FASHION: And the bells were ringing out for christmas day

Hello all

Festivities are well underway, as is the month of December! Even though it's only the 9th of the festive month, I have already been to 3 Christmas parties. These were all work related parties, so it was a nice excuse to dress up & have fun with my colleagues. Two of the three parties were in hired out clubs, thus my outfits reflected that, & the third party was much more formal, however as I work in events I was in charge of running the party, hence why my outfit wasn't as fabulous as last years outfit, which you can read about here.

That being said, my colour scheme has not changed at all since last year as you will see below! Having three parties was really enjoyable, as although I'm not into going 'all out' when getting ready (by this I mean fake tan, false nails, getting my hair done professionally), I did enjoy spending time getting ready!

Here are the 3 outfits I wore:

Topman party

Dress  - H&M | Boots - Lavish Alice | Bag - Vivienne Westwood

 Vivienne Westwood Party

Shirt (under dress) - Primark | Tartan Dress - TKMAXX (old) | Bowler Hat - Topshop | Shoes - Dr. Marten 

Topshop / Arcadia Party

Top - MissSelfridge | Peplum Pencil Skirt - River Island | Bag - Vivienne Westwood | Shoes - Vivienne Westwood

As I mentioned previously, my colour scheme has stayed with black, white & red!

The first outfit was very sixties inspired with the monochrome & the platforms, so I did a mini bouffant, half up half down hair style.

For the VW party, as I was working practicality had to come before glamour, but I threw in some tartan as afterall, it was Vivienne Westwood!

Finally, the Topshop party outfit. Although I really liked all the outfits, but I think I felt most confident in the last outfit, as I had the longest to get ready! I also managed to stay in the heels for a good 2 hours, which is pretty good for me! I also liked the illusion of an LBD, with a top & skirt combo.

Here are some more pictures of the 3 nights, included my makeup, nails & my fabulous friend.

 Me & Damien before the Topman party

 Prepping before the Topshop party. Hair in hot rollers, Kiss eyelashes in 'Flirt' & 'Russian Red' lipstick by M.A.C

Nails for the Topshop party. 'Matte White' & Black nail art pen, both from Barry M

Finished hair & make up. Disclaimer: I am wearing a strapless dress, I am not naked!

Because everyone looks better in Black & White!

So I'm all done with work Christmas parties now, but I do have some festive plans with my friends as many of them are back from uni so I can't wait to be all festive with them. I'm using my events planning skills, & have lots planned for us for the rest of December plus into January!

FASHION: New Look SS'14 Press Day

Hello All!

Last week, my beautiful blogging buddy Millie, from She Hearts The High Street, & I went to the New Look SS'14 Press Day. Around this time last year, I went to the SS'13 New Look Press Day, which you can read about here, so it was lovely to go back this year! 

Generally, myself & Millie are more Autumn / Winter girls, however it was very interesting to see what was to be in vogue next year.

The Press Day was divided into 7 sections. The main attraction was, of course, the four clothing sections divided in the following collections; California Dreaming, Tomorrow’s Yesterday, Seattle Grunge & Neon Bloom. Then there was an underwear section, jewellery wall, a swimwear area & there were several sets of shelves with shoes (a.k.a my weakness) & bags. As you may know, as it is pretty obvious, I am a fan of monochrome. So naturally, I was drawn immediately to 'Tomorrow's Yesterday', which was a monochromatic, sixties inspired collection, incorporating underwear as outerwear, with lace trimmed slips.

 

 Unfortunately, I didn't pay as much attention to the other collections as they were really not my style. For 'California Dreaming', the best way I can describe it is as a Bo-Ho, Nicole Richie-esque collection. It's very folky, a definite Coachella vibe running through the looks!
'Seattle Grunge' I would consider to be the collection that I liked the most of the remaining three. Millie really liked this collection, with its acid wash denim & t-shirts & strappy 90s baby doll style dresses. I can see this really working for her with her amazing blonde hair!
Finally, 'Neon Bloom' was the typical 'Florals? For Spring? How original' Miranda Preistly from The Devil Wears Prada comment. As usual, there was a floral presence at the Spring Summer Press Day, a print that I am really not interested in, sorry!

Moving on to the underwear, New Look have always had a lovely selection of underwear. Although I am not big busted (or perhaps it'd be fairer to say busted at all!), I think the Kelly Brook bra & knickers sets are so lovely! The SS'14 collection was set in a perfect boudoir, with a heart shaped mirror that had 'movie star style mirror lights', something that I fell instantly in love with!

 

Finally, there was a jewelery wall. Honestly, in terms of shiney things, I am a bit of a magpie. If something glitters, or shimmers, it will definitely catch my eye. But that is wear the fascination ends. I do not have much, if any, sparkley items in my clothing or beauty iteams. I would love to be a girl who has so many rings, or signature bracelet or scarf a la Miranda Priestly & her Hermes scarf (sorry for the heavy Devil Wears Prada references today!), but alas, I am not!

