Blue Jumpsuit

Jumpsuit* | LOVE

Statement necklace* | Astrid & Miyu

Shoes - New Look

Lipstick - MAC Victorian

Happy Sunday everyone! After a couple of busy weeks at work in the post-Christmas chaos, Rob and I needed a date night stat to catch up, relax and consume a ridiculous quantity of pizza and mozarella-ladened garlic bread! I decided to wear my new jumpsuit from In Love With Fashion which is a gorgeous cobalt blue hue and has a flattering corseted bodice top flowing into billowing legs with tapered ankles. I always like wearing jumpsuits as an alternative to dresses when going out and love that this style and colour is a perfect option for Autumn Winter but could also be worn with sandals and a floaty kimono in the Summer. To complete the outfit I added a flourish of sparkles with the stunning statement necklace from Astrid & Miyu. I love the layers of bright shades in this piece and trust it is one of those items that can instantly transform an outfit from simple to striking in a moment., working perfectly for the most glamorous occasion or simply worn with a plain tee and jeans to add an extra dimension.

I hope you all had lovely evenings. Let me know if you are sharing my love for  jumpsuits and statement jewellery too.

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Starbucks Frappuccino iphone cover

Personalised strawberry frappuccino iPhone cover £15
ordered from Hello Floral on Etsy

Last month, following the sad demise of my ancient iPhone 4, I treated myself to the new iPhone 5s and subsequently went on a mission to track down the most perfectly girlie iPhone cover for my new toy. I thoroughly enjoy shopping on Etsy and think it is really nice to support small brands and businesses on there so headed straight to the site and stumbled upon Hello Floral and her host of super cute, individually designed phone cases for various phone models. After much deliberation I ordered the sweet Starbucks frappuccino case which is personalised with your name on the take-out cup (actually spelt correctly for a change!) set against a floral background. My cover arrived yesterday and it is lovely - it fits my phone perfectly and I love the fact it is hand printed to order and is a little bit different to all the other cases I found...apart from this one which I may have also ordered...ahem! Well who doesn't want a fluffy purple bunny attached to their phone!

What do you think of my new phone cover?

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Michael Kors Fuchsia Lips

Michael Kors Lip Luster in Siren and Lip Lacquer in Bombshell*
available from House of Fraser

Never one to shy away from a bright lip, I was really excited to try these two punchy lip products from the swish Michael Kors beauty range - a decadent lipstick and a glitter-laced lipgloss, both offering a burst of fuchsia pink.

The Michael Kors Lip Lacquer in Bombshell (pictured left) is a beautiful, rich fuchsia shade with a lovely moisturising formula consisting of Shea butter and vitamin E. It glides on with a luxurious feel and gives your lips a strong shot of electric-pink pigmentation and a satiny sheen. The luscious Lip Luster in Siren (pictured right) in its signature sleek gold packaging is my favourite product from this duo and delivers a ultra-glossy wash of vibrant fuchsia to your lips with a subtle, blue-toned iridescent sheen. Despite its glossy finish it isn't too sticky which is one of my pet-hates when it comes to lip glosses and smells absolutely incredible with a scent of blood orange, lemon and rose. It is such a pretty addition to my makeup bag and is perfect paired with smokey eyes and beautifully bronzed skin.

Have you tried any of the Michael Kors beauty products?

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YSL Party Makeup Look

wearing Petals & Peacocks from MAC on my lips

A few weeks before Christmas I was invited along to the mecca of all makeup dreams, Selfridges beauty hall in London to meet with YSL's international makeup artist Fred Letailleur to talk all things glitz and glam for Christmas. I am sure everyone has seen the latest YSL beauty campaign with Cara Delevingne looking devilishly gorgeous and so it was Fred's mission to give me the tips and tricks to help me recreate a party look with a host of YSL products and some clever contouring.

After applying my base I reached for that cult classic product, the Touche Eclat complexion highlighter but in a much darker shade to my natural colouring (no.6) to help me contour (and hopefully look like) the stunning Cara herself. If you thought Touche Eclat was just for covering those dark circles then you are wrong my friend! By running this darker highlighter in the areas you would naturally bronze or contour, it can give you amazing definition with ease by buffing the dark colour in with a fine brush or your fingertips. I then took the original Touche Eclat highlighter in no.1 to contrast and add radiance to my cheek and brow bones, down the bridge of my nose and along my cupid's bow.

For my eyes I had a trio of party-ready products to define, colour and add insane volume and length to my lashes. To begin with I used the YSL Pure Chromatics eyeshadow palette (no.6) which can be used wet or dry and contains a quad of beautiful shimmering shades - a khaki green, a warm gold, a pretty pink and a grungy purple all packed full of pearl pigments for a soft, metallic finish. I used the gold powder in the corner of my eyes and half way along my bottom lashes whilst sweeping the pink shade all over my lids. I defined my crease with the rich purple and finished off with a little bit of the khaki green on the outer corners to add definition to my waterline without using kohl eyeliner. For my cateye flick I opted for the YSL Shocking Ink Eyeliner which is probably one of the nicest and easiest felt-tip liner I have ever used. I really struggle with applying liner to my top lashes but this was smooth and precise and gave me a sleek finish first time! And finally for the lashes and it had to be the new Baby Doll mascara for that "eyes wide open" lash look. The micro-faceted brush really grabs and separates each lash and gives them a thick, full look with plenty of volume! An absolute essential for party-perfect makeup.

