Collective Haul | Missguided, Topshop, Michael Kors & More!

Here is today's video! Another haul of things I've bought recently from a few shopping trips and some online too! I hope you enjoy the video and as always please like, subscribe and follow if you did! Sunday's video will be a lookbook featuring some of these items and also some from my previous hauls! Hope you're all having a great week! x

Summer stripes.

Missguided dress

New Look sandals 

I picked this dress up from good ol' TK Maxx, I didn't know they sold missguided things, but I managed the find this gem for £7.99. I'm a big fan of stripes, t-shirt dresses and long sleeves so this dress is perfect! I paired it with my New Look platform sandals meaning the whole outfit (excl. jewellery) cost £17.99! 

This dress is now in the sale on Misguided (linked above) for just £8! for reference, I am wearing size 14. 

The £1 Lip liner

Lipliner is definitely having a moment right now, thanks to the Jenners, who are also the reason for the brown lip trend. I've tried quite a few lip liners, and although I love the Charlotte Tilbury ones, I thought I'd try something a little more purse-friendly.
I'd heard good things from the PS Beauty range (Primark's beauty collection) but had never tried any of it before. I picked up this brown lip liner last time I was in (check out yesterday's post if you missed the haul) and I must say, I'm very impressed! The photo above is the lipliner alone in natural lighting. The shade is a gorgeous warm-brown that can be used alone, with lipstick (I like it with MAC Spirit), with another liner to enhance the lips

Primark Haul | July 2015

Hello everyone! Yesterday's video was a Primark haul of some recent clothing and beauty items! Apologies for blogging it a day late - I've just been really busy! Hope you've all had a great weekend! x

Weekly Roundup #3 PGCE Graduation

Hi everyone! Yesterday was my graduation for my PGCE! I graduated from Edge Hill University with Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Secondary Music with QTS and 120 Level 7 Masters credits! It was a great day of celebrations and for this week's weekly roundup I thought I'd share the photos! 

I'm wearing: Whistles dress, Whistles clutch and Louboutin shoes (and of course the graduation outfit!)

Hope you've all had a great week! x

Shoe Lookbook | July 2015

Here is a lookbook of some shoes I've bought and have been wearing recently including my pick from this month's JustFab collection! Hope you enjoy the video - I will be filming a clothing lookbook soon and more outfits of the missguided things I bought - but sadly it's rained everyday this week so I haven't had chance! x

Faux-suede Co-ord

Missguided faux-suede crop top  

Missguided faux-suede midi skirt

River Island cardigan (old) 

JustFab shoes 

I don't usually wear skirts very often, but I've decided to experiment a bit more with my style and seeing as I managed to get this one for £5 in the missguided sale, I thought, why not? I mentioned in my haul video that it was a big big on the waist, so I got my mum to alter it for me and take it in. I decided not to go down a size as I thought it may be a bit tight on the hips. It fits really well now, and I'm really pleased with it. I'm also wearing the matching crop top, which is another unusual thing for me! I am wearing a cardigan though as it was a bit chilly and you all know I hate my arms! 

My shoes are this month's pick from JustFab and I really love them! I've worn them a couple of times now and even though they are a 4" heel, they're very comfortable and easy to walk in. I paired them with this outfit as I liked the suede textures together, and I think these co-ord outfits just don't look right with flats. 

I hope you're all having a great week! 

  

Floral Trousers

Missguided Floral trousers

Missguided snake print top 

New Look shoes (sale sold out) similar here 

For once I'm not wearing jeans! I picked up these floral trousers from Missguided (see everything I got here ) and I really like them! I paired them with a plain black top (also Missguided although this was in the sale) and my new platform sandals which were just £10 in the New Look sale! Probably my most budget-friendly outfit yet! I'm so impressed with Missguided recently - they have loads of great pieces and are all inexpensive yet still good quality! 

