Gifts for Girls

Hello all, it's nearly the first of December, eeek! If you're anything like me, you're itching to start the Christmas celebrations without people telling you 'It's too early.' I can understand that for some people, the tradition of gift giving becomes such a stressful event that it ends up detracting away from the actual celebration. Well, you need not worry, for on it's way is a selection of hand picked gifts for all those awkward buggers who you can't buy for!

MAC Lipstick or Makeup in General
First up, any girl or woman will appreciate a good Mac lipstick but often knowing what shade to get deters you from picking one up. Well, fear not. After a little research I have come to the conclusion that of all the Mac Lipsticks; Cherish, Kinda Sexy and Velvet Teddy are the three colours that are most likely to suit all skin tones. They're also very wearable shades that your loved one can wear for almost any occasion. Of course, if they're partial to a red lip or two, you may go for the likes of Ruby Woo or Russian Red. Either way, lipstick is a great gift idea.

Bunny Slippers or regular (boring) Slippers 
Okay I know this always comes across as a boring present but I really think it's a nice gift to give. You may know that your loved one is a whimsical elf and would find slippers with bunny ears hilarious, in which case look no further! Although, generally any woman of any age would find practical use out of a pair of slippers. Plus, they aren't on the expensive side (depending on where you go) if the gift is for an acquaintance.

Gloves or woollen accessories 
Just like slippers, gloves are an easy purchase that will please just about any personality. You can even earn extra points for going out of your way to find a pair that match their favourite coat etcetera etcetera...

Clutch Bags , Purses or Bags 
Now I often find people shy away from this sort of gift as it does involve a great deal of personal choice for these items. However, when you have a clutch bag as detailed and as intricate as this one, they become the sort of item your loved one may never splash out on themselves. I often like to buy gifts that may be too expensive to warrant them buying, but will be something they've always liked. Clutch bags, purses or regular bags make great gifts and when boxed up, make a gorgeous present to unwrap.

Perfume 
Perfume is, in my opinion, one of the best gifts you can buy a woman. Generally, most women have a scent that is favourite. For example, Christina Aguilera By Night is as much a part of me as an arm or a leg. However, that doesn't mean I wont ever wear another fragrance and most people are likely to be the same. A lovely fragrance to try is Diesel Loverdose Tattoo. It comes in a gorgeous bottle and has a lovely clean, distinctive scent.

Other gifts to consider are books, underwear sets (providing you know their size), house decorations or even decorations for their Christmas tree. The thing to keep in mind is that gifts are not meant to be super expensive, they are supposed to show that you have thought about that person and what they may like. They aren't what Christmas is allll about and remind yourself of this when you're getting stressed about gifts! Plus, if I can give any advice it's to buy gifts early. The earlier the better as by the time Christmas comes around, you're away from all the busy shops and free to sit in with a cup of tea and a festive film.

What do you think of my gift ideas? Are you all sorted for Christmas? Let me know in the comments below. As always thank you for reading!

Laura. 

The Art of Powerdressing

Hello all, I'm back again! This time around it's with a style post discussing my new favourite trend; power dressing. Power dressing isn't something that has just popped up, it's been around for some time. that said it's only recently popped on my radar due to the gorgeous Cheryl Fernandez-Versini sporting her gorgeous white tux dress for the new series of The X-Factor.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the trend, powerdressing is referred to as "a fashion style that enables women to establish their authority in a professional and political environment traditionally dominated by men" (Wikipedia). We're talking about clean cut lines, smart suit jackets, ties and the like. Whether you're actually walking into an office or not, everyone should experience the confidence boost power dressing gives you once in a while. 

To really nail this trend you need two things; Simplicity and clean cut lines. The simpler your outfit is, the better you nail the trend. All the outfits pictured above are all very clean, unfussy (if that's a word) and use structured fabrics. 

For me, Cheryl's outfit was all the motivation I needed to give it a go myself. I've got a lot of events coming up and wanted something that feels a little more special than the usual dresses I go for. I'm trying to push myself in what I wear by going for things I wouldn't usually wear. This is one example but I think paired with some barely there heels and a fierce, sleek ponytail will be the ultimate power dressing combo. It took me around thirty seconds to decide that I needed this dress in my life and as we speak it's on it's way to me. I can't wait to wear it and, of course, will update you with outfit photos ASAP. 

