Haul// New Look and Dorothy Perkins

Hello all, this is my first ever haul post, woohoo! I have done so many shopping trips where I have brought back the whole store and never thought to do a post about it. Better late than never I suppose! Before I say anything about my little beauties, you will probably notice that most of my haul posts from now on will be 'New Look' this an 'New Look' that. I absolutely love the place, it's not too expensive and is always in stock with the most current trends but with a twist. So without further adeu...

 

New Look Burgundy Oversized Jumper £19.99

Jumpers are my absolute favourite thing to purchase. I love winter for the fashion of big jumpers, cute boots and hats that are cuter still. That being said, it comes as no surprise that I've brought another one. I already own one very similar to this, though the fit of this one is so much nicer. It is fitted on the sleeves and then has a comfortable, baggy fit to the body. I also like the fact that it is that little bit longer. Plus when I tried it on under my parka, it looked amazing. You would be surprised how well burgandy an khaki go together.

 

New Look Leather Look Sleeve Midi (left) £11.00 and New Look Black Midi (Right) £6.00

  The selection of dresses in New Look at the moment are to die for! The Leather-look sleeve midi dress (above left) was reduced from £19.99 to just £11.00 and I had to have it. I go out dancing to clubs a lot at university so I am forever looking for nice outfits. This one is nice and simple so I thought I could team it with an aztec necklace (see below) and some black boot heels. Add some bright lippy and a grundgy going out outfit! I've also brought some over-sized black elastic headbands (though I forgot to include them, doh) that I think will look great worn with my hair long and curly with this dress.

The plain black midi was only £6.00 and I couldn't leave it. It is the sort of staple that you can wear in any season. So just on it's own in summer or in winter with tights and a jumper thrown over, it is really so versatile. I have also noticed that crop  argyle knit jumpers are coming in this season. Over this sort of dress is one of the many ways they can be worn. 

 

New Look Neon green Aztec necklace £3.00 (Left) Dorothy Perkins Aztec necklace £1.50 (Right)

I was at the till buying the items I've shown you above when I saw this neon green aztec necklace. Aztec necklaces are really in fashion at the minute and I love them. I have so many outfits that need brightining up with some statement jewelery and so when I saw the bright neon green on this one, I had to have it. The fact that it had been reduced to only £3.00 was just a bonus.

Dorothy Perkins has a fantastic selection of jewelery and this one was no exception. I liked how this necklace was a little different and I loved that the earrings were included. So many shops make you pay extra for matching earrings so this was a nice touch. I went to the till with the intention of paying £10.00 for this beauty but when I got there, It came up on the till as £1.50 and had gone into the sale. How lucky am I!?

So you have seen all of my little haul, what do you think? As always lots of love,

Wish List// This seasons must have dress

Good afternoon lovelies! I am in a miserable mood as I have just had to say goodbye to my boyfriend for yet another time (we do long distance) and to make matters worse, I finally tracked down a dress I've been after only to find out it's sold out.

So I mentioned previously that my 21st birthday is coming up and I spotted an absolutely perfect dress, worn by Lucy Mecklenburgh in one of 'The Only Way is Vegas' episodes. I instantly fell in love with it and knew I had to make it mine. After searching for what feels like forever, I tracked it down on a website called Nelly (You can have a look yourself here) as the Jemima dress only to discover that it was sold out.

Anyway, just to tease and torture myself a little more, I thought I'd include some pictures of it so you can join me in my dissapointment.I will not give up and will make this beauty mine one day.

So after a (refreshingly) short post, I will bid you all adeu' 

Lots of love

Hair// Making a Change

“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” ― Coco Chanel

Every now and then us women get bored of how we look and want to change things up a bit. Unless you live in Beverly Hills and surgery is an option (not one I'd go for but hey), hair is what most girls turn to for a change. I am at a point where I have been dying my hair brown for three years now and I'm debating going back to my natural colour. 

