Thought of the Day - 19th February 2012

A mish-mash of thoughts that i care to share.

Vogue Festival 

Its been keep on the DL for a long time, but Vogue has finally realised its line-up and tickets for its very own festival, which will take place in London 20th/21st of April. Stylishly random springs to mind, yet praise must be given to Vouge for its ever evolving fashion forwardness - these are however the ladies who bought us Fashions Night Out, but alas, a festival? Sans rowdy music, neon facepaint and pints of beer, this fashionable date boats lectures and activities with the from the likes of Tom Ford, Christopher Baily, Natalia Vodianova, DVF and bizarrelyNigella Lawson, with more to be announced. With many of the days events being kept tight-lipped, the two-day festival will set you back a rather fierce sum of £280, and sadly no that doesn't include a bespoke Tom Ford tent. Another reel of tickets will be released nearer the time for certain lectures, which i'll be interested to see what/who will be attending. But in honestly, sign your self up to the V&A mailing list - they have fabulous talks and events with leading fashion icons for a pittance! 

Mulberry Del Ray

I need not express my love for Mulberry, as i'm quite your already well aware, but recently i have been major fangirling over Lana Del Ray, the new gangsta Nancy Sinatra, pout an all. I was delighted to see that they have created a bag in her honour, as like me you may have sat in your very fashionable pjs and watched the live screening of their A/W 12 collection in the comfort of your very own, er, bed, to catch a glimpse. I cannot wait to spy this in store, should i start up a 'Mulbs Del Ray' fund now? And more importantly when are Mulberry gonna get on it and release the 'Sandiford'?

Too Fashionably Cool For School?

The publishing giant that is Conde Nast, the geniuses who bring us the likes of Vogue and GQ, have finally announced their prospectus and details regarding their very own fashion college. Forget that bog-standard BA Hons, so outdated, for its all about the creatively cool Vogue Fashion Certificate, no joke. A year long course, costing just under £20k, you will learn and understand the fundamentals of fashion, from fashion journalism, pr & marketing, design, styling to business, you name it - it's there. Down right odd or the career path from heaven - i'm still unsure and still trying to fathom my head around it. A Vogue school? Sounds far too American. Although, the summer courses may be worth a ponder.

Beauty Box 

After taking inspiration from one of my ultimate daily blog reads The Sunday Girl, penned by the lovely Adrienne, of whom sucks me entirely with her infamous 'Sunday Shopping the Stash' posts. I have since decided to uncover those lost gems in my make-up box that i like, but not love enough to hit my make-up bag. Every week i have decided to switch a few products in, and use them daily, to give the love and attention they deserve, instead of being left to gather dust (and to stop me splurging on this Nars set.) I may even push the boat out and pop weekly reviews up.

Harper 7

And just because.. i like to think this is what pose Victoria really wants to do secretly, Harper is her daughter through and through! 

What are your thoughts? Will you be buying tickets for Vogue fest or even enrolling into Vogue college, is Vogue taking over the world even? Am i the only one i thinking, Mullbery Del Ray was a bit out of the blue? And do you have that stash of make-up that's just meh, you should really use, but meh?

Currently Coveting.

After pronouncing my ongoing frugalness in my last few posts, there are typically a number of items i'm seriously coveting. Not throw away pieces, but bits and bobs i've been hunting out for a while now - always the way? 

Trench Coat - Topshop (£68.00) - I love a well tailored trenchcoat for S/S, my last trench was Topshop and lasted me many a moon. This ones missing a certain edge or va va boom, tempted to jazz up the buttons on a trip to John Lewis haberdashery. Or stalk Zara till they have something similar.

Skinny Trousers - H&M (£14.99) - Both the beige and navy pairs of skinny trousers are calling my name. Unlike jeans that tend to fade or go stiff, or chino material that crease, these slick skinny offerings from H&M are not only a bargain but a serious investment for the summer. 

Cream Shirt - H&M (£7.99) - Cream shirt, with beautiful gold buttons for a steal of under eight quid, say no more!

Larger Than Life Lipgloss in Place Venedome - Nars (£19.00) - I've patiently been waiting for these new Nars line to hit the UK, especially since seeing this beaut of a shade on Ingrid. Perfect summer raspberry, for a girl whose not keen on a red lip.

Wicked Attraction Set - Nars (£35.00) - My love affair with Nars ever continues, when i cast my eye upon this set i was amazed by the fantastic value! Both Laguna bronzer, Orgasm blush, full size eyeshadow and a few minis, i'm smitten.

Clarins Facial Tanner & Xen Tan Deep Tan - Feel Unique (£15.30) (£17.99) - I've never been much of a fake tanner, but with a quick dabble with Xen Tan in the summer i was amazed at its application, longevity and olive glow. My longing for feeling tan and some much loved freckles are a long way off yet, though these products are very tempting.

Lace Cardigan - Topshop (£40.00) - Completely overpriced, completely sold.

