Make-up Haul #2

I was starting to run out of a couple of things, so I caved to my needs and bought a couple of bits and bobs. Most of these are just re-buys because I ran out, but there are a couple of new bits too. Sorry for the awful picture quality, I'm back to using my webcam in my badly lit uni room!

Anti-Clockwise from top.

1) E.L.F Lengthening and Volumising Mascara (Waterproof) in Black (£3.95) I had this product in the non-waterproof version and its just starting to run out, so I thought I'd get the waterproof one in time for winter. 

2) E.L.F Liquid Eyeliner in Black (£1.95) This is a re-purchase. Its a decent product for the price and my old one has started to crack and dry out after being carted around all summer at festivals.

3) E.L.F Pressed Powder in Sand (£3.95) This is a shade lighter than the one I got before so hopefully it will see me through the winter months when my skin is less tanned.

4) E.L.F Pressed Powder in Buff (£3.95) This is another re-purchase as I really like the finish it gives.

5) Hema Longer Lasting Lipstick in 05 (£4.25) This is my first new buy. I got it on recommendation from Sanne (@booksandquills) as I was desperate for a long lasting red lippy. I've tried it out today and so far it's doing a stellar job.
6) Hema Longer Lasting Lipstick in 06 (£4.25) I also bought the shade darker because I was worried that the 05 might have slightly too orange tones in it. Shipping was £4, so it made sense in my mind to get the extra or else I would have been paying £8 for one lippy, rather than £6 each for the two. 

With the Hema products I also got a couple of stroopwafels (Dutch Waffles), so that was a really nice surprise when I opened it! Still don't think it quite justified the amount of packing for the product size though!!

(HUGE) Back to School/ Autumn Haulbook

It feels like I've been waiting for weeks to post this, but I just kept ordering more bits and bobs and I wanted to wait until everything came through before I showed it off. I never normally go this crazy with buying clothes - I'm very frugal and, though I buy the odd item semi-regularly, my last 'big splurge' was in March when I bought myself 3 dresses and a top from the BooHoo sale (an order which totalled in at less than £40). This whopping haul is made up of 17 items (3 pairs of shoes, 5 shirts, 1 pair of corduroy trousers, 1 pair of flares, 1 skirt, 1 cardigan and 5 dresses) and I don't want to think how much it all cost. I've roughly paired them up in the way I think I'll most likely wear them, though I will be mixing and matching with things I already own. I've let myself go a little crazy in the hope that I won't need to spend money on clothes in the Autumn term, so I don't have to budget it in. Its also worth noting that my grandma and my mum gave me some money to buy new clothes and shoes (thanks guys!), so this wasn't all from my own pocket. I also worked a part time job during the summer and as I love clothes I thought this was an appropriate way to spend some of my extra cash.

For reference, as I find it super helpful when websites write down this kind of information, I am 5ft5" (or 165 cm) and weigh about 55kg (120lb or 8.5st). I mostly wear size 8, but sometimes have to go up to a 10 in shirts to fit my shoulders or a 6 in skirts to fit my waist (I'll let you know what size each item is anyway). My feet muddle between a 5 and 6 UK size.

My hair is dyed using the Directions semi-permanent hair dye in the shade Flamingo Pink. I had dyed it this morning, so it is exceptionally bright! I might write a quick post about hair dying once I've gotten a bit more practised.

Enough chatter, here's the haulbook:

Cardigan - New Look Size 10, Dress - BooHoo Size 10, Shoes - Converse All Stars Size 5

Dress and Shoes as above.

I love this mustard yellow colour, and this dress is a great baggy fit. You can style it with a belt to give a more defined waist or simply wear it loose like I have. I have a similar dress in the same cut in the size 8, but the 10 is noticeably longer whilst only slightly looser. As I work with children this dress has a much more work appropriate feel to it and I'm really happy with it.

Dress - BooHoo Size 8,  Shoes - as above

Dress - BooHoo Size 8,  Shoes - as above

As above

I love the fit of this dress. It skims in all the right places, despite the fact my bust is on the smaller side, and its great to have a dress with long arms. The material of this dress is slightly thicker than all the others too, so this will be great for when it gets a bit cooler.

