The Product That's Changed My Life (And My Hair)

My hair is dry. Drier than the Sahara. Drier than a mouthful of Cream Crackers. Drier than...well, you get the idea. It's frizzy, unruly, prone to breaking and just generally an all round pain in the...well, you get the idea. I'm constantly searching for something, anything to tame it and make it shiny. My bathroom cupboard is deffo testament to that (it's heaving with every hair oil ever made. You'll understand my frustration when I tell you that even Moroccan Oil soaks into my locks in two seconds and pretty much does nowt). So when I gave the new Kerastase Discipline line a whirl I didn't have very high hopes. 

I tried the shampoo and conditioner first (simply because my sis had bought them and I was keen to know if they were my next favourite thing evah). I've always been a bit of a Kerastase fangirl- using Oleo Relax for the last few years- but sadly lots of this range is being phased out (I particularly loved the blow-dry spray) so the search for replacements has been ongoing for a while. However, the Discipline Duo I wasn't really feeling. They just weren't moisturizing enough for the dreadful coconut shy that lives on my bonce. And they are very fragranced. In a way that just didn't appeal. So, why did I go ahead and buy the Keratin Thermique Taming Milk? Well, actually, my mum wanted it. (This whole venture is very family-orientated, you may have noticed. Thing is though- Kerastatse ain't cheap, so us girls take the 'share and share alike' approach- you share and I like). Again, I tried without high hopes. But- whoah there- this stuff is incred. It really is properly uh-maze-ing. My hair is sooooo much better when I use it. It's controlled and smooth and it has a texture to it that I love and is quite hard to describe. But here goes- you know when hairdressers go on about giving 'guts' to your hair? I'm always thinking 'Well, that's the last thing I want. Gimmie smooth ultra-straight hair like a freaking pair of curtains please'. But this gives guts in a way I never knew I wanted. It's kinda gutsy and smooth all at the same time. If that makes any sense (which it probably doesn't). If you have dry hair that frizzes like you've just stuck your finger in a plug socket I can 100% recommend it. Are you a Kerastase fan? What are your fave haircare products? If you've got any hair recommendations too, please lemmie know :) xx

Marshalling The Arts

Another day, another judo pant. I just couldn't resist 'em. As per my last foray into ninja trews these ones also don't sit particularly straight or flatter quite as they might. Not sure if that's inherent, or more to do with me being a fat little sausage person. Anyroad. I've just gone for a standard grey jumper here to partner up with them, but come warmer temps something a teeny bit more delicate might work well. Are you feeling the whole tie-waisted thing? Lemmie know xx

Pants- Zara//Knit- Zara

Beanie- Accessorize//Sunnies- Other Stories//Sneaks- Adidas

6 Things You Really Must Read

It's pretty tough to keep up with all the blogs you wanna read. Majeur Struggz, in fact. So here is a lil' round up of some of the best posts I've seen recently. Seriously though, give 'em a click.

A Spot On Tale Of Not Attending Fashion Week

Love Lian. Love everyone on Creators Of Desire in fact. This is all searingly honest and entertaining.

Mansur Gavriel Launch Their New Bags (Squeal, Obvs)

I'm as obsessed with MGs as the next gal, so news of fresh styles for next AW is malto exciting. On first glance, I'm actually loving the smaller cross-body bag. (Not sure of it's style name though).

A Sideways Look At What You Learn From Blogging

Lydia is ace. How can you not heart her? Aside from being a stupendously gorge chica, she is also dry-as-a-bone. The way she writes is spot-on.

Let's All Laugh At Kanye (Again)

Where to start. This is hilarious. In that repulsive, egomanical way that Yeezy seems to enjoy cultivating. Having said that, I quite enjoyed his 'Brown Leotard' collection.

A Very Thorough Guide To Blogging & Vlogging From The Don

Anna didn't get to be successful for no reason. What she don't know about vlogging ain't worth knowing. 

How The Row Smashed It Out The Park

Two shows from NYFW have really blown my mind so far. Frame was one, and this one is the other. Feast then drool.

If you've read anything this week that you've loved and you think I should see then link me up. Catch you soon xx

