happy halloween

 my sister + I, town time, my friend laura + I at glam night club.

Hope you're all having a fun filled Halloween! I celebrated in town on Saturday with my friends so thought I'd share with you my DIY costume! With money being a little tight, I wanted to make a costume that would cost no more than £10. This was my interpretation of a Sugar Skullenton! I bought a black long sleeved body off eBay + a metre of felt from my local fabric shop + set to work cutting out the bones for my friends and my own costume, it took me an hour at the most! Super quick + super cheap!! We then bought some bone socks from our local fancy dress shop + some novelty bones which I made a collar from, ta da!! What are you dressing up as this year?

halloween nail art inspiration

all images sourced via weheartit

I love a bit of themed nail art + what's a better time than halloween to try out something different + fun! I dressed up + went out last Saturday but didn't have time to go all out with my nails): I haven't had a lot of time on my hands to try out some of my own designs so instead I found these brilliant examples on we heart it + thought I'd share them with you! I may have to try + make some time tomorrow to recreate the glittery blood drip nails from the top right corner, love them! Have you tried out any halloween nail art yet?

want; metallic vamp

URBAN OUTFITTERS sparkle & fade lurex cut-out crop top £16; MAC marilyn monroe deeply adored lipstick £15.50; RIVER ISLAND black marabou pom pom beanie £15; TOPSHOP  wide spike alice band £10 + warrior collar £25.

avet shape underwear

AVET SET UNDERWEAR avet shape 66275 in black + sand £15.58*

Being a size 8-10, shape underwear isn't something I'd usually reach for, but after nearly 2 months off from the gym + my diet going out the window, the lovely people from Avet Set Underwear contacted me just at the right time! They kindly sent me two pairs of the high waisted style shape-wear to try, one in nude and one in black. The area of my body that I am most concious of is around my middle, particularly my hips + tops of my legs, so anything that promises to smooth out any lumps + bumps is worth a try in my eyes!

I've given shape-wear a go before but I found that it was really uncomfortable to wear for a prolonged time; it would roll down around my waist + tend to hug too tight around my middle making it uncomfortable. These Avet control pants are completely different! They come up a little higher, just below your bra + have a clear gel strip which helps hold them up. You really forget that you're wearing them, plus they give you that extra confidence when you're having a oops-I-shouldn't-of-had-two-takeaways-over-the-weekend sort of days! I've worn them out twice now; both when needing a little bit of courage to wear super body con dresses. Super comfy, totally unnoticeable + do smooth out any lumps, thumbs up from me! This style and many others are available to buy from www.avetsetunderwear.com.

look what i bought #001

RIVER ISLAND leopard print collarless blazer £50 £30; ASOS mirrored skull t-shirt £18; TOPSHOP premium sequin tee £50 £15, pink peplum pencil skirt £34 £15, triangle disk earrings £8.50 £1.50 + lips in secret admirer £8; BOOTS real techniques lash + brow groomer £6.99 + l'oreal telescopic mascara in carbon black £10.99; NEWLOOK strappy block heels £24.99; AMAZON the september issue (used) £1.27, the night circus by erin morgenstern £3.86 + the time traveler's wife by audrey niffenegger (used) £1.79.

Just a few bits + bobs that I have purchased over the past couple of weeks! I've been super stressed in uni' so retail therapy has been my very close friend! I'm quite fortunate that my time of need has coincided with the mid-season sales, resulting in me finding a bargain or two!

I am in love with this River Island blazer! It's the only thing I picked up in the RI sale which is very, very, very surprising of me! Even though it looks lovely on, I may have to return it as I cannot find one thing in my wardrobe to wear it with! Boooo. I'm so glad I ordered the skull print tee off ASOS, it nice and easy to throw on to wear to uni' with out being too plain. Ooh how gorgeous is the sequin tee?! It's a box crop shape so I'm having a nightmare trying to find something suitable to wear it with but at such a bargain price I think I'll have to keep it no matter what! I'm turning into such a girl, I looove the Barbie pink colour of this skirt!

You might notice a bit of a DIY job with the earrings! The description said white however when they arrived the triangle stones were yellow! With the policy being that earrings are non returnable; a lick of pearly white nail varnish later + they are back to being a super bargain! I also repurchased my favourite Secret Admirer lipstick (review here). I had a controlled splurge in Boots where I picked up some foundation, my current favourite mascara + got a Real Techniques brush free to add to my collection, got to love 3 for 2!

I bought these heels to wear on my weekend away to Newcastle + I've worn them out every time since! I absolutely love them; I think they look more Zara than Newlook, they're different to all the super high super skinny heels out there at the moment, they're super comfy + a total steal at £25! What's not to love?!

Finally, I'm totally addicted to Amazon at the moment! I love that you can buy used DVD's + books that are like new at a total bargain price. I've bought a pile of DVD's over the past couple of months for around £1.30 a pop, so cheap! I'm having trouble sleeping at the moment so I've also stocked up on some chick-lit to hopefully help me unwind; any suggestions for other good reads would be appreciated(:

want; winter beige

TOPSHOP textured wool cocoon jacket £85; MODELS OWN wonderland box set £20; ZARA studded cowboy ankle boots £69.99, studded belt £15.99; YANKEE CANDLE pink sands large jar £19.99.

sunday post #020

 nando's love; such a winter *goff*; desperados; dyed my hair; cute idea; hey blondie; lush treat box; bubble bath essentials; twilight ballistic water; suitcase; bye bye wales; plane pics; newcastle-upon-tyne; night out outfit; goldslick vodka; wild nights out; up in the clouds; smoothie time; free vino; tables at the john lewis event; modelling time, nia wyn's beautiful collection; uni' days; costa cooler; hepburn.

Yet again I'm slacking on the blogging front! Things have been so go-go-go lately I'm struggling to find time to sleep let alone anything else. I've only been back in uni' for around a month + I'm already buried under a pile of work! My mind is buzzing with competition briefs, collection ideas, dissertation research, fabric samples and sewing techniques. Aaaah work overload!! 

At the moment I'm totally exhausted from burning the candle at both ends, maybe I should find another way to blow off some steam! Last weekend a group of 31 of us descended on Newcastle for a girls weekend away; shots of goldslick vodka, gangnam styling and going to bed at 6am wiped me out for all of last week! Going out this weekend probably wasn't that wise either but I got to spend some time with my girls + managed to get a picture with Mark Wright, all in good night out!

I'm going to try and set some time aside to get back into blogging as I really miss it! I just need a bright day to get some decent photographs, everything seems to be against me at the moment!ha. Now I'm off for a lush bubble bath, snuggle into my onesie and watch Gossip Girl from the beginning(:

want; winter goth

RIVER ISLAND black pu panelled skater dress £32; ASOS t-shirt with mirror skulls £18; RIVER ISLAND black slouchy beanie hat £8; RIVER ISLAND rose gold cross necklace £6; H&M black mixed texture boots £24.99.

We've bypassed autumn for a pre-mature winter + I am so not prepared! My wardrobe desaturates all colour at this time of year + I become a total winter goth. I always try to grasp onto the last of summer + refuse to buy winter warmers in September. The arrival of October is giving me the go-ahead to start working on my winter capsule wardrobe!