Wednesday 22 October 2014

From Catwalk to Campaigning...Chanel S/S '15

Hey all,

If you read my personal blog Dear Aphrodite, then you would see I wrote about how I am an acivist volunteer for Amnesty International and you'll see in the tags for this blog that I am a huge Chanel fan. It stands, therefore, that when I saw the recent Chanel show was a hybrid between fashion and activism, it safe to say I had to check it out. 

Although I loved the idea, ultimately I feel let down that the campaigning wasn't genuine. When I saw the signs were "Tweed is Better than Tweet", I did fell a bit like "Say What?". However with a further look I guess there was feminist/girl power undertones in the signage, which is a very current cause with the HeForShe campaign being launched recently at the UN. I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting from the initial headlines. 

For all the showmanship any fashionista would expect from Chanel, the "Boulevard Chanel" was no let down. The tonnes of looks varied from bright splashes of colour and tweed to very work-able colour and style of the suit-wear, meant that which completed the show became a complete wardrobe. I also really loved the gold sandals - but regular readers of this blog know that I love them.

I have linked below where you can view the looks from the runway, including the final walk with Mr Lagerfield leading his campaign catwalk down the road - but will this lead to a new dawn in the relationship between cause and clothes? I honestly am interested to see where this leads!

- Chanel News coverage: chanel-news.chanel.com
- Full coverage (including backstage pics): vogue.co.uk

Anyway, it's back to beauty and I am going to a very awesome awards evening soon so I will try a look out and post it for you all,

If there is anything you want to see let me know,

Lots of luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Sunday 12 October 2014

Long-term Make-up Staples...

Hey all,

I have a few products in my make up bag that have been around since I started getting into make up properly and have stuck with me all this time! (Don't worry nothing here has gone off or is gross!) And as this is beauty post time I thought I would show you!

So this is the overall kit and starting from the top; Next Eyeshadow palette (I don't think you can still get this but I will find a similar one and link it here), Benefit Dandelion Blush, Dior 5 Colours Eyeshadow palette in 030 Incognito, Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip Gloss in Pink Tulle, Rouge Dior in 365 Pink Songe, Rouge Coco Shine in 55 Romance and finally Lancôme Juicy Tube in Toffee R&B (I think it's been discontinued but you can get similar shades here). 
 
This Next palette has been a long term friend of mine. It has six shimmery shades that are softer than glitter but just as dusty. I love them all and have used the to lighten smokey looks as I am very pale and occasionally a full on look is a bit too heavy, so the shimmer adds a bit of me too the look.
 
This Benefit Dandelion blush just keeps going, I use it fairly regularly although I am quiet pink toned anyway and have been turning to it's sister Coralista for the summer months as it has browney tones which double as a bronzer. However the cool pink is my perfect natural blush shade and I love it so much for barely there make up looks. 

In contrast to the shimmer palette I showed above, this Dior one is like the elegant older sister. The shades are all matte and the pink and the yellow are the definition of barely-there colour, if I blend the two they are essentially my skin type. The white, grey and brown are perfect blending shades and very useful for more neural looks. 
 
This is one of my favourite lip glosses and the minty taste is simply divine. It is highly sparkly but not as sticky as some other glosses I've tried. I love it as it adds definition to any lipstick I put under it.
                              
This is the first "posh" lipstick I ever bought. I saved up and went with my mum to the local Dior counter in Boots, and tried on loads of different colours. This one, Pink Songe, was the perfect colour for me and I love wearing it with a smoked eye (I wear a steel or a dark navy Kiko eyeshadow stick; smoked from the eye line and a natural base).                            
 
It's a natural progression from one fab posh lippy to another - and this is just that. I had been testing these on the back of my hand whenever I walked past a Chanel counter and in two airports when I finally caved and bought a colour I could not put down (and I had leftover Euros). These lip sticks are sheerer than most but they have a lovely sheen which makes it more than a simple colour. It's easily wearable and more moisturising than some lipsticks I've tried. 

Last but not least, is my favourite flavour lip gloss of all, it's toffee-tastic! The formula is slightly sticky compared to the Bobbi Brown but these are considered legendary and all the flavours I've tried have been excellent. The gold glitter is a great addition to a look by itself if you don't want to have lipstick on. This mini was part of a gift and it has stood the test of time!

So this was some of the staples of my make up collection, I hope you enjoyed snooping in my make up bag! 

I will be back with my Chanel post next week!

