Outfit Of The Day 14.02.13

I realise I haven't done an OOTD post for a while now, so I thought I would update you all on my chosen outfit this week..
I love this outfit, purely because its so simple, yet looks so classy.



Top - Topshop
Jeans - Topshop

Boots - H&M

Scarf - LYDC London

 

Bag - OVS.
I can't post a picture of this bag without commenting on it. I'm not lying when I say I treat this bag as though it was my child! I was given this bag as a present from my mum (she knows me too well!) and was bought from a shop called OVS, in Italy. Although the bag isn't featured on their site, there are some other unique pieces which I recommend every one to look at!


And this is how it looks all together...

Let me know what you think?

S,x

The Not So Perfect Valentine's Gift

So most of you will have seen that I recently posted a blog post on what would make the perfect Valentine's gift, but what everyone forgets is what wouldn't make a good gift!

I've come up with the Top 8 gifts to avoid this Valentine's Day..

 

1. Chocolate - Get that stuff away from us! We're all probably finding our clothing tight this month, being so close to Christmas! We don't need any more temptations.

 

2. Fitness DVD/Books - Ohhh you're in the dog house. Unless of course your other half requests this, but the key is to remind her that she doesn't need it!

 

3. Under wear - Ok, so many girls would love to receive a nice under wear set. However, if you're not sure on your partners size.. do not risk it. Buying sets in the wrong size does nothing for the confidence. Trust me.

 

4. Fake jewellery/ Fake flowers - Do we look 5 years old?! No. We're not going to swallow or break the jewellery, so now that that's cleared up go ahead and grab the diamond.

5. Cheap Perfume - This is getting used on the dog. You may laugh now, but I'm being deadly serious.
 

6. Household Items - Ok, this is like receiving knitting needles, where's the fun in that?! Yes we'll give you points for thinking of a useful gift, but expect some fake smiles. Unless of course its a coffee machine, you're off the hook! Coffee is the new girls best friend!

7. Money - So there's two types of people.
     1- The girls which think that money given as a gift is the most un-thoughtful idea, in which case I advice staying well clear of the Mrs for a while.
     2- The girls which as soon as they see money, think 'oh I'm going to buy this, this AND this', in which case you're suddenly the best boyfriend/husband ever.
 

8. Nothing - Just because girls say "let's not do presents this year", it doesn't actually mean we meant it! Girls talk in codes, haven't you learnt anything?

 

 

So now you must be panicking, thinking what is there left to buy? Head over to my other post (by clicking here) for tips and gift ideas to make this Valentine's Day one to remember!

S, x

  

The Perfect Valentine’s Gift

So yesterday I was talking to a close male friend of mine, who was having some trouble thinking up some gift ideas for his other half - and who can blame him? Girls are the pickiest creatures alive. So I thought I'd lend a helping hand and create a blog.

 

I noticed on the topshop website that they have made it easy to find the perfect Valentines gift for her by creating a page full of our favourite goodies - check this.

Among the items, there's this stunning 'Art Deco Wrist Purse', and I know that if I received this on Valentines day I'd be one happy girl!

 

 

Topshop - £20

 

Depending on how generous you're feeling this Valentines Day, I have come up with some items to suit everyone.

Starting off with the famous 'The Leather Satchel Company 11" Satchel' from asos. This satchel comes in Orange, Yellow, Pink and Green (more colours available too - though only these 4 are on sale!!)

 

 

 

The Leather Satchel Company 11" Satchel - Asos - £70

(Sale item - RRP £110) Buy now here.

 

Again if money isn't an issue, you may seriously want to consider these! If your girl isn't much of a heel wearer, DO NOT SKIP THIS - even though the height of these shoes may frighten you, (especially since your girl may be towering over you)...'The Pandora premium strap heels' are guaranteed to offer comfort (and height of course!). These are also available in black too.

 

 

Topshop - £50
(Sale Item - RRP £95) Buy now here.

