Make up Monday – “Dark Times Lie Ahead” – The Kiss of Death

Last year’s A/W 08 catwalks were full of this: 

So now we are hurtling full force into A/W 09, we should be thinking about wearing/working the looks that they provided us with, but even with a year’s advanced warning are we ready to paint our lips black?

I think the image above is absolutely stunning, I love the bold simplicity of it and how the black lips brings a uniformity. I do however remain unconvinced as to whether I or anyone else I know could pull it off without taking part in a full on grunge-fest!

I found this fabulous M.A.C. Colourview video that provides inspiration for looks to try this season. It is clear that soft, dewy, natural looks have been replaced by bright, bold, sculpted colour continuing the 80s fashion trend. With make-up however, I am always a little wary of trends. I’d rather look to the catwalks for inspiration for new techniques to try, rather than painting my face a certain way just because the industry dictates that it should be so. I also think there is a massive void between what works both on the catwalk and photographically as opposed to in everyday life.

I love the use of black on the eyes both matt and glitter based, I have also mentioned in previous posts how I love red lips, although I’m yet to find a shade I can pull off myself! These images below are from M.A.C’s new limited edition ‘Style Black’ collection coming out in the UK in October. I am particularly excited about the black grease paintsticks  and will definitely be purchasing one or two.

 

But back to the question of black lips; all that’s left for me to say is could you, would you?

V

Shoe Thursday – Lust

Have you ever seen an item and known that your life will just be better with said item in it? Yes, it is shallow but sometimes there are things in this world which have been made just so you can have them – and that is how I feel about these Chie Mihara shoes. I had to catch my breath when I saw they were on sale at ASOS and this quickly turned to woe when I realised they were only available in ‘Fuchsia’. I’m sorry Chie, they’re just not the same in pink.

If you find them anywhere roaming lost, looking for a home then you know where to direct them.

A

Alternative dressing – hijab

I liked this article from the Guardian website today about dressing for spring when you wear the hijab. Jana Kossaibati has the same issues as me – she  gets up in the morning determined to wear something dashing and then loses all momentum. I also slightly dread the warm weather and the inevitable stickiness but whereas I can just start taking layers off to cool down, she wants to maintain her dress code, meaning no bare arms or legs and definitely no cleavage. Long sleeves and skirts don’t really appeal when it’s hot although I’m also not one for baring huge amounts of flesh as I fear looking like a Russian WAG due to certain proportions.

The Guardian goes on to suggest a few “hijab-friendly” items, which I think need to be a bit less black for Spring, but which would look cool on anyone, regardless of modesty or lack of…:

S

Cos

Toast

Slobbing

 

It’s been quite an eventful week – The Apprentice started again, I worked at a cool place for a change and I even went to the gym (unheard of – I was so naive I forgot my jogging bottoms and assumed that towels would be provided, as if it was a hotel). For some reason, with all this running around I really haven’t been feeling getting dressed up. Maybe it’s because I was working with teeny tiny people who were working the “oh this old thing” dressed-down look that only looks good on the beautiful and minute (I am of the course the former but not the latter – that’s just not me) and so I started doing a jeans and cardigan thing every day.

When I went shopping after work on a particularly stroppy day I also realised that I am now drawn more and more to the “perfect” and yet very default item, for example a striped t-shirt or some cotton plimsolls. I want to wear three blocks of clothing – torso, legs and feet, with no adornment. Where has this puritan aesthetic come from? I used to be all about short skirts, glitter, gold and colour. Now I want to wear pale jeans, a navy cashmere jumper and black flats all the time. Maybe it harks back to my love of the “uniform” look, which I think comes from Margot Tenenbaum, with her consistent look of tennis dress, fur coat and side-swept fringe. All the glitter and purple used to wear me a bit.

Hopefully my period of austerity will lead to a more defined look but I also hope that soon I will stop limiting my choices to black and navy jumpers! My fashion aim for the year is now to step out in pink, a colour I never, ever wear.

S

Smocked necklace

Look at this cool textural necklace from Etsy designer Tinctory. I am really into plain but structured black blouses at the moment and I can just see a nice statement item like this resting on top being monochromatic.

Flowery pouffe…found!

I blogged a little sadly about a beautiful pouffe (or footstool if you prefer) that was covered with laser-cut white wool flowers…and cost over £350. I’ve found a good alternative at John Lewis department store, which clocks in at £117, much more affordable but still a quality bit of furniture.

It comes in a sort of buff colour but now I think something much more dramatic could be achieved with a blood red or soft black version. I am going to Ikea tomorrow to get a wardrobe or shelves of some kind for my wardrobe room and I cannot wait to blog about the results. Hopefully it will look chic and not like someone’s storage room.

Black times and dresses

What’s with all the doom and gloom? I mean, yes, I get why there is a lot of doom and gloom; it’s easy to say the Credit Crunch is all in bankers’ heads until it falls upon you and devours everything you have, which has happened to at least one of your favourite bloggers in the past couple of months. But when everything sucks, wouldn’t it be nice to look at some nice colourful frou-frou on the red carpet? Instead I feel as if all the famous people are trying to be polite to us proles by reining in the fabulousness. The Golden Globes, the Baftas and the Elle Style awards were all dominated by black dresses and it’s starting to get tedious. Where are Girls Aloud when you need them?

Here is Alexa Cheung looking serviceable in a black dress (Chanel?) I like the crunchy-stiff fabric and the neat little plunge neckline.  I just wish it was ORANGE.

New Year’s Eve

I hope you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours. It has set me up for a good start to 2009. 

S working the black top, sequinned skirt & Faith platform shoes

A close up on Faith platforms - an outfit highlight, for sure

T, faithful blogger friend & fellow partygoer, in Topman blazer, Cos jumper, Urban Outfitters jeans & shoes from Schuh.

P, stylish partypal, rocking black & sequins, top model's own

And yours truly, American Apparel skirt & gold lame boob tube, Topshop top & Vivienne Westwood necklace.

Happy New Year! A