What do you think of power dressing and is it a trend you'll be trying out? Let me know in the comments below. And as always, thanks for reading!

Laura.

Winter Wants

Good afternoon lovely readers, I'm back with a repeat of last years post with my winter wants! I love doing posts like these because they give me a good excuse to have a good old nose around websites looking for fierce party outfits. If you're anything like me, you'll find that around this time of year, your social calendar becomes busier than ever. I personally cannot wait to get my claws into the festivities and wearing the perfect outfit only makes it better.

For me, November and December always make me think of very elaborate and over the top clothes. I'm talking black lace dresses, fur coats, clutch bags adorned with sequins and burgundy on just about everything. It's not often you can go overboard on clothes because you can end up looking out of place, so when I finally get a good excuse to, I need no further motivation to get myself out there. If you want to see this years picks, keep reading!

Black Contrast Snake Print Heels £24.99
Lets start this with a bang shall we? Heels, Heels, Heels. I am an absolute lover of black strappy heels and with the mixed textures on this pair, I figured they were a nice alternative to plain black. Simple black heels and clutches often look best with the outfits I'm about to talk about as you have so much detail elsewhere. I also love New Look for their heels, they aren't very expensive but they are hard wearing and long lasting. Double points!

Closet Black Jacquard skirt Dress £60.00
Okay so I guess this isn't the most elaborate dress to start the clothes off with but I do think it's super cute. Pair this with a voluminous ponytail and a smoky eye and you have an outfit that is on point. I also think dresses like these are great if you're not sure if the dress code is dressy or casual because depending on your surroundings it can morph into either.

AX Paris Silver Abstract Dress £45.00
Now this one is the show stopper which unfortunately doesn't come across well in the photo I've provided (my apologies). I do however recommend you click the link above to see it's full potential as the zoom feature on New Look's website really makes you appreciate it's detail. It is on the higher price range for me at forty five, but the level of detail makes it an investment. Plus, as it's metallic you can be sure that it will be in trend most winters.

Lana Metallic Frame Clutch Bag £29.00
Metallic is really a no brainer and as I mentioned before, this will be something that is always on trend. Clutch bags like this one are better matched to plainer outfits that need a little va va vooom. Team with some cute strappy gold heels and you have the perfect team to knock out the competition.

Black Lace Long Sleeve Crop Top £17.99
Save the best till last and here it is. This crop top is possibly the most beautiful thing to come out of New Look stores.... ever! I'd team it with a plain midi skirt and perhaps a coloured clutch and heel combo bring in some colour and you have yourself a gorgeous outfit. I do believe that a similar top is on the missguided website for twenty two pounds. However, I had a realisation earlier that around seventy five percent of the clothes I buy from Missguided end up being sent back. I'm not sure whether it's me but I feel like the quality is always really poor and a dress that looks gorgeous in pictures comes across cheap in person. Sorry Missguided but we've fallen out!

So what do you think of my little collection? I do, on hindsight, think it needed a little colour injection. I've spotted a lot of burgundy (no surprise there) on the market but also a lot of teal. I think deep rich colours are perfect for the season and make you feel a million bucks. I'm actually awaiting quite a few outfits in the post (naughty Laura is spending again) and I cannot wait to wear them out.

What are your plans for this season? Let me know in the comments below! As always, thank you so much for reading. Lots of love,

Laura. 

Monthly Diary November

Hello all, back again with my monthly diary post and I must say there's lots to include in this post. So as you may have noticed, I've been a little MIA from my blog for a couple of months now. As you may have read earlier, in the beginning of October I was made redundant from my job. All the members of staff were also made redundant and in all honestly, I didn't take it well. I had finished university and started working there as a stop gap job, trying to decide what to do next. For example, I'd been thinking about continuing my education via a masters but obviously, masters take time and money and so not something to be decided in a hurry.

