Project 78 continues.

I can't believe that it has been nearly a month since I last posted. The last 4 weeks have flown by, what with a lovely weekend with school friends in Pembrokeshire; working on my CIPR course and decorating the house (or Project 78 as I jokingly call it!). Well when I say the house, the last few weekends have been taken up with painting the lounge. We opted for a bright white to act as a contrast to my boyfriend's dark brown 3-piece leather suite. Unfortunately the room required more coats than we had anticipated, so my last 2 weekends feel like they have drowned in a sea of Dulux 'Absolute White' paint!

However, now that the painting is finally finished we were able to get the sofa etc out of storage and have a proper lounge area. The walls are white and we opted for oak floorboards. To add a bit of interest, I chose teal and orange as accent colours. It is great having all the furniture in, so now I am on the lookout for the finishing touches.

I was recently given some John Lewis gift vouchers, so I have been browsing their website to try and find what I am looking for.

As the white walls are quite stark, I am on the hunt for some colourful prints. I love typographic prints, so these two will definitely be making an appearance on my walls!

Although I love the bare floorboards, it is still nice to have something cosy underfoot. I love this watercolour rug.

Nearly all of my books have been packed up since we moved, so I can't wait to finally be able to out then all on shelves. I don't want anything too bulky, so something like this would be perfect.

I have some cool grey & cream Orla Kiely planters in the bathroom, so I am thinking that maybe I could bring some OK to the living room too. Love how the pattern on this vase is subtle, with just a hidden splash of colour.

St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night

If you are looking for something to distract you from the awful weather, then St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night might be just the retail therapy you are looking for. 

From 6.30pm until 9pm this Thursday, St David’s is inviting shoppers to step into a world of fashion and beauty treats, and is offering up to 20% off throughout the centre!

Over 60 of the centre’s shops, from the flagship stores of Debenhams and John Lewis, to brands like Kurt Geiger, Reiss, Oasis, Warehouse and New Look will be offering discounts and freebies on the night. Many stores will also be offering extra treats such as style advice, in-store entertainment and giveaways. You can find a full list of the discounts here.

And if you work up an appetite while you are shopping, you can take advantage of a range of discounts in the Eastside food quarter, e.g 40% off at Yo! Sushi.

Here are just some of the events running on the night:

The Hayes Big Red Beauty Bus (6.30pm – 9pm)

On The Hayes, the Big Red Beauty Bus will be offering makeovers.

Debenhams Talk Beauty Event (6.30 - 9pm)

10% off all of the beauty brands in store and lots of treats and makeovers for shoppers too.

Kamigata Beauty Pod (6.30pm – 9pm)

Kamigata will be on hand all evening offering relaxing hand and arm massages, head massages, hairstyling, mini manicures, stress fix rituals and goody bags.

John Lewis Holiday Glamour Beauty Event (6pm - 10pm)

Visit the Beauty Hall on the ground floor for a makeover, gift bag and refreshments. Tickets cost £5 (redeemable on the night against any beauty purchase). To purchase tickets visit the beauty department or call 02920 536000.

To take advantage of the offers on the night, you can pre-register here, or you can visit one of the VIP Registration Desks on the evening. Happy shopping!

Mid-week Manicure: Essie 'Really Red'

I have always been a fan of red nail polish, and often find myself returning to it. However it can be hard to find the perfect shade of red nail polish. Some are too blue, others too pink and others too orange! For me this polish is most definitely a contender for the perfect red.

I first came across this polish when I saw a photograph of the lovely Donna Ida wearing it. Donna always look fabulous, so in addition to wanting her outfit ( and in fact her whole closet!) I had to tweet her to find out what polish she was wearing. The shade in question? Essie's 'Really Red'. Donna told me that she wears this polish every day.

I was really impressed with this polish, it applied really smoothly and I only needed two coats for full coverage.

You can buy Essie polishes from a number of stockists, including Boots, John Lewis and Look Fantastic.

Update: Donna has just told me that this shade is going to be discontinued, so if you like the look of this shade then you better stock up. If you will be stocking up on a few bottles, then you might like to know that you can buy this shade for £5.58 on Amazon. 

Have you found your perfect shade of red polish?

John Lewis Winter Wonderland

I thought that I would share some more photos from the John Lewis Christmas event, as I loved how they had done out the venue. I could quite happily have moved in, and cwtched up on the sofa with a cashmere blanket and watched some festive favourite films on the widescreen TV.

I loved the 'Pick 'n' Mix' table where we got to choose from a selection of sweet treats, decorations and tea-lights.

This was my favourite of the Christmas decoration looks on display - classic Christmas with a luxurious twist to it.

  I loved this felt Robin, below, which was hiding beneath one of the tables. They would be perfect for hiding around the house for a treasure hunt!  

 

John Lewis Christmas: Fashion and Beauty

Last week I went to the John Lewis press event which was held in the intimate surroundings of Soda Bar's 'The Attic' Members Bar. Walking into the venue was like walking into my idea of a perfect Christmas: beautiful dresses; 'snow' beneath my feet; trees laden with decorations, and a sofa covered in cashmere blankets to cwtch up in front of the fireplace! Oh and not to mention more Nars makeup than I could shake a stick (or should that be candy cane?) at. One look at the dresses and accessories on display, and I made a mental note to arrange more Christmas nights out in order to be able to justify purchasing one of the beautiful dresses! Here are some of my favourite pieces from the fashion and beauty selection:

This was one of my favourite outfits. Santa if you are listening, this faux fur gilet has got my name all over it!

