Tuesday 23 March 2010

Make up tip

So I'm fully aware this is quite a repeated tip. However this is the first time I've actually put this one into practise. I was getting bored of my bare nails after two weeks varnish free for nail breathing space so tonight I painted my nails with Barry M gold glitter varnish. However I'd forgotten a)how much I usually put on for a bold colour and b)how long this then takes to dry.

So to avoid glittery hands (the varnish runs due to the thickness I apply, two coats doesn't look as good as one coat simply loaded on) I filled my sink up with cold water and dipped my hands in for approximately a minute and a half. I believe the recommended time is between one and two minutes.

Overall this worked pretty well. I did however smudge a couple of bits when I was drying off my hands where the nail hadn't fully dried yet, so perhaps the full two minutes is required for complete effectiveness. I think next time I'll stick to my old technique: blowing on the nails every now and then and typing strangely if I have to.

The perks of article research

So today was the day I went around the three selected charity shops for a group of MA student's final project magazine. It went well, we (myself and Rachel,one of the MA students) got around all the shops and got pictures within an hour. Not only that, but we got an invitation from one of the charity shop's (arthritis research) designer sale pre-party. How exciting. I went to get pictures and more information for my feature and left with an invite to a party to oggle at designer clothes, shoes and jewellery before they're properly on sale. Hopefully something pretty will be available within my budget? Bring on the end of April.

Thursday 18 March 2010

H; Henry Holland for Debenhams

I managed to get a looksie at the new Henry Holland for Debenhams collection today. May I say Mr Holland; job well done. At first it was the pictures of Pixie Geldof modelling the clothes that drew my attention when walking around town today, but then I saw exactly what she was modelling and I all but ran into the store.

This collection does not disappoint. From blazers to playsuits, from camisoles to bagazines and all things in-between this collection is both brilliant and affordable. Yes the more expensive pieces are between £25 and £40 but so are a lot of things on the high street. My particular favourites are:


This cutesy bow headband, £4
This adorable charm bracelet, £12
This print-clash playsuit, £25
This beaut of a dress, £28
This "bagazine" clutch £25
This hot pink checked dress, £25


and finally...

This ditsy playsuit plus cute belt £35 (which is the highest up on my "I want it!" list from this collection)


The full collection is available on Debenhams website (which offers the option of free delivery to your nearest store, check on the website to see if your local Debenhams is included) as well as being sold partially in Debenhams stores.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Bring on summer

Yes, before anybody says anything I am aware it is only March. I am aware we're in spring. But after a few days of sunny weather I'm impatient for summer, and the summer clothes that come with it. Despite the bleak skyline from my window this morning I decided to dress in a recently acquired blue sundress and white cropped cardigan with three-quarter length sleeves. I'm not completely insane though, I have weather-proofed the outfit with black leggings and boots.

Bring on summer when I can wear this dress with either tan tights or as a cover up on the beach. I want summer!

Monday 15 March 2010

Skirt success

About a month ago I came across a particularly lovely pencil skirt in one of More magazine's fashion spreads (see below for picture). For just £12 and boasting a wonderfully graphic floral print I immediately coveted it. I looked for it at the Next here in Sunderland, but I couldn't find it. Several attempts failed to surface the skirt so I had resigned myself to not getting my hands on it.



Fast forward to this evening and I have just located it on their website. I think I'll take the risk of waiting to see if they're stocking it in my home branch when I go back for Easter. Otherwise it shall have to be an order online job.


Image sourced from Next's website

Thursday 11 March 2010

Lust List Addition: Miss Selfridge

I'll be honest from the beginning here; I very rarely shop at Miss Selfridge. However after my friend purchased their "I'm late for a very important date" vest top it sparked my curiosity. Cue me wanting this skirt and dress. Unfortunately the dress only goes up to a size 14 which means that due to my giant hips I can't quite squeeze myself into it yet. However the skirt goes up another size so I can accumulate that as a piece for my wardrobe at least. Not Primark cheap, but not mega expensive either.

The vest top is £20,

the skirt is £32,

and the dress £38.



All are from their Alice range and they all fit in to the romantic/pretty vibe going on with a lot of clothes. Both make me a very happy shopper.

Monday 8 March 2010

Customisation part 3











Pretty simple, this particular customisation tonight. Take one pair of lace-up shoes, trainers, pumps etc (mine are £2 from Primark) and a metre of ribbon in your chosen colour (approximately 20-50p from most haberdashery shops. The ribbon I used cost me 25p per metre from my local haberdashery market stall back home.

Basically, remove the shoe/trainer/pumps laces and replace with the ribbon. Cut to preferred length (make sure you tie them up first to get the necessary amount - you don't want to go to tie your shoes only to not have enough material to tie up!). And viola, customised shoes for under £1.

I've also done this with my past two pairs of converse, green ribbon for the black pair and red ribbon for the pink pair. The best bit about this? You can mix and match colours, patterns and (to a certain extent) material you replace your laces with.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Hair can be pretty too


So by now it's been established I like cute detailing on clothes and such. Recently I've stepped out of my headband obsession and invested in some different hair accessories. Costing about £5 altogether I bought this set of dotty hair clips and these pink rose hair slides from Claire's Accessories.

The hair clips themselves are great and I can mix and match them to go with pretty much all of my outfits. They're very useful for when I have my hair up as well due to the fact that the layers in my hair mean if I put it up in a ponytail the odd layer or two will fall down. Problem now solved, thanks to these.

The rose hair slides, whilst pretty and sparkly (which is always a bonus for me. I told you: human magpie) are rather painful when I take them out. Something I don't appreciate occurring when I remove hair slides, pins and the like is several strands of hair coming out with them. This fact, added in with my low pain threshold, has meant I haven't really worn the hair slides much, but the hair clips are definitely here to stay.

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Results

So I've been away all weekend on a UCCF training weekend in preparation for becoming my CU's president next academic year so I was unable to collect my semester one results online when they were released Friday night. One of the first things I did upon returning back at the flat on Sunday night (after food, grabbing Katie for potential friend comforting and semi-unpacking) was to log on to the uni network and look them up. Wonderfully I passed everything. I only failed one essay and that only counted for 10% of the module so I passed that one regardless. The lowest grade I got was a 2:2, and I received a handful of firsts; which was amazing!

I had to retake shorthand at the beginning of February and have, literally within the last hour, received my results from this after a chance encounter with my shorthand tutor. The result? I passed, possibly with 100%, or at most only one mistake. Hurrah!

Throw into the mix that the woman who runs the website I write a music column for (fingertips, google my name and the word blog and it's one of the first posts that come up) emailed me yesterday saying how impressed they were with my work, that they saw a lot of potential in it and wanted me to develop my blog. Basically where before I was told to keep it to a limit I'm now being encouraged to write more and expand on my view. Good times all around :)
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