Friday 25 October 2013

Roll Up, Roll Up......



It's always this time of the year that I get obsessed with the weather. Autumn is without a doubt my favourite season. The dark evenings, crisp air and smothering fog, all contribute to my love for October. Another reason is the fact that I now get to break out some chunky knit! As much as I love warm summer evenings, maxi skirts and denim shorts, there is nothing quiet like the feeling of cosiness when you have a thick jumper on, sitting by the fire, drinking some tea and wathcing a movie (I have been doing this a lot lately). But today I am here to speak of my new craze which is over the knee knit socks. I have had a grey pair which have been sitting in my wardrobe for years, and it is only in the recent weeks that I have actually used them, and now I am hooked. 




Mine were bought in the River Island sale about two christmases ago, and thankfully the shop still stock them at this time of the year. Dark winter colours such as ruby, brown, black and olive green are all on my wishlist of styles to pick up. So far I have only managed to tick off grey, but this has increased my passion for socks in general (I never thought I would say that phrase!). Working in River Island means that I know alot of the stock like the back of my hand, and at the minute there are amazingly designed socks that I just cannot get enough of. These days I tend to wear boots all the time and my socks seem to poke out of the top of my shoes, so I may as well invest in nice ones. Thankfully, the socks from River Island are 3 pairs for 9euro.





All above socks are available from River Island 




The above "Over The Knee" Socks are avilable form River Island 

Topshop also have some great stocks available from what I could see online, but I am not too sure what stock is available in the shop. Although I am really just describing this as a lounge look for the house, I also really like the idea of wearing over tights, now that it is getting really cold as well. 




I am absolutely trying this look over the coming weeks and I'll make sure to instagram pictures (@cicijewels) so keep an eye out! 




Love C X 

Monday 21 October 2013

In The Shadows: Sephora





When it comes to beauty and make up "looks", I always tend to go for a dramatic eye and a soft lip. Therefore when it comes to investing in eye shadows I try to buy palettes as they are just a lot better value for money, and it is also a great way of experimenting different colours. As I have told you guys already, I was recently in Paris and while shopping over there I bought lots of make up in Sephora on the Champs Elysee. One item in particular I have not stopped using since I came home and thought it was only appropriate that I covered a post on it, and that is the Nude "IT" Eye Shadow Palette. 







This palette is made up of ; 7 eye shadows varying between tones of gold and brown; a base shadow which acts as a lid primer; two highlighter shadows to apply after the initial shadow colouring has been set; two eye liner shadows (brown and a darker shade of brown); a contour eyeliner pencil; a 2-in-1 brush acting as an all over shadow brush and an eyeliner brush. The set comes with a sheet which explains each of the shadows and what part of the eye they are to be applied to, and I could not believe that it cost only 30Euro. I thought this may be a special offer, but I have since checked the Sephora website and this is the retail price and it is not a sale item. 


As Sephora is not available in any of the shops near me I was not expecting to stock up on as much products from the brand that I did. In the end I ended up buying powder, cheek highlighter, lipstick, lip gloss, the eye shadow palette and a few more shadows. I have gradually been testing them over the past week or so, and I am now converted! The eye shadows have stayed in place all day and no smudging what so ever, which can sometimes be a big problem when wearing shadows all day. I have never been the type of person who has used eye lid primer either but after using the one in the set Ican completely see why people invest. I am not going to go into detail about the other products from Sephora as I want to stay focused on this particular palette but I will say this, I bought four lipsticks and I wish I had bought more. 




Seeing as beauty is not particularly my area of expertise, I wouldn't  feel comfortable yet giving any tutorial about how to achieve this look as seen above. But this is an image that I have gained inspiration from when applying nude eye shadows, and with this palette you will definitely be ably to re-create the look. Maybe in the future I will start tutorials but not for the moment anyway.


Love C X 


Saturday 19 October 2013

Girl with the Iron Mask



This year I am really excited about Halloween. I love dressing up, but in particular I love dressing up in Gothic attire. I know Halloween is usually themed with death, blood and gore, but this year I am taking a slightly different approach. While in Paris I stumbled across this amazing costume shop (which was also really cheap) near Hotel Du Ville, and while looking around I found the most beautiful range of masks ever. After trying everything on I decided on a black lace masquerade style face piece and a matching black feather for my hair. This has pretty much been the focus for arranging my costume for this year. I have been racking my brain as to what clthes to wear with this, but I think I nearly have everything in place. 