Photo via Dark Blue Stripes

The Shape Of Things To Come

You know when you're just bursting to chat about your new hauls and how much in love with them you are? That's me that is. So let us begin. 1) This top is everything. The very second I saw it I knew I had to have it. (Despite it being- gasp- colour. And, well, yeah, short-sleeved too). I was gonna layer a skinny grey polo neck underneath (for a nice retro vibe) but I didn't find one in time (and consequently froze to bits shooting this look). 2) These culottes are also everything. They kinda kick-out, some might say- almost balloon- and I will consequently have to brace myself for a slew of mocking comments from my dad. *Fortitude Face* 3) This coat is old so we don't need to discuss it. So anyroad, these purchases were from my first haul of 2015. I hadn't been shopping in a while coz I've felt so ill (it's amazing just how much your eyes can hurt) and although I experienced burning pain throughout my whole shopathon, it was worth it. I also found a sick two-piece in H&M which you may well have seen on my IG. And just to mention- no shoot is complete without #BloggerProblems is it? Basically- neither this top, nor these trews took good pics, at all. (I know I know- you didn't need me to point out the bleedin' obvious). The top creased and moved and annoyed me greatly. The pants also creased to bits and the fabric is so thin that the outline of my hands was irritatingly clear in every shot where I put them in my pockets. (See Fig.8). And thennnn- NYFW started- and the Frame Denim show happened. If you didn't see it (which I'm sure you did) the unbelievable on-pointness of the clothes was a sight to behold. I love it when there's a sea change in fashion- and although this moment has been building for a while (see Gucci SS15)- a full-on 70s revival is happening right freakin' now- and lil ole' scuba tops & baggy culottes & sneaks all seem very over. Essentially, I feel like a dick and want to live in New York in 1976 and star in a Woody Allen film. Catch you soon (hopefully in flares) xx

Top- H&M//Pants- H&M

Coat- Zara//Sneaks- Adidas

Beanie- H&M//Sunnies- And Other Stories

Spring Refresh For My Flat

I've been trying to spruce up the place I call home for a while now. There's actually a few reasons behind wanting to get the joint looking a little fresher. 1) It currently looks pretty rubbish. I refurbished the whole shebang when I moved in (a few years ago now), and at the time I ran outta funds (and energy) to make it actually look cosy and comfy (whilst still being minimal, of course). 2) I actually wanna sell. I hate the neighbours and the neighbours hate me. It's almost certainly time to seek pastures new. 3) My eyes. As mentioned here my eyesight is completely bolloxed. And my flat is very dark (despite these pics- thanks Photoshop) and life has basically become super difficult of late. I need to be wayyyy up high somewhere, on a top floor with a lovely balcony, sitting on a highly aesthetic chair, sipping on organic decaf green tea, reading Vogue and generally being a lot calmer. So. This is what I've done in my quest thus far.

Wall Stuff

I've never actually hung any paintings in my flat. Not one. Reason being: I'm a fusspot. A fusspost and an art historian. Who likes to paint. I've always meant to knock up some pics myself, but never quite got round it. And I convinced myself that I hate prints and repros and shit like that. Only 'real art' would do. Hell, I even had it in my head that I'd try and find a Picasso sketch for about £200 and stick that up on a wall. (Ring Ring, Hi, it's Mr Reality Check). And then....IG happened. It got into my head and made me think that I needed to jump on the Scandi hype. Out went my admittedly pathetic principles, and in came some lovely quote prints from Sealoe. Now, you've probably seen their pretty incred range all over IG yourself, and they don't disappoint in reality. They arrived quickly (with a cute freebie bracelet) too, which then precipitated my next challenge- namely- Ikea.

The Ikea Run

Now, obviously everyone knows hell exists. And it's not red as previously thought, but blue and yellow. And off a dual carriageway. I hadn't visited hell for a while but I needed to brave it. So I took myself off there for the 10am kick off and got stuck in. I bought picture frames, some amaze vases, a fake orchid for £1.50 (WTF!?), some storage boxes and a rather jazzy cushion (deffo need more). I was priddy pleased with my haul. (Everyone: then what happened? Me: I broke a nail trying to put the prints in the frames, swore a lot, bent a pair of scissors, swore summore, took some snaps for IG- (priorities!)- stuck said pics on IG- nobody liked them and swiftly deleted. Such fun). 

My Desk

The next mountain to climb was my desk. This needed some serious work. It's still not massively visual (hence the lack of photographic evidence), but improvements have been made. Before it looked a lot like something off one of those appalling hoarder programmes. I had everything, everywhere. (Nail polishes, papers, cameras, chargers, memory cards, card reader thingy, 1D memorabilia (really!), notebooks, pens, unopened make-up, radio, spare phone, tissues, light and erm, several pairs of socks). Anyroad. I bought some nice storage boxes from Paperchase and got sorting. I also bought an incred wheelie storage wotsit from Zara Home where my hair dryer, straighteners and radio now live. (This footstool is also amaze if you like that Scandi vibe, and would come in incredibly handy next time you're milking a cow). 

