Illamasqua Perseid nail varnish

Perseid*, a galactic black glitter from Illamasqua £14.50
available online and in stores

In October I shared with you all a very exciting project I had been working on with Illamasqua where I was amongst four bloggers chosen to create our very own collection - the #Creators collection. Made up of two lip glosses and two nail varnishes, this unique social collaboration was in celebration of Illamasqua's five spectacular years of existence and was inspired by dark stars and far-off galaxies. Whilst I was busy creating my very own Illamasqua lip gloss, Culminate, Suzi was working on this dramatic polish aptly called Perseid, meaning a prolific meteor shower and depicts this polish perfectly.

Perseid was the creation of Style Suzi and is a gorgeous galactic mix of blackened purple, fine shimmer and chunky glitter laced with an iridescent teal undertone that makes it completely spellbinding. The formula can be a bit tricky to work with so I advise two or three light coats to get a completely opaque finish and even surface, followed by a glossy top coat to keep the polish looking as striking as possible. It really is such a unique, fun shade and makes a great accent nail colour as well with a deep purple or black varnish on all the other nails. It will leave everyone starry-eyed!

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Michael Kors Sexy Bronze Powder in Flush

Michael Kors Bronze Powder (Flush)* £34
available from House of Fraser

So the award for the biggest bronzer in existence goes to the new Michael Kors bronze powder which is a hefty 21g of gorgeousness! The new MK beauty range is divided into three categories - Sexy, Glam and Sporty and this beautiful rosy-bronzer is from the Sexy range. Flush is a lovely warm-toned bronzing powder with a hint of pinky-coral to it which really gives you a natural flush of colour, just like you've just come indoors from a brisk winter's walk outside.

The powder is matte and glitter-free but gives your skin a lovely fresh radiance and blends in beautifully. It is extremely pigmented so best to start off softly softly and then build it up if necessary. It really reminds me of Benefit's Dallas box o'powder and is such a nice shade to choose if you like warm bronzers with a terracotta brown tone to them that add warmth and rosiness to your cheeks.

Have you tried anything from the new Michael Kors range?

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The Body Shop 4 step smoky eyes palette

4-Step Smoky Eyeshadow Palette in 02 Smoky Plum £15
from The Body Shop

It's funny to think that a few years ago I wasn't that into eyeshadows. It was all about the blushers and lipsticks for me but fast forward a few years and many palettes later, I am a self-confessed eyeshadow junkie. I particular love functional palettes that contain a selection of shades that can be used all together to create a particular look which is why the 4-step smoky eyes palette from The Body Shop is just perfect.

Smoky Plum is a beautiful quad of shadows to create a really pretty purple-toned smoky eye which can be worn subtly as above or deepened with a heavier application of the rich plum shadow. It includes a pearly-pink highlighter shade which is great to sweep all over the lid up to the brow bone. Next to that is a sparkly mauve shade which I applied all over my lid followed by the coppery-brown colour to define the corner and wing the colour out a little. Finally I took the matte aubergine shade and blended this into the crease of my eyelid to darken the outer corners and finish off my smoky eye look. This kit from The Body Shop is such a handy little palette to have and a great alternative if you are a little nervous of using dark browns and blacks when creating a smoky eye.

Have you tried any of The Body Shop's eyeshadow palettes before?

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Pink playsuit

Playsuit* | In Love with Fashion

Clutch | Accessorize

Skinny belt | H&M

Tassel boots | River Island

The Christmas parties are well and truly upon us which means every weekend is an excuse to get dressed up and put on your fanciest frocks! I went out last night to celebrate all things Christmassy with my hockey team and decided to wear my new hot pink crepe playsuit with eyelash lace detail from LOVE. I absolutely love this piece and thought it was the perfect item to wear out for dinner and drinks paired with some tights (far too indecent for bare legs alone!) and my suede heeled boots. At the back it has an exposed zip with a lovely key hole detail which gives it an interesting twist and I added the skinny belt to cinch in my waist and break up the block colour a bit. They also have this playsuit in a gorgeous teal shade and a pretty nude option as well which I can imagine would be lovely with a tan and wedges for a Summer garden party!

