April 24, 2013

Sunglasses to Suit Your Mood

Clockwise from top left: vintage Wayfarers, All Saints Cat-eyes, Nichole Farhi Clubmasters.

I am so glad the sun has finally decided to put in an appearance, it means we can get out our sunglasses! As with most things I’ve acquired a little collection of different styles, I really like to match my sunnies to my outfits. I think by far my favourite styles are big, thick, black frames as they are easy wear and they go with everything. Above is my ‘handbag’ collection, as in the ones I keep stashed in my handbag. They were all cheap, £20 or under so I don’t have to worry about them getting broken at the bottom of my bag. Last summer the All Saints pair were my staple, such a flattering shape, year before were the Wayfarers. This year I wanted something a bit different and was taken by the Clubmaster style. I was lusting after the Rayban Clubmasters when I found these Nicole Farhi ones. I liked that they had a lower nose bridge and of course that they were only £20 from TK Maxx. I do think my next buy will be Rayban though, as the cheapy £5 vintage ones above don’t offer much protection in strong sunlight so I would like a classic pair of Rayban Wayfarers. Red Hot Sunglasses have some amazing ones and I think their prices are very reasonable, they also have an extra large lens Wayfarer design available which I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Clockwise from top left: Nicole Farhi, Celine, J MASKREY

Besides from my everyday sunglasses I also have a few pairs of special ones. These were either expensive so I don’t want them clunking around my bag when I’m not wearing them or they go with specific outfits. The ones above are my D-Frames, they kind of have a ‘geek’ glasses feel to them, nice and chunky. The translucent ones are really only for a bit of fancy as they don’t offer any eye protection, whilst the red Celine ones I feel need balancing out with the right outfit. The J MASKREY ones with the crystal kiss are my absolute favourite sunglasses in the world ever, aren’t they amazing!

Clockwise from top: Gianfranco Ferre, Nike, Miu Miu, vintage Dior

If I want a softer look then I reach for my tortoiseshell sunnies, I have them in a variety of frame shapes from nice big cat-eyes, to oversized honeycombs, delicate gilt trimmed and aviator. One for any occasion really! I tend to wear these with a vintage dress and heels, perfect summer look.

Finally I have these big, bright D&G ones. Not sure what category these would go in! They are great just for a bit of fun and would be the pair to take to sit beside a pool with a cocktail. I also have this sunglasses chain holder from GOGO PHILIP, I’ve got a real habit of tucking my sunglasses over the neck of my tops – inevitably I end up dropping them when I lean over so this is really useful and a little bit cool I think. All I could use now is a beach…

April 5, 2013

Outfit: Wiggle Skirt & a Beehive

Wearing: J MASKREY Sunglasses and skin jewellery, Iceberg pencil skirt and Sweetie jumper both TK Maxx, vintage Vivienne Westwood elevated platform shoes, fishnet socks Primark.

The sun, the sun!! I have literally been busting at the seems for a bit of sunshine so I could show off my fabulous new glittering treasures! Why did I need to wait for the sun? Well if you are familiar with the designs of J MASKREY you will understand, if not then scroll down the photos then come back up and read on…

Did you see? Only under the sun, or in fact party disco lights can you full appreciate the sparkling beauty of so many crystals! J loves crystals, in fact J pretty much puts crystals on anything you could ever imagine – no wonder I like her so much right! In fact my first ever J MASKREY piece were a pair of crystal encrusted gloves, which I still get immense pleasure out of every year I pull them out. You can see them here in one of my very early blog posts, how did it get to be 4 years ago! How! Time flies and I actually can’t believe I was thin /brave enough to wear hots pants back then too.

J MASKREY skin jewellery is already really famous with it adorning the bodies of celebs such as Rhianna and co, lucky for us she just set up her incredible online store so we can all have a glitter binge too! As soon as I saw the website I wanted absolutely everything immediately! I just wanted to roll around like a kid in a candy store. I adore gemstone jewellery. SUCH PRETTY THINGS! Also some cheeky things like her C’ word clutch bags as toted by Lady Gaga. Anyway, you know I am a bit of a sunglasses addict so how could I not fall head over heels for a pair of crystal encrusted kiss frames. The ‘Sexy D Frame’ sunglasses are a chunky, black ‘geek’ frame, nice big lenses and a Swarovski pucker! The lips are made up of lots of different sized aurora borealis crystals with tiny specks of glitter in between each stone – hows that for attention to detail. They come in a sleek satin finish hard case to keep them safe too. Everyone I’ve showed these sunglasses too have demanded I hand them over to be tried on straight away.

