As we’ve already seen in our Oscars Fashion report nude was the theme of the night.  Marry that with THE must have bag for at least the last couple of years, the quilted Chanel and you’ll understand why we chose this as our pick of the day.  We regularly see celebs dressed yummy and slummy photographed with their quilted Chanel bags.  Straight away Lily Allen springs but check out Paris Hilton and Lauren Conrad donning theirs.

There have been so many copies done at most of the high street stores but this one has to be one of the best to date.   Found on asos.com this pastel quilted bag is a frugal friendly €18.  Best bit… the woven chainlink shoulder strap, it’s all about the attention to detail ladies!

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Seeing as we are in the midst of a recession we thought why not cheer you up each week with a spot of bargain hunting!  You can just sit back and relax, let us do the hunting and hopefully we’ll uncover some gems along the way.  If you know of any special offers that may be of interest let us know or post them in the comments box below.

We are going to be on the look out for anything from fashion, beauty, hair care, cosmetics, spas/salons, weekend breaks, dining… blah blah blah – you get the message.  So watch out for our weekly Bargain Bin post for up to date special offers.  As Mother’s Day is just over a week away it features a lot so that should take the hard work out of planning what to do for yours!

This week we  have a variety of lovelies to kick start us.

Cosmetics

Boots key offers until 23rd March:

Sanctuary – free Sanctuary Me time spa treats worth €15 when you spend €15 or more on Sanctuary Spa.

No7 gift with purchase worth €45 when you spend €30 or more on No7 – includes extreme length mascara, Mini P&P I, Mini Time Resisting Day cream, mini P&P eye cream for men, mini age defence cleansing balm, high shine lip gloss and mini eye shadow.

Saving of €15 on skincare (Roc,L’Oreal,Olay..), up to half price on Fragrance (Cerruti Femme,Davidoff Cool Water, Ghost..).

Save 1/3 on selected Extracts range and Soap & Glory range.

Visit Lancôme at Brown Thomas from Monday 15th February to Sunday 7th March to receive a complimentary gift. The ‘weekend away’ gift is worth €95 when you purchase 2 or more products one to be skincare.  Great if you are buying for Mother’s Day.

One hundred benefit lipsticks to be won every day on www.flake.ie.

Nosh

The 5 star Heritage Hotel in Killenard, Co. Laois are offering Afternoon Tea Buffet in their Ballroom which will take place on Sunday 14th March with first sitting at 2pm & second sitting at 3.45pm, serving sumptous delights & relaxing melodies from our resident pianist. Rates from €15.00 per person.

Pampering

At The Buff Day Spa, March Midweek Madness Spa Package! For only €75 you get: 30 Minute Stressbusting Back Massage, Dermalogica Buff Express Facial, Dermalogica Skin Rescue Kit (Worth €30), €20 Spa Voucher to use for your next visit to the Spa

Fashion

ASOS.com has reduced their delivery rates to Ireland. As of March 2nd, Standard Delivery to Ireland is only €2.99.

In Whitewater Shopping Centre Newbridge, The Debenhams new season spectacular is on from 3rd-6th March, with up to 25% off throughout the store and 10% off beauty and fragrance.

Newbridge Silverware in Newbridge Co. Kildare have been having a massive sale for the past week, with €70 off certain necklaces and massive discounts off other items.

www.meghanfabulous.com 30% off sale on sale items this week. Also, international shipping is free for orders over $150.

30% off these gorgeous little clutch bags, perfect for Spring/Summer! Also offering Buy one Get one Free on all gift sets which are perfect for Mothers Day! www.riomoda.com

Styletonic.ie offering free next day delivery for any orders over €100.

20% off at Coast for 2 days only.

Hair Care

For a limited time the Peter Mark Style Club Salon on South William Street, Dublin, are offering 20% off all salon services – www.styleclub.ie. 20% off all cut & colours nationwide all week.

www.hqhair.com are having an end of season sale with up to 50% off selected products such as Hairdo by Jessica Simpson & Ken Paves. 23 Inch Wavy Clip-In Extensions, were £69 now £34.50.

Getaways

Brook Lodge & Wells Spa.  €50 per person B&B or €80 per person B&B plus dinner.  Book a treatment at the spa and get one FREE!

Entertainment

Newbridge Greyhound Stauium are offering a 4 course meal, admission and racecard for €27.50 per person on Friday night, 5th March only. The same package cost €45 per person last year so this is a great reduction.

