Smoky grungy eyes

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are getting ready for the New Year celebrations. I created this look because its a classic party look and really easy to do! You can find most of the stuff I used or great alternatives on the Superdrug site.

Step 1 - Foundation (Maybelline Pure Mineral Foundation, my shade is Ivory) and Blusher (NYC Single Pan Blush in Riverside Rose)

Apply as much as you need with a foundation brush, sponge or just your fingers and blend to cover imperfections. The best way to blend is from the middle of the face towards the outside. Use a blusher brush and sweep the blush over your cheekbones up towards your temples.

Step 2 - Base eyeshadows

Firstly, I used Bourjois little pot eyeshadow in Blanc Diaphane. Apply this light, white shade over the entire eyelid for a bit of underlying sparkle. Second, I used Bourjois Ombres Stretch Brun Nylon eyeshadow, a tawny-pewter colour and applied it over my lid (I have quite a small lid, you can go up higher towards your eyebrow if you want)

Step 3 - Eyeliner

I used Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Jet Black - Line the entire upper eyelid, working the pencil into your lash line and line either the whole of your bottom lid for a REALLY grungy look OR line halfway from the outside of the bottom eyelid (like I did later) for a less severe look.

Blend, blend and blend some more!

Step 4 - Black eyeshadow

I used Bourjois Little Round Pot eye shadow in Gris Paillette. Use this to further smudge the eyeshadow along the top lid and under the eye.

Step 5 - Vaseline

Don't chuck it till you've tried it! This is what will give the eye a twist of grunge. Any vaseline or non-menthol lip balm will do. Load up your make up brush or the tip of your finger and smudge the shadow along the eyelid and wing it out slightly at the end.

And that's it! The look is finished off with a pink-peach sheer shimmery gloss of your choice - A good pick from the Superdrug site is the Loreal Perfection Glam Shine 6 Hours lipgloss in Forever Nude. Here I used my favourite Chanel lipgloss though ;)

Hope you like!

Z xoxo

POMEGRANATE SCENTED CANDLES AND HOT COCOA

Winter comfort by geisharock featuring James Perse

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was spent in proper tradition with family and friends, lots of carolling round the piano and huge amounts of food.

It is now cold enough to not bother dressing properly (since a big coat always seems to cover up all my efforts in the end anyway) but I find that a fierce pair of shoes/boots always makes for a great silhouette and adds some interest to my outfits. Also obsessing about rustic feather necklaces and the Sonia Rykiel x H&M pastel coloured lingerie - I have yet to find time to check the collection out... argh!!

I recently bought that raspberry pink skirt - it is amazing for perking up my grey/white/black winter outfits and putting me in a good mood!

How were your Christmases, my lovely bloggers? Get any good presents?

Love and hugs,

Z xoxo

== Swishing party hosted by Tampax pearl ==

Am I a seriously BAD BLOGGER for not updating in the longest time????? YES.

Swishing party - extremely late update on this!

A HUGE THANK YOU TO TAMPAX FOR SPONSORING THE EVENT AND PROVIDING DELICIOUS CANAPES, YUMMY DRINKS, AMAZING GOODIE BAGS AND ALL THE FREE TAMPAX PEARLS WE WOULD EVER NEED!

I'd also like to thank the lovely lovely organisers (a big thank you to Lauren in particular for putting up with my constant emailing!)

On a side note: As a suggestion for any further swishing parties, it might be a good idea to GRADE each item that each person brought into categories A-D (or similar, ranked on quality) and only allowing people to swap A items for other A items and so on. I think it would make more sense than allowing people to bring in a bag of their old stuff and swap it for peoples brand new dresses/shoes/etc!

As usual, I have Margiela-d my friend's identities away.

By the end of the night: DRUNK (but still eating cupcakes)

I wore:

Scalloped crop top: Topshop

Bodycon studded skirt: H&M

Lace up shoe-boots: Topshop

Boyfriend blazer: Topshop

Thank you Tampax and Mother Nature for this amazing night out - you guys really know what us girls need :)

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Time to catch up on all your blogs!!!

Leave me a comment, some kisses or a dollop of Christmas cheer if you pass by :)

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a smashing New Year!!!!!!

Love,

Z xoxo

DECEMBER 09

I honestly think I've lost my camera charger! When I have a spare moment I'll have to look again :(

Snippets of what I've been up to in the past month:

ASH GIG

These guys are amazing live. They played in a dingy little ghetto club with not even a raised stage. I was right at the front on the railings... literally an arms length away!

HANGOVER CURES

Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup

(in Amazing Cafe #1)

Broccoli soup, Salmon & Spinach quiche and a Gingerbread latte

(in Amazing Cafe #2)

FESTIVE LIGHTS AND CHRISTMAS FAYRES

Selfridges

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

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Can't get this outfit out of my head... I want a feathered headdress for Christmas.

1 more space on my swishing guestlist :) See post below!