Luv as always,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Wednesday 8 October 2014

From McDonalds to Barbie... a Moschino Evolution

Hey all,

So I have had my instagram and twitter glue to all of the fashion week shows and I will have a post on the Chanel show soon but first I wanted to talk about Moschino.

I have been a fan of their quirkiness for a long time, and my favourite colour is pink, so naturally the Barbie themed S/S '15 show caught my eye. 

I loved the idea of the show. Models all over the fashion catwalks are dressed up and moulded into the looks of the designers dreams; so it seems logical that the ultimate dress up doll Barbie, would be what the models were turned into. It seemed surreal yet so perfect.

And my was it done well. There was no doubt who the models were, and the clothes bought the girly nature of Barbie to high fashion, a refreshing break from the ultra-masculine, sometimes even vampish dark looks that high fashion has been known to love. 

They new line has gone down very well, with net-a-porter selling out of some of the piece only a few hours after the show. I guess the high street will go a fab shade of pink next spring/summer! 

And finally, I loved the irony of Moschino. I aluded to the Mc Donald's themed collection which I loved, as fast food seems like the antithesis to high fashion where the models are always ultra thin and with the Barbie collection, it seems to have gone the other way, as some see models anyway as the embodiments of the iconic dolls. 

I therefore ask where will Jeremy Scott take it next? Salad-chic? Smurf-style? Personally, I can't wait because I know it will be done to the best and in the most stylish way possible. 

Lots of luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Latest Beauty Reviews...

Hey everyone,

So my skin regime has been working really well on the whole recently (if you want to see the current post click here), but I noticed that tee tree alone was not strong enough to really get shot of my spots. So about two weeks ago I decided to pick up the Superdrug Deep Action anti-blemish gel which it claims has the maximum concentration of salicylic acid allowed, and based on the results I have seen so far, I'm impressed and a proper review will come after a months use. 

Also I've been loving some lip products. First are two lip balms, one is the Lip Service from Lush which is very healing and good if you have dry or chaffed lips. It is very solid when you get a new tin but it soon melts with body heat and becomes a perfect consistency, which when applied to the lips is just perfect. It is very neutrally tasting so perfect if you have a favourite flavour gloss to go over the top as it won't ruin it.

But then my tin of Lip Service, which had been outlasting everything in my make up bag, got used up and so I bought my second lip product, which was the Nivea Essential Care lip balm. This is an old classic but personally I used to hate the taste of the balm, which I know is only minor to how well it works, but on trying for the past days I've learnt to really love it and it's healing properties are better than any of my other Chapsticks, so for now I am choosing nourishment, especially in this colder weather where my lips dry out a lot.

So finally to a face mask. I love doing a weekly mask and I previously was using the Tea Tree on from The Body Shop, but I had loads of Lush pots cluttering up my room so I exchanged 5 of them for my ultimate mask Catastrophe Cosmetic. It is blueberry based and smells divine as well as containing calming calamine which is very great at bringing down redness if you are having a bad skin day. The mask dries nicely but as it has so many healing and soothing ingredients it doesn't actually dry out your skin and is perfect in my opinion!

I hope you all enjoyed my beauty reviews,

See you soon for a fashion week related post
All the best,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️  

Friday 26 September 2014

Be in tip-top condition...

Hey all,

It is rather ironic that I am writing this post as I am watching Strictly Come Dancing,which is by far the most sparkly TV show ever, and I am talking about my new love - embellished tops. Not only are they the perfect evening outfit but they also often don't require jewellery as they come with essentially a necklace attached.


So I hope you all feel slightly sparkly now, Strictly was interesting tonight but I can see a few who are doing well straight out of the gate .


Anyway next post is my beauty reviews,
Hope you are well,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥

Thursday 18 September 2014

My Favourite Nail Polish Atm...

Hello all, 

My beauty reviews are coming soon but as I am still testing the products, I wanted to post a review of my favourite nail polish of the moment, instead. 

The polish in question is the Kiko Nail Lacquer in Shade 303 Beige Chrome (currently £3.90) not only is it inexpensive but it is a great colour that suits all outfits. 
One coat is good enough for a sparkly top coat action as it is can be applied slightly sheerer with a think swipe of the nails, but two coats are recommended for the fullest colour. 



I then also apply a top coat. The one I have is the Sally Hansen Mega Shine which just causes the sparkle to, well, shine and helps the polish last. 



I find the polish lasts 4/5 days depending on what you do. Which is great considering it's price! The brush is fairly wide for easy application and it's by far the best polish to apply by yourself. 



