The Liner, The Clutch and The Wardrobe

Kanye West may be a huge star in the music world, but he managed to enjoy relative obscurity at the Dior Homme show in Paris yesterday as all the paps were busy mobbing Karl Lagerfeld.

The presence of Chanel's creative director at a Paris fashion show may seem as obvious as fish and chips on a pier, but according to Hadley Freeman, his attendance caused such furor amongst the press as it marks a step up for the flagging Dior Homme. The label which has in the past had somewhat 'flashy' associations, has developed a slightly cooler air, thus attracting the likes of Kanye and Karl.

Quite frankly though, if the Kaiser cares, we care, even if menswear is nowhere near as exciting as womenswear!

I am so addicted to The Hill's this season that I decided to wear my hair in a variety of plaits recently in emulation of the show's star, Lauren Conrad.

While I managed to create a great Heidi (no, not that one!) plaited up do, and an Alice-Band effect with my plaits, I found it pretty tricky to achieve the French plait that LC has been wearing in her hairline for most of the series.

That was until I discovered this handy video that fellow Beauty Bloggers, Kiss and Make Up have put on YouTube. French plaiting really isn't that hard once you have got the knack, so give it a go! I tried it and now I feel like a dead ringer for LC, well my hair does anyway. Now I just have to find a way to get myself down to Les Deux...

Jessica Au won the River Island Gold award with her bright, psychedelic, floral print menswear collection at Graduate Fashion Week this month, and it looks like she was right on the money with predicting the coming trends for menswear, bright and floral.

As the Spring-Summer 2009 Menswear shows in Milan draw to a close and the fashion parade decamps to Paris, we are left feeling rather rosy with Missoni and Cavalli's flowery prints fresh in our minds.

Perhaps we can make boyfriends recycle our florals from this season. They could turn a blouse into a shirt, update a bright t-shirt with a floral neck scarf maybe? There is a 'Credit Crunch' on after all!



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Fashion continually draws on reference. We all love Mary-Kate Olsen for her 'stylishly homeless' shabby chic style, and Kate Moss for her messy, over-partied, rock chick look, but do we ever stop to think what these references really mean?

For all MK's oversized lumberjack shirts, and Moss' mussed up hair there are plenty more negative implications to be taken from the points of reference from which their styles are taken. Is a coat that's filthy from sleeping in the street cool, or are dark concave eyes from lack of sleep and too many drugs sexy? Could we perhaps be trivialising issues by turning them into fashionable styles?

It is for this reason that Vivienne Westwood's 'message of tolerance', demonstrated in her 'gypsy' themed menswear collection in Milan this week, has not been well received. At her show on Sunday, Westwood presented her models as 'rough, stylish and hardened', in order to celebrate the 'outcasts of society'.

Milan's assessor for Industry and Fashion, Tiziana Maiolo who spent time working in gypsy camps in and around Milan however, has criticised Westwood for indulging in 'a romantic notion about gypsies that is 100 years out of date'.

Indeed, presenting a romanticised, glamorised notion of a troubled community could perhaps be considered a little innappropriate, do you agree?

It may only be June, but as Summer is yet to make a proper appearance yet, I have decided to stick with a couple of staple tea dresses and start thinking about my Autumn-Winter look. I have already decided to fully indulge my Blair Waldorf fantasy and dye my hair dark, but what to wear?

I was pretty excited then on Friday, to steal a sneak peek at Topshop's Autumn-Winter collection from Fur Coat, No Knickers.

If Graduate Fashion Week is anything to go by, then sheers will be one of the main trends to make its way from the catwalk to the high street, and indeed, Topshop have plenty of it! I am a huge fan of the Darkside range, in particular the black pleated dress, which is not entirely dissimilar to one by Oscar De La Renta featured in Vogue this month, but is a good £2000 cheaper!

Other highlights include a sexy Tuxedo jacket, and plenty of Henry Holland inspired tartan pieces which will be perfect for channeling your inner Mary-Kate Olsen!

