As is tradition on this little blog, with autumn officially beginning this week I felt it was high time to trundle out all my favourite seasonally appropriate lip colours for 2014!

Do other bloggers have those days where they get dressed up and pack the camera with the intention of taking umpteen outfit photos, then get so distracted by whatever they're doing that they forget entirely or end up snapping a few in a distinctly unsavoury location? As you can probably tell by now this is precisely what happened to me on Sunday afternoon (and, if I'm being honest, on Saturday afternoon as well).
The frustrating part is that we spent the afternoon at a delightfully pretty hotel named Howfield Manor, followed by coffee in Canterbury (my favourite city, as I've mentioned around a thousand times already), so we were certainly not short of beautiful locations. Quite why I then decided the station carpark was the best location for an impromptu shoot I don't know, but that is what we got so that is what I will work with here!
I've quite literally spent the last couple of weeks trawling the ASOS sale every lunchbreak and found a couple of gems I'll share over the next few weeks - I'm wearing two of them here! River Island isn't my first stop when shopping on the high street but I'm falling more and more in love with their stock every week.
This dress is such a cheerful bright colour - when I tried it on Jon said it was very "me" so naturally I had to keep it! It's a lovely soft heavy fabric and sits quite nicely, although I feel like it's a tad more flattering in real life than in these photographs. As it was such a gloomy morning when we set out for Kent, I decided to keep things bright with my trusty flower necklace teamed with pink cheeks and lips. I'll concede it's a lot of pink but sometimes I just need to drape myself in my favourite colour to help cheer things up! I've recently dyed my hair darker again and I feel like it contrasts quite nicely against bright colours.
The bag is also a River Island purchase, I really like the little padlock as it reminds me of my Chloe Paddington, and despite being a rather modest size it holds a remarkable number of items - I can fit my camera in quite easily, alongside an umbrella (a necessity) and all my usual make-up paraphernalia, what more can a girl want?
Speaking of make-up, since colouring my hair I've really been leaning more towards colourful cheeks and lips to try and render my face a little less ghostly. I've been reaching for Lickable by MAC on an almost daily basis as it's the perfect pink - I'm plotting a bit of a MAC collection post in the near future so I'll save proper swatches for then!

Wishing you all a fab Wednesday,
Love Dani
xoxo

I couldn't resist adding this ridiculous outtake to counteract all the moodiness in this post! what I wore: H&M leather jacket (similar here) // Therapy dress c/o House of Fraser* //  Dorothy Perkins ankle boots // Fiorelli necklace (similar here)

I say this every year but I really, really like autumn dressing. Yes, summer is amazing with all its sunshine, outdoor activities, no real need for a coat (unless you're planning a picnic in June in the UK) but if you're the type of person that overheats easily (me), has inhibitions about their body (again, me) and gets so sweaty that make-up literally slides down your nose (yes that's me) then it's not the most comfortable of seasons in terms of style.
Autumn however, autumn has scope for layering! And hiding bingo wings! And London Fashion Week! Okay, so it's a bit chilly and the fact I have to turn all the lights on in my flat already because it's so grey outside is a bit of a downer, but I always view September as the start of something new - I guess I still subscribe to the back-to-school mindset. Autumn is when I consciously try to inject something new into my wardrobe, it's a time for experimentation, layers and boots - I love boots. I'm wearing new ones in these photos actually, after my last pair of Chelsea boots died a sorry sole-destroyed death back in April.

I'm forever pinning images of model-esque girls in pretty dresses and stompy boots but it's not really something I've ever tried myself before (and if you have been blinded by the whiteness of my legs in contrast to all the black in the photos then you'll understand why!) But when House of Fraser offered to send me this Therapy dress it was quite literally the first image that popped into my mind - this dress, styled with a (p)leather jacket and some fab boots for a bit of an edgy yet pretty look. I couldn't get it out of my head once it was there, so as soon as I got my mitts on the dress I dragged Jon to the bottom of our garden for a little photo session.

I couldn't help but look a little moody and tortured in some of these; I blame the fact that although I thought I had picked a secluded spot it soon transpired that it is exactly where other flat-dwellers come for a smoke. Turns out that posing while trying to ignore people gawping at you as you prance around in front of trees is a bit offputting... I put on my best blogger face yet still ended up staring at my shoes for most of the pictures! Jon really got into it though and had me using a random tree as a prop as he felt that some greenery would fit with the rose print on the dress. So proud of him, he's really getting into the whole blog thing these days!

I definitely felt like this outfit was a step outside my comfort zone as I wouldn't normally get my legs out in a dress this short, but it was surprisingly liberating and I'm already planning a restyle of this outfit for future events! The dress has such a pretty print and I love the mesh sleeves and neckline as it shows a bit of skin without being too out there. Being me I still opted for a flattering skater cut - I'm not quite confident enough for bodycon just yet but maybe this is the first step towards a whole new style - what do you think?

Hello loves, I'm trying something new today so bear with me...please do not be alarmed with the multiple images of my face!

It's been such a long time since I posted a daily make-up routine. I love reading these on other blogs but find my daily products normally chop and change so much that by the time I've done a post, I've moved on to something new! I'm really enjoying this little routine at the moment though - I'm favouring a bright, radiant complexion with defined eyes and the occasional bright lip - and the best part is, the whole thing takes me around 5-10 minutes to complete! I decided to photograph each step of the routine to display how I use each item - in theory I meant for it to be helpful but in hindsight it's just treating you to a number of my awkward grimaces... enjoy!

My first step is always primer - my combination skin simply cannot be without primer, and this Bourjois offering is perfectly matte and nearly always on special offer.
While I'm waiting for the primer to sink in, I curl my lashes until they're sufficiently massive and spiky, then I apply a couple of blobs of YSL Fusion Ink foundation as it's my current fave! I have a couple of stubborn spots on my cheeks at the moment so once I've blended my base I go back in with a bit of concealer - this varies but at the moment I've gone back to a familiar blogger favourite by Collection. After I've concealed I usually tackle my brows with a couple of swipes of brow pencil, then I use a brow brush to blend any harsh lines and sort out the general shape.

The next step isn't something I'll do when in a rush but some days I just feel like my eyes need a little something! Mostly it will just be a sweep of eyeshadow but if I have a couple of spare minutes I will do a very light smoky eye (I love using either of my Naked palettes for this!) and if I'm feeling super fancy I'll do winged liner! For this my go-to is L'Oreal's Super Liner in Black Vinyl as it just lasts all day and stays really black. I'm still no expert at getting the flicks perfectly even but even just a teeny bit of liner helps to look a bit more dressed up.

Yes, I have a foundation problem. We know this. Let's move on so I can show you the latest addition to my collection...