Wonderful You | Fashion and Style Blog

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Christmas Party Oufit

The works Christmas Party is clearly one of the most important parties of the year. It's the one time you get to really dress up and have a fantastic night with the people you work really hard with, day in, day out. I'm pretty sure every girl will admit that they purchase a new dress when that time of year rolls around and it's your mission to find something that not every girl will be wearing.

When the gorgeous Kim at e-tail webstores contacted me (she's the loveliest lady), on behalf of Chi Chi clothing I was just a wee bit excited at her timing. This, yes this dress right here has to be my absolute favourite Christmas party dress to date.

The long sleeves and comfortable material come hand in hand with a hell of a lot of sparkle, making sure that it's perfect for Christmas / Winter attire - plus it's a Little Black Dress, which is never an item you can have too many of. And although I like my dress to stand out a little, I feel that I could tone it down a little by pairing it with some chunky black tights and velvet ankle boots.

Apologies for the lack of full length shots here guys, but the lighting at 7pm on a winter night was definitely against me. (cue to perhaps invest in some indoor lighting, any recommendations!?)

And if I wasn't in Australia for New Years - I would 100% be wearing this baby again.

See you all in 2013 my lovelies and Happy New Year!!!! 2013 is THE year, I just know it.

Monday, 24 December 2012

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Blue Bird Bride Jewellery

The fab feeling of discovering another fantastic online jewellery boutique will never fade. So you can imagine my joy when I was contacted by Blue Bird Bride. If you're looking for statement beautiful necklaces then this is the place to be heading. My wardrobe consists of many plain, dark items so I always like to add a pop of colour to my outfit with accessories that do the talking. I mean, how frickin' gorgeous is this necklace?

I love it so much that I wanted you guys to be able to get your lovely mitts on one too. They come in a variety of colours and at only £16.51 I think everyone should own one! The giveaway will run from today for one month - 24th January. And if you don't win don't worry - you can nab a cheeky 15% off when you enter FALL2012 at checkout.

Good Luck All - and a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

I will be off on my jolly holidays from Christmas Night, so I have filled this little space with lots of guest posts to keep you company. make sure you have a read!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Book Reveiw & GIVEAWAY CLOSED: 1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook

When Carlton Books contacted me about featuring a newly published 1930’s fashion bible I just couldn’t resist. You may, or may not have guessed from my blog that 1930’s is a little bit my favourite. I may not dress like a 1930's typical woman on a daily basis - but it's definitely where I take my inspiration from with regards to my make-up and I particularly love the effortless glamour involved with the fashion. The book is packed full to the brim with never before seen images and divine illustrations taken from fashion magazines of the day.

I would describe this as the perfect sitting room book. You know when you sit down after a long day shopping and want to flick through a fantastic piece - well this is it. And not only that, when your in the mood to really learn something new this ticks all the boxes. The book focuses on Daywear, Swimwear, Wedding Gowns, Eveningwear and Accessories; and with all the photo's dated you can gage a full understanding of how the fashion changed throughout that time period.

I'm absolutely in love. And I was even more excited when one of the authors of the book agreed to have a little interview with me...

1. Charlotte, for those that haven't had the chance to read the book, could you tell us a little bit about it and the ladies behind the masterpiece?
Emmanuelle is the fashion history authority so has written the introduction and most of the captions, while I am a design historian, author and critic as well as an absolutely obsessive collector of fashion photography, prints, advertisements, etc. I do all the image sourcing and try to shape the project so that we can give the reader the best fashion overview of the period that we can.

2. When did you first become interested in Fashion?
Ever since I was child I have been interested in vintage fashion, in fact as a university student I dealt in vintage clothes as a way of avoiding having to get a summer job. And through this handling of beautiful vintage clothes, I got to appreciate the exquisite tailoring and detailing of say a 1920s beaded flapper dress, a 1940s fur stole or a 1950s boned swimsuit. They bascially don’t make clothes like they used to...unless, of course, you can afford Haute Couture, which let’s face it most of us can’t.

