FLYING SAUCER

Snapshots of the Week(s)

Right, it's time! Face mask - check. Internet TV - check. Munchies - check. Finally a night off, woop! Not that I work at night, but my brain does work at night and I live with a million people, so there's not many chances to relaaax in peace and quiet. I've had some holiday from work this week so I've been home to Birmingham again, but I fully booked up my time so haven't stopped! I haven't been snapping photos for blog posts very much but I have been logging things with my Blackberry camera so here are a few buys, outfits and outings, including what I came home for - a Katy Perry concert!!! I have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go on a Zombie Walk back in Bristol.... how do I get talked into these things?!

So starting from two weekends ago when I came home for a friend's birthday, it was of course tan o'clock! I am a rubbish tanner and it all may seem OK in a dark club, but I am streaks galore the next day. My sister just came home too and had a quick outfit change that desired a tan, and she was quite alarmed when she started putting on this DARK lotion! On my pale skin it makes me a nice warm colour though.

This is a sort of 'Nails of the Week' post as I had these flouro green nails for a while! I was fed up of about 4 months of coral so I went for the craziest colour and sort of hated it but sort of loved it.

My Mom gets my sister and I very random little presents sometimes as we both live away now and she found these tweezers that look like me! Seriously, haha!

I live by quite a cheap and cheerful highstreet so I raided the shops and found these mini drawers in Poundland which can house my every-day makeup, and stocked up on cheapie lashes. I forgot to add a disclaimer to my last post on how I store my makeup as I do know I have loooooads of it! However, watching loads of beauty videos showing people with huge collections made me loose touch a bit, even though most of those people are actually makeup artists and if I went near anyone else's face, it would be a disaster!

I have a slight Forever 21 addiction (see below) as they make amazing tops as far as I'm concerned! I got this Disney top with Minnie Mouse bows on a few months ago from the London Oxford Street store and it is sooo cute.

And from cute to erm, glam? Haha my green nails really were a sight! Here I am about to go out for my friend's birthday, wearing double lashes and the Motel Elsa Dress, which is my current 'wear to every occasion with every group of friends until it is all over Facebook' dress as I love it x a million! But I am of course biased :)

Last Friday at work we were discussing top secret and confidential Christmas plans (ooo it's only round the corner!!) and I ended up wearing 3 different types of animal, so to speak. I got a fur coat off eBay that was in River Island last year, and wore a huge River Island Dalmatian print sweatshirt with velvet leggings and New Look leopard print loafers. Usually I dress a lot smarter for work but there are very few of us in our office on Fridays so I take it down a notch.

Also in that animal photo was my GlossyBox under my arm! I can't really review mine as I always share it with everyone in the office, and I don't review things here exactly, but sometimes I just feel like I need to top up my makeup collection, you know? I do sometimes feel mine has space to grow (LOL).

I came home on Tuesday night after work so I could spend Wednesday preparing for Kaaaty Perryyy ahhh! I went to the nail salon as I had desperately outgrown gels by then and couldn't decide on bright coral (again) or neon yellow/green.

I had a little peek in New Look and spotted these gorgeous heels in the blue that I am obsessed with at the moment, I am very tempted!!

Also did a little shop of the cheapie stores and got my favourite hairspray and tan at discount prices and some blood for this zombie walk. Not sure I'll be walking the streets saying 'bbbrrraaaiiinnssss' but I intend to at least have good makeup!

 

First though, omgeee Katy Perryyyyy!!! I went with my FAB uni friends Ellie and Natalie and wowowow it was SO GOOD! The whole thing was a story with your expected crazy sets and antics and it was amazing! Standing in an arena is great as there was loads of room and we could basically stand where ever we wanted! I didn't actually take my camera as I knew I'd spend lots of time taking photos rather than watching but I'll try and nick some of my friend's for you!

 

Haha Natalie got us all blue wigs!! We wore ours for a few comedy photos and during one song but they were quite wild and made us look mental haha! There were loads of great Katy Perry costumes at the gig though. I really want to see The Saturdays and Rihanna now!

Today I shopped round the Bullring and got a few payday purchases! However I'm curbing it now as it's all Christmas present shopping from here on!

