This Just Makes Me Smile...

What a lovely shot... proper heart-warmer!

Boots Please!

As each Autumn inevitably rolls around, my search for the perfect boots begins. For a few years now I have been coveting a pair of Frye riding boots.  Frye are the oldest boot makers in the US and the only place to look for perfect riding boots in my view. A love this grey pair...great heel, great toe shape. Just lovely! They are available to European customers via Amazon too so perhaps this year will be the year!

Wooden Tables

Give me a wooden table (preferably old and distressed) and some mismatched chairs and I'll be happy!

I love this particular selection including two Ikea chairs and the very same high chair as Lulu!

The copper light shades. The chairs. Swoon!

Such a pretty tablescape (and again, the lights!)

Masculine Minimalism

I've always been a fan of slightly mannish tailoring in women's clothes. I'm not sure whether it is the structure it gives to the body or just the elegant understatement that gets me, but get me it does. I also like the way this type of style acts as a blank canvas for beauty. In a way, the face can really become obvious as there are no extra details to distract the eye.

I love these two examples from Zara, particularly this midnight blue tuxedo jacket, tunic top and trouser combo. The slicked back hair is perfect with it, as is the low-key polished makeup.

This wool dress with zip detail at the waist from COS makes my heart sing! Pure elegance and at €135 it's a pure bargain too.

I think this look (also COS) is divine. This brand always shines for me and can be totally relied on to provide interesting design in great fabrics at fantastic prices. This wool blazer is only €135 and the trousers are €69. Don't they look so much more expensive!

Minimalism doesn't get much cooler than this and at €45 for the top and €79 for the trousers, you'd be kinda mad not to, right?

And The Winner Is...

Cora!

Here are some balloons for you!
(email me your postal address please!)

Thanks to all the rest of you who wrote such lovely comments. I wish I had a Smokebox for each and every one of you!

The Friday Freebie - Smashbox Smokebox

This is a good 'un! To celebrate Friday and the fact that the new Smashbox offerings are so darn fabulous, I have one of their Girls On Film Smokebox Palettes to give away to one of you lovely people!

This is a really useful collection of shades that will suit all skin tones for a sexy, smoky look. The colours included are (from top left to right)

Bliss -  soft skin tone base shade

Putty -  shimmery taupe

Blacktop - charcoal with glitter

Mist - soft silver

Royal - matte burgundy

Nocturnal - deep sheeny navy

So, fancy winning this? Well all you have to do is be a follower of Ellie loves by joining on the right hand side of the blog and leave me a comment below this post. Simples!

The draw is open all weekend and I will pick a winner at random on Monday.

Have a great one my lovelies...

***the giveaway is now closed, thank you for your entries***

Today's Loves...

 This red lip...

This ensemble for me...

and this one for Lulu...

This Anthropologie necklace....

This Micheal Kors bag...

This Elie Saab dress...

 This Micheal Kors watch and all the bracelets!

This ring...

Stacked with these...

This table and gallery wall...

New Hair Crush

Ok, it's no secret that my girl crush is Olivia Palermo. On all fronts she never puts a sartorial foot wrong; hair, manicure, clothes, accessories - she nails it every time. Currently though, I am a bit fascinated with her hair and am seriously considering growing out my bob to this longer style. It appears to be a basic blunt cut that skims the collar bone. I adore how she wears it with that low key wave in it...

Also, she is the go-to girl for a lesson in perfectly polished makeup. It's beautifully soft yet still defined... heavenly!

Alternative Wedding Dresses

The more I see of these dresses, the more I don't want to see bustiers and huge skirts anymore...

So romantic and pretty...

 Love this... Modern, cool, clean, elegant and did I say cool!

A pop of my favourite shade at the hem...gorgeous beyond belief.

Blush pink is so delicate and ballerina-esque

I just love this dress...what an amazing silhouette

The Beauty Is In The Detail

I'm still house hunting and still smitten by a grey, white and yellow colour palette. Isn't this rug from Anthropologie so sweet on a wooden floor...

I really want to paint our piano this colour! I'm a bit tired of the traditional mahogany...

What a great mix... I love the necklaces with the pictures on the wall (and the yellow cushion of course!)

Cute drawer numbers...

Why not recover an old chair in something bright...

I just love this room - I would be happy curling up on that couch for a long time!

A Time For Glamour

So, it's finally here. Tom Ford Beauty in landing at Brown Thomas, Dublin on September 3rd so you'd better get ready for a glamour explosion!

