Xmas Party Outfit Blogger Comp with FashionVouchers.com

Hello lovelies, 

FashionVouchers.com are hosting another competition for the chance to win £100 of vouchers. All you have to do is choose one of their retailers and put together a Xmas party outfit for £100 or less. 

I chose New Look because they've got some excellent reductions on their party wear and there's a great range. This outfit comes to just under £97!

L-R: Black Top £12, Faux Fur Jacket £34.99, Black Courts £19.99, Sequin Skirt £10, Silver Beaded Clutch £19.99. 

I have a major obsession with sequins at the moment, particularly sequinned skirts. The colour makes this one perfect for the festive season. I think the black top looks quite sophisticated due to the lace insert and sheer sleeves. Don't even get me started on the fur jacket, I would love to own one, it's gorgeous. I finished the outfit off with a pair of classic black courts that you really can't go wrong with and a sparkly art deco style clutch. What do you think?

If you fancy doing this challenge too you can find the details via this link. You'll have to be fast though as tomorrow is the closing date!

Lauren x

Soap and Glory: The Best of All Gift Set @ Boots

Hello lovelies, 

This is just a quick post to show you what I got today. When I say I got this today what I really mean is that I got my mum to buy it for me for Xmas and I had a quick look at it before she took it away  from me again! There's been a lot of hype around this set and it's sold out online already., For those of you who don't know, it's Boots Star Gift this week which means it's £27 instead of £60. I've never tried any Soap and Glory before (I know, I'm years behind) but this was the perfect opportunity and I can't wait to get it back and try everything out.

So anyway, as I haven't tried any of it yet I can't tell you what it's like or anything, but I wanted to tell you about the vouchers inside. I was really surprised to find that you get nearly 10 different vouchers to use during the first 3 months of 2013. Some are money off and the majority are extra advantage card points when you spend on certain things such as 'facial skincare' or 'indulgent bathing'. These will be so tempting and will give me the excuse to try even more of the range. 

First impressions are that it's a really really good offer. You get a lot of product for your money. Even if you bought the products individually on the 3 for 2 offer at the moment you'd still be spending way more. It works out £3 per item not including the bag so would even be good for splitting up for birthdays or Christmas. 

Before you ask, I don't work for Boots. I just think it's a great offer and am happy that I'm getting it :)

Thank you by the way for the birthday messages I received yesterday, I had a lovely day and will be doing a post with presents etc tomorrow hopefully. 

Lauren x 

P.S. Sorry about the rubbish picture quality, they're a combination of poor lighting and an even poorer photographer.

What's Occuring? A Catch Up.

Hello lovelies, 

So as I haven't blogged for a week I thought I'd do a post with some random bits and bobs in it about my week and what I've been doing recently. Time seems to be flying, I can't believe it's already the 8th of December and I haven't got my decorations up or done my shoppoing yet - I wish I could say I'm an early bird but I'm not. I'd like to get it done by the 13th which is my birthday :) Hopefully I'll get that sorted in the next couple days. 

Here are a few pics from my week, I've just discovered pixlr.com, it's fab!

1. Giant fake tree at a local shop, so tall I couldn't get the top in the pic. 

2. I can't get enough of these M&S biscuits, they're so moreish!

3. Every year our village has a wreath making morning at the hall and this is the one we made this morning.

4. What I'm reading at the moment.

The best bit of my week was on Thursday when I went with my sister to her 20 week baby scan. I haven't stepped foot in a hospital for nearly 10 years because they really set off my anxiety and I get very panicky, I normally avoid them at all costs but this was something  I was adament I was going to do. I'm so so glad that I went with her because it was amazing. This is the one where they check to see if everything's formed properly and the sonographer spent a long time looking at different organs from all sorts of angles and explaining to us what she was looking for and what we were looking at. We got to see the heart (which they check for holes), kidneys, brain, etc. We even saw the lips because they check for signs of clefting. 

Towards the end of the session my sister was asked if she wanted to find out the sex. She's been back and forth on whether she wanted to know but finally decided that she would find out...

It's a girl!

I'm so excited for her arrival in April because it will be the first time I'm an aunty and we don't have any kids in our family yet :) 

On a completely unrelated note, I also wanted to share this that I came across on Pinterest because it's popped up in my head a lot since I saw it and it's really good advice to bear in mind if you're a bit of a worrier like me.

Hope you enjoy the weekend whatever you're up to and speak to you soon :)

Lauren x 

Review: 17 Photo Flawless Primer

Like many bloggers, I got the Porefessional sample free with Glamour mag earlier this year. I really really liked it and realised how much difference a primer can make to your overall make up. No matter how good it is I really couldn't afford to purchase the full size so I settled for this much cheaper alternative. 

The primer costs just £4.99 and as you know with Boots the make up is often on offer (I bought it as part of a buy one get one half price offer). At the moment if you spend £5.99 on 17 you get a free smokey eye palette. 

The primer itself looks like silicone but feels really silky and is so so soft. It blends onto your skin to make what feels like a protective layer and definitely makes a better base for make up. I'd also agree with the claim that it minimises pores, I presume it stops your make up clogging them up too. It does come in quite a small tube but I think considering the price it's still great value for money and a little of this goes a long way. This is something I'd definitely repurchase.

Do you use primer? Which brand do you prefer?

Lauren x 

Recent Primark Jumper Buys December 2012

Hello Lovelies, 

So you couldn't have missed the flooding that was going on in the UK last week, but did you feel the sudden cold snap that came after? Or was that just down south? Anyway, I've been thinking for a while that I need more jumpers so I made the trip to my local Primark hoping I would find something warm and cheap to buy. 

I think I must have been in the right place at the right time because they had a sale rail where I picked up these two:

This one was £16 down to £7! It's not the colours I would normally go for but I think it looks quite good on and it's a great fit. It even goes with the nail varnish I had on at the time. 

This one was £5 down from £12 and is really comfy to wear. My mum says it looks like a navajo type pattern?!

Last but not least I picked up this cropped sweater which was £6. I really like the elbow patches and the cropped sweaters like this are a good length to go well with my skater skirts. 

I also picked up this Boughs of Holly candle for £1, I have a few of these little candle jars now, they're good.

So that was my budget Primark shop. Have you picked up anything good in there recently?

Lauren x

Christmas Treats for Me and You

Another day another gift list. Or at least that's how it seems when I log onto my blogger feed. Don't get me wrong, I like looking at them, but I just thought I'd do something different. So with that in mind I've picked out a few things that I think are perfect pre-Christmas treats to get yourself. 

L-R:

 Cath Kidston Mug, £6. 

Christmas Cushion, ,£3.99 Dunelm Mill. 

With Love At Christmas, £4.33 Amazon.

Ciate Advent Calendar, £38, Selfridges

Yankee Christmas Tree medium jar, £15.49, Yankeedirect.com

Lauren x

NOTD M&S Limited Collection in Lilac

Back in the summer I did a little haul post with some things I'd bought in the M&S sale. This was one of them but I've only just got round to using it. It's called Lilac and it's really quite an interesting colour as it's very highly pigmented with a gold shimmer. From some angles it looks like a flat light purple but as soon as a bit of light catches it it instantly picks up the iridescent gold tone. 

It's quite different than most the other polishes I have, I can't stop looking at it. I used two coats and it went on really nicely. Although the brush was quite short and stubby it was one of the easiest polishes to apply that I've ever used and it lived up to it's promise as being quick dry. I've used a few of these M&S polishes now and would definitely recommend them.

Lauren x