Things I never knew I needed..

I have to admit, since entering the bloggersphere and seeing the beautiful photos of make up and beauty posts on other's blogs, I suddenly have this strong urge to own a make up case full of designer make up, and want beauty products I wouldn't usually lust after. I have to admit, I don't own much (actually, any) designer make up, and it's all from the high street. But I find that's good enough for me really, and don't understand how people can afford to buy all these amazing products! As well as that, there are things that I always have in the back of my mind, that I never really want desperately until I come across them. Heres a quick list of some things that I never knew I needed until recently..

1. Designer Make Up. 

Mac seems to be a brand that is posted all over blogger, and everyone seems to own at least an eye shadow or three. The nearest I have to this is an eyeshadow palette from H&M, which lets be honest, does the job pretty well, but I can't help but lust after these beautiful colours and products, but I would be completley broke if my make up case contained nothing but this. To be honest with you, a brown eyeshadow on your eyelid is a brown eyeshadow, weather it cost £2 or £20.. well that's what I'm telling myself anyway..

 

2. Lush Products

 

With everyone showing their Christmas pressie hauls, it seems there isn't a girl out there who didn't get a lush bath bomb, or product of some kind. I bought one of my best friends a gift set from there for Christmas, and it was so hard to choose, with all the amazing smelling bits everywhere! I don't usually shop in lush, it even though there is one in my town, because the prices usually put me off, but I adore the stores. The only thing I've bought in there in the last couple of years was a bottle of 'body tint', which was the best fake tan I ever bought! It was £10 for a bottle, but smelt amazing, and lasted me about a year, and I'm still scraping the edges of it today because I love it so much. but when I'm back to university I'm defiantly craving a few fizzy treats for my bath, and perhaps eyeing up some other products.

 3. Vintage Clothing

Towards the end of this year, I'm really getting into vintage style again. I asked my mum for a scarf she used to wear when I was little as it was really similar to one I saw in H&M and I love it. I bought a vintage jumper from Urban Outfitters the other month and I'm in love with it and haven't stopped wearing it, and I'm becoming a bit more experimental with my style. Me and my friend Becky recently stumbled across a vintage shop in Southampton that sold cut off levi shorts for £15 and had racks of vintage jumpers, which I was dying to buy but I didn't have any money! I can't wait to visit again once I get my loan in and get some key bits in there. I think it's amazing how certain clothing can last so long, you know it's really well made, unlike alot of today's fast fashion!

4. A digital SLR

Ok, so to be honest I kinda knew I needed an SLR camera. I've needed one since I started college years ago, and have had to hire them which is a pain! I'm dying to own one myself, although I'm not sure if I can save up the money. It's my 21st this year, so I may ask for money towards one, or try as hard as I can to save up. I take photos on my phone everywhere, but it would be amazing to take it to places and capture some really great photos, and for my blog of course! It would be so good to use for my uni photos too. There are times when I really wish I had one, and I am determined to get one before my last year at uni is over.

Hope you enjoyed that little insight to the back of my mind there! Do you know what I mean though when you come across things you just never knew you needed..?!

50 Followers!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a massive thank you as I've hit 50 followers! I'm really happy, and I'd just like to thank everyone for following and reading. When I started blogging I was happy to receive just a handful of followers, let alone 50! For the last few days I've been gaining quite a few, so thank you everyone. I always check out my followers blogs too, and they always give me more inspiration. I'm always trying to think of really fun posts and layout designs, and I'm wanting to get to 100 followers, where I may think about doing a giveaway..! I hope you enjoy my posts, and I shall try to continue to please you all! Lots of love to you all! :) :)

Year of the Lipstick

Now until last year, it seems that lipstick has made a huge comeback. I remember the days when lipstick was nothing but something your nan wore on a night, only available in hideous red shades that dried out your lips in seconds, and you and all your girl friends were into sparkly scented lip glosses instead. Right? Well it seems like the make up brands have revolutionized  the lip stick phase in the last couple of years, and have for sure made it trendy again. Me and my friends are all obsessed with lipstick now, and can never resist buying and trying out new colours. From berry shades to dark purples to neon pinks and corals, you can get just about any shade in the counters at boots!

To be honest, I haven't tried out many lipstick brands, but I definitely know my favorite. If I was a millionaire I'd probably have mac coming out my ears, but for me as a student, it's topshop lipstick all the way. At £5 or £6 they're affordable, wonderful colours, pretty packaging, moisturising, and smell great, what more could you want?! I remember when Topshop first released their make up range, and I was so keen to try it. I have several nail varnishes from their range, as I find they're really unusual and pretty, and not a shade you could get anywhere else. Especially their glitter ones, they're amazing and so sparkly! But anyway, back to lipstick.. I now own four shades of lippy, and this year I'm determined to build up my collection further! These are my shades I currently own, how and when I wear them, and a  (bad quality!) photo of it on to get the idea of the colour!