Any items you think i should definitely, certainly, must, without a doubt buy? Go on enable me! 

Oh! Darling.

Clarisonic Mia - John Lewis (£120.00) 

Ever in the quest of perfect skin, just before Christmas i was horrendously naughty and splurged on a Clarisonic. A Clarrrawhat asked my bemused father? A Clarisonic is essentially six to eight electric toothbrushes stuck together for your face. And a pricey one at that. With our American cousins going crazy for them across the pond, highly recommended by their snazzy dermatologists, i had to be in the know - and more importantly i had to have one.

Being rather on the pricey side at £120, the Clarisonic Mia essentially deep cleans your face, albeit a bit like a car wash or fancy flannel. Its brush head vibrates a rather impressive 300 movements a second, gently but throughly removing up to six times more make-up than it would just normally washing with your fingers. Impressive much? It also helps to improve the appearance of the skin, becoming smoother and softer, and more importantly spot free. 

After a lot of ummming and ahhhing, lots of review reading and weighting up pros and cons to uninterested brother, i bit the bullet and ordered one. I purchased mine through a US seller on Amazon for a bargainous £80, alas he has clearly realised what a fool he was and now upped the price unfortunately. However, they are available readily on the high-street (check out ASOS with student discount!) from John Lewis to Space NK. It finally made its way into my beloved arms and i set about using it,  after its first usage i instantly felt my skin was instantly softer and smoother, a result i had been unable to achieve with any other exfoliator. Another benefit i realised was how my skin suddenly drunk up any moisturiser, it absorbed better and allowed better results from any products i applied. 

However, wiping  off the dead skin cells and deep cleaning my skin started the purging stage. A polite way of saying 'getting bloody spotty', the grime and gunk was currently working its way out of the skin. Lovely to know, but horrendous to see. A few weeks on i'm still battling with a few blighters, nothing too serious to ever let my regret my purchase. For the way my skin feels now, i can tell the results will only get better in the future. I have rapidly seen the deep clogged pores looking more faded and small pimples under the skin have vanished. 

I found out the best way to use my Clarisonic is to pre-wash my make-up off with any face wash, then pump a pea size amount of my normal cleanser (Clinique Foaming Wash-off Cleanser) on to the brush head and work around my face. The cleanser lathers up well, while the Clarisonic struts it's stuff for the timed minute, then automatically switches off. I tend to concentrate the brush head around more troublesome areas such as my nose, chine and forehead rather than my cheeks of which are pretty clear. Another big decider in the buying decision is that the Clarisonic is completely waterproof, meaning i can use it within the shower without the worry of electrocuting oneself.

Overall i'm really pleased with my purchase and i do really see what all the fuss is about. I can't sing from the roof tops and shout 'i'm spot free people!' Because honestly its to early to see, and i'm not that spotty to start with really, and we all get the pesky tail tale signs of that time of the month. What i am delighted to see, is a bright and incredibly soft complextion that makes make-up application a dream! I dare say its also rather nice to know that every single spec of make-up is being completely, and utterly jet washed off my mug every night. The perfect lazy girl's tool to face washing.

Have you thought of purchasing a Clarisonic, i say its a DO! Or do you already own one?

Just a quick added note to fellow bloggers, Sarah and i are organising a Blogger lunch in London during the Summer, if you fancy popping along please see here. Tell others too please! 

Born to die

Despite owning a rather sizeable stash of eyeshadow, when push comes to the shove i'm pretty clueless when it comes to application. Since purchasing both Urban Decay Palettes (although the second one has major gone unloved - due to guilt of not nearly using the first as much as i should have) i've definitely become more adventurous in using more than one shade, hello definition in the crease! How very technical of me. However most of the time i result to a quick wash of colour on the lids, add a little liner into the mix, with lashings of mascara and we are good to go. One shade i've come to religiously love and use is the infamous cult beauty buy: Kitten by Stila, and its golden sister Oasis.

Oasis & Kitten - Boots (£12.00 each)

Stila, the all American beauty brand once graced our English shores a few years backs where it was quite a hit, but since fading out it came back with a vengeance just before Christmas. I pondered into Boots in awe of the very famous Kitten, to see quite frankly what the fuss was all about. Constantly raved about, this shimmery champagne shade is a winner with all skin tones, with a hint of warm pink its  become that standard neutral shade, worthy of a spot in any girl's make up bag. I accidentally purchased Oasis, how similar do they look in pan format? On closer inspection at home i realised that Oasis is a beautiful gold toned shadow. Both shadows are incredibly pigmented, its texture is pretty much unbeatable. I find Mac eyeshadows to be quite hard in the pan, Urban Dacay's shadows are soft and easy to pick up, yet with bad fall out. Stila, however is that of butter, so soft to the touch and one swipe of a brush it easily picks up enough product.

I definitely recommend giving these a swatch when your next in Boots, i cannot wait to try out the Stila brand further!

Have you ever tried Stila, any reccs?