A Rainbow of Shoes

Have you been thinking lately about adding a new pair of shoes to your wardrobe? Maybe something bright and cheerful that will go with those new white jeans?

Well, how about trying out one of these rainbow pairs for size? There are so many brightly coloured shoes out there, that you have the entire rainbow to choose from! I've picked some of my favourites to share with you.

This pair of gorgeous red shoes are from Red Herring. They're suedette, have a high heel with concealed platform and a lightly cushioned step; which is perfect for those long days in the office or a night on the tiles! These are a classic shape and much like a couple of pairs I bought from Next a while back. They are currently available from Debenhams, reduced from £36 to £28.80, so there's a nice little saving to be had on these, if you get in quick!

These Jessica Simpson peep-toe platform shoes are high heeled in bright pink. Currently available from House of Fraser for £59, reduced from £85. What a saving! Not so practical for the office maybe but definitely fitting for a girls night out, with your freshly painted peepers on show. Love them.

This brightly coloured pair are from ASOS and are the Parade Platforms, in Orange. They will cost you £40 and with the pink colour block and almond shaped toe, I think these are really fresh and exciting. I love the fact that there are so many shoes available now in multi block colours. These are especially cute and would look stunning with light washed denim skinny jeans. Yum!

These cute double strap beauties are from New Look, have a suedette finish and a slim heel. At just £22.99, these are sure to liven up any spring/summer outfit. I love the double strap on these in particular, as they feel a little vintage. They are also similar to my black and gold triple strap shoes, which I'm wearing again now after forgetting I had them!

These bright yellow shoes are from Nelly.com and have a built in platform and rounded toe. They are £42.95 and only available in a few sizes at the time of writing this, so hurry if you need them in your life! I would love to wear bright yellow shoes. They're be sure to make a statement!

These lime Spike Stud platform shoes are by Ravel and can be bought from Barratts Shoes. I've always had a love for Ravel and these are super lovely, with the 'on trend' spike detail on the heel. These are £70 and come in Coral and Peach too. Um, which ones to choose?!

Now, I'm not entirely convinced by these Neon Green heels from Fashion Union, but when there's a rainbow, there's always green. So, here they are! They also come in neon orange, pink and yellow too - so if neon is your thing, these are the perfect shoe for you and they're just £24. Bargain.

This mint and pink pair of peep-toes are from Timeless at Barratts. They have a gold metallic trim across the sole, are a high heel and £35. Again, I really love that these have the block colour detail on the peep toe and heel; especially as they are my two favourite colours!

I've wanted a blue pair of blue shoes for some time now and these Puffin suede platforms from ASOS would have been the perfect pair, had my feet been a size 7.  But they're not. Damn! If yours are, your luck's in! These gorgeous electric blue platforms are just £24, reduced from £60, so get on to ASOS quick if you love them as much as I do!

The last colour of my shoe rainbow is purple and these purple Kourtney studded platform heels, I think, are my best find. They are just £12 from Boo Hoo (ridiculous right?) and include my favourite trend right now, the spiked heel detail. They are gorgeous! Simply a must have. They will look stunning with a maxi dress, a little black number of skinny jeans.

After all this virtual shoe shopping, I feel the desire to get some bright coloured shoes in my wardrobe asap. How about you?

Iron Fist black sheep peep toe

I've always had a small space in my heart for one off, gimmicky shoes and have looked at Iron Fist shoes in particular, from afar, for some time. And today, I came across these little beauties! 

I was actually researching for a little post I'm working on for citrus shoes (watch out for that!) and came across these Black Sheep Peep Toe High Heel Platform Shoes and stopped in my tracks.

The cute sheep, flowers and skull cartoons, together with the orange polka dot bow across the peep toe, are simply too much. I'm in love!

How can you not love the kitsch v's cute element to these shoes. They would be the cutest addition to your summer skinnies. 

This particular style is available from So You Shoes for £70 and other Iron Fist styles are available from a lot of on-line stores. There are flats, heels and boots, so check them out! You might find your new love too!