I saw these F21 sweatshirts on a few American Tumblrs but I'm so glad they came over here, OF COURSE I got the Little Mermaid one! They also had Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Cinderella there.

Oh Lordy, here are my nails for this week! Like I said, I couldn't decide which colours to go for so I went for both! Very Katy Perry in the Last Friday Night video I thought! I was also talked into getting a tacky flower gem on my ring finger, I have problems saying no!

After Katy Perry, we went to an infamous Birmingham club called Snobs and I just discovered this in my bag that I stole off the wall, haha I'm sure you Midland people will have a chuckle! Snobs is the least calm place. EVER.

And so we come to tonight, where I was chatting to my sister while she got ready to go out and she showed me her new MAC lipstick collection addition- Ruby Woo (on the right). It's really funny how every MAC lipstick she has is an insane colour! (Impassioned/Morange/Cyber/Ruby Woo) I suppose if you are spending that much, it might as well be worth it! I should remember that thought :)

A bad life day!

Today was one of those days! I got blue pen on my white Wildfox tshirt as soon as I got to work and it was another hot, sticky day with fine drizzle so my hair frizzed right up! I felt too gross for even the gym but went into town to get my eyebrows done as I've been meaning to for ages, but I don't know any cheap-but-cheerful salons in central Bristol! I'll look online next time but the only last minute place open was a brow bar in House of Fraser, which consisted of a slooow threading so it was a major painfest and a sales pitch on random eye brow products, and when I got to the till it cost £17!!! Considering it was around £4 where I usually went in Manchester or Birmingham, I nearly cried when I handed over my debit card!

However I popped into Topshop to have a look for the rabbit print skirt (with no joy - should I order it?!) and a denim skirt that I've been eyeing for a few weeks. When I asked if it might have sold out as I couldn't see it, the changing room SA was like 'I don't know, I haven't worked here for long' with no other suggestion and another SA said 'If it was here it should be out' without looking with me, so I was a bit disheartened! And then there was no one on the ground floor at all to help with the shoes I bought (OMG will show you tomorrow!!!). But I'm in a weird shopping mood at the moment where I want to buy new things with the aim of wearing them all autumn but I don't know quite what! I don't want to just copy trends so I have a super fashionable wardrobe as where's your own personality? And I'm wary of buying anything too new in case I don't end up wearing/liking it, but I don't want to buy things similar to anything I already have! 

I just took the first steps and ruthlessly ejected all the summery things from my wardrobe. I made sections of tops, jumpers, skirts, leggings, jeans/trousers and maxi skirts, and will soon pick out a few items that could be key, lots of things that will go with them, and find any gaps where I could buy an on trend item! I'm awaiting an ASOS discount code to pop up as there's loads I'd love to order on there, and I have a Motel wishlist as long as my arm as we have the clothing samples for future seasons at the HQ that won't come out for at least a month so it is very painful to see them every day! P.S. If you haven't liked us on Facebook, I'd really appreciate it if you took a second to do so please as I'm the one writing the statuses :):)

It's Sunday, Sunday!

Forget Friday, it's all about the weekend! I love my  job but that makes weekends even better as I can recharge and get everything sorted for the next week ahead. The difference between being a 'professional' and a student is that you have to live for the weekend and treat yourself, otherwise what are you working for? Like being a student is a mixture of studying and partying with rare cash injections and you are a student 100% of the time, but working only takes up 9-5 every weekday and then your options are open. It's a bit weird!

I hold the importance of treating yourself very highly as I'm not one to scrimp and only shop in sales and get water at the restaurant instead of a drink. Those things would probably be more beneficial for my bank balance but you have to keep yourself happy! I think I've finally settled into the house here and Bristol and work, as the house is a bit more homely now, even if it is still very male! I just cleaned the bathroom though and it made me quite suicidal, I don't think it has been cleaned properly in actual years!!

So as I live in town, I pop to the centre a couple of times a week just to have a look round the shops and get any bits and bobs I need. I've also just joined a gym, which added up to a fortune with the trainers and membership fees that I had to get, even while making do with clothes I have for gym clothes! I seem to have things I have to visit home to Birmingham for all the time but if I'm here on a weekend, I like to spend a little day in town shopping around. I didn't have my camera but I had my phone so here are a few glimpses.

