Best of K-Pop 2015

2014 has been dubbed by many K-Pop fans as the worst year for the genre due to scandals, tragedies and other unfortunate events. By contrast, 2015 seems like one of the best in recent years.

In many ways, it was the year of the Rookie with outstanding, multi-talented groups like Seventeen, iKon and Monsta X all debuting in strong form this year. It was also a year of long-awaited comebacks with the likes of BAP returning after a nearly two year absence. 

Furthermore, this year marked the solo debuts and emergence of sub-groups from some of the most beloved and best-established acts. Hyunseung of Beast had a much under-hyped solo debut which showcased his outstanding dancing abilities and allowed the cheeky sex-appeal that was apparent through his Troublemaker activities with Hyuna in the past to shine through. VIXXLR brought together the angelic voice of vocal Leo with rapper Ravi of VIXX in a pairing that worked better than anyone could have imagined and gave us an album of great beauty that showed the writing cred of the band. 

VIXX themselves also had an outstanding comeback with "Chained Up" that saw the concept idols outdo themselves with the fan service. Hyuna, Zico and EXID came back harder than before. F(x) reemerged with an album that took risks and paid off with a really cool eighties vibe while Wonder Girls gave us a more unadulterated, nostalgic, very JYP eighties album. 

EXO and BIGBANG both continued to dominate the industry and the world, along with BTS later on in the year, making it on to mainstream music charts globally, proving the power of K-pop and their own international, large-scale appeal. IU also had a comeback which further solidified her megastar status but saw her battle with controversy.

On a personal note, alongside the above that were all what I saw as highlights of the year in K-Pop, I had a particularly fond spot for Roy Kim's latest album, The Great Dipper, which was, perhaps, my favourite of the year in any genre or language. It's certainly clear evidence of his advancement as an artist. Other highlights for me were anything Jooyoung or Zion T were involved in and Jong Hyun's solo activities. 

Looking at it all laid out, it makes me excited for what's next and the further growth of these acts. Hopefully, 2016 will be an even better year for K-Pop and will see the recognition for the genre grow even more.

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12 Days of Giftmas - What's still live

Yesterday was the last entry into the 12 Days of Giftmas series but seven of the giveaways are still up and running. I thought I'd just pop up a quick masterpost so you can get your entries in before the rest close!

Happy Christmas!

Caudalie (Micellar Water and Divine Oil) - Closes the 13th of December 2015 at midnight.
Willow (€20 gift voucher) - Closes the 14th of December 2015 at midnight.
MyLadyBug (3 Month Subscription) - Closes the 15th of December 2015 at midnight.
OPSH (Howlite Urban Outfitters Bracelet) - Closes the 16th of December 2015 at midnight.
VOYA (Angelicus Serratus Nourishing Body and Massage Oil) - Closes the 17th of December 2015 at midnight.
The Zipyard (€30 gift voucher) - Closes the 18th of December 2015.
Flormar (2 Lipsticks, 1 Lipgloss, 1 Nail Polish and 1 Blush) - Closes the 19th of December 2015.

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12 Days of Giftmas - Flormar ¦ Giveaway

And, finally, on the 12th day of Giftmas, my true love gave to me, professional make-up made easy...

One of my posts which has been most well-received, and garnered some of the most attention and engagement this year, was about the relaunch of Flormar in Ireland. Flormar is an Italian make-up brand which is now made in Turkey and which used to be sold in Ireland in the past. However, it was relaunched into the Irish market this year after being absent for some time. It is a professional make-up brand which retails at highstreet prices, ranging from €2.95 to €12.95, which means it offers some serious quality at a really affordable price point.

Currently, it is available in over 140 locations across Ireland (pharmacies, stores etc) with a free-standing store that exclusively sells the entire line in the works and a projection that it will be available in 200 locations by February. I actually even wrote a separate post about where it is being sold at the moment because I got so many inquiries about, and interest in, it.

The real testament to a brand, however, isn't the carefully worded press samples, expansion and buzz but in the actual products themselves. And, I have to say, they live up to the hype. Some of their products have even become make-up bag staples for me, alongside brands such as Urban Decay, Benefit, Miisha, Etude House and Tony Moly.

All of which is why they are closing out my first ever 12 Days of Giftmas.

"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.

If you didn't read yesterday's post about The Zipyard, let me explain it again!

The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).

