New Look sale haul

 So my student loan comes through and I tell myself I won't spend any money... and then I accidentally fell into the New Look sale - oops!

 I really should be banned from buying jewellery because I never wear it. It gets shoved in a drawer and then ends up on ebay one day because the only jewellery I ever wear is my ring off my mom and dad and my bracelets off my boyfriend. This silver and gold spike bracelet was reduced to £1 though so I couldn't resist!

I also picked up this necklace because I've been after a chunky OTT necklace for ages to wear with my plain white tops and dresses on nights out. This actually has one of the spikes missing at the bottom but considering it was only £1 I figured it didn't really matter and no one would notice!

 I've wanted this swing cami for ages so when I saw it reduced to £3 I grabbed it! It's slightly cropped so not really ideal for winter but I think it could work layered up and the colour is very autumn/winter. I love this! Apologies for the fact it's really creased!

 Next I picked up this stag print vest purely because I'm excited for Christmas already and it's basically got reindeer on!!!! Again, it's quite summery and I wasn't a massive fan of the sleeves/neck line but I thought it would look cute and wintery under a chunky, fluffly cardigan! This was reduced to £4.

 This cami is quite similar to the first one but is made of a darker blue chiffony material. I expected it to be quite see through but it's actually not at all, I really like the colour of these camis! This was £5, so a bit more than the others but still quite a bargain!

 Finally, I picked up this aztec print crop top. I own quite a few crop tops already so probably didn't need another one but I like to wear these on nights out with a black skirt. The way I think is that I would wear this top with a skirt I already have so the total cost of the outfit would be £3, whereas if I got a brand new dress it would cost a lot more and therefore I did need another crop top, right?

In total for 4 tops, a necklace and a bracelet I spent £17. Without the necklace which doesn't have the original price tag on, originally it would have all cost £39 so I'd say that was a pretty good saving!!

What did you guys pick up in the New Look sale?

Chockers shoes haul - boots & wellies!

After eyeing up the shoes at Chockers for months I finally decided that it was time to purchase some autumn/winter boots! It took me ages to decide which pair to chose, I think it's so hard to tell the shape of boots without physically seeing them and with me being so picky it was a bit risky ordering online! Eventually, I settled on the Karvie boots as my to-be winter boots! They are a gorgeous leather effect chelsea style ankle boot with an elasticated side gusset and small heel, covered in gold coloured studs! They were reduced to £10 from £30 which is such a bargain, I can't quite believe how cheap they were!

 I also couldn't help picking up these cute wellies! I know what you're thinking, why on earth are you wasting your money on wellies that you'll probably never need?! Well... my thinking was that now I'm at uni I will be doing a lot more walking and can't just get a lift into town or uni if it snows and I never have anything sturdy to wear on such occasions - I am the girl braving the snow in uggs with a foam sole with no grip whatsoever falling on her arse in the middle of town so therefore wellies are actually a necessity (have I managed to convince you?) These are the Westwood wellies which were reduced to £5 from £15 which again, is such a bargain. They are made of a black shiny rubber, have a 1 inch heel and a really cute cream double bow! Who said wellies can't be cute?!

Paying delivery is my pet hate but £4 delivery for both pairs considering how cheap they were I think is actually a really good price. In total to have a pair of boots and a pair of wellies delivered it cost me £19 (£2.50 VAT) which you would usually expect to pay for a single pair of boots at least in most high street shops! 

I love both pairs and also loved that on the day of delivery they text you giving you a time slot of when the boots will be delivered and also give you the option of leaving them with a neighbour or coming the following day which is perfect as you don't have to worry about staying in waiting for them to be delivered all day!

NOTD: Headline Colors - GUNMETAL

I got this nail varnish by Killer Colours in the 2nd anniversary glossy box so thought it was about time I tried it out! It's not the sort of colour I would usually go for and it's not a brand I've heard of before either but I had a look at the website and found that this colour, gunmetal, is from the A/W 2012 collection and is worth £9. I actually really like this. I love that I don't have to worry about what outfits it will go with and there's no chips so far so I'm impressed! It's difficult to describe the colour, it's like a shimmery bluey, greeny grey that looks different colours in different lights! I also like the other colours in the same collection which you can see here.

Wilkos & Asda back to school stationary haul

 Another stationary haul - sorry guys!!

