Alexander McQueen | Fashion

I am such a massive fan of Alexander McQueen, ever since I was a little girl his fashion pieces always stood out to me. There was always such a dark edge to his collections and of course, his iconic skull scarfs, you know it's McQueen. Alexander McQueen has always been know for his somewhat controversial collections and the legendary runway shows. 

Farfetch recently sent me over a illustration that they had put together just to share with bloggers and I know what you're thinking I'm hardly a fashion blogger but Alexander McQueen is a brand I just adore and wanted to share with you a run down that Farfetch has put together of his most memorable shows. 

I understand that it's a little hard to read the words, but I have added the downloadable version here where you can zoom in and read information behind each iconic show. 

The illustration starts from AW 1995 up until AW 2010 after his death, the shows are just amazing, gorgeously dark but just as stunning. I love all of the collections but I think Alexander McQueen's AW collections are just divine more so than the SS collections. 

My favourite show is easily the It's Only a Game, I mean a chessboard with models as game pieces, how utterly fantastic. The designs were just gorgeous and the show had the most beautiful element of drama in it with every move that was made.

Who is your favourite fashion designer and why?

OPI Coca Cola Red | Review

If you have seen my post last week you will know that I recieved an OPI nail polish in Coca Cola Red in my November Birchbox. 

I absolutely love the colour, it is very red, but I don't think its quite pillar box red, it has orange undertones. I was so excited when I saw this in my box because I've heard OPI is an incredibly good brand and I've only ever worn it with fake nails.

I actually wore this to a wedding recently because I was wearing a black lace dress and I thought this would add a splash of colour. Like with most nail polishes it takes about two thin coats to look good which is fine. 

I have got to be honest now and say that I am pretty disappointed with the way this product lasts.I know that this is a very good brand and have just the most amazing colours, but this chipped really quickly. I always paint my nails at night before when I go to bed because I won't be touching anything that could chip or ruin my nails, so the next morning I though it would be fine. 

As I started my day I noticed a small chip and they literally got worse as the day went on. I wasn't doing anything that would have caused them to chip, I was driving and then got changed and then was just walking around the wedding venue, nothing strenuous. But there were chips on nearly every single nail. My nails aren't the strongest so after a day or two, naturally the nail polish starts to chip which of course is fine, but I just expected the OPI nail polish to last at least one day. 

I've noticed recently red polishes don't last as long as others. I've bought Essie in Bordeaux, a gorgeously deep red/merlot kinda colour and that chipped incredibly quick. However my other Essie polishes such as Fiji, Go Ginza, Mint Candy Apple, etc all last days longer. I also have Barry M Meadow from the Silk range and that lasts fine. Rather odd huh?

I still love OPI polishes and I am going to wear this Coca Cola Red shade again, maybe for a night out as opposed to an all day event. 

What you favourite shade of OPI?

Packing for Amsterdam | Lifestyle

Last week, I got a text from my friend asking me whether I wanted to go to Amsterdam with her this week. I literally haven't been out of the country this year at all, I've been so engrossed in work this year has flown by and I haven't really had any time off. So of course, I said "Hell yes!!"

In fact as you are reading this now, I'm currently in Amsterdam so expect pictures when I get home. 

I've never been before and we're literally just going for 2 nights/3 days but I thought I would share with you what clothes I will be taking with me. 

Now I know what you're thinking, there is no colour in my picture but to be honest, we're heading into winter and I love wearing my black clothes. I'm not too sure what the weather is going to be like but you can't go wrong with chunky jumpers, skinny trousers/leggings and chunky boots. It's casual, cosy but you can also dress it up a little. 

The two jumpers are recent buys from H&M, I literally think that H&M has the best range of AW clothes, they just always have it right. With my jumpers I always get them in the bigger size because I just like that over-sized look. Don't get me wrong, yes it can make you look a little bigger but if you get it right it looks really nice. Boots are from Primark, which I just love!

I will also be taking my brand new faux fur poncho with me that I bought from Accessorize. I really love this new addition, it's surprisingly cosy and literally goes with everything. 

Don't get me wrong, I can't wear it in the rain because I will get soaked through but it's great for when I quickly want to pop up the town and run a few errands. It's perfect for those days where it's bright and sunny but bitterly cold. I'll wear my coat out there and pack this just incase. 

I also thought I would share with you the bag I take literally every time I go on holiday regardless of where I am, this bag has been to Barcelona, Marrakesh, Madrid etc and now it's going to Amsterdam.

Isn't it just so perfect for little trips? 

I love the colour, I love all the little pockets. It has a large zip pocket and then another pocket behind it without a zip but you can just carry so much stuff in it and not have to worry about losing anything. 