I would recommend Kiko to anyone as I love there other beauty products too!

Anyway speak soon,

LDN xx♥️

N.B. This post is not sponsored and I my hope is to post one beauty and one fashion post a week :) 


Wednesday 13 August 2014

All a Little Bit Cultural: BP Portrait Award Next Gen Event

Hey guys,

I know I was a bit belated with my birthday blog and this is a similar scenario but I wanted to post about this event as it was such a fun night and unlike anything I have ever done before.

(I also want to come up with a regular post schedule so I will work out when will be best for that, as I want to diversify my blog into more areas of my life than just fashion and beauty. A post dedicated to thank you all for the 25,000 page views will be on it's way soon too!)

So back to the event. I found out about this event due to the organisers at the BP Portrait Award sending me the link to RSVP on Twitter totally out of the blue. I looked up the event on the National Portrait Gallery website and thought that it seemed like something I have never done before so why not. My parents went to art college and so I had been bought up being taken to galleries and I really love looking at art, even if I am not that great at actually doing it myself. I believe that my art is fashion and the odd bit of colouring in, but I appreciate the statement that artists make when they do what they do, so I knew I would enjoy it.

The event was on a Monday evening and allowed us (a group of probably 30 14-19 year olds) to see the gallery after hours and meet some of the award winners from the competition this year that BP had sponsored (and is still on show to the public until the 21st September). There was a wide range of activities that night, from the chance to sketch the portraits for a competition, to getting a taste of curating by writing new labels for the paintings which were specifically for a teenage audience. Food and music also played a part, and I must give a shout out to the amazing TVR for his Slam Poem which was just incredible.

I feel very lucky to of been able to see the amazing entries up close and meet some of the artists who were inspiring and allowed us to see behind the canvas in a way you wouldn't get to from simply looking at the art.

The art itself was beautiful, from photo-realists to the more abstract portraits of people who were not famous and to those who were simply friends of the artists. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the art itself but if you want to see the rest of the exhibitors online you can click here but of course if you are in London go and check out the exhibition itself!

So I wanted to thank the organisers for inviting me and to all the friends I made while walking the galleries.

Speak to you all very soon I hope,
Luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥

Thursday 17 July 2014

The Birthday Blog!

Hey everyone,

So last Tuesday was my 18th Birthday! And it was such a lovely day I had the best time! So I thought I'd give you a diary style post about what I did!

5:00am: My beautiful kitten sings me happy birthday - well no she howls to go out, mum lets her out and I sleep for a bit longer! 


6:00am-ish: Woke up eventually and go downstairs to see parents, have tea and open my lovely presents! Hotel Chocolat chocolate for breakfast - perfect! Then nap for a bit longer till parents go to work. 

9:00am: Get up and run a Lush bath with the Space Girl bath bomb I got in one of my presents. Smelt amazing! Watched YouTube while in the bath. Then get ready to meet mum in Canary Wharf for lunch. Am wearing my favourite pink skirt outfit (seen in this post). Make up wise I wore my natural base, accentuated with a gold sparkly eyeshadow from a Next pallette and on my lips I used the Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush in shade 100 topped with the Lancôme Juicy Tube in a Toffee flavour (not sure on the exact shade sorry). The jewellery that I wore: my new Michael Kors bracelet and my F21 heart necklace.
        Image from: goldsmiths.co.uk

12:15am: Meet mum at Carluccios. Fritto Misto (my fave) was not on the menu, but we had Bruchetta and a breaded Chicken dish (Millanaise I think) from the set menu and it was lovely! I also had Cherry juice which is rare to get hold of and was so tasty! We had a lovely chat outside in the sun, then I went round the shopping malls and met Max Chilton the F1 driver and Natalie Pinkham from Sky F1 which was soo cool for an F1 fan like myself. 

I also unashamedly bought another fluffy pen for my collection which is so cute! It's a tiger aww! 

5:30pm: I returned home for a bit and relaxed before getting changed into my favourite summer beach trousers and vest top, styled with my Dorothy Perkins denim jacket with the sleeves rolled. Then I went out and met my parents in Zizzi's (mum gave me the Hello Kitty balloon which was on my Instagram and seen below) where we had amazing food, including a chocolate and banana calzone - Awesome! Then we saw the new Transformers film in 3D which was the best 3D film I've seen all year, yet it was an almost 3 hour film which was a tad long and didn't get home till quite late! 

00:05am 16th July: Finally went to sleep on such a high after such an amazing day! 