3. What inspires you about 1930's Fashion?
I love the fact that even though it was the height of the Great Depression, women bucked the gloom and doom and opted for sheer over-the-top glamour – whether it was a slinky gown or just a bright red lipstick. Never underestimate the power of fashion to cheer one up...

4. The 1930's style truly celebrated the woman's figure and the coming age of glamour - do you feel we could embrace this more in our current day and age?
I think that the overtly feminine silhouette of the 1930s was great – for the first time women could be glamorously womanly with their curves being accentuated with figure-hugging fabrics. Today, sadly most designers prefer to have models that look half-starved and/or half-dead so that they don’t compete with the impact the clothes make on a catwalk or in a glossy advertisement, which is all rather depressing. Really it should be that clothes are made to fit real bodies, rather the bodies being made to fit unrealistic silhouettes. During the 1930s women were allowed to be feminine, and this must have felt very liberating... And I’m pretty sure the men during the 1930s appreciated this curvaceous look too.

5. What's next for you two lovely ladies?

We have just finished the next volume in the series, “1940s Fashion” – which is packed just as full with images and information – from wartime utility garments to Dior’s New Look. It has been another great learning experience, and we are both looking forward to working on other decades next year!

1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook is published by Goodman Fiell, RRP £30 and is available at www.carltonbooks.co.uk and all good book stores.
And now for the very bestest bit!! If you want to get your hands on a copy of the beautiful piece - you can enter to win one below :) As many of you know I'm off to Australia next week for 3 weeks, so the giveaway will close on the 29th January 2013 - when I'm back and have had a chance to sleep!! A winner will be picked randomly through rafflecopter. Good luck!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, 17 December 2012

My Day Time Winter Make-Up

When it comes to winter, my skin is super duper pale. I can end up looking like Caspar, but 1000x paler - yeah not a good look. I like to add a bit of colour to my face with a bolder lipstick and darker blush. It's probably a little 'Bella-Twilight-esque' but that'll do nicely ;)

My daily make-up doesn't tend to differ too much to my evening these days. My base will always be the same regardless - I suppose the only difference is that I'm a little less heavy on the eyes! I'm a huge fan of lipstick and like to experiment with different shades every day. And for winter I'm particularly enjoying the darker plummy shades. Let's be honest, what girl doesn't have this 107 lippy right now?

During the day-time I also prefer to use my high-street/drug store make-up products with a & Collection 2000. They're such good quality for the price and their staying power is on par with that of my MAC and Chanel faves.

I recently treated myself to the Bobbi Brown corrector and believe me - it's worth the hype. I'm so bowled over by this baby and it's definitely going to be staying put in my make-up box (let me know if you'd be interested in reading a post dedicated to it).

I'm also particularly fond of my mascara and liquid eyeliner - both are under the £5 mark and you'd never know!

How do you wear your daily make-up?

Sunday, 16 December 2012

My Christmas Party Make Up Routine

Happy Sunday my lovelies!
This weekend has been a rather fab one. Friday I received my Photography course results and passed with Distinction! I was so happy I definitely did a little dance at work. I worked my little tooshy off to get a good final project so I'm really happy that I managed to get the grade I did.
I also received my first feature in a local magazine about Wonderful You - a three page spread! I KNOW - I nearly died. I think I'll pop a little post up showing you guys, that's if you want to see it :)
Lastly - I went out on Friday night and used an old handbag that's been gathering dust over the past few months. It only had a bloomin' £10 note in it! (it's the small things, eh?)

Anyway - following on from my mum's birthday party a few weeks ago, I got a few questions on my make-up for the evening....

