FLYING SAUCER

Shop Lust: Style Nanda

I'm not sure how I found Style Nanda but I think it was on Tumblr and I think it is my new obsession! It's based in Korea I believe and is really popular in Asia, with a recent worldwide expansion online. Far from trend ripoffs, the Nanda Made label is all exclusive and the product photos are amazing! That is probably why I have a huge wishlist and I'm very intrigued to find out just what the items are like in real life. So many websites style up items to the maxi nowadays but they may end up being dull stretch polyester in real life!

It may be that sugar pink wall but I love the warm blue of this denim shirt and oversized fit. As I sit at a desk all day, comfort is a big factor in my clothes!

These pinafores are a really cute way to wear camo and not in the expected colours. I like the huge shirts underneath and bare legs with chunky platformed heels, mixing up lots of different shapes.

A lace maxi dress is one of those wardrobe staples that I've never had, although I have about five different black maxi dresses. The added polka dots on this dress give it another unique element.

I just got some dungarees like these in a staff sample sale at Motel and I will certainly be considering wearing them with my Litas, a really oversized shirt and a hair bun, once I perfect the ultimate chic-yet-messy bun. I definitely haven't yet!

The item that I am really considering is this wavy hem skirt, as I really want a pencil skirt with a rounded hem, longer at the back and curved at the front. I wish there was a way to know what it was like in real life though as the fit is too important, and I'm not sure if any orders would mean customs charges too. I'll sit tight to see if a similar skirt comes out on the high street here but the only one I've seen is this ASOS skirt, and I'm not much of a fan of the fabric! Please keep your eyes peeled for me!

The Best Shopping Trip of ALL TIME!

Now I don't like to count my chickens before the hatch but I feel on the brink of a definite good time! Time recently has certainly not been the best and things have been generally rubbish with a side of heartbreak and a sprinkling of sadness. Maybe it's the world of karma but today I had an epiphany at the shops and the spending Gods were looking down on me with a smile.

Let me take you back to the end of work today, when I embarked to town to get my nails done and pick up a few items. I had a shopping list on my phone of conditoner and headphones and had a few shops to visit for some wishlist items. I've been around the sales and found them pretty fruitless, and the shops seem to have the last reduced dregs on a few sad racks. All in all, I didn't plan to buy anything and wanted to get back home for my tea!

After my nails, I popped into Boots and low and behold, they had the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo in stock!!! This is beyond a miracle because I have been in there at least five times this month and it's always sold out, and many Boots sales assistants has advised me it wasn't arriving any time soon. A while ago I was peeved that they were doing a '2 for £15' deal and they didn't have it in stock, but today they had it in stock AND the deal was back! Hurrah! The product is £13 itself so this is an amazing offer. None of the other Effeclar products interested me so I picked up two of these, and hopefully they will tackle any recent spots. It seems to be back in stock online too!

I was super chuffed by finally finding these - they are huge in the blog world and it's funny how you know exactly why the product is so popular, but the beauty people on the counters think it's bizarre! I was about to hit home but Zara is on the edge of the shopping centre in Bristol so I thought I'd pop in quickly as I have also been after the sold out ankle strap, kitten heels that are also massive over the blogosphere. I spotted the nude, jewelled pair in the sale a few weeks ago but they didn't have my size, and then realised all their AW12 kitten heels have been marked up to around £60 on eBay! It seems the trend took off late and once they were in the half price sale, they were all scooped up. I toyed with eBaying them but knew somewhere else would bring out a great pair, but to my amazement I walked straight into Zara and found these in my size on the shelves! Just the one pair! In my common shoe size! Considering it's the very last week of all the extended high-street sales, this could be a miracle. I didn't even stop to try them on and just took them straight to the till, where the lady revealed they were not the already-half-price £19.00 on the tag, but were now reduced to £9.99. Unbelievable!!

I love the berry colour as I wear a tonne of black and white, so these are a fresh change in a rich colour. What a find! Thank you to fashion fate and karma because I couldn't have planned a better trip. Maybe my scrimping shopping habits are paying off finally! 

Treats and Traumas

Hi guys! A little late night check in from me as I have been round the shops yet again and have not seen anything that I wanted to part with my cash for! What is going on?! I'm currently on a bottoms ban (aka no trousers, skirts, leggings, etc) as I have so many that I still love, but I could do with some knitwear as more of a 'priority'. I'd love a burgundy jumper but haven't seen the winner yet!

I'm still waiting to use someone's student discount on the soft River Island creepers but have bought a bunch of Topshop socks in preparation! I love the frillies and seriously love these the thick fold-over detail on the right pair. I'll be washing these in bleach so they stay the brightest white!

