Luxury Witch

Recently, I attended a job interview where I found myself explaining the concept of a ‘Luxury Witch’ to a rather bemused interview panel. ‘Imagine a really well dressed Goth who takes Ubers everywhere,’ I exclaimed before informing them that crushed velvet and pleated skirts were really in this season. They’re yet to let me know if I’ve been offered the job.

Whatever happens with my employment prospects, I’m deeply happy to have introduced the concept of ‘Luxury Witch’ to a wider audience. And – if this term ever appears in the Oxford English Dictionary – you’d probably find a picture of this outfit underneath it.

COAT: Marks and Spencer

ROLL NECK: Marks and Spencer

PLEATED SKIRT: Marks and Spencer

BELT: Vintage

BOOTS: Topshop

EARRINGS: Monki

My love of Marks and Spencer’s clothing runs deep – I will go to my grave arguing that they make the comfiest underwear on the market – and they are really knocking it out of the park this season. Their stuff is chic, reasonably priced and doesn’t fall apart after a few rounds in the washing machine (handy when you spill as much down yourself as I do). They do great everyday basics and on trend pieces like this gloriously witchy metallic midi skirt and leopard print coat, both of which look far more luxurious than their price tags would lead you to believe. Plus, M&S remains the only shop I can pop into during my lunch hour where I can purchase moisturiser, a skirt and a sandwich at the same time. What a time to be alive.

In the spirit of Halloween, I opted to experiment with my eye make-up and try out a more dramatic look. I used Make Up Revolution’s ‘Fortune Favours The Brave’ palette (an absolute bargain at £9.99) to recreate this gorgeous rose gold smokey eye look. I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to eyeshadow, but this is such a lovely (and easy!) tutorial to follow. While it’s not quite as elegant as Nancy’s,  I’m super pleased about how well it turned out.

I completed the look with MAC’s ‘Roxo‘, a limited edition blood red lipstick. While this particular shade is sold out on their website, I’m fairly sure that you could find lots of lovely dupes without searching too hard.

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In the Pink

I am an absolute lipstick fiend. I tend to carry (at least) ten in my handbag at any time and that’s before we count the fifty or so I have in my makeup organiser at home. To quote Charlotte Tilbury, they are happiness in a tube. I pride myself on having a different lipstick for every mood, and I never feel entirely put together until I put some on.

At the moment, I’m loving pinks, so I thought I’d showcase two I’ve bought recently – one for a daytime ‘work friendly’ look and one which is a bit more daring.

My love for Charlotte Tilbury’s makeup has been well documented here over the past few years. All of her products are absolutely gorgeous, great on super sensitive skin and look so luxe. Pulling out a tube of her lipstick on the train to work always makes me feel that little bit more glamorous, like Jane Russell in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ if she was trying to put on her lippy on the 7.25am to Manchester Piccadilly.

I visited her makeup concession at John Lewis in Liverpool last Saturday with a view to picking up a tube of mascara. I ended up leaving with mascara, lipstick, a bag full of samples and a pretty stunning day look. I’m posting this here for posterity, because I will probably never look this good in a post-hangover-post-yoga-class fug ever again.

Here, I’m wearing her ‘Hot Lips’ lipstick in ‘Secret Salma.’ It’s a beautiful shade of warm  rosy pink which was developed for someone with darker colouring than me, but really brings out the blue in my eyes. While it’s very matte, it feels like cashmere on my lips and has real lasting power. I’ve found that it can withstand my morning breakfast routine of a bagel and a coffee, which is impressive work. At £23, it’s not the cheapest, but I’d definitely recommend picking one of these up if you’re feeling flush and in need of a treat.

On the more budget end of the scale, we have Make Up Revolution’s Salvation Lip Lacquer in ‘Rebel,’ aka ‘the shade of fuchsia I didn’t know I needed until I saw it.’ Make Up Revolution is one of the best budget beauty brands out there. Their stuff is incredible considering how little it costs.  Their lip lacquers appear to be an updated version of the lip velvets that are a great dupe of Lime Crime and Lip Tar’s products. While I would have liked slightly more staying power from their lip velvet (I found that using a lip liner on top gave it slightly more staying power), it went on pretty easily, was remarkably pigmented and didn’t make my lips dry out. Plus, it was £3 which is a ridiculous price for something so good.

You can find Make Up Revolution’s products in most branches of Superdrug and I totally recommend picking a few of these up if you feel like experimenting with bold colours.