Outside there's a box car waiting

Dress - Ark, Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

 I don't seem to understand the concept of not spending any money, I had good intentions though, I promise. I came away from shopping with a friend last week with this dress (it did had 20% off - that's my excuse anyway) from ark. It's tight, sparkly and black how could I say no?

 

I just need an occasion to wear it now, someone take me out for NYE?

Products I'll purchase again and again...

 

L-R - Batiste tropical dry shampoo, L'oreal super liner in black, Maxfactor falsh lash effect mascara - natural look,  Revlon photoready primer, Revlon colour stay foundation

 

A while ago I thought it would be a nice idea to share with you my favourite beauty products seeing as I don't do much beauty posts I can wrap it all into one here and show you the products I swear by.

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo - This stuff is just a life saver, when you haven't got time to wash, dry, then style your hair you can just spray, massage and go. I haven't really got a favourite fragance but this is the one I usually pick up. I've also tried the one for red heads, brilliant if you've got dark roots but it does stain your scalp a little!

 

L'oreal Super Liner - If, like me, you love a good cat flick then you'll have spent just as much time as me searching for the perfect eye liner. I think I may have found it. It's felt tip like applicator is super thin and perfect for doing fine lines or for making them thicker if desired. It stays on pretty well and doesn't flake but I'd love a more non budge formula.

 

 Maxfactor False Lash Effect Mascara - Everytime I try a different mascara to this I always go running back, it is just simply the best drug store brand for mascara. For a mascara that isn't waterproof it sticks to my lashes so well, I know I can rub my eyes, even shed a tear and know that I won't have the dreaded panda eye. I'm also impressed that this mascara doesn't irritate my eyes also as many others so - Rimmel I'm looking you!

 

 Revlon Photoready Primer - Having only recently been turned into a primer convert, i really didn't think it was a necessary addition to my make up bag, I've really noticed the difference in how well my make up stays on my face with the use of it, meaning no reapplications - yay! This one isn't the best I've tried, I love the Benefit pore perfecting primer but my purse strings won't stretch to it unfortunately but, this is the best high street branded primer around it really leaves a smooth base for your makeup to be applied over.

 

Revlon Colourstay Foundation - This foundation I have used for YEARS as it's still the only colour pale enough for me available in a drug store brand and I'm extremely happy that it's the perfect foundation for me at the same time. It keeps my combination skin at bay, not clinging to dry bits and keeping my oily bits matte. It barely rubs off and is the perfect coverage for my snow white skin.

 

There we go, there's my favourite products, care to share yours or any new products I should try?

As a known enemy

T-shirt - H&M, Skirt - Primark, Cardi - vintage, Jacket - vintage, Shoes -Topshop

I've been meaning to show this jacket off for ages but better late than never I guess?! I wore this last week to basically just sit at peoples houses and drink tea until I had to work (glamorous life I lead, not!). This skirt really doesn't get worn enough  and it was a Primark bargain but, I'll be wearing it like this again, kinda casual grunge?!

I'm off for a potter round The East Midlands designer outlet today in the hope of picking up some Motel bargains and some Body shop goodies and to cheer me up before work! Retail therapy works. Trust me.

Farewell to the fairground

All Topshop

I'm probably not the only one unsure about peplum tops, right? But after finally trying one on I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. This is more grown up compared to my usual style and I think this would make a lovely interview outfit or office wear. Of course I had to have it in my favourite autumn hue - burgundy.

I've not been feeling too great this week, being ill and having major career issues have just taken it out of me. I really need to get into a positive frame of mind but I'm really struggling at the moment. I had such a great weekend for my birthday last week and now it's been overshadowed by doom and gloom. 

I had a way then, losing it all on my own

Dress - Missguided, Bag - Primark, Blue shoes - Topshop,  Green shoes - New look

I'm having a shoe dilemma! Which pair should I wear for birthday celebrations tomorrow night?! I thought I was feeling the green but I do love my blue spiked heels!

I'm really pleased with how little I've managed to spend on this outfit the dress is from Missguided and only set me back £33.99 and this bargainous bag I got for just £6! I've been after a studded one for ages as well.

I'm about to have an early night as me and the girls are headed to Drayton manor in the morning then hitting Nottingham for the evening, very excited and a little less frightened of the number 22 than I was previous. 

