France Part 1: The Outfits

Hi everyone! I'm back after my holiday to France. We stayed in the Aveyron region which is in the South/West. I had a lovely time, it was so nice soaking up a different culture and spending some time away from the usual day to day things! I thought that I would split it into two different posts rather than do one really long one- an outfit one which this one will be and the other will be places I visited and some of the nice photos I took.

After arriving on the first day to a sweltering 38 degrees the temperature never really went below 32 degrees every day so it was pretty hot! It was great to finally get my summer clothes out as there haven't been many opportunities in England this summer.

Outfit 1: ASOS Dress // Jack Wills Sunglasses
I had been lusting over this dress for weeks (and even featured it in a post of things I wanted!) so finally treated myself to it. It's difficult to tell from this picture but it has tiny sequins on the upper part that make up little daisys- VERY girly!!

Outfit 2: New Look Vest // H+M Shorts // Next Sandals
I'd originally planned on teaming this outfit with a cardigan but I definitely didn't need it! This was perfect for exploring picturesque French villages.

Playsuits and my hat!

Outfit 3: New Look Playsuit // Primark Belt // H+M Hat // Urban Outfitters Necklace

I actually bought this playsuit last summer and....it's from the kids department in New Look! Amazingly it fits (think they are pretty generous with their sizing!!) it's lovely and floaty though which was ideal for keeping me cool in the sun.

Outfit 4: H+M Playsuit // French Supermarket Espadrilles // H+M Hat

Another outfit featuring my very useful hat! The shoes I had to get whilst we were there as I hadn't taken any 'sensible' shoes and I'd under-estimated how hilly France was!

Hope everyone is ok, I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's recent posts! 

Bonjour ou Au Revoir?

credit: pinterest

Hi everyone, just a little note to say I'm going to be away from blogging for the next week or so as I'm off on holiday tomorrow to the South of France. My nails are painted, my bikini is packed and I'm really looking forward to just relaxing in the French sunshine and reading my book. Will be taking pics of my outfits and where I visit to share with you all when I'm back. Think I'm going to miss blogging and having a daily read of my favourite blogs but I'll be back soon. Bye for now.....

P.s anyone else always struggle to fit everything into their suitcase?!

My early Autumn wishlist

With the summer starting to draw to an end (sob sob) it's time to start thinking about what we are all going to be wearing in the next few months. I'm still determined to keep wearing my summer clothes for as long as I can but I discovered the website USC recently that sell a variety of brands- some I'd heard of before and others were new to me. As I clicked around the website I started to note some of their clothes I really liked that would be useful for between summer and autumn. So I've teamed some of my favourites off of their womens clothes section with some others on my wishlist!

1) Yumi Pussybow Blouse £16. This shirt is gorgeous AND a bargain! I love the pussybow detail and the gathering at the end of the 3/4 length sleeves. I chose this because it would go perfectly with jeans, leggings or shorts!

2) River Island Tube Pants £30. To the un-trained eye these look identical to the AA Disco Pants that are really popular at the moment, however these are a fraction of the price and look just as nice. What I like about the idea of Disco/Tube pants is their material being slightly thicker than leggings and also the tightness. I'm hoping to grab myself a pair to team with my blouses and tee's over the colder months.

3) Lovestruck Bird Print Dress £35. I really like this dress and think it would be really versatile to either dress down in the day teaming it with tights and pumps and a cardie or glam it up with bare legs and heels to hit the clubs. The waist is cinched in which would be flattering and the material is arranged in a 'waterfall' of different lengths.

4) Abandon Jacques Dandy Shoes £12. Despite the rather odd name these shoes have been given they are really nice and are somewhere between a loafer and a slipper! Also a complete bargain for £12 I thought. Lots of people like the studded shoe look and these definitely have the potential for a D.I.Y  project to add some studs yourself.

5) Louche Cat Jumper £49. Slightly quirky....but who can resist a cat with glasses and a bow?! The red background contrasts really well with the pattern. Think this jumper would go great with the RI Tube Pants.

6) Casio Retro Watch £40. I've become quite fond of looking at watches, I think they make a nice (useful) accessory. I love the one I currently have (which you can see in an old post I did by clicking here) but this is timeless (no pun intended haha). 

7) Miss Selfridge Black Seam Biker Jacket £52. I've never had a leather biker jacket before but I think this may be the year that I finally invest in one. I'm becoming fonder of the 'edgier' look and think this would contrast really well against my delicate softer tops.

