Find me on Google+ So says Lu...: March 2012

Friday 30 March 2012

(OOTD) I only went for some hand soap and Event tickets!

Good (very late) evening!

I have had such a busy day! I have literally just had the time to sit down and blog. But I am going away until Tuesday so I thought I better leave you something to be reading! I will blog from home, over the weekend, if I have a chance, but I will be at a spa from Sunday - Tuesday, and I can't wait!

So I was checking in with whats going on with the Micklegate Street Party, and that started my mammoth walk. After a meander down there I ended up walking into town. 

For a start, this is what I wore...


Jumper- Topshop Sale, £18
Dress- Next Outlet, £2
Leggings- Select, £4

Kept it simple for today. But my nails are covered in sparkles!


This is Stargazer in 146, I think I put about 4 coats on to get this much glitter, but I am pleased with the effect!

Anyway, back to the shopping muhahaha!

I should start by saying that I went to town for a small number of things, all of which I did get, but... I also got added bonuses! 

So the first place I visited was H&M, I was on the hunt for a bikini for the spa you see. I did get 3 things but I bought one with my mum in mind, and she likes it, so it looks like it will be going to her (note, none of these were a bikini)...


The Chinese style dress looks lovely on, especially with the sash around, as I prefer dresses to be gathered on my waist. It is a nice length and I think it's something that I could wear to the races, (I plan to go this year!).

The skirt is a midi length, but could either be warn with boots or sandals, so I think it's something I will reach for a lot. It's a lovely soft cotton and it's a bit darker in real life. 

Both of these items were £7 in the sale, yes, that is all, £7 each, bargain!

The next place I visited was Dorothy Perkins, again with a bikini in mind. Alas, no bikini, BUT, hello jewellery sale!




Both of these collar necklaces were £3 each. I have been after one for a while, but was refusing to pay a ridiculous price. I was thrilled to see these. I love the simplicity of the silver one, but the multi-colour metal one makes it so versatile. I am one happy lady anyway!



 So now for a couple of bracelets and a ring. I instantly fell in love with the filagree (?) bracelet on the left. This was £3 and I think it's great! And I LOVE the finger armour for a measly ONE POUND! Now the bracelet on the right has not come out very well on camera, but the jewels look like they are covered in petrol, and are beautiful, this was also £3. 



The two final pieces of jewellery are this key ring (haha!) and these lovely feather earrings, both were £3. The ring is a three finger ring, some people don't like these but it really doesn't bother me. I was lusting after they key jewellery that Swarovski were doing at Xmas, so this is a much cheaper alternative :) Also, the earring are incredibly light, so I am looking forward to wearing them.



So then I mooched into Boots for some things I actually needed, and some I didn't!





Boots are having two HUGE promotions at the moment, one across hair care, and one across beauty and nails, so it would have been rude not to really!

So in the hair care offer I stocked up on my favourite Aussie Dual Personality Spray, I think this is around £4.50 a bottle. I also got some new hair dye, now this looks very orange, and I am kind of hoping it will be, but I am guessing it will just lighten my hair, which will be nice for spring / summer.

And in the other offer I just went for nails. I was after a base coat and some new nail polish remover anyway, so I just had one more thing to get. And there it was... I had looked around a couple of times, and hadn't realise that Max Factor was in the offer. But as soon as I saw Fantasy Fire I knew that I was getting it! I have seen it other blogs and I love how it looks. I think it was £3.99. The bottle is tiny and I probably wouldn't have got it if the offer wasn't on, but hey, that's what offers are for!

Another thing I actually was in town for was tickets for the Browns Department Store Fashion & Beauty Party, hosted by Estee Lauder, for the Alzheimer's Socitey. The evening is to be held next Wednesday and starts at 6:30. My mum and sister and I are going, and we can't wait! I have also asked if I can blog about the event and take some pictures, and so far it's looking good! I find out tomorrow...



And FINALLY, I went to New Look, still looking for the illusive bikini. I think I visited around 7 shops in total looking for one. But New Look had what I was looking for!


Because I am quite chesty I had to look for a proper 'bra' style top, and these are harder to find than you would think, and even harder to find with a reasonable price tag. But I love this one, it fits well and I love the pattern it's quite neutral and I think it will look good with a tan. With my student discount the set came to around £20, which overall I think is reasonable, considering in other stores just the top was going to cost me £18-£20!

