MY CHIC AND NOIR DREAM PRESENT LIST

Now, in the run-up to Christmas, there is a focus on presents. Retailers are promoting their suggestions, shoppers are searching the stores or browsing on-line to find the perfect gifts for the important people in their lives. Not everybody celebrates Christmas but for most people it is the holiday season.  It's a time to spend with family and friends, party with work colleagues and to exchange gifts.

This is my dream list of those 10 chic and dark presents that I would love to receive, beginning with inexpensive but delightful gifts and ending with the epitome of luxury and elegance.

GREEN & BLACK'S ORGANIC DARK COLLECTION, an assortment of 12 miniature bars of dark chocolate.

BLACK FAUX FUR BANDO from H&M

VOGUE PARIS - December/January issue of FRENCH VOGUE, with Vanessa Paradis on the cover, 

or better still,

a year's subscription of the magazine, the authority on chic. ( vogue.fr ).

NATorigin BLACK LENGTHENING MASCARA.

Made from 98.5% naturally sourced ingredients, this hypoallergenic mascara is so gentle on the eyes.

CHANEL LE VERNIS in ROUGE NOIR.  CHANEL'S iconic darkest red nail polish has inspired their Christmas makeup, "Collection Rouge Noir Absolument".

BLACK LACE/VELVETY FLOCK BRA & SHORTS,

with purple velvet bow trim, 

from MARKS & SPENCER'S Limited Lingerie range.

BLACK LACE AND MESH BODYSUIT from H&M.

YVES SAINT LAURENT BLACK OPIUM Gift Box. The sparkly black box, tied with black satin ribbon, contains a 30ml Eau de Parfum spray, a black waterproof eye pencil and a black mascara.  I love this fragrance - a blend of white florals, black coffee and vanilla.

SAINT LAURENT CLASSIC
NANO SAC DE JOUR BAG
in black grained leather with
a silver padlock and SAINT
LAURENT signature.  In my dreams!!!

I'll graciously receive my lovely presents wearing my new BLACK EMBROIDERED VELVET TOP from H&M, teamed with black skinny jeans.

Velvet has appeared again this autumn ready for the party season. I love Saint Laurent's Black Velvet Babydoll Mini Dress with an A-line skirt trimmed at the waist with a zipper and crystal studded bow.

GREY KNITWEAR AND FAUX FUR

Autumn has been so very mild but now the signs are that colder weather is on the way.  My thoughts turn to those chic little warming pieces that take the chill off a cold night and a crisp morning.

In the photograph above:

Dark grey pyjamas in soft rib-knit jersey (50% cotton, 50% viscose). The v-neck top with little buttons has long sleeves and a scalloped edge at the cuffs and hem.  The matching shorts have lace at the hems.

Dark grey soft slippers, with a white furry pile lining with little ears and embroidered appliqués.
Both from H&M. 

This Autumn and Winter, I'm wearing dark grey pieces as well as my all time favourite black.

In the photograph above:

Dark grey crew neck cardigan in extra fine Merino wool from UNIQLO.

Charcoal grey knitted hat in link-stitch with a pom-pom at the top from GAP.

Grey gloves (part of a 2-pack) from H&M.

A faux fur accessory adds a wintry glamour.

Above: Chestnut brown faux fur collar/scarf from ZARA.

The softness and warmth of pure wool is always a welcome luxury but it is becoming difficult to find pure wool knitwear at a reasonable price. I recommend UNIQLO as a place to go for cashmere, lambswool and extra fine Merino wool. UNIQLO offers a good range of classic styles - crew neck, polo neck and v-neck jumpers and crew neck  or v-neck cardigans in a variety of colours.  I particularly like their dark grey this season.

Whilst in UNIQLO, it's worth looking at their selection of ultra light down jackets.  Warm, but thin and lightweight, they can be rolled up into a little pack, ideal for a small travel bag on trips to places with uncertain climates.

LA PETITE MALLE - LOUIS VUITTON SERIES 3 EXHIBITION

La Petite Malle, a New Classic in the LOUIS VUITTON handbag collection, was inspired by their legendary trunks. As the name, Petite Malle ("little trunk") suggests, it looks like an exquisite little vanity case and it is made in either the iconic Monogram or Damier canvas. Undoubtedly, to make a beautiful piece like this requires great skill and expertise.  It was interesting to watch the craftsman at work at the recent LOUIS VUITTON SERIES 3 Exhibition at 180 Strand, an art gallery in London.