Anything could happen

Dress - Primark £15

 So I have returned! I guess I ended up taking a little blog break and it's done me a hella good. It certainly hasn't curbed my spending but I'm taking a fresher look at it now, I'll be working a lot harder on the content and the layout from now on.

A little life update - I'm currently moving out of my parents home and into my grandmas old house so I'll living independently soon, how exciting! Also I've met a wonderful boy (part of the reason I abandoned blogging for a while - he takes up most of my time!) it's really crazy when you find exactly what you wanted when you weren't even looking for it and I'm beyond happy that I have. He's turning me into a hopeless romantic too, never have I ever thought I'd see the day!

Anyway onto this lovely dress, I picked it up in Primark  for a measly £15, I also picked up another dress and a playsuit but forced myself to put them back! I'm loving maxi dresses and skirts for Autumn - great for the transitional period between (the 5 minutes of) Summer and Autumn.

Expect to hear more from me soon and a blog sale update!

The screams all sound the same

It's Wally's birthday soon! He's turning 25 on the 21st of September and to celebrate Zatchels have teamed up with him and created three amazing bags featuring the man himself and two printed ones starting from £109 they aren't cheap but I'm definitely tempted to purchase one, with my birthday just around the corner I may treat myself! If you want one as well you can get them here but be quick as they're only available until the 30th of September! Which one's your favourite or are you not a fan?

Where do we begin; the rubble or our sins?

Shoes -  OASAP

Gosh look at me with my legs out! In all honesty I don't like my legs, way to muscley for my liking but I've learnt to love what I've got, life's too short to worry about silly things like that. Anyway, I've had these shoes for a couple of weeks and I'm so in love with them. They're from a website called Oasap.com reminds me of Romwe, you need to check out the shoes! You also get 20% off your first order when you sign up for their newsletter, well worth it.
 The only gripe I have with these shoes is that they have the strangest fastening in the world, it's a kind of hook instead of a buckle even though there's a buckle on the shoe! Really strange!

But if you close your eyes does it almost feel like nothings changed at all?

Tunic - Topshop £38

I usually hate spending my money in topshop, I love the place but man is it over priced, but I couldn't resist this. I managed to get a sneaky student discount on top of course which makes it a little more worth the penny's.

I'm itching to change my hair colour again, I'm thinking of going blonde, I've been lighten before and think I could pull it off but I'd really love to be an ice white blonde or a silvery blonde. What do you guys think? 

Weekly Want(s) #25

Dress - £31.99 & Shoes - £33.99 both Missguided

Being a little naughty as I forgot to do my weekly want last week so I'm adding two items this week. This dress is perfect for Saturday dancing and I've got a thing for cut out details at the moment. Now I know these boots are basically Jeffrey Campbell rip-offs but look at the print, gorgeous. I'm already imagining what I can wear these with and at under £35 they're an absolute bargain. 

Things we lost in the fire

Dress -Topshop, Shoes - Converse, Socks -Primark

This is what I wore to pop out for dinner with my friend Helen, we went to ASK it was quite nice, sticking to my no spend rule I only spent the tips I made last night (which I wouldn't usually, as I'm a supervisor) and I got staff discount as it's part of the same group as Pizza Express. I'm becoming a fully fledged scrimper!

I absolutely adore this dress, I wasn't too sure when I picked it out but now I'm in love. This shape of dress is perfect, nipping me in at the waist, with a skater style skirt, cute little sleeves and a collar it was made for me I'm sure! I've got my eyes on this Topshop dress (for my birthday perhaps?!) and I'm super excited for my ukulele to arrive so I can distract myself from pretty clothing and spending dollar.

All these pictures are making me realise how awfully messy and dirty my room is. Need a spring clean and a lick of paint!

It scares you being alone

Dress - Ink & Paint via ASOS, Jumper - Topshop, Shoes - Primark (old)

You can tell I'm enjoying making doubles of myself, hey? Good old paint. I've had this dress a while and usually just throw it on with converse and a leather jacket but I needed heels for picture purpose as I've not got the longest set in the world. My hairs a right frizzy mess, I just can't be bothered to deal with it anymore but I hate having it up!

