Author Archives: Dani - So Many Lovely Things

London Fashion week beauty

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, hair, Make Up by
Vivienne Westwood Red Label eyes, Topshop unique hair

MAC eyes for Vivienne Westwood; hair for Topshop Unique

Of course I love the clothes, but what really caught my eyes were the accompanying nails, hair and make up during LFW.

The nails, hair and especially make up at Vivienne Westwood’s Reb Label show were simply amazing – MAC delivered exotic peacock eyes and burgundy defined cheeks and nails were painted each in a different shade of green/blue. I adore bold eyes and will try to replicate at home soon! Also growing fonder of the mismatched nail colours, quite daring for me as to this day I have always painted all my nails one colour at a time!

Topshop unique, House of Holland and Vivienne Westwood nails

Nails for Topshop Unique, House of Holland and Vivienne Westwood

Topshop Unique delighted us with sensational, “gold-plated” locks (applying gold leaves on hair) and blue, gold and pink painted nails with hieroglyphics – pure “Queen of the Nile” lush.

House of Holland gave us “ombre” nails – colour at the bottom, no colour at the top of the talons. Elle has even published a “how to“, if you’d like to try – I don’t think I will myself, as the final aspect doesn’t seem very tidy, but I might try the technique with two colours!

Meadham Kirchhoff's model hair and make up

Hair and make up for Meadham Kirchhoff's show

Mary Kantrazou‘s models brought bold coloured lips to the catwalk, including blue, green and grey! Quite enjoyed seeing it.

I feasted my eyes with the styling at Meadham Kirchhoff show – a circus-like bonanza, with  bouffant wigs, neon and pastel lips and eyes, colourful nails with the cutest motifs (mainly, there was a vagina one!) and plenty of glitter.

I can definitely spot some trends here, such as  each nail painted on a different colour, patterns and bold eyes, as well as pastel colours on make up for the summer. The fresh-faced, natural look with barely there make up also graced a lot of shows.

As far as make up, nails and hair on the catwalk go, London outdoes New York by a mile, and even though light beige nails and a more natural make up, which were predominant in NY, have been spotted here, the opposing variety in London was far greater, and in my opinion, better and more fun!

Christian Louboutin: The Book

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Christian Louboutin: The BookSo I hear that to mark the brand’s 20th anniversary, Christian Louboutin: The Book will be out on the 05 October.

The idea of a lovely pink leatherette bound book containing Louboutin’s most iconic designs throughout these 20 years, his personal story and inspiration behind the sensational shoes, sounds absolutely amazing and I would be putting an order in if it wasn’t for the price tag of £85!

However certain I am of the book fabulousness,  I would still rather deposit those £85 into my Shoe Fund, and get myself real Loubis to grace my feet!

Read more about the book on Vogue and Stylist.co.uk

The Shoe Fund 2011 invested

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Christian Louboutin Décolletté Jazz 100The Shoe Fund has been mentioned by me in countless occasions, but now I am very excited to say that the time to convert an idea (and a number sitting in a bank account) into something that can actually go on my feet (and thus bring me happiness, satisfaction and prettiness) has finally come.

My first ever Shoe Fund purchase came in the shape of the beautiful and elegant Christian Louboutin Décolleté Jazz pumps, in black.  I am a massive fan of the red soles (damn you, beautiful shiny scarlet soles), so there would be nothing better to debut the fund.

I am fully aware they are black shoes, just like my previous Louboutin pair, but my line of thought was that I should start with the basics, build myself a solid classics collection and then branch out into the crazier ones – right?

They have manageable (I barely recognise myself, purchasing sensible heels) 100mm heels, delicate almond toes and not too shiny leather (not matte,  not patent:  it is nicely in between). A perennial classic in any wardrobe, these are shoes I will be wearing for a long time. As my Rolandos are so high and so shiny, I feel they are “special occasion” shoes. My plan is that these ones will get out more often – they were brought in to be my staple, ready to be dressed up or down.

Last year, I actually set off to get the Décolleté, but fell madly in love with the Rolandos – and left the last call to my boyfriend, who chose the latter.

Now that I got it I can assure no more black court shoes will be coming out of the Shoe Fund, which has just started again: the first deposit for 2012 has already been placed!

Countdown mode for the 2012 Shoe Fund on!

Lara Bohinc shoe crush

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Lara Bohinc's Constructivist Manifesto StilettoOooh, I’ve developed a new shoe crush – and I am not at all surprised it is over one of Lara Bohinc’s pairs – hers was also my favourite from the Elle Accessories Report.

The amazing “Constructivist Manifest Stiletto”  in cappuccino python and brown is so amazing and indeed as described on their site: a contemporary take on the timeless stiletto. I love the  whole shoe architecture, they are beautifully structured from heels to upper. The gold platforms and robust heels are complemented by the texture, pattern and colour – although the python black is just as desirable.