The next big task when putting a creative costume together is figuring out what what to do with your hair and make up! For Halloween, the focus for your face is the crazier the better. I have this image in my mind that I am going to paint my face white, in contrast to the black mask for dramatic impact and bold black/deep purple lips. At the moment I am still experimenting with colours and styles of how this look will piece together on the night but I will do a follow up post of my whole look and how I put it all together. 


 
 



As I have blonde hair, I think the black mask will go well because of the disparity of tones. Similarly, I would advise that any brunettes to opt for a white or lighter shade mask for a resembling result. My plan is to use a silver coloured spray to add a "deathly" image to my look, crimp and backbrush. Lots of hairspray will be needed also so I have been stocking up! 




Although the last image above has nothing to do with the masqerade look that I am going for, I love it! Maybe this could be a look for next year :) 

Everything about my costume will be up very soon including what products I used and where they were bought. 


Love C X 


Wednesday 16 October 2013

October Loves .....





Fur Gillet; H&M 39.95 Euro
Denim Dungarees; H&M 29.95 Euro
Silk Viscose Top; H&M 24.95



                                                Candy Strip Cape; Warehouse 39 Euro 
Leather Zip Skirt; Warehouse 54 Euro 



Tan suede Chelsea Boots; New Look 65 Euro 


Black Aztec Cuff Lace up Boots; New Look 60 Euro 


These are all the little pieces that I am loving this month! 

Love C X 


Tuesday 15 October 2013

Lets get lost in Paris (Part 2)


So the last post featured the top vintage shops to visit while in Paris, Lets Get Lost in Paris (Part 1), and this is a recommended route to take that I have put together. This may vary a little depending on where exactly you are staying in the city. The closest metro station to me was the "Gare Du Nord" so this was the starting point for my trip, but if you have a smart phone I would recommend downloading the metro app as it will make everything a lot easier when travelling around. I would also advise to spread your trips out over a number of days, as it can be difficult to fit it all in just one day. For this particular post I have divided it into two days. Also, you can buy 10 metro passes for 13.70 Euro, which will cover all of your shopping trips. 

 


Day One

Station 1: Gare Du Nord

From here you are looking for Line 4. Once on the metro, travel to the Barbes - Rochechouart stop and change at this station to get on Line 2. While on Line 2, you will be stopping at Anver station, and this will be your destination for your first vintage shop, Mamie Blue.

Thankfully, the next shop you can visit, By Flowers, is within a walking distance from Mamie Blue. Just follow the directions below.

Mamie Blue to By Flowers Walking Directions

Station 2: Place du Clichy

While near this sation, you can visit the Guerrisol vintage store, and after this you can continue to travel along. From this station you are looking for Line2. You will change at Barbes to Line 4 and continue until the Etienne Marcel stop. At Etienne Marcel you can go to Episode, which is one of the trendiest vintage shops in all of Paris.

Station 3: Etienne Marcel
After Episode, you will be heading towards Hotel Du Ville, and to get there you must stay on Line 4 and look out for the Chatelet stop. Once here, you must change to get on Line 1 and you will then see the Hotel Du Ville stop. This is the area with the most vintage shops in the facinity, Freep'star, Hippy Market and Fripp'irium.



Day Two

Station 1: Gare Du Nord

Starting again at the "Gare Du Nord" station, you will be getting on Line 5 and travelling through four stops and arriving at Oberkampf. It is here that you will be at Omaya Vintage, which is where I bought some of my bits which were featured on the first part of this post.

The next place that you can go to is Adom, whcih luckily is not too far and is easy to walk to. Directions can be followed from the link below.
Walking directions from Omaya to Adom

Station 2: Bastille
The bastille sation will be easy to find fromAdom, and once here you will be looking for Line 5 again, changing at the Stalingrad stop to Line 7, arriving at Riquet after a twenty minute journey. One metro ticket will cover this entire journey.

To get back to Gare Du Nord, simply reverse this journey; Line 7, change at Stalingrad to Line 5 and arrive at Gare Du Nord.


Hope you find this suggested route useful, and if anyone of you use it please let me know!

Love C X 

Monday 14 October 2013

Lets get lost in Paris (Part 1)

 
So I am just back from a few days in the beautiful city of Paris. A couple of months ago, my Friends and I bought tickets to see Fleetwood Mac for Bercy as they were sold out in Dublin. This became a perfect opportunity for a girls holiday!  We were there for five days, so plenty of time for shopping around and viewing historical architecture. Knowing what you want when you go shopping is half the battle, and it was decided early during the trip that vintage was the main objective when it came to clothes and accessories. Being one of the fashion capitals of the world, we were not short of options and shops to choose from, so I have decided to share the experience with you guys, along with a suggested route to save your energy for rooting through rails of vintage, in the second part of this post.  

