I am told that this is the ultimate coverage foundation that MAC do, and after using it, I can believe it. It does feel very heavy when you first put it on, however once you get used to that feeling, it’s really nice to blend and work with. It does require quick application, any longer than ten seconds once it’s on your skin and it wants to stay there, becoming difficult to blend so you do need to work fast.

I like a flawless, even result and this foundation is really good at evening out and perfecting my skin. However, it is easy to over do it, and you need to be careful with this one as it can look cakey and kind of flat on your skin if you use too much and don’t blend it properly. For that reason I’d say this stuff is best for the evening when you want a coverage which is going to last all night and give a perfect finish too.

I noticed some oxidisation of this product after about 5 hrs wear. But when I set the foundation with a bit of powder it didn’t have this effect and still looked reasonably fresh at the end of the day.

At £19 for 30ml this is not the cheapest foundation around, but because of it’s thick consistency and the fact that a little goes a long way, I can imagine the bottle lasting longer than a runnier, cheaper foundation, thus making up for the price difference.

Good points:

• Great flawless finish
• Long lasting
• SPF 15

Bad points:

• Expensive
• Bottle doesn’t have pump – so you can end up decanting more than you need

• Overall? – 8/10

There are so many reasons why I like this tan, but one massive reason why I won’t use it anymore.  I paid £7 for mine, and it seems to be on offer for around that price in most supermarkets and shops at the moment.  I opted for the ‘medium skin’ formula, through experience I’ve found that when it comes to tanning, the result is always going to be less than what it promises, so I think it’s safe to go for the darker option in an effort to get the result you should get with the ‘fair skin’ version.

Application 

 This is almost effortless.  I just sprayed it on.  There is no guide colour so you do need to be fairly confident at knowing where to put it, but it leaves a wet mist on the skin so you can almost see where it has been applied.  It didn’t dry instantly, but in less than five minutes.  That’s pretty convenient compared to Fake Bake and Xen Tan, which leaves skin feeling tacky for a good few hours.  The smell was not unpleasant, quite a nice peachy, summery scent.

 Results

 I applied it in the morning, and left it on for the day.  It seemed to take most well on my arms, stomach and chest.  As is usually the case with fake tans, the colour did not develop as deeply on my legs.  The colour was natural and warm, and so I thought I could afford another application to see if it intensified the result. 

It did!  I loved how my skin looked, natural, even and brown, and I had comments from people saying how well I looked.

 So, easy to apply, good results, cheap price….so what’s wrong with it?

 The tan lasts for about 5 days, but after that it begins to fade into a patchy nightmare.  I mean, it looks really, really bad.  Mottled, and awful looking.  So for those few days of having a great colour, you pay for it with the awful after-effect!  I showered and exfoliated my skin twice a day in an attempt to remove the patchy colour, but it took me about a week to get rid of every trace of the product from my skin. 

 Conclusion

 This tan gives a brighter, bolder result than my trusty Fake Bake, and much less hassle to apply.  I just wish that Garnier had made a formula which faded evenly rather than one which clings to the skin for days and looks terrible.  The only time I’d use this tan now is if I had a special occasion in the winter, and was confident I could spend the next week wrapped up to hide the awful effect of it wearing off!

Boohoo.com is like Primark’s younger, slightly more expensive little sister. You can trawl round and there is a lot of rubbish to be seen, but some definite gems to be found in there, somewhere. It’s come a long way since it’s launch in 2006, when it didn’t have a lot to offer besides £6 dresses which looked like they should cost even less.  Now there are some quirky, nice little pieces on there. 

Some other points: The website itself gives you multi-images of the product and has a ‘view catwalk’ option which I found really useful to see how the clothes actually look and fit on the body. I found four things to tempt me on my last visit which I’m pleased to welcome into my wardrobe!

Clockwise from left: Leopard Playsuit, £20; Pearl Beaded Collar Chiffon  Playsuit, £15; Floral Button Detail Shorts, £15; High Waisted Polka Dot Shorts, £12.

I love a flower print on a summer dress and now I love a flower print on whatever I can think of. What is it about covering everyday items in floral motifs and pastel polka-dots which makes them a hundred times more exciting and appealing?

When I came across Cath Kidston designs a few years back it was love at first print.

Of course, Cath isn’t the only designer to ever have adorned their items with flowers – she didn’t invent this. There are plenty of flower-covered, polka dotted items in plenty of shops. It’s fair to say though, that this brand had a lot to do with the revival of this style. They do this so well that it inspired me to put Cath Kidston cereal bowls, tea-cups, side plates, an oven-mitt and tea-towels on my Christmas list. I never thought I would ever ask for an oven-mitt at Christmas. And thanks to a tolerant boyfriend, our kitchen is now akin to a Cath Kidston showroom.

