Minimalist Paradise: Serafin Andrzejak AW15 Review

After recently debuting his AW15 collection in Poland, I just had to review this collection after Caption PR sent me over Serafin Andrzejak's amazing lookbook. 

Immediately, the continuity in his work captivated me as I was so impressed at how he was able to take one uniform colour & create so many beautiful designs, often changing simple things along the way, yet it made a huge, huge difference.

Reading more about him, I realised that his trademark is in fact combining classical elegance with distinctive blacks so it's no surprise that this collection shows off this talent so much...

5 Favourites Explained

Keeping the styles of the shoes and socks the same ensured that all the focus were on the pieces themselves which is great and key within minimalist fashion. The slicked back hair also looks fabulous & classy. I give props to hair & makeup because I think it works phenomenally well with the aesthetic of this collection, especially with the dark smoky eyes & nude lips to add to the edginess.

This look below is absolutely stunning. I truly think that exposed shoulders is the new exposed midriff & works 10x better at flaunting femininity... it's something about baring them that compliments the silhouette so nicely and makes up for no cleavage on show either. That's another thing I like with this collection... perhaps its because Serafin designs unisex that this collection finds a balance between feminine and masculine on the woman. There are no revealing looks but that doesn't make this a conservative line at all, it's edgy & out there but also effortless.

Am I a huge fan of the socks vibe with this dress? No, but I can see why the footwear is kept the same so I'm willing to go along with it...

Below I think its one of my favourite pieces. The textures remind me of Alexander Wang somewhat. This coat is a statement piece but it's not a striking plum or an Hermès-esque tan colour that you may expect for winter... I think people have forgotten that black will always win & triumph over all, it's not boring by far and if you think about it, black styles will transcend time & trends over pops of colour, guaranteed.  

The sports-luxe look is amazing and it compliments the model so well. I can imagine this would be an amazing coat for AW to slim you down, keep you warm & give you that fierce 'look at me' vibe because those silvery-grey panels bring it all the way to life.

I really love the following frayed boucle type of jumper in the grey because it's practical for the season, yet it beats the standard knitted jumper and looks distressed, keeping with the unconventional theme of the collection.

I just adore this dress, I really do. I'm beginning to really see the value of minimalist fashion now and I suddenly want to change the vibe of my wardrobe & get some really simple black dresses because of it. This crossover bodice is such a classy touch to the dress but spices it up from being overshadowed in a party... I mean you will undoubtedly still make a statement wearing this but its not overly loud or bold. Sometimes it truly is about the details and I think that this collection is monumental in proving that.

Finally I loved the look below because I'd expect it to stay structured and fitted all the way to the hem but instead it flares out and defies expectations. I think the new thing is to make coats the statement piece as opposed to the dress underneath & especially in AW, when you're out you're bound to be seen wearing a coat so you might as well make that capture some attention and this definitely will with its coat-dress flow. The centred gold zip is especially beautiful and something I really pay attention to with items... even a well-placed and well-coloured zip can really transform a garment.

Overall, I really enjoyed reviewing this collection and it opened my eyes to the beauty of minimalism within fashion. Sometimes it's not all about being loud & bold... often you can capture more attention just by wearing subtler looks, especially to the well-trained fashion eye. I look forward to seeing more from Serafin & will definitely keep you all updated!

Your Invite: Sulakshana Monga Hosts Exclusive UK Trunk Show!

Stalwart of India’s high fashion landscape, celebrated couture designer, Sulakshana Monga, will be arriving in the UK to host a three-day trunk show of the latest bridal and cocktail wear collection by her sought after label, Soltee by Sulakshana Monga.

Find your exclusive invitation below & be sure to RSVP if you want to attend & meet a legend in the Indian fashion world...

She's won several prestigious awards and continually produces elegant designs that transcend seasonal trends and phases. Rest assured, any piece you buy now will still be 'in' years down the line, making her an exceptionally unique designer.

Take a look at some of her exquisite designs below...

