Huge Collective Haul!

Hi guys! Despite my promise to try and cut back on my spending it has failed miserably so far, and I just haven't been able to control myself haha! Here's a quick look at what I've been buying recently!

I got both pairs of these trousers when they were on special offer on the H&M website so they were only like £7 each, unfortunately they're no longer on offer so I can't remember the exact price! I love them both and they're perfect for summer days (if we ever get any!)

Grey Peplum T shirt - £7

Coral Sleeveless Blouse - £12.99

Picked these up at work today because it's pay day! The peplum t shirt is in the summer promo so it's reduced to £7 and I've been eyeing it up for a while! Its nice and casual and it's something I can throw on when I don't want to make an effort! 

The coral blouse is such a lovely colour and I've fallen in love with it! I got it in the white a few weeks ago and had to buy it again because I love it! It comes in loads of different colours, and I'm sure I'll have it in every one by the time we stop selling them! 

 Conscious Blouse - £10 

White Vest - £4.99

Can never have enough plain white tops! I loved the conscious collection and now this is in the summer promo I had to grab it! 

I couldn't believe the price of the white vest either so I grabbed it up, it's quite see through but it'll be perfect for a night out!  

Models Own - Aqua Splash, Toxic Apple, Golden Shore - £5 each / 3 for £10 

I always seem to pick up some Models Own polishes when I go into my local boots, and I wanted to try the new Splash range, although I haven't had a chance to try them yet! And I love the neon polishes under UV lights on nights out so I picked up the green for a bit of a change! 

Ted Baker Wash Bag - £29

I've been lusting after this since I first laid eyes on it and nowhere that stocks Ted Baker in my local area seemed to have it, but when I was shopping with the lovely Sophie last week I saw they had one in John Lewis so I grabbed it up! 

Ted Baker iPhone 5 Case - £19 

I'm awful with phone cases and I always destroy them so I decided to invest in a more expensive one I know I'd take care of! This one matches my handbag and smells of water melon and I love it! 

Necklace - Topshop £10 

Had a mooch around the new Topshop in Central Milton Keynes with Sophie on saturday and I wasn't blown away by it but I did pick up this necklace and I have been wearing it ever since! I love it with shirts and I'm tempted to go back and get it in the silver! 

Overall I'm happy with everything I've got recently but I do really need to start saving if I want my dream car (or any car for that matter!) X 

*All H&M Products were brought with my staff discount 

& Other Stories Haul

If you haven't heard of & Other Stories (where have you been?) it is the latest label from H&M, launched in March it offers a whole range of clothing, accessories and beauty products. & Other Stories aim to cater for your entire look, all under one roof, and therefore offer an extending range of ready to wear clothing, skin care and beauty products, and this is what really sets & Other Stories apart from the likes of their 'sister' brands, including H&M and Cos. it's refreshing to see a combination of what completes an individuals look being the focus of a store.

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to check out & Other Stories only UK store on Regent Street yet, but I have been lusting over their website since it launched back in March, and I am definitely not disappointed! Their site has a very Tumblr-esque feel to it which really promotes their opinion of self expression of fashion. It is also incredibly easy to navigate as I always have a nightmare when ordering online! An added bonus for me was being able to use my staff discount on the online store, which was a pleasant surprise when signing up!

Once I created an account with & Other Stories I headed straight to the Beauty section, where they have a huge selection of make up and skin care products (minus their nail polishes which is so annoying!) after humming and hahhing for what seemed like ages I settled on one of their lipsticks, foundation and a two in one cleanser and toner. The total came to £32 prior to discount which I think is pretty reasonable for what has been classed a more 'high class' brand. 

Cleanse and Tone Treat - £5 

Oh my lord I cannot express my love for this product, and I haven't even tried it yet! The scent is just heavenly! I was drawn to this primarily for its 2-in-1 claims as I am a nightmare when it comes to removing make up and this will surely save time. I'm really looking forward to adding this to my skincare routine and its such a brilliant price! 

All Day Perfecting Foundation in Colour 3- £15

I took a massive risk ordering foundation online without swatching it, but I got really lucky here as it is a perfect match! & Other Stories have a total of 9 shades of their All Day Perfecting Foundation so they cater for a range of different skin tones, however it would be useful for the sight to display more accurate colour swatching to give more of an idea when ordering, instead of just taking a gamble like I did! I haven't worn this all day yet but I've tested it and it's so lovely and soft and again I have fallen in love!

Lipstick in Tissue Pink - £12 

I am a huge lipstick junkie and I love bright colours so I was instantly drawn to Tissue Pink. It looks slightly brighter on their website but I have little darker colours so this is a welcome addition to my collection. It looks and feels like a real high brand lipstick and despite it being a slightly darker tone than I'm used to I'm really looking to trying this and I can already tell this will be trademark summer shade for me. 

