Deichmann Collaborate With Fashion Blogger, Caroline Blomst for Spring Summer 2014!

Most people have their ‘thing’ when it comes to fashion… be that dresses, hats, bags, jewellery, shoes or whatever else takes their fancy. Me? I’m an ‘everything’ kinda girl. I like things, I like lots of them and they have to meet my exacting style standards; especially as I’m also incredibly indecisive. However, it has to be said that I do hold a dear place in my heart, and my wardrobe, for shoes. You see shoes are the only things I could always rely on, even at my heaviest, to fit me.

So am I a ‘shoe’ person? Why yes, yes I am.

When it comes to purchasing shoes, I’m totally a Carrie wannabe, in that I would love to be able to say that my budget stretched to the likes of Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahniks to be worn as my shoes du jour; alas, I tend to be more of a high street girl. That’s not such a bad thing though, as the good thing about fashion these days is that you don’t actually have to spend the earth on an outfit for it to look good, or make a statement.

This is why I love brands that pull out all the stops to bring us designs that look great, but without the threat of bankruptcy, or broken hearts due to our weeping bank balances. It’s not even necessarily that you end up saving as much as you think, as if you’re anything like me, money off/money saved just means you can buy more. Half price? This to me just means I can buy twice as much!

Which brings me onto the new spring/summer 2014 collection from forward thinking European shoe brand, Deichmann, which launched today (here) and was under heavy embargo so as excited as I was to tell you, I was unable to do so!

The collection, comprising of 7 different shoe designs has been designed in collaboration with Swedish fashion uber-blogger and all round fashionista Caroline Blomst, is to be stocked in store and online by Deichmann UK, with prices starting from just £17.99 and reaching no higher than £27.99. Good news for your bank balances, girls!

Video footage of the collection, provided by Deichmann UK.

The collection was an instant hit when I saw it, and whilst I might not wear every pair of shoes myself, I think that it's bang on many trends that are current right now. The 2 styles from within the group that totally caught my eye were these beauties:

Peep toe shoe boot with cut out detail, 27.99

These boots are so flexible, and could be worn with pretty much anything from your wardrobe, from jeans and leggings to skirts, dresses or even shorts; meaning they will easily span throughout any season. The 4.5 inch heel is fairly high, and with only a very slight platform to offset the height too. However, I found these shoes more comfortable than I first thought they would when they arrived with me, largely due to the fact that the boot styling almost fully encases the foot, instantly giving much needed support to the foot and ankle (the adjustable fastening adds to the overall look of the boots and can be tightened or loosened to suit your ankle size thus avoiding the shoe slipping off the foot as you walk - safe as well as stylish?

Peep toe with drop side and metallic heel, £27.99

These glam metallic accented heels are possibly my favourite item as they totally appeal to my glam nature and weekend wardrobe of bodycons and bandage dresses. The design is also mega flattering as they instantly lengthen your legs, and who here doesn't want longer looking legs?! Metallic accented shoes featured highly at Paris Fashion week recently, so these are totally now, however I expect to get wear from these for quite some time to come! Adore.

 My final thoughts?

You can see the thought that has gone into the collection as a whole; and it's apparent that whilst style is high up on the agenda, Caroline also wanted these shoes to get a lot of wear, with comfort also seemingly factoring highly.

Her consideration that the designs were versatile, and could be styled with a plethora of different outfits, tailored to your own personal style preference, is also glaringly obvious; and I'm quite sure that this collection would not look out of place on any of the fashionistas that we all know and love.

Unfortunately my camera gave up the ghost which meant that I could not shoot the shoes sent to me in the manner I had planned, so I apologise for the stock images, but it at least ensures that you actually see the collection.

View the boot-y!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

'Unkempt' Brows a 'Thing' For Spring?

L: Alexander Wang NYFW S/S 2014, R: BCBG NYFW S/S 2014.

So, it seems 'unkempt' brows are going to be a 'thing' in spring 2014, if celebrity eyebrow specialist Elke Von Freudenberg's prediction is anything to go by. Speaking after New York Fashion Week, Elke said  “Models sported thick brows that reminded you of Brooke Shields from the 80’s that are full, thick and kept natural looking with very little brow makeup. The stenciled brow is officially over.”

"Not only are brows thick and full, brows will be more layered looking, with stray hairs being more prevalent along the bottom of the brow line. Brows will also be less trimmed and kept longer to go with the fuller look for Spring." said Elke.

Elke suggests:

1. Let a row or two of brow hairs grow along the bottom of the brows. Avoid cleaning them up and let them grow in for a fuller layered look.
2. Avoid trimming the brows close to the brow and the let them grow longer, especially the ones near the fronts of the brows.
3. For thicker brows, use a colored Brow Mascara to sweep hairs up and out to mimic a thicker brow. Elke suggests her Brow Fixx in Blondie or Brunette.
4. For thinner brows, use a Clear Brow Gel, brush through. And while it's still damp, use a eyebrow pencil to mimic brow hairs and apply hair like strokes through the whole brow or only where needed. Concentrate on the fronts and then tail ends of the brows or a natural look.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I have stray hairs lurking on my brows (and, well anywhere really) my first instinct is to GET RID!! I'm not entirely sure I'll be rocking the slightly messy brow look, however 'fashionable' it is.

How about you?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Rococo 'Lady of the Manor' Polish Collection for Autumn 2013!

I can't believe we're looking towards autumn already! However, I just love the look of these new shades being brought out by nail brand, Rococo this autumn. Pony Club is definitely the one jumping out at me, but honestly, I could see myself wearing every one of the shades in the collection.