Embellished works at India Couture Week 2014

With Ileana D’Cruz at India Couture Week 2014 

I can also reveal that I will be doing a one-on-one interview with the designer herself very soon so watch this space to find out more about this phenomenal woman. I'm thoroughly excited & hope to answer all your need-to-know questions :)

Mink & Stone Review: Customised 'Doll Life' Bracelet

At the last Bloggers Love Hub event, I had the pleasure of being introduced to Mink & Stone who showed me their innovative concept up close and personal. Just by saying that I was into glam, statement pieces, a necklace was formed on an iPad within about a minute.

I was amazed at how quick the process was and how many different selections you could make. Immediately, I thought 'wow wouldn't this be a great gift idea?' Think about it, we all have someone who perhaps isn't the easiest to shop for and has their own taste so if you could personally design a piece for them, wouldn't that save us the hassle of fake smiles and thank yous?

I just had to try out Mink & Stone for myself. Initially, I was a bit concerned that the designs would turn out cheap looking because most of the customisable jewellery places I've found before are really quite basic. Perhaps you can add someone's name or something and that's about it... but not with Mink & Stone...

As you can see, this was my first creation... the 'Doll Life' bracelet. When starting the design process, I was amazed at how I could change the tiniest details such as the colour of the clasp. It truly is a unique and extensive design site like no other that I have come across. I based my design on a pre-existing look to save time but I changed around the beads and added some of my own ideas, especially the 'doll' part. 

The good thing is you can work according to your budget and needs. You can see how much each bead or ornament costs before adding it to your design so you can have an idea of how much you will spend. Also, I loved the sheer amount of beads available to me... literally so many colours and types of stone, I was very impressed. 

I was incredibly excited when Mink & Stone posted this picture before sending out my bracelet! It turned out absolutely beautifully and just what I wanted. What you design is what you will receive, nothing less and nothing more. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to believe that you will receive the same product you are designing on a virtual platform but Mink & Stone came through with magnificent results. 

In terms of customer service, they were fantastic at replying to my emails quickly and providing a trustworthy service. I felt like I was put first as a customer which is very important, especially when you are dealing with a customisation site as you want everything to come out just as you'd like it too. 

When I got the package, my bracelet arrived in a convenient velvet pouch so I can store it safely, as well as a cute 'thank you' note!

Here's me wearing my design! It fit perfectly as there are lots of hooks so that's also one less thing to worry about. Overall, I would definitely recommend trying out Mink & Stone as I had no negatives about them at all. It's really great if you're tired of all the same old high-street jewellery lines or want to surprise someone with an extra-special treat with lots of thought put into it :)

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Aashni + Co: MASSIVE Sample Sale (Manish Malhotra, Gaurav Gupta + More!)

Aashni + Co, the UK’s leading, Indian high fashion, multi-brand store, will be hosting its first ever Blowout Sample Sale this weekend!

If you have a wedding coming up or are looking for some extravagant pieces from India's top high-fashion designers, this is definitely the place to be! With up to a massive 70% off, you're bound to find some exquisite pieces at insanely discounted prices! 

Collections by India’s leading fashion designers such as Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Varun Bahl, Vineet Bahl, Anamika Khanna, Gaurav Gupta, Indian by Manish Arora, Anand Kabra, Marg by Soumitra and many more will be available on the day! Talk about being spoiled for choice...

Not convinced yet? Take a look at some of the stunning designs produced by just a few of the designers available to purchase from on the day... 

Unique, hybrid elegance at Anamika Khanna

Wild and colourful at Manish Arora

Classic and sophisticated at Manish Malhotra

Vogue Festival 2015: Bobbi Brown & Kate Upton

For the 3rd year in a row, I had the privilege of attending Vogue Festival: London's chicest event, aside from London Fashion Week!

Admittedly, I really wanted to go to several of the talks as the line-up was absolutely insane this year but that would cost me racks on racks on racks... I decided on the Bobbi Brown and Kate Upton talk this time round and I'm so glad I went. The event was such an amazing experience and it has become one of my favourite things to look forward to each year as it never fails to impress me.

