I like to tidy #1

Just a little post today.

Every so often I like to have a good tidy and sort through all my Clothes, books, make up , jewellery to take stock of what I have. Every so often I will share with you a few of the things I treasure, everyone like to be noesy dont they?

I thought I’d give you a little peak at some of my jewellery starting with my rings.

This is about 2/3 of my ring collection. They range from super cheap to a little pricey. (£2-£80)

I love pretty, trashy, oversized, and delicate jewellery. I collect it in a big vintage jewellery box with lots of draws and little windows along with several smaller boxes. However I’m allergic to nickel among other things I can’t sleep in jewellery or wear big pieces for a long time- if I do I go all read and tickly.


xx

Ps. The Topshop sale is rather good at the moment. I really love the Yellow Leopard Print Sequin Cardigan by Sister reduced from £95 to £45

They also have a gorgeous black jumper with a garland of skulls around the neckline, not in the sale at £95.

Other wants include:


Elliah Dress
All Saints £45
























Models Own £20














xxx

Heidi Seeker

Recently I got some very good marks at University and my mum who knows I’m not flush with cash at the moment put a little money in my bank. She told me to spend it on something I wanted not just train fare or University books.

So I went straight to Heidi Seeker I found this company back in 2006 and I’ve loved them ever since over the years I have placed a several orders with them and my boyfriend has bought me many things from them as well. I have always been extremely impressed with the service I have received. The website is easy to navigate and you can pay through Paypal which makes the transaction really easy. This time the delivery took a little longer than usual this is partly down to the amount of personalised things I ordered however the communication was excellent.

Something I’ve always loved about Heidi Seeker is the lovely packaging ( I am a complete sucker for packaging) It’s so cute very kitsch most things I ordered came individually packaged. This time I ordered the personalised Lucky Bag . When I placed my order I messaged Heidi Seeker telling them all the things I already had in order to avoid getting any duplicates and I was pleased to find they had taken that into consideration along with my dress size and the fact that my ears are stretched so they don’t take regular earrings too well.

I’m not going to reveal all the contents because everyone is different but I was thrilled with all the things I received including a personalised bag, ring and keyring along with several necklaces and loads of other heidi seeker products. Below are images of a few of the things i have bought from Heidi Seeker

The keyring and necklaces are printed on a really stiff felt. Its hard to explain if you havent seen it before but its of really good quality. I particually love it because ive very sensitive skin and metals normally bring me out in a rash.

 yesterday after my parcel arrived I tried to get together all the things I’ve bought from Heidi seeker over the years and I found everything apart from my Initial medal I bought it just before Christmas and wore it on one of my winter coats but it’s vanished – if I took it off I don’t remember. Rather sad about that I hate losing stuff and because I’m quite an organised person it really frustrates me when I mess up. I’ve torn my room apart looking for it and I’ve rooted through all of my clothes. I’ll update if I do find it.

If there is something you like I urge you to get it because things come and go often. I fell in love with a black cardigan that was printed to look like a leather jacket but it disappeared before I got round to ordering. Here are a few things that have caught my eye that I haven’t got [yet!].

Also in BLACK

I’m also a little bit in love with the big Jumpers one has a fox on and one has a unicorn. They look so comfy and perfect for Lazy days.

xx

Skin and bones

London Fashion Week has been in the newspapers and magazines for all the wrong reasons. High end fashion seems to be returning to skeletal models we saw float down the catwalk in 2007.

I have been reading Dailymail independent graziadaily
I’m not really an avid follower of LFW and I don’t have much authority to comment on the matter but the above articles have really caught my attention. With myself the size of the average woman in the UK (16) I know I could be healthier and I am exercising and eating healthily to achieve this. However I do not aspire to the idea of perfection displayed on the catwalk. However I can easily see how someone could be influenced by the models at LFW. Some of the models seem to be Promoting an unrealistic world with unrealistic expectations.

Its just my opinion and no more valid than anyone else’s but I believe it is not right to promote an unhealthy body image. Fashion should be all inclusive. Some people are thin naturally and some people are naturally bigger that can’t be helped and should be embraced.

I do understand that the majorly of high end fashion is designed to look better on a smaller frame but why use models that represent such an extremity of the scale and a look that is unobtainable if not dangerous for 99% of the population.

[image source: Dailymail]

Should the models have AT THE VERY LEAST a healthy BMI? I think so.

xxx

PS.

(I generally think BMI is silly and fictional and doesn’t account for different body shapes.)

Comic Relief 2011

Comic Relief looks set to be a great night of entertainment and its all for a great cause.

Dance for comic relief started on Saturday and was fabulous with comedian Russell Kane as Beyonce and glamour model and business woman Katie Price as Freddie Mercury going through to the final.

I loved Katie’s performance and the tongue-on cheek sketch beforehand. If you missed it you should be heading straight to YouTube.

