SS16 Clutch Bag Wishlist

This year is zooming by so quickly that we have skipped through winter to spring before I feel I have had time to blink.  I have an exceptionally busy second half the year looming with three weddings on the horizon and because they are all family events, I cannot get away with wearing the same outfit twice. 

With a wedding, I tend to choose an outfit and bag before shoes and right now there are so many clutch bags that I have my eye on, I have created a wishlist:

Cluth Wishlist SS16 by beautyqueenuk 

I absolutely love Ted Baker Bags and as you might notice, two feature right here. Top middle we have the Ted Baker Chasidy multi floral crossbody clutch bag which also offers a strap option depending upon your preference. Moving clockwise we have the Coast Printed bow bag, which features a flap over front and a magnetic clasp for closing and costing just £35 is an absolute bargain. Ted Baker features again and this time with a slightly different design with the Dorise multi floral crossbody clutch bag. A wishlist wouldn't quite be one without a bit of Vivi and this Vivianne Westwood Derby multi tartan wrist clutch bag caught my eye and it almost matches a dress I quite like. A little more demure with the New Look White Lace 3D Flower Frame Clutch which is a Clip top fastening- clutch which again has an optional chain strap. The black Miss KG Hava Embellished Suedette Clutch Bag from John Lewis is one I have actually seen up close and it is just stunning and again has a detachable gold-toned chain strap and a lock clasp. Finally, right in the centre is the Dune Bubbles Clutch Bag which is a fold over design with a popper fastening and an optional chain strap.

These are just some of the bags that have made an appearance on my Pinterest boards over the last few weeks alongside many others.  Do you have a favourite from my list?

Psyche Fashion

It's wedding season right now and looking for a dress which is suitable can be an absolute nightmare.  I have spent weeks searching and researching sites online to look for something that I like and want to wear and it comes down to two things. 1 - The dresses I like are only in a size 6 or 2 - The dresses I like are too big and I haven't got the time, strength or energy to have it altered to fit.

One site I did come across in my search is Pysche Fashion, one which immediately had me singing 'Let's get ready to rumble' by Ant and Dec and is actually based in Middlesborough but does sell their clothing world wide through their website and it gets even better, they have a sale on! The sale will start on August 1 and run throughout the month of August. The code is good for 10% off all Sale Items! The only way to get the secret code is to visit the Psyche website via your mobile device (cell phone, tablet, etc.) and it will show up on the homepage! So out the window went shopping for a dress to wear for a wedding. 

If you like your designer labels and the big designers, then Pysche probably has everything you are looking for from Ralph Lauren, Armani, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Lulu Guinness, Versace, Tom Ford and so on, literally there is so much to discover and lust over I had to hide my bank cards.  Pysche cater for men, children and women and not just for clothes, you will find watches, shoes, handbags, cufflinks, underwear to name just a few and here are some of my favourite items which I came across:

As you can see, I haven't just chosen items for me, there are also some for the Mister which I think he would like especially the Skull T-shirt which seems to be a running theme for his clothing right now and the Hugo Boss shirt, which is just stunning would be great for work or going out in.  

As for me, well I have fallen in love with the Daisy Jewellery which you might have seen me pinning over on Pinterest and no list would be right without a handbag and in this case it is from one of my favourite designers Ted Baker, not only is this handbag pink (winning) but I really love the chain detail of the handles which continues onto the bag as a pattern.  I also think every beauty blogger I know loves lipstick and I love the Lulu Guinness lipstick keyring, it is a bit quirky but I love it and finally some snakeskin print trainers which would look fab with some skinny jeans and an oversized jumper, one of my favourite items to own and something I need more of.

Have you heard of Psyche?  Have you ever bought from them before?

*Written in collaboration with Psyche.

Rare London | Clothes I Simply Can’t Live Without

When I was tagged to take part in this competition by Kate whose entry you can see here  - Clothes I simply cannot live without, it really did give me something to think about.  I am sure you all have clothes that you cannot live without and I would love you all to tell me what they are in the comment section below. 

Rare London have this fabulous competition which you can enter to showcase your favourite piece, and in doing so, you could be in with a chance of winning a £200.00 voucher!  with that in mind, this is my favourite dress

I am sure most of you will agree that every wardrobe needs a black dress, and I found this extract on the birth of the LBD facinating

Perhaps more than any other piece of clothing, the little black dress is, women have been told, the essential, the one that will take you practically anywhere. And perhaps more than any other designer, Coco Chanel was the one who made it ubiquitous. She did not invent the concept, of course, but according to Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life (by Justine Picardine, $40, amazon.com), “the little black dress was not formally identified as the shape of the future until 1926, when American Vogue published a drawing of a Chanel design.… It was an apparently simple yet elegant sheath, in black crêpe de Chine, with long, narrow sleeves, worn with a string of white pearls; and Vogue proved to be correct in the prediction that it would become a uniform.…”  and you can read more about this HERE

So, for me a LDB is simply a must have item of clothing and one I couldn't live without.   I do happen to have 4 or 5 differently styled ones as you can see from the photograph below

From that selection there is one of them that I wear more than any other which is this one:

Source

It comes from the Junarose collection on ASOS and I got it in the sale for just £13 reduced from £22 and the reason why I love it so much is because it is just one of those items that I can dress down and wear it daily when I am going to work or if I have a meeting I can add a jacket to it to make it look a little bit smarter.  

