A Bird Called Iris

She is rather like an exotic bird herself. In all her bejewelled and befeathered glory, Iris Apfel is the latest fashion celebrity to collaborate with MAC. The 90 year old (yes, 90!) business woman, interior designer and fashion icon is certainly one to celebrate with her unmistakable flamboyance and joi de vivre.
The natural look ain't her, so that makes her perfect to co-design a range with MAC, themselves not the most natural of brands!
The line consists of deep pigments in strong, brave, vibrant tones. Lipsticks in hot pinks, obvious oranges and red reds, eyeshadows in peacock hues and nail polishes to be seen from space!
It looks like a great colour collection and with the items named after exotic birds it's a great representation of the old bird herself!

Check out this great interview with Iris on Into The Gloss where she shares her thoughts on beauty...

Good Buns

Due to my inability to get to a hairdresser of late my bob has become much longer and is more often than not thrown up on top of my head for ease, so I'm contemplating letting it get longer still so I can really rock a bun (and even cutting in a sideways fringe for a change).  Here are some inspirational buns I'm loving!

Love the softness of this one...

The messiness of this one...

The fun of this one!

And this is my fave...see what I mean about the fringe? And with the glasses, it could be me, right!

(images via pinterest)

Made Me Laugh...

(especially for Jenny!)

A Rainbow of Shoes

Yes, J Crew, I do love you. I love most things about you - your clothes, your jewellery and your shoes...

Especially these colourful and oh so pretty ballet pumps...

I have a hankering to collect all of them...

Wouldn't they put a spring in your step on dull days? A pop of colour to brighten your mood when you're feeling grey and wintery...

Who says shoes are flippant? They are proven mood elevators...skip the prozac, give me shoes!

Skin Saviour - Thermal Spring Water

I'm a HUGE fan of La Roche Posay. I really rate them as skin experts and the products I have tried have never failed to impress me. I'm currently working my way through their entire line. Next on my list to try is the anti-aging line and eye categories and baby products, due to my haggard appearance with all of these sleepless nights. So, on to my latest and greatest from them - The Thermal Spring Water. This water is at the very heart of the brand as it is the pure,unadulterated spring water that flows in La Roche Posay itself. Yes, it's a place! It contains a serious amount of  naturally occurring selenium which protects the skin against free radicals and other minerals including calcium, zinc and copper to name a few and it has a neutral free pH so therefore is tolerable for all skins, all ages, all ailments.
I bought it in order to refresh my skin whilst I was  in hospital having Anna.  Maternity hospitals are very hot places - great for newborns, not so great for Mums, so with that in mind I spritzed and sprayed it's cooling mist on to my face throughout the day.When I came home, I forgot about it for a while until my skin started drying out and looking flaky due to hormonal changes paired with reacting to the practically 24 hour central heating (hey, it's cold, there's a newborn here!). So I remembered my Spring water and resumed the spritzing and my skin cleared completely. In fact, it even cleared the mini-breakout I was having (hormones again), so I have forgone the tap water to wash my face and now I'm just using this wonderful elixir after I cleanse.
I'm so happy that I finally tried it out, having been aware of it for ages but never getting around to using it. It's a keeper...

A Space to Create

Guess who's back? Why, me of course!

Hello there you lot, I'm sorry for my disappearing act. I've been figuring out this whole Mother of two lark...it's busy let me tell you! I thought I had it sussed with one - I didn't!

Anyway, more of that in future posts, for now let's resume regular service with some lovely interiors to swoon over. Seeing as I'm back in the blogging saddle and and also looking for more official writing posts, I'm returning to my desk. Unfortunately, it's not actually a desk; it's the kitchen table, but I would love a proper desk with beautiful things around to inspire me. Have a look at these gorgeous work spaces (do you spot the dog in the pic above? How cute.)

I've always loved a pinboard (hence my addiction to Pinterest) and this sweet workspace... In my mind this is where Ellie Loves should come from!

Love those shelves. And the table. And the frames...

How could you not get the creative juices flowing here? So pretty and arty and bright...

Well Hello There 2012!

It's a brand spanking new year. All fresh and sparkly and full of new things that we don't yet know of. A lot of us are glad to see the back of 2011 for many varied reasons but we won't dwell on the bad stuff here at Ellie Loves, let's dwell on positivity and possibility (otherwise we'd lose our minds, right?!)
So, here's to a great new year for all of you. Try to heed the words above - I think it's a lovely wish list to work from.  But above all, be nice to yourself (no horrible resolutions now, you hear? - none of us deserve punishment!), be nice to others and be happy in 2012.