pastels
• Reeves Soft Pastels
• Reeves watercolour
• 6 Paintbrushes
• An A3 sketchbook
• An A4 sketchbook 

Quick overview of the product:

What is it?

• It is a pencil set meant for sketching. It contains 5 pencils ranging from B to 6B and a rubber and sharpener. 

Who made it?

• Faber Castell of course! 

Good Features

• High break resistance 
• Superior sharpening 
• Dust free eraser 
• They create good drawings and depth

I really do love these pencils and I'll be using them for a long time! 

Lauren

Speed drawing

Hi guys, this is my first speed drawing video. I was drawing a red messy bun and I tried to really shorten it lol! My camera quality wasn't amazing so bear with me.

Click here to watch the video

Toodles!

Guests Posts

Hi, guys! 

This is just a short post saying, to make the blog more interesting guest posts are wanted! You don't have to be an expert in any field, i'm sure we can put our minds together and make a great collabo post together so if your interested contact me! I'd love to find out who my readers are and interact with you guys! 

If your interested, comment below or head out to contact me on either twitter or instagram! @efyalaurenxox. Don't forget Bloglovin' and GFC on the left hand side! 

New illustration: Vogue

Hi everyone, I've just finished a new illustration today and it's one of the worlds most famous magazine covers, Vogue. I love reading both Vogue and teen Vogue and I am constantly on their website.

Name of garment: Vogue
Time: 2 Hours
Media used: Promarkers, Fineliners, black pencil

I don't know if its any good but yeah! That's it. I cut of the 'G' because it was in the way of her head.

OOTD.

Hi guys! First time i'm doing an OOTD post and this is a fashion blog. wow. Lol anyway, here is my ootd!

I wore: 

• A ''nerd'' jumper
• Blue skinny jeans 
• White Lee Cooper converses

My converses have dissapeared! Oops! 

Efya Lauren x

I want, I want, I WANT!

Hi everyone. Are we all good? I am! Today I'm going to be telling you about what I really, really want! I can't get these all in one go so I've been trying to get them bit by bit! Quite a lot of cash!

1. Faber Castell Polychromos

These pencils are BAE! I have been dying to get the full pack but I just can't afford it! I love Faber Castell as a brand. Amazing quality pencils, they make you look good even if your the worst drawer there possibly is. Blendable, so presentable in there posh tin... They're lovely. At the moment i'm using Faber Castell Classic Colour set of 24 and Derwent Studio 12 set for my pencils, they're really good too.

    2. Copic Ciao Markers

As alternatives to these I use Letraset promarkers. I really want to try these markers out. Where as a promarker would cost around £1.50-£2.00 a Copic would cost £2.00-£3.00 for one pen! I'm gradually working my way there. When these finish you also have to buy refills so it's not cheap. I do find that when I look at copic markers there skinny tip has more of a brush tip with means more freedom with the pen and less wrist movement. 

Style combo of the day: Boots

Hi guys! Been awfully busy over the last two weeks, reason? SCHOOL. ARGH. Anyway, rant over. Welcome to style combo of the day! I wanted this to be a special Style combo edition so it's just one because I really love these boots! They are the cutest ever! There are three choices and I have the links for all of them.

For A click here

For B click here

For C click here

20 Blog Post Ideas [PART 2]

A continuation from the last post! To see the first set of ideas click here! Otherwise lets go!

1. Run a competition - They Bring a lot of traffic and draw new people to your blog. Make sure the prize(s) are good though.
2. Interview someone
3. Write a short story
4. You good at singing? Post a video of your singing!
5. Make a case study about something
6. Talk about terrible failures and your successes
7. What do you regret doing?
8. Do a what's in my bag post!
10. Do a Tag post. For example I did the British Tag and Ghana Tag, it's a series of questions you answer related to a specific tag. Oh, just google it.
11. Write about where you'd like to travel and where you have traveled
12. Tell your readers what they should do to succeed in your niche
13. Show us some useful Ebooks and PDF's in our niche
14. Your future plans
15. OOTD! - Outfit of the day post!
16. Write a response in an emotional way to something that's bothering you
18. Hand write a post and then take a picture of it and publish it
19. Have a photo shoot and show everyone your pics!
20. Do something incredibly stupid and post it. Eg; Throw a pie in your face.