I am no stranger to hair extensions, fake tan and false nails for a night out. I love getting all dolled up, but I am wondering whether it is time to go back to my old hair colour, the real me. So I've created this post just to discuss options and generally bore most people so apologies. The hair collage above is one I created (using images off google images, I do not own) to include all the women I class as icons, obviously there are more but these were the ones who have fantastic hair. 

My mother is a very glamorous woman, she used to participate in beauty and dance competitions (most of which she would win but be too modest to admit) and was always someone I saw as beautiful. To me, I always thought of darker haired women as really feminine and womanly. When I moved to university, I found myself changing and growing and I found myself needing this change, almost as a symbolic gesture of me growing up. 

So as far as the colour I am now, I would say I am Miranda Blooms hair colour in the image above, not a dark brown but not blonde either. It has been very dark in the past but I always go a little lighter for winter as I ease up on the fake tan. You can see what my hair looks like in the about me section to the right, though I have got hair extensions in, it's more for thickness as my hair is pretty long anyway. As for the colour I want to go, my natural colour is a mixture between Alessandra Ambrosio and the gorgeous Rosie Huntington-whiteley. I think it's a really natural looking shade that you can glam up or glam down. My father always says a woman can't beat her natural hair colour.

The main reason I haven't gone back before now is that firstly, I had some foxy locks hair extensions (which can be found here) in Chocolate Brown #4 and I hadn't had them long. Now I've had them around a year I feel they have had decent wear. I will keep them so if I do decide to go back, it's a case of picking up superdrugs own dye that matches (found here) and dying it back. As for getting it lighter, I have only used semi-permanent to dye it so Superdrugs colour B4 (found here) will hopefully remove it. As for new hair extensions, my 21st and Christmas are coming up so I will ask for Sunkissed Brown #8 and hopefully that will match. 

One of my reservations about going back is that I won't look or feel as nice as I do now. I think the only way to resolve this is to just go ahead and do it and find out. The other factor that is making me reluctant is actually makeup. I absolutely adore makeup, if you can't tell already! I love trying out new looks and shades of lipstick. My fear is that lighter hair tends to limit the makeup you can use. I feel that some looks I've been doing with brown hair will look too made up with blonde. 

As of yet I am undecided and I think if I do change back, it wont be until new years. The quote by Coco Chanel perfectly sums up how important hair is to a girl. Perhaps I will go blonde, if I do you will be flooded with yet more pictures and another essay no doubt.

Thanks as always for reading and please let me know what you think I should do, I need help deciding!

Much love,
Laura.

Review// Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick and Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Varnish

 

My absolute favourite thing in this world is when you find a new product that you can't stop gushing about. Rimmel have provided me with not one but two this time around and I can't wait to share them with you. I was actually in Superdrug buying nail tools and just decided to have a once over the makeup stands (dangerous stuff.)

I first saw the advertisements of the new Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks and this bright plum/pink jumped out at me and I knew I had to have it. Then I spotted the Rimmel Pro Nail Varnish in Urban Purple and as they matched so well I had to get them both. You can have a simple dress and make it with the makeup you use so matching nails/lips is a must for me.

First of all, I am an absolute lover of lipsticks and I'm always open to trying new colours, finishes and brands. I have a lot of the Rimmel lipsticks, though I hadn't tried the 'Moisture Renew' range until this one so it was new for me. So far, I am very impressed. The name is super cute called 'As You Want Victoria' (shade 360.) The lipstick comes off really glossy and moisturised and doesn't dry the lips. The colour pigment is really strong and you don't need a lot of product to build up colour. It can smudge and come off on your teeth at first (my absolute pet hate) but after about five minutes it sets and stays put. It doesn't last as long as some of my other lipsticks so I would apply again during a night out (it's far too dark to wear in the day for me.) It cost £6.29 which is a mid price range in my opinion, not really cheap but not expensive either.

The Rimmel Salon Pro nail varnish  is a varnish I've tried before and loved so it was a no brainer for me. The colour 'Urban Purple' is pretty much an exact match of the lipstick.They have a good wide applicator which applies the varnish evenly. The varnish dries so quickly and the finish is high shine. Everything you could want from a nail varnish! They only cost around £4.99 which for the quality, is very reasonable.

