Little Boots

I'm dedicating this post to my new boots. These little gems are from M&S. Yes, I said M&S. I usually completely ignore Marks & Spencers in terms of fashion, overruling it because in my mind it's for grannies. This may be because I'm often trundling along to M&S Westfield with her to find her annual cashmere cardi so I suppose I've always linked the two together...? Either way, there have been multiple times when I've asked my step-mum (see post on her here) where she's got something and she's told me it's from M&S. There is a huge one near us in St. Albans and while she was busy looking for a pair of Winter boots for herself, I spotted these and instantly fell in love. I'm not sure what it is about them that I love so much; whether it's the multiple buckles or the subtle bronze colour of the hardware, but they stood out to me and I can see them being well and truly loved to death this season. I'm definitely a boots and sandals girl, with the odd rare occasion when I stray to ballet flats and in the colder months I literally live in little ankle boots. I don't own a brown pair and I think the buckle detail on these along with the contrast stitching create a casual feel but they still look more expensive than they are. Here I've worn them with with a pair of skinnies, but I think they'd look equally as cute with a floaty tunic top and some leggings. The one thing I can definitely say is you'll be seeing a lot more of them!

You can find them on the M&S website here, and there's a black pair too (stay away from the boots, Elle...)

Friday Favourite: Metallic Croc Effect

After my previous post on Autumnal Nail Shades, I experimented using two together. Barry M Nail Paint in 343 Burgundy Croc and Rimmel London Metal Rush in 80 Purple Reign. Both of these were two of my favourites from the selection and when paired together they create a stunning nail for this season. Metallics are everywhere at the moment and the Rimmel polish reflects that with it's electric purple pop of colour. The result with a coat of the Barry M Croc Effect on top is amazing, with a beautiful texture and two autumnal colours that work perfectly together with just the right amount of contrast.  The metallic purple peeks through the berry toned burgundy underneath the cracks formed by the Croc Effect polish and once finished with a slick of my favourite top coat, Sally Hansen's Mega Shine, you have a unique nail polish collaboration that will ad a pop of colour to the dull tones of Autumn clothing! I've worn this pair for a solid week without a single chip, perfection!

Style Spotlight: Sharon

Instead of focusing purely on my own style posts, I thought it would be different to do a series of feature posts of people in my life who provide me with style inspiration, the first being my step-mum. Knowing Sharon, I'm sure she would much rather live in comfy cosy leggings and hoodies on a daily basis (don't we all?), but she manages to look great even on the school run. What I love about her style is how she manages to put together  an outfit using simplistic pieces, often layering in the winter using chunky knitwear and scarves. She also has possibly the most extensive shoe, bag and jewellery collection of all the people I know (I'm jealous, can you tell?) and accessorises every outfit down to a tee.

I managed to persuade Sharon to let me quickly snap some photos before she headed out to dinner and this outfit sums up her style perfectly. She paired a simple River Island tee with a pair of black leggings and a classic black blazer from New Look, completing the look with some black boots and throwing on a scarf from Debenhams (this being one of my favourites that she owns). Keeping a monotone colour palette makes Sharon's outfit simple and chic and she's kept the jewellery minimalistic wearing a Karen Millen cuff and a few ChloBo rings. Continuing the monochromatic theme with her Louis Vuitton patent black Alma bag finishes the look.

I hope you enjoy this twist on style posts & thanks to Sharon for making an appearance on the blog :)

Review: Sara Happ Lip Scrub

I'm sure many of you have heard of Sara Happ's infamous Lip Scrubs and The Lip Slip; amazing luxurious treats for you lips which are hugely popular with many celebrities including Rachel Zoe, Reece Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow to name a few. I always had my eye on her products but couldn't justify the hefty price tag that comes with them. This all changed when I tried the Blood Orange lip scrub that I added to my basket on a whim while stocking up at Beautybay.com. I'd heard such great things about these scrubs that it had a lot to live up to when it arrived, but it promised a result and it definitely delivered. It buffed away all the dry, chapped skin from my lips, leaving them soft and supple and most of all really plump and healthy looking.

