Stripes and No 19

A couple of therapeutic purchases.

One was 'considered':  I'd tested Chanel no 19 Poudre a few months ago and kept coming back to it.

I love Chanel no 19 anyway, and this I think this version is even better than the original, in the Eau de Parfum concentration anyway.

Since I had a £5 off voucher and a double points voucher from Boots, now seemed the perfect time for a purchase.

The other buy was an impulse one! While wandering around John Lewis, I had a browse through the dregs of the clearance rail, and immediately spotted this little striped Jigsaw top in amidst a sea of nondescript florals.  I've been wearing a lot of stripes recently and feel good in them, so although an impulse buy, a good one I hope...!

Chanel No 19 Poudre - get it here from Boots - plus Advantage points!

Yippee - an outside picture!  Excuse the heavy little person cropping outage.

Top: Jigsaw (sale) - buy here - now reduced FURTHER to £18 at John Lewis

Skirt: Tesco (last year)

Shoes: Converse (available from John Lewis)

Gold overlapping leaves necklace: SchoolGateStyle shop

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TK Maxx

**********

Oh, and by the way, I tried on the Jigsaw pleated skirt from my last post.

It was £125.
It was 100% polyester.
It was vile.

Problem solved :-)

**********

Short story

Or Shorts Story actually, that was the name.

Mentally filed away for later use.

If (like many a time I suspect) you wonder what on earth this woman is wittering on about - it's this:

OPI Shorts Story - available here from John Lewis 

(click on the 5th colour swatch, 2nd row!)

Pink - yes.
Sickly - possibly.
On my wish list - (for some unfathomable reason) - yes.

Pink suits me, I do believe. In the light of 2 x pink lipsticks and a Bobbi Brown 'pale pink' blusher, I'm hoping so anyway!


Other items on my wish list:

Jigsaw pleated skirt

Jigsaw red pom pom scarf

Whistles 'ovoid spot' scarf

Pure collection V neck boyfriend sweater 

I also have in my sights:

• Pink tweed Jigsaw skirt (there I was I hoping Jigsaw were 'finding their way' again... but no picture on website!)
• Orla Kiely pink(see the worrying trend?) and blue scarf - no picture anywhere - but it's in John  Lewis. Helpful (not).

The White Company autumn catalogue had arrived; nothing immediately grabbed me. There was nothing offensive, but just a rehash of last winter (most of which already seem to have bought!)

Having said that, I may make an exception for this maxi skirt:

White Company Jersey Maxi Skirt

A couple of recent outfit pictures below. Excuse the general carnage which surrounds me. I've momentarily lost the wherewithal and time to do anything about it.

Still surviving on a 10 (ok maybe 15) item wardrobe. (Not including accessories!)

Breton shrt sleeved top - H&M

Black capri trousers - Sainsbury's

White jersey 'biker' style cardigan - Florence & Fred (Tesco) <-- thanks to Sue at Susie So So for that tip :-)

Bag - Mulberry Bayswater

Shoes - Russell and Bromley (old)

Shirt - Musto (don't ask) (How did it survive the cull..? Double don't ask!)

Jumper - Joules (similar here)

Trousers - Sainsbury's as above

Bag & Shoes - Mulberry & Russell & Bromley as above

Green; eyeliner; bedding. In no particular order...

Today I wore a new green Jigsaw sale top, reduced to £22, very fine weight basic crew neck top, I find them useful for layering and this one looked very nice with my new scarf which my Dad got me for Christmas. (He went all the way to the Mulberry outlet - bless! - which is unfamiliar territory for him, to say the least.)

So that's the green then.

The eyeliner is another find of the splurge or save variety - save being the optimum word here.  I have, since time immemorial, used Lancome Artliner as an eyeliner. Nothing else came close. I can't abide those fiddly liquid ones, and the gel versions where you need both pot and brush have been tried and found wanting.

The Lancome was a nice felt tipped pen version which bridged the gap between crayon and liquid very well.  I was wandering along the aisles in Superdrug in a desultory way the other day - and out of bordeom really - I didn't actively need a new eyeliner, started eyeing them (sorry no pun intended!)

