London Fashion Weekend

On the 26th of February I went to Somerset House for London Fashion Weekend (because I'm not a rich socialite to attend LFW) and it was surprisingly lovely plus the sun was out too. 

It wasn't as busy as I thought it would be, maybe because I went on the Sunday, but this didn't lessen the event at all; in fact it made it easy to browse the clothing and accessories without being crushed. 

My favourite thing about the whole day was the ELLE beauty talk on this seasons trends. I'm completely awful when it comes to picking out make-up and even worse when applying it so I found it really useful. 

Just like your wardrobe, your make up bag should have some key spring/summer products. 

1. Bright and pastel colours on your eyes and lips is vital according to the team at ELLE. Aim for a matte lip by applying powder over your lipstick by dabbing. 
2. Never have both colour on your eyes and lips. Pick one (they said you should favour the lips)
3. Be experimental, playful and bring out your inner child. Make-up is versatile. When make up looks too perfectly applied it can come across static and stiff. Try dabbing lipstick on your cheek as a blusher. It has a better texture. 
4. Avoid looking orange (unless you're going for that scousewife look) by applying bronzer to places on your face that catches the sun- forehead, nose, chin for a natural look. 

After the beauty talk I went to the catwalk show and it was really good (again, I was surprised) 

Ended the day with food. Tom's topped it all off.

february

This month has been so nice! I've realised I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I'd post all my favourite photos from this month...

Outside Buckingham Palace

My Valentine's Present :-)

Camden Market

Tom bought me 2 mini red velvet cupcakes. The icing ended up falling off on to my shoe.

Dinner at Fire and Stone in Covent Garden

Houses of Parliament 

On the London Eye!!

Pancake Day (yum)

mary katrantzou + topshop

I haven’t been able to shut up about Mary Katrantzou’s Spring/Summer collection for Topshop. She is one of my favourite designers and when I heard about this collaboration I quickly started saving (something I never do) knowing that I would want every garment hanging in my wardrobe.

She’s always had a close relationship with Topshop having designed two lines for the store previously. Katrantzou stated "They've been so supportive of my work from the very beginning and this range will be the most ambitious one we've done and the most fun. My idea behind the collaboration was to design for the Topshop girl a range that is as close to the aesthetic of my mainline as possible, with great control over the quality of design and production. I can't wait to see the Topshop girls in the bowl dresses and for the most daring to see them try the print on print layering!"

The collection features ten pieces ranging from the bold structured dress for the adventurist to the subtle clean-lined blouse that can be worn with existing items in your wardrobe. I might be daring and try print on print layering...

For a high street collection it completely mirrors Katrantzou signature style – hats off! The collection will be available from the 17th of February and the price ranges from £40 to £350

lana del ray

band crush: chairlift

Album Something is out now on iTunes. Listen to it! (Seriously)

skirts.skirts.skirts

American Apparel Corduroy Circle Skirt

Miss Sixty Belted Skirt

given to the wild

Given to the Wild introduces us to a new sense of what The Maccabees actually are. I’d say it’s pretty obvious that the band from South London have travelled down a different road maturing their sound along the way. It’s nothing new and exciting when it comes to the genre of music but it’s certainly new, exciting and not to mention different when it comes to them as a band. 

Songs such as Heave prove that they can write diverged music. The album is built around setting the scene opening with the instrumental Child- think soothing sounds and mellow beats; it sets the album in motion and gives us a taste of what will follow. Each track is tied together by the laid-back vocals of Orlando Weeks adding both emotion and consistency to the record. The success of their single Pelican with that heavy chorus marks the return of band and shows that 2012 will be the year of The Maccabees.

Click here for more dates across the country. I hope to see them live this year.

My favourite song off the album is Ayla. I wish I could post it here but it’s not available on YouTube in the county. How frustrating! So I’ll leave you with the band performing Pelican in session on BBC Radio 1.

brogues.brogues.brogues.

They finally arrived! Completely in love.

chelsea boots

After working a ridiculous amount this week and gaining the flu I thought I'd treat myself to a pair of Chelsea boots in the sale. My student loan hasn't even gone in yet and I'm already spending it. Whoops.

HELLO 2012!

Happy New Year everybody! Hope you all had a wonderful festive period. Apologies for not blogging over the past few weeks, I’ve been busy with work and spending time with my family & friends. Today is my only day off so I thought I’d spend it blogging, doing coursework and laundry.

So it’s 2012 and it’s off to a great start. I’ve been looking at the S/S ’12 trends and it’s making me very exciting for summer already (only 11 weeks and 4 days until British Summer Time guys!)

The S/S collections from the likes of Louise Gray, Meadham Kirchoff and Jeremy Scott showcase a sickly sweet and sour look. Think cute dresses in an array of both bold and soft colours with frilly school girl socks, nu-rave accessories and rag-doll hair. Sounds crazy doesn't it.

Louise Gray

Meadham Kirchhoff

Viktor & Rolf

Prints also seem to be putting themselves on every item of clothing this year. The amazing Mary Katrantzou is launching her collection with Topshop this year meaning us students (otherwise known as peasants) get to wear designer at high street prices. I think this will be a brilliant success looking back on the Versace for H&M craze. 

Peter Som

Moving away from the colour and hazard prints, 2012 will say hello to flapper dresses and a white pallet of shimmering garmets. 

Ralph Lauren

Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Louis Vitton have all experimented with pastel colours in their S/S collections. Just like Kirchoff these pieces bring out the cute little girl in you.