bits and bobs

Had lots of beauty bits and bobs over the past week to update you on!

So first of all, went to a beauty party on Friday which was lovely, especially as it involved Domino's and champagne! Had a back, neck and shoulder massage, as well as HD brows and semi-permanent eyelash extensions. I've had a brow wax and tint before, but loved the effect of HD brows. Using a combination of techniques including waxing, threading, tinting and plucking, a strong, defined brow making the most of your natural shape is created. Mine actually looked fuller than they did before, so pleased with them.

Also I'm so happy with my eyelash extensions, I had a half-set spread across the eye as I have quite short and relatively sparse eyelashes as I'm half Filipino. I asked for them not much longer than my natural lashes, and the effect is that of a good coat of mascara. They're comfortable to sleep and wash in, and last up to 6 weeks if taken good care of. I just have to think before rubbing my eyes in the morning! Oils can dissolve the glue that attaches the lashes to your natural ones so using a non-oil based mascara and cleanser ensures they last longer. They're attached to your lashes not your skin so they fall out when your natural lashes do. To be honest, I don't think there's a need to wear mascara with these. Really, really impressed and will be keeping these maintained with infills, I love the fact my make-up takes less time to do in the morning and no under-eye mascara smudges by the afternoon!

Treated myself to a new Mac lipstick when I went to Westfield last weekend, I originally want the Dior Rouge shade I was matched to at Vogue Festival but couldn't stretch to the £25 price tag so went for this alternative, Dark Side, £13.50. It's a black cherry colour with raspberry pink undertones as you can see in the below pictures (taken with and without flash). I really like the finish of it - using a lip brush, I'm able to build up the colour for a stain effect, and it's edgy without being too vampy.

Treated myself to this Zara top while at Westfield too, for £39.99. I look a bit funny in these pictures and they don't show it off to it's full potential but it's a lovely thick cream boucle knit(?) material with padded shoulder details and gold clips at the back with a transparent panel. I wore it with indigo skinny jeans, a leather jacket and cream suede brogues today but it'd be great with a black skirt and gold blazer for a smarter look. I'm in love with Zara at the moment, this is the third top I've bought from them in about the past month (as well as the fantasy studded blazer in my Vogue Festival post!). As I'll be graduating from university next year, I'm starting to piece together a working wardrobe instead of falling for trends that I won't be able to wear in a couple of year's time. Working wardrobes don't need to be boring - this top's smart but cheeky with the panel at the back.

Finally, after a long break, I'm trying to get back into nail art. I picked up a few new polishes on Oxford St yesterday to create this chic sparkly design:

The purple looks so different in different lights! It's more a red purple as seen in the first picture rather than the blue purple as seen in the pictures above and below.

Left to right: American Apparel Glitter in Supernova (great dupe for the much-hyped about Opi Rainbow Connection - has loads of glitter particles in it and dries to a smooth, not gritty, finish), Barry M in 342 Nude and 303 Bright Purple. I painted the nude base colour first, followed by the tips then the glitter.

sneak peek

 Sneak peek of my fashion film (stills of which were posted a couple of posts ago):

Vogue Festival 2012

 Yesterday morning, Hannah and I attended Vogue's first festival at The Royal Geographic Society in London which was a two-day series of lectures, interviews, panel discussions and Q&As with some of the best creatives in the fashion industry, including designers, stylists and models such as Christopher Bailey, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, Stella McCartney, Tom Ford, Lily Cole, Rachel Zoe... the list goes on.

I wore a tartan dress from Apricot, Studded Fantasy Fabric blazer from Zara, Alba boots and doctor's bag from Topshop.

 

Hannah wore dress and bag from Zara and jacket and boots from New Look.

 

The hall had three counters where you could be beautified: Josh Wood who offered wash-out dyes and temporary extensions, Armani Eyes provided sultry, smoky eyes and Red My Lips matched the perfect red to your skintone. Hannah was matched to Mac Russian Red (one of my favourites), a rich deep red that pops at the same time, and I was matched to Dior Rouge 862, a gorgeous berry stain.