The other twinkling accessory you can see is one of the skin jewellery designs, the ‘Gold Crystal Flower‘. Literally like a sticker for you skin! You just peel off the backing sheet and apply where ever you choose on the body or on your phone, books whatever you like. They have enough adhesive for around three wears on the skin then you will need a dab of eyelash glue to add the stickiness back. I have really sensitive skin and found no irritation at all, win. I have become obsessed with the skin jewellery, I love tattoo’s and I love jewellery. I think these are so pretty and can’t wait for summer so I can show them off a bit more. Now you might have come across other skin jewellery but I think I can safely say you won’t have seen anything even close to J MASKREY designs. There is so much attention to detail I sat looking at this transfer for a full ten minutes with my jaw grazing the carpet. The most precious Swarovski crystals, pearls and beads glittering away. Absolute works of art each and every one. I don’t know if you can see on the photo’s but the centre stone is a large, 3D faceted crystal!

What do you think, do you love a bit of sparkle?

April 4, 2013

Review: Miu Miu at Sunglasses Shop

The sun has been shining this week, even if the wind is icy cold! This has made me very happy as you saw in my Easter Sunday post I was busting out my new shades courtesy of Sunglasses Shop who invited me to do a product review. I’ve actually shopped with Sunglasses Shop in the past so was more than happy to feature them on the blog. The first thing that strikes you about the website is the huge range of styles and brands, with something for every budget – the cheapest I could find were £8, the most expensive £648! They have a tons of Designer Sunglasses so there was lots to choose from, I could have sat and got lost in that site for hours, dreaming of sitting on a beach! One thing that made the site so easy to navigate were all the different options for refining your search, by designer, colour, shape, lens technology and price. You can even search by your favourite celebrities style or this seasons trends! This aspect really made the site fun and a real pleasure to shop by. Since I spent all of last year in my cat-eye sunglasses I was keen to invest in another pair with that lens shape but with a different twist.

All I had to do was select ‘womens’ and click ‘cat eyes’ to be presented with a wide selection, then I could choose to refine the search by colour, price, lens type and get this, even by face shape and hair style so I could rest assured my choice would suit me! Very sci-fi! I just think this is such a neat feature as the one thing which makes buying sunglasses online tricky is that you can’t try them on. I have a bit of an addiction to sunglasses so I now know on sight which styles suit me (cat eyes, oversize, aviator) and those which don’t (round lens, small, dainty frames). Armed with this knowledge I put their soft wear to the test, but I couldn’t trick it, each time it came up with styles I knew would look good. For example when I insisted on selecting ’round’ frames, the search threw out only oversized round frames rather than little ‘Lennon’ style ones which I know give me a big round face. So I can really recommend you give this a try.

There were many brands to choose from but the range of Miu Miu Sunglasses kept cropping up with styles I really liked.This stunning pair of oversized cat eyes in tortoise shell called Miu Miu 04OS Sunglasses won me over! I liked the vintage style to them and the little details such as the curve on the lens and the gold trim on the arm.

They came the next day, after I had a confirmation email complete with tracking details. Safe and secure in a well padded box, I tore it open to find the trademark Miu Miu pale pink box. Inside this was a hard case in pink velvet and also a soft case in the same sumptuous fabric. Now I am a perfectionist when it comes to presentation and I simply cannot fault Sunglasses Shop or Miu Miu. The packaging and glasses cases are just as beautiful as the glasses they contained. You would imaging such a heavy, rich velvet to be reserved only for the finest couture, but it gives a simple, everyday pleasure to carry it around in your handbag. The sunglasses them self were exactly as imagined and they suit me to a T. I couldn’t be happier with them or the service of Sunglasses Shop and am pleased I can recommend them to you.

Have you visited Sunglasses Shop? What do you think of the Miu Miu’s?

March 30, 2013

Happy Easter!

Wearing: Vivienne Westwood- Anglomania ‘Monday’ dress, ‘Rubbish’ print boots, ‘Pelle’ belt, ‘Cupid’ tiara; Miu Miu tortoiseshell Cat-eye sunglasses c/o SunglassesShop.com.

Happy Easter everyone, hope you are all having a fab bank holiday weekend.

February 15, 2013

LFW AW13: Day 1

Street Style

Street style trend of the day was snug knitwear and cosy hats – shame the sun came out and everyone was boiling!

