have yourself a merry little christmas

Merry Christmas all! Hope you've had a lovely couple of days, whatever you have been doing! Mine have mostly consisted of copious amounts of food and alcohol, lots of time spent with the loved ones, working in the awful Boxing Day sale, a trip into town to hunt down some bargains, several Just Dance battles and a night in with munch + films on TV. I absolutely love Christmas and can't quite believe how fast it's gone this year! 

I also can't get over how utterly spoilt I've been this year; I'm planning to post on some of my favourite gifts as soon as we have a day with an ounce of sunlight so I can photograph my goodies, it's so miserable here today! I've picked up a few things in the sales which I'll also share once everything has been delivered, etc! It's crazy to think there's only three days left of 2012, where has this year gone?! I've had a wonderful time this past week but now reality is settling back in fast with my looming early January deadlines, boo! So whilst I get stuck into my uni work/procrastinate, those of you with time off work enjoy the rest of your Christmas holidays, you lucky buggers you!

downtime

night in with tumblr; costa coolers in the cold; v&a; cheeky sauna after the gym; cute owl slippers in next; next homeware; being cheered up by my mate channing; gone blonder; twilight time; butlins booze; all packed and ready to go; train beverages; skool reunion; drunk times; nerd outfit; girlies; i moustache you a question; gals; drunken guitar hero; won £5 on donkey derby; i don't even..; the steroironics; train essentials; uni christmas meal; all trimmed up; lost my chimichanga virginity; ate so much i nearly died.

Hellooo, I can't believe it's been a whole month since the last time I blogged, naughty Charlotte! I'm really disappointed as I thought I was getting on a bit of a roll with regular posting and what not but sometimes life just catches up with you, sigh! No need to worry though; everything is back on track and I'm back to being a real happy bunny just in time for the festive season(:

I know the last post I did was an Instagram style post but they are the best way to have a bit of a catch up even though they look a little silly next to each other! I haven't had the most exciting of months; one visit to London for some uni' research, one trip to the cinema to see Twilight, two nips into town for some Christmas shopping, three wild nights in Butlins and an uncountable number of nights in trying to chip away at my mountain of university work! Okay so maybe not the most boring of months!ha.

I've really missed blogging and have had a wave of ideas for posts but the amount of uni' work that's due in after Christmas is putting a stop to my plans. I'm going to try and post a couple of times over the next couple of weeks but if I don't you know it's because I'm buried under a pile of dissertation and collection work):

sunday post #022

 strawberry smoothie; it looked better than it tasted; rise + shine, sleepy head; sarah + I last saturday; puffa face; cringing 'ell; lunch date with mumsy; guilty pleasure week; sunday munchies; favourite yankees; uni work progress; kelly o gimme ya hair.

nails; frosted lilac

TOPSHOP nails in waterlily £5; OPI care to danse? + pirouette my whistle mini £12.95 (part of a set)

I love this combo of nail varnishes! The OPI shade 'Care to Danse?' matches Topshop's 'Waterlily' perfectly! I paired them together to create an opaque, super glossy base of this gorgeous muted, pinky-lilac colour. To finish, I added a layer of 'Pirouette My Whistle' which is in-fact a lot more sparkly than the images portray. There's tiny glitter particles joined with flecks of frosted silver glitter which sits perfectly next to the lilac. This is going to be my go to nail until I can find the perfect winter red!

i'm latching on to you

RIVER ISLAND faux leather biker jacket (old)

H&M chiffon shirt skater dress (old)

H&M mint fluffy jumper £19.99
ASOS felt boater hat £18

RIVER ISLAND silver tone spike necklace £12

RIVER ISLAND cross body tassel bag (old)

RIVER ISLAND black lace frilly ankle socks £4

RIVER ISLAND chelsea boots (old)

  

Due to my uni' session being cancelled today I finally got chance to take some outfit pictures, yay! It is the most miserable, foggy day today so I had to turn the flash on to take these photos, not 100% happy with them but it's a start I suppose! This is the typical sort of thing that I usually wear to uni; simple, comfy + warm! Weirdly, I tend to wear more dresses + skirts in the winter months as I'm yet to find a pair of boots that look nice with my skinny jeans, I'm so fussy! As you can see by the description my spending ban has made me dig out quite a few bits that I bought last winter but I've updated them by layering this mint H&M jumper on top! I have had so many compliments on this jumper and it looks a lot more expensive than £20. The only down side, it moults like crazy! This chiffon dress is the only thing I can pair it with that doesn't have me de-fluffing myself every ten minutes!

look what i bought #002

RIVER ISLAND marabou pom pom beanie £15; URBAN OUTFITTERS multi glitter crop top £18 + sparkle & fade lurex cut-out crop top £16; RIVER ISLAND silver tone spike necklace £12 + silver tone pyramid stud earring £1.50; BOOTS umberto giannini glam hair backcomb in a bottle + umberto giannini incredible body root boost volume spray for big hair 2 for £7.50, collection shimmer shades way to go £4.19; rimmel 60 second nail polish in grey matter £3.69; 17 nail polish dazzle the night £2.99.

