Tag: 2013

2 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Boudoir

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2 Dec text Boudoir

The second day of Mini Mani Month brings with it one of my favourite colours for nails – red, in the form of Boudoir!

2 Dec opening Boudoir

Ciate’s site describes it as: “A sassy flirtatious red. Pink may make the boys wink, but this red will knock ’em dead. Team with that figure hugging dress and killer heels to unleash your inner diva.” (Buy it here.)

A bit heartier and darker than last year’s cheery bright Mistress, and lighter than the brooding Dangerous Affair, this is another brilliant red for Christmas. The only criticism I’d give it is that it’s very slightly sheer – I used two coats (plus bottom and top coat) and my nails were still slightly visible.

2 Dec montage Boudoir

I decided to have a little fun with a matte top coat (from OPI), and then tipped my nail’s with last year’s Ladylike Luxe for a festive finish! I’d definitely recommend this one for anyone who was after a classic red for nails. It practically screams Christmas.

2 Dec Bleached

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1 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Snow Globe

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Text 1 Dec

It’s my favourite time of year again! Time for Ciate’s Mini Mani Month – 24 days of beautiful nails, and a whirlwind ride through all the colours of the rainbow!

1 Dec opening

First up is Snow Globe, a pretty top coat that’s full of flecks of iridescent silver foil. I couldn’t decide which colour would look best underneath, so I tried a different colour on every nail!

1 Dec Colours

On left:
Ciate: Mistress
Zoya: Gemma
Ciate: Dangerous Affair
Ciate: Power Dressing
Ciate: Vintage

On right
OPI: Keeping Suzi at Bay
Ciate: Cupcake Queen
Ciate: Cookies and Creme
OPI: French Quarter for your Thoughts
Ciate: Headliner

Which one’s your favourite?! (Many of these are from last year’s calendar – it’s so handy to have all these colours around for times when you want to try a new look or a mani you’ve seen online!)

1 Dec

I’m very pleased to start the month out with a beautiful new Christmassy top coat – I love top coats and I always wish I had more to play with!

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Burberry Body Gold Collection AW 2013: Trench Kiss No. 216

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You guys know I’m a bit of a Burberry girl at the moment, so when I saw the new festive collection (complete with gold packaging) as part of Burberry’s new beauty range for Christmas, I pounced right away! I bought Trench Kiss (which is available as a lip mist all year round) and Soft Gold as a nail varnish. I’m saving the nail varnish post for tomorrow, but first, here’s the lovely packaging it comes with!

Burberry packaging

Love the postcard and the beautiful little gold card attached to the bag! I’m overflowing with Burberry bags at the moment, because the lip mist and nail varnish came in separate ones. Who’s complaining? Not me!

Anyway, Trench Kiss is a very neutral, nude colour, with a gentle, moisturizing finish that’s very sheer. It’s £22.50 and available from the site here in a regular silver edition, and here in festive gold. I am so impressed with the finish on Burberry’s lip covers and lip mists. They slide on like a dream, and feel gorgeous on your lips.

Burberry lips montage

Check out the rest of the Burberry beauty Christmas range here, and come back tomorrow for my nail varnish post! (And check out my post on other A/W 2013 Burberry nail polish here!)

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Ciate Mini Mani Month 2013 Sneak Preview

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Mini Mani Month 2013 sneek peek sideMini Mani Month 2013 sneek peek backMini Mani Month 2013 frontMini Mani Month 2013 front sneak peek wholeDec 24 SerendipityDec 24 Serendipity back
Dec 24 peekDec 23 peekDec 23 LocketDec 23 Locket backDec 22 peekDec 22 Christmas Tree Caviar
Dec 22 Christmas Tree Caviar backDec 21 peekDec 21 ConfettiDec 21 Confetti backDec 20 peekDec 20 Ivory Queen
Dec 20 Ivory Queen backDec 19 UnderwearDec 19 Underwear backDec 18 peekDec 18 Amazing GracieDec 18 Amazing Gracie back

I’ve noticed a lot of traffic coming my way from people searching for Ciate’s Mini Mani Month. So, here is a sneak peek of every single bottle inside the advent calendar, for those of you (like me!) who just can’t wait until December! Just click above to be taken to my Flickr photostream.

