The Girly Peplum! :)

Last night, I finally caught up on the first episode of Mr Selfridge and I love it (and him). For those of you who aren't aware, Selfridges is a major department store in the UK. The ITV drama tells the story of how a very charming and clever American man, Mr Selfridge came to the UK to build and open what he envisioned to be the grandest and most exciting store in the world, right here on Oxford Street. The first episode seemed to move quickly and I'm already quite intrigued about a few different parts of the plot. Obviously the drama takes place about a century ago and the detail in setting and costume seems extraordinary as well as all those extras (Am I the only one in the UK who didn't get a part?!).

All those frills and floaty numbers reminded me that I still haven't shown you one of my favourite Christmas gifts this year. Yes, the ASOS Petite Peplum Top in Cream. I adore this chiffon top. I first noticed it when Laura (Buy Now, Blog Later) featured it. It looked so pretty on her. Admittedly everything does but what got me was that this top is petite and therefore, might actually fit me well too. I do like a good fashion blog but so often, when I go to try the goods in store, the fitting is rubbish on my strange body and it looks all wrong and as far from the gorgeous, stylish fashion bloggers as you can get. What can I say, stunning garments seem to morph in to something else on me!

Anyway, deep breath, rant over.

I was saying how I wondered if this pretty little top might be different as it is from the ASOS petite collection and in theory, should fit me like a glove and yes, it did! Woo.

Yes, I will be cleaning my mirror today!

I love this top. I've been a fan of the peplum since they hit the fashion radar last year but I have to be careful as sometimes, the peplum can be temperamental. I would say that the peplum is more a savvy, stylish fashion trend (which can also add a couple pounds if you're not careful) rather then a pretty, feminine one.

Until now, my peplum tops have not been the first things that I've turned to in my wardrobe when I've wanted to be girly or alluring but this little cream number is the embodiment of such things.

The double layered peplum which actually starts higher then most, is actually very light and floats and swirls as I move making me feel very girly and skippy (Is skippy an adjective?). And that is not all, this top has 3/4 length sleeves. Bingo wings, be gone!!! The material is sheer but wearable with the right underwear and just hints at the skin underneath. While the pleating detail on the front and back just adds a slightly more modern and contemporary edge to the top keeping it on the right side of feminine and classy and making me feel like a 'nice girl!'

I really like this top and am seriously now considering getting it in the black as both the cream and black have been reduced by about £12 in the ASOS sale. That is unless you all beat me to it. This is the link.

In the meantime, I'm also very tempted to get this Top Shop vest in electric blue. You regular readers will know I have quite a collection of Top Shop vests (this post, this post) they are so easy to wear and very flattering. Well, this is the latest spin on the versatile number. The same vest with lace panelling down the back, prrrreettyyyyy. The only thing that is stopping me, is the price, another £28 on a Top Shop vest top. I must have spent hundreds on these by now.

What garment are you loving at the moment? Did you catch Mr Selfridge? Happy weekend everybody and just in case, the weather forecasters are right, happy snow days!!!
 

The Soap and Glory Mascara Review: Thick and Fast!

One of my favourite brands has to be Soap and Glory. Their body butters and scrubs (The Righteous Butter and Sugar Crush being my absolute faves) tend to perform fantastically and they smell stunning. I actually look forward to using these products and always feel special afterwards, as if I've indulged and treated myself, even if I've used the Soap and Glory product in question every day that week!

However, when it comes to Soap and Glory make up, I've been slow to dabble. There is just so much other make up out there. I brought one Soap and Glory lip gloss a year or so ago that I've hardly used (the one that promises the big lips). However for Christmas, I was lucky enough to get the big hatbox of Soap and Glory goodies which included another lip gloss and more excitingly, the Thick and Fast mascara also dubbed by Soap and Glory as the 'super volume mascara.' 

They say that this 'false lash effect mascara creates amazingly longer, fuller, fabulous lashes.'

Yes, obviously, such lashes have been on my Christmas list for years so I was eager to see if the Thick and Fast delivered and consequently, I have used this mascara daily for the last fortnight.

