Bicester Village - The Expansion! New Shops

Stylist Live 2017 - The Talks and Haul

Hands up who loves Stylist Magazine? Well Stylist Live brings everything in the magazine to life all over three days of experts, interviews, comedy, food, beauty and fashion exclusives. There is so much to see and do and there is something for everyone. I went for 2 days and I am now officially exhausted but exhilarated and inspired to do so many things. So here's a little peek of of  what I did.

The very first talk I went to was 'Morning Routines of Successful Women' with Jasmine Hemsley, wellness and nutrition expert and co-author of  the popular Hemsley & Hemsley books, Annie Ridout,  founder and editor-in-chief of online lifestyle and parenting magazine , The Early Hour and Cassandra Stavrou, Founder of Propercorn. So these ladies know a thing or two about having a morning routines that works. 

The recurrent tip throughout and something they all did was to get up early. It is not rocket science and e all know it. However if you are not a morning person (i.e me) waking up early can be torture. I will do anything or an extra hour in bed and live for the weekend when I can sleep in. They all said this was their quiet time and got so much done in this time that it was worth it. I have to say, I will just take their word for it. Jasmine Hemsley described the importance o meditating to maintain balance in her lie. '20 minutes meditation is worth 3 hours sleep'. Really, if so, I really need to start meditating. She said she meditated on the train or in a taxi so does not have to be at home. So this makes it a little more achievable. Jasmine also talked about scraping your tongue. It helps with bad breath and is a good indicator of health as when she has been out the night before she can tell and see the effects which I felt was quite interesting. One of the most important things to a successful morning routine is a good nighttime routine. Anything you can prepare the day before, do it. From making your lunch, to a good nightcream, to packing your handbag to selecting your outfit so everything is ready. These are all little things that will save you precious time in the morning. 

One of my favourite talks of the whole event was 'Put Down Your Phone and flirt; The lost art of human connection' with Jean Smith, Flirtologist. Are you tired of getting nowhere with the army of dating apps available? I know I am. I have tried them all and got nowhere. Jean asked 'why do keep turning to our phones instead of each other?' Because a digital rebuff is easier than face-to-face rejection. You want to meet someone, start with conversation with someone, smile at the hot guy on the tube, ask someone in the coffee shops what they recommend, anything, just start somewhere. Here's the thing, its hard to put yourself out there. But Jean said 'Rejection is your friend'. Rejection is a weeding out tool. He said no, no problem, he's not right for you, NEXT!! Ah, lightbulb moment. No one born a bad flirt, it takes practice. So yes, the first guy you chat says no, ok but the next guy might say yes and he might be your Prince Charming. What have you got to lose? What have you got to gain? You know what this talk, the practical tips. the things you can actually use to start that conversation with Prince Charming. You will quickly know if he is interested or not (short answers, no eye contact etc, just move on)  

• Q. That's an interesting rink. what drink is that? 
• Q. You look good in a dilemma. what should I drink? 
• Q. Do you know anything about......? Can be anything 
• Q. Do you know about Italy (or whichever country you are holidaying in next)
• Q. So what do you think about this piece of art?

Go get him girl!!. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

The Fold London - dresses to die for

I love a fantastic dress. The type of dress that flatters you, when you can rock it to work and look like superwoman. I am always on the lookout for a super dress and I discovered Fold London. A British label started by Polly McMaster who used to work in the city and knows all about looking professional. The dresses are nothing short of spectacular. If I could have one of everything I genuinely would. Over the years, I have learnt of power of fit and quality. I have learnt you get what you pay for. So when I received my first dress from Fold, I literally gasped. I kept telling my friend ‘Feel the fabric! Feel it’. It has to be felt to be believed. I loved it so much I feel Gollum and want to stroke it and say 'my preciousssss'. I have visions of me stomping in to a boardroom in Louboutins looking fabulous in one of these dresses. It will never happen but I can dream. Seriously just look at these beauties, they speak for themselves….*I die*

