colour me beautiful



Details can make an outfit appear completely out of date or look stunningly current and fashionable. You’ll notice that puffed sleeves, metallics, lace, bows, and nautical stripes are just some of the details that are seen in all the shops right now. It’s important to know how to wear them correctly so that you make fashion hits, not misses.


For those of us who would like to disguise un-toned arms, try going for puffed sleeves in soft, drapy fabrics. Because these sleeves add volume, remember to keep the bottom simple and let your blouse make the statement. Puffed sleeves are perfect if you need to enhance your shoulder line. If you have an athletic silhouette (inverted triangle) or have a “round” shape, these sleeves are best avoided.

Gold, silver and bronze sheens are giving some razzle dazzle to unexpected colours and fabrics in everything from handbags, shoes and nail varnish to tops and jackets.
The City Chics will love to accessorise with metallics this season, whilst the Creatives and Dramatics can play to their heart’s content with everything that shines.

With the summer sunshine, you don’t want to blind people by wearing glistening shades from head to toe. Keep it to one piece per daytime outfit whilst two items is tops for the evening.

If you are not quite sure, venture into the world of metallics with a pair of shoes or a handbag. If you are prepared to shine, make sure the garment fits properly and remember that metallics reflect so don’t wear it on a part of your body you don’t want to emphasise! A good bet is to use it as a trim on a neck line or hem.

This old-fashioned detail has been given an updated twist in different forms from Chantilly to crochet.

Lace is wonderful as it allows you to be sexy with a hint of suggestion – covering up and revealing all at once. Try layering nude tops over colourful lace camisoles for a gorgeous feminine effect.

Whatever you do, avoid looking like a doily dressed head-to-toe in lace. Keep it simple and team with coloured accessories instead.

Perfect for the Romantics, bows are one of this spring’s favourite details. Found on everything from shoes and handbags to the straps of dresses and camisoles, these chichi details are fantastically alluring.

Tie one underneath the bustline of a floaty dress to give it an empire line to disguise your waist. For waist definition use a ribbon as an alternative to a belt and tie a bow over trousers, skirts or dresses.

The classic maritime white and navy stripes are appearing in tops, dresses and skirts. But so are alternative takes on the nautical look with stripes in all the colours of the rainbow.

Tops with stark contrasting stripes (such as white & navy or white & red) are wonderful for those with a triangular body shape. They will help emphasise the top half and balance out the body.

Tone-on-tone stripes (such as beige and cream) work for all body shapes as they appear as more of a monochrome look. However, those with curves beware! Stripes can often end up looking like waves if the garment is too fitted.

Smart, comfy and gorgeous – what’s not to love about flat pumps? These shoes, often thought of as unflattering, are now an elegant and practical item that should be in every woman’s wardrobe. Of course, the Classics will already have these in their shoe cupboard.

The versatility of these shoes can take you effortlessly from day to night. They look fabulous teamed up with a flowing skirt, cropped trousers, and long palazzo pants. Visit www.frenchsole.com, they have the world’s largest collection of ballet flats and other flat footwear.

It’s all too easy to keep throwing new toiletries and cosmetics into our make-up bags and drawers and then forget about them.

But is it really worth all the extra money and muddle? Save space (and peace of mind!) by binning:

• any items that you haven’t used in the past six months
• products that produce similar results (there’s no need to have six different types of foundation!)
• any water/oil based make-up or lotions that have changed texture or colour
• mascara that is older than three months, as bacteria builds up in the tube
• lipsticks older than 18 months

Try to go through this sorting process every six months to keep your clutter to a minimum.


What better way to minimise what’s in your make-up bag than creating your own personalised colour me beautiful make-up box? Click here to play around with different colours of eye shadow, blushers, bronzers and pressed powders to customise the perfect box for you.