SEASONAL EYE COLOURS

It's that time again where the dark lips and dark eyes come around, and I swear I love it more and more each year. I'm a huge fan of a dark lip (recommendations please) but sometimes my natural eye makeup takes control and I feel like I need to shift the dark colours to my lids for a change, so I've devised a group of colours I think are a nice way to ease into things.

The first is Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow in Gemstone. It's fairly subtle, as blended out of the lid it gives a bronze-mauve/reddish tone and I really enjoy it for quick looks when I can't be bothered but want my look to be rather sultry. The other cream is the Maybelline Leather Colour Tattoo in Chocolate Suede which is a rich bronzed brown which I really need to come to terms with using without looking like I've rubbed my eyes too hard. It sets to a semi matte finish with a little shimmer mimicking that leather look, so it's hard to make the blending look good with it being such a dark colour.

As for powder, I find these need a little more work, but you really cannot beat the finished look. The first is KIKO 137 which is a strong red tone, which everyone was going mad for with the likes of Cranberry from MAC last year. I wanted to ease into it at a cheaper price and last year this was one of my favourites to wear on weekends with minimal makeup elsewhere. Finally is MAC Woodwinked; a gold, bronze, copper blend that slapped on the lid and buffed out gives a sheen of warmth that just reminds me of autumn leaves - how poetic, but there is some serious love for these shadows, and I've already cracked them out this year.

TRANSITIONAL TOUCHES

It's coming to that seasonal change time of year yet again, as we welcome Autumn into or calendars, and sometimes I'm not quite brave enough to go for the full berry lip and smokey burgundy eye, so I thought it's be a nice idea to gather up some of the things I've been using to warm myself up for Autumn (excuse the pun).

 LIPS: For lips, as you might tell from the picture, I do go in very subtle to begin with. I'm quite a fan of the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in Honey, and this is actually my second one of the stuff. It's a muted pink colour which is lightly darker than your average pink, and has a semi-matte, long lasting finish on the lips that really does stain. I also quite enjoy the Body Shop Born Lippy Plum Lip Balm as this offers a hint of tint in a slightly berry tone.

EYES: For eyes I'm not quite as restrictive as I am for lip products, and I like to crack out the slightly pink or red colours along with the warm bronzes, that do quite compliment my greenish eye colour. The first is in cream form, and its the Smashbox Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow in Gemstone, which is a nice purple/pink/bronze. This Maybelline Quad in Coral Drama has a nice selection of autumnal colours, with the deep red at the end to fit in quite nicely with the season. The MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked is also a nice bronze offering for something a little more subtle, but the warmth really emphasises the autumnal ideas.

NAILS: For nails I do love my deep reds and plums but I also am I quite a fan of something more subtle, because I find it hard to go straight from pastel to vampy shades. Ciaté Starlet is a really pretty duocrome purple, olive shade and although it's a little metallic I actually quite like it. Sinful Colours Dancing Nails is also slightly metallic, but on long, square nails, it looks really nice, but I have to be in the mood for this one I guess.

So there you have it, if you would like to see the full on autumnal products I'm cracking out this year, do let me know. Also, the pictures in this photo were actually business cards I got from the Graduate Fashion Week, and I thought they made a nice touch so here's links Siobhan Morris and Toni Anne.

THE CHUNKY MONOCHROME JUMPER

The seasons are changing, and for me, that means buying more clothes. I was in the need for some new jumpers, and I had three ideas in mind; a monochrome option, a camel coloured one, and an oatmeal coloured one. In H&M I found the perfect 'salt and pepper' esque jumper and I cannot wait to get more wear out of this.

It cost me a mere £14.99 which is really affordable for a jumper, and it's just the right thickness - not too overheating, but not too thin that you need to wear something underneath for warmth in the colder months. I am picturing wearing this with ripped jeans, a leather jacket and ankle boots, or even some leather coated jeans if I can find any and a beanie - the looks are endless, which is why I really love it. It is a nice length, not cropped, but not oversized or long, and although it's not completely fitted, it isn't too baggy (I want an oatmeal one with these qualities instead).

I am hoping that H&M come out with some more jumpers of this style so that I can grab a couple more, but if you have been seeing any nice ones in any other stores, let me know.

THE FLANNEL SHIRT

For the longest time, I have been lusting after a flannel shirt - to me they just seem so Kylie Jenner and I always think up endless outfits they would go well with, so when I was hunting for one there was no hesitations on whether I actually wanted to spend money on something.

Being the petite person I am I actually managed to get this in the New Look teen kind of section for a mere £14.99. The material is so nice, slightly fluffy and seems like a really great layering piece - especially after seeing a post on how to style flannel shirts from Lily Pebbles. I was either hunting for a monochrome one or a red one, and I decided on the red as I thought it was about time I added a little colour to my wardrobe. Now, I really want the blue one New Look offer too, as it looked like a really great piece.

