Benefit 'They're Real!' Mascara Review

Hi all! As you may have seen in my last post, I received a 3g sample/travel sized benefit mascara with my Elle magazine subscription from London Fashion Weekend. I couldn't wait to try this mascara, as I'd seen so many bloggers raving about it, and was not disappointed! I thought i'd do a quick review (I don't usually do many, as I don't actually own that many exciting products!) but i was so impressed I thought I'd let the whole blogging world know! :) 

Benefit 'They're Real' full sized mascara

18g RRP approx. £18

Since starting uni, I've always been a Rimmel girl, but now the choices are just ridiculous, I end up overwhelmed and for the past few months I've just been buying £2.99 miss sporty mascara, convincing myself it does the job fine. That is until I tried this product.. oh geez. It is just amazing! I'm going to use this sample sparingly, as I know I would refuse to pay £20 for a mascara on my student budget!

The title alone 'They're real' radiates the fact that the product claims to make lashes 'beyond real' long, and it doesn't fail to disappoint. It claims that 94% of people saw dramatic length and volume, 90% saw base-to-tip curl, 94% saw visible lift, and 100& saw long wearing results.. and I definitely did! 

First off, I really like the packaging. My little one has a metallic lid, and the box is lovely, and minimal. It speaks for itself really. The full sized silver tube is a lot nicer, but hey, can't complain! The brush is plastic, and has very defined spikes to it, and even on the rounded end. I find when mascaras have this they usually give really good definition, and this one was no exception.

Before and After:

After:

I mean, wow. This product is fantastic. It only takes a thin coating and it makes an amazing difference to your lashes. It lengthens, darkens, thickens, and well, does everything a great mascara should. The brush is really good for picking up all the tiny lower lashes and the outer ones, to give you a really great fluttery eyelid. I don't have much else to say really, it's brill! It's really made me realize how awful my other clumpy, thick, cheap mascara is. I'm definitely a benefit mascara convert. My friend also thinks it's amazing, as she got a sample too, and said she had mascara all over her eyelid as her eyelashes were so long it was smudging when she put it on!

I think for the full sized product it would definitely be a good investment, and perhaps I should start saving now..? Does anyone else have this mascara? Are you as impressed as I am with it!?

London Fashion Weekend - Part 2! OOTD & goodies.

As promised here is my part two! This post will contain outfits, purchases of the day in London, and goodies! I usually like to edit/instagram my photos that I put on here, but my phone apps were playing up, so apologies for the dodgy lighting and overall quality of these pics! (I NEED an SLR in my life!!)

What I wore/OOTD:

I spent all week going into town wanting various things to create an outfit worthy of going to an event full of fashionistas, but also comfortable running around London. I stupidly thought i'd be hot as I'd be busy all day, but I was actually pretty freezing in this outfit. I did wear my coat, wooly scarf and fur hat thank goodness, so the outfit got lost under many layers for most of the day!

Shirt - Urban Outfitters

Necklace & Treggings - Topshop

I'd been umming and ahhing about disco pant style trousers for a while now. I've seen so many people wearing them, but I really despise the shiny ones! I'd been hunting ebay for some matte/legging type ones but had no luck, but when I saw Topshop start a range of mega high waisted jeans I was excited. I popped in store and found these beauties. I'm not really sure what to call them.. Treggings? They're alot thicker than leggings, and real stretchy and lovely! They're so high waisted they come to by belly button, which I really loved, and they were exactly what I was looking for. I thought they'd be perfect for day and night, and I wear leggings so much of time anyway, a nice thick pair would be a statement piece in my wardrobe till summer. They were £22.50 with my student discount, which I didn't think was too bad for a staple! They seem like really good quality too so hopefully they'll last a while. Although I thought it was very odd, I haven't bought an item of clothing from TS for a while, and when I tried on my usual size 10, I couldn't even get them up my legs. I'm quite skinny, these are a 12 but fit perfectly, I just thought the sizings came up really small! 

