In Love With Fashion: Blogger Challenge




It's incredibly rare that I ever take part in any blogger challenges, however the recent In Love with Fashion monthly challenge grabbed my attention. Each of their bloggers have been asked to create an outfit on a budget surrounding one of their sale dresses. After skimming through their sale items, I fell in love with this Love Red Gathered Sleeve Tea Dress at the bargainous price of £22. I could easily see myself wearing this dress to work, to go shopping and dressing it up for a night out, it's so versatile. The colour is really bright, sticking to my New Years Resolution of adding brighter colours to my wardrobe and it also looks sophisticated, following my plans to go for a more demure wardrobe for when I'm married next year.

I'm teamed the In love With Fashion dress with an affordable £1 pinkish red lip from MUA, a pair of kitten heels from Everything5pounds.com, a pearl inspired necklace from ASDA at £6 and a beautiful vintage inspired bag from Ebay at around £18. This outfit comes in at £52 (excluding shipping) and I think that's a perfect price for a complete outfit. After all in some high street stores you can't even get a t-shirt for less than £30.

Overall, I love this outfit. It's great for adding a burst of colour this January and will also see you through to Valentines Day in February, after all red is the colour of love.  If I wasn't on a spending ban I'd probably rush out and buy each item straight away. This doesn't stop you though, I recommend going over to the In Love With Fashion website and checking out their sale items, there's so many beautiful pieces for you to snap up, especially if you're trying to reinvent your style this season.
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Welcome to my Perfume Collection


In recent months I've waxed lyrical about how much I love various perfumes and my collection and whilst scrolling few my posts last night, it came as a surprise that I haven't actually done a complete perfume collection post yet. Perfume is probably the one thing that I couldn't live without. You can take away all my chocolate, even take away my beautiful nail polishes, but come anywhere near my perfume collection and I'll turn savage. I don't know what it is, but they're like my babies. I love seeing all the beautiful bottles lined up on my dressing table and having a morning sniff around the various scents trying to decipher which one fits my mood. This isn't my entire perfume collection, but it's a sample of the best I currently have on my dressing table.

The first bottle in my collection is the Elie Saab - I've actually got two bottles of this and a travel sized bottle since my beautiful fiance bought me some when he saw it running out. He says he loves the scent and it very much reminds him of me. The Elie Saab has top notes of Orange Blossom, middle notes of jasmine, all combined with flowery base notes. This is probably one of my more sophisticated scents and I love how long it lasts. 

The second bottle is the beautiful new fragrance from Michael Kors, The Michael Kors Jasmine. The MK Jasmine combines scents of Jasmine, Cassis and Sandalwood to give an alluring flowery, yet earthy fragrance. As much as I love how this perfume smells and I wear it everyday, I am slightly disappointed that it doesn't last as much as my other fragrances. However, I'm a massive fan of anything Michael Kors so I can easily see myself investing in this again.

La Petite Robe Nore by Givenchy is my latest perfume, bought in the boxing day sales at Boots. It has a more musky aroma than than I'm used to and is very different from the usual floral scents I buy. I love the deep aroma of the black cherry top notes and I find this probably one of my more seductive fragrances. The bottle is really pretty and perfect for any fashionista that would like to combine her love of clothing and perfume.


Next on this list is the Escada Cherry in the Air fragrance. As the name suggests, the fragrance is quite a sweet cherry smell and if you love your girl next door, sweet scented perfumes this would suit you nicely. This perfume stays on rather well, but I find the bottle lacks any personality. The bow that came on the side when I bought it was a nice touch though.

Versace Bright Crystal is the perfume that I bought before Christmas and still haven't really used yet. I bought it mainly because I fell in love with the packaging and didn't even get to sniff the perfume beforehand. When I opened it, I was lucky and taken by surprise of how much I actually like this perfume. It's floral, fruity and a little bit musky, a perfect combination of all the scents I like. 

Next on the list is the Jimmy Choo Exotic. For the last few years I've had an obsession with Jimmy Choo and it's since become my signature perfume. It's the fragrance that most my friends recognise, that's symbolic of mine and my partners relationship and the fragrance I trust. The Jimmy Choo Exotic is a little bit sweeter than the original Jimmy Choo, comes in a much more vibrant bottle and it's incredibly fruity. I love the vibrancy of this bottle and the fact that I always get compliments whilst wearing it.


