Update!

Hi guys, apologies for my complete lack of posting since November! This is just an update to let you know that I'll no longer be posting on this blog. I completely fell out of love with blogging about makeup and fashion as I found I was spending far too much money on material things just so that I could try and give you guys some great content to read. You know enough is enough when you don't enjoy what you're blogging about anymore.

I changed my life back at the start of December by saying enough is enough with feeling constantly rubbish, tired and unfit, so I started seriously working out. I started going to the gym more often than usual, eating an entirely clean diet and investing my free time in running, sports and yoga. I have since then lost a lot of weight and fallen in love with blogging about fitness, inspiration, healthy eating and giving daily helpful hints on how to stay active.

Obviously, this is a huge change to what I was blogging about on this site, but if you fancy having a look at my new blog, I would be very grateful! As always, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the change. Thank you for reading!

Sarah

WINTER WARMERS: HAND AND NAIL CARE

I’m not sure whether anyone in the England area has noticed, but it’s freaking freezing outside! I’m talking coat, scarf and even fluffy pom pom hat weather. The nights have drawn in and, most days, it’s now completely dark by 5pm. So today I thought I’d draw up a little list of lifesavers for the not so tropical climates. Starting with hand creams and nail treatments, as it only takes a light breeze and my hands are ruined. These are the current products I am using and loving right now, which includes REN’s Moroccan Rose Otto (which is actually body cream, but I prefer it for my hands), Hand Food (obviously), Per Una’s Exquisite (which is exactly how it smells) and my favourite body & hand lotion, Vanilla Dee-lite from Lush, which I have been using for about 2 years now. As for nails, I have tried quite a variety of nail oils, dips and strong creams to cure my cuticles when they split, but nothing has been quite as able to repair them as Burt’s Bees lemon cuticle rub. It smells a lot like lemon cheesecake and I 100% think they should make a lip balm that’s exactly the same because it would be so delicious. What separates this from the others I’ve tried is that you can just pop it in your handbag and use it on the go, meaning no nail varnish style pots to spill everywhere!

Lastly, I want to share the magic of Marks & Spencers’ hand and nail cream bottles. They’re 50mls of pure hand luxury for when you’re out and about. Again, I just shove one of these in my handbag and I’m good to go for the day. They only hydrate my hands for a few hours, but the texture is thick, they come in a variety of wonderful smells and they’re small enough to take anywhere! But I haven’t even mentioned the best part yet – they’re only £1 and always on 3 for 2!

SOAP AND GLORY SUPERCAT LIQUID EYELINER

SOAP AND GLORY SUPERCAT CARBON BLACK LIQUID EYELINER - £6

I haven’t worn liquid eyeliner since I was 13, and back then, pretty much the only liquid liner products on the high street were long tip paintbrush pens. Eventually I stopped because they weren’t very accurate and the formula made my eyes really sore. But just recently I have been craving a darker line and something that doesn’t smudge too much because of my oily lids.

Now, if you read through my blog, you will see how much of a huge fan girl I am about Soap and Glory products, so it makes sense that the first one I picked up was Supercat. Can I just say, it is GLORIOUS. It glides on really well and doesn’t drag. You can be as precise as you like as the nib is a long, thin felt tip style pen, and as you can see by the demo on my hand, there is a number of different line thicknesses. This is a great first liquid eyeliner starter as it’s just so easy to use and you don’t have to have a confident hand. Also, as I wear contact lenses, my eyes are prone to drying out very quickly, so I always look for eye makeup that isn’t drying or flaky and I can confidently say this doesn’t dry my eyes out at all! If you’re completely unsure of liquid eyeliners, Halloween is on its way, which makes a great excuse to try it out in your Halloween makeup for extra scary and dark eyes!

