New Start

Hello! It's been a while since i last wrote a post on this blog! I know there won't be many people who follow my amateur blog or even read it but I want to get back into blogging just for a fun hobby.
I feel like i've neglected my little blog over the past year even though i had lots of fun writing the few posts I posted. I think life has just gotten in the way (as it does sometimes!) and I haven't that much spare time to dedicate to this blog. I started university in September studying Fashion Buying and Merchandising, so from September 2014 a lot of my time has been taken up by various assignments/essays and settling into life in a big city away from my countryside home.
I finish my first year at university later this month and will have a whopping four and a half months off for summer! Hopefully in between working and doing general summery things i can update my blog regularly and keep in touch with you lovely people and your lovely blogs!
Please bare with me during the next few weeks as I want to make a few changes to my blog (layout, name etc.) and get back into updating regularly. I would love to hear from some of you who manage to juggle work/university/general life with blogging, a few organisational tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading!

Ebay Clear Out!!

Hi lovelies! it seems so long since I did my last blog post, however trying to juggle college, exams, sorting stuff for uni and family life isn't too easy right now but I will be getting back to posting more because I miss it! 

This post is a bit of a cheeky self promtiton (sorry!) but beause i'll be going away to uni in a few months i've decided to have a big clear out (hence my last post - blog sale). I've found lots of clothes which are pretty much brand new and have never been worn so I'm selling them on ebay, I'm selling stuff like tops, dresses, skirts, jackets ect. All from brands like Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Jack Wills, River Island and so on. If you click on this link > My Ebay < it will take you to the items I have for sale. I'm also accepting buy it now offers so if any of you see something you like you can message me through ebay or on here and I can keep the item for you! Thank you and I hope some of you will have a look at some of the stuff I have for sale!

Some of the items I'm selling:

Topshop Bralet

Topshop Cami

River Island Kimono

Topshop Dress

Jack Wills Shirt

Thanks again!

Blog Sale??

Hi lovelies! I've just been having a long overdue sort through my makeup and have found lots of products that I'd forgotten about so don't use any more. Some of the products I have are either the wrong shade for me or simply just don't suit me, I don't want these products to go to waste as some of them are big name brand and are hardly used so I thought I'd ask you all if you though having a blog sale would be a good idea? I know I don't have a lot of followers but I thought all you lovely people that do follow me/read my posts would be interested? I would be selling things like; Giorgio Armani foundation, Laura Mercier foundation, Nars foundation, soap and glory lipsticks, ted baker eyeshadows ect. (more products would be up for sale I just need a proper sort through first!). Most things would be sold at half the original price of the product - depending on how much of the product had been used (could even be less than half the price) and postage and packaging would probably be about £2.50-£3.00, I'd really appreciate feedback on the prices and if you think it's actually worth setting up? Thank you!

London Haul

Hello lovelies! I'm very sorry that I haven't been blogging for a while, life has been a little bit hectic over the past few weeks but I've missed blogging a lot so I'm quite excited to be writing this post. This will be kind of a follow up to my previous post about my 'Trip to London' and is kind of a London haul, so I hope you enjoy it!

Because I was working during the week I was limited as to where I could go but I managed to visit Oxford street and Westfield a few times during the week. Whilst in Westfield I thought I'd go to L'Occitane en Provence to get my free gift - a few weeks ago on L'Occitane en Provence's facebook page they had an offer where if you liked the facebook page they sent you an email that you could take into one of their shops and get three 10ml hand creams. The hand creams came in a lovely knitted pouch that had 'L'Occitane Fans' On the front. The hand creams were three different types 'shea butter' 'cherry blossom' and 'almond milk'. They all smell heavenly and i was very surprised with how much product is actually in the tubes. 

