OOTD: Portmans, Op Shop Gold, with makeup to match

Here's a work outfit made up mostly of opshop finds, both the black dress and red coat I'm wearing here were both thrifted items. One of those really lucky finds that I've been happily wearing for years now - I really don't see a red wool trenchcoat going out of fashion any time soon..

The dress over the top is from Portmans - I can just wiggle into some of their size 18s, this one is a particularly pleasing cut with some nice drapery at the waist. I have someone comment on how nice it is almost every time I wear it - and as an added bonus it's really comfortable. 

Keeping on theme with my op shop gold, I went with gold makeup too - a brown eyeshadow from Bloom called "Hudson River" - I can only assume the Hudson is like the Yarra if they are naming browns after it! Add a couple of golds from my trusty 88 palette and I have a really good everyday look. On my lips is a Mirenesse gloss in a dark berry colour, just for a momentary departure to my usual red lips.

Saturday Sweeup

Linky Linky.. it's been a busy week here on Fashion Adjacent! here's what we've been up to.. we've been making our wardrobe work overtime and picking out cute new things, we've got glossy lips and wild circle lenses, lacquered nails and Raunchy Rosie skin... Check it out:

• Swatched: BYS Limited Edition Neon Eyeshadow Palette

• Review: Bellabox May 2012

•  OOTD: Extra life from your wardrobe - Choosing Pieces that worth together.

• Review: Glamourflage Raunchy Rose Hand Cream

• Gloss goss: Katy's top picks

• Avengers Inspired Fashion: The Hulk

• Omega's Picks: From Work to Play with Modcloth

• OPI Mothers Day Duo : Review

• Review: YSL 4 Colour Harmony for Eyes

• Change your Look with Circle Lenses

Swatched: BYS Limited Edition Neon Eyeshadow Palette

 Here's a product I cannot wait to do a makeup look with. BYS Limited edition Neon Eyeshadow Palette. The photo really doesn't do it justice. The colours are the brightest neons I've seen around, from a really inexpensive brand available pretty much everywhere.

Review: Bellabox May 2012

The Bellabox has just arrived on my doorstep..

So, what's in it?

• EmerginC Hydra Repair Capsules - these are meant to be applied before moisturiser for "smooth glowing skin" according to the blurb.
• Eau Thermale Avene - Eluage Eye Contour Care, and Emulsion.. anti aging creams, one for eyes and one for the rest of your face. Teeny samples of luxe stuff!
• Bobbi Brown Mini Mascara - Extreme Lengthening Mascara - I already have on e of these and it's really good, so it's cool to have another one. Mascara goes off so fast, I think perhaps it should always be sold in these little "sample sizes".. it'd be less wasteful!
• Savior Faire Lipstick - A mini lipstick is just the cutest thing ever! I'm totally enchanted by it even though the colour is a rather dire hot pink! (straight to Katy with this one!)
• Sebastian Professional Range - three small sachets of shampoo, conditioner and treatment.. there's enough here for a one-wash trial.

As usual, heavy on the skincare, but it's nice to see two makeup samples as well! I'm quite pleased with this, I can see myself getting use out of all of this. 

Change your look with circle lenses!

 Lately I've been experimenting with a change in look by using circle lenses. I've found that they can dramatically change the natural look of my eyes, and depending on the style and colour, the reactions range from "You have lovely eyes" to " ZOMG that is so creepy!" Recently Omega reviewed some circle lenses from Colourvue, but I wanted to let you know my thoughts.

Review: YSL 4 Colour Harmony for Eyes

I picked this up in a blog sale recently, it's a little slice of luxury in the form of a YSL "4 Colour Harmony for Eyes", or if you prefer "Ombres Quadrilumieres".

The one I got is in a colour combination called "Tawny"

It consists of a bright blue, a dark plum colour with gold sparkles, a dark golden brown with gold sparkles,  and an antique gold colour.

So, is this worth the luxe price tag?

OPI Mothers Day Duo : Review

OPI released a lovely "happy couple" duo just in time for mothers day, and i was lucky enough to receive the pack.

The two lovely pinks came with a white makeup bag that just happens to be the perfect size to hold my lipgloss collection in my handbag (hooray for not having them rattling around in the bottom of my bag any more!).

Omega's Picks: From Work to Play with Modcloth

1.Shower with Compliments Dress in Geometry 2 Amethyst Magic Moments Dress. 3. Statement of the Art Necklace 4. Cute and Astute Necklace 5. About the Artist Dress 6. Ignite the Night Dress 7.Alejandro Ingelmo Black Origami Booties 8. Alejandro Ingelmo Red Penny Pumps

Once again I am shopping the catalogue instead of doing damage to my credit card!

