REGAL ROSE

            

Being a complete magpie, as I think I may have mentioned previously, I fell in love with the 90s style  Apogee choker from Regal Rose.

There's not much to say about it other than it's a complete dream. Gun metal, crystal, chains equal a DREAM. 

You can find it at regal rose.co.uk

FRENCH CONNECTION

I've never ventured into French Connection with the view of buying shoes, I go for their dreamy sequins (of which I found many, but with no fancy occasion to attend I had to just wish).

I was impressed to say the least when I spotted the above beauties on their shelves. The left pair are a super soft leather with a T shaped heel which makes them super modern. I'd describe them as a summer ankle boot, I'm going to wear them with everything, especially black dresses and lashings of jewellery for a rocker edge. I didn't want to take them off, they're my new favourites.

The second pair are also leather with a suede heel and cute silver hard wear. They aren't that high so are perfect for more casual wearing. I love these with my Mom jeans & plan on wearing them with my vintage trousers to 'girly' them up & make them appear less harsh.

 I'm a fan of baggy silhouettes at the moment, oversized coats, baggy jeans, jersey midi dresses etc. I feel I need to make these outfit less edgy with more lady like accessories, hence these shoes, which wouldn't necessarily be 'me'. (I also received some Carvela shoes for Christmas, which I will blog about soon, which are super lady like & super painful)

As well as buying the above shoes I also bought many basic tops, for about £22 to £35 which I love, some basic t-shirts with silky fronts and jersey backs, collared tees and little vests. These are great quality and although they say hand-wash only they wash well at 30•c.

Also, I bought some black skinny jeans and a super super soft leather skirt that I like wearing with 20 denier tights and shoe boots.

I love French Connection.

Both shoes are £95 each, leather skirt £150 and £65 jeans.

LUSH HAUL

When I was younger I used to love Lush soaps, all their sweet smelling wares really pulled me in. I enjoyed that you could request a certain size of soap, suitable for every budget. Now I'm older, I detest sweet smells. I have a hatred of sweet perfumes and will actively change seats in coffee shops and on trains if women sit down near me wearing them, they make me feel nauseous and give me headaches. Alongside this I also dislike sugar in my tea and I dislike sweets, this ended my childhood love of Lush. 

Having problem skin for a while I had been using Eve Lom cleanser to help, I wrote about this in another blog post if you care to read back, this helped my skin but not my bank balance. (being £55 for 100ml) Someone recommended I try Ultrabland cleanser from Lush as this is also an oil based cleanser, perfect for drawing our impurities and not drying out the skin. This cleanser must be used with a muslin cloth to wash away the reside as water will not just shift it. It makes my skin feel soft, not parched and healthier. This also contains rose which helps calm down red inflammation around spots and sooths the area. I have been using this for a week or so now, I'll keep you updated on my skins progress. This product is £10.95 for 100ml, so a massive saving in my purse.

After buying the above cleanser at such a cheap price I asked the ultra helpful shop assistant about a moisturiser to help my parched skin when I used intense moisturisers to help my acne scars. She recommended two, I went with Celestial facial moisturiser. This moisturiser is great for sensitive skin, again, it is a calming moisturiser which I feel I needed. It's quite rich and leaves a slight greasy sheen, meaning it's better for night time as make-up doesn't sit too well on top of it, I found this out the hard way. The reason it is so rich as it contains almond oil and cocoa butter which creates such touchable soft skin, this are age old ingredients to soften the skin. This moisturiser may be too rich for most skin types so proceed with caution. This product is £11.95 for 45ml.

After these items I questioned the shop assistant about body moisturisers that don't smell like sugary sweet children wrapped in sugar lumps and marshmallows, thinking that Lush didn't do anything like this. I was wrong. She lead me to Karma Kreme a hand and body lotion, again with almond oil and cocoa butter to soften and make the skin supple. This moisturiser is laced with Patchouli and orange which smell beautifully fresh and like spring in a tub, not like the other smells I dislike. After using this for the first time I smelt lovely and a work colleague commented that my skin on my arms felt lovely and soft, so I can guarantee that this works. This product is £13.25 for 225g.

Alongside these items I also picked up Lemony Flutter, cuticle butter, which I previously blogged about in my 'Essentials' post and a new soap, Snow Globe which is beautifully lemony and helps with detoxifying the skin.

So, Lush has a new convert, me! I also loved their customer service, I didn't feel like they were on commission & I wasn't pushed into buying any of the products. I felt the staff were happy to help & genuinely happy to work at Lush, a rare thing in todays retail industry.

ISABELLA BLOW EXHIBITION AT SOMERSET HOUSE

Last Sunday I visited the Isabella Blow exhibition at the delightful Somerset House in London. Somerset House, being the host of the popular outdoor ice rink when it comes to London, is a beautiful exhibition space with a giant courtyard in the middle.

