RETAIL THERAPY

I've been feeling pretty stressed and rubbish this week. I injured my knee a few years ago and the last couple of days it flared up again and I've been in a bit of pain so I woke up today and decided to take myself to town before the huge rush of people got there in the afternoon. Of course, on my journey to town my body decided it was the perfect time to just get a cold. Thanks life. You are great. So then I knew I'd doubly have to treat myself in order to feel better. Obviously.

I have cut out the boring bits like tights and repurchases of lip balm, concealer and cleansing water and I'll just show you the exciting bits!
I made a bee line straight to Topshop once I got to town...

You may recognise these two items off the wishlist I posted a few days ago. I had every intention of getting the striped top but I wasn't overly bothered about finding the jumper and then I saw it on a display table and it felt so soft and lovely that I had to go try it on. And then I fell in love, the end.
I was worried I wouldn't like the top of because of the sleeves. I don't usually like the half sleeve but I felt really comfortable in this (and I felt very Alexa too!) so looking forward to styling this up.
I was very impressed with Topshop today. On my last few visits I haven't been blown away but I could have bought so many things today.

These boots were also mentioned on the wishlist I recently posted. I knew I needed these. I mean, my current black boots are letting rain in and that isn't cool! I was very upset that my size wasn't on the shelf and no matter how hard I tried, my foot was not going in the size 5. It was very reminiscent of the scene from Cinderella when the stepsisters try to make the glass slipper fit. I asked a lady in the shop and they had none in the back but then glistening away, I saw them on a display shelf in my size. Pretty sure hearts flew out of my eyes. With the way they come up the ankle, they make your legs look amazing too! And I think they're an absolute steal at £27.99

My skin has been getting me really bogged down recently, which in turn is probably not helping matters. Someone told me they have been using the tea tree range from The Body Shop and it has really helped so I toddled off there next. Rachel, who I met at the North West Blogger meet up, was working there and gave me some advice and twisted my arm by telling me there was 3 for 2 across the store. (Okay, so she didn't need to twist my arm that much. Or at all. I'm a sucker for offers!) I picked up a toner, face wash and night lotion all for £14. Excited to see if they help my skin.

I got this bag last week but I had to show it because I am so in love. I got it from Dorothy Perkins and it is beautiful. I've been after a smaller bag because usually I have ones that I can fit my entire life into and my back has decided that I must be punished for doing so. I got this when they were offering 25% off (and I still talk to the girls I used to work with there so she bought it for me to get extra discount, sshh!) but I would happily have paid full price for it. I think full price is £22.


New goodies definitely cheered me up some what but now I am ready to get into bed with tea and chocolate and I think it's going to have to be a DVD night.

OOTD: WORKING GIRL

Well it has been a while since I last did an outfit post and I recently bought a new dress that I wore today so what better opportunity to rectify that.
To be honest, I think the main reason for lack of outfit posts is that I just haven't really been buying clothes that much. However, I popped into New Look at the weekend and fell in love with a dress. New Look isn't somewhere I usually shop. I feel like their target audience is very teenage and usually none of their clothes appeal to me but I spied this dress in one of the concession ranges they stock.

Dress; Tenki @ New Look | Shoes; Primark | Rings; Dorothy Perkins & River Island | Nails; Ciaté

The weather lately has been so hot that I've been stepping way out of my comfort zone and ditching the tights and the knitwear however, when I got out of bed this morning the weather seemed to have remembered that it's in England and the tights needed bringing back out.

The dress then..! I went through a phase (like pretty much everyone) of buying everything and anything with a collar, particularly a Peter Pan collar, but I don't appear to actually own anything anymore with one on. The colour hasn't really translated well on camera but it's a lilac-grey sort of colour and it isn't really as shimmery as it seems. It does have a little which is the underneath lining. It's just so cute! It did come with a belt that went around the waist and had a bow at the front fastening however, it was navy which really confused me. It really didn't match the dress and everyone knows navy and black is a thing that shouldn't happen!

I've worn this today with just a plain black blazer for work. I just wear my flat Primark shoes that I absolutely love! They're sort of lattice design and they're actually really comfy. I pretty much wear them everyday and they were only about £8!

I got the finger top rings from River Island for £2! I originally wanted the criss cross ones that everyone and their cat have but I tried about 6 different stores and the Internet and couldn't get y hands on them. I do really like these ones though. The gold bands are a pack of four from Dorothy Perkins and cost £5. Really simple but really effective.

And the nail varnish is the Ciaté one I received in this months Glossybox. It's a lovely dark nude and I was really impressed with the pigmentation of it to.

My fringe did not behave at all today and I ended up rushing this morning trying to do it and made matters worse so I've been a bit gappy-fringed all day.
On my face today, though, is...:

Nivea Express Hydration Primer
GOSH Velvet Touch Primer
No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation 'Calico'
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer 'Ivory'
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer 'Fair'
MAC Mineralised Skin Finish Natural 'Light'
Benefit Browzings 'Dark'
Bourjois Liner Clubbing 'Ultra Black'
Avon Infinitize Mascara
Bourjois Blush '34 Rose d'Or (Rose Gold)'
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lip Pencil 'Black Tulip'
Rimmel x Kate Moss Matte Lipstick '107'

With not having to drive to work anymore and being able to get there in less than 5 minutes, I actually have time to spend doing nice eye make up. However, every day I end up some how rushing around and actually having no time to do what I want on my face so this usually ends up how I look most days. It seems a lot of products to say I'm in a rush but I can get all this on my face in about 10/15 minutes if needs be.

