Rainy Day Wish List 29.11.11

               

If you couldn't tell already, it was raining today, a lot. Plus, it's been one of those headache inducing days at uni, so I was feeling inspired to search for the most comforting and cosy clothes that I'm after for this December.

001. This covers two of my most favourite things right now, the colour black and blouses. Okay, maybe black has always been a fond shade of mine, but this blouse is just gorgeous. I love the little stud detailing, giving it a glamorous, rocker look. I'm also a huge fan recently of the whole, buttoning your shirt up to the collar look. Plus, when can you ever go wrong with the slimming power of the colour black?

002. OH MA GEE how cute is this animal hood? I love love my fur this A/W and am always a fan of anything cute and cuddly! I already have an leopard print faux fur trapper hat from H&M with little ears, but then again how can you ever have enough hats with little ears on?

003. Well, this coat has been on my wish list for many months now. I promised myself I'd buy it in September when it first came up on the Miss Selfridge website, but I'm yet to justify spending £80 on a coat when I already have quite a few... I'm a huge fan of b i g hoods, and well this one is pretty damn big. I'm thinking maybe I should just bite the bullet? Wait, I have no money :(

004. Love this tan scarf, it's just so simple and to the point. I've given up on huge knitted scarves for the time being as I always seem to get covered in wool (and eat it by accident too, it doesn't taste good). I feel it has a sophisticated look to it, and could be very versatile depending on what outfit you added it to.  

005. Just look at that barbie pink beauty. What more do I really need to say? Spotted this in H&M in Birmingham last week and to be honest I've been thinking about it ever since!! I had to put it on straight away, I just thought it was the most adorably divine thing ever! I just don't know what the hell it would go with!

006. Finally, the pom pom hat. I already have a creamy, floppy kind of one, but I just love the chunky knitted nature of this hat. I can just imagine my head feeling very cosy!

Tresemme Salon Professional Ceramic Styler 230

Here are my Tresemme hair straighteners, which I've had for just under a month now and I can happily say they are fantastic.

I brought these straighteners when my previous pair completely cut out on me out of the blue after only a year (by which time I came to realise the guarantee had expired! Terrible!). Terrified as to what I was going to do without my most important hair appliance, I searched Amazon desperately in search of a replacement pair. Usually, if you want a decent set of ceramic hair straighteners, you're looking at paying £70 up really. So, when I came across the Tresemme Salon Professional Ceramic Styler 230 I was pretty convinced they were too good to be true. All the reviews were brilliant, saying that the appliance met, if not exceeded, the high standards of the infamous GHDs. Well, for a measly £20, saving £40 on it's RRP, how could I say no? (Plus, the guarantee was 5 years, much better!)

When I received the straighteners I was pleasantly surprised to see they came with a heat proof travel pouch, which is always useful to have. I immediately plugged the straighteners in and switched them onto their highest setting (an impressive 230 degrees), waited for them to heat up (which takes less that 15 seconds!!) and got stuck into my hair. The 1 inch ceramic plates straighten like a dream, sliding through my hair much more smoothly than my previous, much more expensive hair straighteners.

It's probably important to note that I have quite thick hair, which has always been curly and prone to frizzing. And if a pair of straighteners can tackle that then you know they're a good'un!

Tresemme Salon Professional Ceramic Styler 230 have a very smooth, rounded shell which makes creating curls so easy. I've found with previous, more square, plastic shelled straighteners that when you try and curl your tresses, the curls come out quite square and tight. Where as with these Tresemme straighteners they glide through your hair, helping me create some lovely wavy looks. Plus, the 3 metre swivel cord means you can reach right around your head with ease.

An added bonus for me is the auto shut off feature. A bit of a must for me as I've come home a few times to find my flat overwhelmingly smelt of burning after leaving my straighteners on whilst leaving in a hurry! So I've been pretty lucky to not have burnt the whole block down as of yet!

Overall, I've never been so pleasantly surprised by a hair appliance before, and I 100% recommend these to anyone. It really does do the job to a fantastic standard. 

eBay Jewellery Finds

 

 

Here are a few bits I found on ebay over the past couple weeks. I'm a big fan of searching through jewellery on ebay, as I always seem to find a bargain or two. One of my favourite ebay jewellery sellers is Skorbee, from Hong Kong. Their jewellery does take a while to arrive, but it does has a long way to travel. However, the items are definitely worth the wait. 

My lovely bronze elephant necklace and bronze bow ring were beautifully sent from Skorbee. The packaging was adorable, it was literally like receiving a present in the post (apart from the fact I paid for it myself!) The products are good quality, just as good maybe even better than what you'd find on the UK high street along with an impressive price tag to match. £4.29 for the necklace and £3.16 for the bow ring are prices you just can't argue with! Plus, I receive so many compliments on my elephant pendant, he really is an eye catcher!

