[Dress: Karen Millen 2010 (competition prize) // Boots: Topshop 2010 // Gloves: gifted // Sunglasses: House of Harlow]
Well, at least if I ever have to go to a funeral in the 1940s, I’ll know what to wear, huh? But only if it’s the funeral of my millionaire elderly husband, who I secretly poisoned in order to steal his fortune and run off with the pool boy, obviously.
I tried to dress this outfit down. No, really, I did. But the second I saw this dress, it spoke to me. It said, “Wealthy widow who is probably also a murderer.” It also said, “DRAMA”. And so every time I wear it, I tell myself I’ll try not to go too over-the-top, and then I find myself saying, “Hey, Terry, know how we were going to go to Nando’s tonight? Change of plan: we’re going to go 1940s Hollywood instead. And we’ll be murderin’.”
Anyway, what I guess I’m trying to say here is that this outfit is the “Bad Guy” to my “Good Guy” outfit of last week. I don’t tend to wear black all that often (especially not head-to-toe black, like this), partly because it’s hard for me not to look like a vampire in it, but also because it’s just SO HIGH MAINTENANCE. I mean, I lint-rolled this dress right before we left the house, which was approximately 5 minutes before the photos were taken, but although it looked absolutely fine and lint-free in the mirror, once the sun hit it, it was like Lint City, population: this dress. That kind of thing drives me mad, and is why I buy lots of pairs of black trousers and then don’t wear them: I’m just a bit too OCD to not be whipping a lint roller out of my handbag every five minutes, and that can be a bit of a mood-killer, don’t you think?
So, why am I wearing all this black when I’ve just said it makes me look like one of The Undead and drives me crazy? Because I just can’t help myself. You see, it took me a long time to work out that black really wasn’t My Colour. Prior to that, I’d been working on the assumption that black was EVERYONE’S colour, and that it was impossible to go wrong with it. I even went through a phase where it was the only colour I would buy: I think I thought of it as a kind of shortcut to style, in a way. I had absolutely no clue what my style was at that point, and I figured that if I always wore black I’d at least be chic and mysterious, and in this way I would basically trick people into not realising I was actually a hot mess.
I learned. (Well….) But I still sometimes find myself drawn to black. I like the starkness of it. The simplicity. And all too often when a brand brings out a particularly fabulous dress, black will be the only colour they’ll make it in, so I allow myself to be tempted by it, and for some reason that’s been happening more and more frequently recently. Looks like I might need a few extra lint rollers…
Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover & Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Reviewed…
When it comes to eye makeup remover, I’m pretty hard to please. Because I swear by waterproof mascara, which holds curl better, and is just way more dramatic than the regular stuff, I really NEED a decent eye makeup remover. My usual cleanser just doesn’t cut it, and trying to get waterproof mascara off with soap and water (or basically ANYTHING that isn’t designed for that express purpose) is a great way to end up with red, watery eyes. Or it is for me, anyway.
For years now, my go-to eye makeup remover has been one from the Boots Botanics line, which is – or WAS – so good it achieved Holy Grail status. Then, last summer, Boots decided to re-vamp the Botanics range. Not only did they discontinue my favourite shampoo and conditioner, they also changed the formula of the Eye Makeup Remover, and while it’s still much better than any of the other drugstore brands I’ve tried, it’s not quite as good as it used to be. I’ve continued to buy it, but I’ve also started to experiment with some other brands, and having tried quite a few, my conclusion is this:
Most eye makeup removers are useless.
They really are. Simple. Walgreen’s own brand. Er, some other drugstore brands I’ve totally forgotten about. They all totally sucked, in that they failed completely in their bid to remove my waterproof mascara (Even when they claimed to be effective on it): I’d spend ages scrubbing at my eyes (Which is obviously the LAST thing you want to subject that delicate skin to), only to end up resorting to soap/cleaner and water to remove the residue. And with almost every single one of those drugstore eye makeup removers, even when I thought I’d gotten rid of the mascara, I’d wake up in the morning with racoon eyes. Every single one of them.