 

Lastly, girls can never get bored of collecting perfume (as well as shoes and bags of course!). The new Jimmy Choo 'Flash' has only just been released, and has been described by boots as the 'ultimate accessory from Jimmy Choo', and I could not agree more! This perfume smells devine!

 

 

Eau de Parfum 40ml - Boots - £32.40

Buy now here - whilst the 10% discount lasts.

An idea which I thought was adorable was grabbing an old shoe box and filling it with small but meaningful things. A little like this....

 

 

 The box can include things like...

1. Krystal Swarovski Crystal Drop Earrings - Asos - £15
2. Nail Polish Gift Set - Topshop - £14
3. Laser Cut Photo Frame - John Lewis - £12
4. Stoneglow Vintage Rose Gel Candle - John Lewis - £10

 5. Round Face White Leather Strap Watch - Ted Baker at Asos - £50.00
6. Mini Silk Ombre Stole - Accessorize - £15.00

My favourite item from the ones above is the Laser Cut Photo Frame from John Lewis, here you can place a picture of you and your partner, guaranteed to melt any girls heart.

 



S, x

Beauty Blender Review

After watching Millie Mackintosh's make up tutorial - I saw she had one of these funny looking egg shaped sponges. Turns out, this sponge has a lot of fans among celebrities and makeup artists who can't stop talking about it's flawless makeup application. So the big question - does the Beauty blender live up to all the hype?

 

 

 

The beauty blender has two uses, the flat bottom side of the sponge is used to apply foundation, by using the dabbing motion. Whereas the pointy side is used to apply concealer in tricky areas, such as under the eyes.

Important things to remember when using the beauty blender:

 

1. Always dampen the sponge before use.

You should notice that the sponge will increase in size.

 

2. Don't smear the make up on your face - blot it.

This isn't your normal sponge, so you shouldn't treat it like one. The purpose of the sponge is to 'blend' the make-up for a natural flawless look. To achieve this look it is essential to firstly, pump your preferred foundation onto the back of your hand. From there you can dab your beauty blender sponge and using the dabbing motions apply onto your face evenly.

 

3. Washing your beauty blender sponge.

To ensure your sponge is in tip top condition, you must wash your sponge after every use or as much as possible. You can find the original beauty blender cleanser on eBay or here. However, this can be quite costly ranging from £10-20. 

 

 

You can buy these Beauty blenders from eBay (which is where I purchased mine from) or online here - I've seen them around the larger Superdrug stores. Available in different colours - though original beauty blenders come in pink and white - and are washable & reusable.

I've swapped my foundation brush for the beauty blender sponge! Even though it may seem like a lot of effort- wetting & washing the sponge after every use. I've seen a significant difference in how well blended my foundation looks so I would highly recommend it.

You can check out Millie's tutorial here. The beauty Blender makes an appearance at 01:13.

S x

Epistick Facial Hair Removal Review

Now facial hair is something that many women and girls are embarrassed about. However, after doing some research myself and talking to some of my girl friends I found out that this problem is not as uncommon as you may think! According to an article from The Guardian titled "Women: Embrace your facial hair" 

'around 40% of women naturally have some sort of hair on their faces'

This statistic shocked me, I didn't realise just how many women had some facial hair.

Back in my school days, unwanted facial hair on my upper lip was something which made me very self conscious and I tried many methods to try and remove the hair. The method which I decided to stick with for many years was hair removal cream, because in my opinion it was easy to do, fairly quick and could be done in the comfort of my own home. However, there were some downsides to this hair removing method. Not only was the cream quite expensive, the smell was undesirable and it sometimes unexpectedly irritated my skin leaving it red and sore. 

It was only until I moved to Italy this year that I really started thinking about trying other hair removal options as I really didn't want to carry a year's worth of hair removal cream with me and I wanted to see if there were any better options out there.

