Guest Post: Outfits

One of the greatest things ever about blogging is getting to know amazing people from all over the world and befriending them. One such, amazing, blogging friend is Annie, and i was so excited when she agreed to do a guest post for me while I'm away.

First THANK YOU Sherin for asking me to do a guest post! I was so flattered and thrilled when I got the invite.

Now for a quick introduction, I'm Annie from Makeup and Jeans. I have been blogging for almost two years now! My blog has gone under a lot of change over the years. It started out as a beauty blog mixed with updates on my soon-to-be-born baby boy Myles. After a few months though I realized I seperated the two, and found a whole new world in fashion blogging!

HiFashion was one of the very first blogs I ever followed! And I love how quickly I became friends with Sherin!

I hope you enjoy this little post of outfits over the years I put together for you!

1. One of my very first outfits ever posted. 

 2. The outfit that has gotten the most compliments.

3. The post that means a lot to me.

4. The best giveaway I won from I'm Clothed Much.

5.The coolest thing I ever made!

 

6. My favorite outfit all together, when I wasn't expecting it.

 7.The outfit I have been thinking about all my life and FINALLY created it!

 

8. My favorite imperfection picture taken by Mandy's Studio.

9. Finally learning how to pose and edit pictures beautifully! (This is from a very recent post.)

Well readers, and Sherin thank you for indulging me! I hope to see you visit my blog. But make sure you leave a link to yours so I can visit you as well! 

xoxo Annie

Huge thank you to Annie!! I'm about half way throough my holiday...so not long to go. 

xx

Paperdoll Tee's

A while back, Milana, Susie and I went to Camden to check out the market and just have fun for the day. While browsing the market, we came across this t-shirt stall, and literally, all 3 of us stopped in our tracks and were mesmorised. They were white, slouchy tees, with amazing prints on them.

We walked into the stall, only to be met with a gorgeous girl modelling the tees (Hi Cheryl, if you're reading), and we knew we had to buy one each!
We were told that it's a small, family fun business, where each of the tee's are handmade, and where they design their own prints.
We had so much fun browsing all the different prints and t-shirt styles, as well as chatting to Cheryl about fashion.

I ended up choosing this slouchy tee, with a peace sign on it.

I paired it with Hollister ripped jeans and Vans sneakers.

Yup, so we know that I have a tad obsession with slouchy t's, and this is definitely a nice one to have. It's really soft and really comfortable. Each tee was £15, so defintiely affordable as well.

Please tell me that I'm not the only one ridiculously obsessed with slouchy tops! I think it's becoming an unhealthy obsession now!

Sherin xx

P.S. I'm still on holiday, most likely with very little internet connection.

J. Lo inspired Make Up Tutorial

Today's guest post is from a very good friend of mine: Sami. She's gorgeous and does some amazing make up. We actually knew each other from before, and got back in touch through blogging. Check out her blog for some amazing make up looks.

There’s no denying that J Lo is one hot mama (literally – she’s had two kids and STILL look smokin’) so when I saw her new video I knew I had to try and recreate her makeup!

I’ve included a pictorial in case anyone would like to get the look

1 Apply Urban Decay eyeshadow primer all over the eyelids to create a smooth base

2 Apply a light cream coloured eyeshadow like The Balm eyeshadow in Devilish Danielle (from a palette) over two thirds of the eyelid with a large brush

3 Dab a warmer cream coloured eyeshadow like Urban Decay eyeshadow in Virgin with a flat brush to intensify the colour

4 With a pencil brush apply Revlon matte eyeshadow in Warm Sable on the outer corner, creating a ‘V’ shape and go over the crease of your eyelid.

5 Blend the two colours together with a fluffy brush and add a highlight on the brow bone (I used Urban Decay eyeshadow in Sin)

6 Dab a little more of the cream colour on the middle of the eyelid to intensify the colour

7 Apply a matte black eyeshadow like Urban Decay eyeshadow in Perversion to the lower lashline

8 Apply Benefit eye bright in the inner lashline to create an illusion of bigger eyes

9 With a slanted brush apply the same highlighter colour around the inner corner of your eyes and blend it out

10 Line the upper lashline with a liquid liner and add 2-3 coats of mascara to the top and bottom lashes (I used Bare Minerals volumizing mascara)

11 For the rest of the face I used MAC powder blush in Sunbasque to create sculpted cheekbones and finished with MAC lipstick in Faux and MAC creamsheen glass in Over Indulgence on the lips.

