Holiday haul!

Q: What's inside the Celine shopping bag?

A: A Phantom style bag in a ridiculously bright yellow colour that confronted me in the Ngee Ann City branch of Celine, rising like excalibur on a raised column and demanding attention.

I have been craving a yellow back for about a year. I saw a girl at an event with a yellow Mini Luggage and thought it was so beautiful. Bright Celine's are however incredibly hard to come by - in Dubai any luggage or phantom bag has an 8 month waiting list - so when I saw this I acted fast. Or rather the other half did as this was a beautiful gift :)

It's not a shade for everyone and not for everyday. That yellow shade (aptly called Sun) needs to be offset by white/blue/green clothes and is likely to clash in a bad way with anything else. The Phantom shape is full of drama with it's floppy sides that extend out - and I always wear them out - so when coupled with the bright colour it's a slightly attention seeking bag. But I am looking forward to wearing it this summer....I am thinking white dresses, white pencil skirts, white jeans....basically I am thinking a lot of white clothes and a bright, bright bag! :)

Here's an outfit of the day for you featuring said bag. Ideally the black blazer would have been either:

a) Not worn (and it wasn't all day but was when I started out for the day from the hotel); and
b) If worn, in navy and not black.

Blame my last minute packing.... :)

The skirt, by the way, is new. It's from Topshop and a really pretty green toned jacquard print that also comes lined for added comfort. It's a bit too short and flared (my skater style dress comment from the other day rings in my ears here!) but it was so humid that I didn't really care. Ideally I would have loved to wear this with, boots, tights, a sheer shirt and long black jacket....but I didn't so here we are :)

 

 

Blazer: Topshop
Shirt: Zara
Skirt: Topshop - Link!
Sunglasses: House of Harlow
Bag: Celine

This was obviously my main souvenir but I did hit Sephora (once) and Watsons (many times) to get a few bits and pieces. These are pictured below and the stars of the show are definitely the lashes (LOVE) and the SK-II Essence which promises the earth at a high price. According to the sales assistant it "gets rid of spots, evens skin tone, moisturises, everything...". Ok... I am very happy to test it out and see if it does "everything"!




My favourite purchases however are some tacky animal "lamps" to add to my lighting table. £2 a pop.

Seriously, I love these :)



Hope you have had a great week and see you all soon!

xx

Singapore!

As you will tell from the hair frizz I am in Singapore!

This is officially day 2. Let us not talk about day 1 - despite my willingness to get out and about I opted to have a "quick nap" and woke up at midnight. Whoops!

Day 2 has been determined "Shopping Day". A day is not enough time - the amount of luxury malls and tempting opportunities is mind-blowing - but I have to cut myself off and move on to focussing on proper sightseeing for the rest of the trip.

So far there has been one splurge and some shopping in Watsons for makeup and eyelashes. There is a part 2 visit to Watsons scheduled for later this afternoon as I am considering Rachel K CC cream (good idea?) and perhaps a side trip to get SK-11 Facial Treatment Essence. Back in my YouTube days I remember someone writing a comment and telling me about how incredible this was and as I walked up and down Orchard Road today I kept seeing the brand everywhere. Let's take it as a sign that the shopping Gods are trying to transmit...spoken like a true Rebecca Bloomword.

In terms of what I wore, it was the standard ensemble - dress and blazer. The dress is very pretty and new from Topshop. It's a blush coloured paisley lace print with a corset style top half and thin straps. I like the shape - not a flared skater skirt style but more of a straighter line. Some might not like that but skater style dresses sometimes make me feel self-conscious - in a "I'm 32 but dressing like I am 15" kind of way. Ah I wish...

Bra-wise, and I must mention this because it's important, I am wearing my strapless Wonderbra. This is an incredible bra and one that I would recommend for all sizes. It boosts rather than flattens, and unusually for a strapless, stays up. I feel like I have mentioned this before but its probably more a case of the fact that I rave about it to my friends.

Onto the pics...I am a bit pale but I am avoiding fake tan these days and trying to embrace my natural colour. *trying*

Oh, and a sneak preview of the splurge item. Excuse the cheese factor of this picture.

