Hi, I'm Selina. I have just completed my degree at the University of Manchester and now work for my favourite brand Motel Rocks as the Promotions Assistant in Bristol! I am originally from Birmingham and studied in Sweden for a year too. Have a question?
Check out my about me page or email me at jelibaby[at]hotmail.com
Evening all! Gosh it's hot isn't it? Boiling! I have to dry my hair in about half an hour which won't be too fun! I've just been on a veeery cheeky shopping trip as I needed to pick up another hair tint from Superdrug and they didn't have my colour. I popped into River Island and had to try on the shoes I'd blogged about yesterday, and then had to buy them! I tried on the floral pair but they were a bit too *much* for all the patterned things I already own, so I got the nude/taupe pair. The hidden platform really elongated your legs and improved your posture, and I got £8 off as they have a mark on the front which I'll try to remove!
I tried on these aztec flatforms too which were fab but would have sealed the deal if the platform was really oversized. I couldn't decide so I tweeted my dilemma - thank you for all your help! I thought I could the new trainers with: neon, Riding Pants, my pink Circle Skirt, high waisted denim shorts, my leather rucksack, a sleeveless polo neck, and I'm wishing I owned a neon green, rolled-up sleeve sweater/top from the H&M Trend section that I spotted last weekend. Why Bristol doesn't have H&M Trend, I really don't know.
As for shoes I don't really wear, I've only worn the River Island beauties below a handful of times as they need a certain sort of outfit and occasion. They're definitely one of a kind and a really unique shape, with lots of straps. I wish I had more occasions to wear them!
Right now... right now... resisting temptation and stepping away from the website... argh! So I'm trying to save money like crazy in order to go on some holidays and generally get out of here and away this year but it's rather hard at the start of the season with all this lovely newness. There are loads of things I'm loving right now and I'm like a magpie to prints. How good would the floral sweater and leggings be together in a nod to the pyjamas-in-the-daytime and head-to-toe-prints trends? Very! Absolutely perfect for maybe a Thursday at the office. However I'm mentally visualising if all these things were suddenly sitting in my wardrobe right now and how I could always wake up and wear something else in there. I've got a couple new things that still feel jazzy (internet shopping ftw) so I'm moving on. Tough stuff! Miss my River Island discount!
This was a tough question!! I can't decide if my favourite store is H&M or River Island, but if River Island had H&M's price points, it would seal the deal. I do have a soft spot for River Island as I worked there as an SA for nearly a year, and I love going in and seeing the new or move-on lines and how they are merchandising the store. I got this black maxi skirt with slits up the sides for only £20 a few weeks ago and it is a staple already! It goes with everything! I wear maxi skirts SO MUCH it is unreal. Well fitting trousers are too hard to find and it's too hot for tights yet. I got this Forever 21 top when I visited home for the birthday and it's my favourite at the moment; a bit Wildfox inspired I think!
I also snapped up these boots of PERFECTION in River a couple of weeks ago. I was looking for some chunky ankle boots with a little heel but all the nice ones in Topshop are sold out or are too expensive. These aren't real leather so they were only £40! They're hanging them on the clip hangers so move quickly because I predict these will sell out at that price. They are so comfy too! I can't wait to wear them with tights so I definitely need to bust out my huge bag of a million tights ready for a few weeks time.
It's been extremely busy at work at the moment so I haven't had much time to blog and I am having huge sleeping problems as I'm sure I heard a mouse in my room at 5am on Tuesday! I stayed in my housemate's spare bed and last night too but he is not in tonight so I am braving my room! I am listening out to every little sound and am definitely not paying rent until it is sorted; our neighbours had pest control in yesterday so I'm thinking they will all visit our house instead aaaaargh!!!
I haven't quite read my Elle UK issue this month but I did study the accompanying Runway Edit supplement as I was dying to know what is 'in' for this Autumn! I've been out of the runway fashion loop this year due to exams and having to go into uni for only about two hours, twice a week. It felt like a waste of makeup! And I lived in my jeggings. But working now means I need a minimum of five great outfits every week, and in a fashion office, anything goes as long as it's neat and presentable! I make a lot of effort in the mornings with my hair and makeup so it's nice to feel it's justified!
Elle is usually confusing when proclaiming something like the 'moderntrouser' is in, and none of your wardrobe seems to satisfy or dissatisfy this. However there's apparently a trend dubbed 'opticshock', which is everything bright, patterned, dotted, embellished, printed, glittery and furry all put together. This means I can transfer the spring brights trend!
Miss Selfridge cropped tee, New Look vest underneath, River Island maxi, New Look belt.
