The most fashionable things to do this week (and LFW ISN’T one!)

All dressed up and nowhere to go this Fashion Week?

Well don’t despair as in this post you'll find the ultimate list of the most fashionable things to do and see to ensure your style stays completely up to date! 

London Fashion Weekend

Fancy a piece of the LFW action this year but have somehow found yourself sans invite? Then make sure to book yourself a ticket for Vodafone’s London Fashion Weekend pronto! With a whole host of new and discounted designer pieces, intimate shows, make up demonstrations and even goodie bags, this is a sure fire way to grab a piece of the LFW action, without battling Anna Wintour for a place on the frow.

London Fashion Weekend, Prices range from £18.36 - £43.20 from Thursday 19^th – Sunday 22^nd September, londonfashionweekend.co.uk

Club to Catwalk

Ever tried to get your head around the madness of 80s fashion? The Victoria & Albert Museum has tried to decipher some sense of it all with their latest exhibition Club to Catwalk; showcasing some of the 80’s boldest fashion trends. From the most experimental designers, including Betty Jackson and John Galliano, the exhibition highlights how the merging of club life and fashion established iconic styles such as the New Romantics and High Camp. This is definitely a trip to treat your mum to!

Club to Catwalk, Victoria and Albert Museum 10 July 2013 – 16^th February 2014, vam.ac.uk

The Face

Forget Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model, modelling competitions are about to get FIERCE! Presented by one of the fashion industries’ most renowned models, Naomi Campbell, The Face has just landed here from the states. And with Naomi, Coco Rocha and Karolina Kurkova all competing for airtime, we can’t wait to see the catfights, tears and dramas as the contestants compete to be named the UK’s first face!

Sky Living HD from Monday 30^th September 2013, skyliving.sky.com/the-face

Fashion Film Festival

Opening for three nights during Fashion Week, Fashion Film Festival by Silent Cinema allows you to pop on your wireless headphones and submerge yourself in one of three fantastic fashion films. Set in St Martin’s Courtyard, expertly transformed into a one off open air cinema, tickets can either be won by entering the prize draw or on a first come first serve basis. How very elusive...

St Martin’s Court Presents Fashion Film Festival, Sunday 15^th – Tuesday 17^th September 2013, stmartinscourtyard.co.uk/fashionfilmfestival

Fashion Rules

From Kate Middleton catalysing a waiting list of months to the now infamous wedding dress of Princess Diana, there is something utterly magical and desirous when it comes to Royal fashion. So why not marvel at some of the most iconic Royal outfits at the Fashion Rules exhibition currently on at Kensington Palace and try to spot some of our favourite Royal pieces from the last forty years – thank goodness they haven’t been throne out!

Fashion Rules at Kensington Palace, 4^th July 2013 – 4^th July 2015, hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/

What are your plans for London Fashion Week; will you be attending any of these events?

An Insider's Glimpse into London Fashion Week...

Let’s face it: we’re not attending Fashion Week.

By some cruel act of nature, our invitations have been lost in the post, we’re away that week anyway in fact, we don’t even want to go. Well, it’s time to stop kidding ourselves; Fashion Week is the most anticipated event of the season, the perfect opportunity to behold the most innovative and exciting new trends for S/S14 from the world’s best designers.

Luckily, the kind people at the British Fashion Council have answered our fashion prayers, releasing an exclusive Pinterest board to showcase our favourite designers’ S/S14 inspirations, and allowing us a sneak peek into their creative minds before any Fashion folk see the unveiling of the collections tomorrow.

From the 1984 classic ‘Paris, Texas’ inspiring Paper London, to Julian Macdonald’s ‘Iridescent Summer’ images and Fyodor Golan’s ‘Electric Children’... erm actually we don’t have a clue what that entails... nonetheless, there is something on the board to excite even the most fashion shy among us - there’s even a sneaky snapshot of our Mulberry Show Invites, obviously still in transit...

