nearly witches

hat h&m

jacket: matalan

top: primark

necklace: handmade

leggings: matalan

boots: ebay

yes, more tartan. i must admit, i'm a tad sick of seeing it myself now, however i just can't seem to stop wearing it. tartan's one of those things that i think never really goes out of fashion, or just never stops looking good perhaps, so at least i know i've got a load of clothing keepers within my wardrobe in the various tartan dresses/skirts/leggings/tops that i now own - before the trend kicked off properly this autumn i only owned tartan skirts and leggings! and here i am identifying where it is that my money goes exactly. bloody tartan.

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the body shop | colour crush lipstick

 the body shop colour crush lipstick, shade 225 'blushing pink': £10

i'd been looking for a bright, girly shade of lipstick to add to my extensive collection of dark red and coral lipsticks and found my solution in the body shop. i'll admit, £10 is pricey for a lipstick, however i purchased this within my birthday month and so got £5 off for that reason, and on top of that i got an extra 10% off the original price with my loyalty card, meaning i snapped this up for just £4, which is a bargain in anyone's eyes, i'm sure.

the packaging isn't great on the eyes, i'll admit, but the quality of the lipstick makes up for that. it's highly pigmented and applies beautifully while being highly moisturising, meaning you get a brilliant wash of colour without the unattractive cracks in your lips that a lot of pigmented but matt lipsticks leave behind. as for wear time, i'd say this is a pretty bog standard lipstick in that it'll last a few hours before it starts to wear off, unless of course you've eaten something, and in that case you'll need to reapply sooner. i've never encountered a 'miracle' lipstick that seems to last the day - which is probably because i never want to fork out for one - however i have tried really naff lipsticks before that rub away at the slightest bit of contact (from experience, mua lipsticks are bad for this,) so in comparison to these cheap lipsticks, the body shop lipsticks are definitely worth paying a little more for. i'd probably compare these lipsticks to the likes of the rimmel lipsticks that i've tried in the past and loved, however rimmel are sadly not cruelty free so i kind of don't want to be throwing my money in that direction anymore. all in all, i'd probably repurchase a body shop lipstick, even at the price of £10.

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sunday synopsis

i spent this week back at home in barnsley to give my mum a helping hand with housework and general day to day life as she's currently recovering from a major operation on her back, so while i knew i had duties to fulfil around the house, i thought other than that, it'd be a chance to have a quiet week where i could get my head down and get on with some uni work... but i couldn't have been more wrong. without sounding totally melodramatic, i do feel that this week may have been the worst of my life to date; what with a break up, my car and laptop temporarily breaking and scaring me and all the pent up emotions relating to my course and life in general, i found that in reality, i got very little work done after dealing with all the other things that life often so unexpectedly throws at you.

that being said, i managed to pull myself together pretty quickly and get something done, which is a hell of a lot better than nothing when i have two assessments coming up in the next three weeks. i've now got a rough draft of my zine for one module, which means that when i've given some thought to business cards and a cv, i should hopefully now be able to dedicate all my time to out latest module which we've only just received (sigh) and briefly drop back into my self promotion module to make small adjustments where necessary (i hope.) i say i hope because like life's taught me this past week, it can often be hard to plan things.

i thought i'd throw in a picture with ziggy for good measure because, once again, this post is extremely negative. another positive, however, is that i've made £33 so far for the sloth sanctuary through selling my christmas cards, yippee! i've been extremely overwhelmed with people's interest in them and i'm so pleased that i'll be donating what seems like a substantial amount to the sanctuary come boxing day. clouds and linings, ey?

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clashing prints

hat: h&m

jumper: primark

blouse: charity shop

scarf: urban outfitters

skirt: h&m

belt: asos

boots: ebay

i'm not usually one to clash contrasting prints as most of the time i a) think they don't look right, or b) just don't have the confidence to try and pull them off, however i decided to put my fear aside, threw this skirt and scarf together and was pleasantly surprised at how well i thought they actually did work together. once again teamed up with my bowler hat, chunky boots and layers, this is another of my go-to outfits this winter when i want to go for something that isn't just another dress thrown on for ease.

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university alliance christmas card competition

i'm just popping by quickly today to share with you all a little entry i've just submitted to the university alliance christmas card competition. a friend made me aware of the competition, and after pretty much instantly coming up with a simple visual idea based around the word 'global', i decided i'd put a little bit of time aside to go about finalising the idea after having sketched it out. it's nice every now and again to come away from my university work and create something that i can stress a little less about as it's not being formally marked (even if it is being judged,) so i feel that there's less pressure on me to create something 'incredible' as sometimes it's nice to just do for the sake of doing.

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pastel florals

blouse: ebay

skirt: internacionale

necklaces: topshop & dainty darko accessories

shoes: charity shop

as of late i'm really getting into slouchy outfits that allow me lots of room to breathe, and, more importantly, more room for dozens of extra layers underneath because it is now cold! i typically associate this shirt with spring/summer due to the light floral pattern, however due to how muted the colours are i've recently found myself reaching for it on days where i want to be comfortable, put in minimal effort when considering my outfit but still look at least presentable.

