London Photo Diary

As you guys know, I just got back from a very quick trip to London! I was there for a Burberry beauty event, and this is officially one of the coolest work trips (if not THE coolest) that I’ve ever been on! Here are some behind the scenes snaps of the past couple of days 🙂

Above is my go-to travel outfit–snapped just before I left for the airport! These leggings are seriously a dream–they feel like you’re wearing absolutely nothing and are so comfortable. I always choose this t-shirt (similar here on sale! ) to travel in because it’s super soft and stripes disguise accidental airplane spills quite well ;-P A loose cardigan is another staple because it adds extra warmth but doesn’t take up much room in my tote bag. I also recently got these all-white Chucks and have been loving them. (Tip: They do take a bit to break in the heels, but after they are wonderful!) Since I was going straight from London to LA (packing for 2 different shoots and very different weather!) I had to check my bag for once! I just got this Delsey and it’s insanely lightweight–I love the light grey color with rose gold accents. I also just got this trench just in time for London and I LOVE it!

DAY ONE:

First photo in London! This was taken right outside of our hotel, Cafe Royal, which was absolutely beautiful! It couldn’t have been in a better location, and everything from the rooms to the staff to the restaurants and bar were wonderful. If you’re planning a trip to London, definitely look into staying here!

Bag: Shopbop // Cap toe block heels: Shopbop 

Jessica and I had arranged to meet up with Maria, an amazing photographer and new friend we found on Instagram, to shoot some looks while we were in London. However, we hadn’t anticipated how long it would take to get through customs and the hour long drive from the airport, so it was a mad scramble to get ready once we checked into the hotel! In the midst of the madness, my curling iron also EXPLODED (clearly I had a bad converter)–it shot sparks into the air and the buttons flew off!! Haha! RIP Beachwaver 🙁 Add “replace curling iron” to the list. Ugh.) Luckily Jessica’s worked, so I was able to borrow hers! I snapped this photo while we were out shooting around the city. (These shoes and bag I am OBSESSED with. I die every time I wear them, they’re so cute!)

Trench coat: London Fog (lot’s of similar ones on sale right now here!) // Boots: Stewart Weitzman (I also own the budget-friendly version here and love them! They’re currently 25% off, too!) 

Obligatory phone booth photos by Big Ben were obviously necessary ;-P Can’t wait to show you the final pics!

After our shoot we were absolutely starving, so we popped into Byron’s, which is a really cute casual burger place–they have several locations throughout the city, and they also brew their own beer! If you’re in London and looking for a fast, affordable lunch spot, it was great!

Ok officially the worst-quality photo ever BUT I couldn’t not include this because if you’re ever in London, you MUST go! I met up with my college friend Emily, who lives in London, for drinks and dinner on Monday night, we went to Bob Bob Ricards for champagne, which was one of the cutest spots I’ve ever been–they have the “press for champagne” buttons in each booth!

Afterword, we went to Dishoom for dinner–arguably the best Indian food you can get. It’s so cute and trendy inside, and their plates are meant for sharing, so you can try a whole bunch of stuff! It’s affordable too! Tip: Apparently they’re known for their long “queues” (haha, wait times!) so go late. We went at 10pm and didn’t have any problems getting in!

DAY TWO: 

Day two started off bright and early with a 10am tour of Burberry’s flagship store on Regent Street. It’s not only huge, but it’s hands down the most beautiful store I’ve ever been in. Even if you have no intention of shopping, it’s worth popping into just for the experience! It’s multiple levels, has so many different rooms, and of course, the largest selection of Burberry items in the world. (I loved their “scarf bar” below!)

The store has an adorable cafe, as well as a beautiful restaurant, where we had tea with the Burberry team after! It was such a fun experience! Also, I’d never had a crumpet before–I had to contain myself from eating about 5 of them in one sitting. (Not very lady-like. Typical American.)

After our tour of the Burberry flagship store, we went to Makers House–where Burberry’s show had taken place the day before, and where the entire new collection was on display! In addition to the new collection, there was a whole exhibit of Henry Moore’s artwork–the sculptor who was the inspiration behind the new collection.

They also had the whole interactive “mood board” that was used to create the new collection–it was so cool to see! They’re also hosting a variety of workshops and performances there–you can see more details on their website here, but I’d definitely recommend stopping in if you’re in London this week or next!

After the tour of Makers House, we got to go “backstage” for a makeup masterclass with their artistic consultant and head makeup artist, Wendy Rowe.

She showed us how to re-create the look she had used on the models for the show the day prior, and then we got our own vanities to play around with all of their new products and create the look ourselves! (DREAM COME TRUE!)

She was hilarious and taught me so many great tricks that I can’t wait to pass along to you guys 😉

My finished “fresh faced” look!

I loved every single one of their products, and honestly couldn’t choose a favorite, but here are the one’s that stood out. (Full review coming soon!) I don’t know how I’ve never used any of their products before, because I was blown away by so many of them. If you’re like me and really prefer your makeup to look as natural as possible, I know you’ll love it, too!

Some favorites:

Lip Contour Pen: They just released these this week for London Fashion Week and they are seriously amazing. They’re essentially a waterproof base and lip contouring stick all in one–you can sculpt the line of your lips and follow with a lip color afterwords, or fill your lips in with it fully–the color is beautiful all by itself! I followed mine with their “Full Kisses” lipstick in Nude Beige, which was really moisturizing and felt amazing.

Fresh Glow Base: Does exactly as you’d expect based on its name–this gives you such a fresh, luminous glow without being too shiny. I put this on under my foundation, but you can also apply it with a beauty blender on top of your foundation for extra highlighting!

Fresh Glow Foundation: You know how picky I am about foundation–I LOVED this formula. It provided great coverage but was so light, and truly gave my skin a fresh glow.

Cashmere Concealer: To disguise imperfections. I really like its matte finish, so it covers really nicely. I like it better than my NARS version!

Sheer Luminous Concealer: For under eyes–this has an illuminating finish so it does a great job of disguising dark circles, and it’s a much thinner formula so it doesn’t sink into your under-eye creases and look cakey!

Eye contour smoke and sculpt pen: I loveeee these! I played around with a bunch of different colors but I love the rose-gold finish of the “rosewood” hue. I never use color on my eyes, but this was super neutral and made the eyes really pop!

“Light Glow” blush in “Earthy“: This was almost a cross between blush and bronzer and was so natural looking–I love love it!

Contour and Highlighting pens: These made highlighting and contouring the cheekbones super easy! They were really blendable and really natural looking.

Stay tuned for more London details coming soon! 🙂 Have an AMAZING weekend!