Dani’s Little Book of Fashion: stripes incoming!

It’s been so long since I actually published a style post, but I am hoping to get back into it. What better way of getting back into it than this little gem, shot in the beautiful Spencer House over London Fashion Week?

If you haven’t noticed (I am sure you have), stripes are going to be everywhere for spring/summer. It suits me fine as for me, they are always welcome. However, even though I like trends, I will only adopt what I like, twisting and tweaking to make them suit my personal style.

This is a super budget outfit that turned out to be quite fun, quirky and cute, which is just the kind of style I love!

This New Look cropped red wool jumper, currently on sale for £6 (a bargain!), comes in 7 colours and also looks amazing layered.

The sac, tie waist trousers, also from New Look, has a great fit for its shape and it seems to come quite large – this is a size 6, while I am usually a 10 for trousers. It costs a reasonable £19.99 and I feel it will be a staple on my spring wardrobe.

Boots are from H&M – another great bargain at £29.99, and the cute hearts from IPHORIA on the laces add extra cuteness to the ensemble and break up the rough edge of the boots.

And I was wearing my favourite clutches ever: Lulu Guiness lips, this time in black, which was the first one I got.

A couple of years ago I started building a solid handbag and shoe base. Since then, I haven’t wasted money on high volumes of cheaper shoes and bags.

I currently have 4 lips, in black, gold, red glitter and nude, to cover most outfits!

Finally, to top it off, you know I like making stuff, eh? I made this cute hair piece with a little gem encrusted whale keyring, also from New Look at £4.99 (now on sale for 2.99). I cut the keyring bit and added a little bow to the loop at the top of the happy whale’s head.

I then scrunched some net I had home, to channel a bit of SS18 Chanel, and all was duly hot glued onto half a fascinator hair comb. Suddenly my side ponytail is a load more fun just by sticking the hair piece to the base of it.

Makeup was simple: a long feline flick, a little bit of nude matte eyeshadow on the crease, and 3/4 lashes, a good measure of highlighter and a killer red – he almost electric Charlotte Tilbury Tell Laura on my lips!

You all know I love a monochrome with a splash of bright, so no wonder I like this outfit so much. I am very excited to have FINALLY posted a style piece – and that is comes ahead of the new season!

What are you looking forward to wearing when the weather is warmer?

And huge thank to Kat for shooting me pretty. Check her out on Insta!

written by Dani

It’s always all about the red lipstick

I have a (real) thing for blacks, flirt with the purples, dab with the blues and on occasion succumb to a nude, but my lips truly belong to the reds.

There’s not a single other thing that can make me feel like myself and can pick me up when I am down (ok, maybe shoes. Or vodka).

Between blues and oranges, I lean towards the warmer as they suit me better but I feel quite lucky my olive complexion can the cooler reds rather well.

Life wasn’t always like this: I only started using red lipsticks around 12 years ago; bought an inexpensive Sleek number at Superdrug (in Clapham Junction) for fancy dress. Never looked back.

And with Valentine’s around the corner, you may want to invest on a new fiery red.

So I decided to wade through my vast collection of reds and do the most impossible: pick my best 10. Funnily enough, 5 are orange based, 1 is pretty neutral and 4 are blue-ish.

The warmer

No warm is too warm. I actually have a great selection of orange-red lipsticks I actively wear. However, the order of the day is red and I simply cannot rank them, so alphabetical order it will be…

The gorgeous Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in Rouge Feu is stunning; bright with an amazing texture that spreads well with a velvet finish. And lasts soooo well.

Two Charlotte Tilbury feature here: Tell Laura and Love Bite. Both warm and with a great formula, Tell Laura is matte and sharp, which Love Bite has a sheen to it and is less in your face.

GOSH My Valentine lip crayon has some glittery shimmer and is a lovely bright red that is practical to apply.

Finally, a lipstick that has been with me forever: MAC Lady Danger, a fierce red. Super matte, it has a harder formula with great durability.

The cooler

Charlotte Tilbury comes in again with the classic So Marilyn. A great formula, creamy with fantastic finish.

Of course, my gorgeous Christian Louboutin Beauté lipstick in Louboutin Red has to be here. So pretty, with a formula so dreamy I can’t even describe. It is creamy and velvety but settles into a beautiful matte. Durability is exceptional.

GOSH Velvet Touch matter in Classic Red is a true red – not warm, not cool, so a bit out of place in the cooler section, as it’s just in the middle. It has a harder formula, with good durability and amazing value for money.

MAC attacks again, with another shade that has been with me for a long time: Russian Red. A true matte with a hard formula (especially in the winter), it well and truly sticks to the lips.

Walk of Fame, part of Sleek‘s Lip VIP range, is described as a semi-matte. It has the pigmented finish but a smoother, slightly shinier finish.

The extra bits

A while back, I wrote a post on applying red lipstick, and I still follow that “ritual”. It is a life saver, especially in the winter. I also cannot live without a good lip liner and have a few in my collection, on rotation.

