The New York Candle from Next.

After a busy few days at work, I'm all ready to hide away at home and pamper myself tonight. I'm all stocked up on hair products; bubble baths; scrubs; body butters; masks, varnishes; feel good DVDs and books.

Yes, indeed. I'm going to be shattered in the morning.

In fact, the only thing my stocks lacked was a scented candle, an essential for utter indulgence.

Needless to say, I, er, soon corrected that!

Over the last year, scented candles have become a feature in my everyday. Obviously, I love scent, we all know that perfume is my thing so reserving a place in my heart for scented candles logically follows. Now while I find that perfume, more often then not, either manipulates or reflects my mood, scented candles seem to be more of a mark of time. As soon as I step through my front door, I can smell the lingering aroma of the candle I burnt the evening before and I know, I'm home and can unwind. Bliss x

I've tried a few different candles over the last year. Over the summer, I had a little bit of a fling with a simple Vanilla candle from Morrisons, the supermarket. I was surprised, considering the relatively low price, just how well it's sweet scent filled the air. However, generally Yankee seems to be where I'm at candle-wise. I've tried a number of them now and have a few favourites, Sparkling Sugar (very sweet, hints of baby lotion); Vanilla Satin (soft and vanillary!); Evening Air (powdery, musky and masculine), Pumpkin Spice (I know this is a cliche but yep, Halloween!). I'm sure, it must be testament to Yankee that I like so many of their candles so much yet my favourites actually cross different scent 'families'. It seems to be that no matter what the scent is, Yankee can burn it well.

However, today I didn't really have any access to Yankee gems (sob!) so I popped in to my local Next as I'd recently given the Black Cedar candle a quick sniff and remember been quite impressed.

Today I still liked the Black Cedar candle (only £3ish. Here is a link to the reed diffusor £5!) but I liked the offerings from the Luxury Fragrance line even more.

This line seems to offer candles, perfume, reed diffusers and a bath creme. In my local store, there were four different fragrances available, Milan; Paris; London and New York (Yes, I love the idea that the candles were named after such fashion capitals). I liked all of them. However, for me, Milan just smelt a little too simple. It seemed very static with none of the fluttering notes that I refer to when I babble about perfumes. Yes, I'll say it again I like my scents to almost have a rhythm, some added dimension.

I found it very hard to choose between the other three scents available. However, after a lot of sniffing, I opted for what I believe was the muskiest of the three, New York which has a top note of Bergamot.

Yes, it does seem to be that unknowingly every scent I favour features Bergamot.

New York also has a top note of orange blossom; a heart of Tuberose and Gardenia against a base of amber and patchouli.

Next describe it as 'A radiant, white floral fragrance with elegant jasmine and sun-kissed orange blossom. Inspiring and cosmopolitan. This blend captivates and engages the senses.'

I agree.

New York is burning beside me now and the aroma can not be missed. It is not particularly flowery or feminine. It seems to have a beautifully warm scent, clean and powdery, that seems in sync with the dark nights that are drawing in earlier and earlier now.

While simple basic scents such as Vanilla can be nice, the scent of New York is more complex and compelling. I would say it is more sophisticated then Milan, Paris and London. From what I smelt in store, Milan and Paris seemed to be a bit more feeble. Milan was sweet but Paris had the edge not quite as sweet but more endearing. I'd say London was quite similar to New York but the scent not quite as intense and for me, when it comes to scent, it's usually about the full works.

Obviously I only got this candle today but I thought I'd share it with you as until now, I wasn't aware of this affordable line (my candle was just £9) and so far, I'm very impressed. The ultimate test, will be answered tomorrow:

Does New York linger and if so, does it linger in an ever-so charming way?

If so then I think, New York could be the perfect scent to make my home that little more inviting and enticing as we move in to the colder months.

While we're talking seasons, let me tell you just how inspired I am by this little colour feature in the most recent Boots, 'Health and Beauty magazine'. I love these tones of green and am hoping that they work on me as I've now decided that I want green to be my new black this autumn/winter!!!

What colours are you embracing at the moment? Have you tried the Next candles? What is your favourite scented candle?

And finally, a question for me. . . Downton Abbey Series 1+2 Boxset (I'm determined to watch these then get in to this current season, everyone else seems obsessed) or The Notebook (the sweetest film ever)?!!!

Oh and if you haven't already, check out this post by The Sunday Girl, Why I Blog. Such a fab post!

Hope your week has started well.

X

Lace!

