An evening with Shaun Leane at ROX

On Thursday, I had the utter pleasure of attending an evening with Shaun Leane at ROX in Glasgow. There was champagne, diamonds & schmooze and it was brilliant! The evening has truly set the tone for christmas coming...

If you are unfamiliar with Shaun Leane, you might want to check out his website where I am sure you will recognise a few iconic items, such as the bespoke brooch he created for Sarah-Jessica Parker .

Or the Diamond Glove created for Daphne Guinness; heavily influenced by his long friendship with Alexander McQueen, whose untimely passing meant he never saw the finished piece. As a bit of an exclusive, Leane did let it slip that there will be work on additional pieces to the collection, so keep your eyes peeled!!

In fact, McQueen had been right by Leane's side for much of his career, meeting in a pub when McQueen was studying for his MA. From the get go, the pair clicked and Leane cites McQueen as having a massive influence throughout his career. One of Leane's most recent collection 'Bound' has been influenced by the coiled corset he created for a McQueen show, taking the african elements from the coils and building them into a gorgeous, wearable pieces. Leane talked very tenderly of his relationship with McQueen and it's clear that he will continue to draw on the friendship for years to come.

I think one of the things about Leane that particularly appeals to me is his appreciation and understanding of the feminine form & attention to detail. Instant nostalgia & romance are qualities I love in my jewellery. I look for a story and I think with Shaun Leane, you get one. Check out the Sam Taylor Wood 'Tear Catcher' ring. It makes my heart melt!

Pressed on who he would like to collaborate with in the future, Leane earmarked Viktor & Rolf and Cartier. Cartier would be amazing! On stating he'd like to revisit their archive of 20's pieces & rework them, there were a few weak knees in the room (and I'm sure my husband's heart stopped momentarily even though he was 150 miles away!).

On predictions for the future, Leane reckons the trends will be leaving the intricate, twisted details of previous collections behind and make a move towards minimalist, clean and bold lines. I absolutely can't wait to see what his future collections will bring. What I do know is I need to snag a pair of these before that collection disappears!

Thanks goes to ROX & Toni for inviting me a long. It was something so different & the train journey was definitely worth it!

My Week in Hipstamatic...5

Kirsten

Queen Michelle & Shaun Leane

Gok Wan for Specsavers

I mostly wear contact lenses to correct my ridiculously rugby-ball shaped, lazy & unfocused eyes, but I do love a pair of statement glasses for days when I feel my wardrobe needs a little boost (or if I have an important meeting).

I'd been lusting after a pair of Cutler & Goss, but was not prepared to shell out £270 (then another £100+ for custom lenses). This pair are from the Gok Wan range at Specsavers and they also come in white! What I loved more about these than similar pairs available was the matte, textured wood effect. Just a little bit different.

What's better is that because I have the contact lens direct debit with Specsavers, all my glasses are 50% off, so these cost me £45!!

Unsung Heros

There are a few products that lurk in every single person's bathroom cabinet, makeup bag, vanity case... Wherever you keep them and whatever they are, you probably use them every day without even thinking about it. But where would you be if they didn't exist...?

Too Faced Shadow Insurance & MAC Face & Body transform my makeup on a daily basis. Without Shadow Insurance, my eyeshadow would have disappeared by 10 am & my brow bones would be covered in mascara smudges.

Without MAC F&B, I would NEVER have a foundation that matched my skin tone!

Without my Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers, I would have downward facing eyelashes & would look like Miss Piggy!

Without Bioderma Crealine H2O, I would probably still be hopping about from cleanser to cleanser, on the hunt for the Holy Grail.

Without Dior Creme De Rose Lip Balm, I would have horrible cracked lips!

What are the unsung heros in your makeup bag?

FOTD Feat. MAC Twinks

The products used today are...

Chanel Pro Lumiere (10)

No7 Eye Mousse in Fudge

MAC Twinks Eyeshadow

MAC Smut Eyeshadow

AVON Gel Shock Liner

YSL Aquaresistant Mascara

MAC Crosswires Lipstick

Battle of The Blues...

As I was half-heartedly tidying up my makeup storage today, I realised I have 3 navy polishes. Who the heck needs 3? We have, from L - R...

GOSH Attitude Illamasqua Propaganda Chanel Blue Satin

GOSH's Attitude is a Limited Edition shade and is the brightest of the 3. It's a completely flat colour, no shimmer, no duochrome, nothing. Like poster paint (except it's glossy).

Illamasqua's Propaganda is a shade I swatched instore over the top of Rouge Noir & it looked incredible. I don't think I've tried it on it's own since I bought it.

Chanel's Blue Satin is a firm old favourite. I've probably had this bottle for at least a year, hence the crust around the top! It has a slight micro-shimmer through it and is the deepest of all 3.

GOSH Attitude is very thin & streaky. But it dried in about 1/2 a second.

Illamasqua Propaganda is slightly darker & thicker to apply, but still quite sheer. Streaks not as bad as GOSH, but still not completely opaque.

