Tis The Season To Go Shopping...

Merry Christmas Beauties! I hope you've all had a fabulous few days full of champagne, turkey, Christmas cake and fireside naps like me! I have been thoroughly spoiled this year (as usual, brat alert) and I hope everyone else has been too. Aside from the fact that it's Christmas and Christmas Day is my favourite day of the year, December 26th also ranks in my top five days of the year because it's the Christmas Sale Day!! I'm an absolute bargain hunter when it comes to online shopping, so needless to say I've snapped up a few new pieces. I've tried as hard as I possibly can to restrain myself, but no girl can be expected to not look at the online sales, so I thought I'd share my purchases to date with you...

ASOS Skinny Jeans, £28 reduced to £11

Topshop Philosophy Courts, £80 reduced to £40

Zara 100% Silk Shirt, £39.99 reduced to £29.99

So far so good...

All That Glitters

This evening I decided to do my nails. Anyone who knows me will know that this is not a task I take lightly. I hate the idea of nails looking too lairy, too garish, too tarty. I like understated, I like beige, I like peach if I'm feeling wild, pink maybe if I'm going to crazy. I started with a few coats of my new (by which I mean my Mum's new) No7 "So Simple" nail varnish. No7 are really good for nail varnish, super easy to apply and they leave a lovely shine on your nails. Always a winner.

Then, in a moment of madness I spied a gold glitter nail varnish which my sister has, went crazy and before I knew it I had three gold nails. This is highly unlike me but the result was shockingly favourable. I now have an obsession not only with the understated, but with glitter too. I think a combination of the two could be my new favourite thing.

xxx

Top Of My Wish List

Anyone who's read my blog recently will know I have a long-standing pair of favourite boots. My Keira  Hudson boots have been faithful to me for three years, and after a quick re-sole they're still as good as new (You can read my post about them here). Hudson are great because their designs are not trend led, they're not fads and they're certainly not cheap quality. What I really love about Hudson is that when you buy a pair, you can rest assured that you'll wear them for the next few years, not just one season. So, now that I'm firmly in love with everything about the Hudson brand, I have decided that if I don't soon have the Encke Ankle Boots in my life then life will not be the same. These are most definitely top of my to-buy list.

PS

They also come in Navy, Brown, Coal and Black!

xxx

Hey Specs..

Last week I was told I needed glasses for long distance vision. My first instinct was to fall to the floor and dramatically cry at the thought of needing specs. My second instinct was to pull myself together and embrace the new shopping experience this would provide me with. So, focussing on the latter, I have been conducting extensive research (online shopping) into eyewear. And it's actually lots of fun! As a (100% natural) brunette, I've decided tortoiseshell frames are the way to go. And, so as not to look like I'm taking myself too seriously, I think I'll be hopping on the geek-chic trend wagon. 

Karen Millen Frames

Ray Bans!

Tom Ford

Where can I find these?

If Anne's doing it, it can't be that bad.

Or maybe Harry Potter style?

xxx

ASOS Christmas Wish List

There is nothing I love more than having an actual excuse to make fantasy online shopping baskets! I mean, I happily do it all year round but in December I can actually justify it! It's fab! The last hour (two hours) have been spent glued to ASOS (dual excuse: Christmas and payday) concocting my Christmas Wish List. And don't think I'll be stopping at ASOS, I'll be moving swiftly on to Topshop/Net-a-Porter/Matches/etc pretty soon. But in the mean time, here's a (small) selection of what I'm lusting after on asos.com today...

ASOS Ballet Wrap Dress

Hi Lo Dress in Woodland Print

Leather Skirt

Cold Shoulder Knit

How adorable?!

Mistletoe Christmas Jumper

Biker Jean

Shoe Crush.

Prop Platforms

Aqua Cloud Top.

xxx

The Little Black Jacket

Hello Lovelies! Starting off as usual with an apology for my lack of posts this week...but I have a good excuse - I've been in Paris! The highlight of my trip was my morning in the Karl Lagerfeld exhibition of The Little Black Jacket which was absolutely amazing. The exhibition was in London a few weeks ago at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, and what with Chanel and Chelsea being two of my very most favourite things I was so upset when I thought I'd missed it, but then I saw the advert for the exhibition in Paris! It was at Le Grand Palais which is where Chanel hold their fashion shows during Paris Fashion Week and this was my second visit to the venue. It really is a stunning building; elegant, detailed, cultural and historical, it's just so Chanel. 

The exhibition was curated perfectly, and featured celebrities, muses, icons and new faces. Words cannot describe the beautiful simplicity - it was just so completely Karl. Before I over-describe, or under-whelm the exhibition, I shall cut straight to the photographs and let you see for yourself a snippet of The Little Black Jacket.