The one thing that strikes me most about this mascara is just how black it is. It is black black, as black as some of the better black eye kohls, and it is quite possibly the blackest mascara I have ever come across. It makes the base of the lash line look very full and healthy, instantly defining it. I think, although I'm more a block one shadow sort of girl aka make up lazy, the intensity of this mascara means lashes could hold their own when paired with really heavy eye make up. In this way, the mascara holds true to the 'false lash effect' claim.

In my eyes, Thick and Fast is also worthy of a couple more brownie points. It definitely gave my lashes some shape. I'm not sure if it is the brush or the formula but my lashes were lifted and curled just like that, after one application of Thick and Fast. This mascara also seems to separate my lashes well, nice and evenly.

 

I've read a few reviews expressing concern with the size of this brush. I've got to say that I've had no problems with the brush. I've only used the Thick and Fast on my top lashes but the brush has always picked up and coated the lashes that I've wanted it to. However, those more particular or maybe those with smaller eyes may want to consider that the Thick and Fast brush is pretty big.

I really do like how this mascara works my lashes except . . .

Yes, there is a but and that is that the lengthening ability of this mascara, even with several layers, is disappointing. It seems to have improved a little as my tube (and the formula inside) ages but still, I've had to work this mascara hard to try and make my lashes look longer. It takes about four layers to get a length I'm happy to wear. Layered any less and I feel the very end of my lashes comes much too quickly as you scan the length of the lashes and what is more, those ends look almost wispy and lacklustre compared to the fantastically defined roots.

Luckily, the formula of this mascara is quite user friendly. It doesn't seem to smudge and clumps very little (any clumps that have emerged have been small, light and easily brushed out using just the Thick and Fast wand itself) so layering is possible. After four or more layers, the finished look is impressive and it lasts. I don't tend to reapply this mascara at all during the day and my lashes remain very defined. There is no doubt that this mascara is very wearable.

I only wish that it took a little less effort and time (after all, this mascara is called Thick and Fast) to lengthen my lashes but it doesn't so although I would consider buying Thick and Fast at the recommended retail price of £10 in the future, I could be easily be tempted away by something that lengthens more easily.

 

Any suggestions? Have you tried Thick and Fast?

Running for VICTA!

Ok, so it seems that I'm going to be running (well, maybe limping a little) the 2013 London Marathon!!!!

Although I absolutely adore running, the 26.2 mile course is a massive challenge for me. I've never ran a marathon before nor a half marathon or even an 'official' event. In fact until very recently, I was too embarassed to let anybody see me run and now I'm about to participate in one of the biggest running events in the world. Go figure!

It'll be worth it though. I'm running in aid of VICTA (link here), an amazing charity which supports visually impaired, blind children and young people. They also work to support the families.

This little picture was taken many, many years ago and it shows my younger sister, Kath and I.

Kath is now registered blind and has been visually impaired since birth so I know just how much of a difference, charities such as VICTA can make and I'm incredibly proud to be running for them.

Obviously, I really want to make as much money as I possibly can for VICTA so any donation at all will be appreciated so much. You can find my Virgin Money Giving page here.

I hope to express this appreciation further by holding a raffle on the 22nd of April 2013 (after the deed has been done) for £50. All donors will automatically be entered as long as they leave a valid email address in the comment alongside their Virgin Money Giving donation. A further entry will be gained for every £10 that you donate.

Do you run? Have you ever ran a marathon or done anything for charity? What charities do you support? Have you got any marathon training or fundraising tips for me? Have a fantastic weekend, the weather might be good . . . yep, I'm meant to be working the whole way through!!!
 

The Diary Resolution!

So, it is that time of year again where we are all talking resolutions.

Yep, I have a few.

Of course, I'm determined to finish the London Marathon in April and raise as much money as I can for my chosen charity, VICTA Children (More posts on that to come but any running or fundraising advice in the meantime is very, very welcome!) and obviously, I want to grow my hair; eat healthy; read a bit more; blog a lot more, explore (Paris, I want to meet you) and then there are the few beauty ones which I'll share with you soon in response to the lovely Laura's New Year Beauty Tag.

So, it seems 2013 is going to be a busy year which brings me to the resolution I want to share with you today:

I vow to keep a diary and I want to write, or at least make a mark, in it every single day this year!

