look what i bought #003

RIVER ISLAND powder blue contrast bow long sleeve dolly blouse £22*; acid wash amelie superskinny jeans £35* + green birdcage tropical print t-shirt £15; PRIMARK grey toned shirt £9; rose gold pointed toe heels £6 + faking it fake tan applicator mitt £2; BOOTS l'oreal elnett heat protect spray volume £5.99; l'oreal elnett satin so sleek extra strength hairspray £6.60 (2 for £9); barry m gelly hi shine effect nail paint in lychee £3.99; barry m gelly hi shine effect nail paint in prickly pear £3.99; LUSH rose jam bubbleroon £3.50; twilight bath bomb £3.20; sexy peel soap (free sample); ASDA neutrogena visibly clear pink grapefruit moisturiser £3; carmex spf15 cherry lip balm £2.

I've had to really watch what I've been buying lately with spending a small fortune on fabrics for my final collection, hmph! Not fun when all the bright colours are coming in for Spring + I have a wardrobe full of chunky knits + black! I have however picked up these few things over the past couple of weeks + thought it was about time I shared another 'look what I bought post'!

The River Island blouse + acid wash jeans are this seasons works uniform! I really love the blouse but wish it wasn't so sheer; it is really versatile though + love the cute bow detail! The jeans have had a fair amount of outings already; I'm usually a strict black jeans kinda girl but I've enjoyed wearing these for a change. I didn't quite realise how similar in colour the Primark + River Island shirts are oopsie, clearing obsessing with this powder-blue-washed-out-lilac colour at the moment! The River tee isn't something I'd normally pick up but I think it sits well with the jeans, quite a colourful outfit for me!

These heels were reduced in Primark from £10 to £6! I went in with the intention of buying these in nude for myself but they only had gigantic sizes + ended up walking out with these which I'm going to hopefully be using in my collection photoshoot, after a little modification of course!

Boots is by far my downfall! After every shift I get sucked in by their offers + end up leaving around £20 lighter! The L'Oreal products were on 2 for £9 offer + just couldn't resist! I'm still getting used to the super strop Elnett smell but so far so good. I've already reviewed the Barry M Gelly in Lychee + am yet to try out the lilac but am seriously loving these polishes. 

I also treated myself to some of my favourite bath bombs; quite proud of how reined in I was seeing as I haven't bought anything from Lush since the Boxing Day sale! I picked this moisturiser up when in Asda on a whim but it has actually improved my skin, will keep you posted! Ah Carmex, my favourite lip product ever! I'm so addicted to applying this, can't see this little tube lasting me very long! And finally another miracle bargain item, the Primark applicator mitt, essential!

look what i bought; winter sale buys

Honestly, I didn't make much of the boxing day sales this year, overall a bit disappointing really! Beside the fact I was spoilt rotten for Christmas; I didn't really need anything + wasn't wowed by much in the shops when they was being sold at full price. I did treat myself to a few bits + bobs though...

 LUSH 500g limited edition snow fairy shower gel £14.50 £5.13

The first thing I purchased in the sales this year was everybody's favourite festive shower gel, Snow Fairy! I actually ordered this as I was going to bed at 3am on Boxing Day after a boozy Christmas Day! I was a little alarmed when I checked my emails in the morning and had no recollection of my early morning spending but was quite relieved to see that I had been decently sensible given my intoxicated state! This is by far my favourite shower gel/scent/bath product ever! Someone always treats me to a little bottle each Christmas then I wait until the sale to stock back up on the bigger bottles. As much as I love it, £15 for a shower gel is obscene! By waiting a month or two it drops to a third of the price + I think it's safe to say my stash will last me until it's re-released for Christmas 2013!

 LUSH limited edition twilight shower gel £8.50 £4.25

I also picked up this medium sized bottle of the limited edition twilight shower gel. I mentioned on twitter a little while ago that I LOVE the smell of the Twilight Bath Bomb when someone tweeted me saying that they were releasing a Twilight shower gel! I didn't get chance to pick one up when they was in store so glad I got chance before they disappeared. I don't think it's quite the same fragrance as the bath bomb version, it's a lot more saturated + intense. You certainly get a kick of lavender so maybe the perfect shower gel to use to unwind or just before bed.

RIVER ISLAND najavo print wide scarf £18 £7

I wanted to buy this scarf earlier this year but never actually got around to picking it up. It's long + quite wide so you can really wrap yourself up in it. I love the way the colours + pattern looks when worn with a black leather biker + skinny jeans!

  

RIVER ISLAND black high waisted velvet shorts £25 £10 + gold pleated skirt £25

 I've been searching for the perfect pair of plain black shorts for some time now. When wearing separates for a night-out outfit, I tend to wear the wow part of the outfit on the bottom. As a result my wardrobe is lacking simple shorts + skirts that can be worn with patterned tops. These are such a flattering fit + are not too short like the majority of hot pants fit in stores at the moment. I'm still debating whether to keep this skirt or not; it's really pretty + only £10 but I'm wondering how much wear I'll actually get out of it! Hmm, what do you think?

RIVER ISLAND navy embellished collar shirt £35 £15

I bought this shirt for my mum for Christmas + couldn't help buying one for myself when I came across my size when tidying the sale. I love an embellished collar + although this is super blingy it looks really smart on. 

   MOTEL green sequin off the shoulder dress £45 £22;  

Finally, my motel dress; I wore this out NYE and had sooo many compliments! It's not really a dress you can wear for any occasion but I might hang on to it just in case another event does come along! The sleeves sit just off the shoulder which make it a little different to other sequin dresses in stores at the moment. Also it's really worth checking out the Motel sale if you're a student as you get a further 20%, some serious bargains to had girlies!

So these are my sale buys! I also picked up a burgundy and black patterned cardigan for £22 in the Urban Outfitters sale which I haven't featured but you'll hopefully see it in an outfit post soon! What did you make of the sales this year?

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)!

 

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(:

BOUGHT: CROSSES, PEARLS + SKULLS

 

Cross Bracelet + Pearl and Skull Bead Bracelet both ASOS

When scrolling through my tumblr the other day I came across this image + fell in love! My parents bought me a gold boyfriend watch for Christmas so I wanted to recreate the stacked bracelet look. I love how in the image they have mixed together silver + gold jewellery which works perfectly in my eyes! I love both these little bracelets + how they look together, a start of a bracelet collecting obsession I think! I need some silver now + have been eyeing up Nicole's gorgeous Sideways Cross Bracelets + think I need a couple in my life! I might treat myself to the black, turquoise or pink or maybe all three!