In with the new!

Bonsoir, all!

Well, my wish for a shedload of snow to come my way so uni can get cancelled (and therefore I can get an extension on my project!) has come true, but it's a double edged sword. I had been planning to go to the Debenhams press day this morning before work to check out the Spring collections (including my usual fave range by Henry Holland) , so I got up at 7am and got ready for 90 minute mission to London. When I got to the station, it was packed out and the info screens said everything was delayed by approximately 75 years (or there abouts). So I had to scrap operation Debenhams and go home! Gutted! It kinda worked out though, because I went to uni and got loads done before my shift, so that's a weight off my shoulders. To conclude: Snow = yay and nay in equal measures.

Today I wore my two other uniform buys. By the way , my camera seems to hate picking up dark colours, which is why the brightness and contrast is always diddled beyond belief in my pics! Anyway, I bought this dress and this batwing cardigan. They were very last minute purchases and although neither of them have brought much excitement to my life, they are both flattering and comfy so I'm happy.




(Oh the irony of using a bicep pose to model the batwing cardi which is hiding my bingo wings!)

I've been feeling the need for some new specs, and having 'saved' £20 on trainfare, decided to indulge myself. I happen to prefer Specsavers' cheapie £25 lenses more than any of the pricier ones, and I picked up these gorgeous Edna frames. For £25!! Bargain! (Excuse the link is to the Aus site, sold out in UK!) They have such a vintagey look to them with the colour and cat-eye, I can't believe they're Specsavers!



Before I go, thanks for your hilarious comments on my new bitchy feature, 'This cat has claws'. Your positive response to the negativity has led me to add yet another feature idea to my to-do list. How do you feel about a feature I'd like to call 'The Naughty Step', where I name and shame the products I've bought that have been a waste of dosh? I'm figuring it's just as useful to know what not to buy as it is to know what to buy, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hope you've had a nice day, guys. I'm off to do uni work, or maybe just go to bed. Keeping my options open.

♥

This cat has claws! #1

We all love a regular blog feature, don't we? I figured if I can't commit to my weekly Tuesday tips at the moment, maybe I can introduce a new feature that comes a little easier. In ye olde fashion biz, everyone is so quick to heap praise on things left right and centre. As a blogger, isn't it my job to derail this just a bit?
So this new feature will be me speaking my mind on matters of the wardrobe. I'm hoping it will be quite therapeutic, as I have a lot of pent up uni-anger to unleash and if I don't take it out on the blog, it will be the boyfriend!

Round one, ding ding!

Anyone else think the H&M x Lanvin collection is quite frankly horrific? There's tacky-ironic and there's just tacky. I know I sound like the cliche snarky writer right now, but I'm genuinely bemused! At what point did H&M think this would suit their target market? Even the fashion-forward customer would surely laugh at this? There are one or two pretty normal dresses in the collection, but even they look like Rare knock-offs at best. I feel bad because I think Alber seems like he'd make a really sweet uncle (I'm not a very good bitch am I?) but there is just no excuse for this:









I did wonder whether it was just the styling that let Uncle Elbaz down, so I checked out the individual item shots, then this happened:





If anyone can justify these designs to me in the comments box, I am ready and awaiting your guidance. Where are my retinas to go from here?

Confused in Kent,

♥

Sixties saturday!

I do love when it's uniform time at work (Aka. 60% off three items at Topshop every three months)! I am such a pauper most of the time, it's lovely to buy nice things I'd never usually be able to justify. My third item I picked at the last minute, and I'm not all that sure of it but I'll get your opinions on that another day!

For now, let's look at my pretty new leopard collar dress. You can't really see the shape of it that much, but here's a google image of it (it's sold out on the site!) I love that it's a smock, rather than the tighter empire line peter pan dresses Topshop are doing at the mo. It's a much more flattering shape for my lumps and bumps. It is a tad bummy, though, as I realised when I was reaching up to put a bag back at work earlier, and realised two thirds of my arse was literally greeting the queue of people nearby! Cringe! Luckily I was wearing three pairs of tights, so I wasn't revealing an awful lot in my smutty display!




I wore it with the boots I bought on my weekend away with Alex, and topped the sixties look off with a dark, flicky eye.


(Excuse my light eyebrows! I've run out of eyebrow pencil!)

I love days like this when I've made a bit of an effort. It always puts a spring in my step!

I'm going to try and do a bit of my uni work now. I have the day off work tomorrow so I'm going to give it my full attention. Well, once I've dyed my hair and had a play with various new hair products I bought today (reviews will ensue for any great or shit ones). Priorities!