I love the colour, it's a deep redish brown so it goes with everything, I can wear it with black clothes because of it's redish tones. I don't have anything else by Nica and I can't even remember how much it cost but it's such good quality it still looks new. I love all the detailing on the outsize of the bag and the gorgeous purple material on the inside. 

I didn't want to show you all the boring bits like toothbrush and pyjamas so I will leave this post here. 

Do you have any accessories that you always have to take away with you, like my Nica bag?

Models Own Sparkler | Review

I receieved this nail polish in one of my Birchboxes a little while ago, I'll be honest I can't remember which one now but I didn't really know what I'd do with it. I don't usually buy glittery polishes but it is full sized so I thought I would use it at some point. 

Recently however, I have found myself adding this nail polish to quite a few manicures, I kinda like the way it adds a touch of sparkle to everything. I really like that the pieces of glitter aren't little circles but instead strands of glittler, how cute! Now as we are heading into Christmas, I love everything glittery of course, tis the season to bloody sparkle.

So I just thought I would share with you my most recent manicures...

Sometimes in life you just have to add your own sparkle.

What are your favourite glitter nail polishes?

November Birchbox | Review

I haven't written a Birchbox review for a little while, because though they have been good I just didn't feel they were amazing enough to write an entire review and I know that some people must get bored of reading Birchbox reviews every month. But then my November Birchbox arrived and I knew I had to share how fab this one is. 

November's theme was "Cosy at Home" loads of lovely little goodies to help us through the winter months and there are some real gems in here. 

Dr.Jart+ V7 Relief Vita Drop

Now I have never heard of this brand before and I just have to tell you how yummy this smells, like unbelievably delicious, it reminds me of lemon sorbet which is like my all time favourite thing. It's just so nice. 

One thing I will say is that from looking at the bottle you can't really tell where it is for but it's a massive size at 100ml so I just assumed it was a body moisturiser. It is not. It is in fact for your face, do not make the mistake of smothering it over your legs as it's not meant for that. Nothing negative happened but I just felt a bit silly, always read the label. 

It is a shame that its for the face, you all know how fussy I am about facial products I have my favourite items and use nothing else. But I may be tempted to try it out, it just smells so nice. 

Drinkwel Capsules

I was a little confused when I first saw these Drinkwel Capsules because I didn't know whether they were just vitamins or what? But actually these little things are supposed to be taken when you drink alcohol. The capsules contain b-vitamins, amino acids, fruit and botanical extracts and are "designed specifically for healthy people who like to responsibly consume alcohol" 

I really love the idea of these, something I've never heard of before but I'm definitely looking forward to trying these out. Also they are vegetarian capsules which is always a fab thing, not that I am a vegetarian but I like things that don't unnecessarily use animal by products. 

Beauty Protector Hair Mask

I have tried Beauty Protector before with Birchbox but it was the shampoo and conditioner. I love the smell of this product, again another sherbert-y sweet smell. We can all tell that I have a sweet tooth because I liken all scents to sweets. 

I recieved two little samples of this hair mask, I will probably have to use them both at once as my hair is kinda long. One thing I will say, I dislike the lack of information on these samples. No ingredients, nor any instructions, no idea how long to leave it on for, I could look online but that's an extra added step before using the product. 

Lord & Berry Bronzer

I have used the Lord & Berry eyeliner pencil sample before with Birchbox but never used anything else by the brand. To be honest this just isn't a brand I see very often or at least isn't one that I notice. That being said, I've heard really great things about this brand and this bronzer. 

It's a cute little sample size about the size of an eyeshadow disc, but I kinda have nowhere to put it so I'll just have to keep it in it's box for now. 

I received the shade Sunny which is ok for my skin, against my arm it looks very dark but that's probably the palest part of my body, I think it will look fine on my face. I will probably use this to contour as opposed to an over all bronzer. It's a matte shade with no hint of shimmer at all, which most people like. 

Weleda Smoothing Facial Oil

This is probably the only product I'm not that keen on, Weleda isn't a brand I've ever used before and unfortunately it is another facial product and it's an oil which is just never going to go on my face. 

I do think it's a great sample size and that you will probably be able to get a lot of use out of it but this one I'm just not going to use it, which is a shame. 

OPI in Coca-Cola Red

A full sized OPI, what a lucky girl I am and a beautiful shade of red. I was super excited to see this in the Birchbox this month. 

It's a bright red but it also has a kind of orange tone to it as well which is really nice if you want those bold statement nails. I'm actually going to write a review on this product so keep a look out for it next week.

Overall a really lovely box, I'm very happy with everything in it. I really like the Drinkwel capsules just because it's something I've never thought of before. I love the sample sizes in this box

What did you get in the November Birchbox?