I could recommend all of the range as potential gift ideas, particularly for the make-up addicts in your life as a smaller budget is going to go a lot further here than it might at other professional brands. However, I think it will suffice to just suggest a few of my favourites and let you do some of your own swatching and playing around at the counters for yourself.

The first item that has to be included here is probably my most-used product from Flormar, their eyeshadow palette (€9.95) in the shade 04. Containing five shades from cream to beige to brown tones, it's a slim, compact palette that is literally the perfect size for popping in an everyday make-up pouch. It's also got all the shades necessary to add definition to your eye sockets, line your eyes, add light to the inner corners and brow bone and, potentially, fill in your brows if you're stuck.

Another highlight of the line is the Illuminating Primer Make Up Base (€9.95), literally. This crap pumps out which is great for getting the right amount and being hygienic and makes you look all glowy and alive to boot.

Their Revolution Lipsticks (€6.95) are long-wearing, creamy, look like a Mod sixties dream and come in an array of gorgeous colours. And their Terracotta Blush-Ons (€11.95) are the most dreamy beautiful marbled blushes in pretty shades with flecks of metallics and glitter throughout which makes the application gorgeous.

These really are beautiful products and the prices are unbeatable. So, if you want to give this amazing brand a try for yourself, enter my giveaway of two lipsticks, a lipgloss, a nail polish and one of the Terracotta blushes.

1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!

2. The prize is two lipsticks, a lipgloss, a nail polish and one of the Terracotta blushes from Flormar.

3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!

4. Competition closes a week from now on the 19th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.

5. Winners will be chosen at random.

6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.

And that's that! Good luck and thanks for reading. This has been the 12 Days of Giftmas.

(Thanks to Flormar for everything!)

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12 Days of Giftmas -The Zipyard II ¦ Giveaway

On the eleventh day of Giftmas my true love gave to me, a way to get the clothes I really need...

A while back I worked with The Zipyard on a post where they took a piece that I loved but needed revitalising and breathed new life into the garment. The result was that something I always had to carefully style and felt guilty about not wearing enough becoming something ridiculously cool that I wanted to wear and show off.

At the press day that pre-dated the update of said garment, I was truly blown away by the company and the kinds of services they offered from tailoring to altering and from completely changing garments to replicating items. When it comes to updating the clothes, there are stylists and experts instore who will help you realise your vision for a garment, or even come up with and suggest ideas, if you're unsure yourself. If you peruse their website, you'll be able to see a selection of projects that they've worked on in the past and get a sense of the amazing things that they can do. Suffice it to say, however, that they can completely transform pieces, almost as if by magic.

Last week, I decided that I also wanted to try out their replication services. I have a particular black dress which is incredibly simple, a kind of shift that I wear as a pinafore over tees and shirts. It's a favourite of mine, I often wear it multiple times a week as it can be styled in so many different ways. And, as I do wear it so much, I wanted another one. I popped into the Zipyard branch at Jervis where the wonderful team and store manager, Patrick, in particular, were super lovely and helpful. Once I brought them the original dress and a similar, but thicker, fabric in navy, they were able to make me another. I was delighted with the result which is slightly more structured and flares out at the hem but has the same basic silhouette. It's impossibly well-made and everything I wanted.

Which is why I had to include them as an entry into the 12 Days of Giftmas.

"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.

If you didn't read yesterday's post about VOYA, let me explain it again!

The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).

We all acquire so much new stuff that we often don't actually need each Christmas that I thought including The Zipyard might be a nice idea as an alternative gift idea. Whether it's getting a friend's favourite coat relined, a beloved dress taken in or up to be worn again or a holy grail top replicated; there's a service for all the people in your life. And for yourself.

Because, like me, too many of us have that coat hiding at the back of the wardrobe that needs re-jigging or a piece we only fell in love with later and wished we had multiples of. For a wardrobe that really works for you and things you really want to wear, you need to head to The Zipyard.

The coat I had pimped.

A photo posted by Colette Fitzpatrick (@wideeyedandblind) on Dec 11, 2015 at 8:33am PST

So, if you want to give this amazing service a try for yourself, enter my giveaway for €30 worth of vouchers to be used on alteration services in store.

1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!

2. The prize is €30 worth of The Zipyard vouchers.

3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!

4. Competition closes a week from now on the 18th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.

5. Winners will be chosen at random.

6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.

And that's that! Good luck and see you again tomorrow for the next brand and giveaway!