A free sample of their Fig Fiction Body Lotion was also very kindly added to my order. I think this is a really lovely touch, and I'm passing it on to my amazing besty Sophie as I know she would love to try it, and she was super disappointed that the polishes weren't on the online store (boo!) 

Have you tried any of & Other Stories own brand beauty items yet? X 

Ted Baker Wishlist

I have a little confession to make. I am absolutely besotted with Ted Baker. Every time I hit my local shopping centre it takes every fibre of my being to stop myself spending all my money on their local concessions. At the shopping centre in Milton Keynes there are concessions within the John Lewis and House of Fraser so I always have plenty of choice when I feel like treating myself, and with my third installment of my student loan making its way to my bank account soon I'm getting itchy palms and desperate to treat myself!

1. Floral iPad Case - £39.00 - I have so many iPad cases but I usually buy cheap and they fall apart quite quickly. I absolutely adore the multicoloured floral print and I'm pretty certain I will be buying this in the next few days. 

2. Coral Tote Bag - £139 - Confession time. I already have this handbag in two other colours! One was a Christmas gift and the other I brought with my loan back in January, but I love how summery and cute this colour is! 

3. Pink Purse - £75 - My current purse has definitely seen better days. I got it from New Look a while ago and it's pretty much falling to pieces now.  Whenever customers come into work with a Ted Baker purse I always ooooh and ahhhhh over them! 

4. Starfish Friendship Bracelet - £19 - I love cute little friendship bracelets and this one just screams summer to me! I think its so adorable and it's incredibly cheap as well! 

5. Blue Washbag - £29 - How adorable is this colour! Its quite different to usual Ted Baker colours and as soon as I saw it I instantly fell in love!  

What have you been lusting after recently? Let me know! X 

MUA Undress Me Too Palette: Swatches and Review

As part of my 100 Day Spending Reductions I'm trying to save as many pennies as possible. I've been debating over purchasing the Urban Decay Naked Palettes for some time now but I decided against it as I think my money could be better spent elsewhere!

I used to be a huge fan of MUA but recently I haven't really been wowed by their new releases, and having had a few PR slip ups recently I haven't really rushed into Superdrug to stalk their MUA section. However I was in my local Superdrug this morning and saw that their newest line of Undressed products were on special offer so I decided to pick up this palette. Many people have claimed that it's a dupe to Urban Decay's much loved Naked 2 Palette so I was looking forward to trying this out.

MUA have opted to switch their new palette's to white, which i think looks beautiful then it's brand new, but imagine can get quite dirty fairly quickly! In the pan all of the shades look really pretty and shades I think are really wearable. I really like the fact that the shades now have names. I think this gives the palette a lot more of a personal touch and it's a lot easier to identify individual shades instead of the previous numbering system. However I am quite let down that the shades are a blatant copy of Urban Decay.I have to question the integrity of a company that essentially copies a much more established brand. If I remember correctly MUA actually commented on their Facebook page that this palette was a dupe of UD (However I cannot find the exact comment after searching!) I understand many people (myself included) lust after the UD palettes but can't always afford them so it is nice to have a more purse friendly option, but for a company to actually advertise this in such a way didn't sit well with me! However onto the actual product!

In the pan my favourite shade of the top row would probably be Shy, which is a cool toned champagne shade, however I'm quite disappointed that it is barely noticeable on my skin tone so that's one shade I definitely won't be opting for! 

None of the shades on the top row give particularly amazing colour, and the only two shades I'm likely to wear would be Naked, for a highlight, and Firey. 

The bottom row looks a lot more appealing to me in the pan and I really looked forward to using these. However after swatching I am again slightly disappointed with the lack of pigment! Exposed and Reveal really stood out to me in the pan as they are something a little more unusual compared to what we've had in the previous neutral palettes! However I think I'll really have to build these colours up in order to actually do much with them! I expected Corrupt to be a really pigmented black yet I really had to fight with it in order to really get anything from it!


I understand that MUA often recommend using their Eye Primer with their eyeshadow products in order to get the best colour from it. However after using the product once it really irritated my eyes so it got thrown straight in the bin. I have no problems with the pigmentation of any of the older MUA palettes so I feel really let down by this palette. At the moment I'm seeing this as £3 wasted I could have put towards the actual Naked Palette!



Have any of you guys used this palette? What were your thoughts? X

100 Day Spending 'Reductions'

I've seen many Bloggers take part in the 100 day spending ban and I really envy their ability to save! I'm quite an impulse shopper and I'm always just picking up little bits and pieces without really realising how much I'm spending! However sometimes I think I can justify my spending so I don't think it's right to completely ban myself from it!  However I am desperate to save up for a car, and I have my heart set on a pink Fiat 500 so it's time to keep an eye on the pennies!

In order to try and keep myself from spending all my money I've made myself some guidelines to try to stick to as much as possible! 