So I went back to Botanics. And then these two Clarins products dropped through my door, and I have to admit, I was more excited than I probably should have been about eye makeup remover. Well, after all those weeks of waking up in the morning looking like my dark shadows had gotten even darker during the night, I was getting pretty desperate. I received…
I knew without even trying these that the Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover would be my favourite of the two, and not just because it claims to be good at removing “waterproof and heavy makeup”. I knew because this is a double-layered, bi-phase lotion, just like the Boots Botanics one I normally use, and Lancome’s excellent Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover. This is my favourite type of eye makeup remover, and really the ONLY type which I’ve found to be effective on waterproof mascara. There’s an oily later on the bottom, and a more watery later on top: before using it, you shake the bottle to mix the two up, then apply it to your lashes with cotton wool. And just like that, your eye makeup is gone. It really is THAT good: there’s no painful rubbing or scrubbing at the eye, and there’s no black residue – it takes even waterproof mascara off in just a couple of gentle swipes, and this makes it AMAZING. Seriously. I also received a bottle of…
This is formulated for sensitive eyes, and makes no claims about being able to shift even the most waterproof of mascara, which is good, because it doesn’t. Or rather, it DOES, but only after a good bit of rubbing: I DON’T have particularly sensitive eyes, but I probably would do if I insisted on always removing my usual mascara with this, because it’s just not designed for that kind of product. In the interests of fairness, I also tried it with a non-waterproof mascara, and it fared much better. It’s significantly better than a similar drug-store brand, but ONLY on non-waterproof makeup: if, like me, you always wear waterproof mascara, I wouldn’t recommend this one.
As for the Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover, as much as I loved it, I unfortunately won’t be re-purchasing it when I run out, purely because of the price. I get through a bottle of Eye Makeup Remover in just a little over a month, and at £17 per bottle, this is just too pricey for me, especially considering that my usual Botanics lotion will do the same job (Albeit not quite as well) for around £2.99. That said, if I had the money, then yes, I would splurge on this: it IS better than Botanics, just not SO MUCH better that I’d be willing to pay the extra on my limited budget.
Both of these products are available to buy at Clarins.
[Disclosure: these were sent to my as review samples. All opinions are my own.]
(OK, I finally worked out how I’m going to handle this whole Photo-a-Day thing, and how I’m going to handle it is, I’m going to just keep posting the photos on Instagram, and then blog about the ones I really like, or which have a story to them, or something. That way you don’t have to look at 365 blurry photos of the sky, and I don’t end up writing 20,000 words about them, but I still get to document my life in photos, and also get some really lazy blog content into the bargain. And I probably WILL still write 20,000 words about them, just so’s you know.)
So! A couple of weeks ago, Terry surprised me with the news that he had bought us tickets to see the Counting Crows for my birthday this year.
(They’re not actually playing on my birthday, or even anywhere near it. Rude of them, actually.)
Now, I know it’s not trendy to like Counting Crows, but luckily I don’t give a crap about being trendy, because I LOVE them. I discovered them back when I was a tortured journalist (as opposed to being a tortured blogger, obviously. “Older, not wiser” has been the motto of my life.), and I couldn’t help but notice they were singing the story of my life, which is all about love, and loss and, er, growing up in a small town on the east coast of America, and then moving to L.A. in search of a dream that is never realised. So, you know, maybe not EXACTLY my life, but whatever: I RELATED.
(I just realised that describing myself as a “tortured journalist”, might have been misleading. I meant that I was tortured emotionally, obviously. I wasn’t, like, John McCarthy or anything. Glad to have cleared that up.)
Anyway, I love Counting Crows, is what I’m trying to say. So when Terry told me he’d bought us tickets to see them, my first thought was, “YAY! Counting Crows! I bet Adam Duritz will notice me in the crowd, recognise me as his number 1 fan, and pull me up on stage, to join him in a quick rendition of Mr Jones. Awesome!”
(And now I’ve made it sound like I stalk Adam Duritz or something. I don’t. I’m not allowed to, ever since the restraining order.)