L'Occitane hand creams - £8.00 p/30ml
The next product I bought was when I went to Oxford Street, it was amazing to be there and the shops were so lovely especially Topshop!! I've been there before about two years ago but I'd forgotten how amazing and big it really is!. Whilst in the beauty department downstairs I noticed they had various branded creams/moisturisers ect and I spotted this Yu-Be moisturising skin cream. I received two small samples of this cream in my last months glossybox and just fell in love with it. Yu-Be is a glycerin based moisturising skin cream enriched with Vitamin E, Vitamin B2 and Camphor and was formulated for dry-very dry skin. It's been used by world class mountain climber and explorer Sumiyo Tsuzuki who uses Yu-Be to protect her skin from the harsh elements of cold, wind and water on the world's tallest peak (29,000+ ft!) I love this cream as although it is a little bit greasy when first applied and has a distinctive smell (think vicks vapour rub!) these both disappear when sunk into the skin - which takes less than a minute.

Yu-Be skin moisturising skin cream - £13.50
Although I'd bought the Yu-Be moisturiser I've been wanting to try the Clarins 'Daily Energizer Cream' for a while now just as an everyday moisturiser as the Yu-Be skin cream can be quite heavy so I only tend to use it once a week, or mixed in with my Clarins moisturiser. I purchased the Clarins daily energier whilst in Selfridges in Oxford Street, the woman on the Clarins counter was very helpful and she explained the product thoroughly to me, she even gave me two small samples of the 'shea butter foaming cleanser' and 'exfoliating cream ' to try.

Clarins daily energizer moisturiser - £21
Because I wasn't working on the weekend I had the whole of Saturday free to do what I wanted. I decided to visit the V&A, natural history museum and the science museum, There was an exhibition on at the V&A called 'Club to Catwalk: London fashion in the 1980s' that I really wanted to see - it definitely didn't disappoint. Whilst browsing the gift shop a book called 'A-Z of style' caught my eye, it was a little red hardback book that reminded me of 'the little dictionary of fashion' that I've seen various pictures of (and have wanted for so long) once I took a peek inside I knew I had to have it. It goes through the alphabet of various things relating to fashion (for example A - accessories, B - buttons) and had quotations from various people (mostly people who worked in the fashion industry) like photographers, designers, journalists, magazine editors, actors/actresses. The beautiful illustrations completed the book and I think it would make a wonderful present for someone who is interested in fashion (or just a present for yourself like mine was!)

A-Z of Style - £9.99
I didn't get to see everything in the museums I visited as I also wanted to visit Harrods and Covent Garden. Although I didn't buy anything in Harrods the store itself is just wonderful to be in anyway. Whilst in Covent Garden I decided to have a look in the Chanel makeup store and walked back out with my very first Chanel lipstick! it's 'rouge allure velvet' in shade 40 'La Sensuelle' - a beautiful dark red/pink with a slight hint of purple. I tend not to suit light colours or bright reds so this colour is perfect. The woman who served me was very lovely, she recognised my northern accent and asked me about where I lived, she also asked if I was down for a holiday and when I explained that I was down for work experience she started talking to me about that, and she genuinely seemed interested - not like some shop workers who seem very fake in the hope that you'll spend some money. She even gave me a free mini sample of their new mascara they're launching, all in all it was a very nice experience that left me feeling very pleased with my purchase.  

Chanel lipstick - £25.00
Last but not least on my last trip to Westfield I re-purchased my holy grail foundation from the beauty department in John Lewis - Estee Lauder double wear. I purchased the foundation a few moths ago when my skin wasn't very good as I wanted a full coverage foundation, I really loved it but it seemed a bit drying on my skin so I didn't repurchase as I wanted to see if I could find a foundation with the same coverage but slightly more moisturising (needless to say I haven't) but because of my new moisturiser purchases I thought I might as well try it again. 

Estee Lauder double wear foundation - £28.50
Although I didn't purchase many exciting things whilst in London I hope you've enjoyed this blog post. If you'd like me to do a review on any of the products mentioned just let me know in the comments and I'd love to know if any of you have tried/bought any of these before and what you think of them! Thanks for reading!

