OOTD: Stripes on Stripes

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside.... But possibly not when it's cold and misty!

Yes, one recent sunny weekend, the fam and I decided to head to the coast to get some FRESH air and soak up the sun! Sadly, the further away we got from our little home town , the cloudier and greyer it got. However, this did make for quite an atmospheric blog backdrop! (Silver lining to every cloud and all that...)

We're in that weird 'transitional' period at the moment where it's sunny and bright one minute, then cold and miserable again the next (see pictures!). So, I have been looking all over for some lighter jacket / coat type things that will take me through to Summer. And this was the winner. For my seaside themed post, I wore my stripey new New Look jacket - I think this is a total bargain for only £25.

To complete my look - more stripes! A stripey shirt and a stripey watch are the dream team...

 

Outfit: Stripe Collarless Jacket - New Look, Eva Jeans - River Island, Slip On Pumps - Missguided*, Shirt - River Island

Accessories: Clutch Bag - Warehouse*, Classic Canterbury Watch - Daniel Wellington

I HAVE to point out my favourite piece in this outfit... This beautiful Daniel Wellington watch. OMG I'm in love!! <3 I have been coveting one of these watches for months now and finally my dreams came true at the recent Burns Jewellers event. Yes, I won this beauty in the raffle that they held to raise money for a local hospice.

*Be prepared to see this in every single outfit post from now on... ;-)

I am LOVING these MG pumps at the moment!I have styled them up in a couple of outfit posts for my blog (see my Missguided in Manchester OOTD post) and I am literally living in them at the moment.

Hope you like my look! Would you wear stripes on stripes on stripes?!

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Cupcake Dresses!

So, following on from my Rock That Frock post last week, I'm continuing with the glam dress theme! :-) Now, I love a good Topshop dress just as much as the next girl… But when it comes to a special occasion or wedding, if you're anything like me, you won't want to get caught in the same dress as someone else!!

I'm always on the lookout for new, upcoming boutiques and designers - one of my favourite dress collaborations was with Lulus London Boutique last year and I currently have a slight obsession with Mr Self Portrait… 

So I was really excited to discover these beautiful dresses by Silvia Bours. Silvia is a Mexico based designer who actually hand makes these flirty dresses! I love the ballerina-esque quality to the collection - so divine! And the shoes!! I'm in heaven…  

I LOVE the Cupcake dress above (top left) Which look is your fave?

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A Vintage Vamp x

Very recently, Selfridges in Manchester unveiled their whopping, new Charlotte Tilbury stand. And it is UNREAL. Charlotte Tilbury (the brand) came to Manchester last Autumn but the make up is proving to be so popular, that they clearly needed to expand. To celebrate the launch, I was invited down to see the stand first hand and book in for a makeover with lead Make Up Artist Jules! What a TREAT!

So first up. Choosing your signature look! Charlotte Tilbury has come up with this fab concept where you can choose the look that most suits you / your style; and then to make it super easy, you can literally buy the whole look. I really like this, as I do tend to do have literally one look for day and one for night...

There were two looks that immediately caught my eye - The Rock Chick (think tousled hair, smokey eyes and lots of liner) and The Bombshell (All glam with a red lip) but as these two are literally my day-to-night looks, I wanted to try something different. So I went for the Vintage Vamp look! Featuring an antique smokey eye and a deep lip, here's how I got on:

Hmm, I'm not really enjoying this rather close-up pic of my half naked face... But this does show how flawless the base of this look was. When I went for my make over, I was sadly full of a cold and a bit run down. I had a few breakouts here and there, but the amazing Jules managed to make me look almost human again!

She started by removing all traces of my existing make up with the multi-miracle glow (which smelt divine) and then applying a layer of Charlotte's Magic Cream. Now at £70, this is pretty pricey but it comes highly recommended. An anti-aging, moisturising, luminating cream, this is billed as everything in one and the only cream you'll ever need!

After this, my base look was created using the Wonderglow Primer, Light Wonder foundation (I had no. 6) concealer and a light dusting of powder. What amazed me about the Charlotte Tilbury range is that everything had both a skin care element and a beauty element. Everything has been made with the end-user in mind and it really shows.

My skin is combination - mainly normal with an oily Tzone and large pores (aka, bit crap really). So the words "dewy" and "natural" normally strike the fear of god into my heart. However!! Jules assured me that there is a way for me to get this look without looking greasy! The CT way is all about going lightly, lightly and building up your look...

(Also, I have apparently been doing my eyebrows wrong for the last 3 years of my life. Woops!)

Interesting Fact! There are only 8 brushes in the Charlotte Tilbury range and you can do your entire face with these. I like this a lot as I'm pretty sure I only use about 6?! However, I'm not sure how I would feel about using the same brush for my blusher, highlighter and powder...

On to the eyes! Already you can see here how Jules has started to build up my look with a bit of contouring and by shaping my brows. The eyeshadow palettes by CT are brill as on the back they show you how to use each colour - quite handy for beauty novices! Again, Jules recommends building up your look until you get the effect you want.

How glam does the stand look? I love how inviting the make up chairs for you to sit down and get dolled up on!

Lips! If you read any beauty blogs at all, you will have seen the hype about these Lip Cheat liners - they are infamous! I ended up buying this colour and the lipstick as they were so different to any other red lippy that I own. The lipstick and liner together have serious staying power and I would highly recommend these!! I will be saving up to get more - probably in every colour.