The limited edition Blood Orange flavour of this cult favourite is enriched with moisturising jojoba and grape seed oils and naturally flavoured with blood orange extract. All of Sara Happ's lip scrubs smell and taste amazing so if you're anything like me, you will undoubtably want to be scrubbing them all day! I tend to use mine as part of my morning routine, after washing my face, leaving my lips prepped for whatever makeup I decided to wear that day. I absolutely adore the bright pink blood orange lip scrub with it's delicious citrus scent but am tempted to purchase the Green Apple lip scrub next because I imagine it can't get much better than the sweet, crisp apply freshness.

The entire range of Sara Happ products are available at Beautybay.com with the lip scrubs retailing at £19. A little goes a long way with this product so it lasts a long time...worth the investment if you want beautifully soft lips!

Autumnal Nail Shades

I have an excessive nail polish collection but the strong majority of the polishes I own are darker shades, my favourites being the vampy plums and almost blacks. While I do love the brights and pastels of Summer, there is something about the deep rich shades that return every Autumn and Winter that I'm drawn to, so I thought I would head to Boots & Superdrug to scout out ten of my favourite shades that I'll be wearing this season. I've chosen from a variety of brands and tried to include different tones and finishes so I hope you enjoy my autumnal nail picks!

From left to right:
Maxfactor Max Effect in 03 Red Bronze -  A gorgeous metallic bronze, reminds me of the falling leaves of Autumn.

Models Own in Red n Black - One of the aforementioned almost blacks, with a very slight tint of red.

Maybelline Forever Strong Pro in 786 Taupe Couture -  A dark grey toned taupe, perfect neutral nail for Autumn.

Barry M Nail Paint in 327 Magnetic Burgundy - A beautiful burgundy colour polish, reacting to the magnet with stripes of pink.

Barry M Nail Paint in 433 Magnetic Moon Dust - Similar effect with the magnet, resulting in gold and silver stripes, another great metallic shade for Autumn/Winter..would look great at Christmas.

Barry M Nail Paint in 327 Magnetic Burgundy. This is definitely one of my favourite shades from my selection, I love the berry tones and the stripes the magnet creates. Makes a change to plain block colour nails and is just as easy as a quick manicure.

From left to right: (excuse the nasty little cut on my first finger!)
Barry M Nail Paint in 343 Burgundy Croc - Another great polish from Barry M with a textured finish in a great vampy colour for Autumn.

Models Own Pro in Limited Edition 043 Pinky Grey - It's not all doom and gloom! This is a great neutral nail colour and is exactly what it says on the tin -  pinky grey! Slightly lilac I think, and great for days when you want to perk up a dark Autumnal outfit with a lighter colour nail. I'm finding this is the perfect transition colour from Summer to Autumn.

Essie Sole Mate - Very similar to Models Own Black n Red but much more red so looks like a dark burgundy on the nail rather than almost black.

No7 Stay Perfect in Thunderstorm - The photo does this colour no justice, it looks a lot more dark and black than it actually is (I'm sorry!) It's similar to Maybelline's Taupe Couture because of it's grey neutral shade but has a slightly blue/purple undertone which I really love.

Rimmel London Metal Rush in 80 Purple Reign - This has to be another of my favourites, it definitely steals the show. The Metal Rush polishes are part of Rimmel's AW12 collection and from the four polishes on offer, this one stood out. I just adore the bright purple metallic shade and think it will work well to brighten up an Autumn outfit.

Best of the bunch: Barry M's Burgundy Croc is a polish like no other. I've seen the crackle effects been done by so many brands and quite frankly, I'm tired of it! This is a new twist on things and yes, it does still crackle like the others but the cracks are more precise and it definitely does look very similar to a Crocodile skin. I used this over Maybelline Taupe Couture as to not detract from the effect but I'm thinking of trying it will the Rimmel Metal Rush polish next to see how that contrast works. When finished with a slick of Sally Hansen's Mega Shine, it truly does mimic that of a patent mock-croc bag. Love it!

So there you have it, my nail polish picks for Autumn. Let me know if you'll be sporting any of these yourself this season!

September Empties

There's something about empties posts that I love. Hauling new items is one thing, but using up a whole product and deciding whether it's worthy of repurchasing again or best to try something new is somehow more satisfying for me. I think it's because it's not just a first impression of a product after having just bought it, but instead you've emptied it, so you've used it long enough to gain a real impression and experience of the product to able a fair review. These are the products I've finished this month; for each one I'll tell you a little bit about what I think of it.