There is something nostalgic, homely and comforting about this kind of style which makes me imagine a simpler, nicer time in the world when people had values and would take the time to serve tea in a teapot every day, and sit down and talk to each other with a homemade cake cooling on the kitchen table (optional). Items which reference the past fulfill a need for value and meaning. They are inspired by a familiar 1930s and 1940s aesthetic which reflects a quaint cosiness and simplicity, which, in these uncertain and troubled times is the biggest seduction of all.

….or rather, get your rocks on.  There is something so utterly captivating to me about a huge sparkly piece of stone on my hand.  Everyone notices it.  I feel glamorous just drinking a cup of tea or putting coins in a ticket machine.  At work my hands are on constant display to the public and it cheers me up to see my ring sparkling when it catches the light, even in the most menial of tasks.  Fancy, sparkly, over-the-top and exquisitely inappropriate. Who is bothered if it isn’t a genuine diamond?  It’s the illusion which is real!

Clockwise from left:  Boohoo, £8; River Island, £9.99; V&A Collection, £70; Miss Selfridge, £12.50.

If you go down to the shops today…you’re not in for that big of a suprise because they’re full of the same thing.  Cable knits, nordic sheepskin, snowflake jumpers, fur lined this, fur trimmed that.  Still, I’m not complaining.  I took a trip to the shops and came back with some things I’m mighty pleased with, courtesy of H&M, Miss Selfridge and Primark. I bought 2 items from Primark, guess which?
If you guessed the polka dot bra & knicker set….well done, you’d be guessing right.  Ultra girly in cream chiffon, at a baffling £8 for the set. Which left me with some money over to get some soft shorts in camel, from New Look, £20. Love the shorts, can’t wait to wear them with over-knee socks.

 The t-shirt is from H&M, I always try and get my basics from there – I’ve had better £4 tops from there than £25 ones from other places. They fit well and wash great too.
Primark also provided the wool jumper, £13. I love the seasonal knitwear which seems to be everywhere at the moment.  The dress is from the sale at Miss Selfridge. I’d had my eye on it for a while and so found it hard to resist it at it’s sale price.  So what do you think of what I found this time? Have you bought anything recently that you love?  Tell me, I want to know!

Aran knit cardigan – River Island, £39.99
Shorts – River Island, £29.99
Leopard print moccasins – Zara, £39.99
Alexa Satchel – Mulberry, £695

I realised that this summer there has not been a day I have left my front door without something hanging from a chain around my neck.  Necklaces can look sweet and delicate but I love how clean and simple a pendant can look and how it can pull an outfit together.  They are so easy to get hold of and I don’t believe  you need to spend a lot of money to get something special – you can find them everywhere.   The only thing to avoid is cheap-looking chains.  The next one on my wishlist is this charmingly sweet heart locket from vintage-inspired jewellery maker, zarataylor.co.uk

In recent weeks Miss Selfridge has fast become my go-to place for a fix of something pretty in nudes, pinks, creams and lace.  I seem to find something each time I visit, which is great for my wardrobe but not so great for my wallet.  At the moment I am in love with bows, frills, hearts and pleats.   With the current mediocre weather, a delicate palette of nudes and pinks feels right – a reluctant farewell to Summer - I’m not yet ready to accept that in less than a months time I’ll be looking around at coats and boots ready for the click of seasons.

My latest haul got me some lovely pieces in said colours, my favourite being the pink bow dress and the cream broderie cami-dress.  And I’ll always be happy with a sweet little cardigan.  I’m always impressed with the authentic looking vintage-style rings and necklaces in there too.  More of the same, thanks, Miss S. x

I never thought that Parisian fashion house Chanel would have much in common with my local off-licence but guess what?  They both sell temporary tattoos.

The Chanel version is sold to a waiting list of label-loving, fashion hungry women and the latter is sold in-between sheets of pink bubblegum to the kids on bikes at the end of the street.

The Chanel version retails for around £60 for 3 sheets of transfers and consists of pearls, chains, and delicate little birds.  Well now River Island have brought out their own example consisting of pearls, chains, and er, delicate little birds.  The main difference of course is the Chanel set contains the interlocking ‘C’ logo, natch.

I’m tempted to get myself a set of the River Island ones just to have the 5-minute novelty of seeing a tattoo on my own skin.  I’m pretty certain I won’t ever get a real tattoo as one of my gripes is that apart from preferring flesh, practically thinking, there is no design which is going to feel right with every outfit, mood or style.  So the idea of an interchangeable tattoo in the name of fashion, is, I think, actually quite good.

In this case though it leaves me with an unusual quandary.  I wonder which would look cheaper on the skin – the Chanel logo or the £5 River Island example?  Because if we’re honest, to look as though you have chosen to burn a designer logo into your skin you’d have to either be pitifully insecure or be supremely able to pull off such a thing with a huge helping of irony.