(Thanks to The Zipyard for everything!)

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12 Days of Giftmas - VOYA ¦ Giveaway

On the tenth day of Giftmas my true love gave to me, Irish organic skincare from the sea...

VOYA is one of my all-time favourite beauty brands. They were the first brand that I worked with, almost two years ago, just as I was getting into beauty, skincare and make-up properly. In fact, only a few days after I finally committed to establishing a proper skincare routine and trying to use more natural products, I got the email to attend my very first blogger event with them. As a result, they have a particularly fond place in my heart.

Aside from this though, there's a lot to love. And there's a reason that I've gotten friends and my mother hooked on the brand. In fact, Mammy's Christmas request from me and my siblings this year was "just lots of VOYA stuff."

They're Irish, a family-run business, natural, pick inspirational ladies as their spokespeople, make damn good skincare and, oh yeah, everything smells so damn good. I have my favourite products, of course, but I've yet to try anything from them that I didn't get on with. And you'd best believe that anytime I have the option, I choose a spa or hotel that stocks their products (and then ransack the hotel of every product left out in my room).

All of this is why they had to be part of the 12 Days of Giftmas.

"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.

If you didn't read yesterday's post about OPSH, let me explain it again!

The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).

There are a lot of great gift ideas and options from VOYA and to suit a range of budgets and different recipients. If you don't have a lot of money to spend, for example, you needn't despair as this luxury brand has got your back. You can get a cute little Skincare Kit with travel sizes of their Me Time Moisturiser, Cleanse and Mend Cleanser, Ritzy Spritzy Toner and Maskerade Hydrating Facial Mask, all in a little VOYA cosmetic pouch, for just (RRP) €20.00.

And, if you want to give someone a spa day out but don't have a lot of cash, you can get their Lazy Days seaweed bath pack for €18.00 to bring the spa to you.

If you have more to spend and time to bring them on a wee trip to Sligo, the birthplace of VOYA, you can buy a range of vouchers to use in their Strandhill spa.

Then, if you're feeling luxurious, they have the kind of gifts a loved one would never justify buying for themselves that make great presents for spoiling people such as the Hair Gift Set with their high end (and effective) shampoo and conditioner (€43.00).

They also have lovely bits for the house such as their range of diffusers with scents such as African Lime and Clove for €44.00 and a range of candles and refills.

There's also a range of Christmas gift sets including Christmas Mitts Limited Edition Hand Care Gift Set (€34.00) and their Christmas Spiced Candle (€20.00).

In addition, there's a whole range of skin, body and haircare products that you can pick and choose from to make up a little luxury hamper for someone, as we'll be doing for Mam. Basically, VOYA makes the products you need to pamper the hard-working, fantastic people in your life.

So, if you want to give this amazing brand a go, why not enter my giveaway of a recent VOYA launch, the delicious-smelling Angelicus Serratus Nourishing Body and Massage Oil.

VOYA is stocked online, in spas around the world and in stores such as Avoca.

1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!

2. The prize is one Angelicus Serratus Nourishing Body and Massage Oil.

3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!

4. Competition closes a week from now on the 17th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.

5. Winners will be chosen at random.

6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.

And that's that! Good luck and see you again tomorrow for the next brand and giveaway!

(Thanks to Tracey and Sophie at the Spa PR Company and VOYA for working with me!)

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12 Days of Giftmas - OPSH ¦ Giveaway

On the ninth day of Giftmas my true love gave to me, online shopping made cool and easy...

OPSH is the brain child of Irish fashion darlings, bloggers-turned-social-media-networkers-turned-e-commerce-stars, and all-around cool girls, the McGinn sisters. The concept is simple, an online store that brings together your favourite high street stores, makes it possible to shop them all through one portal and makes it easy to filter exactly what you want to cut through all the noise. Think Asos without the overwhelming search results. When you use OPSH, you can customise your search to include the type of item you're after, retailers you like, size etc.

The model is similar to ones that you're familiar elsewhere but done exceptionally well on a site that's engaging, nice to look at and carefully put together to make every part of the process easy and pleasant.

Add to this that it's an Irish tech-meets-fashion company run and spearheaded by awesome young Irish women? I can seriously get behind that and encourage others to do the same!

Which is why I had to include OPSH in the 12 Days of Giftmas.

"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.

If you didn't read yesterday's post about MyLadyBug, let me explain it again!

The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).

