East London...

The boyfriend and I took a quick pitstop from packing yesterday afternoon and went for a quick stroll round some of our favourite roads near our current flat, the flat that we're only living in for another three days.

It got me thinking that there are a lot of places that people don't see by following the usual tourist trails through Brick Lane and Spitalfields markets, so I thought I would do a quick post on my favourite spots. I'm not a London expert, nor do I truly consider myself a Londoner, but I have lived in various parts of East London for the last four years...and these are a few of the places I love, in no particular order.

Albion Bakery
This bakery and cafe is full of creative types at lunchtime - but it's often too busy to get a seat then too! Get their tasty bakery goodies and drinks to take away and eat at the nearby Arnold Circus...
2-4 Boundary Street, Shoreditch, London E2 7DD www.albioncaff.co.uk

Arnold Circus
If I was to suggest you skip Brick Lane for a visit to a council estate you might think I was a little mad, but The Boundary Estate that surrounds Arnold Circus was built in 1890 as the world's first council estate in place of a notorious slum. The recently refurbished bandstand at the centre is rumoured to have been built on the rubble. It's surprisingly peaceful considering its proximity to Shoreditch High St and I personally love the buildings that surround it - though they are now mostly expensive appartments!
Arnold Circus, Shoreditch, London, E2 7ES (access via Calvert Ave, Hocker St, Palissy St, Rochelle St, Camlet St, Navarre St)

Victoria Park + The Pavilion
Victoria Park (or Vicky Park!) is by far my favourite green space in London. (Sadly?) most people visiting London only see it when it's jammed full of people for the various festivals held there during summer. On weekdays there's the usual mix of joggers, cyclists and dog walkers but you can often see the local police horses being exercised here too. The cafe, The Pavillion, in the west side of the park looks over the lake - which is currently drained for refurbishment - and is a great place to go for a hot drink when it's freezing cold.
Victoria Park, Old Ford Road, London E9 7DE http://www.the-pavilion-cafe.com/

The Crown
My favourite pub in London despite it being part of a chain (Geronimo pubs). It has a modern but cosy interior with plenty of big, comfy sofas and a few outside seats too. I wrote a significant part of my dissertation in here with the help of their bottomless coffees (for about £2.25) and free WiFi. In the evenings it's always buzzy and they do a great pub quiz (with hefty bar-tabs as prizes!). They do seriously awesome food too - either bar snack style or sit-down meals upstairs.
The Crown, 223 Grove Road, London E3 5SN http://www.geronimo-inns.co.uk/thecrown/

Roman Road Market
This is a bit of a funny one as a lot of people say the market has lost it's way and in some senses I agree. Perhaps I have a soft spot for the market because I used to live at the end of it, but if you walk right up to the end there is a stall which sells pieces from Urban Outfitters and Topshop. There is also a guy who sells pretty rad floral shirts, dresses and harem trousers for about £2. If you're feeling especially east-end touristy, there is also a pie and mash shop on Roman Road.
Roman Road, Bow, E3 (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 10am-3pm) http://www.romanroad.org/market.php

The East End Thrift Store
Ditch the smaller (and often more expensive) shop in Brick Lane for its slightly out of the way big sister near Stepney Green.  There's a good selection of clothes and accessories for men and women with most of the stock costing no more than £10. Also there are often parties at the shop on thursday evenings with free wine and beer.
Unit 1A, Assembly Passage, London E1 4UT  http://www.theeastendthriftstore.com/

The Shop + Beyond Retro

If you absolutely must go to Brick Lane, avoid the hipster tax of Rokit on Brick Lane itself and turn onto Cheshire Street. My two favourites on this road are the imaginatively named 'The Shop' and the rather more well known Beyond Retro. The Shop stocks loads of vintage fabrics and scarves so is perfect if you are planning a DIY. They also often have accessories, chunky knit cardigans and dresses. 

