Sunday 18 November 2012

Primark haul

So as the title suggests, I picked up some things from Primark last week. I really should have got the jist of 'Primarking' by now and try to get there early on a day when it won't be as busy, but I never seem to learn, cue getting red-faced and sweaty whilst getting elbowed by fellow shoppers and having items practically ripped out of your hands when eyeing them up. Please tell me I'm not alone in this? :P

Anyway, I still love a bit of Primark whenever I manage to go! I especially love stocking up on their novelty socks - which I, oddly, didn't get any of when I went. The things I did get, though, Í'm very pleased with.

Here's what I bought.
 I don't really own too many jumpers at the moment, although they are very much a necessity - I'm starting to feel the cold. :( I love this one as the colour and print are fun and it's quite a light knit which makes it perfect for layering over a shirt; it also means it won't be too 'bulky' when you wear it under a coat.
This button-up shirt is probably my favourite out of all the things I got - it's a beautiful deep raspberry colour (which seems to be everywhere at the moment) and I love the contrast of the gold studs on the collar. I can see myself wearing this tucked into a high-waisted flowy skirt, once I manage to get my hands on the perfect one - watch this space :)

The last thing I bought is this fur-trimmed swing coat - as you can tell by my previous post I am partial to a bit of faux fur on my coats! It's a deep navy colour and has leather detailing on the shoulders (also faux of course). I was perusing the Topshop website a few days ago and by chance stumbled upon the exact same coat here. So if you like the Topshop coat, definitely check out Primark for a cheaper version - I paid 31 euros for mine, which is roughly 25 pounds. I'm not sure how closely the Primark collections here follow the ones in the UK, but hopefully it should still be available.
That's all for now. :) Hope you're all having a great Sunday evening.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Bow wellies

How's that for an unimaginative title? Sorry about that...

One of my good friends kindly offered to take some pictures with her snazzy camera (aka a DSLR) and the difference in quality is amazing. It certainly puts my trusty old Sony Cybershot to shame... The sun was just going under when these were taken and I think the effect it gives is beautiful - the backdrop (recognise it from an earlier post?) looks like it could be straight out of a painting! Reminds me of the fact I really need to save up for a new camera... maybe I could put it on my Christmas wishlist? :)

On to the outfit!


I love these boots so much! Wellingtons are, in my opinion, perfect for this time of year as you can keep warm (just pair with toasty socks) and slosh through puddles - without fear of getting them dirty. Nice wellies of course, not bog standard famer style! These are by Mel and I purchased them on the New Look website; they don't stock this exact style any more, but they do have one that is pretty much the same, except with a different bow (find those here).

Jacket with faux fur collar: TRF/Zara (last year)
Dress (not really visible here): Pony Power dress (one of my favourites!) by Sugarhill Boutique
Bag: Steve Madden

Have a great Saturday night everyone!

Thursday 1 November 2012

Latest purchases | bits and bobs

Hello there - Long time no post! Can you believe it's November already? It feels like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year... However, that could just be me getting old(ish).

I've been a bit MIA in the last few weeks, but I'd been 'suffering' from a lack of inspiration (ie; hadn't bought or worn anything of much interest), plus I had a lot of assignments etc to hand in at uni.. I wanted to post this weekend but then I had some internet problems, which meant no internet until yesterday. Don't you hate that? I always feel like I'm 'missing out' on the internet because I can't keep up with my favourite websites and blogs. Haha. Anyway, on to my latest buys. Just to warn you, nothing really exciting as of late.

The first thing I came across was this cute mug from Paperchase. I LOVE Paperchase, and I would quite happily buy all their stationery/goodies if my bank account allowed it, believe me! I love their cute litte notebooks, cards, pens.. all of it. Pure cuteness. They also have a lot of Christmas things in already, gorgeous little sparkly baubles (I WANT) and I almost bought an ever-so-kitsch glittery pink reindeer ornament, but I withheld. ;) For now.