Trip to London!

Hi lovelies! Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while I've been down in London doing some work experience for an online shop called Boden. I had such an amazing time and loved every minute of it, I wanted to do a blog post on what I did down there and what I bought (kind of a London haul) but to save all of you from having to read a loooong blog post (even longer than this one, sorry!) I've decided to split it into two, this blog post will be about what I did whilst in London and at work experience and the next (which will be up shortly!) will be a London haul

I arrived in London last Sunday after a 3 and a half hour train journey from Durham, I went down first class (which I have never done before, this isn't just a regular thing I do as I'm not posh or rich!!) It was very lovely have endless amounts of tea and coffee on offer. I was greeted off the train by my Uncle (who I was stopping with) who had bought me some cakes from Patisserie Valerie! Before going to the flat we decided to go to Westfield, it's huuuuuge!! I've been there before when I went down about two years ago but I'd forgotten how big it was! 

I started my work experience on Monday, I didn't really know what I'd be doing, I just knew I'd be in the Boden headquarters working in the buying department, Boden is an online shop that sells womenswear, menswear and childrens wear, it's famous for it's eccentric British style and use of bold colours and prints.. Getting off the tube on my first day I noticed a sign by the Boden building (which didn't look that nice from the outside), it said "Horrible building, nice clothes" I just thought this was really nice. Inside the building was beautiful! it was filled with colour and had big prints of pictures they use in their catalogue. 

I learnt I was working in 'mini Boden' which is the girls childrenswear department, I even got my own desk and security pass which when swiped over sensors opened doors (made me feel a bit more important than I actually am and I actually miss it!) over the course of the week I learnt what a buyers role is in the fashion industry, and how much they actually do! The girls I was working with who set me tasks arranged different meeting for me with all the different departments, I met people from the design team, PR, marketing and shooting team which was very interesting, I was set a lot of different tasks which were all actually very fun, I also got to go and see the cupboards where they kept most of the clothes. Everyone was so lovely to me and I felt very welcome, by the end of the week I really didn't want to leave! 

I really enjoyed my week there, even the travel - Apart from the tube strike from Tuesday-Thursday which meant I was limited to where I could go after work, I managed to get to Oxford street on Tuesday before the strike began (how amazing is the Topshop on Oxford street!) I spent Wednesday and Thursday night looking around Westfield as it was the only place I could easily get to
Because I had the weekend free and I hadn't done that much in the week (I'd been getting up at half six, coming in at 8 and I'd be in bed by about half 9!) I decided I wanted to do as much as I could. On Friday went into Piccadilly Circus with my Uncle, we then walked along the river Thames and went for dinner at Strada which is an Italian restaurant below the national festival hall.

I also went to see Liberty London, the department store on Regent Street which sells a wide range of luxury goods (the scarves, bags and jewellery were absolutely gorgeous.. and I'm not even going to the mention the clothes, too beautiful for words, especially the vintage Chanel!)

On Saturday I got the tube into South Kensington and went to the Victoria and Albert museum, I've wanted to go there for while and there was an exhibition on called "80's fashion from clubs to catwalk" which I was dying to see and it didn't disappoint, it featured one of the first collections from designers such as: Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Christian Dior and Alexander Mcqueen. I then visited the national history museum and the science museum. 

I didn't get to see everything in the museums as I didn't have enough time but the bits I did see were amazing and I'd love to go back and spend more time in them. I then went to Harrods and Covent Garden which I absolutely adore, I think it's so beautiful and if the time hadn't been getting on and it hadn't been raining I would've spent a lot more time there too!

I think I've rambled on a bit too much now so well done if you've read this far! All in all I had an amazing week and I can't wait to go back down again sometime and visit new places and spend more time in some of the places I visited this past week. If any of you have been to the places I mentioned above I'd love to know what you thought of them or if you have any favourite places in London that I haven't mentioned I'd love to know them too! Thank you so much for reading!

Liebster Award.. Again!