The L'Oreal superliner in black vinyl is £6.49 - at least half the price of the Lancome liner - and I am hooked. It is making my tired, hungover face look a whole lot better, and I hope this is not just a trick of the light or wishful thinking!  I really like it. Get thee to Superdrug or Boots.

Finally, the bedding.

Now this is a lesson (of the Ash variety, so be patient) in how to save yourself £49!

Da da da da -DAH -

I was in Debenhams today looking for some new square pillowcases (65 x 65cm, increasingly hard to come by, I find) and found some nice beige John Rocha ones on the 50% off shelf - £17 - for a PAIR! So far so good. They were always coming home with me.

I happened to see that there were duvet covers and normal rectangular pillowcases on the same shelf, same reduction. Quickly scooped up one of each (£34 and £15 respectively). While queuing at the till - combination of annoyingly slow and inept assistant and doddery old lady (me in about 20 years, probably) trying to use a voucher - I realised that I did not in fact need a new duvet cover or more rectangular pillowcases, and in between warning small child off high bar stools which were incongruously on sale in the bedding area, had a change of mind and - risking my place in the painfully slow till queue - returned said items to shelf. (Luckily there was no-one behind me or they would have been irresponsibly abandoned on a bar stool. The bedding items, that is, though I don't know - dumping fellow customers also has its appeal..!)

The net result is - in my book - that I have saved £49 rather than spending £17.  The £17 was covered by the hopeless Topshop shoes which had been returned 20 mins earlier anyway.

I have worked out how to email myself pictures again. I still don't understand why my iphone is declaring my password invalid when I have changed it to the correct one umpteen times. I lost patience and added another account - which miraculously worked. So here I am in my new green Jigsaw top, M&S woman cord skirt and new Mulberry scarf from Dad. Tights are M&S Autograph velvet opaques, shoes my good old Russell and Bromley 'Chester' loafers.

Back to 'normality'

No knives today, I'm pleased to report. A mundane, but necessary day, spent ferrying elderly parents to / from hospital appointments and breaking up arguments between same. Sheesh - toddlers have nothing on 80 year olds for squabbling!

I wore:

• Jigsaw grey a-line shape lambswool jumper
• Primark white vest
• White Company silver pendant
• Boden denim mini skirt (not so mini on me as I am a 'short arse' with even shorter legs)
• Russell & Bromley 'Chester' black patent loafers

Sorry for brevity of post. Need to repaint my nails - which have become distressingly slattern-like - before I fall into an imminent exhausted stupor.

See you tomorrow hopefully :-)

Save or splurge: hair protection sprays. (With a pheasant jumper thrown in.)

I thought I'd write an occasional post giving you the benefit of my wisdom on the subject of 'save or splurge'.  I've accumulated quite a few years' worth of experience in this area, trying various products (a) because Vogue or similar announced they were brilliant ('splurge' category usually) or (b) because I was having a few cash-flow 'ishoos' ('save' category clearly).

This time, I'm reviewing two heat protection hair products.

I have dry hair which is naturally wavy (even frizzy - aarrghhh!) so some kind of heat spray is an absolute necessity for me, given the arsenal of styling implements which my hair has to deal with.

When I got my first pair of hair straighteners many years ago, it was a dream come true for me to have smooth hair. The straightness was not so much a goal for me, I just longed to have hair which laid flat and smooth, instead of fuzzy, flyaway and wiry.  When GHDs came onto the market, I was hooked. (GHDs can also give hair curl / wave as well as straightening / smoothing... )

Since then I have also discovered the Babylis Big Hair rotating styling brush - which is excellent at giving a salon style blow dry with lots of lift and smoothness - and wave, if your hair is inclined to wave.

But before I assault my hair with a hairdryer or any heated styling tool, I always use a heat protection spray.

The 'splurge' item today is GHD Thermal Protection Spray £9.95 from lookfantastic.com (Has changed the packaging again since I bought it!)  Admitedly not major splurge zone - but still - £10 for a hair product in these times of austerity is not a small amount!


