win-win situation

alright gang, in order to apologise for a lack of posting due to some hardcore interning and also to thank you all for continuing to support my blog throughout its many changes, redesigns and general quarter-life crises, i'm running a competition! this competition is for UK folks only (well, you could enter from abroad, but i ain't comping your travel) BUT the big prize is for you to win a cut, colour AND treatment at one of my favourite ever salons - HOB salons. luca at HOB salons has been responsible for my california gurl half-fringe and long layers for a long time, while chloe has done some great colour for me in the past - you can observe their handiwork above. HOB salons have branches all over the country, so all you need to go is follow me through bloglovin' here, and leave a comment below with your email and i'll check you off against my bloglovin' list! if you tweet a link to this post, leave another comment and you get two entries. you'll be able to go the salon of your choice to have your day of pampering, so it's totally not just a london thing. this is a kickass prize - you could get a whole new shade, cut and something like a SP alchemy treatment to keep frizz at bay. (offer's valid mon-fri, and we won't pay for your travel to the salon. there's no cash alternative, it's non-transferable and you have to cash in your offer within three months of winning. phew!)

a brief diversion

okay, this is very different to anything you'll usually see on couture and crumpets. but for once, i'm closer to making good on the "couture" part of my name - this week, i got to play dress up in alberta ferretti. to celebrate the launch of dulux's new ultra white paint (interiors geeks tune in now) which is tougher and brighter than most (hey, just like me! kidding. i thought reindeer were made up until i was 16), dulux hired out an incredible townhouse, did up the whole place like something out of house beautiful, and let us bloggers run riot in it. my girl abi styled us all, and the super talented michael leckie snapped us all. as soon as i arrived, i had this stunning dress thrown at me, after being told it "had my name all over it". i think it had taylor swift's name all over it too, but i wasn't about to turn down the chance to wear such a beautiful creation. the layers on this thing - it was like a millefeuille of tulle and prettiness, but somehow wasn't puffy or garish. i loved the silhouette on it, and you could tell just how many hours of work and careful craftsmanship went into making this. alberta ferretti is famed for such creations - beautiful, delicate and striking, the dress was a joy to wear, even if i did need a team of "bridesmaids" to help me get from a to b. you can find out more about abi here, and see more of michael's work here.

my go-to red lip

one sure-fire to disguise how little sleep you've had is red lipstick. slap some of that on, and trust me, no one will be looking at your eyes. i tend to wear red for this exact reason (if you ever see me with some on, you'll know i probably spent the night before streaming arrested development like there's no tomorrow), but i also love it for an evening look when my hair's kind of a mess and i don't have time for anything fancy face-wise. i can even do my red lip in the back of a moving car - that's along with "speed cupcake icing" in the special skills section of my CV. what's great about a red lip is that it's so classic and dramatic you can get away without really doing anything else - it does all the talking for you. since going blonder, my old favourite, MAC lady danger, looked too blue, but NARS saved the day. i love their "heatwave" lipstick - the perfect 40s orangey red, it has unbelievably staying power. i can put it on at 8am before i leave the house, and only need to touch it up mid-afternoon if i've eaten something particularly messy (which is always). i prep with MAC's liner in kiss me quick - i line my whole lip, then fill it in, especially with the inner lip bit where it can rub off quicker, then coat with heatwave. i tend to leave it at that - but for all-out drama, a slick of NARS lipgloss in "norma" gives the look some pouty sheen. i love the lip gloss on it's own, too, but it's wicked fun over heatwave. there you go! what's your favourite red lip? the kate moss for rimmel ones are excellent too...

daily skincare update

since i last wrote a post like this, a few things have switched around. primarily, i've been using a whole lot less when it comes to products, and i've managed to whittle out a few things which sadly stopped doing the trick for me. your skin definitely goes through phases; think of it as a stroppy teenager who can't quite decide if they're team edward or team jacob. some products my skin was drinking up over the winter have suddenly become a bit redundant, plus my skin is now about a thousand times more sensitive, so that's always nice. i had to quit the stila gel moisturiser for that reason, and estederm's pore refiner concentrate got too dry (but i still loooove estederm. more on that later). however, these are the products i've been using religiously every day and can't really see myself wanting to quit. first up, the clarisonic. honestly, my skin just doesn't feel properly clean without this, and it never ever gives me that tight feeling after washing my face. sure, it's a big expense, but chatting to friends with oiler complexions, i've seen this make an almost miraculous difference. i have no idea what speed my mia 2 is on - i just kinda stick it on my face and hope for the best. it gets my skin so squeaky clean, and it's a whole lot less messy than splashing water everywhere. i've been using the origins never a dull moment*  cleanser with this too - perfect gel-like consistency for the clarisonic, but totally great for manual face cleansing too.

good things come in small packages

full disclosure: i've not always been small. in fact, at 13, i think i was among the taller girls in my class. turns out, that was the peak of my growing, and i've hovered around the 5"4 mark ever since. coupled with a frame that is often better suited to kid's clothes (giggle if you want, but with no VAT, i'm laughing all the way to the bank), finding clothes that fit me properly can be a bit tricky, especially with skirts and trousers. so when new look reached out to me to say they were giving their petite range some extra love with #newlookpetite, i was really keen to have a play around with their new pieces. it's everything you'd expect from new look; on-trend pieces, great prices, but scaled down a little, whether you're shorter or smaller than the average shopper. i'd love to get to grips with their jeans at some point - many of mine are "artfully" turned up - but in the end i channelled my inner 90's kid and chose this black crop top, and paired it with the maddest thing i could find - a lantern, floral, tapestry mini skirt. it's actually sneakily perfect for summer, as being so stiff, it won't blow around on the tube and give me marilyn moments. i also bagged a green parka raincoat, which has all sorts of cute adjustments to make it a bit more fitted than my beloved barbour, and with a lighter fabric, it's perfect for sticky summer days when the heavens open, or packing for festivals. overall, i'm seriously impressed - it's thinking high street fashion for the littler lady. big thank you to @newlookfashion for their generosity!