I've been trying really hard to contol my spending lately (with Christmas coming up and all) but these few bits managed to slip through the net, oopsy! It's so hard trying not to spend when there are so many nice things in the shops at the moment! I'm not really a hat person but I had to pick up this bobble hat; I think the feathers add a feminine touch to the masculine look. I bought the two Urban Outfitter crop tops to wear with the Topshop pink peplum skirt that I featured in my last 'look what I bought' post. I ended up wearing the second silvery top so I should really take the other one back but it's just too pretty! I also bought this necklace to wear out Saturday and it hasn't left my neck since! It looks heavy but it is so light weight and finishes off an outfit perfectly. With so much drama going on with the necklace, I needed understated earrings to wear and these little studs are perfect for under £2!

I went into Boots to buy hairspray and ended up buying a pile of other bits instead! I love the Umberto Giannini Backcomb In A Bottle so when I saw the deal on in Boots I decided to give the Root Boost a try. I also repurchased the Collection Shimmer Shades as mine smashed when I went on holidays. Finally I bought these two nail varnishes to compliment my outfit from Saturday night. The 17 Dazzle the Night polish looks amazing on (post to follow)!

 

opi new york city ballet minis

OPI new york city ballet minis; my pointe exactly, don't touch my tutu!, care to danse?, pirouette my whistle.

This cute mini collection is part of my I-went-a-bit-nuts-in-cancun-airport haul from back in mid September! I originally had my eye on the Minnie Mouse Collection (in particular the shade "Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It") whilst in Birmingham airport but failed to actually purchase them, boo. So when I saw this little set in Cancun airport for a mere $11 (around £7.30) I basically pounced on it! Even though this is a Spring collection; these soft, pastel colours are perfect winter hues for a major pastel polish fan like me!

 My Pointe Exactly; a sheer neutral, pastel grey polish, with an added sheer gloss finish - Care to Danse?; a sheer sweet, pastel lavender shade, with an added sheer gloss finish - Don't Touch My Tutu!; a sheer delicate, milky white shade, with an added sheer gloss finish - Pirouette My Whistle; a luxurious, glitter clear top coat infused with micro-fine silver shimmer and sparkling hexagon glitter which compliments the soft shades of the collections + adds a touch of fairy-tale sparkle.

These are semi sheer polishes so they need a good four coats to produce a decent amount of colour. The picture shows the vanishes with; 4 layers with Pirouette My Whistle, 3 layers + 2 layers. The shade 'Care to Danse?' reminds me of Topshop's Water Lily polish and I think it would look amazing layered over it to give it a super glossy finish! I love these polishes and can't wait to play around with them a bit more! Have you tried any from OPI's ballet range?

want; pink snow

H&M pink angora blend jumper £19.99 + pearly stoned necklace £14.99; LUSH snow fairy shower gel 500g £10.25; TOPSHOP bronzer in desert sun £12.50; LIZ EARLE special edition cleanse & polish hot cloth cleanser £19.75.

I've wanted this H&M jumper since I saw the Lana Del Rey promotional pictures, so pink + fluffly! H&M also have some amazing jewellery at the moment so looking forward to picking up some pieces like this opal toned gem necklace when I go shopping Sunday. I am so so so happy that Snow Fairy is back in Lush! I bought two of the biggest bottles in the Christmas sale last year and they managed to last me until the summer! I am now craving the delicious, sickly sweet, candy floss shower gel like you couldn't imagine, easily one of my favourite scents! 

I went to London for the day yesterday to get some fabric samples + today my face has broken out like crazy): I run out of my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish a few months ago + for some reason I haven't repurchased. It's definitely time to be re-united with my favourite cleanser + think I may try out this limited edition version if they have it in stock in town on the weekend. Finally I am in love with the colour of this Topshop bronzer! I'm a big fan of pink cheeks but with the arrival of winter it's starting to look a little out of season. This bronzer looks the perfect shade to add a little colour + shimmer with out being too OTT, hoping it looks as good in real life!

sunday post #021

mark wright; cheeky cherry brandy; hiding in the library; autumn is here; the peri peri story; spicy winter soup; halloween; trick or treat sweets; glam nightclub; early mornings; morning, sleepy head; naughty dinner; super saver; geo phyzz; posey.