Look Lively: Contrasting Colours

Coloured mascaras are big news this winter and can create a subtle twist for daytime make-up. When worn with a bold liner, colours can be clashed for a brave, punk-inspired evening look. Here, I experiment with some great products from some of the best colour brands of the moment.

I used Mac Studio Tech foundation (£22.00) as an all-over base. A slick of Benefit’s F.Y…eye (£17.00) provided a crease-free base for the eyelids. A quick blend of Ruby & Millie’s Duo Concealer (£10.00) hid any unattractive under-eye luggage. After this important prep it was time for the main event in the form of colour-clashing fun!

For Laura’s unusual burnished gold effect, I slicked some of Benefit’s Gilded (a tangerine gold highlighter costing £12.50) all over the lid. This colour is great for green-eyed gals. The Barry M Lengthening Mascara in Shocking Pink (£4.95) made her eye-colour ‘pop’ most attractively.

‘Cleopatra on acid’ was the inspiration for Charlie’s bold look. The beautiful electric-blue liner (£4.50) shade was courtesy of Barry M too. I used it with the same Shocking Pink mascara. Be warned: this look is perhaps more suited to clubbing than the local pub (as we soon found out after the shoot!).

Here, I combined Paul & Joe’s Waterproof Curly Blue Mascara (£15.00) with Nars’ Mudd Club (£18.50), a gorgeous glittery brown pencil. This is a good example of how these techniques could be toned down to make them more wearable for daytime.

Mac’s Liquidlast Liner in Aqualine (£13.00) has been a favourite of mine for a while. Over the summer I wore it to the beach all day and it lasted into the evening! To make it winter-suitable, I used it with Benefit’s new Bad Gal Plum Mascara (£14.50). This shade is perfect for brunettes but would enhance every eye colour nicely.

Using Barry M’s hot pink liquid liner (£4.50) with their Bright Turquoise Lengthening Mascara (£4.95) looked great with Charlie’s hazel eyes.

This graphic look shows how good coloured mascara can look against black. I used a black Mac Liquidlast Liner (£13.00) and the Barry M Shocking Pink Mascara (which was clearly a favourite out of the coloured mascaras).

These Boots won't Break the Bank (or Your Back!)

I know that the trend for Vertigo-inducing heels is fabulous - I fully support the trend by purchasing platform, 5 inch-stilettos whenever and wherever possible. Regardless of my inherent love for skyscraper heels, I acknowledge that they do have their time and place. I am beginning to realise that they might just be a little impractical for a whole day of work and rushing around this beloved city.

Sometimes, a girl has to be stylish and comfortable. Ballet flats are just peachy for warmer months but what to do when the temperature drops? Believe me, I have tried teaming my quilted Chanel pumps with everything from legwarmers to ‘funky’ socks. This is a Very. Bad. Idea. Reaching for the UGGs is just plain obvious and frankly, not the most stylish choice.

Flat riding or motorcycle boots are the only way to go this season and you get extra style-points if they’re patent and black. With this is mind, here are my pick of the best on the high-street. Remember, they are an investment so expect to pay £100 or more-they should last for ages and the warmth you feel in your heart (and your tootsies!) will make this purchase absolutely worth the money.

(Top to bottom)
1. French Connection's 'Laura' Boots are super-chic. I have a feeling they also come in patent. Useful for when people like me drool over them. They're £140

2. Ever reliable, KG have these fab 'Stellar' boots for £150

3. Baratts are sometimes forgotten but they have these great boots for just £65. Yes they are cowboy boots, yes that's okay.

The Mighty Boosh at Brixton Academy

I went along to Brixton to see what the Mighty Boosh had in store for their next set of shows. Noel Fielding and Julien Barratt gave their fans exactly what they wanted; favourite characters from past shows and lots of witty banter. The show had a classic tendancy for absolute silliness and many of the funniest moments were (as ever) the ones appeared unrehearsed. When Fielding entered a sofa to play the bodyless character Tony Harrison, it seemed that a planned performance was completely impossible. Because the microphone at the front of the sofa had not been turned on, nothing but helpless whimperings could be heard from the stage. Fielding dealt with this in excellent humour and had the audience on his side from the beginning anyway!


