OOTN #12

Jumper - Topshop

Skirt - River Island

Shoes - Topshop

It's been a while since I've done an outfit post and I found this one deep in the Berlin archives so here we go and please excuse the angelic halo around my head! This was our first night in Berlin and we weren't venturing far from the hotel bar so I braved it and bared my legs but since we'd been up since 4am catching planes and trains my eyes wouldn't let me put my contact lenses in so I had to settle with specs for a night! 

I fell in love with this Topshop jumper the second I saw it, it's soft and fluffy and the nicest colour I've ever set my eyes on, an almost neon peach honestly it's gorgeous. I don't usually go for things that are cropped because my tummy is something I like to keep covered up but I had this skirt in mind which after seeing Lily Pebbles wearing it I had to buy and being high waisted there is minimal skin on show! I usually live in jeans in the winter but this leather look skirt goes with everything and you can dress it up or down so the price per wear is already down to mere pounds! I hope I can find some more things to pair this jumper with because it's lovely and I'm thinking with a pencil skirt there's a bit of a Kim K vibe going on even without the waist training and enviable booty!

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Midweek Wish List #26 - SpaceNK Christmas Gift Sets

1-2-3-4-5

1. NARS always seem to smash it when it comes to Christmas and this palette is no exception, it includes Laguna bronzer which I've wanted to try for so long as well as a highlighter and three blushers - two that are limited edition and the final one is Deep Throat which I already have and love so another one won't hurt!

2. Hourglass have definitely done the rounds on beauty blogs this past year so I can see this on a lot of peoples Christmas lists. Three of the ambient light blushers housed in one palette, I have never seen so many promises of a glowing complexion in one palette!

3. I've heard so much about the Laura Mercier Caviar sticks and have wanted to give them a go for a while now and this gift set is the perfect opportunity to try six different shades which I can see getting a lot of use because of how beautiful and neutral they are. I think I might need them!

4. This is such a cute stocking filler, I love my Caudalie Beauty Elixer and carry it everywhere with me for a midday refresher so this would be perfect for a Beauty Elixer devotee or newbie.

5. Be still my beating heart!!! These diddy little pencils have topped my Christmas list this year, it's rare that I come across a gift set where I can see myself using every single shade and there's not one of these that I don't like! You get three velvet pencils and two matte and I think the shade picks are perfect, there's one for everyone and every occasion. 

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Eylure London Lash Edit

Eylure London Lash Edit

I'm not an eyelash snob but I only ever wear lashes by Eylure, why would I need to switch brands when they have so many amazing styles and anything that is good enough for Katy Perry is good enough for me! So when the lash edits were launched inspired by three of the most well known cities in the world London, Paris and New York I definitely needed one (if not all) of them in my life.

After seeing them all I knew straight away that the London edit was definitely the wardrobe that my lashes needed for the upcoming party season. I like my false eyelashes to be quite textured and natural looking while also adding length -  I know, I don't want much do I?! My all time favourite falsies that I have rebought and rebought are the Eylure 117's which are actually the middle pair of eyelashes in this little set. I love how fluttery all of these styles are and as well as being really eye opening and lash lengthening they're not too in your face. The only pair I haven't had chance to try out yet are the tops ones which I love the look of the thicker ends and can see them looking amazing with a major flick of eyeliner going on.

I think the packaging is really well thought out, they all co-ordinate with the city they're inspired by and are fastened with two little doors stuck down by velcro. Once you've got the doors open you can see your lovely lashes and there's a London quote on one side and a 'where to wear' on the other telling you which eyelashes they are if you were to buy them separately which I think is a really nice touch.

No matter how drunk I am when I'm taking them off I try to take care of my lashes and have lost count of how many times I've been able to reuse a pair of Eylure eyelashes, they are very resilient that's all I can say! I've never had any issues with the glue that's included either, once I've got my falsies on that's it and they're in place until I take them off and while they are on they're comfortable and being a contact lens wearer I've never had any irritation with the eyelashes or the glue - what's not to love?!

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Berlin Baby!

This is going to be more of a lifestyley type post than I usually do so if you're here for the beauty you have been warned! For Joel's birthday we spent a couple of days in Berlin because it's somewhere that he's always wanted to go, I think their love of sausages and massive tankers of beer might have factored in somewhere in that! 

We stayed in the Crowne Plaza hotel which was gorgeous and very conveniently located right next door to a massive Zara and 2 minutes down the road from H&M, Forever 21 and KaDeWe, it's a good job that I was only there for a couple of days because I could have done a lot of damage if I was let loose any longer! If you're Ever Berlin bound then I would definitely recommend staying here, it's a five minute walk away from the train station and the underground and they put a little This Works sleep solutions kit on your pillow which is too cute and something I've always wanted to try so thanks Crowne Plaza!

After we'd checked in at the hotel we had a little walk round and they were just starting to put up all of the festive decorations so it was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (say that without singing it, I challenge you!) We had a wander around KaDaWe which is Berlins answer to Harrods and the largest department store in Europe so it's safe to say that I was in heaven especially in the beauty section and I may have made a cheeky Tom Ford purchase while I had some euros burning a hole in my pocket!