My second thought was, “Hmmm. Maybe I should get some singing lessons, just in case.”
And then my third thought? Well, obviously my THIRD thought was, “OMG, what will I WEAR?”
Things like this, you see, present me with my biggest fashion dilemmas ever. (Yes, it took me a while to get us back on topic, but I got there in the end…) The fact is that my wardrobe is sadly lacking in clothes of a practical nature. If you want me to go out to dinner (in the 1950s), accompany you to a bar (in the 1950s), or attend a wedding, say (in the 1950s, natch), I will be able to pull something out of that closet without even having to think about it. But if you ask me to go on a hike, or on a coastal walk, or to help you weed your garden (Note: never ask me to help you garden. I will cut you.), I’m out. I’m not joking: the “practical” section of my wardrobe boils down to either:
a) Workout clothes
or
b) THIS.
So, if you were to ask me to help you move house, say, I’d turn up looking like I was going to either run a marathon or climb Everest. Or I’d turn up dressed like a pin-up girl, obviously. None of these would really be appropriate for that particular activity, and none of them will be appropriate for a rock concert either. I mean, if we were in the seated area, that would fine. I’d just go with the pin-up option. But we’re standing. The last time I was in the standing area at a concert was at Bob Dylan in 2011. “It’ll be fine,” I thought. “It’ll be a bunch of old hippies, all flashing V signs and swinging their beads and stuff.” Yeah, not so much. Someone stamped on my toe so hard I seriously thought it was broken (And, indeed, the toenail died. Sad for it.), and … actually, no, sorry, I can’t talk about the Other Things that happened that night. It’s too soon.
What I’m trying to say here, then, is that not even I would wear stilettos and a sundress for something like this. I need shoes that can be stamped on. Clothes that I can fight dance in. A comfortable, practical outfit that will allow me to be on my feet for several hours, in the middle of a probably violent crowd, without my feet hurting, or, well, my dress getting creased. Because I would HATE IT if my dress got creased.
At the end of the day, though, I’m still not prepared to give up my heels, so I bought these:
They’re biker boots. But they have a little heel! They are TOTALLY not my usual style, but they’re super-comfortable, and I think they’ll protect my toes if someone tries to break them again. As for what I’ll wear WITH them… my thought-process hasn’t extended that far. I’m sure I’ll work it out, though. Probably the morning after the concert, knowing my luck.
Because I’m the kind of person who puts a pretty, bokeh effect on the photo of her concert ticket, though, and to go some way towards combating the whole BIKER thing, I also bought these:
(excuse crappy, low-light iPhone photo…)
And the balance of the universe was restored. WHEW.
[Title lyric: Counting Crows, Round Here]
This contains four wet-and-dry formula powder shadows (Wear them dry for a subtle, shimmery effect, and wet if you’re looking for deeper pigmentation) which are inspired by the Iris flower.
Despite not being a big eye-shadow fan (Although I’ve actually been wearing it a lot more often recently: the times, they are a-changin’) I think this is a really useful palette for any skin tone. Three of the shades are ones which I think of as “neutrals” when it comes to eye shadow – the white, brown and black are colours which even an eye-shadow novice such as myself can make use of – while the deep purple colour adds an injection of a brighter shade, but is still very wearable. (And a nice substitute for black, if you’re doing a smoky eye, say.)
The iridescent finish makes these nicely shimmery (although not TOO shimmery), and, as with most of Clarins’ products, the presentation is just lovely, with the quartet presented in a gold case, and embossed with a floral pattern. Gorgeous!
[Disclosure: This item was a free-of-charge sample]
[Lace skirt: River Island // sweater: Ralph Lauren (gift) // faux fur scarf: ASOS // Boots: Sam Edelman* // Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs*]
Just a very quick post today, folks: I’m actually writing this on Sunday, and Terry and I are getting ready to go out for our Early Valentine’s celebration (We like to avoid The Others by avoiding the day itself…), so I don’t have time for my usual 38,834 words, but I thought you might like to know that I DID manage to lighten up a bit after my last post – or my clothes did, at least.