Gingerbread men and animals with Christmas hats? Adorbs.
The next item is something you'll probably have seen on a lot of other blogs. When I saw they sold them in a toy shop just around the corner from me, I got excited but figured they would be quite pricey because of the exchange rate. I decided to have a look because it was nearly a friend's birthday and I thought it was definitely something she'd like. When I discovered they were pretty much cheap as chips (€9,95), I figured why not? I thought I would buy one for myself as well, but they only had one left.. in the box. So I bought that one for my friend's birthday present and they let me buy the shop dummy with a discount. Bonus!


I'm planning to stock up on these for Christmas - I have several younger siblings this would be perfect for, as well as other family members (and friends - one loved this so much she asked me to pick one up for her!). If you're interested, I've seen them in various webshops on the internet, and even on Amazon (link here). They definitely make a lovely gift, even it's just for yourself ;)

Just a short post, I have some more planned for the next few days though so stay tuned! :)

Hope you all had a fun Halloween, I'd love to hear what you did to celebrate?

Thursday 18 October 2012

Gold Miffy

Bit of a random post, but thought this was too cute not to share!

Last week, I visited the 'Miffy museum' which isn't too far from where I live here in Holland (Miffy being a Dutch creation originally). Being 23 I'm obviously a bit old for Miffy but we took my baby sister, so that's my excuse. :) If you ever visit Holland I can definitely reccomend! It's part of a bigger, more general museum/art gallery just opposite, you can buy a combination ticket so you can visit both if you fancy. Anyway, they had this gold Miffy on display. How cute?!


Just thinking about how nice it would look in my flat... ;)

Again, bit of a random/short post - will update more this week :) it's my brother-in-law's birthday today, we're going out for dinner to celebrate so I will stuffing my face tonight! Hope you're all having a lovely day!

Wednesday 17 October 2012

The H&M silver knit

As I'm writing this, it's a bit too cold for my liking (both inside and outside my flat - why my heating never seems to work properly when I need it most I'll never know!). It's time to swap the summer dresses and shorts for cosy knits and winter coats. Which I actually don't really mind as I like wrapping up and being warm. Anyway, I don't actually own too many jumpers, but one of my favourites is this silver knit from H&M. Please excuse my undone hair.

 
Jumper: H&M
Necklace: H&M
Jeggings (oh how I loathe that word)/denim leggings: Topshop
Converse
Not pictured: Primark army jacket, same as a few posts back

I bought it around Christmas last year and while I can never say no to a bit of glitter and sparkle I thought it was also appropiately festive enough for the season at the time. Fast forward a year later and I can safely say I've gotten my money's worth! It's one of my most worn items. As a child I detested what I would call 'statty' (itchy) jumpers, which my mum made me wear (thanks mum!), however this jumper is far from uncomfortable in any way, it's super soft which is why I wear it so much! I really do hope H&M will bring out more jumpers like this!

Hope you're all having a good week so far :)

Friday 12 October 2012

Ebay made me do it #2

As you can tell by the title, I may have gone a bit overboard recently whilst perusing the eBay website... oh well. I like to justify this by telling myself that these were too cheap not to pass up. I got two bracelets and something else I plan to use when I'm in a DIY sort of mood... more on that in a moment.

The first thing I got was this spiked bracelet, after seeing Victoria's eBay post. Seriously, who doesn't love her eBay posts? This girl has such an eye for lovely and affordable things, I have to practice some serious self-restraint every time she has a new post up. I have my eye on those ankle boots next... Anyway, on to the bracelet.

 
It is made from a mix of bronze, gold and silver coloured metal alloy. It doesn't feel very 'weighty' but I don't really mind, it was cheap and I think as a bracelet it's quite nice and spices up an otherwise plain outfit. Now, on to the real gem of all the things I got...
 

How pretty is this? I got this sideways cross bracelet here for a shamefully low price and best of all - free shipping! You can't really tell from the photos but it's a lovely rose gold colour. The cross is 'curved' so it sits nicely on your wrist and the chain is quite fine giving it an elegant look. They also stock these in black or silver. I would definitely recommend this if it's the sort of thing you like.