 After doing some research on the Internet I found out in fact that there are many more options available to girls with unwanted facial hair and it is definitely worth looking at options which might suit you. Here are just some of the other methods I read about:

• Waxing- Although easy, quick and fairly cheap I did not favour this method for two reasons. Firstly, whenever I have tried waxing strips at home they have not always worked and I always find myself hanging around too scared to take the strips off myself. Secondly, even though I think getting professionally waxed is a better method for me, I knew that I would not keep to going to the beautician every 2 weeks.
• Threading - Now I really like threading and I usually get my eyebrows threaded as I like the shape and it is usually quick and virtually pain free! Prices are low and it is now becoming increasingly easy to find salons which offer this treatment.
• Shaving
• Electrolysis
• Laser
• IPL (Intensed Pulsed Light)

These last 3 methods I can't really comment on not having used these, but you can find out more about all these methods here.

Epistick Facial Hair Removal

I came across the product which I will be reviewing here by accident when I searched for hair removal tools on eBay  This product fascinated me as it doesn't look anything like I have used before therefore I was intrigued to see if it worked. You can find many sellers of the Epistick Facial Hair Removal on eBay and Amazon, but I used this seller.  It costs £1.67 including UK shipping and with this little price tag I thought it was worth a try and I am so glad I did! I have been using this stick for just over a month now and I am converted! I haven't touched hair removal creams since as I have found this stick does the job perfectly.

The Epistick is a lightweight spring with two handles on either side, although it might not look like much do not be deceived by the simple appearance!The Epistick embodies threading technique. By holding the pink handles and bending the stick in half and rolling inwards towards your skin, the springs tighten and when you pull the spring away from your face you pull out any unwanted hairs from the root, slowing down the re-growth process. Just that simple! It takes as little as a few minutes but it really does work!

I must admit the first few times I found the process a little painful as I was not used to it, but within a week the process was virtually pain-free. I find that I use the Epistick once or twice a week and it leaves the skin smooth and hair free. This is by far the best upper lip facial hair removal technique I have tried, it's easy, quick, cheap and now virtually pain free.

I, x

Outfit Of The Day 29.01.13

So this is my second OOTD post. This is the outfit I wore today at uni. One of the reasons I chose this

 particular outfit was because I had a long exam that day and I needed something comfortable. However, wearing something comfortable doesn't always mean that you are compromising with style!

 

 

Top - Zara

Leggings - Primark

Boots - H&M

I feel I need to highlight the reason why these particular Primark leggings are the only leggings I have been buying for years now. These aren't your usual cotton leggings, in fact I think they are called "Under Control Shaper" Leggings. These seem free leggings come in various sizes and colours are great for 

sucking you in in all the right places, leaving you with a smooth silhouette.

Also, they aren't like the usual leggings which need replacing every couple of weeks from thinning after extensive wear...nor are they see-through! And lets admit, there's nothing quite worse than flashing your bum on the street!

And the best part is the price - they're £4!

S x

Outfit Of The Night 01.02.13

This is the outfit I wore on a post-exam night out at University.

Dress - Paparazzi

Shoes - Office

Everyone needs that little black dress that they go back to time after time, and this is mine!

 

I bought this dress for £25 a while back now and I've managed to get so much wear from this dress and still get compliments to this day when I wear it. So £25 well spent in my opinion!

Paparazzi is a small shop located in a town called Ormskirk, which is around 30 minutes from Liverpool -this is the town where my University is, so I'm lucky enough to be within walking distance of this shop when I get free time in between my lectures!

Not so good news for my bank balance though...

Saying that, most things in the shop are reasonably priced, and everything is gorgeous!

These shoes HAVE to be my all time favourites too, I bought these Block Heeled shoes from Office on sale for around £20. Being a girl, I know how much we complain on nights out about how much our feet hurt at the end of the night...however, I've never had this problem wearing these beauties! Which I was pleasantly surprised since I live by the Motto - Beauty is Pain. Well, not in this case!

S x