I also realised I had a decent amount of Boots points and tried to re-buy my favourite contour/bronzer colour, Brickie by 17. I got this probably two years ago and now they seem to have discontinued it, nooooo!! No signs on eBay or the'net either. Why didn't I stock up on this £3.50 beauty?! I did wonder if they had changed the name and it was now the rather similar shade Nude but alas they are not identical. Nude is still pretty though and shall get hopefully as much use as it's older sister.

 

New buys & Litas!

I dashed into town this evening to return my Litas! My second pair of Litas that is! Haha bet you're thinking WTH?!

Basically, you know I've been eyeing Jeffrey Campbell Litas for so long and I'm sure anyone who reads blogs or Tumblr will too! There's just no way you could have an aversion to them, it's like I'm brain washed. They're sort of like gold dust in the UK if you don't live in central London as there's nowhere to buy or try them and I've been watching various shoe sites for months to no avail. Also it's not often you just decide to splurge, but I've been after some 'smarter' heels for work dos and the like where you want to look 'put together' but still fashionable. The timing before just hasn't been right.

But a few Fridays ago one of our fab Motel interns and fellow Lita owner (American flag pair!) told me you could get Litas in Harvey Nichols in Bristol town! For only £95!! Considering they're £120 in Office and beyond that online/with international customs, that is a great deal. They also has the taupe version which were the ones I specifically wanted! So after ringing to reserve them to go at least try them on, a very helpful man told me they didn't have them but you could buy them over the phone from any store in the UK and have them delivered! So in an hour my Litas were on the way from Glasgow and I was excited!!!

 

However, they were too big! Nooooo!! I swear my feet have shrunk over the years as in heels I'm now a small 6, but the Harvey Nichols UK 6 is a US 9, which actually directly converts to a UK6.5. Once laced up they were fine but I could fit my finger down the back of the shoes right to the sole so really they didn't fit, and you don't want to be spending loads of money on something that isn't perfecto! So I rang around again and had a smaller UK 5 pair shipped from Manchester and they are spot on!!! So if you're a small UK 6 or UK 5.5, go for the Harvey Nichols 5 (or 8M on the actual Lita shoe). I now have two pairs as Harvey Nics wasn't open after 6pm today for my return so ring up on Friday morning and the Bristol store should have a size 7! Or I've spotted them on their website again with only a 7 left here. I'm afraid I won't sell them on here as Paypal is so dodgy nowadays! Eeek I'm so excited to join the world of Litas and they will get their first debut at the Company Blog Awards tomorrow! I'm so surprised I was nominated after everything that happened in the past few months when I didn't really blog at all but the boost the nomination has given me is enough, I love blogging!! I'm going to be strutting all over the place, can't wait to get these on my feet!

I'm quite worried as I usually come home from clubs with atrocious shoes so I'll have to buy some strong shoe protector spray. At least these are slightly distressed to begin with! Also in person, Litas look MASSIVE when you hold them but on they don't feel high because of the platform as your foot isn't very arched. I like dancing in super high heels as you sort of tip-toe though so that will be different. *Prays Motel Rocks will be getting Jeffrey Campbells in soon... ooo did I just type that? Hehehehehehe look out!*

I also had a little raid of New Look to get a few fresh things for my wardrobe as sure, I have lots of clothes, but they do get a bit 'old' after a few months of wear right? I hate it when tees go stretched in places and jumpers go baggy. I picked up some flats to walk to work in and was looking for a new bag so I plumped for this clutch and will put some holes in it for a strap! Also they have a big range of lace socks in all different pastel colours so I got some pastel peach ones for my Litas, only £1.99! Then I raided the teenage section, which is my secret shopping tip! Their kids clothes are all oversized or cropped so anything between age 12-16 will fit me if it's a top or jumper (lol forget about jeans!). I got this cropped lace vest and neon knit for super cheap, and you just have to roll up the sleeves a little so they seem cropped on purpose! They also have the jumper in neon yellow which I'm eyeing... ooo! Very nearly bought MAC Viva Glam Nicki lipstick too as the makeup artist insisted it would suit me loads but I'm pretty sure she said that to everyone that day!xx

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 24 (and haul!)

    24. Your favourite pair of shoes

It's my birthday on the weekend and I'd love a new pair of shoes but there's not that many chunky heeled options out there! My favourites shoes are hands down the Forever21 Mary Janes which I got on eBay US, and the F21 UK site has been taunting me with the black floral version for months. Sadly they seemed to have never arrived so the option is to hunt maybe the plain black pair on eBay US or search for some new heels, as these are looking a bit worn now. Do you find that you see a fab pair of shoes but they always have a bad heel? I just don't buy stilettos because I'm worried I'll slip on cobbles or spilled drinks. I was quizzing Fritha on Bordello shoes at the Brum Blogger Meet so I might have a look into the alternative shops in Birmingham to see if there are any I can try on.