Just moisturise and prime the skin then using a Buffing Brush for foundation and an Expert Face Brush to blend in concealer under my eyes (Wake Me Up) and on blemishes (Lasting Perfection). Then a quick fill of any sparse bits of the brow, I don't really need to spend time of shaping as the beloved fringe hides the fact that they really need plucking. Quick slick of eyeliner; generally no time to wing anything out as I can guarantee one will go wrong or I'll sneeze and it'll be all over my face. Then it's mascara time. Not a huge fan of this Avon one but it's nice just for everyday and not over the top lashes. And then I dust over some Mineralised Skin Finish where I'm a bit shiny and then do my lips. I haven't worn this colour in so long as it doesn't feel very summery but I have reignited my love for it. Then I realised I had about 30 seconds before I would be late so I just swiped a little bit of blush from a Bourjois Little Pot of Blush on my cheeks for a very subtle bit of colour.
AND DONE.

EBAY CLOTHING SALE

Happy Sunday!

Decided it was time I got rid of a lot of clothes today and seeing as eBay has free listing for this weekend I have put a few items up on there. I've never actually sold anything on eBay before. I always feel like it'd be too time consuming (which, for the record, it was!) and it's just easier to take to the charity shop most of the time.

Anyway, I made a charity pile and an eBay pile (after my sister rummaged through everything)...

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CLEARER AND/OR BID :)

Bidding ends around 3PM BST next Sunday. Unfortunately it is only for UK residents however, if you live overseas and would consider buying anything then do let me know because if the items don't sell I may consider posting to you if you wouldn't mind me upping the price slightly just for the purpose of overseas P+P!

Have a lovely day x

A LAD INSANE

Very short outfit post for a lazy day off today...

Top; Hero & Cape | Disco Pants; Glamorous | Shoes; Matalan | Collar; New Look

You may recognise the top from the payday wishlist a few posts back. I absolutely love it. It's just the right amount of loose fitting in the right places which make it great for tucking into shorts or skirts or my current love interest, my disco pants!
I'm not really a leggings person. I pretty much live in tights. But over the last year or so from reading other blogs and seeing so many of the American Apparel Disco Pants on everyone I was intrigued. Though, not enough to spend £70 on them. Of course, dupes have been popping up everywhere and the Glamorous ones have been floating around the blogging world. I tried them and instantly fell in love. I've worn them to death already.

I've been after a collar to go over tops for a while but I've never found one I really like that doesn't cost the earth. I have a Dorothy Perkins one but it doesn't quite sit right. This cost £4.99 from New Look and it's so pretty with the lace and pearl detailing.

And my shoes... I've worn them every single day since I bought them last week. I think they were £16 (possibly £14, I can't remember but great price none the less!) and they're so comfy! The gold toe cap and heel are very unique and I think they seem more expensive than they are. Not overly keen on them being suede, especially coming up to winter, but nothing some shoe protector spray isn't going to fix! 

DRESS LIKE... KAT DENNINGS

Going to attempt to make this a more regular blog feature so if there's any celebrities that you'd like me to do a "Dress Like..." post on then please leave a comment. For the first installment though... enter Kat Dennings!

Stunning actress that I first found out about from a Nickelodeon show from the very early 00's (may have even been late 90's?) but nobody else seems to remember it. It was called Raising Dad. She was also in the film Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist with Michael Cera, which is lovely, and she's currently in the sitcom 2 Broke Girls (which I am about to start watching for the first time after posting this!)

BY DAY

Blazer; H&M

Jeans; Topshop

Boots; New Look

Jacket; Miss Selfridge

Top; New Look

Jeans; Topshop

Shoes; Dorothy Perkins

Bag; Topshop

Lipstick; MUA (Top - shade 14, bottom - shade 10)

BY NIGHT:

Dress; Very

Lipstick; Topshop

Lipstick; Topshop

Bag; ASOS

Dress; New Look

Nail Varnish; Topshop

Ring; New Look

Earrings; H&M

Blush; Topshop

Shoes; Dorothy Perkins

Kat's style is very simple and classic but by just adding a little pop of colour she looks just amazing!

Hope you like this kind of post and please do let me know of who else you'd like to see feature in one of these.

LACE + LEATHER

So first outfit post on here! This is what I wore for work today...

Blouse; Dorothy Perkins | Skirt; Topshop | Jacket; Miss Selfridge | Shoes; Topshop | Bracelet; New Look | Nails; Barry M Red Black & Elf Matte Finisher

The blouse really isn't too small for me, by the way. I think it's just how it was tucked in/I was stood for the photos!

As you can see I'm wearing my new skirt and jacket which I'm already completely in love with! I'm trying not to over wear this shirt because although I can wear pretty much what I want to work, I like having different clothes I wear for work than I wear when I don't have work. However, I'm totally in love with it. It's quite different to any others I have and so easy to dress up and down.