I also couldn't resist buying these...

 
I plan to do a bit of DIY studding with these but I'm not sure on what exactly. I have already tried studding the side of some Converse (my boyfriend was my guinea pig, I'm not sure how happy he is with them though as they now lie discarded in the corner...) and am keen to try them on some other items of clothing, maybe along the collar of a shirt. How well they will stay put, however, remains to be seen. If you have any tips for me or have experience with this I would love to hear from you! I purchased these studs here.

Happy Friday everyone!

Tuesday 9 October 2012

The River Island dip hem skirt

Now that the weather is transitioning into autumn and winter, I'm finding that as much as I love the look of skirts and dresses with tights, I can't really get away with the shorter versions any more - unless I want to a) freeze to death or b) give someone an eyeful of my nether regions thanks to a surprise gust of wind, which obviously isn't ideal. That's why I'm loving maxi/dip hem skirts (or asymmetrical hem skirts, high-low skirts, whatever you want to call them.. so many names for one item of clothing! :P) at the moment. Pair them with tights and some nice flats or ankle boots and you can be quite cosy whilst preserving your modesty at the same time.

I got this River Island skirt about a month ago, while it was still warm in fact, but I actually prefer the look of it with tights and flats, which makes it ideal for me at the moment. River Island actually have a few of these skirts in different styles and colours, which I love, so I may repurchase soon. Of course, I paired them with my favourite Topshop flats (are you getting sick of reading about them yet? ;) )


Cropped faux leather jacket: TRF/Zara (from last year)
Black top (not clearly visible): TRF/Zara
Dip hem skirt: River Island (can be found here)
Watch: Michael Kors
Shoes: Topshop studded loafers

The one thing I love about these colder months is sitting inside and snuggling up in front of the TV with a cup of tea, which is what I plan to do now - bliss!

What do you think about this style of skirt for autumn?

Sunday 7 October 2012

Ebay made me do it | gold studded loafers

So I have had a slight obsession with studs recently. I know they're everywhere at the moment (and I mean everywhere.. the shops are full of them) and I definitely think you can overdo it at some point. However, I do like a bit of studded action mixed in with my accessories, and I love them on shoes - I professed my love for these Topshop studded loafers in this post.

Recently I had been on the hunt for a pair of studded shoes/loafers in a nice nude colour. I think Topshop originally did the same canvas pair in a nude/salmon colour but they aren't on the website anymore. So I decided to go on Ebay - oh good old Ebay, my 'frenemy'! (I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that - many a time I've gotten completely carried away: "Ooh, it's so cheap! Go on then.") I didn't have to look for long and found these gems. The fact that they are made of a suede-like material really spoke to me and I feel gives a more 'luxurious' feel to them.

They really are lovely:



My only gripes with these are the fact that the studs don't feel very 'sturdy'. I don't think they'll fall off anytime soon but they do appear to sit quite loosely. The other thing is that the sizing is a bit iffy - these feel a bit tight (I ordered a size 5, and am usually either a 5 or 6), however I think if I were to order a size up they would be too big. But I'm sure that's more to do with my own weirdly sized feet and not the shoes. :) All in all, I would definitely reccomend these if they're something you're after!

I was about to link them here but I've just seen that they're sold out. :( Sorry about that! However you can find the seller here, as maybe they will restock them again soon - they do other really cute shoes as well, their ballet flats specifically!

Hope you're all having a lovely Sunday! :) I'm off to get some uni work done, a necessary evil I'm afraid!

Thursday 4 October 2012

New: Steve Madden bag

I am a big fan of Steve Madden, as a brand they are on the ball when it comes to trends yet very much affordable. In my opinion, their shoes are amazing - I remember seeing this gorgeous pair of ridiculously high glittery heels in their shop window that were perfect for New Years'. Sadly not a very practical purchase so I didn't buy them, but they do really nice shoes in general, as well as accessories and bags.