The best H&M seems to be the one outside the main shopping mall and there's loads of good things in there at the moment. I'm cautious of buying anything new right now as I need to plan what sort of trend I want to buy into this autumn and what I already own, but I've settled into a work/weekend style that I can predict. I got this little heart cropped tee as I know on the weekends I always wear jeggings, a cute tshirt and lots of jewellery!

I also popped into Poundland as I was walking through town as I wanted a new container and saw this cute cat box, perfect for a sandwich! Sadly it doesn't even shut properly so I'll have to save it for things stationed at home only. I also got some tissues, some gems I'll use for nails, and a flask where you can store the central tube in the freezer and it keeps your drink cool then for the rest of the day! I haven't actually done anything crazy to my nails in a while - weird! I guess that working in an office now which the potential of visits from big bosses means I don't want to have ridiculous nails. I love crazy nails but 3D nails are quite far into the extreme stages of nail art and can be quite shocking to some people!

The shopping centre in Bristol is called Cabot Circus and it's LOVELY but a bit like a maze! All the entrances are on ground level but they slope to all different levels when you reach the end of the row of shops, so you don't quite know which floor leads back to which entrance! I usually start at Urban Outfitters, though everything is tribal inspired in there right now and super expensive as usual. They have the Seche Vite topcoat there but it's £10 so I haven't picked that up! I saw this lovely swing coat though in navy with green piping, which I would seriously consider if I didn't have three perfectly good coats.

 

I popped into River Island, which has loads of great stuff in and makes me really miss working there! Every time I get something I feel like saying 'I used to work here!' with a big grin but there would be no point to that and the Sales Adviser would be like 'Errr OK!?'. I am literally LIVING in maxi dresses and skirts for work, and wear them about four days out of the five. They are so effortless and always fit well because they barely require any fit at all, and you don't need to worry about perfectly shaved/tanned legs last minute when you're getting ready in the morning! Slim maxis suit me best as I am more pear shaped, so a flared/empire maxi makes me look bottom heavy in an unflattering way, so I got this black maxi with slits up the side for only £20. The slits are just to below the knee and they give the skirt a unique column shape and make it a bit more special than a plain black skirt.

 

I found my way to another exit that has Topshop on the corner and had a browse, but I hardly ever buy clothes from there. Sadly 90% of the things I buy just never look as good as they did on the hanger once I've washed them, and so I can't justify the prices. However, the Leigh jeans in the burgundy colour on the left did catch my eye as I was looking for berry coloured jeggings a few weeks ago. I've decided to just stick to maxi skirts for the next few months but I thought coloured jeans would be fine for work and the Leigh jeans are a good half-jeans-half-jeggings hybrid. I had a pair last year but should have got a smaller size as they definitely get stretched after a few wears. Hmm I think these will haunt me for a few weeks until I at least try them on!

 

Also they still have a jewellery sale with loads left and everything was £1.50!!! I got loads of jewellery and will save it for future birthdays and Christmas presents. I got more than in this picture but I have them in mind for people who may see this post! I also got Head Over Heels cream blush as my Neon Rose one is almost running out, although I've literally has it for more than a year and use it every single day. They're so great! I stipple it on and put another powder blush over the top depending on which colour I fancy that day. Your blush will last from morning until night! I think I'm going to keep the earrings and the ring with the pink pearl at the centre.

 

I was toying with the idea of getting a blazer now I have a daily job but I don't think I need to look so smart and I haven't worn a blazer in years. They're the kind of wardrobe staple that you think would be handy but I think I can survive without one. This nude/beige one in Topshop was £65!!! Lovely though. This coat with a furry collar and cuffs was also looovely but I have my Miss Selfridge coat with a furry collar and cuffs. I definitely recommend those features in a coat, they make a world of difference! So comfy and cute.

I eat at Yo! Sushi at least once a week, I love it!! I still have my student discount hehehe. If you get the refillable Miso soup for about £2, you don't need a drink, and if you only get two dishes, it comes to around a fiver only! I am getting a bit bored of the vegetarian dishes as I've had them all now so there's no fun in trying something new, but they are still so tasty. I love the Vegetable Gyoza and anything with seaweed. Yo! Sushi is also a great place to eat alone as the belt is so entertaining to watch and you're involved with everything rather than sitting at a table alone. Sitting at a table for one in Nando's is a bit boring!