Here's also my double finger cross ring, which are pretty popular at the moment which I got from another seller on ebay. I love this ring. It's adjustable so you a fit it over any fingers, but I always wear mine over my middle and ring finger. It goes with so many outfits, definitely my new favourite. 

My All Time Favourites

001. The Body Shop's Big and Curvy Mascara is by far the best mascara I've ever had. I originally got it as a sample from Body Shop and was so blown away that I brought a new bottle straight away as a back up. I do like my mascara's thick and dark, giving me a heavy look to define my eyes, and with a few coats this is what big and curvy delivers. I've been though a lot of mascara's in my 21 years, but I think I have found my faithful companion in this mascara. Proving that big and curvy, is beautiful!

002. My two must use hair products, both of which I came across completely by accident. Firstly, Morrison's Heat Protection Spray. I was out of heat defence, so picked up the cheapest bottle I could find on my weekly food shop. I'm sure it cost £2 or less. This spray for starters, smells AMAZING! No exaggeration, it's like pure mangos or something. It doesn't leave your hair feeling stiff or make it greasy easily like I've found with previous heat defence sprays, and it's defiantly done the job when it comes to protecting my hair from daily blow drying, straightening and curling.
Secondly, Boot's Coconut & Almond Leave-in Conditioner for normal to dry hair. I am always after the latest product to keep my hair soft and healthy, as I tend to avoid the hairdresser quite often and, as I mentioned before it's important that I defend my hair from the daily wear and tear of styling. Now, I can honestly say, this is the best leave-in conditioner I've ever used. Not normally one to use leave-in conditioners as I normally find they make my hair greasy, I picked this one up as part of a 3 for 2 promotion when I was in need of a third item. I gave it a go that night and haven't looked back since. Spraying it from my mids to ends liberally when my hair is still damp, this spray kept my hair soft against the holiday elements of the sun and salty sea. It also has seen me through the change of seasons, as my hair normally starts to dry out as we move from summer to winter.

003. Urban Decay's Naked Eye Palette is by far my favourite eye make up palette I've ever owned. I think it's fair to say this palette is loved by many cosmetics lovers, and I am definitely one of them. I'm a huge fan of eye make up, it's my favourite part of doing my make up. Naked offers an amazing set of neutral and nude shades along with some sparkly smokey colours, giving your look depth. The colour pay off for all the colours is amazing, the shades, especially the darker colours are so pigmented and I never experience any fall out. Although this palette may be slightly on the pricey side, I think it's definitely an investment worth making. And word on the street is that Urban Decay are releasing Naked 2! OH the excitement!

004. Last, but by no means least, my favourite make up product of all time, 17's Shine Control Pressed Powder. I've been using this powder since I first started wearing make up. I'm lucky enough that they've continued to sell this powder for the last 7 years, but I suppose it goes to show I'm not this only one who depends on this product! Shine control is a major concern for a lot of girls. I have quite oily skin, admittedly not as oily as it was when I was younger but it's still an on going issue. However, my shine is beautifully concealed by 17's Shine Control. After I've applied my foundation and concealer, I apply the powder over my whole face. It has great coverage, covering blemishes well and give a flatteringly smooth finish. I don't think I'll ever be without this powder. And as long as they keep selling it, I'll keep buying it! 

Newspaper Nails

Here is my attempt at one of the latest nail art trends, newspaper nails! As a student journalist, this seemed a more than fitting choice when pondering what to do next with my nails.
I’ll quickly walk you though the steps to achieve this look:

• Firstly, you need to choose a pale nail varnish shade that your newspaper print will sit boldly upon.  
• Now, paint your first nail with your chosen varnish and allow to dry. 
• Once dry, immerse the entire nail into an alcoholic spirit - I used vodka. 
• Taking a torn square of newspaper, press the print firmly against your nail and do not move for a good 20 to 30 seconds. This should ensure the print transfers quite boldly onto your nail.
• Finally, peel the paper away and paint with a clear top coat varnish, then move onto your next nail.

You may have seen this nail art on other blogs, telling you to paint all your nails initially and then apply the newspaper. However, I found my one by one method more effective after having to start over on a few of my nails where the print had not transferred too vibrantly. It seems if you press the newspaper onto the nail just as the varnish has set then the print transfers better.
Have a go yourselves, I’d love to see how they turn out! 

OOTD 01.11.11

WOW what a day I have had today! I swear uni just gets tenser everyday! Thank god I wore my gorgeous new blouse from boohoo to keep my spirits up! This tan blouse with ribbon tie was one of the cutest things I had ever seen on their site, so had to buy! I teamed it with my new heavyweight leggings from missguided, and new ring from one of my favourite jewellery shops ever; Muse!

I’ll post some better photos of my new buys with prices etc ASAP!