 This is the "Wilde" collapsible storage box from Wilkos. With having so little space and so much stationary for uni, the main thing I'm looking for is storage. I thought this collapsible one would be ideal. I love the pattern and it will be ideal to keep things like my stapler, hole punch, paperclips and the like in! This was only £3.50!

 Next I got these file dividers for 95p, I'm really hoping these last longer than your average ones that seem to just rip and fall out within weeks and I love the contents page. It'll be perfect for separating my work up!

 I then got these 3 document sleeves from the "Sustain" collection. I'm not really sure what I'll use these for and I wasn't sure about the "hey foxy" one but they were only £1 and I'm sure I'll find a use for them!

Now onto my favourite Wilkos buy - the Nostalgia desk tidy. It really would have made sense to buy items from the same collection so that everything matches but instead I just bought a mismatch of things which I'll probably regret but this was only 80p so I couldn't resist! Crazy I know! As well as keeping pens in, this would be good for make-up brushes!

 Finally, I picked up a stapler for 75p, staples for 44p and paper clips for 75p. I then bought some bits from Asda starting with these page markers which I thought would be a good alternative to folding over the corners of pages in my books, especially when those are going to be £50 a pop - I'll be keeping them looking immaculate! I picked them up in store and can't find them online - sorry!

 These were bloody hard to take a picture of and I know they're boring but punch pockets really are essential! I got two packs of 75(ish) for 80p(ish), sorry I don't remember and I've left them at my mom and dads! I'm a bit worried they were so cheap though, I had some awful pound shop ones last year! I can't find these on the Asda website either because I picked these up in store too.

 I was also after some Sharpies for underlining and making fancy notes etc and some mechanical pencils because I know I'll need to use them sometimes and I hate the smell and touch of pencils which I can avoid by using plastic mechanical ones. In addition, they're both in cute colours and they were on offer at 2 for £3 which is a bargain considering the Sharpies cost more than that alone at Tesco!

& the stationary rambles are only over temporarily I'm afraid, I have a second Saisnburys stationary haul coming up soon with a folder, pens, calculator and lots of other bits and pieces... I know, I'm obsessed!

If any of you are doing similar stationary or back to school/college/uni hauls leave the link below because I love reading them as well as writing them! :)

The Liebster Award!

Hi guys! The lovely Katrina from History Never Repeats nominated me for the Liebster award which is an award to recognise bloggers with less than 200 followers which I think is a fab idea - thank you Katrina!

 So here are the rules:

- Share 11 random facts about yourself.

- Answer the 11 questions given to you by the person who nominated you.

- Nominate blogs with less than 200 followers and let them know they have been nominated. 

- Create 11 new questions for your chosen bloggers. 

- No tag backs. 

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I am starting my psychology degree in a few weeks.

2. I'm forever buying new underwear.

3. I never wear skirts/dresses unless I'm on holiday or going somewhere special.

4. I never go a day without wearing nail varnish, no one has seen my actual nail for over a year.

5. I used to want to be an actress and did loads of drama shows including walking around the streets dressed as a fairy!

6. Zoe (Zoella) is my favourite blogger, closely followed my Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter)!

7. I absolutely hate my teeth, I have always sucked my thumb since I was a baby and so I look like Goofy :(

8. I currently have ombred hair which I actually hate!

9. I am obsessed with stationary (which you can probably see from my recent blog posts!)

10. Our house is full of shabby chic hearts, slogans and Cath Kidston type bits.

11. I actually still don't have a clue what I want to do career wise!

11 Questions from Katrina

1. What is your favourite thing about blogging?

I love that I get to ramble about the things I am lusting after and the things I've bought without boring the boyfriend!

2. Do you prefer beauty or lifestyle posts?

I actually think I prefer lifestyle posts. I love having an insight into people's lives and whether it's a room tour or a day in the life post or anything in between I just find it so interesting to see how other people live.

3. Favourite TV show?

I love anything murder mystery. I used to watch Diagnosis Murder everyday but now I tend to watch Vera which is sooooo good but scary too!

4. If you were stuck on a desert island and you could only take 1 beauty item, what would it be?

Honestly, I really don't think I'd care about beauty items if I was stuck on a desert island so I don't know what I'd pick.