My mind boggled when I heard about Spinlash, an electronically rotating mascara a few weeks ago, so now that I have heard about plans for Estee Lauder to launch Turbo Lash All Effects Motion Mascara, and Lancome's release of Oscillation, both vibrating mascaras, my melon is utterly twisted. Vibrating Mascara? Surely that is dangerous, or would at least tickle your eye!

Well, beauty experts suggest that to achieve a thick, full lash, you should apply mascara in a light zig-zag motion from the root to the tip of the lash, so with a vibrating mascara, you get a similar motion except the work is done for you. I use the term work loosely here, as I personally have never found the zig-zagging too much effort (though very effective!), but hey, a new beauty gadget is never a bad thing is it!?

Both Lancome's and Estee Lauders electric offerings will be available exclusively at Sak's Fifth Avenue in July and Selfridges in London later in the year.

Products that are kind to the environment are a great idea. But what is an even better idea is products that care for the environment and its inhabitants such as David Babaii's new haircare range for Wild Aid.

The celebrity hair stylist has come up with a range of hair products fronted by Kate Hudson, that are not only formulated from natural ingredients, but that will generate money for wildlife chairty Wild Aid.

The range carries the tag line, 'It's Beautiful to be Good', and beautiful you will be after using the luxurious products. Highlights include Bohemian Beach Spray, a light and nourishing spray that contains Dead Sea salt to create natural texture, and rich Shea Butter, an ingredient that is popping up in a lot of hair products recently, to keep hair soft.

All David Babaii's products are free of petrochemicals, parabens and sulfates. Naturally, they are never tested on animals either.

Sadly, the products are not available in the UK at the moment, but then that's why us English Roses love to shop online!

Being super stylish comes with a certain nonchalant air, but that doesn't mean you should negelct your safety. That's the message being bandied around in a new French road safety campaign anyway, featuring none other than the style master himself, Count Von Lagerfeld.

The poster reads 'It's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life'.

Good on you Kaiser Karl for reminding us to remember our green cross codes, no matter how chic we are! I hope you remember to wear one of these bad boys when riding your Chanel bike!

The House of Viktor and Rolf Exhibition opened to the public at the Barbican yesterday, following Tuesday's launch attended by famous fashionistas Alexa Chung, Kelly Osborne, Erin O'Connor and Mischa Barton, so of course I hopped on the pink snake and got myself down there for a look.

The retrospecive exhibition showcases the Avant Garde Dutch duo's work from the past 15 years. In true Viktor and Rolf style the exhibition is not laid out as a simple display, but rather as an installation featuring a 6 meter tall house, on which miniature dolls stand wearing every signature piece that V&R have come up with since 1992. The dolls are reflective of the miniature mannequins designers such as Dior and Schiaparelli used during the second world war when fabrics were too scarce and expensive to justify making up life size pieces to show to prospective customers. Not only do the dolls add an interesting spooky effect to the installation, they allow Viktor and Rolf to nod to the fashion greats and the decadence their clothes represented, the influence of which is clearly felt in their collections.

Surrounding the 'House of Viktor and Rolf' are the life size pieces, alongside footage of their ever innovative catwalk shows. Highlights include, 2005's Flowerbomb, where Victor and Rolf revealed a pink and gold version of the black collection they had just shown amidst an explosion of petals and glitter.

Also on display was Russian Doll 1999-2000. During the catwalk show for this couture collection, instead of using a parade of models, V&R showed one model on a spinning podium and layered the collection onto her, one piece after the other, like a Russian Doll. As well as demonstrating some beautiful beaded pieces, Russian Doll provides an effective visual comment on the potentially suffocating nature of fashion.

The exhibition not only displays some wonderful pieces, but shows Viktor and Rolf's wonderful ability to blur the boundaries between fashion and art. It will be on display at The Barbican until the 21st September.

If you love shoes as much as I do, you will undoubtedly also be lusting after the YSL star detail sandals, which have got to be the most beautiful shoes of this season. However, stars are a fleeting trend (and they cost as much as rent!), so the £560 price tag may be a little steep.

