a (whirlwind) week in photos

Working on our Uni magazine project! · Me havin' a pose for the Aussie Haircare competition · Post-LFW paperwork · Current daily make-up, as seen in the hotel room my housemates and I stayed at last week · Some posts of mine that seem to be circulating Pinterest! · Our little set-up at HyperJapan · Bicycle print collar at a fashion stall at the exhibition · Ate the best soba noodles with dipping sauce that I've ever had · Casual eating activities at Uni with Leanne · Earls Court exhibition centre · Amazing tights! · French/Japanese fusion macarons - LOVE! · Riceballs w/ prawn katsu, so good!

Hola daisies! This post is coming to you in a sleepy daze from my bedroom back at home. It's been such a whirlwind of a week: I landed back in Southampton with a thud back to reality after LFW last week and managed one measly photo of my 'eating activities' while in a seminar. Promise to be back to my blogging best next week, I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment with assignments and helping to sell food at the HyperJapan exhibition! I was supposed to be helping out today but apparently I woke up and my Mum had already left - result! Think my brother, sister and I are going to get Nando's or Chiquito's for lunch in a little while instead.

In other news, this weekend I stepped out of my comfort zone and dabbled in some street style photography. Got a nice mixture of cosplay and normal looks in there that I'll sift through and post next week. I spent an obscene amount of money on a B2ST concert DVD boxset and listened to Big Bang's latest single on replay. I also got my dream internship this week; was interviewed two weeks ago and I now have a month lined up at my fave magazine, Instyle!

Going to leave you with a few lovely gals of the blogosphere that you should be reading and get back to packing (all I seem to be doing lately!), speak to you tomorrow! ♥

- this week in five (blogs):

• Gem at Gemsmaquillage
• Jane at Sea of Shoes
• Sarah at City Girl's Fashion Box
• Sian at Shutterbug
• ... and a little pimp of the Blogger's Picnic '12!

davines cleansing nectar & balm via glossybox

This set of cleansing products arrived last month in my Valentine's Glossybox. I don't tend to post 'what's in my box' posts, because they don't add any more to the GB discussion and it'd only get lost in the mix, but I wanted to acknowledge specific products that I enjoyed.

Firstly, if you're not into multi-purpose products, you possibly won't enjoy this set at all. The nectar can be used on the hair or body, while the balm can be used on the hair, body or face. If it wasn't for the screw-top lid on the nectar, these would probably be quite good for travel! I must admit I was skeptical when trying these out: I already have my "go-to" shower/hair products, but both do look luxurious and as though some good beauty research went into them, so into the shower I went...

I tend to use the cleansing nectar in my hair, as the thought of something so runny on my skin terrifies me. It smells very woody and citrusey at the same time, but can often leave my hair a little weighed down, which is a problem easily solved by using less product - I'll probably replace the lid with a travel pump soon too, because I'm super clumsy! The full size product retails at £18.50, which is a little steep, but I'm glad I now know of Davines as a brand, because their products would make the perfect Mother's Day gift or as part of a gift for a best friend.

Next up is the moisturising balm, which was briefly a godsend when the weather took a turn for the cold and I needed a quick fix for chapped skin. While it is very moisturising, again the citrusey/woody scent is a little off-putting for such a product, it reminds me of the overpowering smell in Muji stores in London? The packaging is gorgeous, and as I sit and write this up with the balm next to me, I wonder if it'd serve well as a hand cream for your bag. It's the type of product you'd want to be seen with for sure! Again, at £17.50 for the full size product, it's a little expensive, but I'd be more inclined to buy this as the tube is huge!

I'll keep you all updated with the balm-as-hand-cream trial, but for now, these remain a very rich pair of products, that I treat myself to once a week! If you received these in your Valentine's Glossybox, what did you think of them? ♥

Thank you to Glossybox for, once again, helping to add to my favourite beauty brands bank!

effulgence

i-FUL-juhn(t)s\  , (noun:)
The state of being bright and radiant; splendor; brilliance.

Just a quick post today while I'm packing to go home! The weather here is beautiful at the moment, so I had to take advantage of the light for a few photos of what I'm accessorising with today. I haven't yet decided what I'm wearing on the train yet, but knowing me, I'll probably just stay in this outfit (better photos here! Shock horror, I wear outfits more than once!) and use that extra few minutes to refresh Twitter instead.

