Kiboots

On the flight home from Milan recently I read a real life story in a magazine that really inspired me, I wanted to tell you all the story I read as I think its fabulous. 

In the summer of 2010 a new brand appeared on the streets of Amsterdam; Kiboots. The founders, Jovanna Kruitbosch and Martijn Lugtigheid, decided to personify their travel inspiration and experiences into a unique brand. According to them, the current fashion scene had lack of authentic, hand-made and at the same time, affordable products. Jovanna & Martijn strive for more sustainability in fashion and therefore feel the responsibility to set an example with Kiboots. 

Here's how Kiboots website puts the story;

"Back in the 60's, road-tripping hippies throughout Arabian countries were the first to influence local artisans to combine leather leftovers with colourful kilim rugs. During one of their travels Jovanna & Martijn discovered an old pair of boots. Due to enthusiastic reactions from friends and family they started reproducing these boots, by upgrading the quality and handpicking the vintage carpets themselves. Our Kiboots are colourful handmade boots made by skilled artisans with over more than 30 years of experience, who combine original vintage kilim rugs with quality leather. Each pair of Kiboots is branded by hand and only the perfect boots are allowed to wear the ‘K’, with pride!"

Although the boots have quite a big price tag for the high street as each are over£100, the brand identity and ethics really speak to me plus the boots look fabulous. I think I will be regularly checking the website for my perfect pair and saving some pennies to invest in a piece of fashion which has some history and meaning.

Have a look at more of there offerings here at their website,
Much love,
M x

Benefit Fine One One

Hi girls,

I had to tell you about Benefit's newest product, it launches tomorrow (Saturday the 26th of January) and I am super excited to show all my customers at work it. It launched in the states at the end of December and is currently Sold Out! 

Fine One One is a cream highlighter and blush that I have actually been using on my lips as well. It is made up of three components a champagne toned highligher, a sweet pink and coral peach which mixed together on the cheek can either be wor very subtly so create a peachy pink glow or built up strong to create a very bright pink flush on the cheeks. 

Its really simple to use, for an everyday look simply draw a line onto the cheek bone with the highlighter at the top then gently blend with your ring finger. For a more dramatic colour pay off spin Fine One One on the cheek bone in a cirle one and half times, then again blend.

 
I don't think this product will stay in stock long girls so get your little butts down to your nearest Benefit counter sharpish to try it out, I am available all day Saturday and Sunday this weekend in Debenhams Silverburn so if you would like a make-upper with me feel free to call us on 01418917936 to book.
Much love,
M x

OOTD - After Dark

To celebrate passing our exams and coursework from last semester my friends from uni and I decided to head out in Glasgow for a mid weak cheap night out on Wednesday. We had such a fab time that day and night we spend the day shopping then headed to Dodi's (from Dodista) flat to make some dinner, Vari (from Toffee Heels) made us pop into Waitrose when we were Glasgow's west end that afternoon so we had some pizza, they were disgusting!!!

My Outfit;

Dress; Stradivarius

Necklace; Zara

Shoes; New Look

Bag; Oasap

Bracelets; H&M 

Coat; French Connection

I hope you like thre make up look I went for as my outfit was very much all about colour I decided to be a little brave and wear a red and orange eyeshadow theme, with a purple on the lips. I found it really hard to find myself a red eyeshadow but MAC eventually saved the day and I picked up this fabulous colour for just £12, the colour is Cranberry.

 Dodi's Outfit;

Playsuit; Miss Selfridge

Bag; Primark

Shoe Boots; Top Shop

Bracelet; Accessorise

Belt; Primark

Watch;aa Michael Kors

Vari's Outfit;

Top; River Island

Leggings; Topshop

Shoes; Kurt Geiger

Bag; Primark

Ring; Accessorise

Highstreet Beuaty Haul

Hello pretties,

as random as this post is I though I would share with you all my latest beauty products, there's nothing too expensive in this post its made of little bits and bobs I have picked up on the highstreet and am either loving or hating. 

The first thing I would like to show you all is this little make up sponge from H&M, I had seen people using sponges like this one on a few youtube videos so I thought for £1.99 I can't really go wrong and may as well give it a little bash. I have been using this product to apply my concealer  its so simple to use, you very slightly wet the sponge, apply the product to the sponge and buff on to the face. It is applys the product in a really natural way, stopping any product build up and giving a really even finish. I love it, I think we should all own one of these little babies girls.