After a few months of thinking about it, I decided against doing a masters but decided to stay where I was anyway until I found out my next move. Back in March, I'd been hearing lots of good things about Learning Support Assistants (LSA) in schools and thought it sounded like I job I could really love. After doing some research, to my dismay I discovered that in order to retrain, I would have to undergo an expensive course and unpaid work experience which meant no money coming in. For this reason, I couldn't take the leap and so I stayed where I was.

If things would have carried on the same, I probably would have got on fine but always wondered, what if. Then, on the third of August, we were told that the shop was closing down and that we would be out of work as of the seventh of October. This hit me harder than most as I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do and whilst they did offer jobs elsewhere in the company, I knew it wasn't what I wanted.

Around this time, I started suffering with bouts of anxiety and panic attacks and honestly it was possibly the worst month I've experienced. For a time it looked as though I may work as a dental nurse as Id been offered a position at my local dentist. However, the more and more I looked into it, the more I felt that it wasn't the right move for me. So, with no security of a job further down the line, I turned down the dental nursing job. It was a scary move knowing I could be out of work for a long time but following my gut felt like the right thing to do.

Following the shops closure, I had one week before my Lanzarote holiday and honestly it was the one thing getting me through. And thankfully, it was exactly the restful week I'd hoped for (so thank you to my lovely boyfriend for being there for me.) Now that I was out of work, it seemed to me there was no good reason to put off becoming an LSA and so I organised a weeks work experience in a school to check that it was still what I wanted, before paying for an expensive course.

It was in this school that I discovered that the one thing I should have been doing had been right in front of me all along. The school itself is an outstanding example of how education should be and they could not have made me feel more welcome. But, it gets better. On my second day into school, I was approached by one of the senior staff and asked if I would be interested in working there as an LSA starting in January. As you can imagine, I nearly scared her to death with how quickly I answered yes.

And so, following one of the worst months of my life, I have come out the other side with a job in place after Christmas and two months off to get my head in the right place. There is a famous saying of "when one door closes, another opens" and it could not be more true in this case. I cannot believe my luck and I am so grateful to the school for seeing something in me. I will add that I wont be discussing the school or anything to do with it in my later posts as I feel it would be inappropriate, but I hope you understand. If you feel you're in a bad place, just remember you never know what is around the corner but, as always, thank you for reading and lots of love,

Laura. 

Workwear Wants

Good afternoon all, I’m back again and this time I’ve created a mood board of sorts. I’ve recently landed myself a new job (more on that in my monthly diary) and as my old job had a uniform, I’ve found myself fresh out of work appropriate clothes. So, you can imagine my delight when I have a legitimate reason to go and buy a load of clothes. I don’t know about any of you, but I sometimes find when I go shopping, I go into a bit of a shopping frenzy and end up coming away with things I didn’t need nor want. So in an attempt to keep myself on track, I’ve created a mood board of some of the clothes I already like, so I have an idea of the clothes I need to go for.

New Look Pale Grey Satin Wrap Front Sleeve Top £14.99

This simple little top could be thrown on with some nice trousers or even the lovely skirt included in this post. It’s having little items like this that really work hard in your wardrobe as they go with everything.

Oasis Bonnie Workwear Dress £55.00

I am actually a little in love with this dress. So much so that I’m going to ignore the fact that it’s probably a little too smart for my future place of work but I just can’t help myself. Also, the waist tie design leads me to believe it will flatter when on.

Oasis Crepe Peplum Top £30.00

I am always going to be a fan of peplum tops. They flatter all shapes, hide your post meal tum and look feminine. This one caught my eye because of its beautiful teal colour and how it tapers longer at the back. Id wear with fitted black trousers for a elegant and simple outfit.

Warehouse Belted Trouser £40.00

I think that a quality pair of well-fitting trousers are number one on my wish list as you can’t wear any smart tops without them. These belted trousers from warehouse look like they could be really lovely quality and so a definite investment.

New Look Long Sleeve Pussy Bow Blouse £17.99

As with polo tops, chiffon blouses are perfect staples for work and can be carried through the seasons with an addition of a nice smart coat. I’d wear this lovely number with some smart work trousers and heels. Check out the link to see the other lovely colours available.