Then if I am going out in an evening I can accessorise it a lot more and make it look really fabulous be it with jewellery, my going out bag and a variety of other items of clothing that I own, including my favourite pair of shoes, shown below.

I am not one of those people who keeps up very well with the latest fashion trend, I envy those of you who do and continue to look fabulous, but for me, being comfortable in what I am wearing matters a lot more and it gives me confidence knowing that I actually look really good in something that to the naked eye might look a bit plain, but with a little bit of effort can look totally fabulous.

If you would like to enter this great competition with Rare London, you can do here and you will also find all guidelines too.

As this competition states that I need to tag three of you, I nominate

Kimberley @kimberleyj77

Keeley @phatcupcake

and finally Louise @Staceysmum84

This competition Ends April 30th and if you have entered, please let me know in the comments so I can come and have a look.

The Radiant Orchid Challenge!

When challenged to find an outfit for £60 to celebrate Pantones colour of the year being ‘Radiant Orchid’ I readily agreed but wow what a challenge it turned out to be.  For those of you who are not aware what the colour Radiant Orchid looks like, here it is:

Described as follows "Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health".

So off I went in search of an outfit that I could purchase to celebrate this colour, I thought it would be easy because a lot of stores now have their spring items coming into stores, but oh how wrong was I when it came to finding something that might represent that above.  For hours I wondered up and down Oxford Street, went to Westfield before finally finding this:

Yes I managed to find a dress which I think suits the Radiant Orchid theme and it was priced at £13 which was at least a start, but an outfit is more than one item. So, as I have an event coming up in a few weeks time I decided that this dress would be the outfit for said occasion but I needed things to go with it and this is what I bought for the rest of the outfit.

Shoes which cost £10, Bracelet and necklace £8 from local boutique, Bag £29.50 from Marks and Spencer and the nail polish and tights are my own and all of that came to £60.50 and I have a lovely black cardigan which works really well should I get a little chilly.

One of the reasons I decided I would quite like this challenge is because I love black clothes, my Husband will tell you all that my wardrobe and drawers contain items that are mainly black with bits of blue and purple thrown here there, so predominantly darker colours which I am more comfortable with.  So, now was a good a time as any to inject some colour into my wardrobe, even if it does have black accessories.

Have you bought anything that could be classed as Radiant Orchid?

**SP

Herra Hair Perfume & Giveaway

Last week I attended my very first event with Bloggers Love in Leicester Square here in London and with me was the very lovely Claire from Pinkchickclaire. At the event we were lucky enough to meet a lot of really lovely people from some fantastic brands, some better known than others and many who have been going for just a few months.

The brand I am mentioning today is Herra whose story you can read about in the main website. Herra produce a product called Herra Protect Hair Perfume which is exactly what it states it is, a perfume for your hair, yes really. Now I am sure we are all massive fans of perfume, have a huge collection and more often than not when spritzing ourselves will spray some in the air and walk through it, thus perfume hits the hair, well I was told not to do that by my hairdresser because it dries your hair out.

Before I got my hands on it, Herra has featured in many publications and magazines including Vogue and it is beginning to get quite a following in the world of celebrities.

Herra say...
'Herra Protect Hair Perfume is an innovative product created by the joint expertise of London's finest hair talents and a leading fragrance expert. A revolutionary product with weightless, protecting and hydrating ingredients accompanied with the Herra epsilon signature fragrance.'

One thing I love about products is their packaging, if it catches my attention, I am more likely to want to know more about it and find out what it is and Herra does just that. packaged inside this sleek black box with gold writing, the bottle itself is just as sleek and stylish and the right size for putting in my handbag.  

I do as much as I can to look after my hair, I get it cut regularly, I shampoo, I condition and I use treatments when my hair is in need of it. One thing about living in London is that washing and conditioning my hair is fine, but wandering around all day amongst smog, pollution and other irritants (such as people smoking) can make my hair smell and make me paranoid and if I am going to an important meeting, I don't want to smell like I have been sat in a smoking shed all day, I want to smell good. So I have been putting Herra to the test and admittedly I did thing it was a bit of a fad and not something I would really use, as good as it sounds, but I will admit I was wrong and have used it a lot more than I thought and everyone in my office have also been spritzed and sprayed and are equally impressed, the boys not so much, but you cant have everything.

Herra has three main components to protect, moisturise and to add fragrance:

• PROTECT - Sunflower extract protects the structure of the hair. It helps provide protection against UV and can prevent colour fade, whilst olive fruit extract is rich in antioxidants that help shield the hair against pollution and free radicals.
• MOISTURISE - Glycerin helps provide ample hydration and seals in moisture, without weighing down the hair.
• FRAGRANCE - The Herra signature fragrance is a blend of the finest key notes creating a fresh modern, uplifting experience that appeals to all.  Ingredients include: Italian bergamot, loquat fruit, midnight orchid, rose, white jasmine, mimosa, heliotrope, lily, vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood and musk.

For me the scent is something i have to like to use a product and I love the scent of this, I find it quite uplifting and a mixture of being fruity and floral, neither one being more dominant than the other, it simply works and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Herra Protect Hair Perfume is available from Herra Hair Care at £24.99 (50ml) and I have one to give-away thanks to those lovely people at Herra, to enter into the draw all you need to do is complete the form below and a 50ml bottle could be winging its way to you very soon and naturally I would love to know what you think to it should you win:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a UK only giveaway, please ensure you are at 16 years of age or have parental permission because I will need your address to send the prize too.  All entries will be checked before the winner is announced.