I can't help waffling so thank you if you have managed to read the whole essay, hope you enjoyed. If there are any products you would like me to review please leave a message in the comments below.

Lots of love,

Going Out// Cut out Dresses

Hello all! I've been doing my usual and obsessively online shopping. So the boyfriend recently told me that for my birthday, he's intending to take me on a shopping spree (Yipeee!) and has got me thinking about what I want most in my wardrobe. As I'm at university, I go out to clubs a lot and I'm always looking for a nice outfit. For me, the getting ready bit is my favorite part. As my birthday isn't until the 18th December, I thought I'd have a look round now to see what's in fashion.

Across every website I viewed (and I looked at a fair few believe me) cut out dresses seemed to be the in thing. So as it's Autumn/Winter time, I thought I would pick out my top five favorites that I think are perfect for this seasons partying!

River Island £20.00 (Both)

I'll start with my favorite of the selection. Red is one of my favorite colours and I own far too many red dresses already! This one is actually backless which I think is quite unusual for highstreet dresses. I usually think of River Island as being quite expensive (for the highstreet) and so I actually think these little beauties are a bargain for just £20.00. I'm quite confident the red little cutie will be joining my wardrobe sometime soon, although I'm going to have to do some research on what bra you wear with it. Teal is also a very current colour on clothes this season and looks great on this style of dress. Not sure why the image is making the dress look like a textured material, as far as I'm aware, the materials just plain.

Select £12.00 (Left) Jane Norman £30.00 (Right)

The select dress is only £12.00! Though the photo's don't show it, this dress is actually textured which is not only more flattering in my opinion, but also makes it look more expensive. The berry colour is also really current and if you team it with Rimmel As You Want Victoria (Shade 360) lipstick, it's a gorgeous going out look. I'm not usually a fan of all black dresses as I think they can sometimes wash you out but I think this one is so cool and futuristic looking! It's £30.00, so still reasonable but on the higher price end of this selection. If you're brave enough to flash a bit of skin this is the dress for you. I haven't really visited Jane Norman or the website much for clothes, but the selection of dresses is really quite good so if you have time to, I would definitely check them out. 

Topshop £45.00 (Right) New Look £22.99 (left)

As I mentioned earlier, Teal is a colour that seems to be everywhere this Autumn so I've included another teal dress. When I saw the other teal dress I liked it, and then I saw this one and I LOVE it. The futuristic looking back was such a surprise! It looks quite plain from the front, I thought about adding a chunky gold Aztec necklace to spice it up a bit. Then I saw the back and thought it looks amazing, and not anything I've seen anywhere else. For £22.99, New Look has got a winner, one i'll be asking for my birthday!

When Topshop dresses are at this price, as a student I begin to loose interest. But I can't stop looking at this one. I showed a friend and she thought it was absolutely hideous. I think it's like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it. I decided to include this as the other dresses are plain (in that they are block colours.) Block colours do tend to carry from season to season and stay in fashion a little longer. That being said, Christmas time is the time for glitz and glamour and I think you can get away with this one. Paired with some statement gold jewelry I think this would be a really cool outfit. Still not sure of the price, but for a new years outfit with something a little different, you might be willing to invest.

Hope you've enjoyed my little collection, I might be adding similar blog posts soon in the run up to my 21st Birthday. Exciting stuff! As always, it's a pleasure!

Lots of love,

Purchase// Winter Wonderland Coat

So I have already written a (rather long) blog post, gushing about this parka. You'll be glad to know (probably because now I'll shut up about it) that I finally have it hoorah! I've actually had it a while but hadn't got round to blogging about it. The day I received my student loan I went in and purchased it and was the happiest day of my life (just kidding.) Was pretty chuffed though.