TIP: For a more dramatic look you could add false bottom and top lashes

Thanks Sami! Good luck to everyone trying this! I bet it'll look fab.
Hope everyone's having a good weekend, while I'm on holiday.


xx

Triumph Inspirational Awards

I was at the UK finals and world finals of Triumph's Inspirational Awards, last year, and it's that time of the year again, where you can start voting for your favourites for this year.
The TIA's celebrates some of the most innovative and inspirational lingerie designs, and lets students showcase them on a national, and international, level.

This year's Awards will be extra special, as 2011 is the year Triumph celebrates their 125th anniversary.

The Awards take place on the 31st March, but the voting process went live last friday (I've already voted, and so should you).

(Helena Christiensen modelling last years winner)

Along with the public vote, judges will include Felder Felder and Jameela Jamil, with students from LCF and De Monfort taking place in the competition. Students are invited to prove their creativity and expertise to design a ‘catwalk showpiece’ to represent “125 Years of Celebrating Women”. The winner of the UK final will be able to go onto the global final, and the winner there will see their designs become an actual product.

You can see all 20 showpieces here and will be able to vote online for your favourite one here, until midnight on March 29.

(Last year's winning design as a product)

Also, Triumph will also be offering 125 lingerie sets to the first 125 customers following the annual TIA UK final n the 31st March, and the offer will start 9am on 1st April here.

Check out more on Facebook.

Sherin xx

P.S. This is a scheduled post, while I am on holiday.
But, before I went completely offline, I did get a really interesting email. The Telegraph are doing an amazing competition, where you can get a styling session by the one and only Hilary Alexander, as well as upto 1000 pounds (this laptop doesn't have the 'pound' shortcut) worth of John Lewis products. The winner will also be able to write for The Telegraph about their experience. Find out more here.

Guest Post: How Does The Brain Decide An Outfit Looks Good?

So, I'm officially on holiday, but I do have some great guest posts to share with all of you. First up, the very talented Allison, who's written a little something about the psychology behind fashion.

Whoever said “it's all been done before” was more correct than he or she imagined, at least when it comes to how the brain perceives color, shape and fit when looking at clothing. Some scientific evidence suggests that the brain may make decisions related to visual stimuli based on past visual perceptions that influence the unconscious neural activity preceding a conscious decision. While it may sound like you need a psychology degree to understand why people pick out the clothes they do, the basic idea is simple: people’s sense of fashion reflects their past visual experiences. Thus, difficulty deciding between a blue scarf with orange stripes and a blue scarf with yellow stripes might spring from a lack of previous experience with orange or yellow stripes.

Photo Credit

When you look at an outfit, your brain spends some time gathering information before concluding “trés chic” or “fashion fail.” Light and color play a major part in this process. Light enters your eye and is interpreted as color by your visual sense, but without some previous point of reference, your brain has no basis for interpreting the perception of color. Jonah Lehrer of the Harvard Decision and Science Laboratory says that our brains can only take in a few bits of information at a time before beginning to overload. Thus, he thinks we make better decisions by involving emotion in the process. The emotional portion of the brain is better equipped to handle multiple pieces of information for better and faster processing. Additionally, according to a study from the Universities of Liege, Geneva, and Surrey, the perception of light as color influences the way our brains process emotional stimuli.

These studies indicate that decision-making is not a purely rational act, but an emotional process based on past experience in a brain generally unable to process more than a few stimuli at a time. This theory is borne out by another study from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, along with the Charite University Hospital and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Berlin. Their scientists used a brain scanner programmed to recognize brain activity in the moments before a decision was to be made. Activity patterns in the frontopolar cortex of the brain indicate choices are being made subconsciously before the subjects made their decisions. The study found that brain activity permits prediction of a decision seven seconds before the subject makes that decision consciously.

