Wednesday 27 February 2013

3D Manicure Review

So for anyone who read my 'Primark Haul' post, you will know I recently purchased a naughty knock-off version of the lovely Ciate Caviar manicure set. I thought I'd just do a quick review of it and how I thought the whole shebang went.




I'm completely in love with the polish it came with, super bright and looks lovely on my nails. Although it wasn't that glossy so I used a nice topcoat. I use Sally Hansen 'Double Duty', I have tried and tested gazillions of topcoats and I always go back to Sally Hansen. The best by miles and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 




The pearls were easy to apply I just poured them over the wet second coat of polish, making sure to catch the overspill in a piece of paper to put back in the bottle with the handy little funnel. I did put a bit of topcoat just on the tips of my nails because I wanted it to last as long as possible without ruining the effect.




Overall I'm pleased with the way it looks, super fun and cute. It's nice to have something a little different. Not long after, however, I was starting to get annoyed with having to be careful of all these teeny balls pinging off everywhere. I'm SO glad I only put the pearls on my ring fingers, I don't think I could have coped with 10 fingers worth. Very pleased I timed this so I don't have a studio day for a few days because that could get messy! Maybe just stick to nights out for this look eh?

Verdict: pretty to look at but bloody annoying for practicality. Great value though I would never invest in the expensive brands.

Loves xxx

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Primark Haul

Primark is everyones haven, we all know it and most of us don't like to admit it. However, I did pop in the other day and found a rather huge new beauty stand has been put in my local store. Of course this made me all excited and I picked up a few bits and bobs.

First I picked up these cute little nail wraps, my friend uses them all the time and says they're alright and in my experience, nail wraps don't tend to last long anyway so spending any big amount of money on them is just silly. I like using nail wraps for nights out and things because I'm no nail art expert and sometimes its just nice to have something a bit different isn't it?



Keeping with the nail theme I seem to have made a rather exciting find. Textural nail effects are still going strong in the beauty world and Ciate brought out their Caviar manicure set a while ago but with a rather hefty price tag. I have seen a few of the bottles of pearls around, I know MUA does some lovely shades but most of them don't come with a nail varnish to match. So when I found this for a mere £2.50, I thought I'd give it a go. If I don't like it then at least I haven't forked out a ton of non-existant money. They had 2 shades in my store, this one and a white/silvery colour set.



I also picked up some lashes for my night out, I often lose or destroy lashes and I used to buy the Eylure ones but I found that I was spending however much on lashes that would only last 1 or 2 wears. I do have a habit of keeping the glue though so picking up a couple of cheapy lashes but using the nicer glue suits me fine. Shockingly I really liked the 'natural' ones and will be repurchasing ASAP! I found the fuller ones to be too big for my eyes.



Lastly I picked up a sheer sleeveless shirt with a cute white collar to put on over a bandeau and tuck into my discos. I have loads of shirts like these but a lot of the buttons have popped off so I picked this one up for £5.

My outfit and make up for the night....rather vampish I think. And yes, I know, I'm wearing all black AGAIN but I couldn't help myself!



Loves xxx

Saturday 23 February 2013

London Fashion Week

Yes its that time of the year again lovelies...London Fashion Week has taken over the Interweb and Blogisphere for the forseeable future. Unfortunately I didn't get to attend and instead have had to revert to obsessively Googling for every scrap of information.

I don't hide my worrying obsession with fashion but for those who actually have lives I thought I'd just put a few bits and bobs up for your enjoyment. Kind of my version of highlights and maybe even a few bitchy moments if the urge takes me...

I think first we just need to take this moment to celebrate the pure bonkers genuis of the fantastic Louise Gray. What other designer could get away with putting bin bags on model's heads and using toilet roll as accessories? She really puts the fun back in fashion, something I've been intensly missing. Looking through the collection made me giggle and noone has done that for me in a while. Take away all the madness though and the collection itself is stunning. Fantastic brights, interesting patterns and a lovely mix of texture. So. In. Love. This collection has made me excited for A/W 13. Please check her out, she did a collection for Topshop a while back so some of you may have heard the name already but if not, I hope you fall in love with this collection as much as I have.



One collection I was more intrigued about than actually looking forward to is Meadham Kirchoff. He is a rather strange designer and I don't exactly 'like' his designs but I find them absolutely fascinating and often very inspiring to my own work. This collection didn't disappoint with his usual layered, girlish fantasy aesthetic with obvious cultural influences. One look stood out from the rest and I thought it deserved a mention.