I thought I would film a little video on how I wore it that night. I've been in hiding from YouTube for a while. My skin has gone mental again so I've felt a bit self conscious, it's still not great but i've decided to just suck it up :)

Hope you enjoy and have all had a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, 13 December 2012

NOTD | Christmas Nail Art

Firstly, I would like to apologise for my absence on here over the past few weeks. I had some family issues that obviously take priority and now all is well I am back! Yay :)

So, If you’ve been reading my blog since the beginning (it wasn't that long ago – only April. Wowee how time flies when you're having fun!) you might have seen my post about my favourite little nail sticker company – Jan Christie. The stickers I bought had foxes on them so of course it was love at first sight. When the lovely ladies there asked me if I fancied a few Christmassy ones I just couldn't say no.

Red Squirrel with Santa Hat

Santa with Christmas Tree

How cuteeeeeee are they?! I'm particularly fond of the Squirrel!

The stickers work best on a lighter coloured polish, or if you fancy it just plain nails. Personally I always prefer to have a bit of polish on my nails and I wanted to show you how they show up on a really light polish along with a slightly darker one.
It’s just the simplest and most affordable way to add a little something extra to the way you do your nails. I’ve always been a bit cack-handed with nail art, so these little stickers are perfect for me. You literally just peel them off the sticker and place them on your nail – I find it easier to use a pair of my tweezers to place them on the nail to give more accuracy (I did say I’m cack-handed remember), but I think it would work just as well with your fingers with a steady hand :)

At only £1.80 per sheet you cant really go wrong – you get enough in one packet to cover both hands in stickers with a few left over so it doesn't matter if you go wrong, or if you want to do the same look again. I apply a top coat every other day and they've lasted me over 2 weeks, which is pretty impressive.

My favouritist bit about the company is you can send them your own animal pictures to have a unique sticker, tailored to you. And because the ladies are so wonderful, they've offered you guys a little deal. If you purchase 4 or more of any of their range and add my blog name: Wonderful You in the promo code you’ll get another set of their choice free! I hope you lovely lot are going to take advantage of this, and do let me know what ones you pick!

What do you think of nail art stickers? Have you tried them out yet?

p.s. sorry for my dry hands in the Santa shots - the cold is really getting to them this year!

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Anniversary Shop | Outfit Post

My boyfriend and I will have been together for 5 years in January. It seems like absolutely forever but then feels like absolutely no time at all - all at the same time, if you know what I mean? Usually for our anniversary we just make each other a card and go out for dinner or something - but being the 5 year mark we thought it might be nice to buy each other something special. We'll be in Australia on the actual date so it was an early present shop! And what better opportunity for an outfit post? Haha. We went to Birmingham (gotta love the bullring and the Christmas Market!) and this is what I wore:

Blouse: c/o Mina. Leggings: Topshop. Bag: c/o Marc B. Boots: H by Hudson of London

This is literally the prettiest, most wonderfully made and comfortable blouse I own. Mina is a little bit more of a luxury brand so it's slightly more pricey but it's absolutely worth every penny. It fits like a glove and the quality is incredible. I feel slightly androgynous in it and of course it goes hand in hand with my beloved Topshop velvet leggings that don't seem to be coming off me lately.
When shopping I also require a suitable bag, as I take near enough everything I own in life with me on a trip, it's gotta be pretty large - I received so many comments from sales assistants in the Bullring about this little beauty. I have a bit of a massive crush on Marc B bags - this one is only £55 and the quality is insane. it's also pretty hefty so I'm thinking I might quite like using it as an overnight bag as well as my shopping companion!

If you nosy parkers are wondering what we both got for our anniversary gifts don't worry I was always planning on telling you ;) Daniel got a pretty gorgeous Hugo Boss watch and I picked a beautiful ring from Alex Monroe - I've had my eye on it for a while and it is very welcomed in to my ever growing collection of his pieces. Thinking I might do a little post on the bits I have from him, would you like to see that?

Hope you are all having a good week - and have you managed to get all your Christmas shopping done yet? Eeek!!!

Friday, 30 November 2012

My Foxy Fashion Wants

Burberry Fox Head Clutch. Jacey Withers Fox Head Ring. Oasis Fox Print Dress. Layla Amber Fox Head Earrings. ASOS Fox Head midi belt. ASOS Fox Pouch.

