Beauty: In love with everything Chanel

Hi guys,
Last week I used the Christening as an excuse to do a little make up shopping. I headed straight to the Chanel make up counter in Debenhams, and felt like a kid in a sweet shop. I had a faceful of Chanel make up on my wedding day, and when I can afford it, it's my preferred premium make up brand. But that doesn't mean this post is biased - I promise!

This time I replaced my foundation, and had a new lipstick and lipliner,and tried a sample of their newest mascara too. Before I go onto the product names and details, here are the pictures:
The Perfection Lumiere foundation is the replacement for the Matt Lumiere foundation I used to wear.  (This is shade 020 - Beige) It has the same light coverage but more sheen, meaning that it gives my skin a really healthy glow. It feels rich and light when you apply it, and it blends quickly and easily.

The lipstick and lipliner were an impulse buy whilst I was at the counter (I only went for a new foundation!) but once I'd tried them I liked them so much I knew I'd be taking them home with me. The lipstick is the Rouge Allure Velvet and it is a perfectly matt creamy lipstick. I don't like a glossy/shiny lipstick so this one was perfect for me: it has no sheen at all. In fact, I've never tried such a matt lipstick and I'm now completely in love with it!

Finally, although I didn't buy it (I'd already spent enough money on make up for one day!) I tried a sample of the newest product in the Chanel make up range: the Le Volume de Chanel mascara in shade 001: Black. I usually swear by the DiorShow mascara as the most volumising on the market, but this one was just as good! My lashes were long, thick, fully covered, and it stayed on all day.

You can buy a full range of Chanel make up at www.debenhams.com here.

Also whilst we're talking about beauty, I'd like to heartily recommend Cerys at Stands on Drayton Road to anyone in Norwich looking to get their hair colour done. She did mine last week, and it's the happiest I've been with my colour for a very long time. Two thumbs up from me!

Have you made any changes to your beauty routine lately? And have you discovered any new products you'd like to share?

Love Tor x

Latest on Fabfrocks and Family: Days out guide - Dinosaur Adventure at Weston Park
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A sneak peek: Inside my make up bag

Hi guys,
I'm no real make up expert, but I do know what I like. And I try alot of products! So I thought I would show you what's inside my make up bag and what products I use every single day:

Concealer - I use the Mac pro longwear concealer. I have horrible dark circles under my eyes, but this miracle concealer always manages to cover them up!
Foundation and Powder - No matter how broke I am (and we all know how tempting it is to downgrade our make up when cash is tight) the one thing I couldn't live without is my Chanel perfection luminiere foundation. It's light but gives great coverage. And I always wear it with the matching Chanel sheer powder.
Blusher -The first time I tried this Body Shop blusher it was a PR freebie - now I buy it everytime. It looks bright, but actually applies in a sheer and light way and highlights my cheekbones (OK I confess - it gives the illusion that I actually have cheekbones!)
Brow kit - Brows are a new part of my routine: I never used to bother when I had the fringe! So this MUA brow kit is a first-time brow purchase for me. I use the darker powder to add depth to my brows and the smoothing gel to tame any flyaway hairs. I can't recommend it as the best, because I haven't tried any others, but it's working for me!

Eyeshadow - I swear by Urban Decay eyeshadows for their depth of colour and how long they tend to last. This set was a gift last Christmas and it's still going strong. If you want the perfect smokey eye then I couldn't recommend the Urban Decay shade 'oil slick' highly enough.
Mascara - I always used to use the YSL false lash effect mascara. And loved it. Then on one particularly broke day I instead tried the No 7 fanomenal lashes mascara. And i've been using it ever since: I think it's just as good! I am blessed with naturally long and thick lashes, so really my mascara just needs to be able to separate and emphasise my lashes and this does the perfect job.
Lipstick - Another Chanel purchase! When I'm making a statement, or for eveningwear I always plump for a bright red lip. For daywear though I either wear no lipstick at all, or this Chanel shade, which is almost the exact same colour as my own lips: It makes me look put together without drawing too much attention to my mouth.

