It’s not often polka dots catch my eye, despite them being prevalent in the vintage-inspired clothing world. There’s something about black polka dots on white, though, that I really love. Maybe it’s the cute, fun feel that polka dots give off warring with the most minimalist, simple colour pairing possible. I think it’s as chic as polka dots are able to get, but it still retains their whimsy.
I keep seeing people counting down to spring, but I just spent 3.5 days in a dim, chilly house without power due to Storm Eunice, with the wind whistling in our chimney and regular bouts of rain, so spring currently feels quite far away. It’s been so wet and dreary one could be mistaken for believing it was the depths of autumn, not almost spring, and the only time the sun has come out since last Friday has been alongside blasting winds. With all that in mind, it feels perfectly apt to focus today on tartan, a print that always feels best to me in the cold weather months. Thankfully this one can at least brighten up all this dreariness with its bursting yellow.
I did a styled 3 ways post back last Spring about the Deadly is the Female Claudia gown, as a one off. That post was inspired by the fact that I didn’t let myself buy a dress I really wanted until I realised just how versatile it could be for me. This post, though, will almost be the opposite; I wanted the Tilly Velvet prom dress by The Pretty Dress Company for a couple years, but because it was so obviously an occasion dress, and also happened to be outside of the budget for what I will usually spend on a dress, it was totally off my conceivable buy list until it went on sale this January. Even once it was on sale I couldn’t help but um and ah over it, not just because I’ve largely got into better habits about fully thinking through bigger purchases, but also because it mostly felt like a special occasion dress, and as much as I love those and believe they need not be saved for best, realistically I couldn’t deny that I have so many fancy dresses that I really didn’t need another one, especially in the (hopefully!) tail end of a pandemic. Continue reading
I’m usually a liquid lipstick wearer, because I don’t have the patience and attention to detail necessary to eat more carefully, regularly check for smudging or transfer, and reapply when needed, all of which creamy bullet lipsticks require of their wearers. However, one of the many joys (deep sarcasm) the pandemic has bestowed upon me personally is that after 14 months of wearing FFP2 grade masks for 8 hours a day 5 days a week at work, my usually oily-combo skin is now dry and flaky in certain areas, and my lips, which typically only require lip balm overnight, now freak. the. fuck. out. when I wear long-lasting lipsticks. If I wear my Holy Grail lip product, the Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink liquid lipsticks for, say, a Saturday blog shoot for a few hours, my lips will now feel incredibly dry and perhaps chapped for several days afterwards, necessitating endless lip balm applications until they recover.
Since my skin is now high maintenance, I haven’t been thrilled by the notion of my lips becoming so too, and as such I’ve been eagerly awaiting the UK launch of Maybelline’s Ultimatte Color Sensational Slim lipsticks in the hopes they would give me the matte finish I crave in a lightweight but hydrating formula that my lips would be less mad about. Do they? Let’s take a look.
Miss Amy May 