Frills 'n' Spills

 When I went to the opticians last year, I was terrified slightly apprehensive. I knew that I needed to wear glasses, having worn them throughout my teen years (hilarious MySpace photo proof here!)  but I had never managed to find a pair that I liked enough to wear consistently so when I was told that I needed to wear them all the time, I panicked. Luckily there is a lot more choice available now (especially for the right price!) and over the past year I have had some rather lovely pairs making full use of the various deals at Specsavers to give myself a bit of choice. Mark is always horrified that I am willing to pay so much for some frames but I figure that I am wearing them everyday and a good fashion blogger needs choice, amirite?! ;)

These glasses on the other hand were a statement pair, worn when I was feeling either particularly confident or particularly timid. It is difficult to be shy and retiring when you have such a humongous pair of frames on your face! I actually preferred the colour of these to the other Gok Wan pair but they can seem a bit harsh and definitely need to be paired with strong lipstick to work!   

These burgundy beauties are a new addition to my glasses collection and are actually from Karen Millen- not a brand I was particularly familiar with, until I saw these beauties. I love the burgundy frame and they are an easy way to introduce a splash of colour to an outfit without looking too gimmicky. The tone of the  purple seems to change depending on what colours I wear them with which I also like, you can't beat versatility! 

 As you can see, I tend to go for an oversized cat-eye shape and this pair are absolutely gorgeous. I think the  shape of the frame suits my face better than my last oversized pair and the gold detail across the top adds some subtle glamour. (The fact that they reminded me of a more wearable version of these also helped with my choice!) It was really difficult to photograph them properly but this photo gives more of an idea of the blinginess...

 A snazzy orange leather lined case doesn't hurt either! 8)

Do you wear glasses? How do you choose your frames?

P.S. This post was done in collaboration with MyOptique

I have to say though, I was nowhere near as impressed with this mannequin as I was with my 'M' lamp. You can see here how sloppy some of the glue is and where the fabric has worn through after rubbing on the side of the box. If I had paid full price for this I would have been really disappointed, it doesn't look like a lot of care has been taken with it :( 

There's nothing better than playing dress up and luckily I have been able to disguise most of these things with a few well placed accessories ;) 

Despite that though, once you get the dress on I do really like it. The colour is great and I love shift dresses, especially for work. I have reordered the dress in the next size up and I know that it will get a lot of wear at work when I have important meetings (you can't go wrong with fitted dresses!) Hopefully sizing up will give me a bit more wriggle room ;) 

A better look at the colour- I really love forest green, especially in the Autumn! Whilst the fit of this dress was completely bizarre and I'm not entirely convinced by the 'magic' layer, I really like the colour and I can't wait for my replacement frock to arrive! 

I never thought that there would be more than one post of me dressed in exercise gear on this blog but strangely enough I have been enjoying exercising (when I can motivate my sorry self to go for a run or head into the gym!) Since this first post I have expanded my collection of exercise gear and this purple and orange top is a suitably jazzy addition to my wardrobe. It is a pretty weird shape but is really comfortable and most importantly it doesn't ride up when I'm exercising - there's nothing worse than constantly having to hoick stuff up or down!

I really love the colours but the best part of this top has to be the pocket. I always struggle with where to put my insulin pump when I am exercising (I could take it off but I don't like to be without it completely as it makes me a bit nervous; yet so little exercise gear has pockets.) Nike, Adidas, Reebok, whoever, if you are listening, please make more clothes with pockets, diabetics everywhere would be thrilled!

What do you look for in exercise gear? Have you got any ideas on how I could tone my tummy?

I love love love the fact that this a bouclé coat trimmed with faux fur, it just makes me feel so darned glamorous, a very difficult thing to achieve when you are being attacked by gale force winds at every angle. Unfortunately my nail varnish let the side down by chipping every 5 minutes and looking downright awful, considering how much I loved the other shades in this Opi collection, I was really disappointed- sort it out Opi!

I picked this dress up when I was sale shopping after Christmas and I absolutely love it. Warehouse have some amazing clothes in at the moment and I loved everything about this dress from the length, to the cute collar detail and delicate lace sleeves, this is definitely a dress that is going to get a lot of wear...

MyTights sent me these gorgeous Falke tights to review and they were the perfect match for the dress. I have worked with MyTights before and they really are great, I had a seriously difficult time deciding which of the tights to review. Falke tights are wonderfully made and these are no exception, I can't wait to wear them to work, I think they will look great with a plain shift dress. I think the reason I love this outfit so much, is the mix of textures, there is something really quite glamourous about it...

You only get 120 ml in the 'Straight and Smooth Spray' and 100 ml of the 'Final Shine Spray' but judging by the amount I needed when I did my hair here, this should last me for a while. I hadn't tried any ghd products before this but you have to admit, those guys know their hairstyling!

In theory I should love it. The colour is just perfect and it is lovely and warm but I think the design of the coat just looks all wrong on me. I don't think I have a long enough neck to pull off a collarless style and buttoned up is the only way of wearing it without looking completely shapeless. 

I felt slightly like I was wearing a school uniform with this jumper (maybe due to the scratchy navy wool?!) but I certainly never had such a cute spotty shirt for school. I wore this outfit to my first car boot the other weekend and felt slightly twee but oh so warm...

Have you ever shopped on Simply Be? How would you style a collarless coat?

So you may have heard a few whispers already but Aussie are introducing a new range designed to maximise the shine in your aussome 'do, filled with Australian Ginseng extract and Pearl powder. The best bit about these though is definitely the smell. Who wouldn't want their hair to smell like 'cotton candy'?! Even the classic 3 minute miracle has been given a makeover...

   

A basket filled with Aussie goodies? Yes please!

Yes, that is an Aussie bathrobe...

The lovely Eugene did my hair for me again and I absolutely LOVED the style. I had a thick braid coiled around my forehead, another around the back of my head with the rest of my hair curled and loosely pinned, I only wish I had been going out afterwards as this hair was hot to trot! 

How do you add shine to your hair? Will you be trying the new Aussie range?*

*of course you will!

P.S. Check out Lizzie and Lily's posts too, they have some amazing pictures from the day...

P.P.S. Aussie gave me these items for review but you know how much I love their products already!

The packaging is very sleek and minimalist, a deep blue compact which has subtle glitter in, and the top features a small mirror which is handy for if you’re travelling and haven’t got anything to look in.