On a couple of occasions, I've talked a bit about my skincare philosophy. Certainly I find winter is a lot harder on my skin than the other seasons and the exposure to heating and drying is already causing discomfort. So last weekend I stopped by the Clarins counter at the department store and found some products to help me this season. It was nice to get a gift pack and some samples thrown in.

I chose Clarins because I was impressed enough with their firming lotion that I went ahead recently and bought the body serum and the abdomen shaping lotion too. Since I'm happy with all three it seemed fair to try them for my winter facial regimen as well and so far, so good.

I'm not really advocating Clarins here. They're certainly not the only brand I buy and like.  But it has taken a few attempts to find products that work for me. Ones I've tried and which haven't suited have been passed on to friends, who by nature of their skintone or lifestyle, have reported that they like them well enough.

I am an advocate of finding what works for you: whether that's a natural treatment such as rosehip oil, a supermarket shelf product, a premium brand, or something boutique. It's certainly not for some random blogger on the web to imply that a modern potion works like magic.

But, if you wonder what makes me look younger than the age calculated from my birth certificate it's partly because I take skincare seriously. The skin is the largest organ on our bodies but we invariably treat it harshly from exposure to sun, wind and aircon to our diets and habits. It's as much about health as aesthetics to take a little care of it.

A week on, I can report that my skin feels much better despite me huddling by the fire. It's not soley the new serum and moisturiser which I use in the morning. When I feel like my skin needs a boost I use my tried and true Olay moisturising cream at night which is a thicker, richer formulation than most. I'd run out and bought a new tub on the same day I got the Clarins products.

The new winter regime is certainly working for me. In my skin

A couple of months ago I was discussing coloured jeans with a colleague. I'd never actually bought any but felt I should. Jen has them but often feels too self-conscious to wear them. Most of us have parts of our bodies which we dislike and it can feel a bit like we're pointing a flashing arrow at them if we highlight them with colour.

All this got me thinking about the things I do when I want to to work around parts of my body I'm not feeling confident about.

I am no different with regard to body image issues but I am fortunate that I can exercise and 'diet' (I use that term loosely since I merely monitor my calorie intake if I want to move weight around) myself into proportions I can live with. Only a couple of years ago finding pants that would go over my thighs and still fit around the waist was problematic so finding a skinny pair of jeans would have been challenging. I felt conscious about my thighs and actively worked on slimming them down again and now I've divested the extra kilos I'm back to skinny jeans, ponti pants and short shorts.

Given the style challenge this year I thought it likely that just about every colour in the randomiser would eventually going to end up with "pants" as the style challenge so the last time I went thrifting I actually bought a couple of stretch denim jeans: one in red and one in green.

Yesterday's challenge was actually pants of any colour and my other half voted for green. A chance to put my thrifted jeans to work and share a few visual tricks. Yusss!



So here are a few tips for wearing coloured legs if you're not au fait with them:

• If you feel that coloured jeans merely draw attention to booty and/or thighs that you feel self-conscious about, then pick a top that's at least as deep in colour as the jeans so that undue attention isn't placed on your ass-ets.
• Unless you're building off a colour palette from a jumping off point that will bring the whole outfit together, choose a top that's in a neutral colour. Wearing a red top with green jeans can make you look like a wannabe Christmas elf so stick to black, white, denim blue or a shade of tan.
• Your legs take up a lot of visual real estate so be sure to bring the eye of the beholder back up by using some statement up top - in my case I've chosen tonally complementary neck candy.
• In as much as colour on the bottom half can draw other people's the attention down don't fall prey to it too. Look at your whole self in the mirror and match the shape of your top to the shape you're aiming for. If the colour and style of the jeans throws you into a pear shape and you were aiming for hourglass, choose a top that visually broadens your shoulders.
• I don't assume these days that you're wanting hourglass: if you're for big booty pear juiciness per Minaj and Azalea then visually narrow your shoulders. A top that cuts in a bit on the armholes can make you appear bigger down there.
• Finally, just as wearing a pair of black shoes with black pants can visually lengthen your leg, wearing similar tones on your tootsies can make your legs look longer and therefore slimmer. This works even with flats but I prefer to make an extra couple of inches over and above the visual trickery!

Model: Natasha Bell

A poster at Westfield reminded me that the winter ball season is upon us. For those who choose to participate it can be a costly affair, not least of which is the sometimes exorbitant amount spent on finding the perfect dress: a dress that gets used once, maybe twice.
A bit of diamante

The style challenge for Mother's Day was bohemian and red. I put two looks together for the theme: one I wore in the morning and the other — a sedate, less gypsy, more 1920s Paris — was for high tea lunch at Ballantynes.

