Pinafore - Topshop

Jumper - H&M

Boots - Debenhams

I bought this pinafore back in December and not long after I saw the chunky cream jumper in H&M and thought it'd be perfect for wearing underneath it.  If you live in England you'll know we had a pretty mild Christmas and it was a bit too warm, well it was for me anyway, to be layering up in chunky knits like this.  As much as I hate the cold I have been fairly pleased that over the last few weeks the temperatures have dropped and I've finally been able to get some wear out of this jumper.  It is super thick and does a great job of keeping me warm, especially on those ice cold dog walks.  Up until now I had just been wearing a thin black ribbed turtleneck under this pinafore but I'm loving the contrasting burgundy and cream now it's cold enough to wear this jumper underneath it.  

Gareth Pugh

I absolutely loved Gareth Pugh's structured looks, so ladylike and glamorous.  The whole thing had a very forties feel to me with the hair and bold lips, although a slight creepiness was added with select models wearing Hannibal Lecter masks.

Roksanda

I just had to include Roksanda mainly because of this gorgeous tan coat with it's amazing fur collar and navy tie.  The whole look is perfectly put together right up to the navy frilled silk sleeves poking through at the cuffs.

Alexander McQueen

I've always loved Alexander McQueen as it has always had a fantastical feel to it, but since Sarah Burton took the helm it has had a much more feminine feel to it too and this collection was no exception.  There were sheer cut out dresses with butterfly, unicorn and moon and star prints, leather dresses with embroidered butterflies... everywhere you looked the clothes were adorned with beautiful butterflies.

Mother Of Pearl

I love floral prints and think these ones from Mother Of Pearl were so pretty and I'm really loving the style of that cream jumper.

Temperley

As you may have seen in my New York Fashion Week Favourites it was hinted that the pussy bow blouse would be making a serious comeback next winter and at London Fashion Week Temperley reaffirmed this with these amazing frill sleeved pussy bow blouses.  I will definitely be keeping an eye open for a high street version of these next winter.

Which was your favourite show from London Fashion Week?

(Photos: Vogue)

Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette - Born Pretty*

Not long after Christmas I received this beautiful eyeshadow palette from Born Pretty and I remember thinking damn I could've used this before Christmas!  Just look at how sparkly those eyeshadows look, they'd be perfect for the Christmas party season.  I decided to try and create some more subtle looks with it though so it can be used all year round.

First of all lets talk about the packaging.  The eyeshadows come in this this super gorgeous copper case with a good sized mirror and it is a nice size for just popping in your handbag.  One of the main problems I have with affordable eyeshadow palettes is the quality of the casing.  I know it's mainly about the quality of the product but there's nothing worse to me than a flimsy plastic case where the lid breaks off after a week.  The lovely copper casing on this palette though feels really sturdy and there is no sign of the lid snapping off any time soon.

Onto the product itself, as you can see they are fairly nicely pigmented (especially the darker colours) and the gold glitter running through them gives them a really pretty shimmer.  The only one I was slightly disappointed with is the white shadow as I would like it to have a little more colour to it rather than just the shimmer.  On the other hand though this does work great over matte eyeshadows if you want to add a bit of sparkle to them.  When it comes to eyeshadow I'm not the bravest and tend to stick to neutrals like golds and browns so I haven't really used the last four shades much but I'm loving the first four brown/golden shades.  What I also like about them is that when you apply them with a brush it really softens the colour and sparkle making them a lot more wearable for the daytime and then if I want a little more intensity and glitter I like to press it on with my finger.

To create the eyeshadow look above (which is the one I most like to create with this palette) I applied a very light matte brown from my Make Up Revolution palette to create a base.  Then I applied the darkest brown to my crease and outer corner and blended it out with my blending brush for a softer colour and edges.  I then applied the pale golden brown (the centre colour in the swatches above) to the centre of my lids and blended that out into the darker shadow to soften it even further, before adding a little more of the darker brown to my outer corners for a little more definition.  I then used the white shadow on my inner corners and brow bone to highlight them slightly.

What do you think of this look?  Do you like to use shimmer eyeshadows?  Unfortunately this palette is no longer available on Born Pretty but you can find lots of great alternatives here and you can also get 10% off your order with the code "SAK31".

Kate Spade

The first thought that popped into my head when I saw Kate Spade's winter collection was Blair Waldorf.  I used to love watching Gossip Girl each week just to see what her and Serena would be wearing and I could just imagine Blair running around the Upper East Side wearing some of these outfits.