So there you have it my little wishlist.  What is your favourite of my picks? 

What is on your list to get for the Autumn? 

Lush- Bubblegum Lip Scrub and London

Lush is one of those shops that you can wander round and round picking up various soaps and bath bombs sniffing away. I really admire the philosophy of Lush- they are so passionate about fighting animal testing and have such lovely handmade products.

After hearing they had a few new products that had been launched recently I went into one of their stores in London and picked up their 'Bubblegum Lip Scrub' which is designed to get rid of those pesky dry bits of skin that can make wearing lip-sticks a nightmare! 

It is essentially everything that it says in the name- it scrubs your lips and has a gorgeous bubblegum scent and taste which you simply lick off (trust me it's delicious!) and have buffed lips as a result.

I'm not a big fan of sticky lip balms that say they are solving dry lips but really aren't, this gets rid of the dry skin instantly. Ok you might look a bit odd with sugar all over your lips like this-

but you lick it off in seconds!!

I think this is a real bargain for £5.25, think of it almost as a primer for lips- getting them in prime condition ready to wear your best lipstick!

Have any of you tried the Lush lip scrub? Or have any similar lip solutions?

Also as a bit of a sidenote, thought I would share with you a really cool (and free) attraction in London at the moment at the Southbank. It's called aMAZEme and is a maze made out of books stacked up that have been donated by Oxfam. Reiss and I gave it a visit when we were in London this week and it was pretty fun. Here is a pic of him enjoying himself and to give you an idea of what it looks like!

Hope everyone is having a lovely week and good luck to those collecting A/As Level results today!

A little beauty splurge

I'm definitely no beauty and make-up expert, but seeing all the hype surrounding Benefit's 'They're Real!' mascara with lots of positive reviews in the Blog-o-sphere and with Benefit's ambitious claims including "One sold every 20 seconds" and "94% of customers asked said they saw dramatic length and volume" I couldn't help but want to know more about this holy grail of mascaras. Luckily there was no Benefit rep at the stand whilst I was looking at the products when I was in Boots yesterday (not too keen on their 'friendly' help and feeling like you have to buy something).

Anyway, despite the pretty hefty price tag (£18.50) I decided to give Benefit a go as I've never used any of their other mascaras whilst thinking of the beauty blogger mantra- you ultimately get the quality that you pay for! I was really excited to get home and test it out and I'm really pleased to say I wasn't disappointed!

The brush is quite thin and has tiny bristles- Benefit say to get the best result to "Postition the wand horizontally and wiggle from side to side from the base to tip...layer generously as desired" this technique worked really well and I didn't need to apply another coat! With not a dreaded clump in sight....phew!

Now for the serious question-

Is it worth £18.50? 

In my opinion I think this is definitely worth that little bit more money than you would pay for the usual drug-store make-up brands such as Rimmel or Maybelline which normally won't set you back anything more than £10. This has clearly had the research put into it to make a mascara that isn't prone to smudge and does what women really want from a mascara- length and definition.

Whilst I was in Boots I also had a browse over the 'UNE' make-up stand which is one I haven't ever given much notice to at all, I bought the 'Blush Grand Air' in the 'Breezy Cheeks' shade. This is a creamy blusher with the appearance of being a powder yet goes creamy to the touch and applies excellently. I also bought their 'Blush Brush' which they recommended to apply the blush with, it's a tiny little thing but does just the job!

Have any of you got the Benefit 'They're Real!' mascara and are now a convert like me?

What UNE products do you have?

"Baby in our wildest moments"

Jumper: Pull & Bear   Shorts: Topshop   Loafers: New Look

Burst of colour alert!! 

This is what I wore today to go and catch-up with a friend over some lunch, followed by a little marathon of 'FRIENDS' episodes- perfect! 

I love this knitted Snoopy jumper from Pull & Bear, it's got brown suede-y elbow pads too which you can't see. I bought these shorts from Topshop last summer and still really enjoy wearing them- possibly a little too short to not team with tights! Also just realised I'm basically wearing the Team GB colours.....have any of you been watching the Olympics? I've really enjoyed watching the gymnastics and the swimming.

Also I've collated a little playlist of what songs I'm really enjoying listening to at the moment- see what you think!