I was in London on Thursday for the Motel showroom launch party, which was fabulous and I met loads of lovely bloggers! I'll post about that next as I have a shopping list the size of my arm. Anyway, I knew the River Island sale started that day and that Oxford Street shops are open until late on Thursdays so I popped along at about 8.30pm and the sale was huuuge but almost everything was on the floor or in huge piles draped over fittings, about ten items deep. I could have took a photo because it was an unbelievable sight, but as you probably know, I was a River Island SA until very recently and it's no fault of the staff, it's customers that shop a bit too brutally. I've spent many sale shifts just picking things up and hanging them for hours and hours and it's hard to keep up, so the size of the Oxford Street store sale seemed way too big to cope, and it was late on the very first day in sale.
I had a glance and russell through it all and spotted this coral pink maxi skirt (it doesn't seem to be on the website) for £20 from £35. I had ordered the exact same skirt in blue from the website the night before but I'm really glad I picked this up in the end as it was meant to be this dark blue but in real life it's the forest/turquoise green below. I'll have to return it tomorrow! Or probably swap it for more sale things...!
The skirt had a mark on the back and so I got a further 10% off, so it was only £18. It is my homage to the infamous Jil Sander maxi that covered Elle, and I love everything high waisted. My skirt is more of a coral colour, so according to this 'opticshock' trend prediction, in the autumn I'll hopefully pair it with a contrasting colour top or something striped or polka dotted!
Also I'll probably do a room tour video or take some snaps this week of my Bristol home!
Hi all! I've been meaning to post about the mini holiday I went on about two weeks ago but thinking of it makes me quite sad! I only went for three full days as I didn't have that much time after I finished exams and started work, so it was very last minute. I really, REALLY wanted to go on holiday after the year of having assignments 100% of the time and also working at River so I persuaded my then boyfriend to go with me as none of my friends could! That's also why it's a bit sad to look at the pictures as we live in different cities now but girls run the world this blog so I won't go on about that! But yes I went on holiday with a boy so I had to give strict warning that I would take ages to get ready and wear makeup to the pool/beach.
We got a reeeally cheap deal in the end to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of Spain for only £100 each including flights, hotel transfers, and an apartment with this amazing view! It was called Guanabara Park and Gran Canaria seems to be made up of a lot of resorts in valleys so we were up in the hills with this amazing view. It was a ten minute walk down to the beach and there was a hotel pool too, and a taxi up the hill was about 3euros so we just took loads! This is the 360 view from our balcony, and the apartment was huge and really clean; everyday our sheets were changed and the cleaners even did the washing up!
I didn't know the plane would be four hours long though as the clocks don't change in the islands so I was so bored! Here's a little Nails of the Week shot; I got them done in the salon in this fluro orange/pink colour called Amp'd Up by Colour Club, which I definitely have to buy as I have been looking for something like it for ages. My doodles are a sign of major boredom!
So I took total advantage of being a blogger with a boyfriend aka photographer, so I'm very grateful for all the photos! I did a video haul before the holiday as our deal was so cheap because we booked it the day before! It was the only time I could guarantee I could go away as before I had to move all my things home to Birmingham and sort out where I'm living now, etc, so when we knew we'd both have a few free days, we just booked it! So I left my boyfriend's in the morning and did a mad dash around town to pick up sandals and a hat and sun lotion and all other essentials.
I was lucky to have chose a sun hat as it was 35 degrees there!!! Insane! BBC weather said around 25 but apparently that is taken from the north of the island and we were in the south so it was scorching!
The hat is from New Look and was only about £7! The only problem about the island was that the food was really not great for vegetarians. We went self catering because we wanted to eat out but every restaurant was part of an open mall full of exactly the same restaurant selling every meal you could ever ask for! There was nothing traditionally Spanish. Also the vegetarian stuff usually went as far as pizza or an omelette, although we hunted down some places that were a bit better! This was a shot of rum that was given at the end of one meal.
So I have photos of almost every outfit I wore, bar the two days travelling. I wore my River Island fluro coral bikini finally, yay! I wore it that day with a River Island crop top and shorts from last year and sandals I quickly picked up in New Look. I also got one of those flower garland headbands from River Island, which I'd really recommend if you are going on holiday as you can wear them in the sea or pool and they make having wet hair feel a bit more glamourous!
I got this H&M maxi dress in 2008! I've only worn it on one holiday and the material is very beachy so I can't wear it at any other time! It's lovely though and perfect for the beach.
At night it was still so hot that I didn't wear half the stuff I brought, especially not heels! Here I'm wearing a H&M vest dress that I picked up in their current sale and an ASOS nude dress with cut-outs at the sides. Haha that night my boyfriend did karaoke in a bar and I was sitting outside but he was looking towards me so all the holiday makers in the bar were looking at me! He sang my name at one point too and everyone was like 'awww', haha I was so embarrassed! I included a little clip in the video below :)
I got this H&M dress recently but haven't worn it as it feels a bit much for daytime! However it's really lovely and has a cut-out at the back too. This was the hat I got and really used all the time because it was so hot!
