Saturday Neet

It's a well known fact that a good black dress is guaranteed to make you feel fabulous. Luckily, I've found something of an LBD holy grail in the shape of Lady Voluptuous's Ursula.

My parents were kind enough to buy me this dress for my birthday. I was daring, and asked for it in a size 16 rather than an 18, as I was starting to feel much healthier and happier in my own skin, and I thought it could be a good aspirational dress; something to spur me on with healthier eating and yoga,

Then, after getting in from my birthday meal, I tried it on with little hope of it fitting. And then, my dear friends, something magical happened.

Belt: Asos

Shoes: Joe Browns

Necklace: Tatty Devine

It fit, and I bloody loved it. I felt transformed into some sort of vixen bombshell creature. This dress is a winner, there's no two ways about it. It's a really great price too. I could definitely fancy this in a few diffent colours- particularly the green.

Of course, it was the first thing I reached for when we decided to go for an impromptu night out on Saturday. We just went to our local high street, but it's a canny night out there. This one culminated in some pretty ridiculous dancing to Old Skool classics.

Dress: Ursula by Lady Voluptuous

Shoes: Melissa

Hair flowers: Accessorize

Necklace: Asos

An outdoor picture, what a treat, eh? Especially with the compost bin right behind. And the massively overgrown weeds which I am optimistically calling "the meadow". I have some Maidenform shaping pants on underneath, but in the outdoor light that belly is a little too prominent for my liking. If I'm honest though, I didn't really care- I still felt mighty fine, and I suspect that with the fabulous cleavage the crossover neckline gives few people would notice my belly anyway. I had to adjust the neckline a couple of times to avoid showing off a little too much bra, but it wasn't too much of a problem. It was also a bit of a clart on going to the toilet, thanks to the shapewear underneath, but nothing too onerous.

I wore flats, as we have to walk up a massive hill to get to our local night life. I'm wearing some pearlised Melissa's that I picked up for a great price in a sale in London.

I added some red accents to really vamp it up. Two red orchids in my hair and bright red lips, courtesy of one of my new favourite beauty products. I curled my hair using my new clipless curling wand, so I therefore had a variety of tiny red burns all over my hands just to finish the outfit off. It makes for nice curls but my goodness, it befuddles me somewhat,

I get a My Little Box every month, just as a little treat to myself and to force myself into trying new beauty products. This So Susan Hybrid Colour tube came in the latest Gypset box, and it's really marvellous. I love the look of red lippy, but I normally can't be bothered with it as it ends up all over the place within femtoseconds and I never remember to reapply it. This product is more of a lip stain though- it's a beautiful colour and it really does stay in place all night, even despite some fairly rigorous kiss testing. It can also be used as a blusher, but it's so bright you'd only need a teeny, tiny bit and I think I'd be rather tentative to use it as such. The box describes it as a "game-changer". I'm usually highly skeptical of hyperbolic claims, but I actually think this may well be a game changer for me as it's so easy and long lasting. The only downside is that it only seems to be available in this one colour.

I topped the lip stain off with another My Little Box product; a Loved by Lou Lesage lip balm in Rouge Velour. It meant that I could occasionally reapply the lip balm for a bit of a gloss when I remembered(once!) but I still had the underlying colour so it didn't really matter.

H xxx

P.S. I know that a lot of posts about subscription boxes, clothes, or beauty products are sponsored or gifted. This isn't, in any way shape or form, I'm just genuinely gushing about a lipstick and a dress that I really like :)

The Mane of Doom.

This evening, I have been for a haircut.

My hair is ridiculously thick, and grows ridiculously quickly too. It doesn't take much for it to become completely unruly and out of control. Unfortunately, purely because of my own disorganisation, I ended up going without a haircut from November last year to July of this year, so it was getting to be a rather frightful sight.

Before and after

It's therefore important to me to have a good hairdresser. And, luckily enough, I've found a really wonderful salon and a hairdresser with enough skill to tame my "mane of doom", as we refer to it.

The salon is East Terrace Hairdressing, and it's an absolute joy. It's right in the centre of Newcastle, on Old Eldon Square, and it's beautifully decorated. They've been open for two years now, hence the birthday decorations, and they seem to be going from strength to strength- it's great to have been with them since near the beginning as I've seen them blossom into a really busy little salon. It's run by Nick and his Mum, and they're super friendly and welcoming, as are all the staff. Conversation there doesn't feel forced at all, which is an important factor for me as I'm socially anxious. And most importantly of all, there's often wine, and sometimes even chocolates on offer, so I feel right at home there.

It's worth showing the finished product off again I think. Not only does it look miles better, but it feels beautiful too.

So, if you're in Newcastle, and you want a good quality hairdresser who takes a lot of pride in his work and business, give East Terrace a call.

Romantic Roses

Today I have mostly been setting up Facebook and Twitter for this blog, and that meant that of course I was thinking about clothes on my way home. I had time to kill before my bus was due, so I popped into John Lewis to have a little peruse of their sale. I wasn't really intending on buying anything in particular, but I picked up some gems in Phase 8 that I'm super pleased with. 

 

First up is this little floral number. It's a size 16, so I wasn't sure it would fit, but lo and behold it does, nicely, although I reckon it would look a lot better with some shapewear underneath. It shows a good bit of cleavage, but I think I might end up wearing this for work with a little vest top underneath.I think it'll look pretty good with my black blazer.

When I saw this next one, I basically picked it up and hugged it. Then I put it down again and considered it, thinking that it might be a little on the garish side. Then I wondered what the hell I was thinking, as I love garish things, and this was the only one left and it was my size and it was meant to be. Trying it on, I knew I had made the right decision as I'm absolutely in love with it. It fits in all the right places, and shows off plenty of cleavage. The fabric is heavy and luxurious and hangs beautifully, and the ruching means it is super forgiving. That photographic rose print is to die for, and it would be so, so good for a wedding or valentine's day.

thoughtful face. kind of. 

