I’ve Found The 5 Best Parkas…

parka london five best parkas

A random theme for a video, you may think, but I love a parka during the winter months. And spring and autumn, for that matter; I probably clock up a good hundred days of parka-wearing every year. But so many of the parkas these days look and feel cheap – shiny fabric, horrible zips and shockingly bad scraps of faux-fur on the hoods. The faux-fur trimmings on parkas are a particular obsession of mine: I can’t believe how many brands manufacture coats that look as though they’ve had roadkill sewn to the top of the hoods!

five best parkas asos

So I tried a lot – a lot – of parkas before narrowing down my choices to the five you can see in the video below. I completely disregarded price when I was judging them, but fortunately there’s quite a nice spread – the cheapest is £40 (directly above, see here), the most expensive is £315 (top of page, see here). I’d be more than happy to wear any of them this winter, and have been pretty much living in the ones from Hush and Topshop.

topshop premium parka

The Topshop Premium Parka (above) has the best fur – it’s so lush and soft and runs down the inside of the coat as well as lining the hood. Considering the coat costs just less than £100 I think that it’s just brilliant, brilliant quality.

parka london coat with fur

The Parka London coat (top and above) is more of a winter coat with fur trim than a true parka, really – but it’s absolutely stunning and beautiful quality. The faux-fur is so ridiculously thick that the hood is slightly better down than up – you can get completely lost inside that hood, it’s almost as though you need a periscope to see where you’re going! If you’re looking to invest in something a bit smarter than a parka then this is the one for you. The sumptuous faux-fur looks so glamorous.

Anyway, watch the video and tell me which one’s your favourite – I’ve listed all of the outfit details below. You can also see those amazing Topshop boots in action as well as the Whistles t-shirt that I posted about the other day. Enjoy!

Music is by the gorgeous Sadie Fleming; Nowhere Left To Fall. Her website with links to her music is here:http://sadiefleming.co.uk/

Outfit 1:
Parka with Red Faux-Fur Trim, Hush: http://tidd.ly/901dc0b9
Plaid Shirt, Hush: http://tidd.ly/9e3d6c15
Leggings, Isabella Oliver: http://tidd.ly/ec2db5b7
Wellies, Hunter: http://tidd.ly/d9279566

Outfit 2:
Brave Soul Cotton Parka with Oversized Faux-Fur Hood, ASOS: http://tidd.ly/fa532bc9
Whistles Beauté T-Shirt: http://tidd.ly/3d77eb18
Black Jeans, Paige Denim (last year)
Black leather boots, Next: http://goo.gl/7u09Jp

Outfit 3:
Parka London Wool Coat with Faux-Fur Trim: http://tidd.ly/d8a7d52a
Leggings, Isabella Oliver: http://tidd.ly/ec2db5b7
Olive Boots with Gold Detail, Topshop: http://tidd.ly/99bcb43a

Outfit 4:
Neutral Parka with Faux-Fur Trim, Next: http://goo.gl/J5pLxy
Leopard Print Top, ASOS: http://tidd.ly/1d917346
Blue Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch: http://tidd.ly/fe250dce
Olive Boots from Topshop: http://tidd.ly/99bcb43a

Outfit 5:
Premium Parka with Faux-Fur Lining and Hood, Topshop: http://tidd.ly/3ef0b4ec
Cashmere Bea Jumper, Hush: http://tidd.ly/1b3ce516
Blue Jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch: http://tidd.ly/fe250dce
Black Leather Boots, Steve Madden: http://goo.gl/VmJ69G

Video prepped, styled and edited by me. Filming by a reluctant Mr AMR, ha!

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Sunday Tittle Tattle: Treating Myself

ruth crilly

This week I have mainly been treating myself to things in an attempt to scrub up my appearance and look vaguely normal. For months I have been slobbing about in the same pair of trainers (or my one pair of available flip flops, if it’s hot) and I have been wearing the same two outfits on rotation. My hair roots were down to my ears.

