What's in my basket...

@ Motel

It's so close to Christmas now that I really can't afford to be buying myself anything. However, that never stops me from having a browse online. I quite like Motel, especially since they've developed as a company and do more than just printed body con dresses like they used to. Here are my top picks from the website

Sale items

Black and White stripe tube skirt: £10

The last month or so I've been veering towards midi and maxi length skirts and dresses- must be because of the cold weather. My knees won't be on show until March at the very earliest! I think this would be a great addition to my largely monochromatic wardrobe, and would look good with boots and the fur stole that never leaves my neck

 

Wine colour lace playsuit: £15

I haven't worn a playsuit for a while, but I love the colour of this one, the pattern of the lace and the frill around the middle. Looks a little short though, which I guess is to be expected from Motel!

Non Sale

Long sleeve wrap crop top: £20

A plain top, but would go great with my vast numbers of high waisted shorts/ skirts and my shiny new American Apparel disco pants!

Cut Out shoulder crop top: £18

Ditto with this top. I must be in a style rut because I seem to only be drawn to black clothing. But I also love the cut out sleeves on this crop top

Short sleeve denim shirt: £40

Think this is a bit expensive, but I love the wash of the shirt and how it looks with the trousers and boots. Would recreate this look with my disco pants and Ant Boots. Basically think I just want to look like this model! Loving the grungey/ glam vibe

NOTD: Christmas nails

With less than a week til Christmas thought it was time for some seasonally appropriate nails. I didn't want them too OTT so just went for a glittery candy cane style with holly accents. Please excuse the burn on my thumb from my curlers :/

With flash

Used red gems for the berries

OPI New collection March 2013: The Great and Powerful OZ

As I was having a casual check of my Facebook saw a post from OPI with a preview of their new collection out in March 2013. The collection is inspired by Disney's 'The Great and Powerful Oz' and when I first saw the colours I thought they were gorgeous, but not necessarily what I would have expected. The colours are pretty muted, with 3 being reminiscent of the New York City Ballet collection, and I would've thought an Oz themed collection would have some crazy bright colours (maybe I'm thinking too much about the original film). However, I love a good nude polish, the glitter's look fabulous and they've included a golden liquid sand, which looks much more interesting than the liquid sand polishes of Mariah Carey's collection.

picture taken from OPI Facebook page

I'm yet to own an OPI shade, as funds are extremely limited following three years at uni and a three month trip around Asia, but I might have to indulge in a few of these- or look out to see if they bring out a miniature collection.

Genius invention for nail polish addicts

I was watching TV with my mother when one of the typical ads came on. You know, the classic JML-style cheesy advert showcasing a new 'must have' gadget. However, with this one both me and my mum went 'Wow, I want one of those!'. High Street TV presents the Nail Buddy; a simple thing that you put between your knees (oo-er) and slot your nail varnish inside 

Image from sixtyplussurfers.co.uk (only place I could find a picture!)

This may seem like a silly invention for some (who are probably thinking, 'why not put the polish bottle on a table?'), but as someone who holds their polish whilst painting and has had too many accidents tipping or dropping the bottle [idiot], this is straight on my Christmas list. 

The Nail Buddy is available at highstreettv.com

New Boots #2: Topshop 'Ant'

What can I say...when the weather starts getting colder and wetter I just can't resist a new pair of boots. Despite my new flat studded boots, I saw these in Topshop and couldn't resist. I don't usually go for silver, but the detailling on the buckles was really pretty and I could see myself wearing these a lot. Using my uniform discount as well meant they were very reasonable, and I think they'll last me the whole winter well into next year

NOTD: Floral wallpaper

Bit of a weird title, but that's what my current manicure reminded me of. I always like how rose designs turn out, and I think adding polka dots makes it even cuter and adds to the vintage feel, especially with the colours chosen. I'm still struggling to move away from Essie Sand Tropez, my favourite nude!

Winter boots, Chloe dupes!

My style is pretty much goth/ rock 'chic' so when I first saw Chloé's studded ankle boots I fell in love. Wasn't loving the £850 price tag however! So I was mighty thankful when Victoria of vipxo featured a great dupe in one of her Ebay posts. I ordered them back in October and yes they did take a month to get here but for £27.99 I didn't mind waiting!

Surprisingly difficult to take pictures of your feet!