If you're looking for gifts for a variety of people in your life, OPSH is the place to go. It is home to a variety of clothing, accessories and cosmetics brands all in one place, meaning you'll find something for the make-up obsessive, the fashionista, the permanently-cold individuals and many other friends and family members.

Pair the usability and pleasant shopping experience of OPSH with the variety and great edit of stores, and seriously cool lookbooks to help guide you and give you inspiration and you really do have a winning formula. Currently, you can shop brands such as Boohoo, Warehouse, Missguided, Reiss, River Island and Dune through the site and more brands are often added.

Do keep in mind shipping though. You're ordering from these brands through OPSH so you may have to pay for shipping fees a couple of times, things might not arrive at the same time and the final orders for Christmas are fast approaching (16th of December). So, if you're gonna shop through OPSH, get to it soon!

To complement this post, we have the important part, the giveaway! I have this lovely Howlite Semi-Precious Cuff (that I want to keep) from Urban Outfitters to give away. Read on to find out how to enter!

1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!

2. The prize is one Urban Outfitters Howlite Cuff.

3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!

4. Competition closes a week from now on the 16th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.

5. Winners will be chosen at random.

6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.

And that's that! Good luck and see you again tomorrow for the next brand and giveaway!

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12 Days of Giftmas - MyLadyBug ¦ Giveaway

On the eighth day of Giftmas my true love gave to me, a subscription plan to help me survive monthly...

I've previously written a post about MyLadyBug and about how much I loved the concept - i.e. a monthly period subscription box that delivers the essentials to your door (so you won't get caught out unprepared - how annoying is that?!) plus some treats to make the whole thing a little bit better. That was four months ago and, since then, I've kept up the service. I try a lot of things for the blog and while I often genuinely love many products and services that I get to try, I can't continue to buy every thing that I receive a sample of once it runs out - I'd go bankrupt! I never give something a positive review if it doesn't deserve it but I also don't fork out my own cash for everything either. Which means that anything I continue with is something I really, really love. MyLadyBug is one of those things. It's made my life easier, opened up really great dialogues and actually made me closer with some of the women around me. Plus, it made me and my BFF have one of the best laughs we've had in a while.

I could go on forever in this vein but, suffice it to say: though it may seem a strange gift idea, I had to include MyLadyBug in the 12 Days of Giftmas!

"But what, pray tell, might this 12 Days of Giftmas be?" you're probably asking.

If you didn't read yesterday's post about Willow, let me explain it again!

The 12 Days of Giftmas is a project that occurred to me last week. An idea that I ambitiously decided to go through with very last minute - I must be a lunatic. It's a sort of advent calendar for me and my readers, a way of saying thank you for reading and rewarding you in a small way. For the first 12 days of December, I will be writing a post every day on a shop, brand or item that would make good gifts. This is instead of the long gift ideas posts I've done in the past and offers a more in-depth look at some amazing companies and things. To complement each post, I've also teamed up with these fantastic brands and will be giving something away each day! So, the 12 Days of Giftmas will give you some gift ideas and the potential to win something for a loved one (or yourself!).

Okay, so a period subscription box, as I said, may seem like a strange gift idea but, actually, it's kind of genius. You have a forgetful pal? The type that runs out of milk or toilet paper or pads and agonises over their own stupidity? It's perfect for them (though you might want to phrase why you've given it to them a little differently...). How about a really close BFF or roommate that knows everything about you? It'll show how open you really are. Bonus cute-points if your cycles have synced (that's a joke but also not). And if you know someone who really suffers from their period, it might be a nice idea to cheer them up just a little. There's plenty of people who'd appreciate it, once they get over the initial shock. In fact, several of my friends have since signed up for the service so I know they would have appreciated a subscription as a gift.

The Irish start-up have considered everything so it really is a great, super-handy service. It's tailored to you, you just begin by choosing if you want pads or tampons or both and then choose the brands (they stock Tampax, Always and Lil-Lets) and types of your liking. Then you input your address and details and they post it all out to you!

They've also just recently partnered with Veeda, a company that makes all-natural cotton, hypoallergenic, synthetic free, dye free, chemical free pads and tampons. Which means those interested in a more natural lifestyle, worried about TTS or irritation or who have sensitive skin will be catered for now as well!