LA PETITE MALLE - THE ARTISAN AT WORK

La Petite Malle is an example of how the designer, Nicolas Ghesquierè, combines the tradition of LOUIS VUITTON with his own new ideas.  At the exhibition, a large trunk was displayed, which held both LOUIS VUITTON'S historic secrets and Nicolas Ghesquierè's new ones. 

A TRUNK OF SECRETS AND IDEAS

Nicolas Ghesquierè's inspirations and ideas have led to his Autumn-Winter 2015/2016 collection for LOUIS VUITTON. As I sat on low steps and watched screens displaying models walking at the fashion show, I felt as if I was actually there in the front row!

LOUIS VUITTON AUTUMN-WINTER 2015/16 COLLECTION

Designer Exhibitions at art galleries are now becoming frequent events. They give the visitor a chance to explore the style and tradition of fashion houses and to learn how their new designers are updating their image. 

AUTUMN UPDATES

I've updated  my wardrobe for Autumn 2015 with a few new pieces that echo the season's mood.

I like Calzedonia jeggings because I find that they fit well and are really easy and comfortable to wear.  These are black jeans with discreet trendy rips and frayed hems.

In the photograph below:

Black suede-look ankle boot with 4cm heel from H&M

Charcoal grey retro style tee with Los Angeles, NYC and Miami print from Topshop

Silvery chain choker from Accessorize

  

FASHION NOTE:
As usual, fashion is always one step ahead.  Just when I was getting into the feel of Autumn, my favourite designers presented their collections for Spring/Summer 2016.  Paris fashion week is over now and I am inspired and thinking about the next season!

PUNK REBEL AND ROCK FOR AUTUMN

From Saint Laurent, French Vogue and Net-a-Porter to the High Street shops, the Punk Rebel look is a strong trend this Autumn.

The YSL Autumn make up collection, Pretty Metal, is exactly right for the mood.  It combines pretty colours with sparkle and metallic texture, resulting in a femine take on punk and rock.  The photograph of Edie Campbell, on the beauty counter display says it all.

YSL GLOSS VOLUPTÉ 
  lip gloss comes in 3 new colours:-

ROSE LUREX (51)
VIOLET SEQUINS (52)
ROSE STRASS (53)

I've bought ROSE STRASS, a metallic pink, which I would definitely describe as Pretty Metal!

For smokey eyed glamour, COUTURE PALETTE COLLECTOR in METAL CLASH contains 5 shades of eye shadow:

ashen gold
dirty red burgundy
light lilac
dark plum
chocolate brown

and for punk nails:

COUTURE METAL MANICURE - nail patches in Grunge Sequins (gold) or Crystal Studs.

My existing wardrobe already offers some key pieces for a rebel style - black leather jacket, skinny jeans, tough boots...........................

Still, a few new season's updates always make it exciting.  I'll be featuring these in my next post, coming soon.

S H A D E S  OF  A U T U M N

It's September and the weather seems to be autumnal. Autumn fashions are in the shops.  A strong trend for the season is the Saint Laurent inspired punk rebel mood but amongst the black leathers, the black ripped jeans and the LBDs, there are flashes of autumn shades. Dark forest green, plum, burgundy, copper and rust have appeared and a little sparkle too in the form of silvery lurex and metallic pieces.

On the Chanel beauty counter, Collection Les Automnales has arrived.  This is truly an Autumn makeup collection with earthy colours for eyes, copper and red tones for lips.  My first buy for the new season was Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Mélancolie  (99), a beautiful coppery pink with a shimmer.

CHANEL - ROUGE COCO SHINE
MÉLANCOLIE(99)

My other favourites were Les 5 Ombres de Chanel in Entrelacs, (an eyeshadow palette containing five nude/earthy shadows varying from light to deep in tone and satiny to matte in effect) and Le Vernis Nail Colour in Vert Obscur (679). a dark green.

On to H&M where I was carried away by these lovely nail polish shades - Ravishing Ruby, Chocolate Fudge, Exquisite Emerald and Swag (bronze/chestnut). Well they were truly inexpensive!

H&M NAIL POLISH in
Ravishing Ruby, Chocolate Fudge, Exquisite Emerald, Swag

I then bought 2 little pieces in Topshop to welcome in the new season.