Love and kisses,

Z xoxo

SWISHING PARTY VIP INVITE

Hello lovely bloggers :)

SORRY FOR BEING LAST MINUTE (I need decisions by tomorrow):

I've been invited to a swishing party on Wednesday 9th December at Punk, Soho in association with Tampax Pearl.

I have a few extra spaces on my VIP guestlist - are any of you who are around London interested in coming along? The swishing will be between 7pm and 10pm and then we can party on into the night until late from 10pm onwards.

Serious RSVPs (before Monday) only please!

There will be a VIP area, a champagne reception, yummy nibbles, a stylist on hand to help out and of course lots of SWAPPING of clothes and accessories. I think the idea is that you bring some good quality clothing/accessories that you'd be proud to hand on but have perhaps got tired of and exchange it for tokens, then you can use those tokens to buy other peoples things! It's a pretty good idea and I don't know how well it will work because I've never been before but I would love some blogosphere representation to be there with me :)

Email me at lebilletdoux [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested :)

BURNING LOG FIRES & GINGERBREAD LATTES

Balenciaga fur coat, Uniqlo plaid shirt, Mulberry Alexa satchel, Understated florals, Alaia studded heels, Topshop mesh dress, Helmut Lang leather/jersey leggings, House of Harlow cuff, Dr Martens 1490, YSL ring, Topshop brogues, Erin Wasson x RVCA denim miniskirt.

My perfect A/W wardrobe.

SMOKY EYE PALETTE

I recently bought this gorgeous kit from Benefit - LOVE!

No, Benefit didn't ask me to do this - I honestly ADORE their products and have tried almost everything, whether in store (with their ever-helpful make up artists) or at home (if I love it enough to bring it back!). I thought I'd share the results of this little dabble with an all-in-one palette.

Firstly, this is the description of it from the Benefit website:

Everyone wants sexy, smoky, cover-model eyes & perfectly groomed brows... here you go! Our all-in-one kit has everything you need to create your own smokin' eyes... 3 shadows, a black eyeliner pencil, a brightener, 2 brushes, mini tweezers & a complete lesson. Whether you're a Mad Ave gal or an SUV mom, everyone wants to look smokin'! Don't blame us if people start asking for your autograph!

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Smoky eyes are a must-have for feeling sultry and sexy :) You could pair them with nude lips for a more grungy, rebellious, gothic look or with red lips (ala Miss Georgia May Jagger) for a hot party look.

I tried out the palette and these were the results! There is a lovely little instruction booklet included, which is so thoughtful and gives a straightforward step-by-step method. However, the kit is so nicely laid out that I just went with my instincts and used my own method. I find that because I have asian eyes with a really small/almost non-existent eyelid, I know how best to apply my eye make up.

This is what I did:

(PS. Sorry I didn't take step-by-step pictures!! Wasn't thinking far ahead enough!!)

1. Take the pewter base shade and apply it over your eyelid, just up to the crease in a crescent shape. For my asian eyes this wasn't very much but oh well, at least the kit will last me ages!!
2. Take the dark charcoaley shade and use it on the outer V of the eyelid, to add depth to/emphasise the shape of the eye.
3. Blend the outer edges out and up into a vague cat flick (nothing too defined though). You can use the pinky highlighting shade for blending the curve of the pewter shade crescent so it becomes a soft shimmery wash of colour that fades upwards as opposed to a sharply defined crescent shape. You can add more shadow to make the colour more intense but just make sure to blend the outer lines otherwise it'll just look stuck on!
4. Use the pinky highlighting shadow on your brow bone and inner corners of your eye and blend. This will highlight and brighten the eyelid area.
5. Use the black eyeliner and line your entire upper eyelid, winging it out at the end and going as close to the lashes as possible - almost on top of the lashes - and smudge to soften the line.
6. Line the outer half of your lower eyelid (this works better for my smallish eyes as a fully lined eye sometimes looks harsh and makes my eyes look smaller!) and smudge to soften the line again.
7. Dab and blend the "Eye Bright" pinky coloured cream on under eye circles to brighten the eye area. I apply it with my ring finger as this finger has the softest touch - you don't want to prematurely wrinkle or damage your skin.
8. Use the tweezers to tidy up the brows and fill them in with the slanted brush and the "Brow Zings" eyebrow wax included in the palette.

And you're done!

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Other notes:

• I promise next time to take step by step pictures... They would have been so much help in explaining my steps!
• The brushes that come in the pack are really good quality - not the scratchy, cheap ones that you sometimes get free with makeup palettes.
• The Brow Zings wax is a little light for my eyebrows as it is as brown as it looks in the photo - it would be perfect for anything lighter than my black hair! However, I find that if I mix it with the charcoal matte shadow, its a perfect colour.
• I love the mirror that comes in the lid of the palette as well as the cardboard packaging which is high quality yet recyclable!
• The mini-tweezers that come with the set come in a magnetised compartment so that they don't fall out... how clever? They are a little stiff at the moment but I'm sure they'll soften out with use.

