{i'm not dead.. yet}

Well, its certainly been a few weeks, or perhaps even months too long  lovelies. After a few too many exciting and time consuming but incredibly fun adventures I'm back at the desk - which unfortunately for me looks very little like this pastel affair. I am, however; wearing a ton of jewellery as per, opting for a similar pale pastel hue on my talons and have a large cup of strong coffee by my side, nursing myself to some kind of caffinated delusion I'm recovering better than I actually am from a crazy weekend on a farm in Somerset, also known as Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts - but more on that later. Sleep first. More sleep. The boy and I haven't made it past 10pm in the last two days..  I am (slowly but surely) back in business, so expect to see a fair bit more from me in the very near future! 

rachelle xo
♥

{beauty icon : elizabeth taylor}

There was absoloutley nothing subtle about Elizabeth Taylor's beauty; ample cleavage, deep tan, huge violet eyes - and her fashion sense was just a bold. 

The 1940s and 1950s were undoubtedly her heyday, many of Elizabeth's favourite outfits are still celebrated and reinvented today; plunging necklines, bejewelled dressed, clinched waists, beautiful fur jackets and of course - diamonds galore.

Happy Weekend: Fashion Inspiration | A Retro Story

Spending this Saturday morning lusting after the laid-back pace of last weekend, where I wrote this post from a high thread count Egyptian cotton covered bed in Leeds, about to embark on a days worth of shopping and searching for a champagne hangover remedy. This weekend, its back to reality and I write this post from my desk, flicking through Augusts issue of Tatler with a rather beautiful retro-inspired editorial with the equally beautiful Alice Eve, styled by Deep Kailey, featuring designs from Marni, Chanel, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna and Paul Ka. Why wasn't I born to be a fifties housewife?...

Beauty Icon: Brigitte Bardot

Model, actress, singer - French fatale Brigitte Bardot has led an amazing life. Starring in over fifty films, popularising the bikini, a romance with Serge Gainsbourgh, a millionaire playboy husband and a bedroom scene with Hermes icon Jane Birkin, in her heyday, Bardot was the only one to watch.

Breathtakingly beautiful and explicitly sensual, her beauty is still iconic. With her signature cat eye, trademark tousled blonde locks, a girly grin and womanly curves, in the 1950's she was equalled only by Marilyn Monroe as an international bombshell.

The easiest way to achieve a Bardot flick is with Bobbi Browns Gel Liner in Black Ink on their Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush which has two sides, allowing you to do both thick and thin lines. Build up your liner in stages and clean up with a cotton bud dipped in eye makeup remover. Look straight ahead in the mirror when getting the angle of your flick in the correct place - it should give your eyes a subtle lift, crucial for getting Bardot's kittenish, sexy appeal.