Event - John Lewis Christmas PR Event

So last week was the John Lewis Christmas PR Event, and what a beautiful night it was. Hosted in The Attic Bar of Soda Lounge - the John Lewis team had decked out the whole room with beautiful christmassy delights and some rather amazing fashion and beauty items. The booze was flowing (some rather amazing cocktails!) and the venue had prepared some rather tasty canapés which were circulated for most of the evening. The event was attended by a few local press and lots of lovely local blogging ladies! So here are a few pictures I took of the great evening!

 The Winter Wonderland setting was all homely delights in creams and golds. I would love to own most of this area.

 Seriously, how cute is this lantern!

And I would love this glass reindeer to go with the other ones I have that are similar. I think glass items like this at christmas are just so classy. He is only £18 if anyone wants to buy him for me!

 This was the black and gold christmas tree - so beautiful and elegant looking

The of course there were a few pieces of beautiful fashion. 

 This dress from Reiss was a big hit!

 As was this amazing coat from Warehouse

 Fashion and gadgets combined in these amazing earmuff headphones! Plug into your ipod and keep your ears warm at the same time, sweet!

The number 1 kids toy this christmas - The Furby, why I am unsure?

 And his new eyes are light up! Freaky!

There was some great beauty on show too.

And of course the lovely bloggers 

Georgina and me

Anyone else been to any fun events this christmas yet?

Beauty Guest post by The Makeup Pixie

Hello ladies, today I have something a little bit different for you. If your a regular reader you'll know I don't really do beauty posts, it's just not my thing. So as a treat to you all and so you have something a bit different to read for a change, I have done a little blog swap with my lovely new friend and fellow welsh blogger Georgina aka the Makeup Pixie. She is going to talk you through her key beauty items for the winter. Enjoy and don't forget to go see her blog for my key fashion items post too!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hello lovelies :) The wonderful Chantelle asked me if I would write a guest post to have here on her blog for you, on 5 key pieces of makeup, for A/W12.  I'm a Cardiff based beauty and lifestyle blogger over at Makeup-Pixi3.  Makeup, cats, sushi and polka dots are my passions (and of course, my husband) :)  I tend to punctuate with exclamation marks and smilies, yes, I do that, you'll get used to it :)  So, that's enough about me, lets get on with the post.

My Top 5 Items for A/W12

The key looks for this season are fresh looking rosy cheeks (the kind that look like you've just come in from a windy outdoors), and dark deep berry lips.  I've picked some key items with a mix of high street and high end which will help you to achieve this look.

Revlon Black Cherry (1) £7.49

I've started with this as dark berry lips are key to this seasons makeup trends and it should be the focus of your look, if you're going for an on-trend look of course.  Don't be too scared by the colour, it doesn't come out quite that dark. If you're going for a lighter berry lip, just apply this with a lip brush (I'd apply it with a lip brush anyway, so you have a nice precise defined edge to your lips), then if you want it to be a bit darker, apply the lipstick straight from the bullet.

Dr Jart+ BB Cream (2) £21 (currently half price (£10.50) on Boots online)

Item two is my Dr Jart+ BB Cream - this is perfect for the drier weather.  If you don't know, BB cream is similar to a tinted moisturiser, but offers much more coverage, so in this type of weather, it will help to keep your skin more hydrated than a normal foundation.  It gives great coverage, SPF protection (yep, even in this weather we're still exposed to the harmful rays from the sun) and is good for your skin.  It lasts well, especially if you pop some pressed powder over the top to help set it.

NARS blusher in Orgasm (3) £21

If you're going for a day time look with the lovely rosy cheeks, then this is a great blusher to create that for you.  It has a stunning gold shimmer to it, just be careful not to get too much on the brush :)  I have a couple of great alternatives for you too, Chanel's Orchid Rose is a beautiful colour for autumn too, but if you don't want to spend that much money, Sleek's Rose Gold blusher is a fantastic dupe for the NARS one.