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

I'm now basically obsessed with buying interior shizz (it's all still very much a work in progress), and my OOTDs are suffering slightly as a result. So, major soz for that. I'd love to hear about any interior thoughts you've got though, and any good places to hit up for cool stuff and just generally whatchoo reckon on the home front. Catch you soon xx

Prints- Sealoe//Vases- Ikea//Flower Stems- Ikea

Storage Boxes- Zara Home (textured) & Ikea (plain)//Sneaks via JD Sport

Fake Orchid & Metal Pot- Ikea

Hi, Karate

Let's talk martial arts. Actually, on second thoughts, let's not. Having said that (get to the freaking point girl!) we do need to discuss judo pants. And jackets. Basically, anything with a tie waist is my new favourite thing. It's started with Isabel M (as so many things do) and her incred wrap over khaki jacket from last season. And whoah, how that shit has filtered. Zara are hitting us hard with Oriental-inspired garms (yay for that). There's these grey beauts here and some much more straight-up Marant dupes here (which I may be buying shortly). Now, I know what you're thinking- these trews are folding and draping in a slightly unfortunate way. And it's true- they don't exactly flatter around the old 'lower area'. But sod it, I heart them anyway. And yes, I do know the difference between judo and karate. (BS Face) *Refers to Karate Kid for verification. Catch you soon xx

PS Been meaning to mention- you probably noticed- I had a little blog make-over. Woop! What you sayin'? If you feel the need for a spruce-up then Phil at Pipdig is yer man. I know I know- I'm a bit late to this party- plus ca change. 

Jumper- Zara//Pants- Zara

Cardi- H&M//Sneaks- Adidas

Beanie- Topshop//Sunnies- ASOS

Has Adidas Eaten Itself?

 Ever felt like going on safari? (Sartorially, that is). Well Adidas are here to help. They've branched out. Into animal-print. I refer of course, (the clue's in the picture) to the zebra print Stan Smith. (There's also leopard for the fleet of foot). So, I love them, right? Actually, not so much. In fact, not at all. Am I having some sort of mental breakdown? Quite possibly. Not to get all sneaker purist about this shit, but some things shouldn't be messed with. I believe these kicks to be one of those things. There's no doubt Stan Smiths have reached critical mass. Are they over? Possibly. Maybe. Who knows? I think I even saw Robin Van Persie in a pair the other day, which disturbed me greatly, and may indeed signal the death knell. Meanwhile, over at Man Repeller (yes, her again, I'm not obsessed...much) an interesting post appeared recently about the Adidasification of Isabel Marant. Now, there's no chicken-and-egg discussion required here. Adidas were first. Very much so. But actually, does that even matter in this case? As Leandra pointed out Isabel has a tremendous knack of making everything cool and desirable. In fact, it's a pretty remarkable achievement to take a trainer that costs £65, copy it slavishly and then charge £260 for the reworking- AKA The Bart. So do I hate Barts too? No man, I do not. I'm a complete Marantphile, as it goes. She can do no wrong. For me the issue is- should Adidas be responding to all this? Annnnd....that's a no from me. They shouldn't mess with perfection. It feels wrong. Kinda watered down and uncool and uniconic. Am I a contradictory bastard? Absolutely, given that I realllly like Pharrell's Stans. At which point it might be salient to say that sometimes a kick feels right, and sometimes a kick feels wrong. And I'm absolutely sure Adidas want advice from me on this issue :) You feeling the animal-vibe? Or do you wanna join me in Purist's Corner? Lemmie know x

Leopard Print Stans Photo via KixandtheCity

Isabel Bart Photo via KajaMarie

Repelling Men Special Edition

Call me a weirdo (Everyone: Weirdo!) but if a man is repelled by my outfit I know I'm on to a winner. I would go so far even to say that if a boy actually liked my outfit I'd change into summink else, pronto. I've priddy much always been a tomboy (early doors all I wore were Osh Kosh and Kickers) although I do have to confess to a slightly slutty bodycon phase when I was dating various assorted ballers. (It was appropriate then though- I had a banging bod- including an extremely flat stomach and well, they don't really like subtle, do they?). So, onto these culottes. They repel brilliantly don't they? Hell, you're most likely feeling sick at the sight of me right now. You've probly seen 'em on loaaaddds of bloggers as they made a rather handy appearance in the Zara sale for only £9.99. YES, NINE OF YER ENGLISH AND 99 PENNIES. I used to gauge everything in terms of the cost of a packet of ciggies (before I had to sadly give up smoking), and these trews compare very favourably to 20 tabs. I maybe shouldn't have worn grey with these beautays, but I'm lacking a cream oversized jumper in my life. (I did actually find a tremendous one (also) in the Zara sale- and then I looked at the queue- and promptly gave up). But wait- hold up- am I wearing socks? Damn straight I am. No point repelling blokes if you're gonna do it half-heartedly. These slouchy ones are the very definition of the word oatmeal. Bandage dress wearers have a lovely time in Whisky Mist. Catch you soon xx

Jumper- Gap//Culottes- Zara

Beanie- Topshop//Sunnies- ASOS

Socks- H&M//Sneaks- Adidas