  

This year Comic Relief have collaborated with the one and only Viviane Westwood who has designed a range of T-shirts available at TKMaxx and shop.rednoseday.

The T-shirts are available in several designs. I think my favourite has to be the Shakespeare Design and with a percentage of the money from each sale going to comic relief it would be rude not to!

Whilst hunting for comic relief products I also came across a beautiful shopper by Liberty and a Comic Relief silk scarf featuring the Bourton and Wiltshire Liberty prints They are avaliable along side the T-shirts in TKMaxx and shop.rednoseday.

I’m falling in love with the pink scarf as a type this I think it would look stunning on the strap of a classic black handbag or for those like me who lack the class to pull off the look I will be wearing it in my hair.

xxx

money for nothing

Almost.
I thought I’d a blog on my experiences with store cards.


I’m not on about credit cards I’m talking about rewards cards. I seem to have a purse full of them.

My three favourites are Boots Advantage card, Warterstones card and Starbucks reward card.

Boots advantage card perhaps the king of advantage cards. With four points to the pound and each point worth a penny it’s quite easy to gain points and then when you take in to consideration all the extra offers you get sent for being an advantage card holder it really is worth it. Its free to register and you can do it online at Boots.

I love the advantage card and because Boots sells such a vast range of products I seem to gain points very quickly. I normally save my points all year so that I can spend them in the January sales. This year I had just over £26 to spend. Fantastic.

Waterstones card.Being an English student and a total book worm I spend quite a lot on books, especially academic books that are hard to find second hand. Like the Boots card the Waterstones card is free to register and points can be collected online or in store. Waterstone also offer free delivery on all books.With three points to every pound and each pound being equal to a penny it’s not quite as good as the Boots card but who am I to complain. It’s free and books are brilliant. I have a huge "To-read" pile next to my bed but the next book I have my eye on is The Perks Of Being A Wall Flower, I’ve heard brilliant things about this book, has anyone read it?

For information on Waterstones visit Waterstones.

The Starbucks reward card is (as far as I know) relatively new in the UK I only got one in November. This is a card you top up like a pay as you go mobile. To activate the card you have to put a minimum of £5 on and then you can use your card to pay for food and drink in Starbucks. The good thing about this card is that once the card is registered you can benefit from free extras such as free cream and extra shots. At Christmas I got sent a little booklet f money off vouchers too. For more information visit Starbucks.

There are many other reward style cards available in various high street store I have many of them but the above three are the ones that seem to benefit me most.

What are your experiences with rewards cards?

xxx

Sale new lines added up to 50% off

An email popped up in my inbox earlier today from highstreet store River Island. "Sale new lines added up to 50% off" irresistible, I had to have a look.

River island jeans are a god send and seem to be the best fit for me on the high street. The river island sale is always hectic mostly because the reductions are so huge. Just over a year ago I got a leather jacket reduced from £180 to £60.I’ve worn it regularly and it’s just got softer and more luxurious with time. In store sales seem to come and go 2 or 3 times a year but online there is pretty much always a sale. New lines have been added and much to my annoyance a few things I have bought at full price are now in the sales. (Don’t you hate it when that happens?)

Anyway here are some items I wish I could afford.

grey denim biker jacket with asymmetric zip detail and borg collar. Now £25

black lace up flat ankle boots with round toe Now £40

brown leopard print zip through back shift dress with bow detail. £39.99

I’ve ordered from Riverisland.com many times before and the service has always been really good with fast dispatch and delivery.

Slipping further out of the realms of reality I was sat on the train absorbed in this month’s Glamour magazine when I came across a designer I had never heard of before. Aurelie Bidermann. Oh my gosh the jewellery is amazing totally up my street, sadly very expensive.  If you like her stuff and your bank balance can take it visit net-a-porter

18-karat gold skull bracelet £418

xxx

Hair extensions

My love affair with hair extensions started about 18 months ago and to understand why I feel this way I must tell you a brief history of my hair.


For the first half of my life I had thick golden blonde hair ranging from shoulder length to rapunzel style locks. Then I hit my teen and hit the peroxide, hard. This continued for a few years until my hair was that damaged and thinning needed to be cut. Short. Think of the “Rachel cut” just a few years after it was fashionable and you will have the right idea.

Then I went through a gothic stage and dyed it black, that only lasted a few months but that had given me a taste for home dye jobs and bold colours and between the ages of 15 and 18 my hair was every colour imaginable, I even had leopard print pink bits and stripy bits of hair in pink and black. At 18 my hair was once again wrecked.

So the precious hair I had spent so long re-growing was chopped off and my hair was shoulder length and red. This red hair lasted for over a year but as anyone with dyed red hair will tell you having red hair takes a lot of up keep. Towels bedding the tiles in the shower and often my own neck stained red. Tiered of the constant staining I had my hair cut in an asymmetric style and dyed brown.