Shade 1: 

This is my favorite lipstick, and I've already gone through two sticks in a few months. I wear this as an everyday lippy, or sometimes on a night out when I want paler lips. As I dislike the natural colour of my lips, I find this is a really nice pinky, nude tone that pales them down slightly, without looking OTT. It's lovely a moisturizing too so it's great to wear daily.

Shade 2: 

I'd never been confident enough to buy a red lipstick until I started uni! All the girls started to wear it when we went out and it kind of became a little trend amongst us. When I bought this I wanted a bright bright red, so this one was perfect. I have to feel brave to wear it out though and make sure I do subtle eye make up so it doesn't look too much, and it's also great for halloween/fancy dress ect! It really stays on for a long time too which is great.

Shade 3:

After I got the bright red, I wanted a bright pink! This colour is really fun, and girly, and really bright with a neon tint to it. It almost does look like a bright red once it's on, but it has much more of a pinky tinge to it. I don't wear this one that often anymore as I have to be in the mood, but it adds a punch of colour to a dark outfit. 

Shade 4:

I actually got this lipstick for free, when Topshop did a promotion celebrating their facebook fans, and with any online purchase you got a free lipstick, although you didn't get to choose the shade, I actually ordered something just for the free make up! I was unsure when I first saw the shade, as it was quite purple, but once on I really liked it. It's quite a pastel lilac with tints of pink, and looks really nice with certain outfits, and even I'd I hadn't of liked it it was free anyway.

Hope you enjoyed the read there, and I would definitely recommend trying at least one of Topshop's shades, they're always really on trend and great products! :)

Here comes 2013!

 

Hello everyone, and first of all, happy new year! I hope you all brought in 2013 with some fun and joy, and had a good time in or out! Just thought I'd share with you my outfit and antics from last night! I did something I had never done before, and that was go drinking in my local town! It's not exactly a night life hot spot, but  we went round a few local pubs then to the local club, and with the people and atmosphere of the places, I actually had a really great time! It was lovely to spend the new year with my boyfriend too, as after being together for 3 years we've never actually spent it together! We went out with two of our friends who are also a couple, and everyone from our town seemed to be out! Here is what I finally decided on outfit wise..

Necklace, Belt & Bag - Primark

Top -  H&M

Blazer - New Look

Skirt - Topshop
Boots - Office

I went for a smart casual look, with bare legs to make it a bit more dressy! I only wore my blazer as I knew i'd be walking home and it was really chilly outside, and I'm so glad I didn't wear heels as walking from pub to pub I would have either have had extremely sore feet, or possibly fallen over! Here are some piccies from the night!

 

I love this photo of me and my boyfriend James, with Dan and Hannah! :)

Drunken face..

 

Me and James :)

I had a really great night, even though it was nowhere special, and much more 'local' then i'm used to (I think i'm becoming a city girl, I've been spoilt with the choice of clubs and bars in Southampton!) and it was great to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in over a year! I also got a new years kiss so that's always good not to stand like a loner after the countdown haha. Surprisingly, I had no hangover, and my lovely boyfriend treated me to lunch at McDonalds, and I've been napping on the sofa (attempted to do some uni work but wasn't up to it!) and am now waiting for 'Up' to come on BBC1, I LOVE that film! I haven't really thought about New years resolutions, but there may be a follow up post once I've had a think! Hope you all had a great night! :)

 

 

NYE Outfits

Maxi Dress - Topshop

Shirt - Urban Outfitters

Wet Look Leggings, brown belt, tights, lace dress, necklaces and clutch bags - Primark

Boots - Office

Skirt - Topshop

Black studded belt and black strapless top - H&M

I had no idea if I was actually going out for New Years or not until the other day, when some last minute plans with my boyfriend and some of his friends came up. I'll be going to the very local nightclub, which isn't at all anything to get excited for, and you usually have to be very drunk to have a good time there! Which I guess will be a laugh, and an excuse to get drunk is always good! I went looking for a dress last week but didn't find anything particularly exciting in the sales, not that I needed anything special.. so I stuffed all this in my suitcase for lots of options for outfits! I found the closest things to what I own in this image I quickly put together on photoshop! I've just remembered I also have a polka dot dress from H&M and a black body con skirt to add to this array of clothes, and I literally have no idea what to wear as I have so many options! I know I want to wear my heeled boots though, as my only other girl friend going is quite short, even in heels, and I don't want to be a giant toppling over my boyfriend as well! It's nothing too special so I didn't want to dress up OTT, but I really need to decide! I'm thinking the black midi dress as it's quite simple, with the metallic clutch, but I have no idea! What do you think..?