You guys know how much I ruddy love my foxes, so I thought you might quite enjoy having a peek at some of the foxy things I've been stalking on the internet as late. Yes that's right, I am a massive fox stalker.

Obvioulsy, I am never ever ever going to get my hands on the Burberry clutch, at £795 I'd have to sell my car and that would mean I couldn't go to work. Actually....this sounds like quite a great plan? (mwahaha). Thank you Hannah Maggs for introducing this amount of amazing-ness...NAAAT ;)
The Jacey Withers ring is another pricey one at nearly £200, but I've been lusting after this for over a year now and have nearly purchased it on far too many occasions - it's so gorgeous though *sobs*.
I love the deep wine colour on this and skater dresses are so simple to wear. Being Oasis it's not a cheapy one but I do love it rather a lot.
Waaa how bloomin' cute is this little pouch? I want it to put all my travel toiletries in for Australia and at only a fiver I may have to ask Father Christmas nicely if he'll pop it in my stocking :)
This midi belt is one of my faves of the bunch. I only own a few and none have a fox head on them. Clearly, this needs to be rectified immediately.
I recently received one of Layla's lovely brooches as a gift from my Aunty and I just adore her stuff. These earrings are perfection.

I'm now going to go off and sulk at all the lovely foxy goodness I cant afford to buy.

Anyone else love them as much as I do?!

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

How I Style My Hair | Curly Girly

I’m the girl who finds a style she likes and tends to stick with it for about 50 years before she tries something new. Loose curls have been my ‘staple’ for the past year or so and I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon (approx 49 years remaining). Having reasonably long hair, you’d think it would take an age to curl it all but it really doesn’t. I can be styled, sprayed and ready to go in less than 20 minutes. That’s pretty speedy in my eyes (at least I hope it is?!)

Whenever my ‘face’ is in a post (typically outfit ones) you lovely lot always seem to comment on my messy mop – so I thought you might quite like to see my current styling routine?

I’ve always been passionate about beauty, but I must admit it’s only since I’ve started blogging that I’ve really taken an interest in different hair products. Up until recently, my Moroccan Oil was my only luxury product. Well it was pretty much the only product I used aside from shampoo and conditioner.

So in terms of protecting my hair from heat or using finishing sprays I wasn’t really fussed – I always thought, my hair looks alright without any products what’s the point? But when ghd sent me over their lovely little Style and Protect gift set I couldn’t resist giving it a whirl.

STEP 1: Brush through the hair - getting rid of any knots and tangles.

STEP 2: Spray a light mist of ghd's Straight & Smooth all over the hair.

STEP 3: Split the hair down the middle and secure with two clips.

STEP 4: Curl one section - I mix it up and curl some pieces towards my face and others away. This helps to create more volume. I use my enrapture totem styler on settings 2-2-1 - this creates loose wavy curls.

STEP 5: Curl the other side, following the same steps as the previous section.

STEP 6: Apply ghd's Final Shine spray all over the hair (don't spray too hard as you only need a little bit to achieve best results!)

STEP 7: Voila! You're done :D (One last thing - I do usually run my hands through the curls quickly to loosen them slightly :))

C/O Hairstyles from ghd

To be honest, I'm pretty bowled over by the results and I was really wrong about thinking my hair looked ‘fine’ without using any other products. Using the protecting spray on blow dried hair before using my curlers means I have no fly-aways and the whole look is far smoother and sleeker. The final shine spray acts like a sort of glossy hair spray. My entire head almost glistens and it holds my curls like there's no tomorrow. I woke up the next morning and my hair looked pretty much the same - no hairspray used - nada. Very impressed. And don't even get me started on the scent! It's actually heavenly.

The paddle brush and clips are a lovely added touch to the set. I'm particularly fond of the brush - it doesn't pull on my knots and de-tangled beautifully.