So my hair was brown and wonky. (I’ve come to the conclusion I’m not cool enough to pull off and asymmetric cut off on a daily basis) I longed for long hair.

I knew hair extensions existed I wasn’t living under a rock but it had never occurred to me that they could be part of my life. Then on one of my shopping days I came across a shop selling hair extensions in every length colour and style, it was the Aladins cave of hair. Now good extensions are not cheap, and I’m not one to gamble but the women behind the counter had thick wavy hair and I couldn’t stop looking. I guess it was obvious, the women smiled and informed me her hair was thin and shorter than mine! So I threw my money on the counter and bought a full heads worth.

At home I spent a long time clipping them in but when I was done I looked in the mirror and I was thrilled. It was as though a different girl was looking back at me. A girl with much better hair. Thick and even, consistent in colour beautiful hair. (Still to this day I believe that my face looks thinner and my nose looks smaller with extensions in!)

After 18 months of practice I can put them in with my eyes closed. I’ve even been known to do it on my way to university. I probably wear them 4-5 days of the week and after 18 months I am wearing my 2nd full head and will need to be buying a third soon. Although I’m sure that anyone else could make them last longer but I straighten them and curls them a lot.

Now my natural hair is past my shoulders, but only just. It’s still brown but I have bleached a streak in the front which I like to dye lilac from time to time (I haven’t changed that much.) I also have a small undercut on one side similar to Ellie Goulding. Other than that it’s all about the extensions for me. As well as the brown I also have extensions in red and blue to add colour and a white blonde to extend my bleached section.

So what are your experiences with extensions?

xxx

Any Recommendations I make are purely because I have used and liked the product, I am not getting paid to favour any particular product.
pauls-hair-world
cheapsmells-Great for Tigi products
stargazer hair dye

Daisy Lowe swimwear collection

I found out a few weeks ago that the beautiful and talented Daisy Lowe will be designing a 50's inspiered swimwear collection for high street chain Peacocks.

Daisy has previously modelled for her mother’s collections with Peacocks said:“It was important from the start that my designs were accessible so my friends could afford them, which is why we’ve kept the collection under £18. I’ve sought inspiration from the things I love, family holidays in Europe, iconic fifties pin ups and classic vintage shapes.”

The collection that is available online and in selected stores from May 2011 and will be in sizes 8-16.

Personally I'm excited to see if this collection lives up to my high expectations. I've struggled in the past finding swimwear that to put it bluntly "contains" my boobs sufficiently. I’ve previously lusted after the retro swimwear available at online store what katie did however with their Sailor Swimsuit priced at £64 it has always been on the wish list but never actually purchased. Fingers crossed the £18 swimwear will be able to satisfy my retro swimwear craving.

Now from one iconic brit to The Brit Awards, I really enjoyed watching the show and I'm adding Jessie J - Who you are to my wish 'music' list. I was hoping to see Paloma faith pick up an award and i really enjoyed her performance with Cee Lo Green.

So what did you think of the Brits? Did anyone spot Ferne Cotton in the gorgeous Temperly dress she tweeted about earlier today? Are you excited by retro swimwear?

xx

Happy Valentines Day

I love Valentines day. I really love anything that celebrates love. Ridiculous all consuming crazy love. This year my partner and I decided on little gifts for valentines and meal out to celebrate our anniversery which is coming up soon. So i am giving a little bag of small bought and handmade gifts. (Yes i love handmade, i am known amongst my friends as being rather crafty.)

      I have painted my nails in a sutible Valentines fashion and I will be wearing my personalised love heart necklace from Heidiseeker.



I hope you all have a fantastic 14th of Febuary. Coupled up or not its the perfect day to tell friends and family that you love them and generally get all sentimental and soppy.

It's always nice to be told someone loves you. 




xxx

Hello, Bonjour,Γειά σου,Hola.

I thought i would start things off with a little bit about myself.

I find shopping exhilarating, I shop when I am happy and when I am sad. I will spend hours trailing round the shops in my own little world. I feel this way about most types of shopping with one exception. Grocery/food shopping, i hate it.

I have always enjoyed shopping; growing up shopping was a treat. I would look forward to a day out shopping with my mum the way most kids would look forward to going to Disneyland. However my love for shopping really took hold during my first year of University. Living alone with my student loan burning a hole in my pocket i took to the High streets.
How did you have spare money? I'm not rich, at all in fact very far from it, but I worked in my gap year and saved up also I don't smoke, I rearly drink and I prefer a night in to a night out. Furthermore my hate for food shopping meant my food bills where very low.

But now I am facing a drought.
Graduation is approching and I must begin to save for my future and possible unemployment (taking in to consideration the state of the uk.) For the first time in 3 years i'm pretty broke.

So bye bye shopping
hello blogging [with sprinklings of shopping.]

Join me as i blog about things i love, things i have and torture myself with things i wish i could have.

xx