  

We nibbled on salted popcorn, peanut butter brownies (which were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G) and fresh juices.

 

Alexandra Shulman introducing Diane Von Furstenberg:

 

Diane Von Furstenberg then gave a lecture as she flicked through an accompanying slide show, entitled 'Turning a Passion for Life into a Penchant for Business'. It was amazing to see and hear her talking about her life, loves and career, and she was so beautiful and funny. What inspired me the most was that she said she decided the woman she wanted to be when she was young; someone who could pay her own bills, was not reliant on a man and was independent, and she had overcome so many obstacles in her career to get where she is today. Truly incredible.

 

We also saw Vogue features director Jo Ellison interview David Bailey. I find his work so inspirational so was really excited to hear him talk but unfortunately found myself a bit disappointed. He was very funny but wasn't giving me the inside scoop I was expecting or answering Jo's questions directly or concisely. All the same, an experience and interesting to hear some of his stories.

Tim Walker and Kate Phelan talked us through some of their globetrotting fashion shoots which was amazing, I'm such a massive fan of Tim Walker's work and he was so down-to-earth and inspiring. I loved learning about how they put shoots together and the places they discovered that they wove into fashion shoots.

Overall, it was an amazing day which was so worth the ticket price. To be able to learn and be inspired by some of the best people in the industry is an incredible opportunity, and I can't wait until next year's event. The only downside is we didn't have time to do everything! We had to miss fashion question time with British designers including Henry Holland, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou otherwise we would have missed Tim Walker, and we missed the opportunity to have a mock-up Vogue cover portrait. Hopefully next year they'll have a bigger venue as we had to spend a lot of time queuing so we didn't miss anything - luckily Tim Walker did his session twice as there was such a high demand so we were able to make it.

wild thing

These are some stills from my upcoming and first fashion film, exploring the theme of diversity through trends inspired by various animals. I had three key looks: wild, avian and aquatic, which run parallel to S/S12 trends and elements within collections presented by Cavalli (wild), Manish Arora and Louis Vuitton (avian) and Versace, Chanel and Alexander McQueen (aquatic).

Sheer leopard-print playsuit, Topshop £26

Tie-dye textured top, Zara £39.99

Feather headband, Accessorize £20

Feather earrings, H&M £3.99

Cape jacket, Zara £39.99

Sequin vest, Warehouse £38

Shorts, Zara £29.99

Sequin clutch, Zara £29.99

As above

Model - Annabelle Lowes

Hair & Make up - Megan Marks and Alice Townes

Styling & Photography - Lara Spiller

Assistant - Chris Wilson

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

A collage I created last year:

100th post + Urban Decay

Wow, I can't believe this is my 100th post! I keep disappearing from my blog and then reappearing with apparently empty promises of how I'll try to post more! I'll spare you the apology but things really have been hectic the past few weeks, been dividing my time between Worthing and London and buried in looking for work experience and completing a uni project. Work experience is now sorted and the uni project is finally coming to an end so this time I actually will have some more free time to post.

I have so many things to post about (London Fashion Weekend, Danish Wakeel's London Fashion Week closing show, product reviews, etc) but I think that would be a bit intense for one post so I'll do those at a later date.

First of all, I'm trial-running a centre-parting at the moment, a look which I haven't worn in about 7 or 8 years! But i've had the same side-fringe, past-the-shoulders hair with ever so slight variations for too long so I decided it was time for a change.

Secondly, I ran out of my favourite eyeliner, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, so popped in to Debenhams to pick up another, and the sales assistant asked if I'd like the original black or the new black. I've previously used 'Zero' which was the only black available but they've recently released 'Perversion', described as 'blackest-black matte'. Having tested it yesterday, I've found that it really is the darkest black, and it glides on so smoothly with intense colour. No fading or smudging either as all the Glide-On Eye Pencils are waterproof but come off easily with make-up remover. I usually use eyeliner first as a guide and then liquid eyeliner over the top to secure it and intensify the black (also doing it this way means wobbly liquid lines aren't as noticeable!) but I could wear Perversion alone. The pencil is lovely too - slim, long and matte black. Definitely a must-have for an eyeliner-addict like me.