Done! x

My Art Materials (First ever vlog)

So, it's finally here. I was like, just film it and I did! This is a quick review just showing you about my Art Materials and what I use. I love my materials, they all fit into my cute little bag! Below are my Materials Listed:

• Derwent Studio 12 set 
• Reeves soft pastels 
• Koh I Noor 12 set of colour pencils
• Faber Castell Graphic Sketch set
• Reeves Watercolour
• Random High street watercolours
• Berol Oil Pastels 
• Letraset Promarkers
• Paintbrushes
• A4 Sketchbook
• A5 Sketchbook

Enjoy the video!

Koh-I-Noor Pencil Review

Hi, everyone! Today I'm doing a Koor-I-Noor Pencil review. I actually just got them today from school as part of my art pack and really wanted to try them out. So I got home and I did!

Kor-I-Noor I had actually never heard of and I thought I was about to have a cheap nasty experience with colour pencils. At least that's what the cover of the pencils was telling me. I thought this because I've had some bad times with cheap colour pencils that looked good. I tried them out and they were beautiful!

Quick overview

What is it?

• Kor-I-Noor Colour Pencil set of 12

Who made it?

• Joseph Hardmuth

Good Features:

• They don't break easily 
• Good variety of colours
• They blend 
• They don't smudge

What results did I get from it? 

I ended up getting drawing of a vase full of petunias. I liked it in the end. 

I have not yet used them for Fashion Illustration but I'm sure they'd be good for them. I love the pencils, the only thing I dislike is their packaging. It makes the pencils look like they're for 5 year old kids but they're really professional however no one would know this when buying!

I hope this helped in someways if your buying pencils anytime soon, they're a good pack of pencils to buy.

Efya Lauren x
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PS: MY FIRST VLOG IS BEING RELEASED SHORTLY AFTER THIS! STAY ONLINE!

20 blog post Ideas [PART 1]

Hey everyone, Happy Sunday!
So, for some bloggers coming up with blog post ideas is a big pain in the booty. I am one of those bloggers. So I made a big list of blog posts for the future. This is what I'll be sharing with you today. Some are preferably for a fashion blog and some suit all kinds of blogs. Please do add your favourite posts and any suggestions below in the comments. Lets go!

1. Do a long list - pretty obvious because I'm doing it now. People love lists and they bring traffic.
2. Post your to-do list for the day/week/year.
3. Post an infographic relating to your niche.
4. The best blog posts and articles for (your niche)
5. Make a list of great people in your niche
6. If you had £1000 to spend on your niche, what would you spend it on?
7. Write a response to someone else's blog post
8. List your best and worst blog posts
9. FAQ
10. How to do something in your niche faster
11. Write about your goals and how you plan to achieve them
12. Pick a problem and try and fix it
13. Movies in your niche
14. Guest posts
15. What not to do in your niche
16. Photo posts
17. Review:

• Products
• Software
• Books
• Magazines
• Blogs
• Websites

18. Step by Step how to posts

19. The best way to buy things in your niche.

20. A beginners guide to ......... 

I hope these helped! This is just part 1. Part 2 will be uploaded tomorrow.

Efya x

Fashion Sketchbooks.

Hi everyone! Finally the weekend! As soon as I came home I turned my laptop on, I missed blogging. School has taken over everything. Today I'm going to be talking about sketchbooks.

As a fashion artist my sketchbook is extremely important to me because idea that pops into my head gets written down there or drawn. It's the first place I go when I'm about to draw. Sketchbooks should be important to all kinds of artists because if you've lost all your work and all you have left is your sketchbook it still shows a lot about you and your creativity.

Now. A fashion sketchbook. Slightly different.