Oasis Stripe Hattie Dress £55.00

This dress caught my eye for functionality more than anything else. If you’re in a rush or can’t be motivated to put a whole outfit together, a dress is the perfect pick. All you have to worry about is tights and shoes and you’re done. Plus, I often alternate between a burgundy and tan coat so this dress would easily go with either one. 

Warehouse Ribbed Polo £35.00

 I think polo tops and jumpers have been a staple in workwear wardrobes for years and not a fixture I can see moving any time soon. I love the ribbed effect on this top, although I do think £35 is a little steep for this kind of top. You may find cheaper alternatives in the likes of Primark or New Look which may make your money go that little bit further.

So now that you have seen my workwear mood board, what do you think? It may be that I don’t buy any of these clothes, or I may buy them all. But safe to say that I have given myself much inspiration to go out and get shopping! Perhaps your in the same job but you need a new wardrobe to perk yourself up a bit, if so let me know in the comments below! Thank you as always for reading,

Laura. 

Bh cosmetics Galaxy Chic Palette

Hello my lovely readers, it's nearly halloweeeennnnn! I am far too excited considering I have zero plans in place as of yet. All these events have been getting me in the autumnal mood and so I've been pulling out all my palettes and trying out new autumn inspired make up looks. Of all the make up I bought, this palette was the one I was most excited to get my hands on and I figured that now I've had a play around with it, I could review it for you all.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this palette is so unbelievably unique it drew me like a magnet. I'm not usually one for bright colours as I don't find them all that wearable but it was too cute to resist. The eye shadows are all named after planets, moons, Greek Gods or celestial bodies (not sure if that's the right title but the one I'm going with.)

My first impression from this palette is that the size of the eyeshadow was so much larger than the pictures on the website suggest. I had the impression each colour was around the size of a one pence coin. In reality, it's closer to a twenty or even ten pence coin. I didn't think to do a comparison picture between the two so you will have to take my word for it but you can trust me! Secondly, the pictures represent the colours very well and all look the same in person as they do in photographs so no nasty surprises there either.

My absolute favourite colours in this palette are Sun, Aphrodite and Comet as of all the colours, they are the ones I've found to be msot versatile. The blue toned shadows have been the least used if I'm honest. As I have blue eyes myself, the beauty rule of not wearing the same eyeshadow/eyecolour combo is one I abide to as I just don't think they do my eyes justice. However, the quality of all of the colours is, as with most Bh products, of a very high standard. Not a lot of product is needed to build up a bright, pigmented colour.

As for the price, in the sale it was only $12 in the sale but usually around $20 plus postage to the UK. I have found that as the colours are so bright and pigmented, I haven't reached for this palette any where near as much as I have the Carli palette (see last post). As it happens, for the sale price this really doesn't matter to me as I have it for when I need it. Would I still have bought it at full price? I'm not sure however, it is still on sale if you want to pick it up for yourself from here.

So overall, it is a fantastic palette but perhaps one you will be reaching for every now and then rather than everyday. It's good quality and excellent value at it's sale price. Overall, I am very happy with it and can't wait to see what looks I come up with next. Lots of love,

Laura. 

Carli Bybel Eyeshadow Palette

Hello all! Long time no see as per usual. I think we could probably all agree that none of us have enough time for our hobbies. I know I don't. Moaning aside, us beauty bloggers love finding those products that do what they say on the tin. They don't come across all too often, so it's all the more special when they do.

Now I have to admit that I have been a fan of Carli Bybel for a long time now, which could mean I'm a little biased. If anything, it made me put her palette under more scrutiny than any other I've reviewed because I think so highly of her. It is for that reason that I am so pleased to say that I lovee this palette. And here's why...

First of all, I loved the overall look and presentation. In one of Carli's videos, she talked about the fact that none of the palettes she owned were white and neither are mine. Plain, simple and understated. As for the range of colours, we're not talking about crazy bright colours, but simple wearable everyday shades. For me, those are the palettes I reach for the most and so the ones I'm most likely to spend my money on.

So let's talk about what your money gets you. For your buck you get ten eye shadows ranging from a shimmery white to a matte burgundy and four highlighters to suit all skin tones. So far, I've used this palette every day since I spent a frustrating three hours trying to buy it and haven't come across the same look twice.

