My Week in Photos • indianrose

Lipstick lips at the Revlon EnamouRED event.

Christmas lights in Oxford Street call for the generic tourist photo.

The view I get to see every day.

Prettiest shop EVER.

November loves • indianrose

Without sounding terribly cliche, isn't November going so quickly?!  It seems like Halloween was just yesterday!

So anyway, I thought I'd share a few things I've been loving this month.

First off is a MAC Paintpot in Quite Natural.  I may or may not have had a little splurge in the MAC in Covent Garden last weekend, but it was oh so worth it.  I'd seen various beauty gurus on Youtube rave about the Painterly and Groundwork Paintpots and originally thought I'd buy one of those.  However, after I tried both with the help of the very lovely MAC lady, I found they just blended in with my skin and didn't show up at all.  She then discovered 'Quite Natural' hidden away and I've not stopped wearing it since!  It's such an easy product to apply, lasts all day and is perfect if you're rubbish at applying normal eyeshadow like me.  It's worth the £14.50 as I know I'll get a lot of use out of it.

 

Whilst in MAC I also picked up a Fix+ which needs no explanation.  It's refreshing and leaves your skin with a dewy, but not greasy, glow.  Probably a bit pricey at £13.50, but definitely worth a try.

Next up are these gorgeous rings from Accessorize.  They came in a pack of 10 for £16.50 which I don't think is too bad for the number of rings.  I usually wear 3 or 4 at a time and the neutral gold, silver and black tones means they go with any outfit.

 I have to say, I'm a little bit in love with these boots from Topshop.  Priced at £45 (even less with student discount - win!), these were a bargain considering the amount of wear I've already got out of them.  They're super comfortable despite having a heal and can work with either casual or more formal outfits.  Love love love them!

These two items I picked up from the Urban Outfitters sale (the only time I can afford to shop in there!).  The first is a loose-fitting black top with this cute cut-out detailing on the back, reduced from £28 to £18.  The second is this gorgeous grey and black patterned maxi skirt which was reduced from £45 to £25.  I'd say it's fairly fitted without being too tight and is perfect for the winter as you can secretly  wear leggings underneath for extra warmth, whilst still looking stylish.

That's it for my November loves, hope you enjoyed it!  I have another planned for non-beauty/clothes related things so keep an eye out for it in the next few days.  What have you been loving this month?

Shrena xox

50's Fashion Photography • indianrose

Hello there!

So it's a cold, gloomy November afternoon here in London and after a day of attempting to write a uni essay, I decided on a topic for this blog post: 50s fashion photography.  In between flicking through English textbooks and scribbling away making notes, I found myself daydreaming about how much I (weirdly) miss having to take photos.  I took photography at A Level so the majority of my free time up until May this year was spent thinking about/taking photos.

What prompted the nostalgic daydreaming was probably my recent (and definitely unnecessary) purchase of Vogue.  Whenever I flick through the glossy pages of Vogue or Elle, I'm always drawn to the photographs that are in black and white; probably because they're reminiscent of the elegant, opulent fashion photography synonymous with the 50s that I absolutely adore.  Going back to my Photography A Level, I did part of my coursework on 50s fashion photography so I thought I'd just share some of my favourite images by the renowned fashion photographers Irving Penn, Richard Avedon and Horst P. Horst.

Shrena xox

Favourite Quotes • indianrose

Be the type of person you want to meet.

Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.

Do not follow where the path leads, instead go where there is no path and leave a trail.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Don’t let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life.

In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.

It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you not.

When people hurt you over and over think of them like sandpaper.  They may scratch and hurt you but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.

It's better to cross the line and suffer the consequences than to just stare at the line for the rest of your life.

Shrena xox

October Beauty favourites • indianrose

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (Sample from Red magazine) - After hearing rave reviews on this product, mainly from the lovely Zoe (http://www.zoella.co.uk), I was tempted to buy the full size tube.  However, when I saw this was a freebie in the November issue of Red magazine I just couldn't resist buying it!  I've used it a few times and so far I quite like it, but I'll hold judgment until I've used it for a little longer.

 Limited Edition Pink Bubbly Vaseline (£3.49 - Boots) - Just about every beauty blogger and her BFF has picked up a divine Limited Edition Vaseline and now I know why!  It's pink and smells amazing. Enough said.

Bourjois Effect Smoky Eye Pencil in Ultra Black (£5.49 - Boots) - Creates the perfect smoky eye without the hassle of eyeshadow - perfect if your eyeshadow applying skills are as useless as mine!