A close up of the fabric

For the purposes of trying these dresses on, I dug these little Next lurex kitten heels out. I've only worn them once, for a wedding, and they didn't last long, as it turns out that they are really painful. They are pretty though: I love the tone of them; not quite as lurid as gold, but a little more interesting than a plain silver. 

Much as I love Phase 8, I don't think I'd ever persuade myself to buy anything full price. These dresses feel wonderful, but they're much better value for money in the sale. 

In other news, today has been mostly painful in the foot area. 

The first blister emerges

The reason is that I invested in some new shoes at the weekend. I spend most of my time in flats, yet I can never quite justify spending any money on them. I usually end up wearing super cheap ballet pumps, but they can be uncomfortable, are rubbish for walking far in, and they usually fall apart after the slightest hint of rain. I thought I'd therefore buy myself some sensible shoes, and what shoes are more sensible than Dr Martens? I'm really digging chunky  clunky shoes at the moment, so this Lynne design seemed perfect.

In my younger goth days, I had about six pairs of DMs, and I loved them all to bits. I'm hoping these shoes will also be beautifully comfortable, but of course before I get to that point I have to go through the dreaded breaking in stage. This usually involves rubbing all the skin off my heels until my feet are basically skeletal. It's going to be a long, hard slog, but it'll be worth it in the end. 

You might have noticed my curly hair in the photos above. I've been really pleased with it today: apparently the trick to fabulous curls for me is to sleep in rollers the day before I need it to look good. It's messy and chaotic, and with the addition of a little sunflower clip, it's just how I want it!

If you've a minute or two to spare, do pop over to the Facebook page and Twitter and like, share, follow, dance, say hello and anything else you'd like to do. By the way, if you know of a good app for making picture collages, do let me know. I can't seem to find one that does what I want it too.

Hxxx

Flying Fringe Festival Fashion

Today we've been up to Edinburgh for a flying fringe festival visit. It's been a really lovely, packed day.

One great thing about Edinburgh, aside from the unique architecture and truly wonderful pubs, is the abundance of quirky little independent shops. In between various comedy shows and beer drinking, we popped into a couple and bought some gorgeous trinkets.

My obsession with foxes continues. First up is this beautiful brooch. Apparently my eyes lit up when I saw it, so bf bought it for me as a gift. He spoils me far too much! I adore how the orange of the fox stands out against the blue background, and the layering effect makes it really unusual.

This space shuttle necklace also caught my eye, and I just couldn't pass it up. I've had a minor obsession with space shuttles since my awkward teenager days. I'm not entirely sure what it is about them, but I find them really aesthetically pleasing. I used to have a little pewter space shuttle necklace which I got from Kennedy Space Centre when I was much younger. I loved it so much, but ended up wearing it so much that the chain got really discoloured because it was pretty cheap. This little necklace feels like a much classier, prettier, grown up version of that souvenir necklace. I love the little star details.

Both of these little gems came from Hannah Zakari, which is well worth a visit for any fans of cute or unusual jewellery.

Another fox ended up making the journey home with us too. Would you get an eyeful of this cute lil fox cushion? That little floral bow is so delightful. I didn't notice the name of the shop we got it from (this was yet another present from bf. I'm not kidding when I say I'm spoilt rotten) but it is by Sasse and Belle.

I suppose you're wondering what I was wearing, given this is supposed to be a fashion blog after all. Well, I didn't get any photos when we were actually there, so please forgive yet another messy bedroom shot.

Do also bear in mind that this is after a long day of drinking, travel, and sitting in stuffy dark rooms laughing loudly, so I'm rather rumpled.

A trip to the Edinburgh Festival involves a lot of rushing around, up and down steep hills, so comfort is much more important than being glamorous. I got these jeans a few months back; they're from Next and they're absolutely wonderful. They feel really flattering, and they're made of a lovely soft denim. They're a more deluxe Jean, and are a little more expensive than what I'm used too, but they're so worth it and still very reasonably priced. The Kimono top is from Asos, and it's one of my favourite dressy-ish yet casual tops. The crossover style gives just a little teasing hint of cleavage and the tie waist means it's flattering yet super forgiving. The Kimono arms are perfect for rushing about in and sitting in hot rooms, as they mean plenty of air flow and no sweaty patches. The colours are darling too.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

Hxxx

A Rockin' and A Rollin'

Having lost a stone in weight of late, I'm rewarding myself with tentative steps into the smaller sizes in my wardrobe. I'm trying to be a bit more daring than usual. And the first station stop on the train to daring is leather, if you ask me.

I'm off for brunch to celebrate my friend Paul's birthday. We're going to a posh hotel, so my first thought was a pretty dress. But then I stopped myself and thought about putting together something edgier. I've had this skirt for a while, but I've never quite fit into it properly. It seemed worth another try and look and behold, it fits. I have shaper tights on but no shapewear, mainly because the skirt is pretty short and I don't want any scaffolding peeping out!

Skirt: River Island from  Asos

Black vest top: H&M

Kimono: Warehouse

Tights: Primark 

Boots: bought in Switzerland on my hols last year. 

The skirt is a lovely soft leather with a zip detail and an asymmetric hem that gives it a bit of an "I don't give a shit" sort of attitude. It's rock and roll.

I've gone for make up from my goth days. Thick eyeliner, all round the eye. I used a lip tint from e.l.f just to give a bit of a deeper colour. My necklace is a Tatty Devine Angel of the North. I'm really digging Tatty at the mo and my wonderful bf has treated me to a few pieces lately. 

My boots are pretty high, and I doubt I'll be walking far in them. I love the detailing on them though. 

Hxxx