Have you tried any of these new products from YSL?

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Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo

Illamasqua Sculpting Powder Duo* in Heliopolis and Lumos, £26
available online and on counters

Sometimes, on particularly lazy makeup days, all I crave is a well-contoured cheek and a cat eye flick for a simple yet polished finish. My most recent discovery when it comes to achieving perfectly chiselled cheekbones is Illamasqua's Sculpting Powder Duo which is a compact featuring two shades to harmoniously define and highlight your cheeks. The neutral tan shade (Heliopolis) is completely matte and glitter-free to help fashion some natural cheekbones whilst the shimmering champagne powder (Lumos) is ideal to highlight and illuminate along the top of the cheeks.

I used my MAC 168 contour brush to apply the bronzer colour first and lightly ran the powder down in a line from the top of my ear towards the corner of my mouth, stopping about half way along. Both these powders are extremely pigmented so you need to adopt the softly-softly approach to ensure the look is obvious but natural. Once this powder is nicely blended in then I took my Real Techniques blush brush to gently layer the gorgeous champagne highlight colour along the top of my cheekbones to add some radiance and a nice contrast to the matte contour shade.

As someone who has stacks of bronzers and highlighters all neatly compiled separately in my muji storage, it is so nice to have this palette where both your contour and highlight shade are in the same place. Compact and perfect for travelling with, I have to say that this is a truly great product to instantly fake those sculpted cheekbones and give you a warm, natural radiance. Have you tried this new product from Illamasqua?  

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Benefit the POREfessional Agent Zero Shine powder

The POREfessional: agent zero shine "the shine-vanishing PRO powder" £23.50
available online and on Benefit Cosmetics counters

Well Benefit Cosmetics has done it again and released another eye-pleasing, innovative little product inspired by their best selling pore-minimising primer - the POREfessional which I reviewed a few years ago and still enjoy to use. This spinoff loose powder, comically called Agent Zero Shine, is the most perfectly compact loose powder I have ever had the pleasure to shake, swirl and buff into my skin. Loose powder can always be a bit of a tricky customer especially when travelling or popping it in your makeup bag for touch-ups during the day, often with billows of dust greeting you once you've pop the lid and retrieved your kabuki brush. This nifty product however has everything neatly compact and at your fingertips for quick and easy touch-ups to keep shine at bay.

Once the top is removed then the handy dispenser is revealed with the lid now acting as a convenient place to shake the powder in to and ready to apply. And then, as if by magic, with a swift twist at the bottom of the product a soft, baby kabuki brush appears. Simply shake the powder out, swirl the brush in the lid and apply evenly over your foundation or bare, primed skin for a smooth, beautifully blurred skin finish. The powder is light and fine and buffs onto your face nicely and mattes out any shiny areas instantly. The powder is quite a light shade but the colour is almost invincible on the skin once applied so I think it would suit most skin tones and be a great little addition to your makeup bag. As for its promise to help minimise pores much like the original POREfessional, I have to say that I didn't notice much difference but if you are using the primer anyway then you don't really need this benefit from the powder as well. However, as a loose powder it is really rather lovely and keeps your makeup looking fresh and natural whilst eliminating any signs of the dreaded shininess!

I wouldn't say this is a powder you must go out and buy pronto but for its fabulous, easy-to-use design and lovely skin-blurring qualities, it is definitely a nice addition to have close at hand for when the shine needs to be banished! Have you tried this latest recruit to the Benefit POREfessional range?

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Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood Eye Palette

Before I begin gushing about my latest beauty love, I just want to wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope you had a wonderful night whatever you got up to and I wish 2014 to be a joyful, positive year for you all. Now back to the makeup and considering it was New Year's Eve last night and I was sporting far too many sequins, I wanted to add some sparkle to my eyes with the Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood palette.

This beautiful eyeshadow palette comprises of nine matte and shimmering shades encased in a mirrored, slimline black palette making it perfect for popping in your makeup bag and adding some glitz to your look. The array of complimentary shades are all so gorgeous, it was a hard task deciding which ones to use for my NYE makeup. I began with the matte pearly-white shadow first and swept this all over my lid and up to my brow bone to add a subtle highlight. I then took the matte tan-beige shade and applied this all over my lid as a base for the shimmer shadows to come. I used the sparkly champagne shadow in the corner of my eyes and ran this half way along my bottom lashes also to add some extra sparkles before buffing the chocolate-bronze glitter shade into the crease and outer corners of my eyes to add definition and a rich, warm finish to my eyes. The matte shades of this palette are definitely more pigmented that the shimmery shadows so I would advise using them first as a base to get the best colour payoff possible. The glittery shadows are finely-milled and soft, giving your eye makeup a luminous and subtle glean without being too full on or chunky. To finish off the look I used one of my favourite lip glosses from Bobbi Brown - the high shimmer gloss in Rose which is described as a true pink glitter. It is lovely worn alone or layered over a baby pink lipstick to give you a subtle sparkle and sheen. Perfect for the party season and to see in the new year in style!

Have you tried anything from the Bobbi Brown limited edition Old Hollywood collection?

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