Lara Bohinc’s site is packed with gorgeous, exquisite yet wearable designs, well worth checking – I dare you not to covet!

I really need to start making larger deposits into my shoe fund, as my appetite for  these beauties is only growing…

Nails of the week

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Cobalt blue nails

Blue!!! Yes, this week I painted my nails blue, finally – and I am absolutely loving it!

Wearing green last week opened up a whole new world of colour for my talons. I had so far resisted the colder shades, sticking faithfully to reds or pinks – warmer hues in general – but this really changed my manicure life. I know, a bit dramatic, but I do feel there are so many more colours to be discovered – plus, I’ve had really bad flu for a few days now, and this really cheered me up!

Following the my experience with the super inexpensive Collection 2000 green Bongo Beats, with its reasonable durability (it lasted seven days, with a couple re-touches), and great colour and price, I decided to give the brand another go: I chose the aptly named Blue my mind, from their Lasting Colour line (which promises colour up to 10 days – I will probably never know, as I usually change after seven, but I am hoping to have impeccable nails for the week!).

This is a deep metallic cobalt blue with amazing shine, that looks even more stunning in daylight. It costs £2.99 a bottle – a bargain, especially if it lasts as long as it promises! Delightful!

I am very excited to think about what colour is coming next!!!

Elle accessories report

Posted in Accessories, Shoes by

It took me a while to go through the Elle accessories report, out a few weeks ago. There are so many choices that I decided to concentrate on my favourite types and created  picture gallery with my heel, bag and jewellery picks.

Just as I would with an outfit, I am starting with the high heel shoes: it might come as a shock but I haven’t fallen *madly* in love with any number in particular – none made me want to cash my shoe fund immediately.

Having said that, I could easily see Lara Bohinc’s Tatjana courts in leopard print gracing my footsies – definitely my favourites, these amazing shoes have a somewhat art-deco brass circles sitting on the leopard print calf and at the top of the heel, giving them an amazing texture. I really love the metal details on the shoes upper – Bohinc’s Tatjana collection is definitely worth checking!

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A self confessed heel lover, I am fascinated by their architecture, thickness, material and texture so I was immediately drawn to the heel shape in some selections, special attention to Miu Miu and Prada, with very exquisite heels  (I had to go to Selfridge’s Shoe Galleries to actually touch the Miu Miu’s – they are amazing!). Their shape was almost remitting to historical/costume footwear, with the back of the heel quite prominent and the high heel itself quite chunky and arched outwards, almost like a “C” at the back of the shoe.

Designer until then unknown to me, Chrissie Moriss stood out – amongst my favourites are the Liliana peeptoe shoe boots, the Metropolis and the Dakota – they play beautifully with geometrical shapes on the body and the black Liliana has very sexy heels with a “precious” stone at the end. Fierce!

Other favourites are Giuseppe Zannoti Design’s orange suede sandals, Jimmy Choo’s Kerfield, Flaxley and Kemp, Camilla Skovgaard’s grey peeptoe and grey and silver with zips stilettos, Charlote Olympia’s Cordelia tall boots, Alejandro Ingelmo’s Nighthawk (what a cool name, I am glad the shoes live up to the expectation!) and Pierre Hardy’s leopard print circle cut out sling back sandal.

Style wise,  lots of sparkle, multicolour compositions and loafers seem very strong. Platforms are still present.

Now, the bags –  I noticed that there are many clutches featured, especially box clutches. Amongst my favourite are the Prada python, Miss Dior jacquard, Valentino snakeskin box bag, Jimmy Choo Candy and “Lanvin Evening”.

Satchels and totes also appear quite a bit, as well as fur/pony skin. Other picks are Chloé’s Aurore, Celine Trapeze, Versace Metallic bag (with the iconic Versace Medusa head made in gold metallic mesh, with long-ish straps, lush!) and also from Versace, an embossed number with tassel, very pretty.

Victoria Beckham‘s bags appear a few times, with their clean, sharp cut, straight lines design, and my personal bag obsession, the Mulberry Bayswater, appears as a fox-riveted haircalf incarnation. I did miss Chanel, only one pick for Coco’s brand and that didn’t blow me away.

As far as jewellery go, big, bold cuffs are everywhere, chunky collars and chokers too.  Among my favourites are a Louis Vuitton collar, a BOSS Black red feather brass cuff (gorgeous!),  a Cavalli shell gold cuff and an owl ring, a Vionett gold cuff and a D&G star necklace.

Needless to say, the shoes are my favourite part – and I don’t see them as merely accessories! I enjoyed going through the report, and overall, it does provide me with plenty inspiration when looking at accessories to buy.