Upon leaving, we were given a goody bag featuring the SS'14 lookbook, which was incredibly nicely presented & I really appreciated the artwork & layout. It also featured an Elemis face product (that would make an excellent stocking filler, so thanks New Look!) a clutch bag & a gift card.
As the press day was very close to Oxford Circus, Millie & I decided to see if the card had any value. At most we were expecting £10, which we considered extremely generous! However, the wonderful press team at New Look shocked us! I won't disclose the exact amount, but I was so grateful & so thankful. Here is what I bought with lovely gift card:

I've been looking for a black coat for a while now. I had the idea of the Zara-esque biker style jacket from last year. However, I came across this beauty with the leather look sections & it's perfect fit (& a little help from the gift card!) this baby is now mine. I have practically lived in it, it is so cosy!

The talented Millie also vlogged about our trip, which you can watch here! It features our outfits of the day & our dinner date to The Diner in Soho!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a peak into the New Look SS'14 press day if you didn't get a chance to go. All the collections featured here will be available from New Look in Spring & Summer of 2014!

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Hello All, 

Today's post is more sombre, but incredibly important. Today, 25th November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 

I think it's so important that this topic is addressed, & people who are going through this, know that there are people who are there to support them.

This year, Stella McCartney has designed the White Ribbon badges that symbolize the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Stella is a member of the PPR Foundation for Women's Dignity & Rights Foundation, along with other fashion supporters including Gucci creative director Frida Giannini & Balenciaga CEO Isabel Guichot. 

“The global violence statistics against women are horrific and it has inspired me to bring attention to this incredibly important awareness campaign by designing this badge,” said McCartney. “I cannot stress enough how important it is that people are aware of the facts and gain information to make changes so desperately needed to end this terrible violence.”

Stella McCartney, in partnership with the Kering Foundation, has designed a White Ribbon badge to highlight the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Since 1999, the United Nations has dedicated November 25th to ending violence against women in the family, the community, violence perpetrated by the state or inflicted during armed conflict.

The badges will be given to anyone who makes a purchase at a Stella McCartney store until this Friday (29th November)

Please show your support towards the end of Violence Against Women. Any purchase from Stella McCartney will mean you go home with a badge to support such a great & extremely common problem. I feel that many people don't believe this still exists in the modern age. This, I can tell you for sure, is definitely not true

Not only do you support a great cause, you also invest in a piece of British fashion from the incredible designer. I'm not sure if perfume purchases are included in this, but I love the Stella McCartney scent!

Domestic Abuse, be it man to woman, woman to man, woman to woman or man to man, should not exist. There is absolutely no need for it. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is a day to highlight just how many women are faced with dealing with violence. Even I've been shocked at some of the statistics I've been made aware of. I also think that people wrongly assume that violence against women only occurs in certain cultures, countries or classes. This is not only incorrect, it is also ignorant. 

Having someone to talk about it with is a great help, so if a friend comes to you seeking help I urge you to been a shoulder to cry on & an open ear for them. Sometimes just getting things off their chest & saying things out loud will be enough support to them.

You can find out more about the Kering Foundation, & about the Stella McCartney badge here

BEAUTY: 'Diva' by M.A.C

Hello All, 

Another beauty post for you this evening. I recently emptied the 6th and final M.A.C product, meaning I could finally go 'Back2MAC'!

For those of you who do not know, once you use 6 M.A.C items (full size products,check the website for more details as to what is accepted), you can bring them back to a M.A.C store or counter in exchange for a lipstick from their permanent range. They then recycle the empties, & you get a brand new lipstick, therefore everyone wins! I took back:

-Studio Fix Fluid

-Eye Makeup Remover

-Mineralize foundation

-Lip Liner wind up crayon

-Eye Brow wind up crayon

-Tinted Moisturizer Tube

Now, I have quite a long M.A.C wishlist, which includes several lipsticks. However, as it is autumn & I love my red pout, I chose 'Diva' for my first 'Back2MAC' experience. 

 Left: no flash | Right: with flash

On the M.A.C website, 'Diva' is described as an 'intense reddish-burgundy' & I think this does it justice. As most of my other lipsticks, this is a matte finish. It's a perfect burgandy shade, which for me means it leans more toward red, than purple.In the below swatches, it looks much brighter than when put on the lips in my opinion. Please excuse my incredibly boney fingers & odd bent ring finger.

Left: no flash | Right: with flash

 The formula is creamy for a matte finish & doesn't cling to the dry cracks that plague my lips! Despite it's texture the finish is as matte as the other M.A.C matte lipsticks, with no shine at all. I found that it faded to a nice berry shade stain, therefore it still looks nice.