Vintage fair lovliness

I love looking around Vintage and Retro shops and stalls and seeing what little previously loved joys there are to be found and re-loved. The 'All Things Vintage & Lovely' fair in Plymouth yesterday didn't let me down.

The entrance hall, mezzanine and main hall were all packed to the brim with Vintage clothing, accessories and interior ideas. I was spoilt for choice! With the amazing Miss Cherry Bomb providing the live music, I was transported to all things 'Vintage & Lovely'.

Some of the highlights for me were the handmade cake stands and the Aloha Lounge Designs stalls. 

Handmade cake stands

I've always loved and wanted my own cake stand and have seen a couple recently at Wyevale Garden Centre (randomly), which caught my eye. I didn't buy one and am quite glad now, as after I've seen the handmade cake stands at the fair yesterday, I know now that I won't be buying anything other than a unique stand made from vintage china.

The gorgeous cake stands on display yesterday were on average about £25 for three tiers and in most cases were made from different sets of crockery, from different periods. They were truly beautiful. 

You can get similar designs from a company called Cake Stand Heaven and whether this was the company at the show, I'm not sure. These cake stands have even previously featured on Master Chef!

I really love the fact that the plates selected are not necessarily from the same set or era, creating a truly unique piece. I HAVE to get one of these in my house very soon. I think I'm just going to find it hard to pick a favourite!

Aloha Lounge Designs

The items for sale on the Aloha Lounge stall were really cute. There was rings, necklaces, bracelets, purses and much, much more. I fell in love with this cute ring and HAD to buy it.

It looks as if it's made from an old button and I love it. Kinda goes really nicely with my mint nails at the moment too! This was just one of the many designs that I liked and for just £3, was a gorgeous little find.

If you love cute purses, you have to check the Aloha Lounge Designs ones out, there are so many lovely, unique designs available, you won't know which one to go for!

And the cute range of jewellery is really special too.

The next Vintage Fair arranged by Miss Ivy Events is the Super Vintage Fair on 15th/16th June at The Torbay Hotel. For just a £1.50 entrance fee, you should check it out! You never know what you might find!

Owl necklaces & pendants

I have a lot of necklaces, it's true but I think the love for them has just recently been re-ignited. I didn't wear necklaces or earrings for quite a while after I had my daughter Grace (she just wanted to tug on them constantly), however recently with some of the shapes and designs I have seen available, I'm back to browsing, buying and wearing them again.

I have especially always thought that owl necklaces & pendants are really lovely and have two so far of my own. This first of my owl necklaces is really cute, on a short gold chain, with black stone eyes and diamanté detailing for the feathers. 

This lovely little necklace has a good length extender chain and really sparkles in the light. It looks adorable with most outfits but especially with a little black number, adding real character to your neckline. This one was originally from ASOS and although I don't think this one is available any more, they do have a good range of others.

The second of my owl necklaces is this one, which I bought from Dorothy Perkins. This floral owl is on a long cold chain and has a floral belly and diamanté eyes. I love wearing this one with a swing vest, blazer and skinny jeans. It really brightens up any outfit and is sizeable  which I've not seen in most owl necklaces & pendants. 

I don't think you can get this owl in Dorothy Perkins any more, but they do sell it in Debenhams and with a 20% sale at the moment, it's a real steal at just £9.60.

I remember my grandmother having an owl necklace when I was a child. I remember that is head and body were hinged and moved separately to each other as if it were real! You can now buy owl necklaces just like that again and whilst on the hunt for the next feathered creature to add to my collection, I've put together a selection of just a few of the options out there.

1. Vintage Hinged Owl Necklace, £6 from Babi Online
2. Bronze Owl Necklace, £6 from Vintage Princess Jewellery
3. William Wooden Owl Long Pendant, £12 from Accessorize
4. Skye Pearl Owl Necklace, £14 from Very
5. Louche Owl Necklace, £8 from Joy the Store

6. Silver Tone Owl Pendant Long Necklace, £8 from River Island
7. Silver Owl Necklace, £26 from Oliver Bonas
8. Owl Pendant Necklace, £14.99 from Mango
9. Gold and Blue Stone Owl Necklace, £5.99 from New Look
10. Owl Ditsy Necklace, £6 from ASOS

I have also found this adorable Owl Cuff, which I am in love with.