Urban Decay Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion, £13

Left: Zero, Right: Perversion

Urban Decay is a brand which I discovered when I was around 13 or 14 years old, when I properly began experimenting with make-up as my emo/scene phase began and I was drawn to the crazy bright colours and glitter texture eyeshadows. Seven years on, and I'm still addicted, owning all four 16-shadow 'Book of Shadows' palettes as well as the coveted Naked palette, amongst other products. My loyalty to, and love for, Urban Decay stems from their beautiful and wide range of eyeshadow shades, which are really highly pigmented and don't crease. I have more eyeshadow than I will ever get through but also every shade I'll ever need. Even still, Naked 2 is on my wishlist...

milan and mcqueen

I'm back from Italy! Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been doing loads of traveling but I have so much to share with you so will try and post regularly again. I had an amazing, amazing time in Italy - Milan was incredible just for the experience - lovely wide streets and endless designer shops. As lovely as Milan was, I preferred Florence as it had a true Italian feel, you can walk everywhere and shopping seemed easier.

If you go to Milan, you must go to:
Dolce & Gabbana Gold Restaurant - for the tastiest beef fillet I have ever had, and gorgeous cocktails

Emporio Armani Caffe - for a yummy Mochaccino and a pasta dish
Luini - my friends and I were divided on the taste, but they sell filled pizza pockets, great for a daytime snack, and they're always busy with tourists as well as locals. Italian dough is surprisingly sweet, almost like doughnuts. Just a short walk from the Duomo.
Instituto Marangoni for inspirational fashion lectures
...And obviously explore the designer shops, and art museums.

If you go to Florence, go to:
Rossopomodoro - delicious pizzas and tankards of soft drinks (I didn't realise this place was a chain and there's actually a couple in London)

Anywhere for gelato! Hazelnut and caramel flavours were the best
Uffizi Gallery for The Birth of Venus
Astor Cafe - a bar/club in a street off from the Duomo. We went on a Thursday night and it was 3 drinks for 10 euros, including cocktails, and the DJ was from London! Busy, great atmosphere and great music.
The Mall - I wouldn't have known about this if it wasn't for my guide book, but this place is an AMAZING designer outlet area, which has Alexander Mcqueen, Dior, Valentino, Prada, Burberry and Stella McCartney amongst others, which sell discounted recent and current season items. You seriously can't go to Florence and not go here. We didn't know how far out it was so we got a taxi and it ended up costing us over 60 euros because it's right on the outskirts of Florence in an industrial area. However there is a shuttle bus from the centre which costs about 3 euros each way. Prada shoes for 50-100 euros, Mcqueen knuckleduster clutches for 400 euros and Dior earrings for 80 euros.


I picked up this beautiful Mcqueen twin skull bangle with Swarovski crystals set in the eyes for a mere 70 euros. So happy that I now own such a signature piece for a bargain price.



Also head to luxury lingerie chain La Perla but you could pay up to 500 euros for a set. They do have items on sale for 50% off, and department store Rinascente stock it - I managed to pick up a gorgeous black mesh and gold lace triangle bra for 35 euros there.

I'm sure there's loads of places I haven't mentioned but those are the best of where I managed to visit. I intend to go back this summer to celebrate my 21st birthday so I will do some more exploring.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day! As I was feeling the McQueen vibe with my new bangle, I wore a tartan dress inspired by the McQ one seen on a host of celebrities including Emma Watson, Chloe Moretz and Rihanna. And black and red was very fitting for the occasion!

Dress - Apricot, £25
Black sequin jumper - New Look
Coat - H&M
Tights - Marks & Spencer
Alba Boots - Topshop
Leather bag - Topshop