Chained up dress?!?

Ted Baker is the place of secret dreams for me!
I know to a lot of people, Ted Baker is still very much a High Street store as there branches pop up all over the place rather than in exclusive areas, but to me I consider Ted Baker to be a designer dream and New Look, Topshop, Forever21 and H&M as the standard High Street stores, for me at least

I had a little wishful looky inside- the only thing I've ever bought was a bag in the sale from £75 to £35- A beautiful white dress covered with crystals caught my eye and so I picked it up off the rail to show my Aunite (my shopping pal) and I was startled that the dress pulled me back, I turned around to see that the dress was CHAINED to the rail!!

I was so startled that it was chained I remember thinking -holy smokes how much IS this dress worth?- I had a little look for a price tag but couldn't see one which usually means something is super duper expensive, in my head at least, so that was when I decided the smart thing to do would be to promptly put it back on the rail and back away slowly...

Instead I admired it online

It's called the Wilz dress and costs...wait for it... £999!

A dress that I actually tried on was this one

I fell in love with it so bad I didn't want to take it off, but again it had no price which made me a bit nervous! But it was £399 so out of my price range but the detailing and pleats on the skirt was so so lovely- the colour in real life is nicer too, more of a dusty rose than a baby pink!

Tell me, what's the most you'd ever spend on a dress!?

Pastels- NEXT!

I love and adore the pastels thing going on this Spring, it's pretty rare that I ever jump into a fashion trend head first as fashion dates so fast, but pastel colours are just completely irresistable to me and before I  know it I have a whole pastel rainbow going on!
So here's my pastel favourites from my wardrobe

Pink pastel skinny jeans from Next £18

...and they were soo comfy I got the lilac from there too, same price

Mint ones (my personal favourite) are more super-skinny and the best colour! from H&M they were a present from my sister so I don't know the price!

 Polka dot mint blouse from Next, also kids section priced at around £16-£18 I can't remember!

Black shoesies are not very -fresh- so I go for white pumps the same kinda colour as this shirt collar
I got a mint scarf it came from Brick Lane market and cost something like 50p! Wee!

To top it all off.. a vanilla cake bag! Yum

Make Up Wake Up

I decided before I applied my 'heavy-non-everyday' to take a 'before shot'  and an 'after shot' so I could truly see the difference in myself!

I was feeling somewhat rough and worse for wear but just thought 'Thank MAC for Makeup' when it was all done!

Get set to put on your filter sunglasses to filter through bed hair and bare face!

Here is the warpaint breakdown:
Laura Mercier moisturising foundatoin in Ivory
MAC studio sculpt concealer in shade NC20
MAC Blusher in shade Mocha
Bare Escentuals Bronzer in the hollows of the cheeks, along the sides of the nose and under the jaw
MAC Highlighter in shade SnowGlobe (xmas special collection)
MAC eyeshadow shroom all over the lid with folie in the crease, really blended out, white shadow on the browbone
MAC white eyeliner on lower waterline in shade Fascinating
Avon brown eyeliner on the top lash line and lower(just under the white) in shade Cosmic Brown
Bare Escentuals mascara in shade Black
MAC Translucent finishing powder all over the face
MAC eyeshadow in shade Folie in the eyebrows to make them a little more shaped!
MAC lipstick in shade Lovelorn
Slick of vaseline over the top!

Then we're ready for action!

Out the door I go!

Tanning Time Line!

A little while back you may have read that I invested in some St Tropez fake tan, it was an investment for me at something like £17 a pop, but thankfully I was not let down!

I am a very milky white skin toned sort of girl naturally so when I pumped this foam out onto my (gloved) palm I was a little horrified that it was the shade of dark chocolate! I didn't want to look like I'd been rolling around in chocolate, but luckily as long as I rubbed in and blended out it's still a gradual build tan that actually worked on my skin (the other gradual build moisturiser ones never worked on my skin and didn't really absorb in)

I usually do about four days of applying, then I get to the shade where I don't want to go any darker because it will look unnatural and then skip the tanning for 3 days for it to fade back down, and work in motions like that.

I took a snippet every day, unfortunately not at the same time every day so the lighting goes a bit whack and makes me look more (or in some cases) less tanned than I actually looked in real life.

But here it is:

My Top tips:
Victoria Secret Plum body scrub all over before you apply the fake tan
The Sanctuary foot scrub especially for my feet

Any ol' body moisturiser (I have too many, and rarely use body moisturiser) for the elbows, feet and knees
and a face moisturiser (I like the Simple one)

Gloves on your hands! This stuff stains baybay, I washed my hands immediately after application and four hours later and they still looked utterly Tangoed!

Why ebay can be ris-kay (but why it's mostly worth it)

So I buy a lot from ebay and this is why
1.It's quick
2.It's easy
3.Everything is in one place
4.Paypal always favours the buyer and makes sure the buyer is satisfied

So what's the pitfalls?
1.You don't get to see the stuff in real and there are sellers who will photoshop items to make them look better, brighter etc AND there's sellers who just google image their item and get a stock photo, this is not such a problem if you're buying new items, but it won't be accurate if you're buying something second hand
2. Stuff can take a long time to arrive (especially from Grand ol' China)
3. Essentially you are bidding on someone elses junk, that has been stored probably behind a radiator, or in that cupboard that always smells musty
4.You're buying from people who probably have other jobs and so don't operate as effectively a website run by people whose full time job is to answer to your emails and post your products

My ebay catastrophes:
I paid £40 for a dress only to recieve it with chocolate stains all down the skirt!
I've bought more books than I can count described as 'good' condition that when they arrive tell a very different story (think torn covers and musky pages)
A fake Hello Kitty purse- fake hello kitty?! Are you kidding me?
Linen trousers that arrived after my holiday

Those are all I can think of on the top of my head, and for about 200 transactions to date, I'd say that's not so bad at all.