 

I went into Superdrug to check out the Sleek Pout Paints, which I LOVED. I really wanted the peach and coral but they were a fiver each, and even on 3for2, I couldn't really justify that as I have ten thousand peach and coral lip products. I popped along to Boots to check out their deals and the Got2B range is half price so I snapped but a 2 Sexy hairspray for only £2. I have been through at least ten cans of this, it's amazing and smells like raspberries! My old housemate Sophia (who is now teaching English in Colombia, I miss her so much but am so proud :') yay) introduced me to it as she knew Katie Price uses it, and now my Mom and sister use it too!

I've also not been having great hair days recently and it is totally because I refused to buy a new bottle of serum until my Kerastase Ultimate Elixir has ran out, but that is taking an eternity!!! So I just bit the bullet and got my ALL TIME favourite John Frieda Extra Strong Formula Serum, which I've also had a million times and even used to buy it in Sweden where it was £12!! It wasn't even on offer in Superdrug or Boots but I just had to get it, it has been too long!

  

Then I went to Wilkinsons on the way home and got a few plates and kitchen bits as I think nice crockery will encourage me to cook at home more! I got this cute storage box reduced to £1 and am going to use it to put my daily makeup in. I store my makeup in little draws from WHSmith but the stuff I use everyday ends up strewn across my table constantly. This should keep it all tidy but quick to locate. 

I also got a hand blender as my new favourite things are food and healthy living blogs! I think it's because I fantasise about having my own kitchen where I can make and store whatever I want as right now I share with eight others and eat out a lot. I was inspired by Laura of Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish who makes the most glorious looking smoothies!!! Her dessert ice creams look especially amazing. I'm going to try her recommendation of a banana, peach and spinach smoothie first!

I also love Sweet Potato Sarah, who is the reason I am actually able to blog tonight and am not banging my head against the wall as she gave me internet!! Well due to housemates moving in and out of my house all the time, an internet changeover means we haven't had it for a few days and probably won't for a few more, but Sarah answered a desperate tweet of mine when I was about to spend £££ on BT Openzone saying you can get it for free if you have BT Broadband. Well my Mom does so I can use her log in, yay!! Thank you Sarah! And thank you BT, I'm sorry I complained so much about your rubbish home broadband! I can't upload YouTube things but I can blog so Sarah I am so grateful. Please, as a thank you, go over and check out her blog as I love her recipes and food diaries but also love her life updates. Fingers crossed this post will publish OK! Have a great start to the week everyone xx

P.S. I thought I'd mention this as some people may relate but I have been on the contraceptive pill Microgynon for a while and think I have pinpointed it as a source of all my worries! Nothing major but in the past few months I've felt really emotional and up and down all the time, and would cry at anything and wouldn't be able to stop! I know I've had loads of changes and stressful times recently but I just didn't have the positive attitude I normally do and couldn't make a decision and was quite anxious. I don't know if it is placebo thinking but I'm pretty sure I've felt better and much more upbeat, sociable and relaxed since I've stopped taking it for only about a week. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I've heard of these things before as it's just the bog standard pill they give to most people.

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!

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

Ring Things

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!

coats that came and went

I'm getting a little panicky. The perfect suits everything, wearable with camel, not too scary, fresh new coat has not appeared. Really I want something to go with longer skirts so maybe I should start looking at jackets? That way it will be cheaper and wearable right away. I went into town on Thursday (after work, hence the jeans) to run some errands and check out coats. I walked in one side of Topshop and walked straight out the other because I wouldn't get a coat from there as I don't think the quality is great for the price and I'd worry someone else would probably have it. I attend lectures with about 150 girls and guaranteed they all shop in Topshop! I find things from there stand out so much that they're harder to camouflage into your own style. I checked out H&M and saw that cape I posted below, but as someone commented, it is really orange in real life and very thin. I tried on one of the androgynous over-sized camel coats but they don't suit me at all!