Of course I have loads of other products that I use occasionally - I'm ashamed to admit that when it comes to a night out i'm not adverse to a little shimmer and glitter! But these are the products that make up my everyday face, and that I find myself buying again and again.

What's your make up routine? Do you have a product you swear by and would really recommend I try?

Love Tor xx

Belated Christmas post: Behold the make-up!

Hi guys,
I meant to write this in the lull between Christmas and New Year, but instead I found myself spending that time very constructively: and by constructively, I mean eating Quality Street straight from the tin and watching at least four films a day!

This Christmas I was gifted with many wonderous things (much like the baby Jesus himself, although there was no Myrrh) but my main gift from my parents, and the gift i'm uber excited to share with you guys, was a gorgeous Cath Kidston make up bag filled with all of the wonderful make-up I wanted for the wedding. Behold:


The make up bag is bridal white, but the floral pattern makes it versatile and usable after the event. It came with a matching manicure set. I love the Dior Show mascara; it makes my eyelashes look at least 12 feet long (OK, that's a slight exageration, but it makes them look pretty long!) The lipstick i'm wearing is the YSL one which is a really vibrant matte red (called rouge temptation) Because of the bold lips, i'm keeping the rest of my face understated: just nude and flawless.

The part of the present I liked the most though were the Calvin Klein make up brushes (which didn't photograph well enough to show) they're thick but soft, and they don't malt at all. I love the presentation case they come in too, which is handy for keeping them organised, and (more importantly) it looks really sleek.

I never like having my make up done by someone else (maybe I just haven't met the right make up artist yet, but I feel too made up and it doesn't suit me) and so I knew I was going to want to do it myself on my wedding day. I just didn't expect I would be doing it in such luxury; I have been completely spoilt!

Love, Tor x

Chanel goes to the ballet

Karl Lagerfeld (Oh, Karl!) has designed special ballet costumes to mark the centenary of the legendary dance group Ballets Russes. English National Ballet's stars Agnes Oaks and Thomas Edur will wear the exclusive creations for the performance at Sadler's Wells theatre in London.
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BBC cameras were at Chanel in Paris for the final fitting, where Karl Lagerfeld explained his design, and you can watch the rather interesting video above.
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I especially love that he doesn't seem that interested in the ballet and also his insistence that he wouldn't be doing this if the dancers were "only mediocre". It's everything you expect him to say!
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I enjoy the mix of fashion and ballet; both are full of drama and you could argue that a decent fashion show is like a ballet; you need the right movements, the right music, and to use both of these to connect to your audience. It seems the folks at Chanel agree, as this isn't their first ballet based experience of the past month; prima ballerina Elena Glurdjize performed for Karl Lagerfeld in the Chanel Couture Salon last month. Here you can enjoy her breathtakingly wonderful (and beautiful!) performance.

Enjoy!

Love Tor x

Don't worry, it will be all white!

Now, I know this is a comparison that only means something to me, but as soon as I saw the S/S09 collection by Chanel in Paris yesterday (not in person of course, alas I don't have a jet set lifestyle) I immediately thought about how the bf and I decided last weekend we are going to decorate the new bedroom.

Everything in shades of white, simple and elegant yet not at all plain. Fabulous lines, prints, and patterns to keep it interesting. And lace. I cannot wait to put my new lace canopy over my bed. Chanel have reflected this perfectly in their collection for S/S09, (they can only have been ispired by me!) so obviously I love it:

The collection had a 60's inspired feel; i'm thinking twiggy style ladies with assymetric haircuts wearing white mini skirts and white leather boots, crossed with the early sixties women (who wore replicas of their mothers couture, before the new teen uniform and sepatration was even invented) in neat jackets and matching skirts.

The dresses over the white trousers is the only touch i'm a little unsure about, but the headpieces are truly truly stunning. Half of me thought the collection was a little bit safe, targeted more at my mum than me, but all of me found something inspirational that I will apply to my look for SS09 (obviously not the white trousers on my thighs, but something) and isn't that what the catwalk shows are for?