Thank you to everyone who made it the best birthday ever! Also I can keep my statement that it hasn't rained on my birthday in 18 years (bar a slight bit of drizzle first think that morning), which I think is pretty cool too. 

All the best, 

Update: I've been 18 a week now and I love it. I feel older which is strange as it never made an impact before! Woo! 

Anyway lots of luv as always,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Saturday 12 July 2014

Super Skin Saviour: Tea Tree Truth!

Hey all,

I am not used to writing full length beauty posts but one of my friends asked about how I had got my skin under control as she had noted a change for the better and I decided to write it down into a post, and I can almost review everything that I use. Very soon I am going to technically be an adult, but like most teenagers I suffer spots. Over the years, I tried everything. I mean everything. Even now I'm not sure if I've got it perfect but for the moment I've tamed my skin, not completely fixed it but it's 100% better than it was. 

I basically was at the end of my tether and my mum went to The Body Shop because she wanted to get some stuff for herself and bought me back a set containing some products from the Tea Tree range. I have been using it since February and the results have been revolutionary. 

(I just want to point out as a disclaimer this post is not sponsored by The Body Shop or any other shop but I will be singing their praises.) 

At first I was  only alternating the Cool and Creamy Face Wash and the Squeaky Clean Scrub day and night, depending on the condition of my skin. Once a week I used the Face Mask and the Tea Tree Clearing Lotion acted as a 'on the spot' treatment to dry out the blemishes. 

Eventually I found I really needed to introduce a good moisturiser into the routine because Tea Tree is quiet drying if you aren't careful, so I also bought The Body Shop's Mattifying Moisturiser with SPF which covers sun protection and helps with the oiliness of hormonal skin while helping prevent the drying. I have also been mixing this with the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser which is brilliant at reducing the size of open pores under make-up.

At night I was using only the Tea Tree Night Serum, which was great at reducing the red scars left behind from previous spots, and my moisturiser, but I found that it was not enough moisture for my skin so I decided to add more products to my routine. 

Straying away from The Body Shop slightly, I've also introduced two extra products into my routine. The Ultra Calm Skin Relief Serum from Botanics at Boots is amazing to help calm my skin when it is red and rebelling in the morning. And at night I mix it with the Tea Tree Night Serum and my Simple Kind To Skin Vital Vitamin Night Cream to create a lovely moisturising yet health giving night treatment.

N.B. I am also trying out the Tea Tree BB Cream in Light and although it is a great base for make-up, I hope that this will become a good way to reduce the amount of make-up I wear which in turn helps the skin as it means there is less need for a fuller coverage and more for targeted coverage only on the areas it is needed.

Altogether my skin is much better than it was, I have to also watch that my hair doesn't get oily as that also affects my skin, as does the amount of water I drink and how late I stay up. Recently I have been up quite late and I'm feeling it, my skin is not happy. It will get under control though. I have faith. 

I hope this helps anyone who is trying to get their skin under control, however most of the time it is personal and someone's recommendations will not always be perfect for everyone. I know for definite that once you've made a plan you have to stick it out for a long time before you start changing things, as your skin takes time to adapt and take on the effects.

Hope you are all well, 

All the best, 
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Links:
The Body Shop Tea Tree Range
The Body Shop Moisturiser - Mattifying
Botanics Ultra Calm Serum
Simple Kind To Skin Vital Vitamin Night Cream - this can be bought at many shops including Superdrug, Boots and Asda (the three I know of, but I am sure it can be found elsewhere too)

Sunday 29 June 2014

Summer lovin' style must-haves!

Hey all,

I am sitting in my mums comfy recliner chair looking out the window at the lovely sunshine beaming down onto my front lawn. 

[update: it is actually pouring down with rain now but it was sunny when I started this post and can't bare to not be nostalgic for the summer sun which has abandoned us for the time being.]

I know many of you are already enjoying your summer wardrobe (I am certainly), I thought I would write a post of my top 5 summer must have staples in my collection: 

1. Espadrilles - for those of you who have been following my blog for a few years, you will know my love for the comfy summer shoes and this year it's no different. I have bought a new pair this year which are sparkly! I love them so much and they go with everything. 
 

2. Soft beach trousers - I bought my first pair after suffering bad sunburn on my legs last holiday and they are blue with floral pattern which are so comfy. I am very pleased that there are loads on the high street. I bought the black floral patterned pair (see below) recently from Peacocks. (I want some of the ones from Next too but I can't decide on a colour)

 
3. Pale tights - if you are a bit worried of scars or discolouration on your legs but do want to get some sun and wear a dress - then tights are a very good way to show them off while disquising anything. I wear Marks and Spencer as they are very thin yet you can get a variation of shades, you can even get a Natural Tan without sun-worshipping.