Honestly, never have I been so blown away by the quality of a palette. The shadows are pigmented and blend like a dream. Don't even get me started on the highlighters! The picture above shows just one of the looks you can recreate with the Carli palette (She does a step by step video on this look here). Now, do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, the good news is that this palette is currently selling on the BH Cosmetics Website here for an unbelievable $12.50, or just £8.16 if you're from the UK. That is an unrealistically amazing price for the quality.

As for the bad news, this is an absolutely amazing deal but everyone else knows this too so others have snapped up the offer and it's currently sold out. However, do not fear, she has reassured us that it will be back in stock but until then you'll be playing the waiting game with a couple thousand of Carli's viewers. In the mean time, I'll be here reviewing some more of the BH palettes I showed you in my haul so stay tuned. As always, much love!

Laura.

BH Cosmetics Online Spree

Hello you lovely lot and welcome to September! I don't know about any of you but the fact we're already into our ninth month scares me to death, where has this year gone? Anything even remotely stressful and you can guarantee I'll use it as an excuse to shop. So it's not really any surprise to see that I've done it once again, this time all from the lovely BH cosmetics.

Following a long and tiring day at work, I got myself a big mug of tea and sat down to watch the new videos from my favourite Youtube beauty gurus. One of these videos was of the lovely Carli Bybel talking all about her new eyeshadow palette that she designed with BH cosmetics. I was so impressed by what I saw that I went straight on the website to pre order it. While it wasn't available to pre-order, it did lead me to all the other palettes BH have to offer. Unfortunately, there was a sale on so naturally I ended up walking away with a blusher, a brow bar and three eyeshadow palettes. If you want to find out what I bought, keep reading.

1. Flawless Brow Trio in Light: $5.5 Sale (Full price $7).
I am not one to get super excited about brow products, which considering they make the most difference to your face, is a little silly. Recently, I've been setting out to find the perfect brow shade for me. Needless to say I am looking for a needle in a haystack as my ash blonde brows remain un-matched. I think this is a particular issue with brow makeup today, they don't cater for us with blonde brows! So if you're having trouble too, keep an eye out as, along with all the other products here, I will be reviewing this extensively soon. At just $5.50 it works out at a tiny £3.58. You might spend that on a sandwich at work or parking to buy some bread. So, leave the bread for one day and buy this!

2. Forever Nude Palette: $8 Sale (Full price $22).
I think it's time to admit that nude palettes are my Kryptonite. This particular palette, with it's cute packaging, gave such a glamorous, girly vibe that I could not leave the website without it. I have watched Carli use this palette in many of her tutorials and always love the pretty girly looks she manages to create using this palette alone. I always made the assumption that BH palettes would be too expensive to warrant me buying them so despite loving it, I didn't even bother to look into getting one for myself. I am so glad that I came across this palette again and at $8 it works out at just £5.21 which for a palette like this, I am more than willing to pay.

3. Blushed Neutrals Palette: $8 Sale (Full price $20).
As I mentioned earlier, I am an absolute sucker for nude and matte eyeshadow palettes. I have six or seven palettes knocking around that are all varying shades of matte brown. But, as we are speedily approaching Autumn, the Autumnal colours in this palette caught my eye. From previous experience I know that red and purple toned browns really bring out blue eyes so I was enticed by the range of colours in this set. As if the 26 eyeshadows aren't enough, they have also thrown in five blushers for good measure. I'm not a huge blush person but perhaps that's because I haven't found the right colour for me. Again, at $8 it works out at just £5.21. You can't get a palette this size anywhere for that!

4. Galaxy Chic Palette: $9 Sale (Full price $20)
Anyone who knows me reasonably well will know that I'm not really one for wearing super bright shadows on my eyes. But when I saw how beautiful this palette was I had to have it, simply to look at it, let alone use it. Perhaps all this time, I have just been waiting for the right palette to come along to teach me the right way to wear bright colours. I have included a close up picture of this palette above because it is so unbelievably beautiful I want you to see it in all it's glory. The galaxy theme and genius idea to name each shadow after a planet is enough to rope me in and waiting for it to arrive is going to be torture. 