So there we have it for my haul. Safe to say I need to stay away from town again!

If I don't see you before, see you Tuesday :D

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Wednesday 28 March 2012

(OOTD)(WLW) More and More for Micklegate!

Good Evening!

Well I am about to attempt the marble nails again shortly, but first I thought I would share my OOTD and a special WLW that's close to my heart.

So we'll start with the outfit, once again we have had beautiful sunshine, so I completely took advantage of this!

Boob Tube- New Look Sale
Maxi Skirt- Select, £8
Shoes- China Town, New York (mentioned yesterday!)

And for accessories...



Peace Rosary- Matalan, £2.50
Medallion Necklace- Gift a few years ago

So there we have it for my summery outfit, now for a Web-Link Wednesday.

As I have previously mentioned, the Queen is visiting York on the 5th April as part of her Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, and to deliver the Maundy Money. The royal entrance to York is Micklegate, and this is where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be 'invited' into the city. This is going to be a big day for Micklegate. They are hosting a street fair with many live acts throughout the day, (I hope the weather holds out!). There will also be a fashion event, that I am involved in, that I will be blogging about on the day.

But Micklegate itself has been through a pretty tough time of late. A series of shop closures and the loss of some pretty long-standing businesses on the street has lead to Micklegate becoming a little forgotten. Even residents of York have admitted they don't visit the area often, whereas areas such as Gillygate and Fossgate seem to thrive. So what's wrong with Micklegate?

The answer is, well, nothing really, it just needs some love. Micklegate boasts several hair, beauty and nail salons, some lovely pubs and restaurants, and some great boutiques. It's a lovely friendly street and it really deserves some more attention.

Luckily the Micklegate Quarter has been set up, to promote Micklegate as the exciting destination that it is. Yes, there are a few shops empty, yes, 'it's not what it used to be', but there are some great businesses that people are missing out on by not visiting.

Hopefully the celebrations for the Queen will help people to recognise Micklegate as the pampering and shopping destination that it so clearly is, but that people currently fail to see.

So for more information about Micklegate and how to get there, (you best be early on 5th April if you want a good spot!), then please visit http://www.micklegatequarter.co.uk/

And with that, we'll hopefully see you on the 5th :)




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Tuesday 27 March 2012

(OOTD) A bit of promotion for HRH =)

Good Evening.

I hope everyone is still enjoying this beautiful sunshine. I spent the afternoon doing a little bit of promotion.

The Queen is visiting York on 5th April for a celebration of York 800 and her Diamond Jubilee. As part of this there is going to be a street celebration on Micklegate, the Royal Entrance to the city. There will be street performances and all sorts of other fun things going on. There are a couple more things in the pipeline that I am involved in, so keep an eye out for updates on this. 

Anyway, part of my job today I have been trying to drum up some interest for one of the events, by approaching some of the businesses in the area, so I decided on a fun summery outfit that was smart-ish...


Cardigan- Everything5Pounds.com
Aztec Top- New Look Sale, last summer
Skirt- H&M Conscious Collection, £7
Leggings- Select, £4

And now for accessories!

























Sunglasses- New Look, £1
Shoes- China Town, New York, years and years ago, I think they were like $3 or something silly.
Feather Necklace- Republic (this weekend!), £2 in sale
Swallow Necklace- Miss Selfridge, £2 in sale

So yeah there we have it for today, I am going to carry on with my craft project and then paint my nails :)

See you tomorrow!
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Monday 26 March 2012

Sparkly Spring Nails!

Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

So just a quick post tonight, I once again woke up with a banging headache, so I can't handle writing a long-ass post! Besides I have a couple of things to try out before I blog about them.

I bought a new nail polish from my new favourite lil store 'Zest'...

This is the Laval Crystal Finish Nail Polish in Glitter Dazzle. It doesn't really photograph very well, but I love the different sizes of glitter in this polish. There are large and medium holographic glitter pieces and some very very small pieces too. I didn't know how I was expecting it to come out, but here it is...



