Cheapest Purchase Ever

I picked up this little beauty at a jumble sale this very morning. I have a strong feeling it may be some sort of night gown, but I do not care as it is pretty and whimsical. Also, it was TEN PENCE. Yeah you heard me. I think it will be sweet in the summer with a loose vest, light denim shorts and tan leather sandals. 

I also picked up a plain white t-shirt and a stripy navy and white t-shirt but they aren't nearly as exciting. 

Yay for absolute bargains. 

Nail Varnish Collection: Topshop

Whilst my Models Own nail polish collection is by far my biggest, I own quite a few by Topshop too. They offer a wide range of colours , and the consistency of most of their polishes is good. They last about 2-3 days without chipping which I would say is pretty average compared with most high street polishes.

Here is my collection:

Swatched:

From the pink one clockwise: Indian Summer, Amethyst, Moonshine, Journalist, Treasure, Hidden Treasure (that was not planned haha!), Green Room, Celestial, Plume and 3D.

Nail polishes with names are so much better than ones which are just numbered, I like 'Journalist' especially. I've always thought what a fun job it would be to be the person that comes up with the names, likewise with the shoes in Topshop. I would definitely sneakily name one after myself!

These 4 are my favourite Topshop shades:

I am also a big fan of the super cute packaging.

Topshop nail varnishes retail at £5 (£6 for metallic/glitter varnishes).

December/January Haul

I've picked up a few bits and bobs in the past two months, so thought I would share:

Checked jumper- Topshop £20

Gold leggings Primark £3 

Hat Topshop £25

PVC pencil skirt H&M £7

Belt Topshop £20

Nail polish '3D' Topshop £6

Rings H&M £3.99

Flower necklace Primark £8

Spike Necklace New Look £5.99

I am unsure about the pencil skirt as it does slightly resemble a bin bag. However I really liked it on the mannequin when it was full price so when I saw it for half price I couldn't resist. I might still take it back...

Obsessed with this floral necklace from Primark. It's a great dupe for prada and really makes an outfit. The spike necklace I saw on my sister over Christmas and basically just copied her.  

Love these plain different sized gold rings from H&M- so much so that I bought them in small and medium just in case (you can never tell how they will fit in the shop). If in doubt I always go for the bigger size as with most rings you can just wind some sellotape round the back to make them fit! A bit gutted however because about a week before buying these, I ordered these from Etsy which I purchased previously but are now too rusty to wear. Oh well, you can never have too many plain gold rings is what I always say.

This nail polish is ammmazzinngg. It's a holographic glitter which does need about 5 layers to look solid but it's worth it. I have a photo on my Instagram (iwishicouldwink) if you want to see it on the nails!

Dress ASOS £25 

I imagined a polo necked skater dress in my head about 5 months ago and have been obsessed with finding one ever since, so I had to get this when I spied it on ASOS. It looks a bit rubbish on the hanger but much better/more flattering on. Rubbish/cringe-y phone pic to demonstrate:

Coat New Look £22

In November I left my Topshop coat on the train and was GUTTED especially as it cost £85. As a replacement I bought this New Look coat in the sale. I ordered a 10 but was sent a 12 which was super annoying, so I went on a mad rush during my lunch break trying to locate the only one left in London! I like this coat, it's not my favourite but it was a mega bargain and will do for the remaining winter months. 

That's it for my haul. I've know I've missed stuff out-I've just thought of at least 2 things I have forgotten to include but I'm sure they will crop up in outfit of the day soon.

 I'm looking forward to February payday now so I can chip away at my ever increasing 'saved items' list on ASOS!

Review: MUA Fur Effects

I got my hands on the MUA fur effects for nails, which are a dupe of the Ciate velvet manicure. 

They retail at only £2 each and come in 5 colours (that's how many I've seen anyway), all with adorable names like 'Fluff and Cuddles' and 'Boo boo Fluff'. I went for 'Fluffy Puff', mainly because it reminded me of this jumper from Lana Del Rey's collection for H&M, which I wanted but for some reason never bought:

(image via google)

The instructions say to apply two thin coats of polish, and then to shake the fur into the lid before pressing the nail in, making sure it's all covered.

I decided to use a Model's Own pink because it was a good colour match for the 'Fluffy Puff' fur.

However, I found it difficult to press my nails into the fur on the lid, as in order to get the whole nail covered it needs to roll back and forth in the fur, and the edges of the lid made this tricky. Instead I sifted some of the fur onto a bit of newspaper instead:

A flat surface made it much easier to roll the nail fully. (TIP: Use a plain white sheet of paper for this as I think a bit of grey from the newsprint transferred onto the fur) 

My first attempt wasn't great! 

I think this was due to me rolling my nails in clumps of fur that were sticking together. It works better if you make sure the fur your are sifting out is fine. Also, let the nails dry for about 10-20 seconds before pressing them in the fur or the nail colour underneath will just rub off when you roll the nail to coat it (as you can see on my ring finger in the photo above). 