5. Favourite season of the year?

Summer really puts a smile on my face and buying dresses and booking holidays is exciting but I think Winter probably beats summer. I am a lover of Christmas, spending money on other people, decorations, cosy rooms, snow, coats and wellies... I'm SO excited that it's getting to that time of year now!!

6. Do you prefer your birthday or Christmas?

Oooh, tricky! For the reasons above and the fact that I hate attention I'd have to say Christmas!

7. Favourite meal?

Ermmmmm, Dominos pizza, my boyfriends roast, McDonalds chicken nuggets with a strawberry milkshake...

8. Favourite song/songs which inspire you in anyway?

I can find inspiration in most songs from the Vengaboys because they remind me of the good old days and put me in a good mood to soppy sad songs that make me want to do something worthwhile in life so this would take me forever to answer!

9. Favourite Disney film (or any film you liked when you were young)?

I know I watched Disney films when I was younger because I've seen the videos but I don't actually remember any of them so I only remember the recent Disney films so I'd have to say Despicable Me/Despicable Me 2.

10. If you had to move to another place in the world and live there forever, where would it be?

There's a place in Devon that I went to every year on holiday as a child and always said I'd live when I was older. I've been taking my boyfriend since we've been together and he's fallen in love with it too. We actually very almost moved there but I've chosen to go to uni instead. I know it doesn't sound very exciting when I've got the world to chose from but I just love it so much there, it's like my second home.

11. If you could go back in time and give advice to your younger self what would it be?

Just keep going, things will get better. Be yourself, people like you better that way.

 My questions for my nominees

1. What's your dream job?

2. Why did you start blogging?

3. What's your favourite blog post to write?

4. Hair brush or foundation?

5. If you could only wear one hairstyle for a year, what would it be?

6. One blogger you'd love to meet?

7. Do you speak any other languages?

8. When did you last have your hair cut?

9. Who's your style icon?

10. You walk into Boots, where do you head first?

11. What's your natural hair like?

Nominated Blogs

 ♥ A Blushing Blonde ♥

♥ Nature With Nurture ♥

♥ Laura-Beth ♥

♥ Nicola Stewart Galton ♥

♥ Putting The Tea In Teacher ♥

Primark Haul - September 2013

It's time for everyone's favourite blog post (or mine at least)... a Primark haul! I didn't intend to spend any money today, I just went to pick up a couple of stationary orders from Wilkos and Asda for a future blog post but me and the mother went into Primark and I happened to fall out with a bag of sale bits - oops!

I was in the PJ section because my mom was buying some and she asked if I'd fit into a size 6-8 because the only sizes they ever seem to have on the sale rail are 6-8 and then sizes way too big for me. I was like NO of course I won't, but they were cute so I tried them on anyway and as you may have already guessed considering I bought them, they fit! They're really sweet with a swallow (I think) pattern all over and turn up dotty hems! These were reduced to £3 from £6.

 I also picked up these ones which are white with embroidered detail and turn ups with a cute button. These look like they're going to be pretty see through but with going to uni soon and not really owning any long PJ bottoms I thought I'd prefer to be walking around in PJ bottoms you can vaguely see my pants through than Primark's "cheeky shorts" where half my bum cheek hangs out! Not a great first impression!

I am an absolute sucker for Primark's home section, they sell such cute bits and pieces at bargain prices! Last year I bought one of the Christmassy throws for my boyfriends house just because it was cute and cheap, I didn't actually think we'd use it. We actually ended up falling in love with it and snuggling it on a daily basis through the winter and using it as extra warmth in bed on those cold nights so it was definitely worth the few pound price tag! Anyway, this Geek throw is made of the same soft material and was reduced from £5 to £3.80 so with the added excuse that we're moving soon and a new house needs a new throw I had justified it to myself and shoved it in my basket! I'll be honest, I've not jumped on the "Geek" and other slogans bandwagon at all because I'm just not a fan personally but considering me and the other half really are geeks, I guess it kind of works!

So then we went and paid for our bits and on my way out I discovered more sale stuff (face palm!) I am obsessed with Primark socks and pants which I've probably rambled about before and so I always feel like I NEED more despite the fact I really don't and when I realised I could get 15 pairs of new socks (new house new socks right?) for £3 I just couldn't help myself so walked back over to the till with 15 new pairs of new cute socks!