WAYS TO KEEP A FASHION SKETCH BOOK.

- Make it all about YOUR label.

Your sketchbook. Your ideas. Your thoughts. A good start to keeping a sketchbook is personalising it and making it your own. Aw. I personalised it and it doesn't look good. It may not look good to you but it says a whole lot about your when another person only looks at the cover. Make the first page represent you. Make a title page with your Label name, logo and tagline and just decorate it.

- Put EVERYTHING in it. (Including 3D stuff)

As a designer i'm always looking for ideas and inspiration, and whenever I catch it, it is way too precious to let it go. Therefore it always goes in my sketchbook. I even stick fabric swatches in (that's the 3D Stuff).

Something like this will do, but make sure you get a way of sticking in the fabric.
www.wikihow.com

- Organise your sketchbook

Organise your sketchbook into your different collections, brainstorms and so on. Up to you how you wanna do it but the easiest way to do it is to make a contents page. Some categories you could sort it into: 

• Different collections 
• Fashion Categories (Haute couture, ready wear or mass market) 
• Colour code 
• Random sketches and doodles 
• Other art

What to put in your sketchbook: 

• Write down anything you feel you need to 
• Sketches of memories, nature, fashion sketches, patterns, faces, and everything.
• Fabric swatches
• Name your collections and write design specifications about the dresses you've designed
• Anything you want to really - fashion related of course 

Want to be a designer? Wait for the next post, some great tips. 

Efya Lauren x

How to take care of your natural hair when in braids.

Many people think that if you have braids in you don't need to do anything but style them and their hair will grow anyway. This is wrong, your hair is dying of thirst. If you don't know what box braids or Senegalese twist are to look like please take a good look at my Black hair page because I'll be mentioning them quite frequently.

If you have recently retouched, relaxed or processed your hair wait at least a month before you but braids in. Chemicals are still in your hair and it's not safe, it'll be very weak. Before you put braids in make sure your hair is in good condition.

Firstly to look after your hair you'll need to commit yourself and do these things either every 2-3 days or weekly. So if you can't be bothered and want your hair to break please exit this post NOW! 

My number one tip is to moisturise your hair whilst it's in braids. But any moisturiser that you'd normally use on your natural hair and apply it to the scalp or alternatively you could use dry shampoo. 

Another tip is do protective hairstyles. Although box braids are very protective they can also break your hair because they're heavy and tight when first done.

Wrap your hair when you go to bed, in a satin scarf. Don't wear your braids for more than 4-8 weeks.

Efya xx 

Mascara tricks for fuller lashes.

Just got back from my second day at school, seen all my friends and now I want another holiday LOL. Anyway, Today i'm doing a post that most of you girls will love because my tricks work.
We're back to school now so I decided i'm gonna do a few posts on school and revision and stuff - not too much though. We're here for fashion.

MASCARA TRICKS FOR FULLER LASHES!

#1: APPLY VASELINE OR PETROLEUM JELLY TO YOUR LASHES.

This trick really does work. It's just like undercoat of clear mascara before you apply the proper coat. It extends your lashes. When you put the mascara on you can mould them into place and shape them with your brush how you want them to be. 

www.Wikihow.com

#2. APPLY TWO OR MORE COATS OF MASCARA

Apply one coat of mascara, shows there's something on your eyelashes. Apply Two, a bit more volume and so on. The more coats you add the longer they'll look. Don't over do it though. There's only so much mascara your eyelashes can take...

#3. PUT POWDER ON YOUR LASHES 

I actually had no idea that putting a bit of powder on your lashes before you put on your mascara can make your lashes look totally plump and full, try this girls... boys if you want to but I wouldn't recommend it for you guys lol. 

#4 TRY MINKING

Minking is when you use two different colours, you'd be surprised how much volume they actually do add. 

#5 ZIG ZAG YOUR BRUSH AND BLINK

Zigzaging is a way of getting more onto your lashes and adds more volume and makes them thicker. Blinking is also a good way to make them look longer as the tip of your eyelashes catch onto the mascara at the tip of the brish. 

