A whole lot of nice

This is a bit of a compilation post. Rather than feed you lots of mini snippets featuring the items that I am currently loving I thought I would whack them together. I think I cover all bases here - beauty, clothes and perfume.

First up...

Perfume!

Elie Saab. I have longed for you.

I tried a sample of this in Sephora and the white florals bowled me over. Cheesy and true. It was weirdly addictive and I drained the samples. I waited until two perfumes were used up in my collection (aren't I good? :) and then pounced, securing a full-size bottle.

So what makes it special?

Well, nothing really. When I describe it to you, you are going to think: "...and?..." I will even admit that Narcisco Rodriguez is in the same family as this so it's not a totally unique perfume. However, there is something about it that makes me feel comforted when I spray it. It's sweet, warm, feminine and memorable.

The scent itself is strongly orange blossoms and jasmine with an undercurrent of honey which adds a gentle warmth to reduce the sharp shrill of the floral punch.

I know on some people this smells like bad room incense - it's strongly floral so if that's not your cup of tea avoid, avoid, avoid! 

Nails!

This is one of those nail polish combinations I read about for years. All the magazines and generic women's fashion programmes on TV talked about the "Madison Avenue" chic manicure effect created when combining Essie Mademoiselle and Essie Ballet Slippers. It was apparently the epitome of groomed.

I read it so many times and yet I never branched out and made a purchase myself. I didn't even try it out in salons and honestly, that was a mistake - a huge error on my part. Huge!

I picked up the two polishes in Superdrug last week (since when does Superdrug sell Essie? Times are a changin'!), slapped it on with one coat of Ballet Slippers followed by one coat of Mademoiselle and it was a match made in heaven.

It's opaque, creamy, pinky nude. That's the only way to describe it. And more to the point it's the easiest nail combination to apply. Ballet Slippers has potential to be a streaky mess like it's cousin Minimalistic, but Mademoiselle, a soft, sheer pink, mitigates any risk of that. That's why they work together. And there is something about the tone that makes the whites whiter and the nails appear healthier overall.

This is probably similar to the Kate Middleton wedding day manicure - Essie Allue and Bourjois Rose Lounge so that's a valid alternative for you. In fact Rose Lounge probably gets pretty close to this all on it's own - an amazing product!

Peplum tops!

I instagram'd the black version of this top. I love it so much.

The shape, the material, the fit...everything is perfect and it's one of the only Topshop purchases that I have been absolutely thrilled with for months. I will do a separate post on the black one - it's the one that I would recommend out of the two - and I urge you to snap it up if you see it in stores.

Fun shoes!

I don't need to say too much about these shoes do I?

These Melissa/Vivienne Westwood Lady Dragon's have been patiently sitting on a shelf for a couple of years, used more for decoration than footwear - that's what a big plastic statement heart will do for you :)



I have never actually worn them until last week.

I think I felt they were too pretty to wear but it's like hanging onto limited edition makeup just because you are scared to touch it: nothing lasts forever and you need to start using and wearing things you love now! (A little bit of impromptu Hallmark philosophy for you... :)

I did find that my average walking speed slowed down a bit when wearing them but they are, on the whole, comfortable. Honestly, I wouldn't really care if they weren't.

New sunglasses!

On my flight back I found myself buying another pair of sunglasses in duty free. Oops!

I justify this by the fact that there is not a day that goes by when I don't wear sunglasses over here...yeah, that sounds like a reasonable excuse for the ever-growing collection :p

So here are my retro, 70's inspired Tom Ford Leila's.

 
 ...the lenses are so big you can see the whole world reflected in them - or rather just me trying to surreptitiously take a picture. Hello!!

Can't wait to feature them in an OOTD very soon!

Other nice things that deserve a mention include: iced americanos, catching up on Tumblrs, American Apparel chiffon skirts, Nespresso, Splendid tees that I have had for 5 years+ and yet still feel like new, the thought of the Zara sale, air-conditioning, planning summer holidays, sleeping on clean sheets, Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy candles and my daily protein shake with oodles of frozen berries :)

End of ramble


What are your favourite things right now?