Here I am posing in front of the Vogue covers... If you haven't noticed, my hair is significantly shorter and I am in such a mood because of it, I need that longer length back ASAP. All my long-haired girls know the struggle is real when the hairdresser cuts off those undesired inches :( 

Textured Blouse: New Look
Trousers: New Look
Statement Necklace: Primark
Watch: River Island
Handbag: Carvela for Kurt Geiger 

 Oh, and then this bubbly dude from Harrods popped along and we got a snap together. Bless him!

PC: Miriam Pinto

The talk itself was amazing. As soon as Kate Upton graced the stage with her perfect, air-brushed looking legs and swishy blonde hair, you could hear gasps from the audience all round. 'She's so tall!', 'O.m.g. she's so pretty!', were pretty much the main reactions. Literally, it was like Professor Utonium from The Powerpuff Girls added sugar, spice and everything nice with this one. Stunning, stunning, stunning!

She was sweet as ever when answering her questions, often appearing a little bit shy dare I say! I definitely could relate to Bobbi Brown, who made comments about the importance of being yourself in such a tough industry and the oh-so saturated digital age which has made us oblivious to everything around us. Bobbi is definitely a family girl with a big heart. She revealed all her mistakes and talked to us in a very maternal way, offering tips and guidance to succeed.

As you can see, the contrast is REAL in this pic! Aside from the height difference, Kate is wearing a glam, typically feminine outfit, sitting in a graceful position, whilst Bobbi has her slip-ons on the couch, glasses on and hair laid back sleek and simple. Amazing.

After the talk ended, I got the chance to explore the event space which was packed with treats. Although I didn't fancy queuing up for everything, I did manage to get some makeup done by a Bobbi Brown makeup artist who showed me a couple of tricks on applying bronzer and blusher!

Me and another fellow blogger, Miriam from www.BashfulSmiles.com.

One of the coolest treats was definitely having my Vogue t-shirt customised by Margot Bowman, who designed the most chic, Vogued-out elephant I have ever seen! Luckily, I was the last one she customised for and I was amazed at how a simple white tee became a work of art in no time. It really made the day extra special :)

RefME: The Miracle Tool for Students

I know you're probably thinking... wait isn't this a fashion and beauty blog? Answer: yes. 

However, as you probably all know, I'm a current university student studying English with Film Studies and I know that a lot of my readers are likely to be students too. So why not shift the focus for a second so I can bring you some information on a fantastic tool I have been using to get through my work?

If you're at uni, chances are you're probably in the middle of a quarter-life-crisis right now, trying to get through the mass amounts of essays and revision. Like me, you're probably wondering what the point of your life is whilst staring at the Word document on your screen (if that's not the case, well aren't you damn lucky...)

Point is we are all get incredibly stressed out about work at one point or another and if you study a degree which tends to involve lots of essays, you'll know the absolute head-throbbing pain that is referencing. It really is a killer. All this time I've spent ages creating the references myself, following a style guide, spending hours just making sure all the commas and full stops are in the right places. 

All until RefME came along... 

I was actually first told about the tool by a uni friend and I thought it sounded great but I wasn't sure how comprehensive it really was until I tried it for myself. First, I tried out the web tool where you can pick your specific style guide whether it be MLA, MRHA, whatever you want. Next, you simply search for the text you want to reference, pick the right one and all of a sudden, it manifests the reference for you in footnote AND bibliography style.

Now you've literally gone from searching hours on end, endlessly going back and forth from style guide to Word, to actually being able to hit copy and paste. 

What's more, they have a handy app too which syncs all your information from the web tool so you can go anywhere and use RefME without a care in the world. 

I found the app really simple to use as it had the same format as the web tool. I loved the fact that I could scan codes from the back of books too, making my life so much easier. 

As you can see below, RefME puts all my references in one neat list so I can scroll through and make notes if needed. Here, I've just got all my references in one but to make life easier, you can just create separate projects for each essay you have to do. Once you're finished with all the references, you can click 'export' and it will form a bibliography for you then and there. What an absolute time-saver! 