Shirt - H&M Size 10, Skirt - H&M Size XS, Shoes - as above

As above

 As soon as (I saw the print on this skirt I knew I had to get it. Its made from quilted fabric so is super warm, and I love the curved hemline on the front and back. I got a cropped short sleeved shirt from H&M this summer and loved it, and as a lot of people know I am a huge fan of the white shirt, so this was a match made in heaven for me.

Shirt - as above, Trousers - River Island Size 8, Shoes - M&S Size 5 (last years stock)

As above

I found these trousers in the River Island sale, and as much as I love them I was really worried about getting them. I caved to my desires and I'm so glad I did. These trousers can be dressed up with heels and a shirt like I have here or dressed down with a cropped tee and sandals. A great transition piece between Summer and Autumn. Mum thinks it makes me look very Margo (from The Good Life)!

Dress - BooHoo Size 8, Shoes - New Look Size 5

As above

I love midi length dresses and this one was in a beautiful colour (it almost matches my hair!). The shoes are something I would never normally buy, but I went for it. Thought they aren't exactly the ones I fell in love with in the shop (my fault for not buying them when I saw they were the last pair in the sale) these are as close as I could find. Can I walk in them? It's questionable. Do I love them? Yes.

Dress - Primark Size 10, Shoes - as above

As above

The material this dress is made from is lovely - really silky. It can be dressed up with heels like this or dressed down with tights and converse.

Shirt - H&M Size 10, Trousers - Charity Shop (originally H&M) Size 10, Shoes - Clarks (Busby Fizz in Oxblood) Size 5 1/2

I am a huge fan of shirts, and this is a classic university look for me. I didn't own any trousers like this, and at £4 they were a steal. Like my very wise friend Katie once said, when buying from a charity shop, think of it as donating money and getting a free thing. For example, I donated £4 and got a free pair of trousers!

Shirt - H&M Size 8, Trousers and Shoes - as above

As above

I love the way this shirt hangs. Again this could be dressed up with a smart skirt and heels, and would be perfect for a job interview.

Shirt - Primark Size 10, Trousers and Shoes - as above

Although I'm not entirely convinced by the optical illusion effect this shirt has (the stripes should really get smaller the lower they go rather than the other way) I still really like it.

Shirt - BooHoo Size 10, Jeans - Miss Selfridge Size 8 (last years stock), Shoes -  Converse All Stars Size 5

I love the print on this shirt. I'm slightly concerned it's a tad too oversized on the collar (it was advertised as an oversized shirt), but it looks better than I thought in the photo! I'm not sure I'd wear this with blue jeans, but my dark grey ones are still at uni, and my long black skirt is too!

Shirt - BooHoo Size 10, Jeans and Shoes - as above

As above

Last but not least, this cropped shirt. It's got a lower crop than the other shirt, and I love its pattern. The collar will look great under a thick jumper too!


That's, finally, everything! These sort of posts always feel very self-indulgent and show-offy, but I love reading other people's, so hopefully you've enjoyed mine!

Beauty: (Teeny Tiny) Haul #1

So, today I wandered into the city and found myself in Superdrug. I've got a bit of a thing for Superdrug own brand products - they're cruelty free, cheap, and in my experience good. They had a couple of offers on and I'd run out of some stuff, so I did a bit of shopping!

Uplifting Red Cherry and Fig Shampoo and Conditioner. I'd ran out my herbal essences and when I went shopping with Mum I got some Pantene because it was on offer, but I'm not a huge fan of Pantene so when I spotted Superdrug's own brand I thought I'd pick it up and give it ago. This product is for fine hair which needs volume - pretty much perfect for me! I'm quite particular about conditioners so I'll let you know how it goes!

Vitamin E SPF 15 Radience Eye Cream. I've been really struggling with dry skin around my eyes recently, and moisturiser is a bit too greasy to put on for the day, so hopefully this will sort things out! Once again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Vitamin E All Over Body Cream. I ran out of my body cream a while back, and because its summer my legs need that extra moisture after being shaved more regularly. It's a huge tub, so hopefully this should last me a while.

Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel and Sweet Sixties Shower Gel. I'd run out of my favourite Original Source shower gel, so when I saw the own brand version on offer and in my favourite scent (Mint) I grabbed it. I had a sniff of the others and settled for the Sixties Gel to finish the offer - it's pomegranate and grapefruit.