If you're a long time reader, did you think my favourites would be the Miu Miu Tea Cup shoes that I got reduced to £100 in about 2009? That post is so old, I can't even find it to link to it! I got them at the Manchester Flannels outlet in the Northern Quarter but I don't wear them enough to be favourites! These might have been good graduation shoes but I didn't want to wear heels and they are fine perched below my mantle piece (that also displays all nail polishes!). It annoys me that the gold curls are plastic and one broke off the first time I wore them, but the Miu Miu shop sent them to Italy to be fixed. Then they snapped again! There's just no way you're not going to knock the back on something so I'd only wear them to somewhere I'd be sitting at. If I'd paid £400 for these, I'd expect maybe metal curls?

I bought lots of makeup and hair bits on Thursday and did record a video haul, but I have a red hair video to put up before that if I can get my Mom to email it to me. Today I had a really lovely day wandering around town as I wanted to go to Poundland or Wilkinsons to get some house things. I'll have to go back to get the mini ironing board from Wilkinsons but I got 12 hair rollers, a Disney Princess bowl and a cute lunch box from Poundland. I also went by the better H&M in town with the Trend and Divided ranges and picked up the floral maxi dress that's been haunting me in the sale for ages! I picture it with a flouro coral lip and either no jewellery at all and just really long hair, or loads of tangled bracelets and big feather earrings. I got MORE feather H&M earrings too and two pairs of flats for every day work. I also picked up a little waist belt from New Look with a gold rose clasp as I only have plaited belts that I have to tie because they're too long, and some jegging from Miss Selfridge. The ones I have worn constantly this year are still super tight but quite worn-in now. They don't seem to have that style and they were only £22, so I got some that I hope are similar. I really want some coloured jeans and tried on a dark green and burgundy pair, but they didn't fit at all!

I almost forgot, I also went to the cinema by myself! I had lunch/dinner at YO!sushi as, if you fill up on the limitless miso soup and only get a few dishes + 25% student club discount (hehe), it's really reasonable. It was still the afternoon and it was one of those lovely relaxed Sundays, and the cinema is right by the Cabot Circus restaurants, so I just thought, 'Ah wouldn't a nice movie be great right now?', so I went! I very nearly saw Harry Potter alone but the lovely Leah invited me to go with her, but after discussing solo cinema with Fritha and Lil, I was confident enough to buy a single ticket (whilst also using my feminine charms to get a student ticket, even though I very much am not!), get some popcorn, and walk in alone. Horrible Bosses was starting in 5 minutes so it was perfect, and it was lovely and relaxing to just enjoy a movie. FYI, if you liked The Hangover, you'd like Horrible Bosses. It's that kind of 'average men go on a crazy adventure' type of film, and Jennifer Aniston is fabulous. 

I have no idea what I want to wear in the Autumn so I'm not making any big clothing purchases yet. September Elle landed through my (huge) letter box this week so I'll have a flick through that now. I know all the tribal stuff it going to be a transition trend as I got a thick black knitted poncho in the Topshop sale, which sounds random but it's lovely and I thought it would be great thrown over things! I'll have to show you. I also have lots of other treasured coats but I'll need to be buying up some thicker maxi skirts and trousers/jeggings, and I really want a felt floppy hat. I tried on two today in H&M and New Look (both were identical but H&M's was cheaper), and loved them but I'm not sure I'd wear a hat. However that's just because it's so hot right now; I might snap the H&M one up tomorrow in case I regret it later!

Nails of the Week 10

I might go back up to Manchester tomorrow so I popped to my local high street to infill my nails at my favourite salon (just a cheapie, bog standard place for those who ask!) and get my eyebrows waxed at my favourite place. In Manchester everywhere near me seems to thread so I've just been going with that as it's better for the skin around your eyes, but waxing feels so much better to me! Threading only seems to look fine for a day or two.

I also had a look in the discount stores like Savers, which I think is the equivalent of Home Bargains, and Poundland, etc. I got the St. Moriz in dark to see if the coverage is better than the normal one, and this Sally Hansen topcoat for £2! I also spotted these Katie Price lashes which are exactly like MAC 43 lashes, which I'm guessing Katie probably wears and based them on! I got these Brit Rocks (lolll) ones too that looked like the fullest cheapie pair on the bargain shelf. My favourite double lashes by Eylure are £7 now, eeek!

