This Could Be The Saddest Dusk I've Ever Seen

I first heard about the Archive by Alexa collaboration between Alexa Chung and Marks and Spencer back in February and being a big Alexa fan I was so excited to see the collection. When I saw Alexa wearing the Frances Trench Coat at the launch party I immediately fell in love. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I'm a big fan of the classic trench coat, I have a black one and a beige one and I wear them all the time. The 'Frances' is based on a design that's been in the M&S archive since the 1950s. I love the khaki colour and the checked lining is a nice little touch that sets it apart from your average high street trench.

There are some gorgeous pieces in the collection, the red printed Misty Dress and double breasted Ada Blazer are two of my other favourites. Sadly after the coat I couldn't afford anything else but I'm very happy with my sole purchase. 

Coat- Marks and Spencer (similar here and here)

Shirt- H&M (similar here, here and here)

Jeans- Dorothy Perkins

Boots- ASOS (similar here and here)

Bandana- ASOS

Lipstick- Rimmel Kate Moss 45

I kept the rest of my outfit fairly simple as I wanted to showcase the coat more than anything. I was big into bandanas as a teenager and I've been really enjoying seeing how everyone is styling them recently. Coincidentally I watched Frankie and Johnny the other day and Al Pacino spends most of the film in his cook's uniform with a bandana around his neck or on his head and it made me want to buy a few more colours to wear during the summer.

I got these boots from ASOS a few months ago after a long search for some black patent ankle boots. I love that these have a small block heel and a pointed toe, it makes them perfect for wearing to events where I want to feel comfortable but still a little bit dressed up. They're also great for wearing in the rain!

What do you think of the Alexa Chung and M&S collaboration? Is there anything you'd love to get your hands on? The trench coat is sold out online but there is still some left in stores.

Emma x

Rosie For Autograph Make Up

A couple of months ago Rosie Huntington-Whiteley launched her new make up collection Rosie for Autograph. She worked closely with Intercos, an Italian cosmetics manufacturers to create a 51 piece collection exclusively for Marks and Spencer.

After working as a model for over ten years Rosie has plenty of experience with make up and wanted to create a collection that would reflect her go-to look which she describes as 'pretty natural'.

I was excited to try out the collection after seeing the beautiful rose gold packaging on Rosie's Instagram feed. The pricing starts at €13.50 for the Eyebrow Pencil and goes up to €24 so they aren't cheap but I think the gorgeous packaging and quality of the products reflects the more high end prices.

I initially bought two items from the collection, the cream eyeshadow stick in Movie Star Crush (€17) and the lipstick in Laugh Out Loud (€19). I then went on to buy the lipstick in Lady Rose after seeing Rosie herself wearing it and looking at swatches. I've been trying the products out for a while now so I wanted to share my thoughts.

Beginning with what drew me in in the first place, the packaging. Any of my fellow rose gold fans will agree that the packaging is beautiful. You can tell it's been well thought out by someone who really cares about what they put their name on. The cream eyeshadow stick is sleek and easy to use as it twists up. It also has the shade at the bottom so if you have a few it's easy to grab the one you want quickly out of your make up bag.

I applied it straight to my eyelid and because the formula is so creamy I blended it out easily with a fluffy brush. You can just do a quick wash of colour or go in with a second application for a more pigmented finish which is what I did in the photos below.

Movie Star Crush is a mauve/brown/taupe hybrid similar to the KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in Rosy Brown or the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock. You'll need to work with this fast because of the long lasting formula and once it sets it stays in place all day. I use my trusted Garnier 2 in 1 make up remover to take this off so that's something to bear in mind if you dislike using oil-based make up removers. Micellar water just won't work as well. 

If you're a fan of fuss free products that are long lasting and you don't mind using an oil based make up remover, this is definitely one to check out. There are three other shades which all look really wearable. 

The lipstick packaging too is beautiful. They have that very satisfying magnetic click that makes them addictive to open and close (and very annoying for everyone else). The lipstick itself has a subtle vanilla scent which shouldn't offend many people. I love the little detail of the Rosie rose embossed on the lipstick itself.

I was debating which shade to go for but in the end I decided on LOL which is a vibrant red/ deep coral. I absolutely love how this colour looks on and I can see myself wearing it a lot during the Summer months with minimal eye make up.

The formula is enriched with organ oil so it applies smoothly and feels so comfortable to wear. It's richly pigmented and I actually found that I prefer to apply this with a lip brush rather than straight from the bullet as it's so creamy, the lip brush just gives me better control. The finish is a satin/cream but because of the long lasting formula it stays put and doesn't feather outside my lips.

The second lipstick I bought is Lady Rose. Although I haven't worn them together yet I think this would actually work very well with Movie Star Crush. Lady Rose is a warm rosy brown shade that I think would work really well as a neutral for many different skin tones. It looks gorgeous on Rosie who is a lot more sallow than me.

You can see below a comparison between Lady Rose and one of the Rimmel Kate Moss nude shades which is one of my favourite neutral lipsticks. My lips are naturally quite pigmented so I usually have to go for something deeper in order for it to look "nude" or neutral with my skin tone.

I really love this shade and I'm looking forward to pairing it with different eye looks so see what works best with it.

Top: Lady Rose, Bottom: Rimmel Kate Moss Nudes shade 45

So there you have my initial thoughts on the few items I've tried from the Rosie for Autograph make up collection. I'm very impressed so far and I'll definitely be trying out more products from the collection soon.

Let me know if there's anything you like the look of or if you've tried any of the products. I'd love to know what you think.

Emma x

Shooting From The Hip About Our Faith And Love

Last Sunday we wandered around town looking for somewhere to eat. On the way we took some outfit shots at the Fruit and Vegetable market on Halston street. I've always loved this building and was lucky enough to film inside it a few years ago. Since then I've wanted to use it as the backdrop for some outfit photos. 

Trench Coat- Vintage (from charity shop, no label)

Blouse- New Look

Jeans- Next (similar here)

Boots- Clarks Bizzy Beat (similar here) 

Camera Bag- eBay

Choker- Zara

Sunglasses- Forever 21 (similar here)

Lipstick- MAC Ruby Woo

Nails- Essie Chinchilly

In my last outfit post I mentioned that we shot the photos in Dun Laoghaire. While we were there we went into a few of the charity shops which I've usually found to be some of the better ones in Dublin.  I actually bought this coat in a charity shop while we were there, I loved the colour despite the fact that I never wear yellow but I just loved the idea of a yellow trench coat for Spring. There's no label apart from a care label that says it was made in South Korea, I'm guessing it's from the eighties but I'm not an expert on these things so I can't sure. After getting it dry cleaned it ended up costing me around €25 which isn't bad for a Spring coat. I've had so many compliments on it since I got it and it reminds me that charity shops can be amazing for finding one of a kind pieces that you won't see anyone else wearing.

Who knew that the choker trend would stick around for so long! I got one last year that's velvet with a small gem in the middle and I love it but I wanted a plain black one that I could wear with anything. I saw a 2-pack in Zara a few weeks ago, they're both suede and the other one has little diamante flowers on it (which sounds horrible but it's actually really nice on).

I got this camera bag on eBay after a long search for something that would protect my camera but still look  like it's part of an outfit when I bring it out with me. I didn't want something that would be an obvious camera bag and this was the perfect solution.

Have you had any amazing charity shop finds? Are there any colours that you never wear?


Emma x