A capsule wardrobe part 3: Week 1 in outfits

Today I am going to start piecing together all of the items in my capsule wardrobe. Over the next 4 Saturdays, I am going to show you 28 outfits put together from 32 items in my capsule wardrobe. You can see all 32 pieces here.

You may also want to read:

My capsule wardrobe part one 

My capsule wardrobe part two 

Let's go ahead and see the 7 outfits this week:

Outfit No.1
Mustard jumper (Similar to mine)
Black jeans

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Scarf
Black boots

Outfit No.2
Batwing cardigan
Checked shirt
Ripped jonni jeans

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Nike thea trainers (Similar)

Outfit No.3
Thin knit jumper
Aztec skirt (similar)

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Black boots
Gold necklace (Similar)

Outfit No.4
Checked shirt
Stone skinny trousers

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Steve madden boots

Outfit No.5
Stripe top
Stone skinny trousers
Long grey cardigan

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Steve madden boots

Outfit No.6
Black coat (Similar)
Aztec skirt (similar)
Thin knit jumper in burgundy

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Black boots

Outfit No.7
Denim shirt
Stripe top
Stone skinny trousers

Accessories not included in my capsule wardrobe:
Steve madden boots







I am really enjoying putting together these outfits, come back next Saturday to see another week from my capsule wardrobe.

Thanks for reading

Katherine
xxx

Mini haul: Mac and Too faced

Last weekend, I went shopping in Birmingham and picked up a few bits from Debenhams. I was really excited to see that they had a mini Too Faced beauty stand where I spotted the Too Faced 'Better than sex' mascara. I have been really excited to try this so stay tuned for a review soon.

I also picked up 2 eye shadows. The first one I picked up was from their extra dimension eye shadow range which are just like the original shades but with more oomph and shimmer. I have not tried these before so was excited to try these out. I got the shade 'Sweet heat'. These do not come in the refill pan form, which is a shame, but it is a very pretty colour (Pictured on the left above). It is the perfect rose gold shade with shimmer to it. I like that it is a shimmer shade and not glittery- the perfect bronze/rose gold shade.

I also picked up 'amber lights' to go in my MAC palette. This is a copper/orange colour. As with all MAC eye shadows, it is very pigmented and is just right for the autumnal make up looks with a berry lip.

Have you picked up anything new recently?

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

How to take a good flat lay photograph for your blog/ Instagram

Over the last few months I have been taking a lot of flat lay photographs for my blog and for instagram and I thought I would share with you some of my tips for a good photograph.

I am not a professional photographer and all of the photos are taken on my iPhone 6 so I can upload them instantly onto Instagram.

1. Using natural light

I try to also take my photos in the morning on a sunny day. I find that these are the best photographs and require the least editing. I try not to turn on the spotlights in my flat lays as these can create weird shadows and spots in my photos.

2. Changing your backgrounds

I got all my backgrounds from homebase. If you go into store you can take samples of wallpaper for free! I took an A3 sized piece from about 10 different rolls. I really like using white backgrounds and wooden floor effect ones. Try to keep your background quite neutral and plain if you want your products to really stand out.

3. Layering

Experiment with layering your photographs. I use magazines, dishes, different prints to make my products stand out more. H&M home is great for this. The leaf dish and marble plaque are both from there. They are so affordable and really make your photos stand out. Take a look here for some ideas.

4. Use words and sayings

I also picked up a few of these little sayings 'Do more of what makes you Happy' and 'Have a nice day' I picked these up, again from H&M. I can't find them online but they are always by the tills in the home section and cost £3.99. I've also picked some up in the sale for 50p!

5. Finally, link all of your social media to show off your hard work!

When you have taken your photos, make sure you shout about them.

On instagram:

Tag brands

Link to twitter

#everything you can think of e.g #beauty #London #blogger etc

Update everyone when there is a new blogpost and put a link in your bio

On your blog:

Have an Instagram feature in your side bar

Link all of your social media together: Twitter, tumblr, Facebook, Instagram

Be detailed. If you are featuring a product, take swatches so your audience can have as much information about the product as possible.