The 'save' item is John Frieda Full Repair £5.99 from Boots. (But Boots often - always...? -  have John Frieda products on a 'buy two for £7.00 offer, which is when I stock up!)

In this instance it's a winner for.......................................................................

'SAVE' - Yay!  

The cheaper product I find works best for me. I like the lighter texture, and the smell (!) more than the GHD product.  It's not that the GHD product is no good - but the John Frieda one works best (for me) and at £3.50 (as part of the 'two items for £7.00' offer) - works out much cheaper too.

The thing I also like about the John Frieda spray is that is has an element of 'styling' to it as well, so gives a bit of hold / shape to the finished look - but as far as I can tell the GHD spray is just a heat protection spray. You have to buy another product (hmmmmm...that would be £20 then, ker-ching for GHD) to 'style' your hair.

The other thing I will point out about John Frieda products is that they use them in their salons - yes really! Many moons ago, when I was single and rich had more money than now, I used to have my hair done at John Frieda on Aldford Street in London. Ahhhh... the memories. What a luxury that was.... 

I was very surprised on my first visit to see however, that behind the till, visible through the host of Prada clad customers (not me) at the cash desk, there were ranks and ranks of exactly the same products as you would pick up in Boots. So if you felt inclined to buy a shampoo or styling product which had been used during your visit, that would be '£3.99 please Madam'. Slightly incongruous when a coffee probably set me back £5 - but good all the same! 

Now, as I've never written one of these posts on a specific product before, I have no idea if I'm supposed to write some kind of disclaimer such as 'there are other products available....'?!

I must also say that I am in no way affiliated to John Frieda (or GHD!) and these are merely my own findings / thoughts as a humble consumer. :-)  

By the way, today's outfit was as below. Don't blame me for the 'pheasant' jumper. Blame Kat at 'doesmybumlook40' blog. Emboldened by Kat's post the other day about animal jumpers, I was inspired to dig out my Joules pheasant jumper which had been lurking in a drawer since last year. 

I liked it in the catalogue. It looked good on the rosy cheeked size zero model. It looked fun. 

I saw, I tried, I banished doubts, I bought!

I got home and the image (I feared) didn't quite translate, but I kept it anyway. 

Worn with Jigsaw skirt, New Look denim shirt, Russell & Bromley patent loafers

It will always come in handy for the boxing day walk... It's that kind of item, it would work really well in classic 'Joules backdrop land' with wellies, mud and frosty fields.... none of which featured in my day today - but never mind.

If anyone is interested in similar offerings, Joules have further developed their range this year - choose from deer, foxes, ducks...and maybe more - see their range here.

Armed with a credit note, into the breach I go

And my spoils: this rather attractive little bracelet from New Look (coming in at £3.99)...

New Look Gold Spike Gem Stretch bracelet....all of £3.99

Incidentally why is it, that when you have 'free' money (well a credit note, same thing) that it is so hard to find anything you actually want to spend it on?!  I still have £5.02 credit for Pete's sake....!

My new Zara coat got its first airing today.

Sorry about the appalling lighting on the photo below - see earlier post here for a better colour.

Zara down filled coat (not on website) but was in store today - £89.99

I decided to keep the 'greige' - despite returning to try on the slightly different navy style again.

Just to give you a flavour of the mental dilemma I go through when trying to choose between two coats... I will expound my reasons why I thought the navy (the version not bought, you understand) was so good.

Well yes, it is great, except that:
(a) I have so much navy already, my base layers are usually darker colours, and with a navy down jacket on top, I risk merging into one undulating navy blob; and 
(b) I am not sure I want a hood on show at all times

The greige has a hood concealed in the collar, but as I am no longer in 'walking in all weather with a pushchair' territory, I don't feel the need for a hood to be on hand at all times.  If you are in this territory however, then I would recommend the navy coat. The thing I did like with the navy was that the zip from the front simply continues up and around the hood - meaning that you can zip the front of the coat as high as you desire. (You could, in theory, zip the coat right up to the top, encasing your whole head in the hood: but unless you want to be a blind, undulating navy blob, it's probably best not to go for this look - unlike me who did in Zara just to amuse OH. Disclaimer: I am a loon!)