5. Floral Blush duo in Daisy: $FREE 
Now as someone who's career has been centered around customer satisfaction, good customer service goes a long way with me. This is the first time I've ever bought anything from BH cosmetics and I'm only going on word of mouth as to how good these products are. So it's a gamble with my money if I end up disliking the products. So when I went to my basket after having a spree on the website, I noticed at the bottom was a blusher. My first thought was that i'd added it by mistake in my shopping frenzy. Well, you can imagine my surprise when they asked me to choose a colour because it is free alongside my order. I realise that this is most likely a marketing scheme but I think to include anything free for your customers to try is beyond generous and paints the people at BH in a very good light for me. If I find these products to be of a good quality, you can call me a BH fan forever. 

Well that is all from me for now, until my next post you will find me stalking my postman for my delivery. The next 8-10 days are going to be a long wait but as I mentioned earlier, I will be doing full reviews on all the products you've seen here so keep checking back. As always, thank you for reading.

Laura. 

Monthly Diary: August

Photographs: Not my own Edited: By me

Hello my lovely readers. I sat down at my laptop today and realised it had been so long since I'd done a monthly diary and thought with so much going on in my life, there was no better time to pick it back up. You're not reaching me in the best of places today I'm afraid as I'm currently sat in bed off from work, ill with a stomach bug and feeling very sorry for myself. I am the worst person for self pitying when I'm ill and after having a horrible day in work ill yesterday I knew I had to take today for getting myself back on the mend. I hate having sick days from work, purely because not only are you inconveniencing work but you're also loosing money for being ill. It's a double dose of crap if you ask me!

I think part the reason I've got ill is because I've been so unbelievably stressed lately that I think it's now weakened my immune system. Why have I been so stressed? Well as the regular readers among you may know, since finishing university I've got a 'stop-gap' job at my local Co-operative store where I am funding myself learning to drive and saving for a car. I'm probably a month or so from going in for my test and only one pay check away from having all the money for my car and insurance. 

Well whilst all this was going on, my little place of work wasn't doing so well. So unwell in fact that we had a meeting and were informed that the store would be closing the end of September and essentially we may all be out of jobs. Fortunately, the nature of the Co-operative is that there are many stores dotted about and they have told us that we can be placed in other stores. They really are looking after us, so much so I've been offered a promotion in another store as Deputy Manager. Considering I have not even been with the company a full year yet, it is a huge compliment that they think I'm so capable and believe in me so. However, the prospect of working higher up the ladder scares me no end. 

I have been applying for other jobs too but really still have no idea what I want to do. Many of the regular customers who are now well aware of the predicament have been asking me why I'm not doing something with my degree. Ideally, I would love to move to somewhere sunny and work as a Marine Biologist. However, my family, friends and boyfriend are all here and it is here that I have built a life for myself. 

With all these things on my mind and the closure of the store ever looming, it's easy to see why I'm so stressed out all the time. I think if I really think about it, all I want is a 9-5 Monday to Friday job where I can build a career and feel fulfilled in my job. They always say that knowing what you want is half the battle. 

Considering it's  August I ought to be on holiday not worrying about a thing. Well the boyfriend and I have still yet to actually book the holiday. With everything that's been happening I think I need one more than ever. Plus in true blogger style, I've already bought all the clothes and makeup I intend to take. Got the important things sorted then!

How do you lovely readers feel August is treating you? Perhaps you're having a wonderful summer and if so please tell me all about it in the comments below, I'd love to hear some happy stories! What we always have to remind ourselves is that it's the important things in life like family and friends that really matter. Things have a way of working out and when one door closes, another is sure to open. Thank you as always for reading my rambles and thank you for the emails and messages I've had from some of you, they mean the world to me! As always, lots of love...

Laura. 

New Look, Primark and Lush Haul

Hello you lovely lot! Surprise surprise Laura has been shopping! Only a little shop but there was good cause I swear. As many of you may know, it was results day for many students yesterday. Among them was my boyfriends little sister (so my little sister too) and the absolute smartypants smashed her results! That in itself earned some much needed shopping and treating of ourselves. She was buying bits and bobs from college and me, well I was just buying for the sake of it. Anywho, to see what I've been buying read on!

