OOTD: A little Alexander McQueen...

Many of you have messaged me to request a few more OOTD posts in addition to the myriad of stream of consciousness photos I upload on my Instagram (@NatalyaFGM). So, I thought I would start with this fun one from last year on my Birthday! Since I'm not getting any younger I thought I would put together something a little more different to celebrate turning 25... again ;p.

It all started with the dress! I spotted this Alexander McQueen envelope dress in an outlet mall near Florence of all places. Despite it being heavily discounted I needed some convincing as I didn't think it was particularly flattering (there are about 600 folds of fabric at the waist, enough to make a tent), but in the end I decided that it was a piece of art worth investing in!

A few months later I still hadn't found an occasion to wear my first Alexander McQueen purchase. It was a little too short and eye catching for a wedding and the UK was getting colder by the second!

In the meantime I had come across these fabulous Carvela Kurt Geiger Gylda lace ups that I like to think of as a grown up gladiator. With their sharp high heel and cut outs the hubby instantly got excited and offered to purchase them for my Birthday. He rarely has any opinion on shoes, other than ranting that I have far too many (which is true), but given his enthusiasm I knew these must be pretty special.

So when my Birthday finally came around at the end of October I decided that it was time to try out the two most adventurous items in my wardrobe... despite the cold and rain! As Miley so wisely put it... it's our party and we can do what we want!

Prohibition in the 1920s

Last weekend I stepped back in time to the roaring 20s at one of Prohibition's secret parties. Though the dates of these are not top secret the venues are hidden and only disclosed to ticket holders. If you haven't heard of this before, then do check their website out here. With flowing vintage cocktails served in tea cups, live bands, silent movies, casino and even a burlesque show this was definitely a fun and unusual way to spend a Saturday evening. It was fabulous!

You all know that I love to dress up and when given a theme I can never go less than all the way! Luckily, I already had this little flapper outfit hidden away in my wardrobe. The dress is a Massimo Dutti number that I have had since I was 16 (does that count as vintage?). My style has changed so much since then and I even surprised myself that I have kept it all these years. The dropped waist style is perhaps the least flattering shape of all for my figure as it highlights the widest part of the hourglass and the length shortens my legs. To accesorize I wore my Chanel pearls and various feather pieces including a broach that I made into a headpiece, a feather clutch from ASOS and green feather detailed shoes from New Look.

Even the bf grew a 2 day moustache for the occasion so I made sure we both looked perfectly 20s. I tonged my hair with the Babyliss Wave Envy (check out my review here) to add texture. I then painstakingly pinned it around the nape and folded it under my shorter layers to create a faux bob, which I am proud to say lasted through many a dip on the dance floor! 

For makeup I used lots of powder to create flawless, matte and pale skin. I then contoured the cheeks to narrow my face shape. On the eyes I used a mixture of pigments - collection 2000 teal all over,  shimmery golden green in the centre of the eyelid, matte brown to blend and create a more rounded eye shape. I also made my brows thinner and darker to create the classic strong, slimline pencil brow of the 1920s. I then added two pairs of lashes (top and bottom) to make my eyes look larger and alter their shape. I used the new Katy Perry Cool Kitty lashes (£5.95 here) on the top as they are perfectly full and not too long.

I then finished off with a strong lip, making sure to define the cupids bow. This is my slightly more modern and wearable take on flapper makeup!

Have you ever been to a 1920s themed party? What is your favourite decade? Are you tempted to attend the next Prohibition event? I believe it will be held on Saturday the 8th of September! xxx

FOTD: Lily Cole Shimmer Cubes

Getting ready in the mornings is always a pretty haphazard affair, but I love trying new products and aim to incorporate them into my morning routine. I spent last week playing around with The Body Shop's cruelty free collection by the gorgeous Lily Cole.

 

I absolutely love TBS's shimmer cubes as they always have a great selection of colours and are versatile as they can be used wet or dry. For this look I concentrated the bronze pink on the lid with a little of the dark burgundy on the outer corner and the light pink as a highlighter on the inner corners.

Sometimes you have to be careful with red based shades as they can make you look tired, but the shimmer in this pink really lifts it. I think it also makes my eyes look greener and somehow darker!

What do you guys think of Shimmer Cubes? Will you be picking up the latest installment from the Lily Cole cruelty free collection (£16 here)? xxx

FOTD: 10 Mins Going Out Makeup

When in a rush I usually go for fail safe combo of bright lips and neutral eyes. This whole look took about 10 minutes, which I think is pretty speedy... though I have no doubt the bf would disagree ;).

With my amazing new Boudoir lashes (review coming soon) all I had to do was add a flick of L'Oreal carbon gloss eyeliner and a tiny amount of MAC's Phloof in the inner corners to open up my eyes.