I've always loved my little notebooks and although, I squirm when I think of reading them again, I do love the way Faye talked here of her journal being like a time capsule so I might make a little more of my new notebook. I guess, it is just knowing that those moments are there recorded just in case, one day, I (or some great great grandchild. . , I'd love to read my Grandparents diary entries if they ever wrote any) want to revisit them someday.

Yep, in a way, if I keep to this resolution, it would be quite a feat. I have kept diaries and journals before but only briefly in recent years while I've been travelling or getting over a break up or moving or something and as soon as I hit real life again, the little notebooks quickly become neglected and in a way, I think this is a shame.

Going a bit further back, as a teenage school kid, I journaled daily, sometimes more. It was a big part of my life for a couple of years and one of my only regrets in life (I don't tend to regret things) is that somehow I've lost those little journals somewhere along the line. Now I'm much more then ten years down the line, I'd love to spend a little time with my young teenage self again. It could be interesting. Did anybody see Selins' hilarious posts and tweets last year featuring excerpts from her teenage diary?

Have you made any resolutions this year? Do you or have you ever kept a diary? Have you re-read it? Ooh and where can the prettiest notebooks be found? I struggled until I found this one hidden on an almost abandoned fixture in WHSmith.

I hope your year has started well.

 

A scent that whispers: Balenciaga Paris!

Ooh, a new year, already, we MUST be due a perfume update!

Let me introduce you to, Balenciaga Paris, a perfume hotly anticipated when it was released in 2010. It was Balenciaga's first perfume release since 1998 and the muse was Charlotte Gainsborough, an actress infamous for her bold fashion style. To a degree, Belenciaga Paris reflects Gainsboroughs' eclectic style. The scent is a floral chypre with metallic tones. Some talk of the scent as futuristic and urban yet it is very muted, a perfume that whispers.

Here is the thing, this perfume is so "quiet" that sometimes I forget that I'm wearing it and can only smell it when I really concentrate but cor, when I catch it, it is divine. Creamy and warm. However, just occasionally this perfume seems to sing and I get this whiff of something different and so beautiful that I'm guaranteed to stop in my tracks for a second to wonder what it is before almost jumping up and down on the realisation that, 'Oh yes, that's me!' And you know what, those beautiful highs are the making of this perfume and more then justify the price tag that this scent comes in at.

Now, we all know perfume is my thing and never before, did I truly believe that I would be comfortable wearing a scent that is so muted, that it actually lets me forget its' presence maybe 70% of the time! However, that 30% remainder, that's where the money is and so far, I love this perfume and it is almost certainly one of my top perfumes circa. 2012.

The Balenciaga Paris has heart notes of Violet and Patchouli with a top note of Carnation and a base note of Cedar. When you first spray, a sweet, sugary smell lingers in the air but this soon disappears on the skin leaving you with a scent a little smoky and fruity. It is still a clean scent though and reminds me a little of the Aniston perfume in this way but not as powdery. The Balenciaga is more creamy if anything and I think, that is why I like it. It's like I enveloped myself in a lovely scented lotion that morning and that the scent has lingered and lingered. I find this perfume gentle and soothing with the occasional highs (maybe the violets?) to remind you that there is more to this divine scent then a darn good body cream.

This is a scent, muted enough to be worn any time anywhere without cloying yet the unusual notes and those highs mean it will be noticed, I like it a lot and think, I always will. This is certainly not a perfume that you grow out of or away from, it was never that immature in the first place. This perfume is maybe not for young teenagers but those a little more mature.

There is something very self assured about the subtle nature of Balenciaga Paris. It's like it is enough for the wearer herself to know that she is indeed wearing the most beautiful scent and if others notice too then well, that's nice but this perfume isn't one to wear solely to command the attention of others. It is a perfume made for the wearer. It makes me feel safe and happy. I do think this perfume is a little luxe and a bit of a treat but I also feel it could be the perfect work perfume if you allow yourself to indulge. Take it from me, it makes the old 9 to 5 (and all the rest. . .) a little easier. It's no wonder then, I expect to go through another bottle or two during 2013!

I got mine from Debenhams, link here.

What perfume are you making yours for 2013? What perfume are you wearing now? Have you tried the lovely Balenciaga Paris or what about, L'Essence or Florabotanica?

Have a fantastic New Years Day!!! : )