I suppose the moral of this post is - you don't know unless you try and I'm definitely going to be experimenting with my hair care going forward - I might even buy this set for a few family members, it's amazing value for money at £39!

Do any of you scrummy lot have some products you'd recommend? I'm quite keen to try out some salt spray...?

Saturday, 24 November 2012

Outfit Post | Strictly Velvet

Tonight, a dear family friend is taking part in a charity dance where she'll be shaking her tooshy ballroom style - all in the aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Mum and I are going on down to show our support and I thought I would share with you lovely lot what I'll be wearing!

Bag: Brand Village. Blouse: Zara. Leggings: Topshop. Shoes: Zara

It's been a god awful day for weather today - so excuse the rain & me looking like a wet rat. I had to take these pictures before I drowned on our driveway!!

I have been after a new black bag since forever. I don't know what it is, there always seems to be the perfect tan bag available, but when it comes to a smart black bag it's like 'pooft' they all disappear and I am left sad and black-bag-less. So when I discovered this bad-boy on the Brand Village website I was head over heels and couldn't wait to get my filthy bag grabbing mitts on it. It's the perfect size, and has lots of little compartments inside (I'm a hoarder, so I love this).
I know, I know, I've gone for all black again - but my lips are red, so that counts as colour right? This blouse is so comfy and feels super luxurious - my favourite part being the velvet quilted shoulders and cuffed sleeves. I seem to really quite fancy the pants off velvet - as I'm wearing it on my bottoms too. You remember my black and white velvet leggings that I wore ? Well I loved them so ruddy much that my boyfriend was a bit wonderful and bought me them in black too. YAY! Probably to shut me up going on about my love for them. My little black glitzy shoes are from the Zara basic range and are perfect for dressing up quite a casual outfit. I pretty much hate wearing staggering heels, mainly because it hurts - so these little heels fit my style to a tee.

I know that cancer affects far too many people's lives - and still isn't something that many people can discuss openly. However, if any of you wonderful lot would like to make a small donation towards tonight then that would be so lovely and you can do so here.
Of course - please don't be offended by my asking or feel you have to; I just thought it would be nice to share it with you guys in-case it's something close to your heart too :)

What are you yummy lot up to over the weekend? I went to see Twilight last night. OHHHHHH my all I can say is, who wants to go with me again?!

ALSO - I'm getting my hair done next week and fancy something different....ideas?

Friday, 23 November 2012

A Little Film Photography

Some of you who follow my ramblings on Twitter may know that I’ve been on a 10 week photography course at my local college. In my last ‘photography post’ (if you can even call it that), I touched base on my passion for the art of Photography and my particular love for how wonderful I believe film photography is. (How many times am I going to say photography in this post?) Photography, photography, photography.

When my lovely boyfriend kindly purchased me my first DSLR I thought it best that I start to learn the ropes – properly. I didn’t want to be using it on automatic and I wanted to make the most of the piece of kit I had. So I thought what better way, than taking a course that focuses on the basics? Little did I know that it would not only teach me everything I needed to know about digital, but it would also delve into the likes of film, and pinhole.

For my final project, I have to produce 6-10 images around a particular theme (of my choice). Being the morbid little sod that I am, I’ve picked Graveyards. To me there’s something really quite beautiful about them, let alone all the different textures and colours available to snap. I’ve taken the majority of the photo’s on my DSLR, to showcase the techniques we’ve learnt over the past 9 weeks, but I wanted to take a few on film too, just to see how they would come out really. I also took a few snaps of my beautiful friend (nothing to do with the theme), she is ridiculously photogenic (hate chu) and I was pleasantly surprised at how they came out. I may even pop a few of them in my final project!

I haven’t edited or enhanced any of these images, as I wanted to show you how naturally beautiful film can be on it’s own. I had so much fun developing these in the dark room – although it does take an age to get it right! These ones are actually the original negatives from the camera – scanned on to my PC! Pretty nifty eh? I think I’ll pop down to boots on the weekend and get the rest developed properly.