And that's everything. It's not much, but for me its a pretty big splurge!

They See Me Haulin', They Hatin'...

Why hello there!

So it was my bonny old birthday yesterday, so I thought I'd share with you what I got!

1)


 

Dictionary of Literary Terms
 and Literary Theory (Penguin, 4th ed.)
ISBN: 9780140513639
Andrew Heywood, Political Ideologies:
An Introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, 5th ed.)
ISBN:9780230367258

Both of these books look like they're going to be really useful for my course. Right from the beginning every single lecturer I've had has told me to get my hands on a good literary dictionary, so I asked for one for my birthday. For those of you who don't know what a literary dictionary is, it is basically a cross between and dictionary and a reference book, which allows it to give really in depth definitions of literary ideas (for example, the definition for novel is 40 pages long - going into its etymology and its history), so it should be very helpful for my course. I used the 4th edition of Andy Heywood's political ideologies in the second year of A level politics, and from what I can tell, the only difference between this edition and the 4th is this version has colour (well, blue rather than grey) and occasionally pictures of particularly influential people. (If you are interested in getting a copy, I recommend either the 4th or 5th edition, the 3rd doesn't have word definition boxes, which are incredibly helpful). My course has involved a lot of politics - or rather the need for a broad view of political moments in history, which this book covers within it's overview of ideology. It's very well written, clear and easy to understand.

2)

Zara Ethnic Print Shirt (Medium)

Sorry the picture is on the side, I uploaded it vertically, but it doesn't appear to have worked... Anyway, the shirt is very light weight, almost to the point of being see through. It's in a soft cotton, and has a long torso (it covers my butt). I had to get the medium because I find Zara clothing fits tight on my shoulders and the sleeves tend to be half an inch too short. Really looking forward to some warmer weather so I can frolic in it, as it would look cute tucked into jeans or loose over shorts. Bring on summer!!

3)

My friends got me this 'Cake Pop' tray and recipe book! It looks adorable and I can't wait to get baking!

4)

They also got me this tea-bag tin filled with tea! All the tea is herbal (i think) but they haven't told me what's what. It smells divine though! A gorgeous mix of ginger and peppermint and yum yum yum! It almost smells like Yogi Yogi Chai (a tea I had in a cute little tea shop called Chai Ovna in Glasgow's West End), which was the most delicious tea ever, and once I've finished working my way through these, I think I'll probably invest in some and put tat in there instead!

5)

I'm very much looking forward to wearing these banging earrings! As you can see they were from New Look. I'd write more, but I really moustache... Hahahaha... must dash, moustache, geddit?!?

6)

Love the animal prints on these hair clips! Hopefully they'll look really sweet with my Pocahontas style summer dress!

7)


Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Crystal Clear, Avon Super Shock Mascara in Black,
 Avon  SpotLight Moitsure Shimmer Gel, Avon Nailwear Pro in  Golden Dream
 and Avon Super Shock Eyeshadow Crayon in Icicle and Surf.

Can you tell one of my mates in an Avon rep? I can never afford to buy Avon make up, so I'm super chuffed she thought to get me some! I love it! I can't wait to try out the Rimmel gloss either, I'll be so shimmery if I wear all these together! Hopefully I'll review them once I've given them all a whirl!

8)

FCUK Little Indulgent Box containing body spray, body wash,
body polish and body cream, as well as a body polisher,
 all scented with their 'signature' scent.

My Mum's best friend never forgets my birthday and always gets me lovely gifts - this year was no exception! I am super excited to try out all this stuff - especial the body polish! I'm wearing the body spray at the moment (I think I'll wear it as a perfume rather than a spray) and it smells so floral and fresh - it's lovely. Again, I'll hopefully have a review up in the near future...

9)

Last but not least, EBO! My wonderful sister got me this card game and I cannot wait to play it! The premise of the game is that you are a Time Nanny and you got and kidnap babies who turn out to be evil when they grow up (ie, Hitler), but because they're evil babies, its not quiet as simple as you might think. There's a play through on Team Hypercube's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/teamhypercube) that should be very helpful, so I'm going to give that a watch in a bit.


That's all folks! I had a wonderful Birthday, and hope your days were just as merry and love filled as mine!

xx