This was a very welcome belated anniversary gift :)




Dress: Topshop - Link!
Blazer: Topshop - Link!
Sunglasses: House of Harlow (LOVE these...fashion sunglasses that actually shade the eyes...unlike my Prada's)
Bag: Celine
Bra: Wonderbra :) - Link!

Thank you so much for entering the nail polish giveaway. A few of you couldn't enter via the blog but sent emails instead so I will add you to the list of the names and then sort out the random.org selector. I will try and do this in the next day or so and announce details of the winners here!

Take care everyone! :)

Retail Confessions #2

Hello everyone!

I hope you are having a great weekend :) It's been a mix of the usual for me - Roger/Pizza Express/IKEA/Sleeping/Cleaning/Working. I can't complain though as I am off on holiday to Singapore on Thursday and so excited. I am even being organised with my packing and setting things aside now - rather than the last minute stuff-and-go that I seem to perform hours before a flight.

Before you see lots of sweaty-humid-hair-outfit-of-the-days from my holiday I thought it was about time that I did a Retail Confessions post - this acts as a round up of some my latest purchases. As always there is a story behind each purchase so brace yourself for some rambles :)

The Sunglasses

I do have a sunglasses problem. This is true. The picture below is not even the whole story - I have a few pairs waiting for me in the UK - but I feel justified buying them here as they really are something you wear every single day.

Yeah, yeah.

So the latest pair was inspired by Lisa from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. No lie - it really was. I saw her wearing a pair of brightly tinted aviators in a recent episode and loved the impact that they made. Ray-Ban came out with the pair below as well as a pretty warm/golden shade. Both are amazing but I plumped for the blue/green as I thought it was more unusual.



I wear a lot of neutral clothes so thought that this was one way to add much needed interest.

Link!

The Blazers

I saw the first one on Topshop's Instagram and became officially obsessed. I got it in the sale and have looked at it every day since. Somehow though I don't seem to have the balls to wear it outside. I am mesmerised by it but at the same time scared of it's impact. I sort of value it as a bit of a work of art...



Link!

The next one is a bit more conventional and from Primark. It's a white tweet laced with silver thread - and I wore it today.




I think Primark did well with this one. Other than a slightly scratchiness at the neck if feels like a high quality jacket - Zara-esque - and I think it cost about £16. It's so easy to wear and brings even the slobbiest of outfits together. Hurrah!

The Bracelet

This is a bit of a cheat as I don't actually have my hands on this bracelet yet - but I got the shipping notification and it's only days away from being on my wrist.



I saw this on my friend, Teresa, and loved the stone/rose gold chain hardware combination. It's chunky and firmly on the statement side of things but yet still unbelievably pretty. I cannot wait to wear it. I also managed to pick up something else from the etsy store...the seller has some fantastic pieces.

Link!

And makeup?

I have held back on the makeup - I did buy some MAC items at duty free a few weeks back but honestly there is nothing to write home about.

I thought that maybe Singapore would offer some serious temptation so if there is anything that you think I MUST pick up let me know! I'm excited! :) 

On my nails: Zoya Gilty Pleasures and a giveaway!

Here's how it goes with nail effects polishes. I put them on, spend two minutes examining my nails closely and then reach for the acetone as the immediate next step.

They somehow never "work" on my little talons and never feel like "me". Of course that doesn't stop me ogling them online and reading/watching excitedly as the next trend is revealed. Velvet/Leather/Caviar - I have considered them all!

I got sent this Zoya Gilty Pleasures set before Christmas and theme-wise it's the perfect festive effect. It's a shame then that my slackness leads me to blog about this only now, when we are all festive-d out and ready for a fresh start. Still, better late than never!

This is of course a set featuring the real gold top coat - tiny little flakes suspended in clear shiny polish that when applied make your nails look like speckled eggs. I applied it yesterday and a day later it's still on my nails.

 

It irks me that the flakes don't come out evenly and that you end up with a generous blob in one corner and a sparse effect in the other, but somehow it's still there. It looks awesome under artificial lights,  interesting in daylight and reminds me of a night sky in dull evening lights. Okay so perhaps it's not conservative office appropriate but that's what remover is for.

