Archive for August 2011

Yay! Another Award Ceremony! And another reason for another post in the My Best Dressed series. The highlight of the VMAs was, of course, Beyonce's happy news! Congratulations to her and Jay-Z! Their baby is going to be one very lucky little thing :)

Beyonce's memorable moment was about the only memorable things about the VMAs however, the fashion was certainly a bit dud in my opinion. There were a few outfits that caught my eye though...

All pictures Getty and found here

Louise Roe in Tibi

I absolutely love this style of gown, especially the pleated taupe skirt part. I actually have a very similar skirt, from topshop, which you can see me wearing on Lucy's blog... it's a shame I don't quite look like Louise wearing it! This style of dress reminds me of the Jason Wu and Naeen Khan gowns I've featured in earlier My Best Dressed posts, the floaty maxi skirt just looks fab contrasted against a beautifully embellished top. With that fabulous tan and coral nails Louise was by far my best dressed on the night.

Beyonce in Lanvin

The moment Beyonce revealed her 'surprise', and boy did she reveal it in perfect fashion! Absolutely glowing in this stunning bright orange gown with classic drapes, we just know B is going to do pregnancy in style. Can't wait!

Kelly Rowland in Falguni & Shane Peacock

Despite the first thing to catch the eye being the unfortunately placed feather detail, Kelly looked flawless in this dramatic black and gold embroidered number, which had a plunging neckline big enough to balance out that massive bunch of feathers. Kelly paired this dress with the most amazing Louboutin shoes, good choice!

Katie Holmes in Azzedine Alaia

First of all, Katie looks so suits the long wavy hair over that short middle-aged crop, I've got some serious hair envy right now! I love both the dress and and boots, and again I want! I could actually imagine many a fashion blogger in a similar outfit... But somehow, together, they weren't quite suited for an awards ceremony. Still, the outfit looked fab, and Katie looked tonnes younger.

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It was only after deciding to review the It's Potent! eye cream that I realised how many other's I had tried, and that had pretty much failed for me! (You can read about them below) In the two months or so I've been using It's Potent! it has fast become my favourite eye cream, overtaking my much loved Clinique All About Eyes Rich.

Before I talk about the product itself, I have to say I love the packaging! The victoriana style glass bottle, with faux cork lid looks very pretty on a dressing table, it makes the product stand out and gives it that extra element of fun!

Primarily marketed as a brightening cream to fade dark circles, this cream also reduces fine lines with a 'blend of hydrating botanical extracts, including apple extract, known to help boost collagen, & loquat extract, known to help protect the skin from free radical damage', so say Benefit. Despite my skin having pretty oily tendencies, it's not the case around my eyes. It's Potent! provides the long lasting and instant moisture that the skin around my eyes craves. The moisturised feeling doesn't last ALL day, but it's one of the best I've tried and instantly make the skin appear softer and smoother. The cream soaks in quickly so that you don't have to wait age before applying makeup, and I don't know if it's just my imagination but I'm sure it is slightly brightening! I do get slight dark circles, mainly due to lack of sleep, and even though I never look totally bright and well rested, I often feel that I don't look quite as knackered as I feel!!

I'd definitely repurchase!

I also want to quickly say something about the Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsifier. I was able to choose a sample size from the B.Right range when I bought a full size product. The fact that this moisturiser is oil-free and contains SPF 15 PA++, which protects skin from both UVA and UVB, meant that I was instantly drawn towards this product. As I've mentioned countless times on this blog, I've got oily skin, OK! :) As this moisturiser is described as oil-free and lightweight I was hoping it would suit my skin. Well it doesn't feel lightweight to me! Just sticky, not the kind of feeling I enjoy under makeup, and doesn't doing anything to help my oily. I love the idea of SPF 15, and it's a good thing this moisturiser does have SPF as the only time I'd feel comfortable wearing it is on holiday when I'd definitely need an SPF and would be wearing a lot less makeup. Also, the the glass packaging that I love for the eye cream, doesn't quite work with the design used for this moisturiser, like a glass ketchup bottle frustratingly nothing comes out until you shake it so much a massive dollop does! Oh well!

So, onto the many other eye creams, gels and serums I've tried. I was slightly shocked by the amount of products I had... but on a closer look, a lot a samples, so I didn't feel so bad!

The Good:

Clinique All About Eyes Rich: Super hydration which is long-ish lasting

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: Instantly smoothing and slightly cooling. Definitely not to be used during the day, the very silky formula doesn't mix well with concealers!

The Bad:

Clinique All About Eyes Serum: The product itself isn't too bad. On initial application the roller ball means it's very cooling. I don't suffer from puffiness, which is what the product is aimed at, but I 'm sure it would work at de-puffing as I was left with a slightly tight feeling once it dried... this is something I don't particularly like, I mainly want an eye cream to be hydrating. My main issue with this serum was the packaging, which seems to scratch or nick my skin. Not good on the delicate eye area! I can't find anything particularly sharp on the packaging when I run my finger round it, so can only assume the roller action is pinching my skin!

The Rest:

Estee Lauder DayWear Plus: The plus to this is that the's SPF 15. It's moisturising but nothing to write home about.

Clinique All About Eyes: Quite moisturising, but I wanted more! This product is what had be up grading to the Clinique All About Eyes Rich.

Benefit Eyecon: Now discontinued, it claimed to be brightening. I didn't really expect it to work wonders and wasn't surprised when I didn't notice anything.
Simple Kind To Eyes Revitalising Eye Roll-On: Refreshing and doesn't nip the skin around the eyes!
Botanics Eye and Lip Corrective Serum: Lightly moisturising
PX Prescriptives Super Line Preventor Xtreme: Definitely tightening and lifting, not suited for my skin quite yet though!

Have you tried anything from the Benefit B.Right skincare range? Or any other eye creams/ moisturisers that you would absolutely rave about? Let me know in the comments below!

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On Friday I attended the Joe Browns blogger event for an exclusive look at their A/W 11 collection. The Leeds based clothing company hosted a fabulous Mexican themed evening which started with some cheeky (and very strong) margaritas, a great selection of Mexican tacos and a chance for a good old chat with the lovely bloggers attending. It was wonderful to meet some of fave bloggers, as well as girls whose blogs are now on my reading list! (Hello again Lucy, Jen, Victoria, Becca, Laura, Kate, Lauran, Jamie, Laura, Hayley, Laura, Laura, and all the other attendees!)

To be completely honest, I knew very little about Joe Browns before the event, so I was really excited to find out more about the company and their products. I was really impressed with what Joe himself had to say about the origins and philosophy of the company. Coining their own mantra's, such as 'Fuelled by Passion' and 'Boogie to your own Beat', the guys at Joe Browns really do love to live the adventure lifestyle the collections are aimed at... It was only around a week before that a number of the team did a sky dive! The men & women's wear buyers also enthusiastically talked through the inspiration behind the new A/W collections, with fun, adventure and travel being massive themes throughout.

The rest of the evening was filled with a wonderful tour of the offices by Joe himself, a harder than it looks game of ~~hitting~~ beating a Pinata and the opportunity to try on items from the new collection. It was clear that at Joe Browns, the team is encouraged to let their personality and personal inspirations shine through. Each department was wonderfully decorated, with pictures and trinkets, from all over the world, to be found on every wall and surface.

Thank you very much to the Joe Browns team for a really great evening! Also, for the amazingly generous goodie bag, filled with lot's of choccies, a gorgeous cupcake, very cute headband and what I'm most excited about, a voucher to spend at Joe Browns! I've got my eye on some of the gorgeous winter knits, but I can't wait for the full A/W range to be released online for my final decision... which I'll share with you on here! :)