Monster High Monday: Skull Shores Ghoulia

If you saw my post on Facebook earlier today, you'll have seen a sneak peek at the types of colours I was using today. You'll also know I was a little reluctant to wear them both at once! My doll this week is Ghoulia from Skull Shores and she comes with red lips, which I suppose is her signature. I'm not a massive red lip fan, although it seems the majority of MH dolls are, so I've become accustomed to red lips on a Monday! This look though involved wearing that with bright green eyes, like a lime/olive green mix, yikes!
One of the many things I love about Ghoulia is how Mattel manage to give her 'weak' looking eyes, so when you take her glasses off, she really looks like she needs them! You know some people just look like they are supposed to wear glasses? Ghoulia is one of them, for sure! Anyway, I thought I would struggle to find the perfect shade for the eyes, but it was the orangey tone of the red lip that was more challenging. As usual I added some blusher because Ghoulia doesn't wear any, but I need it! I also would have liked a highlighter under the brow as the green looked very severe without it, however I wanted it to look exactly like the doll so didn't bother.  We're also back to bright blue eyes this week, but if you want to see the look with my regular eyes, head over to The Shoe Girl Diaries.
So, on my face is YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat in BR10, Illamasqua RF115 under the eyes, E.L.F. Studio HD loose powder in translucent and Urban Decay Afterglow blush in 'Score'.
I started with Too Faced Shadow Insurance and I thought I'd try and find the correct shade of green then work some glitter over the top of that for the correct finish. However, when I started delving into my stash I found options that covered both. I used this pencil as a base purely to intensify the colour but actually it was so glittery that it really helped achieve the sparkly look I was going for. It is an old Glitter Eyeliner from H&M that I've had for years in 'Meadow Mist'. Over the top of that I pressed on Stila 'Kiwi' eyeshadow, which also has a slight sparkle to it. It was quite bright and maybe more green than Ghoulia, so I added a little of the olive shade from Hard Candy Eye Quartet in Drama Queen over the top, just a little. It's also sparkly, so between those three I certainly didn't need to add glitter (and yes it will be all over my face when I try and get it off tonight)!
You can also hopefully see I took a thin eyeshadow brush and dipped it in Estee Lauder Pure Color eyeshadow in 34 Granite Block to add that thin greyish line in the crease like Ghoulia. I expected to stuff it up, but it worked very well. Eyeliner is YSL Waterproof Pencil with Lancome ArtLiner for the flick and Too Faced LashGasm mascara.
The lips weren't quite as easy, as I don't own any orange toned reds or at least I couldn't find any. In the end I used the Clarins 'Passion 330' lipstick I wore last week for Operetta mixed with Rouge Dior in 526 Action Red which is a rusty bronze and it did tone down the red and give it a slightly orange finish.
So that's it for another week.  Actually the green and red together wasn't as scary as I thought (the fake blue eyes probably emphasise it though) and I'm glad I gave a more tricky look a go.

Halloween Nails

Happy Halloween! 'Tis a very important day for my kind (!) I actually very nearly cast a spell on a delivery man today, who had the audacity to take the mickey out of my hair, for the second time (kinda creepy that he remembered me from last time). I gave him the 'Gemma death stare' instead which we all know is far superior to any wicked spell as it's been used for at least 20 years and most definitely puts the fear in any man! Haha! Or muahahaha, I should say! Anyway, he brought me sparkly shoes, so I'll let it go this time. What are you all doing for Halloween? I don't have any parties (not because of my death stare), but I wanted to get into the spirit (haha) with some fun, freaky nail art.

I sat during X-Factor on Saturday with a pile of different colours and nail pens and just did it all free-hand. I wasn't even particularly sure of what I was going to do, but it all worked out wonderfully in the end. I was really impressed that I managed to do my right hand using my left, because normally I fail at that big-time! I did get my sister to do the spider because I wasn't sure I could do a circle! She was crapping herself she'd ruin it, after me making a good job of the other nails, poor wee thing!

At the bottom of the post there's a list of products I used for this.  I also took close-ups of each nail for you to see the detail and I mostly used either the nib or brush of the nail pens for the designs/small details with the exception of the green tips on the pumpkins and white eyes on Frankenstein where I just used a tiny bit of nail polish. The only nail I wasn't keen on was the jewelled thumb. I think I got distracted and forgot that webs taper in towards the centre and I'd already drawn my lines equally spaced (silly me!). I added a little shimmering stripe over the web using the thin brush on the Andrea Fulerton sparkly bottle you see above and stuck some nail gems (from the NPW pen) on using clear polish.

and right hand...