 Ooooh pretty!

I saw this bag on the way out which I've decided I need, how perfect is this!! I have a bit of a unicorn obsession too, so much so that I will be doing a unicorn wishlist soon!

Glossybox opening

I got my first glossybox(s) in the post last week! I knowwwww I'm pretty behind but I just couldn't help myself when I got an email about the two glossyboxes for £12. These were the 2nd Anniversary box and the Seaside Splash box. I'll apologise now if the photos aren't great, I opened them in bed and took photos as I was opening them because I'm stupidly impatient!

Seaside Splash box - look how cute the packaging is! The tissue paper, the sticker, the ribbon, the scrunched up papery stuff...!!

I am ridiculously excited by the gorgeous essie nail stickers and the pout paints I've wanted for AGES. I'm also always trying to get boho shabby waves so I have high hopes for this texture mist! I've also wanted to try anatomicals products for ages but the facial spritz is something I would never normally look at but it smells so good and it's so refreshing - I actually love it!

2nd Anniversary box

I actually got complimented on my eyelashes by my boyfriend after using the Fairy Lashes mascara so it must be good (review coming soon) and I'm excited to use the tiny pot of primer!

The packaging of these boxes just adds to the excitement, it's like Christmas! I'm definitely going to keep the boxes to use as storage in our new house, they'll come in handy for keeping make-up bits in!

Autumn/winter wishlist #1 - Shoes

As I'm getting ridiculously excited about Christmas already I thought I'd let out my excitement in an autumn/winter wishlist post which feels pretty crazy considering how hot it is today! I'm loving ballet shoes at the moment and I think the burgundy and iridescent ones below are soooo cute! I'm also loving the detailed shoes with bows, chain, tapestry, studs, tbars and ankle straps. Look how prepared I am for snow too, I've found the cutest (and cheapest) wellies! Anyone else excited for dressing for the colder weather?

 1 | 2 | 3 

 4 | 5 | 6 

 7 | 8 | 9 

This is part one of my autumn/winter wishlist with the following parts being bottoms, tops, jumpers & cardigans, outerwear, accessories etc so keep your eyes peeled for those :)

School/college/university stationary haul!

Some of you may know if you follow me on twitter that I'm off to uni in a few weeks time (eek!) so when I went into Sainsburys the other day and saw that all the school stationary was half price I thought I'd grab myself some bits. September (or August in this case) stationary shopping is quite possibly the most exciting time of year for me, sad I know.

These Oxford notepads tend to be about £5 and I imagine most of you are thinking "why the hell would you spend £5 when you can get one from the pound shop?!" Well I thought that too until I got one last year and omg it makes you WANT to write your coursework just because the pen glides over the paper so easily! I know it sounds weird but just trust me on this one, you really can feel the quality! I actually might go and stock up on a few of these in various colours whilst they're on offer at £2.25 (half price). They really are worth the price and tend to not be on offer for the rest of the year! I picked up the black one just because everything else I bought was very bright and floral so thought I'd tone it down a bit!

I was actually on my way to the till with a different folder when I saw this one which was much bigger and cheaper. You can't really tell from the photos but it's pretty huge and I love the design which is called "Elsie" and they have various bits and pieces in the same floral pattern. This was £1.75 (half price) and will be ideal for my tons of bits of paper.

 I then went back later in the day to buy the matching academic diary! I love these diaries because they run from about September 2013 until July 2014. For those of you in education I'm sure you will agree that your year seems to run from September until the end of the school/college/uni year rather than from January until December. Especially as everything will be changing for me (new area, new house, new people, new uni , new course) I feel like it's a new chapter in my life so writing in a brand new diary that starts as uni starts just feels right! Again - gorgeous floral design. This one is the A6 size which I thought was better for carrying around in my bag than the bigger one and the space for writing should still be plenty.

Finally, I picked up the 2 pack of cute pens in the "vintage heart" design (again, I think they sell lots of matching bits eg notebooks and folders). These were £1.49 and were probably a bit of a silly purchase as it's likely I'll have lost them within my first few days and they might write really crappy but I'm a sucker for cute stationary so hey-ho! I also picked up a pack of 20 black ballpoint pens from the basics range for 56p. These were the last ones on the shelf so I felt inclined to buy them just incase there's a sudden pen shortage or something!

