Birmingham Trip

Last week I took a trip to Birmingham to go to the clothes show and the Bullring, neither of which I had never been to before and I picked up a few things.

My first stop was, of course, Forever 21, and blimey it didn’t disappoint.  I didn’t realise how much bigger the shop was than the one on Oxford Street and I almost hyperventilated at the prospect of three floors to peruse!  After breathing into a paper bag, I had a wander around and chose a few things.  I managed to restrain myself from trying on everything I liked the look of, as I’d never have got out of there!

I chose this lovely loose fitting knit top.  It’s baggy yet fitted in all the right places and I decided to go for this pretty green colour rather than my typical choice of cream or pink which the top also comes in.

Next I chose this adorable penguin jumper that I just couldn’t resist.  It’s a very seasonal jumper that I thought would be perfect to wear at Christmas.

I also got one of their Disney jumpers.  It’s a purple jumper with a Cinderella print, which is going to be my Christmas present from my lovely cousin, so technically I don’t know about this one :)

Onto the accessories, I didn’t see any jewellery that caught my eye despite their extensive array.  I did however go for this bright pink infinity scarf.  I’ve never had an infinity scarf before, but have always loved the look of them.  This looks great worn loosely around twice, however it can even be worn three times if it gets really cold.

I also picked up this knit hat.  Now I have a bit of a problem with hats, namely that I look ridiculous in 99% of them.  However I would like to wear one when it gets colder, so I decided that in this cute one with a bow I look fairly reasonable and for £4.75 it was a bargain :) 

Next stop was the clothes show.  I have previously been to the vitality show and loved looking around the beauty stalls but I was hoping with the addition of fashion this would be even better, and it was.  I really enjoyed looking at the different sections (categorised into, designer, vintage, beauty etc.).  Various stalls like Barry M and Rimmel were offering deals on goody bags and products during the day. 


I went for a ‘Love Cosmetics’ goody bag, which for £10, included a gorgeous smelling vanilla candle, a set of bubble baths, a face mask, lip balm and body butter.   

My cousin and I were disappointed that Nails Inc. didn’t have a stall as I was looking forward to picking up some new polishes.  I did however chose two from Barry M, ‘shocking pink’ and ‘lavender hexograms’ which is an amazing glittery purple, perfect for Christmas parties.


There were lots of lovely vintage jewellery stalls, selling my favourite kind of charm necklaces and earrings.  I bought these cute flower studs from a shop called ‘Cutiepie’,  which had a beautiful stall with the necklaces hanging on a blossom tree and rings stored in teacups :)

Lastly, I visited the ‘Tatty Devine’ stall.  I love their kitsch necklaces and on the day they were offering to make name necklaces, which you choose to your own specifications, right there and then.  I couldn’t resist and chose a pink ‘Heather’ with a dangling purple heart which I can’t wait to wear.

It was at this point that both my funds and energy had expired and my cousin and I returned home with our goodies! 

In other news, you can now buy my favourite basic cleanser, Cetaphil, in Boots hooray.  F.Y.I for some reason it’s located next to the allergy tablets!

Boots time

It’s boots time!  I love buying a new pair of boots when it turns to Autumn, and often my Autumn/Winter wardrobe is based around my selection.   This year I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I began my search.  I wasn’t sure whether I wanted knee length boots, ankle boots, laces, fur, or even what colour.   So I went with an open mind and found not one pair, but two pairs of boots that I loved.  ‘My chosen ones’, as I shall call them, came from River Island.

The first pair are these lovely grey ankle boots with both laces and fake fur (so perhaps I didn’t quite make a decision).  They have a small heel but are comfortable enough to wear all day. I think these will look great with grey tights, but also can be worn with skinny jeans, slightly bunched up.

My second pair are these calf length ‘antiqued’ brown boots which I like to think are distressed from all my time kicking up dust in the Texas Panhandle.  They have a fake fur top and a buckle on the side.  They look great with skinny jeans tucked in, or paired with a floral dress to ‘toughen’ it up.

Also both pairs of boots had money off, score :)

Forever 21 Haul

I finally managed to get a chance to go to the new Forever 21 on Oxford Street last week and picked up a few things.  I was so excited to finally see a real life version of the popular US shop and was impressed with the store.  My first thought was just how much stuff they had there; it seemed to go on forever (21 haha).   I loved the layout of the different collections and the clothes grouped by colour, which made it much easier to find things.  As for the design of the shop itself, it was as if somebody had emptied the contents of my head, all bright colours, sparkly chandeliers, and an ice cream van at the top!

