31 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Solid perfumes by Crazylibellule and the Poppies

When the only break in a 24 hour flight from London to Auckland is two hours in Hong Kong airport, you know there's only one thing to do right? Yup - duty free shopping.

Actually, according to 11 Year Old Son the only thing to do during a two hour stopover in Hong Kong airport is to find the nearest McDonalds, despite the fact that during our two day stay in Hong Kong on the way out to England he was mortified - mortified I tell you - to discover that you can't get Sweet & Sour sauce with your McNuggets in Hong Kong. I think that was the moment when he truly realised he was in a foreign country!

Anyway, while I was standing at the counter in one of the cosmetics outlets waiting to pay for my Lancome Hypnose mascara (half the price I would pay for it in NZ - did I mention how much I love duty free?) I found myself browsing the counter displays. Cute little displays at the cosmetics counter have an effect on me similar to that of candy displays beside the supermarket checkout on small children. Except I have a credit card and nobody to say no (Eccentric English Boyfriend had taken 11YO Son for his McDonalds top-up!).

I spotted the Crazylibellule and the Poppies Les Garconnes solid perfume sticks and fell in love with the beautiful packaging:


Aren't they gorgeous? I bought Rose a Saigon (third from the right), which is quite delightful. Don't ask me to describe its scent for you though; much like wine-tasting, perfume descriptions are way beyond my ability so the best answer you're likely to get is "well, it smells, ummm, nice".

I can't find much information about Crazylibellule and the Poppies - their website is currently closed for maintenance - but their products seem to be available at many online cosmetics retailers. Does anybody else have one of these in their stash? What do you think of them?

30 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Two Tone Rose Alice Band from Beadesaurus

I just love these Alice bands:



I love the bold contrast of colours and the geometric structure of the rose. I really want to buy one, but I can't wear Alice bands because they make my head hurt. I think they must squeeze my brain or something.

The Two Tone Rose Alice Band is £10.00 from Beadesaurus (who ship internationally).

28 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Glam bow gathered bag from Freez Clothing

Despite my addiction to pretty things I've spent years ignoring bags and handbags because they never really made my pretty receptor tingle. (Yes, I have a pretty receptor and it tingles. Not telling you where it is though!).

Recently however, after featuring a few bags in the Daily Pretty, I've started to amass a collection of them. The problem with this is that I never actually use them. You see, I carry a lot of stuff around in my handbag. I mean a lot. So much so that transferring everything from one bag to another is time consuming. Not to mention the dilemma I'm faced with should I choose a smaller bag for occasions where my suitcase sized day-to-day bag doesn't go with my outfit. I find myself thinking "but I can't possibly not include the indigestion tablets / plastic cutlery set / dogs' vaccination certificates because what if I have an urgent need for them?".

Yes, I have issues.

This bag wouldn't fit all my stuff, but I want it anyway:


The Glam Bow Gathered Bag is from Australian company Freez Clothing (who ship internationally) and is AU$29.00.

27 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Paris dress from Dolly Dagger

Look what just arrived at Dolly Dagger:


Isn't it gorgeous? I love the sweetheart neckline and red button detail. Its retro vibe makes me want to start singing about Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boys From Company B; so it's probably a good thing that I can't afford it, because singing is not one of my strengths. Shopping and sleeping yes, singing - a most emphatic NO!

The Paris dress in Black is £130.00 from Dolly Dagger. It's a Stop Staring dress so is also available on the Stop Staring website, but only in navy as far as I can tell.

26 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: TV necklace by Me and Zena

It is a sad fact that I'm old enough to remember when television in New Zealand wasn't a 24 hour deal. Back when I was a kid I knew I'd been allowed to stay up really late when the Goodnight Kiwi clip came on the telly, heralding closedown for the night. Getting up early in the morning meant watching the test pattern until the first programme came on.

This necklace has me all nostalgic:



The TV Necklace from Me and Zena comes in silver (with the test pattern) or gold (with a glittery fuzzy screen) and is £18.00.

And for those of you non-New Zealanders wondering about Goodnight Kiwi, here it is. There is a whole generation of New Zealanders who can't hear this music without going "awwwwwwwwwwwww".

I'm loving: Bourjois Mini Eyeshadow Powder No 5

One of my favourite drugstore brands (and therefore, obviously, a brand I can't get here in New Zealand - grumble grumble mutter) is Bourjois. Naturally when we were in England in July I stocked up on a few Bourjois products, and now I'm kicking myself for not getting more. Lots more.

I did get this: 
Mini Bourjois Eyeshadow Powder 05.

Mini Bourjois is Bourjois' range of mini-sized cosmetics; including eye liners and powders, lip glosses and balms, blush, nail enamel and accessories. The eyeshadow powders are packed in 1g / 0.04oz jars and there are 15 colours in the range. Now that I've tried 05 I want the other 14 as well. Sadly I don't think Eccentric English Boyfriend will see my desperate need for these as a vaild excuse for another trip to England.

Eyeshadow Powder 05 is a dusky grey/blue shot through with gold that proved nigh on impossible to capture with my camera, but here are a couple of jar shots:



The first is taken with flash, the second indoors with natural light, but neither of them show the gold reflect particularly well - it's warmer than it appears here.

And some shots of it applied on my upper eyelid and over the top of the eyeliner on my lower eyelid. (The other products used are an unnamed Vital Radiance beige eyeshadow as a base, Smashbox Creme Eyeliner in Picasso lining the upper eyelid, and LA Girl Eyeliner in Navy lining the lower eyelid.)






