Christmas gift review: One Thousand and One Nights

The Morgana line from Playful Promises Autumn Winter Damascan Dreams collection really does promise one thousand and one nights of boudoir play. A black lacey and racey retro collection, including; underwired bra, brief, thong, suspender belt and garter dress, which I strongly recommend.

Initially I didn't feel the line was as strong as Etti or Jasmine, however the quiet subtlety of the line soon made it's name within magazines, blogs and photo shoots. The Morgana garter dress was an incredibly popular piece to be called in by stylists, often queuing up to borrow it for their shoots.

It wasn't until I got my hands on the Morgana bra did I realise just how wondrous this line was to be. The bra is surprisingly comfortable, I can honestly say I've never had such a comfortable bra. With lace panelled cups and two inch thick elastic, the Morgana bra is a femme fatale bra like no other.

It has a very thin, almost transparent lining between the lacey exterior making it a soft bra to wear. But more than soft-to-touch comfort, the bra offers perfect sleek support which was surprising for such a lacy piece. In particular I like the shallow dip this bra offers, making it a uniquely shaped bra ideal under t-shirts, the LBD or for playful excursions.

The chunky ribbed elastic band, the signature of this line, is really what makes the collection. Such an original trim, comfortable and yet there is something quite racy about this oversized, two inch thick, elastic finish. The attention to detail is sumptuous, this elastic is finished with a small scalloped edge, therefore the elastic isn't cutting into the skin, rolling or other temperamental activity elastic can usually offer.

The brief, also finished with this chunky trim, features a rather saucy triangle cut-out on the back displaying glimpses of unmentionable regions. The lace fabric offers a racy glimpse and the mesh shows off further flesh, making this a real temptress of the night. And I have to say comfortable and sexy to wear, a match made in heaven (or by Playful Promises).

The garter skirt, or suspender belt, is very desirable. Just like the brief, the back of the garter skirt is as detailed as the front. The chunky elastic is crossed over on the back cropping the skirt high showing off your peachy cheeks, welcoming glimpses of your best assets. I really like the cut of this retro-inspired garter skirt. It includes adjustable straps for your stockings finished with a rubber tip to grip your nylons.

The jewel of the collection, steaming the mirror in your boudoir, is the Morgana garter dress. A real show stopper, the garter dress could almost be a little black dress. Perhaps a little risqué, it's definetly something to show off. The underwired bra offers support and comfort whilst the dress shapes your curves. Again a criss-cross cut-away effect with the chunky elastic offers promising glimpses of what lies beneath.

The garter dress is a real must-have for fun in the bedroom and ideal to be worn under dresses and more. But I strongly recommend the entire line for everyday-wear, boudoir shenanigans and shaping your curves.

Vintage party hair with Yogi

My name is Natalie Shirlaw, I've been hairdressing for around 20 years and have worked in some of London’s top salons. I'm currently working as a session hairstylist, which means I specialise in TV, film, grooming for premieres, photoshoots etc. I'm currently the “face” of  Yogi hair products and I do the hair show on QVC for them too. I've just been booked for the Sony premiere “The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo” in December too so I'm very excited about that! My website is www.shirlawstyle.com if you would like to read more about me.

Im really excited to bring some Christmas party looks for you through Playful Promises. I hope you enjoy them and find my step by step easy to achieve! I have enlisted the help of my client Sinead who is modelling for me; we met when I did her gorgeous vintage themed wedding in the summer in Whitstable and also my friend and fantastic photographer Samantha Jones who does beautiful wedding pictures – take a look at her website!

LOOK 1: Barbarella

WHAT YOU NEED                                                    

Yogi Hair Wand  

A bristle brush

Pincomb

Widetooth comb

Grips

Wide grips

PRODUCTS

I use products from a company called Gentle Beauty as I prefer natural and plant derived products.  They have their suncoat range and also a range by John Masters Organics which smells beautiful and is very effective as its made by a hairdresser

This look is so popular and very easy to achieve when you know how!

Step 1

The first thing you must do when you want big hair is get texture in it,  backcombing alone isn’t good enough you first have to create a  texture in the hair.  To get great texture when you first wash your hair you must use some styling products. I used John Masters sea mist. Rough dry the hair, maybe even upside down to get plenty of body and movement.  You can even do this a day or 2 after washing if you find your hair has better texture when it is a bit dirty.  

Step 2

Next I have used my Yogi hair wand; the great thing about this wand is it's very easy to use and you don’t need any additional products to make a curl. I used the large barrel wand on Sinead’s hair. You can already see the lovely texture in her hair.

Step 3

Backcomb the hair with the widetooth comb. You don’t have to backcomb with a pincomb as this can make the hair very knotted to get out.  The trick is in the way you backcomb. Hold the section of hair and take long sweeping movements from 2 inches away from the root back down towards the root slowly and carefully (rather than sawing movements at the root!!!!) If you do this correctly the hair will stand up alone.  Spray with some hairspray. I like Sun coat spray as it is non aerosol or the aveda ones are good too!  

