A load of flannel....

From top left; Mae flannel wrap skirt, £60, www.greatplains.co.uk , Women's flannel check long sleeve shirt, £19.90, www.uniqlo.com , Red flannel dress, £50, www.next.co.uk .
From bottom left; Scallop hem flannel dress, £65, www.oasis-stores.com , Featherweight flannel top, £52, www.frenchconnection.com , Flannel dress, £169, www.tedbaker.com .

When the short days and colder weather set in, we inevitably seek some sort of comfort; candles, cashmere, more rubbish t.v. than usual, chocolate.... For me, flannel type clothing, whether brushed cotton or a soft, brushed woven wool, is a real temptation.  As its made from natural fibres, flannel is a great tactile way to warmth and softness, without the overheating potential of some other more weighty winter fabrics.There's always plenty around in the shops over autumn and winter; Uniqlo are well known for their A/W ranges of brushed cotton shirt for men and women, and French Connection, Great Plains and Ted Baker generally offer a good range.

This winter, I'm looking forward to wearing this dress.

 

 

I bought it online earlier this year from www.peopletree.co.uk . I can't remember exactly how much it was; less than £35 in the sale, I think. Its incredibly soft, and worn with woolly tights, I'll be as snug as a bug. There's a similar one by White Chocolate, (mmm! speaking of comfort) on www.asos.com at the moment. Now, where's the cocoa?... x

Nars American Dream palette

Nars is a brand that has interested me for a long time. After much lingering at the local Space NK counter, I've made a small number of purchases, mainly single eyeshadows and a couple of blushers, all very nice indeed. Once a few such inroads into a brand have been made, it can be difficult to know where to go next. And at £17 for an eyeshadow, its not cheap....

But then I saw this on Asos.com.



 



Six Nars eyeshadows, and perfectly lovely, neutral ones at that, for £39.50. A very tempting option, especially with the free shipping that you get with Asos premier.

 

The packaging is the usual love it or hate it packaging (sleek yet dirt-attracting rubbery). The shades, one from each of the Bellissima, Alhambra and Silk Road and Tzarine duos, together with Galapagos and Bali, offer a really useful range of neutral, edging towards dramatic, colours.

 



 

Comparisons have been made to Urban Decay's infamous Naked palette especially, and the other countless 'nude' palettes marketed by practically every other cosmetic company. The payoff of the shadows isn't quite as uniformly good as the Naked palette; things range here from a disappointingly grainy rose gold shade to the excellent buttery matte brown Bali.

 

 

 

I find the shades just a bit more interesting than the Urban Decay ones. The above swatches indicate (in addition to the need to wear rubber gloves while doing the washing up) the intensity of (most of) the shades, making this palette an ideal one for travel or a capsule makeup collection.





Lyn Harris for Marks and Spencer

When I heard back in the summer that Lyn Harris of Miller Harris was to create a diffusion line of six fragrances for Marks and Spencer, well I was a little excited, to say the least. While Miller Harris doesn't occupy the olfactory place in my  heart (!) that Guerlain does, I've developed a soft spot for them over the last few years, with L'Air de Rien and the lovely autumnal La Fumee among my favourite scents. However, the Miller Harris creations range from around £62 - £130, so the prospect of a Lyn Harris composed fragrance at £25 a bottle, was an attractive prospect indeed.

The six fragrances released in late September, available in selected stores and online are
La Poudree, an oriental, with raspberry, peach, rose, orange flower, iris, vanilla and musk.
La Fleur, with gardenia, Indian tuberose, woods, vanilla bourbon and musk.
La Rose, rose petals with galbanum, red berry, patchouli, musk and amber.
Le Cologne, with bergamot, lemon, Seville orange, rosemary, vetiver and amber.
Le Sauvage, with grapefruit, Seville orange, cardamom, angelica, oakmoss, vetiver and tabac.
Le Noir, with bergamot, green mandarin, lavender, patchouli and amber.

The Cologne, Sauvage and Noir are branded as men's fragrances, though I haven't found any of the Miller Harris 'men's' fragrances overly or prohibitively masculine, so after much deliberation, I placed an online order for Le Sauvage and La Poudree.

 

 

 

The packaging is great; very restrained and classic, much in the same vein as Miller Harris. Now to the fragrances themselves. La Poudree is the oriental that I'd hoped for, unmistakably related to Guerlain's classic Shalimar, and bearing more than a passing resemblance to Fleur Oriental by Miller Harris. It lacks the rich denseness of the Guerlain, however  and lacks its longevity, requiring a refresher spray every two or three hours. Its a much softer, rosier affair altogether. It isn't lacking in complexity, however, and I've really been enjoying wearing this in the daytime, something I wouldn't normally have the nerve to do with the majestic Shalimar.

 

I'm a little disappointed with Le Sauvage, though much of this may be to do with the time of year. Its lighter than I'd anticipated; more citrus and less oakmoss, vetiver and tabac than I'd hoped for. Its a very appealing number though and come next summer, will no doubt take its place with my beloved Caron Pour un Homme, Sisley 2 and other light and refreshing spritzers.

 

I've recently had a sniff of Le Noir and it was wonderful; very herbal, deep and spicy. And no more masculine than feminine from what I recall. One for the wishlist...