Here's four super cute dresses from modcloth that I think would be quite versatile. With a jacket they'd be very suitable for a creative office, and then blinged up a bit you could take them out on the town!

I really love the cute names they give to everything at modcloth, and the site design just has me sighing at how gorgeous it all is. Who can resist a "Cute and Astute" necklace or "Ignite the Night" dress - obviously alliteration is always a winner with me!

All of these are available up to a "3X" which is a Australian 22 (US 20, UK 22).

The shoes (oh the shoes) - neither of these are what I'd consider very practical but they are both very beautiful and would really make a statement. They're by amazing designer Alejandro Ingelmo (of course I'm now humming Lady Gaga). 

Which is your favourite? 

This post includes affiliate links - if you click through and end up buying something, we get a small payment. You don't pay any extra. This is a lovely way to support the blog if you were planning on buying something anyway. 

Avengers Inspired Fashion: The Hulk

So, like every other geek on the planet, I've recently seen the Avengers movie, and because my brain is wired that way I immediately started thinking about beauty and fashion styling based on the different characters.



I decided to set myself the challenge of putting together gorgeous, elegant, fun plus size fashion and beauty inspiration boards using the Avengers as inspiration.

I started with The Hulk. He's certainly plus sized, also strong, loyal, brave and awesome.

The gorgeous green dress at the centrepiece of this is by Monif C - it looks as though it's currently sold out in this colour but there are a couple of other gorgeous options there.  Paired with some silly, fun sparkly peep toe shoes and purple fishnets, this is a showstopper of an outfit.

Avengers Inspired: The Hulk by omega2 featuring clutch handbags

Purple booties
£60 - loveburlesque.com

Clutch handbag
$75 - amazon.com

Kenneth Jay Lane purple ring
€67 - pret-a-beaute.com

Teardrop earrings
$32 - pinkmascara.com

Illamasqua matte lipstick
$22 - sephora.com

Illamasqua makeup
$20 - sephora.com

Illamasqua lip gloss
$17 - asos.com

Loose eyeshadow
$12 - shanalogic.com

False eyelash
$10 - nyxcosmetics.com

Illamasqua beauty product
£30 - debenhams.com

Illamasqua matte finish nail polish
$14 - sephora.com

Purple Fishnet
£4 - punkyfish.com

Gloss goss: Katy's top picks

 I am a certified lipgloss lover for life. I do like to indulge in a luxurious red lipstick from time to time, but my first love and everyday choice is natural-toned lipgloss. I have a few favourites, though my tried-and-true-favourite is my MAC dazzleglass in Salmon. Here are a few of my best picks for lipgloss.

 I was lucky enough to be given the Mecca Cosmetica "You rock my world" Lip De-Lovely lipgloss collection for my birthday and I just love all three colours. They are all a reasonably natural colour on the lip, with a sheer coverage and slightly glittery finish.

Review: Glamourflage Raunchy Rose Hand Cream

If you're fan of vintage stylings you may already be aware of the brand Glamourflage - they have embraced pin up gorgeousness wholeheartedly, and have a range of beauty products all adorned with beauties from a bygone era.

I love vintage pinups - I love that they seem to have a lot more diversity in the kinds of bodies that were considered attractive, so this range was bound to catch my eye.

I was lucky enough to be sent a tin of "Raunchy Rosie" handcream.

So, what did I think of it?

OOTD: Extra life from your wardrobe - Choosing Pieces that worth together.

I am fairly certain that I've showed every single item (apart from the vest) in outfits before, but perhaps not in this combination.

I think one of the keys to a really useful and successful wardrobe is to have a lot of pieces that go together in a lot of different ways.

You can put together something new every day with the same basic pieces once you get the combinations right. I very rarely repeat the exact same outfit head-to-foot but despite that I wear the same pieces over and over again.

I feel it's the ethical, responsible thing to do - to wear something until it's worn out.

This is my ASOS coat, a city chic blouse with cream ruffles down the front, a striped flared skirt and a red sweater vest for extra warmth.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I got to work and took the vest off I realised I had forgotten to wear a layer underneath the blouse and it's quite sheer.. preferring not to show off my underwear to the rest of the office I kept the vest on.. thankfully it was a cool day.

Wardrobe malfunction avoided! :)