This outfit is basically a variation on this one and this one, from which you can probably tell that light colours – specifically creamy ones – have been my THING this winter. I set out to avoid retreating into gloomy, dark colours this year, and while I have worn my share of black this winter (and, ironically enough, will probably end up wearing MORE of it in the summer, because of all of the awesome black and white clothes that are appearing in the stores right now…), I’ve really been enjoying the head-toe-toe cream/beige/taupe/whatever look. It makes me feel a bit like the “good guy” in a Spaghetti western or something. That’s always fun.
And now I guess I better go get off this country road, before the farmer comes and mows me down with his combine harvester or something. Don’t copy fashion bloggers, kids! Stay safe!
Jacket: New Look // Pencil skirt: Topshop // Turtleneck: Primark // Boots: Sam Edelman // Sunglasses: Gucci -all from 2011-ish
February is my least favourite months of the year. It’s…
..actually, I’m going to stop right there, because I’m starting to feel a bit like the anti-fashion-blogger or something. There you all are, with your “Whee! Cupcakes and snowflakes, and autumn-is-my-favourite-season, boots and coats and layering, oh my!”… and meanwhile, there I am, sulking in the corner like a sullen teenager, going, “Nope, HATE IT. Hate that, too! Urgh, get the layering away from me! Did I mention that I HATE IT?” This is why I never go to fashion blogger meet-ups, obviously. Well, that and the fact I don’t get invited to them, I wonder why? I think I’ll go put on The Smiths and read some Sylvia Plath. Oh no, wait, I was writing a blog post, wasn’t I? Let’s see, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah…
February. It can just go HANG itself, as far as I’m concerned. I hate it, not just because it is a cold and vicious little month, but because, in our family, it’s traditionally the month when Bad Things happen. Now, I’m not even remotely superstitious, but after several years’ worth of Bad Things happening every February without fail, even I started to get a bit paranoid about it, and to think about pinning garlic above the door or something on the 31st of January every year.
(The Bad Things are not normally vampires. Nothing would surprise me in February, though.)
Mercifully, we’ve managed to get through a few Februarys lately without any Bad Things. This doesn’t really reassure me, though, because it probably just means the universe is saving them all up, don’t you think? And one year – maybe THIS VERY YEAR, people! – it will unleash them all at once. And it will do it in February.
With that doom-laden tone set, then, here I am, wearing what has basically become my winter uniform: pencil skirt, turtleneck, over-the-knee boots. Sure would like to be wearing something different now, but nope, not going to happen, folks, because the weather won’t let me. So I’ll keep on with the boots and the pencil skirts, and also the tutlenecks which I love because of all the traffic I get from that forum for people with a fetish for turtleneck sweaters as well as being warm and comfortable, they also allow me to work one of my lesser-seen lazy hairdos: the FOB. (Faux bob, for the uninitiated. You just don’t bother pulling your hair out of the neck of your sweater once you’ve pulled it on, and… that’s pretty much it, actually.) I love me a FOB every now and again. My own hair wouldn’t look anything like this if I cut it short because it’s too limp and fine to sit nicely (I actually had it this short once, when I was a kid. It looked like ass.), but it’s fun to fake it sometimes.
(I should probably add that I pull the hair out once I remove my jacket, so it’s only like this briefly: I don’t walk around all day with my hair inside my sweater…)
And now I will try to fake confidence in the fact that this February will be filled only with Good Things. I mean, it’s already been filled with more pairs of shoes than any month has a right to: it can’t be THAT bad, can it?
P.S. I DO actually like some things, by the way. I just mostly like them in spring/summer. Check back then, and I promise I’ll be listening to the Beach Boys or something, rather than The Smiths.
(P.P.S. No I won’t.)
[Title lyric: Dar Williams, February]
Dress: Missguided c/o MoneySupermarket.com // Belt: New Look // Shoes: Office (c/o) // Sunglasses: House of Harlow ‘Chelsea’ // Nude fishnet tights: Accessorize // Coat: in the car, waiting to be replaced once these photos were taken (although it was actually very Spring-like this week, so I didn’t really feel cold: miracles do happen!)
