Blog the 5th

This week it’s all about the nails. Over the past few months nails have become a big part of the fashion world. Nails can say a lot about a person’s fashion sense whether it be plain, colourful, wild or sparkly your nails are a reflection of you. Normally, it is considered a must to have your nails the same colour as the outfit you are wearing but now, with the introduction of Minx Nails, this is not the case. The more your nails clash with your outfit the better. It is no longer about matching your nails to your outfit; Minx nails have given your hands a style of their own.

Minx nails are hot from sunny California and were inspired to give the sun, sea and surf board lovers a hard wearing nail coverage that will last. When looking for a definition of Minx Nails their website offered me the following and I just couldn’t resist but to share it...

“In our definition, a Minx is a sexy, confident, naughty but fun individual who lives every day like it is a big, ripe juicy apple ready to be bitten. We've channelled this cool factor into Minx, a new and glamorous way that lets women (and men!) extend fashion to their very fingertips.” (Taken from www.minxnails.com)

I couldn’t have put it better myself!

However, Minx Nails may be a little too pricey for some of us so I set myself a little mission to find myself an alternative. My findings were brilliant, for just £3 a go you can get the Minx look with a set of 18 copy cat nail foils from Primark. I have to admit I am a terrible nail biting criminal, something that I am trying my best to stop, but I have to admit even on my little nails these foils produced some brilliant results. They are very simple to do, peel off the foil, stick it down to your nail, then cut and shape to cover your nails. So much simpler than painting, even using my left hand to pop the stickers onto my right hand was a doddle, something that can’t be said when using nail varnish. The only downfall was that at the time when I purchased my foils there were only two designs available, the polka dot design I am wearing below and a metallic gold leopard print design.

Primark nail foils

Another breakthrough in the nail world is scented nail varnish. Revlon have recently launched a new range of varnish colours, all with their own unique scent including bubble gum, grape and even ocean breeze. 

Ocean Breeze scented nail varnish by Revlon

Film of the week – Adjustment Bureau

This film, originally a short story by Philip K Dick, is a mixture of Inception and the Bourne collection. This thriller stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt who I have to say were a real pleasure to watch. It wasn’t as dark or hard to follow as I had originally expected but this was by no means a downfall. This light-hearted picture offers a mixture of comfortably dark, speculative comedy with hints of love, friendship and fate.

Adjustment Bureau stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt

Song of the week – Beach Side

This Kings Of Leon song taken from the album Come Around Sundown and never fails to make me smile on a boring journey to university. It makes me think of the warm weather that, with a bit of luck, is on its way and everything I have to look forward to this summer. It is the ultimate sun shining, BBQ and drinks song, as is the majority of this album. It just adds to my already impossible to contain excitement to go and see them for the 2^nd time in June. 

Thanks for reading, see you again next week.

Lauren x

Contact me at: l_oleary@hotmail.co.uk

Blog the 4th

This week it's all about late 50's early 60's inspired fashion and lady like elegance. This look has recently been inspired by the programs Mad Men and I know I don't speak for myself when I say I spend most of my time watching this program in total ore of the outfits I am seeing on screen. Joan Holloway, Peggy Olson and Betty Draper are all considered as style icons of this season and these characters have caused a surge of 50's/60's fashion. The 60's fashion that we are seeing today is all about the lady like silhouette as oppose to the later 60's Mod Fashion movement. So this weeks let's all bring a little bit of Betty Draper to our wardrobe. We're talking big, full length, below the knee skirts/dresses that are brought in at the waist.

Mad Men causes surge in 60's fashion

The bombshell dress is also a big part of 50's/60's fashion. There's no doubt that this style of dress makes every girl feel a million dollars. The slim line skirt sets off any silhouette. However a dress is not the only way to create this look, there are other options. A straight cut pencil skirt is the ultimate way to create the 1960's hourglass shape, clinching in at the hips to give you curves to die for. Bringing back the Mad Med theme, you only have switch on and see Joan Holloway strutting her stuff in this style of dress to make you want to get out there and shop for the ultimate bombshell dress. You will be showcasing the Mad Men look quicker than you can say 60's chic.