I made a beeline for River Island because of my discount and saw this coat I'd spotted online. For some reason it's not there anymore though and I can't imagine it sold out! There was almost one of every size in store. I really love this coat as it has a sort of Icelandic feel which reminds me of Scandinavia and it has the best flared skirt but is still short. Also I LOVE pom poms!! But if the whole point was getting a coat to wear over 50's style high waisted thick skirts and maxi dresses, this wouldn't be a good investment and I'd be back to square one! Also it's a little bit too different and thus attention grabbing so I wouldn't be totally comfortable wearing this every day. There's some styles like child's dresses and 70's wear and sailor stuff that feels so natural that I don't think twice about wearing them at all, but if it were a day when I just wanted to go about my business quickly or didn't feel great, I wouldn't pick out this coat for that day. The same thing is with my purple Reiss coat but because that's such amazing quality, I try to remind myself it's just the colour that some days makes it feel a bit too noticeable, and a colour is a colour, no big deal!

 

I think I'd get that coat if it wasn't totally different to what I'm looking for. I had an incredible coat from Zara a few years ago and wore it for two winters, and would wear it again! It's 60's A-line with a peter pan collar and cropped sleeves, in a subtle black brocade print which has now seen better days. The lining is ripped to shreds! Back then in about 2006 it was only £89 but I tried on this creased, plain coat that day in Zara and it was £99!? I really liked the sleeves and the huge belt at the back but the creases made it seem such bad quality for the price. I also realised I won't be getting a camel coloured coat. The main reason is because I think it's too many of the same tones with my hair already being an orangey/tan colour! In some ways it could work but I'd rather be able to buy a few camel coloured things, and I already have a camel coloured bag.

Ah the search continues, not cool! Maybe I'll start scouting jackets.

hello yellow

Hi lovelies! It's been very interesting to read all the comments from yesterday's post, thanks for contributing! I've been officially out of studying and work for three weeks but somehow have a million things to talk and post about! So I'm rolling them out and will time some for the weekend as there's been a stroke of luck and I'm going to Paris tomorrow. With all the flight mess and the cloud of doom, I've spent the week just waiting to see if it would go ahead (and nearly rebooked!) so have absolutely no plans! I'm visiting a fabulous friend doing study abroad too but she has a job in Paris, so cool! I am bringing fake lash supplies. I'll write some posts in the morning though and time them to go out in the next few days; I just got back from the Arcadia press day in London and might explode with gossip and lustings. I was there at the right time too because I overheard whispers of 'Philip is here' among the collection designers and press officers and sure enough Philip Green was swanning around having his first look at his retailers, wow!

But first I want to talk about yesterday when I went on a shopping trip with Winnie of Diamond Canopy! We're both from Birmingham (calling yourself a 'Brummy' is a bit cringey!) and have met twice before so it was looovely to browse around together and have a gossip over Starbucks. Winnie is marvelous.

It was Winnie's idea to go to Cow, the major vintage shop in Birmingham that's five minutes from the Bullring in a huge warehouse. Everyone knew it as the yellow vintage shop for years and I mentioned it a few posts down, where I got my red dress that I made into the comic strip dress. We both didn't know what to expect as over the years they went from having straight rails up and down the store to introducing customised vintage and different sections. Sometimes it's a bit hit and miss as really who wants an 80's puffy sequin dress? 

But we were so impressed! Before if I recommended Birmingham, I wouldn't have been so confident to overly promote the shop as most towns have vintage stores, but it's really amazing now! They must have got very strict about the things they do put out onto the shop floor as almost everything was clean, wearable, and special. There were no filler polyester dresses or tatty t-shirts or naff smelling floor length frocks.

 

I liked this school girl dress but it was over £20; one of the higher prices. Most things were so reasonable as almost everything was under the £20 mark and you could really justify the mark ups. I also hovered over the strapless velvet dress as it was so something I would have bought maybe three years ago when I wore little prom dresses to clubs. It was in great condition too. A lot of the items had the label 'Salad' in them which seems really random but we thought maybe it was a company that spruced up dead stock?

 

I was pondering tie-dye too for no apparent reason, and really liked this slouchy, chunky playsuit. It reminded me of the really 80's inspired Topshop Unique collection a few seasons ago.

I loved this 70's maxi dress with angel sleeves but on further inspection the under arms were purposely missing! For ventilation maybe?

 

Hahaha we spotted a rail of 80's hammer pants, but even these were amazing patterns that would be hard to come across! Winnie checked out the pair covered in different kinds of peppers and I fondled the Saved By The Bell-esque neon pair!