Photo Credit

Along similar lines, other research has suggested that our brains do their best decision-making unconsciously, gathering information below the level of awareness. Once our brain crosses a certain threshold of confidence, the decision becomes conscious.

When it comes to choosing clothes or assessing the aesthetic quality of an outfit, chances are these unconscious aspects of our decision-making process are heavily involved. Your visual perception of those striped scarves, by themselves and in combination with whatever else you want to wear, has gone through your brain and been subconsciously vetted well before you consciously decide “yea” or “nay.” Your own past visual experience and the evolutionary tendencies of visual perception have both already been brought to bear in an emotionally driven assessment more or less inaccessible to your conscious awareness. From this subconscious process bubble up deliberate evaluations of one scarf as fabulous and the other merely so-so.

“There’s no accounting for taste” takes on a whole new meaning in light of the fact that the psychological basis of taste in fashion lies in these hidden subconscious processes. Thus the next time you find yourself in front of the mirror saying “hmmm…”, consider that your decision has probably already been made.

Thanks for the guest post! Hope you all enjoyed it.

xx

The Blues Kitchen

On Saturday I headed over to the Blues Kitchen, in Camden for bit of a vintage makeover. As part of The Blues Kitchen's Big Night Out, which was later that evening, lot's of things were happening such as a pop up salon and some vintage jewellery being showcased.
The Blues Kitchen is a great Rythem and Blues venue and were offering rockabilly and blues inspired makeovers. The Blues Kitchen's Big Night Out featured an unrivalled line up of some of the worlds best musicians and bands.

Lipstick and Curls set up their pop up salon, The Beauty 'n' Blues, within the Blues Kitchen and were offering vintage makeovers. They were offering hair and make up makeovers from the 1920's to the 1960's.

I asked for a retro make up look and I thought they did a great job! I really loved how my make up came out. It looked really fabulous. Lipstick and Curls is definitely the place to go if you ever want vintage inspired or glamourous hair and make up done. They do everything from the flapper look to 50's Hollywood glamour.

Stop Traffic Clothing were also at the Blues Kitchen, showcasing some of their jewellery, and the jewellery was beautiful. There were some gorgeous vintage inspired pieces and they are definitely worth a checking out.

The girls from the store were also there and were definitely dressed the part. (Sorry you can't see their faces: damn sunlight. But I am, by no means, complaining about the wonderful weather we've been having.) 

 

What do you think of my make up? Have you ever had a makeover of this kind?

Sherin xx

P.S. I'm away for the next 2-3 weeks, and I'm not sure what my internet access will be like, so apologies if I go completely MIA.
I do have some great guest posts scheduled, from some of my favourite bloggers out there, so you're all in for a treat.

P.P.S. I used random.org and picked my winner for my giveaway, The winner is Science Geek Chic.

Outfit: Gig

This is what I wore when I went to see Scoundrels on Thursday. They're an amazing new band, and I've been listening to the Sniff It Up EP on repeat. They've got a 50's blues/classic rock vibe, so I really recommend them.

I went for a 'Johnny Cash' all black look (except the shoes), with a thrifted skirt (Warehouse), Republic top and Blue Inc shoes.

 

I was slightly nervous at this point, as I was interviewing the band beforehand, and I'd never done an interview like that before. But I had Susie there to hold my hand and she even bought me chocolate. I had nothing to worry about though because the guys were absolutely lovely, and so much fun to hang out with. We also managed to 'crash' their super posh pre-gig dinner as well. It was definitley a night to remember.

I'll be reviewing the gig for Riot Mag, as well as having an interview up, so check it out.

Sherin xx

P.S. I was mentioned in Most Wanted's Fashion 100 as an Up and Coming blogge. Very exciting stuff. You can see the full list here. 

P.P.S My giveaway ends tomorrow!!

Take 10 Challenge 9: Spoilt Brat Top

This month's Take 10 project was kindly sponsored by Spoilt Brat. Once again, we decided to pick different jumpers from the website, depending on our style.

