Fashion | Phase Eight & London Fashion Week

Hey guys,

Although I'm not a regular shopper at Phase Eight (damn you unfriendly student prices!) I do often have a peek in store and on their website. Plus their sales are amazing - I picked up a tan/orange leather satchel type bag from them a few years ago at something like 75% off!

Anyway, London Fashion Week starts this Friday and I decided to put this outfit together, featuring Phase Eight that would be perfect for the FROW.

For this look I chose the Jessica Jumpsuit (link) which I particularly liked because of the neckline. I paired it with simple nude accessories including the Suzie Patent Leather Court Shoes (link) and the Suzie Patent Leather Clutch Bag (link). I've finished the look off with the Isabelle earrings (link).

I then added in how I would style my hair, going for a simple updo to show the neckline and earrings off. Makeup wise I went for a neutral eye with a winged liner, plus a pink Chubby Stick from Clinique which you could use to either add a wash of colour, or build it up so it's more intense.

What would you wear if you were FROW?

Love Alice x

Beauty | Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet & Liner Eye Palette

Hey guys, bit later this week than planned, sorry!

I may have found a rival to beat my favourite palette, the Urban Decay Naked Palette!

Now this palette isn't a dupe for the Naked Palettes, however I have definitely fallen in love. This is the Clarins Splendours Colour Quartet and Eye Liner Palette. I bought this product with the voucher that I won from Clarins a few months ago - I made a blog post about that here.

First up, as you'd expect, it's packaged beautifully in a velvety pouch and then in an amber coloured case.

But what is inside is even better! You receive 4 eyeshadow colours - a Pale Gold, a Rose Gold, a Copper and a Deep Brown, plus a Plum colour to act as a liner. All of these colours work so well together, which makes it the perfect palette for both day and night. I've worn the lighter shades blended together during the day, and added the deep brown and plum liner to make my eyes more smokey and dramatic for the night. All of the shades are highly pigmented and creamy so incredibly easy to blend together.

Top - Copper and Pale Gold
Bottom - Deep Brown and Rose Gold
Alongside - Plum liner

L-R - Pale Gold, Rose Gold, Copper, Deep Brown, Plum Liner

It also comes with a little card showing you how to achieve 2 different looks - one more suitable for day time and the other for the night - which I think is a nice touch.

Despite this palette being quite expensive at £31, it is beautiful and definitely worth the money. It was limited edition so isn't easily available anymore, however I found that Debenhams still have some in stock in the UK which you can find here.

Love Alice x

Lifestyle | What's In My Bag

Hey,

I love reading what's in my bag blog posts, so thought I would do my own version!

I got this bag for Christmas after spotting it in a little independent shop near my home. It's a tan and cream colour block satchel type bag from the brand 'Fashion Star' (who after a hunt online only seem to stock directly to stores - sorry!). Two aspects of this bag I love, firstly it's size. It's big enough that you can fit lots in but not so big you overfill it, which I often do. And second is the many different sections inside the bag which you can see in the photos below.

  

So what's inside?!

Inside the front pockets I keep my iPhone. I recently upgraded to the iPhone 5S in the Silver, and it's beautiful - plus 4G is the best thing since sliced bread!

In the zipped back section I keep my keys, and in the middle section at the back, some essential items - tissues, a mini Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (link), Soap & Glory Hand Maid (link), a nail file and some pens.

  

Then in the main section I keep everything else! Here you'll find my diary which I got from W H Smiths (which is an essential item for me at university), an umbrella which I got from ASOS (because living up North it rains...alot!) and my purse which is a purple/red snakeskin effect from John Lewis, crammed with more loyalty cards than I thought was imaginable! And lastly I have this MAC case which I was given years ago as a gift which at the time was filled with travel sized MAC eye brushes. In here I keep some other essential items including hair bands, a Rimmel stay matte pressed powder in Translucent (link) and a random brush. You'll also find an array of lipbalms - the Carmex Original in a pot (link), a Boots Essential Lip Salve in Peppermint (link) and the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lip Balm in Dark Chocolate and Mint (link). I normally also have my headphones which are by Sony in there (link), however I seem to have lost them since moving back into my house here in Newcastle (argh!).

 

So that's everything in my bag!  I hope you enjoyed today's post, and feel free to link me to your what's in my bag posts below, I love reading them.

Love Alice x

New Year, New Start

Hey guys,

First up I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and New Year!

Second, a massive apology for not blogging more regularly at the end of 2013. Things at university got a little hectic and then before I knew it, it was Christmas! Last week I handed in 3 assignments which are the last for a while now, and combined with no January exams I have some free time! 

I thought I would also tell you all my New Years resolutions. Every year I make them but never stick them out for the whole year, so perhaps by writing them down it will make me!

1) Blog More

Like I said, my blog got very neglected at the end of last year. So this year I'm going to stick at it and write more posts for you all! My aim is to blog once a week (and if you're lucky more!), and publish my post every Monday - a nice way to start your week.

2) Lose Weight, Tone Up & Get Fit

I'm combining these under the one resolution. I restarted my health kick at the end of last year and have lost 5 pounds so far (yay!), but now I aim to lose a further 14 pounds/1 stone. Yes it sounds alot, but I was this weight at the end of Sixth Form (nearly 3 years ago) so I know it's possible. To get there I'm going to increase my exercise and tone up. I've restarted running again, still playing water polo, plus doing other cardio and strength exercises to help. I'm going on tour in April with my university water polo team so want to look and feel better by then.

3) No Takeaways

I'm sure many of you can relate - you've been on a night out, perhaps had 1 drink too many and you find yourself in a takeaway shop. This happened to me far too many times last term, and I need to kick the habit. I had this as a resolution last year when McDonalds became my best friend after a night out. I managed reasonably well, only eating 2 between New Year and the middle of June, but it went very downhill when returning to university in September! I transferred the cost of a McDonalds into a separate account after every night out and saved so much money, so I'm going to do the same this year and use that money to treat myself.

4) Run Another Half Marathon
I ran the Great North Run last September, and dare I say it...enjoyed it! I'm aiming to run it again this year in aid of charity. I ran it in 2 hours 18 minutes last year and am aiming to run it in 2 hours-2 hours 5 minutes.

5) Keep Working Hard At University
Being in my second year now, everything counts towards my final result, so I want to keep working hard and am aiming for a 2:1 at the end of this year (or a 1st if I'm lucky!).

What are your New Years resolutions?

See you next Monday!

Love Alice x

Lifestyle | My Week #6

17th October - 14th November 2013

1. Reunited with my lost keys!

2. Night out with 2 of my housemates

3. Water Polo Halloween Social - Scary Ballerinas!

4. Halloween with my housemate

5. Halloween with my other housemate

6. Pres at mine for Halloween

7. Fireworks

8. Housemates birthday cake baked by me!

9. Invitational Water Polo Social - Doctors & Nurses

10. Invitational

11. Invitational

12. Invitational

13. Won our first match against Durham 6-5

What have you been up to recently?

Love Alice x