Hope you are all well and are having super-festive weekends! :)

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Michael Kors Sexy Amber Eau de Parfum Spray

Michael Kors Sexy Amber Eau de Parfum £55
available from House of Fraser

After much anticipation and teasing image shots, the Michael Kors beauty collection was finally available to the masses last month and I am excited to be able to show you a few of my favourite pieces from the new range. Divided into a trio of collections - glam, sexy and sporty- and all housed in some chunky, modern. gold packaging similar to their iconic accessories lineup, the new beauty range offers some fabulous products. Whether you love you polishes, lipsticks, oversized bronzers or perfumes, there is bound to be a scent and a shade to inspire you.

The three perfumes - Glam Jasmine, Sporty Citrus and Sexy Amber, are all gorgeously presented in an angular glass bottle with a crowning golden top embossed with the Michael Kors logo. Sexy Amber is a really unique, sumptuous fragrance of amber and sandalwood which is a far cry from the usual sugary-sweet scents I tend to lean towards. The main thread of this perfume is quite musky but then the orange and mandarin notes power through and leaves it feeling floral and fruity. Because this Eau de Parfum feels slightly deeper and more mature than a lot of my other fragrances I would probably pick it up for a spritz before a night out and I think the rich amber adds a lovely warm quality to the fragrance making it perfect for a chilling Autumnal evening.

Have you tried anything from the Michael Kors beauty range?

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Soap & Glory Endless Glove moisture mask + hand cream

Soap & Glory Endless Glove hand cream
available from Boots

I will throw my generously slathered hands up and confess that I am a hand cream junkie. I can never be more than a few feet away from a pot or tube of the white stuff and have a endless supply filling my bedside drawers and strewn across my desktop at work. A few of my favourites have to be LUSH's Hand Gurugu and Soap & Glory's Hand Food so when I discovered S&G had a new(ish) hand cream on offer, I knew I had to give it a go and add it to the other three or more tubes festering in my handbag!

Endless Glove is a handy 2 in 1 product - a nice, quick-to-sink-in hand cream for day to day use when you are on the go or as a moisture mask to condition your wind-ravished hands overnight if you have some cotton gloves ready to slip on. The cream is packed full of macadamia and grape seed oils, pomegranate and Shea butters to smooth and repair any dryness and hydrate tight, cracked skin. Like you would expect with most Soap & Glory products, the scent is sweet and girly but not overpowering so and is really pleasant to use. The consistency is quite loose compared to my other thick, indulgent favourites but it does the job perfectly and keeps my hands velvety soft and supple. Endless Glove is definitely another favourite of mine and one that I will happily repurchase when my hand cream supplies need replenishing!

Have you tried this hand cream from Soap & Glory?

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Hair styling with Toni & Guy straighteners and serum

Classic hair styling with Toni & Guy Professional Straighteners & Shine Gloss Serum

Over the last decade or so I have gotten through my fair share of hair straighteners and curling irons. Ever since the novelty of GHDs hit the corridors and classrooms during my school years to the latest innovation of heated rollers and tongs, I think everyone has a pair of straighteners in their hair styling armoury for those sleek locks, twists or flicks. Recently I have turned my back on my trusty Cloud Nines and have been giving some items from Toni & Guy's classic hair collection a go to see how they fared on my unruly mane.

Toni & Guy's Professional Straighteners are the answer to quick and sleek hair with their variable heat temperature which allows them to reach a frazzling 230 degrees celsius. I personally stay clear of the highest temperature with any of these adjustable heat hair tools and with these straighteners, you really don't need to crank up the heat to get lovely results. The ceramic plates glide through the hair nicely and only takes a few seconds on each section to get super sleek hair with a glossy finish. They are also incredibly versatile at achieving soft waves and curls by gently twisting and pulling the hair from about halfway down all the way to the tip. To help give my hair a softness and shine I applied two pumps of the Toni & Guy Classic Shine Gloss Serum to just-washed hair before blow-drying and straightening it. The serum is lovely and light so can also be used on dry hair as well to finish your look and give your locks a gorgeous lustre and tame any frizz or fly-aways! A perfect pair of products if you after a sleek, classic style, some quick, easy waves or simple twists and flicks.

What hair tool do you swear by to straighten and style your hair?

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