In all seriousness though, those of us who have braved all winds and weathers with hands otherwise engaged with pushchair / shopping / little hands etc - and who never have a hand free to yank up hood which the whistling head wind is determined to push back off of your head - the navy coat would be a godsend. You could zip up over the nose and just leave a hands-free spy-hole. Anyway, that's enough about zips and that particular navy coat which I didn't buy but can see so many reasons TO buy. (In another life.)

I also wore my new Topshop Millicent (partially) studded boots today.

(They seem to have mysteriously disappeared from the TS website but may be available in store. I got them about 10 days ago - £40.... bargain?!)

Probably not the best weather to debut a suede item... but they held up pretty well.

I see that Topshop are also now stocking a fully studded version (called Adios2) with a slightly higher block heel, but - as OH (my reluctant, uninvited style guru) advised me - these are 'too OTT'.  (Well he would say that, wouldn't he!)

Topshop 'Adios2' - £70

Underneath the greige jacket, was a Tesco navy skirt (not cord but soft cotton, will do for now) and a white swingy a-line style Jigsaw t-shirt. Mucho flattering.

Tesco soft navy pencil skirt - £14

The necklace is another Primark bargain (currently in store) and is rather good I think, ticking several autumnal, jewel-like, opulent boxes.

Primark - £4

Food not fashion

I had an unusual delivery today. There were no clothes involved :-0

A large, well padded brown box arrived from Fortnum and Mason. No - I don't do my weekly shop there(!) - but I've been using some tea which was a gift, and tasted rather special. I had a nosey on their website and was pleased to find that you can buy tea / coffee / groceries online (and by that I mean single items, rather than having to splash out £100+ on a hamper pre-filled with some occasionally rather wacky delicacies).

Amongst the goodies delivered to me today were:

Breakfast Blend Coffee (no-one speaks to me in the morning before I've had several mugs of strong fresh black coffee)... This tin looks so pretty and can be re-used:

I'm not a big tea drinker but when I do, I enjoy a cup of Earl Grey. (This was the gift tea which I've been enjoying!)  This time however, I bought a box of teabags for easy make-ability. They are all individually wrapped so would be great to use at work / when travelling etc:

I also got Piccadilly blend teabags - one of which I am enjoying right now - it's a good one to try if you drink tea black and like a delicate tea - it still tastes tea like but without that slightly stewy/bitter aftertaste you can get with normal black tea. 

I'm a sucker for a leisurely breakfast. That sounds like I spend every morning reclining with a paper, a croissant and my coffee - haha - if only!  It happens maybe 3 times a year - but when it does I need good marmalade. Enter marmalade with Bergamot extract....

And finally, as if I needed another bag - but you can probably never have too many 'bags for life' (I usually never take enough on the weekly shop) - and this F&M jute shopper is rather smart:

What I didn't buy - but which is definitely on my wish list - is this Illuminum White Gardenia Petals perfume - ah well; it lives to be bought another day....!

I love a good non-clothes delivery almost as much as a clothing order (just complete shopping addict really, even for groceries!) I am chuffed that I can order these items for home delivery - it's such a  bonus for those of us living 'out in the sticks'. Before the days of online shopping it would have necessitated a trip into London with all the associated parking / travelling / grime / crowd related stresses (not to mention expense and confusion of the 'yokel in town' variety!!)

It's got a bit late to do an outfit pic I fear - bearing in mind my pics are dubious quality at best - but I wore Boden moleskin skirt, old bottle green Jigsaw top, black opaques and the F&F Tory-Burch-esque shoes.  I really am making a go of this FrOctober (or SkOctober) idea....!

The follies of impatience

Turns out the Primark wedges are not quite as expected once tried on...what disappointment :-(

The problem is mainly that the sole seems very thick / obtrusive / clumpy - especially on the tan version for some reason, which may be an optical illusion. 

The sole, being a lighter colour than the shoe was always a concern I had, as I prefer a matching sole, and on the black version the soles are black. 

The tan pair will I think have to be returned as for some reason they don't seem to work at all on me, though they look better off than on. The burgundy pair could work but, unexpectedly, they seem to work better with opaques and a skirt, rather than with jeans. I think maybe these wedges are at odds with a skinny style trouser, at least, as they are quite a heavy shoe.

