Forevermissvanity - A UK Lifestyle Blogger : forevermissvanity

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.

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?

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?

If you've been watching the news lately, you have realised that now is the time to wrap up warm as there's major storms and flooding in the UK. It's devastating seeing many beautiful villages and towns ripped to shreds in what looks like the worst flooding I've seen in a long time. I admit, I'm one of those that goes out around town wearing very little in the winter and complains when I get the flu. I often find that many jumpers leave me looking frumpy and coats can be quite bulky. However, I'm adamant to change my ways and this year I want to invest in more knitted, fluffy jumpers and some fabulous coats to keep me warm all year long. This post is dedicated to a new brand I've heard about called MaryJane Fashion. They have been quite popular with the press and sell fab and funky affordable clothes. MaryJane fashion sells lots of cosy winter jumpers and knitwear. I'm currently in love with the geeky rabbit printed jumper and I think the mint jumper would look great teamed up with a statement pearly necklace and a pair of leather leggings.

My other obsession right now is parka jackets. MaryJane Fashion has a great selection of warm winter coats and parkas*. I already own the middle jacket in black, but I love the camo green colours around at the moment. The first jacket is very similar to one of the blogger favourite parkas in Zara, but retails at almost half the price. The final jacket has leather sleeves, which if you have been reading my blog you will know that the majority of my wardrobe consists of leather. I'm in love with the biker/rock chick look and therefore I can't get enough of all the leather trends at the moment.

Have you bought any winter jackets lately?

“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?

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.

www.primrosehilljewellery.com

The Christmas period is almost over and we are nearing the end of 2013. It seems like this year has literally flown by and the last few days have gone so quick they've left me feeling hazy. I had a wonderful Christmas with the in-laws and spend most of boxing day with my parents and close family friends. It's been a rather quiet Christmas compared to the past and I've worked more days than usual due to my new job. Nethertheless I've been determined to make every moment count and I've loved dressing up over the Christmas period.

A few weeks ago I was approached by a company called Angel Eye Fashion* about doing a review on my blog for them. When they introduced me to their fabulous line of clothes, I really couldn't wait to see what their dresses looked like in real life. As much as I am a visual person, I love being all touchy feely with clothing. I love feeling all the different fabrics and pressing them against my skin to feel the softness.

The dress I choose is quite fitted, formal looking and really helps enhance my curves. My favourite high street clothing lines are Zara, Ted Baker and French Connection and this dress seems very reminiscent of their styles. I ordered the dress in a size 8 and it fits me perfectly with breathable space and so far, having worn this dress to numerous family and friends events I've had quite a lot of compliments. This Angel Eye dress is absolutely beautiful and in all honesty, the quality is far better than I expected. I could see this dress being worn over and over again in various different outings. The dress is classic, versatile and would really be an asset to any wardrobe.

You can browse the Angel Eye collection on their website, via Twitter or keep up to date with them on Facebook. Shortly I'll be announcing an Angel Eye fashion giveaway so that you can be owning your very own piece of Angel Eye clothing in the New Year.

What was your favourite Christmas outfit?

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.

http://beauty900.co.uk/

Have you tried any Dermalogica products?

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?

Image source

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.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

I've been a wearer of glasses since I was six years old and I've never really thought they suited me. I would look in the mirror and frequently think my face looks wider, I look too geeky and that I should probably pretend to lose them so I don't have to endure the pain of walking outside wearing them. These thoughts mainly derived from my first pair of glasses that were a pink and yellow polka dot pair that my mum picked and as I was a chubby child I always thought I resembled Mr Blobby. It wasn't until I reached the age of seventeen that I took wearing glasses rather seriously and as fashion changed I noticed glasses became quite trendy. Looking closely at adverts it seemed that glasses were seen as quite sophisticated when you're a grown woman, rather than the childhood illusion of being dorky. It was since then that I've quite liked wearing glasses and with the wide range of choices available on the high street and the internet, my love for glasses shopping has flourished.

My latest pair of glasses were gifted to me by MyOptique for review purposes. MyOptique offers luxury glasses at affordable prices. Their highly qualified and experienced staff can help you choose the glasses that will suit you face shape, assist with any prescription queries and help ensure you receive the best help possible when selecting your glasses. MyOptique sells a variety of brands including: Burberry, Michael Kors, Gucci, Prada and many more. These glasses are known as the 'Fitzrovia' glasses by a brand called 'London Retro'.

London Retro specialises in vintage inspired glasses all with a London Metropolitan vibe. The new line is available exclusively from MyOptique.com and every item is named after an inconic place in London. Being obsessed with London, I knew I had to have a pair of these glasses. I collect Nail Inc nail polishes for the fact that they are associated with London. These Fitzrovia glasses are face flattering, easy to wear and surprisingly fitted perfectly when I received them with no adjustments needed to the arms. My prescription was sent along with my order and with it being the first time I've ordered prescription glasses over the internet and not in store, I was pleasantly surprised to have my eyesight perfectly restored upon wearing my new frames. I always feel like I have new eyes when I put my glasses on. Everything seems clearer, more defined and above all I don't have to squint all the time.