Stylebook App - Catalog your wardrobe

I am a bit of hoarder. Over the years I have amassed a ridiculous wardrobe. I just love shopping and when I see something that is so amazing, that I just have to have it, to hell with everything else. Who cares about space?  A few years ago I had a tiny wardrobe. I am talking it perhaps fit one dress, a top and a trousers. So I decided I needed an upgrade and went to buy a huge Ikea Pax wardrobe. I promptly filled it up. It got quite hard to find items. I would buy things and forget I had them. I had no option of upgrading my wardrobe because of space constraints and the Ikea Pax was also not cheap.  Nope, I thought I have to make this work. I needed to find a way to organise my wardrobe and able to decide what to wear with ease. I have always wondered how celebrities who have multiple wardrobes manage their immense wardrobes. How do they know where that red dress they wore 4 months ago is? When you go shopping, you need to know if you have something that goes the item you want to buy, otherwise, you bringing more problems. How do remember all the trousers you have to know if a top goes with it? Enter the Stylebook App. Simply it is iOS app which acts as a virtual closet to help you curate your wardrobe. You take pictures of all your clothes or download them from the internet like I do, upload them into the app and voila, browse away.

Kurt Geiger Heels

Heels are my weakness. Show me a beautiful pair of heels and I go week. So imagine my knees when I saw these beauties.

Luscious. I love the mesh details and the bold print. The colours make it suitable for many items. They can bring some colour to a black dress or match it with a bold print. An amazing pair of statement shoes.

Are they comfortable to walk in? That is the million dollar question. The fabric is surprisingly stretchy and moulds to your feet. I have wide feet so that is always good for me. My problem was the balls of my feet. I am short and these heels are HIGH. So walking is an effort. I can’t walk for long in them. I feel like I am walking on my tip toes.  If you wear heels a lot and are used to them, they will be a cake walk. I just love the way they look. I am absolutely going to keep wearing them and hopefully my feet will get used to it. But Kurt Geiger being the good quality they are there is a soft padding in the lining so that helps.

When I bought them, the sales assitant said thay are selling fast and she was right. A lot of sizes have sold out online so get them while you can.

Dont you just love the Britton shape? Classic.  Sheer quality at £270 and they are worth every penny.

Bicester Village Review

I love shopping, I just love it. Online, in store, you name it if it has shopping I am there. So one of my favourite places to shop is Bicester Village. If you have not heard of it, it is a discount shopping village in Oxford. It is one those places you love or hate. You love it because you get designer pieces on the cheap or you can hate it because the armies of people who cannot walk straight that are front of you and push you are driving you crazy.

Warehouse : Style Me If You Can

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One of my go-to brands, Warehouse, launch their Autumn Winter 2013 campaign; “Style Me If You Can”.  This unique online competition allows you to be at the heart of the campaign, inviting you to pick a location in the city and style an outfit for the model that best suits the occasion. You can create a style mood board with the ability to share your creativity with friends through the custom-made built-in social media functions. So what would be your ideal outfit New York, Paris  or even Milan? 

The Warehouse trend-led collection has been put into every day scenarios such as  ‘Going to the Cinema’ or ‘A Walk In the Park’ and the nine best outfits will appear in a film and print campaign credited to each winning stylist. Not only that, you can also win an “i-escape” trip for two to a fashion capital in either; New York, Milan or Paris, suitable for any aspiring creative!

But it’s not just audience participation that makes this project unique, the way Warehouse share it will be too. The film will be made up of nine chapters, released every 90 minutes on a single day. It will be viewable on the Warehouse website, social media and customers own mobile phones. When the viewer watches each chapter they’ll be able to see if there style has been picked.

This unique way of sharing the new collection proves that Warehouse is the brand for the girl on the go.

To Style Me If You Can please visit www.warehouse.co.uk/stylemeifyoucan. Get those creative juices flowing and good luck!!

Ideas for Christmas Shopping

Ho Ho, I am feeling very Christmassy this week. I have done some shopping (for me) down Oxford Street where the decorations are stunning. i have had the christmas lights switched on at work with lots of mulled wine and way too many mince pies. So in the spirit here are some ideas to help get your loved one that special something if you are like me and a little late to party and rush around on Christmas Eve looking like a crazy person. First up is this amazing 4 piece ring set from Folli Follie. Rose gold plated with clear crystal stones. It is just too pretty...

Vodafone London Fashion Weekend 2012

After all the hustle and bustle of London Fashion Week, Somerset House transforms into Vodafone London Fashion Weekend. You can find designer catwalk shows, pop-up shops and hair & beauty. You can get the current collections at a discount.