I thought as they were so cheap they'd be painful/ bad quality/ break quickly. But I am very impressed and think these will get me through winter :) 

Perfect Parka

I've been after a parka for the last two winters, but never found one I really liked (and couldn't afford the £60+ they usually are). But finally, I found one! And in Primark! It was a bargain £27, the perfect colour, with multiple pockets and lined with lovely soft sheepskin in the hood. I thought as it was so cheap it might not be the best quality, but it kept me lovely and warm on my way to work at 6.30 am 

DIY: deco phone case

When it comes to covers and cases for phones/ iPods/ Kindles, I'm still like a five year old- I want the glitteriest, most extreme and tacky thing I can get my hands on. I saw some amazing decoden phone cases when I was in Bangkok, but they were pretty expensive. I also love making things so thought I may as well have a go myself. And here's how it turned out...

It's becoming easier to get supplies in England- just search for decoden or kawaii on ebay. Here's the two sellers I got my bits from- http://stores.ebay.co.uk/candycrystaldesigns and http://stores.ebay.co.uk/theembellishmentshop

Outfit: Military inspired

When military style came back in this season, I quite liked it at first. But now I'm getting sick of seeing camo print everywhere. I do like the colour palette of the trend as it's perfect for autumn winter, but I didn't want to fall slave to the print. I featured this dress in a 'What's in my basket' post a few weeks ago, and finally ordered it. 

I like how it's still in the military style, but a little bit different. I went up a size as I know Boohoo stuff can come up a bit small because of the clingy fabrics they use, and it's a great fit. I'm a massive fan of the midi length too.

Are you a fan of the military trend?

NOTD: leopard

Now it was Gem Fatale's leopard nail tutorial that first got me into nail art about two years ago. I've been out of inspiration recently for nails so thought I'd return to a tried and tested design. 

Colours used were my current favourite, Essie Sand Tropez, and Models own Nude Beige, which was free with last week's More magazine

Pretty understated for me, but I like how the nude colours make leopard print more chic

NOTD: princess

Was bored last night, so decided to finally have a go with the millions of gems I have in my stash. Not the neatest, but not bad for a first attempt. I've called these princess nails as the little gold and pink gems make me feel like my nails are wearing a little tiara :p

The base coat is Essie's Sand Tropez which I LOVE- not usually one for nudes, but this has made me start wanting more.

Style Crush: Kristen Stewart's style overhaul

Whether you're a Twi-hard, or still believe K-Stew is a 'Trampire' you cannot deny the phenomenal change in her wardrobe recently. Before, Kristen was more likely to be seen in battered converse, with greasy hair and wearing Robert Pattinson's hand me downs. But for all the recent promotion and premieres she has been really pushing the boat out. Though she looks fantastic, I'm also slightly cynical that this restyle is mainly to further drive publicity for the final instalment of the Twilight films, as she's never been hesitant to state her complete lack of interest in fashion.

A very risque look for the normally conservative Kristen at the LA premiere.

Stunning Zuhair Murad jumpsuit- I want it!

Amazing Elie Saab gown at the Berlin Premiere

All photos from contactmusic.com and cocoperez.com

My best charity shop/ vintage finds

I used to do a lot more charity/ vintage shopping, but these days I don't really have the time. The area I live isn't brilliant for great finds either. However, over the years I've picked up a few things that I was very smug about, and all were a bargain. 

1. Tiger Dress

This is my newest and probably one of my favourite finds. Found in a little vintage boutique in Siam Square, Bangkok, for 250 Baht...which equates to five English pounds. Yes, a velvet and lurex, beautifully printed and well fitting dress for a FIVER. Some people may hate it and think its too OTT but I think its perfect for the Christmas party season.

Look at how beautifully it's printed!

2. Jacket

This was originally a knee length dress that didn't really fit, but I saw its potential and brought it home with me to turn into a light weight jacket. I love the lacy sleeves and big pearl buttons. Think this was £5 as well.

3. Blouse

I'm cheating a bit including this one, as it wasn't something I purchased, but something stolen off my mother. This is Dorothy Perkins (would you believe it??) from about 10-15 years ago- I am allowed to class it as vintage? With the oversized collar and sleeve cuffs I think it certainly has a vintage feel to it. 

 4. Top

 Another gem picked up abroad. This was bought from a vintage shop in LA which blew my mind, everything in there was amazing without being ridiculously expensive. This was a little pricier than the rest, but still good value for all the sequinned loveliness- it was about $20= £12 which isn't too bad. 

5 & 6. Bags

Both of these were bought in a little charity shop I used to go to all the time in Newbury. Takes quite a while to get over there so I haven't been for a while, but when I do, I usually manage to pick something up. Both of them were £4

NOTD: camoflague

Was loving the military trend when it first came out, and desperately wanted a camo jacket. Now  I think I'm slightly bored of the trend already, as I think you probably have to be supermodel stunning to pull off the masculine 'grunge' look without looking like an actual boy! Thought I'd give camo nails a try- didn't turn out too bad for a first attempt but I was bored of them quickly. Not glitzy/ crazy enough for me

What do you think? 