I then used a small amount of MUA's Hot Lips lip balm on my cheeks (multi tasking) and mixed a red Eyeko lipstick with MAC's cool toned gladiola to create a statement. I find that mixing colours and layering up different textures of lip products ensures that your colour stays put all night!

What are you fail safe makeup choices? What products do you rely on to get ready in a hurry? xxx

OOTN: K Middy

If you can't beat them, join them! That's always my philosophy when visiting the glamorous capital of the north - Liverpool.

So for a bank holiday night out I knew that big hair and heels would be a must! I chose this lace overlay bubble dress from Zara (as worn by Kate Middleton), which I was able to track down, despite it's instant sell out in the UK, while I was shopping in Hong Kong.

The wedges are from All Saints, which I had packed to wear with another dress, but given the freezing weather I had to pair them with black tights and hope that in the dark no one would notice the dreaded open toe shoe/ tights combo. Shhhh... I don't think anyone saw...

The makeup was a fail safe brown smokey eye, lashes and pale lip. To show off the deep v in the back I pulled my hair into a low side ponytail, which was super easy to style and made sure that the volume stayed put all night. 

 

I hope you are all having a fabulous bank holiday weekend! xxx

17 Mirror Shine Purple Haze

I have been loving 17 Mirror Shine lipsticks lately! They are so smooth and glossy and leave my lips feeling soft and hydrated. I really like the fact that you can use them to just add a tint, or really layer them up for more colour. My current favourite is Purple Haze.

 

I absolutely adore this colour! It's bright and vibrant but is very comfortable to wear and fades beautifully!

You can find the 17 Mirror Shine On lipsticks in Boots for £4.59 here.

Have you tried these lipsticks? Which are your favourite shades? xxx 

Red Hot Love

I purchased this dress from Love a few weeks ago and despite the rain I knew I had to wear it for Saturday night cocktails. This dress is definitely all party in the front and business in the back ;). I paired it with a kimono-esque black wrap around belt to cinch in the waist, black tights and some leopard print booties.

Asymmetrical Maxi Dress - Love (£48 here), Belt - H&M, Boots - River Island.

Unfortunately the bf's photo taking skills have not improved. He has managed to shrink me from 5"10 to about 5"2 in all these photos and let's just say that the walking shots have ended up on the cutting room floor. Despite failing to capture any decent images, you can see that the flow of this dress is absolutely gorgeous. It really does move beautifully when you walk. Though you do have to be quite careful when sudden gusts of wind are around as the front is very short. To preserve my modesty I used a few small pins to secure the skirt in place. You could easily add a few stitches to hold the fabric together, or even add a small weight at the bottom of the skirt (apparently this is what the Queen has in all her clothes) to prevent it from flying up.

Having less than 10 minutes to freshen up my makeup I decided to add lashes (from Velour here) and a dark red lip to take my look from plain to dramatic. I used a combo of a few different reds - Burgundy NYX pencil, MAC's Russian Red lipstick and The Bodyshop's Love Gloss for Lips, which meant I didn't have to touch up through the night and the strong colour lasted through a number of cocktails!

What are your go-to looks on a Saturday night? What do you think of asymmetric dresses? Have you ever purchased anything from In Love with Fashion? From the 4th of May they are having a special sale if you guys are interested in checking them out... 

On the 6th of May you can also use code BANKHOLIDAYTREAT25 at checkout on orders over £40 to get 25% off your order :). Happy shopping! xxx

Beauty Marked Sketch

On Saturday one of my work girlies was celebrating her birthday in Soho so I popped in for a few cocktails. As I had been on the go all day I decided to quickly amp up my makeup for a fun night out.

As I was in a bit of a rush I didn't have a chance to write down everything I used (bad beauty blogger!), but I was mainly playing with a few products from my collection to create a deep, sultry plum smokey eye and a nude nip.

Skin:

• NARS Sheer Glow foundation (looks great in photos) mixed with Dior Forever (lasts well).
• Bobbi Brown creamy concealer.
• ELF glow powder (it's not very shimmery, so works great as a setting powder when you want your skin to look radiant).
•  YSL Afrique bronzer
• NARS Angelika Blush

Eyes:

• MAC Macriviolet fluidline (as base)
• MAC Beauty Marked e/s (on lid)
• MAC Sketch e/s (in crease and lower lashline)
• Blackberry pigment sample (on centre of lid for a little shimmer)
• MAC Shroom and Vanilla e/s (as highlight on brow bone)
• L'Oreal Carbon Gloss liquid liner
• Eyeko Skinny Brush Mascara (£15 here)
• Lashaholic LA03 Wispy Strip Lashes (£7.95 here)

 Lips:

• MAC Creme d'nude
• Clarins Instant Light lipgloss 02 Apricot Shimmer (£10.80 here)

I love the look of a red based purple as I think it makes all eye colours brighter and more vibrant!

