A new uniform for a new life!

Dear all,

I left school in June and haven't had to wear a uniform since then - it's the best! 

But there are certain things in my wardrobe I reach for every day without fail (95% of the time at least):

*My bright pink swing coat - this has revolutionised my wardrobe. I actually bought it in 2013 but I didn't wear it till last year when I was rebelling against the end of winter and wanted to carry on wearing my favourite colour! And there hasn't been many days since when I picked another coat instead. It has a huge hood which makes me look like a Jedi or Sith (depending on my mood lol) and it's warm without being baking so I can wear it without overheating on the tube. It's just all kinds of awesome. 

*My beloved black biker boots - these look well loved and well worn because they are. I have worn these so much since I bought them it is hard to get me in anything else. I wear them to work, clubbing and everything inbetween. They squeak when I walk as they are like 2 years old. They are my perfect shoe and I feel like a trendy Lara Croft in them. 

*Jeans - that old chestnut. I'm not going to spend too long talking about jeans and why I love them. But I prefer straight jeans over skinny jeans and I own a range of colours that only is missing a few perfect editions. I am working on it. 

So that is my basic uniform - I change it up with kimonos and long sleeve tees or jumpers if I'm freezing. And jewellery works magic for changing a plain outfit into an evening look. 

Will check in soon with a beauty post as I have been testing some things to help with dry skin in winter and have had varying results. 

Speak soon,

Luv Amber xx

A few things I have learnt about myself since the start of 2015

Hey all,

So I haven't really used this blog as much of a diary before so I thought I would start now! Lol! 

I have been thinking about myself a lot recently and I've found a list of things about myself that I hadn't really realised until this year. Here we go:

1. I love standing in sunlight or under a starry sky. That blinding brilliance of the sun is one of the most inspiring things ever and it also makes sense as bright but chilly days are probably my favourite. And I love stars because they remind me that we are all made of star-dust and that we are very small crucial part of a big busy universe.

2. I can make myself look really different if I take my glasses off and/or change my hair. I'm wore my hair down and contacts recently and although I know who I am I feel like I look really different. I don't know maybe that's just a personal one. 

3. Even though high heels are very much everyone else's thing, I am more at home in a pair of boots. My black beloved ones, despite them squeaking, are my favourite shoes and I wear them all the time. I suppose you can still hear me coming though :) 

4. I am an annoying perfectionist. I check everything about ten times before I put it out there. And then I worry about how it will go. It annoys me but at the same time it is a good thing I guess.

5. I am an activist and I always have been. I work as a volunteer with Amnesty so most of you will be thinking well of course you are - but I have realised that it was always in me just waiting for me to channel it. I think that is why I was drawn to human rights law as a career, it unlocked that part of me. 

6. For the book lovers - I have noticed I am drawn to a book and then I just have to read it or it will annoy me. The prime example is Anna Karenina: it's 1000 pages and I got to page 100 and stopped because I was confused and had to study my English Lit A Level texts. However, I will have to read it eventually, because if I don't I will be forever annoyed. Crazy I know. 

7. I am not actually afraid of spiders. I don't like thinking of them or seeing them before I sleep or I get nightmares. So as long as I don't watch a show/movie with them in before I go to bed, I will quite happily let them live in my house. 

8. I have really great hair. I know that seems like a selfish thing to write but everytime it annoys me by going frizzy or not doing what I want, I remember the way it seems to sparkle in the sunlight and that most people would love my hair. So I realised I need to remember that in future. 

That's a bit more about me that I don't think you've heard before. 

I will be back on this blog soon I hope, and I am going to start signing off as Amber instead of London Teenage Fashionista as I think it's more me... 

So lots of love guys,

Amber xx♥️

Annual Happiness Tips 2015... Not New Years Resolutions!

Welcome all to a fresh start here on the blog!

With the changes I went through in my life last year, I really wanted to start again with this blog, so I've done some decorating (hope you like the new look) and I wanted to launch again on a Sunday so I am looking ahead to a new week and a new year simultaneously.

This post will be duplicated on this blog sister Dear Aphrodite, as I think it spans the two but if you haven't checked out my other blog - please feel free to click the link in the bar above.

So to the root of this post which is about my Annual Happiness Tips 2015.

