Christmas Day.

As cliche as it sounds, I really did have the best Christmas day I've ever had. Usually there is a bit of stress, or I'm really tired from getting up to early, but this year was totally different.

I think as you get older, you get less enthusiastic about Christmas, so the first thing that was different about this year was that my mother actually had to wake up myself, my brother and sister, which was at 9am, a bit different to the usual 7am starts.


Every year, my mother gets us all a little stocking, filled of just little things that we actually need and a few other things. My mother is amazing with this, I always need this sort of thing. She bought me two  Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse's, which will last me ages, Collection 2000 concealer and Maybelline Gel Liner and Mascara. I haven't tried gel liner yet, as I've always been a liquid eyeliner girl and that is what I'm used to, but I'll try out the gel and probably post what I think of it and other beauty products I got in another post.  I got a lot of Skin System products; cleanser, toner,  face wipes and hand cream. some chocolate and the lovely Cat & Kittens Calendar, which is ridiculously cute!

Excuse the terrible picture, but my camera was my main present, although I was more excited for the other things I had got. I'm not big on photography, so I just wanted a simple digital camera to use for when I'm out with friends and such, particularly because we are all going away to University in September, so I want to get a lot of pictures before that.

My presents were just typical to be honest, there was clothes; a dress, shirt, cardigan and boobtube, slippers, Pj's, Earrings, Scarf and gloves, nail varnish etc. I do love the earrings from imyourpresent  on etsy. I already want some more in a different colour!

If I'm honest, my family aren't big on Christmas, my dad thinks it's a waste of time! I tried to make the table look as Christmassy as I could and I think I did alright. Christmas this year was the first time my older sister wasn't there, as she was spending Xmas in her own house and to be honest, it was a lot less stressful that usual. Dinner was nice, despite my dad not being impressed with the burping competition which followed.

After dinner, I went to my boyfriends and we exchanged presents. I got him a t-shirt, chinos, a ticket for Skrillex, chocolate, a wallet, a mug and some love hearts. You can see what he bought me, I knew about all of it, but the shorts. I'd mentioned seeing them and loving them and he remembered and went and bought them for me! Have to say, my Johnny Cash top might just be my favourite!

Even his family had bought me things. I got tights from his mother, because she always noticed that I have laddered tights, aha! A milk tray from him Grandma and a Boots gift card from his nan and granddad. They are beyond lovely!

I have had the most lovely Christmas and I hope everyone else has too! xo

Pretty in Pink

I've been after a good pink lipstick for a while now. I did buy a baby pink lipstick of MUA's range, but it didn't work well for me. It was quite watery and came off after only an hour or two. After looking online, I read good reviews about this particular lipstick. Barry M Lip paint and trust me, it is like paint. I put it on one evening before going out to a party, and woke up the next morning and it was still on, looking pretty good. Luckily, it does come off easily when you want it to.

This particular shade is No. 52 - Shocking pink. The GIF really doesn't do its intensity justice, but I have to be honest, I did just want to show off my eyelashes. (which by the way are eylure lashes, which I got free with Cosmopolitan magazine)

This isn't my best picture, buy you can see the colour of the lipstick much better. It is very bright, so you need to feel confident enough to pull it off, otherwise you'll be worrying about why people are looking at you.

Shop, shop, shopping.

I haven't bought that much lately, due to a complete lack of money, however I have found some bargains here and there, thank god! 

I found this shirt on the last day of the sale at Republic. It was only £10. It is a size twelve, which is two sizes bigger than I usually wear, but I couldn't resist. It's a cropped checked shirt and I have a massive love for checked shirts. 

This is my favourite! I picked it up and wasn't that keen, I only tried it on because it was £10. Even after trying it on, I wasn't in love with it at all. Got to the till and it turned out to be only £5, was overly happy. I wore it one day to my boyfriends and it has now become my favourite item of clothing I own!

 

Have to admit, I didn't actually buy these. My mother went shopping and came back with them for me. I've been in need of a new black vest top for ages  and I have two white strappy tops, so never needed a white vest, but I'm very happy I have them now. 

Safe to say, my mother knows me well. Lace tights have been a love of mine for about two years now, they can make an outfit so much better than if you wore plain tights, they make it more interesting and give you a whole new look.

I found this in New Look on sale for £2, complete bargain, it is so cute. I've wore it a few times with an assortment of other necklaces.

Lets gather round the campfire.

It has to be said, I'm not one for camping. Being without all my things is a horrible thought, however when my friend asked me to go camping with her, I thought why not. I've been once before, last year to a small music festival in Yorkshire...I haven't quite got round to going to a mainstream festival just yet. I'm starting this post two weeks before I'm due to go and will slowly add to it, until I have everything I need.

First of all, the toiletries. Because of it being a proper camp-site, I have the luxury of decent showers, thank god! I went out and spent about £15 on toiletries and yes I have just noticed it's practically all pink. I was going to buy travel size bottles, but they're pretty much the same price as these bigger ones, why waste my money? I have Alberto balsam shampoo and conditioner, radox shower gel,  sure deodorant, So...Kiss me body spray, Colgate tooth paste and brush, Wilkinson sword razors, Nivea cleanser and moisturiser, cotton wool and a toiletry bag. Pretty good for £15, I think anyway.
People tend to just use baby wipes while camping, because they're quick and easy, but I've always been one to take care of my skin, so I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that, so the cleanser and moisturiser were a must. Again, many people don't bother with shaving, which I can understand at a big music festival where the showers cost and are probably a bit of a state, but thankfully, I only have to spend time shaving. There is obviously no need to take all the razors, so I'll only be taking probably two. Luckily, nearly all of this fits into my toiletry bag, which is a bit of a miracle! Only the cleanser and moisturiser don't fit, but I'll be taking them in my handbag anyway.