The first was a long sleeved tee in rust

TOPSHOP LONG SLEEVED RUST TOP

and then a dark silvery metallic cami.

TOPSHOP METALLIC CAMI

It's time to do my monthly hair colouring again and my usual colour is just right for the coming season.  Wella Color Fresh Shade No.5/4   Light Red Brown, gives a lovely chestnut tone.  You can read all about it in my "How to do Chestnut Hair" page (tab at top of Blog).

LATE SUMMER - TWO NEW PIECES AND TOXIC TOENAILS

It's late July, nearly August.  Now's the time to think about packing a small bag (yes, I travel light whenever I can), escaping from the city and chilling out at the coast.

So here are my two new "must-have" little pieces to put in the bag - definitely my last summer buys:

The bare-shouldered black bardot top in a soft crinkle fabric is from Topshop and has a full wrap back, shown below:  

The black lace shorts with drawstring waist and jersey lining are from H&M Divided.

In summer, painted toe nails are the essential finishing touch for me.  Peeping out of sandals, they can be in colours that are bright, vibrant, pretty, soft, subtle, gold, silver or bronze..... but painted.  I was naturally alarmed when I saw a Tweet from NATorigin (known for their excellent hypoallergenic makeup) drawing attention to this article in MailOnline about the toxic ingredients contained in some brands of nail polish:

http://t.co/bac8jsnNp7

The worst offenders are Toluene, Formaldehyde and Dibutyl phthalate. These chemicals have been linked to fertility problems and cancer.  On investigating further, I was very happy to learn that my two favourite brands of nail polish - CHANEL and H&M are okay!

CHANEL LE VERNIS & NAIL POLISH by H&M

I'm beginning to think about the new season ahead - Autumn!  In Paris, Dior recently presented a magnificent Haute Couture Fall 15 collection. Inspired by medieval fashion, the theme was a contrast of "innocence and sin".  This report by Suzy Menkes is worth reading:

http://t.co/hgGf4NQ9GH

I loved the long white dress with the bared shoulders - perhaps I can wear my new bardot top on into Autumn? 
   

BLUES WITHOUT TEARS

My last post was about a beautiful look for eyes and nails with  a blue theme.

I'm aware that lots of people suffer from allergies and have problems with many cosmetics.  It's heart-warming to be able to suggest alternative products that they may be able to use to "get the look".

Although I personally do not have any specific allergies, my eyes are sensitive to bright light.  When that causes them to water, I find that eye liners and mascaras often make the condition worse and I end up with eyes that sting and makeup smudging and running.  Nasty!!!  

I don't have this problem with NATorigin Pencil Eye Liner and Lengthening Mascara. Both products are comfortable to wear and stay on well.   

NATorigin Lengthening Mascara and Pencil Eye Liner

NATorigin is a firm based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and offers a range of high-quality hypoallergenic makeup and skincare products made in France. 

For full details of its products, see the website

www.natorigin.co.uk

To do the blues, there's NATorigin Pencil Eye Liner in Blue (702) and

NATorigin Lengthening Mascara in Blue (202). 

NATorigin Powder Eye Shadow in Light Blue (84) and Silver (81), could also work well with this look. [Update 3rd July: NATorigin Powder Eye Shadow has won a Silver in the Free From Skincare Awards 2015 at London Olympia]. 

It's easy to order these products from NATorigin's website and I've found its delivery service to be excellent. 

BLUE RHYTHM DE CHANEL

After both Spring and Summer makeup collections, CHANEL has now brought out BLUE RHYTHM DE CHANEL for late summer.  The timing of this collection, it's mood and colours make it seem to me more like a pre-fall collection.

BLUE RHYTHM DE CHANEL focuses on the eyes and nails.  It's a collection of blues and smokey shades with names like Swing, Midnight, Tisse Jazz and Tisse Smokey, evoking the rhythm, the sound, and the mood of jazz.

BLUE RHYTHM DE CHANEL

I particularly like the lovely eyeshadows......

CHANEL OMBRE ESSENTIELLE Soft Touch Eyeshadow comes in MIDNIGHT (a dark grey with a matte finish) or SWING (a deep blue with a shimmer and a sparkle).  I've already snapped up the latter, pictured below.