The goo-blob nail wasn't perfect either come to think of it, it kinda didn't work out like I'd hoped.  I love all the rest though, the skull was supposed to have quite splodgy looking eyes, but he turned out much cuter than anticipated.  Frankenstein worked brilliantly as did the pumpkins (I added little silver stripes to make it look more authentic) and I thought the mummy-zombie would be a disaster but I really like it with the flash of neon eyes.  My pinky finger ghost is providing lots of entertainment as I keep sticking it in my sisters face and saying 'wasssssuuuuppp'!  Hard to believe we're both over 30, I know!  I've generally been a little uninspired when it comes to nails and haven't had the notion to do anything fancy lately, but I admit I really enjoyed doing this and it's given me a little confidence to try funky things again.  I will say I'm impressed at the lasting power, it's Wednesday and I forgot to put top coat on and not a single nail has chipped, even with me parcelling up lots of eBay sales over the past couple of days.  So are you going to try a subtle Halloween look or go the whole hog? Pity it's a rainy day for guising.

Rings: 
Spider The Jewellery Box, bug H&M
Nails: 
Barry M Nail Paint 'NP66 Matt White'
17 Lasting Fix 'Tropical Island'
W7 Nail Polish '08 Green Dazzle'
Collection 2000 Hot Looks '36 Ninja'
and
Models Own Nail Art Pen 'Black'
Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick pens in 'Domi' and 'Ruth'
Andrea Fulerton Stripe & Sparkle 'Brooke'
NPW 3 in 1 Nail Art Pen (used for jewels only) 'Love'

H&M Conscious Collection

I've been eagerly awaiting the launch of the new Conscious Collection from H&M. Items are made from recycled and organic materials and it's not got the usual look of such a collection. The range includes garments, shoes, accessories and interiors and is available exclusively online and in the concession at Selfridges, London.
My favourite pieces are of course the winter florals, absolutely stunning. I would love the shoes, bag and a couple of floral dresses but unfortunately have no spending money right now, so it's strictly off-limits for me (plus I doubt losing a few pounds is enough for me to fit into a size 16). Hurry though because some items are selling out fast. You can also get 10% off your online order with the code 9415 until the 16th October.

H&M Plus Size?

This article grabbed my attention today-it was about plus size model Tara Lynn fronting the new BiB/H&M campaign. It made me laugh because I can't tell you the amount of times I've stormed out of H&M in frustration at not being able to find my size or indeed anything close (that's before I start on their shocking customer service). On their website several items in the main range are available in 18's and 20's, yet in both my local and nearest larger stores you'll struggle to find a 16.
Their plus size range, which I've also never seen instore btw, is pretty uninspiring at the best of times. I can't say I've ever spotted anything from it that I've wished to purchase (whether I could get it or not). The article includes a quote from the BiB designer stating "We have gone for a higher fashion content with this collection, which will appeal to younger customers too". I hope it's true, because I'm fed up of high street stores with mediocre plus size ranges; where it feels like you should be thankful they've 'catered' for you and just be happy that the clothes fit, never taking into account personal style or trends. However it's hard to judge from the accompanying images which are obviously of a swimsuit collection and how fashion forward can you get with that?!
However for as many bloggers that champion fairness in fashion you get idiots like this one that left a comment under the article saying, "I think that clothes shouldn't be available for people over a certain size. My idea is that over a size 18 there shouldn't be any clothes available and they would have to be naked orrr where a large sheet. This would make them so embarrassed that they would just slim on down!". Yeah, cos that'll work!! For a start 'slim person' you can't spell for shit and secondly the world seems keen to cater for the other end of the scale, where the 'adult' clothes are child sized and that's definitely not healthy. Thirdly some people are just naturally large, it's not unhealthy they were just born to be that size-we don't all sit around like slobs eating crisps and never moving from the sofa. I could go on and on-it seems anytime there's a 'fat' relating article people have to stick their oar in with extremely narrow minded and uneducated statements. Similarly, I was appalled at the reaction to the relaunch of plus size magazine Beautiful (for which I wrote a piece last year), which attracted a lot of negative press for 'promoting obesity'! It's sad, pathetic, old and just tiring, get a life and just let people be!