Joan Holloway wearing the bombshell dress

Phase Eight is representing the sophisticated, elegant Mad Men look this season, here are some of my favourite 60's inspired pieces.

Rose Jacquard Dress

Floral Sasha Dress





Long Pencil Skirt

Long Tulip Skirt

Stripe Renee Dress

Verity Dress

This week I finally went to see Paul and it was well worth the wait. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost do not disappoint and there unique comedy shines through the entirety of the film. The plot of the film is simple, two geeks on a road trip around America visiting extra terrestrial sites until they bump into Paul and help him on his mission. Although I would like to say it was a family film, Paul is not your average alien and defiantly not the sort of alien that the children of today will be used to. So adults, if you haven't already had the chance to, get down to the cinema and watch Paul.

Thanks for reading, see you again next week.

Lauren x

Contact me at: l_oleary@hotmail.co.uk





Blog the 3rd

This week it’s out with military fashion and in with biker chic. It might be a bit too out there for some of us but biker chic fashion is everywhere. Skinny jeans, biker boots, soft leather and stud detail are all part of the look however this does not mean that you have to wear all these elements together. Pick out one or two pieces to give your outfit that full throttle look. Iconic British brand Burberry have taken the biker look under their wing with their new collection Heritage Biker featuring peplum wasp-waisted biker jackets and metallic leather motorcycle pants to create the ultimate biker look.

Heritage Biker range Burberry

The high street is also bringing affordable biker fashion to our attention, Top Shop have a wide range of biker chic looks and have managed to bring a softer biker look through for those who want to stay casual with soft and subtle elements of this trend.  

Subtle biker look at Top Shop

My particular favourite part of the biker look is the biker boot. This particular element of biker trend has been around for some time now but it is by no means a shoe of the past. Whether heeled of flat the biker boot is a must to complete the full biker look. I bought a beautiful pair of biker boots from Dorothy Perkins a few months back and they haven’t been off my feet since. They are comfortable, stylish and complete every outfit in my wardrobe.

Dorothy Perkins biker boots £50

This week I finally got my new tattoo at the Manchester Tattoo Convention. It was a great experience and so much more fun than sitting in a tattoo parlour staring at nothing but four walls. The convention itself was brilliant and some of the art work that was on show was really beautiful. The strangest tattoo of the day would have to be the cover of the film The Shining featuring Jack Nicholson which one man got on his back. This tattoo took 7 hours but looked brilliant. My tattoo took a painful 4 hours (which sounds like nothing to the 7 hours The Shining man sat through). The pain was awful but the outcome was incredible and I am over the moon with it. I would defiantly visit the convention again in the future but as for another tattoo for myself... who knows!

Getting my Tattoo at the Manchester Tattoo Convention

My new tattoo all finished

I have recently bought Adele’s new album 21 which is stunning. Every track shows off her amazing vocals with my particular favourite being Someone Like You, especially after the amazing performance she made at the Brits. It is a must hear album for all music lovers.

Thanks for reading, see you again next week.

Lauren x

Blog the 2nd

London Fashion Week is over and it’s time to refresh your wardrobe. Judging by the runway pictures it’s time to dig out them old neon colours and give them a good iron because if it’s not loud it’s not on trend for spring/summer 2011. The LFW runways were a wash of rainbow, boldly clashing colours that are bound to brighten up your spring/summer 2011. This is going to be a big change from the minimal nude and camel colours of the autumn/winter but without a doubt it is something that we are all going to have fun with. Gucci, Marc Jacobs and Jil Sander are three of many LFW designers that are set to embrace the riot of rainbow colours this spring/summer.

Gucci showcasing neon colours at LFW

I hope that I am one of many who are delighted to discover that lace is still very much on trend this season. Ok it’s nothing new but we can all sigh with relief that lace is firmly cemented in the fashion bible as a keeper. So whether your Heroes star Hayden Panettiere or Lauren Conrad lace is a must this season.