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Hush picks for A/W 2013

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Hush launched their new A/W 2013 collection today, and in order to celebrate, I thought I’d share my top picks from the new range!

Hush picks for A/W 2013

First of all, I love this Open-Knit Poncho in Cappuccino:

How gorgeous is the sloppy, cosy look of the knit? It’s great that you can throw it on over skinny jeans and still look fabulous and chic, despite putting in minimum effort…

The Dolman Sloppy Joe in Marine shows how great hush are at creating very loose fit styles that still look amazing and flattering on:

I also heartily recommend the Sloppy Joe dresses too – very simple yet so snug! I own one myself in dark grey and I wore the heck out of it last year!

I’ve had my eye on the Felted Wool Dress for a long time, but I suspect it wouldn’t do too well with my skin, which is very sensitive to wool fibres (even cashmere!). However, I adore this beautiful new colour in the style:

It just screams Christmas! It’s also available in black – how about that for a LBD with a difference?

Marine and Burgundy are both big colours for hush this season, and the Heart Stitch Jumper looks amazing in both colourways:

It’s very reminiscent of another one of my favourites last year, the Moss Stitch Jumper Dress, another hush staple that I barely stopped wearing all season.

Hush have also launched two beautiful new shirts for A/W (and I’m a massive fan of my chiffon shirt from the summer sale, so I’m sure I’ll be picking one of these beauties up at some point…). The first is the fairly pricey Classic Silk Shirt in Powder and Black:

They are also offering the collarless Freya Shirt in Powder or Pearl Blue:

This version is a much more affordable £45 (compared to £140 for the silk), and is made of viscose.

I also see some great potential for styling options in the new range of accessories, particularly the Cashmere Leopard Shawl (again, I own a similar, lighter version from a past season which I’ve worn many times), and the Jersey Snoods in Black, Cobalt, Grey Marl, Marine and Shadow (£29.50) – although I wish they did a burgundy too. High on the lust list is the Studded Wrap Bracelet in Pink (or Petrol, both gorgeous!), and of course, you can’t get through winter without a good hat – hush’s Cashmere Berets are classics.

The launch of this range also coincides with the 10th anniversary of hush – and a new look for the company, including a brand new website. All looking very slick, I must say! Happy anniversary hush – here’s to many more to come!

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Ascot Ladies Day 2013

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It’s my much-delayed report on Ladies’ Day at Ascot 2013! I had a blast as usual – and we even won big in one race when we bet on the Queen’s horse to win, and also scooped the second and third place runners too – but somehow, the shine is wearing off of this event for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I had my foot crushed by a rather large middle-aged lady who was completely smashed out of her mind during the Bandstand Singalong (and it still hurts now, two months later) or maybe it’s the fact that the dress code standards have slipped again, but there’s just something about Ascot Ladies’ Day that is wearing a little thin on me now. But, this post is to concentrate on the positive!

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The theme this year was floral (my friends and I try to match – last year’s theme was obvious and awesome at the same time!), so I spent a lot of time hunting out the perfect floral dress. It had to be flared and with a ’50s style vest-shaped top. I found the perfect dress in French Connection’s Maggie Lou. However, I had a massive crisis of confidence when my usual dress size didn’t fit me, which prompted me to go on an epic, short-term weight loss plan, which I’m pleased to say was successful. I am certainly not the size I’d like to be, but I did fit into a size 10 again!

Once I found my perfect dress, I needed a hat or fascinator to go with it. I had always planned to get something made, so I commissioned the fabulous Marissa Fleur from Etsy to create a bespoke headpiece based on the colours of the dress.

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Floral Headpiece, commissioned from Marissa Fleur via Etsy / Disc Stud Earrings with Aqua Chalcedony Stones, Azuni / Maggie Lou Dress, French Connection / Wrap, Monsoon / Natalie Clutch, L.K. Bennett / Black Patent Maddox Wedges, L.K. Bennett

Here’s what the headpiece looks like flattened out, and below is the finished product on a headband, which is how I wore it on the day!

