Depends Who's Asking

To celebrate what would of been the legendary Ozzie-German photographer Helmut Newton's birthday, I thought I'd share some of my favourite highly charged snaps. Black and white and erotic, naturally.

Make A Wish. I Dare You!

To celebrate Mario Testino's 60th birthday here's one my favourites.

Vogue UK January 2011

We are all Lara Stone in a gown in the drawing room.

Brew Break #8 UO Nail Polishes

I have a confession to make. When it comes to buying beauty products, I often get hypnotised into buying items for their name alone (more often than I'd care to admit). Maybe it's because I used to work in marketing, but give me a lipstick with a quirky name and dainty packaging and I'm hook, line & sinker!

 I know, I know, "that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet", but I can't help it; If I saw Charlotte Tilbury's Hepburn Honey & Armani #400 side by side, there's no doubt which one I'd gravitate towards.

If you're a closet marketing junkie too, I've found our kryptonite... Urban Outfitter's nail polishes! Now luckily for me, the formulas are actually really great which cushions the blow. They also generally only need one coat, dry super quick and are around £4 a pop.

I'll start with my favourite: Prince. Now any die hard Prince fan, like myself, knows that if Prince were a colour, he'd be purple and this polish does his purple army proud! I actually quite like that this shade leans more towards raspberry beret than purple rain as it's more offbeat. I'm really looking forward to using this in the winter!

The next shade I went for was this iridescent green / blue hue. I recently heard The Little Magpie rave about glitter nail polishes and who doesn't want disco balls at their fingertips? I also love that it's named after the Sci-Fi comedy TV series Firefly... I actually considered going as Inara Serra for Halloween! Word to the wise, it's a bitch bugger to get off!

The final colour I opted for is the colour I've been rocking all month to set the tone, Wednesday. Aptly named after one of my first ever style icons (when I went through my witch phase, don't ask) Wednesday Addams. This is the first matte nail polish I've ever tried and I'm seriously impressed! I was a little hesitant to buy it, as I was worried it would set like a chalk board (which makes me cringe) but it looks really chic and has been radiating serious Halloween vibes.

What's your favourite name of a beauty product you've ever purchased? 

Brew Break #7 Groovy Winter Staple

How ya doin' honey baaaaaby?

About a month ago, I began to see Helena (serious girl crush) from Bel's Fashion wearing an array of colourful faux Mongolian stoles. Lime, fuchsia, sky blue... it was love at first sight!

When she revealed they were from Select and just £8 a pop, it wasn't long (I'd say a couple minutes) until they were in my virtual shopping bag and on their way to me. Who doesn't want to look like an extra from Austin Powers?

OBSESSED with Helena's cosmic style and joie de vivre!

These babies have been keeping me cosy on blustery walks to university...

I may or may not have bought the baby blue one too... Yeeeeeeah Baaaaby!

Whilst we're on the subject of Austin Powers, how iconic was Beyoncé as Foxxy Cleopatra? And don't even get me started on Work it Out...

I NEED some zodiac bedazzled jeans in my life!

(Trust me to bring everything back to Queen B)

CHILD, BLOW YOUR HORN NOW!

Brew Break #6 Quirky Makeup Ideas

I thought since it's the weekend and Saturday night fever's in the air, I'd quickly share some quirky make-up ideas. I've recently come across so many jazzy inspirations, mostly on Tumblr, so decided to start bookmarking them.

Pour yourself a glass of wine (Dutch courage), crank up Destiny's Child Greatest Hits, grab your make-up bag (or paint palette)
and take a walk on the wild side!

Are you ready for this jelly?

Ziggy Stardust vibes.

Try filling your eyebrows in with eye-shadow for a pop of colour.

I'm enamoured with the offbeat lady who frequently visited Marina Abramovic's 'The Artist is Present'. Coloured eyebrows, tick. Gothic lipstick, tick, Cosmic hair, tick. 

This trick is by far my favourite as it's so subtle and often finds itself in my daily make-up routine. Just tactfully dab your mascara wand under each eye and bob's your uncle!

Rock on Gold Dust woman...

When in doubt, add glitter.

LOVED the dotted rosy cheeks down the Vivienne Westwood SS15 catwalk...

Definitely going to be painting daisies during festival season next year...

Bumble & Bumble's hair chalk canisters are calling me...

And when all else fails, listen to Janis...

Il faut faire aujourd'hui ce que tout le monde fera demain.
Do today what everyone else will do tomorrow.
- Jean Cocteau


Is my vibe too vibalacious for ya babe?

Lykke Li & Other Stories

On the night of my last exam back in May, I celebrated by going to see Lykke Li at Village Underground in Shoreditch. For the last few years, I've devoured her albums over and over again and know every intonation. The night was incredible and Lykke Li as ethereal as you're led to believe. Half of her allure is not only her gut wrenching lyrics but her stage persona; think Stevie Nicks meets Wednesday Addams. 

When I heard that she recently collaborated with one of my favourite brands & Other Stories, I was beaming. Not only is her "wilfully simple" twenty three piece collection oozing Scandi Chic, but it's also reasonably priced. 

These are my favourite pieces, although I'd quite happily buy them all...

In the last few weeks, I've seen her collection crop up in many articles and it's refreshing how involved Lykke Li was with the creative process, which I really think translates. I also love the androgynous edge to her creative vision, here's her thoughts "This collection will be my uniform until the day I die, from hotel slippers and loafers, to cigarette pants and the perfect blazer, to the cashmere sweater and the silk shirt. You get the point, be the man you want to marry!’"

The Swedish singers stance on fashion is so charming, whilst speaking of the statement loafers in her line, she retorts "heels can ruin the perfect party but in these I can run fast - and you hear that click when you walk."

As you can see, the monochrome capsule encaptures her loyalty to black. In her words she wears black "to look invisible and blend in. What I want you to see is my soul and eyes." Her début collection is also inspired by nomads and one of her favourite quotes by Tolkien, "not all those who wander are lost." To stick with the gypsy theme, the dainty jewellery has nomad symbols on which I absolutely adore.

If you haven't lost yourself in Lykke Li's dreamy and infectious performances before, there's no time like the present...

'Lykke Li Live on the Moon' is definitely worth checking out!

Her music videos directed by Tarik Saleh are so ambiguous and obscure... in other words, brilliant!

I could go on all day...