In the future I would like to look into having laser eye surgery if I could afford it, but for now I'm happy wearing glasses, in particularly my new pair. It's amazing how one pair of glasses can alter your entire style and right now I'm happy channelling 'geek chic'. The London Retro Metropolitan range can be purchased MyOptique for £79.

Do you wear glasses?

When it comes to the winter fashion, it's all about comfort and warmth. There's nothing that feels as good as getting into your favourite pair of jeans and snuggling in a nice warm coat whilst it's cold and pouring down with rain. Gone are the beautiful summer dresses for now and in are layered clothes, bulky coats and christmas jumpers, all teamed up with various combinations of our denim best friends. Jeans are something that never seems to go out of fashion and they make a perfect staple item all year round. When it comes to picking jeans, it's probably where us women are the most selective. We are always searching for a pair that will hide our troublesome areas, make our legs look longer and above all fill us with confidence. It's not just us women, men can be just as picky when it comes to jeans. Last year I was helping my Dad sort out his attic (it's like an antique store up there) and I came across a little box full of clothing tags. Inside this box was several retro Levi tags from the 60s and 70s. My dad said he couldn't live without a pair of levi jeans whilst he was in his 20s and 30s and kept the tags to ensure he bought the right pair that he loved. I found this whole concept quite fascinating yet strange. It wasn't until I accidentally fell over, did the splits and bust up my favourite pair of jeans that I realised how difficult it was to find a pair that as comfy.

Today's post is dedicated to jeans, our trusty friends for the winter weather. The jeans I've selected for the two looks are by Current Elliott Jeans*. They are a firm favourite with celebrities and look pretty cool. I've always wanted to invest in a pair of good quality jeans in the future, so if was rich these outfits would definitely make their way to my wardrobe. I've teamed up this pair of Elliot jeans with the New York Girls T-shirt by Zoe Karssen and the baby pink coat wool coat by Carven. I've picked this look because I've always dreamt of having Christmas in New York and I think a blush coloured coat is perfect for the winter weather.

My second look features the same pair of jeans, but it's a little bit more formal. I think jeans and a blazer can look really nice, especially with a pair of heels. The shirt I've chosen for this look is from the brand Equipment and it's called the Heart Print Nude shirt and the blazer is by Sarah Berman which comes in black or navy. I could spend hours discovering new brands online and creating wishlists of designer items I would like in my wardrobe. Although the majority of my wardrobe is high street, I believe there's nothing better than investing in a few staple items that are of good quality and can last you for years. A good wardrobe isn't evaluated by the amount of clothes you have, but the versatility of your clothes. It's better to have 10 items that all go together and can be swapped about, than 20 items that go with nothing.

All the items on this wish list can be purchased from the Trilogy online store.

When I was about seventeen years old a friend of the family made a snide remark about a perfume I was wearing.He told me that it smelt 'cheap and I smelt far too young for my age.' In all honesty to this day I don't really understand where those comments came from, but it made me reconsider my future perfume choices. When I had more hours at work I started investing in more expensive brands, searching for top quality perfumes. It was from that moment that my perfume obsession well and truly began and I've never looked back. My current perfume collection currently stands at around 15 bottles with brands from Jimmy Choo to the new Michael Kors Jasmine fragrance. On top of my bottle collection, I also have a tendency to collect perfume adverts as I love looking at scents of the past and also collecting the sample pages so that I can test other scents when I'm running out of my favourites. Since those comments a few years ago, I now look at perfume in a completely different light. I find perfume empowering and it can really evoke different opinions and emotions. When I was sent the 'Design Your Own Fragrance' kit by The Perfume Studio I was like a child in a sweet shop and I felt that santa had already delivered the perfect Christmas present. Having the opportunity to play around with lots of scents really excited me and I couldn't wait to experiment.

The design your own fragrance set comes with six blend bottles, pipettes and blotters for you to test your perfume throughout the process. The oriental set comes with 6 x 5ml blends of musky, spicy, woody, amber and citrus scents - perfect for the winter season. My first perfume mix was mainly focused around the musky and amber scents as those type of perfumes evoke personal memories of my late aunt and my mother who is still alive that wears her perfume.It reminds me of the moments we shared and the hugs I received catching a whiff of her perfume. I always believe that one of the first things you sense about a person is how they smell and i'm forever seeing girls walk past me on the bus and always I'm left trying to figure out what perfume they are wearing, it always leaves a lasting impression. When I walk past someone I hope they feel the same way about me and I hope that with this kit I'll be able to create a scent like they have never smelt before.