We booked afternoon tea at the event and wound up being incredibly late thanks to some atrocious traffic on the way. I think we were stuck for at least an hour and a half. It wasn’t the best of ways to begin, I have to say, although the tea was lovely enough to make it worth the wait:

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At first I was slightly disappointed, as I thought the pork pie, tarts and fondant fancies were shop-bought, but upon thorough investigation, they seemed to have been made by hand – and they were certainly tastier than their supermarket counterparts!

The tearooms were a bit corporate feeling, but the mismatched china gave it a cool look – although, obviously, it’s much cheaper to fill a tearoom with mismatched china sets! At our table there was even a set that matched my colour scheme!

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The afternoon tea cost £24pp and was honestly worth it for not having to go through the drama of fighting for a table at one of the kiosks or in the Bandstand restaurant. The food was very decent, and there was certainly enough! I think we were stuffed by the end! And anywhere with tea on tap is fine with me, of course.

For dinner, we went to Heston’s Hind’s Head in Bray again, but I think I’ll save that for another post. In the meantime, here are a few more pictures of the day…

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Next year, I think I’m going to try out a few different race meets. I’m thinking Epsom and Goodwood for 2014!

GlossyBox UK February 2013: Round-up

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I was surprised again this month by how quickly I got my GlossyBox – I wasn’t expecting it until next week! This month’s theme is Valentine’s Day, and so the box was an explosion of pink and red.

Glossybox Feb

Even the outside of the box had a special makeover for today!

Glossybox Feb inside

An amazing range of products for me this month – and I couldn’t be happier with my selection. The full sizes were a lip balm, lipstick, body cream, and highlighter, and the only sample size was the eye shadow – which is still a fairly decent size.

Glossybox Feb notes

First of all, the very important matter of the most exciting item in the box: the bonus lollipop!

Glossybox lollipop

I don’t very often purchase lollipops as part of my beauty routine, but this was packaged nicely with the GlossyBox logo on one side, and a handy clear window on the other side so you could see the item inside. The lollipop was shaped like a heart, which is a nice touch. Upon opening, it had a subtle scent of strawberries, which was very pleasant. I found this to be very tasty – sweet, crunchy, and mouth watering. After eating it, though, I couldn’t tell the immediate benefits to my complexion. I definitely think I’d need to try more of these in order to test them properly, but the only type I can purchase near me is Chupa Chups, which I don’t think will have the same effect.

Here are the details about the rest of the box:

Micabella Cosmetics: Mineral Eye Shadow in Deep Secrets. Full size is £14.95 for 2.5g. Included here is 1g.

Micabella Mineral Eye Shadow in Deep Secrets

A very pretty bronze colour – and I really like mineral powder. I can imagine this being hard to apply as the powder is very fine, but there’s a tip here to dampen your brush before applying so I’ll try that! You can see the other products in the range at http://www.micabella.co.uk.

Balance Me: Rose Otto Body Cream. Full size is £6 for 30ml, and £18 for 200ml. Included here is 30ml.

Balance Me Rose Otto Body Cream

The rose scent is very strong and the cream feels pretty rich on application – it contains aloe vera, rosehip and camellia oils, along with the fragrance of rose otto oil. There’s not much you can really say about a skin cream, but this is actually really nice and feels very silky. Perfect for Valentine’s Day! You can find out more http://www.balanceme.co.uk.

Figs and Rouge: Rambling Rose Lip Balm. £3.49 for 8ml, which is included in the box.

Figs and Rogue Rambling Rose

I absolutely love the packaging of this product! It’s adorable! In fact, the whole range from Figs and Rouge is exquisitely designed, and I’ll definitely be purchasing more in the future. The lip balm itself is decent, although seems to sit on the surface of the skin for a while before absorbing properly. The rose scent is very strong on this too – you can almost taste it when you put it on! It’s not my favourite scent, but I will definitely pick up some others from this brand, if just for how gorgeous they look! Check them out at http://www.figsandrouge.com.