I decided to team it with my monochrome striped blouse from Urban Outfitters I picked up in the sale a couple of months ago (SUCH a good buy as they're absolutely everywhere now!) and a statement necklace. I bought this one from Topshop, and it was not a bargain at £12 (with student discount) but it's so lovely I had to have it. I'm still telling myself to put the tag back on and take it back but I just can't. It wants to be worn! I can think of so many outfits I could just add this too, and pow, statement round the neck.

Right so, that was my outfit! Now to some exciting goodies...

Elle Magazine Subscription:

At the event, not only did I pick up the march copy of Elle magazine for just £1 (bargain!) I also subscribed for a year! Being a fashion student I'm always wanting the latest mags, but I can never afford £4 + every month for one! I had thought about a subscription but I'm so glad I decided to wait until now! They were doing a subscription offer of £15 for a years subscription, 12 issues. That is correct, you heard me right, just 15 measly pounds for 12 issues, that's just £1.25 per issue! I couldn't believe what a good offer it was and signed myself up straight away. 

Not only did I get this amazing deal, but I got to choose a free benefit gift, either a mini make up set or a perfume, both RRP at £25! I chose the perfume as I knew I wouldn't really use a make up set, and well, I love perfume to be honest. To my surprise I was handed the 'lookin' to rock rita' perfume straight away in the re-usable elle bag which I gladly slung round my shoulder for the rest of the day! Not onlyyyyyy did I get all this, but also inside the bag was a voucher for a travel size/sample of the benefit mascara 'they're real'. I could not contain my excitement, I'd seen this mascara on so many blogs, and desperately wanted to try it. I'm so excited to start getting my elle magazine's hassle free, and to use my free goodies!

The adorable box sold me as it was, it's going to look so pretty sat on my desk! It smells amazing too, for some reason it reminds me of cocktails, pina coladas, and will definitely be my scent for spring/summer.

This mascara is pretty amaze too. I used it yesterday and it gives a beautiful, clump free application, and makes your lashes look really good. I'm worried I'm going to use this up too fast and be tempted to buy a full size one.. uh oh.

Oxford Street Haul:

Forever 21:

(arghh silly blogger, doesn't let you rotate!)

Top - £10.50

Necklace - £3.90

With spring slowly (very slowly) approaching, I'm dying to get some colour into my clothing. I've been heading towards a neutral rut all winter now, and I'm gladly welcoming the neon pop/monochrome trend. I'd seen this bright neon yellow/green colour everywhere, and when I saw this basic t-shirt style blouse in forever 21 at little over £10, I knew it'd be a great basic for this trend. I also picked up this pretty geometric silver necklace for under £4, which I thought goes really well with the top for a simple, sheek neon look. I thought teamed with my black treggings, it would be a great day or night outfit, without being too OTT. I was so excited to be in a forever 21 as they don't have one in Southampton, and desperately wish there was! It's so cheap and they have some amazing pieces in there.

Primark:

Jumper - £12.50

Clutch bag - £3 (sale!)

Rings - £1.50 & £2.00

I'd been wanting a white jumper for a while now (not sure why, you know when you just want something!?) and I thought I might as well grab this one whilst it was there in Primark. I'm not too sure if I like it though, I think it might be a bit too holey, I haven't really tried it on, but I can always take it back! This clutch was an absolute bargain at just £3 in the sale, me and my friend grabbed the last two! Also just picked up a couple of rings, as you can never have enough..

And here are a few other fun bits I picked up throughout the day:

London fashion weekend leaflets/ted baker catalogue/JW anderson Topshop poster/I also got a compeed blister sample!

So.. PHEW. Hope you enjoyed all that, sorry it was such a long post!

It was such a jam packed day, and I would recommend it to anyone to go!

London Fashion Weekend - Part 1!

Hi everyone! How are you?! I'm still alive, yep - I just haven't blogged in over a week. I'm so ashamed! I've been hideously busy this week, as well as still recovering from my cold! It's been hectic with uni, work, spending time with my boyfriend, many shopping trips, and far too much money being spent, oops.. I haven't been doing that exciting to blog about, and knew I'd wait till after yesterday to blog! ...and boy do I have stuff to blog about! I'm currently snuggled into the sofa watching new ant and dec's saturday night takeaway (I just love those two don't you!?)