So on Friday I paid a visit to Trevor Sorbie in Covent Garden to see my brilliant colourist, John Spanton, who blondes me or “caramels” me depending on what faddy notion I’m having at the time! I’ll be writing more about this visit, because John used a very intriguing new conditioning and strengthening treatment on my hair and it needs investigating, but for now, behold: I am very much blonder.

ruth crilly

And I love it – it feels very fresh and summery. I also had a bit of a trim and shape courtesy of Frederico – everything is now swishy and my dry ends are gone. New hair, new woman – I can’t tell you how much it has lifted my mood!

Read more Sunday Tittle Tattle posts…

On the lust-list: just about everything from Hush’s Autumn collection, which has just landed. In the photos above I’m wearing the Plaid Shirt, which is much thicker and warmer than your usual plaid shirt, but I am seriously hankering after the Cashmere Bea Jumper, the Contrast Rollneck (would look amazing with black skinny jeans) and the winter version of my beloved Star Pyjamas. Hush have 10% off this bank holiday with free delivery and returns – the code is AWXX15 and you can use it here.

I’ve had other treats (including these lovely Steve Madden boots) but I need to take photos of them and also decide whether the dresses I’ve bought are “keepers” or not. I’ll get back to you! No pet photos this week because the cat is still at my Mum’s and Dexter the dog moves too fast to catch, but if you want life and baby updates then they are all over on The Uphill.

Read about my embarrassing “when’s it due” situation in Tesco…

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The Cat-in-a-Box, The Sock Thief and The Cult Beauty Goody Bag.

cult beauty goody bag

1) Cult Beauty have kicked off March by launching a really lovely goody bag. It’s free when you spend £90 – easily done when you consider that Cult have their virtual shelves stocked to bursting with all manner of desirable and quirky items. They have also recently started stocking the gorgeous beauty brand Aurelia, who make one of my favourite cleansers and the most decadent dry body oil in town and they have Alpha-H, Emma Hardie, Verso, Jouer Cosmetics…

Beauty highlights inside the gift-with-purchase: full-size Grown Alchemist Hand Cream (£14), Oskia Renaissance Mask 15ml (approx £14), Omorovicza Night Cream 30ml (approx £30), Verso Day Cream 15ml (approx £24), full-size Odacité Glow Serum, £46 and a 30ml Eve Lom cleanser, worth around £16. A nice and hefty haul, even if you don’t include the makeup bag (not pictured), the GlamGlow eye masks, the Philip B shampoo and the “Wellness Bubbles”. Oh, and a Jouer Kabuki brush worth £11! You can read more about the goody bag and shop until you drop here – the bag is added automatically when you spend £90.

 Free gifts with purchase at Cult Beauty!

mr bear the british shorthair cat

2) I had a lovely quiet morning on Friday, sorting out my beauty samples ready for when I move house. (Temporarily moving house: we’re having ours renovated, which might sound mad considering I’m having a baby in early June, but there’s no way around it, we’re in too deep!) Whilst I sorted makeup into little boxes, Mr Bear sat and watched me from a bigger box and the dog trotted around the table bringing me various socks he had stolen from the laundry basket. My idea of a perfect morning, really…domestic bliss!

dexter the cockapoo

The post The Cat-in-a-Box, The Sock Thief and The Cult Beauty Goody Bag. appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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Review, Ingredients, Swatches: Algenist Advanced Anti-Aging Repairing Oil: Boosts Skin’s Radiance, Nourishes, Hydrates Skin

Billed as the “next generation of face oils” and formulated with patent pending microalgae oil, the Algenist Advanced Anti-Aging Repairing Oil ($79.00) is said to “deliver the performance of a powerful anti-aging serum with the unique experience of an oil.” Algenist claims that it is “fast-absorbing and non-greasy, “ and that it “instantly replenishes the […]

Silver Holographic Makeup Tutorial

PRODUCTS USED:
ud eyeshadow primer potion – eden
kat von d shade n light palette
mufe step 1 primer
bobbi brown bronzer golden light 1
mac blush – prism
becca hightlighter – moonstone
tarte shape tape – light
nars creamy concealer – custard
kat von d tattoo liner – trooper
kat von d foundations
colourpop eyeshadow – liberty
laura mercier translucent powder
nyx glitter glue
nyx lipliner – nude beige
colourpop liquid lipstick – chi