What a lovely start to the red carpets at the Cannes 2012 Film Festival. For the opening ceremony and screening of Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson, Eva Longoria opted for a beautifully intricate and embroidered Marchesa gown with endless trails of tulle – proper fairytale dress. A quick chop and change later saw Eva arrive in an elegant Alberta Ferretti full length black frock for the evening dinner. Beautiful!
It’s the dress that’s hit the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons!
Prince Phillip is well know for his fumbling remarks, which more often than not are blown completely out of proportion. He did however come out with another corker earlier this week when he met 25 year old Hannah Jackson, on a trip with the Queen to Bromley in Kent. He turned to the policeman standing next to her and gestured towards her dress…
‘I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress!’ Genius!
The red peplum dress behind the media frenzie is a little £159 Ted Baker number, which has also been spotted on Carmen Electra and Emmy Rossum. Loving the peplum at the minute.
The Royal Mail have launched their latest theme collection of official stamps – The Great British Fashion Stamp Set. The collection consists of 10 iconic pieces from Great British fashion houses, including Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Each house is captured beautifully in silhouette by photographer Solve Sundsbo.
The set is available today at £6 for the full collection. Love it!
I love this beautiful teal lace gown by Jenny Packham that Kate wore to the Royal Albert Hall to mark the countdown to the London Olympic Games.
She teamed the elegant dress with a beautiful up do courtesy of Richard Ward and her trusty Jimmy Choo gold sandals – it’s another wining combination!
I love a good frock… and this year’s Britain’s got Talent judges; Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon didn’t disappoint. I thought they both did a grand job. Amanda opted for consistency with J’Anton Couture gowns for each of the live shows and after & pre-parties. Alesha mixed it up with a different designer each night and despite some interesting press, I loved each of her looks. And well done to Pudsey too – Poppy was on her iPaw all night voting 
Had an amazing weekend in Barcelona with my beautiful friends, for the lovely Stacie’s hen do. Sun, beach, sights, paella, sangria, ice cream, Eric Cantona, cocktails, dancing, eating, Heather Small and lots of fun. I love Barcelona, can’t wait to go back.
I loved Kate’s elegant look last night at an event held at Claridge’s hotel in London. Her beautiful demure long dress by designer Roland Mouret was set off perfectly with a pair of shimmering Jimmy Choo heels (which she also wore at a BAFTA party last summer) and earings by London based concession Beaut.
I’ve been on the hunt for a wedding perfume for a few months now… it some how seems far more exciting than guest lists, flowers and table plans. Get the fun out of the way first hey!
I got thinking after I saw this post on Rock my Wedding. Recently I’d been using Valentino’s Valentina and liked it but didn’t love it. My usual got to perfume is Omnia Crystalline by Bvlgari – I love the fresh clean smell and it has so many memories attached to it, which I think smells always do. I really wanted to find something like this but not as light (if that makes sense). After many trips, sniffs and sprays I’ve picked out my first contender; L.I.L.Y by Stella McCartney. It’s fresh but has more of an evening feel – I’ve gone with the 30ml bottle to try out and see how I get on.
After my French Connection purchase back in February I’ve been on the hunt for something similar but just in Black. I’ve loved the sleeve length and zip detail and the shape was perfect. So when an email from ASOS dropped into my inbox offering free next day delivery (and being in a mad panic for something to take to Barcelona this weekend) I couldn’t resist a look. And there it was – the exact same dress and in the sale for only £40. Deal done. Thank you again French Connection. I must admit, as with the last one, I’ve taken the shoulder pads out. Too much Joan Collins is not the key!
GlossyBox was a little late this month, and their theme was an au natural -the box is 100% biodegradable and the products are inside are made with natural ingredients.
1. Inika Cosmeics Certified Organic Eyeliner in Green Lagoon
Really nice colour for a fun evening look, lovely texture and applies and last really well.
2. Figs & Rouge Lip Balm in Peppermint & Tea Tree
There’s nothing quite like a good old bit of lip balm. Nice scent and feel on the lips, really moisturised – would def buy this again.