It is a good job then, that trusty catwalk copiers Topshop have come up with a delightful pair of star adorned sandals (pictured) of a similar ilk. Alright, I know they're not as glamorous, but they are flat, which means they will be both comfortable and suitable for running for the bus, and they cost a mere £22! Alas, the woes of real life.

The world of beauty is a vast one, and without some form of reference, how are we supposed to know our highlighters from our contourers, our moisturisers from our serums, let alone what to do with them? I personally relied on hours of messing around and experimenting, but as this resulted in more than one misguided beauty look (Alisha's Attic eyeshadow, colour mousse, don't get me started), I think I would have been far better of with a nice big compendium of beauty secrets.

To celebrate their tenth anniversary, everyone's favourite cosmetic emporium, Sephora, have produced Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin and Hair from the Beauty Authority. The book contains advice on everything from lip plumping and eye bag reducing to how long it is best to keep products for, as well as tips from celebrity make up artists.

I think this would make an amazing gift for a teenage girl just getting into beauty and cosmetics as well as veteran beauty junkies like myself!

River Island is often a shop I neglect due to some rather unsightly teenage dalliances with glitter applique, but now that Topshop have fully taken over the high street with their catwalk copies, it looks as though they have really upped their game and have come up with some really great pieces for this Summer.

As well as sponsoring the hugely respectable Graduate Fashion Week recently, their collections seem to have become far more catwalk inspired, particularly with their line of gorgeous floral summer dresses which seem to nod to those paraded on the runways by Luella, Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren.

I absolutely love the Rose print maxi-dress (pictured) and at only £34.99, it is a lot cheaper that many other high street alternatives.

These days, just about everyone who is anyone is saving the world, and as if that wasn't enough, they're doing it in style.

Following Anya Hindmarsh's highly lucritive 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' totes for Sainsbury's last year, it is unsurprising that Tesco are jumping on this particular bandwagon with the launch of a line of Eco-Bags by Yummy Mummy favourite, Cath Kidston.

The bags will launch next month in two classic prints, floral (pictured), and pastel blue with white polka dots. Tesco will then introduce the bags in four more limited edition prints over the next six months, and they will no doubt fly off the shelves in the same manner that Hindmarsh's did.

Cynicism aside, the bags are made from entirely recycled materials, and all proceeds with go to Marie Curie Cancer Care. There is also far less risk that they will split and drop your shopping all over the bus!

Josh Wood and Belle Cannon have been offering their combined 45 years of hairdressing experience to celebrity heads at their exclusive London salon, Real Hair for over 10 years. But now it looks like us mere mortals can get our hands on a little bit of the magic thanks to the launch of a line of Real Hair products, available exclusively at Real Hair and Harvey Nichols.

The line features a cleansing shampoo, packed with B and C vitamin rich acerola fruit and moisturising conditioner, laced with babassu oil which when activated by body temperature, coats the hair shaft to create a healthy, vibrant shine. Extra nourishment and protection can be gained from the rich masque, shea butter infused serum, and a conditioning spray to protect even fine, fragile hair whilst detangling. The conditioning spray also contains an essential SPF to protect hair from the damaging effects of the sun.

Prices range from £15 to £55 which may sound a lot, but is a whole lot cheaper than a haircut at Real Hair!

Plaits and braids and big beauty news this Summer, and every time I have seen queens of the plait trend, Lauren Conrad and Nicole Richie touting their twisted tresses about town recently, I have been dying to try out this look for myself. Every day this week then, I decided to work a new 'twist' on the plait into my hair style.

I created a plaited 'Alice band' look by taking a section of hair from just behind each ear, plaiting it, then bringing it over the top of my head like a hair band and securing with a hair grip behind the opposite ear. This look was so simple and easy to do, but ended up added a real grecian goddess glamour to my hair and I received a lot of complements.

The best look I tried this week though, was a fully tied up Heidi plait look (pictured). All you do to create this style is divide your hair into two, plait each side, then secure both plaits to the back of your head. It is such a great look as it fully allows you to disguise a bad hair day, as it all ends up pinned to the back of your head anyway! While my hair still looked a bit messy, I think this added a fun, hippie element to the look.