If any of you have done school/college/university hauls I'd love to see them so leave links below! :) I'll also be doing a housey haul when I move into my new house in a few weeks time so watch out for that!

St Grape skincare review!

I was lucky enough to be given the chance to try out three products by St Grape who make high quality natural skincare products which is something I always look for in a skincare brand as I want my skin to be as healthy as it can be! All of their products are hand made or developed using ancient processes and all products are eco-packaged - I'm sure you'll agree that it sounds like an exciting brand!

Exotic Pink Salt | £15 | 600g

"St.Grape Exotic Pink Salt is made up of 100% naturally-enriched pure essential oils. It is produced from high quality grade AHimalayan mineral crystal pink salt - a unique composition with up to 84 minerals with millions of years old. "

The first product I was sent was the Exotic Pink Salt which is such a pretty pink colour and was beautifully packaged and included a little bag to pour the salt into which can be wet and used to massage or hung in a room for scenting. I poured about 1/3 of the bottle into the bag and hung it in the bedroom and the room smells great already. I really struggle to get to sleep but since I've had this in the bedroom I've felt so relaxed that my mind stops working at 100mph and I actually sleep - amazing! All of the products I received have quite strong scents that aren't your usual Soap & Glory girly sent, they have the sort of smell you'd expect from a spa which took some getting used to but I actually really like the smells now! All products also come with instructions which I think is really sweet and they all have more than one use too, for example the salt can be used for foot soaking, full body bathing, massaging and room scenting! This would make a gorgeous gift and would look great on display in a bathroom because it looks such a high end, well made product. I am yet to try it for massage because once I've got the bag wet I won't be able to use it for scenting until it's dried, but once I have I'll update you!

Invisible Skin Massage Oil | £25 | 120ml
"From Europe to Asia, a better result is achieved by combining these massage techniques (date back to 3000 BC) with essential oils that are pure natural aroma oils distilled from plants, trees, roots and seeds."

The next product was the Invisible Skin Massage Oil which I imagine not everyone would have a use for but luckily I have a lovely boyfriend who is forever giving me back massages because I struggle with back pain quite a bit :( So I was really looking forward to trying this out as we've never used any kind of massage oil before. Again, this has quite a strong smell but I found it really relaxing and it definitely made a difference to the massage, my boyfriend said it was a lot better for him too. I will be using this very often from now on. I would say though, I had a shower straight after and I probably wouldn't use it without showering after because I'd feel a bit sticky. The bottle comes with a cork top which can be replaced by the glass ball top which comes in the box, a very cute idea!

Aqua Bliss Natural Face & Body Scrub | £12 | 150g

"This magical combination of natural high quality mineral sea salt and natural Oil extracts from around the world was uniquely created to rejuvenate, refresh and heal – at the same time offering a natural calming and relaxing sensation for the whole body."

Finally, I was sent Aqua Bliss which is a face and body scrub. I tried my best to get pictures of me unwrapping the product because it was in a really sweet box and wrapped in floral tissue paper, it felt like Christmas! The best way to describe the consistency of this is almost like wet sand but much less abrasive! In the picture below I put a lot more on my hand than you would use just to try and show the consistency, you can see in the areas where it's applied thinner that the grains are tiny. I have tried a lot of body/face scrubs but I never stick to using them because they either leave me feeling sticky afterwards or tend to feel really harsh on my skin but this scrub I have been using almost daily for 2 weeks because I love it so much! It exfoliates and makes your skin feel so much softer than before without being harsh in the slightest and there's no stickyness at all. This is my favourite product of the 3 and it will definitely be going on my Christmas list (I really think it will last that long!) One thing I would say is that I left it on the floor in my shower and when I go to use it it seems to have filled with water so the lid probably isn't tight enough to stop water getting in? But if you tip the water out it's fine and it can be easily avoided by not getting it wet so that doesn't really cause any issues, just something to be aware of!

Overall, I'm really impressed with all of the products I tried and will continue to use them until they run out. They are quite pricey compared to other scrubs and salts but I think it's definitely worth it because you can tell that they are made with love, they are packaged really well and have so many uses that I'd happily pay the money for what you get. They all feel good on the skin and leave you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. I feel like I'm running my own spa from home!

All of the products can be purchased from the St Grape website so go and have a look! :)
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