Sleeveless Blazer: Primark

These blazers are everywhere at the moment and for a while I really couldn't see their appeal. I figured why would you wear a coat with no sleeves. Then, British weather promptly reminded me that it is as unpredictable as it is crappy! Sometimes it's rainy but warm, cold but sunny. The idea behind these is that you can wear a long sleeved top or jumper underneath and brave whatever the British weather throws at you. So, once I figured their appeal, I spotted this number and after finding it fit like a glove, I made it mine.

Cold Shoulder Dress: New Look

Cold Shoulder Top: Primark

I absolutely love cold-shoulder dresses which is this summers version of the standard cami. I've yet to book a holiday but have had no trouble at all filling my wardrobe for the occasion. This little dress is perfect for throwing on with a tan bag, flip-flops and sunnies and you're ready to go. 

I saw the little top and had to have it. Despite it's creasing (which is annoying I must say), its super cute and floaty on. These sorts of tops can but thrown on over jeans and heels for meals or a day out. Cute and practical! Plus the crochet sleeves are so cute, I just had to have it!

Strappy Heels: New Look

I think that 'Barely There' heels are the best thing since sliced bread. I already own this particular pair in white and when I casually walked past the shoe section in New Look, I honed in on the black pair straight away. Contrary to what you think, they are actually really comfortable and rub my feet way less than normal heels due. Naturally, my white pair where getting lonely so I had to buy the black. I'm running out of excuses to buy things I don't need...

Rose-Gold Watch: New Look

You may have seen on Instagram my old rose gold watch. Anything rose gold and I'm all over it and I wore my old one to death. I'd be wearing it still but it somehow ended up on the floor and I heard a crunch underfoot. Yep, this idiot trod on her beloved watch! I'm not quite done with the old one and hope to get the screen fixed but spotted this little beauty in the meantime. I love it!

Multipack Earrings: New Look

I love love love wearing delicate little earrings and while buying my watch (above) I spotted these. The picture really doesn't do them justice as they are much smaller than it suggests. When worn, I've received so many compliments on how pretty they look. Little tip, If you're like me and loose earrings all the time... keep them on the card they come in and hang them on a pin in your wardrobe. You can clearly see what you have and you can always keep track.

Well that's all for now, I'm internet shopping (yes really) for a new bag seen as though I spilt double cream in the one I'm using now (yes really.) If you're still here thank you for reading! Lots of love,

Laura.

Wedding of Mark and Victoria Gowanlock

Dress: Very, Shoes: New Look

Hello all, you may remember a few months ago I was putting up post after post for "what to wear to a wedding". Well after much deliberation and frantic internet shopping I finally decided upon this gorgeous Samantha Faier's dress from Very. It was a cheeky £59.99 but was so different from anything I'd seen anywhere else I had to buy it. As for the wedding itself, it was such a beautiful day I just had to do a blog post for you all (I hope you don't mind Victoria). 

The wedding took place at Clearwell Castle which is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. The grounds and the castle itself make the perfect location for a wedding. As for Victoria's dress, It was so beautiful and fit her like a glove. I particularly love the photo of Mark stood at the altar with Victoria looking absolutely stunning walking towards him. If you ask me, or anyone for that matter, they will all tell you they are every bit the perfect couple. 

My family and I have all agreed that this was the best wedding we've ever been to. Perfection from start to finish! Plus, nothing makes you feel better than knowing you're in a nice outfit and have taken some time putting yourself together. The photographs from the day are absolutely stunning and there were so many lovely shots. I've only picked my favourite ones here but the Photographer Mark Boynton has many more of their wedding and the rest of his work on his website here. They were such friendly boys that they got stuck in with the (rather tipsy) dancing from the rest of the quests later on in the evening and caputured what really was a lovely day.

With so much negativity in the news and about the place, it's nice to see days like these going ahead to remind us of the more positive goings on in life. I know it cheered me up no end and whenever I'm feeling down i'll always think back to how lovely it was. I can only hope my own wedding (someday) will be half as lovely as this one was so thankyou Victoria and Mark for inviting us! As always, thanks for stopping by,

Laura.