Outfit of the Night - ROX Gold Moet Christmas Party

Since I posted my ROX party face of the night , I have managed to get a hold of a photo taken on the night that shows my full 'outfit of the night' ... such a naff title for a post really, don't you think?

Anyway, the ROX photographer was working the room and as guided by Toni he ended up taking some pics of a very reluctant not so style fairy!

The photo surprised me as my higglety-pigglety outfit turned out better than I expected.  Having had a complete dress dilemna before the party, I ended up just throwing something together last minute that was more comfort and practical than glam and dolled up although it did have elements of the latter.

I finally decided on my Christopher Kane for Topshop embellished dress which i have had for a while now with some thick black tights to keep me warm in the Scottish baltic weather conditions.  New Look platform booties were still comfortable even after an evening of standing around schmoozing and sipping (read: knocking back) cocktails at the bar.  I accessorised with a chunky silver/diamante chain necklace and bracelet, making sure to keep it as minimal as possible given the dress is heavily embellished.  Finally, a French Connection clutch finished the outfit off ... simply because it was the only black bag I could find as my taxi sat beeping away outside!

I find I can't handle bare legs and shoulders in the cold weather unless I have at least 3 layers to wrap in on my way home, which isn't always easy on a night out.

How do you look glam in the cold weather or are you just braver than me? ;)

x

ROX Face of the night featuring Barry M

Last night I went to the ROX Christmas Party at their boutique store in Argyle Arcade, Glasgow.  It was an exciting night as the amazing Emeli Sandé was going to be perfoming and of course, ROX always put on a fabulously sparkling event.

I had been doing some make up work through the day on a gorgeous party girl so it left me very little time to get myself ready for my own night out.  After the usual 'what to wear' dilemna (I opted for my Topshop Christopher Kane embellished tee dress) and a fluffy hair disaster (it ended up in a ponytail circa 1988) it was time to work on the make up.

The photos don't quite capture the sparkle i'm afraid

Given the festive season is now in full swing and it was Christmas party after all, it was time to bring out the sparkle.  Just this week I had ordered some MAC pigments but they hadn't arrived so I had a root around in my stash and re-discovered some old favourites in the form of Barry M fine glitter dusts which at £4.59 are a far cheaper alternative to MAC pigments but do the job very well indeed.

without flash above, with flash below

A silver grey smokey eye was order of the night with the Barry M glitter dust in Silver giving me an injection of festive bling.

Products used:  Illamasqua Skin Base Shade 7 (not sold on this although it's more of a shade problem); MAC select cover up concealer; Sleek Molten Metal in Silver as an eye base; Estee Lauder Platinum shadow over lid; MAC Carbon worked into crease; MAC Blacktrack; Ardell Demi lashes; Barry M Fine Glitter dust in Silver; Illamasqua blush in unrequited; NARS Laguna; Nude lipstick - not sure of brand; Clinique Fireberry lipgloss

Back to the ROX party.  Just a few things to point out.  First up the amazing Emeli Sandé who is currently supporting Coldplay on their UK tour, gave a flawless performance.  It was a real treat to be a part of such an intimate and exclusive audience and I can guarantee Emeli is going to be MASSIVE.  Emeli is also utterly gorgeous to add to her talents, you can catch a snippet of her performance in a shakey video I took here.

Next is a shout out to the cocktails on offer, all made using Pinky vodka which is a favourite of mine and I always make sure my vodka cupboard is never without it (yup, we have a space dedicated to vodka ... we don't have a problem, honest!).  Pinky vodka is pink, funnily enough, is hand blended using rose petals among other things and is a fabulously sophisticated beverage that works best, in my opinion, in a cocktail.  Vodka connoiseurs should give it a go for something a little bit different.

Thanks to ROX for kicking off my party season ... I will be suitably exhausted by the time 2012 gets here but I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Have you kicked off the party season yet? What are your party make up tips?

x

My Big Fat Royal Birthday!

On Friday, while all eyes were on Kate and Wills, I was feeling a little left out as it was a big birthday for me and my limelight had been well and truly stolen ... hmmph! ;p

I started my birthday weekend at a delightful hotel and spa in the Lake District.  This was my first visit to the Lakes and it was just lovely, I definitely want to go back and explore more of it.  We stayed at the Swan Hotel and Spa, an utterly charming and gorgeous hotel with wonderful decor where shabby chic meets modern country chic.  Stags heads and horns adorned the walls as well as colourful upholstery and floral wallpapers.  It was just gorgeous.

our very cute and country room 

The hotel was covered in patriotic bunting in celebration of the Royal Wedding and they even had a special showing of it and served up afternoon tea with cake and scones.  So very British and quaint.