It had been booked for a few weeks, but I couldn't believe the date had come so soon to go to London Fashion Weekend at Somerset house! I went yesterday with my friends Caroline and Becky, and with a 5.30 wake up for a 7am coach it was safe to say we were all knackered before we'd even started the day! It's days like this I really wish I had an SLR, Becky was snapping away whilst I had 'error - memory full' on my iphone flashing up every 5 minutes, annoying! I did manage to get some good piccies though to share with you all. A trip to London for us is a big thing as we don't get to go there often so we definitely made the most of the 12 hours we were there! 

• First we headed for a maccy d's breakfast at victoria station. Me and Caroline lost our mcdonald's breakfast virginity's.. and it was good :)
• We first headed to covent garden to get some primary research on the store Ted Baker for one of our projects at uni. We managed to snap some photos in the store before we got stopped. We hastily grabbed some catalogues and legged it!
• We took some outfit snaps on Becky's SLR which I can hopefully upload soon! 
• It was absolutely freezing and we basically froze our bits off all day, we didn't wrap up warm enough at all! Fashion over warmth as always being fashions students.. it even started to snow slightly!
• Finding a free toilet, or any toilet at all in London seemed to be a struggle. This left us panicking and needing a wee several times over the day!
• We hopped back on the tube and hit Somerset house where the main event was. We were bombarded by free diet coke, muller yoghurts, and even got a photo in a fake lift with a diet coke hunk, it was all very exciting!
• Signed up for an elle subscription! eeeee! More on that in my next post!
• Saw a trend catwalk which was really fun. Although it wasn't a proper major designer one, I kind of felt like a celeb being at a real one, it was exciting times!
• I actually got separated from my two girls on the tube! I hopped on thinking they were right behind me, when to my horror the door closed! I had no signal and I felt like crying  as I was convinced I was lost on my own in the middle of London, until we just met at the next stop - It was quite funny after!!
• After we'd been we hit oxford street and well... the spending just kept going. We literally shopped till we dropped.
• We had a major panic not being able to find the coach station again and nearly missed our coach home! Luckily after running about for 20 minutes we found it.. phew.
• We got back around 10pm and I fell straight into bed. I had work from 9am - 3.30 and was shattered! After a couple hours sleep I'm feeling good, ready to relax, blog, and chill out tonight! 

Anyway! Photossss!! Here are my snaps of the day, and general amazing shop fronts/products I came across. Hope you enjoy. :)

Mulberry window... DROOL!!

How amazing are these bags in aldo!

Cactus candles in UO, so adorable! I wanted them so much!

Hope you all enjoyed that! Stay tuned for part 2 where I'll be showing outfits, purchases, and other exciting bits I got! Did anyone else hit London Fashion Weekend yesterday?

Date Outfit

Hi everyone. I mentioned yesterday I was excited as I was waiting to hear back from an internship with Look magazine.. and today I heard. I got it! It was so strange they didn't give me an interview or anything, they literally said they'd take me on for 4 weeks in August, and sent me the details! I was so amazingly happy when I found out as I think this is going to be a fantastic experience for me to learn what it's like working in the fashion segment of a magazine, will look amazing on my CV, and hopefully open many doors to some future jobs! It's Monday - Friday 9-5 in London, so it's going to be tiring and time consuming, but I really can't wait! I'm already thinking about first day outfits to make a good impression, but I have a good few months to prepare! eeee :)

Having went shopping the other day, I've put together my outfit for valentines! I'm going for a meal in the evening with my boyfriend and wanted something dressy but smart to wear. 

Top - Topshop

Necklace, skirt and bag - Primark

Shoes - H&M

I wanted to be comfortable but look good (obviously!) and this skirt would hide my food baby of the 4 course meal we're having!

I've wanted a cropped top for a while now, and black is always a good colour to match with lighter skirts. I really like the style of this one, and with my student discount it was a bargain £7.20! 

As soon as I saw this necklace I was in love, and for £2.50 I snapped it up. It looks exactly like something found in urban outfitters! Unfortunately after taking these photos the chain just snapped, I had hardly touched it (primark quality again for you I guess!) so I'm going to have to go get it exchanged tomorrow which is a shame.

