31 Jan 2013

Shoes Of Prey | Sanctuary For Feet

  You may remember me featuring Shoes of Prey here previously, if not, here is a quick recap, they are an innovative on line shoe company I stumbled across whilst doing some online shopping, based in Australia, Shoes of Prey allow you free reign to create the diy shoe of your dreams.


29 Jan 2013

Colour Blocking


 
 
 So I have a little colour blocking dilemma I need to discuss, I am all about prints generally, but with colour blocking continuing to be strong this s/s 2013 I thought I might finally give this trend a go in the form of an accessory.I love some of the soft ice-cream tones that are around for spring.
 
I was given this mustard and grey colour block bag some time back from my auntie, so I've been pondering over whether to try to rework it with my spring/summer 13 wardrobe. The colours are definitely more winter 2012 so it would be a bit of a challenge or I could take the easy and more expensive route and treat myself to some of the colour blocking satchels and bags in this seasons colours.
 
 So do I spin an old accessory or just indulge my softer side and opt for an armful of pastel blocking?

Valentines Giveaway | Sharing The Love

 
 


 
 
 Valentines day is on the horizon, be still my beating heart. Seriously though I'm a very romantic soul but believe in all fairness sharing tokens of love whether with friends, family or partners should not be restricted to one day but be spread over the other 52 weeks of the year. I find the little things in life are the most romantic as well as some of life's experiences like riding on a steam trains. Anyway I digress massively as usual!
 
 I wanted to put together a little Valentines giveaway as a thank-you for all the love you have sent my way since I have been writing this blog.I chose this little trio of gift's for their playful messages, lovely lettering and because who doesn't need mouth freshener, a set of mini love magnets and a key ring that reads the Keys To My Heart are in my car!
 
 If you would like to win these Valentines delights. Please Leave a comment below and your email address. This giveaway ends on February 10th 2013 at 10pm (GMT) and I will randomly select and announce a winner here and the winner will be notified by email.To increase your chances of winning this little bundle of love you can gain one additional entry for doing each of the following:

  • tweeting about this giveaway
  • blogging about it
  • following/subscribing to My Passport To Style blog/twitter

For the first two, please leave a comment below with the link to your tweet or blog post.

*This giveaway is open to readers worldwide.*

    

27 Jan 2013

My Top 7 Beauty Products & Tools

 
 
 
 
I thought I would share the tools and beauty products I can't get by without using on a daily basis. First up I have a stubborn wrinkle under one eye, I have tried tons of eye creams and gels but nothing worked till I tried Elemis Pro Intense eye and lip cream, it works for me and moisturises and lifts the eye area, it's not super cheap but it seems to also help with darkness under my eyes which Asian skin tones like mine are prone to, which means I can do away with concealer and can be used to hydrate the surrounding lip area.

23 Jan 2013

My Vintage Costume Jewellery Finds

 
 

I thought I would share my current favourite vintage jewellery pieces with you, I'm a huge fan of period dramas like Mad Men, the idea of living a life where everyone wore gloves and matching jewellery and women changed perhaps three times in one day seems so glamorous.

22 Jan 2013

Double Duty| Dressing With Topshop



 




 
 
I recently bought this navy knitted tile jacquard dress from the Topshop sale, I was pretty chuffed to nab this geometric beauty, for lots of reasons I love the colour navy and the ease of flinging on a sweater dress.The centre panel breaks up the body and elongates, always good, but I was also pleased to snap up a print that cleverly covers two of this S/S13 trends.

20 Jan 2013

Shoe Indecision

Monochrome pointy shoes - Louis Vuitton 

Cutaway biker boots -River Island 

Apparently women don't dress for men they dress for other women. I thought I dressed for me and my love of fashion and not my man, until I got thinking about the major shoe indecision's I have struggled with since I was able to start choosing my own shoes.

 Although finding shoes that fit well, are comfortable and stay on my feet is an issue - I have fairly wide feet and a full half size difference between my feet which makes shoe shopping a bit of a nightmare, I seem to inhabit this parallel shoe universe where none of these feet issues exist and knowing that A likes pointy high shoes. I opt to  buy extremely pointy high and expensive pairs of shoes when we are together thinking love and the price tag will enable me to wear A's favourite style of shoes, rather than what generally happens when I  buy shoes in this category I  stumble, trip and grimace in pain after ten minutes.

16 Jan 2013

Rainwear Prints

blaest -245-euros


Boden - Rainy Day Mac -£119.00

Boden -Rainy Day Mac - £119.00
Tuppence Mac-Seasalt Sale £50.00 
Rain Frog - £125.95
Rain Frog - £89.95

 I don't really see why my love of print has to be confined to just shirts & dresses since I now live in my rain coat eighty five percent of the time ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little, I guess I'm not quite at the point of sleeping in my raincoat yet! However I might be persuaded to if I get a pretty enough new waterproof. I'm finding that the right prints can make my casual clothes look smarter, jeans for example and something smart like a rain coat look more relaxed, work that one out! 