Celebrate with House of Fraser in Dundrum on Thursday 4th March and join their Alice in Wonderland themed birthday celebrations and enjoy many in store specials and events including meeting Graham Knuttel and Ken Boylan and champagne receptions…

Events

GLOW magazine has teamed up with EBS Building Society to bring the ladies of Ireland the ‘GLOW Feel Good Days’ roadshow.  There will be 800 goodie bags up for grabs at each event filled with beauty and skincare products.  There will also be 150 VIP goodie bags at each event for those who pre-register online for a Financial Health Check with the EBS.  FREE hair and beauty makeovers at each event.  For nationwide venue information see www.feelgooddays.ie.

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The last time I wore a bum-bag was actually only last year… as part of a Tomb Raider Halloween costume, I had a leather bum-bag to give the look of a utility vibe.  And it was actually the best thing ever… it reminded me how annoying handbags, clutches and purses are.  I didn’t have to worry about losing my phone, money, make-up or keys… all were compactly and safely secured to my body!  It left my hands and arms free to dance (badly) throughout the night.

So why is there such a faux-pas stigma against these little gems?  Well for years now, they have always been associated with naff tourists on holidays, in grotesque prints and overly neon-bright colours.  I have flashbacks of my Mum having a bright yellow one with black exposed zips and my sister with an luminous Simpson’s version.

No longer just made in tacky polyester… designers have given the bum-bag a whole new sophisticated chic.  Over at Louis Vuitton, designed by Marc Jacobs, the bum bag has taken a luxe turn (above).  In embossed leather complete with tassels and fur trimmings… even uber cool fashion follower Rihanna has been seen sporting this design out!  Brit bag designer Angel Jackson, who has her bags for sale on fashion website ASOS, has brought out a gorgeous python skin bum-bag, which surprisingly enough I am lusting after (top)!  And newcomer to the design world Ashish sent his models down the catwalk at London Fashion Week with his sexier bum-bag versions, with studded detailing teamed with cut-away body-con dresses (below).

Surprisingly enough, the High Street has taken this trend on… and there are cool versions popping up everywhere. Marks & Spencer will launch a studded leather-effect version in May, while American Apparel offers extreme ‘80s’ shiny gold and blue versions.  River Island has the most wearable version, in my opinion, with grungy black leather adorned with triangular-shaped studs coming into stores this Spring, while Penneys currently have their versions in stock… actually ahead of the fashion pack for once, in leather-look black and white options.

Well this ‘90s’ icon has come back with a bang this season, and although there was a mini-revival of the bum-bag by Louis Vuitton a few years back, it never really caught on despite SATC’s ‘Carrie Bradshaw’ endorsing it.  It proves that not everything she touches turns to gold, which leads me to think that this new revival may also be short-lived.  Above French Connection, below Urban Outfitters.

I cannot deny their convenience and I may even invest in a cheap one for the festivals this summer – it’s certainly here for the short term on a crazy fashion whim so why not indulge this spring and make like Mr. Motivator.

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Nude is THE colour palette of the season and one we are loving for it’s ease of wear.  Anything nude is so inoffensive and discrete you can almost get away with wearing anything once it’s nude!  This colour will work so well coming into summer with nude shoes blending seemlessly and elongating your leg rather than cutting off the length at your calf or ankle – yay for us small people!  Not forgetting to mention they are also a discrete way of wearing the gladiator shoe/sandal, one to have been previously avoided if you are short of stature!

We’ve picked out some of the best on offer and hope we’ve found something to suit all styles and budgets. Jimmy Choo‘s patent leather sandals won our first pick hands down.  With the zip detailing to the back of these shoes they will work well with everything from skinny jeans to floral print dresses.   Next to JC comes a fab studded pair of gladiators by Italian designer Giuseppe Zanotti.  Both available on Net-a-porter with the first coming in at $950 and the gladiators at $790.

Next we had a look at what Asos had to offer and we weren’t disappointed – excluding Bertie‘s brogue, (the shoe label Bertie and not the ‘give us a dig out’ Bertie)!  If you like brogues Asos have a great selection but we chose these as we loved their description of ‘distressed’ suede lace-up shoe, more like ‘devastated’!  Priced at €94.74 not a shoe we favour. These peep toe ankle boots are Steven by Steve Madden and are so versatile, and being of soft leather you won’t have to sacrifice your comforts – €214.74. The last pair above are at Dorothy Perkins and priced at €60, they were released in December so be quick if you fancy these as there may not be many left in stock.