It's quite dull here because it was about 10pm at night! This was our last night and I was really sad to be going so soon, it seemed like everyone around us had been there for weeks and we'd only just got there!
This was the beach in the daytime and there were many more to visit too. One day we got on a boat and went across to another beach, where we sat up on the boat roof. It was so scary but fun!
So that was my mini holiday! Can't wait until next summer, I'd love to go with my family or friends! Here are my outfits in video form and a few funny clips:
Almost a week of the challenge done! I did a presentation today and we handed in a 20 credit group project so things are coming to an end! No breaks yet though, I have an essay in for Monday, which is the extent of my weekend plans.
I recorded this Outfit of the Day when I was at home and only just uploaded it as it coincidentally fits with today's challenge. I'm not sure about outfits of the day on video but they're much easier than photos, and a recorded outfit is better than no outfit! Some Youtubers who do whole 'lookbooks' of outfits that I like are BeautyCrush, SoTotallyVlog and ThePersianbabe; check them out as they're all great! It's easy to criticise outfits on film but they're entertaining to watch and I think give a tonne of inspiration, even if it's not something you would wear yourself.
I included these River Island heels in a Work Wishlist ages ago and had an inkling they would go into the sale, which they did! After I handed in my dissertation after 25 straight hours perfecting it (eeek!), I went up to town just as the sale started and spotted a coral pair too. Both are gorgeous but I tried them on and woah, they are not so lovely to walk in. I'm quite good at not buying things to I decided to leave them reduced to £25, but when they were further reduced to £12.50, snapped them up!
I usually wear chunky, straight heels with a platform so I wouldn't wear these to dance in, but maybe to a restaurant or bar. I've got to find some sort of graduation outfit soon which is weird as I'm not too bothered! I don't think the day will be that pleasurable as it won't be fun walking across a stage in front of loads of people and I don't like being the centre of attention, despite being a Leo! I know you're meant to wear a 'posh' dress maybe but I'm not keen to buy something I won't wear again and maybe it's not a good idea to wear heels in case they contribute to falling over on stage, the worst nightmare of all!
Anyway, I love the way these shoes are almost pointed but the sides are curved so it's not as harsh, and of course the studs on the back! Just have to be careful they don't get splashed as they'd be hard to clean, which won't be hard during the lovely weather we're having here lately.
So Easter has officially begun and I did my last shift at River! I don't know what I'll do on a Wednesday and Thursday now! Well, I know it's going to be time for revision and exams but I haven't done anything else on those days for about seven months. It was sad to leave, I love my job! And I'll always have a soft spot for River Island when I go shopping, that store has some serious hidden gems and the new Chelsea Girl collection is based on archived pieces. Loads of customers come in to say they used to work at Chelsea Girl (before it became River) and recognise the clothes! There's a styling competition on the website for Cosmo too if any of you are fashion students!
I was looking round the store this week for any last buys with my staff discount and I am very intrigued by all these 'palazo' trousers. When I was at the River charity jeans day in Liverpool, there were loads of girls shopping in super tall wedges and huge, floaty floral trousers looking great! Maybe if a pair were short enough they could be worn with flats, almost disguised as a maxi skirt? I could get away with wearing them to lectures with flats, they just look super comfy! I'll have to have a day in town and try on loads of pairs, the most reasonably priced ones I've seen are in River Island; have you seen any nice ones anywhere else? They would also be PERFECT on a beach holiday, of which I haven't booked yet but I am definitely planning for!
I bought a couple of things recently online and in shops, I think it was the great weather and because I didn't really buy anything for the whole of March. I was home a few weekends ago and popped into Forever21 in the Bullring after I'd met my friend, and was pleasantly surprised! I actually got some clothes, which I showed in a haul video that I still have to edit. All my editing programmes put the sound out of sync so I'm still searching for something that works! The F21 jewellery section is like nothing else and I got this ring for only £5.90. It's like an amour ring with jewels in and it moves into three different parts. Sadly the quality is rubbish as another ring I got from there broke straight away and now one part of this one keeps falling off. If I'm in town soon I'll see if they have any more in stock or see if my brothers can fix it.
It's not my normal style but you can go a bit crazy with rings; it's only a ring! I also got this black and tarnished silver ring below, almost like a 'tube' ring. I put it on my little finger for this photo though as it's gets totally stuck on my other fingers and is so thick, it won't come off! It was £4.90.
In the River Island sale right now I got this huuuge ring that has already been in a million sales! I kept seeing it and now it's only £4, so I thought it would be good on a night out with no other jewellery. The middle part is a mirror!
I don't normally buy into blogger trends but one day I thought 'I need a double finger cross ring in my life!!!' So I got this cute tarnished gold one from Dainty Dollymix, also a fab beauty blog!
