February 2013 - Fashionicide // Fashion, Makeup and Beauty

Monday, February 25, 2013

OUTFIT: Material Fusion

If you've ever had the (mis)fortune of visiting the Arndale Centre in Manchester, you may or may not know that tucked away at the back there's actually a market. I have to say that I tend to avoid it wherever possible, and that's no slight on the stalls because there's a lot of quality stuff at decent prices. No no, I avoid it because of the smell.

The architect/designer/planner for the Arndale truly deserves a slap to the face with a wet fish, but not just any fish, it should be one from the Arndale Market. That's right, just behind the little food court section there's a massive fishmonger's! And that lovable fishy 'aroma' travels all throughout the market.

On one particular day, boredom got the better of me. I took one last gasp of beautiful, fresh, city-centre air(!) and headed in. Whilst there I came across a gorgeous cropped black lace studded jacket priced at a reasonable £25. But as everyone else seemed to be avoiding the smell of dead fish that day, I was the only person at the stall and the shop assistant was incredibly insistent that I buy it. So much so, I managed to get my hands on it for just £15!

It definitely reminds me of something I'd expect to see in much classier, slightly less whiffier establishment like Zara. Of course, I can feel my debit card struggling to break free from my bag whenever I enter places like Zara, but it seemed perfectly happy to be chip & pinned at this stall.

So anyway, after I washed it (adding in extra Lenor!) I paired it with this champagne metallic vest that I don't recall having ever worn. I think it may have been from Topshop's Autumn/Winter range in 2011 but don't quote me on that! Either way, it was definitely time to give it an airing, coupled with my trusty black velvet shorts that I will not be falling out of love with anytime soon!

Hands on Hips Time...

Fusion of Velvet, Lace, Metallic and Studs...

Studded Lacey Goodness

Champagne Metallic Vest - TOPSHOP
High Waisted Black Velvet Shorts - TOPSHOP
Cropped Studded Lace Jacket - Arndale Market

I think this might be the first time I've blogged with my hair in a top-knot, I've been experimenting quite a bit with the hair recently to try and mix it up a bit. I really love having my hair done 'Up' at the moment and I'm constantly YouTubing tutorials for new ideas. It's almost fascinating the way the turquoise ends up in big flashes dissecting the black.

I don't think you can ever really beat natural, flowing locks but sometimes it just looks so damn sexy when it's done up, right?

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

REVIEW: Skin Art's Valentine's Kit

I love tattoos.

I find myself looking on with a sense of deep envy at those with tattoos all over, secretly wishing it was me.

I think I could probably only ever go for two or three at most, but the thought of committing to it for life is a bit of a put-off. I'm notoriously fickle, so just a few months down the line I'll be wishing I'd never went under the needle!

Temporary tattoos are a whole different ball-game though.

I HEART them.

I discovered Skin Art last year and have been addicted to them ever since, see my post HERE to satisfy any curiosity! Now I kind of understand why inked peeps say the needle is an addiction!

So the other week Skin Art sent me their 'Nail Tattoo Valentine's Kit'. Obviously I was excited at first, as I do love Skin Art. But that excitement quickly turned to a little confusion, I couldn't actually find the kit on their website, I could only find the individual items sold separately. It came with three different nail polishes and a sheet of Nail Art Tattoos.

Left to right - It's 'Crystal Clear', 'I live in an Igloo' & 'She Wore Red Velvet'

The application process was smooth, easy and dried to a semi-glossy finish. The longevity is good, and only began to chip on the third day. Bear in mind though that I always apply a base coat underneath, pretty much regardless of brand.

The coloured polishes, red and white, are both nice shades however the colours themselves don't particularly stand out from the crowd. What does stand out from the crowd though, is the price. At £3 a pot we're talking some seriously affordable, decent quality polishes. As far as I can tell, these are the only three polishes available at the moment so it'll be interesting to see what sort of colours come next.