Whilst both outfits were lovely — and the white and red version certainly garnered positive comments from strangers at the carpark —  my favourite of the two was this romantic gypsy version in an almost indecent mini-length.

The dress does all the work because this kind of bohemian is all about colour, clashing prints and plenty of fabric. Add shape with a belt in the required colour, pop on a pair of cherry red boots and finish with bling in gold. Done!

What do I love about this? The labeless mini-dress was a thrifted find so it was inexpensive. So was the belt. The chiffon, in great volume, has lots of movement: I feel light and a bit of a flower child in it, even if I wouldn't lean over in public.

The strange thing is that at age twenty-four I took on a step-mother role for pre-adolescent children and had to get very serious, very fast. And I was already pretty serious for a twenty-something woman. In my tech-hedonist life this meant stopping gaming until the early hours of the morning and in my style life this was dressing as an adult because arguing with a teenager about the length of her school kilt seems a bit double-standard if you're guilty of the same.


Over the last few years, as the children have become adults themselves and we have become a childless household, I've felt able to return to doing things without concern that I am being a bad example. These days, the example I want to set for my kids is to be relaxed about who they are and be empowered young women. I want for them to know their own minds, own their decisions and to have their own sense of style: both in life and in clothes.

All this means that I'm even more relaxed as a thirty-six year old about how fanciful my outfits are and how much leg I'm showing. If being bohemian is about being free-spirited and being yourself then I think part of what excites me about this outfit is that it was exactly who I felt like and exactly what I wanted to wear at that moment.

I was recently asked whether I keep separate winter and autumn wardrobes. I don't. I believe in the power of layering and whilst some items may get less use over winter or over summer, I like to keep all my options available.
 
The same principle applies when I travel and I prefer to take a number of lighter mix-n-match pieces which layer to suit cooler weather as well as allowing me to strip off for heated interiors.

I love my ponti pants: street alternatives to tights and skinny jeans giving the best of both worlds in stretchy comfort and ass-supporting shape. I also love my cotton-blend knit crop tops, both for comfort, the avoidance of holiday ironing and, well, abs.

With a pair of classic leather boots, in this case my knee-high Pulp riding boots, I have a base for some autumn/winter adventures.


My matching Michael Kors jacket is the perfect travel companion to my boots. It's practical in weather and can take a little wet, a lot of wind and even a bit of snow and frost. As well as dressing down for casual it's smart and classic design can dress up a little too. I bought it with sufficient room to add a couple of layers beneath.

This Caroline Morgan top in a beautifully organic design chiffon is very versatile and an excellent palette for autumn travel. On warmer days it breaks up the black without adding too much heat.Worn unbelted for ultra casual or with a belt to add shape.


As I am wont to do when putting a single outfit together, I pack my travel wardrobe using a jumping off item to define the range. Whether I'm sticking to the classic metallic - I usually choose gold - or being more daring, it helps to have something which binds disparate items together. This trip I chose the Caroline Morgan top and other items I took with me used the deep browns, greens, creams and blacks that the top contains.


I'm gutted that I live in a country famed for producing wonderful merino product and yet I can't wear wool, even fine merino, for any length of time without breaking out in an itch. Regardless, autumn and winter are definitely for knits and this thrifted Glassons polyester jersey is a travel staple.

I do have one wool item which I'm able to wear, usually because I layer it over several other garments. This wool throw is both feminine and practical. So easy to just throw on for a quick dash out or for lounging around in the homestead.


All these outfits use the black base and between them offer a versatile range of looks, from rustic casual to city chic for a spot of holiday shopping.

My advice if travelling is to pick boots that are flat or with a very low heel. My bestie brought healed boots with her and we ended up buying a pair similar to mine for her given how uncomfortable a few hours of walking in heals, even stocky ones, can be.

Friday's challenge of floral and waistcoat induced a combination I probably wouldn't have put together if I hadn't had the challenge prompts and yet I was very happy with the resulting look for it's quirkiness.

The jumping off item was definitely the Portmans dress which offers a wide variety of colour options to run with. Given the waistcoat I matched it with was black, I chose to go with a black Fiorelli bag and my staple Isabella Anselmi stiletto pumps.

It was cool enough to wear gloves, despite the sunshine and I chose to go with the deep red leather pair I found at Glassons a couple of years back. I love these gloves because the thinness of the leather means my capacitive touch devices can be operated without taking off the gloves: excellent for txting while out in the weather.