And finally, use others as your inspiration. Look at different # on instagram and decide what you like about the photos. Try to make yours unique and personal to you.

I hope you found this useful

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

Weekend wind-up: Birthday preparations, New in Charlotte Tilbury and Capsule Wardrobes

It's that time again, I don't know where another week has gone! This week I have been very busy organising my birthday tea party. I absolutely LOVE going for afternoon tea so I decided I would host my own tea party. I got some lovely decorations from partypieces.co.uk. They were so reasonably priced. I picked up 2 cardboard cake stands, napkins, paper plates, cups, balloons, bunting, paper chains, table cloth, table confetti all for under £30! Let me know if you would like to see a post all about the food and hosting your own tea party.

I also started a capsule wardrobe experiment series on my blog. Every Saturday for the next 4 weeks will be a 'week in outfits' using 32 pieces in my capsule collection. If you missed them, here is part 1 and part 2. I am really enjoying it so far and haven't bought any new clothes yet. Let's see if I can last for the next 3 months!

I also reviewed the new cat eyes to hypnotise collection on my blog here. They are the perfect little sets for a Christmas party makeup look. 

After reading the Beautylookbook's post on 5 brands to try at Space NK, I would really like to try the Magnetic Eye colour pencils from Nudestix in the colour Twilight and Spirit. She did some lovely swatches if you want to check them out here. Have any of you tried them? What do you think?

I would love to know what you have been up to this week, leave a comment below

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

A Capsule wardrobe part two: All 32 pieces

Welcome back, here is part two of my capsule wardrobe experiment. Today I would like to show you all of the pieces I have in my wardrobe. Please have a read of the capsule wardrobe part 1 post if you haven't already which goes through what I purchased recently to add to some key pieces to what I already had. I have now been doing this experiment for a couple of weeks and I am really enjoying it. I feel that I always have something to wear and have had a lot of compliments from friends/collegues on the items in my wardrobe.

In my capsule wardrobe there are:
3 coats/jackets
4 chunky jumpers
2 cardigans
1 blazer/duster
5 thin knit jumpers
8 tops
2 skirts
2 dresses
5 jeans
Shoes (kept separate, but these are my most worn shoes)
Total: 32 items

There will be links to everything in the photos below (or similar if they are not available anymore)

I have linked to all of the items you see in the photos:
Black coat (Similar)

Short jacket (Bigger than you expect, swapped for a size s)

Leather look jacket (Similar to mine)

Noisy may jumper

Chunky jumper
Blocked colour Jumper
Mustard jumper (Similar to mine)
Long grey cardigan
Duster jacket (Similar)

Blue jeans
Dark blue jeans
Ripped jonni jeans
Stone skinny trousers
Black jeans

Marble t shirt

Denim shirt

Batwing cardigan

Checked shirt

Geometric print shirt
Floral top

Stripe top
Mint t shirt (Similar)
Burgundy top (Similar)
Thin knit jumpers in green, light grey, grey, black, cream, burgundy

Block colour sweater (Bigger than you expect, swapped for a size s)

Black dress (Similar)
Black and grey jumper dress (Similar)

Skirt
Aztec skirt (similar)
Steve madden boots
Black boots
Black shoes
Nike thea trainers

In my next blog post I am going to start putting these outfits together. Every Saturday you will see a week of outfits for 1 month. Check back next Saturday to see week 1 in outfits

Thanks for reading
Katherine
xxx

New in: Charlotte Tilbury cat eyes to hypnotise collection

When I got the email last week about the new Nocturnal cat eyes to hypnotise collection being released I knew I had to purchase a couple of items! I am a huge fan of Charlotte Tilbury and love the eye shadow quads and the eyes to mesmerise shadow pots.

I bought 2 of the duo sets which come with a single shadow and a mini rock 'n' kohl liquid eye pencil.