Isabella Blow was a magazine editor and champion of the late Alexander McQueen (whom she bought the whole Graduate collection of). Isabella was at the forefront of fashion in the 90s, attended all of the shows and created the career of Stella Tennant. She ultimately, after many attempts, took her own life in 2007. The exhibition is a collection of her outfits, many with amazing Philip Treacy creations. Milliner Phillip describes Isabella as his muse and she proudly wore many of his outlandish hats. Isabella was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but that was soon swiped away, the exhibition contains childhood photos and history of her family, even recordings of her talking about her childhood. This in-depth background of her life at the beginning of the exhibition really builds your empathy towards Isabella, although she lived a life steeped in glamour (or so it seemed) there was a damaged edge, a fraying of her outfits that endears you to her. The 90s are are in the middle of a resurgence and growing up in that era I loved walking through the many rooms and watching the many videos from the period, it's what I had seen in magazines but never fully experienced, it's a 90s that I never knew.

Unfortunately photography isn't allowed in the exhibition, but I sneakily snapped a few of these, sorry for the quality, I couldn't sneak my SLR in there covertly.

Tim Noble sculpture at the entrance of the exhibition

One of Isabella's outfits with a Philip Treacy hat

Stella Tennant in Vogue styled by Isabella

One of Isabella's outfits 

A paper bird sculpture elsewhere in Somerset House

ESSENTIALS

There are many items that I swap & change constantly, they become my 'essentials' for a short period of time. The above items are things that are my essentials, I re-buy them religiously and haven't found any better substitutes.

Firstly, my Clarasonic. I am wholly obsessed with this little gadget. Being in my late 20s I shouldn't still be suffering bad skin, but I am. I feel if I'd have had this issue in my teens I would have been able to deal with it, but in my 20s, it's not great. This gadget cleans my skin 6 times better than a manual cleanse would & makes my skin glow. I know many people talk about their skin glowing & it's something I didn't really 'get' until I bought this beauty. The price is expensive so it is something you need to consider before committing but it is very worth the price. I bought mine from Harvey Nichols and it was about £100, mine is the Mia model.

Another of my essentials is my Eve Lom cleanser, it perfectly combines with my Clarasonic to clean my face & I use it alone also. It's an oil based cleanser which helps draw out impurities in the skin, when I don't use my Clarasonic I use the muslin cloth that comes with the cleanser. This doesn't create that dry pulling feeling that makes me cringe with other cleansers. Again, this is pricey at £55 for 100ml but you only need a pea side amount to wash your hole face & it's gentle enough to rub on your eyes and gets rid of even the most stubborn waterproof eyeliner. Available at Space.nk.

Next up is my super serum obsession, Caudalie Vinosource. This is great for parched dehydrated skin that needs some TLC. I use it under a multitude of moisturisers to deal with whatever I have decided is my problem that month. It eliminates any dry skin I have and naked ny skin touchable smooth. I have recommended this item to so many people and they all thank me. I go through a bottle of this every 3 months or so as I do slap it on. It's £29 for 30ml, again from Space.nk.

Next up is my Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm, this balm de puffs my eyes in a morning, deals with fine lines and moisturises my eyes when they're feeling dry & crepey. It used Alguronic Acid derived from Algae which is even more moisturising than Hyaluronic Acid. I haven't found one I prefer an think this one is perfectly suitable for my age group. It's £49 for 15ml from Space.nk.

Last, but not least, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter from Lush. It smells like a dream, pure lemon delight, which entices you to bash more on your hands, however. With this butter less really is more and it goes a long way. As someone who religiously gets their nails manicured they can often dry out & flake, this butter stops that completely. I use this nightly and rub it into my nails and on any dry areas that are bothering me (currently my heels, getting them ready for summer sandals). This is a bargain at £6.50 from Lush.

This brings to an end my essentials post. Have you tried any of these items or know of any great alternatives I should try? 

ALL BLACK EVERYTHING

Another of my sale bargains, the item I originally went to find when I stumbled upon the Kate Bosworth jacket, is the above dress. 

The dress is a Topshop Boutique number reduced from £90 to £50 & I had my eye at full price, it's 100% silk with buttons down the front. It is a tad too big so maybe I should shorten the stapes to stop (another) nip-slip, however, I love it. I did plan on wearing my Moschino belt but I couldn't make an extra hole in it.

Here I've paired it with Topshop boots, my Twenty8twelve leather jacket from Harvey Nichols, a Beyond Retro super soft leather clutch, Vintage belt & oodles of jewellery.

MONOCHROME MAGIC

I'm going through a monochrome phase at the moment. Well, maybe I have been going through one for the past 10 years. You'll rarely find anything in my wardrobe that isn't black, white or grey. It's not that I'm scared of wearing colour, I just don't like it, my yellow skin doesn't like it & it's just far too 'cheerful' for my personality.