The seventh bottle of my list is the Diesel Lover dose. I love this bottle and it's easy to carry around on a daily basis. The scent is rather oriental with Vanilla, Amber and wood notes. It's alleged that Diesel Lover dose contains molecules that stimulate the part of your brain that is responsible for attraction. I'm not entirely sure it works, but for all those single ladies, it's worth a shot?

My So Hooked on Carmella Eau De Toilette is a fragrance I bought years ago and I still love dearly. Unfortunately it's getting rather empty now and it will need repurchasing. If you love sweets and have a sweet tooth, this fragrance is perfect. It smells like you've just walked into a candy shop and really grabs the attention of the boys. 

The original Jimmy Choo Eau de Perfume is probably one of my favourite perfumes and I've gone through several bottles of it. It reminds me of my friends wedding, meeting my now fiance and the start of university, which is many pivotal changes in my life. I actually think this will end up being my wedding perfume as it's such highly significant in my life. I remember rushing to Boots the day it came out and I've never looked back. The original Jimmy Choo is widely describe as "feminine yet empowering" and has fruity notes as well tiger orchid, sweet toffee caramel and Indonesian Patchouli.

Sorry about the blurriness of this photo, I don't know what went wrong
The final perfume is one of my only celebrity based perfumes, Nude by Rihanna*. I'm not overly blown away by the packaging, but I do love the scent. It has a fruity, oriental fragrance like most of the perfumes I go for and has notes of Guava Nectar, Mandarin, Pear, Sandalwood, musk and Vanilla Orchid. I'm not usually one for celebrity perfumes, in fact this was gifted to me last year by a lovely PR company. I'm so thankful that they gave this to me as it's really opened my eyes to such a beautiful, unique scent.

So, what is your favourite perfume?



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The Many Hairstyles of Forevermissvanity


Four years ago, my hair meant everything to me. I went from pink to black, purple to brown and had many variations of cut from the classic bob to long tousled hair with a full fringe. This was when I did hairdressing and getting up every morning meant my hair had to be in a perfect state. If you didn't experiment with your hair, you would be classed as boring, if you didn't cut your hair nearly every two weeks you 'wasn't in style'. I loved hairdressing, the socialising, the chance to be creative, but it wasn't me. I longed to write, get a degree and create a career for myself. There's only so many blow waves I could handle and as my course dragged along, I found myself humming 'Beauty School Dropout' from Grease. Nevertheless, I managed to finished my qualification and before I went onto study Media and later go to University to study Journalism. The fact that I'm a qualified hairdresser is something I rarely let people know. It's been years since I touched a pair of scissors, do you really trust me cutting your hair for the sake of a saving money? I don't think so. 

It's not losing the skills that has really bothered me about my hairdressing past, after all it's like riding a bike I'm pretty sure I'd pick it back up, it's my lack of willing to experiment with my hair that has gone missing. Being a hairdresser, it was in my nature to play around with colours and get stylish cuts, but the last few years I've settled with safe colours and the standard one length style. I'm getting bored, but I'm in such a style rut even I don't know what to do with myself. My spontaneity in the hairdressing department has vanished and my hair is suffering as a result.

This year I'm wanting a change, but right now I'm not sure what to go for. I absolutely adored my long blonde hair, but if I bleach my hair again it would probably be a disaster. My full fringe was the envy of most of friends at one point, but my hair growth pattern makes it stick up unless it's properly blow dried. These days I'm buying half wigs all the time and trying to play with different styles, but sometimes it would be lovely to go out with my natural hair looking naturally fabulous, something right now I can't see happening. It doesn't help either that my wedding is in 9 months and I have to be careful of how much I change my style in case I hate it and can't get rid of it before the wedding. 


My plan of action for the moment is to put off changing the colour or getting any dramatic cuts, but to improve the health of my hair and style experimenting with a few different styles. Adding curls every couple of days might give my hair a new lease of life and when it's healthy, hair always looks better. I'm planning on investing in more Macadamia hair products as I've always found them to give my hair excellent shine and nourishment and I would also love to try these sleep in rollers as I've tried sleeping in my other rollers in the past and they're very un-comfy. Finally, I plan on purchasing more half wigs and some good quality remy extensions, like the high quality brazilian hair from Pauls Hair World.Clip in hair are a great way to change your look*, I don't think I would survive without them. I have many clip in and half wigs right now, like the ombre half wig from Wonderland Wigs and the straight long locks from a seller on Ebay. Before I do anything dramatic, I need to see if I can love the hair I already have. Then, if I find that i'm really not happy I can start making changes. The worst thing is walking into the hairdressers and getting a spontaneous hairdo. Sometimes it works, but I've always been hit with regret.