Hi lovelies! so i've been lucky enough to have been nominated again for the Liebster award by the lovely Ems, it's really lovely to know that people actually take an interest in my blog so thankyou again to Ems and everyone who reads/comments on my blog
The rules are: 
1. Link the blog that nominated you for the award  2. Choose 11 blogs to nominate - they must have under 200 followers  3.  Answer 11 questions given to you 4. Let the people that you have nominated know that you have done so 5. You can't nominate the person who nominated you  6. Create 11 questions for the people you nominated to answer 7. You must follow the blog that nominated you I've also read on some blogs that have received the liebster award that you have to state 11 random facts about yourself so this is rule number 8 as it seems like a fun thing to do!
Because i've been nominated before i'm just going to answer the questions given to me as I would probably just be doing the same post as my original nomination 
The questions Ems asked me:

1) If money was no object, what would be your dream holiday?

Hmm probably a few weeks away to America so i could go see some of the amazing places it holds

2) If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be?

I always see people getting asked this question and i never know who to choose! the first people that come to my mind is either Beyoncé or everyone in the Arctic Monkeys 

3) What is your favourite brand of make-up?

I don't think i really have a favourite as i use a range of products, but some of my favourites are; Mac, Illamasqua, Nars, Laura Mercier, Urban Decay

4) What are your favourite make-up brushes?

I'm not very clued up on makeup brushes and i need to expand my collecyion but i have a few real techniques brushes, a beautyblender (which i love) and i've recently had my eye on some of the sigma brushes

5) Superdrug or Boots? (If you don't have either, where is your favourite place to puchase make-up?)

This is quite a hard one, i'd have to say superdrug for the amazing deals they mostly always have one but then boots because they have more ranges of perfumes, skincare and hair products

6) Favourite style of shoe?

either boots or flats, i love statemnt fats that can dress up any outfit, ones with nice patterns or pointed fronts.

7) Have you ever been to any fashion show? If so, what one?

I'm very sad to say that i have never been to any! but would love to and i am determined that i will go down to London this year for London Fashion Week

8) Favourite hair tools?

The only hair tools i really have are brushes and my straightners, my hair is naturally wavy so i either have my hair wavy or straight most days, however i've had my eye on the babyliss curl secret styler for a while now

9) Favourite perfume?

Paco Rabanne lady million, i always get it for my birthday and christmas and i love it, i aso really like Sarah Jessica Parker NYC and it comes in a really nice bottle that features lots of different prints

10) Favourite film?

I'm a very indesicive person so whenever i get asked what my favourite of something is i can never choose! so some of my favourites are: The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buellers day off, Mean girls, Wild Child, Clueless and Forrest Gump

11) Where do you buy the majority of your clothes from?

I'd say Topshop, howeverr i've recently started expanding my wardrobe brands and i found some lovely bits from primark on my last shopping trip and i also love Zara and River Island

Thankyou again to Ems for nominating me and to everyone who takes the time to read my blog, it really does mean a lot to me!

London Advice??

Hi lovelies! This post isn't going to be me talking about certain products, it's going to be me asking you all for some advice! If you've read my previous blog posts you'll probably know that I'm off to London soon for a week to do some fashion retail experience, I've only ever been down there twice - the most recent being about three years ago and I only got to see a some of the main attractions. There's a lot of things i want to see/do whilst down there and lots of places I'd like to visit e.g Harrods, Sefridges, Oxford Street, the V&A, Tate Modern, Westfield, Camden, Covent Garden and a few others, but because I'll be 'working' during the week I'll only have after 4/5pm to actually see London and go shopping (but I'll have three full days as I'll have weekends free).

  

I know I won't be able to go and see everything I want to so I was wondering if any of you have any tips for me so I can make the most of my time down there? I'd also love to know if you have any recommendations of where you think I should visit: cafe's, restaurant, shops (vintage and high street), makeup stores, outlets, markets, museums and anything else you suggest? Thankyou!