Friday 23 January 2015

THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT

Snakeskin is the print of 2015 without question, and this season there is only one way to wear it - on your feet. So many fashion houses' have used snakeskin prints in their most recent collections, with designers like Gucci, Stella McCartney, Givenchy and Gianvito Rossi in particular using the print to dominate their footwear.
 
THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT
All links to items here.

Luckily for the most of us with regular-sized bank accounts, the highstreet is bursting at the seams with incredible designer-inspired pieces. While shops like H&M, River Island and Zara are some of the best brands to find this trend, Topshop is the place to go to for total catwalk copycat pieces. They took direct influences from Gucci with their knee high boots covered in a bold python print, give a fun and colourful twist to Givenchy heeled sandals, and recreate black and white ankle boots which stand up pretty nicely against their £695 Jimmy Choo originals. Such a striking print could prove daunting to most people (I know for me the idea of wearing printed knee high boots fills me with nothing but fear), but worn as the main focus of the outfit with neutral tones like grey and camel is the perfect way to make subtle impact and create a retro glamour-inspired look.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Scrolling through my blog a few weeks back, I noticed to my horror that it's been at least over a year since I last did a nail art-related post. I figured that as it was the festive period it was only appropriate to get back into the nail game in the most sparkly, glittery, over-the-top way I know how.
 
 (Links to nail products used below)
 
After applying an always-important layer of Sally Hansen Double Duty base coat to each nail, I applied two coats of Barry M Nail Paint in white for a solid base colour. With a small square of sponge (makeup sponge or even a standard cleaning sponge will do) I lightly dapped Ciate in Sand Dune gold onto the bottom half of each nail. I repeated this four times to create a nice solid gold colour, moving gradually up the nail to create an ombre effect. To add plenty of extra sparkle, I dabbed a few costs of Seventeen Glitter Nail Effects in gold to the bottom of each nail, again spreading it upwards. To give the nails plenty of shine and solidify the overall design, I finish with another coat of Sally Hansen. As nail art goes this was a really simple but pretty design. They worked so well of the holiday period too, being both festive as well as the perfect amount of glitz for the party season.