I don't half love make-up palettes, but don't you always find that you use one or two of the colours to death, and always end up left with one completly untouched eyeshadow? Half used palettes could now be a thing of the past though following the launch of Bobbi Brown's personally customised palettes.

All you do, is purchase one of the empty mirrored palettes, then fill it with your very own selection of cheek and eye colours. You can choose from matte or shimmer finishes, in a huge selection of both natural and bright colours. I personally can't wait to get my hands on the rich, shimmery 'Eggplant' eye colour!

Anyone who has spent a bit of time writing about beauty online will realise that until very recently, the word 'blog' has been met with, 'a what now' when trying to gain credibility in the beauty industry. This is partly because anyone can easily start a blog and it can at times be difficult to distinguish the guerillas from the professionals, and partly because blogging is new, and bloggers and beauty companies alike are still learning a whole new style of promoting products.

According to Women's Wear Daily though, this is beginning to change, and beauty bloggers are gaining more and more credibility all the time. According to Don Ressler, co-chief executive officer of Intelligent Beauty, '[Beauty Bloggers] are like the QVC of this time [...] They have been really involved in the [beauty] space. They have really shown they have a voice'.

Indeed, it is the involvement in a greater online beauty community that sets bloggers aside from traditional journalists. Through added social networking features, particularly on sites such as Bella Sugar which boasts the social networking tool, Team Sugar, and the ability to interact with writers through comments and forums, readers gain a greater trust in the sites they read. As far as beauty companies are concerned, blogs become a perfect platform for promoting their products as they are able to make more direct contact with the consumer.

Read Rachel Brown's full article on Beauty Bloggers here.

When I saw the Manchester School of Art show at Graduate Fashion Week on Tuesday, I was absolutely blown away by Nabil El-Nayal's collection of billowing period nightgown dresses and lustrous, sheer puff sleeve blouses.

I was delighted then to see him collect the award for best womenswear collection at yesterday's Gala Awards. The collection that was beautiful, ethereal, romantic and ghostly truly deserved the award and I hope to see Nabil El Nayal go on to achieve great things.


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Before you get too excited, I am sadly not referring to the kind of male models you see in ad campaigns smothered in Johnsons baby oil, but rather the type that grace the catwalk. This week I have seen my fair share of male models at Graduate Fashion Week and think I might finally have found a reason to take an interest in menswear. The models are quite literally gorgeous, with chiseled high cheek bones and one of two hair styles, either wild-grunge hair or a sharp angular style that looks like it’s cut daily with a ruler. They have wide shoulders and tiny waists with enough of a six-pack to show off their chest without being fully embarrassed but not so much that they resemble a ‘90s Peter Andre.

Anyway, it is not just their dashing good looks which have got my attention but also the way in which they grace the catwalk. Female models (for now) have got walking down to a fine art (feel free to try this out in the privacy of your own home). Firstly, you must march one foot in front of the other with your hips pointing sharply upwards (to the chandeliers if you wanna impress Valentino), you must also pull an incredibly nonchalant facial expression that suggests you don’t even know why you’re bothering with a catwalk in the first place. Finally, you pose twice at the end of the catwalk thus showing off both protruding hip bones.

But, if you’re a male model the look is completely different. From what I can gather, you must go one of two ways. 1) Assume a face of pure anger and march down the catwalk as though you are going to deck the photographers waiting at the end. Maybe even scowl. Or, 2) Pull a confused face (think 2,345,987 divided by 13) and walk so speedily down the catwalk that you might just run off the end and disappear keeping the clothes on your back. Either way, they never full wait at the end to pose, they simply act like they can’t be bothered, and run off back to the dressing room. Trust me, male models are something else.

Tonight, Graduate Fashion Week drew to a close with a prestigious, celebrity laden ceremony, awarding the best collections from across the week.

Winning the coveted River Island Gold Award, was Jessica Au of Ravensbourne College, for her innovative, psychedelic printed menswear collection. She also took away the Zandra Rhodes Textiles Award for the same collection.


