Dani’s Little Book of Fashion: a, well, fashion affair

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Photo by @JoinComb for The Apartment

It’s early, I’ve had little sleep, I’ve been so tired I refused champagne. Yes. That. It must be fashion week.

Honestly, I don’t even do that much for it and it is rather tiring. On my day 1 (actually day 2), I was lucky to watch Rohmir frow with Crabtree & Evelyn.

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Photo by @JoinComb for The Apartment

They were an official Fashion Scout sponsor this season and created beautifully illustrated special edition packs of their fabulously classic hand creams to celebrate; I had a divine hand scrub and massage, which all Freemason’s Hall guests could have too!

Their #HandsOnFashion hashtag was all over!

Rohmir show was entitled my English Garden and, quite appropriately to Crabtree & Evelyn, had a its share of flowers! A pretty, flowy collection and very wearable. I could certainly do with some pieces.

I also visited the fabulous The Apartment, a space I am very lucky indeed to be invited to. The atmosphere is fantastic, Abi, the founder behind the concept is a joy to be around and she gets it beyond right every season.

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Photo by @JoinCOmb for The Apartment

This season’s star had to be the concept room, full of pink balloons. In love.

I had my hair done – a small side plait and some waves and a photo shoot with the amazing guys from Comb. As I mentioned, The Apartment has some fabulous partnerships every season!

I decided to go a bit girly-goth on Saturday. Cats seem to be a recurring LFW theme for me – this season it manifested itself with a Karl Lagerfeld tee, with Choupette illustrated by Tiffany Cooper.

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Photo by @JoinComb for The Apartment

Add my little Karl phone cover to it, a dinky cat necklace from Forever 21 and voilá: a theme is re-born.

I also threw my Karl Lagerfeld for Riachuelo jacket in for good measure (it’s London after all).

lfw-5This magnificently full voile skirt, bought from Amazon, was Primed over in 24h for a ridiculous £8.95.

Little dotty socks (I freaking love little socks) are from Primark, these chunky sandals from New Look have been with me forever, handbag is my beloved Chanel, of course, which completed its first birthday with me.

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Photo by @JoinComb for The Apartment

Nails were painted grey with Essie Now and Zen, lipstick is the fabulous Di La LA from MDMflow, a cleaner eye with fierce eyeliner and the pretty Eylure Rosie Bea Kitsch lashes.

I loved this look so much! And it worked with flats too, to run around, although I was lucky enough to be ferried around in style (and comfort) by Hyundai – another great Apartment partnership!

I also visited the Pandora lounge and they had Mii makeup, Nails Inc Paint Can nails and the most amazing Pandora treats vending machine!

Lookfantastic also has a fab lounge; when I went, I had a makeup refresh and a fab lip done by Lord & Berry and I also popped to the Perrier Jouët L’Eden in London, which is a gorgeous lounge and bio-responsive garden by Bompas and Parr, part of the London Design Festival (well worth checking their activities this week).

Perrier Jouet L'Eden

I mean, anywhere you can pick your pretty flute from a tree, I am totally in. Glam and gorgeous!

And that was just Saturday…

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So Many Lovely Things beauty retrospective 2015: makeup

beauty_retrospective_somanylovelythings2015. What a fabulous year for the blog. I never expected all the amazing things that happened, brands, products and, above all, people I met.

Just amazing; I feel grateful and privileged.

Among so many great products I tried this year, it is very hard to pick my favourites, but here it comes. Without further ado, the best makeup of the year goes to:

Overall highlights:

Black lipstick

If you asked me, I’d have never in my life said I’d wear black lippy outside fancy dress. During the day? Oh no. But I did, and I freaking loved it.

It did something to my face, almost softening all of my other features. Did I mention I love it?

MDMFlow Di La La is THE black lippy to have.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 2Charlotte Tilbury

After resisting that all important first purchase as I did find the makeup was on the pricey side, I succumbed after trying a few fabulous items John Lewis sent to me.  Since then, I’ve added seven extra items to my CT collection.

Massive big up to the Colour Chameleon Eyeshadow Pencil and even more to the Fat Lashes mascara, which is indeed a miracle worker (review coming very soon).

Foundation, lipsticks, eye pencil, lip pencil, brow pencil, eyeshadows… everything is fabulous.

Lipstick

rouge_louboutin_velvet_matte_lipstick - 2Louboutin Rouge Velvet Matte Lipstick: beautiful inside out. I don’t think  have to talk much about this one. Too pretty to miss.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1 (1)Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love bite lipstick: usually a finish I don’t go for, a kind of lustre, but oh, boy, this is pretty. An orange red, with a fab sheen, but not too much, and great durability.

Foundation

hourglass immaculate foundation reviewHourglass Immaculate: replaced my long standing foundation and proved its price tag. One downside is the lack of SPF in this product. so close to perfection…

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation: not replacing the one above but worth of mention. Nothing I try for Tilbury is less than great. Together with my faithful MAC Studio Fix, makes for a cheaper everyday alternative to the pricey Hourglass.

Highlighter

hourglass_ambient_lighting_edit_palette_review - 4Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette: all the highlighting you will need, plus blushers and a bronzer. Just perfect.

thebalm_maryloumanizer_highlighter_review - 4The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer: the shade on this highlighter is just great. Not too gold, not too yellow, and its a fab multitasking – looks great on eyes.

inika highlighterInika Light Reflect Highlighting Creme: a fabulous product which delivers a great glow. Plus it’s vegan, organic and halal.

makeup revolution vivid baked highlighterAnd a special mention to my favourite budget highlighter: Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Peach Lights. A bit 2014 but still going strong.

Primer

hourglass veil mineral primer reviewHourglass Veil Primer: reigned absolute this year. No contenders to this product; it fill all the expectations from a primer – it smooths, aids product distribution and duration, as well as making makeup sweat proof.

Eyeliner

nyx_twotimer - 3NYX Two Timer: a great, precise, easy-to-use product with fabulous pigmentation and durability. Plus a friendly price tag.

gosh xtreme gel liquid eyelinerGOSH Xtreme Liquid Gel eyeliner: the finish on this product is superb, think vinyl, with incomparable shine. And it’s immovable.

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes: a tiny tiny pen with extra fine nib for precision lining. Very neat.

Eyeshadow

charlotte_tilbury_colour_chameleon_review - 1Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Eyeshadow Pencil: easy to use, great durability, fab colours. Enough said.

Urban Decay Naked 2: yes, you read it right. 2. Even with the Smoky buzz this year, which I succumbed to, that old palette remains my favourite and is used daily.

Mascara

Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes Mascara: Definition and separation: check. Non-clumpy formula: check. Longer lashes: check. Natural volume: check. Perfect.

nyx doll eye mascara reviewNYX Doll Eye Long Lash Mascara: definition, fan-effect and a pocket-friendly price tag.

Benefit They’re Real Eyelash Primer: what a surprise I got with this product. Separation, fanning, conditioning and a flattering brown tint that makes it wearable on its own.

Tinted products

La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur: what a great surprise this was. Its mousse consistency delivers a surprisingly good durable coverage and caters for blemish prone skin. Win. Launches early 2016.

caudalie2Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser: good, radiant coverage, full of grape goodness and a handy SPF 20.

I am sure I missed some loved ones, but these are for sure, my beauty highlights.

What product was your favourite in 2015?

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This post mentions some press samples.