I chose the Chaser LA America Beauty Grateful Dead top and love it so much. I'm not lying when I say I've been wearing it everywhere. This is by far my favourite piece to style from all the Take 10 Challenges! It goes with so many things: it's perfect for a casual look, with jeans and sneakers, but also looks amazing at gigs, with a pair of boots and a skirt. Absolutely LOVE IT.

Although it was a tad expensive, you can tell it's worth it. It's a thin material, but the quality is fantastic. It's so comfy to just throw on and wear. I do really love this piece! And because of this piece, I have fallen in love with slouchy tops. Ask Susie: I'm obsessed.

And here's how the rest of the girls chose their respective pieces:

Jen from A Little Bird Told Me
MJ from Dreaming Spires & Old Car Tyres
Sherin from HiFashion
Vicki from Magpie Girl
Adele from Molto Curiosa
Paula of Pinkbow 
Ellie of Pretty Much Penniless
Sabine from Psynopsis
Sarah from We Shop Therefore We Are
Harriet from Where is Harriet 

Sherin xx

Thomas Tantrum Review & Interview

I think you can all guess who my new favourite band is: that's right: Thomas Tantrum. I saw them live a while back and they were absolutely amazing. The new single 'Sleep' is brilliant, and I got my mitts on the single to review.

Sleep is the perfect upbeat pop song. It's catchy and full of Megan's amazing voice (which is really good live).She does have a really strong and powerful voice, and it compliments the rest of the band and music really really well. It's a great song to sing along and dance to and will definitely lift your spirits when you listen to it. I'm a sucker for fast paced fun music and this definitely falls into these categories. The chorus is just so much fun to listen to.

I also was lucky enough to ask the band a few questions, so that you could all get to know them a bit better.

Tell us a bit about Thomas Tantrum.
We are a four piece band from the south of england and we pride ourselves on making interesting pop songs that both attract and intrigue. Interesting arrangements mixed with catchy vocal hooks. We released our debut album in December 2008 and have ever since been moulding songs for our 2011 follow up. I am the only girl in the band which is a positive just as much as it is a negative sometimes (they are all lovely though)

Who are your main musical influences?
This is a tricky question because we all have very different musical tastes. For me, the first album was directly influenced by the music of Scout Niblett, Cat Power, Elastica and the Pixies. This changed however and my influences shifted to focus on bands like Blondie, British Sea Power, and The Cure. I did however make an effort to not focus on any band in particular when we were writing the album. I think if you listen to, or want to sound like another band so much then your music loses it's own character. It's very important for bands to be themselves and not jump on any buzz band wagon. Just be yourself and then your music will be honest and speak for itself.

What can we expect when we see you live?
we've got a couple of dates in London. 26th April at Wimbledon Watershed and 27th at Hoxton Bar and Grill which is our "Sleep" single launch. Following that will be a uk headline tour in June with the release of the album.
We put on energetic and powerful shows. I'd go and watch us. (It's true: very energetic)

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Festivals festivals festivals. we want to play some. We haven't confirmed any yet but will do so soon!

What’s the funniest story you’ve got from touring?
we once drove into an underground car park in Paris that our van was too tall to fit in. We got totally stuck and had to get pulled back out by French Firemen (who were pretty fit so i didn't mind). Then the rest of the French trip we had to drive around with a big dip in our roof which doubled up as a paddling pool when it rained.

The lead singer of the band, Megan, has great style, and these following questions are directed at her.

You’ve got great style; where do you get your style inspiration from?
  I don't think i've ever focused on any particular style icon. It must sound really naff but i just wear what i like. Where I don't have very much money it's just fashion on a budget for me so I do the charity shop chic thing. I also visit a lot of vintage stores. I do always think out my outfits each day though and have to plan what i'm wearing the night before.
It's good to know that people think I dress well though. I'm pretty obsessed with Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall". I love the whole "suit and tie" look on girls. I'm always too scared to do it myself though in case I look like a man. I also love the whole Edie Sedgewick look.
I like a lot of bows and block primary colours. No floral or busy patterns. keep it simple and classic.

