Three ways to wear….a flowery summer dress....

Well there was me thinking the summer was over and then, suddenly, we're in the middle of a heatwave and I'm not prepared in the slightest! To be fair I'm quite pleased as a few summery pieces I bought this season actually remain pretty un-worn! For example, I bought this flowery dress from H&M (no idea why, not my usual style at all) and even took it on holiday with me but it didn’t get worn at all. In case you’re in the same boat as me and can’t think how you can wear said summer dress over the next few months….here you go….

Night time:

This is so simple, and I know still a bit summery but the weather today made me want to get my legs out!! Whack a load of Fake Bake on and pretend you’re showing off a late summer tan and I think you’ll get away with it!

Dress: H&M

Wedges: Forever21

Clutch: Bank

Cuff: Topshop

Work:

This is how I actually wear the dress now, it’s not really my style to wear in the daytime to go out shopping or whatever, as I’m really not a floral person! But it is comfy and I can layer it up with cardigans and jackets over the winter so I think I can get away with this.

Dress, blazer & handbag: H&M

Tights and shoes: Primark

Casual:

It’s my personal belief that you can add a leather jacket, black tights and biker boots to anything and it will look fine, and I think this probably stretches as far as this dress. It just gives it that edgy feel, although I’d prefer doing this look with a lace dress. Like I said, floral isn't really my thing!

Dress & leather jacket: H&M

Bag: Urban outfitters

Boots: Step in style

Tights: Primark

I'm going to be doing a few more of these three ways to wear post, because like I mentioned in a previous post I'm trying to wear all my clothes in my wardrobe loads until I buy anything new unnecessarily!

How else would you wear this dress?

(P.S. note to self. don't buy floral!) 

Loves

xxx

Elf loves and hates...

I've bought quite a few Elf products just recently, some have been amazing and some well, just haven't. I'm especially loving their blushers, and since making this video I've been using a few more bits from their mineral range that I'm enjoying, but here's my rundown of my Elf best and worst....

Also, on another note, I need to have a rant about something....

I may not have taken part in drama or theatre groups as I was growing up, but was always a willing supporter to my friends year after year in their Youth Theatre and school productions. It’s always fun sitting back and watching drama unfold in front of you, watching characters live out their life. It’s the same with films, tv programmes and even books. We laugh at them, with them and for them. We cry at their sad times and empathise with them through their hard times. We even judge them for the mistakes they make, and hate them when they do something wrong.

Then you realise, at nearly 23 years of age, you’re in your own bloody drama. I’m not particularly bothered if people want to talk about my life and laugh at me/judge me/ envy me or whatever else they may wish to feel. That’s their own choice and if their life isn’t interesting enough and they have to sit back and watch mine then so be it.  

But would you get up out of your seat at the theatre, climb on stage and start giving the leading lady a lecture on her behaviour? Or would you sit in the cinema and shout to the hero of the story what you really think about him? No thought not.

It’s not protocol getting involved in the plot line, so where to you get off messaging me on facebook or texting me, sticking your nose in where it’s, quite frankly, not needed. I’m not sure what you aim to achieve by this, although the cynic in me believes you want to ruin anything good I’ve got going in my life. But maybe you’re just bored. If you want to stop me being happy or try and upset me with what you say, then I feel sorry for you and this time, it won’t work. If you’re bored and have nothing better to do, I suggest you get a hobby – I hear the local theatre club is looking for new members.

Sorry about that, just had to get it off my chest and I knew you were the only ones that might be able to put up with me!!

Loves

xxx

My week in outfits....

I've decided I'm not buying unnecessary clothes until I've worn every unworn item in my wardrobe at least once, and everything I've worn once again. Not only is it a way to save money, but I'm hoping I'll find some different ways to wear some of my clothes that lie neglected in there. Also, I feel like putting a bit more effort into my outfits, even if I'm just going to work. Anyway here's my week in outfits....

This was just for work on Monday, I've only worn this skirt once when it was really hot for that random week earlier in the year, without tights and a jacket. I thought I'd try and get a bit more wear out of it and team it with black tights and wedges to make it a bit more suitable for the weather.

Jacket & skirt & necklace: H&M

Tights: Primark

Wedges: River Island

I went to a charity pamper night with my best mate and my Mum on Wednesday night so just threw this flowery shirt and brown boots on over some leggings and a long vest. This is an example of wearing things I've only worn once, I've had this shirt for AGES and only took the tags off it on Wednesday!

Shirt: Topshop

Belt, rings & necklace: Dorothy Perkins

Leggings & handbag: Primark

Boots: Office

Another work outfit, again I've only worn these trousers once!

Trousers, handbag & cardigan: H&M

Brogues: River Island

Necklace & Ring: River Island

Belt & Vest: Primark

I popped into Leicester shopping yesterday with Mum and the weather was so changeable I had no idea what to put on. This is definitely not an example of wearing something I've never worn before as I'm sure you've all seen some variation of this outfit on here before, I live in this right now!

Top: Topshop

Jeggins: Zara

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Boat shoes: Office

Handbag: River Island

Ring: Forever21

Just a quick snap for what I wore today just to pop up to my Nan's and finally show her our holiday photos. 