What would you do with £20?
Say you found it in a coat pocket, or in a handbag you rarely use. It’s not exactly a life-changing windfall for most of us, but given that it’s money you didn’t know you had, it’s exactly the kind of amount you might choose to splash out on one of those quick pick-me-ups that don’t cost too much, but which make your day that little bit brighter.
So, what would it be?
Last week, MoneySupermarket.com asked me that very question. They recently conducted an experiment whereby they placed hidden cameras in a dry-cleaners, and then told customers they’d discovered a £20 note left in a pocket of their clothes (you can see the reactions here). Now they’re looking to find out what kind of “feel good” items people might spend that money on, if it magically landed in their wallet.
Of course, there are lots of things you could do with £20. You could buy 20 lottery tickets, or a nice bottle of wine. You could go to the movies, or catch a train to see a loved-one. You could give it away to the first person you see on the street, and that would make you a better person than me, seriously.
Me, though?
I’d spend it on a polka dot dress. With sleeves. And a midi-length hem. Well, you didn’t seriously expect anything different from me, did you?
These long-sleeved midi dresses are absolutely everywhere right now (Topshop and ASOS both have tons of them, too), and I love them: they’re a really easy, inexpensive way to get that pin-up style wiggle-dress look, without having to spend a fortune on it, and although I’ve dressed this one up with heels and a matchy-matchy belt, you can also wear them in a much more casual way, with boots and a cardigan, say. This one was just £15, and with the extra £5, I managed to slip two more “feel good” items into my online shopping basket, in the form of two nail polishes, one of which I’m wearing in these photos. £20 goes a long way in the world of cut-price fashion, and while those investment pieces I spoke about last month definitely have their place, sometimes a quick, fun, pick-me-up is exactly what you need…
In other news, this weekend was actually warm enough for me to briefly swap my opaque tights for fishnets. They’re forecasting snow for Tuesday, but while the sun was out, I figured I may as well make the most of it!
[Disclaimer: This dress was purchased using £20 provided by MoneySupermarket.com as part of their What's In Your Pocket? campaign. All opinions are my own.]
Back at the start of the month, I declared my resolution to finally use up some of the half-finished bottles of body lotion and other products that have been lurking at the back of the bathroom cupboard for God knows how long. Following on from that, I thought I might also do a quick roundup of which products I actually managed to use up in the course of each month: this is partly to keep me accountable (I’m hoping the thought of having to photograph a completely empty shelf one month might sour me on and help me remember to actually do this!), but it’s also so that I can tell you a little bit about some of the products I use, but don’t bother reviewing.
I’ll be honest: skincare and body lotions don’t excite me nearly as much as mascara and lipstick does. Yes, they’re useful (I’ve been using moisturiser and eye cream ever since I was a young teenager, so they’re a well-established part of my routine), but most of the time they’re not really anything to write home about. Maybe it’s just me, but although I must have tried dozens and dozens of lotions and creams over the years, only a small handful really stand out and make me think “WOW, this product is fantastic!” Most of them are just OK: they do the job perfectly well, but they don’t really warrant a post of their own, so by doing this roundup each month, I’ll be able to give them a quick mention without having to do an in-depth review.
This months “empties” include…
I have SUCH a glamorous life, huh? I was sent a couple of tubes of this, so it may well pop up again here. I think it came from a PR company, but I can’t be sure (and should probably point out that some of the products I’ll be showing here might have at some point been given to me as samples: I’ll do my best to indicate where that was the case, but if if that’s something that bothers you, you should proceed under the assumption that any or all of the items MAY have been free of charge. This doesn’t affect my opinion of them, however.). This is one of the type of products I mentioned above: it’s fine, it does, indeed moisturise my feet, but it didn’t bowl me over with amazement, or transform my toes into soft, pretty little things, so there’s not much else to say about it, really.
