Setting the tone...The Coral

1) Another gorgeous interiors inspiration via pinterest.

2) A wardrobe staple from Alexander McQueen. Found here.

3) Stunning and pretty expensive 'The Coral Reef' eye palette from Chantecaille.  Found at my favourite store.

4) Very cute leather and chain Clutch bag or make up bag from ASOS.

5) Essie nail polish in California Coral.  Perfect for the up coming summer months.

6) Coralista from Benefit, a beachy blush colour suitable for a huge variety of skin tones.

7) Insanely sexy leather trousers, I love these babies!

8) Summer is on it's way, very cliche but it's time to get my run on! These Nikes will be perfect.

9) Cute coral pillow found here on Etsy, because buying real coral is so bad for our planet.

What is BB cream anyway?

You must have heard of BB cream by now.  It is also known as beauty balm and is apparently such a wonder product that any cosmetics company, both luxury and high street, worth their salt has created a version.  There are now so many on the market all claiming the same miracles that I am going to give you a little rundown of one I decided to test run at random.  Clinique age defense BB Cream SPF 30 £25.00 ($39.00).

All of the creams are apparently (so they claim) the first line of defence for your skin, especially for us city dwellers.  Packed full of antioxidants and SPF30, these are the ingredients that protect us from the elements and general junk in the atmosphere.  

It contains UVA/UVB to protect us from any premature signs of ageing.  It also contains special optical beads to reflect light away from the skin which reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  

Although anything with light reflecting properties will do this if used in the right way.

There is more, It gives enough coverage to even out skin tone and cover over any (very little) pimples.  This particular BB Cream comes in three shades.  Think tinted moisturiser in terms of coverage.

Personally this won't be replacing the base products on my dressing table, but have a do go with one as these are good multi-functional products, and if you are a fan of minimal fuss items then this will be perfect for you! 

So there you go, a wonder balm or a totally un-necessary make-up bag edition?  Have you tried one, what did you think?

Spring Fever

I have decided to draw some inspiration from the season just around the corner. Spring! 

I am lucky enough to live in a city that is the proud owner of what I consider to be the most fabulous boutique department store in the Whole. Wide. World, Liberty.  An imposing mock Tudor building made out of ship timber that has been a landmark just off London's Regent Street, famous for its instantly recognisable fabric prints since 1875.  Here are a few gorgeous - March appropriate - picks from the current exclusive to Liberty range.

{Nike - Mid Blazers £75.00 ($118.00)} - {Liberty Knot Watch £59.00 ($93.00)}

{Cowshed - Dirty Cow hand wash £14.00 ($22.00)} - {Stunning Mothers Day Bouquet from Wild at Heart £50.00 ($78.00)}

{Indulgent Otis Batterbee Lavender infused eye mask - $45.00 ($70.00)}

{What a cute little Liberty Mouse paperweight, the perfect souvenir if you ever stop by! £27.00 ($42.50)}

I hope these floral lovelies have put a little Spring in your step.  

Have a refreshing weekend guys, See you next week!

Baby its cold outside...

It seems as though winter has lasted forever in London this time around.  It is still so cold here so its time to break out the big guns.  Here are just two of the many items in my beauty survival inventory! 

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This Dermalogica lip treatment provides great relief for a weather ravaged pout, Mmmm nice.  I find it doubles up as a fantastic skin protectant, alongside my usual SPF of course, especially if I am filming outside in the cold all day, I use it down my nose and on my cheeks (in extreme weather conditions!) and it really reduces wind burn and dryness by the end of a long day on set, £7.60 ($12.00).

 

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Most people tend to be unaware that the winter cold damages our hair as much as the summer heat.  With hats being pulled on and off, central heating drying it out and extremely harsh UV rays from strong winter sun (although we haven't seen much of that around here lately).  Moroccan oil has earned a cult following in recent years and for good reason.  Their restorative hair mask is a seven minute treatment that nourishes dry, brittle and damaged hair.  Perfect for these long winter months (in London, Lucky you, if you live somewhere hot!). £30.00 ($47.00).

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Hopefully Spring is going to break for good soon, however in the meantime isn't this little puffa jacket from Penfield cute?  Found at ASOS on sale for £130.00 ($205.00).

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And for the winter sun and some satisfying sale shopping aren't these sunglasses from The Row at The Outnet super chic? These are on sale at £97.20 ($153.00) down from £216.00 ($341.84).  

Bring on the Spring but in the meantime lets enjoy a few last Winter sale treats huh?!

Hard as Nails...

At the moment my nails are a mess,  the weather in London and subsequent lack of vitamin D is really messing with my nail mojo man.  This is the O.P.I nail strengthener that I should have started using about a week ago before they all started breaking off.  Better late than never I guess.

You build up the product by applying one coat daily for a week and then removing and starting again. It is the only thing I have ever found that has genuinely given my nails the strengh to grow strong and long and healthy (although many other products that I have tried claim to do this but actually do nothing, this means you Miss Sally Hansen! yeah thats right i'm naming and shaming on this one).  It is quite expensive in retailers, probably £18.00 ($28.55) however I have always got it half that price on Ebay.  So, if your nails are a total disaster right now and you are willing them to grow so you can get stuck into all the awsome DIY manicures that are so hot right now then I would definitely try this as it provides impressive results.