This is what is in my case so far.
Hair grips, shorts, towels, toiletries, more shorts, dress, checked shirts, tights, bras, knickers, tops, and. tracksuit bottoms.

As well as that, I have sandals, incase the weather is actually decent one day! Pumps, ballet flats and four bottles of drink. I'm taking my doc martens as well, but I'll be wearing them on the way down there.

As well as all of this, I'm taking a hoody, which I'm borrowing from my boyfriend, a waterproof jacket, hair dryer, straighteners and curlers.

I'm definitely not cut out for the camping lifestyle, I'd be more suited to a beach holiday and staying in a lovely hotel.

Scissors and Sewing Needles.

I've always been around people who can sew. My nan, my mother and my sister and in year 9, I did textiles for D.T and found out I wasn't all that bad at it. However, it's only been the past year that I've started customizing my own clothes. If I got bored with clothes, I'd throw them out or to the back of my wardrobe and they'd be left, but the thought of throwing away clothes now horrifies me. Customizing your clothes is a great way of giving them a new lease of life!

I bought this dress about two years ago and had never worn it out, but I liked it too much to get rid of it. I hadn't worn it because it was too long. It went down to just above my knees and I didn't like it. I'm not sure why I hadn't done it sooner, but I sewed the hem up to make it shorter and now I feel more comfortable wearing it.

 Back in the day when I was a bit of a scene kid, I loved Hello Kitty. This started life out as a average t-shirt, but when I put it on not long ago, I didn't like it and decided to cut it. I cut the collar and made it lower and also I cut the sleeves off and made the arm holes much longer down the sides. If you're going to do this, be aware that  your bra will be visible, so it may be a good idea to wear a bandeau underneath.

Once again, from my scene kid days, I had bright coloured jeans, these were criminal damage jeans. I simply cut the legs off to the size I wanted, trickiest part is getting the lengths the same on both legs.

These were from H&M and again, I just cut the legs off. I decided to fold the bottom of these up to make a hem, but I haven't sewn it at all.

Finally, my band t-shirts.

I refuse to ever throw these out, because they hold some good memories. Instead, I've just cut the sleeves off, but I've left the collar as it was, so I don't interfere with the t-shirt design.

I've also made my own t-shirts out of fabrics I've bought, however they're being used as part of my A-Level work so I can't show you them. I've had people tell me they would wear them and a friend has actually asked me to make her a t-shirt!

Adding studs, buttons, etc to clothes is a great way of creating a new look. I'd definitely recommend to people to customise their clothes, but if you haven't had much practise, start with a clothing item that you wouldn't mind possibly wrecking, saves you ruining a top you love!

Summer loving.

So, despite the lack of decent weather we get over in the UK during Summer, every year I find myself around Spring time, spending my money on floral pieces, dresses, shoes and accessories.
These are just a few of  the pieces I've picked up lately.~

Forever21 is one of my favourite stores at the moment, I feel so lucky I live in Birmingham, it means I have access to so many shops. I picked up both of these from Forever21. On the left is a floral, bandeau dress, which I can't remember the exact price for, but it was under £15. I loved it straight it and wanted it in different colours, but I stopped myself. It fits lovely and can be dressed up with black tights and heels, or dressed casually with sandals and a denim jacket.

On the right is another floral item! This time a blue playsuit, which I believe was around £11. It has button detail down the centre and a tie at the waist. When the weather isn't that good, I would wear it with black tights, leather jacket and black boots. When the weather is good, I'd wear with ballet flats or sandals.

I have to say, I haven't been a fan of H&M for a while. It seemed that for two years, I could never find anything I wanted there, but not long ago I went in and found loads! This was my first purchase. A beige tube skirt, with black horizontal stripes. it's flattering, perfect for summer and was only £4!

This dress, which was my second purchase from H&M, I feel in love with immediately. I've wanted a cream dress for as long as I can remember, but I've never been lucky enough to find one I really like, until now. I got it in a size small, but sadly it is still a bit big around my waist, I'm not too worried about this, as I can just sew it to fit better. If my memory serves me correct, this was about £8, which I think is a great price.

Now to shoes and accessories. After walked around town all day looking for some brown sandals, I came across these in New Look for £15. They are a great colour, as I think Tan brown is overly common these days and I will definitely be wearing them a lot this summer.

I thought I should have a bag to match my sandals, plus I already have a black bag and a white bag, so I thought I needed a brown one too. I found this in Primark, for about £4 and although it looks quite small, I can fit everything I need in it.

I'm loving the feather trend that has came back. I still have peacock feather earrings from last time, but I saw these for about £2 and had to have them. They are a lovely green/blue colour. Again, I saw this daisy clip + bobble and loved it. I think it can make outfits look really summery, even when the weather is rubbish.

Making this post has made me want to go shopping again, I will resist the urge to, I spend enough money on clothes as it is.