4. Anything gold - It is my summer colour and I love gold eyeshadow, lip gloss, nails. I also love it in my shoes and I bought my staple gold sandals from Red Herring at Debenhams in the sale! Result!
 

5. A cover up - anything from a kimono to a cardi, this year there are plenty on the high street and I love this one from Tokyo Doll at New Look and Primark have a few good ones. Basically it's a way to smart up a casual outfit without over-heating in a cardigan/blazer/jacket.
 
 
So here is my top 5 summer wardrobe staples. Maybe I will do some outfit of the day posts soon so you can see how I wear them. If you'd like that drop me a comment below or on my social media networks. 

Sorry for this post taking me so long, I got caught up in prom and pre-birthday celebrations all last week but I am back now. 

Luv as always,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Sunday 22 June 2014

Life 3.0

Hello everyone,

After a very long hiatus I am finally free of the shackles of school and exams, heading into what I like to call life 3.0. I have been in school for 14 years now, that was life 2.0, and before that well I was very small and I suppose that was life 1.0. So I heading into a new phase and am planning to improve myself this year, as I realise more about myself, without my life revolving primarily around school.

I can't really say that I have many plans for what I am going to do, but blogging and interestingly vlogging (did someone say YouTube channel, I will let you know when I launch my channel) are going to become a major part of my life as I've missed it so much and will be able to focus more on what I love. So keep your eyes on both of my blogs - my other lifestyle/advice blog is linked above if you haven't checked it out and want to please do.

I have a few post ideas to re-launch my blog, all summer related, one handbags, on clothes and the last one is a beauty look inspired by my mums blog. I also was thinking of reviewing books on this blog if you would be interested in that as I have a HUGE amount of books of varying genres and would love to get through them all as soon as possible.

So just a brief I'm back post today, but have got more time now so it will not be long till my next one, promise.

- Just a side note, I have Instagram so you can keep up with my travels on there, as well as the usual Facebook and my Twitter.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine,

Lots of luv,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Hello!

Ok when I originally wrote this post I was in bed at the weekend and it was a thourghly grey morning and I looked back on and old picture from the end of the last year at the pretty morning sky and mused about spring. In fact that pic is below:

The best thing about spring is the putting away of the winter darks and dressing in pastel. It is a bit of a staple for me. I am going to buy some light jeans maybe this weekend or next if I can get hold of some and then it will begin! 

I'm not really sure I can ditch the jumpers yet though, I'm not that brave as it is frankly freezing in London right now. 

Update: today there was a rainbow so perhaps better weather, or a pot of gold, is on it's way! (This pic was taken through a classroom window which explains the strange marks on the photo)


Hope there is better weather where you are! 

Leave a message in the comments below if you are preparing for the spring season and how!

Luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Saturday 11 January 2014

Princesses are not quitters!

Hello everyone, 

Wow it's 2014! And I haven't blogged in ages! Sorry! *bad blogger head shake of shame* 

But today I was particularly inspired and as I didn't want to make my first post of the new year short and full of drivel I resolved today would be the day. 

Basically today I went to the castle in the sky, Harrods. Ok it's not a castle per say but any girl can feel like a princess browsing the diamonds and evening gowns and handbags and shoes... you get my drift. 

I looked at all of the Chanel sections (a must for me); the fine jewelery hall is also must if you were a magpie in a past life as I was! I think if you are easily blinded by the spotlights it will be a bit much, if that is the case then you can easily walk the halls of clothes and bags and window shop. A top tip is to enjoy everything! There is so much to ooh over even if you don't buy anything at all, although there is a HUGE toy and sweet section which if you are feeling kiddish goes down very well! 

The sale in Harrods ends next weekend and then the store will calm down a bit, as the perfume hall especially was jammed with people! 

But all-in-all it was very fun. I am really tired now. 

Btw the reason that this post is called princess are not quitters is because me and my friend went out shopping and had limited luck in the beginning but we didn't quit and it reminded me that I have a book from when I was little called "Princesses are not quitters" by Kate Lum. I recommend it for anyone who has a little girl in the family, or just needs some motivation as the book is really pretty and it is all about not giving up on doing what you want to do. 

Happy new year blogosphere, I will be better this year I promise! 

Luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️