The Oscar dresses did not disappoint this year. Anne Hathaway defiantly gets the award for the most stunning selection of dresses in such a short space of time. She took the limelight with eight stunning dress changes ranging from a cream coloured strapless Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci gown to a stunning Tom Ford floor length, grey lace (yes lace) and crystal embellished dress. The best dressed for me would be have to be a tossup between Mila Kunis wearing Elie Saab couture (again lace) and Reese Witherspoon in her Sixties-style Armani Prive black gown.

Mila Kunis wearing Elie Saab couture

Reese Witherspoon wearing Armani Prive

Now onto the Oscar winners... It was no surprise that the King’s Speech topped the leader boards once again, I am now finding it even more embarrassing to admit that I still haven’t been to see it. Shame on me! I am delighted that Inception, The Social Network and Alice In Wonderland received Oscars. However my most deserving winner goes to the blooming Natalie Portman who won Best Actress for her performance in Black Swan and looked absolutely stunning in her purple Rodarte dress at the awards.  

The blooming Natalie Portman

The Rite staring Colin O'Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins and Ciarán Hinds hit the cinemas this week and it is a must see. I went along to see its first day of release and my warning is it is not for the faint hearted. The storyline in a nutshell is an American seminary student travels to Italy to take an exorcism course, but do not judge until you have actually seen it. The exorcism scenes are not your usual disappointing, laughable scenes, The Rite actually delivers an exorcism film that is well worth seeing.

Thanks for reading, see you again next week.

Lauren x

Blog the 1st

Hello world and welcome to my first ever blog post. I am new to all this so please bare with me.

Anyway... First things first! This week I finally managed to go and see Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan staring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis. All I can say is WOW. If you have spent the last couple of weeks shut off to the world and do not yet know the storyline then please get to your local cinema as soon as you possibly can because you are in for a treat. The cast is outstanding, the storyline is gripping and the scenes will have you breathless. I left the cinema wanting to go right back up to the box office, buy myself a ticket for the next screening and going right back in to watch it all again. This film certainly gets a 5 star rating from me.

Now onto the BAFTA Awards... The dresses that appeared on the red carpet were as extravagant as ever. I have to say my favourite outfit of the evening would have to be the Atelier Versace dress worn by Jessica Alba, the midnight blue beauty swooshed across the red carpet looking elegantly stunning. Other dresses that got my approval were the Alexander McQueen dress worn by Rosamund Pike, not to forget the matching cuffs she wore by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany, and the Miu Miu number worn by young Hailee Steinfeld who looked stunning.

However it was not just the dresses that had me memorized, The King’s Speech swept the award boards winning a total of 7 BAFTA Awards. I have to own up and say that I haven’t yet had the chance to see it, but I have heard nothing but glowing reviews and with 7 BAFTA’s under its wing I think it’s about time I had a look at it. The Social Network and Inception (both films that I have seen and did thoroughly enjoy) won 3 awards each much to my delight. Best BAFTA speech would have to go to Helena Bonham Carter who said she is so used to losing that its quiet a strange feeling to win, which I found shocking as I think she is a brilliant actress and I find her amazing to watch in everything she does. Her speech was a mixture of comedy and praise for her fellow supporting actresses and her family.

Another big event this week was The Brit Awards at the O2 Arena. The stunning outfits were out in force but Cheryl Cole stole the show for me in a black sequin Stella McCartney dress. The long-sleeved, sheer and sequined gown hugged Cheryl’s amazing assets and she looked as flawless as ever. Most importantly was the music, Adele’s performance of Someone Like You was the best performance I have seen in a long time. This performance shot Adele up to number one in the charts which is exactly where she deserves to be. Tinie Tempah’s medley was also brilliant, particularly the Miami to Ibiza section. I am over the moon to finally see Canada’s Arcade Fire getting some recognition at the Brit Awards this year; they won awards for best international group and best international album for their LP 'The Suburbs'. Another pleasant surprise win was Laura Marling who beat stars such as Cheryl Cole, Ellie Goulding, Paloma Faith and Rumer to the title for best British Female Solo Artist.

This week I took my little brother to see comedian Russell Howard who was amazing. His performance was brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you get the chance to get yourself a ticket for the rest of his arena tour Right Here Right Now, then do not turn it down.

Thanks for reading, see you again next week.

Lauren x