I hate eBay

I have to rant about this and get this out of system. Essentially I am so disappointed in eBay I did not know it was possible. So I sold a pair of headphones that was given to me a present I already had a pair of overear headphones so I decided to sell them.They were brand new, boxed and sealed. I sell it on eBay and ship it off to the buyer promptly and I think everyone is happy. How wrong could I be?

I get an email a few days later stating there is a hissing in one ear and that I need to return it. Not can he, no question, a demand that I must return it. Well my issue is that they were brand new. Unlikely that they are faulty. Also, had a bit of search on google and turns out that some Noise Cancelling headphones use hissing as a technology to cancel out the ambient noise. I am no technological wiz but I am ok. So IF it is hissing I think this is a feature of the headphones and I advise of such in a polite manner. I believe he has nothing more than buyer's remorse and has decided actually 'I don't quite fancy these, let me lie and get them returned.' I get an abusive email back stating:

'No... It doesn't work like that. It works like this. You get the goods returned to you and you send me a full refund. I bought them from you. I return them to you'

Oh hell no!! Who the hell does he think he his telling me what I can and can't do. If the buyer has a no refund policy, then I think it is no refund policy unless it is faulty. In this case it is not faulty.I have heard of horror stories of awful eBay buyers and he right up there with them. After some back and forth, he raises a case with eBay stating the good was not how was described, ie the hissing. I gave all the evidence and details of what happened to eBay. After more abusive from the neanderthal, eBay have ruled in his favour. Why? Because they only protect the buyer. eBay do not care about the seller, despite the fact the seller pays ridiculous fees for every little thing. Unbelievable. Did they even research the facts? Did they investigate is it really faulty? No. Because no buyer would ever dream of lying to get his money back.

To top it all off, he has stated he is a music producer with multiple record contracts. Oh really? If you are some hot shot producer, why on earth are you buying £25 headphones on eBay? Would he not buy top of the range DJ quality headphones which run into the hundreds? He has to be the most vile man ever after having received numerous abusive emails and guess what, not only do eBay do nothing but they actually support him.

So anyway, what are your eBay horror stories about a buyer or seller? eBay, please look at how work and find a way to support the seller as right now it is really one-sided. Don't think I will sell or buy from eBay and don't recommend anyone else to either. They are some shady sellers and buyers out there and they are not policed.

Love from Australia Sale!

Get winter ready with the comfiest shoes around. Everything is £50. Now I just have to decide what to get!

My picks for AW12

Well it is that time again. New season and new clothes. AW12 isoming in to stores and your way very soon. For the new season, there is lots of leather, purples and burgundy and peplums are here to stay. Here are my picks from the new season. Tell me what you think?

This top is from Zara and hits two of the trends for this season, peplum and leather. I absolutely adore this for a dinner out. £89.99

Oskia - Glowing and smooth skin

I saw Oskia at a press day and immediately fell in love as it is a premium British beauty brand with a difference. Oskia is the first skincare brand to supply the skin with essential cell nutrients to help rebuild skin health and to use MSM as a skin conditioner and preventative ageing ingredient. MSM (Methyl Sulphonyl Methane) is one of nature's most remarkable and powerful medicines and is known as the 'beauty mineral' and 'healing mineral'. It provides the body with the natural materials to make collagen and elastin itself rather than using a product with collagen in it.

One of my favourite products is Get Up & Glow. It is a serum that illuminates, evens skin tone and firms. I use it as a highlighter or for an overall glow. This is one of the products that generates comments like 'Wow, you are glowing today!'. It can be used by itself or with with foundation. It is has an iridescent sheen to it. £64.50 

Atelier Swarovski Diana Vreeland collection

It has been a few weeks since I posted. I have started a new job and to say it is manic is an understatement. I get home and I collapse on my bed. Over the last few weeks I have been going to lots of Christmas in July events which takes up my evenings so I have lots to write about and I am back with a bang with this amazing collection from Atelier Swarovski. Atelier Swarovski have announced the Diana Vreeland Legacy collection which is inspired by and honors the lady herself.
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Superdry Nail Paints

Did you know Superdry do nail polish? Neither did I until recently. When I showed the latest colours to a friend, her reaction was 'Since when do Superdry do nail polish?' Well they do!! In pastels and brights, perfect for summer. Each shade has unique designs which is a nice touch. So I tried out their new pastel colours. Here is Jade. It went on really smooth and glossy. I only needed two coats and had no issues.