Setting the tone...Heathers

1) Heathers on DVD, if you haven't seen this film with Winona Ryder and I insist you watch it this weekend for some 80's bad girl brilliance. Available here.

2) Chic 80's inspired interior, with a stunning Yves Klein blue coffee table centrepiece (via unknown, do you?)

3) Fekkai - Extra body mousse, $25.00 (£16.00) for some big hair so you can be in the Heathers gang (if you're brave enough)
4) Turn your iPhone into an old school walkman, Yeah! $10.99 (£7.00)
5) Be as sartorially risky as Veronica Sawyer, get rid of your glasses and rock a monocle from now on! (Or not, this is a just cute necklace found on etsy here).
6) A fresh take on 80's style - Preen Line - Pie Crust chambray skirt £410.00 ($648.00)
7) School hall appropriate manicure by Essie - Picking up the pieces £7.95 ($12.500 approximately.
8) Channel Veronica with this gorgeous bowler hat from ASOS £20.00 ($31.00)
9) For bright yet wearable colour try Revlon's new lip stains - Just Bitten In Flame, these last for hours, don't smudge and give a very sheer coverage. 


Have a great weekend being bad with your gang!

Setting the tone...Grey Skies

1) Carnaby Street - London in it's heyday during fabulous swinging sixties. (image source unknown)

2) Grey but definitely not gloomy interior inspiration from Elle decoration.  I love the dark ceiling.

3) Killer heels from the intimidatingly talented Alexander Wang £485.00 ($770.00) from here.

4) Bargain brilliant nail polish in Grey, only £2.99 ($4.75) from Barry M.  These polishes are superb.

5) This mascara will give you lashes for days! one of my 'go to' products in my kit, Diorshow New look £23.00 ($38.00)

6) Foil printed jumper, shiny enough to brighten up even the greyest day (you'd hope!), £45.00 from Miss Selfridge

7) Bobbi Brown always makes the most wearable palettes and this one is no exception. Smoking.

8) Dark and Moody towels from Anthropologie £6.00 ($9.50) - £28.00 ($45.00)

9) These have been around for a while but I will never get over how gorgeous they are, A Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde, 

    cover illustration by Coralie Bickford-Smith, available here, Suitably sombre for a currently very grey London Town!

Winter Warmer

It is really very cold in London at the moment but these images serve perfectly to warm up my day.

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What incredible work, this tattoo is simply beautiful.

Layering bracelets and bangles is something I have done since school, it is a trend that will never get old for me.

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Stunning cover of Chinese Vogue Beauty.  The palette is perfection.  Fancy recreating these winter bitten lips?

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Then posietint and benetint from benefit are certain to achieve this look.

Setting the tone...Charlie Brown

1) The charming Charlie Brown as created by the genius Charles M. Schultz.

2) Bright and beautiful interior inspiration, Image via an unknown source.

3) Very appropriate Charlie Brown-esque clutch bag found on Etsy here ($32.90)

4) Gorgeous Illamasqua Nail Lacquer in Rare (£13.50).

5)  An essential brush to add to your collection, this version is - Bobbi brown foundation brush (£31.00).

6) Shu Uemura Skin Purifier, Cleansing oil, a refreshing way to wash the day from your face (£28.00). 

7) Brogues found here, for a little Peanuts chic.

8) MAC eyeshadow in three ring yellow.

9) The essential 60th Anniversary Peanuts Hardback a must for any Snoopy fan, found here.

Setting the tone...Rasberry Mint

1) Stunning interiors inspiration via

2) Laduree boxes are such feast for the eyes (not to mention taste buds) and we can now get them in London! Whoop!

3) How breathtaking is the make-up and styling in this shoot? found here via - oops I can't remember...can you? 

4) This chic dressing table is simply perfect you can buy it here, quote MADEYOULEGEND at checkout for £15.00 off.

5) Alexander McQueen enamel ring.

6) I loved this MAC sugarsweet collection shoot from a few years back and just rediscovered it in my inspiration file.

7) A retired colour from Essie still available here.

8) This Kate Spade "supercalifragilipstick" collaboration with Poppy King is so sweet.

9) What a charming print of the Paris metro found on Etsy.

Setting the tone...Snow

1)  Amazing interiors inspiration courtesy of the supremely gorgeous Kelly Wearstler.

2)  Chanel Pearl drop, Nail Varnish £18.00 ($28.00)

3)  Michael Kors watch £125.00 ($195.00)

4)  Incredibly sweet, Smythson - White Christmas notebook £45.00 ($70.00)

5)  One of my favourite ever gadgets, Fujifim polaroid £70.00 ($110.00)

6)  Cantecaille iridescent eye shade, £23.00 ($36.00)

7)  Dyptique Mini candle, £20.00 ($31.00)

8)  Super sexy dress from ASOS, Can you believe it is on sale for £33.50 ($52.00)

9)  Dolce and Gabbana, Crayon intense eyeliner white, fill in your waterline and make your eyes sparkle. £16.50 ($25.00)

10) A deliciously indulgent feast for the eyes, Marie Antoinette. On DVD. Available here.