HUGE Missguided Haul | July 2015

Today's video is a HUGE Missguided haul! I picked up some pieces from their £5 sale last week, and also some from their concession in the Trafford Centre. It's a mixture of clothes and shoes, and I really hope you enjoy the video! Some of the items will be featured in upcoming blog posts and videos so make sure to follow/subscribe if you want to see what they look like on! All of the items are linked in the description box of the video on the main youtube page (click here) 

I hope you've all had a great weekend! x

Weekly Roundup #2

This week has been a bit of a roller coaster really, I turned 23 on Monday, got a job on Wednesday (that I applied for on Monday) and I'm feeling much more positive about things, although it hasn't all really sunk in yet. 

Birthday

I didn't have the best time being 22 so was a bit anxious about turning 23 (silly isn't it) but honestly it hasn't bothered me. I didn't do anything much - just went shopping to the Trafford centre with my mum and celebrated by eating WAY too much cake! The cupcakes went, and so did the actual cake! (so naughty!!)

Shopping

Speaking of the Trafford Centre, Missguided have a little selection in Selfridges and I picked up some great things. I then made a massive order from their £5 sale, and a HUGE parcel arrived for me on Wednesday. I'll definitely be doing a haul video, although I'm thinking of changing my YT channel a bit, I'm not sure if my videos are getting a bit boring and predictable!? Anyway, I'd highly recommend checking out their sale as there are some A-mazing bargains!

JustFab July

I got two pairs of shoes from JustFab this month, both of which I love and will show you properly in a post next week but for now, theres a sneak peek of the flats I got in the outfit photo above! 

Music

After I said last week I was loving Years and Years, I picked up their album for the car and also Everything Everything's new album. They're a little weird but I really like their music, particularly Spring/Sun/Winter/Dread (listen to it- it's great). 

New Job

I finally managed to secure myself a job for next year! I've finished my PGCE (a postgrad teaching qualification if you didn't know) with top marks, and have got my first teaching job at a really nice school. I'm so pleased and relieved, and finally feel like I can enjoy my summer now!  As for the summer, I'm not sure what I'm doing yet as I didn't plan anything as I wanted to wait till I knew what I was doing in September! 

I hope you've all had a great week! x

Boots & Space NK Haul

Today's video is a Beauty haul of some bits I've picked up from Boots and Space NK. I seem a bit down in the video - I was when this was filmed last week, but am glad to say I'm feeling much better now!

I hope you're all having a great week so far! x

July Birchbox.

July Birchbag 

Birchbox have done it again! Another amazing month! July's birch box comes in a bag, which is a clear clutch bag with a faux-leather pocket inside. It's such a lovely little makeup bag which is perfect for Summer (and you lucky people that are going on holiday - sadly I'm not). I hope that Birchbox do more of these bags as I was really impressed with it, and it also fit through the letterbox which meant I didn't have to go and pick up the parcel from the neighbours. 

I got a great selection of products too - Birchbox seem to have really upped their game this month! I got the pop beauty eyeshadow trio which is a gorgeous peachy brown shade (right up my street), the Benefit dream screen (an SPF - also really handy for the Summer), Cowshed cow pat hand cream which is a lovely hand cream and a great travel/handbag size, Unani aloe vera body treatment which I haven't tried yet but is for soothing sunburn, balance me congested skin serum which I'm very excited to try as there aren't many serums for congested skin, and the Barely prep, blog & blend sponge which is a like a baby Beauty Blender. 

I'm so pleased with my selection of products this month, and the value of the products is a lot more than the subscription price - Birchbox just keeps getting better and better! x 

Maybelline The Nudes Palette.

Maybelline The Nudes Palette 

I love a good nude eyeshadow palette, so when I spotted this new one from Maybelline, I had to try it! A lot of the drugstore palettes can be a bit disappointing, but not this one! It has 12 shades including 5 mattes (which I've used in the photos above) and all of them are really pigmented, blend well and are easy to apply. There's also a mixture of warm and cool undertones, which is nice but the shades are mainly cool-toned. 

The palette does come with a little applicator which I never use, but other than that the packaging is good. It's nothing fancy or special, and it doesn't have a mirror. The palette is £9.99 which is a good price for an eyeshadow palette. The shades are all really wearable and the quality is also very high.

Overall I'm really pleased with this little palette and I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it! 