Check out some of the pictures I took last night:

Jack the Ripper

Tired of my usual Saturday night antics (mostly involving Shoreditch and excess!) I trawled the net for alternative ideas. My Saturday night was decided upon: I would take my mum on a Jack the Ripper walk. We had an unfortunate start, hitting traffic on the way to Tower Hill. At 7.35 we finally arrived but found out that the tour had already left. I hastily called London Walks who helpfully suggested we meet at the rest of the group at scene of the first murder (yikes!), Mitre Square.

Off we ran through the dark streets of Ripper-town. Just as we were getting worried about finding the location in time, a kind cabbie took pity on us (especially my mother methinks!) and gave us a lift to the first stop for free. We reached Mitre Square and the four of us tried to guess which bench Catherine Eddowes met her violent end. Before we could get too frightened, however, a huge mass of people came around the corner, led by a man in a hat: our guide!

Steve was an excellent story teller, animated and expressive. The way he described the murders was so vivid that my stomach flipped. He recounted the particulars of the Ripper’s attacks (throat slitting, disembowelment and other such unpleasant things!). I don’t want to go into too much detail but the murder descriptions are certainly gory enough to make even the most seasoned C.S.I viewer wince. I am always hanging out around Spitalfields but I obviously had no idea of how it used to be in Victorian times. It was interesting and exciting to walk around London in eerie darkness, hearing gruesome tales about ‘the Victorian Bogeyman’ (Steve’s description of Jack the Ripper).

The tour was detailed and our guide even went into society’s reaction to events, the effect the murders had on journalism at the time and the mystery surrounding the identity of the Ripper. I would recommend this walk to anyone wanting to spend seven quid on a fun experience in east London rather than another overpriced cocktail. If you decide you still want one afterwards then the walk finishes near Brick Lane anyway!

The Jack the Ripper Walk meets at 7.30 every night (except December 24th and 25th) outside Tower Hill tube station. I recommend getting there early to avoid missing out! The walk also runs at 3pm on Saturdays.

http://www.walks.com/
http://www.jacktheripperwalk.com/

Waiting at Mitre Square

Leaving for the next location

Steve describes the Ripper's final murder (admirably admiring some drunken bystanders!)

Sofia Coppola: Natural Style

You can keep your Kates and Siennas-Sofia Coppola, for me, trumps them every single time. Her style is natural and she always looks 100% comfortable in whatever she is wearing, whether it be a full-length satin evening dress or a T-shirt and denim skirt. If I had a penny for every time I saw a picture of her and thought: 'I want to look like that' then by now I would have had far and away enough cash to actually do so (involving liposuction amongst other things!). I think her hair actually makes her look-by keeping it slightly kinky and unfinished, it lends a relaxed vibe to whatever she wears. My favourite look at the moment is when she paired a navy dulled sequin mini with a same-tone twinset. Divine.

The Whip Play for Bench at the Old Blue Last

Bench clothing wet the head of its new Covent Garden store with a celebration (slightly randomly) at Old Street boozer the Old Blue Last. Mancunian funksters ‘The Whip’ played as we supped Havana and cokes. The Whip play super-sexy dance music and didn't disappointed by their renditions of hit-songs ‘Trash’ and single ‘Blackout’. They also played their latest single ‘Divebomb’ which has a Justice flavour. After a little shimmy I ran around the corner to catch the Scottish band ‘Aliens’ play Hoxton Bar and Grill. I wasn’t very familiar with the band before but will definitely be keeping an eye on them from now on-they had a very mixed repertoire but my favourite was undoubtedly ‘The Happy Song’.