I've always thought that lace is a hard look to pull off. White lace can look great on a bride but on anybody else, lace can be easy to get wrong.
Still, occasionally, I have had a fling with lace.
Take this Top Shop lace dress in cream (Petite collection Christmas 2010).

I took this to the changing room last year for a bit of fun. I had no intention of buying it but was just trying on as many different items as I could in a desperate attempt to find some style.

To my surprise, I fell for this lace dress in cream as soon I tried it on.

It made me feel like somebody else. I normally live in black and neighbouring hues so I found that the cream colour and the delicate look of this number made me feel light and free. It was just after Christmas and all that snow, this dress reminded me that spring was coming and made me crave daisy chains (sad but true). This dress just seemed fun and what is more it seemed to bring life to my face. It felt very right. Although the dress looks lacy and light, it is not flimsy or delicate on any account. The thick lining gives enough structure leaving any 'net curtain' comments unjustified and of course, the cream (a colour so far from white! not, but just far enough!) takes away the whole bridal connotation.

Going on up the lace ladder, the stores are full of lace garments of other colours. Now if there is one thing scarier for me then bridal white lace, it is red; blue; black . . . In fact, coloured lace, in general. I just feel that on me, such items would be unflattering, too edgy and maybe even tarty.

However, recently there has being a lot of coloured lace out there and nobody else seems to be shying away from the look.

Just me.

Really I should man up but lace is so dangerous . . !

Or so I thought until I noticed a couple of Kate Middleton's recent looks.

Image from Google search

Image from Google search

Coloured lace looks!

If it is safe enough for the future Queen then goodness knows, why I'm so worried about the danger of lace?!

Enter one of my new H&M dresses.

I put it on and I liked what I saw. The lace is great and yes, lets face it, it is a lot more interesting to look at then block black.

This particular lace number is not as heavy as my Top Shop one but the fit is structured by the way that the front of the dress is vertically divided in to three. The dress is lined but the sleeves are not. This gives just enough of a lace tease without revealing too much.

The lining is flesh toned and actually quite pale. I fake tanned my top half a couple of days ago (expect a tan review very soon!) and even on me, the difference in lining and face (and arms) can be seen in real life. I actually prefer this dress on me before I fake tanned (typical, until now I have always preferred how my flesh looks when I've bothered to tan!). Pre-tan, the lining was not so obvious and the dress seemed more organic (if a dress can be such a thing!). Pale girls, this could be the one black dress out there for you!

I've paired the dress here with black skinny jeans here and a pair of heels because even if I did like my legs, I'm not sure I'd bare them out for this dress, just in case that swung the pendulum from pretty to tarty, Doreen (Birds of Feather) style.

In my head, I'm actually contemplating knee high boots and volumised (possibly with a slight quiff) hair to style this look. This number has a modern 60's feel about it.

Jewellery-wise?! Hmmm, maybe one large bracelet. What do you think?

I often braid the sides of my hair when I go out but I just think plaits are too girly for this number and that the lace needs to be balanced out a little. I think with lace, it talks for it's self and it shouldn't be played up too much. Who wants to be guilty of overkill?

So what do you think of lace? Do you like dresses with some kind of twist like this one or do you prefer a more conventional 'black dress' type number? I'm normally the conventional little black dress girl but I've got to say I am glad I have added something a little bit different to my wardrobe. Besides I also picked up a more classic black party dress in this H&M haul (more about that soon) so I can't really lose.

Talking of Kate Middleton, did you see the beautiful dress she was photographed in this week?



Image from Google search


A bit more of a 70's vibe and again very colourful but oh so glam. A dress to dream about this weekend, me thinks. I've got to admit lately, I've being style stalking Kate a bit. The 'What Kate Wore' blog is a good read!

Right, I'm off to have a Green Monster (click here to see earlier post about these gems). Over the last couple of months, I've really got back on that bandwagon and it makes such a difference to how I feel. Now if I could just bring myself to start drinking green tea again . . !

You can view the H&M dress here. Have a fabulous start to the weekend!

X

At last!

So lately I have been very inspired by various blog posts and fashion tidbits to update my wardrobe.


There seems to be so many pretty things out there. I have all these ideas of all these things I want to buy (remember my style board) so lately I have spent most days off in one shopping centre or another on a mission to gather some treasures to form a wardrobe which I can be proud of.

Yay!

Except, normally I come home disheartened. You see, it all seems to go wrong once I hit the changing room and today seemed as if it would be no exception.