This is three coats of the Laval over two coats of Models Own Beth's Blue. I did find that it was difficult to get the larger pieces of glitter to stay on the nail, there was some strategic manoeuvring of the brush going on. I am pleased with the results though :)

I would also like to note that the base colour is more blue in real life. I love it and I think it's a great spring colour.

Anyway, I am going to go and watch the end of America's Next Top Model and start a new knitting project, so keep an eye out!

Until tomorrow...
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Friday 23 March 2012

A little blogging break

Good Afternoon!

So this weekend is very very busy for me, as was yesterday, hence the lack of a post. I went out to the pub yesterday evening with the bf, my dad and my uncle, and to cut a long story short, I don't remember the latter part of the evening...

So I have had an interview today, am now in my pyjamas, and I still feel hungover. I am resting tonight and am going for another part of my interview tomorrow. Then Mum, Rosie and my brother are arriving to celebrate the lovely Rosie's 18th, which is on Sunday. So we're having a fun filled family weekend.

Obviously this leaves little time for blogging. But fear not, I will be back on Monday.

So I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and I will see you soon!

:)
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Wednesday 21 March 2012

(WLW) Marble Nails, first attempt! And some naughty fruit!

Good Evening!

So today I decided to have a go at the marble nails that I linked to in my post on Monday. 

Believe me, this is a messy task, I was covered in it at first. I nearly gave up, but decided to look for Youtube tutorials and found Simple Little Pleasues and her amazing water marble tutorials, and suddenly everything in Chloe's tutorial made sense. I think sometimes you have to see something to fully understand it. I didn't realise I had to fully dunk the nail into the water, rather than sitting it on the top, and that you could do more than one nail at once to save on polish. I probably wasted a lot of product, but once I got the hang I don't think you use much more than if you were painting your nails. Anyway, here is what I used, and the results...

Collection 200 Top Coat, Barry M NP 308, Models Own Beth's Blue,  Natural Collection Antique Coral
I started with a base coat of Beth's Blue and then started the marbling! I dunked the three middle fingers together, and the pinkie and thumb together. The latter is a little fiddly, because you need to use quite a small pot to stop the polish from moving around in the water. And make sure you use room temperature filtered water, seriously, filtered people!










My Mess! Oh and use a cocktail stick instead of a pencil.
So I am pleased with the results, but I would say that more opaque colours work better, so next time I will probably be likely to use either Barry M or Models Own rather than Natural Collection, as they seem to be quite thin.

On to Web-Link Wednesday now, and I am very excited to tell you about Two Bad Bananas, from the same creator of the lovely TwoPenny Lane range. Two Bad Banana's is some of the cutest, loveliest, adorable-est (yes, it is a word!) jewellery I have seen! I will let the pictures do the talking...




As you know,  I love Panda's!



And I am a Mario Geek!



The Two Bad Banana's Themselves, Frank and Terry!





















I picked these last two to show you for their unbelievable cuteness!




So Frank, Terry and their cute-i-ful friends can be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/twobadbananas, where there is also more information about their lovely creator Cat, and about Frank and Terry's life ambitions, they sounds like an exciting bunch, (bunch...get it!). And if anyone would like to buy me a gift, I love everything, especially the Panda's!

Anyway folks that's all for tonight, but I will leave you with a question (or two)...

Did you watch The Apprentice? Do you agree with who was fired? (I do, she wouldn't bloody shut up!)

G'night!
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Tuesday 20 March 2012

Revlon Lip Butters, Boots and a Glossy Box Update

Good Evening!

So I went to Boots today to pick up my Revlon Lip Butters that I had ordered for store pick up and I LOVE them! I will do a more in depth post about them shortly, have a lot to get through tonight!

I got 001 Pink Truffle, 005 Sugar Frosting, 010 Raspberry Pie and 035 Candy Apple, they are £7.99 each, but they are currently 2 for £10 on boots.com

Anyway, here are some swatches and pictures...

Left to Right- Candy Apple, Sugar Frosting, Pink Truffle, Raspberry Pie



I had also ordered some Simple things into Boots, (so I could have free store delivery!) Currently Simple products are on 3 for 2...


Simple Sun-Kissed Moisture Cream (£4.99), Eye Make-Up Corrector Pen (£4.99) and Oil Balancing Facial Scrub (£3.99). These are all Simple products that I have not tried before but have been wanting to try for a while. So I will let you know how I get on. I also picked up some Batiste (£2.99) because I have run out and it's just an essential really!