Do you have any plans to change your hair this 2014?
 And which out of my hairstyles do you prefer?


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Sunday Style with BritFash


The photograph above shows me wearing a hat for what is possibly the first year in a few years. Admittedly hats have never really been my thing, but with the weather being so cold and my hair flying away at the smallest gust of wind I felt now more than ever the need for one. I've taken quite a liking to this little bobble hat sent to me by BritFash, a company that specialises in British Knitwear and sells a unique selection of affordable clothing from British fashion brands and designers.


Britfash* also contributed to my ever growing snood collection. I only really discovered the joy of wearing these scarves a  few week ago and I'm obsessed. I mean, how can you beat them for comfiness? You can wrap them round you, they don't fall off and they can also double up to protect your hair and makeup when greeted with face full of rain. There's lots of different snoods to browse through at BritFash and so far I'm loving mine. I'm tempted next time to opt for the Eyelash Knit Snood in Oatmeal so I have a light coloured snood and a dark one for mix and matching with outfits. I've noticed I can be quite late with trends sometimes, after all I only discovered how amazing onesies were a few months ago. I know, a year too late for a fashion blogger, but at least now I can see what all the fuss is about. This applies for snoods too, only I've discovered the trend a little bit on the late side, I can't see myself forgetting about them any time soon. In fact, I can see them being a staple item in my wardrobe for quite some time.

Do you have any snoods?

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Brands to Try 2014 - Gerard International

“No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!” ― C. JoyBell C.

Before I started blogging, I didn't really have a big makeup collection. My makeup set consisted of a few eyeliners, less than 10 nail polishes and a few red lipsticks. The collection I had could easily fit into the size of a small makeup bag, but now my makeup struggles to fit into a four drawer cabinet. When I started blogging, I realised how selecting various different shades of makeup could alter your entire look and I became experimental with the brands I used. The quote above is one of my favourites as it symbolises a fresh new start and when it comes to makeup, that's exactly what I want to achieve this year. I've become in a rut with my makeup style - each day wearing cat flick eyeliner and red lips. I want to learn about new and less well known brands this year, experiment with different colours and shop through different online retailers to find the best on the internet.

My first stop is the website Gerard International, a website that I have only recently come across. The brands that they sell are well known, but brands that I have never personally tried. The top image shows the brand Mii, which is one of the several brands that Gerard International sells. I'm really liking the look of their bright lipsticks, soft blush colours and earthy eyeshadows. 
Their next items I would love to try is great range of fake tan by Kissed by Mii*. I'm not one of these people that likes to look bright orange, but I do love a good fake tan. I've reviewed several fake tans on my blog and I'm always looking to expand my collection. I love the packaging of these bottles and that they have a press applicator for easy use. The products have a light fragrance, which is a bonus for anyone looking to escape the 'biscuity tan smell' and they have extra moisturiser in them for people with dry skin. I can't wait to invest in these for the spring time. If you don't like applying the tan yourself and prefer to leave it to the professionals, Gerard International also offers a service where you can look for your nearest salon*.

Finally, I would really like to try different nail polish brands and having heard so much about Jessica nails, I would really like to try them. Not only do they have the same name as me, but they also have a variety of beautiful, soft pastel colours perfect for the spring time. Most of my nail polish collection has really bright colours, so I'm looking for a set of polishes that can make my nails look naturally polished.

Is there any new brands you're looking to try in 2014?

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Primrose Hill Jewellery


Firstly, Happy New Year to all my amazing followers, I can't believe we're now in 2014. This year is the year I hopefully graduate, get my first full time job, move house and get married, I have so many exciting things ahead, I squealed with happiness when the clock chimed midnight. The first post of 2014 is a look at the jewellery brand Primrose Hill and their gorgeous, versatile pieces.

According to their website, "Primrose Hill is fast becoming the UK's leading on-line jewellery outlet, bringing together (their) own label jewellery and top selling jewellery styles from a diverse range of established designers."


