Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Foundation

After being a dedicated devotee of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation for a couple of years now, I decided it was time for a change. I don't know about you, but no matter how good I find a type of make up, after using it for a long period of time I just don't see the same results any more. I know I'll go back to Double Wear one day though, and I'll probably fall in love with it all over again.

Anyway, I took a wee wander in Debenhams to see what I could find. The Flawless Finish compact on the Elizabeth Arden counter caught my eye. I remember my mum used it years ago and really liked it. And I quite fancied the idea of a compact foundation for a change - so much easier for quick fixes when you're out and about!

The girl on the counter tried the make up on me and I really liked it. She explained that by using the included sponge dry or wet you can vary the coverage of the foundation depending on the look you're going for. Personally I quite like a lot of coverage from my foundation, not that I have particularly bad skin or much uneven skin tone...I just like to feel like I'm wearing make up. I know that sounds bizarre!

I've been really pleased with this foundation. I've not used the sponge that comes in the compact very often, only when I'm out and about, as I've found that I get the best coverage when I apply the foundation using a foundation brush. Mine is a MAC 190 brush. I have used sponges a couple of times when we had warmer weather and I was just looking for a light covering, but I'm yet to try it with a wet sponge so I can't report on how that goes. My colour is Porcelain Beige, to be honest the colour names are the only negative I have about the product, each colour is named a different type of beige...I just know that when I go to replace this I'm going to get confused about which beige I am. Oh well, good job I've written it here so I can remember!

What foundation are you using now? Have you tried this Elizabeth Arden one?

Get ahead get a hat

It's Royal Ascot week, which can mean only one thing, the best hats in the world come out to play. Personally I can't carry off a hat, they just don't look right on me. Although in my mum's mind the bigger the hat the better...I think had it rained on my wedding day, everyone in attendance could have taken shelter under the brim of her headgear.

Not being able to wear a hat doesn't mean I can't have a right good perv at the beauties on display at Ascot though...

The Queen of accessorising pulls it off again

 

A patriotic Minnie Mouse

 

Captain Hook meets a parrot

 

A record and peacock feathers, an obvious combination

 

And the award for the most subtle hat goes to....

 

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What I wore to the Scottish Fashion Awards

I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Scottish Fashion Awards on Monday night with the beautiful Lisa from Juicy Satsuma. We had an amazing night of celeb spotting and, more to the point, fabulous outfit spotting!

The problem with being invited to an event like this - with the cream of the crop of the Scottish fashion world in attendance - is picking just what to wear! Getting the right balance between staying true to your own style, being a bit fashion forward, but not looking too try-hard is no easy feat! So I decided to follow my favourite mantra WWKD (what would Kate do) and recycled an old favourite. I last wore this Mint Velvet dress when we had a housewarming after our big move earlier this year and I decided it had the right amount of sparkle and high-end-high-street for the fashion awards. I teamed it with my new favourite Moda in Pelle shoes (they're so amazing they may even deserve their own post at a later date) and my ever faithful New Look blazer toned down the sequins a touch. I kept the jewellery minimal with just a long beaded necklace from Oasis.

Outfit picked, the next challenge was the hair and make up transformation, as us girls know, we don't wake up looking this gorgeous. Here's a wee selection of the products I used on the night, and a wee mid-makeover shot - including one remaining trusty Velcro roller!

When we arrived at the awards our first stop was the VIP red carpet to do some papping (next time we'll remember the step ladders like the pros). Unfortunately we missed Alexa in her Christopher Kane dress and the gorgeous David Gandy. But we did manage some shots of some legends while we were there. Brix Smith-Start was her usual eccentric self sporting a statement Louise Gray dress with a graduated hem. The designer herself then made an appearance in some rather fabulous clashing prints and a dash of neon hairspray!

Designer of the year Christopher Kane was rather dashing in his studded shirt. I later discovered I was sitting beside his partner Declan during the awards show, something I was rather chuffed about until I told my husband and he replied with "who's Christopher Kane?" don't worry I'll be giving him an education pronto!! Scottish model of the year Tali Lennox was stunning in the flesh, and her dress was gorgeous. But the tiny catch we noticed in the skirt of her dress certainly helped bring her back down to being just a mere mortal!

The awards were amazing as you can imagine, with musical performances, fashion shows and Alexa was a charming and funny host. For more info on the actual awards, including the performances and who won what, check out the gust post Lisa and I did on Mabel's Log. It has all the important details you need! After the show we had a bit of fun with in the photo booth in the foyer of the Armadillo. Looks like we still need some practice before they'll nominate us for model of the year. All in all we had a brilliant night, we left the boys at home watching the football while we indulged in all things beautiful and fashionable, bliss!! And who says you need to be a VIP to get a freebie? Every seat had a bottle of Highland Spring water waiting for us, yip, my life is just a blur of glitz and glamour!

Queen Victoria

So it seems that in this Olympic and jubilee year everyone's getting a bit patriotic. It's even affecting our superstar expats! The ever fabulous Mrs Beckham has been living in the states with her gorgeous family for over 5 years, but still very much classes herself British. And her Victoria Beckham fashion line is based in London, something she is fiercely proud of.

She's also been shouting about how wonderful Britain is as an ambassador for the GREAT Campaign, a project which aims to promote the UK around the world. I love this video she made as part of the campaign. She looks so natural and happy in front of the camera. While also looking gorgeous as always, in one of her own designs.