 No editing (apart from red eye removal!)

 A bit of instagram magic!

The main thing I love about this lipstick, is that it matches my current hair shade almost identically! It is such a lovely shade that I can tell will rival 'Russian Red' as my favourite M.A.C lipstick (which I shall be reviewing here soon!)

I was contemplating a nude lipstick, however considering I wear some shade of red lipstick everyday seeing myself without it looks strange now! Maybe it's my signature look?

 

BEAUTY: 'I Saw Red' Bleach London Super Cool Colours

Hello All,

As I featured in my Birthday Highlights post, which you can read here, my lovely friend Courtney bought me Bleach London Super Cool Colour in 'I Saw Red'. Being a red head, I constantly battle with maintaining the right shade of red & covering the ginger tinges that show through after only a few washes (in very cold water may I add!)

So this present was absolutely perfect (thanks Courtney!). I had previously used Schwarzkopf 'Red Passion' dye, which to be honest I was quite disappointed with. It wasn't red enough for me. I have never bleached my hair, luckily my hair takes red very well, probably due to my natural red hue. I had heard that the Bleach Super Cool Colours only work on bleached/ prelightened hair, but I've been using crazy colour & directions semi-perminents for a while now & they've always seemed to give me the refresh I wanted between permanent dyes.

This is the colour my hair had faded to just before using 'I Saw Red'

 Please ignore the bare face, I was about to wash / dye my hair the shower!

As you can see, although it was still red, there were several shades, & it was very ginger towards the ends!

Application

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of my application progress. But, Zoe, from The London Lipgloss has a fantastic video to show you how to dye your hair at home, which you can view here  Although she is using blue, it's the same application progress, of roots then lengths. 

The texture of 'I Saw Red' was different to that of Crazy Colour or Directions. I thought it was much thicker, which at first I didn't like, however by the end I found it was helpful to feel if I'd missed any spots! It looks like a very small bottle (It's 150ML), however it covered my entire hair, which is both long & very thick!

My friend, Katherine, also put a purple toner in her hair whilst I did the red!

As you can see, it's a very vibrant red, & I managed to not get any on my forehead!

Results

At first, in the light in my room & after a rough dye, I was quite disappointed. It seemed nothing much had changed. However, once I went into natural light, & my hair was fully dry, I could definitely notice more vibrancy to my red locks.

Left: no flash | Right: flash

I really love the rich red that my hair went. In natural or artificial light, with flash & without, I'm still undoubtedly a red head, which I lacked before. Previously, I only looked very red headed with a flash or in daylight. Now, I'm scarlet and proud!

I would definitely use 'I Saw Red' by Bleach London again, as the process wasn't messy & the results were great. You can buy various shades of the Bleach Super Cool Colours online & in store at Boots, & they only cost £5.

Thank you again Courtney:)

OOTD: Tartan Tales

Hello All

Having only done one ‘OOTD’ post before that I didn’t even show my face in, which you can read here , I thought another ‘proper’ OOTD post was much needed!

As you all know, tartan is huge this A/W. From High end, to High Street, tartan is taking over many shops, editorials & my earlier wishlist this month, which you can readhere.

I’ve been a fan of tartan for a long time. For my thirteenth birthday I wore a tartan strapless dress with a tutu underneath (may I point out I was going through my gothic phase, that hasn’t quite finished yet, but is a lot less extreme! My fashion role model was Avril Lavgine). For my last day at high school, I wore a tartan kilt, Dr. Martens and fishnets, resulting in a telling off & being told, & I quote ‘Punk Rock died in the 80s’ by my head of year.

This however didn’t deter me! Featured in my aforementioned birthday/ October wishlist, & seen across the bloggersphere, I have been coveting that Primark tartan dress for a long time now. Having looked in my local store, plus in both the Marble Arc & Tottenham Court Road ones, I had little success. That was however, until this Sunday. This ‘quick trip, just to browse’ in Primark resulted in a small haul &the dress, at last!

The below outfit I wore to a wedding, not your typical wedding attire I’d say, however I felt totally comfortable, danced the night away as my feet didn’t hurt & hats are appropriate for weddings!

 Hat - Topshop | Tartan Dress - Primark | Striped Satchel - Primark | Matte White Shoes - Dr. Martens

 Lipstick - Russian Red by M.A.C

Silver Rings - various from H&M & The Great Frog | Nails - Matte White Barry M & Black Nail Art Pen Barry M

This dress, (which is only £15!) is a perfectly flattering shape. With the slightly puffed shoulders, nipped in waist & loose skirt, I found it to be a really great fit. This is not the original dress I set out for. I initially liked the darker red & green tartan version. However seeing it i n person changed my mind. I love this dress, so expect to see more of it in the coming months!