So, I've decided to have a no spend two weeks (on clothes and beauty products etc) starting from tomorrow. I'm being a little naughty and buying some gig tickets right this moment (Bastille and only £9 for a ticket - go see them they're awesome!) and a ukulele. I thought it was about time I took up a hobby and I must admit music is one of those things that I've always wanted to get back into, I gave up playing the violin a looong time ago, I'm even tempted to give singing lessons a try if I pluck the courage up to sing in front of someone!

Summer's in the air, Heaven's in your eyes

Dress - Topshop £26

Gosh. You know when you have one of those days? Well any the resultant of today is that I'm now on a shopping ban for two weeks to make up for all the ridiculous charges I've managed to incur and I think it's about time I got serious about moving out and manager my money better. I'm going to use the blog to follow my progress, I think it'll be a lot more helpful to see where my money gets wasted in black and white. 

If anyone had any ideas for get rich quick schemes then hit me up as I have car insurance to pay and an awful, awful habit that I need to give up on!

Anyway, here's a result of said habit. I originally went into Nottingham for some more trainers and came out with a dress and a T-Shirt from Topshop (someone ban me from there, please!). However, it is nice and flattering plus it's easy to just throw on and go and the print is lovely. Can't complain about it at all, except my boobs seem to be somewhat stretching the pattern across my chest - this is usually the case for most dresses I'm afraid. My hair looks awful here, I've just dyed it too it's ginger nuttiness again but I'm tempted to go with the masses and go lilac soon, I think I could pull it off (maybe?!)

Nice guys finish last anyway

Shirt - Topshop (old), Top - Motel (reworked), Shorts - Levis (reworked)

This is probably what I would have worn at the weekend had it actually been sunny at Y Not festival! I stuck with the shorts but layered up with jumpers, socks and jackets, luckily it only rained a tiny bit on the Saturday and Sunday but with thousands of people trampling through the fields it soon turned into a mud bath - my hunters stayed firmly on my feet all weekend. 

I must say that I had the best time there, my third year running and it certainly won't be my last. I'll be doing a little write up on the festival for a website which will hopefully get published :) I'd better get cracking with it now in fact.

You're always falling off the fence that way

I've been lusting after this for so long, after Topshop stopped selling their cheek tint stick in Luminescent I've been searching for a replacement. Having struggling to find anything in any high street range of make-up so decided to treat myself when this came up on buyapowa. 

So far I'm very impressed, it really does just that just, well *a-hem*, you know what flush I'm talking about! The product is the right amount of sparkle and colour and the texture is beautiful and doesn't slide off your face as you'd imagine with a cream stick. 

Anyone tried any other Nars products, any must have items for my make up box?

Fashion Find #2

Jeffrey Campbell Foxy Heels -£55 Office

I think most people have lusted over the Campbell 'Lita' but I'm more of a fan of the 'Foxy' can't beat a platform peep toe in my opinion. These are only £55 in office at the moment along with a range of other colours, I'm torn between getting these and saving my money for the spiked variety. Once payday comes I'll decide what to do and I'm spending the weekend in a tent so I can't be too tempted to part with my cash :)

You can find all the sale items here it also includes a few of the Lita design. Happy shopping! 

Weekly Want #24

Leggings - Romwe £20.14

I've always struggling finding leggings that I really, really like but I've managed to find loads of amazing printed ones on Romwe that don't look ridiculous. There's some amazing swan print and galaxy print ones that I'm lusting after and most are under £20 a pair, not bad!

We could drive until the Earth would open

Top - Topshop

I'm not entirely sold on this top yet, I love the lace peek-a-boo cross but at the same time I don't as you can see my undies! So thick tights or leggings are most definitely needed with this unless I want everyone to see my derrière. I am feeling khaki right now though, I've managed to find a lovely vintage oversized army jacket which I'm basically living in right now but it looks great over all my girlie dresses that I'm uming and ahing over in my wardrobe.

Might do a blog sale soon, I have so many clothes I've barely worn or haven't worn at all, you guys like blog sales or is eBay easier?

It's a nice day for a white wedding

Thought I'd share some pictures from my cousins wedding last week, she looks beautiful doesn't she? She had such a traumatic week ahead of the big day, the hotel they'd booked for the reception went into liquidation and didn't tell them, how awful is that? At least have the decency to tell your customers what's happened! So they had 4 days to find a new venue so a big thank you to Lumb Farm for accommodating the wedding at such short notice!