So it's also time for a follow up on the March (Harrod's Edition) Glossy Box. I have tried 5 out of the 6 products. I am saving the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Sachet for a time when I really need it, like after some heavier make-up.

But of the things I have tried, I am overall impressed. Firstly I think I have found my new mascara love. Seriously. Wow. The Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara is amazing. I really love it. There is a photo of it on my eye below. I have no other make up on so please excuse my tired looking skin, but I just had to show you what it looks like. I am not one for big thick lashes, I prefer length, and wow did this lengthen. The brush is like no other I have used, it's kind of square with shorter bristles on two sides, and longer on the other two. At first I didn't notice and was wondering why I was poking myself in the eye, but once I got the hang of it I was very very impressed. At £20.50 I would have to seriously consider this purchase. I won't be running out to buy it, as the sample is a very good size, and I also quite like my Clinique Mascara, but I could be tempted, (or someone could treat me, you never know...)





I have been using the SK-II Skin Signature for the last few nights, but I due to lack of sleep and looking tired all the time, I can't really tell you if it's performed miracles. I like the formulation of it, and it sinks in pretty fast. Now, I don't know if this is just me, and if other people have tried this and experienced the same, please let me know, but I seem to get a faint smell of Ralgex Deep Heat Spray from this. Maybe it's something in it. When I smell it up close I don't really smell it, but I just seem to catch a whiff when I am applying it, how odd...


So I mentioned in the original Glossy Box March post that I am in love with this scent. I can't really describe scents, but if you get a chance to sniff Valentina, do! It's lovely! At around £50 for 50ml this is not as bad as I was expecting really. I still think it's a bit pricey, but it is beautiful.


I found the consistency of the Clarins Extra-Firming Body Cream quite odd, it's kind of hard. It smells nice but I found it quite hard to rub in. I am not sure if it's had much effect but I like moisturisers so no doubt I will carry on using it. If anything miraculous happens I will let you know.


Oh My Days! I love the scent of this bath and shower gel by Molton Brown. I had a bath in it about 3 hours ago and I can still smell it. It's just so lovely, again I won't even try and describe it, its just lovely! My skin feels very nice too. It says it contains Vitamins A, B and C so I assume it's doing my skin some good. It smells and feels pretty luxurious, and I love the silver cap on the bottle.


So that's my general feeling about the Glossy Box for this month. I am pretty happy, though I would have loved a Burberry Lipstick! But I think my mascara makes up for it!

Anyway, having an early night, college tomorrow, and now I have things in place for my dissertation I can finally crack on!

So see you tomorrow for a Web-Link Wednesday, and hopefully the results of a Marble Nails attempt!
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Monday 19 March 2012

(OOTD) Pretty in Pink Nails!

Good evening!

I hope everyone is enjoying The York Vintage Fair post, sorry for the initial teething trouble, everything should be fine now!

So quite a short post this evening, an outfit and some nails. 

First, the outfit...


Jacket- Ark, £15
Top- Primark, £6
Navy Shorts- New Look sale, £8 (camera hasn't really picked them up)
Navy Leggings- Peacocks, (ages ago can't remember how much, again camera hasn't picked them up!)

Accessories...



Ring (left)- Matalan, £2.50
Ring (right)- TwoPenny Lane Vintage, £4


Owl Necklace- Xmas present



Owl Necklace- Tatty Devine, Xmas present

Earrings- Matalan, £2.50


Put my hair up for a change, used my magic thingy from Primark. Really pleased with how it looks actually. Although, you can see where my dye is fading out!


So another thing I wanted to show you is my nails. Instead of going out and getting very very drunk on St. Patrick's Day, I sat in bed and painted my nails. 

Here are the results....



TopShop Waterlily as a base, covered with Saffron Colour 03. I used the variated nail tutorial blogged about by Sprinkle of Glitter a couple of weeks ago. I really really want to try this effect on Chloe's Nails. I think it looks fab! I might have a go at this tomorrow night. It's supposed to take around an hour but knowing me it will take longer than that!

Anyway, that's it for tonight.  Off to watch the end of Corrie and chill with my ratties and the bf. 


Until tomorrow...
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