The satchel caught my eye in the queue (clever marketing Primark team!). It;s really striking, & since using it a few times, it's uber practical too!

My shoe collection is getting out of hand, with this being my third pair in a month. But Dr. Marten's are really well made shoes, & are good for the feet too. So far, I haven't even scuffed these matte white ones, & they look perfect still! Let's see how long that lasts, eh?

Having wanted a bowler style hat for a very long time, I finally got one. I love it. I've hardly taken it off since I got it.

The nails were a bit of a pain. They aren't the neatest, hence the slightly far away, unfocused shot! But you can see that I painted them matte white, & used the Barry M black nail art pen to do half moons & tips. Not bad for a first attempt!

I hope you enjoyed my first 'proper' OOTD. Lately I feel I've found my 'signature style' so hope to do more OOTD posts on here!

ART: Lauren Baker

Hello All, 

As I mentioned in my first 'ART' port, which you can read here, I wanted to make there ART posts fairly regular. With work & attempting to have a social life, getting to galleries / exhibitions gets pushed back a bit. 

However, Millie, from She Hearts The High Street, my fellow skull enthusiast, introduced me to Lauren Baker.

  

Initially, I fell in love with her custom made skulls. Throughout this year, she had been running Skull Workshops, in which you could chose, decorate & take home your very own skull! Unfortunately I missed out :( But here are a selection of my favourite skulls, more can be found here

Fred

Frank & Frankie

Rose

But, since hearing about her, I have become incredibly interested in her art work. Although the skulls remain my favourite, I really like the Mosaic's especially in the cape collaborations with fashion label Velevet Johnstone & shoe collaboration with Joanne Stoker

photograph by Neil Collins

Photographed by Sacha Rainbow

Another thing I really like about art is art for a cause. Of course, creativity for creativities sake is beautiful & I find it admirable when people create such moving pieces. However, combining a talent with a good cause is so amazing. Lauren Baker created the below, crystal encrusted Tiger head for Save The Tigers

'Baker's most intricate work; The Crystal Tiger is a life-size tiger head sculpture encrusted with 35,000 Swarovski crystals. World-renowned luxury shoe designer Jimmy Choo endorsed and unveiled The Crystal Tiger at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. The artwork, which was modeled by trend-setting actress Jaime Winstone, fetched £10.5k at auction on 21st March 2013 for the tiger conservation charity Save Wild Tigers. '

You may already know that I love cats, sometimes I genuinely think they are better than people! I went to ZSL recently, & fell in love with the new tiger section. Also, I actually shed a little tear when I found out the baby tiger cub drowned. So the fact Lauren has used her amazing talents to support a cause I feel strongly about, appealed to me even more!

I hope that in the future she will be hosting more Skull Workshops as I would love to go to one!

Birthday Highlights!

Hello All!

As I may have mentioned slightly in the last few posts, it was recently my birthday. I turned 20, leaving my teenage years behind me & becoming an adult, apparently!

Due to work, I didn't go out on my actual birthday, or on Halloween. However the weekend just gone, I certainly made up for that! Spending it with all my best friends & dressing up was so fun. If you follow me on Instagram ( @missjadebd ) you can see more of my celebrations, but here are a few of my fave pics!

 Pacha with Carly

Brixton with Courtney

I was also incredibly spoilt in the present department this year & all my family & friends were so generous. Either I'm incredibly predictable, they all know me inside out or they read my blog, as they all got me perfect presents :)

So thank you to everyone who made me birthday week (yes, week) as amazing as it was

Although I loved each & every one of my presents, I couldn't talk about them all (not to sounds too spoilt or big headed), so I picked out my high lights to share with you!

Disclaimer- I am in no way bragging or showing off. I have incredibly generous friends & family, & am so grateful for everything I received.

 Cherry Red Shoes - Dr. Martens from my Mum & Step Dad | Vogue On.. Coco Chanel from my best friend Carly

 Monochrome Boots - Lavish Alice from my brother | Skull Scarf - H&M from my best friend Courtney

 Black & White Skorts - Amazon a cheeky birthday present to myself! | Bowler Hat - Topshop from my Mum & Step Dad

 

Clockwise from top left: Black & Black with red glitter nail polish from my aunt & uncle | Chloe purfume from my other aunt & uncle | Barry M Nail Art Pens one from my Mum and Step Dad, & One from another aunt & uncle | 'I Saw Red' Bleech London dye from Courtney again!

My Aunt also took me to see 'Wicked' in the West End, which was honestly amazing!

I had such an amazing 20th, thank you to everyone involved!

Needless to say, I probably won't be doing any hauls or wish lists for the foreseeable future as I got everything I wanted (sorry of that sounded really spoilt brattish) 

How was everyone's Halloween?