Fashion Fridays

What better way to begin the weekend than a day in London lusting after winter wardrobe pieces and taking in the latest exhibitions at the V&A? This is exactly how I spent my Friday. I love this time of year when we start to feel the autumn breeze in the air, christmas decorations are slowly beginning to trickle into stores, and our summer tans are starting to fade. Summer, I will miss you dearly, but I am so ready to binge watch christmas movies and consume my body weight in hot chocolate.

Having entered my final year at University and begun researching for my dissertation topic (scary I know), I needed to draw some inspiration from current trends and advances within the industry. The V&A is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design and so I knew this was where I needed to be. Being surrounded by art and creativity really gets my brain working so I knew I would really enjoy and benefit from the two exhibitions I saw.

After leaving the exhibitions, me and Ella took a stroll through Knightsbridge hoping to find a place to lunch when we came across this little cafe called Élan. The delicious cakes and beautiful floral display hooked us instantly. Its chic aesthetic and Mediterranean inspired menu were exactly what we were looking for. The food tasted just as gorgeous as it looked and the interior was stunning... SO Instagram.

Now you cannot be in Knightsbridge and not pop into Harrods it would just be wrong. And so, we did just that. Gawking over Céline, jaws dropping over Alïa, and getting extra giddy in Harrods' Christmas world. Then, coming to the realisation that we are in fact poor fashion students and not mega rich heiresses... I put down the Burberry scarf (total SJP AW14 poncho moment) and we crossed the road and headed to Zara. Of course we only went in to look and came out with pieces that we absolutely needed. 

To finish off the day, I owed it to my younger self while in Kensington to find the house from The Parent Trap. This was mine and my sister’s favourite film growing up and I was feeling some Friday nostalgia. Overall, I had a lovely day exploring the latest of what Fashion has to offer and indulging in one too many yummy cakes. Until next time London,

x

Hello London!

So I have officially moved to London (kinda). After securing two internships with some of my dream brands, it was time for me to pack my suitcase and head to London for the summer. Moving in with my best friend is one of the many wonderful things about this temporary move, along with gaining invaluable industry experience, and exploring one of the world's fashion capitals!

One of the many good things about being in London is that lots of my friends are here too, meaning lunch dates and cocktail evenings are a regular occurrence. I spent my bank holiday weekend living my best life, cocktails at Dirty Martini, lunching at The Ivy Chelsea Garden, lusting after the many colourful townhouses in Chelsea, and laying in the sun taking in my new surroundings.

As I make my way down my 2018 goals list, Balayage, check. Read more, check. Healthy eating, almost check. My latest internship and temporary move have me feeling very optimistic about the the rest of the year. Good things come to those who wait. Good things come to those who work hard, and I intend to have it all.. or at least enough to fund my Manolo obsession. 

The Fashion Week Edit: Paris

Now that the fourth and final fashion week has come to a close, I thought I would share my favourite looks from the Fall 2018 Season of Paris Fashion Week. It's not surprising that there were themes of empowerment and strength in the wake of the Time's Up and #MeToo movements aimed at raising awareness on and preventing sexual assault and harassment. Fashion is always reflective of whatever is happening in society and with the recent revolution, designers are reflecting and communicating their thoughts through their clothing, and I am absolutely living for it.

I decided to break up my favourite 'power dressing' looks into categories as there were so many I wanted to include; Coats, Jackets, Knitwear, Trousers, Fabrics, Colours and Trend Pieces. 

Coats 

JacketsKnitwear

TrousersFabric: TweedColour: RedsTrend: Baring The Shoulder

I have definitely favoured looks from Altuzarra, Guy Laroche and Agnona this season but Valentino always pull it out of the bag with their vibrant and sophisticated designs. I am excited to see more from Agnes B, every season I fall a little more in love with her designs.

After hours and hours spent gushing over gorgeous looks at the big four's Fall 2018 fashion weeks, I will now go back to my reality of Tweed from Zara and Knitwear from H&M. Maybe one day?

My Top 5 Favourite Foundations

This has been a really hard post for me to narrow down just five of my favourite foundations as I find myself wearing a different one every day and constantly mixing them together to create different combinations. However, if I actually sat here writing about all my favourite foundations I fear I would be writing up until my graduation...

I first bought Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Foundation on a spontaneous trip to Selfridges after Uni with Lydia. All I had heard were good things and so I was eager to get colour matched and try it for myself. As a full coverage foundation with concentrated mushroom extract that moisturises and tightens your pores, I can honestly say I love it and it is worth every penny. Being a full-time student and relying heavily on my mega staff discount to keep me dosed up on beauty products, it is rare that I venture outside of the Estee Lauder Companies to buy makeup these days. Priced at £30, for this foundation I made an exception. The Magic foundation covers everything and is very buildable for days when I only want a lighter coverage. If you want smoothed out pores and a flawless finish then you need to try this!

La Mer's Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation is to this day the best buy I've ever had. On a day out over Christmas with my Sister and my gorgeous Nephew I encountered my first Estee Lauder Companies discount store at York Designer Outlet. I had always wanted to try this foundation, priced at £90 I could near enough get facial reconstruction for the same price. However, I managed to bag this winner for around.. wait for it.. £17! With a medium to full coverage for all skin types, my pores look refined and my imperfections disappear. The new colour capsule technology helps the colour stay true – even in humidity! The texture is silky smooth, leaving you with natural glowing skin.

There wouldn't be a top five foundation list without Estee Lauder's Original Double Wear. I recently tried their Double Wear Nude Water Fresh foundation but it doesn't compare to the Original. If you do find the Original Double Wear too much of a full coverage then the new Water Fresh formula maybe the one for you. Providing a medium-to-full coverage and a natural semi-matte finish, Double Wear 24 hour wear is super lightweight and comfortable on the skin. I have a few different shades in this foundation ranging from lighter shades for day to day life and warmer shades to wear when I have a tan.

As soon as Clinique announced in our strategy seminar that they would be bringing out Even Better Glow I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. As the new Light Reflecting version of the original Even Better Foundation, Even Better Glow is a moisturizing, luminizing sheer-to-moderate coverage foundation that creates a natural radiance with subtle aluminising pigments. This is now my new favourite foundation from Clinique I always wear it to work. The formula works as a treatment as well as a foundation to brighten your skin so even when wearing no makeup, your skin is visibly brighter! This foundation really gives you that true "no makeup" makeup look with its super lightweight feel and luminous finish. 

Cover FX's Total Cover Cream Foundation was another impulse purchase for me. I swear someone could say something was average and I would be like yep okay I'm sold I'll take it. The artist in Harvey Nichols actually applied some over her tattoo and it fully covered it so I was amazed. This foundation is definitely better than average! I was slightly hesitant to switch from my beloved liquid foundations to a creamy formula but this long wearing ultra-blendable full coverage foundation gives me the flawless finish I desire. I got my Total Cover in a warmer shade to wear when I have a tan, it is perfect for evenings out. 

So lastly I had to include some other honourable mentions that I absolutely adore - Kat Von D's Lock-It Foundation, Dior's Skin Star Foundation and Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation.