NOTD: Blue Asphalte

Hey! Did you all have a good weekend? I was rocking the following nail polish on the weekend:

This is So Laque Nail Polish in Bleu Asphalte (#37) which launched as part of the Bourjois Paris Ballerine collection back in April this year. I love the colour of this polish; it’s a very stylish blue-grey shade. I found the colour quite hard to capture in the photos so I think in the above pictures it looks a lot bluer than it did in real life. It’s really more a dark slate grey with a hint of navy which comes across a little better in the photo below.

The polish is highly pigmented, which means you’ll only need 1-2 coats and it has a gorgeous super shiny finish! So overall; lovely shade, good formula but it I found I did chip reasonably fast (after 2-3 days I needed to be remove it due to chipping).

I think dark nail polish can either look a little vamp/gothic or if you get the shade right it can also look really chic. This shade is definitely very modern and classy!
What do you think; have you ever rocked a dark nail like this? xoxo 

How to wear red jeans this fall..

One of the hottest trends this fall seems to be coloured jeans. I was immediately hooked on the look but couldn't decide what colour would suit me & my style the best. I was debating between cobalt blue and red but in the end red won because I felt it was more striking and suitable for fall and winter. 

I ended up finding a great pair at ZARA and have been loving them ever since :)
Here is a recent outfit of the day:

♥ Red skinny Jeans by ZARA (cropped with gold zips)

♥ White ruffled sleeve t-shirt by ZARA

♥ Leather high boots by Country Road

♥ Fake Fur Scarf by Primark

♥ Leather biker jacket by River Island

Red jeans could seem intimidating to pull off, but they can really be as versatile as your trusted indigo favourites. The best advice I can give is probably just to wear them like you would your regular jeans! But if you're still a little shy about sporting the red jeans trend, here are some quick tips: 

♥ Don't pair red with red. Instead wear with black, white, gray, navy or beige/nude.

♥ Team the red jeans with a pattern! This could be polka dot, animal print or nautical-inspired stripes. The busy print is a nice balance to the solid red.

♥ Even bolder (but still right on trend) is to team your red jeans with equally bold colours.  For example a bright orange top, blue blazer or even a yellow belt!

♥ Red jeans look fabulous with neutral-coloured or black heels, flats and boots.

♥ Avoid carrying a red handbag when you're wearing red jeans. It will just be way too much. Instead stick with a tan, white or black bag. Or as per the above point try colour blocking by adding a bold green or blue bag!

Here some more red jeans inspiration:

The other night I teamed my favourite new jeans with a French Connection black silk vest for a fun and easy evening ensemble just like Stacey in the first pic!

I'm loving all these looks and definitely think I made the right choice going red! 

Will you be bold and getting yourself a pair of red jeans this fall? xoxo

Discovering BB Creams!

For the last few months I started noticing the term ‘BB cream’ popping up everywhere in the media; from blogs to magazines. To be honest I’d never really heard of this product before and when my flatmate pointed out to me that she’d read about it and bought one, I thought to myself, Roz you are supposed to be a beauty blogger, how can you not know about this! So I decided to do a little research. If you are, like me, a bit clueless on the whole concept of BB creams then read on….

BB cream stands for ‘Blemish Balm’. Now you might think I am talking about some kind of spot cream but that’s not the case. It’s generally marketed as both a cosmetics and skincare product. BB cream was originally formulated in Germany and used by dermatologists to help laser surgery patients protect, soothe and refine highly sensitive skin while providing light coverage for post-laser scars, acne and other blemishes. BB cream became very popular in South Korea and soon, it exploded all over Asia and now it’s the new beauty hype of 2011 all over the world.

These days BB creams come in a variety of different formulations and qualities. Some are said to have skin whitening or brightening properties. Others are anti-acne, some are anti-wrinkle, some are intended to even out skin tone, and yet others to lighten blemish scars. BB creams are sometimes used like a primer under foundation, and if tinted may even replace foundation and some newer ones will have functions of primer, foundation, moisturizer, sun block, pore minimization and skin refining all together which can save time and money in make-up. Basically BB cream is billed as the answer to all your skincare woes in a single product! Sounds like heaven right?

So after doing this research I was quite keen to get experimenting to see if the hype lives up to it’s reputation! The first BB cream I decided to play with was UNE's Intuitive Touch BB-Cream foundation. UNE is the natural beauty sister company to Bourjois that promises a high performance range of products that are paraben-free, made from bio ingredients and almost totally natural. Most BB creams seem to come as a liquid form so it was quite interesting to see that UNE has launched their BB cream as a solid compact. But I have to say I like the look of its stylish simple mirrored packaging. UNE says their BB-cream foundation is a 7 in 1 product that will smooth, correct, moisturise, enhance, mattify, nourish and protect your skin at the same time! Being a creamy compact I was expecting it to feel quite oily and heavy but was pleasantly surprised that the UNE BB cream felt light, smooth and silky! It seems to almost melt into your skin and blends really naturally. It’s a cream to powder formulation and you can control the coverage you want. Apply as a concealer with the small brush provided or use your fingers or regular foundation brush (in my case my stippling brush) to apply all over your face for a light to medium coverage foundation. Final thoughts? I am enjoying using this product and it’s been a positive first experiment with BB Creams. UNE’s Intuitive Touch BB-Cream would be great for people that like a natural finish that feels gorgeously creamy and smooth on your skin, that provides that little bit extra to say a tinted moisturiser. After this I'm definitely keen to try some more BB creams to compare…..watch this space!

UNE BB cream comes in 7 shades @ RRP £14.49/€19.99.
Available from Boots, Superdrug & Lovelula.com

Has anyone tried this yet or any other B.B. Creams? Would love to hear your thoughts :) xoxo

Happy Hump Day %

I seriously can’t believe how the days are just flying by at the moment. The UK girl band The Saturdays actually switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street yesterday because it’s Christmas already in 7 weeks, c’mon that is just plain scary right? ;) I think it feels a little bizarre that Christmas is upon us so soon because only about  a month ago we were experiencing an Indian summer here in London; sun bathing in the parks and wearing summery dresses! 
But you can definitely tell it is autumn now; one of my favourite seasons.
I just love all the red, yellow and orange colours and the hundreds of fallen leaves throughout the city. This is a picture I took on the weekend whilst biking through Kensington Palace gardens in London, so pretty!

We also had day light savings on the weekend which means it’s now dark by 4.30pm which is bit of a struggle to adjust to but then again to me winter and it’s darkness has something cosy about it too. I love being snuggled up and warm inside with candles, lights and maybe a hot cuppa tea! At the moment I am loving the Lounge scented candle by Rodial Life & Style. It fills my room with a luxuriously gorgeous honeycomb & vanilla fragrance! I think scented candles are fabulous because they make you feel warm, relaxed & when people walk into your room they go ‘ooeeeeh’ ♥

Happy Hump Day everyone! xoxo