The Whip

Stylish revellers

The Aliens

jCauty&SON ‘Splatter’ Exhibition

Tom and Jerry with overkill: jCauty&SON ‘the plausible impossibility of death in the mind of cartoon characters’

Ever wondered what might happen if Quentin Tarantino hijacked the offices of Warner Bros? I hadn't but jCauty&SON seemed to have given it some thought- they have even dedicated an exhibition to their sick imaginings.

jCauty&SON consists of James Cauty UK and his son Harry (who is 15). Passing the gallery window (containing a sculpture of Daffy Duck being shot in the head from behind) I looked in-everything appeared to be above board: people were drinking beer from bottles, there even seemed to be a little gift shop (bonus!) it was all standard private view behaviour. Framed prints featured Jerry being whacked with a hammer (post-mortem) and Sylvester finally getting hold of Tweety Bird-and completely ripping him apart. Already I was feeling slightly perturbed. I went downstairs where there was a far much more raucous scene.

The basement had been made to look like it had been ransacked with ‘controversial’ debris simply everywhere. By ‘controversial’ I mean pretty obvious stuff like empty dildo packaging and various other bits and bobs. To be honest, the blatant nature of the pieces made it impossible to be shocked in the end-I think this was the point. We are so used to seeing images of violence now that it is difficult to get a rise out of anyone-even if they try really hard. This kind Jake and Dinos Chapman-like style wasn’t executed quite as eloquently. I saw a little boy who couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7 in that basement-he was watching a slow motion cartoon version of the sculpture in the window. God only knows what he will find shocking when he grows up: after watching Tom and Jerry with overkill surely things can only go downhill.

The exhibition is on until November 8th. www.jCautyandSON.com www.theaquariumonline.co.uk

Diesel XXX: Celebrating 30 Years of Creativity

I know that binge drinking is neither big nor clever but at a party as good as the Diesel one last night, it is difficult not to get carried away. Held at new London venue, Matter, (near the 02 arena) guests included Mischa Barton (who was unassumingly caught up in my elaborate scam for more free booze, poor love) and Paris Hilton who was hanging out with her gaggle of wannabe best friends for her new TV show.

Babyshambles (unsurprisingly minus Pete), Supergrass, Mark Ronson (confusingly joined mid-set by my disorientated house-mate!) and Patrick Wolf all played while the rest of us rammed into each other at the club’s only bar. I was lucky enough to bump into the lovely Roisin Murphy in the lift and attempted to take a picture of her and her delicious peachy-pink ensemble. Sadly my camera wasn’t up to the challenge but I will place bets that some other fashionista will have snapped her in the click of a Louboutin.

Paris was undoubtedly queen bee of the evening but only hovered within the confines of her VVIP area, I sense this was to avoid eager, camera-wielding people like myself! I took some photos quite early on. I cannot blame technology for the minimal picture-taking, it was simply my incapacity to hold the darned camera later on! Enjoy!

A bubbly Jaime Winstone sporting some spectacular light-up shades

revellers.

The View and Babyshambles' Drew McConnell

I try to avoid rudeness on Fashion Slant so publishing a picture of this dufus is a bit of a contradiction. I think I may have irritated him by repeatedly calling him "Nick Cage's son" when his real name is "Nick Cave's son". I have a feeling he Googles himself every day so hi there Nick Cage's son!
Yummy Jasmine Guinness (centre) and Pearl Lowe (right) with a friend

Me with Mel from All Saints fame!!! I love her!!! Mad fan moment!!!

Me avoiding eye-contact with a scary Dutchman!

Converse Opens Exclusive 1HUND(RED) Artists’ Showcase

I covered this Converse / (PRODUCT)Red launch for www.pollockslondon.com. Here are some photos from the event.

The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection

There’s very little I enjoy more than a peaceful stroll around a department store shoe department and I did so just a few days ago. All my old friends were there: Kurt Geiger, Louboutin and Chanel. As I gazed tenderly at each one of them, a glint of ruby light flashed at the corner of my eye. I made my way over to where it had come from, to be faced with what could only be described as a magpie’s wet-dream. A row of already gorgeous Stuart Weitzman sandals were made still more so through being embellished with (seemingly hundreds of) glittering Swarovski crystals.

