Review: Primark Beauty Stick-on Nails

Hello, hello!

I have a whole host of the “inner workings of my mind” posts lined up that I’ve been writing as late. Today though, I’m writing a good old beauty review just because I can 🙂

Earlier on I had a bored moment and peeled off my Shellac and then bit my weak nails off as well. DISGUSTING! I tried my hardest to get a nail appointment for some extensions to be applied without an electric file and failed. As my last ditch attempt venue happened to be across from Primark, I popped in to check out their ever-expanding beauty range.

Well, I found loads of cool stick-on nail designs and for £1 a pack, they’re dirt cheap compared to all other nail alternatives so I figured it was my duty to give them a go. Other than the fact that my nails are now unusable because they’ll pop off if I so much as open a pack of sweets, I love them! Check these bad boys out, (excuse my dry skin):

The Nails!

I’ve yet to shower or dress/undress so I’m not sure how they’ll last but I’ll definitely be buying these again for a night out. Far cheaper, quicker and easier than going to a salon, especially if you’re only after 1 night of nail glamour!

Anyone tried any of the rest of the Primark beauty range? X

When the Shoes Make the Outfit

Sometimes in life, you have your mind set on something so much that you just can’t adapt or change, it just has to be the way you imagined it. So what happens when we can’t find what we imagined and there’s no way around it, shoes for example fall into this category. When you dream up your perfect pair and you can’t find them, there’s very little you can do to change it. This happens even more regularly if you are someone like me and have slightly unusually sized feet, either on the short, long, wide or narrow side.

Well I am here to tell you there is a solution and for those of us in the UK, it’s just on our doorstep and it’s sooooooo much fun! Upper Street London is my new best friend…they make shoes, lots of beautiful shoes designed by fabulous women just like us! Here is their website, seriously check this out. If you register you can create designs for your ideal pairs of shoes and save them into your collection and then when you’ve made your mind up, you can go right ahead and order them, even if your feet aren’t quite a standard size.

Now you may wonder what the point is in designing your own shoes if you’re only going to have to pay more for them but let me put it to you like this… you could buy 2 or 3 pairs of high end high street shoes that loads of other people have which you like OR, you could buy 1 pair of custom designed, 1 of a kind shoes that you absolutely love and can’t wait to wear with anything AND you know they’ll fit like a glove because they’ll keep adjusting them until they do 🙂

I went to meet the Upper Street crew yesterday at their studio in London and not only are they lovely people but it meant I got to see some shoes and feel some fabric swatches. Well, the shoes are gorgeous and not a splodge of glue anywhere (Primark and New Look I’m looking at you!) and the fabrics are super luxurious. When they say leather, they mean leather, none of this leather effect malarky, only the real deal. Seriously, have a play on their website and then add your favourites to your Christmas list, I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’m just deciding which ones my wardrobe is most in need of myself!

Here are a couple of the designs I have stored in my collection to get you started off:

Animal Hair with Leather Toe, Back and Heel and Silver Studs

Patent Turquoise and Fuschia Leather with Silver Studs

If you can’t see what you’re looking for, give them a call as some things aren’t on the website. Much love and happy designing! x

Spring Has Sprung!

What a glorious weekend we just had here in the UK! It has well and truly got me in the mood for Spring and all of the bright colours and sunshine that come with it.

On Saturday the bf and I helped some friends out at an exhibition at the ExCel in London and as we were practically on its doorstep, I decided that would be a good time to finally get round to visiting the Stratford City Westfield.

We were really lucky actually, we went in the afternoon and it wasn’t too busy, had a great mooch around and then left a little bit poorer and had some dinner at Wahaca. One of the reasons I left a little bit poorer is this fabulous jacket:

Check out the blooms on this bad boy!

This little number is one of Primark’s latest limited collection (which means almost nobody in Reading will have it) and only set me back in the region of £25. I love it! The bf looked a little bit shocked when I honed straight in on it and said I must have it but really and truly, I had to have it! Bold floral prints are one of the key trends for S/S and this is me down to a tee. Love, love, love!

As soon as I wear it, I’ll pop another post up and you can make your minds up then…I fear it’s going to be a bit like Marmite! x

Out with the Old!