01. A close up of the soft pleating on my Ever Ours dress. Teamed with my Boohoo jumper and a skinny belt courtesy of the guys over at Clothing at Tesco who I met at LFW, it all feels very Mulberry-esque. Spot the tacky Juicy Jules nail varnish too!

02 & 03. I'm head over heels in love with my new phonecase. Emailed Lucy at Lucyboots Phonecases on an impulsive-buys day and the next thing I knew, I was designing my own case (well, I chose my three main cachabon accents...) and Lucy was speedily getting on with making it up for me! I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, which I adore, and there are hardly any cases readily available, so I was so excited to have this made for me!

04. Wearing my brass bow necklace today too, but took it off for some gratuitous blog photos on my windowsill. Look at that lighting! Spring weather(?), I do love you.

Right, I'd better get moving. Lots of things to sort before I leave the house, including remembering to pack my phone charger and some sort of train entertainment! I'm hoping to whisk my sister outside for some outfit photos this weekend, so with a little bit of luck, I'll catch you tomorrow. Enjoy the sun! ♥

singing my blues

Hello! I'm back from the inane LFW coverage that crops up twice a year on my blog, and from a few days of hibernation with a couple of thousand words for company. As I type this, I'm scribbling away at an IOU because that Ways to Wear edition I mentioned? It's very much still at the early stages of amateur collage making and odd notes saved in my drafts. In better news, I am halfway through my dissertation(!) but more on that in just a moment...

(Stripe T-shirt dress, c/o Annie Greenabelle;
Super cosy tights, Primark;
Black suedette slipper shoes, New Look;
Scarf, River Island;
Felix Felicis necklace, Sawyer and Scout;
Bag, c/o Romwe.)

Today I had a dissertation meeting in the morning, which is always a strange occasion to dress for. Half an hour in Uni and a twenty-minute walk each way hardly calls for anything too special, so I threw this together in a morning daze of dropping lots of things from my windowsill and tripping over tote bags. Oh the life of a blogger! Picked out this little number from Annie Greenabelle and teamed it with an old scarf that I rediscovered when I went home over LFW, and my standard black-tights-and-flats. I haven't worn bodycon in about a year, but the skirt isn't too tight-fitting which I half like and half found weird. I also popped a longline necklace underneath just to finish the look, and I'm currently scouring the high street for a longline, textured blazer like this one (without the Chanel brooch!) that I reblogged on Tumblr last night. Help a sista out if you spy one!

Speaking of Uni and my dissertation and all of that fun stuff that has taken over lately, I would really appreciate some opinions and answers from you lovelies! I'm writing my dissertation on the evolving fashion landscape with a particular focus on fashion magazines and fashion blogs, so if you're a fashion blogger, please hop over and answer some quick questions for me? There are two parts, so please answer both surveys for me if you get the chance! » part one and part two.

Tomorrow I'm getting back on the trains (South West Trains should be paying me for how much I talk about them!) to go home for the weekend and help my parents and their next business venture. We're going to be at HyperJapan all weekend, providing hungry peeps with Japanese/Chinese street food, so if you're around, come and see us? I'm hoping to wing it and pop to see some fashion shows and have a little mooch about the exhibition too, but we shall see! ♥

PS. Post title is from Big Bang's new release, 'Blue', have a complimentary gyoza if you've been waiting for this release for as long as I have!

LFW AW12: Bora Aksu

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Bora Aksu AW12 catwalk show on Friday. Bora Aksu is one of the designers and fashion houses that I focused my Buying and Forecasting project on last semester. Set to a haunting, ethereal, carousel/fairground soundtrack, the show was absolutely stunning, with a collection full of my favourite muted purple-grey colour with pops of vibrant tangerine - and according to Pantone, 'Pink Flambe' and 'Rose Smoke' - along with beautifully patterned, damask-inspired tights and damask-inspired prints on chiffon.

Above are some of my personal favourites from the collection, and some pretty sub-standard blogger-in-the-standing-ranks shots. Currently coveting? Patterned tights, oversized bow ties, muted titanium blazers and black suede lace-up booties. I also want a longline blazer and hooded faux fur coat on a completely unrelated note, but while we're on the topic and all! Which are your favourite looks from the Bora Aksu AW12 collection? Big thank you to Pippa and Jamie for my invite too! ♥

You can read my other London Fashion Week AW12 posts here, here and here. Enjoy!