 

Haha, safe to say we didn't purchase them!

 

I'm not sure these skirts were vintage but I would love a patchwork or rainbow dress for summer! I've looked for the perfect vintage rainbow dress for years.

 

They also have a large men's section that's at least 3/4 the size of the women's section.

 

Winnie and I were very pleased to find a huuuge sale rail, all things £3 or 4 for £10! And these things must have just been in stock for a while as they weren't just the broken or stained items. I liked a pair of yellow high waisted shorts.

 

I don't think it's very common to have such a huge rail of playsuits! And they were all so wearable and cute.

 

I tried on this lace dress but underestimated how large the sleeves were! In the end I got a maxi skirt that has a polka dot tulle overlay- my kind of maxi! Later we browsed around Topshop and H&M and when Winnie went for a hair cut I did some damage to my card in Selfridges, and then did some more when we met up again after! I'll do a haul video tomorrow. So if you're ever passing through Birmingham, the shop is right by the new coach station and is certainly worth a visit; you wouldn't be disappointed!

The last shopper

Am I allowed to make religious puns? Well it is Easter! And today was the last shopping trip to Gothenburg, sob sob. Well it's not sinking, I can return one day, but it is very sad. The end of an era! It almost was the end of all era's when I ended up a bit stranded on a motorway, but that's a different story!

So I rushed around doing errands all morning- you need SO many forms for Erasmus! And it's going to be a nightmare journey again with dreaded Ryan Air and some how getting through London with three cases at midnight. I just about made the bus that I'd planned to get just after lunch time and in an hour I was in a very busy Gothenburg. It reminded me why I always shop on weekday mornings because I was constantly dodging people and hovering on rails waiting for people to browse faster and generally going slowlyyy. All the schools are off of course! But despite H&M being a let down, I actually found the things I was looking for later! This never happens. I did try these H&M skirts but realised grey really isn't my colour.

 

Also Gina Tricot is really pushing the Miu Miu print rip-off; the shirt was cute but nothing special.

 

I headed to Weekday and found the leopard shoes I posted about! They didn't have my size out and I assumed they'd sold out, but on a whim I spotted an SA and she retrieved me a pair! Again, you can use Filippa's shopping service if you want Swedish stuff as I recommend these booties, they are so comfy! And they're roomy and don't feel high when on as they're really light. I thought the way they lace up might hit an unflattering part of the ankle but they're cut quite low so your legs don't look stumpy at all, and the peep toe is verrry small. I haven't worn peep toe in years! I was so surprised to actually find them that I took them to the counter straight away, and they were only about £45. They're canvas, and considering Weekday sells t-shirts for £20, that's really good! 

 

I also hovered over these Cheap Monday jeans because I always turn to trousers in Spring for some reason, and they looked seriously cute. Loads of people were trying them on though and I took a step back and though hmmm, if they weren't Cheap Monday I probably wouldn't be so attracted to the farmer vibe. Also all the changing rooms were full for ages, and Weekday have those weird mirrored cubicles where the doors are two feet off the ground and only come up to your neck, so you can see exactly who is in there and people can just walk past and look over the door! It's almost like you must be totally gorgeous and confident if you want to shop in Weekday. Shopping for jeans takes lots of trial and error so I decided to leave them, despite a cute SA asking if I needed help. I'm going to miss all these well dressed guys!! Also whenever people speak Swedish to me in shops (as in every time) and I say ah I'm sorry, can we speak English?, they always say 'ohhh, you look Swedish!'. And how do you look Swedish? Ditch the eyeliner, people! I don't wear any anymore and it's fabulous.

 

I also went to Bik Bok, Zara, Topshop, the other Weekday, three Monki's, Ahlens, and Din Sko. Sweden definitely does winter better than summer, I just didn't see anything exciting. If you're wondering, Gothenburg is right by rivers and it's a mix of old trams and massive new malls. It's not as traditional as I though it would be.

  

I popped into another H&M and found it to have much better Divided stock than in the main mall, and found a jacket I'd been looking for too! I'd asked an SA in the mall if they were sold out in-store as well as online, and she gave me a pitying look and said 'aww no, that jacket sold out', so I assumed it was loooong gone, but then found loads in the nearby H&M! It's like a mini biker jacket but in cream lace, I bet they're in the UK soon or now; I'll post it when I can take an outfit photo! 