What do you guys think of purple eye shadow? It can be a tricky one to work with, but it is one of my absolute favourite colours! What are your favourite eyeshadow colours? xxx

New Year's Eve Outfit

A few of you have requested that I post some pictures of my Christmas and New Year's celebrations, especially as I took a little break from the internet over the festive season. Since my Christmas was pretty low key there are no pictures to speak of, but I did manage to convince the bf to take a few snaps before heading out to celebrate the beginning of what will hopefully be an amazing year!

On the night itself I chose to wear an old dress from French Connection (circa 2005!) with opaque tights and the most obnoxiously glittery shoes that I had picked up in the Ted Baker sale a few days earlier.

They may not be for everyone, but I absolutely love them... they make me feel quite the modern Dorothy ;). If you are looking for a glitter shoe that is just that little bit more sophisticated (and I use that term very loosely) than the chunkier versions all over the high street then I highly recommend you check these out. They are currently available in red, black and my favourite rose gold colour on sale for £67 on the Ted Baker website here.

Continuing on the rose gold theme I also wore my new Folli Follie rose gold Heart 4 Heart key necklace. Unfortunately this is no longer available for purchase alone, but you can still find it as part of a special edition set here. I wear the plainer key for work by shortening the chain, and keep the crystal one (worn above) for occasions that require a little more sparkle!

I styled my hair with a new curling iron that I have been experimenting with over the last couple of weeks - the Enrapture Totem Styler, which has three separate heat setting for different areas of the barrel. I set mine at 3-2-3 for defined curls and back combed my hair at the root to create lots of volume.

Makeup wise I wore a smokey eye similar to the one I created for my birthday party. The main focus was MAC's reflects antique gold glitter applied over the lid, with a shimmery brown eyeshadow smoked into the crease and below the lower lashline. I then brightened the lower lashline and inner corner using Urban Decay's heavy metal glitter eyeliner in baked. I completed the eye look using the You Complete Me mink lashes from Velour.

On my cheeks I used a mix of NARS Angelika and MAC Well Dressed blush with MAC's Perfect Topping MSF to highlight. On my lips I applied MAC's Hue lipstick, followed by my favourite gloss, the absolutely delicious Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in No.2 Apricot Shimmer (£12.15 here).

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and celebrated the beginning of the New Year in style!! xxx

My Birthday.. in Vivienne Westwood!

On Saturday night I celebrated my birthday in Juju with 30 of my closest friends. We had a brilliant night dancing and drinking champagne till the early hours of the morning! I was very spoilt with lots of lovely presents and couldn't be more thankful for my amazing extended family (friends).

 Rubens Print Friday Dress: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania

I knew that I wanted a very special dress for my birthday this year, so I saved up and took my time looking for something unique. I have always loved Vivienne Westwood dresses for their gorgeous feminine shape and unusual fabrics, so when I spotted this Rubens painting print dress in Harvey Nichols I skipped into the changing room straight away. As this dress is a lot more pricey than my usual purchases I did 'umm' and 'aaah' about it for a while, but in the end decided to treat myself and I am so happy with it!!

For a little bit of a glow I skipped the fake tan (for fear of it rubbing off on my dress) and opted for He-Shi's One Day Tan (£14.50) instead. This gel cream is so quick and easy to apply, dries very speedily and gives instant colour, which is perfect for that special night out when you don't want to risk any streaking, or simply don't have the time to wait for your tan to develop.

I styled my hair with the Babyliss heated rollers and backcombed at the roots to make sure the volume lasted all night. To set the hair I used Pantene Volume and Body Haispray and Tigi's Hair Bodifying Sugar Spray (which smells delicious and holds really well).

For makeup I used Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, a heavier base that would stay put all night. I set it with MAC MSF natural and contoured with YSL's Afrique bronzing powder. On the cheeks I used a mix of MAC's Well Dressed and NARS Angelika blush and highlighted with Guerlain's Butterfly highlighter. For the lips I chose an old favourite - MAC's A Rose Romance lipstick. On my eyes I used UDPP, MAC's Reflects Antique Gold all over the lid and Espresso in the crease. I finished off with MAC's Blacktrack gel liner and the most amazing mink lashes from Velour.

These are the You Complete Me mink lashes ($29.99) from Velour and they are my new favourites! The mink hair is so lovely and smooth, and somehow looks much more natural than plastic lashes. I would also like to point out that these lashes are cruelty free - the hairs are gently brushed from live mink and sterilized to ensure that they are hypo-allergenic.

I absolutely adore their shape, with natural lashes nearer the front and longer, fuller sweeping lashes in the outer corners that give a beautiful, flirty look. These lashes are extremely well made, easy to apply and super comfortable to wear. I have also found that they are much easier to clean, so much so that they can we worn up to 25 times!

I had such a lovely birthday and am very sad that it's all over. I hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

Are you a fan of Vivienne Westwood? What is your dream party dress? What lashes are you loving at the moment? xxx