Look What I've got: Recent Shopping Hauls

Last night I was sat in bed thinking about my recent spending habits and dwelling over Christmas shopping. So far I've bought many 'Christmas Treats' for myself and barely spend a penny on other people - apart from my fiance. Every time I go to town, it's one present for them and about three for myself. I can't help it, the shopaholic kicks in and for some reason I become impulsive. It doesn't help that there's so many fabulous bargains around at the moment and when Black Friday suddenly appeared, I couldn't neglect the amazing GHD offer that Feel Unique had going. My friends and family always look at how much I spend and think how on earth does she do it? Well, I don't go drinking like many people my age and I have three part-time jobs on the go. I'm not incredibly irresponsible with my money. I have savings, I've started a pension, so why not? My reasoning behind my latest impulse shopping is that i'm moving house in January and I know I'll have to curb my spending. I'm stocking up on all the things I want before I start to limit myself. My fiance just laughs at me and says: "It's your money" and he's right...but maybe sometimes I do need a stern talking to.

My latest shopping splurges have been everything from hair extensions, makeup, GHDS and a wonderful fur jacket from Miss Selfridge. Yesterday I fell in love with some checkered trousers from River Island and within moments they had made their way into my handbag. I left the store thinking I've been naughty again, yet embracing my cheshire cat grin. I've come to the conclusion that Confessions of a Shopaholic is my autobiography, minus the debt and the glamorous job - hopefully the job aspect of that film will come in the future.

So the first item I treated myself to was this beautiful half wig from Ebay. Ebay has some fantastic hair extension and wig sellers and I've book marked so many of them. I have lots of half wigs from Ombre to curly hair and this time I wanted something long and thick to cover up my thinning hair. This synthetic half wig cost me £18.95 which is cheaper than a haircut and really transforms my hair. I really believe that 'once you go half wig, you never go back'. They're addictive, they look fantastic and so much more comfortable than clip in hair extensions.

My next purchase was a Black Friday bargain from Feel Unique. I grabbed these GHD straighteners for £79 instead of £135. This was fantastic timing as my 6 year old pair of GHDs were finally succumbing to old age and wasn't heating up anymore. I'm a firm believer of GHDs and I swear by the fact that they are less damaging to your hair than most hair straighteners on the market and having had my old pair for over 6 years, I know that they have a long life span.

For a long time now I've been searching for the perfect fur coat and I finally found it in Miss Selfridge last Saturday. This coat is incredibly soft, comfortable and it doesn't make me look hefty like a lot of the fur coats out there. I got this coat whilst it had a 10% discount and it only cost me £80. I will be selling my other little fur coat as I don't like it as much as I love this. I can't stop wearing it in this cold weather.

Shortly after buying the fur coat I saw this bag on offer at River Island for £30 down from £45 and I knew I had to get it to match my fur coat. I love how much space this bag has and it's perfect for carrying around my Macbook or doing heavy Christmas shopping.

Finally I've been wanting this Michael Kors perfume for such a long time and thanks to Black Friday at Debenhams, I managed to get hold of it with a little bit of a discount. This will definitely be the fragrance I will wear over the Christmas period.

What have you been buying lately?

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Vogue's Fashion Night Out Manchester

Last night saw the first ever Vogue Fashion Night out in the north and the beautiful city of Manchester was the host of the evening. There was lots of exciting fashion events going on around the town with major High Street retailers participating as well as local boutiques. I was there representing the Manchester Official Bloggers team and alongside my partner in crime for the evening, Cara and together we sipped cocktails, window shopped and had a laugh getting lost on the way to events.

My first stop was the official press briefing by the Manchester Arndale team. During the meeting, they expressed how happy they were to see to the Vogue team outside of the city and what a huge impact it will make having the Vogue Editors in Manchester for the evening. During the briefing, we were treated to Yo Sushi and given a few press treats to get us in the mood for the evening. Perfect start to what turned out to be a fun, exciting night.