I'm loving the polyvore app on my iPhone for planning outfits & it helps me visualise what I have in my wardrobe and new ways to wear my favourite pieces. I have variations of the above items & I'm excited to wear them at the weekend.

KATE BOSWORTH FOR TOPSHOP

                     

The Kate Bosworth collection for Topshop is something I had my eye on for a good long while, however, the price put me off massively. I spent 5 years of my life grafting at Topshop/Topman so when I see the prices they charge now & not being able to get discount anymore I reluctantly walked away.

I don't really 'do' sales these days, I don't have the patience. But, after the Topshop website locked me out when trying to buy a beaut silk Boutique dress for £55, I ventured into their Leeds store, found the dress & noticed this next to it. After navigating the throng of teenagers running amok in amongst the sale rails I asked a sales assistant where the Boutique items were located (which saved me hours…) and found most of the Kate Bosworth collection in the sale. 

The above jacket was reduced from £195 to £95, so a complete bargain really!! The leather is so soft, it's kind of a milky white in real life and is worn oversized. Not sure what to wear it with yet, but it is beaut & I'm in love.

JEWELS

I admit to being a magpie, any shiny jewels and I am drawn to them straight away. I adore my fingers being bejewelled and feel sad when I have naked fingers. I do not adhere to the adage 'less is more', for me, it's always more. You may have seen my post about my obsession with Delilah Dust and their beautiful neck ornaments? So now I thought I would create a blog post about my large collection of rings.

My mother bought me the above tin for Christmas & I think it's perfect for storing them all in, here is a few of my personal favourites. 

Left to right:

A vintage thimble turned into a ring with an opal (I think) bought from a Vintage shop in Haworth.

A silver ring with a black stone, bought for my birthday from a great friend.

A gold and blue glass ring from the 1950s, bought from Salts Mill.

A silver and marble ring bought from Camden Market the day I moved my sister down to her new home.

Left to right:

An emerald and diamond ring that belongs to my mother.

A Claddagh ring bought from Aflecks Palace in Manchester on a day out with a good friend.

My mother's engagement ring, ruby & diamonds.

A Hayeon Lee ring bought from Harvey Nichols, it has a chain on the back to hold it like 3 mini rings. It used to be rose gold, turned gold & now I think it's going silver. Not cool when it cost £150, but I still love it.

The final ring won't fit on my finger, it's a silver ring from my mother that I received for passing my GCSEs many moons ago.

Left to right:

A man's ring from the 1970s with black Onyx stone.

A turquoise ring, my birth stone, also from Salts Mill in Saltaire.

Another Camden Market, a tigers eye ring. Tigers are cats & I'm a cat lady.

And finally, all I wanted when my Gran passed away was a ring of hers, I didn't get one. So my Mum bought me this from Aladdin's Cave in Leeds to symbolise my Grans life. It's a moon stone with a hint of purple, gold setting & silver ring.

Any other fellow magpies out there?

FOUNDATION REVIEW

                  

Foundation is a tricky basic to get right, I am forever looking at peoples faces and questioning the beauty professional that sold them the foundation in the first place.

I used to work at Space.nk & like to think of myself as a professional beauty junkie, I'm also a bit of a snob when it comes to skincare and make-up & truly believe you get what you pay for.

I thought I would talk you through my basics when it comes to foundation.

First step, a great layer of skincare under your foundation. I religiously use my Clarasonic (but that deserves a whole other blog post later) which creates a smooth and clean base for my skin. I shall write a blog post with my daily skincare routine soon as it's quite extensive and varies depending on how my skin feels that day. Oh & never forget to use primer!!! Anyway, back to my favourite foundations.

As a basic, day to day foundation I am currently using Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclat. (my colour is BD 20, bought from Harvey Nichols for £32) This foundation goes on smooth and clean and offers light to medium coverage, I do have to powder my face after application and once or twice during the day to reduce the shine. I love the smell of this foundation and being nearly 28 (gasp!) I feel I need to wear a foundation that is kinder to my skin. Brands such as YSL, Chanel, Lancome, Hourglass and others use high levels of skincare in their foundations, of course this is reflected in their prices, but like I said earlier, you get what you pay for. I had a sample of YSL's new Forever foundation before settling on the Touche Eclat one but I didn't like it on my skin.

Prior to my using the YSL Touche Eclat I used By Terry Cover Expert in Number 3, Cream Beige & LOVED it! This foundation is a dream with a painful price tag. It's £44, again from Space.nk. By Terry is a lovely range from Terry De Gunzburg, Terry is a great make-up artist who invented YSL's Touch Eclat. Terry worked very closely with Yves personally and moved on to create her own company when he passed away, taking her expertise with her. I still have some of this foundation left & I am trying to save it for a rainy day. I would buy this foundation again, however the price tag puts me off.

