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.