GRWM | Updated Lee Stafford Wave & Nourish wand hair tutorial

I hoe you're all having a great weekend! Here is today's video - an updated GRWM of the Lee Stafford Wave and Nourish wand. Obviously this was filmed before I had my hair done (all videos from now will be with the new hair though). I hope you enjoy it, and as always please make sure you're following me/subscribed to my Youtube channel!



Also, if you remember my Summer kimono post featuring Bonprix, the post is now live on their website, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd vote for me (and my outfit). I'm number 5 (Summer kimono - Nelly&Noopy) Just click the link above, and leave a comment on the post saying you'd like to vote for me,  thank you! x

Weekly Roundup #1

I'm starting a bit of new feature today, a weekly roundup of things I've done, and things that I want to share, but not necessarily in separate posts. I used to do something similar years ago, but I thought I'd bring it back! 

Movies/TV

I watched Ted 2 on Wednesday at the cinema. I was feeling really down so thought it would take my mind off things. I hadn't seen Ted 1 but me and my friend thought it looked good so we went to watch it.  At first I didn't think I'd like it, but I actually really enjoyed it. I'm not usually a comedy fan but it was a really good movie and it definitely took my mind off things! If you've no idea what it's about (like I didn't), it's a teddy bear that comes to life and in this movie he fights for civil rights to be acknowledged as a real person. It sounds boring, but it's really funny and great if you just need to take your mind off things! 

I've also been watching 90210 as I've got free time now I've finished my PGCE, although as I said I'm pretty down and don't feel like doing much. If you liked Gossip Girl, you'll probably like 90210, it's basically the LA version without the online blog. 

New Hair 

I'm really loving my new hair, and I'm glad I've moved away from blonde. It's true that changing your hair can make you feel so much better about things! Hopefully my colour won't fade too quickly and I can stay on the dark side! 

Music 

Years & Years released their album yesterday - it's so good! I never mention music on here, but this album is great! I first heard them on Radio 1 (I like the breakfast show on my way to work) and have been obsessed with their music ever since. Their live set from Glastonbury (on iPlayer) is also really good. Usually albums are a bit hit and miss, but there's not a song I don't like on this one! Other albums I've been loving are: Florence and the Machine - How Big How Blue How Beautiful (I LOVE Florence) and La Roux - Trouble in Paradise (I've been listening to loads of La Roux since watching her Glastonbury performance). 

General

I'm turning 23 on Monday and honestly I don't really feel like it's time for my birthday. Every year I think 'next year will be better' but it never seems to be. I'm just so down at the moment as nothing seems to be going right and I don't really feel like celebrating. I'm going to go shopping though which will hopefully make me feel a bit better and be able to enjoy my birthday a bit! 

I hope you've all had a great week! x

GRWM | Evening Makeup Look

I thought I'd do a bit of a different GRWM video - I've done quite a lot of everyday looks so here is a more evening look that I wore recently! I hope you enjoy the video, and if you want to see how I curled my hair - check back on Sunday for part 2 of this video! p.s obviously this was filmed before I had my hair done! x

New hair.

It was time for a change. My roots were getting very noticeable, and I'd got a little bored of being bright blonde. I've thought about going back to my natural colour for a long time, but after a bit of a tough time recently, I thought 'sod it, time for a change'. I've been backwards and forwards between brown and blonde over the last few years, so I didn't want to go back fully brown as I'm paranoid about getting those dreaded orange tones again! I went back to the same hairdresser as last time (Beth at Toni&Guy Mosley st, Manchester) who is amazing, and is easily the best hairdresser I've ever been to. I had a chat with her about what I wanted, showed her about 20 pictures of Alexa Chung, and we decided on a balayage colour with a dark blonde very similar to my own shade. My hair was pre-coloured to prevent any orange fading, and then was coloured using a mixture of dark blonde and an ashy light brown.
I'm really pleased with my new hair, and it's such a big change (it looks more brown in real life), and hopefully I'll be able to get my hair in better condition now that there isn't as much bleach in it! I'm also really happy that it looks a lot more natural.
My cut is pretty simple, it's all one length as my hair is naturally curly/wavy so layers just don't work for me, and then I have some shaping around the front, with two 'fringe bits' to cover my baby hairs that annoy me!
So I'm back to the dark side (well, darker side of blonde).