What I feel changed the way I apply lipstick is the retractable lip brush. Perfect for your bag, it is small and the fact it’s retractable means there is no mess! The MAC 318 is my go to.

What is YOUR red?written by Dani

You know the drill, but I’ll say again: this post contains a mix of PR samples and purchases. This post however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

Unleashing my inner Rebel with John Lewis and Charlotte Tilbury

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1My nature has always been a little bit rebellious. I am not mutiny prone, but do enjoy shaking a few feathers now and then.

My style is, albeit “normal”, quite rebellious in the sense I don’t really care what people think. I dress for the occasion, myself and the way I feel on that moment. And the same goes for my makeup.

So no wonder when John Lewis got in touch with me to pick a Charlotte Tilbury look to re-create, I was drawn to The Rebel.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 1 (1)After deliberating between looks I love and wear, The Vintage Vamp and the Bombshell, I settled for the one that is quite close to my soul, but ultimately that I find harder to wear.

Let me explain. I always struggled with the red/green combination. I love green eye shadow, but also love red lipstick, but always thought of it as a bit Christmassy. The fact this looks pulls it off is quite exciting.

Also, I do struggle with making a smokey lower lash line look good on me, so I am hoping to pick up Ms Tilbury’s tips and tricks and make it work.

On top of that, I do the other two favourite looks quite often, so it is great to try something bolder and different.

charlotte_tilbury_rebel_look_john_lewis - 2Armed with my Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel Look kit, which contains Luxury Palette Rebel Eyeshadow quad, Rock n’ Kohl Bedroom Black eyeliner, Cheek to Chic First Love blusher, Lip Cheat Kiss n’ Tell lip liner, K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love Bite lipstick and Lip Lustre Hall of Fame lip gloss, I set off to create my own rebel.

And I picked a night in the town rebel.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 2After creating a face base (Hourglass Primer and foundation mainly), I started with the eyes by adding the primer colour in The Rebel Eyeshadow Luxury Palette, a creamy metallic beige which is also great for highlighting, to the whole lid.

I used the pencil shadow brush to add this lighter colour to the inner corner of my eyes, to open and highlight them.

Still with that brush, I added the enhance shade, a lighter emerald green, contouring my crease and creating a shape, then a blending brush to colour in from the outer to the inner corner.

With a smoking brush I added the smoke colour, a rich pine green, above the crease created with the enhance shade and first smoked up upwards. Then I smoked downwards. With the pencil shadow brush I added to the lash line and smoked upwards.

With the same brush and colour I lined my lower lash line, making it go over my comfort zone on purpose, to create a more smoked look.

Finally, I applied the gorgeous pop shade, a rich seaweed green with gold flecks, with my finger, as suggested by Ms Tilbury herself.

The eyeshadows are soft, very pigmented, blend beautifully and have no drop whatsoever.

Using the Rock n’ Kohl Bedroom Black eyeliner I lined my upper lash line and pulled a small flick. I also lined my bottom lashes water line. I then used the pencil brush to rub the kohl in both lash lines, giving it a more fluid edge.

I coated my eye lashes with mascara and applied Eylure Fleur Loves lashes.

Then I used my usual contouring shade (a dull brown from Inglot) to the cheeks, and applied Inika and Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked highlighter high on my cheekbones and middle of the face, above my lips cupid bow and centre of the nose.

charlotte_tilbury_makeup_john_lewis - 3Using the Cheek to Chic First Love blusher swish shade above and below my contouring, near the hair and jaw line, as well as neck and chest, I moved on to apply the pop shade onto my cheekbones.

I finished the look with the stunning K.I.S.S.I.N.G Love Bite lipstick, which is a lustrous vivid orange-red, perfect for my skin, after lining my lips with the butter soft Lip Cheat Kiss n’ Tell lip liner. To add extra oomph, I dabbed Lip Lustre Hall of Fame lip gloss to the centre of the lips.

Then I added a little star just to make it cute.

The Rebel is a bold, beautiful and brave, celebrating uniqueness, which I think, for me if just perfect.

And I am over my red/green fear. Watch this space, it will appear more often. Plus, I have at least 5 Charlotte Tilbury products on my list now, as I love what I tried. *sigh*

John Lewis is a new stockist for Charlotte Tilbury makeup and there you can find all the extensive  CT makeup range and all 10 amazing look sets, including The Rebel, which cost £165 each and have all the items you need to create a day and night version of the makeup look.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for the Charlotte Tilbury Book of Make Up magic advent calendar, which will be available in John Lewis. It is to die for, I promise!

signature1

Maybe you are thinking: But Dani, did you really need that many pictures of you? Well, no. I did, however, love them and had a lot of fun doing the look and taking the pics (thank you Andy!), there were 80 in total and I think I did well. At least they are in galleries… no?

This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.