Not Quite The Same

This pretty dress caught my eye when it popped into my inbox yesterday morning. I haven't bought clothing from H&M for ages but this was right up my street. I have to admit the large wired frills seemed a little more fashion forward than I expected from the store though. However upon further investigation, I discovered these images below of the same dress. Not exactly how it looks on the model is it? Don't get me wrong, it's still cute (I think I may even prefer the pink), but unless you have several Mariah Carey style wind machines following you around all day, you're going to be wearing a floaty, wrap-over dress not exaggerated ruffles!

Lanvin H&M-No Chance!

I didn't get up at 7am for Lanvin Loves H&M, seeing as Christmas is coming and I literally have no money whatsoever, I couldn't really ask anyone to lend it to me as I'm already due loads. I did want to see what was happening though, so at 9 I switched on the computer and got this message (above) a trillion times. I'd heard the stuff online was sold out, but I couldn't figure out how, as I was getting nowhere (not even getting on the site, never mind seeing the Lanvin stuff). My page refreshed itself just now though (after 10am) and right enough all the ladieswear was gone. You can buy one pair of trousers, a cap or bow tie, from the mens range and that's it. Who knows what I would've felt, had I been able to see something in stock and add to my basket- I think I would've been sorely tempted, especially if it was that grey tulle dress or the shoes. I wasn't holding out much hope though-this type of manic shopping experience occurs all too often these days and mainly leaves you feeling depressed and like you've missed out on something. How is it though that those scammer eBay types manage to secure so many items to resell at ridiculous Buy It Now prices when those that genuinely want a piece can't even get near? That sucks!

H&M Lanvin Tomorrow!!

I'm trying to find out which UK H&M stores will carry Lanvin, but keep being led to this link which is of no help at all. I reckon I should be seeing something regarding the stores along the bottom of the screen, but all I can see is a white gap. It's really annoying! I'm using Internet Explorer, so is it just that, can anyone else see it? I've tried changing the zoom level but that doesn't help (and it doesn't move up or down). I'll maybe have to try on my sisters laptop tonight which has a bigger screen and she uses firefox.
I don't know why I'm stressing, it's not like I have any money to buy any of it anyway...but I really wanted to try and get something ; )

Lanvin Loves H&M-All The Pics!

Did you see the Lanvin for H&M pics last week? Did you, did you? Utterly amazing, an entire range I'm genuinely excited about-minus the fact that the online sale starts at 7am (on 23rd November) and I'm never, ever up at that time. I doubt any of my locals will get stock of this collection either. As I mentioned last week I'm so fed up of limited editions and battling virtually (or otherwise) for a nice piece of clothing, accessories or cosmetics. It's taking it's toll on me and taken the fun out of shopping. That said, this range is just so 'wow' that I'm almost tempted to waken from my slumber earlier than usual, for a chance of owning part of it. You have to remember this is designer heaven at a fraction of the designer price.
If you haven't seen the images, then I've detailed almost everything here (there is also a selection of man clothes, that I couldn't be bothered sorting through)! Please don't copy these images-go and get them yourselves, as it's taken all day to piece them together! I have no idea about the sizing of these, if they run small and if they go up to an 18 or not. In all honesty I haven't shopped for clothes in H&M for the past couple of years due to not finding anything either in my size or that fits. As with most of the designer collaborations at H&M though there is also a fabulous selection of accessories if you don't fit the clothes. The shoes (£69.99) are absolute Lanvin through and through with that gem encrusted heel and are bound to be super popular. There's lots of jewellery too, long leather gloves (£29.99) which I really like, lipsticks (4 shades apparently), bags and sunglasses.
The collection will launch at the perfect time (for party season) as Lanvin do evening wear so well. You'll spot shapes and prints that you'll swear you've seen on the red-carpet, because the styles are just so true to the real thing. What I'm loving about this collection is the clashing colours and wild shapes that are accessorized to the max and shouldn't work, but so do! It's worth taking a look at the H&M website to see how they've styled the range and there's also a fabulous video that I was hooked on! It's bold, fun and extravagant without being garish.
The absolute must-have, stand out piece for me though is this grey tulle dress (£149.99 also available in red). I could actually start crying every time I see it, because it's so darn pretty. Although my style combines a lot of different elements, it is essentially always going to be princessy and fairy like, so swishy skirts and layers and layers like that just bring tears to my eyes.
If party dresses aren't quite what you're looking for, you'll also find cheeky t-shirts (gorgeous), skirts and plenty of winter coats and jackets.