A/W 14 Autumn Daze - How To Style A Polo-Neck Dress

A/W 14 Autumn Daze by dottedvelvet 

Uniqlo dress/ Falke black patterned pantyhose / Converse sneaker / Billabong backpacks bag / Burberry scarve / Betsey Johnson black umbrella / Urban decay eyeshadow / Giorgio Armani perfume fragrance / Eos lip treatment / Nail polish

This season I am loving all the autumn trends, especially the polo neck dress. I have styled a outfit incorporating this trend with a ox-blood theme featuring the must have product - a tartan scarf.

A/W is my favourite season for fashion, there is nothing like wrapping up warm with your favourite knitwear for the winter day ahead. The ox-blood theme is dominating fashion and beauty at the moment, which is one of my favourite colours and is so versatile to wear. 

This week I have chosen a lambswool polo-neck dress to be pair with black tights, burgundy accessories, converse and a tartan scarf. I always think a polo-neck is quite difficult to style because it can quite easily look old and dowdy but I love this look and will be investing in one in this year. 

Will you be incorporating any of these trends into your wardrobe? 

What do you think of the ox-blood trend?

My Top 4 Christmas Beauty Advent Calendars

I know it's only November but with the Christmas countdown just around the corner, there has been massive hype over beauty advent calendars. All with various price tags and lots of great products, why have chocolate when you can have a new beauty item everyday? 

I've compiled the following list of my top four, in terms of the products and the value for money per calendar window.

The Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar- RRP £149.00 

£5.95 Per Window 

This one has to be my absolute favourite, it's a great mix of different high-end brands such as Nars, Diptyque, Dermalogica, C.O.Bigelow and many more. The packaging is beautiful as expected from a company like Liberty, which is well known for it's prints. I think this stands out for me as it isn't just make-up; It also features skin-care, hair-care and even a candle but the price is high considering they are all travel sizes. If money was no issue I would splurge for this but for that price you could get a beauty subscription box every month for a year, so that seems like a better option. Although maybe not as exciting.

Benefit Candy Coloured Countdown-RRP £60 

£2.40 Per Window

I'm no stranger to the Benefit brand, I've loved it for many years but because I have sampled most of their products this for me just wouldn't be a good investment. Again, it's a great mix of all their top selling products and who wouldn't want a benefit treat every single day. The theme of the calendar is candy inspired and really cutesy in keeping with benefits usual branding. A great purchase if you want to try out all their products and the price isn't too expensive for the quality of samples in this.Ciate Mini Manor Nail Polish Advent Calendar - RRP £49.00 

£2.00 Per Window

Nail polish fanatic? This one is for you. Ciate is a great quality polish, I first sampled it in a Birchbox and was really impressed with the pigment and longevity of the polish. This is a collection of 24 mini polishes and a full size one for Christmas day. I think this is a great purchase as it will most likely last you a year until next Christmas; and it features 17 of its bestsellers. With such a variety in colours and a full-size product, I would be most likely to invest in this one out of all of the calendars.

The Body Shop Beauty Advent Calendar-RRP £50 

£2.00 Per Window

Nothing says Christmas quite like the body shop, I've got stacks of body butters from christmas' past and I am still hooked. Featuring everything from soaps and body butter to their new glazed apple and wild argan-oil range, with very generous sizes up to 60 ml.This is a lovely little calendar, good value and a diverse range of their products. 

Overall, the Ciate Mini Mani calendar is probably the one I would go for as I love nail polishes and the price is reasonable for what you get.There are many other beauty calendars such as Jo Malone, Tesco, Selfridges, No 7, Elemis and L'Occitane to check out .

Will you be purchasing a beauty calendar this year? What's your favourite?

Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Foundation - 1.1

Many pale girls will know the struggle to find the perfect foundation shade is real. I am always trying to get the balance between it actually matching my skin tone and not make me look like Casper. So after reading a lot of reviews on this foundation I thought it could have major potential. I visited a Smashbox counter at my local boots and after talking to the assistant, I quickly handed over my card and was so excited to test this out.

I went for the lightest shade which is 1.1 and I hoped so much that this was for me. After previously researching, I discovered that all Smashbox cosmetics are made specifically for oil prone skin so I thought I had hit the jackpot with this one. I had it tested on my skin-tone in the shop and it looked lovely and felt amazing, it isn't too thick and it has a medium coverage but it is buildable.

Unfortunately to my horror, when I looked in the mirror in natural lighting I noticed I had a very visible foundation line from my face to my neck. I've tried various blending and application techniques but unfortunately this shade is way too dark for me, I have listed below the pros and cons of this product because I actually really like it. I am so fussy when it comes to foundations but this one is really good, if you can find it your shade that is.

Pros:

1. It really is long lasting and it does stay on all day when used with the primer

2. It doesn't settle in creases, which is amazing!

3. Fragrance free, I don't really ever understand the need to add fragrance to makeup 

4. You don't need to apply much to achieve a medium, natural coverage

Cons:

1. The lightest shade is still very dark compared with other brands. The closest I've been to my actually shade is still Bobbi Brown in Porcelain

2. If you have any dry patches it will highlight these areas. It is formulated for oily skin, so I really wouldn't recommend this product if you don't struggle with this issue

3. It doesn't cover red blemishes. Which isn't really a huge problem but concealer is a must with this foundation

Overall, if this product released a much lighter shade I would repurchase it in a heartbeat. I love the staying power and I am really disappointed it doesn't match my skin tone at all. As you can see from the swatches it is relatively dark. I would say if you are thinking off buying this foundation make sure you have a great skincare routine, as with most mattifying foundations it will highlight any dry patches but for now the search is still on....

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?