OOTD 30/12/12 & Kitten fun

Today I had Christmas take two, and my sister and her boyfriend came over for some present swapping and another roast dinner, which I was more then happy to participate in. I was tempted to wear my Christmas jumper again, but I came over all hot this morning and decided against it! This is what I wore instead:

Treggings (in previous post!) Next, Top H&M, Necklace & Scarf (very old!) Primark

This was me this morning with my hair curled once again :)

It was really nice to see my sister, and to my surprise she bought along her 4 month old kitten, Willow, which I hadn't met before, and I was squealing with excitement! I've never had a proper pet before, (I've had a hamster!) but I absolutely adore little dogs and kittens! She was let loose around our living room and decided to hide under the sofa for half an hour, but after she woke up she was more then happy to play with me and some ribbon!

 

 

We had a good half hour of playtime with a simple ribbon, and she was pouncing and leaping all over the place, and I was left with a couple of scratches and winced as she clawed my new leggings, but with her cute little face I couldn't resist her! She had a really good nose around our living room too, and even managed to squeeze herself into the most awkward spaces! She was all tuckered out in the end and fell asleep on my lap towards the end of her visit. She is so adorable, I was so sad when my sister put her back in her little carry case and took her home. I've definatly made a little cat friend today! :)

Christmas Week

Hello lovely people, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I've hit 37 followers, and I can't thank everyone enough! I'm so glad that that many people actually read my posts and hopefully enjoy! I'm always keen for new people to follow, so please keep 'em coming! :)

This week so far has been a bit of a chaotic nightmare if I'm honest! I knew Christmas was going to be slightly different this year as I now have a job based in Southampton, and knew it would mean traveling back and forth between here and my home (Somerset, South west of the UK) for me. It only takes about an hour in the car, and on the train, but I'm knackered after scooting myself and my suitcase all round the country this week! I work at Next, and had to work on Christmas eve evening, where the staff set up the sale.. As you may (or may not know, do you maybe live under a rock?! :P) that the next sales are BIG news, and are always crazy. I got a train home eventually that night after my first one being cancelled due to flooding, and spent Christmas day at home. It was really nice, but a small affair as it's only me, my mum and my uncle. I made the most of it though and had a beautiful roast dinner, ate lots of junk, saw my boyfriend and got lots of nice pressies! :)

I didn't get anything that exciting (although I got my hair curlers that I wanted, no more stealing my friend's!), and no where near as extravagant as some blogger's have shown! But I'm always grateful for what I do get. My mum has paid for me and my sister's flights to fly to Italy next July to visit my auntie and uncle who moved out there, so that was my main present, and is most definitely something to look forward to in these winter months! 

Boxing day was the first day of the sales, and my mum drove me back to Southampton for my shift. I was on kids wear for 5 hours, and spent the whole time picking clothes up from the floor, and it wasn't my idea of a relaxing boxing day! I did however stop every now and then to 'aww' and coo over the mini christmas jumpers and miniature outfits! My luminous green tshirt was pretty sexy too..

After discovering how to curl my hair properly, I LOVE doing it! My hair looks so flat and boring otherwise, and I'm worried it's going to start being a very time consuming habit for me in the mornings.. As it's getting ridiculously long now it's a great way to add volume and bounce to my mane, I may follow up with a review soon :)

After my shift was over my mum drove me home once again, because I didn't want to be in my student flat alone on boxing day! I spent yesterday with my boyfriend, and came back on the train. I worked friday and saturday, then FINALLY I am home for a whole week! I'm so excited, I feel like I haven't done anything particularly exciting yet over Christmas, and really want to do something fun with my boyfriend, all my friends at home are busy this week unlucky for me!

Of course there is a bonus to working in the sales, the staff get first pick of anything they want! It was hard not to pick up all of the gorgeous Next home pieces, but I did treat myself to a couple of bits..

I NEEDED to have this cushion in my life! It was so big and fluffy and gorgeous I had to buy it. It was £14 down to £6 so I grabbed it, and it now takes pride of place on my bed.

I also got these 'treggings' but they're just actually really nice thick leggings,  I'd had my eye on them for a while in the store and when they were down to £8 from £14 I decided to get them! I've been LIVING in leggings recently and thought these were really nice and different. (Outfit post to follow!)
I'm trying desperately to save save save and not spend, although I couldn't resist this little iPhone case though from accessorize, that was £5!

So adorable! I couldn't resist the little ears on there..

I've been so busy and traveling everywhere, I can't wait to just sit still and relax for a week. Although I should probably start thinking about doing some university work - I have two presentations to do when I get back!
My Christmas has been pretty hectic, but I can't wait for my payday in January! :) I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and had lots of fun!