I also have to admit I’m not doing too well with my “get my feet in shape” resolution, either. As I mentioned in my earlier post, there just never seems to be a good time to have slippy, lotion-covered tootsies (I know most people advise the “wearing socks to bed” method for this, but I really hate wearing anything on my feet in bed, and get too warm to sleep in socks, so…), so I always seem to be telling myself I’ll start that one tomorrow. I only managed to finish up this tube because I’d already used quite a bit of it, so I must do better this month.
I’m now kinda horrified to think about the Google hits all this feet talk will get me, so moving on…
Johnson’s Face Care Rehydrating Night Cream for Normal Skin [Buy it]
I really like the Johnson’s range. It’s low-priced, very gentle, and just a good “back to basics” kinda line, with no bells or whistles. This night cream isn’t too heavy on the skin, and has a nice, subtle scent: good value for money.
E45 Endless Moisture Radiance Body Lotion [Buy it]
I really wanted to like this, because I’ve liked the other E45 creams I’ve used in the past. My main requirement with a body lotion, however, is that it absorb really quickly. I hate having to walk around in my dressing down, waiting for lotion to sink in, or struggle into my clothes when my skin still feels sticky, and this was a fairly heavy cream, which required a little more rubbing in/waiting to absorb time than I’d really like. Does the job once it’s on, though.
Nip + Fab Night Fix Intensive Anti-Ageing Gel, £17.95 [Buy it]
I bought this a couple of months ago, having read lots of amazing claims from Nip + Fab, mostly revolving around the lines of their products being “Botox in a bottle” type potions, which would instantly restore my lost youth. I’m a complete sucker for stuff like that, so I coughed up the £17.95 and waited to be transformed. Was I? Well, what do YOU think? I did notice that my skin was smoother after a few days of using this, which meant my makeup looked better sitting on top of it. I haven’t seen any particular reduction in my fine lines, but it IS a really nice product to use: it smells lovely, and is a pleasure to use, going on smoothly and absorbing easily. I did find that I seemed to burn through it pretty quickly, but that could just have been due to over-generous application. Overall, I liked this, but haven’t rushed out to replace it, because I find Boots Protect & Perfect Serum does a better job, at a similar price point.
Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner, £2.59 [Buy it]
Now, this product I DID love. I’ve mentioned before that I have very dry lips, so I have lip balms scattered all over the house. This is one of my favourites: it’s only £2.59, but it has a super-moisturising effect, which really works on dry, chapped lips. The consistency is thick, and has a slightly medicinal smell, and it also creates a slight tingling sensation, a little bit like Carmex. It’s so moisturising that I only need to apply a small amount, and the effect will last for hours, so it’s excellent value for money, and one I will definitely be replacing… once I’ve completed my task of using up all of those OTHER lip balms, of course.
And those are the products I used up in January: not a bad start, I don’t think – here’s to an empty cupboard by the end of the year!
[P.S. Just in case it wasn't clear, I didn't use up all of these from scratch in the space of a month - most of them are products that have been opened and partially used at some point, so I'm just finishing them up!]
[Dress: River Island (2012) // Top: Primark // Boots: Topshop (2011) // Bag: vintage, c/o my mum's closet // sunglasses: House of Harlow 'Chelsea' (sold out in black, but in tortoiseshell here)]
I’m embarrassed to admit it – although probably not nearly as embarrassed as I should be – but when I was a little girl, I briefly believed that it wasn’t just the photos and movies from The Olden Days which were in black it white: it was EVERYTHING. As in, I thought the world used to be black and white, with absolutely no colour anywhere.
“Mummy,” I would say seriously. “What was it like in the black and white days? Did you ever meet Jesus?”
(OK, I didn’t say the bit about Jesus. Because obviously HIS time was in technicolour, as evidenced by that musical he was in that one time. I did say the rest, though. And I was 22 at the time.)
(I also briefly believed that Adam and the Ants were the first people to inhabit the earth. Just imagine how much better Songs of Praise would be if that were actually true!)
Why am I telling you this? Damned if I know. Oh no, wait: it’s because of the monochrome look, which is being touted as the OMGHOTTREND of summer 2013. NOT because of Adam and the Ants, you’ll be relieved to know. These outfit photos could’ve gone in a completely different direction there, huh?