Miners Cosmetics: Lip Colour in Seduction. £3.99 for 4g, which is included in this box.

Miners Cosmetics Lip Colour in Seduction

Seduction is a rich and bold colour with a smooth application – although I found that it fades to a strong pink colour, which means it needs to be topped up. Certainly not bad for £3.99! I love this dramatic, deep red – it’s very Valentine’s Day friendly! Visit the site at http://www.minerscosmetics.co.uk.

MEMEME Cosmetics: Beat the Blues in Oyster Gold. £5.50 for 12ml, which is included in this box.

MEMEME Cosmeticas Beat the Blues Oyster Gold

As a fan of Benefit’s High Beam, I was interested to get this in my box, which looks a bit like a more shimmery version of their Sun Beam formula. Being very pale, I don’t usually go in for bronzers or gold-tinted highlighters, so I’ll be testing this out to see if I should be changing all that! It would have been ace to have had this for the Christmas season, as I love a bit of gold and sparkle during the winter months – but I guess it can just as easily translate into a sun-kissed summer look too! Find more at http://www.mememecosmetics.co.uk.

So, that’s the Valentine’s Day GlossyBox for me – I couldn’t have asked for more, really. Great range of products, all things that I use already but in either much loved shades or ones I’m interested to try out. And I guess you could even pull the three cosmetics items together to make a Valentine’s Day look if you wanted! I’m definitely pleased to have a more make up centric box this month.

Visit http://www.glossybox.co.uk to subscribe for your monthly beauty box!

My picks from the Hush Winter Sale!

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The much anticipated Hush sale went online last night at midnight, and there were loads of bargains on offer! I thought I’d share my picks for the best items on the site…

Hush harem trousers

Here are those ever-controversial harem trousers, now reduced from £49.50 to £25! I now own a pair of Hush harem trousers in the same style (charcoal colour) and they truly are the comfiest things I own. Forget jogging bottoms, leggings and yoga pants. These are the bomb. The charcoal colour is really best suited to lounging around at home in, because the grey is very casual, so I can’t wait to see whether these burgundy ones will look stylish enough to be worn out and about.

Hush Big Sloppy Jumper

Reduced by £25 down to £40, this is a great price for this lovely, comfy jumper – a mix of cotton, silk and cashmere. Although it does crease when you’re sitting down for a long time, it’s great to slob around in. If you get a cold throat like me, you’ll need a scarf to keep yourself covered, though, because the v-neck is pretty low. And, it’s supposedly hand wash only – I’ve not had the guts to try it in a washing machine yet! However, £40 is definitely a bargain – and the red is beautiful. It also comes in grey marl, charcoal marl and dark navy. (Read my review here.)

Cardigown from Hush

On my wist-list before Christmas was the amazing cardigown, so when I saw it was reduced to £50, I snapped one up. Can’t wait to try it out!

Cable Knit Cardi Coat from Hush

One thing I didn’t get which I would have loved was the Cable Knit Cardi Coat, which is £70 off at £100. Even with the reduction, it’s still a little pricey for me, but it looks amazing and I’ve heard very good things about it!

Cashmere Madeleine Jumper from Hush

If you’re looking to seriously treat yourself, though, it surely has to be with something from Hush’s amazing cashmere range. I’ve picked out the cashmere Madeleine jumper, which is on sale for £80 (reduced from £150), but there are so many styles to choose from it’ll be hard to narrow it down!

Goldie Snood from Hush

One of the items that really stuck in my mind when I first stumbled across Hush was the gorgeous Goldie snood, which is now on sale for £25 (reduced from £45). I bought a similar item from Oasis but was never really happy with it, so I’ll be very excited to get this through. There are a range of snoods available in the sale here.

There were a couple of things that I was after that haven’t been reduced (namely the felted wool dress and the Charlene dress), so I’ll be stalking those to see if they get added. But, there are loads of amazing bargains available at the moment, so head to www.hush-uk.com while the sale is still on to bag yours!