My big problem, and I think most people's problem, with New Years Resolutions (NYRS from now on in this post) is that everyone tries to make them, but tends to break them within the year, some don't even see out January.

Resolution in the Oxford English Dictionary is "A firm decision to do or not to do something", so by making and then breaking a resolution, you nullify the term in its entirety. Most people seem to make NYRS that are frankly untenable in their daily lives and then curse the tradition when they break/fail to meet their decisions made on January 1st. I always find myself saying I will never eat chocolate again, then diving into the leftover box of Celebrations; or that I will blog three times a week and then you don't hear from me for months. It is as if the tradition has become a joke in modern day life, so enter my Annual Happiness Tips.

Annual Happiness Tips are my version of NYRS as they are simple suggestions that I want to make every year to make myself happier, but and most importantly of all, they are only tips, they can be ignored, broken, interpreted etc. anyway I like. So no more pressure, hassle or guilt, basically my idea of perfection.

This year I have made four tips to enhance my life in 2015 and I have written these in my journal and will share them with you all now:

1. Be healthy but don't make myself crazy with worrying or feeling guilty when I am simply enjoying my life!
2. Be happy for what I have in life and remember that everyday (but at the same time it is ok to be sad every now and again - just not more often than I am happy). 
3. Be more creative more often; blog, do more photography, spend more time colouring and do more Lego building! 
4. Do something amazing every month; from seeing friends to travelling or just having an excellent experience at home with my family. 

If you hate making NYRS like I do, I hope that Annual Happiness Tips will make life better and take the pressure off at this time of the year,

Happy 2015 everyone, I hope you had a lovely festive season and are looking forward to a brilliant new year!

Lots of luv,

Amber aka LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥

From Catwalk to Campaigning...Chanel S/S '15

Hey all,

If you read my personal blog Dear Aphrodite, then you would see I wrote about how I am an acivist volunteer for Amnesty International and you'll see in the tags for this blog that I am a huge Chanel fan. It stands, therefore, that when I saw the recent Chanel show was a hybrid between fashion and activism, it safe to say I had to check it out. 

Although I loved the idea, ultimately I feel let down that the campaigning wasn't genuine. When I saw the signs were "Tweed is Better than Tweet", I did fell a bit like "Say What?". However with a further look I guess there was feminist/girl power undertones in the signage, which is a very current cause with the HeForShe campaign being launched recently at the UN. I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting from the initial headlines. 

For all the showmanship any fashionista would expect from Chanel, the "Boulevard Chanel" was no let down. The tonnes of looks varied from bright splashes of colour and tweed to very work-able colour and style of the suit-wear, meant that which completed the show became a complete wardrobe. I also really loved the gold sandals - but regular readers of this blog know that I love them.

I have linked below where you can view the looks from the runway, including the final walk with Mr Lagerfield leading his campaign catwalk down the road - but will this lead to a new dawn in the relationship between cause and clothes? I honestly am interested to see where this leads!

- Chanel News coverage: chanel-news.chanel.com

- Full coverage (including backstage pics): vogue.co.uk

Anyway, it's back to beauty and I am going to a very awesome awards evening soon so I will try a look out and post it for you all,

If there is anything you want to see let me know,

Lots of luv,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Long-term Make-up Staples...

Hey all,

I have a few products in my make up bag that have been around since I started getting into make up properly and have stuck with me all this time! (Don't worry nothing here has gone off or is gross!) And as this is beauty post time I thought I would show you!

So this is the overall kit and starting from the top; Next Eyeshadow palette (I don't think you can still get this but I will find a similar one and link it here), Benefit Dandelion Blush, Dior 5 Colours Eyeshadow palette in 030 Incognito, Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip Gloss in Pink Tulle, Rouge Dior in 365 Pink Songe, Rouge Coco Shine in 55 Romance and finally Lancôme Juicy Tube in Toffee R&B (I think it's been discontinued but you can get similar shades here). 

 

This Next palette has been a long term friend of mine. It has six shimmery shades that are softer than glitter but just as dusty. I love them all and have used the to lighten smokey looks as I am very pale and occasionally a full on look is a bit too heavy, so the shimmer adds a bit of me too the look.

