Birthday girl

Forgive the blogging hiatus but my final project is taking over my life. That didn't stop me from taking a break last night and dancing until the small hours to celebrate my birthday with some good company, decorations, food and music. The dress is a birthday purchase from Mango which I haven't been in for a long time but they have some really nice things at the moment. Lipstick is Topshop's Infrared which is currently my favourite shade (orange/red) that I've been looking for all summer and finally found. I have also finally found the best and easiest way to style my hair with the Babyliss conical wand, which is essentially like curling tongs but you actually have to wrap your hair around the barrel and it comes out in these really cute waves that I love and work well with ombre hair I think. Burnt fingers are a negative side to this process but it's worth the trouble. Anyway I had a great time and the people I was with made getting a year older a lot more bearable and fun :)

Little Moments & Acquisitions

1. Cool skirt from Topshop I hope to show you soon in an outfit post....

2. Everyone needs a little piece of Chanel-no.159 FIRE is my colour of choice

3. Timberland boat shoes I designed at the Timberland press day you may remember from this post.

4. Cocktails on warm autumn evenings

5. The end of a great summer and the start of a beautiful autumn

6. Topshop Infrared lipstick-the perfect hue for a fading post-summer tan...

7. The amazing STOP newspaper, created by my wonderful MA Fashion Journalism classmates & myself. If you didn't manage to pick up a copy at LFW, you can read the magazine online here. You can also like us on Facebook here. You'll find lots of quirky pieces, interviews, shoots and the like and I am pleased to say that we managed to pull off an amazing piece of work as a class!

V-day

First, of all, call me cheesy but I just had to add those falling hearts on the blog, because yes it's Valentine's Day, and yes I'm one of those people who happens to like the fact that there is a special day dedicated to everyone who is loved up out there. I'm not saying go out and buy a thousand red roses and pink teddy bears, but I do like to just go out for a meal and keep it casual. So there's my views in case anyone was wondering :)

However my Valentine's day celebrations took place last night in a lovely restaurant called Gilgamesh in Camden which I would strongly recommend to anyone who likes that Asian fusion style cooking. Food aside, I'm wearing one of my few thrift store finds (actually I believe my aunt actually got this for me), a vintage Kookai dress which I really love and especially now that I've acquired the belt which I got as part of a really cute dress from Primark (which I will post photos of at some point).

PS Wow, I've just noticed how grumpy I look in these photos, I blame the excess over-eating at the restaurant.

Having recently run out of Benefit's High Beam highlighter I decided to try something new (and not spend £15 on the High Beam again), so I bought Topshop's powder highlighter. I've never tried or even seen a highlighter in a powdery form before so I though why not and, 2 weeks down the line I'd say I'm pretty pleased with the results. It does take some getting used to because it's easy to cake it on and then when you go out in broad daylight you end up looking like some weird shimmery alien, so I'd say moderation is the key. Oh and the lady at the counter recommended getting the lighter colour as I think it makes for a subtler tone. Ok I think I've ranted about make-up enough now, so have a Happy Valentine's Day :)

High street wish list...

Talking of purchases, as I was going around the shops today, and feeling slightly disappointed about the lack of decent clothes in places such as River Island and New Look, I wandered into Topshop and Miss Selfridge. I haven't been into shops such as these in a long while, firstly due to my current H&M obsession, and secondly, because I find places such as Topshop slightly overpriced. However I was surprised to find these perfect wintry items which I really want to get at some point:

Ultimate Military Camel Wool Cape, Topshop, £95

Hooded Duffle Cape, Topshop, £75

Flannel Navy Military Piped Cape, Topshop,  £85

Capes may be old news for some, but I think they have a timeless elegant quality, and for the more trend-conscious, the camel cape gives the opportunity to combine this item with one of this season's hottest colours. The prices are still rather steep, given the fact that you can get decent capes in New Look for around £45, but New Look never seems to have any sizes lower than a 12 which doesn't really help me out.

Chocolate Thigh High Boots, Miss Selfridge, £85

I've never really been a believer in thigh high boots since most people point out, rightly so, that they can have the tendency to look slightly hooker-ish. I tried these on however, and, with the right coat on top and maybe a long tunic worn over jeans or leggings, paired with these, will look great. For the time being though, I'll keep wishing...