Enough about me me me! How are you guys? Snowing yet? Not so much as a flake here! Fun weekend plans? Thoughts on X Factor? Matt to win! Wagner to go! Cher to stop dancing with her legs pointing at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock!

♥

Take one, pass it on

Hey hey!

How are we all on this fricking freezing day? Any of you had snow yet? I don't think Canterbury is getting any, which suits me because it's more than cold enough already! I spent a good few seconds on the arctic walk home from uni considering the many ways a balaclava would improve my life. Arguably a low point in my winter wardrobe choices.

My little rant ties in quite nicely to an email I received from my pals at Clothing at Tesco a while ago offering my winter wardrobe something vastly cooler than a balaclava. To celebrate the launch of the A/W collection, they asked if I wanted to pick something I liked from the website, and then pick one of my readers to get something as well. How sweet! I do love when a brand offers something for the readers as well as the blogger. Good work, Clothing at Tesco! Oh my god, I just realised their acronym is CAT. Even BETTER work, Clothing at Tesco!

I chose this lovely (and darn good faux) leather aviator jacket, and chose the gorgeous SJ from Cow Biscuits to be my freebie recipient. Not only is this because SJ has been very helpful in my fragrance project for uni (she's a qualified Fragrance Advisor, dontcha know!) but also because her blog is right up my street. She shares my loves of all the finest P words: Peter pan collars, pets and Katy Perry!



Am off to write articles for my uni project now. SNOOZE. Cannot wait for hand-in on 13th December. I want my life back! 'Life' being blogging regularly and eating snacks in front of 3 hours of TV a night. At the moment I can only justify watching 1 hour of tv a night... It's horrific!

Your rock 'n' roll pal,

♥

Zzzzz!

Evening all!

Am finally chilling out after a looooong day of photoshopping for my latest project. We have to launch and promote a new fragrance for a designer/brand, so I chose Topshop. It sounds simple but the concept is actually really good! Not sure how much to reveal on here because, although it sounds mad, a couple of tutors have said if I do this project right I might be able to sell the idea to Topshop, so I'm going to keep it under my chunky knit Primark hat (below!) for now in case they poach my concept... I'm sure Philip Green is an avid reader of the blog. Yo, Phil! I can haz ur muni?

Anyway, to promote the theoretical collection I decided to create a mobile phone app. I know little about apps and even less about Photoshop, so it has been a LONG day. I only finished 2 of the pages of the app, so it is bloody slow progress, but I'm getting there. Am hoping to make some mega progress tomorrow. Gosh, sorry to drone on about uni but this project is literally all I have to show for my life lately! Hand in is on 13th December, so if I am a bit sluggish on ye olde blog, you'll know it's because I'm working my butt off!

Here was my hobo chic outfit today:





(Hat - Primark, 'Fur' coat - charity shop, Tee - Topshop, Jeans - Topshop, Boots - charity shop)

For anyone wondering what my course is (I do get asked this a lot but am too lazy to add an FAQ to the blog... Plus that would probably be the only question!), I study Fashion Promotion at UCA Rochester. It covers all areas of promotion including styling, PR, marketing and journalism. The course has been pretty hit and miss to be honest, I think my year were kind of a guinea pig year for the course, working out what works and what doesn't. So any new students will probably really enjoy it, but until third year the course has been a bit haphazard!

Hope you've had a nice day? After I've caught up with replying to comments in my recent posts, I'm going for a romantic stroll to Sainsbury's for sweeties with Alex. As the saying goes: An evening without sugary snacks is an evening half-lived! Well, that's how my saying goes...

♥

Eyeko Fat Balm review

Evening all!

I decided to post up a little demo of Eyeko's newly re-released Fat Balm tonight. Eyeko sent me a couple of colours in the post a while back and I've been so impressed with them, I had to share!


[Can you even believe the cuteness of Eyeko's graphics and packaging?!]

So, for those that need it, here's your Fat Balm education. A Fat Balm is basically a yummy scented stick of creamy pigment that can be used on your cheeks and lips. It costs £6 and is also SPF 15 which is good to know, even if it's not a feature any of us Brits will be needing anytime soon (I was so cold when I left Uni earlier I literally vibrated all the way home!) Maybe a special winter warming Fat Balm could be introduced to the range, with Deep Heat added? It might have lip plumping benefits! OR it might just be excruciating.



The colour me and my end of day frazzled face are modelling for you tonight is Toffee. It's a peachy-nude shade, which is slightly more subtle than the peachy-orange shade of my Topshop cream blush. I have actually relegated my Topshop blush in favour of the Fat Balm as I love the colour and it has a really natural, slightly dewy finish. It's not at all greasy, either, as you might expect from essentially putting lipstick on your cheeks. Oh, and it also lasts all day long, which is fantastic. Definitely a reason for you powder blush users to consider converting to cream blush, that bloody stuff never stays put! (I'm looking at you, Benefit!)