Tom is undoubtedly the king of all that is groomed, polished and poised but his collection contains more than a strong nod to the Seventies;  more an absolute homage to the decade. Wasn't it called The Decade That Taste Forgot? Do we really want to be there again?

Just a thought...

Now, to give him his due, Tom Ford Beauty is a very beautiful collection of fairly classical makeup concepts. Nude and beige reign supreme although they are paired with some stunning smokey tones along with greens, purples and bronze palettes that will form a key (but expensive) role in any makeup kit. The eyeshadow palettes also come with two good real hair brushes which can actually be used as opposed to being thrown away as per my habit with tiny tools! The packaging is very luxe as you can see, deep mahogany brown and golds...so far, so Seventies.
One of the standout products for me is The Traceless foundation (€75) It is a creamy, silky liquid foundation that is beautiful to wear. I have been loving mine daily since I was very kindly given some a few weeks back. Tom has also made a stick foundation which usually makes me shudder in fear, but no - he has managed to create a silkier, more sheer version of this old school makeup staple. Similar enough to the Becca sticks but a little better.

Tom does lips and nails to perfection. Deep, deep pigments in gorgeous rich tones are well worth the investment. Even for the 'hey look at me, I'm wearing Tom Ford' factor when touching up on the train! Other great products are the Shade & Illuminate contouring kits which are creamy and silky rather than powdery and the Brow Sculptor - a fantastically clever brow pencil with a slanted tip and inbuilt sharpener.

His range of brushes are outstanding. Definitely the most luxurious hair I have ever felt in a makeup brush. All natural hair (badger & goat), they will be superb at distributing his colours on to the skin and you will be in raptures with the softness of them. Simply divine!
Price-wise, as you can imagine this line is at the top of the pyramid. It may be the most expensive makeup you will ever buy and I can see it on a lot of Christmas lists this year. But Tom is in the business of selling glamour...that is his forte and who am I to argue! It has been well documented that a bit of glamour keeps the spirits up in hard times. There is a thing called the Lipstick Index where it has been proven that beauty sales  increase in recessionary times and I'm sure you can all relate...can't afford to wear Tom Ford? His beautiful eyeshadows represent a portion of the glamorous life he is peddling via his own presence in all of his ad campaigns.
And don't worry, if you're not feeling his Seventies vibe, you can still create some stunning contemporary looks with the line. He said that Tom Ford Beauty is his interpretation of his memories from watching his mother get dressed and made up to go out...so he is perpetuating that theory of gay men perceiving their mothers to be the most glamorous creatures they have ever seen!

No harm, we are the benefactors at the end of the day with this gem of a range to tantalise us.

A little glamour goes a long way...

Making Up Gracie

Here's a sneaky peek at a shoot I did yesterday (snapped with my phone - the real pics will be much better!) The model is the sweet Gracie from 1st Option...isn't she beautiful.

She has only been modelling for two months but the girl has got it. Such beautiful, subtle expressions cross her face...

I posted this picture on Twitter yesterday and lots of people wanted to know what I used so here goes...

Chanel Pro Lumiere foundation in 02

Becca Illuminator in Pearl

Smashbox Eyeshadow in Fizz

Smashbox Cream Eyeliner in Blacklight

MAC False Lash Mascara

Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Chestnut

Smashbox Blush Rush in Pose

Revlon matte lipstick in Pink About It

And here I am touching up Gracie's eyeshadow!

I can't wait to see the real shots, I will share them as soon as I can.

This Is Cool...

How great to see a bit of creativity in outside spaces. Especially when it is an 'official initiative'. It restores a bit of faith in town planners and the like! How fantastic are these painted steps...

This is a slide into the train station in Utrecht. Yes, a real slide. For grown ups! Named the Transfer Accelerator it was intended to speed up people's journey time and to add an element of 'playfulness' to one's day.

 SUPERB IDEA!

Rings of Gold

I came across these beautiful rings on one of my recent Etsy trawls. They are by a Danish jewellery designer who has an online store called Secret Charm. She hand makes and hammers the delicate rings which are made from sterling silver and yellow and rose golds.  I love stacking rings and particularly love rose gold - you never see it any more and it reminds me of my granny's wedding ring. They are very reasonably priced for handmade jewellery and she also does a sweet range of bangles...check her out here. I think I'll be cranking up the credit card for one of these sets. I can resist everything but temptation and all that!