Leather jacket, floaty peach and collared combo...what's not to love?

Henry Holland is one of my all-time faves, his fun and happy style just brings a smile to my face every time. I love his H! by Holland collection for Debenhams too (in fact I love any designer that does a good high street collection that's true to their actual aesthetic for all us plebs who could never afford designer pieces in our wildest dreams)! His A/W 13 collection exceeded all my expectations and I've been happily flicking through all the photos many many times and getting all giddy. I love his mix of colour, texture and pattern and this collection has all 3 in abundance. Loud 70's patterns mixed with texture and his signature slogan jumpers has injected a large dose of sunshine into LFW. Plus he's just so damn cute!

Did someone say Pucci?
Spacey textures ooooo goody!





















Please check out the rest of the collection, honestly it will make your day.


Finally we come down to the nitty gritty. I am a NORTHERN fashion student and damn proud of it. My university excels in fashion and has produced a number of noteworthy professionals within the industry and has beaten the London colleges for awards etc on many occasion, yet still we don't get the credit we deserve just because of out location. Honestly? Yes, Central Saint Martins has produced some incredible designers but this years MA collection actually made me cringe a little. (Please don't shoot me.) If it was fantastic I'd tell you it's fantastic but it really wasn't. It didn't do anything for me in any way possible, despite the unis reputation and the great reviews its had. Please tell me your thoughts and, if you do like it, try and persuade me because I'd really love to learn what all the fuss is about. 


I think this post will spill into a second, I'm just getting far too excited so keep your eye out for part 2!

Loves xxx

Thursday 21 February 2013

The bad day and many apologies

So today has been a pretty terrible day and I thought you good people of the internet deserved to know why.

First of all, what does a girl pack when going to the middle of nowhere? My style is pretty adaptable but I would't exactly call myself 'outdoorsey'. Settling for a pile of jumpers, jeans and leggings seems reasonable right? Wrong. My dearest mum called me after I'd left the house to tell me of the glorious sunshine they'd had all week. Oh fabulous so I'm going to be baking like a jacket potato all weekend then.

Getting on trains is pretty stressful at the best of times, especially when you're going somewhere you haven't been or have to change trains a lot. My journey consisted of both these things.

My first train decided it was going to be half an hour late, meaning I missed my next train by ages and then had to wait a full hour in the freezing cold for the next one. All I can say is THANK GOD for huge coats with fur hoods and woolly snoods.

Then while I was on the train I decided to do my favourite thing...perusing the blogging world. First thing to do is to check your lovely comments on here. I love looking at other blogs so when people comment with their blog page I get all giddy and as this particular blog is new, any page view or comment I get is like Christmas morning. So would my phone let me do this? No. It DELEATED all your gorgeous comments! My stress levels were rather high at this moment in time and inside my little brain the urge to throw a full on 2 year old diva tantrum was almost too difficult to resist. I did swear rather loudly though, much to the annoyance of other passengers. Oops. Yeh so if you commented please comment again I'm so desperate to read and follow you guys I swear I didn't do it on purpose!!

My inner diva has taken a bit of a beating today so I think a bit of pampering is in need tonight. I plan on a hot bubbley bath, face mask and a manicure. What's your wind down after a bad day? Let me know and I promise to never let my phone deleate anything ever again!

Outfit of the day: disco pants, oversized baby pink jumper (dorothy perkins), flowery dr martens shoes and large green coat with fur hood (topshop)
Loves xxx

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Spring Trends

Spring is my favourite time of the year for fashion, colour starts to creep in and all the floaty creations of sunshine remind us that there is hope for British weather...one day anyway. I wanted to just do a little post on my favey trends and how I plan to incorporate them into my mish mashy wardrobe.

Monochrome:

I know guys, the blog is named WEAR MORE COLOUR but this one is sooooo easy to do and looks great on anyone! Everyone from Marc Jacobs to Michael Kors has been getting in on the monochrome action and theres tons of gorgeousness on the high street to have a peek at.

I have totally fallen in love with this simple half and half spot tee from Topshop, so easy to dress up or down...the possibilities are endlesssss. (Or at least thats what I plan on telling myself when £32 disappears from my bank account.)