Image Kirsten Borst

With Alumni including the likes of Paul Smith, Nottingham Trent University is steeped in fashion, and year after year produces some of the most impressive collections Graduate Fashion Week has to offer. This year was no different. What struck me most about the collections at the Nottingham show, was how accessible and wearable the pieces were, and I would not be surprised if the University has plenty of future household names to offer us.

The most beautiful collection of the show was by Emilie Maddison Carter, who combined glossy silks in a pale, golden green with muted brown tweeds to create a collection that was both glamorous and classic. Carter adorned select pieces, including a mid-length skirt with peacock feathers which added quirky touch to the collection, and complemeted the greens and browns used.

Showing a huge amount of innovation was Hannah Rodman, who made most of her collection out of cardigans. That's not to say that the pieced were limited to cardigans in their traditional sense. Rodman buttoned them together and manipulated sleeves into waistbands and halters to create some wonderful dresses, skirts and jumpers from single as well as multiple cardigans. Soft knits and a muted colour pallette also lent the collection a romantic feel.

Also demonstrating creativity with knitwear was winner of the Pringle of Scotland Visionary Knitwear Award, Ria Thomas. Thomas knitted a swirled ribbed detail (pictured) into her neutral wool dresses to create the effect of piping. Thomas' collection also featured some gorgeous, open weave, chunky knit dresses. What stood out about Thomas' collection was the way she managed to make it truly individual, yet accessible at the same time.




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We all spend plenty of time worrying about the artificial ingredients we put into our mouths, but how much time do we really spend worrying about what goes on our skin? Research shows that as much as sixty percent of what we slather onto our bodies can be absorbed into the blood stream, and with a multitude of natural beauty products available, there is now no excuse not to use products made from ingredients that nature invented.

In the first of a weekly series of posts celebrating natural cosmetics, it would seem only rude not to bow down to the King of natural beauty, Lush. Started back in 1995, Lush strive to make products that work in Harmony with both the environment and your body, minimising their use of non-biodegradable packaging and artificial ingredients. The best thing is, Lush never compromise on the high quality and sweet scents we have come to expect from traditional products.

One of my absolute favourite Lush products, has got to be Dream Cream. This rich cocoa butter and olive oil based body butter is both luxurious and extra nourishing for the skin. Enriched with Rose Absolute and Lavender Oil, Dream Cream leaves you smelling sweet and subtly floral all day.


Look out next week for more Naturally Beautiful products, and please comment to let me know your natural favourites.

These days, East London is as much associated with Agyness Deyn, neon and edgy fashion as it is Dot Cotton, cigarettes and tabards, so the graduates of the University of East London had a lot of expectation to live up to when exhibiting their final collections at Graduate Fashion Week this Monday.

There was a vintage feel to many of the East London collections. Lucia Homolioakova combined feminine forties tailoring with sexy, veiled pill-box hats. Irredescent fabrics, and textured rouching on blouses lent the collection a modern feel and brought it up to date. Julia Reimann added a vintage feel to her collection, which featured oversized, nineties jackets, with burlesque style structured bodices and tassles. The colour pallette, which was limited to peach and black, also added a classic, vintage feel.

Following it's outing at Henry Holland's Spring/Summer 08 show, Tartan made an appearance in more than one of the East London collections. Katy Burnett used the print on a hooded coat, as well as to add texture to preppy blouses and feminine dresses. Sasu Ehanire took a more traditional approach to Tartan, using it to create mid-length, billowing Kilts. Natalie Jacobs, who wrapped the fabric around models to create jagged hemlines, teamed Tartan with heavy military jackets, and stiff hats to create a tougher edge.

Esme Davies brought plenty of colour to the catwalk with her folky collection that included both short and long empire line dresses (pictured) that alternated panels of black with red, blue and white candy stripes printed with bold floral detail. Colourful floral embroidery on bodices heightened the folk-gypsy feel of the collection further.