Oh yeah, and netting the designers some moolah, but that doesn't really affect me!

Lots of love,

Tor

Meat and Fashion?

Yesterday I said to my sister that I hadn't done any changing room posts for a while (I will be posting some new purchases later!) and we discussed what theme I should go for in my next changing room saga. Although I doubt i'll top my personal fav, the DVD (Dick van Dyke) look, I like to have a theme.

Amie responded: Well, I like meat. And I like fashion. Could we try meat fashion? Maybe dress in colours of meat or wear meat clothes? I dimissed her immediately, though I did suggest that I could photograph her with a steak on her head if it made her happy.

Aww, her very own meat helmet!!

Anyway, it looks like the last laugh is on me. For what did I see in the metro this morning but this:

Artist Nancy Wu has made a Chanel style handbag out of yummy beef jerky. Well, I suppose thats one way to deal with the issue of the mid-shopping trip snack! Even the golden chain has beef jerky strips feed between it. The sheets of jerky were hand sewn to create desirable fashion items. There is also a LV wallet thrown into the mix:The project provides a humorous take on designer accessories, whilst simultaneously making me laugh at the coincidence, and look like a fool!

I've obviously missed the trend, and my sister is the one with her finger on the pulse. Meat and fashion. It's where it's at!

Tor xxx

Chanel - that look is so Mao (couture)

Hey blogosphere - more couture and, more crucially, more Karl.

A great deal has already been blogged about the A/W 08 Chanel couture just shown. Me, I've always had a soft spot for this particular time of year, especially after devouring the amazing Chanel Storyville documentary shown on BBC4 on the talented artisans who actually put the damn clothes together. If I know nothing else, I know this: I'd rather hang out with the housewives/craftswomen extraordinaire in the embroidery room than 20 Amanda Harlechs. We would wear pristine white work dresses, laugh like sailors and collect our Chanel bag on retirement - it is a dream of mine.

You can start watching the whole 6 episode extravaganza here. I'm sure a lot of you have seen it already but if you haven't, I advise you put some time aside and wallow in the sheer lovely crazed Frenchness of it all.

Anyway, back to this year's couture. It seems all the brou-ha-ha centres around the tower o' power or Le Chanel Robe Gargatua:

Hey, it ain't just me thinking along these lines. Even Women's Wear Daily online was muttering darkly about 'Madame Mao' (strangely I can't find that phrase in their new review dated today...mainstream fashion writers have to watch their commercial ps and qs much more then we dirty online independents) and the wonderfully astute Le Style Sauvage reads the big jacket as Chanel's assertion of economic untouchability even as the nature of world economics changes:
"The size of the jacket sent a different message: Chanel is poised to take over the world. Not the world as we know it--that world is shrinking like wool in a dryer--but the new world."
-- Suzanna Mars, Le Style Sauvage (read her, she's ace)

Although a symbol that visually riffs on a Chinese Communist leader's iconography might seem contrary to Mars's reading of the jacket as a paean to luxury's marketplace longevity, it is not as contradictory as it might first appear. Women in rapidly developing countries, especially those with a communist history (Russia, China etc), these children of Mao - these are the socialites and couture customers of tomorrow. And they better have the legs for minis and ballet flats.

Lots of lovely stuff to be seen however. I enjoy Karl's ability to twist Chanel iconography into a seeming endless array of sartorial options. Particularly love the camellia skirt on model #2 and the unexpectedly toughness of model #3. I have an ace Miss Sixty jumper with that kind of tooled puffa sleeve...I shall have to dig it out. I also enjoy every commentator's complaint that the models had trouble posing without their high heels. I quite enjoy a bit of ingénue gawkiness myself - makes the whole thing less rarefied.However, I'm genuinely quaking at the thought that demi-opaque tights are going to be big news again. Stupid trend rumours delivering on their promises...bah.