If you want to avoid a raincoat that feels and sounds like a cornflake beware cheap stiff fabric! Look out for macs and coats that are fitted at the waist and flare out over your hips, have adjustable sleeves, belts and back vents to give you a really tailored finish. Soft breathable waterproof fabrics are important so you don't end up looking like your in a home sauna!

14 Jan 2013

Lush Spa Box Review






Lush Spa box features - Peace massage bar, Full Of Grace serum, Big Blue bath ballistic and Stepping Stone foot scrub

When Lush recently asked me if I wanted to review some of their products from the new Lush Spar gift box which feature in their four signature spa treatments.I was so keen to make my huge bathroom into the perfect playground to test out these products I actually spent two hours cleaning it, incase your wondering if I'm mad, my bathroom usually gets a quick once over as and when I feel like it.

Big Blue bath ballistic 



I tested three of the four products from the gift box and was really excited to try out the Full Of Grace face serum.First up was the Big Blue bath ballistic packed with soothing lavender and lemon to tone I tossed it carelessly into my bright yellow bath and was immediately smitten by it's deep blue colour.


Relaxing Big Blue ballistic  In my bath


I have a confession to make, I'm not great at long relaxing baths but this balistic from Lush (and I have tried a few) converted me, I swished around in what felt like a blue volcanic rock pool peppered with strands of seaweed, inhaling the scent from the steam for a full half hour of bliss.I thought this was the perfect opportunity to give myself a nourishing facial whilst my skin was nice and warm using the Full Of Grace bar.I love the fact it looks so innocent and unassuming and is the perfect size and shape to melt in your hands, made with portobello mushrooms and rose water I nearly fell asleep during my diy facial.


 I suffer from dry skin and am already a fan of Lush massage bars which I find very hydrating, so once out of my bath I decided to slip into something more comfortable and slathered myself in Peace, made of coco butter and olive oil. My only tip is it melts down pretty rapidly after a hot bath, so if you want the bar to last longer just stroke the bar onto your skin rather than melting it in your hands first.I wasn't overly concerned with making the bar last though, preferring to saturate myself in its luxe emollients and use it like an over night body treatment, it left my skin nourished and satin smooth for three days.

My verdict? The serum is a handy relaxing facial treat for bedtime bathing, that left my skin plumped up and resilient but was also incredibly relaxing to use when combined with a bath in the Big Blue. I'm never going to struggle to find the perfect birthday gift for any of my friends ever again!I love this Lush Spa box and it's cute brown heritage gift wrap and stamps depicting all the treatments you can have at the new Lush spas! Can you tell?!   
    

* I was sent three products from the Lush spa box for the purpose of this review, all photographs featured with the exception of the Lush spa box are my own.

13 Jan 2013

Challenging My Taste Buds!






 

So today I thought I would invite you to play a little guessing game, there are two pictures that feature in todays post with an ingredient that works amazingly well in most sweet recipes and that I struggle to live without.

My attempt at Jamie Olivers Christmas bomb, tastes amazing great for a dinner party!

Super thick and super gorgeous 


This point is being mentioned here as I decided to divert from my usual home made chocolate brownies and make some caramel ones partly because I had received a Christmas gift containing Brownie mix from Minnesota from a company called Heavenly Bites and partly because I thought I needed to challenge my taste buds by trying something new.


 All I can say is looks are not everything! After cooing over the sweet patch work oven glove which I love! I faithfully followed the recipe which requires the addition of melted butter, water and one small egg and got ready to be amazed, always a bad idea! The smell of caramel wafting from my oven was gorgeous.So after leaving the brownies to cool and drooling, I prepared a stack with an espresso, bit in and yuck!The result? very salty, dense brownies which wiped out any taste of  caramel.

 Is the moral of the tale don't use packet cake mix? As a newbie in the area of short cut cake making I would love to know your thoughts, have you ever made a cake mix that was worth the cheat? Or Is there a special ingredient that you could not live without in your kitchen? 

Looks are not everything and neither is smell! :c
  

9 Jan 2013

California Clogs - Boho Rhapsody







 As some of you may know I'm currently approaching shopping for my spring13 wardrobe in a slightly unconventional way, kicking of the month of January with my dedicated Shoe Love In.So when I discovered I had a new pinterest follower in my inbox (Karen Kell) who specialised in designing platform clogs being a Lancashire lass I was pretty chuffed!

Karen Kells clogs are not like any I have come across before,from bohemian crocheted designs to colourful links of leather as well as some series hard core studded rocker shoes,these solid wooden and leather beauties made me yearn for adventures in some hot dusty place preferable with a motorbike thrown in and a billowing shirt.These clogs are designed without a doubt for more than a bit of bit of Morris dancing on your village green.

 If you want to find out more about the talented Karen Kell who designs these beautifully crafted shoes amongst a range of other vegetation leather accessories.Visit her at Etsy,Free People and her own website KarenKellCollection.com     



8 Jan 2013

Daisy Thomas Handbag Giveaway Winner!