First of all, inspired by Zoella's recent post, I hit Primark and actually I was surprised how tidy it was. Maybe early morning (not as early as Zoella's though), mid week visits are the way to go. I actually found quite a few items to try, a couple of basic tee shirts in pink and grey with some feathery shoulder embellishments; a vest with sequins and the statue of liberty on the front and a gorgeous little black and white polka dotted coast but trying them on, each seemed too long or a little too clingy in certain places and baggy in others. I'm sure I must be such a strange shape. Nothing between a size 8 or 12 is ever one hundred percent too big or one hundred per cent too small. Just too big or small in this place or that and then the opposite in another. Argh. . !

Anyway despite the threat of rain, I bravely persevered and headed to TopShop. There, I fell in love with a white delicate cowl neck jumper but they only had a size 12 and the neck was just too big, it sort of fell past my stomach. I'm tempted to order online and try a smaller size but I can't find it. Argh! However, such a delicate garment was unlikely to see Clumsy me through until Christmas. Still Boo!

I also tried the chain vest (as highlighted by Laura). I tried a black one and the mustard one but wasn't sure how I would wear it. I tried on some leather effect leggings to do the rock thing. I was quite excited about this as my style is not normally so rock and roll but unfortunatly they were so, so long (I think it was these) and I took this disappointing length as an omen.

All in all, it looked liked my shopping mission was yet again destined to fail

Until. . . I casually popped in to my local department store who were having a twenty per cent off day and it was here in the Warehouse and Miss Selfridge concessions that I struck gold.

Oh yes, three cheers please!

Firstly, a basic black tee shirt from Warehouse with similar shoulder embellishments to those I tried earlier in Primark but this tee fitted so much better and was a smart and safe black so yes, purchase one was made. I have to say black tee shirts are my weakness, I just think they are such an investment and can be worn up or down. You can never have too many.

Then there was this gorgeous cream shirt with some ruffle detailing down the front. Again so wearable, my two favourite words!! I'm not brave enough to try that red, workman tarten shirt look that a lot of girls seem to be pulling off at the moment but I do tend to find that shirts and three quarter length cardigans are more flattering and swamp me less then most knitwear items I find.

And finally we have the ultimate buy of the day. I absolutely adore this brown frilly dress. It fits so well and really pulls and conceals in all of the right places. It makes me feel slender and very special. It has a very deep V neckline which could do the talking for more dressy occasions but the gorgeous number could also be layered for a more casual look.

The sleeves scared me at first as they looked huge on the hanger. Indeed, quite divaish but once I tried it on, I could see they hung in a way that actually worked and I was much more comfortable with these then I am when I'm wearing shoulder pads. I think that the length and the tapering of the sleaves helped tone down the drama to the right notch.

There is a beautiful tie at the back. I just think this dress represents the style of decades past well and is timeless. It is very girly but in a great shade of brown, soft and it is not skin tight or too much. It is also very verstatile. Normally as a short girl, I have to be very careful layering long tops or dresses over trousers etc and have to select a special pair but today in the changing room, this little number instantly looked at home over my very casual, worn Matalan jeans which I happened to be shopping in. A good omen surely!

Oh and I nearly forgot. I have also got myself a pair of the New Look wedges that have been mentioned by a couple of bloggers. For example here and here Many of you may remember the suede heels that I loved from Primark earlier this year. Well, these wedges are suede too and they are very, very high which is good 'cos I need the extra height and I find the safest way to get such height is on the top of a wedge or platform heel so I'm hoping to get lots of wear from these.

So, there we go, a little fashion haul! At last!!

What do you think? Have you brought anything exciting lately?

X

Style snipping!

Lately I have noticed that I'm starting to find fashion, clothes, accessories and pretty things a little more inspiring.

Going back a few years, my wardrobe was higher on my list of priorities. Obviously my hair was always at the top of my list. I have a theory that every girl is either mainly a make up fiend, a hair one, a potions/lotion manic or a clothes horse. There is no doubt that I'm the hair one. However when it comes to fashion and cosmetics, they have sort of changed places back and forth as my life and circumstances have changed.

For example, when I was at uni with a whole lot of free time and a student loan (!) then fashion was more of a priority. I have never ever pounded any card like that Top Shop one. My style was never particularly sophisticated (always high street) but I would be in there every other day to grab what was new. Students can wear whatever they like whenever they like. Consequently it felt as if I never had anything to wear. Of course, I did. Tens more then I have now but I was young and knew no better.

Then I graduated, uni finished and it was out in to the real world where I was swamped by a new reality ie. a whole lot of bills, no money, little free ( ahem, shopping) time and a job where I was no longer free to wear what I want. Consequently I stopped thinking so much about clothes and my interest/pride in my wardrobe fell.