I started feeling really sad in Monki as you just can't get the strange, over-sized cuts anywhere else in such crazy patterns. I wanted to buy up everything! But in the end again I got what I came for, a Monki teddy! You know their logo are these little Monki animals called 'Monki friends' and they have teddies all around the store with different faces and in different colours. I knew I wanted one since I first came here because it's the best memento of my year abroad and the great times I've had shopping in there with friends and even myself. Instead of sticking photos on the wall, I can always have the teddy in my room and it will represent the time when I could visit the best shop ever!  It really is an important Swedish shop! I wanted the pink one but I picked the one with the nicest face and it's called 'Oki' apparently! Thank god everything I bought today is really light, even the shoes, as tomorrow is packing D-Day. Will everything fit? Nope!

The luckiest shopping day in history - Part Two!

If you're reading directly from the blog, check out part one below first! Thanks for all the overnight comments guys, I guess I never considered why I document a shopping trip but it's a rare occurrence nowadays!

So I stopped when I'd just got a lipstick and then left the main mall and went to some of the smaller ones on the streets. I crossed the tram line and the river about ten seconds outside and went into Zara. I knew that if I wrapped up for the snow I'd be so hot in the shops and I was right! I was wearing a jumper but took that off- and I'd actually worn my oversized Monki tshirt because it's easy to whip off in a changing room haha! The Zara store is a decent size and had a large sale section with a huge mound of tops and general leftovers and rejects of the sale. Shoppers were thumbing rails in a busy frenzy so I just looked across and right there were two more furs! I've said how I was hunting shaggy furs on eBay in the past week and then suddenly I see two! What's more, I happened to find three furs in different colours and styles, so I could choose the optimum! 

I will do a separate post for these as I need some help deciding which to keep, but here's the overview. The first two are the Zara furs, which were the only ones in the store and in my size??!! The first was reduced from about £40 to £10 and is cropped but quite puffy, but the fur is a duller white which is more versatile. The second is a looong black gillet which is seriously warm but sleeveless, and I don't wear sleeves too much! I took that to the till and found out the price was £10 reduced from £60, so I bought it too!

 

The last is the H&M coat, which is a brighter white and very shaggy, so makes the most impact! Argh I can't decide!!! If the H&M one was in black I would go for that, but I do like white and it's not that much crazier, I mean it's only white! A short fur jacket would be much safer too and I just feel like they might look a bit crazy-lady ish? Not sure? I don't think I'd wear these with a guy, put it that way, and that's sometimes my deal breaker. But then again, I don't want to dress for guys! Ah I'm still thinking about it. What do you think? I'm only going to keep one!

 

I also picked up this umbrella reduced from about £15 to £5 with skeletons and stars on! By now I had quite a few bags and the furs were bulky so it was getting a bit hard to get around! I popped into Mango but I think their merchandising is terrible and therefore didn't see anything calling out, so I set off for Topshop. Because these shops were all in the same mini mall, I was just walking through on the path straight to Topshop and just so happened to catch sight of a small, full-length window with some designer goods inside. I did a double take and walked back to peek at the Marc by Marc and See by Chloe. The shop was a tiny boutique-y place with embellished rails and sparkles all over the place; there was a lot of Juicy Couture! I happened to look in the doorway and saw a REALLY strange sign: '18th Amendment, 500kr.' Now this is possible the WEIRDEST thing ever because I have been searching for these jeans for the past three years! Here's the proof of when I first spotted them in the weekend Guardian on 20th January 2007!!!!!! I wrote about them when I used to blog from LiveJournal?!

