GET READY WITH ME PART ONE 31.12.13

SPARKLY AND CLEAN

Tonight is a very special night, Its new years eve! Yippee! What better way to celebrate than getting all spruced up and having a lovely night out with family and friends.  I decided tonight I would write a series of posts all about getting ready, from showering all the way to the final Spitz of perfume.

Firstly its time to shower, for Christmas I was lucky enough to be given these beautiful Products from The Body Shop. They are all Mango flavoured and smell divine, they are presented in this beautiful box, which is fab because I love pretty packaging.

Another wonderful quality of these products is that they contain Fair Trade Ingredients, helping to support Farmers, Craftspeople and producers. The packaging is also made from responsible sources. 

I decided tonight to use The mango shower gel on the body puff which is included, the puff creates a wonderful lather and leaves skin smelling so yummy.  Next I used the Mango Sugar Body Scrub. The scrub is great for taking off any dead skin and has an oily quality, leaving skin, smooth and supple. After shaving, cleaning and scrubbing, I dried off and smothered myself in the Mango Body butter and now I smell good enough to eat! 

All in all Id give this lovely gift set 9/10 its gorgeous but the body puff could do with being a bit bigger.

OOTD HOW I WEAR MY LEVIS 30.12.13

I decided to do an outfit of the day post featuring my Levi cut-offs, which can be purchased from most vintage stores as well as from Urban Outfitters.  I absolutely adore them but there a nightmare for me to style, as I don't think they really suit me (those damn curves again). I teamed them with my grey cropped tee from Primark, this top was such a bargain at only four pounds (sterling).  I got this adorable hat for Christmas from River Island, its really soft and cosy, great for this time of year.  The necklace is also from River Island and really Jazzes up the plain tee.

CURLING WAND REVIEW 29.12.13

For Christmas I received the Remington Professional Silk Curling Wand.  I have wanted a curling wand for a while now as I love having my hair big and bouncy with curls or waves.  I was very excited to test it out on Christmas day and so instead of curling my hair with my GHD hair straightening irons, as I normally would have done, I set to work with my wand...MISTAKE! The curls were so tight and very messy with lots of kinks, my hair looked so short and the flyaways that my straightening irons would usually have remedied were worse than ever. Needless to say my hair did not look how I wanted it too, I looked like Polly-Anna and I was far from happy.  So with no time to fix it I scraped up my hair into a ponytail and carried on with my very very bad hair day.

Those who know me, know that I am not one to give up that easily.  So today I thought I would try the wand out again.  I decided to try a different tactic, in order to produce messy beach style waves rather than Polly-Anna curls.  I took large sections of hair and wound them loosely around the wand and held the hair on for far less time than before.  To protect my hair from the immense heat I used Lee Stafford, Poker Straight, heat defence spray.  I neatened up any over the top curls with my trusty GHD's.  To finish I had a good scrunch with my hands to add to the beach look and separate any tight curls then sprayed Silvikrin Classic Maximum Hold Hairspray to keep everything in place.

Am I happy with them? I wont lie they are a bit of a faff. I was so excited to use them as I have used others in the past and my hair looked amazing.  I'm hoping that with a bit more practise ill get used to them, but for now I'm sticking with the GHD's.

OOTD 29.12.13

Navy Disco Pants - American Apparel 

Green vest top - TOPSHOP

Jacket (with fur neckline removed and sleeves rolled up) - TOPSHOP

Cross Necklace - ASOS.

This was today's outfit of the day.  I kept it casual today as I just met friends for drinks at our local.  I didn't photograph them unfortunately but I wore a pair of fairly high lace up boots from TOPSHOP to complete the outfit.

FIGLEAVES 29.12.13

Images from www.reef-design.co.uk

I always like to start my new year with brand new undies and this year is no exception.  I have been shopping around for something a little bit special and I think I have finally found what I've been searching for. Figleaves offer a marvellous selection of lingerie for all shapes and sizes as well as accessories, sleepwear and products for the man in your life.  They also have bits and bobs for the boudoir, if you're feeling somewhat frisky.  Prices are reasonable, your everyday undies compete with most high street and online lingerie stores but of course there are some slightly more pricey garments if your in the market for something a little bit special.  Oh and did I mention, there is currently up to 50% off Figleaves products, so get yourself over to the website and grab a bargain today.

SANCTUARY 28.12.13

Every woman needs their own space, a room, a sanctuary for time alone and a bit of peace and quiet.  I must admit I am extremely house proud and one of my passions is interior design, I am constantly buying beautiful things for my home, mostly for my bedroom.  I like to keep my bedroom fairly neutral, with white walls and sheets, I find that I can then accessorize with what ever colour I fancy and change up palettes as and when I wish, with minimal effort.  As a rule I try to budget the amount I spend on my home.  I find the best places for decking out your home as cheaply as possible on the high street are Wilkinson's, Primark, Next Home and Ikea.  

SWEATY BETTY 22.12.13

Images from www.reef-design.co.uk

I don't know about you but I make the same new years resolution year after year, to go to the gym, lose weight, tone up and get healthier, unfortunately I usually give up after a couple of weeks and stuff my face full of cake instead.  This year however is different, this year I have a personal trainer as a boyfriend, which is pretty handy as he is very supportive and really pushes me to achieve my goals.  I have vowed to take part in various charity events throughout next year, after successfully taking part in a 10k run for Parkinsons UK in October and this year I am vowing to not give up.  

What better way to start a new healthier year with a brand new collection of gym wear.  I absolutely love Sweaty Betty, they have a great collection of garments especially designed for different types of activities, from Yoga to Skiing, there is something for every type of gym bunny.  What's great is that all products are thoroughly tested with the consumer in mind, for example yoga leggings are 'downward dog' proof, because we've all had that heart wrenching moment when we realise our pink spotty pants are visible to the entire world through cheaply made see-through leggings from Primark, but Sweaty Betty have taken care of this little problem with completely opaque fabric that still moves and breathes amazingly well and is also incredibly comfortable.  Yoga leggings range from £29 to £70, although the price tags may seem fairly steep, the gorgeous designs and brilliant quality are well worth paying slightly more for.  So if your new years resolution is similar to mine, get yourself over to your nearest Sweaty Betty store or shop Online at www.sweatybetty.com.

SHES ELECTRIC 21.12.13

In about an hour I'm heading off to an afternoon/evening Christmas party and I decided to wear my favourite electric blue dress and rather bling bling earrings, that for some reason just go and even though they are a little bit Pat Butcher-esq I absolutely love.  I adore this dress, so much so that I had to get the black one as well. 

This probably isn't your quintessential Christmas outfit, but as you can see I am pretty curvy so sequins, over patterned, sparkly, Christmassy things just don't suit me, in fact I end up looking somewhat like Mrs Claus rolled in glitter.  So If its a post about Christmas jumpers you're looking for you've come to the wrong fashion blog my loves.  Both the dress and the earrings are from River Island and make me feel fan-bloody-tastic, this dress is a must have for all you curvy girls out there.