However, what I was most excited about was the jewellery, which didn’t disappoint.  It was like an Aladdin’s cave of all things sparkly but without the expensive price tags.  By the time it came for the jewellery shopping it had got quite busy, so it was quite manic, but again it was really nicely laid out to make things much easier to find. 

So onto the ‘haul’, please excuse the creases, I wouldn’t say the shop assistants are the best packers in the world!


I chose this lovely purple lace top.  I haven’t yet decided what to layer this over as it is see-through so obviously needs a base layer.  I thought silver, black or white would be nice to show off the lace pattern, but you could also match the colour with purple or pinks.  

I bought this lovely flowy patterned top, it’s longer in the back, so sits really nicely and looks great over skinny jeans.  I would wear this with a pink vest underneath, and maybe slightly off the shoulder. 

I also chose this lovely blue tunic top.  I loved the cut-out back detail of this top, it could be paired with jeans or leggings. 

I got this purple flecked jacket which is simple to throw over a casual outfit and comes in lots of colours.

I bought this simple floral skirt which comes with a belt and looks great worn high-waisted with a top tucked in either with or without tights.

Finally I chose this simple silver and gold toned heart necklace, a bargain at £2.40!

I tried to resist some of the bright floral dresses as I realised that Autumn/Winter was too fast approaching to justify them.  The prices are all quite reasonable so you have to hold yourself back somewhat before all your ‘£13.75’s’suddenly become ‘that’s £250.75 please’!  In other news, I tried Pinkberry for the first time, in Selfridges, yum!

New Collections

Yes, I know it’s early, but I just can’t resist looking at the new season collections arriving in the shops.  Although my summer clothes barely got an outing, it’s already time for Autumn clothing.  I perused the new season collection in Zara and saw some lovely things.

There were lots of cosy jumpers in camel, cream and gold, and I chose this lovely cream knit jumper with gold threaded through.  It’s quite a baggy fit so would look great over skinny jeans or leggings. 

Topshop also had some great jumpers like this ‘&’ one:

And squirrel design:

I also picked up this pretty feather print top in Zara.  The latest feather hair extensions trend seems to have made its way into clothing, with lots of tops having feather designs.  I love the bright colours in this top and again it would look great with skinny jeans or even over a high waisted skirt.

Zara had some lovely lace tops and dresses in cream which would be perfect for both day and night.

Although I’m a huge fan of bright summer print dresses and skirts, I always get excited when the autumn boots, jackets and jumpers hit the shops.  Has anyone else ventured into Autumn shopping yet or is just too early? :)

Shorty

What exactly is leg length?  Who knows!  On a recent trawl around the shops, on the seemingly impossible task of finding a pair of trousers that fitted, I was left confused and a little dazed at how greatly the sizes differed.  I tried on a number of different 30” leg length trousers and jeans only to find that whilst some were the perfect length others were dragging along the changing room floor.  Now to be fair, some shops do not even enter the realm of shorter (or longer) sizes, cough Zara cough.  So to have the different lengths offered at all is a luxury, but why does it seem such a challenge to get a good fitting pair of trousers?  And yes we can get them altered, but for most of us it’s just too much expense and hassle.

It is for these reasons that I was pleasantly surprised whilst in Zara recently, to find a pair of jeans that didn’t look supermodel length.  

I hurried to the changing room and as I had hoped, they were a perfect length and fitted well.  My faith in Zara was restored, that is until, I re-examined my purchases on my way home, only to discover that my perfect jeans turned out to be ‘cropped pants’!  Oh well, let’s just keep it between ourselves :)

All the Usual Culprits

I thought I would do a quick blog showing my everyday make up look, with all the products I use on a daily basis.

Firstly, yes I’m back to my Revlon Colorstay.  I really like the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua but at the moment prefer the fuller coverage that the Colorstay gives.  I mix the two shades (‘Ivory’ and ‘Buff’) on the back of my hand and apply with my fingers.

