Style Crush - edition two

Rachel Bilson.

A total style crush of mine - she has some fabulous clothes, gorgeous hair and her make up is always natural and pretty.

I've loved Rachel Bilson ever since the OC - when everyone was gushing over Mischa Barton as Marissa, I was admiring best friend Summer. But it's over the last few years that Rachel Bilson has really upped the fashion stakes. I love her relaxed approach to day wear: casual separates and accessory overload, which is really easy to emulate for a fraction of the price (although I'd obviously love some Chanel and Chloe arm candy.)

This seems to be a mantra that Rachel Bilson carries into eveningwear too - keep it simple and elegant but wow with some killer accessories. 

It's not hard to believe her whole wardrobe was burgled (how devastating must that have been?!)

xx

 Images courtesy of InStyle

Buried Treasure

I was having a little clearout a few days ago and stumbled across these little beauties hidden underneath a pile of junk in the bottom of my wardrobe.

I had completely forgotten I even owned them - having picked them up in the sales for about £5 a few years ago but never quite finding the right occasion to wear them.  They completely satisfy my current craving for all things nude toned and I love the fact that the heel bears a faint resemblance to Brian Atwood's gold Gaynor platform sandals!

Have you discovered any purchases you had forgotten about lately or am I the only one who does that?

xx

I'm late to the party

Mac's Venomous Villains collection launched at the beginning of the month and considering how excited I was before hand I'm a little late jumping on the bandwagon. (Unfortunately real life means posting has been a little MIA recently - sorry guys and girls).  This doesn't mean that I was too busy to fit in a spot of shopping though.  Having done some research on the interwebz I already knew what my must purchase items were going to be and happily added them to my virtual basket and checked out in double quick time happy in the knowledge that my little mac parcel was on it's way.  As I checked my e-mails the next day, I was horrified to discover that one product had been sold out at the time of dispatch.  I don't live all that close to a mac counter/store but I thought it was worth putting in a little effort to get my hands on some disney goodies and see if there was anything else in the collection I could impulse buy!  Imagine how I felt when said item was again sold out!  I quickly hotfooted across town and eventually got my eager little hands on it!  Grade A for effort me thinks!
So here are said products

along with a few Benefit goodies I picked up (as I had to travel to mac I figured it was worth visiting a counter I can't get locally!)

 Evil Queen Beauty Powder in Oh So Fair (the pesky out of stock product), and my pick of the collection, Maleficient Lipglass in Revenge is Sweet.

How gorgeous is that?  Don't be put off by how dark it appears, when applied it is completely wearable - I'm actually starting to ration it as a special occasion only product as I'm scared I'm going to run out too quick!

I know a lot of people really hated the packaging of this collection but I've gotta say in my opinion it really isn't that terrible on the products I purchased, although looking at the collection in store, certain products could have been packaged a lot better (cruella eyeshadows I mean you!).

From Benefit I picked up the Bad Gal eyeliner pencil and Erase paste concealer in no.1 - first impressions of this are that it's a tad greasy - anyone else get that? But I do think I applied too much product so I'll experiment a bit and let you know how I get on!

What have been your must get products from recent beauty collections?

Currently Loving...

Mac Patina eyeshadow

The mac website describes this frost eyeshadow as a muted taupe brown with golden shimmer - which just about sums it up actually! 

This is one of those products in my collection that I admit has been overlooked in the past but at the moment I absolutely love it.  I'm currently wearing it alone as an all over sweep of subtle colour on the lid or with a tiny amount of haux or swiss chocolate in the crease.

What have you been loving lately?

xx

Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara - review

I've been using this mascara for a few weeks now, so I thought it was about time I shared some of my thoughts.  At a cost of £14.50 this is the most expensive mascara I have ever bought - but as trusted favourites Max Factor and Loreal seem to be creeping up over the £10-£11 mark, I didn't feel too bad about the price.  What initially attracted me was the tapered brush (similar shapes can be found at The Bodyshop and Maybelline) and the promise of double the lashes - um yes please!

Unfortunately, my first impressions weren't great.  I applied one (generous) coat and was left a little underwhelmed.  My lashes were barely defined never mind doubled.  Also, this mascara was very wet and took a really long time to dry.  I applied a further coat until I had achieved an effect I was happy with.

Here's a before and after...

 I'll admit the effect does look quite pretty I was just dismayed that it was so labour intensive!  Over the next week I did notice that the mascara dried out a little which made the application process much quicker and cut down on the drying time.  However, just as I was starting to really like it, I noticed a disturbing pattern start to emerge: everyday by lunch time I had developed panda eye syndrome.  I'm willing to overlook a few little annoyances as no product is perfect but for me Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara has too many cons for very little payoff.  Honestly, there are far better products out there for less money which give a similar or better effect.  I'll use this up but I won't be repurchasing.

What would you recommend as my next mascara purchase?

xx

The Same But Different

On my doormat when I got home yesterday was a magalogue from Joe Browns.  I casually flicked through the pages and did a double take when I found this...

anyone else notice the similarity to this Sonia Rykiel scarf?

Jumper available from Joe Browns for £34.95, scarf from Net-a-Porter for £160

I wonder which one I'll be picking up?!