Have not mentioned these thoughts yet to poor OH who did me such a favour to get them yesterday on his day off!  Will have to sneak them back on Monday. Why oh why didn't I wait until Monday?  (I am so impatient!)  However, as with so many things you never really know until you get something home and try with different items.

Pictures below:

Burgundy wedges (sorry for appalling dark picture, they ARE burgundy!) - better with a skirt

Tan pair. Wrong somehow... :-(

Burgundy version, slightly better, or is it my imagination?

And what I actually wore before the wedge trying episode:

Made in Heaven Vienna jeans

Jigsaw mole coloured t shirt

Jigsaw roll neck poncho

Aquitalia ankle boots

Brown Mulberry Bayswater

By the way, I saw a nice jacket and jumper in Tesco earlier today, neither bought or even tried on as wasn't in the mood and didn't have time or 'head-space' - but I will be returning to investigate:

Jacket - £28 - on Tesco website here

Burgundy jumper £14...to match the wedges maybe?  Website link here

Ankle boots - a year early!

There's no escaping the fact that ankle boots are the footwear 'of the moment' this season.

Luckily, I had some languishing in my wardrobe from last year meaning one less shopping trip (with the associated angst and decisions) is required. And even luckily-er,  I found out about all these wonderful bloggers who assure me that these great boots are still so 'on-trend'!

I do buy things I love and don't mind too much if they are 'in fashion', mind you, but it's always nice when your preferences and current trends collide - am sure I will get lots of extra wear this autumn/ winter.

The boots are black suede Aquitalia from Russell and Bromley.  I will be wearing them with opaques and skirts/dresses as well as skinnies. They give me much needed height with a decent heel and a small platform, and are so comfortable to wear.  I would imagine R&B will stock them again this year as most of the popular styles seem to be repeated.

So what was I wearing today?

• Jigsaw velvet skirt (Trusty, trusty staple. 1p cost per wear maximum - and counting!)
• Zara beige linen knit drapey cardi (Looks like this is also going down the same mega low cpw route!)
• New M&S snakeprint scarf (has been blogged about endlessly, so didn't think a close up required as I'm sure you all know what it looks like!)
• Autograph M&S flat patent leather pumps. So comfortable. So simple. So smart. So bargainous thanks to a footwear discount voucher I happened to have.  (Grrr - so why are they not then repeated this season??)

Because I am very lazy, the bag was the Orla Kiely stem print which has featured the last couple of days. However, were I not so lazy and had I been inclined to streamline bag contents - then the bag would have been Mulberry Antony. And perhaps will be tomorrow, unless a colourful bag seems to be in order again.

I bought my Anthony in a Mulberry outlet store - so the style is slightly different from the full price versions (which have the extra slip pocket on the front) - but who's noticing?  It's still the genuine article and at vast discount, I'm certainly not complaining.

While on the subject of Mulberry - I'm totally craving the Bayswater tote bag. 

I have (ahem... too many) classic Bayswater bags - but I love the tote version as well. Have steeled myself not even to look/enquire in the outlet - as there would be severe lack of willpower and very real danger of definite buying, which really would not be a good idea!  

Perhaps, if Johnnie sends a good discount code (Boden PR people - are you reading this?) I might consider buying the Boden 'Chelsea' bag which has the same feel about it.

Finally, one more footwear item to talk about. These cute leopard print flats from Zara have so far not been worn - but I'm planning to rectify that very soon.  I bought them back in mid August - and they were a snip at £19.99. Maybe a bit of print clashing with the snake print scarf, maybe not. But they'll look good with some black skinnies and the ever present beige slouchy knits!

You may remember my ongoing battle with the leopard print Primark skinny jeans. No such dilemma here. I present the acceptable face of leopard print for the 40 year old woman!

Autumn wear and a harvest chandelier.

I think I need to start this post with a disclaimer. The outfits I am posting at the moment are not necessarily:
(a) exciting
(b) to be recommended
(c) anything anyone else would be interested in..!