Below the cream/nude crisscross lace up sandals are part of the Spring/Summer collection at Tesco, £18.  Faith brought out these fab peek-a-boo style sandals in January as part of their Spring/Summer range. They are another favourite here at wow.ie as they not only knock nude of the ‘must have’ check list but also the platform AND the gladiator!  If pumps are your thing check out Littlewoods.ie for these Love Label courtesan jewelled ballerinas for an amazing €27!!  There are more great pumps on Asos…

See our previous post on brogues here or our post on nude fashion at the IFTA’s to see which Irish celebs champion this trend..

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A trend that I see emerging everywhere at the moment is one that is so simple and easy to achieve but is totally classic and elegant, it is the black skirt and white/cream top. Almost all the high street stores are serving up their version of this trend, and many of them are making it easy for us by combining the black skirt and cream top into an all in one dress. The great thing is that most of us have these wardrobe staples already, so we can easily combine them with a few accessories to bring them right up to date.

The only possible pitfall of wearing this trend is that if you don’t get it right you could be mistaken for the waitress if you wear it out to dinner! To avoid this it is probably best if the top is not a collared blouse or cotton shirt. Instead go for interesting cream tops in indulgent fabrics like satin, lace or chiffon. You can have great fun with this trend by contrasting the fabrics and textures in the black bottom and cream top. There are also lots of great black and cream accessories out there right now that you can use to pull the look together. Add a string of pearls or oversized flower (yes, sorry the oversized flower hasn’t gone away) and viola, you’re ready to go. Add a red handbag or other accessories for an eye-popping contrast if you wish.

Pictured above from top left to bottom right – Karen Millen Belted Knit Dress – £99, Lipsy Colourblock Bow Dress – £45, Coast Jeffie Shirt – £70, ASOS Two In One Jersey Workwear Dress – £20.00, ASOS flower clip – €4 for pair of two, Faith Cirence Court Shoe – £60, Oasis Button Front Skirt – £40, Monsoon Pearl Bracelet – £8

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If you are lucky enough to be wined and dined this Valentines you better make an effort to dress up!  We’ve chosen a couple of different looks to give you some inspiration.  Our first pick had to be this lace shift dress from River Island where you’ll also find a pair of patent black platform shoes with a dark purple heel to complete the look and a treasure trove of accessories. Next we’ve chosen a fringed charcoal dress from AWear (bargain at €50!) that could be tamed with black opaques and maybe a splash of colour with some red shoes or why not add colour with a pair of red sheer tights.  If you’ve fake tanned it would be fantastic with a killer pair of sexy heels.  Either of the Carvela shoes below from BT2 would do the trick!  You could always splurge or maybe be splurged upon for Valentines and be the proud owner of these gorgeous Jimmy Choo red patent peep toe sandals for €495 (JC on line).

If you are just at the beginning stages of a relationship and don’t want to appear too keen or maybe you just want a funkier look then any of the three looks below may be what you are looking for.  The first two are by Gestuz and the last by Goldsign, all available at BT2 with Gestuz also available on asos.com. The Gestuz ‘pants’ are one of the biggest trends this season, in particular the first pair incorporating a haphazard print. Adriano Goldschmied, formerly of AG jeans, is behind Goldsign which is a new denim line to BT2.  Each pair is unique with gold detailing on the back pocket and even better they’ve just a hint of that all important skinny jean essential – stretch!

Alternatively if you want to go all cutesy and girly this Valentines then Sonia by Sonia Rykiel‘s little pink dress is a winner!  I absolutely love this dress, it’s colour and the detailing on the shoulders – detailing that WILL make your waistline appear smaller. It is probably the most discrete piece from the collection which is full of bold colours and prints. Perhaps give the sunglasses a miss if it’s dinner instead of a liquid lunch. This dress is available from BT2. Sonia by Sonia Rykiel is also available on asos.com and net-a-porter.com. Prints and a hint of 80′s combine together with this floaty girly Frill Hem dress from Warehouse and it won’t break the bank at €60! They also do a wrap style similar to this dress at the same price.  You can team this dress with opaques and boots for day wear or office wear and pumps in the summer.  Here’s hoping you are all spoiled rotten whatever you do!

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