Me and my boyfriend recently celebrated our anniversary together (1,5 years, so not quite as big a milestone as 1 or 2 but any reason to celebrate eh :) ) and as a belated gift he gave me this lovely Steve Madden bag. I've been on the lookout for a nice, simple black bag for some time and this definitely fits the bill! It's the perfect 'in-between' size - not too big, not too small, yet there is lots of room to fit all your essentials in. This will be perfect for everyday use and for uni.








I'd love to know if you own anything by Steve Madden, shoes, bags, accessories..? :)

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Good old Primark

One of the things I was most happy to have picked up on my latest visit to the UK was this Primark jacket which I'm sure you will all recognize. Zara came out with theirs several months ago and it sold out faster than I could get my hands on it, but was also priced slightly higher than I was willing to pay for what it actually is. Imagine my joy when I spotted an exact copy in Primark, for less than half the price. I bought this back in July but since it was still quite warm temperature wise I haven't really had the chance to wear it until now. As soon as the weather started to cool down I couldn't have whipped this out faster! Underneath the jacket I decided to wear another Primark buy, this lightweight grey dress. I really like this kind of 'old-fashioned' print.

FYI, the bubble tea in my hand was not an intentional prop.

Army jacket: Primark
Dress: Primark... on a roll here! (no longer available I think... bought last year)
Silver belt: River Island (taken from a maxi skirt)
Bag (not shown): Steve Madden... post on this coming soon :)
Watch: Michael Kors
Shoes: my beloved studded Topshop flats. I wear them so much I plan on buying another pair.

I would have taken more photos, but about 2 seconds after this was taken it started raining heavily. Oh well! I'm happy to have done my first OOTD :)

Monday 1 October 2012

OOTD fail, lemon tarts & whoopies

Today I finished early from uni so me and my boyfriend spent the day together. I was planning to put my camera to good use for an OOTD but today the weather has failed me by just generally being rubbish (ie, pouring) - stringy hair and wet clothes are unfortunately not blog-worthy material...

We decided to shelter from the rain at one of our favourite places, Cupcakechic, which is a lovely little cupcake shop/bakery (they sell other yummy things as well). Normally I would gorge on one of the fabulous cupcakes they have, but today I decided to be 'adventurous' and try what I'm told is a whoopie (which many of you had probably already heard of/tried, but it was the first time for me!). Of course I am now suffering the aftermath (major sugar rush). 

Whoopie with strawberry cream and jam filling and an equally yummy lemon tart :)
This was pretty much the highlight of my day, sad I know...

Fingers crossed the weather will have picked up tomorrow so I'll have better luck on the photo taking front! Hopefully the start of this week wasn't too bad for you all! :)

Friday 28 September 2012

A walk in the park & Converse

I have invested in some new Converse for the first time in - well, years.


As a teen I had multiple pairs and wore them to death but threw them out/gave them away when they were too battered to be considered presentable and my love for ballerina flats & heels grew. However, I realized in recent months that I didn't really own any sneakers, except for the odd pair I use for running or going to the gym in (which is, I'll be honest, never). These, however, go with almost anything and are good for those days when you just can't be bothered in anything more complicated on your feet :) As you can see, I got them in white but let's see how long they stay white for!

Literally a few metres away from my flat is this really cute little park, which is referred to as a 'neighbourhood garden' (based on the idea that everyone can 'share' it, I suppose). I knew it was there but had forgotten about it until today - it's very zen and peaceful, aside from the odd few kids running around screaming. I sense a new location for future OOTD's!






Hope you all have a lovely Friday!

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Love: Peplum tops

On my recent trip back to the UK, I picked up these peplum tops from Topshop. They had a number of different styles (plain or with trim around the collar) but this particular style caught my eye, I saw so many girls wearing them and they looked so chic! They had a number of different colours; I purchased in deep blue and burgundy. I know I am a bit 'late' as they have been available for ages but oh well! :)

Accompanied by my Topshop studded loafers, which I have worn to death!
The good news is that they are both still available on the Topshop website, here and here (the burgundy is available in either Petite or Tall)! They both have a zip at the back which in my opinion adds an element of interest.