Image Kirsten Borst - Courtesy of FabSugar UK

It was annouced this week that Chanel have added some interesting pieces to their sports equipment line, including a boomerang (!), a fishing rod, and this rather delightful tennis racket. Now I am not one for playing sport, in fact the most exercise I have done recently probably involved a mad dash to a tray of Champagne, but for this baby, I'd hotfoot it down to my nearest tennis court before you could say Anna Kournikova!

Apparently it is made of lightweight fibres, and high quality string, but who cares about any of that when it is boldly emblazoned with the iconic double C and a classic Chanel rose, it's not like you'd actually play tennis with it anyway! This is a racket for posing by the side of a court with a glass of Pimm's, which is far more my kind of sport anyway. I can see VB holding one whilst wearing her oh-so-practical wedge trainers!

The new Chanel sports equipment will be available to ladies who lunch in Chanel stores worldwide soon.

Yesterday saw the beginning of Graduate Fashion Week at London's Earls Court 2, and every fashionista worth their Manolo's was there to feast their eyes on a wealth of eclectic designs from the UK's freshest fashion talent.

Kicking off the week of shows were collections by students from The University of Central Lancashire. There were jumpsuits, bubble hems and floaty sheers a plenty, as well as a glamourous hybrid of sports and evening wear from Lucy Crook, which featured flirty ruffelled dresses in bright neon fabrics with a sporty stripe detail. The stand out collection from the Lancashire show, was by Maria Manfredi, who created beautifully cut dresses and jump suits in this season's essential nautical stripes.

Sharing the bill for the second show of the day were Northbrook College and The Arts Institute at Bournemouth. While the overall standard didn't seem as high as that of Central Lancashire, there were some really strong collections on show.

Most notably from Bournemouth was Natalie Conroy, who developed the ombre trend by splashing inky blue stains onto white sheer layers. She also dyed silk in multiple colours to give an inky marbled effect.

My favourite collection from Northbrook was by Rebecca Reeves, who combined masculine and feminine styles from the forties, by teaming a vintage style tea dress with a leather flying jacket, and an oversized men's dinner jacket with sexily feminine stockings and suspenders.

After the first two shows, the standard set was high. Watch this space and I will I keep you posted on shows for the rest of the week.




Image Kirsten Borst - Source.

I don't know about you, but I can absolutely never have enough lip balm. I probably have three or four in every handbag! But despite a somewhat excessive collection, there is one in particular I use the most, Cherry Carmex.

This lip balm is an absolute winner, because aside from the novelty cherry flavour and delightful Kitsch packaging, it is really amazing for keeping dry, cracked lips at bay. Carmex was originally developed to prevent seriously chapped lips and cold sores, and the forumlar is therefore extra nourishing, and doesn't leave your lips dry and papery if you don't continuously apply it. It also contains an SPF 15 to prevent the further damaging effects of the sun.

As one of the cheapest lip balms you can buy, I don't think you can get any better!

The secret of effortless, 'no make-up make-up', is a well kept one, but I think I may have cracked it! Irredescence, luminosity, and the moonlit glow of a pearl! Well, I shouldn't really take all the credit, as I made this discovery with the help of Benefit's Valley of the Stars, a mini irredescence kit. This product has been available for a little while, but I love it so much, I just can't stop talking about it!

Benefit's mini palettes are truly wonderful, and Valley of the Stars is no exception. It contains the classic High Beam, their pearly, pink highlighter for adding a dewy glow to your cheekbones, and Moon Beam which is perfect for darker skin, or just adding more glamour to a look. There are also two eyeshadows, one for highlighting and one for contouring, and a tube of their fabulously lip plumping, Her Glossiness.

The compact packaging, complete with a mirror, means you can take it anywhere. I even managed to transform myself into a glowing goddess* on the tube!



*Glowing goddess might be a little ambitious, but I am at least a more luminous version of my former self!

Last month Oxfam launched their very first vintage boutique in London's Westbourne Grove. The store is packed with vintage goodies, as well as ethical clothing by People Tree and Assisi.

