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!