The set I got came with an amazing black (Raven) and an opaque white (Purity). These are shades that I always wear - with or without a top coat - and the quality is fantastic. I don't own a lot of Zoya polishes - Essie and OPI always feel more accessible I guess - but maybe that should change?

The Giveaway!

Now the good news is that the PR company gave me three sets to giveaway to my readers. These typically retail for $45 so it's a nice little boost for the start of 2013.

I am going to make this easy. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what your favourite nail effect is. If I was going to enter this I would have to say glitter....I am not sure I could ever resist a densely packed glitter nail.

Leave your comment by the 21st of January (let's say.....5pm UAE time) and you will be in with a chance! As always, open to everyone wherever you are!

See more about the set here - Link!

Thanks everyone! 

Sale Fail

I haven't bought anything in the sales. I might have gone in to a shop with the intention to search the racks for bargains but I always, always get lured into the "New Arrivals" section. I rarely seem to go shopping when I am feeling patient so the promise of shiny fresh pieces, presented in an organised way is just too tempting.

Several purchases have been made over the last 2 weeks. Let's start with the top below - a blatant Zadig & Voltaire rip-off by Zara. The deep-cut neckline and gauzey layer takes away from the perceived harshness of a big skull on my chest. I love it and slobbed about in it all weekend - all I needed was a pair of jeans and some trainers. Lovely, lazy days...

Top: Zara - Link!
Jeans: Topshop
Trainers (or sneakers if you prefer): Miu Miu - I LOVE these....even if they leave little glitter particles all over my floor and rub the back of my left heel....I don't care.
Bag: Celine
Sunglasses: House of Harlow

Shortly after these pictures were taken I went to Forever 21 and had massive non-sale success.  I haven't had a lot of luck in there lately but the stock was packed with so many amazing work-style blouses that looked suspiciously like last season Zara. Everyone copies everyone...

For a sneak preview I got this shirt in black and white - Link! - and this one - Link! The quality seems good and the studded high-low top in white will be worn to work tomorrow - I am not ashamed to admit that I am excited about this and it will probably amount to the highlight of my day! :)

One other thing I have been doing this weekend is organising the makeup. Gathering all my foundations in one place convinced me that I need to commence some sort of mini Project 10 Pan...I at least need to get rid of some of this stuff before I commit to buying the likes of that Chanel CC cream I like the sound of.

On current rotation then is a combination of Estee Lauder's Double Wear (in Pebble...far too dark on it's own) and Illamasqua Skin Base (in 10 and just about right).



I mix them together, something I love doing with foundations because the strengths of each product seem to come through. In this case you get a long-lasting, full coverage face. The only way I have found to keep it looking natural is to prime with something seriously emollient first - enter Embryolisse.

I found out soon after I bought this that it's not an efficient moisturiser for the skin but it's perfect for creating a dewy effect - even with something as polyfilla-esque as Double Wear. After a few days of this combination I have to say that I love it. It's a much heavier coverage than I am used to but every now and then I love to wear a full face of slap :)

So that's my update....have you had any sales success?

First post of 2013...

Well happy new year everyone!

How was your New Year's? Mine was low key but lovely - watching the fireworks on the beach with thousands of other people. Makes a change from my usual "slumped in front of Jools Holland's show with wine in hand" tradition.

 

I also want to do something that Gemma made a video about - essentially cherishing those good memories of the year and creating a visual scrapbook. It's a nice, sentimental move and I really hope I have some good experiences I can add to it.

Still some things never change and yesterday I popped out for dunch (dinner/lunch) at the marina in the same old Topshop jeans that you have seen many times and of course, a blazer :)

This one is from River Island and although I can't find a link for it I know that it is no doubt languishing in some sales pile somewhere. The silver tweed effect definitely reeks of "party season".

Blazer: River Island
Blouse: ASOS (one of my favourite tops of 2011!) - Link!
Jeans: Topshop - Link!
Bag: Alexander Wang - Link!
Sunglasses: Celine

Here's to a great year for all of us :)

What are your resolutions/goals for 2013?