I bought 'Amber moon & the huntress' and 'Supernova & on the prowl'.

The shadows are a little smaller than I expected but are perfectly formed. They come in the burgundy packaging with the iconic rose gold CT on the top. The mini rock 'n' kohl are about 4 inches in size which can be sharpened when blunt.

Pictured here on the left is the Huntress. It is a beautiful glittery muted golden brown/grey with quite visible chunks of gold glitter. These are definitely for evening wear/ party seasons but blended out, these shadows can become quite subtle.

The right shade is 'On the prowl' which still has a brown colour to it but this time has purple glitter running through it. This gives it a more red appearance on the skin. 

These are quite different from her other collections and are perfect for the Christmas parties! I really like that they come with a eye liner as well. Pictured below are the liners in amber moon (left) and supernova (right). I love the amber moon shade, it is so creamy and looks amazing just on its own as a liner. These are both new shades as they are not in the regular range but they are probably similar to Barberella brown (but lighter and more creamy) and Marlene Midnight (but with purple glitter)

If you are looking for the perfect party makeup I suggest checking this collection out. They are a little pricey at £29 for a duo set but if you love Charlotte Tilbury, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. 

The new colour Chameleon smoky eye kit is now available which looks amazing too- have you tried it yet?

Let me know your thoughts. I particularly like the look of Mesmerising Mink and Gold Digger

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

A capsule wardrobe experiment: Part One

I have so many clothes crammed into wardrobes, far more than the average person yet I've got nothing to wear?!? .... Sound familiar?

After reading Viviannadoesmakeup's post about a capsule wardrobe I went to check out Un-fancy's blog and knew I had to give it a go. 

Caroline recommends paring down your clothes into a 32 piece capsule wardrobe. These should include tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear and shoes but not workout clothes, jewellery, accessories, purses, swimsuits, pjs, underwear.

Before starting this experiment I took inspiration from Caroline's outfits and bought a few new items to go in my capsule wardrobe:

Here are the items I bought:

Chunky jumper

Blue jeans

Marble t shirt

Denim shirt

Batwing cardigan

Checked shirt

Geometric print shirt

Steve Madden boots

Block colour sweater (Bigger than you expect, swapped for a size s)

Short jacket (Bigger than you expect, swapped for a size s)

Stone skinny trousers

Skirt

I think the problem before has been that a lot of my wardrobe doesn't interlink with each other. All the items I have here go together which gives me so many more outfit possibilities.
I have added these items to some I already own and have ended up with 32 items:
3 coats/jackets
4 chunky jumpers
2 cardigans
1 blazer/duster
5 thin knit jumpers
8 tops
2 skirts
2 dresses
5 jeans

I have decided not to include shoes in my capsule wardrobe as I found it quite difficult to pare down to 32 including shoes. I haven't included very posh dresses either e.g. prom dresses/ wedding attire as this really isn't worn very often at all.
On Saturday there will be a blog post with all of the 32 items in my capsule wardrobe so come back Saturday to see that post

Thanks for reading

xxx

Weekend wind-up: BBC big band, Charlotte tilbury foundations, planning my birthday celebrations and turkish food!

This week has been quite a quiet one. The only thing I really did (apart from work) was I went out for dinner and to see the BBC big band on Tuesday at the Hackney Empire. I'm a big fan of big band music and this did not disappoint. This was a celebration concert featuring the work or Nelson Riddle. The concert featured Claire Teal, Graham Bickley and Curtis Stigers. There were so many popular tunes from Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nat 'King' Cole, Judy Garland and many more. If you haven't seen them I thoroughly recommend going to see them as everyone can enjoy such great live Jazz music.

Before the show I went to Anatolia's turkish restaurant in Hackney. I've been many times before and the quality is always superb. I had a mixed grill which has Chicken, lamb shish, kofte, lamb chops, rice and salad. For 2 people it is £18. The meat is incredible, they also do vegetarian options with falafel and halloumi. I definitely recommend going if you are in East London.