CHANEL OMBRE ESSENTIELLE in SWING

CHANEL LES 4 OMBRES Multi Effect Quadra Eyeshadow comes in 2 new palettes:

TISSE SMOKY (silver and smokey grey theme)

TISSE JAZZ (blue theme)

LE VOLUME DE CHANEL MASCARA in Blue Night completes the look beautifully.  There's also CILS SCINTILLANTES Sparkling Mascara Top Coat in JAZZY BLUE (turquoise).
  

For the nails there are two new LE VERNIS Nail Colours - FORTISSIMO (dark blue) and VIBRATO (royal blue) and they are both beautiful shades.  I went for VIBRATO 
 (below)

VIBRATO

because I loved the flash of bright blue colour on my nails!!!

BLACK OPIUM

YVES SAINT LAURENT BLACK OPIUM - an addictive blend of Black Coffee, White Florals and Vanilla

Back in November, I featured YVESSAINTLAURENT BLACK OPIUM, in my post "Dark Glamour".  I wrote "A splash of this scent is the perfect finishing touch".

It seems that I'm not the only one who thinks so.  I am so pleased to hear that "BLACK OPIUM" has won the Woman&Home Best in Beauty Award for best fragrance.

Congratulations to YSL!

SPRING MOOD BOARD

Here's my Mood Board for Spring and early Summer with my favourites from the season's trends.  

On the Mood Board:-

1 & 2:  Summer berries on lips and nails

CHANEL's  ROUGE COCO SHINE in a raspberry shade - Étourdie (98)

H&M's NAIL POLISH in VeryBerry

3:  Black Lace Balconette Bra with decorative straps from H&M

4 & 5:  Seventies vibes

Black long-sleeved jumpsuit with a lace yoke, wraparound front and wider legs in a viscose fabric, from H&M

Black platform sandals from Topshop

6:  Stripes and contrast on tops from H&M

Black/grey striped top and grey/white contrasting cropped top

7:  Black and white Converse All Stars in leather with a double tongue, from Office

8:  Denim

"Joni" Super High Waisted Skinny Dark Blue Jeans from Topshop Petite MOTO in a 28" leg length.

PLATFORM SOLED SANDALS

I first saw these black platform soled sandals at Topshop back in February and fell for them immediately. Last week it felt like Spring had arrived and I went out to buy them, only to find that they were now sold out.  Luckily I did discover just one pair in a far distant branch and miraculously they were in my size!

With a retro nod to the Seventies, they have cleated soles and a very wearable 2" heel height.

Style note: Saint Laurent Spring 2015 - wonderful high-heeled platform sandals were worn with sheer dark tights for a very glamorous effect.

A NEW PAIR OF CONVERSE ALL STARS

It's early Spring, that time between winter's boots and summer's sandals.  New trainers seemed just the right buy for now, especially with the holiday weekend coming up.

My favourite trainers are the iconic Converse All Stars and I usually go to Office to buy them.  This time I chose the All Star Low Double Tongue design in black leather.  I think that the classic white rubber toecap and sole and the contrasting maroon double tongue and stripe, make these very attractive and just that little bit different.

I'm really looking forward to wearing them!  

Happy holiday! 

HIGH WAISTED TROUSERS

Low-rise jeans and trousers have been the fashion for a very long time. High-waisted jeans and trousers have been appearing for some seasons now but perhaps with this Spring's Seventies' mood, they will become more significant.

They do come with some real benefits:

high-waisted trousers elongate the body and make legs appear longer

for those who are not happy to bare the midriff, (even though it's fashionable and Karl Lagerfeld featured this look in his Spring Haute Couture collection), high waisted trousers rise to meet trendy cropped tops

My new black high-waisted trousers from H&M are in a stretch twill fabric.  Slim legged, they feature a four button fly and fake pockets at front and real pockets at the back.

Seventies influences are still going to be around for Autumn/Winter 2015.  At the Saint Laurent show in Paris this week, the collection was inspired by Seventies Punk rock.

PREPARING FOR SPRING WITH CLINIQUE

Now is the time to prepare for the Spring.

There was no chance to hibernate but I am trying to get some good sleep. I'm using an old favourite, Clinique All About Eyes Rich, to hopefully diminish those dark shadows under my eyes.

I'm also trying a new cleanser, Clinique Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser with probiotic technology.  This is a very gentle cream-gel and is proving to be very soothing to skin ravaged by cold weather.

Clinique Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser
Clinique All About Eyes Rich