I was sent this beautiful genuine freshwater pearl bracelet* and cocktail ring for review. The bracelet is incredibly pretty and twinkles elegantly in the light. The silver separators make the bracelet look expensive and help give the bracelet an exquisite look. When it comes to the quality of the bracelet, it's really lightweight, yet sturdy. It's not the type of bracelet that feels loose around your wrist and like it would snap in a few seconds. This bracelet fits my wrist perfectly.


The second item is this beautiful cocktail ring. In the images the ring looks bigger than it actually is in real life, but they do say big things come in small packages and this is definitely a little gem to have in your jewellery box. This is a sterling silver turquoise oval ring* and I love how vintage it looks. As for quality, the ring seems easy to wear, fits perfectly and feels more expensive than it actually is. The ring is rather versatile and would suit either a dressed up or casual look and it's comfortable to wear on an everyday basis.


What I love most about Primrose Hill jewellery is that all their range is versatile and affordable. If you're looking for jewellery that is simple, yet elegant Primrose Hill should be definitely one of your first choices. I was blown away by the quality of these products and will definitely be shopping there again in the near future.

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December Sales: Beauty Edit


Everywhere you go, it's impossible to escape the big red 'Sale' signs at the moment. Each shop trying to lure in customers for half price gear, which in all fairness is usually worth around that amount to begin with. I admit, I'm one of these that can't resist a sale. Show me a big red sign and i'll be in there quicker than you can say stop. In fact, I've been in town nearly most days over the Christmas period and I've picked up some pretty fab items. Despite grabbing a handful of fabulous sale items, I've been pretty disappointed with this years sale shopping. I don't know whether it's just me, but shoppers this year seem to be going crazy. Swishing their way through each aisle and knocking everything over just to grab one t-shirt that has a few pounds taken off it. I've experienced a lot of quite rude shoppers giving me the evil eye for picking up an item before them and I've realised i'm incredibly lucky that I don't bruise easily as I've been knocked about going through the River Island sale rails. Although I paint a picture of a frenzied boxing day, in the end I survived and I walked away clutching a few items that made all the trauma worthwhile. 


I didn't really see many beauty items that I wanted this year. My eyes kept wandering around all the nail polish sales, but I already have almost 200 nail polishes that I don't wear so I resisted the temptation. Instead the first beauty item I opted for was this Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir Gift Set from Boots. As mentioned previously, I'm obsessed with perfume so any opportunity to get a new bottle for a lower price I'm there. This Guerlain gift set was purchased in the Boots half price sale on Christmas Eve from the Boots online store for the price of £21 compared to the pre Christmas sale price of £42. I've always been drawn to this gift set because of the beauty bottle shape and I love perfumes with a strong fruity scent. This perfume is based around the fragrances of black cherry, rose and licorice.


My second sale item was this beautiful Lancome Alber Elbaz collectable eyeshadow for approximately £8.00. I spend a lot of my time wearing darker eyeshadow colours and I decided that this time I would opt for something a bit lighter and seeing this colour on sale made me leap at the opportunity. I love the Lancome Alber Elbaz collection - the packaging is beautiful and the shimmering shades look fabulous.


Have you bought anything nice in the sales?
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#MCRFW Christmas Blogger Box


Christmas is almost over and the New Year is imminent. The trees will be down shortly and Christmas 2013 will be a distant memory. It's strange how fast Christmas creeps up on us all and then vanishes rather quickly. I always feel like I'm thrown into the festive wonderland at full speed and then halted as soon as I've got used to the idea. It feels like Christmas is never long enough to adjust to the festivity. Although Christmas is pretty much done and dusted this year, I just have enough time to show you my final Christmas treat from the team at Manchester Fashion Week. A few months ago you may have read that I'm now one of the Manchester Fashion Week Official bloggers, which means I have access all areas for when the week goes ahead and I'm one of the official reporters for the latest Manchester Fashion Week news. To help all their bloggers get into the Christmas spirit and to show their appreciation towards us, each of the bloggers have been presented with a blogger box full of wonderful goodies from various Manchester Fashion Week collaborators. One of the first and most exciting items was the festive personalised bauble for my Christmas tree from the company Getting Personal. I love the design and how sentimental the bauble is, I can't wait to hang this on my tree next year when I have my own place.

