Getting Dressed for Winter

The days are finally getting dark early, which means winter is almost upon us. Let's face it, we had rain pretty much all throughout summer, anyway. I know come December I'll be sick of the cold (I already have the heater on in the office, which is driving everyone crazy), but for the moment I'm quite content to start piling on layers of knits and swapping a night out for a night in with X-Factor on the sofa...

Some post summer indulgences might see me face a bit of a struggle getting into Mango's leather leggings, but I hope I'll be able to offset that with an oversized knit. Go and take a look at my current obsession: 5 Inch and Up's collection for Nelly.com. If you haven't seen it yet, be warned because you will want it all. I also can't wait to get my hands on some pieces from Carine Roitfeld's collaboration with MAC. I've got a problem with continually buying not so varying shades of dark red nail polish and nude lipstick, but I wouldn't feel bad about adding theses chic versions to my collection. The Givenchy boots are on the dream list, but the Sophie Hulme bag could be a realistic investment. Her minimalistic designs manage to tread the line between being both modern, yet timeless, so I see it as being a 'sensible' treat...

Make Your Own Sunshine

This week I went shopping with one of my best friends, who's a real bad influence. Everything I shouldn't buy, or really can't afford to buy, she tells me I have to buy, so I ended up with more than I probably should have this weekend. On the plus side, I bought a dress for Paris (my passport arrived today, so I'm definitely going!). I tried on the aqua one I featured here, but although it was pretty, it just wasn't my style at all. Hidden just behind it on the rail, however, was a dress absolutely perfect for me. I'm known amongst my friends for having a minor obsession with black dresses. My wardrobe is colour co-ordinated, so I'm well aware of my not-so-secret penchant, but if it was good enough for Coco Chanel, it's good enough for me, right? The dress I found was, of course, black, which my friend was none too pleased about, but as she had to admit when I tried it on, it really was 'me' and happened to be the best fitting dress I'd tried on all day! 

Dorothy Perkins

It doesn't look all too special here, but it really is gorgeous and I think the perfect fit is what makes it so right for me. I'm thinking of accessorising it with either some summer brights, or classic white/creams Chanel style. What do you think?

I also picked up a lipstick I've coveted for a little way, but which I've been too unsure of to purchase. It's 'Quite Cute' by Mac, and is a pretty, pastel lilac shade. I've never worn a lilac lipstick (haven't seen anyone wearing one either), so I was a bit wary, but it's actually a really flattering shade and I'm now addicted. I definitely recommend it!

Tonight I'm going to my uni's Graduation Ball. I picked up the Miss Selfridge 'Lily' dress I showed you before, but I needed some simple flats to go with it as it's not quite long enough for me to wear heels. I went to New Look and found some gold flats for £14, which I was happy with until I went to Primark and found an almost identical pair for £2.50, so it's safe to say the New Look ones were swiftly returned. Feeling pretty pleased with my bargain find, I then undermined it by picking up some wedge espadrilles, which I've had my eye on since seeing them in numerous magazines.

Primark

Primark

I'm currently in the process of preening for the ball, but I'll definitely try and get some photos to share with you later this week. I'm also trying to gather some ideas on how to do my makeup. The dress is so floaty and summery, I really need something pretty and soft, but I'm an addict to a black smokey eye, so I'm at a loss of what to do. If you have any ideas, or know of any good video tutorials please let me know! Until then, I'm going through the archives of my make-up guru, Lisa Eldridge. 

wednesday wishes 4

Marc by Marc Jacobs bird rings at Net A Porter, Boohoo.com lace shirt, MAC 188 brush, Topshop chunky heels, FSAugusta Piggy Ring

Yay, I finally remembered to do Wednesday Wishes! I should remember Wednesday is an important day, because Desperate Housewives is also back on - good times! My boyfriend bought me the first series boxset last week because I never saw it when it first started, and I've barely emerged from my bedroom as it's so good.

This week's Wedneday Wishes is like a double edged sword. It's good because it's a lovely collection of everything I love right now, but it's horribly bad because it serves as a reminder that I HAVE NO MONEY AND I CAN'T HAVE THESE LOVELY THINGS! :(

The other day on Twitter I checked out Wolf and Badger's blog and came across this beautiful pig ring. I have a feeling it might create a bit of a Marmite love it/hate it reaction, but I personally love pigs. I actually really want one, and not one of your cutesy, little micro pigs like Victoria Beckham. No, I'm talking a big, hairy, adorably ugly pig. But, as I don't own a farm, I think this little fella would sit pretty nicely on my hand. It's by the amazing FSAugusta, and if you haven't seen their site before definitely go and have a look now. They have some stunning, quirky pieces like Mr Pig here.

The shirt is from Boohoo, and is a deep navy, though you can buy it in black. I've been looking for one with pockets so aptly placed to recreate look 43 from Burberry Prorsum's fall '10 show. I've got my shearling heeled boots (the New Look one's in the sidebar) so I'm just looking for some great trousers to complete the look, if you know of any? Topshop has just brought in these great chunky heels, and I'm in love. I love chunky heels, yet bizarrely I don't own any. This situation probably needs to be rectified fairly promptly... To use the Topshop card or not? That is always the question on my mind. The Mac brush is just one out of the whole range that I'm coveting right now to help me come close to achieving flawless makeup, and the Marc by Marc Jacobs love birds? Well, they speak for themselves.

What do you think of my Wednesday Wishes?

Happy Wednesday!

a treat a month

I've decided to try another set feature thing, who knows why considering I couldn't even keep up with my Wednesday Wishes, but a girl can try, right?

This one is to showcase my one favourite thing for the month. Be it makeup, clothes, a book, anything! And if you have feel like you've got some recommendations, feel free to comment and I'll see what I can do!