 

This Benefit Dandelion blush just keeps going, I use it fairly regularly although I am quiet pink toned anyway and have been turning to it's sister Coralista for the summer months as it has browney tones which double as a bronzer. However the cool pink is my perfect natural blush shade and I love it so much for barely there make up looks. 

In contrast to the shimmer palette I showed above, this Dior one is like the elegant older sister. The shades are all matte and the pink and the yellow are the definition of barely-there colour, if I blend the two they are essentially my skin type. The white, grey and brown are perfect blending shades and very useful for more neural looks. 

 

This is one of my favourite lip glosses and the minty taste is simply divine. It is highly sparkly but not as sticky as some other glosses I've tried. I love it as it adds definition to any lipstick I put under it.

                              

This is the first "posh" lipstick I ever bought. I saved up and went with my mum to the local Dior counter in Boots, and tried on loads of different colours. This one, Pink Songe, was the perfect colour for me and I love wearing it with a smoked eye (I wear a steel or a dark navy Kiko eyeshadow stick; smoked from the eye line and a natural base).                            

 

It's a natural progression from one fab posh lippy to another - and this is just that. I had been testing these on the back of my hand whenever I walked past a Chanel counter and in two airports when I finally caved and bought a colour I could not put down (and I had leftover Euros). These lip sticks are sheerer than most but they have a lovely sheen which makes it more than a simple colour. It's easily wearable and more moisturising than some lipsticks I've tried. 

Last but not least, is my favourite flavour lip gloss of all, it's toffee-tastic! The formula is slightly sticky compared to the Bobbi Brown but these are considered legendary and all the flavours I've tried have been excellent. The gold glitter is a great addition to a look by itself if you don't want to have lipstick on. This mini was part of a gift and it has stood the test of time!

So this was some of the staples of my make up collection, I hope you enjoyed snooping in my make up bag! 

I will be back with my Chanel post next week!

Luv as always,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

From McDonalds to Barbie... a Moschino Evolution

Hey all,

So I have had my instagram and twitter glue to all of the fashion week shows and I will have a post on the Chanel show soon but first I wanted to talk about Moschino.

I have been a fan of their quirkiness for a long time, and my favourite colour is pink, so naturally the Barbie themed S/S '15 show caught my eye. 

I loved the idea of the show. Models all over the fashion catwalks are dressed up and moulded into the looks of the designers dreams; so it seems logical that the ultimate dress up doll Barbie, would be what the models were turned into. It seemed surreal yet so perfect.

And my was it done well. There was no doubt who the models were, and the clothes bought the girly nature of Barbie to high fashion, a refreshing break from the ultra-masculine, sometimes even vampish dark looks that high fashion has been known to love. 

They new line has gone down very well, with net-a-porter selling out of some of the piece only a few hours after the show. I guess the high street will go a fab shade of pink next spring/summer! 

And finally, I loved the irony of Moschino. I aluded to the Mc Donald's themed collection which I loved, as fast food seems like the antithesis to high fashion where the models are always ultra thin and with the Barbie collection, it seems to have gone the other way, as some see models anyway as the embodiments of the iconic dolls. 

I therefore ask where will Jeremy Scott take it next? Salad-chic? Smurf-style? Personally, I can't wait because I know it will be done to the best and in the most stylish way possible. 

Lots of luv,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️

Latest Beauty Reviews...

Hey everyone,

So my skin regime has been working really well on the whole recently (if you want to see the current post click here), but I noticed that tee tree alone was not strong enough to really get shot of my spots. So about two weeks ago I decided to pick up the Superdrug Deep Action anti-blemish gel which it claims has the maximum concentration of salicylic acid allowed, and based on the results I have seen so far, I'm impressed and a proper review will come after a months use. 

Also I've been loving some lip products. First are two lip balms, one is the Lip Service from Lush which is very healing and good if you have dry or chaffed lips. It is very solid when you get a new tin but it soon melts with body heat and becomes a perfect consistency, which when applied to the lips is just perfect. It is very neutrally tasting so perfect if you have a favourite flavour gloss to go over the top as it won't ruin it.

But then my tin of Lip Service, which had been outlasting everything in my make up bag, got used up and so I bought my second lip product, which was the Nivea Essential Care lip balm. This is an old classic but personally I used to hate the taste of the balm, which I know is only minor to how well it works, but on trying for the past days I've learnt to really love it and it's healing properties are better than any of my other Chapsticks, so for now I am choosing nourishment, especially in this colder weather where my lips dry out a lot.