Beyond Retro is better known but not bereft of the occasional bargain find, and is a huge warehouse space of vintage and recycled clothes and accessories for men and women.

3 and 110-112 Cheshire Street, London E2 6ED  http://www.beyondretro.com/

Brick Lane Coffee

...and if you do go to Brick Lane, go during the week, go to Brick Lane Coffee and order a banana frappachino. You can thank me later. 

157 Brick Lane, London E1 6SB  http://www.beyondretro.com/

The Graduate

Yesterday I went from being a graduand (no I don't know what that is either, I thought it was a typo!) to a graduate and my BA (Hons) English Literature with First Class Honours (what a mouthful!) was conferred.

It was a lovely day, despite the rain, and we were even graduating with Bruce Dickinson - of Iron Maiden fame - pretty damn cool. Oh, and I didn't fall over in those shoes.
xx

Dress: Emma Cook
Shoes: KG by Kurt Geiger Elizabeths
Rings: Fashionology.nl and H&M

I didn't manage to get a FOTD but here's what I used:
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B20
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Beige
Chanel Soliel Tan de Chanel bronzing makeup base
NARS Douceur blush (kindly leant to me by the lovely Estée - http://essiebutton.blogspot.com/)
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express waterproof mascara (thank you to @JessicaGilbank who recommended this via twitter!)
Shu Uemura Painting liner in black
Urban Decay Primer potion and Naked, Virgin and Sin from the Naked Palette
UNE Skin-Glow in G03 pencil on waterline

Lust List

I've been at it again. Browsing beauty blogs and adding to my insanely long list of things I would like to add to my makeup collection.

From top left: MAC Shy Girl lipstick, MAC Harmony Blush, Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Cherub, MAC Ever Hip lipstick

I'm kicking myself for missing out on Ever Hip not once, but twice! Another gorgeous MAC lipstick is Shy Girl which I saw on the lovely Vivianna Does Makeup. Anna is like an encyclopaedia of MAC lipsticks (in the best way), so if you're ever in need of some advice, she's the girl to go to.

I was gutted to miss out on MAC Harmony blush in Cami's blog sale so I might have to bite the bullet and buy it on my next pay day. The sickeningly beautiful Deniz of Oh No It's You Again has posted about it quite a few times too and it looks gorgeous on her.

As for the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush...this is a product I've always wanted to try. I find cream blushes a little tricky sometimes and I imagine this would give a really nice sheer wash of colour. It's something of a cult product and I'd love to know if that is for a good reason. I also love the packaging, it's almost science-y, no?

Finally, something of a pipedream. This is the Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Catwalk set, which is exclusive to Selfridges and costs a whopping £70. However that does include a Shimmer Brick (in stunning tortoise shell packaging), Long-wear Gel Eyeliner (something I've wanted to try for ages...I wonder if it could replace my favourite Shu Uemura painting liner?), Toffee Creamy lip colour,  Rose Gold lipgloss, Black Extreme Party Mascara and two brushes. Bobbi Brown brushes are some of my favourites and the set includes a mini Face Blender brush and mini Ultra Fine Eyeliner brush...with tortoise shell handles!

xx

NOTD: Sophy Robson Inspired

I was repainting my nails with Barry M Mushroom last night and noticed my ELF Black and White polishes that came free with my last order and I've barely used...so I went for the googlie eyes a la Sophy Robson. They're a bit roughed up now after a day of packing books into boxes and dismantling furniture but still quite cute.

Will definitely need to repaint before my graduation, however. Not sure the parents would appreciate this look in my photos!

Flopshop

The last time I bought clothes from Topshop was sometime in autumn 2010. Some of the designs are ok and I know it's the favourite shop of a lot of people but the quality was (is?) just so dire and the prices so high I just stopped shopping there.

I still think the prices are high, but at least these pieces have the materials to justify it (to a certain extent). The gorgeous asymmetrical top is a mix of silk and cotton, the jumper is an Angora, wool and synthetic mix and the sandals and bag are leather....oh and the blush (Head Over Heels) is just included because it's damn pretty and (judging by Neon Rose) well worth the money.

