Silver edition

As we move into the party season it's a great time to indulge in over the top sparkly and glamorous outfits but for a more subtle on trend look, you've got the lovely metallic shades to play with and my metal of choice is silver. Silver is a cool shade that to me is sleek, contemporary and graceful and it always gives a very deluxe and stylish impression, and you only need to use silver as an accent to add elegance to any outfit or look. Today I'll show you some of my favourite silver products and perhaps some of them will inspire you for the festive season ahead.

The first product is going to be invaluable for my hair during the festive period to try and limit heat styling at least a little bit - it's John Frieda's 3-Day Straight Spray (£6.99). This spray acts both as a heat protectant and as a help for straightened hair to stay nice and sleek for up to 3 days, using keratin protein. The spray is very light so it doesn't weigh down the hair and it doesn't make the hair feel sticky or as if it's covered by a thin film, like some products do and it has a lovely, fresh scent to it. I usually spray on about 12-15 pumps of it straight after a shower since I find that it also works well as a detangler, and when my hair has dried - either naturally or using a blow dryer I straighten my hair. When I've used this, I notice that my hair looks very shiny and healthy and even though it's perfectly straight it has a heavy thick feeling to it, that gives the hair a lovely movement. On me the effect lasts for almost 3 days, if I don't use any hairbands or put my hair into a scrunchy, and you can easily go over the hair again with a straightener without having to apply more of the spray

At this time of year I love to add a little sparkle to my makeup when we go out in the evening or to a party, and if you're not brave enough to wear a glitter eye shadow you can still get a glitter fix with the help of  sparkly eyeliners. I picked up a gel based eyeliner packed with glitter in Body Shop last year, and I like to dot a little of it over a black eyeliner or even wear it on it's own. It adds a lovely dimension and depth to the mascara. I haven't found this eyeliner on the Body Shop site, however you can find lots of very affordable liners in different colored glitters on the High Street by e.g. Collection 2000.

For more color intensity and less shimmer, I would recommend the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner (£3.99) which comes in several lovely shades, and silver is perfect to create a truly metallic look. It's a wonderful smooth formula that glides on with minimum effort and there's no pulling or tugging on the eyelid at all. The color is so easy to blend or to layer with other shades for an interesting look and I like to add this as an unexpected finish to neutral shade. Since it is waterproof and very long lasting it also works really well to wear on the lower waterline.

The last eye product in this glimmering selection is the L'Oréal Colour Appeal Eye shadow (£5.99) in shade 150 Real Silver. The packaging is a bit plasticky and flimsy and it doesn't make a very good first impression - looking at it you wouldn't believe that in fact the formula is one of the best ones I've ever tried. It's incredibly silky, smooth and fine, almost to the degree that it feels like a cream in it's consistency. You only need to barely touch it with your brush and you get a good dusting of the very highly pigmented shade, more than enough to cover the whole lid. Personally I prefer to only use a light wash of this over the lid, however it is easily built up and you can create a very dramatic and strong look. Even though the texture is so fine and light it doesn't cause any fall out and it sits nicely on the lid all through the day. If you're tempted to try this but aren't keen on the metallic look, there are several other lovely shades to choose from.  

From left to right:

Body Shop Glitter Eyeliner

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner - 010 Silver 

L'Oréal Eyeshadow - 150 Real Silver

As you know I love nail polish and for me one of the best high street brands is definitely Barry M because of their brilliant range of shades, effects, great formula and price. One range of products I particularly love is the magnetic polishes. When I first saw them about a year ago it was love at first sight and I quickly bought all the shades I could find. The formula is more or less the same as the normal Barry M in terms of wear, ease of use etc, but the main different is that it contains powder that creates a pattern when it's put under a magnet. There are several different shades and patterns to choose from and it's very easy to create. Make sure that you shake the bottle well before you apply the first coat. After that I would recommend that you work on one finger at a time, so as soon as you have applied the 2nd coat on a nail, you hold the magnet that's built into the top of the lid over the nail for a few seconds and you will see a pattern appear straight away - it's fascinating! The shade in the photo is Multi Sparkle (£4.99) which is a lovely glittery silver, and the effect creates a beautiful contrast between the light silver and the steel gray. I always apply a high shine top coat over this to create a mirror like finish and I think the effect is more eye catching that way. I absolutely ADORE the finish and I can't stop looking at my nails every time I wear it. Other brands have also picked up on the magnetic effect and although this isn't a new look anymore, I still love it as much as I did a year ago.

Barry M Magnetic - Multi Sparkle in artificial light

Barry M Magnetic - Multi Sparkle in natural light

The last item in this shiny silver edition is a perfume that means more to me than I can describe - it's Amouage's Reflection EdP (£175). Amouage is a very exclusive perfume house from Oman recognised for their rare and exquisite perfumes and I discovered their stunning scents when I was on my honeymoon, and I was fortunate to visit their factory. Before I talk about the scent, we have to take a minute to admire the stunning bottle. All perfumes from Amouage have the same shaped bottle, and what differs is the color and finish of them. This one is so beautiful with it's reflecting mirror shine and it deserves to take pride of place on a dressing table. The scent is an amazing soft and spring like blend of delicate crisp white flowers - magnolia, jasmine, water violet and freesia, and sensual white musk, golden amber and spicy woods. 

Reflection is a very unique fresh scent and despite being so rich with white flowers it's light, cool and has a water character to it that reminds me of cucumber and watermelon. Wearing it makes me feel so harmonious and peaceful - it's simply magnificent. I know that it's a ridiculously expensive perfume, but the memories and feelings so closely linked to it for me are priceless, which is why Reflection will always be part of my perfume collection.

Silver is so much more wearable than you might think, and by just adding a few touches to your look, you'll feel as glamorous as an actress on the silver screen.