The problem is, to the untrained eye, Vintage shopping can be a bit tricky, and it can be easy to overlook some stylish bargains. To celebrate the launch of the boutiques, and to help get you started as an eagle-eyed Vintage connoisseure, style guru Christa Weil has penned a guide to ethical clothes, 'Heart On Your Sleeve' exclusively for Oxfam.

Click here to enter Oxfam's competition to win a copy.

Every Summer, cosmetics companies roll out the leg bronzers and cellulite gels for those of us whose legs have been cosily hiding in tights and Uggs all winter, but this summer, I am noticing a new trend in leg 'improving' products: Invisible stocking balms. The idea of these products is to leave an irredescent film on your legs, to give the impression of a smooth, toned, silk stocking clad legs without the discomfort of wearing tights in the heat.

As part of their Maitresse range, Agent Provocateur have launched AP Silk Stockings Finishing Balm £38, a fine balm enriched with silk proteins and real gold particles to make your legs sily smooth, and dazzling. Scented with their Maitresse fragrance, it smells good too!

Benefit boast Body So Fine, £22.50 as part of their Bathina range. Again, this sweet scented balm with light reflective particles will leave legs silky smooth and shimmering.

The thing is, I love both of the above products, but I am really not sure what they offer beyond a little bit of sparkle and a nice scent. Unfortunately, mere balm won't transform pale, dimpley legs, so if you are after legs like Gisele, get down to the gym!

Models at John Galliano's Spring/Summer 08 show, strutted sultrily down the catwalk with bejewelled lips (pictured). I absolutely love this look, as it is glamorous and edgy all at once.

Now I don't know about you, but no matter how much I love this look for the catwalk, I am not sure I will be stepping out with sequins stuck into my gloss any time soon! It is still possible though, to channel this look without looking like you have gotten a bit over excited at a craft afternoon.

MAC, wonderous beauty genius' that they are, have come up with Dazzleglass, a sparkely new variation on their classic Lipglass. The gloss contains large pearl particles which reflect the light to create a pout comparable to crystals! As with all MAC lip glosses, the product glides easily onto the lips for a smooth, high-shine, non-sticky finish.

Dazzleglass is available in sixteen shades, including this season's essential blue, and is priced at £12.50.

There are some beauty products that we can't live without. While we may get pretty addicted to particular shades of nail varnish or eyeshadows with clever new applicators, after a few months, they always end up half used at the bottom of your make up bag, all covered in bits of eyeliner sharpenings. There are some however, that you couldn't live without, and regardless of what comes in and out of fashion, will keep a firm place on your bathroom shelf. Here at The Liner, The Clutch and The Wardrobe, we aim to celebrate those firm favourites with a weekly feature, Cult Classics.

This week, I was reminded of an old favourite by Make Up Makes Me Happy. She recommends Johnson's Baby Oil as an eyemake up remover, as the traditional ones tend to be silicon based, which not only irritates sensitive eyes, but can be quite ineffective at removing make up. I absolutely agree. In my experience, an oil based product is the best for removing make up, and this baby friendly formulation is great for sensitive skin and eyes.

What's more, Johnson's Baby Oil is great as an all over body moisturiser, clears up stubborn patches of dry skin, is super cheap, and has a scent that takes you right back to childhood!

Johnson's Baby Oil is also now available in Lavender variety, perfect for pouring in a bath before bed, and Aloe Vera variety for extra skin nourishment.

One of the most important and influential fashion designers of the twentieth century, Yves Saint Laurent has died in Paris, aged 71. It is reported that he died of brain cancer.

Yves Saint Laurent began his fashion career at the age of 17 when working for Dior and at the age of 21, following Christian Dior's death, was responsible for driving the company forward into the iconic international fashion brand it is today. Not content with pioneering a label under somebody elses name, in 1962, he set up his own label, YSL, and went on to supply ready-to-wear fashion to the masses, not just the rich elite.

Today, the words Yves Saint Laurent are as synonymous with fashion as the names of the garments themselves, and while he will be sorely missed, his influence will be continue to be felt.