Thursday 19 July 2018

High End V High Street: Lucite Heel Comparison

Irregular Choice released another perspex heel style last Friday, the beautiful Blossom Bunny. Since the early days, they've been making carved, lucite heels which have come in many forms; low, wedge, stiletto, even heart shaped, but the chunky one on the new Blossom Bunny is probably the most recognisable as it usually reappears at least once each season. It's little wonder I own so many of them as they've come in every colour or style of shoe or boot you can think of. Not only is it pretty, it's manageable and easy to wear, so it's a firm favourite of mine.  What I see a lot of on social media from first time buyers of this heel though, is that they dislike seeing the screws. In fact many wonder if this is 'normal' or if they got a dodgy pair. In short, yes it's normal and actually completely essential that the heel is attached to the shoe! Shoes, whether cheaper, mass produced or more exclusive and expensive, machine or handmade, will usually have some sort of screw, tack or nail attaching the heel to the shank. So it's a given that when the heel is clear, you will see this. There's not really a way around it. I have to say it's something I rarely notice in the IC heels myself. You would need to be inspecting them very closely and it's unlikely it's visible to anyone else (or yourself) when they are on your feet. visual comparison of an expensive handmade designer shoe and mass produced high street shoe with lucite heels shown side by side
Earlier this year, I added another lucite heel to my collection, non-IC this time, the Charlotte Olympia Barbie Girl. Now this shoe is expensive. Really expensive. Let me preface by saying I paid nothing near the RRP and they're not even the most I've paid for shoes, but at full price, they are a staggering £1145. That's at least £1000 more than the IC ones usually retail for. So with this in mind, I thought it might be interesting to look at both styles and see how a high-end designer like Charlotte Olympia and a high-street brand like Irregular Choice compare in disguising that screw issue.

Monday 16 July 2018

ASOS Clinique Beauty Box (July 2018)

It was November last year, when I previously blogged about the ASOS beauty box. I've bought most of the monthly boxes since then and July is a special one as it only contains Clinique products. The brand has just launched at ASOS, so the box is to celebrate and it's a great way of trying out several products. Clinique skincare items in ASOS beauty box