Cropped jumper & shorts: Republic

Vest & leggings: Primark

Red Converse: Office

Headband: H&M

So there we go, trying to get back into the swing of taking a picture of my outfit of the day more often. Hope you've all had a lovely week and weekend!

Loves

xxx

Nail Varnish Collection...

This post has been really highly requested, so thought I'd take advantage of having a bit of time before dinner when I had a bit of natural light (yes I was in the garden, hence the fence and garden fence in the background) and took a lot of pictures:

I don't really seem to have many reds, I just think red's red...no? Models own in Rasberry is my fave at the moment!

This gold polish by H&M is amazing, I haven't found another bottle since so I don't ever want it to run out!

Glitter is my new most worn thing on my nails, this one by models own is so glittery!

I seem to have a lot of lilac and purples! This 17 lasting finish lilac wears so well, last for about five days which is good for me!

This is my second bottle of Candy Floss by Collection 2000, I wore it nearly constantly when I had my gel nails on!

So there's my collection, doesn't really seem that many when they're all lined up on my garden path!

Are there any colours I'm missing out on that I need in my life???

Loves

xxx

Five minute face....

Monday already, can't believe how fast the weekends go!! Luckily mine was an absolute beaut so has left me in a good mood to get on with my week! I filmed my five minute face on Saturday before I went off to watch the rugby but YouTube wouldn't let me upload it until now so the chatty bit doesn't really make much sense but never mind...here it is...

What does everyone else use as part of their five minute face?

Loves

xxx

Weekly review....Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman....

Hey lovelies....time for another weekly review, and I wasn't sure what to actually write about this week as I've been really good at saving my money and hardly bought anything recently! I didn't even buy anything from duty free on holiday....shock horror!

Suddenly it came to me, what better thing for a make-up brush fearing beauty hoarder (I just don't understand then!?!) to review than the new brushes they bought a few weeks ago and now couldn't live without?

I never really know what all these brushes are for...I tend to stick to a foundation brush, blusher/powder brush, angled brush for my eyebrows, a couple of eyeshadow brushes and a gel eyeliner brush. That's it, I travel quite light really, I usually quite like to use my fingers when applying makeup. However I had heard a lot about these on various youtube channels and they did seem quite multi-functional, so I decided to get them. They're the Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman and cost about £10 each. I bought the stippling brush and powder brush, and literally have used them every day I've had them including on holiday.

(sorry they're a bit mucky, I'm waiting for my brush cleaner to arrive from Elf!!)

Both of these have synthetic bristles, with the stippling brush having dual fibre bristles which I tend to find stippling brushes need to have to give a totally flawless finish. They're both so soft, even after a lot of product build up. 

They have a real chunky feel when you're using them, and really professional. I use the stippling brush to apply my Mac studio fix fluid, and I used it for my Garnier BB cream while I was on holiday. I got a flawless finish every time, much better than my Mac flat foundation brush. I've mainly been using my powder brush to apply a light dusting of my Topshop bronzer to contour my face and just bring a bit of colour to my face. It's also good for blusher but only if it's a light colour that's easy to blend because it's such a huge brush it does get a bit out of hand sometimes!

Coming from someone that just likes a basic, easy to use, no fuss brush, I'd say these are perfect. I would never go back to a normal flat foundation brush after this, and I can't wait to build up my Samantha Chapman collection up a bit more....eyeshadow brushes next!!

Have anyone used these and loved them too?

Would you recommend any other brushes from her range?

Loves

xxx

Don't be blue...

I have absolutely no idea why but I'm seriously into blue at the moment, mainly in a really bright sky blue or navy, but it seems to be sneaking into most outfits I wear. I really want to venture away from black/brown/grey eyeliner and maybe try a navy blue with a really heavy black lash, if anyone can recommend a good but fairly cheap (I don't want to risk spending a lot of money and only wearing it once!) blue eyeliner that would be fab! Anyway over the past few days I've gone mad for this nail combination...

I love the colour but am starting to go off Barry M as much because they just seem to chip too easily on my nails, and I've found I can find just as good colour ranges in Models Own and Gosh nail varnishes.  I do love this one though, in number 294 Cyan Blue.

I obviously had to take advantage of the Models Own 50% off offer before I went on holiday, although I didn't actually get them until I got back which was fine....nice little package to return home too! I've got a dark blue from Barry M but it was going a bit thick and weird, and as I said I'm going off them a bit anyway, so decided to pick up Betty Blue, which is a really nice plain navy colour. I think this will be getting a LOT of wear over the winter months!

Loves

xxx

Bridging the gap

Just a really quick post to explain about my twitter/ facebook/ youtube situation. When I started my blog and then went on to making youtube video’s, I didn’t really want anyone I knew seeing them (I’m not sure why, but I also get the impression from a lot of other bloggers that they feel the same). Because of this, I had school friends (and maybe quite a lot of people I don’t actually like) over on my Facebook, and then colleagues, businesses, beauty bloggers etc on Twitter. There is a bit of an over lap, and I do have a few of my close friends and a select few others on Twitter. I then started getting a lot of my Twitter friends and bloggers adding me on Facebook, which I wasn’t too sure about too start with.