Step 4

Section off the hair as shown then place the padding in at the crown and secure with grips.  Take your bristle brush and smooth the hair gently over the padding and pin behind.  Keep the hair a liitle tousled as it will look too old fashioned if its too neat and Voila!!!

 

Keep your eyes peeled next week for my second Christmas party look! If you use this tutorial we would LOVE to see photos of the results - make sure you post them in a comment! 

Knicker hunt!

 We thought we would start the party games early this year, and we are kicking off our Christmas give-away specials with a knicker hunt! 

Scattered about our website are 5 little Playful Promises presents, with a set of Genie wrapped up inside each one! The first 5 people that find them all and email annas@playfulpromises.com with their locations will win a set of Genie in their choice of colour. 

(This one doesn't count!)

 Most of them are fairly easy to find, so get searching before someone else finds them all! 

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW OVER!

Congrats to our winners, Jess, Hannah, Viktoriana, Lauren and Saffron, your prizes will be winging their way to you very soon! We hope you all enjoyed taking part, we shall have to make the next one much more of a challenge ;D Keep an eye out next week for another hunt! 

Carnaby 20% Shopping Party

Last night was the fabulous Carnaby 20% Shopping Party in association with Grazia magazine! We had been excited about this all week, and prepared quite a few treats for our shoppers!

Not only were we giving 20% off EVERYTHING in the boutique, but we also had 5 goody bags to give away to the first people to come in and shout "PLAYFUL PROMISES TURNS ME ON!" - within 10 minutes of us setting up, we already had two ladies come marching in and shouting the magic words! Inside the bags we had further discounts, a pair of pin-up panties and some amazing make-up by Bellapierre!

Black Vanilla Cupcakes treated us to these ridiculously yummy cakes! Honestly, these are the BEST cupcakes I have ever had! I need more! 

We also had lovely bartender Steve and his wife dishing (or should I say cupping?) out tasty Brazilian mojitos made with the gorgeous new drink Salto. As a big fan of gin, vodka, whiskey and er.... most other drinks, these cocktails were refreshing and tasted unlike anything I've had before. 

At 6pm shoppers and passers by had the chance to witness one of my favourite performers, Lili la Scala and her superb mixture of opera and burlesque! Our audience was completely enchanted by her powerful voice, I even overheard someone wonder how such an amazing sound came from such a delicate thing! 

Rounding off the evening, the seductive Sophia St Villier teased our audience with a raunchy burlesque performance! Stripping out of the tightest dress I have ever seen, down to our black genie set and waspie, and finally down to not much but a bit of glitter! We had a bit of a problem detatching a few men from the window outside. 

Don't panic if you missed all this! On the 3rd of December we will be launching our new boutique at Boxpark in Shoreditch, with yet another excuse to hold an extravagent boutique party! Keep your eyes firmly peeled on our Facebook  where we will be posting an event with all the details!

Cocktails or: how I learn't to stop worrying and love Christmas

You may not be aware of this, but I'm possibly the most pessimistic of the Playful Promises team. And by the time Christmas rolls around I'm one big ball of grump. While the idea of doing nothing but eating thrills me more than words could say (see above: me last Christmas), I am soon reminded of just how long I can sit in the same room as my Grandmother and her notorious gum-chewing. 

And this is when delving into your drinks cabinet is a good idea. Those last drops of blue liqueur, decades old vodka and that stuff you can't even pronounce that smells like paint stripper... they can all come to good use in that wonderful cocktail shaker. 

Here is my little list of must-haves to tide you over until the new year!

Why Santa has a naughty list

You may notice that I'm a sucker for cocktails with silly names. I'm also a sucker for sweet cocktails!

• 30ml Amaretto
• 30ml Gin
• 30ml Liqueur, banana
• 15ml Grenadine
• Lemonade

 Use a long glass for this, adding crushed ice first, then your gin and amaretto. Top up with lemonade while adding grenadine slowly, then layer the banana liqueur on top.

Snowflaketini

• 40ml Alizé (Passionfruit liqueur)
• 30ml Vodka
• 1 splash Cranberry Juice
• 1 wedge Lemon
• 2 sprinkles Coconut

An easy one - chuck it all into a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and pour into a martini glass. Sprinkle the coconut on top and sugar rim the glass if you are feeling fancy!

 The Grinch

• 60ml Midori (melon liqueur)
• 15ml lemon juice
• 1 tsp simple syrup
• Maraschino cherry for garnish

Representing the change that came over the Grinch, this super sweet cocktail is another easy shaker. Pop everything in a shaker with ice, shake and serve in a martini glass with the cherry for garnish.

Cranberry Cutie

For those good girls and boys that like their drinks untainted! 

• 60ml red cranberry juice
• 60ml apple juice
• 15ml honey
• Maraschino cherry for garnish

Shake and pour into a martini glass, garnish with cherry.