For concealer I use Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer (in shade 51) for under my eyes and then Amazing Cosmetics concealear (again I mix the two lightest shades) on any blemishes.  I apply with the concealer brush from Amazing Cosmetics which is small in order to make the application really accurate.  I then apply Maybelline Pure Mineral Foundation in ‘Rose Ivory’ all over my face using my e.l.f. Kabuki Face brush.
 
I use Bourjois Delice De Poudre bronzer (51) to contour my cheeks (with the e.l.f. Blushing, Bronzing and Blending brush) although I’ve been wanting to try the new Bourjois Delice De Soleil Bronzing powder spray which gives an all-over glow.  On the apples of my cheeks I alternate between e.l.f. Mineral blush in ‘Joy’ and ‘Sugabomb’ by Benefit (if I want more shimmer) using my e.l.f. Studio Blush brush.

For my eyes I use my Too Faced Natural Eye palette and the colour ‘Silk Teddy’ all over the lid with ‘Push Up’ in the crease, or if using my Urban Decay Naked palette I use ‘Sin’ all over and ‘Toasted’ in the crease, both applied using my e.l.f. Studio Contour brush.  If I want a more colourful look I’ve recently been using ‘Shattered’ from the Urban Decay Ammo palette (although any bright colour would do), under my lashes using my M.A.C 266 brush.  I curl my lashes using my Model’s Own eyelash curler and use Maybelline Falsies mascara on my top lashes and Clinique Bottom Lash mascara on the bottom lashes.

As for my lips, I usually leave them natural with either just lip balm or a neutral coloured gloss, and that’s it, my everyday look :)

Temptation

I don’t really need a new make up palette, being still in love with my Urban Decay Naked palette, but the latest offering from Benefit is looking very tempting.  I always love Benefit, mainly because of the great quality of their products but also owing to their quirky and gorgeous packaging.  The palette in question is the new ‘Sunday Funday’ palette:

 

I mainly like the look of this palette for the eye shadows, ‘Shimmer Bronze’, ‘Pink Satin’, ‘Light Champagne’ and ‘Pretty in Plum’; it also includes ‘Hoola’ bronzer which I’ve been meaning to try for ages, a liner and rose lipgloss.  The only downside is the ‘Benetint’ which I seem to have lots of bottles of already, but other than that it definitely looks worth a try!

They have also come out with a more night term version called ‘Scene Queen’:

This comes with ‘Charcoal’, ‘Shimmering Beige’, ‘ Minty Blue’ and ‘Navy’, along with ‘Coralista’ blush, ‘HighBeam’, liner and a coral lipgloss.


They both also come with miniature versions of all the brushes you need, so perfect for travelling. Has anyone else given these a try?

Recent Purchases

Topshop t-shirt:

I seem to be on a never-ending quest to find a great basic t-shirt, one that fits really well, looks good and lasts for ages.  The latest contender is this one I picked up in Topshop recently:

It’s a more slouchy style than I would usually go for, but it fits well and comes in loads of colours.  I love the flecked, textured feel and it goes with anything.

Zara shoes:

I just thought these patent flats were great for the price, they were £19.99 and come in black, pink, blue and green.

I love the quilted cushioned sole as they make them more comfy and overall are just great basic go-to shoes.

Office shoes:

I was obviously on a shoes kick because I also bought these beautiful grey bow shoes from Office. 

They are of the scrunched up variety (this is probably not their official name), which do tend to cut off your circulation if you’re not careful, but did I mention the bow? :) I’m always on the lookout for grey flats as I seem to live in grey tights, which I see as striking a balance between the acceptance of rubbish weather that black suggests, and being not quite brave enough to join the tan tights/bare leg  brigade.

Swarovski earrings:

I found these lovely earrings in the Swarovski sale.  I love everything with hearts on and I thought these red heart studs looked both simple and pretty.  

In other news, I’ve been wanting to try the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation after seeing so many great reviews for it on YouTube.  So I went into my local Boots, asked for a sample and got matched for the lightest shade (of course) and am now currently trying it out.  My first impressions are that whilst it does look great on my skin, I’m not sure how the coverage will fare.  I’m used to a heavier coverage like my Revlon Colorstay, but by combining it with a primer (which I don’t typically use) and powder, I might just be able to make this my new best friend.   

And my current non-beauty/fashion love is ‘Pumped up kicks’ by Foster the People simply because I.Just.Can’t.Stop.Playing.It