To get a taste of what’s to come at all the London Fashion Week shows you can view the British Fashion Council’s Pinterest board here: 

http://pinterest.com/britishfashion/lfw-ss14-inspirations/

What is your favourite?

All it's cracked up to BB?

The BB cream, a topic that has been talked about endlessly for the last few seasons, but a trend that I just can't seem to get excited about. I must admit, I'd set this product aside as a fad but a 700% increase in sales between 2011 and 2012 is a real accomplishment, so what is it about this 'Beauty Balm' that really has everyone going?

I had been reluctant to step out of my face coverage comfort zone, a thick heavy foundation for winter, a light mousse for summer; only when my favourite skincare brand Kiehl's brought out their latest innovative cream last month did I really sit up and listen. Rather than jumping on the BB bandwagon, Kiehl's have taken the time to perfect, test and re-perfect the cream which boasts an SPF of 50, vitamin C, natural mineral pigments, glycerin and water resistant UVA/UVB protectors AND claims to improve the appearance of skin in only 4 weeks. I had to try it. So, armed with £23.50 and a bucket load of optimism, that's exactly what I did. And the results are in... Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Unlike other BB creams I have tried which leave a less than desirable coverage and a rather patchy finish, Kiehl's Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream covers all of my blemishes, providing me with glowing, healthy looking skin, an effect which lasts long into the night. Only time will tell if it is capable of improving the appearance of blemish scars and un-even skin tone but I am finally willing to give it a chance.

So perhaps now is the time to let BB into my life - but as for the new product on the block? We'll have to CC.

Stockists: Kiehl's (kiehls.co.uk)

O Be Joico-Ful!

Since going blonde at 17 (the result of an attempt to cover up a terrible red dye job) my thick, healthy hair has become increasingly dry, damaged and limp and there wasn't much I could do to change it!

I've come to love my blonde locks so going natural wasn't an option for me but with the winter months came further damage, thanks a lot central heating, freezing temperatures and party hair(!), and I needed hair SOS quickly! So when my lovely friend @laurabbeauty introduced me to JOICO I was more than willing to give it a try.

JOICO's K-PAK Hair Care Products were created specifically to 'rebuild, revive, strengthen and hydrate' hair, something my hair definitely needed. As well as those benefits, JOICO's exclusive K-PAK technology claims to 'dramatically increase hair moisture, strength, smoothness, shine repair, to seal the hair cuticle preventing hair colour from fading plus providing hair with body' - yes please!

Based on my hair needs, Laura supplied me with K-PAK Reconstruct Shampoo and Conditioner (both £13.95) K-PAK Intense Hydrator (£13.95) and K-PAK Colour Therapy Restorative Oil (£15.95). So here's how I got on...

K-PAK Reconstruct Shampoo & Conditioner

JOICO's Shampoo and Conditioner have been MIRACLE WORKERS! Intended to internally reconstruct the hair and cuticles whilst removing build up to enhance elasticity, strength and shine, these products are meant for regular usage. After using them regularly for a week my hair felt amazing, thicker, bouncier and much easier to manage! I started using them just after having my hair coloured - when it is normally at its least manageable, bleach will do that to a 'do, but my hair remained salon shiny and healthy without being weighed down. I will definitely be purchasing this fabulous duo when I run out, however the bottles seem to be never ending!

K-PAK Intense Hydrator

This is an intense conditioner to be used weekly on overly dry, damaged hair to leave it softer and shinier. I've found that since using the Reconstruct Shampoo and Conditioner, I haven't had much need for this as my hair has received the perfect amount of moisture from the day to day conditioner. This product is very intensive and I would recommend purchasing it if your hair is extremely dry and damaged or as a monthly treatment for coloured hair. 

K-PAK Colour Therapy Restorative Oil

I was a bit apprehensive about using oil on my hair as the Moroccan Oil left my hair incredibly heavy and limp, but this oil has a much lighter consistency and felt less... well, oily! Plus the claim that it doubles the life of your hair colour's vibrancy really won me over! The weightless formula of this oil means that it can be used as a treatment or a styling product and I can confirm that it is very successful as both. I don't use this every time I wash my hair as I do think it would begin to weigh down my hair, but I do use it once a week on damp hair when it's looking a bit dry or frizzy. I have found that when I dry my hair, after having used the oil, it looks more vibrant and blonde; I would definitely recommend this to anyone with hair that sometimes needs a pick me up.