As you m ay have already gathered I love nail varnish and experimenting with nail design, I very very rarely ever have just one colour on my nails as its my way of keeping some brightness in my life when I love in such a dull, miserable country! 

My friend Gemma who manages the Urban Decay counter in my work had recommended Barry M's new Gelly nail varnishes. They are meant to stay on much longer than regular varnishes and give the nail a high shine effect like gel. Gemma loves these and she seen fabulous results, I however did not. I kept these on for three days then had to take it off as it looks awful, they did not even last 24 hours before chipping. I think the results of this product must rely a lot on the condition of your nails, i have quite dry and flaky nails from the amount of acetone I use, therefore I believe that my nails chip easier because of this and Gemma must have seen better results as her nails are very long and healthy. I do have another friend who actually applied this product to her toenails, the next day after taking off her socks she seen she had red nail varnish all over her toes and her socks were ruined. So definitely mixed reviews about Barry M's Gelly varnishes, I must admit they are high shine but I do not agree that they are more resilient than regular polishes. 

 Whilst in Superdrug picking up the Barry M Gelly's I spotted this little pot of nail glitter from Gosh, I had to have it the colour is fabulous, this medium sparkly pink looks amazing on my nails. I trieed dipping my nail in the pot but it went on very uneven that way so in the end I used an old eye shadow brush and simply patted the glitter onto some wet clear nail varnish on the nail. I love these little pots, I will be back to invest in some other colours, they also had a gold, silver and red. A bargain for just £3.99

 This is now one of my favourite polishes, I ordered this gold flecked glitter polish from avon a couple of months ago but has to wait on it as it was out of stock, I applied it on top of a gold nail varnish and it gives this fab million dollar look to my nails. It is also really nice on top of richer colours such as a red or dark purple. Its from Avon's Colour Trend section and cost just £3.99.

I needed a new make up bag for when I am staying away from home and this little bargain from primark is the perfect size and is super cute too. I love its quilted floral and nude design with the big diamante zip key ring.  

Hope you've enjoyed my random buys,

Much Love,

M x

Milan sei bella

Whilst in Milan I bought quite a bit of cosmetics, I could not help myself as I was with Vari from Toffee Heels and she literally dragged us into Sephora and Kiko everyday. The prices were amazing though in comparison to the cosmetics brands I usually buy from, however I didn notice that alot of the brands I love here in the UK were very expensive in Milan, such as Benefit. Over here the Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation is only £24.50 where as in Milan it was 35 euros which is quite a difference.

So from Kiko, which I loved, I loved going into a store that was purely one brand of make up it was literally like being in a make up sweetie shop. I grabbed quite a few little bargains from this fun little brand.

Firstly, I really wanted to try a primer, I love primer it makes such a difference to the finish of your make up, and as I love a dewy glow I decided to go for there Skin Tone Corrector in Violet as it is aimed at giving the skin a healthy glow. I have been using this product a lot since returning home and although it definitely doesn't give as much dewy impact as say Benefit Girl Meets Pearl, I do like it. It leaves the skin very smooth and soft and does give a slight very natural glow.

The Kiko Ultimate Pen liquid eyeliner is totally fab, I love this, this is the product I have probably used the most from my little Kiko haul. It gives such a sharp black line, love it love it love it.

This is probably my least favourite product from Kiko, I was eagar to try thier pencil lipsticks, however there was no testers available so I had to choose a colour based on the colour representation on the bottom of the pencil. However once I got the Pencil Lip gloss home and tried it, the colour given is quite a sweet sparkly pink, which is not really my sort of thing.

I was on the hunt whilst away for a cream compact concealer and when I seen Kiko's Full coverage concealer I thought perfect I will give this one a bash. I am so glad I did, I have been using this product around my eyes, nose and chin and I love it. It doesn't leave the skin looking caked or make me look like i have massive crows feet but does cover the redness and darkness in my skin

This was a last minute throw into the basket purchase and I'm glad of my spontaneous grab, I have been using this lovely little balm before bed whilst applying the rest of my skincare routine and its doing a really great job of keeping my lips feeling soft and preventing the cold horrendous weather we are having from affecting my lips.

Overall, I am really pleased with my little Kiko bargains unlike Kiko they do have a UK online store if you fancy picking up any of the products I love you can here.