Chanel Ecriture Liquid Eye Liner (4) £25

This is my holy grail of all makeup items.  I have been re-purchasing this for around 8 years, whilst constantly trying others to find a cheaper alternative, but nothing, I repeat, nothing comes close to it.  It has a fantastic brush applicator to allow you to create the perfect winged look.  Lets face it, with dark deep lips and rosy cheeks, you don't want to wear much on your eyes, so a nice classic eyeliner look and some decent mascara is all you need to do with the eyes.  If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, Revlon's Gel Eyeliner is pretty decent and a fraction of the cost.

Essie nail polish in Recessionista (5) £7.99

This is the perfect colour to team up with your Black Cherry lip.  Essie nail polishes are fantastic quality and in my opinion, affordable.  Of course, if you're looking to spend less, try MUA's Plum Noir, it's only £1 and is decent.  Recessionista will give you a good 3-4 days wear, especially with a base and top coat.  Two coats of this should be all you need for flawless coverage.

So that's it ladies and gents, they're my picks for A/W12, I hope you like them?  I've been donning these picks for a few weeks now and really love the look.  I'm sure being fashiony peeps you'll be well versed with the goth/baroque theme that's taking over this season and these are a perfect match for it all.  It's been lovely being here and chatting to you all, please do feel free to stop by over at Makeup-Pixi3 and say hello :)

Sunday Catchup - 11th November

It's sunday again, which means another week has gone by - plus it makes us 1 week closer to Christmas! Yippee! Have you started your shopping yet? Or written the christmas cards? I'm almost done with my shopping and have gotten as far as buying my cards, so I am pretty organised this year. Plus to help get me in the Christmas mood I was lucky enough to be invited to the John Lewis Christmas Press Event in Cardiff last week. It is always a great event, and so beautiful. With lots of yummy cocktails and canapés. Here is one photo from the night but I will do a proper post on the event next week.

This was the Winter Wonderland setup at the John Lewis Event

And seeing as it is sunday here is a little catch up on my week. Not a lot of Instagram pictures as I keep forgetting at the moment, plus my phone camera is playing up! But here are a few for you to enjoy anyway.

 Food!

1.Breakfast at Cafe 37 - the liquid is maple syrup! Yum!

2. Chicken and Mushroom Pasta at ASK - blogger dinner after the John Lewis Event

3.Been making lots of soup thanks to my soup maker!

4. Stur fry dinner!

Below is what I have been reading this last week or so:

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - finished this it is brilliant! Worth the read.

 Carrie by Stephen King - Been a fan of his films for years and when I found out about a Carrie remake (seriously! With Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore - see the trailer here!) I thought I should really read the book, it was good but not scary like I expected it to be.

 City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - The second book in The Mortal Instruments series, its kinda long and bulky but I am getting there with it.

This Dandelion and Burdock Pop is a huge flashback from my childhood. My grampa always used to buy it for me when I was younger!

Links and Love!

I've been doing lots of writing again this week so I figured I would share a few with you. Pictures too this time!

1. Some great recipes my mum had made. Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks with Mildly Spiced Yogurt Potatoes and Baked Alaska for Dessert

Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Gravy

Mildly Spiced Yogurt Potatoes 

Baked Alaska

2. I finally reviewed my Cuisinart Soup Maker and Jon reviewed his new Lens, a Nikon 24-70 f2.8

3. Plus I wrote a few film reviews again - Coco Before Chanel, Surrogates and Prometheus

4. We went to see Taken 2, it was really quite good. Why not check out the trailer!

5. I meet a few new welsh bloggers this week, here are their blogs, please go check them out and say hi! Makeup Pixi3, What Laura Did and Forty Percent Fringe, Sixty Percent Face

If you fancy trying your hand at writing online articles and possibly making some money while you are at it then just click the link here, and have a nose around the site. It is simple to use, you write about anything you want (fashion and beauty included) and you make money through ad revenue and sales, simple!

Outfit Post: Vivienne Westwood Store Launch Party

Here is the outfit I wore to the Vivienne Westwood Store Launch Party this week. It was a great event and you can see all the beautiful fashion from the store on the link above. 

 Dress: Izabel from House of Fraser

Boots: Can't remember!

Tights: TKMaxx

Pearls: Vintage

Hairband: c/o Stone Bridge

 And here are some of the other ladies outfits (photos courtesy of Gemma)  

 Me and Gemma

Mia, Emily and Me

So what do you think of my new little dress?