Wednesday 23 March 2011

Death of an Icon: Elizabeth Taylor




Today we bid farewell to Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor. Liz was a fascinating woman – funny, bold, stubborn, philanthropic, passionate, eccentric, witty and kind. Firm friends with my man Michael Jackson, she proved a loyal and steadfast companion for him throughout the years. Her style in the 1950's and 60's was fabulously chic and nobody had a neater waist! There will never be another Elizabeth Taylor.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

From Runway to Red Carpet



I loved this Stella McCartney dress when it showed during Fashion Week. It seemed to be the perfect mix of classic and modern; simple yet striking. Last night Kate Winslet wore the very same dress at the New York premiere of her new tv series, Mildred Pierce. There's nothing wrong with Kate's toned hourglass figure but I cannot help but think the dress isn't hugely flattering once removed for the coltish limbs of a supermodel. Such is life. What do you all think of Kate's polkadot frock?

Sunday 20 March 2011

Give Me Energy!

SO FAR, SO CHIC
There are morning people and there are the rest of us; groaning in pain as the alarm sounds and dragging ourselves into the shower with eyes still scrunched shut. Luckily Liz Earle's 'Energising' range performs morning miracles. I was sent the Energising Body Wash, Body Scrub, Body Lotion and the Natural Bristle Body Brush to see if they could impart some energy into my morning movements.

I reviewed the Body Scrub a year ago and it's still an unrivalled joy – exfoliating without being scratchy. The star products in the range, however, are the Body Wash and new Body Lotion. There's no photo of the latter as I already finished it, cut up the tube and scraped out every last morsel. Gorgeously scented, it sinks in quickly leaving skin soft and smooth. Not as heavy or oily as the (equally divine) Superskin Body Cream, it's perfect for mornings as you can get dressed immediately.

I once had a quick massage on an Origins counter where the assistant rubbed drops of Peace of Mind behind my ears before cupping her hands to my nose and getting me to inhale the rosemary and peppermint aroma. The Energising Body Wash smells similarly uplifting – oils of geranium, grapefruit, sweet orange, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus and patchouli stir the senses and help to perk up mind and body.

On days where I have a bit more time and fancy an extra pick me up I use the Natural Bristle Body Brush in the shower. It's quite rough on the skin and I'm too much of a wimp to dry body brush but it feels like just the thing to get the blood pumping in my neglected winter thighs. I've yet to try a Liz Earle product that I didn't like but their Energising body products succeed in bringing a little luxury to even the dullest mornings.

Monday 7 March 2011

You Got Me Working Day and Night

So far, so chic
I fancied wearing a bronze smokey eye for drinks on Saturday night but was impatient and ended up doing it in the morning with a slick of Rouge Bunny Rouge 'dissolved in dreams' Sheer Lipstick (which Blogger manages to mute down by about three shades in the photo). I left my eyebrows natural for contrast and my hair's still wet from the shower in the pics. My boyfriend (experimental first usage of the term - eeeek!) keeps calling me a 'redhead'. Having not had my highlights done since last summer I'm definitely looking a lot more 'strawberry' than 'blonde'. I hate it but at least it lends itself to coppery makeup.


When it came to the evening I'd intended to redo my makeup but didn't have time so ended up adding more shimmery copper shadow from my Sleek 'storm' palette, more of my favourite Prestige Eyeliner in 'black/brown' and Lancome Colour Fever lipstick in 256 – a peachy nude shimmer. God knows what my makeup looked like by the time we went to bed at 5.00 am on Sunday morning but then again, who cares?!



Friday 4 March 2011

A Case of the Mean Reds



I've been desperate to buy some red polishes forever. Nothing I see in the cheapo ranges appeals. Pillar box red? Excuse me while I die of boredom. What I wanted specifically was Essie Geranium and Essie Lolipop. I ordered them on eBay weeks ago and they came one at a time and took an absolute age *posts negative feedback*.

Geranium finally arrived today and I whacked it straight on – one coat, no base coat, no filing, no cuticle work. Still looked pretty good. With one layer it's slightly translucent as you can see in the photo of my nails. Not in a wishy-washy way but in a cool jelly-nails type way.

Lolipop is a candy cane Christmassy red with a bit of blue in it. No shimmer. Very runny so you have to be careful that a blob of polish doesn't cruise down the wand and give you a nice, thick layer guaranteed to garner a waffle print at some point during the 35 hours it takes to dry. Oh and I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's today, hence the title. Unbelievably I'd never seen the film before but of course I loved it.

Tuesday 1 March 2011

Topshop Makeup: Sandstorm Collection


I was immediately smitten with the new Topshop Makeup Sandstorm collection – the colour combo of murky khaki greens contrasted with tomato reds and fuchsia pinks had me at 'hello Laura please buy me'.

Luckily for me a kindly PR sent me a couple of samples: an Eye Crayon in 'zephyr' and a Creme Lipcolour in 'daze'. Neither of which I would have chosen myself but sometimes that's a good thing. The Creme Lipcolour feels smooth and a bit chalky. It has no shimmer and quite a lot of white in it meaning it's quite opaque.

Above I used both products for a very quick daytime look. The Eye Crayon is quite shimmery – I applied it direct to my eyes with no primer and blended it in with a brush. Using some kind of base on your eyes would probably ensure a more even application and better effect. I found that it did settle in my eyelid crease after a few hours but again I didn't use a primer. I wasn't overly taken with the 'crayon' style of this product as it's neither sharp enough to be precise nor soft enough to smudge easily. It does 'set' after a few minutes though and has good staying power. For me the Eyeshadow Mousse in the collection looks like a must-have over this and I'm keen to see the other products.