NY Fashion Week – my picks

Posted in Beauty, Dresses, Fashion by
Zac Posen evening gown

Zac Posen evening gown

Fashion Week season is on, and New York offers us the first glimpse of the Spring/Summer 12 collections on its catwalks.

For me,  so far, sharing the  “absolutely stunning” category is Zac Posen‘s collection, with some edgy yet feminine pieces, a great colour palette and fabulous evening gowns and Marchesa displaying fairytale dresses that sparkled and flowed across the Plaza Hotel. Absolutely beautiful.

Also amongst my favourites are Vera Wang‘s colourful Wonderland inspired pieces, Cushnie Et Ochs‘ white and black dresses and Monique Lhuillier‘ curve gripping ensembles. In common, these three have dramatic, geometric neck lines, sharp edges,  and structured pieces oozing with femininity  – all presented in a way I could actually see myself wearing. L’Wren Scott‘s line also had some fabulous dresses.

Some of Victoria Beckham‘s pieces also caught my eyes – the shades of blue in the collection were amazing, and I love the fact the models were styled wearing Louboutins.

Cushnie Et Ochs dress

Cushnie Et Ochs

Some of her pieces for this collection were less body skimming – apparently inspired by her recent pregnancy: loser pieces, to go with a fuller figure. I really like seeing designs on the catwalk that embrace  more realistic body shapes. I also heard she was looking fabulous back stage, wearing towering Louboutins and one of her handbags in tow.

I also enjoying looking at some tribal printed Donna Karan and some of Betsey Johnson exquisite pieces – I love the flowery prints and that goth vibe.

Zooming on the nails, I noticed a light beige shade, quite recurrent across different designers. It is for Spring/Summer 12, after all, so I have some time to tackle my lighter- shades-on- nails phobia!

Nails of the week

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JAde green nails

I am very proud of myself for finally dabbling into the colder colours for my nails – I am wearing green this week.

I am truly loving this colour, and it made me realise my problem might not be with cold, but light colours  on my nails – I failed to keep the pastel green, and never got close to the pastel blue, even though I quite like it. I only just managed to keep the lilac for a week.  As long as they are cold and dark, I think I will be ok. I cannot wait to buy some cobalt and midnight blues!

Keeping up with the A/W 11-12 jewel colours trend, I really feel as if my nails have been jewelled – it is like having 10 little gems on my fingertips!

Bongo Beats, from Collection 2000’s Hot Looks Fast Dry range, is a lovely metallic jade green nail polish which has very subtle gold underlying pigments and  has quickly became a favourite of mine.

I have only recently branched out into really inexpensive nail varnish, as I am petrified of chips, so this one might still disappoint me – poor duration has caused me to fall out of love with many – so far, so good, though. And at £1,79 (and an amazing £2 for two bottles!), there isn’t, so far, a bad thing I can say about it!

Smashbox freebies

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Smashbox productsAfter much procrastination to commit, I decided to subscribed to some magazines.  One of them, Elle, has sent me a Smashbox make up set as a welcoming gift.

I am very sceptical about things that come free – I have been terribly disappointed in the past – so I opened the envelope with an anticipated dissatisfaction.

I would love to say that I was proven wrong and started vehemently believing in free stuff – this is not the case, but I  can say I was pleasantly surprised with the goods I received: O-Gloss Gold, Photo Op brightener and Soft Effects Powder Eyeliner, in aubergine.

Smashbox eyeliner

My favourite one is probably the eyeliner. When I saw the “aubergine” colour, I was a bit annoyed and thought: “typical, they never give you a great staple, like black, for free!”, but it turns out that it is quite dark, and close enough to be worn as an option to black.

For me, the best use was to recycle my eyeliner, I tried it on top of my reliable albeit very tired after a long day at the office,  MAC smolder eye kohl and it looked fantastic. In the morning though, when applied on fresh eyes, it was a bit messy, as it is very loose and fine powder, and the line was a bit rough – but maybe I need to get used to the applicator. Once you get it right (it took me a few minutes,  a cotton bud and a foundation retouch below the eyes!), it looked ok.

Smashbox lipgloss

The lipgloss did what it said on the tin – it changed from a guilded gold to a peachy tone and apparently, the peach colour of this intuitive lipgloss adjusts to your skin, giving you the best match for your complexion. Lips looked nice, the colour was good for me, I really like the golden sheen and the consistency and taste of the lipgloss were alright.

As for the highlighter, it was satisfactory, but not better than my usual Benefit High Beam or my YSL Touché Eclat.

All in all, I can say that I probably wouldn’t buy them. Maybe I could give the eyeliner a go but the £17 price tag for the duo (the black is paired with the aubergine), makes me think if it is really worth it. Good to try new brands and products though, and what I will probably do is use its applicator with other eyeshadows, as quite like the idea behind it, and see how it goes!