Now we are getting into October, I've started to think about my birthday. I would like to go to a Spa and out for a meal with my friends. So far Belton woods is at the top of my list. It is situated in Grantham, Lincolnshire which is close to my parents. You can have bed, breakfast, dinner, a night in the hotel and a 30 minute treatment for £79- bargain! 

I also would like to go to Mem and Laz in Islington, London as this is my favourite restaurant in Angel (Probably in the whole of London!). If you go before 6pm you can have 3 courses for £9.95

I have also written a blogpost this week on which Charlotte tilbury foundation to choose- the wonder glow or the magic foundation? Check it out here

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

An Autumn haul!

I have recently picked up a few new things from ASOS and Zara as we are moving into colder weather and I wanted some new pieces to transition into Autumn/Winter. 

Here is what I bought:

(Top left to bottom right in the photo)

Spirit check mini skirt £39

Electra top £32

Noisy May pocket roll neck £22

Rose gold plated sterling silver howlite open shaped diamond pendant necklace £14

Nike air max thea trainers £54

Check Japanese sleeve top £22

Which is your favourite? Have you picked up any new pieces that I should have a look at?

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

The Lush store on Oxford street

Photo taken from lush.co.uk

I recently visited the Lush store on Oxford street and I have to say it was amazing! There were three floors of wonderful products,  they had soooooooo many more bath bombs, shower gels, soaps and limited edition stock.

I was so excited to see that they had the Christmas bath bombs in there in October! I presume they stock them all year round.

I picked up the Christmas present, Christmas put, Frozen, Intergalactic and a lime oil bath melt.

There is also a Lush Spa downstairs which I am very eager to try out. If you love the Christmas range I thoroughly recommend going here and stocking up.

Which is your favourite bath bomb?

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx

How to do DIY shellac nails at home updated. Equipment, my nail varnish collection, swatches and more...

Today I wanted to do an updated DIY shellac nail post.

I bought all the kit you needed to do your own shellac nails in May and I thought it was time to update you with my thoughts and collection.

I love getting my nails done professionally but it can cost so much money! I was recently shopping at Westfield Stratford City and it was going to cost £40 to get Shellac nails. 

The kit I use:

The Nail Star professional UV lamp £18.99

CND Shellac base and top coat £22.95

Shellac polishes from Ella Grey on amazon

Gelux prep and wipe and remover £12

Preparing your nails

Firstly I think it is really important to prep your nails. I went to boots and picked up a few things on 3 for 2.

I got cuticle pusher, cuticle trimmer, nail buffer and file and some cuticle oil. By preparing my nails properly it makes sure that the nail varnish lasts much longer and your nails will be in much better condition.

 Base and top coats

It may seem annoying sometimes going through all of the different steps but it is really worth it. I picked up this duo set from Amazon. I start with 1 layer of the base coat and place my hand into the UV lamp for 2 mins (there is a handy timer on this lamp!)

After the 2 mins I put 1 coat of the nail polish on and then place back in the lamp for another 2 mins. I repeat this so I have two coats of polish. Next I add the final top coat and place my hands back in for another 2 minutes. Once you have finished it is really important that you wipe your nails with the prep & wipe solution to 

get rid of the sticky layer on top.

Here is an updated look at my shellac collection with swatches:

1. Iced capuchino

2. Field fox

3. Nude knickers

4. Salmon run

5. Rose bud

6. desert poppy

7. Tropix

8. Rose Brocade

9. Decadence

10. Masquerade

11. Nordic lights

12. Cityscape

13. Mint convertible

14. Azure wish

15. Glacial mist

16. Purple purple

17. Base coat

18. Top coat

I thoroughly recommend Ella grey for getting these CND polishes. I've tried a few other amazon sellers and some of the polishes have gone all wrinkly (probably fakes). I also tried sensationail from boots and they didn't last as long as the CND polishes.

I hope you find this helpful

Thanks for reading

Katherine

xxx