TARTAN ON A CLOUDY DAY

Nail varnish: Maxfactor in Cappuccino

Jumper: Topshop

Skirt: Daisy Street

Heels: H&M

Yet another week rolls by and there's me thinking we're well on the way to colder weather, or at least an excuse to wear the amazing jumpers and coats I've accumulated. Sadly not. In fact, I woke up at 4.30 this morning to find the temperature gauge at 15 degrees Celsius! Madness! Anyway, I am completely loving the tartan trend at the moment, but I’m not really into the traditional red, so I went for this simple green midi tartan skirt from Daisy Street whom I absolutely adore. Ive also noticed Primark have been very much on top of their game this season when it comes to trends. Ive seen lots of tartan and lots of textured colour block tops, but unfortunately higher price tags too – I guess we can’t have it all! I paired my skirt with these black shoe boots that I went bananas over for so long that I had to cave and get them. They look so plain, but close up they’re a mix of different materials, cut in different heights and brought together nicely with a silver inside zip, perfect for those comfy heel days.

VODAFONE LONDON FASHION WEEKEND SEPTEMBER 2013

First off, sorry for the late post - I’ve been all over the country for the last couple of weeks and when I’ve had any free Internet time, I’ve been doing dissertation work ready for my first deadline on Friday! Anyway, enough of that, lets talk about Fashion Week! It’s been one hell of a ride for London in the last week, accommodating fashionistas from all over the globe, ready to gather at Somerset House for the mouth watering designer collections awaiting our gaze for SS14. But when the lights go dim at the end of the week, Somerset House is revamped and set up yet again for London Fashion Weekend – an open event for the public combining designer discount shopping, runway shows for trend and designer markets and rubbing shoulders with some big names in the fashion industry, which is where this post comes in.

Now I’ve been to quite a few fashion events in my time, both public and closed, but very few public events come close to LFWend. Arriving on Thursday morning for the early opening, I was treated to an art gallery style exhibition of everything from brightly coloured fur and soft bespoke leather woven jackets to House of Harlow's suede sunglasses and the most AMAZING silk prints from Charlotte Taylor. Seriously though, have you seen that banjo print skirt? I had to be pried away from the room! Also, Susie from Style Bubble had been involved in setting the show up by marking her favourite pieces so it was really interesting to go round and she what she would pick. Taking a break from shopping, We were taken in to watch the trend runway show, showcasing A/W 2013 trends that are about to take over the high street. Predicted to take winter by a cold storm were soft pink wool blend coats and jumpers, nature-bound flora, fauna and any other form of biota you can wrangle into a nice warm scarf, gothic Victoriana laced dresses and enough shaped up boxy prints to make M.C. Escher jealous. And if for some reason that wasn’t enough, there are talks on-going throughout the day from the industry’s finest, keeping you up to speed on what it’s like behind the pages of some of the worlds best selling fashion magazines or how the world of fashion shines through from a political standpoint.

By the end of the day, I really didn’t want to leave and even though I’ll be back in February, I kinda wish fashion week was more often! But if you want a really good designer shopping day out with some good fashion talks and a pretty inspiring runway show thrown in, I highly recommend you to attend. What could be better than high discounts and a day of endless style! Did you attend this years LFWend or will you be attending AW14?

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

OPI NAIL LACQUER IN A-TAUPE THE SPACE NEEDLE, SUZI TAKES THE WHEEL & UH-OH ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW

I’m gonna get straight to it and declare that autumn has finally landed here in England. In the last week, we’ve ran head first into stormy weather, autumnal leaves and I had that first delightful mug of hot chocolate when I came in from a wet, less than pleasant bike ride last night – it’s official, tights are back on the OOTD menu. To get things into full autumn swing, I have chosen three of my favourite fall colours from OPI that I shall no doubt be wearing to death – after all, nothing quite says the end of summer than gold, olive, burgundy and metallic! So with summer and its glorious weather out of the way, we have heeled boots, fedoras, pinafores and knee high socks on the horizon to look forward to. Also, I can finally start wearing the ridiculous amount of coats I have accumulated over the years! What are you most looking forward to wearing this season?