My handbag competition ended today,thank-you for all your entries and the winner selected from random.org of a gorgeous Daisy Thomas design is Sarah from fashion blog Fashion Dotty. 


7 Jan 2013

My January Shoe Love In






A new year new start, a time of spring cleaning,  detox , zen like calm, wrong! Typically we, read I, wrestle with overspending, overeating, catching up with numerous blogging tasks and the pressure to find items of clothing that flatter but are amazing value in the January sales. However I have decided that's so yesterday.

The Pursuit Of Cute

 I am feeling a little pleased with myself that I have come up with a simple solution that a) reduces the pressure of sales shopping on myself and b) removes the anxiety of buying clothes that, come March, will hopefully be too big for me as I will have shed the 6lb I gained around Christmas. Here it is, we shed weight in the places we carry the least amount first, typically feet, hands , face, upper body then sadly lower body last. So to compensate for this I have come up with the perfect shopping strategy/ calendar for 2013. January is the perfect month for buying  shoes and nothing else, well maybe some socks.

Street Fashion

 What have I got scheduled for February the month of luurve? Showering myself with some of the same, instead enduring shopping for clothes that will still be a little tight, I will be dodging sweaty changing rooms and trying on pinky rings and earrings like these beauties from BaubleBar.

BaubleBar

 March is the optimum time for hunting out some new season Ts and shirts and, you guessed it, by the time April 13  hits I will be ready to effortlessly pull my whole new wardrobe together and start focusing on clothing my bottom half too, not nearly as rude as it sounds! 

 My lazy guide to getting your fashion mojo back in just four months is stress free, but to make it work effectively it does require you have a bit of vision about what styles and colours of clothing you want to bring together right the way through the process. Begin with the end in mind, something like that anyway. Have you braved the January sales yet, bagged yourself a bargain or are you still binding your time? What's your strategy for clothes shopping in the New Year?  

6 Jan 2013

Smart Guide To Updating Your S/S13 Style

Marc Jacobs- S/S 2013

Invest In Key Accessories This S/S13 


Now that Christmas is out of the way and we are officially in the New Year and seeing a little more light, I'm starting to focus on what elements from spring 2013 fashion I want bring to my wardrobe. You won't need me to tell you that one of the the easiest routes to updating your look each season is to invest in a new pair of sunglasses (check out my previous sunglasses shape wear guide if you need a steer on what shape sunglasses work best for your face shape).

Tracy Reese -S/S13

Max Azria -S/S13


Tom Ford 

Amplify S/S13 Colours With Contrasting Shades 

 Some of my favourite top spring13 trends were seen on the catwalks of New York, as you know I am very fond of wearing the colour blue, so I was pleased to see there were some vibrant blue tones used by American designers, such as this stunning dress by Tracy Reese inspired by water, soft chambray fabric featured also and was used to create very feminine dresses by designer Max Azria. 

Tommy Hilfiger would be proud of my colour co-ordination, as my first thought was I needed to get a pair of red Whitney Tom Ford sunglasses to make both these blue tones really pop whilst adding in a subtle slickness courtesy of the frame shape.


Diane von Furstenburg S/S13 

Maui Jim

Dolce & Gabbana

Double Agent - Change Your Shades And Your Style In Seconds  


 So what else is new for spring 13? White and sheer panels of fabric layered over geometric cut out designs is another trend that I loved from the catwalk but felt it might be tricky for mere mortals such as myself to copy with ease. However give me a simple shift dress and I'm happy,this white cut out sheath by Diane von Furstenburg could be dressed both up or down with the right sunglasses, for dressing this look down I would opt for some tortoiseshell Maui Jim sunglasses and for piling on the lady like chic some pretty Neapolitan pink sunglasses such as these geometric pink Dolce &Gabbana Sunglasses  .

These tortoiseshell Maui Jim sunglasses would also work really well with the chambray trend that I'm hoping to recreate this S/S13.

Marc Jacobs S/S13

Marc Jacobs S/S13

Candy Cane Crush


 Last but not least my biggest designer crush Marc Jacobs, drum roll please, as usual, put a fun and elegant spin on a cult classic, spring 13's vertical stripes, he gave us loopy red sixties stripes featured here and skinny to die for chic monochrome stripes that would look yummy, in my humble opinion, with the pink pair of Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses featured.

 A Very Stylish Hole


 I think I may have dug myself a very stylish hole, as I now find I have created the perfect excuse to invest in a whole suite of sunglasses from the lovely people at Smart Buy Glasses, being realistic all three pairs would set me back less than any one of these designers looks I have been drooling over from the catwalks of S/S13 New York fashion week!

 Do you like to stick to one favourite pair of sunglasses or mix things up by wearing different styles?

*Please note Smart Buy Glasses kindly sponsored this post, however ideas and opinions expressed are all my own* Images courtesy of Fashionologie.