New Look Denim Competition with Sparkle Fashion Blog

I want to tell you guys about a fantastic competition New Look are running alongside the blog Sparkle Fashion blog. The prize is £200 and a pair of jeans plus 9 runner ups grabbing a pair of jeans.

I have been hunting down the perfect pair of black jeans as crazily I don't own any and wear my blue pair practically everyday, so thought it was a perfect competition for me to enter.

 

This is my entry, a sexy rock chick look perfect for drinks with the girls. This is completely my kind of style, figure flattering yet comfortable and I love wearing black and red.

These black jeans are a bargain at £14.99 and would go with so many different tops, perfect for day or night. I have paired them with one of the new items from Kelly Brook's range - a red peplum top with lace sleeves. I love the range as it is so flattering for curvy girls like me and I have a bit of a girl crush on Kelly Brook! Grab the top here for £29.99.
Toughen it up with a black biker jacket, can't believe this is a real leather one for only £59.99! Adding these gorgeous leather ankle boots with a triple buckle for £79.99 - you may notice I've matched up the silver detailing as I hate it when gold and silver accesories clash!
Lastly I didn't add any jewellery as too much would look fussy competing with the lace panelling on the top, but I did pick out this matching red studded clutch for only £15.99 and some glamorous eyelashes from the Gold by Giles collection.

So if you want to enter as well you've got until 5th October - check out details on the Sparkle Fashion blog here.

Spotlight on: my lipgloss collection

Enjoyed reading different posts from bloggers on how they store their make-up. The clear muji boxes are great and seem to be pretty popular choices! See Sam's post on muji storage here and Victoria's post on ebay versions here. 

I personally have always favoured mirrored storage and love this set of drawers I got ages ago from M&S. However it does take more cleaning and you have to be ultra careful not to chip the mirrors! If you like the idea of mirrored storage see some alternatives here and here.

As you can see I collected all the Models Own lipglosses that were free with diet coke last year, love them! A couple of Gosh 'light n shine' glosses, a Stila lip glaze in 'kitten', a gorgeous 'golden gloss' by YSL, Loreal's stunning new Glam Shine 'pink treat' and some others by M&S, Barry M and Clinique! None of these get half us much wear as they deserve... must wear them all more!

Do you have any favourite lip glosses?

Shoe find of the week #9

Couldn't think what to post for 'shoe of the week' as I hadn't come across any exciting finds whilst browsing the internet this week... But then I remembered I actually purchased some great heels this week! They are £15 from Marks and Spencer, which I was really impressed at as M&S are known for the quality and longevity of their items. Check them out here!

I pictured these paired with cropped cigarette trousers but will also be great for work, basically a classic patent style that you need in your shoe collection. The heel is tiny - only 70mm and they come in wide fit and half sizes. So they fit perfectly and will not slide off, brilliant shoes!

My week in photos #12

Forever 21 jewellery, posh train, cute printed overnight bag in Monsoon, lace heels in New Look, blurred notd with Max Factor fantasy fire, view from SE.

Recent beauty buys...

Just a quick post on some little purchases I made in Superdrug recently! I picked up this glass nail file for £4.99 and this hand cream for £1.98 as I'm trying everything I can to improve my poorly nails! The Vaseline cream feels lovely and is just the right size for a handbag, really recommend picking it up whilst it is still on offer. This MUA lipstick (at £1 - amazing!) I picked up after reading Sandra's review here on The Black Pearl blog, check it out, great lippy.

I also scored lucky again for the third time in Superdrug's reduced section! This Maybelline eyeshadow duo was only £1.99 and I was drawn to the shimmering colours. It is called 410 - Azur Silver and is likely to be discontinued as it is reduced. The colour payout is pretty gentle... it rubs off quite easily to be honest, but still pretty! I also got reduced a GOSH 'extreme art eye liner', in 26 - which is basically a grey toned rainbow glitter! Again reduced at £1.99 and not a very dense colour payout but hopefully buildable.

My star buy of the week is this amazing contour kit by Sleek. It's not cheap at £9.99 but such a worthwhile buy. It comes in three shades and I picked up the 'light' which contains a dark shade without glitter for contouring under your cheek bones, a perfect shimmer highlighter for the top of your cheeks, and a gorgeous golden peach hue for the apples of your cheeks.

And here it is on me! (Base is Loreal True Match). I love the dimensional effect you can create with this kit. Currently I don't own any professional brushes - maybe for Christmas, so I hope I have demonstrated that it is an easy look that everyone can create with this palette. I picked it up in Superdrug's Marble Arch store as 'Face Form' only seems to be in the larger stores.