Subscriptions are dispatched monthly on the 19th-21st and you should allow up to 5 days for delivery The packaging is designed to fit in most letter-boxes and is also both cute and discrete. So, if you're someone who is still a wee bit shy about periods and such, your postperson is unlikely to know what they're delivering. The re-billing period for your next delivery then takes place between the 31st and 1st after you receive your first box. You can opt in to pay month by month or pre-pay for three, six and twelve months with discount rates.

My discount code has also been reactivated for the month of December if you wanna try MyLadyBug out. Just head to MyLadyBug and use the code, "CBLOG", at the checkout to get 15% off! (But bear in mind that this discount code is only applicable to the monthly plan.)











Which brings me to the giveaway. If you want to try the service for yourself or give it to someone as a gift, I'm giving away a 3 month subscription! To enter, just read the details below.

1. Sadly, I can only keep my giveaways open to Ireland this time around. I apologise to those who might disappointed but I have to keep the generous brands that I'm working with in mind!
2. The prize is one 3 Month Subscription Plan from MyLadyBug.
3. All you need to do is comment below here or on Facebook with who you'd give it to - or if you want it for yourself! However, you must be following me on at least one platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', Tumblr), let me know which one in the comment if it's not obvious!
4. Competition closes a week from now on the 15th of December 2015 at midnight Irish time.
5. Winners will be chosen at random.
6. I will then comment below the winner's comment and ask you to email my official blog email address.

And that's that! Good luck and see you again tomorrow for the next brand and giveaway!

(Thanks to Maryrose and MyLadyBug for working with me for this post!)

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Primark SS16 Press Preview

It seems like Penneys, or Primark outside of Ireland, is constantly producing better collections each year. The quality and attention to detail is also permanently improving and their lookbooks and shoots could be plucked right from any fashion magazine in the world.

Basically, your go-to budget brand is steadily becoming more and more desirable rather than merely reliable. The stereotypical Irish tendency to respond to a compliment of an outfit with an embarrassed "Oh, it's just from Penneys" has become a more proud, "Oh, it's from Penneys!"

The removal of the "just" and addition of an exclamation is rather meaningful in the context.

And it's easy to see why people are proud of their purchases. At the SS16 press day I could have gladly run away with 90% of the collection (including the menswear and kids' clothes). It was all just so damn impressive and cute and a happy fashion crowd is easy to spot, there's lots of gasping, squeeing and instagramming - there was plenty of all of the above.

Four main trends or themes run through the SS16 collection; Camp California, a nod to 70s Americana; Road to Morocco, a whole host of embroidered, rich clothes inspired by Morocco; Laundered and Humble, a selection of pared back, casual clothes that are minimalist and super-easy to wear; and Sheer Romance, whimsical, bohemian pieces that will call out to your inner hippy.

The lookbook presents very retro clothes in a very current way. Different periods and reference blur together seamlessly in a stylised manner. In person, this reads as well. There's a melting pot of influences but they all come together to fit into any contemporary wardrobe. The Moroccan-inspired pieces do stand out with their rich fabrics, colours and ornamentation but are served up to us as delicious separates that are seriously wearable. The array of embroidered jackets, in particular, drew me right to them as I mentally added them to a shopping list. They're a great way to get a touch of a current trend while maintaining your own sense of style. I imagined throwing them on over a swimsuit or pairing them with an otherwise minimalist outfit for a touch of depth and interest.

Highlights for me have to be the selection of super-cute and wearable flats that make girls like me, who can't really do heels, rejoice. Laces, patterns, textures and cut-outs all serve to give you a serious amount of options so awesome that they'll upstage even the most killer heels. And, speaking of accessories, the sunglasses are unspeakably cool; think reflective lenses, updated aviators, cut-outs and fierce shapes. The bags, meanwhile, aren't half bad either. Lots of saddle bags and little cross-bodies in patterned or textures faux leathers, cool trims, tassels and one particular bag with a handle as cool as the body.

The kids' clothes are cute, easy and wearable in pretty pastels and light fabrics, as one might expect. The menswear, however, is super-cool with rad prints for tees and sweaters, updating them a little, and some slick outerwear. Think streamline, minimalist bombers and structured parkas that'll immediately take an outfit from just grand to chic.

I could go on and on but suffice it to say that I'm already over winter now (my favourite season to dress for) and am ready for SS16. Pieces beginning dropping in January so I don't even have to wait that long. Yes.

P.S. The catering and headquarters blew my mind. Penneys is so ridiculously cool.

(Thanks to Penneys for having me!)

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