As a lippy, it works really well. It feels very moisturising and has a satisfyingly full coverage. I'm not sure the Toffee shade suits me very much, lip-wise, but that's not Eyeko's fault! I still wear it regularly anyway because it feels really nice and I just kinda like the idea that I'm fulfilling the double-whammy destiny of the Fat Balm!

Right, enough telling, it's time to show:

[My ghostly face and dry lips pre Fat Balm]



[My ghostly face mid Fat-Balm]



[My rejuvenated complexion and peachy lips post Fat Balm!]



What are your thoughts on the Fat Balms then, guys? Have you tried any of them?

If you want to buy a Fat Balm or any other Eyeko goodies, use my Ambassador code E11298. You get a free gift when you spend over fifteen squid, and I'm not gonna lie, I get a little percentage of your money. Times are hard, so feel free to buy in bulk! Oh, and it's free shipping, so there's basically no excuses not to lift me out of poverty :D

And on that unashamedly guilt-trippy bombshell!

♥

Talons and trinkets...

Eurgh, where the hell has my nail mojo gone? It took me no less than sixty years to complete my nails, and they still look a bit crap. I was going for a minty matte Krispy Kreme homage, after I noticed their cute minty polka dot wallpaper (and website) the other day. It was my white Barry M varnish that kept mucking everything up. I seriously hate those polishes. Models Own all the way! Plus I'm not sure if I like matte topcoat on anything other than black? Hmm.

(17 Mint Choc Chip, shitty white Barry M, Rimmel matte topcoat)


On a brighter note, I'm wearing this pretty little parisian charm bracelet sent to me by a very sweet jewellery company, Wallpaper Rose. Louise Gibbs is the clever lady behind all of the designs on the website, including the VERY exciting new addition of peter pan collar t-shirts! They come in grey, black and navy at the mo, and burgundy is on the way - all for a tenner! I think this a rather shrewd (and highly cute) move to set Wallpaper Rose apart from the sea of jewellery companies out there, just in case her bling wasn't enough. Bravo and thank you, Louise! Here is the lady herself in one of her new tees:

*EDIT: Forgot to mention, Louise is offering all of us 10% off orders until 14th December, using the code GEMFATALE!! (I've never had my 'name' in a discount code before! Eep!)*



Hope you've had a lovely weekend, folks? Mine has been nice. I got lots of uni work done today. Am going to try and do a bit a day for the next few weeks and then hopefully I won't end up having a breakdown at the last minute like usual!

♥

It's just a bootie haul!

A little joke for those All Saints fans out there!

Tonight, I'll be sharing my charity shop finds from our weekend away. Alex was a bit jealous that I got all the charity shop luck, but I think it's because that boy literally has everything. It's not possible to find anything new for him. I didn't really get any clothes, but found a few amazing boot bargains!



The black pair were £7 from a charity shop in Bognor Regis, which is a bit pricey for my usual standards (and for Bognor's standards, some may argue), but I had been planning to fork out on some Topshop boots with my 60% uniform discount (they still would've been about £30), so figured it was still a bargain. Plus, nobody will have the same pair.

I found the brown pair SECONDS later in the next charity shop for only £2.50, and was kicking myself because I liked them more than the black ones. I decided to get them on the strength that the black pair could be my dressy boots, and these could be my scruffy boots. Plus, £9.50 on two pairs of boots beats £30 on Topshop boots, hands down!

We popped to Brighton on the way home, and went to Dirty Harry to look for a wool coat for Alex. I was excited to see a whole stand of second hand Converse trainers all for a tenner! I'd been wanting some classic high tops for years, and I took the fact I found a size 6.5 (quite a rarity!) as a sign that they should be mine.

So I have a whole new boots wardrobe for winter and I am chuffed to bits! I wore the Cons to work today, like so:


(Dress - ye olde Topshop sale find, belt - H&M)

I did my hair curly again, by sleeping with velcro rollers in. Not the most comfortable (or attractive) experience, but it's all worth it to not have my fringe flapping in my face all day. Might resurrect Tuesday tips at some point and do a curly hair tutorial. Have found some fantastic products for keeping it up! Hmm. That sentence sounded like quality junk folder material there! Does anyone else ever read their junk mail just for fun? 'I NEED YOUR COOPERATION' 'CAN YOU BE TRUSTED??' They crack me up!

I'm off to wrestle the Xbox controller out of Alex's mitts. Any other Call of Duty widows in the house..?