Overall, I'm so happy to have gotten introduced to RefMe as it's definitely made the essay-writing process a lot easier and this is something all busy students will appreciate I'm sure!

Generally, I was able to find all the books/videos/journal articles that I needed with minor exceptions so this is definitely an extensive tool to use. Mostly, the reference format came out exactly the way I would like it to be but even if I had to change or delete one or two things, it still saved me a hell of a lot of time as you can imagine.

Don't take my word for it though, head over to RefME's site or download the app now and try it for yourself! Thank me later xo

Bloggers Love Fashion Week Event: Magnitone & Exuviance Reviews!

Hey everyone! I'm back to share my #BLFW experience with you all! 

This must be my 4th or 5th Bloggers Love event now and I will admit I was definitely impressed this time round too. The journey there did take a hell of a long time in an uber so I ended up arriving a lot later than expected :( Nevertheless, the evening was still great as I am always excited to get introduced to new brands so I can give you guys the lowdown on what's just hype and what's really worth your money. 

This time round #BLFW was held at 4th Floor Studios in East London. One thing I can say is that it was 100% less crammed than last time which made the experience a lot better. As I walked in, I could see the room filled with eager bloggers making their way round the brands and off I went to explore...

If you haven't already, please do check out my Linzi Shoes review as there is where you can see my full OOTD for this event. What do you guys think of it? If I'm being honest, the cropped faux fur jacket was sitting in my wardrobe with the tags on just calling out to me. I am really bad with buying and forgetting about things so I am making an active effort to just go ahead and wear all these babies. 

I had the pleasure of being introduced to the brand, Masquerade Girl. If you're into glitz and glam, bandage dresses, embellished pieces, this is honestly the place to go! Even the tracksuits are bejewelled so you'll never be caught dead having a rough day. If you have a hangover and you need to pop out, just throw it on with some sunglasses. Anyone would think you're Sam Faiers ;) 

Right, on to the reviews!

Magnitone: A Skincare Miracle 

I tend to think of myself as being up-to-date with beauty but how can I really say this when I don't own a Magnitone? Long gone are days of just splashing on some cleanser, people want to take care of their skin properly but without spending a fortune on facials and treatments. At first, I was a bit scared of using any kind of cleansing brush because I do have fairly sensitive skin and the last thing I want is to agitate it and have more redness or breakouts.

Luckily I was pleasantly surprised with the results of my Limited Edition Lucid Magnitone by Pixie Lott as it honestly feels very gentle and non-abrasive on the skin. The key is not to scrub your face, this isn't microdermabrasion! This is simply a tool to improve the overall performance of your everyday cleanser and I can confirm that this definitely does!

Now for a horrible no make-up selfie of me... I'd appreciate moving past this pic as fast as possible. Kthanksbye.

As you can see, the box even comes with a cute hot pink headband to keep your back when cleansing. So chic! 

Everything you need is in the box, including a handy travel charger. Magnitone does sell other brush heads including a sensitive one, so anybody can use this no matter what skin type you have. 

After using Magnitone, my skin felt unclogged and 10x more refreshed than before. It makes a hell of a difference and I would highly recommend investing in one if you are thinking of improving your skincare routine. The best part about it is that you can use this with all your normal products, so no need to go and splash out on new cleansers and moisturisers!

Exuviance: No More Oily Skin! 

The next products I want to talk about are from Exuviance, who kindly gifted me with a Purifying Cleansing Gel and Purifying Clay Masque. I loved meeting with this brand, they were incredibly friendly and really listened to the condition of my skin and my past experiences with products.

As we both laughed about, Charlotte Tilbury has made everyone face mask crazy! Rightly so though, I don't know how I went about life without regular use of one. Masks are a great excuse to pamper yourself at any time of the week. What I absolutely loved about this one was that it was hassle-free and went on my skin smoothly. Not only that, it dried quickly too so you don't actually have to leave it on long at all.

Enriched with multiple vitamins and refined clay, your skin is going to love you for treating it with this. I found that my skin was significantly less oily after using the masque so I am very excited to continue using it, as well as the cleansing gel.