Celeb Spotting

The beautiful Kate Nash took her place on the front row at many shows today, she is always ready with a lovely smile. Strutting around the court yard were Made in Chelsea’s Lucy Watson, Mark-Frances Vandelli Orlov-Romanovsky and Victoria Baker-Harber.

What Pearl Wore

Due to insane weather confusion – S/S in the shops, snowing in Manchester and sunny in London packing for LFW was a bit of a fail! I ended up leaving behind all the gorgeous light and breezy clothes I originally had marked for LFW and stuffing heavy coats and knits into my cases (yes plural). Then spent the entire day being far to hot and wishing for snow, never can win! Luckily I had packed these amazing sunglasses from TK Maxx, they remind me of beetle wings. The rest of my outfit was Vivienne Westwood and my gorgeous Rianna Phillips clutch.

My make up is all Bobbi Brown, who I had the pleasure of joining back stage too…

The Shows

Saving the best for last here are my two personal favourite shows of the day, up first was Bora Aksu (first two images). A Gothic-romance of 1920′s skull cap style head wear and floaty dresses, cinched in with intricate corsets. The chiffon capes were otherworldly, I look forward to writing the full review. Next Jena.Theo, a more personal presentation where I got to go backstage with the Bobbi Brown team. The make up look was fresh and dewy with a pop of reddy-pink lipstick to match the footwear of course! The nails were an amazing contrast of black leather-effect polish and bright orange and pink neon. This all made sense when the collection was revealed, a bright and cheerful array of smiley face emblazoned over-sized jumper dresses and striking broken graphic prints in black, orange, yellow and pink. You can also see Irene’s nails from the Bobbi Brown team, she has a version of the mani I showed on my blog last post but shaped the tips into more of a heart shape for Valentines day, cute right!

More tomorrow and don’t forget to pick up The Sunday Telegraph for the Stella magazine this Sunday

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom + TK Maxx for LFW

August 21, 2012

What to do When Sunglasses Season is Over

Vintage YSL and Mary Quant (below) sunglasses, part of a huge bug-eye phase I went through

If you are anything like me you will have been obsessed with sunglasses for the last few months. You know what I’m like I can’t resist starting a new collection and every year I get to the end of summer with a whole new stash of sunglasses! Besides their obvious use – ~~scowling at people behind them~~ protecting you from the sun – I really like to wear them to add something extra to my look . You can really create a sense of character from movie star to vintage queen, funny to glamorous. But what do you do when winter sets in, with no sun in sight you need to find an alternative accessory. I mean sure with winter comes scarves, gloves, hats even ear-muffs but they don’t really transform your face the way sunglasses do.

The alternative? Well if you are a prescription glasses wearer you get to keep your frames. I even know friends who have had their sunglasses altered to hold their prescription lenses when they like a frame so much. I know there has been the recent trend for ‘geek glasses’, thick black frames, with clear glass lenses for those who don’t really need to wear glasses. Yet I admit I would feel silly wearing them as someone with 20/20 vision. Of course the grass is always greener as they say and I know lots of people who have to wear glasses who really don’t like them! It was with a recent conversation about such a thing with my friend (who looks amazing in glasses but hates to wear them) and his new found love of contact lenses. I had never given all that much thought into contacts but ever time I see my friend his eyes are a different colour due to coloured prescription lenses, which are of course available in non-prescription too – like the ones you can find at Get Lenses. Then I thought how cool it would be to get to wear coloured lenses which you could mix and match with your make up. I have brown eyes and they really pop against grey eye shadow but I would really like to see what it would look like with grey or violet eyes. I only ever tried contact lenses once, years ago, but I was too squeamish to get them in. My friend even tried sitting on me and putting them in for me, but I couldn’t do it, definitely worth another try I think.

June 26, 2012

So Bright You Gotta Wear Shades

Oh look it’s summer, meh with all this rain it doesn’t seem like it but when the sun peeps through the clouds it’s time to reach for the shades! I’ve developed a little addiction to sunglasses of late, I think it is the fact you can scowl on a Monday morning behind the dark lenses which is part of the attraction. The thing is though with so many different styles to experiment with you can’t just have one pair. Here is my current collection and my favourite five styles:

1. Diva – That’s the classic oversized big black frames, you can be Audrey Hepburn timeless and stylish or even Victoria Beckham fending off paparazzi flashbulbs! Mine are Karl Lagerfeld, who better than the diva himself!