This film camera is ancient, and as you can see has lots of scratches on the lens – but that’s something I really love, it gives that vintage feeling and I think adds character to the image. This was all shot on a standard 35mm black and white film. Although it is expensive to have films developed, and it’s not something we can all afford to do on a weekly basis, I think it’s lovely to have a go every once in a while, and there’s something really quite exciting about waiting for them to be ready, you never know what you’re going to get! Plus you can pick up film camera’s from your local charity shop for next to nothing!

What do you think? Did I do okay for my first attempt at Film photography? And would you like to see my final project when it's done? :)

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Do you Moisturise your Body? | Palmer's Cocoa Butter

Do you moisturise your body? Is it something that’s important to you? I cant think of a more appropriate time of year to write a post about the staples in my moisturising routine...

Since I can remember, moisturising is just something I’ve always done. I think the seed was probably planted by my mum who has always moisturised every evening after a bath or shower. For many years I used the Body Shop butters, but as you know they aren’t exactly cheap and if you’re moisturising your limbs every day that can become a little pricey. It was my mission to discover an affordable, but nourishing moisturiser that would leave my body feeling as hydrated as those yummy little butters. That’s when I discovered Palmer’s.

I have three products from their range which I just keep repurchasing. WARNING: If you hate Cocoa Butter then stop reading now ;)

This moisturiser literally kicks any others butt. I am yet to find one that even comes close in comparison. It’s rich and creamy in formula, which means a little goes a long way. It’s not sticky – which is the one thing that is crucial for me in a moisturiser. There is nothing worse (okay, there definitely is worse things to happen, but I’m a dramatic beauty blogger), than slathering yourself in greasy moisturiser which means you have to wait for it to soak in before it dries! This formula sinks in almost instantly and leaves the skin silky smooth. The scent is quite strong, but it’s not at all overpowering on application so you can feel safe in the knowledge that your perfume won’t be interrupted by your moisturiser. I always go for the larger 400ml pump bottle as I think it’s great value for money, and I absolutely love a good pump applicator! Now for the absolute best bit, the price. From Superdrug it’s only £5.29 – I know!!! How amazing is that? You’re getting SO much for your money and it lasts an absolute age. The only down side to this product for me, is that on one or two of my purchases the pump has been faulty, but it’s easily solved as I just keep the one from the old bottle and swap them over! Simples :)

If you’ve ever been scared to fake tan (like me) and have extremely pale skin (like me) then honestly you need to give this baby a whirl. It’s a gradual tan, similar to the likes of Dove and Johnson’s except I think it’s even more natural looking. On just one application I had comments that I looked sun kissed – where had I been? Umm…in my bathroom with my tan? Ha ha. Now, of course all tan’s have that gross biscuity smell, you know the one? Don’t get me wrong this still has a hint of biscuit to it, but because of the cocoa butter formula it’s nowhere near as bad. It literally just feels like you’re slapping on your regular moisturiser and within a couple of hours you’ve got a nice healthy glow. Like the original moisturiser it’s hitting just above the £5 mark at Superdrug and at 250ml, it lasts a fair while!

This is a new addition to my collection. The lovely Prairie Charms sent this as a thank you gift (how thoughtful is that?!) and it’s having a full blown love affair with my lips. At first when I opened the packet I wasn’t sure, I could see it had a grainy finish and usually I hate bitty lip balms as I feel they just crust up on your lips. (That sounds really gross). But I was pleasantly surprised, on application it was as smooth as a baby’s bum and no grainy deposits to be seen. As with the moisturiser the nourishing feeling the cocoa leaves is heavenly and hydrating. It’s jam packed with Vitamin E which is excellent for treating chapped or cracked lips and with an SPF15 it’s pretty much the perfect lip balm and ticks ever box. Oh and yeah, it’s only £1.79. Uhhhh huh, you heard right.

So, they're my staple moisturising products, that pretty much never change!

Have you tried Palmer's? Or do you know of an affordable range I should be testing out? :)

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