One very lovely Mothers Day

For the first time in four years I was home for Mothers Day so I decided to take my mum to her (and my) favourite haunt in Broadstairs, Oscars Festival Cafe. I'm going to do a blog post dedicated to it soon as its such a cute, cosy place with great coffee, cake and company! 

Now I really recommend buying Cake Days by The Hummingbird Bakery if you don't own it already! There are some of the classic recipes taken from the first book with lots of extras for different seasons and occasions added in! I made my mum a Blueberry Crumble Loaf which turned out very well and tasted delicious! It made a nice change seeing as I usually go for the cookies or cupcake recipes! Next on my list is an attempt at a cheesecake . . . 

 

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ASOS & Zara buys

I am officially in love with Zara's spring/summer collection! I went in during the week to track down this beautiful skirt below which I had spotted in Grazia and came out with a rather big To Buy list! This skirt really reminds me of a Mary Katrantzou print and for £25.99 its such a good price! Its easy to dress up or wear casual and I'll definitely be wearing it a lot for spring/summer.

I also took advantage of free next day delivery at ASOS and ordered this gorgeous navy dress (another to add to my collection) which I wore out last night. Its quite short but very pretty and the sequinned lace trim is an elegant touch.

ASOS dress - £30

My beautiful heels! I last wore these on my birthday & despite the height they are so comfortable!! 

I've also been using Moroccanoil on my hair this week (see previous post) and so far the results are brilliant! I've had some lovely compliments with people asking me whether I've done anything different to my hair etc so it must be working . . .

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Moroccanoil: To buy or not to buy?

Like many others, I have heard time & time again about the wonder hair care product Moroccanoil Treatment. Its a conditioning, styling and finishing tool which claims to instantly absorb into hair, speed up drying time, increase shine and transform the overall look and feel of hair.

I have heard that a 100ml bottle of Moroccanoil Treatment lasts up to 9 months which is very impressive, especially when you consider its £30. However, a 50 ml bottle of Organic Argan Oil (Moroccanoil's signature ingredient) is only £4.99 and a fraction of the price of Moroccanoil Treatment. Both products claim to be multi-tasking & achieve the same results.

I want to find out whether its worth investing £30 for a bottle of Moroccanoil or if Organic Argan Oil, the cheaper option, is the way to go. Along with the bottle of Organic Argan Oil, I have a sample size bottle of Moroccanoil Treatment (containing a surprisingly generous amount of oil). I have decided to test both these products (not at the same time) over a time period of 3-4 weeks and see which I think is best. I will be basing my decision on whether each product lives up to what it claims to do, the look & condition of my hair & my overall satisfaction of the products.

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The Velvet Collection

Dolce & Gabbana recently launched The Velvet Collection, six limited edition fragrances each inspired by different parts of Italy relating to the designers heritage.

The fragrances and their inspiration:...

Velvet Sublime - the orange groves of Sicily

Velvet Love - the carnations of Lake Como

Velvet Desire - the Renaissance period

Velvet Vetiver - the Mediterranean summer

Velvet Wood - lacquered wood

Velvet Patchouli - iconic incense 

From Harrods online description of Velvet Love - carnation flowers envelop oriental notes, giving in to an exhilarating rush of ylang ylang and pepper - it sounds like my favourite already without even smelling it! The bottles themselves look beautifully classic and sleek, bearing an engraved golden plate and colour fabric around the lid. 

I came across the collection in last weekend's The Observer magazine and entered a competition to win the whole set worth £720!! If I don't win (which is very likely) I would still love to get my hands on one of these beauties but they are currently priced at £120 each. Hmmm I may need to start saving . . . 

March: What I'm...

Listening to: I have Foster the People's album Torches on repeat.

Wearing: My new favourite perfume D&G L'Imperatrice & black French Connection Fedora

Reading: I must get round to properly starting The Group by Mary McCarthy

Watching: Homeland, New Girl, Gossip Girl, 90210...I watch a lot of US tv shows

Using/trying out: Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish. I got this today free with the new Glamour issue and my god does it smells amazing!

Making: I'm going to attempt baking some Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Wanting: Chanel nail varnish in any colour!

Looking forward to: Hopefully going to London for shopping and cocktails again sometime soon!

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"Who are you wearing?" - Oscars 2012

From the moment I switched on E! Entertainment's Live on the Red Carpet to see presenter Giuliana Rancic in a  stunning white Tony Ward Couture dress I knew it would be a night of very few disappointments where fashion was concerned! Some of my favourites which deserve a mention were Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji, Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli and Louise Roe in Black Halo.

Overall Best Dressed - Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton 

It seems Michelle Williams can do no wrong on the fashion front. For me, this look was the best look of the night. The coral colour of this dress is beautiful against her fair skin and hair, and the Peplum detail is perfect for her figure. Marilyn would be proud.  

Best Hair - Jessica Chastain 

Glamorous waves loosely pinned half up make this very pretty hair style so easy to emulate.    

Best Make Up - Angelina Jolie 

The strawberry lip colour is gorgeous! This romantic look  with soft, volumous curls is a refreshing departure from Angelina's usual red carpet style.  

 And the after parties . . .

Cameron Diaz wearing Victoria Beckham

LOVE the colour. This is classic Victoria Beckham - a simple, clean design which fits like a glove.

Although its not fashion related, the funniest red carpet moment was Sacha Baron Cohen as his latest character The Dictator "accidently" tipping an urn of ashes on Ryan Seacrest during his live interview! Seacrest was caught completely offguard by the stunt but continued like a pro, later saying he thought the "ashes" were pancake mix! Definitely a clip to search on Youtube! 

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The Academy Award for Best Dressed goes to . . .

The most exciting red carpet event is almost here! Tomorrow night the 84th Annual Academy Awards aka The Oscars will take place in LA and the worlds most famous actresses will be showcasing beautiful creations by the fashion industry's top designers!

I am especially looking forward to seeing who will choose to wear gowns by Victoria Beckham and Elie Saab, both of whom are highly sought after with actresses literally queuing to be dressed by them! When it comes to the stars themselves, Michelle Williams and Emma Stone are sure to wow with their unique style choices and if their previous award appearances are anything to go by they definitely won't disappoint! 

Here are my top five favourite Oscar looks from past ceremonies (there are SO many others I love but I narrowed it down!) . . . 

Michelle Williams wearing Vera Wang (2006)

Halle Berry in Elie Saab when she won Best Actress in 2002.

Kate Winslet wearing Ben de Lisi (2002)

Penelope Cruz in Atelier Versace (2007)

Jessica Alba in Atelier Versace (2006)

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