Oscar De La Renta

I absolutely loved the ladylike tailoring at Oscar De La Renta's show and the combination of this beautiful deep raspberry and cream.

Marc Jacobs

There was a gothic Victorian feel to Marc Jacobs' show, especially with those floor length dresses (if only I could pull off the leather one!).  The bigger the better seemed to be the motto here too with oversized pussybows, sweaters and coats.

Ralph Lauren

Just like at Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren's collection for next winter also features pussybows and Victorian style ruffled collars.  This little black leather dress was one of my favourites out of the collection though.

Marchesa

Finally, the collection I'm always most eager to see from New York fashion week, is Marchesa.  Their dresses have always been my favourite, I just love their intricate beading and floral detailing.  Marchesa never disappoint for me and this collection was just as beautiful as ever.

Which was your favourite collection from New York fashion week?

Dress - H&M

Bag - Primark

Hat - H&M

I've really been loving H&M recently, to be honest I think I lot of my winter wardrobe has come from there so don't be surprised if it features in my next few outfit posts, my only problem is their sizing making it impossible for me to order online.  Take this dress for example, when I spotted it in store I thought it'd make a perfect winter dress with it's length and long sleeves and even better was the price, making it an absolute steal at £14.99!  It would've been rude to leave it on the rail!  However, I felt a wave of disappointment when I saw that the only sizes left were a 6 and a 14, but being a size 8 I thought I'd attempt to squeeze into the 6 seeing as it had an elasticated waste.  Once I got to the changing rooms and tried it on I was surprised at how roomy it was, if anything I could've even gone a size smaller.  It absolutely baffles me how in the same store I sometimes have to go up to a size 10 or 12 in jeans and am then able to more than comfortably fit into a size 6 dress.  Don't get me wrong, I love H&M and think their clothes are great value for money but just don't understand how their sizing can be so varied in different items of clothing.  It's probably a good thing because if I had been able to order online this winter I may have been penniless.

Unfortunately this dress doesn't seem to be available online anymore but there are some similar styles in different patterns.  I'm really tempted to get another because this one is just so comfortable to wear and is probably the only maxi dress I've ever found that doesn't drag on the floor, being a short 5'3" that's a feat in itself.

Do you prefer maxi dresses in the winter?  Have you ever had trouble with the sizing in H&M?

Kiss Proof Lipstick, £1.40 - Born Pretty*

My favourite lip products tend to be lip crayons, all the ones I have tried always seem to be so moisturising and so easy to apply.  So when I tried this lip crayon from Born Pretty I had high hopes especially with all of it's claims to be matte, rich, creamy, long lasting, hydrating and "kiss proof".  I selected shade 03, which is a deep berry colour, a colour I have been loving recently.  I feel like the product itself looks a lot more expensive than the £1.40 it costs, however, I don't know if I got a dud one, but the lipstick doesn't seem to be extendable.  I attempted to twist the bottom to see how easily it extends and to see whether it is retractable too only to find that it didn't twist at all.  This is a little disappointing as you can see from the above picture how little product there is at the end but like I say I don't know whether I just happen to have a broken one.

Now onto the lipstick itself, as you can see it is a gorgeous colour and has a lovely matte finish.  One of my main concerns when I saw that it was matte, as somebody who suffers from dry lips, was that it was going to be super drying on my lips.  Just as I was expecting it did feel quite drying once I had applied it to my lips but not so much so that they started to feel cracked and flaky but just not as hydrating as I'd quite have liked.  All the lip crayons I own are the chubby stick type and having a thinner one like this made the lipstick much easier to apply, especially in such a dark colour.  It was much easier to get a neat line around the edge of the lip with a thinner tip.

The main selling point to me for this product though is it's claim to be "kiss proof".  I'm sure I'm not the only girl out there who has a boyfriend who refuses to kiss them when they're wearing lipstick for fear of ending up with lipstick stains on their face.  So, this is where this product really wowed me!  After applying this lipstick it had a slightly tacky feel to it for the first 10 minutes but once it had completely dried this lipstick was not budging.  There is absolutely no fear of it bleeding, which is normally my main concern with such dark colours, and once it is on your lips it's there to stay so feel free to kiss away.  This lipstick does not budge!  It may need it's little touch ups throughout the day after eating and drinking, but this lipstick stays put so well that whenever I had a drink there weren't even any lipstick marks left on my glass.

What's your favourite long lasting lipstick?  Would you give this one a try?  If you'd like to try this or anything else from Born Pretty you can get 10% off with the code "SAK31".