Louboutin Scarabee III Nail polish.

Louboutin Nail polish in Scarabee III

How gorgeous is this nail polish? I haven't tried any of the Louboutin nail polishes before, as they're expensive (£36 each) and I usually wear my Red Carpet Manicure gel polishes. However, when I bought my latest pair of Louboutin shoes, my mum treated me to a nail polish. I chose this shade from the new Scarabee collection (when I bought this the collection had been out less than a week). This shade is a gold with green undertones, and is the most beautiful bronze glitter. The shade looks different depending on the lighting, but is absolutely stunning. The shade is described as 'Copper bronze' which is pretty accurate. I've never seen or owned a polish this shade, it's such a unique colour. 

The polish was very easy to apply. The brush is quite narrow, but the long handle makes application easy, and also helps to keep things neat as the brush is quite precise. If you don't like narrow brushes, you might not like these, but it didn't bother me. As for the formulation, it applies very evenly. I have two coats on in the picture, but one coat gave a nice sheer coverage. Alone, the polish is nice and shiny, but I did apply a top coat just for longevity. 

The polish does last well on the nails, obviously not as long as gel polish, but is definitely long wearing for a regular nail polish. 

My overall thoughts? This polish is definitely luxury, and is a stunning shade that I'd definitely recommend. Not sure I'd pay £36 for some of the more 'normal' colours though. 

Have you tried any of the Louboutin nail polishes? 

Sale Haul | Harvey Nichols, Topshop & More

Of course I did more Sale shopping - so here is a haul of some more things, including the Harvey Nichols order that I mentioned in my designer sale haul video! Hope you enjoy, and that you've all had a great weekend! x

Colouring for Adults?

There's been a bit of a trend recently of colouring for adults as a method of stress relief and relaxation. Now I'm not usually one for the random trends, but I loved colouring as a child and have been feeling a bit stressed lately (final weeks of PGCE) so I thought I'd give it a go.

I thought 'how can colouring help stress and anxiety?' and although it took me a little while to get into it as it's quite a slow process ( I'm usually one for getting things done, not chilling out), it actually works! It must be something about taking your mind off troubles and forcing your thought process to slow down, or maybe its focussing on the colours or pictures, I don't really know how it works, but it does.

I've finished my PGCE yesterday and these last few weeks have been stressful, and I have a couple more weeks of interviews, dentist appointments and other stressful things so I'm glad I've found something I can do in the evenings just for half an hour or so that helps to ease the stress a little. I've also been quite moody recently (I think due to being so busy and feeling stressed) so spending a little bit of time doing something like this helps me to calm down a bit. 

Now I'm not saying a colouring book will rid you of your troubles and anxiety, but if you're getting a little stressed, and you liked colouring as a child, I'd recommend having a go. You can buy the colouring books at loads of places (e.g WH Smith) and it's a really inexpensive thing to try. Or if you're still a child at heart, you'll probably also like it! 

Also, apologies that there hasn't been any Saturday posts for the last couple of weeks - I've just been so so busy!! I hope you all have a great weekend! 

June Favourites

It's the end of another month, which of course means it's time for favourites! I hope you all are having a great week, and that you've been enjoying the heatwave (if you're in the UK) x

Berry & Almond Butter smoothie

Here's another of my favourite smoothie recipes! 

I haven't posted any new recipes for a little while - but this is my current favourite for breakfast time. This one is better as soon as you've made it, as it does go a little thick if you don't drink it straight away. 

Ingredients (based on nutribullet cup - if using another blender, use the drinking glass as a measure) 

1/2 cup spinach

1 banana 

handful of frozen berries (mine are black forest) 

Desert spoon of chia seeds

Tablespoon of oats

Desert spoon of almond butter

Coconut milk 

& just blend together! 

Smoothies are so easy to make, and I usually have mine for breakfast as it's super quick and I can take it with me if I'm in a rush. It's also a great way to get loads of nutrients quickly, and keeps you full until lunch time (honestly!) 

Hope you enjoy the recipe if you decide to make it yourself!