OOTD: LK Bennett Cranley

This little spotty number from LK Bennett is one of my absolute favourites for that illusive day to night transition, especially as it can be worn in two ways! During the day it can be teamed with a fitted jacket and worn with the straight neckline at the front, while in the evening I usually reverse it with the v-neck and draping at the front to create more shape (as in the photos).

 

 Dress: LK Bennett (on sale for £60 here), Shoes: Kurt Geiger (on sale for £35 here).

What are your favourite pieces to take you from day to night? 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

MaxFactor Fantasy Fire... My take!

MaxFactor's Max Colour Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire has been causing quite a stir on the blogosphere! Apparently the colour is a dupe of a long discontinued Clarins polish, but I'm not easily swayed by the hype and wanted to try it with no preconceptions.

Seeing this polish in real life I can assure you the photos really don't do it justice. The warm purple base is brought to life with a true rainbow of shimmer. The holographic effect is beautiful, with sparks of red, gold, blue and green lighting up the polish at different angles.

 (With and without flash) 

However, on application I did find that the polish was very sheer. I am not terribly patient when it comes to nails so a polish that dries quickly and is opaque in one or two coats is essential. Fantasy Fire needs a generous three or four coats to reveal it's beauty, and though I do love the colour and think it was worth the effort, it does require a little tenacity.

The above shows the polish after three heavy coats and as you can see the colour is still a little sheer. Luckily, the shimmer hides the majority of the nail bed, so it still looks pretty spectacular!

In addition to the polish I was sent a little nail art kit so that I could recreate Zarra Celik's Purple Leopard designs. I am no nail art maestro, but I try my best! What do you guys think of my attempt?

If you want to create your own or a similar design you can follow Zarra's tips below. It really is so much quicker and easier than I had imagined! Even the bf was impressed with my left handed efforts :P. 

Fantasy Fire is selling fast, and is already going at 3 times the price on ebay! Luckily, new stock has been added to stores and I have found it for £3.99 in Superdrug and Boots.

What do you think of my leopard design? Have you tried MaxFactor's Fantasy Fire polish? Are you tempted to try it? xxx

Belinda OOTD

Although I do love a bit of leopard print I sometimes feel like it has been 'overworked' in all too many a store. Nevertheless, I was immediately drawn to this dress at a recent Motel blogger event! The Belinda dress (£52) offers a more sophisticated leopard print pattern paired with an (almost) full sleeve, longer length and a very deep v neck... so much so that I had to pin mine to protect a little modesty ;).

My dress had it's first outing a few weeks ago when the bf and I went on a double date. However, as well as being comfortable enough for long winter evening it's equally work friendly with a little camisole or vest worn underneath. I chose to keep it pretty simple with patent black and brown Kurt Geiger ankle boots, my Michael Kors rose gold watch (£199) and Les Nereides ring.

Have you seen Motel's new collection? What are your favourite pieces? Are you a fan of leopard print? xxx

Take Me Baby.. Or Leave Me

With the gorgeous sunshine we have been blessed with this bank holiday weekend a few drives around the countryside with the latest Glee album on repeat were a must. I haven't even seen the musical Rent, but while humming along to the lyrics this morning.. "a tiger in a cage can never see the sun, this diva needs her stage, baby lets have fun" I decided that it was time my inner leopard was set free ;).

The jumpsuit and belt are both from H&M, and were purchased in anticipation of Spring a few months ago. As I'm tall I always struggle to find jumpsuits that are long enough in the legs, but this one was easy to customise as it is already quite loose fitting. I decided to pull it up a little (baggy bottoms are never flattering!) to create a 3/4 length trouser and wear the top off the shoulder.

Tan leather shoes are from my beloved Kurt Geiger.

This gorgeous nude patent Barbarella leather bag from Aspinal of London was a very recent purchase. I decided to treat myself after finishing my exams and thought this would make a perfect splurge for the Summer!

Accessories were kept pretty simple. I wore sunglasses from Dior, a bangle from Disney Couture with the inscription "Think of a wonderful thought" and a cream leather and gold cuff sent to me by the lovely Elizabeth from Lash Royalty.

For makeup I stuck to natural peachy tones. I used MUFE HD foundation, NARS laguna bronzer, MAC Ripe Peach blush, Estee Lauder Pure Pops Creme Eyeshadow (sadly no name or number on the tube, but it's their only warm gold colour), Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Whiskey,  L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara (waterproof) and Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfecter in No.2.

As the title of this post suggests, leopard print jumpsuits will not be for everyone! I spent most of my teenage years dressing like my friends and was never without my jeans. Now I just wear whatever makes me feel happy. I think if you feel confident and comfortable, no matter how outlandish or simple your outfit, you can carry it off with style!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend my lovelies! xxx

Leopard (Take 2)

I must be in a very leopardy (yes that's a word!) mood lately! Last weekend as I was heading out for drinks I went for a statement animal print dress, paired with simple black patent tights.

Dress: ASOS. Black tights: M&S. Shearling boots a la Burberry: New Look.

You can just see the leopard boots peeping out in the corner lol. Is anyone else on a leopard kick at the moment? What are your favourite pieces? xxx