At just £10, this Danielle Owl Cuff from Accessorize is truly beautiful. It's gold toned with diamanté detailing and would look gorgeous in the flesh I have no doubt.

Maybe I've just discovered that it's not just owl necklaces that I love but owl jewellery in general. Uh oh, this could get dangerous!

All things vintage & lovely fair

I'm really excited about the 'All Things Vintage & Lovely' fair at The Guildhall in Plymouth tomorrow! I absolutely love vintage fashion, furniture and interiors and am dying to see what treats there are in store. 

There will be over 70 vintage, retro and handmade gift stalls, together with vintage fashion, shabby chic furniture & homeware, furniture painting demos, live music and much more. I'm especially looking forward to having a photo taken in the Vintage Photo-booth!

GOSH Intense Eye Liner Pen Review

My liquid eye liner recently ran out, so I went on the hunt for a replacement and I thought I'd try the GOSH Intense Eye Liner Pen in black.

The eye liner comes in six colours; Black, Grey, Brown, Dark Green, Purple and Blue. 

The packaging of the liner is sleek and easy to hold and the nib of the liner is 'duo-tip', which means you can take it out and reverse it. Each end of the nib varies slightly in thickness, so you can switch it up depending on the look you want to achieve.

I usually use a liner with a brush and pot, but since trying this one, I think I'm converted to pens. It's so easy to apply. Because the nib is so pointed and felt tip like, it is firm enough so that you can control it's every stroke but also flexible enough that it bends right back to create the thickness of line you wish.

You can get a really fine/thin line using the very tip and the harder you press, the thicker the line gets, as the nib bends - perfect for those cat eye flicks.

As you can see, I was able to get a fine line from the inner corner out to about the middle and then a thicker line out into a flick. The eye-shadow colours I'm wearing are from the MUA Undress Me Too eye palette.

The product is matt, dries really quickly and doesn't budge, which means you can finish the rest of your makeup without fear of smudges. Fantastic!

I'm really pleased with this product. I love how you have so much control and versatility with it. It's available from Superdrug, £6.49.

Let me know if you use one of the other shades.

http://test.skimlinks.com 

Jelly cage bags are back!

I was quite possibly the most excited today than I've been in ages, about something that's plastic and ever so slightly Granny chic. Oh yes, the 80/90's jelly cage bag is back! When I caught a glimpse of the pink and blue versions of the throw back classic on New Looks website this morning, I let out a small 'yip' of excitement!

May I introduce to you the Coolway Blue & Pink Layca Cage Bags..... 

I never thought that having other people see what was in your handbag could be fashionable but I'm really loving these slightly kitsch bags of beauty; especially as they remind me of the two, yes two, I had as a child! 

I am proud to say I had one very similar to the Coolway cage bags, in white and I also had a mint green cross body bag, with a twisting close lock. I remember it clearly. Nearly all my friends growing up in the 80's and 90's had jelly shoes but I was the only one with a jelly bag. I was so cool!

So, I think I'll be hot footing it to down New Look this Spring/Summer for one of these; the only tough decision I'll have is which colour to pick! Oh and worrying about what I carry in my handbag!

Tips for applying flawless foundation

I found this really lovely graphic on Pinterest about how to correctly apply your foundation and just had to share it. The stages are obvious when you see them in writing, but if you're anything like me, you tend to skip one or two of them to speed up the process but actually if we all followed these '10 commandments', we'd all look even more beautiful!

1. Start with hydrated skin

You're probably thinking this is really obvious stuff and you'd be right but this step is so important. Dehydrated skin can tend to be flaky, tight and sore and makeup just isn't going to look it's best having this as a base.

2. Know your skin type

Again, nothing new hear but equally as important. You want to find a formula that will compliment your skin, not work against it. My skin is pretty 'normal' but even I have bought products before that have slid off after just an hour or so, so obviously designed for my dry skin types. I've made mistakes in the past and since have always looked at the labels.