I'm surprised though that no blogger has commented on the state of the models faces. I was browsing merrily through style.com's detail shot archive and I was shocked to see how exhausted and cracked-out some of our top models look in close-up. I sincerely hope it was the lighting but some of it has to be a sheer lack of a good eight hours shuteye:

Seriously -- click and enlarge and check the bags. I honestly think Vlada Roslyakova (centre) is trolling the front row for brains. Even lovely Iekeliene Stange looks ready to either nut someone or fall forward snoring and drooling on her bouclé. I know models are worked like whippets in couture week but jeepers Karl - let 'em sleep.

That's enough out of you, Kaiser. You're just acting out. No more ipods for you.

Love,
Becky.

Christmas on a Budget: The Quest for a Perfect Dress - Part Two

Hey hey readership,

I think you'll agree by now that Tor, my blogging partner, is as cute as several buttons. Look at her face and hair - she makes Primark look appealing to me.
I am carrying on the Tor(nado)'s coverage of pretty pretty Christmas dresses, except today I'm visiting Zara, so that "Under £30" proviso has (ooh! there! there! in the sky!) flown right out of view. Nope, we're upping the budget to £100, even though my own personal fashion budget figures more generally around the "Under £6" mark. I'm not ashamed to say that thanks to the flimsy curtains at Cancer Research, everyone who frequents the Norwich branch has seen most of my pale naked flesh. The benevolent, elderly and poor have seen my nipples and this, readership is my gift to them.

I am expensif
Here are my 5 Picks from the Zara, Norwich store. These decisions were made 'on the hanger' and represent particular trends of which I am fond. I recall from reading an article in the Saturday Times a few months back that Zara is unique in that each store manager acts as a 'buyer,' ordering in designs from a vast selection, tailoring their picks to trends that are proving popular in their region. This is why the garments in Zara, Bluewater which I frequent when I'm visiting my mother is so much more 'high fashion' than the Norwich-y stock. There's a lot of money to be made around Essex-way and those girls know their designers. What I'm trying to put across is that the Norwich Zara is a little short on floaty and heavy on the tweedy. Just sayin.'

And with that:

#1Block colour - £39

I enjoy block colour. It makes me feel all Jonathan Saunders (A/W 07) and Mark Rothko (above, Untitled 1968). Unfortunately, this dress was also cut like a Rothko, that is to say straight up and down with no waist definition, no complimetary bosom display and hard 'n chunk in the hips.

I was a very angry caterpillar.

#2 - Pleat and Sparkle - £79

I love a fabric that can hold its shape. I am young woman with quite the curve and I need a garment that will compliment this arrangement. I find high street embellishment bling quite tacky and I usually avoid it like the sartorial plague that it is.

But look at that big pleat and my blushes. I'm so happy! Compare and contrast this dress and the despicable former:

Coo!


Ew!

Why it's like I have two different bums, so it is. Tailoring is a beautiful thing, friends. I love it when it when a garment has a fidelity with the body. Which brings me to.....

#3 - Body Con. £29

Yuh. This is from Zara's TRL section (y'know! for teens!) and this dress was deemed a Large. I am a Size 12-14 and a 34C and this was the extent I could clamber into this dress. And I'm not naive, readership. I know that most girls wearing skintight zip up dresses look more like this:

Christopher Kane S/S06

but I also know that skilled design means that a girl my size can look super fierce (can I pull off saying 'fierce'? I just don't know) in a bodycon outfit:

Christopher Kane for Topshop, February 2007

So shame on you Zara, super shame on you. Last I checked, teenager is not a synonym for 'no tits, no hips.' I just wanted a sexy dress in which to drink White Lighting in the park. Damn you.

#4 Chanel-lo! £79

Mmm, Lagerfeld-y. Can't argue with a monochrome chiffon gown that's 'inspired' by the ultimate in chic fashion brands. I felt awesome - floaty and malevolent.

To spare y'all the horror (the horror!) I have photoshopped out my nipples and photoshopped in a dark murky lighting scheme. It's well elegant, innit?

Me and my modelling partner are ready to sex it up, goth style. What say you, Karl?

Oh, Karl. I knew you would.

Love,
B.