My foundation of choice for an evening is Illamasqua's Skin Base in SB 6.5. This foundation is brilliant, I have previously used Nars Sheer Glow in Deauville which I liked greatly until I discovered the Illamasqua one. The coverage is brilliant, blemishes are covered, it glides on without rolling and lasts all evening. I struggle with foundation colour matches as my skin is yellow tinged, this colour matches my skin perfectly and, as it doesn't contain any SPF, it looks great in pictures (no ghostly white pallor) I wouldn't use this during the day as the coverage is too heavy and it's not too great for my skin in terms of blemishes.

Have you any opinions on the products I use or any alternatives you'd recommend?

BLOGGER CRUSH

I've been an avid blog reader for the past 5 years or so, starting with The Blonde Salad, and I get style crushes on bloggers all the time.

I thought I would make this Blogger Crush post a series thing. 

My first crush post is dedicated to Zina Charkoplia of http://www.fashionvibe.net 

Zina's look is very eclectic, she has a great edge of mixing high street with high end. Take for example the amazing Zara tartan coat, which has sold out everywhere, she wears it so well and add in the Balenciaga boots. I'd love to have the time to take photos like these, they are beautiful, it helps that Zina is also beautiful. 

So here is my first blogger crush post, dedicated to Zina Fashionvibe.

HAIR

                        

I've had boy hair for a few years now, many, many people comment that I looked nicer with longer hair (cheers guys) so I am in the process of growing it back to a bob.

I really like short bobs with blunt fringes that loads of girls rock, so that is what I'm aiming for. Right now, I'm kind of in a 'Spock' phase (as in, Spock out of StarTrek, google it & you'll see) I was recommended to try Sea Kelp tablets, however when I ventured into Holland & Barratt the girl on the counter couldn't explain what 'can be used to maintain a healthy weight loss' meant. So I got scared & bought their own hair tablets, we'll see how these work then. 

                                                   

TROUSERS

                      

I am in love with my new trousers. They're were a mere £13 from ASOS Marketplace and are fully lined wool. They were a tad 'poofy' to begin with but again, back to my good friend who took them in for me on the leg. 

I have seen loads of alternatives from Topshop & Urban Outfitters but I didn't want to spend £45 upwards & I wanted some individual ones. I always find what I want at ASOS Marketplace & I've never had a bad experience (unlike eBay) so I'd recommend checking there first.

I teamed them with my over-worn Dr Marten shoes, a vintage cardigan, my vintage sheepskin coat & a plain black t-shirt.

STYLE CRUSH

I never thought I would be professing a deep love of Kim Kardashian's style, but since she gave birth to North she has been on point. I would like Kanye's style advice please?

Pre-Kanye days Kim was known as a bit of a car crash when it came to fashion, well she did used to hang out with Paris Hilton. Now she has really stepped forward in the fashion stakes & I believe she is one to watch...

VINTAGE BURBERRY BAG

Best vintage find ever!

Every city in the UK is going through a vintage revolution, these shops are a staple, just like a Topshop on every high street. I live in Leeds, which itself has a pretty rad selection of vintage shops. Leeds boasts a Blue Rinse, Best Vintage, Pop Boutique and a brilliant vintage fare that comes around every month or so. 

The above bag was a special purchase that I picked up at Judy's affordable vintage fair in the Corn Exchange. I attended the last one with my sister, alongside the bag I also grabbed a pale pink Jaeger shirt, it's so soft and looks great worn oversized with jeans. We also purchased some interior items, such as ugly plates and random pictures (I am determined for my house to look like a grandma lives there).

I believe the bag has had the handle replaced, however it's still in perfect condition & it fits perfectly on my shoulder.

BAD HAIR DAYS

                              

So, I'm growing out my boy hair. I'm aiming for a Uma Thurman Pulp Fiction bob, trying to resist the urge to chop it all back off. So I'm going to be rocking a large number of hats over the next few months. 

I have 6 so far, mostly Topshop & Vintage. Fedoras, trilbies & bowlers, but I had my eye on this bigger one in Urban Outfitters. Now, I have an unusually small head, a pea head if you will, so I always struggle with hats, this one is too big but I'll have to avoid windy days. 

So get ready for many posts on hats…

RELAXED DAY OFF

My father insisted he hates this outfit, the trousers especially offend him apparently. I, however, don't care as I'm just so damn comfy.

The problem with days off is when you wear something nice you're wasting it on an insignificant day. Sure there's a quote about that somewhere. Anyway, this outfit is simply about comfort, the pants are from Beyond Retro in Dalston, I had them tapered as they were a tad flarey (not the best) and they are the key of the outfit. The rest is just lumped together, mothers hand knitted cardigan, a Topman tee & my trusty Dr Martens. I AM SO COMFY!!!! (and look like a Grandma)