Anyway if I had the funds I'd head to Topshop to see these pieces in the flesh, but for now I will tentatively assume that the quality *might* be improving.

'MAC Attack'

The title of this post comes courtesy of my boyfriend, who yelled it whilst chucking this long awaited package in my general direction. I actually placed my order on the 22nd June, after the Mineralize Skin Finish I had been after finally popped back into stock - but by some delivery confusion, didn't receive it until yesterday.

Anyway it made a pleasant change from an otherwise turbulent week, so the parcel was promptly opened and played with...here's the lowdown.

My main reason for ordering online was that I couldn't find MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle anywhere after falling in love with it at a counter. So when it came into stock online it was first into the basket.

It doesn't disappoint as a highlighter, though I think I would personally stop at dusting it all over my face. The colour is quite tricky to describe, I almost want to say 'ashy' peach but that would suggest it's not suitable for darker skin tones - when the beauty of this product is I think it would look great on all skin tones. 

I had heard it could come off a little glittery, but as a verified 'glitter-phobe' I can confirm that it's well within my comfort zone. The swatches above are quite heavy (the powder is a little softer to work with than I had imagined) but it's easily blended out along the cheekbones for a nice glow. The price point, £20.50 for 10g of product, is reasonable but I do wish some of the past limited edition MSFs would join the permanent line (i.e. By Candlelight). The Semi Precious MSFs have joined the permanent colours on MAC's website, but none of them really catch my eye. 

It seemed silly to order online for just one product so MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow added itself to my basket. When I opened the parcel it immediately reminded me of an ELF Custom Eyes shadow in Moondust (that crumbly one on the left...), though obviously a much better consistency. That said, I wasn't massively impressed with the colour payoff of this shadow, though I need to have a proper play with it.

The colour is beautiful though, obviously a taupe, but with a pretty sheen with hints of cool grey and warm brown leaving it somewhere in the middle as a very wearable neutral. The ELF Moondust 'dupe' is £1.50 for 1.5g and MAC Satin Taupe is £9.50 for 1.5g.

Lastly were two cheeky lipstick purchases. MAC Frost Lipstick in Costa Chic and MAC Cremesheen in Creme Cup. 

Costa Chic is a vibrant wearable coral and Creme Cup is a pinky nude. I love both colours and know I will get a lot of wear out of both, but I'll admit I'm not totally crazy about the Frost finish. I think something in my subconscious is screaming 'Early 90s' but that aside, it's lovely on.

Costa Chic smells a little like PlayDough, whilst Creme Cup smells pretty much edible (sweet and caramel-y). That said smell isn't the most important of characteristics...both lipsticks, as you'd expect from MAC are nicely pigmented even with light swatching. 

I had heard complaints of Creme Cup washing people out, but even with my C2/NC30 skin tone it's a natural 'my lips but better tone' and will be a perfect colour for my graduation next week.

xx

Two of my favourite things

I bought some peonies at the flower market near my flat yesterday. A bit of an indulgence seeing as I should probably enforce a spending ban sometime soon, but they have a short season and are by far my favourite flowers. They go from tightly furled spheres to just so unashamedly large, raggedy blooms and they smell beautiful too.

Funnily enough the perfume I wear most is Stella McCartney’s Peony EDT. It’s still called ‘Stella In Two Peony’ even though the ‘two’ part, an Amber solid perfume to layer with Peony, seems to have been discontinued. Either way I find it quite unique in that it isn’t too floral (though it there is definite floral notes that are pretty similar to my bunch of peonies…surprisingly enough) nor too sweet. I like the very subtle spiciness - the official blurb notes black pepper, cedar, amber and patchouli.

My only niggle is it doesn’t last as well as the Chanel perfume in the background (Chance) - but Stella Peony is an EDT and Chance is EDP so I suppose that is to be expected.