Now, as many of you know, I don’t give a crap about HOT TRENDS or being “bang on trend” and all that jazz (Actually, I’d happily kill the phrase “bang on trend” with fire. I urge you all to do the same.). In fact, the only reason I even know about them is because I write about this stuff for The Fashion Police, which means PR people are always sending me emails with titles like “How to work this season’s monochrome look!” and “Are you worried about how to make that difficult harem pant trend work for YOU?” (To which I always want to respond, “Er, no? Do people actually worry about how they’re going to force themselves to wear something hideous, just because it’s been deemed “fashionable”? Because those people have way too much time on their hands, if so…”)
So I don’t care about being fashionable, is what I’m saying. But! As I mentioned back when I was rambling on about peplum tops, in every person’s life there does occasionally come a time when the stars mysteriously align, and a look you really like becomes trendy. When this happens, you basically have two options:
OPTION 1. Throw your hands up in the air and complain loudly about how all these people have STOLEN your look, that you basically invented, because you’ve been dressing like that since you were in the WOMB, for God’s sake, and these upstarts are just doing it to be trendy. I call this approach, “Being a hipster.”
OPTION 2. Run, don’t walk, to the nearest mall, and buy ALL the things, then come home and roll around in them, revelling in the fact that you’ve been able to buy the things you love without a lengthy eBay search and a whole lot of money changing hands. I call THIS approach, “What I’ll probably do.”
In other words: you can expect to be seeing a lot of black and white around here in the coming months, and if I appear to be fashionable at any point, don’t worry, it’s just a coincidence. I’m ushering in the monochrome era with this dress, which I had to “winterise” by layering a long-sleeved top underneath, on account of the dress having elbow-length sleeves, DAMN THEM. And tights. And a slip to stop the tights constantly snagging on the dress. And a coat over the top, completely hiding the dress, and making me wonder why I even bothered, obviously. And OMG, I HATE LAYERING. Seriously, I’ve come to accept that I will never understand why The Others get so giddy at the prospect of being “all bundled up”, but that isn’t going to stop me complaining about it. It’s SO much easier to just throw on a dress and some shoes, like you do in summer. It’s also much more comfortable, and if you don’t believe me, YOU try wearing a bunch of layers under a bodycon dress, then get back to me. And I’m ALL about the comfort. Ahem.
Still, winter can’t last forever, can it? Only another 56 days to go…
P.S. Please excuse my hair in these – we’ve had really high winds the past couple of days, and it was completely impossible to keep it out of my face, and stop it trying to attack me. On the plus side, at least I don’t need to bother trying to style it at the moment. Or blow-dry it, for that matter…
Hey, Dollfaces! Just a very quick post to show you some photos of this beautiful Clarins Limited Edition Palette Eclat Face & Blush Powder palette. This, as the name suggests, is a powder compact, and it’s one of those beauty products that’s so pretty to look at, I’m almost afraid to use it, for fear of spoiling it forever.
The packaging is typically Clarins, and typically luxurious: the palette comes in a little red velvet pouch, inside which you find a small gold case. Open it up, and there’s a beige-coloured face powder, plus coral, peach and pink blushers, all arranged in a pretty floral design. There’s no brushes or powder puffs with this, so you’ll need to bring your own, but it’s really designed for on-the-go touch ups, as opposed to being an essential part of your morning makeup routine, so you shouldn’t need too much to work with.
The powder itself is a little too dark for my complexion, which is why I haven’t provided any photos of me wearing it. I do, however, like the blushers, and once again, it’s the bright pink one which is my favourite. The small amount of each colour provided makes it difficult to go overboard with it, so you get just a subtle touch of colour to give a bit of a flush to the cheeks. The pinky/coral shade is also very pretty, and the whole package is infused with that lovely, sweet scent which Clarins lovers will be familiar with: gorgeous!
[Disclaimer: this product was a free-of-charge sample. All opinions are my own.]