The New Noir: 2013

Tuesday 31 December 2013

Food Art: Cheeseburger Cupcakes

Make baking more fun by adding an arty twist: Cheeseburger Cupcakes

Now I cheated slightly by buying packet mixes for the fairy cakes and brownies, but for all you expert bakers out there I'm sure you could create the fairy and brownie mixes from scratch.

Ingredients

Fairy cake mix

Brownie mix

140g Icing sugar

70g Butter

1tbsp Milk

Green food colouring

Sprinkles

Method

1. Bake your plain fairy cakes and brownie mix ready to assemble once cool (if you don't wait for the cakes to cool down, the buttercream will melt and not keep its shape)

2. Slice your fairy cakes in half to create the burger bun

3. Using the bottom half of your bun as a measure, cut out your burgers from your brownie mix

4. Mix the butter, icing sugar and milk together to make buttercream. Shape some buttercream onto the top of your burger for the cheese layer

5. Add green food colouring to the rest of the buttercream to create the colour of lettuce. Spoon this mixture onto the cheese layer

6. Gently add the top of your bun to your burger

7. Separate the white sprinkles away from the others and press gently into the top bun to create the effect of sesame seeds - for a more authentic look use real sesame seeds!

8. To finish off, add a cocktail stick through the centre of the burgers and last but not least, enjoy!

Monday 30 December 2013

New Years Eve Outfit and Make-Up Tips

So with it being the night before new year's eve I have been going through my wardrobe to come up with the perfect outfit to wear (last minute as ever). A new year's eve party is the perfect excuse to dress up sparkly - very on trend this season! The dress I'm wearing is a gorgeous deep red colour with a sequinned bodice from Primark - nice and affordable. Matched that with a ring that has a red jewel and some elegant earrings from Swarovski. And the outfit is completed with some on-trend chunky wedge shoe boots from New Look and clutch bag from Primark.

New Year's Make Up Ideas

Taking inspiration straight from this season's runway shows, create some very fashionable beauty looks.

Metallic in Gold, Silver or Bronze:

To create these looks first apply your foundation, this will help the shadow stick to the eyelids and not wear off. Then cover your lids in a shade slightly lighter than the metallic shade you wish to use. Once covered, start to blend in the metallic shade from your outer eye fading into the lighter shade at your inner eye. Using a small brush apply some shadow along your lower lash line. To finish off, define eyes with a kohl pencil liner or for a more dramatic look, use liquid liner and then apply plenty of mascara.

Edgy Punk Look as seen at Rodarte:

To create this look, repeat the steps above and replace metallic shades with black shadow. For an even darker look, apply pencil liner to your waterline.

Sunday 15 December 2013

AW13/14 Winter Pastels

This winter, pastels are a key colour palette. Usually seen during light and hazy spring-time, this soft trend works very well for the snowy winter. The colour scheme was seen all over the catwalks and continues through to Spring/Summer 2014.

I recently bought this lovely mint green satchel which I found in a little luggage store in town. I’ve been waiting to get a satchel bag for a while and this pastel one fits right in this winter and will be perfect for Spring too – a good investment!

Saturday 30 November 2013

Collection featured in blogger’s post!

Today I was delighted to find that my collection has been featured in a fashion blog! Check out Charlotte Lenia’s post on the Cagecity press release day: http://www.withlovecharlottelenia.co.uk/2013/11/cagecity-press-event.html

Friday 29 November 2013

AW13/14 Trend: Bejeweled

One trend I never get bored of is everything that glistens – any excuse to sparkle in sequins and jewels like a fashion magpie. Brave it in head-to-toe opulence or make a bold statement with an eye-catching accessory. This trend is perfect for the festive season to create a dazzle in the dark winter.

This expensive looking style need not break the bank, however. Customise your old accessories and clothing to revamp and bring them back into fashion. I tried this myself with some broken jewellery and embellishment I had lying around:

I took an old, plain clutch bag…

Gathered up anything shiny and pretty I could find…

And using a hot glue gun, I created an on-trend, gorgeous looking evening clutch!

Try it for yourselves!

Sunday 24 November 2013

Collection at Cagecity Press Release

This week I attended online store, Cagecity’s first ever press release where my collection was showcased. Cagecity is an up and coming company who provide new designers with a market to sell their handmade designs as well as selling some vintage clothing. The event was held at an underground gallery at Charing Cross and was a great way for designers, bloggers and the team to meet and network.

The venue was bright, fun and colourful and definitely eye-catching. Free drinks were served all night, and a colourful selection of penny sweets and cupcakes was provided. Along with this, there was a nail artist and decorate-your-own-beanie stall which everyone took advantage of and it added to the creative atmosphere.

All the designers’ work was displayed on rails for people to look through and get a feel for the style of clothing available.

This is where my graduate collection was displayed and it was great to be given the exposure and opportunity to be involved:

My work was displayed as a preview to the Spring/Summer 14 capsule collection I will be creating for Cagecity next season. Head to their website to view the amazing handmade designs already on sale or to find out more about the company and their work: https://www.dresscagecity.com/index.php