I envision wearing this open, with the sleeves rolled up, paired with a slogan tee, black ripped skinny jeans and flat boots (both of which I'm still hunting for). Nevertheless, it looks great done up tucked into plain jeans or over leggings for a slouchy approach, as well as looking great almost as an accessory around the waist.

I expect I'll be getting some major wear out of this in the Autumn/Winter, and I hope it'll last me for years to come as flannel shirts really are a timeless piece.

FESTIVE TARTAN NAIL ART

Tartan is slowly but surely becoming my new favourite thing. Considering when I went to London at the weekend the 't' word was mentioned in numerous conversations, and I lust everything and anything covered in the print, it is time to fess up to my addiction, and what better way to do it than try out some coordinated nail art. 

It would appear that Lily Pebbles has literally just done a post on this idea too, but I promise my pictures were taken 3-4 weeks ago in preparation, and that I haven't copied! Basically, this is that kind of nail art that looks so complex, but takes you a matter of lines, and minutes, to complete the job. 

The colours I used were OPI Red Light Ahead... Where? as the base colour, and then I used green, black, white and sliver stripers to create the stripes, and in a few different lines, and the tartan look was complete. The stripers were from the brand 'Rio' in case you were curious, but any will do. 

I think this could be my chosen nail art for the 25th, but then again, Megan gave me some smashing monochrome Nail Rock Nail Wraps for my birthday yesterday, which I cannot stop staring at...

 

THE ONE-DOT MANICURE

It would appear that it has gone a bit nail focus crazy on the blog recently, but I just had to share this with you all. I didn't think of this idea myself, I saw it on a DailyMix video where Lily Pebbles  demonstrated how a dot to each nail can make a difference to any nail colour.

I started with Revlon Colorstay Nail Colour in 'Provence' all over the nails, which is a dusty grey-lilac kind of colour, which I love. I prefer to use a pale colour for the base, and a darker one for the dots (black looks great), but you can do the reverse it you decide to, or even go one way on all the nails, and then the opposite on all the others - ooh, I know what I'm doing later. 

Then I took Revlon Top Speed in 'Black Star' on the bottom of a broken bobby pin, and simply did a dot on each nail in the centre at the bottom. Black star is a black polish with a hint of silver shimmer running through it, and so it looked a little softer, and complemented the lilac colour really well.

This is such an easy nail art design, and even the people who have had no experience whatsoever with nails can probably complete this too, and I think it is a new favourite of mine now. 

 

  

MATCHING LIPS AND NAILS

I know Autumn has near enough passed us now, and Winter is well on its way, but I am still in love with the berry colours, burgundy tones, and anything slightly darker. I have been bracing the dark nails, and I rummaged around in my stash and located a matching lip colour, and the two together look stunning.

For the nails, I have two options, and both are extremely similar. The first is Eye Candy London's Reddy and Willing*, which is just my perfect dark nail colour, and my go to. Then we have GOSH Avantgarde which has been discontinued which is a shame, but I thought I hated this, but after giving it another chance I have realised that it is so pretty. This is what I am wearing in the above picture I believe, and matches exactly with the upcoming lip colour...

For the lips, Avon Plum Seduction is such a match, as well as being a stunning colour. I wear this two ways, neither just as simple and slapping it on from the bullet, but it is worth the time. I either get a tiny bit on my ring finger, and tap it onto the lips for a hint of tint, or I apply it from the bullet, and then blot it down slightly so it isn't as scary looking. I just love this lip colour, heads up to Megan for handing me her extra one of these bad boys.

I definitely have an obsession with the whole matchy-matchy thing, and I'm sure in the next few weeks you'll be seeing a festive red offering of this...

 

PRIMARK'S CHUNKY PATENT BROGUES

Like them or loathe them, I have bought some new shoes. Patent esc. brogues to be precise. From Primark. I have been outfit planning for the Clothes Show Live 2013 (it is still a month until I go..), and I decided I needed a comfortable, chunky soled, closed up, shoe which would match with whatever I decided to pair them with - dresses, jeans, the lot.

I found these chunky looking ones in Primark, no shame - although there may be a little of it, as my entire outfit will probably be from Primark, at a rather big fashion event - wild. But, if I saw someone wearing these, I would most certainly think they were darn expensive, and not from anywhere near Primark - result. The best part? These bad boys were £12. WHAT?!

They don't make my feet look like canal boats, and they look smashing with jeans or dresses, and there was no staggering price. Although I will be sporting Primark based attire for the day, I will feel pretty good about it. I also bought the big, black oversized furry/fluffy/hairy cardigan they have out at the moment, and that will be getting an outing on the day too.

Love them or hate them, these could be up there to be my new favourite pair of shoes, and I haven't even worn them out yet.