Le Grand Palais

We've been best friends since we were four

Inside

Kirsten Dunst

How kind of Karl to give away prints of this poster?

Chanel Babies

The wonderful Yoko Ono

Who else? Fabulous Anna Wintour.

SJP

The roof of Le Grand Palais

xxx

Boot Up

So far this Autumn I've been on a never-ending hunt for the perfect pair of winter boots. But the problem I always encounter with things like boots, handbags and coats is that the majority of the things on offer are trend-led. And this is not always ideal for me. See, my legs are pretty spindly from the knee down and they are super short. So cute little flat ankle boots don't work for me. And guess what's in fashion this fall?! Cute little flat ankle boots. I think the fashion trap is one we all fall into at some time or another, and while I absolutely adore fashion, it doesn't always love me back.

So rather than being another cute little flat ankle boot girl this Autumn, I've dug out my old faithful Hudson boots, taken them to the cobblers to be re-soled and revived and they'll be my boots for the third year running. I bought them in 2008 and this is the first time they've been re-soled (at the cheap price of £18) so add that to their original cost of £169.99 (ouch, I know) and divide it by the amount of times I've worn them over the years, I think I'm racking up a pretty good cost-per-wear average. The thing I like most about Hudson is that their designs are not trend-led, they are wearable and timeless. My boots are three years old and they're still stocking them, if that's not longevity I don't know what it.  Buy yours here or just have a general browse of their website. I'm currently coveting a pair of these for their gorgeous design and the fact I know how long they'll last.

Conclusion? Spend more on something with fabulous quality which you'll wear for longer.

Three Years Old 

I Couldn't Fault The Quality

Even If You Paid Me

Thank You Hudson.

It's All In The Eyes

Happy Saturday! I've been asked a bit recently about my eyebrows and where I get them done, so I thought I'd dedicate a post to brows! I'm a firm believer of beauty being in the details - brows, nails, perfume, the little things which help the big things be big! I am also a firm believer in doing things for yourself which is why I do my own brows and nails! I've tried pretty much every brow pencil under the sun (small exaggeration), including 17, No7, MAC and (in a dire time I'd rather not remember) Collection 2000. What I found about each and every brow pencil was their tendency to look waxy and shiny which is never a good look. Us brunettes have to be careful as well to avoid anything with a red tone to it, because in natural light it can appear auburn very quickly. Much as I love ginger hair, when you're a natural brunette you do not want ginger brows.

This week, I made a trip to Bobbi Brown, a brand which I have always loved, mainly for their fabulous concealer and setting powders. I walked away with an eye shadow called Saddle and an eyebrow brush because the lovely lady assured me that using shadow and an angled brush on brows gives a much more natural and polished finish than a pencil. So after a mini-demo and hope of fabulous brows, I purchased both items. And I have never been more impressed! The pigment in the eye shadow is fantastic, which means my brows were filled to perfection without the waxy bold line I've encountered with pencils and the angled brush kept the shape of them really well. All in all, brow success!

As well as my eternal hunt for perfect brows, I've been chasing the perfect mascara for years! I've literally tried them all - Rimmel, No7, Clinique, The Body Shop, MAC, Dior, L'Oreal and Benefit. All of them were completely wrong for me! I've been happily settled with my Maybelline Falsies Mascara for about a year now, it's the best one I've ever used and it's great value. It lasts ages and the brush is big, fat and curved so it's great for lengthening and thickening lashes. I always curl my lashes before applying mascara then apply a few coats. Try it yourself, I promise you won't look back! Here's a few snaps to finish:

My Eye Kit: 

Bobbi Brown Saddle Shadow

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Bobbi Brown Eye Brow Brush

Eyes:

Bobbi Brown Saddle Brows

No Mascara

Eyes:

Bobbi Brown Saddle Brows

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Umpie Bags

Hello Lovelies!
Apologies for my lack of posts recently, it's been absolutely non-stop! I've been in full Christmas mode at work, as we had a Christmas Event to showcase all our new products! A lovely interior designer from Leeds wrote a fab blog post about it all which you can read here! Or visit our Facebook page to see the snaps for yourself! Anyway, so that's a bit off topic! A few weeks ago, I had the most amazing opportunity to visit the home of Umpie Bags, a handbag company based in North Yorkshire. All of their products are designed and manufactured in Britain, thus promoting British manufacturing! The meeting went well, and we walked away with a whole boot-full of Umpie Bags to bring back to Skybluepink. And as a sneaky gift from my boss, I was also given one! You may have seen mine on previous outfit posts, but here's a link to one anyway.

So, here's a few photos of my day out to Umpie, enjoy!