So here it is in all it's glory. I actually felt pretty rubbish when I took this photo because freshers flu is going around. Still couldn't help feeling delighted every time I saw my reflection in a mirror with this coat on. Sounds big headed, I don't mean it like that haha! I've been annoying my flatmates because I've been going on about how I want it to get colder so I can wear it without looking weird. Apologies that the quality is really poor on this photo, it looks fine on Instagram but when I scaled it up it lost focus.

Hello Autumn!

I went to visit my boyfriend for the weekend (we do long distance while at university) and wore this coat. He said he loved it (though he has to really) and that made me love it that little bit more. Here I am taking a cliche' picture in the leaves with the caption 'Hello Autumn' because I'm actually delighted that it's cold enough to wear it.

Seriously how sad can a girl get about a coat? But simple pleasures (for the small price of £55) are what life is all about. I promise that this will be the last blog entry about this coat and I'd like to apologise in advance if I forget and do another one!

Lots of love and thanks for reading.

Tag// What's in my Bag?

Hello all! You would not believe how busy my university has kept me already. I've had four essays, a leaflet and two anatomical fish diagrams all due in the same week! Anywho, enough with the excuses! I've seen this tag flying around everywhere and I've only just thought about doing it myself now I've purchased a new bag i'm not ashamed of!

This bag was only £10 from New Look in the sale, and isn't it lovely?! I fell for it because of the neutral colours, it will go with just about everything. The pocket on the front is handy too as you can put those little bits in that you don't want to be rooting in your bag for.

So this is the day to day contents of my bag that I take to lectures and meetings. The only things I haven't included that is a regular appearance in my bag is my lab coat. It's stained from when I dissected fish (It has been washed though!) so not what people want to be seeing!

Aberystwyth University Diary (Grey book, left)
This diary has been an absolute life saver. I have dates thrown at me left right and center by lecturers who expect me to just remember them. I think I would break down if this where to go missing as it has my whole life in it. Probably the most important thing in my bag.

Ring binder Notebook (Black, left)
 This plain black notebook was just one I picked up on a whim and it's been so handy. Anything that doesn't go in my diary goes in here. I have lots of little notes jotted about with blogging ideas and tags i've heard about so very handy.

Pencil Case (Purple, center)
I'm not really going to say much about my pencil case as it's pretty self explanatory. I have to keep it on me for all these dates and information lecturers toss about. It's also handy to have pens in your bag!

Cath Kidston Umbrella (Red, center)
This cute little umbrella has been a life saver, or rather a hair saver! I was brought it for Christmas a few years ago and I love it. Living in Wales is fantastic, it really is, but it can sometimes rain. Constantly. There have been so many times I've been caught out without a coat that I've taken to keeping this little cutie with me always.

Purse (Nude, right)
This is a pretty standard thing in a bag. Still I wanted to talk about it because it's so cute, and it co-ordinates with the bag (obsessive much?)  Suprise suprise it's from New Look, though I actually didn't buy it. Whilst on my cruise we visited Guernsey that had a New Look store (Had to go in obviously) and I showed my boyfriend the purse with the intention that I'd buy it once I came out the changing rooms. Anyway, he beat me to it and treated me to the little beauty. So I know it's cheesy but thank you very much Stephen!

Makeup Bag (Peach, right)
 I'm not the sort of person who takes a whole makeup bag around and topping up all day long. I have nothing against those who do, I'm just too lazy to do it. That being said, I like to keep some little bits like lipstick, mascara and foundation just in case. I mentioned about being embarrassed about bags earlier, this is usually due to makeup leaking in them and leaving them looking like a Maybelline bomb has gone off! Currently in my travel makeup bag is the Maybelline dream satin liquid foundation (I am planning on doing a review next time I buy a bottle), Rimmel Scandal Eyes flex mascara with lycra (again I WILL do a review... eventually), Apocolips lip Laquer in Celestial and Rimmel moisture renew Lipstick, shade As you want Victoria. (360) I will make it my priority to do a review on this liptstick because I am absolutely in love with it!

So that is the contents of my bag. Sometimes things like perfume or deodorant creep in there but these are the main residents. Hope you enjoyed my blog post and as ever, thanks for reading!

Much love,
Laura.