So finally to a face mask. I love doing a weekly mask and I previously was using the Tea Tree on from The Body Shop, but I had loads of Lush pots cluttering up my room so I exchanged 5 of them for my ultimate mask Catastrophe Cosmetic. It is blueberry based and smells divine as well as containing calming calamine which is very great at bringing down redness if you are having a bad skin day. The mask dries nicely but as it has so many healing and soothing ingredients it doesn't actually dry out your skin and is perfect in my opinion!

I hope you all enjoyed my beauty reviews,

See you soon for a fashion week related post
All the best,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥️  

Be in tip-top condition...

Hey all,

It is rather ironic that I am writing this post as I am watching Strictly Come Dancing,which is by far the most sparkly TV show ever, and I am talking about my new love - embellished tops. Not only are they the perfect evening outfit but they also often don't require jewellery as they come with essentially a necklace attached.

So I hope you all feel slightly sparkly now, Strictly was interesting tonight but I can see a few who are doing well straight out of the gate .

Anyway next post is my beauty reviews,

Hope you are well,

LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥

My Favourite Nail Polish Atm...

Hello all, 

My beauty reviews are coming soon but as I am still testing the products, I wanted to post a review of my favourite nail polish of the moment, instead. 

The polish in question is the Kiko Nail Lacquer in Shade 303 Beige Chrome (currently £3.90) not only is it inexpensive but it is a great colour that suits all outfits. 

One coat is good enough for a sparkly top coat action as it is can be applied slightly sheerer with a think swipe of the nails, but two coats are recommended for the fullest colour. 

I then also apply a top coat. The one I have is the Sally Hansen Mega Shine which just causes the sparkle to, well, shine and helps the polish last. 

I find the polish lasts 4/5 days depending on what you do. Which is great considering it's price! The brush is fairly wide for easy application and it's by far the best polish to apply by yourself. 

I would recommend Kiko to anyone as I love there other beauty products too!

Anyway speak soon,

LDN xx♥️

N.B. This post is not sponsored and I my hope is to post one beauty and one fashion post a week :) 

All a Little Bit Cultural: BP Portrait Award Next Gen Event

Hey guys,

I know I was a bit belated with my birthday blog and this is a similar scenario but I wanted to post about this event as it was such a fun night and unlike anything I have ever done before.

(I also want to come up with a regular post schedule so I will work out when will be best for that, as I want to diversify my blog into more areas of my life than just fashion and beauty. A post dedicated to thank you all for the 25,000 page views will be on it's way soon too!)

So back to the event. I found out about this event due to the organisers at the BP Portrait Award sending me the link to RSVP on Twitter totally out of the blue. I looked up the event on the National Portrait Gallery website and thought that it seemed like something I have never done before so why not. My parents went to art college and so I had been bought up being taken to galleries and I really love looking at art, even if I am not that great at actually doing it myself. I believe that my art is fashion and the odd bit of colouring in, but I appreciate the statement that artists make when they do what they do, so I knew I would enjoy it.

The event was on a Monday evening and allowed us (a group of probably 30 14-19 year olds) to see the gallery after hours and meet some of the award winners from the competition this year that BP had sponsored (and is still on show to the public until the 21st September). There was a wide range of activities that night, from the chance to sketch the portraits for a competition, to getting a taste of curating by writing new labels for the paintings which were specifically for a teenage audience. Food and music also played a part, and I must give a shout out to the amazing TVR for his Slam Poem which was just incredible.

I feel very lucky to of been able to see the amazing entries up close and meet some of the artists who were inspiring and allowed us to see behind the canvas in a way you wouldn't get to from simply looking at the art.

The art itself was beautiful, from photo-realists to the more abstract portraits of people who were not famous and to those who were simply friends of the artists. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the art itself but if you want to see the rest of the exhibitors online you can click here but of course if you are in London go and check out the exhibition itself!

So I wanted to thank the organisers for inviting me and to all the friends I made while walking the galleries.

Speak to you all very soon I hope,
Luv,
LDN Teenage Fashionista xx♥