So here they are, my words of advice:
-If you're selling, always post recorded within your country because otherwise the buyer can recieve the item but tell Paypal it's got lost in the post and Paypal will swipe that money from your account faster than you can say 'Liar liar pants on fire'

-Do not expect products brand new with tags (especially designer) items to be genuine, the best you can do is hope that they are. This can be everything from Gucci, Louis Vuitton to fake MAC Makeup, wedding dresses, perfume and even fake Hello Kitty!
The way to get around this is to be wary of a person selling multiple of the same brand new D&G handbag for instance.
Who has ten identical 'brand new with tags' designer bags stored in a cupboard?
Fraudsters importing them from China, that's who.
Usually if a Ralph Lauren Jumper or Ted Baker dress is listed on ebay as brand new and the photo looks like it was taken by Sally down the road rather than a super-professional photo then it's probably genuine.
But even better still is if the designer item is used, as this is likely to be a individual seller rather than a business ebayer and probably genuinely has been put on ebay due to a closet clear out and selling of some pre-loved goodies

-China is the top importer of fake goodies into ebay, this is no big deal if buying general bits and pieces but labelled and designer goods are almost certainly fake. This can include GHD flat irons, ugg boots and prom dresses. If you want to risk it check their return policy, feedback and if you have a good eye for fakes then you can always send it back and get a refund (remember how paypal always want to rescue the buyer and will take your word for it in most instances)

-Pay by Paypal, it is your best friend and will make sure that you (the buyer) is always covered, Paypal will always give the buyer the benefit of the doubt! But if you're selling be aware that paypal and ebay take a portion of the profits

I leave you, with a bit of ebay info from the inside! (click it to make it bigger!)

The Princess Project!

You know me, clothing with a purpose other than looking down right pretty is a huge bonus to me- If you've been reading for a while, may have read my post on Sevenly.com
Amazing company, selling beautiful clothing with pretty designs like dreamcatchers and abstract art for a different cause each week, sometimes famine, orphans, clean water; causes like that.

Here's my newest addition to the 'clothing with a cause' by a company called The International Princess project, it rescues women from India who are trapped in prostitution and instead, allows them to stitch in good working conditions these amazing PJ PANTS!
I've explained it very broadly, it's actually a hugely emotional and revolutanary, their video explains it beautifully!



It's such a shame at this moment in time it only has 11,000 views or so, when there's videos of a person falling off their bike or something with millions of views!

Here is the grand products themselves or Punjammies, the patterns are so beautiful they could also be called Funjammies I think!

Are these not the best lounging pants ever? I say they're far too pretty for bed! I'd wear them lounging in the garden, for 'reading days' on the beach, picnics in the park!

They do shirts and shorts too that are pretty

But I like the Punjammies the best!
If you love them but are short on cash, they have a very generous sale section with lots of designs that after that will be discontinued.

The sad part is that they only ship to the US and Canada! I could have shed a tear, so I looked for volunteering oppertunities with the charity but at this time there are none overseas, oh well!
I've followed them on twitter so that if international shipping becomes available I'll be the first to know!
And just for fun, and maybe to explain why this cause specifically has sturck a chord of passion with me was my incredible trip to India; so here it is the most gloriously unglamorous photograph of myself in the traditional 'get up' in the hotel lobby! Enjoy!

http://www.intlprincess.org

The funnest jumper ever!

It only seemed right that I had a little down time after all this intensity of schooling, and i for sure felt I got the most out of my day, we headed to East Algate to go to a fab vintage fair where I picked up the cutest jumper with pictures of makeup and perfume on it.

Then we went to a huge shop called 'Beyond Retro' which was stacked to the high heavens with retro sweaters, and dresses and tops and aprons and cowboy boots!

Then just around the corner we had out photo taken in the booth of music store Rough Trade

By some sort of chance we ended up in Angel and had the most amazing Mexican food, it was the same set up as a Subway, where it is made before your eyes and it tasted so, so good!
With our energy revived we went onto Oxford Street but was overwhelmed by the aggresive shoppers in the Topshop sale and had more luck picking up cute things in H&M.

I got a trusty black cardigan, and a mint tee for about £4

By the end of the day I also had a lipstick from MAC in shade 'Pervette' a lipgloss in 'Pretty plush' and a bronzer in 'Matte Bronze'

Whew, by the time I got home my feet were throbbing as though I had been doing star jumps in heels all day long!

Where I've been and how I looked (for the most part)

I've had the most intense studying and exam period I think that I have ever, ever been through! The complete lack of creativity at times, drove me crazy and quite often sent me to sleep

While in hindsight it all may appear very rose tinted, in reality it was a very glum point that I never thought would come to an end, but of course it did- eventually

All I have yet to await for is the results!

Things that helped me through this time were:

The thought of being able to blog again

The thought of being able to read for enjoyment again

Peppermint ice cream

A good sleeping routine in bed by 10.45 and wide awake by 7am

Reading motivational quotes

Visualising results day going well...

Anyway, that part is all over now, and I have been itching to get back to posting every day yay!