The shoe which had originally captured my attention was far and away the most stunning I have seen for a very long time (and trust me, I have seen quite a few pairs of shoes!). Deep scarlet satin platform sling-backs were made even more dramatic with a massive matching bow at the centre. An explosion of flame red Swarovski encrusted both the bow and scattered across the platform of the shoe. Even the inside front (where your toes go) was covered in a blanket of crystals. This was when I realised this was no ordinary shoe.

For Warner Bros. 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz, some of the world’s top shoe designers were invited to re-interpret Dorothy’s ruby slippers for the 21st century. The designers included Alberta Ferretti, Betsey Johnson, Botkier, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Lisa Pliner, Manolo Blahnik, Moschino, Oscar de la Renta, Roger Vivier, Sergio Rossi and, of course, Stuart Weitzman. The fruits of their labour were later auctioned off for Elisabeth Glaser’s Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In partnership with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements, an in-store gala event was held, launching Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York.

If you feel like having a glimpse at true beauty in shoe form, follow an imagined yellow-brick road to Stuart Weitzman. The ‘Dorothy’ shoes are displayed there, along with a number of other crystal-embellished pieces. There really is no place like home.

www.stuartweitzman.com
www.crystallized.com
www.pedaids.org.

Sony Ericsson's Run to the Beat

"Run to the Beat? The beat of what precisely? The beat of my own heart reminding me that, on some level, I am alive?" As the rain pelted down, I wondered what had made me think that stewarding at a half-marathon was such a good idea. It seemed one of my fellow Marshalls was pondering the same question as she phoned me every hour, on the hour.

“This is horrific” she wailed.
“I know” I agreed. There was a dangerous pause.
“I have Anadil Extra in my bag”
“Please keep calling me” I replied.

As I stood outside an industrial estate near the O2, soaked to the bone by 8.00am (we Marshalls all met up at 7.00am), I lamented there was very little I would rather do less on a Sunday morning. Except perhaps actually running the race, that is.

There were apparently 16 bands playing at different stations around the course. I was nowhere near any of them.

Fortunately, my bleak mood lifted when runners started to enter my sector. The first batch looked great: awesomely fit like sinewy horses. I tried to cheer them, I really did, but coming from a lone Marshall, my single ‘whoop’ sounded weak and slightly forced. For the two men wearing Borat-inspired lime ‘Mankinis’ I managed a cheer. If there is one thing that would raise a smile from the crowd it was them. I tried to get a picture but they were running too fast! A couple of bananas and a beer bottle were some of the other fashion moments.

Many people ran for charity causes, making me feel most guilty for being a misery-guts! Leukaemia Research (http://www.lrf.org.uk/), and Cancer Reseach (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/) showed an especially impressive presence.
Altogether, I was impressed by the efforts of others and their determination, even if I personally would rather have remained in my duvet that morning!

Sony Ericsson Run to the Beat is London’s first Half Marathon event. The route starts and finishes at The O2 and winds through the streets of Greenwich. A main stage will be located next to the start/finish line and bands will play at 16 stations strategically positioned along the route.

http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/

Company Magazine's 30th Birthday Party

Company magazine celebrated its 30th birthday in style on Wednesday night. The glamorous fashion and publishing crowd packed into Chalk Farm’s Proud Galleries.

They heard: a great DJ set from Sophie Ellis-Bexter and husband Richard Jones. The duo’s DJ name was ‘Mr and Mrs Jones’.

They saw: A sea of black. Everyone rocked glam-goth-vamp to some level.

They lusted after: Calum Best (as usual) and the excellent goodie bags including blue nail varnish from Opi and perfume by Anna Sui.

They ate: delicious mini-burgers and beef skewers by top caterers deWintons (http://www.dewintons.co.uk/).

They drank: Assorted cocktails and later enough Smirnoff vodka to sink a battleship (which they drank from an ice sculpture!)

They were served by: Some charming, vamped-up waitresses from London agency At Your Service (http://www.ays.co.uk/).

They enjoyed: Getting their hair done with KMS California and being massaged in the Durex pleasure room.

Backstage: Ays staff get their goth-inspired make-up done by the Mac team.