JOICO is available in hair salons nationwide, you can visit www.joicoeurope.com for a list of stockists. 

Have you ever tried any JOICO products? 

V x

My internship at Harper's Bazaar

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you will probably have seen my over excited posts about my most recent published posts (and here) on the Harper's Bazaar website.

This is just a quick post as people keep asking me what I did there/if I enjoyed it etc, so thought it would be easiest just to post it on here!

I absolutely loved my month at Harper's it was amazing and everyone was so welcoming, it was so much fun.    My tasks were mainly assisting the Beauty Assistant, keeping track of the diaries of the Beauty Director and Editor, replying to invites, sorting post and samples, keeping a log of the (very extensive!) list of Christmas presents for the Beauty Director and Director-At-Large. But, as it is such a small team at Harper's I got a lot of hands on experience, writing copy for the website, talking to PRs, arranging call ins, things like that. There were also a few perks along the way (I think I took a few too many lipsticks!)

Working in PR, I had to know all of the beauty teams individually by name for each magazine so to actually meet Sophie Forte the Beauty Director felt a bit like meeting a celebrity, but she was so lovely and really helpful giving me advice about the industry.

For anyone who wants any advice on getting an internship at a monthly magazine, I would say follow people individually on Twitter - this is essential, for example the Beauty Assistant at Harper's is @victicktoria and I also follow the Harper's Bazaar Beauty Team @BazaarBeauty, which is how I found out they were looking for someone. You will find that they post from these rather than the main magazine account so it is really helpful.

If anyone wants to read my post (this is the last time I mention it I SWEAR) you can here and here!

Feel free to message me if you have any other questions!

V x

NYE Face

Hello everyone, happy 2013!

I had such an amazing 2012 filled with graduation, turning 21 and generally just having an amazing year but I have really positive feelings about 2013 especially as it provided me with the opportunity to get dolled up and go out with my gorgeous friends.

Unusually for us, we didn't take many photos and I don't have a close up of my make up but I thought I'd go through what I was wearing on my face anyway...

Before we went out (and my make up got ruined!)

As my dress, as you can see, is quite loud I opted for a natural look (I didn't even wear falsies, quelle horreur!) going for subtle eyes and a coral lip.

I started off using my normal concealer under my eyes, centre of my forehead and over any blemishes and then used my normal foundation Chantecaille Future Skin in Camomile. I find that I don't need to use a primer with it as it gives me natural looking glowing skin and stays on all day, even though I have to apply a few layers to achieve the desired effect.

For my eyebrows I've started using 'Busted' from my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette with a thin, flat eyeshadow brush. I had been using a pencil but found it a bit too harsh and cakey, this is much more subtle and makes my eyebrows look fuller, one day I might be brave enough to go for the full Cara Delevingne look!

I tend to do the same thing with my eyes and have done for years - ever since using Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes palette I have followed the same principle using whichever 3 eyeshadows I can get my hands on. My eyeshadows du jour are between Urban Decay and a Revlon palette but I opted for Urban Decay on NYE for a more nude/subtle look. I used 'Foxy' up to my brow bone, 'Half Baked' over my lids and 'YDK' to give me more definition around my lash line. I finished off with a feline flick using my Estee Lauder Eye Pencil in Blackened Black, and smudging some under my lower lash line, again for more definition. To make the look a little bit bolder I went over my 'feline flick' on my top lashes with liquid eyeliner. As writing this I've realised I've completely forgotten to add in my mascara in the above picture! Idiot. I used Santhilea Magnetic Lash, as it comes with an extra bottle of fibres meaning I can get away with not wearing false lashes - I'll probably do a separate blog post on this because I love it so much.