I hope these helped x

Efya Lauren x

Happy Birthday Avi!

Happy Birthday to a girl who's always been there for me! We laugh and joke a lot and our jokes never end! Have a great Birthday! 

Back to School

This week and the next is the return to school. Boohoo! I had an amazing summer and I didn't want it to end but I haven't seen my friends in a while so I'm happy to go back to school. May be you haven't noticed but I certainly have been blogging a lot more these holidays because I've had time. Back to school means an even busier schedule than before so i'll try my hardest to blog.

Blog Update:

I was stupidly looking for a new blog template and didn't back up the one I had so I lost it. I tried to put things back to normal, sorry if it doesn't look it!

Giveaway:

There is still a great amount of time to enter my give away and you'll find the post on that in the August Archive or on the right hand side of the blog titled 'Latest News'

Future Posts:

I think I did tell you guys that i'd soon be doing a post with BellaBoo and we really wanted to make it a competition. What type of competition would you like? NOTE: HAS TO BE FASHION RELATED.

Efya Lauren x

Construction!

I'm learning how to fit a new blog template so the blog looks kinda weird at the moment!

Sorry!

August Favourites!

Hi everyone! August has come to an end! Boohoo! A belated Happy Birthday to all August Born's and To those born tomorrow and the 31st!
A special Happy Birthday to Narin, Austeja, Faduma, Ezme and Sam <3!

August favourites! I don't really do favourite posts but I'm going to start! A lot of things happened this month, I made new blog friends, went to Luton for the very first time and I made a tumblr lol.

My favourite food that I've had a lot this summer has to be Chinese. It's my favourite take away because it's a healthy option. I've eaten it more than five times this summer, and I never get tired of it. My favourite has to be the special fried rice, ribs, noodles and chicken skewers with peanut sauce. I usually go to Chopsticks on Leytonstone High Road - E11. It's really good and it's a buffet. Who doesn't like ALL YOU CAN EAT? 

If you've read my about me posts, or any of my posts under the label music you would know that i'm a massive afrobeats fan! My top tunes for this summer were:

• Chris Waddle ft Dobble - Ma shorla
• D-Black ft Castro - Personal person
• Shatta Wale - Enter the net
• Jess Glynn - Right here 
• Trey Songz ft Nicki Minaj - Touchin' Lovin' 
• Ashanti ft Lloyd - Southside 
• Ashanti ft Ja Rule - Mesmerise 
• Mavins - Dorobucci
• Don Jazzy ft Tiwa Sawage - Eminado
• Wizkid - Show you the money 
• Burna Boy ft Snipsy - Virus

Blogging 24/7. Of course I'll have favourite blogs. I found some new ones too.

• Fashionable scribbles - http://fashionablescribbles.blogspot.co.uk/
• Bellaboo - http://missbellaboo99.blogspot.co.uk/
• Zoella - http://www.zoella.co.uk/
• Tanya Burr - http://www.tanyaburr.co.uk/

My first beauty product for this month is the Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Endless. It's quite a popular mascara and it's one I have in my makeup bag. It's a good mascara and extends the lashes as it's supposed to, but it's nothing extraordinary but it does it's job.

My second beauty product is the Collection Supersize fat lash mascara. Not a lot of people know this one because it's not a big brand. However I like mascaras where the brush is a bit fat, you can get more onto your lashes. That's why I like this one. 

My last favourite beauty product this month is the Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner pencil. I'm dark skinned so to apply eyeliner I put a bright coloured eyeshadow first. I find pencil the easiest, I don't really know why. I really like this liner.

Books. Truth of the matter is I don't read. However I do like tutorial books that tell you what do do. I recently did a blog post called My recent interest in still life. I was learning from a book called ''Draw like an expert in 15 lessons''

Those are my August Favourites, I'll be doing September ones too.

Blog Update: Me and BellaBoo will be doing a collabo post so watch out for that ;) 

Efya x