I got Barry M's new shade Peach Melba on my nails and it almost errs on the granny side as it's very terracotta in some lights, but I like it when it looks more like a neon coral. I stuck a few things on after trying the Maybelline heart polish I got in Poundland but I can hardly get any of the sequin hearts out! Big failure. Now I'm going out tonight but I have no idea what to wear and haven't brought a lot home with me! Better go exfoliate, I did a very dodgy tan on my legs that needs to be removed!

Barry M Pink Nail Effects!

Hiii! Are all you guys in the UK loving the weather? I haven't worn black in months so I am very happy to feel so summery! I popped to my local high street today with a few errands (cut keys, pick up packages, visit the bank, etc) and I also had a little makeup shopping list. I want a few Sleek things but it turns out my local Superdrug doesn't stock the brand, so I hit Boots to check out their things and they're doing 3 for 2 across makeup! I wanted the Collection 2000 Lasting Finish Concealer and the 17 Beehive lipstick, and I had a little look for Barry M's new peach polish and spotted this.

I wasn't really into the black nail effects as I think leopard looks better and the effect isn't really great itself, but it's not like I've tried this so I got the polish in the 3for2 deal. I quite like it! I know I haven't done a very good job but people on YouTube have gave me some great tips. It was a good coincidence that I was wearing Revlon's Blue Lagoon which looks fab underneath! However I think the novelty will wear off fast, so I'll give it to my sister, who liked the black one before, or sell it on as I know it's going to sell out. I saw it in my local Boots but not the nearby Superdrug, so I'd check your Boots fast!

On top of the 3for2, Boots are doing the £5 facial skincare voucher!! I LOVE this Sanctuary hot cloth cleanser, much more than Liz Earle's, and it comes with a cloth too so if you get the voucher, it will only be £5.20! I have another voucher but I'm keen to hunt down the Oilatum moisturiser and then I don't really need anymore skin stuff. I also got an electric toothbrush, not sure why that is in the photo!

The benefits of living near a cheapie highstreet are all the discount shops, and I got some Poundland bargains. I can't buy too much as I will have to bring it back to Manchester and liquids are heavy, but I got some shavers for only £1 (of course, it's Poundland!) and also these gems which I'll use on my nails. I got the Carmex from Superdrug but Poundland does discount Rimmel/Miss Sporty/Revlon/etc and I got this Maybelline polish with sequin hearts. Lots of Asian nail art has sequins actually inside the gel nails when the gel is clear, so I'll try and imitate that with this polish hopefully!

I'm getting my haircut tomorrow so I'm excited to hopefully get my hair out of my eyes! I need some kind of fringe/shape around my face. I also made a little video below showing the nail polish when it's first put on xx

A few sale buys

Hope you all had a good Christmas!! I got makeup and perfume I can't wait to use, just waiting until January is nearly over! Oh exams of doooom! I only have three but I have to finish all the research for my dissertation too so I need to make some strides. Sadly in order to keep my job for next term, I have to keep travelling back and forth from Birmingham to Manchester to do some shifts! I can revise on the train and don't mind too much, it just eats up a lot of time. No way I'm staying in my Manchester house by myself!!

My Mom and Nan hit the sales with me on Boxing Day but I didn't see anything too great. I got these St. Tropez sets for half price in Boots but I might return the gradual tan set as I wouldn't use it until the summer! The normal tan set comes with a bowl- no idea why?! To sit your stuff in? I picked up on with a crack in it anywa, fail! I got the Girls Aloud eyelash set too and considering they are usually £5 a pair, I got 5 pairs and the makeup bag with some brushes for £12.50, not too bad! I need a new bag and purse to replace mine but didn't see any I liked from the small selection out there. A lot of the sales seem to be stuff left over from summer stock and there's nothing I want! Well everything I had my eye on didn't go into the sale! All my Christmas money has to go on my January rent anyway, how depressing.

The best thing about Christmas day was the food! Seemingly opposite to everyone else, I'm trying to put on weight right now as I was so busy last term, I didn't have time to always eat properly! I can't think of a day where I had three square meals just because I'm out and about all over the place or inside trying to study. Do any of your have that problem? It's one of my new years resolutions to eat more! Now I've got to go revise and start my dissertation research all over again! Whyyyy didn't I save that document to my hardrive dohhhhhh! 