Because my eyes are heavily hooded the eyes open shot doesn't show much of the eyeshadow, but I've included it because it does show the gold reflect quite nicely.

Really well pigmented, this is a lovely soft eyeshadow powder which applies easily and blends well, and I think it may now be my favourite eyeshadow colour. At least until I find my new favourite eyeshadow!

So what about you my pretties - have you tried this range? Any favourites? It's my birthday in a month and a half, so if anyone's stuck for present ideas (hint hint) I want, well all of them really, but particularly:

This one:

And this one:
 And this one:

 And this one:
And most particularly of all, because seriously - WOW - this one!
 

18 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: Miss Selfridge Petites Bow Printed Tea Dress

One of the very best things about shopping in England is the range of clothing available for the vertically challenged among us. Most of the major clothing stores have a Petites section, and jeans are often available in several leg lengths. So even though I'm at the shorter end of the petite range it's still so much easier to find clothes that don't make me look like I'm playing dress-ups, and I don't have to factor in the cost of alterations before deciding on a purchase.

If I'd seen this dress when we were there I would have snapped it up.



Miss Selfridge do ship to New Zealand though, so if I really wanted the Petites Bow Printed Tea Dress (£37.00) I could order it. Only if I really, really, really, really, really, really wanted it though.


Really.


Want.


Dress.

13 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: what I didn't (and did) buy at Collectif

Another shop that I was very much looking forward to checking out during our sojourn in London was Collectif, although this time I found it not by design but by Eccentric English Boyfriend. As we were leaving Covent Garden Markets he said "let's go this way, I want to show you this shop I found, I think you'll like it". When we got there I was all "omg it's Collectif, you are totally, like, the Best Boyfriend Ever" and he was all "well yes obviously, now don't spend too much". And I didn't. But oh how I wanted to:


The Sailor Pencil Skirt (£30.00) is such a cutie, is it not? Unfortunately on my five foot frame skirts this length end up being mumsy-mid-calf-length, and the anchor embroidery means taking it up would not be an option. Le Sigh.

I did, however, buy this:


The Bow & Crossbones Pirate Ship Necklace (£4.00) is so adorable that even the middle-aged lady behind the counter at the Tower of London gift shop complimented me on it!

11 Year Old Boy was most unimpressed about being subjected to yet another clothing store, until I got into a conversation with one of the Collectif staff members about Australian rock band Airbourne, who were playing on the shop stereo. Next to AC/DC Airbourne are his favourite band and when she revealed that she'd actually met the band his eyes grew wide and I think he might have developed a wee crush. It was very cute. Don't tell him I said that, I'd hate to incur the wrath of a (very cute) 11 Year Old Boy!

10 August 2010

Your daily dose of pretty: what we bought at Tatty Devine

14 Year Old Daughter and I had a list of must-visit shops for our trip to England, and top of our list was jewellery store Tatty Devine. So one day in the middle of our week in London we sent Eccentric English Boyfriend and 11 Year Old Boy off to blow things up at the Science Museum and set off on our own to negotiate the tube and London streets. We managed not too badly, too. We didn't get lost on the tube, almost didn't get lost in the streets and eventually found ourselves at the bright pink Tatty Devine store in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden (which by the way is totally worth a visit for cute little clothing boutiques).

We browsed for ages trying to make up our minds which of the adorable jewellery items we would buy, and eventually narrowed it down to one necklace and one ring each. So here's what we got:

I couldn't resist the Red Squirrel Necklace (£21.00). He's such a cute little fella, and a fabulous souvenir of my trip (because of course I totally love squirrels!).


Isn't the Cat Ring (£9.00) adorable? Not the most comfortable thing to wear, but I'll put up with a little discomfort to have cat ears sticking up from my finger!


14 Year Old Daughter is passionate about music (she plans to study it at university) so the Music Note Pendant (£22.00) was an obvious choice. Hers is black, which doesn't seem to be available any more, but the red is gorgeous too.


I bought 14 Year Old Daughter the Moustache Necklace for Christmas, and now she has a Moustache Ring (£9.00) to go with it.

All in all a productive (if not somewhat wallet lightening) visit. And our day didn't end there, we hit the tube again, got lost a little bit more and then shopped up a serious storm on Oxford Street. But that's a whole other blog post!

08 August 2010

I also have another blog, you know

Hello my pretties, I returned safe and sound from my travels. In fact I returned safe and sound a couple of weeks ago, I just haven't posted yet. But I have much to share with you and rest assured there will be plenty of posts to come. In the meantime I thought I'd point you to my other blog, ManikPixi, which I've just updated today for the first time in over a year. It is however a very serious update (I only mention shoes once) as it's all about my feelings about having Multiple Sclerosis, and also goes some way towards explaining why my blogging mojo has been a little absent of late. So if you're interested head over there and read it. And if not, stay tuned, I promise to bring you more pretties.

PS: I've had a couple of people ask how much nail polish I bought while we were in England. (And Hong Kong, don't forget Hong Kong!). Well I counted them all up when we arrived home, and the total was 90 polishes. Yup. 90. All of which made it home in one piece. Now in my defence not all of those were for me, I have some swaps lined up. Still, pretty impressive huh? And don't even get me started on the eyeshadows!

Selina xx