3. Monu Professional Skincare Enriched Body Cream
Lovely little body cream, leaves the skin feeling very smooth and soft. Not overly keen on the smell though.
4. Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum
This is quite a new product so was excited to try. Just applied a small amount before my moisturiser which left my skin feeling lovely for most of the day.
5. Philip B Drop Dead Straightening Balm
I used this as more of a serum after styling, but it left a nice sheen and gloss and wasn’t too greasy at all.
So after my initial thoughts of something glitzy for my wedding shoes, I’ve decided to opt for something quite plain, that I can get plenty of wear out of! Sensible hey! Today the beautiful red soles arrived on my desk and I’m totally smitten. Obviously I will need to break them in around the house… hovering just got exciting. #houseworkinloubis 
Whilst sat the other morning applying my make-up, I realised that about 60% of my make-up bag is made up from Benefit products, and that my whole foundation routine is Benefit from start to finish!
Step: 1 – The Pore-fessional
Quickly minimises the appearance of pores & fine lines for a smoother-than-smooth skin finish!
Why?
I’ve never really been that bothered about using a skin primer or undercoat for my foundation. In all honesty I wasn’t really sure how much difference it would make. In January’s GlossyBox I received a sample of Murad Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer and couldn’t believe the difference it made, not only to the finish of my foundation but to how long it lasted. Benefit is always my first choice for make-up and so The Pore-fessional was the obvious choice. I ordered a small sample size tube off eBay and was instantly hooked.
How?
I just apply a fine layer after I’ve used my moisturiser, from the nose outwards. Leave for a few seconds to dry and then apply the rest of my make-up over the top. Easy! Because it’s oil free it feels really light on the skin too.
Step: 2 – Erase Paste
Targets dark circles, discolouration and imperfections.
Why?
I naturally have very dark circles under my eyes which are only made worse by a late night. I have tried every product under the sun and the best combination so far is a little bit of Garnier’s Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller and Benefit’s Erase Paste in Fair. Together they seem to even out the tone and lighten the area without looking to panda like!
How?
So after I’ve used the Garnier roller I dot on Erase Paste from inside the bridge of my nose right round to the corner of my eye. I then blend the dots together by gentley patting the area. You can use Erase Paste as a concealer too but I prefer Boi-ing for that.
Step: 3 – Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow!
Oil-free brightening liquid foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion.
Why?
I used to love Benefit’s non-fiction foundation, I couldn’t believe it when it got discontinued! After hunting around I settled on L’Oreal’s True Match Mineral Foundation. Really good long lasting coverage! So imagine my excitement to hear that Benefit were bringing out a new liquid foundation… que; Hello Flawless. I love how light and luminous it is. I’m currently using the ivory, but in hindsight, I think next time I’ll give Champagne a go.
How?
I hate putting foundation on with anything other than my fingers – no brushes or sponges here! I just dab around the face and lightly blend in. Easy.
Step: 4 – Boi-ing
Industrial-strength concealer that camouflages dark circles, shadows and discolouration for a seamless, natural-looking finish without creasing or fading.
Why?
Like I’ve already mentioned I prefer to use Boi-ing as a cover up rather than for dark circles. I used shade 02 which is a medium colour. The coverage is immense and perfect when a blemish surfaces.
How?
I only use Boi-ing on blemishes – just a little dab and pat does the job.
Step: 5 – Hello Flawless!
A silky powder cover-up that glides on naturally sheer and layers beautifully for customised coverage with SPF protection.
Why?
I always like to seal everything with a pressed powder and Hello Flawless glides over perfectly and gives a great finish. It’s all good for a quick touch-up halfway through the day.
How?
I blend out from the noise using a pad rather than a brush.
Ok, so I know both Emily and Mena appeared yesterday on my favourite red carpet looks of the week (and on my monochrome post in March), but I just love both of their beautiful red lace dresses so much I thought I would share them too.
Mena’s cute red lace over black dress is by Tadashi Shoji and Emily blunt’s red lace over nude dress is by Michael Korrs. She paired the dress with Christian Louboutin shoes and a Louis Vuitton clutch. Beautiful.
Loving these look this week…
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