Jessie Ware- 'Wildest Moments'

Bombay Bicycle Club 'Beg'

Lucy Rose 'Lines'

Savvy shopper?

Everyone shops differently, some of us wait until we have a list of exact things needed in the wardrobe before hitting the shops or websites or others can spend hours shopping online and wouldn't dream of trawling through the shops and some are a little bit of each!

There is nothing worse than the following things happening when shopping:

• Buying it and then promptly seeing it a week later in the sale for less than what you paid for.
• Not trying it on and getting home to realise it doesn't actually fit.
• Finding a 'dupe' of a popular pricier product to realise the quality is awful.
• Saving up for a particular dress/watch/top etc to find that the shop doesn't have it in your size or even worse...it's stopped selling it altogether!

(Source: Google)

So I've come to the conclusion that with a little bit of internet research and the knowledge of where to find  some cheeky tips all of those pesky common shopping problems can become a thing of the past!

Student Discount

Being a student has it's downs due to constantly being pretty poor BUT one definite good thing to come out of being a student is the student discount you can often obtain from shops by simply showing your student card (as long as it has an expiry date). The website UniDays is amazing, they also have a Facebook page which is pretty clever as they know a huge amount of students use Facebook. To register with UniDays all I had to do was give them my e-mail address so I can get the latest offers and deals they have to offer as well as your university so they can double check you are a registered student. Minimal faff but a MUST for using websites such as ASOS and BOOHOO as you get 10% off! 

UniDays is great for still getting student discount online and not just in-store! No one likes paying full-price and it all makes a difference if you can start saving here and there!

ASOS Marketplace

This is an amazing part of the ASOS website where you can buy vintage and pre-owned clothes from little boutiques and people just like you and me that are finding new homes for their clothes. It's a bit like eBay but with the familiarity of the ASOS website without being limited to their usual stocklists! 

Within minutes of looking on it I always find something that seems a bargain. I love this vintage Lacoste Lemon Cardigan I found on there for only £16!! When a trend starts to emerge the chances are that it's already been round at least once before, sellers are quick to put their clothes that they think will be popular on here and a mega bonus is you can see how they have styled it- no crumpled clothes on hangers in sight!!!

TK Maxx

For many the thought of TK Maxx and it's rails and rails of messy clothes brings them out in a hot sweat just thinking about it! Some people always manage to find the gems in there- my friend is a mega bargain finder in TK Maxx! It always surprises me how few people look on their website to see what they can find!

With no messy rails and easy sections to navigate around- 'New In' and 'Clearance' as well as 'Women's' it's so nice to have a browse through and you never know what you might find and the chances are no-one else will have it! I bought this play-suit from TK Maxx for £15 and absolutely love it! I mostly team it with tights like I have in this pic but it's great for a beach layer as well.

Vouchers/Voucher Codes

On almost every website now when it gets to the stage of you having to part with your money they often have a 'enter promotional code here' box.....so why waste a golden opportunity to save yourself a few pounds or pennies on something you were going to buy anyway! Fashion Vouchers offer a variety of codes, such as an extra 20% off Dune's sale!! Perfect if you've found a pair of shoes for your holiday! Or 15% off Urban Outfitters Festival range!! Or if you are going on a shopping trip the chances are you will get a little bit peckish due to all of your retail therapy so have a little look on Voucher Codes offers on restaurants, with a printable voucher for Prezzo entitling you to a free pizza if you buy one full price! 

Overall tips

So there you have it! My best internet haunts of where you can save yourself some money and often time as well. Here are some extra pointers to help make shopping more efficient:

• Make sure you know your measurements- sites like ASOS and Topshop will have their own sizing guide, you might be a size 12 in New Look but ASOS may have different measurements! That way even if your buying online you still can be confident it will fit you when it arrives!
• Do your research if your buying a 'dupe' of a product! There have been so many shops releasing their own versions of the famous American Apparel Disco Pants, at £70 they aren't exactly cheap but how can you be sure MissGuided's version will be ok? The answer- RESEARCH! Look on blogs to see other people's reviews of them before parting with your money!
• Plan in your head how many outfits you can make out of your new top/dress/shorts etc! You don't just want to buy it and be restricted to just one way you can wear it. A good purchase is something that can see you through the current trends/season without people thinking "oh no they are wearing the polka dot top again"!!
• And my last tip is to enjoy!