3. Get Matchy-Matchy

This is where I think most of us have been guilty of going wrong before. Trying the shades on the back of your hand in the middle of a fluorescent lit shop, just isn't going to work! Yes we might all feel a bit stupid rubbing a small amount of a tester onto our jawline and walking to the window, but believe me, it will save you money and extra trips to buy replacements.

4. Change with the seasons

I know all about step 4, as recently I actually had to change down the shade of my foundation for a third time and I was horrified (it's been that long since I've seen any sun). But, it was necessary and my complexion looks so much better for it. Even if I am now Ivory!

5. Prime for a perfect complexion

I have a primer palette from Fräulein which I find helps me out when I most need it. It's definitely worth investing in a primer that can ale any skin condition that you have.

6. Apply concealer

This stage can really help to even out your complexion, without the need to go heavy on your foundation. When I'm feeling particularly tired, I tend to use a little light illuminating concealer under my eyes. It works a treat!

7. Add foundation

I use a GOSH foundation brush to apply my foundation. The nylon hairs mean that the foundation isn't absorbed into the brush. The best technique I've found is to start from the middle and work the foundation outwards and upwards. Did you know that the hairs on your forehead grow upwards?!

8. Learn to contour

Contouring in this way, much like I mentioned in my MUA haul post, really does help to frame the face. Follow the 3 shape and reverse for the other side. Try it!

9. Believe in bronzer

I really love Hoola bronzer from Benefit. It's still the no. 1 best selling bronzer in the UK and has no sparkle or shine, just bronze. Fantastic! 

10. Lights, camera, action!

I always add a touch of highlighter on my brow bone, under my eyebrow, it really helps to open the eye.

I hope you found this useful. Try these 10 steps and let me know how you get on!

MUA nail Constellations Review

Together with my MUA makeup haul, I also purchased two products from the MUA nail range. I bought Nail Constellations in Gemini, which I will review today and Fur Effect Nails in Fluffy Puff, which I will review separately.

So today I tried out the Nail Constellations and was not disappointed.

Gemini is one of the five Constellations (colours) in the range. The other Constellations are Scorpio, Pisces, Leo and Libra. Inside each pot are thousands of tiny reflective beads, that glisten in the light. 

Preparing the nail & beads
So, because my nails are Shellac and already a mint colour, I didn't need to coat my nail in a coloured varnish, instead I just used a thick layer of clear varnish, to fuse the Constellations. As soon as I had applied the varnish, I poured a number of the beads into a bowl.

I thought this would be the easiest way to apply the beads. The MUA site states that the funnel enables you to pour them onto your nail but I felt this way was probably better for keeping the beads contained as they bounce off the nail! I didn't want to lose a loud on the floor and this way they all stayed in the bowl for reuse.

Applying the beads
Next, I dabbed my finger into the beads to coat them fully. Once I had a good amount of beads stuck to the nail, I gently brushed away some of the ones sitting on top, to keep the nail as flat as possible. 

I 're-dabbed' a couple of times to ensure the sides and tip of the nail were fully covered. 

Once I was happy with the coverage of the beads, I gently patted the beads down onto the nail, to ensure they were fully stuck to the varnish and again, to help enable the nail to look as level as possible.

Then when I was happy with the look, I repeated on the other hand and left to dry. They dried pretty quickly and I was really pleased with the effect!

Getting beads back into the bottle
Then I needed to put the beads left in the bowl back into the bottle and I found the easiest way to do this was to scoop the beads into the funnel and then pour back into the bottle.

After a few hours of wear, I noticed that a few beads had fallen off, so I dabbed some clear varnish onto the bald spots, dropped a few more beads onto those spots and patted down to secure. Now they are perfect!

I really enjoyed using these and look forward to trying the other colours. Let me know if you've tried them and which colour you chose.

Watch out for my review on the Fur Effect Nails in Fluffy Puff, which I'll be trying soon!