Interestingly this was a time when I became obsessed with growing my own nails. I wasn't too worried about painting them but I desperately wanted long talons. They seemed so ladylike. I might not have been able to afford the clothes of a grown up but at least, I could have the nails of one. Honestly I got so obsessed, I would wear a plaster over a nail if it broke and it would remain under the cover of plaster until it was long again. Nice!!

Anyway this year and blog has been all about making more of myself and I was kind of drawn to the beauty side of this resolution particularly make up.

Beauty shopping tends to be more tranquil. Unless a new MAC collection is being released then quite often there is space to shop and usually an assistant to hand (ok I concede, sometimes they are more in the way then to hand) but at least, you can normally find somebody to pay without queueing for half an hour when you've selected your purchases. I also got in to beauty because transformations (especially some of those showcased on blogs and in videos) can be amazing and well to be honest, it is nice not have to stress about sizing (Sidenote: this is just another reason why I absolutely adore perfume!).

However over the last few months, I have built quite a make up collection and now I'm starting to realise that although cosmetic items avoid the sizing issue, one product still does not fit all. For example as lovely as Gosh Darling might be for you, it doesn't matter how I work it, it will never become a go to for me. On the other hand, as little as I hear about Creme de la Femme in the cyber beauty world, I still know that I am more then likely to reach for it at least once a week until I hit pan (Nooooo, not pan! Not this lippie!).

I guess what I am saying is that now I have learnt a little more about what suits me and what does not. I am making more sensible choices and spending a little less (just a tiny bit less time though as it still takes up a large percentage of my brain space) time thinking about eyeshadows and lipsticks and I can't help thinking that this is why I have suddenly become more interested in my wardrobe again.

I now have the brain space and time for such curioisity and pretty daydreams.

However, unfortaunately my budget does not quite match my interest so I have had to reach a compromise and consequently have spent a little time this last week, shopping virtually through magazines and things. If I want to basket something then I cut it out and add it to this pile. I will soon be purchasing a corkboard and will pink all my little beauties up.

I am quite excited about my new super duper style board (super duper because obviously I can not abandon beauty completely and a few beauty items have been cut out too).

The idea is remniscent of a style folder, polyvore or collage but putting it on a noticeboard means I can update it or change bits easily as and when I want. I saw something similar in one of Carolyn Baxters recent videos and thought it was such a positive and inspiring idea.

I think I have already realised that a lot of the colours I choose are neutral. Khakis, blacks, Camel. I also seem to like items which only have one or two colours in. Oh and I seem to find long hair inspiring!

Here is a peek at some of the items that have made the cut so far!

A Military Style Jacket.

Some sixties style dresses and tops.

Some winter jackets.

Some perfumes I want to try.

Some celebrity inspired ponytails.

Some bangles.

A new Rachel Stevens hair pic for my very own long (when it gets to that stage) hair style

Some sparkly diamond nail art in the style of Katy Perry 

Who knows?

Just maybe, one day, some of these things will make it in to my life for real. In the meantime, not only can I see what I'm drawn to and what my own personal style might actually encompass, but I also have inspiration to seek similar items and even if I fail at all this and realise I have no conducive or attainable style then at the very least, I will have lots of pretty pictures to look at.

Are you a make up fiend, a hair one, a potions/lotions maniac or a clothes horse?


Do you scrap your style? How do you do it?

X

Blog for Look Magazine!

Ok, so it is official. I want Nadine Coyle's wardrobe (throw in the hair too please, Nad). I love this look that I spied in the latest Look magazine.

Now I don't stand anywhere on the whole Nadine v Girls Aloud thing but plainly this look just works, doesn't it?! Very classic and simple and if you've got the money in the first place, easy to wear.

I absolutely adore that bag (even through we can only see half ot it) and I love the way she has balanced the look with the gorgeous trinkets on her opposite wrist. Even the nail varnish, which I suspect could look a bit dull and flat elsewhere, complements this look perfectly.

However, today's post is not about my wardrobe envy (well,not much) but about the Blogging competition for Look. I keep meaning to blog about this and er, forgetting  (oops!) but now the closing date is almost here I'm going sit here and type before I forget. Again!

Look magazine are currently running a competition to blog for them from the front row of the Look Show in September. You will also get to stay overnight in a luxury London hotel.

You can find details of how to enter here  but be warned, the closing date is next Friday at 5pm.

I read some of your blogs everyday and think you should ALL enter asap.

So, good luck!

X