  

 

  

On our one and only full day we went to Berlin zoo and aquarium because when you're in a city full of history and culture why not spend the day with animals and fish?! I do love a zoo trip and this zoo was amazing, you name the animal and I saw it, the place was absolutely massive! Once we'd had our fill on furry and scaly things we had some lunch and went on the underground to the Brandenburg Gate and did some sight seeing and exploring until it got dark and that was pretty much our Berlin trip.

It's such a pretty city and I'm sad that we just missed the Christmas markets by a week or so but we had a really good few days and Joel is already planning our next trip!

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I'm loving...Leather Trousers

Images from Pinterest

I live in black skinny jeans and to me leather trousers are just a dressier version of my beloved skinnies that never leave my legs and can add a bit of an edge to the plainest of outfits. I finally went for it and ordered the H&M leather trousers that were on a wishlist a few weeks ago and by the time you read this I'll be in Berlin and my new trousers will hopefully have had their first outing! Personally I much prefer these kind of trousers with heels but that's only because I have extremely short legs and anything that elongates them is a welcome addition to my outfit! Browsing Pinterest it seems that Olivia Palermo is the queen of the leather trousers and can rock them with heels and flats (there was no doubt about that with those never ending legs!) and I think I'm going to take inspiration from her and wear them with slipper style shoes and a casual outfit. I've been saving my trousers to wear for Berlin (does anyone else do this when they're going away?!) but I can seen them getting a lot of wear especially over the festive season because they can really dress up a plain top and still be comfortable, Olivia Palermo I'm coming for your Queen of leather trousers title!!

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Monthly Favourites | October 2014

I'm trying to hide how awful the lighting and the picture in general is by plonking a massive talking spider in the middle of it all! I can't quite believe that we're nine days into November already, we're on a downwards slope to Christmas people! It's actually Joel's Birthday today so I'm writing this quickly before we go out for a meal to celebrate and then we're off to Berlin tomorrow for a few days and to say that I'm very unprepared is an understatement, my case is still unpacked, my hair is still unwashed and we're getting picked up at 5:30 tomorrow morning so between doing all that and catching the X Factor results I am a busy, busy bee!

Primark Round Bristle Brush

I don't know how I lived without this brush?! Now that my hair is shorter and I like to curl the ends under this is a god send to use while drying my hair. It's perfect for adding volume to the roots and rounding the ends, all you need to do after you've blow dried with this bad boy is a quick go over with the straighteners and you're good to go!

Seventeen Skin Wow 3 Way Highlighter

My Favourite primer ever is the Look Beauty Prime Time radiance one and when I ran out and tried to have a look what offers they have on they seem to have disappeared, does anyone know what happened to Look Beauty?! So now I'm on the look out for a replacement and this is doing a pretty good job so far, I use it mostly for priming and it does add a nice glow to your face but it is a very heavy almost oily glow that tones down when you put your foundation on but I couldn't wear it alone.

Barry M Red Black and Blackberry

If you only buy two nail varnishes this Autumn/Winter then make them these two, I've been rotating them for the whole of October and they literally go with anything and everything as well as being a flattering shade for ghostly winter skin.

Maybelline Colour Drama Lip Pencil in Berry Much

This is my first ever berry shade lip product (honestly!) and I have to say that I'm a complete convert. This pencil is easy to apply, long lasting and just the right amount of matte. If dark Autumn lips scare you then I would definitely give this a whirl, my phobia has been cured!

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Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencils | Berry Much, Minimalist and In With Coral

Maybelline Color Drama Lip Pencil

Well weren't these little beauties extremely hard to get hold of?! Once I saw these popping up on a few blogs I needed in on the action but that was harder than I thought it would be - I tried too many Boots and Superdrugs as well as looking online and them being all sold out, I was beginning to think that I'd dreamt them until Boots online had a restock and they were finally all mine - sometimes it's hard work being a beauty obsessive! 

If you're going by what the Boots website says there are ten different shades of these lip pencils but after what seemed like a worldwide hunt for them I have to disagree, there was only ever space for probably five pencils on the stands that I searched. The three shades that I finally got hold of were - In With Coral which is a bright pink based coral and the one that I had my heart set on, Minimalist which is another pinky shade but this time more of a nude and Berry Much which is completely out of my comfort zone and a deep matte purple. I was really looking forward to using Minimalist as a day lip colour but I have to say that I was disappointed by it, it's just nothingy and I don't know how else to explain it, I couldn't even tell that I had anything on my lips and I haven't worn it since which is a shame because I thought that would be the fail proof shade out of the three. Berry Much and In With Coral are definitely not disappointments thought, they both go on with a solid colour and because they're pencils you can get a really nice lip shape on the go with them. In With Coral is more of a satin finish and it does leave a slight sheen on the lips whereas Berry Much is completely matte and I found it to be a teeny tiny little bit drying on my lips. These look amazing on their own or you could always use them as a base for another shade, the possibilities are endless!

Despite one disappointing shade I do really like these and surprisingly my favourite of the three was the one that I was most unsure about - Berry Much! I think I may be a dark lip convert and just in time for the right season for it. If Boots have a 3 for 2 on and you're stuck for something to add to your basket then these are well worth a look in.

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