2. Geek – For some reason my Celine sunglasses remind me of Clark Kent. Geek chic for sure, they are chunky framed and really solid. I would put my Wayfarers in this category too, they are just so cool.

3. Vintage – I always think of a Studio 54, that laid back disco vibe, when I don these hexagonal frames. In fact all the brown and gold large lens with thin frames really put me in this mood. I would also put Aviators in with this too. I had the best pair, they were ancient and had been my dad, sadly destroyed by my brother when I lent them to him. I am keeping my eye out for a new pair of Aviators, Police sunglasses have some nice ones, hey if they are good enough for David Beckham!

4. Fun – Oh yeah those are some neon sunglasses you see there!! D&G are know for their fun designs and these shades are no different. These make me want to be on holiday, running around having fun on the beach, failing that they cheer up summer in the city. I always think you should have something to make you smile. There are lots of funky designs around, bright colours like this or kooky frame shapes. I really like the Tag Heuer Sunglasses which have the arms in a wrap around style, its a crazy design!

5. Cats – I don’t like to play favourites, but well these are my favourites! I can’t help it there is something so appealing to these cat-eye frames. They are the pair I have been wearing the most. With a slick of red lippie they really are the ultimate statement in glamour. I know a lot of people feel the huge cat flicks are a bit much for them, but you can get a similar look with 50′s style frames such as the ‘Phoebie’ from Bolle. With the cat-eye limited to a tiny fin on top of the lens it gives the same glam effect but with a squarer shape, heart the candy pink colour too!

What’s your shades style?

May 10, 2012

Beauty: My Summer Scent

Every season I like to change my make up, it gets me in the mood for the shift in weather and makes my wardrobe feel fresh. It is easy to notice a bright new nail colour or lip stick but fragrance is a lot more subtle. Visually that is, as I feel the scent I wear really reflects my mood. Idealo kindly offered to send me my choice of a new fragrance just in time for summer – well actually it seems we are still waiting for the sunshine! Usually I reach for the bright colours as soon as we leave February behind us, but this year I have been drawn too much cooler shades. Ice blue and slate grey, colours of ice and the sea. Perhaps leaning to more of a minimalist style. I think my hunt for a new fragrance continued this theme. I have never been a soft, fruity, sweet scented person. I always prefer unusual scents, something heavy, very deep woody, if floral then rose and lavender, patchouli, earthy, spicy scents, very rich. My current favourites are Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, Boudoir, Let it Rock; Chanel No 5 eau Premier and Jersey; Comme des Garcon Wonderwood. All strong, intense scents.

I didn’t want to stray too far from my old favourites but I did want something totally different, no easy feat if I didn’t want to go down the light and airy route. I spent hours roaming around the fragrance hall of department stores and rubbing magazine page samples up my arms. Lots and lots of lovey scents. I came very close to choosing the new Roberto Cavalli perfume, very ambery it transported me to summer in Milan. But it was Tom Ford to win me over. I very much liked Violet Blond but felt it was slightly similar to my other floral fragrances. As I teetered the sales assistant Jack suggested I might like to try one of their men’s fragrances Grey Vetiver. The earthy patchouli was an instant hit, but combined with fresh citrus perfect for summer.

What scents are you loving this summer?

April 10, 2012

Be Cool

Wearing: Vintage Chanel blazer, River Island t-shirt – (you know that perfect, soft, nubbly material well that), New Look earrings, All Saints sunglasses from TK Maxx and my hair up in a bun fancy that!

As you all know I don’t often post in real-time. I usually have a weeks worth of post’s stacked up as I don’t always have time to post daily. You also know that I have health problems, namely Rheumatoid Arthritis, but you probably don’t know I also suffer from a few other conditions. One of those is constant migraine. I didn’t have a post scheduled today, because I have used up my back-ups and seem to be sat staring vacantly at a few half done ones I can’t seem to finish. I have taken a turn for the worst last week which I haven’t recovered from yet. I’m not sure what is going on with my immune system, to quote my rheumatologist it is ‘frazzled’. Right now I am on a large dose of steroids so I am not getting so much of the usual joint pain. This feels rather odd, because I get the warning signs of a bad flare up – it feels a bit like getting the flu but without the sniffles. But then I didn’t get the curl up and die joint pain. It is a very strange sensation. Possibly because I didn’t realise how much of a bad flare up I was in, I didn’t fee too bad on Saturday so I decided to start redecorating my bedroom. I delve right in hauling out junk from under my bed and the loft cupboard. Then I start to feel itchy and sniffly. I ignore it and carry on. Then I get really itchy and tired. I look down at my arm, then my legs, then my tummy. Every part of my body is covered in hives, I look like Ive got the chicken-pox! It turns out that not only are people with auto-immune diseases prone to allergies, their bodies are also prone to overreacting to what would be minor allergies in most people. On top of that some medication can effect how the body responds to allergies. That pretty much sums up the infrequency of my posts this last week and the delay in replying to emails.