The other items in the box included a fab pair of tights from Pretty Polly, body treats and sweeties from Wilko's, haircare items from Aldi and this beautiful bracelet from the fashion and jewellery company Oliver Bonas. Also in the box was a pair Proporta gloves that can you can use whilst using your phone - they are probably going to be my most used item and the Filofax and notebook from Paperstone. I love the little pink filofax and I'm hoping it will help me get blog organised for 2014. The filofax is a wonderful pink colour and £2.00 of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Research, a perfect excuse for buying one in the New Year.

Lancome Foundation samples and gift bag, Pretty Polly Paternity tights, Paperstone Breast Cancer Filofax,  Body Wash and sweet treats from Wilkinsons, Aldi Miracle Oil, Bangle Oliver Bonas, Proporta Gloves
During the box giving event, we were all told exclusive information about Manchester Fashion Week which hopefully I will be able to reveal in the not too distant future. All I can say is that big things are on the horizon for #MCRFW and I can guarantee when you hear the news, you will be as excited as we are.

Would you consider heading to Manchester Fashion Week?







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Merry Christmas: Christmas Day Nails



Merry Christmas, I hope all my friends, family and followers are having a wonderful Christmas Eve!
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Winter Treats:Dermalogica


When it comes to skincare Dermalogica are hailed the queen of brands, but it wasn't until recently that I've had the chance to try out the range. The online store http://beauty900.co.uk/ contacted me about their brand new website and their new Dermalogica collection to share with you all. Having never tried the brand, they offered to send me a few travel sized products. Dermalogica has always been on my top list of brands to try, but I just never got round to it. I have friends that rave about the products and when I go get my nails done at the salon, I always see an array of beautiful white bottles lining the beauty salons shelves.

The Dermalogica minis I received were the Special Cleansing Gel*, the Daily Microfoliant* and a trio of Age Smart* minis. The daily microfoliant has become one  of my favourite cleansing products since it arrived on my doorstep. According to Dermalogica's website the Microfoliant is a "rice-based exfoliating powder that activates upon contact with water, releasing Papain, Salicylic Acid and Rice Enzymes that micro-exfoliate dead cells, instantly leaving skin smoother and brighter." I've never really used a microfoliant in the past and was pleasantly surprised feeling my skin after use. My skin felt firmer, smoother and less dull. Combined with the Special Cleansing Gel the products both made my skin feel like I'd been at a beauty salon and had a facial. I've never really felt such instant results from a product before.


The Age Smart sample sizes also really surprised me. I found the primer rather delightful and the skin recovery really helped combat my dry skin in this hideous winter weather. At the moment I don't really have a bad word to say about Dermalogica and although I love the majority of brands I've reviewed, I've always noticed that one or two of them have a flaw. Dermalogica is such a trusted brand with professionals and home users alike that they have to stay on top of their game and so far as a first time user I'm impressed. If you're a fan of Dermalogica like me and fancy grabbing yourself a bargain, make sure you head over to Beauty900 where you can get free shipping and earn loyalty points as you shop. I'm already looking into buying more products.


Have you tried any Dermalogica products?






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Blogger Secret Santa


I've always loved the idea of playing secret santa and when Rhiannon from the blog The Sparkly Panda said she was planning on doing one for UK bloggers, I jumped at the chance.  Our names were all put in a hat and I was teamed up with Lucy from the blog Curiouser and Curiouser. We both had a budget of around £7.50 not including postage and the task was to buy each other items that represented our personalities and blogs. The secret santa wasn't entirely secret as me and Lucy had the opportunity to discuss via email our addresses and our interests, it was the present that remained a mystery.


My parcel arrived last week and when I opened it I was greeted by this beautifully written card. I couldn't believe how much thought had been put into my secret santa and Lucy had left me feeling absolutely spoilt. 


The first item to grab my attention is the beautiful Maybelline lipstick in shade 902  Fuschia Flash. I'm a little bit obsessed with brightly coloured lips, especially the colour pink so this was perfect for me.


Second item was this lovely Bourjois Paris blusher. Having seen lots of bloggers rave about this product, I've always wanted to try it. Unfortunately I kept forgetting all about it and never got round to buying it. Thanks to Lucy I can now agree with all the hype surrounding their blushers and I have to say I'm in love with it.