Our next stop was at Debenhams where we had the privilege of having a meeting with their personal styling team. The girls were bubbly, charming and you could tell that they loved every aspect of their job. It was interesting hearing about all the personal styling services Debenhams provide and this was something I had very little knowledge on before last night. Debenhams offers a free personal styling sessions and it's available to anyone that's seeking advice on what to wear for a special occasion or someone who's not as confident in wearing this seasons new trends. The team help you build your capsule wardrobe and shows you that you can suit any colour of the rainbow, it's about having the confidence to wear it. We were then taken into the personal styling rooms shown in the picture above and treated to a little gift bag of Dior samples for our time.

Around the city there was a variety of events and shopping experiences for the general public. Nearly every store had free champagne or cocktails and the majority of retailers offered goodie bags and samples to lure in the crowds. Manchester was rather busy and the people seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. The Boohoo bus outside the Arndale seemed to be grabbing a lot of attention with its bright pink appearance.

At House of Fraser there was an opportunity to try new makeup trends, sample cocktails and browse the store looking for discounts. These cocktails from a Brazilian restaurant in Manchester tasted so lovely, I really wish I had more.

There were lots of makeup demonstrations in House of Fraser from the girls at Doir to the top makeup artist at the Bobbi Brown concession. 

Many stores in the Arndale had competitions that ran through the evening. From the box opening at Guess to the River Island 'Pucker Up Wall'. 

My partner in crime during the evening was the beautiful Clara from CountessDuBlush. It was lovely to spend the evening with a fellow blogger and we also took advantage of all the free champagne going around.

As well as there being lots of events in store, many cosmetic companies like the 'Body Shop' and 'Benefit' made 'pop up' stores where you could go and get your makeup done or sample one of the latest beauty treatments.

I spent quite some time at the Benefit counter talking to the wonderful makeup artist and discussing beauty products. I had a mini makeover and the next day I managed to pop into my local Benefit branch and buy a few of the products that she demonstrated the night before.

The last place I visited before catching the train home was the Lush pop up event where you could get free massages and beauty treatments. The stall was open to the general public and seemed popular throughout the night and for me, it was a fantastic learning experience. Before my visit, I had never heard of Lush spas before and when the lovely lush lady was telling me about the treatments I couldn't help, but want to have something done. During the time at the lush concession, I was given a sample of the Lush 'Sysaenethisa' treatment where I had my arms massaged and given a sound treatment. It was a really pleasant experience and I love how Lush incorporates everything quintessentially British into their treatments, with a touch of an 'Alice in Wonderland' inspired theme.

The lotion she used during my massage was the 'Helping Hands' hand cream. I quite liked this product as it blended easily into my skin and left my hands and arm feeling remarkably softer. The massage was lovely and really relaxed me after a long hard day.

The second component to the treatment was an 'eat me' section where I was given nutrient filled chocolate. I admit, I found the chocolate a little bit too rich and only really ate it out of kindness, but the cup and saucer was a really nice finishing touch.

Finally I was given a rose water non alcoholic cocktail. It was really sweet and fragrant and nothing like I've ever had before. In a weird way this cocktail smells very similar to  the Lush Snow Fairy and reminds me of the winter weather. I loved drinking this, but it's probably too sweet for regular consumption.

When I arrived home, I browsed all the goodie bags I had been given throughout the night and was shocked by all the freebies. They were all easy to get and the majority of the goodies I received were available to the general public.

In my French Connection goodie bag I was given some shower gel, St Tropez Wash Off Tan and a sketchbook to write down all my fashion ideas.

At the press conference I was kindly given a goodie bag full of high end beauty treats from No7 to Benefit and a full sized bottle of Gucci Guilty Black. I can't wait to blog about all these products.

Whilst visiting the Debenhams styling team I was given a selection of Dior perfume samples. 

After having my makeover down by the Benefit team, I was kindly given a sample of Cha Cha tint to take away with me. I already have a few Benefit samples I regularly use and still haven't run out of.

After having my Lush makeover I was given these samples to try out at home. I love the Lush soap, it smells amazing.

Finally, I had a series of photos taken at River Island and they put them in a mini flip book to take home as a souvenir of Vogue Night Out. Despite my hair looking windswept and frizzy, I quite like all the photos and it was a perfect end to the evening.

Did you visit Vogue's Fashion Night Out?

Remember to check out my giveaway here.

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