My dress was from a branch of Rare clothing called Cocos Fortune which you can find here

Fashion Find #1

Everyone loves a bargain, right? So I've decided to pick one steal each week and share it with you all. I'm sure everyone has lusted after a pair of Topshop boots at some point, I had my eyes on a pair just like the ones below which were priced at £120 in Topshop but I managed to snag a pair on eBay for about £70 but here's an exact copy on ASOS by a brand called Blink for just £58 - bargain!

  

You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve

 

Dress - Romwe

I got this dress agesssss ago but never got round to photographing it. I absolutely love it, white floral embroidery and pastel colours peeking through, what more could a girl want?

Need some advice on the hair, does a centre parting suit me or not?! I always try it out at least once a year but I'm never sure about it, might keep it for more than the usual four days to see if it grows on me.

I finally got round to doing lots of outfit photos too today, can't believe I put off buying a tripod for so long! Whilst I'm asking for advice - can anyone recommend a wireless remote for a Canon 1100d? The one I recently bought doesn't work :( thank-you muchly!

Weekly Want #23

Customised Levis - £40 The Pretty Junk

I stumbled across The Pretty Junk when blog browsing and found these babies in their store, they do quite a range of customised Levis, mostly with patterned pockets rather than covered in studs. I would definitely be purchasing these had I just not bought these, maybe next payday although I'd love these for Y Not festival...

I want you to want me

Lipstick - Topshop in 'Tease'

I haven't blogged in over a week AGAIN. Grrr really need to sort my sleeping pattern out so I actually have time to blog. 

I got this lipstick a good while ago but totally forgot I'd photographed it (is it just me that finds taking pictures of lips the most awkward thing ever?!) I do love topshop lipsticks, they're good quality and long wearing even though they're a little more expensive than most high street brands.

Just got back from my cousins wedding and I'm shattered but can't sleep, yet again! I'll blog a few pictures later this week. 

Tonight I'm going to cut it out and then restart

Look what I finally went and did, I got inked! I know it's tiny (and a little scabby now I'll admit) but now I've started myself off I'm ready for my next one, which is something I spent a little more time deciding on. Once I've got it drawn up I'll share it with you, just need some one artistic to do it for me, my artistic skills are a little rusty ;)

Weekly Want #22

Necklace - Dixi £12 

So, I'm finally back! All tanned *cough*freckly*cough* from a week in the sun and thrown straight back into work, it's a hard life! 

This little beauty is from Dixi, I mentioned my love for their jewellery before and they've added a new 'Dreamer' range which is stunning, I must own at least one piece even though I actually want it all.

Isn't the weather hideous right now? Just booked tickets for Y Not festival in August and hoping it'll clear up for then, feel for anyone at T in the park getting drenched right now. Anyone got any festivals planned for the rest of 'Summer'?  

Also be prepared for more outfit posts, finally order a tripod and remote (which came today and doesn't work, boo) so I can actually take pictures :)

I've been saving myself for you

Image - Google

I do apologise about the awful swatch and the fact there are no pictures of me wearing the lipstick but my lips are so un-photogenic it's unreal. 

Anyway, I treated myself to this after finally finding out the exact shade Vanessa Paradis is wearing in the ad campaign (117 Magnolia ) isn't she one stunning human being, by the way?! The lady in Boots imformed me that they'd only just got the shade back in stock and that it sells quickly which meant I HAD to buy it - my credit card sobbed a little, trust me.

It's one of the most beautiful lipsticks I own and definitely worth the cash, if there's one thing I splash out on these days it's lipstick. I'm still yet to find that perfect one for dry lips though, this one's pretty close though.

Sweet & Sour

Soooo I managed to not buy anything the first time looking through the Topshop sale and even stopped myself ordering online but I caved today (I went in hoping to find a sun hat!) Picture heavy post, but here's what I got :)

Crop top - £15, Dinosaur top - £12, Short - £18

All jewellery from Freedom priced £3.25 - £6.25 

I'll be packing all this stuff in my suitcase in one days time and I'm thinking of throwing the Dinosaur tee on for the flight, it's nice and long and baggy as it's a large so I'll be comfy. I'm so excited I'm literally bouncing off the walls. Show me the Sun!!!