As we don't have Sephora in this country and we are unable to even shop their products online i decided to grab wuite a few products whilst I could.

I was eagar to try one of their brushes as they had quite a big collection, I needed a new eyeshadow brush so grabbed the double ended every day brush. I am more than happy with this I have used it a few times now and it is fab for blending as the brusles are so soft, the short end is also fab for lining the bottom of the eye with eyeshadow for a soft smokey look.

I really struggled to decide on a highlighter as they had such a fab selection, however as ia had recentyly bought a pearlised highlighter from Lancome I decided to go for a more gold toned colour. Therefore I went for the highlighting compact powder in golden. As I am very fair this is a little dark for me as a highlighter so I have actually been using it as a contouring bronzer but even though I am using it for a totally different purpose it is lovely on. 

I bought two lipsticks from Sephora, the colour pay of from both is fab and the consistency is creamy. The only thing I don't like is the smell, it is really putting me off but the dark purple shade in particular has a really strange odor that I can only describe as cigarette ash! Its really disappointing because on this colour is lovely but the smell is pretty horrible. 

 
Hope you have enjoyed seeing my latest beauty additions,
Much love,
M x

Grazie la tua Milano

Hey Girlies and Boysies,

So here it is the post where I share all my many many many purchases from my time in Milan with you all. I am actually really sad as I had a bit of a blonde moment and was so excited to give my gifts that I gave them before I could photograph them so therefore I cannot show you the beautiful pressies I brought back for my family and boyfriend Jordan. 

I bought Jordan a beautiful heavy knit grey scarf from Ralph Lauren, some big blue, red and grey cosey sockies (he loves socks) from Ralph Lauren and a wonderful big bottle of Jagermeister which I did take a picture of. 

I bought my sister a wonderful jacket from Mango which I have managed to find a picture of from their website. 

I bought my Mummy a lovely heavy down knit jumper from Mango also, I really wish I had a pic of it, it had a wonderful design where by the neck's wool appeared to have been sprayed with gold dust. My Mum was also treated to some Armani chocolate which I loved buying as the store was stuffed full of yummy Armani chocolate products like Armani chocolate hazelnut spread. 

I also brought home a little pressie for my boyfriend's little Brother Karl who is 4 (almost 5), I brought him a super cute little yellow and grey knit hat with a bobble on top from Burberry.

I am going to split my purchases posts from Milan into two as I bought a lot of make up products as well as clothes, this post will cover the clothing I bought but look out for the cosmetics post coming up. 

I got these lovely terxtured slim fit smart trousers from Mango, which was so cheap in comparison to the UK . The store was one big massive sale so I was a bit like a kiddie in a sweetie store.

I also grabbed hold of this black top whilst in Mango, its quite different as the front is rather see through but also has this wonderful lace texture covering the front half. It looks fab my green embossed trousers from Zara, as the contracting colours and textures play off each other. 

Whilst in Milan I discovered a brand called Stradivarius I managed to snap up two little bargains whilst exploring the store, this gorgeous little blue striped shirt and green dress below. Unfortunately Stradivarius does not have any UK stores or even a UK online store however if you would like a little peak follow this link to the Italian online store.

I grabbed this beautiful black velvet sophisticated dress from Mango, I;m keeping this little number for my first job interview when finished uni and hopefully its good enough to impress along with hopefully a first class degree hehe.

This wonderful little treasure was picked up in Ralph Lauren whilst in the outlet store in Switzerland. Although it looks pretty dark here its actually brown leather, its fab with a pair of high waisted jeans and my new blue shirt above.

My favourite purchases from my time away are these fabulous little Prada numbers. The Prada outlet was so cheap so I managed to snatch up the green key chain purse and orange coin purse for just 140 euros.

Although I have been using my key chain purse from the moment I got home and absolutely love pulling it out when approaching my car or front door, I hadn't used the coin purse until a night out this week and loved every second of it, being able to reach into your bag for a little Prada when buying yourself a drink is a fabulous feeling.

Whilst shopping in Milan's Excelsior store, which is little a really amazing and edgy department store I spooted these fabulous headphones and could not resist. Check out the website here , there are some fab little treats.

Yum yum 8 euro bottle of Bombay Sapphire, second favourite bargain from the wonderful Milano.

Much Love, 

M x