What I love most about peplum tops is that they are so versatile: they can be dressed down and worn casually, or jazzed up with some pretty accessories, jeans and heels (my personal favourite) for a night out. The shape is also really flattering and for those of you who are not blessed with curves (like me), well, definitely give it a try :) both of these were £18. I have been eyeing up some peplum dresses and am a bit hesitant to buy; I haven't tried one on yet, but they look as if they would be less forgiving because most of the styles stocked are bodycon (as in: skin tight).

Not the best picture (taken in my hotel room) but here's what the dark blue peplum top looks like on me:


Apologies for the seemingly 'derp' face but you get the idea! :)
 
I have since expanded my collection with 2 more peplum tops from New Look (basic black and dark green), that's how much I love them! There are some others calling my name on the Topshop website as well...

How do you feel about peplum tops? Maybe you have the same Topshop one as me? :) Would love to hear your thoughts!

Sunday 16 September 2012

Redken Extreme Anti-Snap

A few years ago, I loved Victoria Beckham's 'pob' haircut so much I decided I wanted in on the action and hastily chopped off my long (but admittedly, super fried) hair. I kept this style for a while and absolutely loved it; it wasn't until halfway through last year that I decided to let my hair grow out again. As anyone trying to grow out their hair from a super short hairstyle will know, definitely easier said than done. Even now, my hair is only just past my collar bones and not in the best shape, thanks to my at-home attempts to achieve ombre hair, followed by a trip to the salon to fix said attempts (which meant my hair being dyed four or five times in one month, NOT something to be repeated!). After getting a salon dye job in July I decided to give my hair a rest by not colouring for at least the next three months. Much needed, because my hair had started to break off - quite a lot. Like I said, definitely not something to repeat.

Needless to say, I was on the lookout for a good quality product to help my overprocessed (fried) hair. After reading a ton of rave reviews, I was originally intending to invest in some Moroccan Oil. (Still want to try it out by the way.) However, I noticed one reviewer stating that the Redken Extreme Anti-Snap was even better than Moroccan Oil and much better for preventing breakage. If there's something my hair needs right now, it's definitely less breakage! So of course I had to try it. :)



Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave In Treatment


After I've washed my hair, I apply 3-5 pumps on my lengths and ends and then blow dry/straighten; I find that if I use this and then leave my hair to air dry, it doesn't give as nice a finish. It definitely makes the damaged ends smoother and makes your hair healthier-looking in general. As many will agree with me, though, it is definitely not a moisurizing product - finish with a serum if you need it, otherwise your ends will look rather dry. I've been using this for a few weeks now and have definitely noticed less breakage - I used to be able to literally pull the blonde ombre ends of my hair off, but they're a lot stronger now. It seems my hair is finally growing a bit as well. Another major plus: the smell is amazing, it smells fruity with a hint of vanilla. Unfortunately, the smell doesn't linger on your hair after styling, but it definitely makes getting ready in the mornings a bit more of a treat ;)

Thursday 13 September 2012

Essie Fiji

After years of being a hardcore OPI fan, I have finally found my new nail varnish love - Essie. These used to be quite hard to find where I live (Holland) so imagine my joy when they started selling them in local chemists/drugstores here! Reasonably(ish) priced, gorgeous colours and they dry really quickly to boot.

After lusting after Essie Ballet Slipper for what seemed like an eternity (umm-ing and aah-ing over whether I could justify the price for a 'barely there'/nude nail varnish, when I spotted Fiji next to it. Whipping out my phone to do a quick Makeupalley check (MUA fiend here), I not only noticed the ratings for Fiji were slightly higher than those of Ballet Slippers, but that the swatches were amazing, the colour described as 'the perfect pale pink' and 'makes you look tanned'' (definitely a bonus in my book!)

When I applied it, it was love at first sight. Here is a swatch on my nails:

Photo jazzed up with a bit of Instagram action :)

I love this colour, but knowing me I will probably purchase Ballet Slippers as well some time in the near future. I love me some Essie :)

What's your favourite Essie colour? Any I should definitely check out?