There were quite a few faux fur pieces on display. I own a number of faux fur jackets, but I can never resist trying on another! I love how they can add a touch of glamour to a look, and can give a completely different look to an outfit.

As I am a magpie with an eye for all things glittery, my eye was drawn to these shoes straight away. And the faux fur wrap would be just perfect for keeping out the winter chill in style.

The 'Andy Warhol' collection from Nars, below, ticks A LOT of my beauty boxes! I love how the brand is offering something a little bit different to the usual Christmas collections being put out by other brands. There are more than a few of these items on my Christmas wishlist!  

Origins VitaZing Moisturiser

When it comes to my daily make-up routine, I tend to opt for a full coverage base, as I have blemish-prone skin, with uneven skin tone. I am currently using Estee Lauder DoubleWear, which is a Holy Grail product for many a beauty blogger. However, on my recent trip to Italy, I thought that a full face of make-up was slightly OTT for everyday wear, but still felt that my skin needed a bit of a helping hand. Step forward, Origins VitaZing .

I am generally not a massive fan of tinted moisturisers, as I never feel that they give enough coverage for me. However, VitaZing has definitely secured a place on my ‘go-to’ list of products. When you apply this product to your skin, it looks like a normal moisturiser, but as you blend it, you can see the tint appear, to match your skin tone. I have absolutely no idea about how it does it, but frankly I don’t care! With this my skin felt soft and looked even and radiant. It also contains a SPF of 15, which ticks another box on the ‘multi-tasking product’ checklist. If I have any particular blemishes or extra dark circles under my eyes then I use a little bit of concealer in those areas.

I can confirm that this product is also fantastic for those ‘morning after the night before’ moments when you might be looking less than radiant!  A friend recently asked me if I could recommend a product to give her skin a boost before she embarks on the daily school run, and this was the first product that I thought of.

I bought mine as part of a 'Brightening' gift set in the Summer, but you can purchase it by itself for £27. However, at the moment Origins have some fantastic gift sets, which bring together some of their best-selling products, e.g. the 'Morning to Midnight' skincare set, which contains the following products: High-Potency Night-A-Mins™ Mineral-Enriched Cream (50ml); Drink Up™ Intensive Mask (50ml); VitaZing™ SPF15 (50ml) and GinZing™ Eye Cream (15ml), all for £39 (3 extra products for an extra £12!).

Free Ojon shampoo and conditioner - worth £41.50

Just a quick post to let you know about a fantastic chance to get £41.50 of shampoo and conditioner for free! All you have to do to claim this fantastic freebie is to take an empty bottle of shampoo and conditioner into your nearest Ojon stockist (John Lewis; House of Fraser and selected branches of Boots) tomorrow - 8th November. Once there, your empty bottles will be swapped for full size bottles of Ojon's Damage Reverse shampoo (worth £20) and conditioner (worth £21.50). But be quick, stocks are limited!

Somerset by Temperley for John Lewis

This morning, saw the arrival instore of the much-anticipated 'Somerset by Temperley' collection for John Lewis. I was really looking forward to this launch, as I love Alice Temperley's mainline collections. The designer has created a 60-piece collection for John Lewis, from purses to cashmere capes. As well as being beautiful, with its Victoriana and heritage details, I think that this collection is also practical. In addition to the beautiful evening dresses, there are also really versatile pieces that could be incorporated into your everyday wardrobe, e.g. the silk blouses and the sequin jumper. Some items in the collection are already sold out online, so if you love the look of this collection, you better be quick!

Here are some of my favourite pieces that I snapped instore at John Lewis Cardiff this morning.

Lace dress - £249

Spot Mesh Tunic - £89

Jersey dress - £99

Sequin Jumper - £69

Will you be buying anything from this collection? I would love to know your favourite pieces.

NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in 'Heat Wave'

At the moment, one of my favourite beauty looks is the 'bold lip' look. It is only in the last two years that I’ve started experimenting with stronger and brighter colours. I’m not really sure why, but slowly and surely, the stronger colours in my makeup collection are the ones that I find myself wearing. I love the way that a bold lip colour can transform a look, and it can act as an instant self-confidence booster, in one application. And they don't come much bolder than one of my most recent beauty purchases, NARS 'Heat Wave'. 

'Heat Wave' is a bold red, with orange undertones. Although the texture is semi-matte, I didn't find it too drying as some matte lipsticks can be. However, I do always make sure that my lips have been prepped by using a lip scrub and balm before applying this, just in case!

This is a highly-pigmented shade, which gives full coverage. I find that it lasts really well, and that I don't need to keep re-applying it to maintain the colour. I love this lipstick, and it has become my 'go to' lipstick of choice.

'Heat Wave' is available from all NARS counters, including John Lewis (where I got mine from) for £17.50.

Are you fan of a bold lip colour, or do you prefer more neutral shades?