My second attempt was better (ignore the thumb):

I think the MUA fur effect nails look  really cute-they do look just like a mohair jumper and this manicure would look amazing with a Nails Inc black leather accent nail. I want to try them again using a brush (I reckon an eyeshadow brush would work) as I think this would make the process much easier and less messy. I also want to try the darker colours as I think the fur effect would stand out more- especially in the electric blue.

A bargain for £2- I would definitely recommend this product!  

Looks Loved this Month: December

This month I have mainly hearted 3 looks:

I love this outfit from Jules because I love the mix between the fluffy cardigan and the tweed-like skirt. It looks so cosy and cute!

This girl was featured on Karen's blog. This girl just looks so cool, I love the layering, the sneaky bit of tiger coming through the amazing leopard print coat and the ripped shorts. Effortless and casual but still super stylish, this is what I want to look like on the weekend!

Gwen Stefani hardly ever puts a fashion foot wrong, and I love this heritage style shorts mixed with the smarter element of the jumper-shirt combo, blazer and structured bag. Plus (and i'm a cat person) that little ball of fluff is the cutest accessory. (image from Google)

OOTD: Ikea!

My wardrobe has been in desperate need of organisation for a long long time, and we needed a few other home-y  bits so on Saturday we decided to trot along to good ol' IKEA.

Jacket Primark

Jumper New Look (very old!)

Shirt Uniqlo

Jeans Topshop

Necklace H&M

Shoes Topshop

Nails Miss Sporty 23

I like how this outfit is pretty casual but a has smarter element with the mix between the sweatshirt and the shirt.My boyfriend disliked the top as he thought it looked like 'an old jumper you found in New Look ten years ago'. Which it is! Haha, I do see where he's coming from but I am still a big fan of this combo. 

Since you ask, the IKEA trip was very successful. Thrillingly, I have divided my underwear into sections using some handy canvas box type things, we have a glorious plant for the living room and a bright red clock.

After IKEA we went to Selfridges as I wanted to exchange my Cambridge Satchel Company bag for an all over tan coloured one. Sadly, they didn't have it in stock in the size I wanted. I couldn't get a refund so I got a Selfridges voucher instead. I do still really want the bag so I'm either gonna wait and see if it comes back in stock, or possibly get some boots from Topshop instead. 

I considered getting a Neon satchel, I like them a lot but i'm just not sure I will in 2 years, and it is expensive for a short term investment. Decisions, decisions! 

New Year's Resolutions

I don't normally buy into the whole new year, new start thing, but I thought I might as well use the fact that it is a new year to make some personal resolutions for the twelve months ahead. So here goes. I am going to split them into three sections- fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

Warning- this post does not contain many exciting pictures and mostly consists of me rambling!

Fashion

1.Sort out my wardrobe-only keep what I wear all the time/really love. Ebay the rest. I really got into Ebay at the end of last year, it's such a good way of clearing out your wardrobe and making money-and so easy. I definitely don't miss anything I've sold!

2. Spend money on things I really love, don't waste money on things that seem cheap but I never wear. I would much rather get a more expensive pair of boots I wear with everything than 10 crap things from Primark that I hate in a month. That's not to say I don't love a bit of Primark- but in moderation!

3. Go out of my comfort zone more often- at the weekend I tend to dress more comfortably (read boring). Although I'm not going to start wearing 6 inch heels to pick up some milk, I have loads of stuff in my wardrobe I love that hardly ever gets an outing because in my head it is 'night out' clothing. So I plan to mix it   up a bit more. If Anna Dello Russo can wear this to pop to Morrison's why can't I:

Haha not quite but you get the idea! 

Beauty

1. Invest in some more high end make up. I think chemist brands are great for some things ( Rimmel Wake Up Concealer I'm looking at you) but for products like foundation or blusher I think it makes sense to pay a bit more. Top of my list so far:

Nars Bronzer in Laguna 

 MAC Lipstick in Media

 MAC Pro Long Wear Foundation

My aim is to look a bit more groomed. I do my hair and make up in the morning and it looks acceptable in my bedroom mirror- then I walk to the tube station, get into a sweaty mess and by 2pm my make up is halfway down my face! Reapplying throughout the day would also help with this one. 

2. Get my hair cut more often- I put this off and put this off constantly. I think it's hard to find a great hairdresser - a lot of them just half listen to you or suggest something that doesn't suit you, then charge you £40 for the privilege. I've also been threatening to get my hair cut a bit shorter for aaages, so maybe this year I will take the plunge. 

Lifestyle

1. Do some volunteering. I have been harping on about this for ages but never got round to it so this year I need to do something about it. I would love to help out at a museum/art gallery/exhibition or something relating to fashion. 

2. GO ON HOLIDAY. I didn't go on holiday last year and it made me very sad. I definitely want at least a week somewhere hot this year. Hopefully a few little European/British long weekends away too, what with Groupon et al and their ker-azy deals. 

3. Continue blogging. During the tail end of last year I started blogging a lot more and I've been enjoying it. I love receiving and replying to comments and seeing my followers increase is really exciting. I need to get some business cards made ASAP and am going to look into teaching myself Photoshop/basic HTML to prettify my layout. 

Fingers crossed I can achieve at least half of these. Happy New Year everyone!

All images from Google