Just wanted to clear that up. But I need to plod on, through high point and low point - and clearly we are in a low point at present :-D  Once I bounce back from my focus on the house I'm hoping things will get more interesting. I am planning a Boden order next week with the proceeds of some Ebay selling - so watch this space!

This is from Friday, back to work after two days off sewing.  It felt autumnal enough to crack open the opaque tights and give the loafers a dusting off - hooray!  On reflection though - how gloomy, I could have added a scarf - ho-hum.  Maybe I subconsciously dressed to reflect my lack of  'pzazz' at the moment?!

• Charcoal linen knit cardigan from Zara - long at the back, shorter at the front (absolute treasure until those extra pounds go...)
• Grey camisole from Primark
• Black velvet / moleskin skirt from Jigsaw
• Black patent 'Chester' loafers from Russell & Bromley.
• Purple bead necklace (old) from Accessorize.

Continuing the home decoration theme, I am pleased to finally have my new (old) chandelier up and working. I love it. I have a dangerous antique lighting obsession and must stop now, otherwise I will have run out of rooms to hang them in!  I have banned myself from driving past my favourite shop which always has a dazzling selection on display. 

I do love this one though - the ears of corn and the gold colour are so beautiful - and so appropriate for the time of year :-)

Take a navy Jigsaw top...

...and add a necklace or two:

Bright pink necklace, Zara

The Jigsaw top is a favourite of mine. The neckline has a very pretty ruffled detail with a row of little satin covered beads. I thought it had gone into the sale, but have just looked on the website and couldn't see it. Hopefully a similar style will be repeated next season.

The pink necklace is from Zara and is very a bright, almost neon pink. I love the droplets and the fact that it is ornate without being too 'bling' or looking like it's trying to be some kind of gemstone... It doesn't seem to be on their website yet. I also have my eye on the necklace below, which is also very pretty in the flesh.

Primark

The other necklace is the gold tone one from Primark as mentioned the other day.

I now absolutely am on a spending ban and will soon have to turn my thoughts to packing for our Scottish break. Wet weather gear is featuring large in my mind at the moment. We are heading to Altnaharra in the the far north so style may (I'm afraid) have to take a back seat, it will be Barbour jackets and sensible footwear all the way - especially as the only way to reach the beautiful Sandwood Bay is a 4 mile hike by footpath!

The leopard print

I have been having a small crisis over the Primark leopard print skinny jeans.

• Can a 40 year old woman really wear this look without channelling Bet Lynch? And...
• The skinnies are not so skinny, (obvious really on my chubby little legs - but there's still surplus fabric there) and that's before any stretch.  I'd sized up as I assumed Primark (being cheap) would not be generous in the sizing - more likely the reverse. I have no idea if that's normally the case. Hmm what to do - change for normal size or abandon altogether....? Any advice here?

I can't decide if they are hideous on me or not. Hubby said they looked better on than he expected (what kind of a backhanded compliment is that?!)  Cardigan - old charcoal/ smoke coloured Jigsaw chiffon trim (fished out at random so the whole look is not quite 'there').  Bag is my lovely Mulberry Mitzy. (Outlet bargain!)

Best thing is the bag!

Earlier in the day I had been wearing my new black Primark capris (bought yesterday) with a nude Primark vest and an old Topshop blush / beige voile blouse with a ruffled front. I love blush / beige and wear a lot of it as it works well with my favourites navy, white, tan and black and (dare I claim it) forms the basis of a good 'capsule' collection for me. Shoes are trusty White Stuff beige suede wedges. 

Capris - Primark; Vest - Primark; Blouse - Topshop (old); Shoes - White Stuff (old)

(Sorry the photos are a bit dark and blurry, unsure why - but they are a lot better that the so called 'enhanced' version iphoto offered me!)

Trusty White Stuff wedges from last year

Also below is a close-up of my bargain Asos gold leather sandals from my post the other day - £7 in the sale and still available on the Asos website here although only in smaller sizes now, I see. They have them in other colours too - see here. (I am considering getting the orange version as well as I like them so much.) 

Asos Fearne Gold Sandals - £7 bargain :-)