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sunday synopsis

as the weeks go by i'm getting more and more bogged down by uni work, and with the realisation of how much work i have to do, for some reason, it makes it all the harder to find the motivation to sit down and get on with it because it's all so overwhelming - anyone else get that? right now i wish there was the option to hibernate because i'd very much like to sleep the next few months away and wake up when the weather's brighter and warmer and there are more exciting university projects on the horizon. alas, hibernation's not an option, so as of today, i'm trying to make a pledge to do more and to be happier about my work, my course and myself in general. it's easy to fall into a downwards spiral of self loathing and i think as of late i've managed to slip in and very much need to climb my way back out before things eventually get the better of me. i can't afford to let my self doubt get in the way of my progress any more than it already has because i'm already struggling to cope with how far behind i am, which is all completely my own fault for being so miserable about things. i can't make myself enjoy my course, but i can make myself get on with the work (a level english language proved that to me) and i think a kick up the backside - even if from myself - is definitely what's needed here.

apologies for the general miserable tone, however it's extremely hard to fake happiness, even online - how do you sit and write a bunch of lies? i hope you're all treating yourself better than i've been treating myself lately, and i hope you've had a lovely sunday!

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all that glitters

blouse: topshop

dress: primark

belt: internacionale

shoes: river island

every now and again i take a look through my wardrobe and feel a sudden rush of guilt due to all of the pieces that i've left neglected for weeks, sometimes even months, so recently i set about bringing a new lease of life to some of my less loved clothes by teaming them up with one another to keep my wardrobe fresh and exciting for me.

i grabbed this sequin shirt from the topshop sale at the beginning of the year, and other than on the occasional night out when i've wanted to add a bit of glitz to an outfit, it's pretty much remained unloved. the same goes for this plain skater dress from primark that i picked up because it'd be good to thrown on for lazy days (which it is, hence the problem,) however after a little bit of thought and trawling through my extensive collection of clothes, i realised that the colours in both of the pieces worked so wonderfully together, and from that realised that the two pieces had so much potential when worn together! the layers also means that this combination underneath a coat will work perfectly for keeping me snug throughout the winter months.

do you have a stash of unloved clothes that you'll now be looking at with a fresh set of eyes?

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h&m | eyeshadow palette

h&m eyeshadow palette, 'biscotti dreams': £2.99

i'd eyed up the h&m eyeshadow palettes every time i'd stepped foot inside a store for a fair few months, and after doing a little bit of research and discovering that h&m's cosmetics are cruelty free, i decided to head back to my local store and pick a palette up.

i opted for the 'biscotti dreams' palette which features three nude brown shades and a cream as i like a fairly subtle, nonchalant looking smoky eye. i like smoky eyes because while looking effortlessly grungy, colours such as browns help to make the green in my eyes really pop (good god, i really do sound like a beauty blogger now, don't i?) and i think from now on i may retire my felt tip liner for a while and trade a pristine catflick for this more effortless (see also: lazy) approach.

admittedly, the eyeshadows do somewhat rub off throughout the day with the darkest colours appearing lighter when you've done your 9 - 5 at uni, however they don't rub off around or under the eye at all so there's never any mess to tidy up; it's just a case of reapplying if you're busy in the evening! at just £2.99 i'm definitely not complaining, and i'm also debating going back to buy a couple more eyeshadow palettes as there were also palettes featuring greys, blacks and pinks that i was fairly intrigued by.

have you used h&m cosmetics before? if not, will you now be having a browse yourself?

 

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collar & cameo

hat: h&m

dress: primark

necklace: dainty darko accessories

boots: ebay

it seems that i've become a bit of a fiend for all things tartan! i'm sure you've now all seen this dress before, but for those of you who may not have, i picked this dress up from primark for just £15 - with it being cheap, flattering and gorgeous, i'd have been a fool to have not added it to my wardrobe. i've received so many compliments when wearing this dress, so that and the fact that the dress pretty much speaks for itself shall be all i'll say on the matter. it's also available in a wide range of colours such as various shades of red and purple, so i'd definitely recommend heading to your local primark to have a nosey at these beauties.

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three ways to wear: metallic skater skirt

metallic skater skirt: missguided

when i saw this skirt on the missguided website for just £4.49 in the sale, my inner magpie went mad; i say my inner magpie because i've found out recently that i'm attracted to anything that sparkles/shines/glistens in any way, and this skirt was definitely not an exception to that rule. plus, it was dirt cheap and missguided were offering free next day delivery, so how could i not have ordered it?! upon placing a somewhat impulsive order and realising the next day that i'd not really considered how i'd actually wear the skirt, i had a think and composed three ways to wear the skirt, as you can see below.

way one: night out
teamed with a simple bodysuit with a girly neckline and a pair of heels, this works perfectly on a night out. it's a light outfit that'll keep you cool while in clubs, but will also make sure that all eyes are on you. i'm undecided as to whether that's actually a good thing or not, but i'm trying my best to not think about what others may think of my tin man like clothing choices and concentrate on the fact that i know i am 100% in love with this skirt.

way two: casual 
throw on a jumper and some tights and ta-da, you have a totally different outfit! i've worn this a couple of times into uni and for generally just mooching around doing my day to day activities and i find the sheer amount of black helps to 'tone done' the shine without the charm being lost (i think that's near impossible, anyway.)

way three: smart casual
i have this thing for referring to any outfit with a collar as 'smart' and i've no idea why - probably something to do with a lack of better words. i find this look to be similar to the previous one but a tad smarter; not smart in the sense of i'd turn up to an interview in it (however i'm sure if i did i wouldn't be forgotten,) but in the sense that it looks a little less thrown together than the previous look - what is it about a button up shirt that does that?! add a statement necklace and you're ready to go!

since purchasing this skirt i've noticed a few metallic items of clothing popping up on the high street, primark in particular are selling a similar skirt in more of a bronze colour, and it's got me wondering if it's a trend that'll take off and i'll be able to leave the house without feeling as though i'm battling against a wave of judging looks - time will tell!

what are your thoughts on metallic clothing?

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