How would you define your personal style?
elegantly scruff bag with a twist of 60's glamour and school girl chic

What’s been your favourite look?
short shorts with knee high socks, white flouncy shirt, brown brogues. classic

Where do you shop?
If I were to go into town right now I would visit Topshop, Zara, FCUK, H&m and River Island. I do like ASOS and Urban Outfitters though. especially Urban Outfitters. If I had more money I think I would dress like a Queen (a queen, not The Queen. Although the Queen can pull out some pretty sexy numbers sometimes). plug plug, any clothes labels want to give me free stuff?

So definitely give Thomas Tantrum a listen! They're amazing.

What are you all listening to these days?

Sherin xx

Outfit: Cousin's house

This is what I wore yesterday, while having lunch at my cousin's house. I admit, I was a tad overdressed, but if I'm honest, I'm taking any excuse I can get for dressing up and making an effort.

I bought the dress during the sales, from A Wear (they had one of the best Christmas sales last season) and my boots are New Look. I absolutely love this dress and have been meaning to wear it for ages. There is a lot of sequins and beading on it, so it does make a sound when I walked around, hehe. But it is really beautiful and I love the colour.

I'm still not convinced that these boots look good with the dress though.
But I am excited to really glam it up at a party with this dress. I'm thinking high heels, a sleek updo, and glam make up!

Sherin xx

P.S. An interesting competition, which you guys might be interested in. StyleCloneare giving a reader the chance to win a pair of shoes a month for a whole year! Heaven or what? And that's not it, there are some fabulous runners up prizes as well, such a major discounts. All the details on how to enter can be found here.

P.P.S Entered my giveaway yet?

The Sun's out in London

The sun has officially been peeking out and making an appearance in London these days, and I couldn't be happier.
The reappearance of the sun after all these months can only mean one thing: it's time to get my legs out!! Yay. I do love summer dressing. Although it's not so hot yet, it's still nice to wear slightly lighter clothes.

My trousers are HandM, top is from a charity store, but is Zara, and my shoes are from Spartoo, from the brand Buffalo

In an effort to be more comfortable for the summer, I've decided to wear more flats, of all prints and colours. I have tons of crazy high heels, but only 3 flats, so I need more. I love this Buffalo Leopalda Leopard print pair as they're fun and really comfortable. I can definitely see myself rocking them throughout the summer.

Do you have any interesting flats?

Sherin xx

Wanna join the Aussie fun?

As you all know, I'm an Aussie Angel and I do being one! I've mentioned all the really fun things I get to do by being an Angel (Bloggers Market, Bonfire Night and Lovebox Festival, to name a few), and now it's your chance to be in on the action, and join for a lot of Aussie fun!

On Friday, this lovely parcel came. The balloon is amazing and at the bottom it was the new Aussie Light Conditioner. I can't wait to try it out!

Aussie is has an opening for 10 lucky people to join Aussie Angels this Spring with theit Lusciously Light Journey and it's really easy to enter.

All you need to do is answer the following question on your own blog and then tweet the link to @yummyhair.

The question is: "Put a spring in your spring! Tell us, how would you lighten up your life? #AussieLight"

The most creative responses will win and you can do anything from videos, pictures or even songs. The competition will run until the 20th March 2011!

Good luck and I'd love for someone from my blogging community to win.

Sherin xx

P.S. Check out T&C's here.

P.P.S. Have you entered my giveaway yet?

Giveaway: Belmondo Purse

Happy Sunday everyone!

As a huge thank you to everyone for reading my blog (I really do appreciate it), I'm doing a small giveaway and I do envy who ever wins the prize!!

I've teamed up ShopALike and am offering one person this gorgeous Belmondo Purse, which is 100% real leather. I love the colour and the studs on it!

You can also check out the rest of the website for other cool stuff like evening bags and leggings. And don't forget to check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.

To be in the chance of winning, all you have to do is follow my blog via Google Friend Connect, and leave a comment, letting me know you've done so.

For an additional entry, all you have to do is tweet about it, with a link to this post. Again, just leave a comment letting me know you've done this.
Simples!

Remember, to leave a link to your blog, or an email address if you aren't a blogger.

This competition is open to UK and Europe residents only and will run until the 20th March 2011, with the winner being announced on the 22nd. I'll be picking the winner through Random.org.

Good luck

Sherin xx