The finished look!

I am really pleased that I went for this look as it's probably a bit more sophisticated than what I would normally do!

The brown toned smokey eye is really flattering and I love this when paired with this unusual lip colour (Night Crimson, FYI!)

Massive thanks to Jules for my makeover!

If you're interested in trying anything by Charlotte Tilbury, you can always head onto the stand and request a complimentary lip or eye make over. (I'd suggest lips!!)

Which look do you think you would go for out of Charlotte's 10 signature looks?

7 comments Bbloggers, Beauty

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Introducing: Jack

Have you ever met a famous person before? Like, someone off of the telly or that was in a band or something? How was that for you!?

I ask, as I was recently invited to Selfridges for the launch of a new fragrance - Jack: Covent Garden. And the man behind this gorgeously, citrussy perfume, is none other than RICHARD E GRANT. Everyone that I told about this knew he he was, and my mum was convinced he would be lovely because, you know, she'd seen him in "that hotel programme" and he was "dead nice".

And he actually was. But this isn't your normal celeb-endorsed fragrance. From talking to Richard, you can really tell that this is something that Richard has been fully involved in from day one. Not only has he self-funded the entire project, but everything from the top notes of the perfume to the text on back of the perfume box has been passed by him. Nothing about this scent has been done without Richard's approval. And doesn't he look proud?!

So what are they like?

The original fragrance, Jack, launched with the rather controversial cannibis as one of its Top Notes. (no joke!) This gives the fragrance a peppery, musky scent which is absolutely gorgeous.


This new, second fragrance is a reminder of Richard's time spent working in Covent Garden and has a much more citrussy scent. The aim of this fragrance was to conjure up the fruit and veg markets of the vibrant 'My Fair Lady' era. Mixing theatre and history to tell a story with the fragrance.

Both fragrances are unisex and come sleeved in calico, Union Jack bags which can be personalised (another aspect Richard was keen to have). At £95 you may thing that this is pricier than some fragrances, however, I do think that they are value for money. Both fragrances (especially Jack) have amazing staying power. The scent really lasts throughout the day and you only need a small amount.
The packaging and personalisation aspect are so classic and would make an amazing gift.

FYI, I do reeeeeally recommend checking these out, I took a sample into work and literally, everyone loved it!

Luckily for fans of the fragrances, there will be more to come! Each of Richards perfumes have an autobiographical concept behind them and are deeply personal to him. (FYI, there is a third already in the works...) If I had to guess, I think the next fragrance may have more of an African feel to it as Richard was born in Swaziland.

So there you go, my second "celeb" encounter this year! And if you like this kinda thing, read more about my meeting with ACTUAL Henry Holland. 

Disclaimer: No, I'm not a celeb groupie or anything.

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OOTD: Rock That Frock

So! Something a little different on the blog today! It's not every day that you get to glam up, but I won this BEAUTIFUL grey dress at the Quiz Valentines event (way back in Feb!) and I knew that I wanted to show it you guys! So rather than waiting for a super glam occasion, I picked this stunning location to rock my frock! Yeah, I just said frock. I'm so cool.

This dress is just goooorgeous. The bodice is beautifully embellished and the skirt is really full with a lovely chiffon overlayer. This would be the perfect dress for any prom or wedding. Tip for any Brides to Be: At £70, you could totally kit out all your Bridesmaids in this - it's quite flattering, plus the high waist band and elasticated back will mean that your ladies won't have to wear spank or struggle through your wedding dinner due to a tight dress. Just sayin!

Anyways, onto my outfit! As this is me, I couldn't just wear the dress as it's pretty formal. I wanted to funk it up with a leather jacket, shades and a chunky ring. As the dress is quite long on little 5ft 3 me, I also added some killer heels (not that you can really see!)

Accessories - Chunky Black Ring: Primark,  Sunglasses: Topshop, Clutch Bag: Warehouse* Bracelet: Chrysalis at Burns Jewellers*

I love this bangle. Not only do the colours go perfectly with this dress, but each bangle in the Chrysalis range has a meaning behind it. Mine has the Tree of Life engraved on the silver plaque which represents growth and prosperity!

This Rose Gold Daydream watch by Folli Follie* is the perfect addition to this outfit. The colour of the gold complements the dress so well and the diamond face adds just the right amount of bling!

If you're looking for something glam, then definitely check out Quiz's dresses. They have a range of glam stuff and they're all really reasonably priced (I think £70 is a bargain for this!).

Do you have any formal occasions, Weddings or Proms that you are going to this year?

14 comments OOTD, Quiz Clothing

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Tune: SMILE :-)

So, this weeks "Tunesday Tuesday" Music post, is something a little different... And I am MOST excited about this, more than any of my other recommendations. I just think it's frickin' awesome!! I was recently sent the link to this vid as a "one to watch" and I loved it straight away. The video is super-cool with quirky, fun animations and the song is a real chilled out tune with a Summer time feel.

Listen to the words - it has a really simple message about how smiling can do magic in the world! And we could all do with a bit of that :-) :-) :-) :-)

So, meet Emma Halpin: 11 year old, gold spectacle wearing, guitar playing, song writing, music genius. Also slightly obsessed with the Walking Dead series...

Like, seriously, I wish I was that cool when I was 11.

Whaddya think guys?? If you're a fan, give her a big thumbs on her Youtube channel!

Also, don't forget to enter my £25 gift card giveaway - really easy enter, just guess to win!

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