1. Leave my staff discount card at home when I'm working! - I always up picking up clothes when I'm working and I have a wardrobe full of things that still have the tags on! I've decided I'm going to stop taking my staff card to work with me, and if there is anything I do want to buy I'll have to go home and at least think it over before buying it! 

2. Stop getting taxis everywhere! - On the topic of work I usually end up getting a taxi there and back every shift I have, which comes to about £10 a shift! Now the weather is getting slightly warmer it makes so much more sense to get a bus! 

3. Save my student loan - I'm luckily enough to finish university on May 3rd this year, so I won't need to use too much of my student loan for the summer term. I'm intending on spending a chunk of that on driving lessons, but my last loan installments have gone on impulse purchases (an iPad, Ted Baker handbag, tattoos, etc etc!) so I'm hoping to save that to put it towards my car fund! 

4. Less takeaways! - I practically live on Pizza Hut, kebabs and chinese takeaways, so it will be so beneficial for both my bank account and my health to cut this bad habit out! 

After getting out my calender i've figured out that my '100 days' finishes on June 22nd! I'm hoping by that time I would have had enough time to get started with my driving lessons, and as I'll have finished university I should be able to have more overtime at work too, which will be great! 

Wish me luck guys! X

Urban Decay Naked Basics

As soon as Urban Decay announced their 'Naked Basics' palette it instantly had my attention. Urban Decay is one of my favourite brands but I was always reluctant so spend £36 on the full sized naked palettes. However I didn't even stop to think before ordering this as soon as it was released on the Debenhams website.

I really like the packaging of Urban Decay products and Naked Basics definitely lives up to my high expectations. It's quite sturdy and durable but without being too heavy. The in-built mirror means I have less to carry around in my bag and it's generally a good size. I'm really quite heavy handed when it comes to my handbag so I half expected this to get crushed and ruined in my bag on my daily travels but it's held up really well!

I've been turning to my Naked Basics palette due to it's versatility. With the shades being matte they are a lot more wearable for everyday use. I've found myself particularly drawn to the shades Venus, Naked 2 and Faint, with a hint of Crave at night times. When I'm on the go and haven't got time to really be fussing Faint is also perfect for filling in my brows, and it stays in place all day. The colour pay off of the shades is really long lasting and stays in place all day, however I find using a primer is always the best bet on a night out!

Admittedly it did take a while for me to warm to using these shades as the all matte shades do look quite strange as I am used to a good bit of shimmer! However I do see this as an investment piece so I removed all other eye palettes from my make up bag which gave me more of a chance to play around with this palette and get used to the shades and now it is definitely a firm favourite! It has also persuaded me to invest in the full sized naked palettes!



Have you tried the Naked Basics Palette? Let me know? X

Weekly Wants #7

1. Ted Baker Kassady Purse - £75 - I've been lusting after a Ted Baker purse for what seems like forever, but after spending that sort of money on a purse I'd have none left to have a use for it haha! But this one matches my TB bag I managed to grab in the post-Christmas sales so once my Student Loan goes in for the Summer term I may have to treat myself!
2. Black and White Striped Dip Hem Dress - £19.99 - New Look - I haven't really been that interested in New Look recently but a new stored has opened a few shops down from where I work so I thought I'd have a nose on their website and I've fallen in love with this dress
3. Urban Decay Beauty Balm - £23 - I've been having a massive crush on Urban Decay recently, and I'm wanting to try something a bit lighter in the hope that summer will eventually appear so this seems like the ideal choice, right?
4. Benefit Sun Beam - £18 - I am a massive fan of Sun Beam, and my mini is slowly getting more and more over-loved, so it's about time I replace it! However I've recently purchased Urban Decay's Naked Flushed palette (Review coming soon!) and I've found myself reaching for that over my Sun Beam so I'm wondering is it worth buying a full sized or repurchasing another mini?
5. Blazer - £24.99 - H&M - Got this Blazer from work a few weeks ago in the baby pink and I love it, so I'm really considering getting it in the grey as well.
6. Spike Platform Wedges - £14.99 - Daisy Street - Any of my wishlists wouldn't be complete without a pair of my much lusted after 'BangBang Shoes!' I am in desperate need of a new pair of black wedges after my last pair sadly saw their end after an evening of Sambuca shots on Valentine's day evening :(
7. Lip Crayon in Secret Party - £7 - Topshop - I'm a massive fan of Topshop make up and I have loads of their lip products, but since spontaneously dying my hair pink a few weeks ago I've ditched my trademark red lippy in favour of something more complimentary of my hair colour! I love this shade and haven't tried any of Topshop's Lip Crayons yet so this seems like a pretty good choice to start!
8. Dragonfly Necklace - £6 - Accessorize - Dragonfly's are really symbolic to me and I always wear a dragonfly pendant on a chain around my neck but saw this in Accessorize recently and I'm kicking myself for not picking it up!



What have you been lusting after recently? Let me know! X