Jewellery Mash-Ups

The christmas party season is already in full swing here in London. Last Saturday night Laurent and Laurent from independent fashion boutique Bread and Honey threw a fabulous night at the East Rooms in Shoreditch to kick-start the festivities. So with one event already out of bag in November the challenge is how to make that little black dress last a little longer for the rest of the celebrations still to come in December.

Cue big bling mash-up jewels. First seen a while a go from jewellery designer Tom Binns . The trend is to take multi strands and layers of classical pieces of jewellery, say a string of pearls, a cluster of diamante and mix it up with a touch of irony in the form of sterling silver paperclips and zips . These pieces from his Couture range don't come cheap so if you are looking for a necklace that nods to this trend then have a look at Mimco's Shambolic and Nouveau Drape collections.

Following on in this vibe is Italian jewellery brand Iosselliani. My picks of the collection are the clustered and stacked rings in pearls and faux gems which are pure over the top glamour for the cocktail hour.

Now we got that sorted get RSVP-ing.

http://www.backintenminutes.com/

http://www.thstrm.com/

http://www.tombinnsdesign.com/

http://www.iosselliani.com/

Francis Kurkdjian Fragrances

The post strike here in London has left me without perfume for over two weeks now. I am still waiting the delivery of one of my birthday presents. Its no good all the while it's stuck in some local sorting office. Since the only scent left in the house is my four year old daughter's Barbie perfume I am now craving chypre. My friend Andrea gave me a tester of the new Prada L'Eau Ambree. It's very nice, woody and on my olfactory wavelength and was even admired by the chap working the till at the BP in Greenwich. Although perfume I feel should come from a fragrance master or one of those philosophical and sensitive types that have graduated from the art of perfumery in Grasse and that have their own brand to develop and create without constraints .

So whilst doing a trolley dash through Liberty the other afternoon I made a beeline for the fragrance room to spritz up and check out a new brand in store.

Francis Kurkdjian has been producing custom-blend fragrance since 2001 and has worked and created perfumes for Acqua di Parma and Guerlain to name a few.

My favourite in his pret-a-porter collection was Lumiere Noire. Fragrance notes include spicy rose, patchouli and daffodil. Hours later on my coat the drops of fragrance developed into a warm and rich smell. It brought images to my mind of how a bourgeois woman of Rome might have smelt in the early eighties.

I wonder what the sales assistant down the BP would think of it?

http://www.franciskurkdjian.com/

http://www.liberty.co.uk/

What is The Style Eye?

The Style Eye is Lia Grandi fashion, beauty, lifestyle writer and commentator.