* Again apologies for the poor quality, awaiting delivery of a new camera and relying on mobile pics!

NOTD: Models Own 'Snowflake'

Here I've combined two of my newest nail varnish purchases (see this post and this post) - Models Own Snowflake over H&M's Blue My Mind. I like this for winter as the tones and the little flakes remind me of shards of ice. This picture also shows a more true depiction of the H&M shade which I struggled to capture in my previous post...damn these dark evenings, makes it so much harder to take photos when I get home from work!

You like?

Girl Crush: Skyfall Style

Bérénice Marlohe

I've never really bought into the hype of the new James Bond films, as Daniel Craig doesn't really do it for me- I still haven't seen Casino Royale or Quantam of Solace. But I have to say I was blown away by the latest offering, Skyfall- if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. Though I have to say I was (rather worringly!) more entranced with Bond Girl Severine (played by Bérénice Marlohe) than Bond himself! Her style was exactly the sort of thing I go for- sheer, sexy and gothic. I thought she made a great glamorous Bond girl and her outfits on the red carpet were just as gorgeous as those worn in the film- though the dress in the casino scene was possibly my favourite. In my opinion, the French just do glamour and sophistication in a way us Brits can't match...

Who's your favourite Bond Girl?

NOTD: roses

Roses

Basic roses are one of my favourite nail art designs, but I took these off after a day- wasn't completely happy with the colour combo and pretty out of practice at nail art!

Colours Used:

Models Own Lemon Meringue

Barry M Spring green

Angelica (Primark) Baby blue and peach

Random nail art pen for rose detail

* Again apologies for the poor quality, awaiting delivery of a new camera and relying on mobile pics!

What's in my basket...

@ Boohoo

I've only just purchased some things off boohoo, but I've seen even more I want...and all of it midi length!

1. & 2. Basic Midi Length dress: £12. 

This basic midi comes in loads of lovely colours (including my favourites for A/W, berry, charcoal and khaki) and think it would see me through the winter

3.  Printed Midi: £18. 

Love the colours of this, seems like a nod to the military trend without going full-on camo, which is just starting to irritate me slightly

4. Glitter Midi: £20. 

It comes in and out of fashion every Christmas, but a bit of lurex always goes down well with me!

More Polish- Mirrorball 'Hot Stuff', Max Factor fantasy fire and Rimmel Matte top coat

I've done it again...every shopping trip I go on I manage to come back with at least 3 nail polishes :/ Though in all honesty, three of the four I picked up have been ones I've wanted for a while, and the fourth was a colour I don't have in my collection. And as it was 3 for 2 in Boots...would be rude not to


NOTE: please excuse the poor photos. I broke my camera and am waiting for it to be fixed, so am relying on my phone for pics!


Mirrorball 'Hot Stuff'

I wasn't completely sold on all the colours in the Mirrorball collection- Freak out (blue glitter) and Boogie nights (purple glitter) didn't massively appeal to me. So I decided to buy just a couple of the collection rather than paying £20 for the box set. Though I'm not usually a pink glittery sort of girl I am loving 'Hot stuff' as it has a mix of pink and gold glitter as well as bigger pink flakes in different colours. Again I have swatched it over a couple of different shades to show the effects.

 L-R: Models Own 'Hot Stuff' over Barry M Black, Barry M gold foil and a random pink in my stash

Max Factor 'Fantasy Fire'

This has caught my eye many times, but for some reason I never got round to purchasing. It comes out a lot sheerer than I anticipated, but layered over a blue or purple polish still looks pretty impressive, shining blue, purple, turquoise and golden pink. As a duochrome it's pretty hard to capture the beautiful colours on camera, but here's a few shots in different lights so you can get an idea:

H&M Nail Polish

I've never bought a polish from H&M as there were never any colours that particularly caught my eye. However, as I was queuing at the till to pay for another purchase, this one stood out to me as one I didn't have in my collection. Its a lovely cobalt blue not quite as vibrant and shiny as Nails Inc Baker Street, but not a bad bargain equivalent- £2.99

Attempts to get the true colour depicted on camera!

EDIT: I wasn't initially that impressed with this, but my photos actually do it no justice- on the nails its pretty darn similar to Baker Street, much more vibrant and a much nicer shade than I've been able to capture on camera

Rimmel Pro Matte Finish Topcoat

I wasn't sure about the matte look for quite a while. But recently I've loved seeing the different looks it can create on various tumblr pictures so thought I'd also give it a go. I particularly love it over black polish with a metallic or glitter tip as a contrast. Will be posting some ways to use it soon.