Back tomorrow! I have a Sunday off work, so am going to organise my life, tidy my house and post a blog or two!

♥

Five year anniversary weekend!

Annnnnnnd relax....

I have handed in my draft dissertation, and although I have heaps to do for an equally important deadline in 4 weeks time, I am enjoying my freedom today. 'Enjoying my freedom' roughly translates as falling asleep on the sofa for two hours, then loafing about in a baggy plaid shirt and undies eating some Toblerone and watching telly. What can I say? Glamour just comes naturally to me!

So now I don't have a deadline breathing down my neck, I can finally share some pictures from mine and Alex's lovely anniversary weekend in Arundel. We've never been there before but when I was tweeting for ideas of where to go, the gorgeous Victoria suggested Arundel. We stayed at this lovely hotel, where the service and food were superb. My biggest regret was that I didn't get a photo of the cooked breakfast... Beautiful! And the ketchup came in posh little jars like marmalade. Oh, how the other half live! Anyway. Back to the pics!

- Here's our room. I miss it! It had an ipod dock stereo thing too! We didn't really use it, but it was a good touch! We had a great view of the castle (and local charity shop) from the room.

- On our first afternoon there, we mooched around the town and found this old church and graveyard... We wandered about the graveyard in the rain, feeling like walking advertisements for emo but it got a bit freaky when we found a statue of jesus on a wooden cross, so we left!

- The beautiful castle that we missed by 5 days! Apparently tourist season doesn't include November-March. Boo! Why couldn't Alex have asked me out a few days earlier?!

- One of the only nice pictures of us where one of use isn't pulling a stupid face. Shame my boobs had to ruin it by being generally gargantuan. Have cropped them out to the best of my ability to prevent offence.

- This is what I wore to dinner on Friday night. We went to a lovely Italian place, where I proceeded to drop a piece of buttered bread directly down my cleavage. I had to discreetly extract it, and when I did, I was loling so much that I then accidentally dropped it onto the stairs of the restaurant! I spent the rest of the meal watching the stairs out of the corner of my eye in case anyone slipped on the morsel!

- We went for a rainy stroll round town after dinner. It was so peaceful, even on a Friday night. No drunken sluts tottering about in this town! As we're pensioners at heart, we appreciated this peace and quiet very much!

- We went for a day charity shopping in Chichester and Bognor. Purchases will be revealed in another blog post!

- What I wore (This is a bobble hat, but you can't see the bobble! I look a bit like a bank robber).


- Alex's cute badge I got him from my uni library!

- Dreamy creepers at a vintage shop in Chich. Shame about the £75 price tag! Ridiculous.

- I loved this charity shop suitcase!

- Interesting sales approach! I bought 5.

- On Saturday night, we went for dinner at The Bay Tree, where we bought a £22 steak each! Very extravagant but too delicious for words! Needless to say, we shared dessert. It was the most beautiful sticky toffee pudding. We were bickering over whether to have custard (yay) or ice cream (nay) with it, so the waitress brought both for us! The food and service was amazing here, I definitely recommend it!

It wouldn't be right if I didn't do something cringe, so you'll be pleased to know I was doing a (quiet) impression of crazy dog man, pretending that was how I was going to eat dessert, the exact second the waitress appeared with said dessert at the table. God knows what must she have thought when she saw me leant across the table in Alex's face, quietly (but insanely) barking in my boyfriend's face! (We were in a quiet corner, btw, I don't just behave like a freak in front of a restaurant of people!) Alex was crying with laughter. I was dying inside!

Another post-dinner wander led us to the beautiful Cathedral.

- Some bits from an amazing independent shop we found called Sparks Yard, which is full of the knick knacks you buy the person that has everything (Mac App fridge magnets, anyone?). I do love those kind of shops, but they annoy Alex a bit! It also had loads of american candy that wasn't a rip off, so I stocked up on Big Red cinnamon gum. We bought some coffee and chocolate cake in the cafe and the guy forgot to charge us for the cake, and when I told him (what an honest citizen) he let us off anyway. Bless him!

On the way home, we stopped off in Brighton for some Krispy Kremes and a wander. And then it was home time :(

As you can tell from the pics, it wasn't the most 'eventful' weekend, but we're not very eventful people! It was lovely just to explore a little old town and relax. And dream about when we have enough money to have a nice house in a nice town. We had SUCH a giggle, which reminded me why we've lasted five years! Lolz 4 lyf.

I'm trying to convince Alex to come on another weekend away for our 5 year 1 month anniversary, but let's just say it's a work in progress!

Thanks for all of your lovely happy anniversary comments, by the way! We loved them :)

♥