The image above sums up my few days; writing, sight seeing, shopping and going to see Fleetwood Mac. 

Where we stayed in Paris was north of the city and the closest metro station was "Gare du Nord". I highly recommend this area as it was very reasonably priced within a really expensive city. And the metro station can have you in any part of the city within minutes. First of all I will go through the top ten Vintage shops in the city and throughout this post I will talk through my experience and the ones I visited and bought from. 


Freep'star: 8 rue Saint Crocci, La Bretonnaire 


This shop is located in a very tourist part in the city but offers reasonable prices. During my time in Paris I only managed to visit a number of vintage shops and this was one of them. It was very busy, as it was a Saturday (try to go during a weekday morning if possible) but everything was well organised so it was easy to spot a section you like. There was a great selection of  leather shorts and denim jackets. The basement of the shop holds all flannel shirts, fur coats and granny knit jumpers, but watch the stairs as you go down as it is very narrow. Also, this shop has a great variety of silk scarves. 



Omaya Vintage: 29 rue Jean Pierre Timbaud 



While shopping this was was the first stop on the journey. From my experience, Omaya stocked amazing vintage coats and most were priced at 35 Euro. Every colour that you could think of, there was a coat! I managed to pick up an olive green blazer, which will go perfectly with black skinnies and biker boots for the winter months coming. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was also on the look out for a silk print headscarf, Bohemian Nights, and I am happy to say that I found the perfect one in this shop, and priced at only 5 Euro. 


Hippy Market: 21 rue du Temple, 75004 

This was another one of the shops hat we visited along the way, but it was the only one that none of us bought anything in either! Although there are amazing pieces in here (I particularly fell in love with the shirts), the prices are more expensive than others and I found it quite difficult to justify what I would have been paying for. It was also quite big and spacious which allowed for lots of stock. I would recommend this shop if you only have time to visit one of these vintage stores as you will absolutely find an amazing piece or two, and this can justify your purchasing rather than binging in all of the above also. 

 Episode: 12-16 rue de Tiquetonne, 2e


Although I did not actually visit this shop, I have read on line lots of amazing things about it, and now I'm devastated that I didn't! For anyone who does plan on visiting Paris anytime soon, the reviews say that this shop is a serious contender. Again, like Hippy Market, prices are a little higher than other Vintage shops in the area but the large space offers rare finds and completely unique pieces that won't be found anywhere else. 


  Mamie Blue: 69 rue Rochechouart
This particular vintage boutique has a specific genre focus on the 1950's/60's. It is also recommended that you should go there when you have a few hours to spare as it may take awhile to look through everything as it can be messy.

Guerrisol:19 avenue de Clichy
It is this particular store which seems to have everyone vintage lover in Paris raving at the minute. With its growing popularity and low prices, it is a must see within the city according to Time Out Paris. It is also this particular area of the city which is now considered the "trendy" spot of Paris.

By Flowers: 89 rue des Martyrs
Neat is definitely not what you will find here, but if on line sources are anything to go by it adds to the atmosphere and experience of shopping at "By Flowers". Most items are still in bags, so you will have to get your hands dirty a bit before you find anything but if this seems like a bit of a task, just think of the satisfaction of when you actually find something you love.


Frip'irium: 2 rue de la Verrerie 

This is considered the "upmarket" of vintage. Prices here are higher than most as a result of many items being pre-assembled into stylish looks, which can often save you time and energy. Everything is well arranged and visually presented well, and  you are  able to watch MTV while you shop. I am particularly intrigued in this shop as I am researching vintage inspired swimsuits and lingerie, both of which Frip'irium stock. 

Adom: 35 and 56 rue de la Roquette
Along with some of the previously mentioned shops above, this one has a 60's/70's rock n'roll theme. This place is split into two stores which are facing one another, one set up in 2007 and the other in 2009. A om is particular is well know for its selection of men's clothing.

 Bric รก Brac: 104 Rue d'Aubervilliers, 19e 




Bric a Brac has alot of love on line and created a fantastic profile for itself. One of the great things that I love about this shop is the supply of vintage home ware. Old chairs, mirrors and frames to enhance the your unique style into your home. Classic hardback books are also available across all genres which are worth far more than what you will pay for them! 





Look out for the second part of this post which will feature a suggested route to take and tips on travel and accomodation in Paris. 


Love C X