I got Soap & Glory's Foam Call as part of a 3 for 2 deal in Boots and I've loved the other products I've tried from the brand so I was expecting big things. And as always, Soap & Glory delivered. I love this body wash. When used with my shower puff it really does foam up and the scent is like nothing I've smelt before; it's their new Fruitigo fragrance and it smells so fresh and zingy, a great wake up call in the morning. I don't find it super moisturising but it doesn't dry out my skin and I rely on my body butters to moisturise anyway so I'll definitely be repurchasing this!

TIGI Bed Head Headrush shine spray was a gift a while back and I used it religiously before forgetting about it, but after recently rediscovering it I'm not sure what all the fuss was about before really. It does smell amazing but I don't notice much of a shine in my hair after using it so this was just a case of using it up really, personally I think there are better shine treatments on the market.

I could not live without Batiste dry shampoo. The amount of times I have used it to rescue a bad hair day and give it some volume and oomph or simply just to freshen up my hair between washes, it truly is a live safer! I've been through a ridiculous amount of these before and will continue repurchasing because for me Batiste works best. I've tried other dry shampoos but nothing lives up to this one for me - and it comes in an amazing range of scents..I'm currently loving this cherry one :)

Chanel Vitalumière Aqua compact, now for me this is a love/hate product. I absolutely adore the liquid version of this foundation and it makes my skin look flawless without it being thick and cakey, so naturally when it got released in compact form I snapped it up. Unfortunately it just doesn't work the same for me and it's a bit of a cheat empty really because I actually passed it on to my mum to use up. She loves it and it looks amazing on her skin but unlike me, she has dry/normal skin. I'll definitely be sticking to the liquid Vitalumière Aqua but I think I'll have to consider buying a refill for my mum for Christmas (shhh!)

I think this is the third bottle of Caudalie Beauty Elixir I've been through. Mainly because I buy the small 30ml size for it's practical handbag friendly size to spritz when I need freshening up. I love this product, using it as part of my daily makeup routine acting as a toner before application and a setting spray once finished. It's so refreshing and will remain a staple in my makeup bag for a while I think.

Bare Minerals Pure Transformation night treatment was a risky purchase for me because I really wasn't sure how going to bed with what was effectively mineral powder makeup on would benefit my skin. But to my surprise it worked a treat and I really noticed a difference in my skin with it looking clearer and brighter after using it daily for a couple of weeks. I used it religiously until it finished but don't think I'll repurchase because I just can't justify it's £45 price tag. I think sticking to mineral foundation (see my post on it here) is enough for my skin for now.

Lastly my beloved Soap & Glory Hand Food which is probably one of the best hand creams I've used. It smells ah-may-zing and really does its job well. I've moved on to another favourite hand cream of mine by L'Occitaine now purely for a change but will definitely go back to this at some point (I have one in stock ready!)

ChloBo After Dark

I mentioned ChloBo in a couple of my previous posts (here and here) as well as telling you briefly that their latest collection is After Dark. This is my favourite collection from ChloBo yet; I love the current metallic trend of this season and After Dark reflects this using semi precious stones Pyrite and Haematite. Both these stones are dark intense black and bronze metallics and there's something about them that just makes me think of Winter sparkles and Christmas. I'll be wearing them non-stop this Winter but I'm sure they will complement my sterling silver stack consisting of Dreamlands (a previous collection from ChloBo) and Iconic bracelets.

Chloe was inspired to name and create the After Dark collection after a visit to Istanbul. Chloe says "By day the old town is teaming with tradesmen and traffic and the pavements are hot and dusty. As the city's lights switch on at dusk, the place becomes a twinkling kingdom and the glitz and glam come out to play." This amazing city sounds beautiful and Chloe has translated this beauty into her designs in a way that only Chloe could. The collection is a plethora of Pyrite and Haematite with contrasting Cubic Zirconia charms and she has even introduced some delicate fine chains, a cute new design for ChloBo.

I have the Pyrite Inset Sparkle Cross and Pyrite Sparkle Hamsa Hand and I absolutely love them, although I have got my eye on the Haematite Inset Peace Necklace which is stunning. Do you have any favourites from the ChloBo After Dark collection?

 ChloBo Pyrite Inset Sparkle Cross and Pyrite Sparkle Hamsa Hand