Also from Topshop are these cute square print trousers if you're feeling a little more adventurous. Again, easy to dress for day or night and its nice to have a change from the leggings-and-skinny-jeans rut I seem to have got myself into. At £35 they won't break the bank and can be worn right the way through the Summer if the Great British weather lives up to all of our bleak expectations.




The Swinging 60s:

I'm awarding Louis Vuitton with the triumph of bringing this trend in for us to enjoy. I absolutely loooove this collection, if you haven't seen it I recommend you do. Now. Click the link. Now. This seriously makes me happy.

Any shift dress that takes your eye will complete this easy look, everyone looks different in a shift dress so you need to find the one for YOU. For me, I don't really like my thighs so if I wear one that's too short I feel like I'm stomping round like a gigantic jelly. On the other hand, if it's too long it makes me look a little short and I don't suit a sleeve on them. So its about shopping round and finding one you're comfortable with because once you've found it, its here to stay!

Nouvelle Japanisme:

Firstly the name of this trend just sounds so pretty right? So many designers took this in all different directions, there are just so many avenues to go down. From the decorative at Pucci to the crisp Japanese-inspired kimono silhouettes at Etro, everyone is taking a look at the stunning Far East this season. 

It wont take a lot to incorporate this into your Spring wardrobe, just one or 2 statement pieces to put a new twist on old outfits should do the trick.

This printed kimono jacket from Zara is beautiful to jazz up a casual outfit or even add a new twist on an old favourite dress? There are quite a few from Zara at the moment that have caught my eye, they have definitely embraced the Japanese kimono look with open arms!
Is it just me or is this model a bit terrifying?
If you aren't really feeling any of these trends and aren't as excited to chuck out my Winter wardobe as I am, just wear anything white and you'll be bang on trend! Suits everyone and we all have something pretty and white we love to throw on in this season so dig it out and dust it off to try and get in the Springy mood!

Loves xxx




Sunday 17 February 2013

I went shopping

Whoops! Yes to combat last weeks bout of tonsilitis I decided that fresh air would be perfect to blow away the cobwebs. Soooo I went shopping of course! Being a poor student this doesn't happen very often so thank goodness for my lovely job that brings in some pocket money every week.

I love that giddy feeling of coming home and having all your bags on the floor, not knowing which to unpack first. Probably my favey favey buy of the day was yet another lipstick to add to my embarrasingly large collection. This is Topshop's 'Whimsical' lipstick, its a gorgeous kind of pale coraly pinky colour, rather spring-like in my mind as I'm trying to move away from my Winter reds. I love Topshop make up its always so lovely packaged and the lipsticks are nice and moisturising and heavily pigmented. At £8 plus my trusty NUS 10% discount, I managed to justify it in my head somehow.(Oh and I've discovered it makes my teeth look lovely and white aswell so bonus!)


Yummy cotton scented candle in there too, thank you mummy!!

I then wandered into Superdrug and I heard a faint 'ooo come and buy me' calling me from the Barry M stand. 2 nail varnishes for £6? Yes please! I made a rather intriguing find with a new textured nail varnish, nails are still making statements in the beauty world so this one caught my eye. I got a lovely pale pink in this called 'Kingsland Road' and one of the Gelly Hi-Shine paints in 'Papaya' (a bright orangey-coral). Beaut!!
The Gelly varnish is my new fave, not too sure on the textured one...feels very strange but a pretty colour

My last purchase has been one I've been toying with for months. They're taking over the universe and I have been attempting to avoid the bandwagon. I bought disco pants! The reason I've been funny about committing to a purchase is because I've only really seen super tall, super skinny girls wandering round in them; and although I'm not big I am a little curvy at a healthy size 12 and wasn't sure about how my rather rounded thighs would look in the shiny fabric. Turns out I LOVE THEM and both my friend and shop assistant agreed that us curvier girls wear them better. Sorted. I bought them at a local and lovely boutique called 'Coco Boo' owned by 2 UCLan graduate sisters and they have both a shop in Preston and Halifax. A girly gorgeous paradise I must admit, I recommend taking a peek. At £24.99 they are flattering and good quality, but the sizings are kind of teeny so I had to go up a size. I look forward to wearing them with my vast collection of blouses and baggy t-shirts! Yaaayy!!


Link up to Coco's online shop so take a gander peeps...
Plus they post up street style, window displays and general updates very regularly so get liking and following!

Lessons learnt that day: stop looking at other people, wear what YOU love. And it turns out you need a round bum to work the Sandy look!

Loves xxx