made up

It's a slow news day.
By which I mean, I haven't taken pictures of my Guccis, nor my CKane for Topshops, and I should be doing work, but dammit I want to blog.

Last weekend I spent an obscene amount of money (read: 27 whole british pounds) on Mac liquid (in a pot..?) eyeliner, and a brush with which to apply it.
Lemme tell you this - it is worth it.

So, in essence, this post is designed to tell you how amazing these things are.

But let me put it to you this way: are you one of those people who can't wear eyeliner??

I am.

I whack it on of a morning, and a couple of hours later it's gathered into a REAL ATTRACTIVE crease under my eye which makes me look approx 10 times older than I am. (Which would make me a sprightly 210 years old...)

So I figured I'd go all out.

I can do do Winehouse-esque flicks, recreate mental catwalk looks (if I so choose) and genreall wear eyeliner every day....

Yeah it smudges, but it doesn't delve into the dreaded under-eye crease, and it only smudges after many hours/an undisclosed number of alcomaholic beverages.

Any other words, it is genius.

In light of this amazing make-up finding, I though it fitting to share the other contents of my makeup bag. The must-haves, if you will.

Eyelash curlers. Ridiculously cheap (£1!£1!) concealer which is amazing and better than the mid-priced malark I used to buy. Rimmel matte powder; for those shiny days (everyday.). Mac blusher (which I've had for at least a year and a half, and it's still got plenty of life left in it) + H&M blusher brush.

I live for these things.

Still, I need to find an excellent foundation and mascara. I tend to buy a different one every time I need one (currently using ...some Maybelline one, and Lash Stiletto or something. The mascara is a bit useless, but I refuse to give up on it, because I paid for it dammit. The foundation is alright, actually. Might buy it again.).

So, any recommendations for my oily skin and silly eyes that like to collect products in attractive crevices?

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the jean genie

Jeans are pretty tricky.
Well to me they are...
They're a staple of 99% of people's wardrobes, but the 3 pairs that take up residence in my wardrobe rarely see the light of day.

This, I have decided, is because I see jeans and associate them with lazy dressing. Uninspired. Boring. Normal.
There are, of course, those who pull off jeans and a tee with a air of amazing amounts of cool; but not me.

Although, note, I think this is a girl-only phenomenon - guys have less to work with in terms of options, so they pretty much HAVE to make jeans work for them.

Anyways, what follows is me attempting to look good/not lazy/inspiring/not normal in my jeans. Enjoy.

The grey jeans

peacocks; very olllld

vintage fur coat//thrifted vest//DIY white vest//Mango beaded top//H&M necklace//Topshop shoes

The black jeans

My favourites; and the best fitting. Heyyyyy Topshop.

topshop floral vest//thrifted peach blouse+shoulder cape//select shoes//vintage fur tail, portobello market//blazer; ebay

The blue jeans

High waisted; ebay

This outfit gone down a right storm on chictopia...

shoes&necklace; topshop//top; asos//jacket; vintage

So, my personal rules for jean wearing?

Layer.

Wear heels.

Add a bunch of accessories and accoutrements.

And if all else fails, go red white and blue. It's a classic combination.

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love-lynn

We'll get over the fur issue before we start - the argument comes up every A/W collection time and I pure CBA to go over it now. It's irrelevant.

What is relevant is design, and Todd Lynn's collection included some excellently designed fur. See the first look below for evidence - cropped and strong shouldered, worn over a leather jacket. I can't tell if it's a jacket in itself or part of the leathuurrrr, though.

Also loved the shape of the coats as in look 2 (there were a couple following this pattern) - the funnel neck, short, wide sleeved coat is interesting, non?

Also the rib-like coat, which came together into a woven section at the back - BIG fan. Oo, oo, and the little rib-like leather shoulders in look 5 - separate to the coat? - are also made of awesome...