With the new year finally here and all of my sale shopping to be found homes in my wardrobe, I decided a clear out was well overdue and that included all of the items that have managed to narrowly escape the last few clear outs. Here’s the pile of items I’ve prepared to move on to their new homes:

In total 34 items are going – most to a charity shop, some straight to the bin and a few to eBay which are worth a bit more money. A few items do also still have their tags on – bad Sam! Some of these items have been worn and loved, quite a few have come from Primark and the vast majority represent bad shopping choices. There are lessons to be learned from this little lot but for now I am just proud of myself for making the decision to throw this stuff out rather than just adding to the pile 🙂 Anyone else having a good clear out? x

My Winter Sale Haul!

I was going to call this post “My January Sale Haul” and then promptly realised that if you go sale shopping in January these days you have missed most of the good bargains so chose “Winter” instead. As I’m sure you would expect of me, I have been shopping in the sales but I am not a complete loser and haven’t queued for a shop or missed out on time with my family or friends to do so; I have in fact spent time with friends and family whilst shopping 🙂

This year I approached the sales in a different way to most years and was much more scrupulous in my choices, deciding to only pick items I know I will wear on a regular basis, rather than stocking up on frivolous items I would never normally touch with a barge pole! I’ve still overspent but I am super happy with my purchases and I succeeded in finding some more knitwear which is what I really set out to do. Check out my bargains:

Office

I actually bought these bad boys just before Christmas as the sales had already started by then. These are to be my new staple black heels after a number of false starts with other purchases over the last few months!  These were originally £65, I paid just £39.

Dorothy Perkins

These were my online victories; dress was £42, I paid £25 (even better as I have loved this dress for ages in a different colourway and spotted this version only in the sale!) and shoes are actually from Barratts, were £36, I paid £20.

Warehouse

I LOVE this little jumper, it was £32 and I paid £20 – got mine in House of Fraser so definitely worth a look in there.

River Island

The pink pair of peg legs you can see at the front of the picture were just £3 down from £20 but I can tell they have been through a couple of sales. I don’t really care how they fit, they are just comfy slouchy bottoms for lounging round the house. The terracotta pair feel so expensive and will be fab for work; they were just £15 down from £40.

Topshop

This little lot came from Oxford Street and I love it! I fell in love with the green dress when I was there a month or so ago but didn’t buy it as I had no occasion – hello NYE! It was originally £52 but I paid £20 – much better!!!! The yellow knit is a bit out of my comfort zone but I think I can pull it off and it was just £18, down from £38. The black, white and red cardie is so very me I can’t even put it into words and was just £20, down from £38. Finally from Toppers – my slightly “emo but I love it” jumper dress was £35, down from £55. Some of these items are from concessions so make sure you hit up the flagship!

Last but by no means least, I had to visit Boots to check out what they had on sale and here is the result:

Boots

I have totally run out of perfume and for day wear I do love the original Ed Hardy women’s fragrance. I picked up this gift set, including a 100ml bottle of perfume for just £29.99, down from £45 – great value when a 30ml bottle is £27! The St. Tropez gradual tan set was £10 instead of £20 and the Soap and Glory set was £17.50 instead of £35 – what a brilliant time to stock up on essentials, the gift sets are half price!

So you can see, I did spend a lot but I also got a lot of great items in return. My promise to myself is that I will clear out all of my old junk – a lot of it from Primark and replace it with this rather than just adding to the piles. Watch this space to see what I throw out, there should be a lot! My one tip to you when sale shopping is to check the price tags; lots of stores are marking down items by just a few pounds; if it didn’t have the sale sticker on it and was that price, would you still want it??? Anyone else got any great bargains or tips for where the best bargains can be found? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you! x

Jazzing up the Home – Again!

As I am working in a shop at the moment, I get 1 hour lunch breaks in the afternoon when the shops are quiet and I have nothing to do as I have eaten earlier on. What does this lead to? Shopping of course!

Yesterday’s mission was to Primark to pick up some more black skinny jeans after I broke my Zara ones – at the moment I’m finding Primark’s jeans fit best and with the new longer length they are perfect for £9.00. Whilst in there I decided to make the most of the quiet and have a mooch. It SO paid off! Check this out:

Yes, I know my sofa is sexy but look at the cushions! The red cushions are failed sewing attempts from last year which I have ended up buying red covers for from Primark earlier this year. However, what I am loving is my Union Jack cushions, they fit perfectly with the colour scheme I am trying to build in my living room. I bought these yesterday for just £3 each, reduced from £7. Get down there now and grab yourself a snuggly winter sofa cosy!

Just wanted to remind you all not to forget your homes in this Christmas shopping frenzy! x