The Design Your Own Fragrance kit can be purchased from The Perfume Studio for £29.95*

The New Year is always full of excitement, wondering where you will be in a year from now and what changes will be coming your way. Next year I've decided to go all out and go for probably the biggest and most stressful year I could possibly have. Although I say that like its going to be a bad thing, next year is seriously going to be one of the most exciting years of my life. The reason why? There's a clue just in the top image. I'm getting married. Not only am I getting married, but I'm also graduating from uni, moving from the parents house and potentially getting my first ever job all in 2014. For the most part I'm incredibly excited, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly anxious as to how I'm going to juggle it all. Preparing for a wedding is harder than it actually looks, trust me. I remember going into this whole engagement malarky quite naively - "Yes darling, we will have a wonderful wedding and it will be incredibly easy to organise. Don't worry, it won't be anymore added pressure on top of university, how hard can it be?" Well it wasn't until a few months ago that I realised such things as 'favours' and 'save the date' cards existed. I was a complete novice in a world that presumes because you're a woman you should know exactly what goes into a wedding.

A few weeks ago, whilst going on my daily prowl through my Twitter feed I saw a request for bloggers to review Save The Date cards. Realising that there's only 10 months until my wedding and I'm severely behind on my preparation I thought I'd give it a go. I was asked to choose a design from the Paper Themes website and hey presto, they arrived a few days ago in this beautiful box (check me out in my onesie) looking every bit better than I ever expected.

Mine and James' wedding is very much vintage focused. We wanted to do a 1950s theme, but it's become more of an amalgamation of all our favourite decades from the 50s through to the 60s and 70s. Both of us had no clue what we wanted our save the date cards or our wedding invitations to be like, but when we saw these we knew we had to have them. Paper Themes specialise in vintage wedding stationery, making them the perfect company to make our save the date cards. There's a variety of designs and best of all, they are fabulous quality. The invitations I ordered are not too flimsy, beautifully embossed and more importantly they are the perfect size for a wedding invitation. Paper Themes have been providing happy couples with wedding stationery and invitations for over 100 years and with years of expertise, they know exactly what would make your wedding invitations stand out from the crowd.

Unfortunately I'm unable to invite all my wonderful followers to my wedding, but make sure you save the date as I'll be blogging all the way to the aisle.

Blogging about my new nail polishes is becoming something I'm really enjoying at the moment. I spring out of bed first thing in the morning and dive at my advent calendar, anticipatingly opening the door and grinning cheekily when out pops one of my favourite colours. Someone commented on my post the other day asking me what I thought of Ciates nail polish quality and my response has stayed the same ever since the day I bought my first Ciate polish - it's fantastic. I'm yet to find a nail polish brand that I love as much as Ciate. Their colours are vibrant, the bottles are so cute and feminine with the little bows and my nails are usually left chip free for quite some time after application. Ciate have been my top nail polish brand for the last year, alongside my other favourite Nail Inc.

Today's caption is 'Beauty is Whatever Brings You Joy'. I love that statement. There's nothing I love more than to see people happy and when people are at their happiest they look beautiful. It's a strange combination of my fiance, pole dancing and blogging that keeps me at my happiest and none of them I would give ever want to give it. They make me feel beautiful in many different ways.

The nail polish I received today is this wonderful bright orange colour named 'HopScotch'. I love really bright nail polishes and the colours I'm usually drawn to are oranges and pinks. I think this will definitely become of one my most worn colours - just look at that beautiful colour.

Here are the nail polishes I've received so far. I'm trying to resist opening tomorrows early.

What did you get in your advent calendar today?

Having played with my first Mini Mani Ciate polish yesterday, I really couldn't wait to see what was behind the next door. I really wanted a nice bright colour to add to my collection and something I can potentially wear over the next week to a bloggers meetup I'm attending.

Today's little present from Ciate was the Ciate Mini Boudoir with the message 'Don't let anyone ever dull your sparkle.' Honestly, I think that message would have probably been better with the previous polish I received, but nevertheless Ciate granted my wishes and gave me a wonderful bold colour.

The Ciate Boudoir is a pinkish red that would go fabulously with a santa inspired outfit. I'm a big fan of red colours and this definitely ticks all the boxes for me.

So far I've received two wonderful nail polish colours - Snowflake and Boudoir, I can't wait to open my door tomorrow.

In Love With Fashion: Blogger Challenge

Welcome to my Perfume Collection

Sunday Style with BritFash

Wrapping up warm with MaryJane Fashion

Brands to Try 2014 - Gerard International

Primrose Hill Jewellery

Boxing Day Outfit: Angel Eye Fashion

Winter Treats:Dermalogica

Blogger Secret Santa

Spare a Thought This Christmas

MyOptique: London Retro Glasses

Two Looks: One Pair of Jeans

Design Your Own Fragrance by The Perfume Studio

Save The Date: Forevermissvanity Wedding

Ciate Advent Calendar:Day 3

Ciate Advent Calendar: Day 2