I'm a fan of the boots, too. Surprise, surprise.

all pics from style.com

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Previous AW10 posts at:
new york roundup
loved: 3.1 philip lim
london roundup

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ell dee en - fashion week roundup

This is, of course, a photomagraph heavy post.
again, again, all pics from style.com

Aquascutum

I dunno; sheer maxi goodness, yeah?

Holly Fulton

A lot of her prints were a bit too busy; a bit overwhelming for my tastes, but this maxi (HELLO, AGAIN!) was spot on. I reckon the line placement (vertical, with curves at the right places) could be really flattering too. I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to try this on...

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Soz, perfect jacket alert.

Louise Goldin

I've always been like "yeahhhhhh she's 'orite, I spose" bout wor Louise, but actually, the armour-ish topstitching/seam details and the shapes here are really rather awesome, and I'm quite a fan of the styling.

Mary Katrantzou

Again, Mary's prints can often be overwhelming for not-really-print-loving moi, but I stopped and gawped at the first pic here - absolutely LOVE it, can can imagine myself wearing it. God knows what's changed... - and I can't help but love the colours in the second look.

Peter Pilotto

You notice I feature two of the...blandest(?) looks here. Subjective, of course. The least printed looks, certainly, but the tuck and drape detail, the flashes of metallic leather, and the subtle addition of print sections here made me happy. I can't decide if the legs are stripped leggings (love.) or some sort of thigh high sandal (LOVELOVE.) but either is good. Carry on.

Burberry

I. NEED. THESE. BOOTS. IN. MY. LIFE.

That is all.

Ok, for realz though. The lace shirt is a) a stunning colour and b) so designed that it could be worn sans bra. Not by me, of course. Those pockets won't cover enough; lord no. And that coat (the last look sent down the runway) is TO DIE, FEWBGOVWEFHOCEWOBGW.

Topshop Unique

Topshop, darhlin', lemme address something: no one looks good with 3 inch long monobrows. I don't care how many other bloggers are absolutely buzzing off them; the styling of your show TOTALLY distracted me from most of the clothes. Yer models shouldn't look feral, yeah? Get it sorted.

That said, I would like to make the following points.

- 'Scuse me, look 1, is that a bumbag?

?!?!?!

Cos I'm kinda loving it. It's like a mini satchel but SLUNG AROUND THE HIPS. How everyone is writing about the eyebrows and not this awesomeness is beyond me. Ohnowaitit'scosthstylingistotesdistracting,GAH.

- Hey, look 2, thigh high socks over shorts/trousers? Is this so? Cos that's kinda interesting, and mebs something I'll try out (but probs never leave the house in)

- Hi, coat in look 3, please get in my wardrobe. Kthanx.

- If those shoes are fleece-y clogs, I do not wish to know. If they are fleece-y boots, they can trudge on over here with that coat, posthaste.

Mark Fast

Mmkay, yeah, there's all this furore, and that I stick by, completely. And yes ALL the clothes could do with a size-up, AND the styling is heinous - srsly, they all look like I did on Tuesday morning they've had a heavy night and could do with a bath and a good sleep, BUT there are some interesting pieces here, and it's nice to see a little departure from the skin tight. Namely the accoutrements - the drape-ish vest top in look 2, the shoulder thing in look 3. And I could very go for the top in look 5 - in the correct size, of course.

Marios Schwab

My favourite, bar one (yeah, any standouts are getting their own posts; heyyyy Todd Lynn).

I'm always a bit of a Schwab fan, though he's not my favourite, his is certainly one show that I look forward to. The unusual necklines interest me, as do the cutouts - very interesting placements, and as such, interesting take on the whole done-to-death cutout malark. Also note the awesome fleece-y coat + awesome neckline, the cropped and curvy hemmed jacket (needwantneed), the corseted drape (look 4), and the asym skirt (look 5). Yes.

Notable absences from the normally wonderful CKane (really not a fan of either your fabric choices nor embroidered florals (MAJOR ACHHHH), sorry dude.) and other folks I look forward to in the form of Jonathan Saunders, and of course, sad for there to be no Luella.

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Previous AW10 posts at:

new york roundup
loved: 3.1 philip lim

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