Natural Collection Eye liner in Metallic Forest Green (£1.99 - Boots) - I like to blend a bit of this into a smoky eye to give it an 'autumnal twist.'

Topshop Lipstick in Beguiled (£8 - Topshop) - This is the perfect lip colour for Autumn/Winter and is very versatile.  I personally like to pop a bit on, pat it off with a tissue then dab on some vaseline to give it a glossy finish.

So those were a few of my favourite beauty/skincare products for this month.  If there happens to be anyone out there reading this, I'd love to know what beauty products you're loving at the moment! :)

Shrena 

xxx

Autumn/Winter Wishlist #1 • indianrose

Hello there!

I decided to put together a little 'wishlist'/style inspiration image for Autumn/Winter '12.  It started off a great deal more colourful, I promise, but it somehow turned into a rather monochrome colour palette.  A few years ago, you wouldn't have seen me wearing any black at all, which I realise sounds a tad odd, but I just used to steer well clear of any black clothing/handbags/shoes.  Recently, however, I have discovered that black most definitely doesn't have to mean dull and dreary and is in fact a very classy colour if done with a sprinkle of imagination.  Anyhow, enough of me jabbering on about my love/hate relationship with black.  

These items are all things I've had my eye on for a little while, other than the Topshop jacket (£75 - www.topshop.com) that I spotted whilst putting together this post.  This dark grey wool biker jacket is a perfect Winter staple and would look good with any outfit, in my opinion.  Although it's a tad expensive (or cheap, depending on your budget...), I'd say it's worth it; it looks super cosy and it's stylish at the same time - what more could you want?! 

Next are these gorgeous black wedge boots from New Look (£24.99 - www.newlook.com) which again would look good with any outfit and adds a bit of glamour without comprising on comfort.  They would go perfectly with these wet-look vinyl leggings from Pull and Bear (£15.99 - www.pullandbear.com) and this grey marl studded jumper, also from Pull and Bear (£25.99).  To finish the outfit, I'd add this People Tree statement ring (£8 - www.asos.com) and drawstring sequined bag (£25.99 - www.pullandbear.com).

For the makeup, I think the Topshop "Beguiled" lipstick (£8), which has been around for a while and I know loads of 'beauty gurus' rave about it, is just the perfect Autumn/Winter shade and also adds a bit of colour to a monochrome outfit such as this.  

I'm also really loving nude shades of nail varnish at the moment and this one from O.P.I's 'Germany Collection' (yes, they have a German collection... strange, isn't it?) is the perfect balance of a subtle nude shade without being too dull and boring.  It's also rather humorously called 'Don't Pretzel My Buttons'.  Others include 'Deutsch You Want Me Baby?' and 'Suzi & The 7 Düsseldorfs.'  To be honest, I think they're just worth buying for the comical names.

Lastly on the beauty side of things is the Bourjois Intuitive Liner (£6.99 - www.asos.com) which is a highstreet dupe of the Clarins 3 Dot Liner and is something I've wanted to try for a while - anything to make getting ready in the morning less of a chore is definitely a good thing!

So that's all for my first proper blog post!  I apologise if it's a bit all over the place or doesn't make much sense but hopefully I'll get better with time. 

Shrena

xxx

Hi!

Hello there!

Well after what seems like an eternity, I've finally taken the plunge, so to speak, into the world of blogging!  Yay!

What will the blog be about, I hear your cry?!  (I realise no one will be reading this - just trying to make this intro post vaguely interesting... and failing).  I'll mainly be blogging about fashion and beauty related loveliness with a bit of travel (mainly just lusting over all the wonderful places I want to visit) thrown in too.  Oh, and a bit of theatre!

A little bit about me:  I'm 19, currently at uni in 'that' London.  I love love LOVE clothes - I must admit, it's turned into a mild obsession.  I spend far too much of my spare time trawling through clothes sites (ASOS.com is my main weakness) and watching haul videos on Youtube.  So, that's why I decided to start a blog, to channel my clothes/shoes/bags/make up obsession into something creative and, hopefully, worthwhile.

I'm going to attempt to blog every Sunday and Wednesday but if that fails I'll definitely be posting every Sunday/

Hope you enjoy my blog and if there's anyone at all out there reading this then please go ahead and leave a comment and I'll be sure to take a look at your blog! :)

Shrena 

xxx