First up is....

Mac Minneralize Skin Finish Natural Powder.

I bought this the other day in Selfridges, and it's the best beauty product I've bought in a long, long time. Whenever I buy some make up or skin care product I always have high hopes that it will contribute to giving me that coveted flawless face, and as should be expected, a lot of products just don't live up to the hype that's been created about them. Surprisingly, I've not heard anything of this powder, I just saw llymlrs using it on her make up video, and saw how amazingly it made her foundation matte.

When I went into the store the girl said it didn't make your skin matte, but was supposed to make your skin look how 'skin should look'. This seemed like a bit of a pointless comment, because if skin is naturally meant to look flawless, it seems that 95% of the worlds skin is rebelling. Also, I was a bit wary because I wanted the powder to take the shine off of my foundation and from what the girl said, it still maintained a level of shine with this. However, I decided to give it a go and I'm so glad I did.

When you swipe your brush over it (I use a Mac 150), a lot of product comes off really easily. It feels light on your skin, but when I cleanse my face a lot more make up comes off than usual, so it does give really good coverage. It takes all the shine out of my foundation (Dior Nude) but leaves it with a dewy freshness. It really does give me that even, velvety finish I've been seeking out for so long. After a few hours, especially on a night out, my skin tends to get more oily, but I just brush a bit more of this over the top and it goes back to having a lovely glow.

This is my favourite thing in my make up bag right now, and for £18 it's definitely worth it.

To buy visit Mac

Image: Google Images

wednesday wishes 2

Topshop Jersey Dress, Miu Miu Leopard Heels, Reality Street Book of Sonnets, Kurt Geiger Pink Brogues, MAC Lady Danger Lipstick

Today's Wednesday Wishes is pretty hasty because I completely forgot I'd committed to this feature in all honesty. I've had a chest infection / flu type thing this past week, which still doesn't appear to want to vacate residence from me any time soon, so I'm all out with blogging and posting etc. 

Feeling a bit better today, I ventured into Manchester wearing my new experiment : flat shoes. I know that doesn't sound all too adventurous to those of you who are accustomed to the humble heel less shoe, but for me, patron of the stiletto, it was a big thing in terms of those sartorial decisions we make every day. 

To be fair, I didn't really treat myself to the best representatives of flats. I begrudgingly spent £4 on a pair of Primark leopard print pumps. I pretty much had to be taken kicking my heeled feet all the way to the till. I also bought a pair of Primark brogues (I really splashed out, didn't I!), which I've already hidden at the bottom of my wardrobe. Yet I went to uni with optimism in my little leopard pumps, happily thinking that I would be able to walk speedily from place to place and in comfort. Such feats are seldom heard of in the world of platforms, of which I am usually an inhabitant. 

However, by the time I'd walked 20 minutes my feet were hurting from feeling the cold, hard slap of concrete against my soles. I then wandered on into Manchester, and was practically hobbling home by the end of the day. I arrived home with some new purchases for my feet. A type of unbecoming toe jewellery, if you will, in the form of fabric. Fabric plasters to be blunt. 

Not only did my feet arrive back in the same, if not worse condition, than they usually do from wearing a good six inch shoe, but they didn't look half as good in the process. So as it stands, I still hate flat shoes.

Please, please help me find some comfortable boots that look really good and that don't have a heel, because I have to force myself to convert to their cause because I just can't skate around in stilettos on winter's upcoming ice.

Hope you're all ok. I've been reading your blogs even if I haven't been posting! 

Why Don't You Love Me?

Ahhh there is nothing she can't do. I love the retro, pin up style of this video and just plain love Beyonce to be honest.

To pin point one thing out of it all though, I love her lipstick. All of them - even the blue-grey. Living in Manchester (as opposed to Devon), means that I have easy peasy access to MAC, which means if there's £12.50 to be spared, it's gunna be spent on a lipstick. As I mentioned in my post on Models Own nail varnishes, buying cosmetics is the simple way to get that 'treated-myself-to-something-new' feeling, without splashing money you might not have, as is often the case for me. Inspired by Beyonce, I think the next lipstick in the line is going to be one of these....

The orange/coral ones:

Mac - Morange

Mac - Vegas Volt

And the nude to match the smoky eyes, I'm going to attempt as always...

See, no clothes involved and I'm still excited :)

Chop Chop

I've handed in my final assignment of year two, so today is a day for treats and pampering. First stop - Toni and Guy, where I'm going to get my hair cut after 6 months of pure neglect. It's taken me three years to get my hair fairly long, and it's still not long enough, so I'm thinking I'm not gonna get much taken off the length. Just in need of some layering and I'm contemplating a fringe Abbey Lee style...

My friend Danielle, who always has impeccable hair styles, persuaded me to get my hair done by one of the best stylists, so if you're thinking of having your hair done at Toni and Guy, let me be your guinea pig because you'll soon see how this turns out!

Then, I'm off for some shopping. I'm looking for a red lipstick (MAC no doubt), a floral playsuit (I've been seeing some really decent ones coming out of Primark!), and potentially some shoes. Tonight, it's Manchester's French Connection/Grazia evening offering 20% your shopping, vodka and Fru puddings. Sounds amazing to me. I know you had to sign up for tickets, so not sure if it's too late for you guys now, but they're going on all around the country so search it up.

I've got my eye on this :

AND THEN, we're hitting the Disaronno and Deansgate, which is bound to be fun :)

P.S I finally bought those Henry Holland suspender tights, I've been wanting them for ages and halfway through writing a short story seemed the perfect time to divert my attention and buy them. Show you soon :)

Photos: style.com

French Connection