Anyway to stop my rambling and get to the point, whereas my Twitter is still set to private and I am still quite fussy who I accept, if any of you want to come over and say hi/ be my friend on Facebook I’d love to see you (warning: there are a LOT of drunken pictures and random banter on there!)

Loves

xxx

Holiday evening OOTD's....

Hello again, and it's time for part two! I've done a separate post for night time outfits because they're a bit more interesting, and I didn't want to overdo the pictures in one post so I thought I'd split them up.

This was the first night when we'd only just got there so I don't look my best. The dress was £23 from Primark, bag was from Primark too for about £5, belt was free on a pair of trousers Mum bought ages ago and necklace was in the sale from Miss Selfridge. 

The whole of this outfit was from Primark, the skirt was a bargain at about £12 and I'd been saving it especially for holiday, I think it's one of those things that only comes out of my wardrobe once a year when I'm off on my holidays! My earings were in the sale from River Island for £2 and I used my Andrew Barton wave makers on my hair to give it a beachy effect. 

You'll probably have seen this skirt in an OOTD post on here before, it was £25 from River Island (the studded belt came with it) and I wore it with a baggy sheer top from H&M and a black lacy bandeau from Miss Selfridge underneath it (although you can't really see that here). My sandals, bracelets and necklace are all from Primark. 

This is my favourite outfit of the holiday, I bought this dress ages ago from H&M for £30 and have been waiting for a chance to wear it for ages (which never came up). I put it with Mums pale pink sandals from Dorothy Perkins, Primark bracelets and H&M rings, with a short gold chain with a cross from Topshop, and a long gold fine chain from ASOS. 

For our last night out (we didn't go out for food the last two nights because we were late getting back from the Jeep Safari and Egypt. I wore a Rare at Topshop dress I got in the sale at the start of the summer. The tan handbag is from Primark ages ago and I'm sure everyone had one of these, and my wedges were from Forever21. 

So anyway that's my holiday over :( Looking back on these pictures makes me really want to go back, Cyprus was amazing!

Can't wait to get back into blogging and youtube again properly, I've missed you all!

Loves

xxx

Holiday outfit of the day part one....

Hey lovelies I'm back! I had a fantastic holiday but unfortunately I'm suffering from the holiday blues being back in the real world :( As you all know I love an OOTD post, so I took some snaps of all my outfits on holiday for you: Warning this is going to be quite a picture heavy post!! These are just the daytime outfits and bikini's, I'll put the evening outfits in a separate post to make them a bit easier to manage!

This was just the first day by the pool, my bikini is from Primark last year, and I just threw an old Topshop baggy vest over the top with some Forever 21denim shorts I got in New York last year. These sunglasses are re-appearing throughout all the pictures and were £2 from Primark and I live in them!

I'm so in love with this playsuit, it was £10 from H&M and I'll probably wear it in the winter with some black tights, nike hightops and cropped denim jacket. Flip flops from Primark and I ended up wearing them so much they wore out and I left them there.

Another day relaxing by the pool, another Primark bikini that I actually hate, the top is such a bad fit. The dress was from H&M and I bought it to wear in the summer this year with a jacket over the top or a chunky cardigan but it ended up looking so see-through I saved it for a beach coverup. Sunglasses and flipflops from Primark again. 

I wore this outfit when we popped into Pafos old town for the day, the shorts are years and years old from Republic, and the top is just a cheap one from Topshop I bought for the holiday. Change of flipflops here, but again they're from Primark. Got changed into another bikini for a bit of sunbathing when we got back, this is my favourite one from Primark (again) and has detachable straps which is useful. 

Last full day sunbathing, I threw an old bright pink bikini from Matalan on, with a little leopard print coverup from Primark I've had for years. Fancied a change of sunglasses for this one, these were £16 from Miss Selfridge and I'd love some real Ray Bans like this one day. 

We went on a jeep safari one day which I loved, we got to see so much of the island you'd never normally see, stopped of at some great viewpoints and beaches, and went through some really cute little towns. I wore some £2 pumps from Primark, and my Forever 21 shorts again, with a drop sided top from ASOS that says 'Nobody remembers the nice girl' with a bandeau from H&M underneath. The hat was purchased on holiday, Dad bought me and mum one each and it was such a good purchase because it was seriously hot!

The backdrops for these have been a bit different from my usual kitchen shots, and I thought I'd mix it up a bit with the Egyptian pyramids for this one! While we were in Cyprus we went on a daytrip to Egypt which was one of the best days of my life! I wore my hat again, and my blue Primark sandals, with what was supposed to be a beach cover up from New Look for £25, but I put over some little shorts and a vest top to wear as a dress. 

We managed to squeeze a couple of hours sunbathing in on our last day before we got picked up at 4pm, so I got chance to wear my only unworn bikini, £12 from Matalan. 

As you can see, I didn't really go very brown. I don't tan naturally at all so I kind of gave up after a couple of days and just read in the shade! Anyway it's good to be back, I've got a lot of catching up to do on everyone's blog, and I'll be posting my evening outfits tomorrow hopefully!

Loves

xxx