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Well that was fun! You wouldn't know it from this blog which is mostly focused on outfit photos but I absolutely ADORE makeup. Which brings me onto my question....

What would you all like to see more of in this blog?

a) Outfit posts - that's what I'm mainly interested in!

b) Make up and tutorials (not that I'm an expert but I can give my honest opinions on products and try apply them in an amateur way to see how easy they are to use :))

c) Video posts - Never done before... nerve-wracking idea!

d) Inspiration posts/Mood boards

e) Competitions - need I even ask?? Hehe :)

Lastly...

FOR SALE:

Size UK 5/EU 38/US 8

Dr Martens (8-hole)

£28 (not incl. P&P)

Almost new, worn out 1-2 times, basically as new...

I love these but honestly they are just too big with me. I over-estimated my size and even with an insole they are just too big.

Big love,

Z xoxo

SHOE DILEMMA

• Purchased "Skin Foundation SPF 15" by Bobbi Brown (my shade is Sand) after endless hours of musing and testing. I take ages to choose makeup! I hope I made the right choice.. it seems really nice, like a tinted moisturiser with a little more coverage which was exactly what I was looking for. Definitely recommend, at the moment anyway.

• I also spent hours browsing Topshop, trying on all the different shoes I posted about in the blog post below. Ended up leaving with just this:
  
  
  
  
• Now, about the shoe choices below - I've had a chance to try most of the Topshop ones on & can therefore re-assess my choices:
  
  ---> The thigh high, flat boot that all of you and I are in love with is actually grey leather in real life. It's still gorgeous though, I love the clunky boot detail at the bottom combined with the long leg shaft. However, like with all OTK boots I supppose, walking in them was a little tricky as they didn't allow for much bending at the knee.
  
  ---> The C. Kane for Topshop boots/heels just felt a little poorly made/bad quality. Also, whilst I was looking at them and wondering which one to try on, this lady next to me (talking to her friend) was like "OH LOOK AT THESE HORRIBLE THINGS... THESE SHOES ARE FOR PROSTITUTES!!!!". Thanks.
  
  ---> The Chelsea ankle boot was clunky and nice, but didn't give me any shivers of excitement.
  
  ---> I also tried on some brogues which looked fairly sensible but again didn't give me any sensations of longing/desire.
  
  AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST....
  
  --> The Ashish for Topshop boots! Apart from the fact that I almost sprained my ankle trying these on, there is no denying that these babies are the BOMB. They are unbelievably comfortable and FIIIERCE (cue tyra finger wiggle). Definitely my favourite try-on of the day. But so impractical, especially with the blustery weather we've been having recently!!
  
  WHAT DO I DO NOW??????
  
  
• --------------------------
  
  OTHER POSSIBLE ADDITIONS TO THE SHOE CLOSET INCLUDE:
  (Please give opinions!!)
  
  
  
  Dr Martens
• 
  Office
  Yeah I'm pretty late jumping on the bandwagon with these.. still love them though.
  Office - pretty good Chloe Susan replicas.
  
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• 
  
• And one more thing - Go watch Beyonce ft Lady Gaga: "Videophone".

Love,

Z xoxo

HELP ME CHOOSE SOME NEW SHOES

The problem is simple. My name is Zara and I'm a shoe-aholic.

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Now that that's over with, I need you guys to help me choose a new shoe purchase!! I'm bored with my huge shoe collection and want something shiny and new to entertain me.

I'm feeling the urge to splurge. The question is, which shoe?

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THE CONTENDERS:

(1) Sam Edelman Zoe Boot

PROS: SEXY HOT AMAZING TO DIE FOR

CONS: Expensive. I mean, these retailed at around $100 when they first came out and are now selling for well over $300. So, same quality, mucho inflated price? Has anyone bought these recently? Can anyone vouch as to whether the quality + style + comfort is worth the money?

(2), (3), (4) Various boots from Clarks

PROS: Sensible, will definitely get a lot of wear out of them, practical, cheapest.

CONS: Not as exciting and sexy as other choices.

(5a) Leather, thigh high, FLAT boots from Topshop

PROS: Amazing

Cons: Do I need these? How will I rock them?

(5b) Thigh high, heeled boots from Topshop

PROS: Amazing

CONS: Pretty woman? HOW will I rock them???

(6) Christopher Kane for Topshop

PROS: Amazing enough to possibly fill the void in my heart left by the Sam Edelmans.

CONS: Impractical? Do I really need another pair of heels?

(7) and (8) Ashish for Topshop

PROS: Amazing. Black or leopard?

CONS: Impractical, especially for a uni student living a fair commute from uni (me).

(9) Topshop chelsea ankle boots

PROS: Again, amazing enough to possibly fill the Sam Edelman-shaped gap in my heart.

CONS: Again, impractical for my student life which involves commuting to and from uni.

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I'm also open to other suggestions! Nothing too expensive though :)

Love,

Z xoxo