Next was this Maybelline Colour Show nail polish. I love pink nails. I haven't had chance to try this product as I've had my nails professionally done for xmas, but in the New Year I can imagine myself wearing this quite a lot.


Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas unless there's some scented candles around the house and Lucy checked this box by gifting me two beautifully scented Yankee Candles.


A few sachets of hot chocolate and Body Shop chocolate scrub also made their way into my secret santa box.


There was some mascara and brow gel that was also included in the box. I'm really happy about receiving the mascara as I'm running out of my other cheaper brands and I prefer to wear my expensive mascaras when I need them the most.


My final and favourite item from my blogger secret santa is this wonderful scarf. I can't stop wearing it and it's so cosy. Even my partner ran off with it for the afternoon, it's a definitely a winning item. Thank you so much for the wonderful presents Lucy and thanks to Rhiannon for organising this. I definitely want to be a part of more blog swaps in the future.

If you want to see what I got Lucy, you can check it out here.

Have you played secret santa this year?

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Sunday Style: Born Pretty Review


Watches have never really been on my highly rated list. I used to think they made wrists look clumpy and that they felt incredibly uncomfortable. As a child my mum always used to buy me watches and I refused to wear them. I think that as you grow into an adult and need to become aware of the time more often, that's when people that hated wearing watches as a child suddenly sees them as a priority. I can't speak for everyone, but that's exactly what happened to me. One day I hated them and didn't care about owning any and the next day I was waking up in the morning thinking I really need to buy one. I remember walking into River Island and picking up this beautiful rose gold watch, an imitation of the Michael Kors ones and thinking I'm in love with it. My partner looked at me as if I had taken something or like I had been replaced by aliens. Even he knew how much I hated watches. A few years on and I'm looking at expanding my watch collection and I'm enjoying looking at the varieties you can buy in store and online. My newest watch is this beautiful creation from the Born Pretty Store.*

The Born Pretty store in a worldwide wholesale company and the inspiration for the store name derives from the proverb "each woman is born pretty." A quote from their About Us page describes the store by saying:" Born Pretty Store is a store intended to provide each ordinary female, whoever they are, wherever they come from, with the latest fashion items of nail art, makeup and outfit, helping them find the best way to dress up, which ultimately push outside their potential of beauty to the fullest." The store specialises in beauty products, accessories and jewellery all at affordable prices.


I love this beautiful bracelet inspired watch because it's comfortable to wear and looks more like a piece of jewellery than a standard watch. The beads add sparkle and the gold chain detailing is beautiful. Ordering from a wholesale site, it is a given that I would have had to wait a while for the shipping, but I feel like the product was definitely worth the wait. Especially when this watch was less than £5. Not only do I like the detailing of this watch, I also love the antique style clock handles as it adds a little retro flair to piece. The watch has button fastening clips and can be adjusted to fit the size of your wrist. When I first ordered this watch for review, I didn't really think it would live up to expectations. After all, I think many of us have ordered an item off a wholesale website and it's turned up looking nothing like the photograph. This watch however, lives up to the description and it's won me over. I'm pretty happy with the new addition to my watch collection.


This quirky little watch is a hidden treasure amongst many other wonderful pieces at the Born Pretty Store. For those who like something a little bit different to add to their style or simply like hauling in affordable jewellery, this shop is definitely for you.

For a fashionable discount at the Born Pretty Store you can use the code Forever10 and get 10% off your purchase.



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Spare a Thought This Christmas

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Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, comfort and laughter. It's a time where we gather around our friends and family whilst taking for granted the stuffed turkey (or quorn in my case), the presents under the tree and the copious amounts of alcohol. As we dance around the Christmas tree, sing songs around the fire and laugh gleefully at the Christmas cracker jokes, it's easy to forget that there's people that won't be celebrating Christmas this year.

Walking through Manchester a few days ago, I was confronted by many homeless people. Call me naive or whatever you like, but being from a smaller town it's something that I'm not used to seeing and it took me by quite a shock. Each Christmas I go through the emotions of feeling lonely and isolated. I don't have much family apart from my parents and my aunties and uncles never have the time to see me. My favourite and most doting auntie died only nine months ago, in all fairness she was the only person that really understood me. Each year I always crave the big family parties that I see on Christmas films and the television, but before I met my fiance it was difficult. I'm an only child with no grandparents. These days Christmas is larger as my fiances family and mine get together and it makes such a difference. Feeling lonely at Christmas is one thing, but having no-one there at Christmas is just unimaginable for most. Looking at the people on the streets, I couldn't help but want to shed a tear. Of course, there were people that looked like they probably did have homes to go to, but a select few looked like living on the streets was the only thing they knew. Walking back to the train station, I decided to look on the Shelter website and the facts took me by surprise.

