Latest Batiste Releases (feat. New Batiste Cherry)

These past few months, Batiste have been bombarding us with new scents and styles and although I really do love them all, I thought I'd share with you the 3 latest scents which have all completely taken my fancy. Please note, I also love the handy mini-sized cans - particularly in Original - but that has been lost somewhere in the realms of my wardrobe/room/bags/house.....

Batiste Wild

Living up to typical Essex standards, I do love a bit of leopard print so when I saw this on the shelf at Boots I couldn't resist. I still cannot get over the pattern (why don't more brands use leopard print?!) and the chocolately scent makes it even more of a winner for me.

Batiste XXL

I must say, I haven't found XXL particularly good for actual 'dry shampoo'ing but, as the name suggests, it is absolutely fantastic for creating volume, holding hairstyles right at the roots, possibly even more successfully than many 'drugstore' hairsprays. As a poor old student, I find it great when I want a voluminous hairstyle but don't want the hairdresser price.

Batiste Cherry

The latest addition to the Batiste family has definitely been welcomed by me with open arms. Everyone and their mother seem to be loving all things retro and Batiste are clearly no different. I love having this sat looking pretty on my dressing table and the light cherry scent is gorgeous too.

I'm never without a can of Batiste somewhere nearby and will probably keep on buying it til I'm an old granny with a perm. Cans are available in Boots, Superdrug and most good supermarkets and pharmacies so if you haven't got your hands on some yet, you have no excuse!

Have you tried Batiste? What's your favourite scent/design?

A taste of LFW + OOTD

A few days ago, my fantastic week off sixth-form was topped off by winning tickets to the Bernard Chandran catwalk show at Vauxhall Fashion Scout in a Witch Skincare competition. I was ridiculously excited to go. An opportunity to head up to London for the day to eat, shop, look out for celebs and watch a AW12 catwalk show. What's not to like?!

Vauxhall Fashion Scout gives new 'up and coming' designers a chance to showcase their work to a large audience and is almost the sister, if you like, to London Fashion Week itself. The show wasn't until 5.45pm so my friend Grace and I did some shopping in Covent Garden and Oxford Street, made a few too many coffee and cake stops, and also took a trip (in the pouring rain) to Somerset House, where the more well-known designers show their collections, to spot celebs and snap some very impressive outfits!

Blazer - H&M

Top - Primark

Skirt - H&M

Shoes - New Look

Ring - Miss Selfridge

Nails - Jermyn Street by Nails Inc

The Bernard Chandran show was beautiful: the atmosphere at Freemason's Hall was amazing and it was great to experience a proper LFW show! Full Bernard Chandran AW12 and LFW street style posts to follow. Stay tuned....

Lipsy Spring/Summer 2012 Collection

Spring is just around the corner (I hope!) and on Valentine's Day I was lucky enough to be invited to the Lipsy SS12 preview at Lipsy HQ.

We were treated to Pink Pigeon cocktails, summer snacks, and delicious Lipsy cake pops from Pop Kakery whilst we browsed the wonderful Spring/Summer collection which is due to be launched in the next few months. Before I get on to the clothes, I have to comment on the gorgeous Pink Pigeon bottles. They matched the Valentine's theme beautifully and have that sort of packaging that seems almost too pretty to throw away. One of the ladies from the company was at the event and told me about how, for every bottle of the rum (sourced from Mauritius) sold, an endangered Mauritian pink pigeon is saved. Cute or what?!

The first thing that caught my eye when I arrived were these fantastic gold wedges which are actually already available in stores and on the Lipsy website. I love shoes and I love glitter so I am very tempted to splurge on these sparkling beauties!

As amazing as some of the shoes were, it was the bright and girly day dresses that really impressed me. Whether you go for ditsy florals, bold patterns, satin or lace, the collection has got something for everyone. And if you liked the pastels and the bright block colours of SS11, then you won't be disappointed this year.

But although the likes of pastels and brights are back, the collection is far from boring. I couldn't help but notice the attention to detail on every piece. Beading, sequins, lace overlay, crochet - you name it, Lipsy have probably incorporated it somewhere, making every piece especially exciting.

And Lipsy haven't just excelled with their day wear but their evening wear too. They've brought us more of their tradition prom-style dresses as well as some figure-hugging (and of course well-embellished) bodycons perfect for a night out.

At Lipsy HQ, the lovely ladies from VIVO, FashionistA and MUA cosmetics were on hand doing our makeup, lashes and nails. Maria, Sharmin and I sat and chatted all things makeup with Zoe whilst Karla applied some dramatic VIVO lashes for me. I am a huge fan of VIVO (You can read my blusher/bronzer review here) but having never tried their lashes before, it was great to test them out. They didn't budge all day and I couldn't help but flutter them everytime I saw my reflection on the tube home!

With VIVO's Zoe and Karla and FashionistA nail painting in action

And it wasn't just us bloggers and journalists checking out the collection and being madeover. Jess Wright from The Only Way Is Essex also stopped by at Lipsy HQ, had a look at the dresses and had her hair styled by one of the HOB salon stylists!

All in all, a really enjoyable event, some gorgeous clothes and a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day. The collection will be gradually released online at www.lipsy.co.uk and in Lipsy stores from February through to May so keep your eyes peeled!

Loving Lush

Whenever I'm in Covent Garden, I always make time for a nice lengthly trip to Lush. And by lengthly, I really mean lengthly.

Last time I was up there I spent ages wandering around sniffing the gorgeous bath bombs and chatting to the staff in between having all sorts of cleansers and scrubs massaged into the backs of my hands. Obviously I wanted to buy the whole shop (as per) but something told me my bank balance would not have appreciated that idea quite as much as I would have so instead, I resisted temptation and headed for quite possibly my favourite Lush product of all. The Bubblegum Lip Scrub.

At £4.95 for 25g it's pricey but surprisingly, it lasts a good few weeks and I've found that a tiny bit goes quite far. I'm really into bright matte lipsticks at the moment but the harsh weather has left my lips quite dry and flaky so the scrub is great for prepping my lips for the drier, matte-style lipsticks I've been wearing so much recently.

The scrub is available in quite a few different flavours but of course my sweet tooth and ridiculous addiction to all things pink means that me and my lips will be sticking with Bubblegum for the time being!

Do you shop in Lush? Have you tried the lip scrubs?