18th Amendment are an Australian brand that made vintage inspired jeans named after silver screen icons, and if you've followed my blog for a while you'll know I love the film Dazed and Confused, and have a special penchant for 70's super-tight, high-waisted flared jeans. I just love the way that era was so new and nonconformist, and the fashion styles were major statements but done in such a cool, casual way. And high-waisted jeans feel amazingly good! They make your legs look so long and require high heels or wedges, but of course they cover your legs. So you feel super sexy but are still all covered so it's not too much! What's makes it EXTRA strange is that in 2009 I went on a shopping trip to finally hunt the perfect high-waisted flared jeans, as I'd only ever found skinny styles, and found a pretty good French Connection pair, but they still weren't high waisted enough. I have a long torso and small waist so anything usually deemed high-waisted really isn't. When I say high-waisted, I want something actually right up to my waist, not just above my hips! The thing that makes this weird is that on the day I was looking for the perfect jeans that I'd been hunting forever, I looked online at who stocked 18th Amendment as I'd always remembered them as looking perfect. I found the Manchester designer store Flannels stocked the brand, and they told me they'd gone to their outlet store in the Northern Quarter. I went there and tried on a pair, but they didn't fit so I deemed the brand as unsuitable for me. And that's the day I browsed around the rest of the outlet warehouse and found my super cheap and equally fateful Miu Miu shoes!!! So 18th Amendment have already lead me to great things, and it was SO strange to see them in a random boutique in Gothenburg in Sweden?!

I went inside the shop and saw they had three different styles, one being the Bacall 'True  High Waist, Wide Straight Leg' style in 'Heartbreaker' so they have HEART SHAPED POCKETS!! I actually said in my 2007 LiveJournal post about this style: 'They are perfection. If only I had £185. IF ONLY!' Well today they happened to be in front of me and 2799kr down to 500kr, which is about £240 to £45!!!! They had a small changing room with a purple velvet fringed curtain that didn't even pull all the way across but I threw off my velvet leggings (see I truly wear them constantly!) and they are an AMAZING fit! Reeeally high-waisted and the perfect colour. They're of course miles too long but I'll get them taken up in England in two weeks and will wear them with platform wedges!! They're actually the best purchase in history! And it was SO lucky that I actually happened to glance right at a window when I was daydreaming straight on the path to Topshop!

The sales assistant was throwing a spin on the jeans but I knew I was going to get them as soon as I put them on! I'm a bit cautious as I consciously put on a bit of weight over Christmas as I was fed up of being bony, and so I'll have to try and keep this weight constant! Nothing major, I just don't think I was really eating enough. When food is so expensive, you're not keen on using up lots of it!

By now I had looots of bags haha, people kept looking at me strangely! I did hit Topshop but they add a third of the price, and TS isn't exactly value for money anyway. Everything I looked at was just a bit insane. They do have a large Beyond Retro section though, here you can see their signature tutus! If you're ever in Gothenburg and are wondering where all the cool dressers and hot guys are, they're all browsing BR!

 

I walked into the store and saw this bow print crop top right away but this face shows what I thought about the £30 price tag. Really that much for a little bit of printed cotton? And this skirt was nearing £50!  Just really ridiculous.

I was feeling a bit worried that I was adding a lot of new things to my full wardrobe, but I went onto BikBok and browsed their great sale! There was nothing I wanted though, but I did pick up these three necklaces on their '3 for 50kr' sale, which is less than a fiver! I might save them for birthday presents if I don't wear them myself!

 

I was excited for Weekday but it was actually really bad! They had a huge sale on Cheap Monday but I wasn't looking for anymore jeans, although I've never tried CM, what's their fit like? Swedish girls look really great with their super slim legs and small hips, so their tight jeans with high boots look quite subtle but really cool, but my shape isn't like that so I wouldn't be able to get the effect! Weekday didn't seem to have any stock in, and what they did have was just random and boring, like they're trying too hard to be cool. I think this Cheap Monday dress was very strange, the black bits were almost like duct tape!

It was nearing four hours of shopping now, so I wrapped it up by picking up these boots in H&M for around £20. They were literally the only boots I found that were OK for snow and cheap enough. I'll take off the buckle because it looks a bit tacky, but I still don't particularly love them. Maybe I'll look in the shoe shops here before I wear them.

As I was getting some lunch/tea, I found there's ANOTHER Monki too! So there's actually three in Gothenburg! They had a much bigger sale section but I didn't see anything better than what I'd already got. I made my way to the station and hopped on the next train with an English Cosmo, but slept all the way back! And so that was my big shopping day, making me not want to shop again for a good few months! My purchases are all in their bags waiting to be worn, and I'll return some furs next week when I got to Gothenburg via Copenhagen. I'll do separate posts for the jeans and coats as I'd love your opinion on which to choose!