I came across this skirt a couple of days ago in the sale in primark, and it was a measly £3! However the size 10, once I got it home, was too big, and I was gutted. For £3 I was somehow going to pin and sew it to take it in so it was more fitting. I popped in again later in the week, and they had loads more sizes out, and I managed to grab a size 8, which fits perfectly! 

Hopefully this outfit will see me well through the meal, and I think both these pieces will mix and match into my wardrobe quite nicely for a few months to come!

Blue nails and stripes OOTD 07/02/2013

Hey everyone, how are you guys? I'm so excited as I've just received an email back from Look magazine regarding a 4 week summer internship assisting their fashion team! They wanted to confirm some dates and of course I said yes straight away, and now I can't wait to hear back from them with some more info. I'm not 100% if this means I'm in the running for it but it's the most positive response I've heard back from! Finger's crossed! Look at me, little fashionista girl from Somerset might be making it in the big city! I'm so nervous now!! :)

Today was meant to be spent in the library, but I slept in late and thought that I might as well spend the day doing something a bit more relaxing, like retail therapy.. work can always be put off somehow! This is what I wore today :)

Shirt - Urban Outfitters

Black long strap top under - H&M

Scarf (old), necklace & Tights - Primark

Nails - Miss Sporty 'Pop Fiction' Clubbing colours

I hadn't worn this shirt casually yet, but I think I styled it up in a day time look well enough with a casual scarf and my coat. I've seen these shirts in so many shops now, I'm glad I blagged mine in the UO sale for only £10! 

A little primark rant:

I really wanted some metal collar tips, which I saw in primark for really cheap, although they have a screw in the back.. like you need to use a screwdriver and SCREW them onto your top..?! Er.. no thank you. That's far too much effort when you want to move them onto different tops, and surley this would damage the fabric? I don't quite understand their reasoning for them! I also took back my wet look leggings. I've been living in them for the last few weeks, but after I took them off the day, to my horror, the seam down the bum the fabric had started to tear and rip from the seam! I know they were only £6  and you shouldn't expect them to last forever, but I took them back and made a right moan, and they exchanged them for stuff I wanted to buy.. so that worked out well. However I'm left wet look legging-less, and I think I might cry without my black shiny legs until I can snap up a decent pair somewhere else! 

But anyway! I absolutely adore this nail varnish, it's a miss sporty cheap one, but the colour is an amazing vivid blue, and it actually stays on quite well. I've included my hair as my babyliss curlers are amazinggg! They give such great curls to my thick hair, and they last all day. 

I also bought a few bits which I shouldn't have! And this post will be followed up with some new bits, and also my valentine's day date outfit plan! :)

Re:So Clothing Fair

Last weekend there was an event, at our local university store, in a small shopping centre in Southampton town center. Re:So is a store that was set up and is owned by our university, and is a wonderful urban outfitters vintage style space that sells handmade/customized things that students have created. I don't have any photos of the store, but I grabbed some from their facebook! 

These handmade frames were made by my friend becky! Aren't they lovely?!

On sunday they ran an event which was a clothing fair, where people could bring along their old clothes, shoes and accessories to sell. When I first heard about the event on facebook I thought 'what a great idea'! There isn't a girl who doesn't need to get rid of a few old wardrobe items, and you never know, one girl's trash is another's treasure.  Having had an eBay frenzy recently, I had been left with a pile of stuff that had been unsold a few times, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to try and sell some stuff off cheap and get rid of it! I requested a table and on Sunday I went with my friend Beth to set up and try and flog my things. 

I told myself I wasn't allowed to buy a thing, as I wanted to save what I made! Unfortunately it wasn't too busy, as I don't think the event was advertised very well! However, I did make a fiver in a couple of hours, so that's better then nothing! I'm thinking I need to donate the left over clothing to charity, or give to my mum to sell at the next car boot sale she goes to!

I thought this was such a good idea, and perhaps something they should advertise to do weekly! Although I didn't buy anything, there were definitely a few bargains to be had..