The Baroque Trend

This post was inspired by a feature on 'This Morning' yesterday. Stylist Grace Woodward showed us affordable ways to re-create the baroque style that is popular this A/W. Catch up on the segment here - http://www.itv.com/thismorning/styleandbeauty/grace-woodwards-baroque-looks/

I love everything about baroque - the luxurious fabrics and textures, golden accents, layered jewellery and opulence. More is more!

Baroque body £38 Asos, Jacquard shorts £35 Asos, Bug earrings £20 Asos, Baroque cardigan £40 River Island, Beaded clutch £19.99 New Look, Velvet heels £65 Topshop.

As you can see the detailing that goes into these gorgeous pieces are all about the texture or design. Flocked patterns, beaded embellishment and the velvet fabric on the heels, all add to the opulence. My picks are just a glimpse at what is out there, the high street has way more gorgeous baroque items to tempt you.

How do you stop the excess becoming tacky? I think the key is sticking to similarity. For example this body and shorts look stunning together as they are both centered around the same deep gold. If you want to work the trend in the day just pair an item with something simple. For example jacquard trousers with a white shirt or this flocked cardigan from River Island with blue jeans.

Check out where the high street's inspiration stemmed from, I could stare at this D&G fall 2012 catwalk shot for hours...

Source

What do you think of this trend? I'll definitely be pairing my fall baroque look with a deep burgundy lipstick as shown on the Asos model!

Surprise Lipstick - Barry M 152

I found this Barry M lipstick in Superdrug's bargain bin and was tempted by the 99p price tag. I don't own any Barry M lipsticks but have always wanted to try them so jumped at the opportunity. The problem was I had no idea what the colour was! It is numbered '152' but must be discontinued as it was not on the Barry M stand and was the only one there. But I thought, hey, lucky dip lipstick what's the harm for 99p?

I was thrilled to find it was a gorgeous, rich, autumnal shade. Not too harsh and perfectly natural looking against my fair skin. I am happy to say that this is a shade that I will get a lot of wear out of.

And here it is swatched on my lips. I love the creamy texture - matte yet not cakey or drying.  I would definitely try different shades from Barry M's lipstick range in the future. Really like the matte packaging as well.

It's always worth double checking Superdrug's reduced section guys! Sure it's often crushed bronzers or opened sanitary pads but I've been lucky a few times now!

OOTD - at Vogue's Fashion Night Out

Thursday night was a huge night for London in the fashion calendar. Vogue's Fashion Night Out was only 4 years old this year and is basically a night to celebrate shopping. Pretty cool, hey? It centred around the designer shops in Bond Street but being a big fan of the high street that I am, I just stayed on the old faithful Oxford Street. I wore this cut out shoulder dress from Topshop that I grabbed in the sale for £20. The chandelier print bag is Ted Baker which I managed to win last week on ebay for only £8! The spike shoes are also ebay and the spike earrings are H&M.

Miss Selfridge hosted a whole load of free events including this manicure (which you got to book so no queuing yay!), which was supported by Bourjois. This gorgeous holographic polish is called 'rainbow apparition' and I'm definitely going to pick it up! 

I spent most of the night dotting around the stores aiming for the free drinks rather than shopping and so only ended up buying a belt for £4! House of Fraser were definitely giving away the best drinks courtesy of Mahiki - cocktail in a coconut, amazing.

Mahiki coconut rum bar, champagne in Zara, customizing workshop in Miss Selfridge, Delilah performing in Topshop.

Even though it was busy the streets were humming with a positive fashion vibe (probably all the free alcohol.) DJ's were playing in most stores including fellow blogger Zozo from the London Lipgloss in Forever 21, and the gorgeous Laura Whitmore in River Island. I thought it was fantastic the lengths every store went to to engage their customers, I even heard one confused shopper say, "is every Thursday like this?" - I wish! Bring on next year!

Shoe find of the week #8

Ooh how gorgeous are these wee ballet pumps? Everyone loves a bit of sequins... And such a steal at £15 from Aldo! Also available in gold and black. I think these would be perfect to slip into your bag for when your heels are too much at the end of the night. 

Anyone off to 'Fashion Night Out' tomorrow in London? Tons of events on and free cocktails in most shops on Oxford Street, very excited about it! Read about it here.

My week in photos #11

Carnaby street, Irregular Choice, Primark bargains - space print top and spike boots, Tower Bridge, sneak peek at my nail polishes, H&M velvet heels, Pudding!