Now onto the tattoos..

TATTOOS!

Each sheet of Nail Art Tattoos contains 60 tattoos across a range of different designs. On the face of it, these designs look nice and cover different tastes with some girly and gothy choices. In terms of application though, I'm still yet to work out whether these are difficult to apply or I was having a ditsy moment. I found them very difficult to peel back at the time and by way of comparison, I also used a couple of Topshop designs (below, 2nd and 3rd from left) which I found much simpler.

As you can see from the photos, the Skin Art designs look a little simple when compared to Topshop's. In fairness to Skin Art, it is a promising first foray into the Nail market and I expect that as the range grows they will continue to improve on both the range of colours, the intricacy of their Nail Art designs and the ease of use.

The key question is: 'Would I buy from the Nail Art range?'

Firstly, I would definitely consider buying Nail Polishes from Skin Art in the future. The quality and price are both good enough to suggest that once the range of colours increases, this will definitely be a brand to look out for.

Secondly, the Tattoos. In their current form and designs I probably wouldn't buy. Even at the relatively low price of £5.99 the designs lack that 'edge' that other brands currently provide and I did find them a little tricky to apply. Having said that, based on their awesome Skin Art collection I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the nail tattoos to see how the range grows.

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Sunday, February 10, 2013

OUTFIT: I Like Short Shorts

Sunday, February 03, 2013

OUTFIT: Red Velvet

Regular readers of mine should know of my dislike of winter by now. I'm not a big fan of the 'Autumn/Winter' ranges on the high street mainly consisting of dark and dreary colours, launched in the dying months of summer as if to prepare us for a dark and dreary few months.

One of the very few good things about Winter and its accompanying clothing range is velvet. Sexy, sultry, smooth velvet. Everybody loves a bit of velvet, particularly in the winter, it just looks so smart, sophisticated and snug. Just a few weeks before Christmas, I was scouting out all of my usual haunts looking for it. I needed my fix! Plus I had a few invites to social soirees and I wanted something different for the occasion.

Lo and behold, I stumbled upon the most gorgeous dress on eBay. It's a ruched corset bodice with a velvet burgundy skirt, all neatly packaged in the form of a dress. I remember swooning over the very same dress no less than a year ago in Topshop, having one of those mental debates where something is truly amazing yet also truly out-of-my-price-range. My heart was saying yes, but my brain spat out it's coffee and exclaimed: "£145???!! FOR A DRESS?!".

So brain won that particular battle and then had the pleasure of saying: "I told you so" just a few months later. My winning bid on this absolute dream of a dress? £18. I was sat on the edge of the bed, button-bashing on the F5 key just praying that nobody would come in and snipe me in the dying seconds. My heart-rate rose frantically. A cold rush of blood to the head saw my fingers type in £50 and click 'Place Bid' before my brain even knew what was going on. The countdown timer surged in to the red. 10. 9. Don't you dare snipe me. 6. 5. OMG I'm gonna win!. 3. 2. 1. Victory.

Following that though, there was the tenseness of waiting for it to come through the post. It's happened to me before, I've won a ridiculously expensive item at a ridiculously low price and received an email from the seller saying they've burnt it with their iron, asking if I still want it. But no. No emails, just an agonising wait. Finally it arrived though. My precious... And it even had the tags on it still.

Mixing lace with velvet is the epitome of sexy-ness..

Ruched Corset Burgundy Dress - TOPSHOP (purchased from eBay, obvs..)
Cropped lace bolero - eBay (non branded)

The temperatures outside may well be on the rise soon, but this baby won't be going into hibernation just yet.

What are your thoughts on Velvet? Or more so, velvet mixed with lace? Oh GOD.

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"An oasis of colour, in a sea of nudes."

OUTFIT: Material Fusion

REVIEW: Skin Art's Valentine's Kit

OUTFIT: I Like Short Shorts

OUTFIT: Red Velvet