Chanel Blue Satin was opaque on the first coat. Regardless of age, it is quite a thick polish and isn't the easiest if you've got narrow nails.

I added a 2nd coat of the Chanel, but you probably can't tell. This takes ages to dry, but once it is, is rock solid for days.

The Illamasqua is about 85% opaque, but I quite like the hint of the bright blue coming through the dark.

The GOSH is fun and I really like the colour. I don't think it's very fair actually to compare it to the other two, as they are really quite different in colour, once they are applied.

Before, this comparison, I think I would have automatically said the Chanel was my favourite, but I think I actually favour the Illamasqua. The Chanel is so dark, it's almost black. I really like how Propaganda has that little flash of bright, although I think it could do with being the teeniest bit more opaque. The GOSH will be nice to have, but I don't think I'll get *that* much wear out of it.

What about you? Do you like the blues?

NARS Nepal FOTD

I spotted NARS Nepal on another blog last week, but can't remember where. Anyway, I thought it might finally be the nice pink nude I've been looking for, for ages. I checked it out on Friday at House of Fraser & after swithering between Nepal and Cairo (at £16.50 a pop, I couldn't have both!), I finally settled on Nepal. Cairo is gorgeous, but probably smidge darker than what I really wanted. I think I'll go back for it next month...

And, here's the pics!

It appears slightly more peach here than it is. It's more of a pink nude, than a outright peach shadow. A lovely soft satin finish, it has a slight yellow-toned highlight that gives the lid a lovely natural sheen.

It's quite similar to MAC's All That Glitters, but isn't quite as orange or as glittery. But apart from that, they're similar! Haha!

This FOTD is brought to you by...

Laura Mercier Oil Free Moisturiser in Nude

NARS Nepal

NARS Bengali (in the crease)

Make Up For Ever Aqua Smoky Lash

HD Brows

Daniel Sandler Baby Jet Mascara

Dior Creme De Rose Lip Balm

Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers

If you follow me on Twitter, you will know I have been hankering after some form of decent curlers for ever. I thought the O was going to be the answer, but since they were launched last year, the price (£200!) has continually put me off taking the plunge.

Enter Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers. I have actually had* these for about 4 weeks and have been using them regularly. Today was the first time I actually had time to sit & capture the magic on film!

The rollers come contained with the heating station, comprising of 4 heating bays. There is also cord storage at the back.

The set comes with 20 rollers - 10 large & 10 small, so you can create a variety of styles, depending on which rollers you use. The rollers are covered in a thick velvet which sort of combs hair as you pull the roller taught, before winding. The butterfly clips (which are so smooth to open, no pinging out your hand!) have metal plates on the insides, allowing the heat which emits from the core of the roller, to be rebounded back into the curl.

I have to admit, they take a bit of getting used to! As someone who is used to creating waves & curls with my straighteners or wand in the blink of an eye, I got very frustrated, but the results I was eventually achieving, made it worth the practice! The best thing about these is the fact the rollers aren't hot to touch, even when they are 'ready' so you have plenty time to fiddle about, roll-up, unwind and do it all again until you get it right!

So, with my perm, I can create massive volume from 'wet'. But as many of you know, I go to the gym regularly through the week & have to wash my hair each night. Most mornings, therefore, I don't bother washing again, as my hair would become too dry. This means that I have to style my hair from flat bedhead! This before pic is said flat bedhead!

This is my hair left to dry naturally the night before - even though it's permed, the curls don't form unless I form them properly when my hair is still wet, so when it dries naturally, it just looks sort of frizzy & crimped! I would have loved this hair when I was 8! One of the great things about the rollers is that while they are doing their thing, making my hair nice and big and bouncy, they also actually smooth out these kinks & frizzy bits!

My 'go to' technique is to section off the top crown of my hair. If I'm in a rush, I will just put rollers into the top for volume & run some serum through the ends of the rest. When I have an extra 5 minutes, I add some big rollers to the ends of the rest of the hair (pictured below).

I then add 4 or 5 big rollers into the top section & add 1 to my fringe at the end.

And 10 minutes later, once they've cooled completely (it's important to let them go cold, to set the curls properly), this is the result! I particularly love how they make my fringe so full.

As someone who has been lucky enough to try the 'O' and Enrapture's Extremity Heated Rollers, I can honestly say, the result is fab using either. However, Enrapture's Extremity Heated Rollers rock up at just £74.99, a whopping £120 cheaper than it's counterpart. I know which one will be getting my vote!!

You can read more details about all of Enrapture's products here where there is also full details about where you can buy both online & instore.

What do you think? Have you tried these?

*PR Sample

My Week in Hipstamatic...4

Queuing for a new phone. I didn't even want the 4s, I just wanted the 4 8gb. I still had to queue :(

I was rewarded with a strawberry cosmo

I discovered this week my cat is, in fact, a robot...

...but quite likes a bath