After a morning of drooling over the Royal Wedding .... 'that' dress was just amazing, it was the ultimate in fairytale nuptials and even had me feeling a little emotional.  All this from someone who wasn't that bothered about watching other than to check out the dress and who designed it.  Long Live McQueen!  Sarah Burton did a wonderful job.

I spent the rest of the day mountain biking which was a first for me and was as much fun as it was physically challenging for a novice like me.  It has got me pondering the purchase of my own bike as it's such a great way to keep fit.

chilling out with my first vodka of many ;) 

Hello Kitty cake... for the mature 30 year old ;) 

Later that evening it was time to chill and I was treated to plentiful champagne and cake.   Before I knew it my couple of days retreat in the Lakes was over and it was back to the big smoke for a surprise bash where friends and family had kept schtum for weeks giving me no clues as to what they had planned.
Needless to say I am tired and slightly hungover today so thought I would let you in on some of the photos from my birthday weekend and let you see what I wore to my surprise bash.

I wore a gorgeous navy strapless jumpsuit from Topshop which I bought many months ago, loving it for it's slightly 70's studio 54 vibe.  I teamed with minimal gold and brown jewellery and brown moc croc heels from Aldo (barely seen in photo below).   I finally got the chance to wear my vintage fur cape which I adore and have been dying to wear since I bought it on eBay absolutely yonks ago!  It has a gaga-esque/Dynasty look about it.

 I went for a bronzey/navy make up look, similar to what I wore at New Year.  This time I chose to wear Ardell Demi Wispies false lashes and I absoluely loved them.  They were soft enough to give a fluttery finish but had the right balance between fake and natural.  I don't want to look like I am not wearing false lashes but I also don't want them taking over my eyes like tarantulas.  Ardell lashes are made from human hair which I think helps create that softer finish that sets them apart from other false lashes.

Emma a.k.a Jessica Rabbit and I 

Stacie (who is also my hair fairy!)

Mr Party Planner and his Mrs

I now can't quite believe the recent influx of bank holidays are over and normal working life will resume as off Tuesday :( I am not sure how I will get back into a routine or how I will get over the high of royal weddings, royal birthdays and royal lazing about.

How have you spent the bank holiday weekend?  Are you ready to return to the rat race?! 

x

A dress for all occasions

The festive season is pretty much Party Time! Most years, I have bought new dresses for each night out I have or at least wouldn't be seen dead in the same outfit at different parties!

This year, I decided it was time to be sensible. I bought 1 dress. That's all.

To be honest, I didn't know if it would work. In the end, I sort of set this as a personal challenge to myself. I can be so fussy when it comes to dressing for a night out/party, I truly thought that I wouldn't manage to be happy with 1 dress for multiple parties. But I did manage it. :) *smug*

The dress I finally decided on was the French Connection Wizard dress. Not the infamous strapless version but instead this has 3/4 length sleeves. It's plain black so my thinking was that it could be dressed up or down depending on the occasion and with clever accessorising I could make it look different each time I wore it. It cost £85 which I think is quite steep so I really wanted to get my wear out of it and that I did!

I wore it throughout Christmas and even for NYE! Go me! Here are 3 looks I created wearing the dress for my work Christmas party, Christmas day and New Years Eve.

Christmas Party

Christmas Party by saskiathesalsafairy featuring Chanel earrings

I went for a black and gold look for the Christmas Party with uber tanned legs and these gorgeous little shoe boots from Topshop. I kept it a little bit rock chic with Mac Baby Goth Girl on my nails and a little gold clutch.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day by saskiathesalsafairy featuring TopShop tights

I kept it simple but quirky for Christmas Day. I teamed the dress with love heart print tights and shoe boots from Carvela that complimented the tights perfectly. Make up was kept simple with glossy lips and China Glaze lavender lingo on my nails tied in well with the shoes and tights!

New Years Eve

New Years Eve by saskiathesalsafairy featuring


New Years Eve was spent at a street party with some bar hopping in between so as much as I wanted to look glam, I also had to be warm and wrapped up for the sub zero conditions I faced. Thick tights and shoe boots were the order of the day teamed with a leopard print fur jacket and a gold headband for a retro feel. Make up was smokey eyes teamed with a glossy nude lip!

I love this dress and I am so glad I managed to create so many looks with it over the party season! It also looks great with chunky chained necklaces, a waist belt, slouch boots and also great with a sequinned jacket - not all at the same time though! So many looks can be achieved with this dress and I am even considering introducing it into my work wardrobe at some point!

Doing this saved me so much money, if I can keep making sensible style choices like this in 2010 I should hopefully have a more streamlined and stylish wardrobe as well as a healthier bank balance :D

x