I'm still not sure on this Revlon polish, it's quite milky so it can look a bit dirty and dull. It's just not doing it for me! I'll wait until inspiration strikes to do my next nails though, at the moment I'm trying to crack on with work! I've got my GoogleReader down to zero and brought home a million heavy books yesterday so I'm on the way! I sound very on track on here but I'm trying to do it early and slowly so I don't get the exam depression and desperation!
You probably know by my many Work Wishlists that, like most sales assistants, I have constant favourites in my shop, especially when payday nears! Spending hours hanging, sorting and searching for clothes means you consider everything, not only to advise customers, but you look at everything as though it's in your own personal wardrobe. Since studying in Sweden last year, I still love knowing exactly what's in the shops but I'm a much faster shopper as there seems to be so much out there! In Sweden I had access to very few shops so the high street always seems so jam packed now, and it's much better for my purse that I only sway towards things I really love and consider purchases much more.
I've been waiting for absolutely ages to get a bunch of things from my River Island store as payday is every four weeks and I had some vouchers to spend and I had to wait for a time when the store was quiet enough for a staff purchase! This isn't often so last week I managed to do a dash and grab in a spare five minutes and got everything I've been hovering over in one swoop! I also made a video haul which I'll embed at the end of the post!
The thing I've been wanting for a million years is this crochet 'barrel' bag, which sounds like a disaster but it's the most perfect size for Uni, especially since my last school bag was stolen and I've been using a baby one since! This just fits my notebook and all my daily extras, but it's not quite A4 size, which is fine as I use an A5 book! I cut some more holes in the shoulder strap so it sits a bit higher near my hip, or I just carry it on my elbow when shopping/getting on the bus! And the River Island tag isn't slap bang in the middle like a lot of the bags.
Do you recognise these studded flats from a previous wishlist too? I've been watching them like a hawk in case they started selling out but numerous scanner checks left me safe in the knowledge that I'd get them one day! The stretchy bit at the back is a bit uncomfortable at first but I haven't seen flats like these anywhere, apart from maybe Louboutin loafers, but I think these are cuter!
I impulsed on these stacked bangles too because as historically known, I find it a real chore to accessorise. I still feel ridiculous with things gangling around but I'll try to teach myself!
I'm really undecided about these jeggings as I already have a dark Miss Selfridge pair and the floral pair I got last week (which are online now here!) but which to keep: the light pair or mid blue pair? Commenters on YouTube said that the light pair would be good in the summer, but I don't usually wear cooler colours like light blue, even though they are a definite blue in real life rather than white like in the photo. However I could wear the navy pair right away, although I might as well wear my Miss Selfridge pair? I could keep them both but four pairs of jeggings is maybe a bit much? The weather is making it seem like I'll be living in them anyway for the next month at least as it's still cold and rainy, until I can get my skirts and maxi dresses out!
I also ran a few errands in town and checked out the River in the Arndale as they have more stock, and I eagle-eyed these hareem jogger type trousers that were in the sale a few weeks ago but sold out in my store. They should have been taken off the shop floor but they must have mistakenly been put behind another line as they didn't have sale tags, yet I knew they were £10 really! These are not like anything I already own, apart from maybe some hareem floral trousers, as they're practically joggers. They're high waisted with a tie string and zips, and they're cut quite slim and are tighter at the ankle, so they're not MC Hammer style but more high waisted trousers in a super soft material. They are like wearing pyjamas! They make my bum look even more like the size of Mexico though so I'd wear my Topshop swooping cardigan over to cover the back.
And then major impulse of the century- I bought a bikini! I'm not even going on holiday! We had this in our store but it sold out and I love the colour; it doesn't photograph perfectly but it's a fluro coral/orange/pink that will look greeeat with a (fake!) tan! And it has cute little gold cube beads on the ends of the ties, and the roses are all enhancing, which is only a good thing! I even already have a bikini from River Island that I got when I worked in a Birmingham store in the summer; at least I can mix and match the bottoms!
I might take one pair of the jeggings back tomorrow, ah I can't decide! I might try them both on and see. Here's the video where you get a close up of the buys:
And the video from the River IslandJeans Swap day is online! Haha major points if you spot Gemma and I in the background of any shots!
I think the recent absense of skirts and tights in my daily outfits has just crossed over to leggings and jeggings! I spotted these River Island floral jeggings in the Arndale store and bought them without even trying them on. They're are perfect for Spring when it finally arrives, although it's definitely lovely recently! Still super cold though but I wore these yesterday with my Miss Selfridge cream coat. They're very thin and stretchy so they fit your legs well, but the stretch around the waist means they fall down easily; a belt is definitely needed! I went to my River store early today before work with a huge shopping list so expect a haul tomorrow, I bought a tonne. These floral jeggings aren't on the site but they have the same styles in plain colours, light blue and navy (which I bought both of today!). I'm sure they'll be up online in a few days!xx