Besides the illnesses I am also considering some pretty big changes in my life right now – even bigger than redecorating my bedroom! The redecorating is a massive deal to me, it must be about five years since it was last done. But it got to breaking point where I just couldn’t cope with the clutter any more, so a huge clear out and redesign is happening. I will share with you once it’s complete, I am really excited about it. I want to be able to see all my clothes and be able to find what I am looking for! I want to display some of my beloved treasures!

Anyway, I am going off the point of this post. Which was to highlight two seemingly totally different post by two of my fellow bloggers and good friends. The first is on a fun, cheerful note by Lawrence ‘Celine Sunglasses‘. I’ve never been a sunglasses person. It always seemed too much effort to carry them around if a peep of sun dare shine in gloomy Manchester. Even after trying on every single pair in my beloved Chanel I never did succumb to their allure. I had an old pair I would whip out when abroad but that was about it. Lately, however due to my increasing migraines I have become very sensitive to bright light. It doesn’t even have to be sunny, just bright, including artificial lights. So always the one to put a positive spin on things I decided the only way to deal with this is to ramp up on the fashion. Oh yes, my love of sunglasses now knows no bounds, I can’t get enough of them! I haven’t taken a trip to Chanel just yet but I have certainly been getting my designer fix. I know I am always harping on about TK Maxx but seriously if you haven’t done so already go check out their sunglasses!! Bargains galore from so many designers and brands. I will have to take some photo’s of my collection (once the decorating is done and I can find them), but Lawrence tells all in his post about our latest find. I cannot tell you how excited we were to find not just one, but a pair each of the revered Celine ‘Original’ sunglasses! Cerulean for him and ocher red for me!! Not the £250 they are in Harvey Nicks, oh no just 50 of your British pounds!

The second post I wanted to share is by Florrie ‘Speech, Expression and Migraines‘. Florrie and I became friends well before we discovered we both suffered with chronic pain conditions. Yet I believe in fate and I do wonder if the cosmos threw us together to support each other. We share tales of horrendous drug trials and can understand what a sever attack can feel like. In her post Florrie puts into words something I have never been able to. My reaction to pain is most often anger. To suddenly be crippled by pain, be it migraine or RA, is indescribable. It is also very hard to communicate to someone how you are feeling when you can’t even bare to open your eyes, let alone your mouth. By now my close friends and family understand when I go quite all of a sudden. Or can seem snappy with no reason. Put simply I am in pain.

So there we have it, a pretty mixed bag of a post. I chose this photo because it shows of my current favourite sunglasses, black cat-eyes by All Saints, a bargainous £14.99 from TK Maxx. They also have tons of nice pairs on the TK Maxx website in case you hadn’t seen, I keep checking everyday – honestly I’m obsessed!

June 22, 2011

So Jackie O

The fabulous Jackie O

The people over at Mister Spex said to me, Pearl tell us which pair of sunglasses on our site are your favorite? Sure I said but before I tell you which ones I chose I will tell you a secret. Well maybe it is more of a delusional fantasy, but when I put on a pair of sunglasses I want to feel like a film star. Perhaps it is due to the fact that living Uoop Norf we rarely see the sun so it is a special occasion every time it decides to grace us. Or maybe it stems from my love of dressing up, who didn’t don their dad’s sunglasses as a child and jump around pretending to be a rock star? Anyway I like sunglasses, I love all the different styles, colours, designs around. Each summer there is an ‘IT’ pair and I really feel each style has its own persona. Like aviators for that cool cowboy style, Wayfarers for the indie chic, Prada perspex for the futuristic fashionista and of course the big, black frames for the glamour puss. It is the latter that I always turn to when it comes to choosing sunglasses. I like to hide behind their huge lenses, almost like a mask, I could be anyone, how mysterious. So you can imagine my delight when I finally decided on these Ray-ban’s, to see the model was called ‘Jackie O’, fate I would say!

Ray-ban Jackie Ohh

Will prance around in them for you once they come!
Pearl