Whaddya think?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Lusting After: Christian Dior's Haute Couture Gowns!

I can only dream of having a life glamorous enough to wear these beautiful gowns in - and the body to do them justice. They're from Christian Dior's Spring 2012 Haute Couture collection, just in case any of you are lucky enough to own the life that I desire. ;-)

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Models Own Spring/Summer 2011 Nail Colours!

L-R - Concrete Mixer, Orange Sherbet, Bloo Boo, Black Swirl, Pink Fever

This is just a quick post for today as it’s my mum’s birthday, so I’ll be spending the day with her but I just wanted to give you a quick look at the new Models Own Spring/Summer 2011 nail colours. This collection is very diverse, I’m sure there’s something to suit most people in there with a nude, a greige, a pastel, a pink, what looks to be quite a neon orange (shimmer?) and even a very dark metallic grey! I've had to put the Nyla Nude and Utopia (shown L-R) pictures below as the images I've got are not as hi-res as the others and looked odd when I merged them; you get the idea nonetheless though.

I’ll be swatching a few of them for you in the next week as I’ve just received them in the post. The colours I have are the ones that stood out to me most from the collection (apart from the Orange Sherbet), and those are: Pink Fever (love the look of this already), Black Swirl and Concrete Mixer so I’ll get them up for you asap! What do you think about them so far?

These will be available for £5 each (as you’d expect with Models Own) from the usual outlets... although Nyla Nude will only be available at River Island, and Orange Sherbet only available online.

http://www.modelsownit.com/

NARS Spring 2011 Collection - Some Swatches!

I’ve been playing with some of the NARS spring 2011 products today (actually that will be yesterday by the time this is posted), and have been really enjoying doing so. The products I’ve got, and swatched for you are:

Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils:

L-R Happy Days and Baroque (flash, then no flash):

These are absolutely fabulous, I love the fact that they’re so glossy yet not at all sticky and they have great staying power. It’s so weird knowing you’re going to be sharpening your lip GLOSS... although you’ll need a chunky pencil sharpener for them – very novel.

It is a bit of a shame in that I would hate to wreck the pencil when sharpening, I do prefer it when you can just twist the pencil out rather than having to sharpen it – what do you guys prefer? Does it even matter to you? Am I weird? Don’t answer that last one (unless it’s to say ‘no’ of course... ha)!

There are more shades in this range (I think 6 of them), but unfortunately I don’t have any more pictures of these - they are released on February 1st though so you don't have too long to wait to see them all.


Angelika Lip Gloss (no flash, then flash):

I adore this gloss, both the colour and the texture. The colour is a very girly pink, a bit like candy floss really... and what I really like is that although it does have great pigmentation, you can still get the colour quite sheer on your lips if you want to! The texture is one of the best I’ve used in any lip gloss as it’s very silky and smooth and seems to have great staying power.

The photo below shows it close up on my lips.

Other colours included in the collection are Nana and Super Orgasm (shown respectively below with Angelika), both of which look equally as lovely but unfortunately I don’t have them to swatch, at least not at the moment. Maybe Mr Beauty Scoop will buy me them for my birthday next month (*hint hint* if you’re reading this, Mr BS)!

Finally I have Nouveau Monde Duo Eyeshadow:

 

   

This is possibly the most beautiful eyeshadow duo, consisting of a metallic silver lilac and a stunning olive-gold shadow; two colours that you quite possibly would never have put together normally, but actually two colours that make a surprisingly good combination. These are perfectly pigmented, blend with ease and wear very well too – I really love these!

Also available in the collection is Bateau Ivre (below, left); a rich sky blue paired perfectly with a denim blue. Again I don’t have this to swatch but it does look lovely all the same... loving the denim blue in the picture.

Other products of note (in my opinion) in the spring 2011 collection are:

Desperado Nail Polish, described as an antique brass-hued polish – looks gorgeous, can’t wait to get my hands on this one to show you!

Hollywoodland (pale gold) and Celebrate (parrot green) Soft Touch Shadow Pencils – I love the look of these, the colours are right up my street and again, I’m hoping to find these in my birthday box from Mr Beauty Scoop next month!

Edit to add Happy Days Gloss Pencil on my lips as requested; it's a close up - hope it's ok! Also the pencil is quite sheer, but I could notice it on my lips. The second picture shows a close up of my lips with just lip balm on the left and Happy Days on the right. x

Flash (Just Happy Days):

No Flash (Showing difference between natural lip and product):

Disclosure: PR Sample

More Essie Fabulousness - Winter 2010!

I ordered the Essie Winter 2010 collection today, well it would be rude to ignore their festive offering, surely? Whilst I wait for it to arrive so that I can swatch it, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of the colours we're being offered.

Once I’ve received the order from America I’ll do the swatching for you, although I still don’t understand why we have to pay so much more for things in this country; so much so that it still works out cheaper to have them sent from so far away.

My first thoughts are that it certainly looks very festive, markedly so because of the green (Going Incognito) and red (Silken Cord) shades that jumped right out at me in the line up. I love the look of Smokin’ Hot and Hot Coco too, in fact I love the look of all of it to be honest. I will say though that Masquerade Belle reminds me of Velvet Voyeur from their autumn collection, quite a lot actually – maybe just a little bit darker. What do you think?

Essie Autumn 2010 Collection - Swatches! Better Late Than Never!

I just realised that I have yet to put up swatches of the Essie 2010 Fall Collection so here they are, all are taken without flash (except the last one, labelled 'with flash') in various lights of day and against 2 different backgrounds. I apologise, the pictures aren't great as I'm still using the camera on my mobile phone, but it gives a fair idea of how these go on.