The slogan for the Christmas Shelter appeal is 'One homeless child at Christmas is a tragedy, 80,000 of them is a disgrace.' When thinking of children at Christmas most people think of santa claus, opening presents and Christmas stockings, not being homeless. It's surprising how one encounter with an homeless man the other evening has opened my eyes further to a national problem that we all are slightly oblivious to.

This Christmas all I ask from you is to look around you and cherish the moments with your family. To think about all the people less fortunate and to give a little Christmas goodwill to those who need it the most. I will be donating money to the UK Charity Shelter this Christmas and although I can't offer them a mass amount of money, I hope that my contributions will somehow help one person have a good Christmas that they deserve. After all, everyone deserves a home.





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Shoe Lust: Spy Love Buy


It's true what they say, 'you're either a bag woman or a shoe woman' and I'm definitely head over heels for shoes. I don't know where my love for high heels came from, but as soon as I started earning my own money, my shoe collection rapidly expanded. I now dream of Louboutin and Jimmy Choo and when I go into a clothes store I'm instantly drawn towards their shoe collections. Although I have a fetish for the likes of Kurt Geiger, I still like to grab myself the odd pair of bargain shoes. One of my favourite places to grab bargain shoes is a little boutique in my hometown. They sell a variety of bright coloured heels for as little as £20, the only issue is that they only stock limited sizes. Therefore I've spent a while browsing the internet for an alternative and recently I came across the store Spy Love Buy.

Spy Love Buy sells a variety of affordable heels and cheap boots* all that are perfect for fashionistas on a budget. Recently I've been looking for a new pair of sparkly heels for the festive season. Unfortunately I've left it a little bit too late to receive a pair before Christmas, but I still may have time to grab a new pair of shoes before the New Year. My favourites off the website at the moment are the Glitterati gold heels which would be perfect for rocking around the Christmas tree, the Vegas stilettos which I'd love to wear on New Year and the two classy looking shoes, the Royal Stiletto and the Meadow stiletto peep toe shoe. I think the pair i'll end up buying is the Meadow Stiletto as they will go with anything and they look rather comfy. I can't wait until next payday.

Have you bought any new heels for Christmas?







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Skin Chemists Bee and Snake Venom Products

When I first heard about the Skin Chemists range I had very mixed opinions about their products. I can be quite skeptical when it comes to high end beauty products using crazy ingredients claiming that it will take 10 years off you and that you'll look radiant after one use. I'm not saying that Skin Chemists said anything of those things, but the Bee Venom Facial Serum did feel like a bit of a gimmick. I then googled Bee Venom facials and found out that they had been creating a buzz (pardon the expression) in the celebrity world. The royal family, Caroline Flack and Kylie are amongst several celebrities that swear by products infused with bee venom.  In an article published on the Daily Mail (7/2/2013) the newspaper released some fun facts about bee venom products. Apparently "The Korean government has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into bee venom research, including applications for serious health problems such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis." Clearly if the Korean government rate it so highly, it must be good for our skin right?

I put this theory to the test by trying out the Skin Chemists Bee Venom Facial Serum*. For those cruelty free beauty product lovers, fear not, the venom is released in a light powder and does not harm the bees upon collection.  According to the Skin Chemists website: "Infused with bee venom and Manuka honey, this light gel moisturises and refreshes the skin and contains key ingredients and plumping agents, helping you get the skin you have always dreamed of. At first I was a bit apprehensive about using this product, Would I have an allergic reaction? Would it sting? Bee venom can cause severe allergic reactions if you're not careful so it is always advised that you do a patch test before use.  Luckily I'm fine, but I know that my dad swells up like a balloon if he comes in contact with anything Bee related - let that be a warning for anyone who thinks they can use products like this without testing themselves first. My initial reaction to using the product was that I liked the fragrant smell and that it applied smoothly onto my face without any irritation. At £135 a pot, this product isn't exactly cheap, but you feel the luxury within the products texture. It doesn't feel lumpy, sticky or irritating. It is smooth as silk and soft as cashmere. I was rather impressed that there was no sting either. It was like using any other facial product. I could feel my skin ever so slightly tighten on application which must have been my faces reaction to the venom penetrating my skin, but other than that it felt great. After a few days of use, I noticed that my skin had become revitalised and that I looked more glowing than usual. Admittedly I don't use many facial serums in my routine, so maybe I've only noticed the difference because I don't actually use them. Nevertheless, it felt great and it's definitely a product I wouldn't dismiss for everyday skin regime.