Knitted bands for all

I think something becomes an official trend when it is sold in Primark. A trend like when every other girl on the bus has one and you start to think 'why don't I have one?!'. I love spotting trends and knowing what's selling the best; not just for my degree but I just love to see what girls are wearing! I swear teenage girls nowadays dress so much better than I did at that age, probably because your money goes further with the likes of cheapie Primark and Peacocks. At work I'm always people watching and some girls look so great even just out shopping! I don't have any need to dress up for lectures or anything and only go all out if I go out at night, but I know that if you have to wear a uniform at school all week, then you put all effort into looking great on the weekend! However you can always look eye-catching if you make sure everything you buy is the best version of itself and maybe spend a minute putting on a bright lipstick or some cute hair accessories. I've spent years trying to figure out how some girls just look naturally great!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to checking out the SS11 collections soon, but in the summer I was excited to wear chunky knits this season, especially Prada style knitted headbands! I got one from Warehouse in September when it was still hot but haven't worn it until now! The main problem was that I don't ever tie my hair up, usually because it's less time consuming to leave it down and I'm a bit conscious of having my hair pulled back. I just feel a bit more comfortable with my hair down when I'm travelling around as I do a side plait all the time but never put it up. In Sweden I did but it was a bit different in that tiny town and literally every girl has a high hair bun there! Check out Fritha Louise's (of The Fish Tank) fantastic tutorial on how to get a Prada beehive- it looks great!

I've seen a million girls in knitted headbands right now and they look really cool; I especially like them with big messy hair. They're actually really warm and I've been wearing mine every evening at home when the heating goes off! My Warehouse one was actually a straight, thick band like the Prada look but it didn't look right with hair down so I sewed a gather in it to break it up a bit. I'm still a bit conscious of wearing stuff on my head even though they're a definite trend, hands up if you have a knitted headband?!

Images from tumblr and by me, the leopard is actually my dressing gown hehe.

Cute Mittens and Ultimate Nails

It's the time when England is like 'omg snow!!! hellllp' and here in Manchester we only got a dusting overnight, but seriously try living in Sweden where it snowed for three months!!! I just had a look at a folder of photos from Sweden and it's made me a little sad! I'm not sure whether to visit or just keep the nice memories unchanged. Hmmm anyway I don't feel the cold much at all, probably because my whole family slept in the basements of our house when was it guest house until I was about thirteen! I sleep upstairs now that we don't have it anymore but my brothers have the basement floor to themselves and it's like a lair!

I also don't really like being hot and stuffy? In Sweden believe it or not I didn't even have any gloves! Someone told me it would snow for two weeks so I was hopeful it would give up, but there was the most snow for 15 years while I was there!? At work though I've been eyeing up these River Island bear face mittens for weeks and weeks, but I have to dash to work most of the time so never had a chance to get them. By the time the shop started opening later for Christmas, they had sold out! However, like I said a few posts ago, I spotted a random pair last week and reserved them until the end of my shift hehe. I get a bit nervous with gloves that I'll drop my buspass and can't find anything in my bag, but mittens are like the happy medium.

They're quite big when you put them on but I believe the key to great style is having everything really cool, whether that's cute or vintage or interesting, whatever! Often you have to pay a little more to get, say, some embellished flats rather than a plain Primark pair, but you'll feel much more confident when you look down and smile because your shoes are so eye-catching rather than something you'll  get over in a week. Most people I think get this feeling from wearing lovely accessories and jewellery, but I never accessorize! I've mentioned this loads of times and even yesterday I set out some jewellery to wear during the week, but I just forget. Also, like being hot and stuffy, I don't like stuff jangling off my wrists and neck. Gotta work on that!

I can channel my accessory failure through my nails though! I haven't had my gel nails redone in literally months, and part of me can last longer because once painted, they look fine. But that one I had redone at Nails Inc. for £7 (?!?!?) has already snapped off and maybe it's a bit gross to have the same bits of plastic on your fingers for so long! I'll wait until payday I think or when I'm next at home. Usually I get them cut quite short but now I'm used to longer nails, this time I'm going to go really long and COVER them in gems and bows! All of the stuff I got on eBay from Hong Kong came today (apart from some fimo canes) and I can't wait! 

I got three sets of the pearls, and also roses, stars and plain gems .I think there is a Hobbycraft near where I work so I might find it tomorrow morning and see if they have any bigger gems. Pictures online are quite deceiving as I thought everything would be double the size, even when I knew it would be smaller! I thought the roses would be huge but actually the circle divider they are in is smaller! I went to a sewing shop and got all these bows and rabbits too, but the heart gems I got are far too big! Maybe I'll stick them on my phone. I want the kind of nails that look really impractical but most of the time things ping off through the day! 

Edit- I also show the gloves in a haul video I made if you don't mind videos! xx