I finished my face with Tom Ford's amazing blusher in 'Flush'. It is quite a bright coral so you really only need  a little bit on the apples of your cheeks to get a really nice, bright glow. I tried to do a bit of contouring too with something I picked up on one of my internships but I can't for the life of me find any information about it! I think the brand is Fashionista and it's a skin brightening highlighter. Directions on the bottle tell you to mix into foundation for a glow or use as a highlighter, but I decided to put some in the hollows of my cheeks as it is quite dark, I'm not sure how 'contoured' I looked though I think I'm going to have a few more practices before I wear it out again! Finally, on my lips I wore Sisley Hydrating Long Lasting Lipstick in L11, a bright, coral colour, like my blusher, which finished off the look.

I never go out without using my heated rollers so a generous spritz of L'Oreal's Elnett Hairspray was needed to hold it all into place, though the weather blew it out as soon as I stepped out the door anyway! (I also spray my face to hold my make up in place and this is the best hairspray for it as it smells so amazing.) On my nails I wore Butter LONDON in Jack The Lad. It is such an amazing shade, a dark green with the tiniest glitter particles in it. Divine.

My friend's and I saw the New Year in on London Bridge watching the fireworks then spent the night travelling to various places all over London it was hilarious!

Seeing in the New Year (looking a little worse for wear!)

I hope you all had an amazing new year!

V x

The Sales Edit: Beauty Bay

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Ok this as it's the last day of 2012 this is my last Sales Edit post before things really start to get under way in the New Year - 2013 how exciting! I hope you like my post and have the best NYE ever! Happy New Year!

1. Tangle Teezer Compact Styler Feline Groovy - £10.79 (was £11.99)
I have the full size Tangle Teezer in black, pretty boring but I like to think of it as sleek... However carrying it round in my handbag is a bit of an issue as I worry about the bristles snapping and also my bag isn't the tidiest so it can tend to get a bit dirty at times which is a bit gross. This travel size compact will be perfect for chucking in my bag without having to worry, and the pattern is a bit of an upgrade from my plain original.

2. Emma Hardie Natural Lift & Sculpt Anti-Ageing Facial Starter Kit - £24.00 (was £32)
Everyone is loving a bit of Emma at the moment but if, like me, you're not too sure which of her amazing products to go for then going for her starter kit makes sounds like a good place to start, and with £8 off you simply might as well treat yourself! The kit contains some of her best selling products, letting you cleanse, tone and moisturise your skin back to optimum health for the new year.

3. Neom Christmas Wish Candle 380g - £35.70 (was £42)
Christmas is sadly well and truly over but that doesn't mean we can't burn Neom's Christmas candle all year long and with three wicks and 380g of candle to burn this is sure to last a good while! I absolutely love this luxury organic brand - I bought my mum the body moisturiser for her birthday and obviously I had to try it too! I love that it is organic but feels so luxurious, this candle is definitely on my sales list.

4. Ole Henriksen Truth To Go Wipes - £4.74 (was £6)
I know it's naughty to use face wipes but sometimes I really can't help myself, after a night out, after a long day or simply when I just can't be bothered face wipes are my saviour! I always feel a little bit better about myself when I use a slightly higher end brand though, as if it's not so bad after all. Ole Henriksen's wipes go above and beyond the call of duty, removing make up and grime, of course, but also nourishing skin with essential fatty acids and Vitamin C to smoothe, brighten and tighten your skin texture. Not bad for a humble face wipe.

5. Leighton Denny Colour & Go Manicure Pen I Love Juicy - £9.90 (was £11)
I find myself constantly on the go at the moment, on trains, buses, in the car it's literally non stop and can wreak havoc with my nails and also gives me limited time to paint them in the first place. This Leighton Denny manicure pen caught my eye and looks like the answer to my troubles; with one end as a base/top coat and 'I love juicy' at the other end, this is perfect for those quick touch ups or paint jobs on the go.

So, there ends my last post of the year (and one of my first on this blog!) Have a fabulous night tonight and see you in 2013!

V x