The second product I tried from the Skin Chemists range is the Wrinkle Killer which includes synthetic snake venom. I know I'm only 22 and wrinkles should be the last thing on my mind, but I'm very much a forward planner. If there's something I could use that will help delay the aging process I'll give a shot. At the moment I'm not seeing much results other than my skin feels softer and looks in better condition. This could be down to either products I've been using and until I've tried this a little bit more, I can't really form an opinion.

Overall I quite like both of the products. I do think they are a little bit overpriced, but I also believe in investing in good quality products. Would I repurchase these products? At the moment I'm a little bit undecided, but right now I'm loving the results.

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Beauty Christmas Wish List

Shu Uemura Art of Hair: Full Shimmer Illuminating Treatment (£35),  Laura Mercier Colour to Go Portable Palette: Natural Nudes (£31), Nars Cosmetics Illuminator Copacabana (£22),  Nars Cosmetics Barbarella (£18.50),  Daniel Sandler Waterbrush (£15.35)
Christmas is only nine more sleeps away and I'm currently going through the phase where I'm trying to guess what everyone has bought me. The other day I left my fiance in town to buy a few of my Christmas presents whilst I went out for a meal with friends and about half an hour later I accidentally saw him with a giant House of Fraser bag. I'm no good with surprises - I get agitated and spend my entire time compiling Christmas lists in my head in hope that one of those items would make its way to under my tree. Christmas isn't really about the gifts and I prefer presents with more thought and personality. I'm not the type of person to argue against a pound shop gift or a top from Primarni. There's so many other people in the world that don't get anything and we should really value everything we receive however big or small.

Beauty products are the christmas presents I'm the most fussiest about. Running my own website and being a fan of higher end products, I generally ask people not to buy me them as they are something that I like to invest in myself and I know what works for my skin. Three years back my wonderful aunt bought me quite an expensive No7 gift set. I was really happy at the time and couldn't wait to try it, but after a very small application of their moisturising cream on my cheek I realised that I was allergic and came out in rashes. The only person I don't mind buying me beauty sets is my man and that's only because I go on and on about the products I like that it should have been drilled into his head. 

Last night I really couldn't sleep and spent most of my time browsing through the Urban Retreat Boutique* online store. Urban Retreat stock luxury hair and beauty items in prestigious stores such as Harrods,  as well as having various concessions specialising in apartments, home-ware and their online beauty store. 

The first item I would really like is the Shu Uemura shimmering hair mask as my hair is looking pretty lifeless and dull at the moment. I'm finding that my hair is making my confidence slip on a daily basis and it's something that needs seeing to straight away. I haven't tried any Shu Uemura hair care, but i've heard a lot about their beauty products and I can tell it's a trusted brand. I think this will definitely end up being a new year present for myself.

The Laura Mercier Colour to Go Nudes palette is the second on my list, but unfortunately it's sold out at the moment. I don't usually buy many palettes, but this set incorporates all my favourite colours and styles. I like my makeup all natural with highlighted cheeks and a flick of pen eyeliner, I think this palette would be great for my daily makeup routine.

NARs have always been one of my favourite makeup brands and the NARS orgasm illuminator is one of my go-to products when I need a bit of colour to my cheeks. This time I'd like to invest in a lighter colour and I think Copacabana looks perfect. Teamed up the with Barbarella lipstick and I think this would make a striking winter look.

Finally, I really need a set of high quality makeup brushes as mine at the moment aren't the best and I'm finding a lot of the time I'm using my hands for blending, which isn't getting the best results. I really like the look of the Daniel Sandler brushes and I think this highlighting waterbrush would be an asset to my collection. After all, contouring is one of the most important elements of applying makeup.



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