Competition- Debenhams Womenswear Winter Challenge

I can't believe it's been 7 months since my last post! I had actually planned on one of my new years resolutions to be putting more effort into my blog but i came across this competition over on girlinthelens blog and i couldn't resist entering!

The competition consists of making two looks from the clothing available from  debenhams. One showing off a Winter Warmer look and one that shows a Party Look. Each has to be within a £250 budget. Below is what i came up with!

Heart Jumper - Quiz Beige and Black Fuzzy Knit Heart Jumper £34.99

Jeans- Oasis Jacquard jade Jeans- £45

Boots- Mantaray Tan Leather Chelsea Boots- £45

Bag- Fiorelli Chocolate Large Zip tote bag-  £47.20

Watch- Floozie by Frost French Watch- £22

Ear Muffs- Joe Browns Tan Cosy Ear Muffs- £5.95

TOTAL= £200.14

Nothing says winter like a big fluffy jumper! I think the jumper from Quiz above is so lovely and looks ridiculously cosy. I chose this outfit because it's warm for the winter with the big jumper and ear muffs but also has some style to it with the skinny jeans from Oasis and i'm in love with the heeled boots from Mantaray!

Pink Blouse- Oasis V neck Blouse- £38

Warehouse Faux leather skirt- £30

Clutch- Coast Diamonds Clutch- £55

Heeled Boots- Dune Black leather platforms booties- £76

Bracelet- SimplySilver Gold plated bracelet- £10

Earrings- Butterfly by Matthew Williamson earrings- £6

TOTAL= £215

I have absolutely fell in love with this skirt, I can't believe it's only £30! I think with the blouse tucked in this outfit would be perfect for a night out and the heeled boots give it that punky edge. 

I really enjoyed doing this and it's actually helped me a ton deciding on my NYE outfit! I think my bank balance is about to suffer! 

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Hopefully in the new year I'll stick to my resolution regarding my blog and get a few more posts up! 

Nicky x 

Boot sale Haul!

The sun is finally out so that only means one thing, bootsales! I'd honestly say rummaging around a bootsale looking for bargains is one of my favourite things to do! The weather was lovely so that meant  tons of sellers turned up and I managed to find quite a few lovely bits and bobs. I got quite a lot but to save your computers from loading a ton of photos i'll just upload the gems, hope you enjoy!

Evans blouse- £2

Origins face wash, 20p each!

Laura Mercier lip tint- £1

Stila Convertible blush/lip stain 50p!!!

Lovely Floral tunic- £1

Indigo Dress £1.50

Peasant style top- £1

£1 Vintage style skirt. It's actually from primark but is lovely quality!

George Top, new £1

Quilt Frame £1.50.

Nothing is worse then getting up at 6am and coming back with nothing to show but as you can imagine from this lot i felt like the day was definitely a success!

I love looking through posts of others finds so please comment below with your boot sale blog posts!

February Favourites!

I've just had a little look back at my last post and was a little surprised to see it's been nearly a year and a half that I haven't blogged! I've been really in to reading everyone’s lovely blogs recently and it's inspired me to restart mine!

Last month I seemed to be constantly reaching for the same products so I thought a February favourites would be a great way to start up the new blog posts!

TIGI Urban Anti-Dotes, Resurrection Shampoo and Conditioner- I originally got these shampoos as a Christmas present and fell in love with them! I suffer with dry hair and the ends easily split, I wouldn't go as far to say these 2 have completely fixed the problem but they have majorly improved the appearance and feel, so much so that I repurchased them in the massive 750ml sized duo. At £24 for both I definitely think it's reasonably priced and will last an absolute age. I purchased them from here on Feel Unique delivery is free as well!

St Ives Apricot Scrub Gentle-  I saw this in Superdrug and at the time was suffering with small under skin bumps around the edges of my cheek so thought I’d give it a go. I’ve been using this once a day, every day for about 3 weeks now and I can’t recommend it enough! I’ve never really been one to use a scrub as I’ve always been under the impression it would be to rough for my dry skin but this one has really improved the appearance of my skin. The red bumps are gone and my skin is completely clear, hurray! 150ml retails at £4.25 so very affordable.

ESTÉE LAUDER Advanced Night Repair- I have a love/hate relationship with this serum but at the moment I’m enjoying using it. My Mum bought this last summer but didn't get on with it so let me try it. The first time I used it, it completely broke me out.  I have dry/normal skin and my mum has oily skin, it was frustrating that this product didn't work for either of us, especially seeing as it’s nearly £60! Anyway, I wasn't ready to give up on it so when I started using the St Ives I decided to give the serum one last try and it worked! I use it on clean skin just before moisturizing and I would say it’s helped to even out my skin but I’m not sure if it’s just because the scrub is so good? I’m not sure if I’ll repurchase it as I definitely don’t think it’s a miracle product for the money but I’ll enjoy using it until it runs out!

Clarins moisture replenishing lip balm- I've always been a lip balm kind of girl and this one is literally my holy grail. As you can see I've squeezed it within an inch of its life. It's so luxurious, it makes you lips feel so silky smooth and leaves a really nice finish. I will definitely be repurchasing this but at £14 it is a bit pricey!

Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy Citron, honey and coriander-  If you have never smelt this product then I strongly suggest you go in the shop and try it, it’s lovely! I have both the big size you can see in the photo and the small hand bag sizes as I need this wherever I go. It’s thick and really nourishes your hand and of course smells Gorgeous. 100g Retails at £14 and 50g is £9.

River island and bootsale haul!

It's been ages since i last blogged so i thought I'd do a quick post to show some of the lovely bits I've picked up within the last month!

My Birthday was last month and two of my lovely friends spoilt me and brought me this beaut of a bag! I've been wearing it non stop since i got it, it's oversized so fits every thing a girl could possibly want in a handbag. It's from River Island and retails at £50, quite pricey i know but look how purty it is! It's still in shops and online now so grab it now girls!

Another item from river island is this burnt orange tassel jumper. I had been admiring this jumper for a while but being the cheapskate that i am there was noway that i was going to pay the £38 price tag for it! A few weeks later i spotted it in the sale for £17 and couldn't resist it.

The next two jumpers are more like my cheap bargain hunting ways haha! Firstly is this vintage jumper, It's a thick cream cotton with lovely hand embroidered raised rose pattern. I got this from a local car bootsale for only 50p!!

Next is a Vintage Marks and Spencers St Michael Jumper. I'm a sucker for a bit of Aztec so when i saw this jumper in a massive pile of clothes it shouted out to me. The colours in it are lovely deep reds, blue and yellows. Again this was only 50p from a carboot.

The last item of clothing I've got is this pastel coloured cardigan. As soon as i saw it, I had to have it and the 3XL size didn't put me off. It looks lovely oversized and slouchy with just a simple vest, jeans and boots. This is another one with a aztecy pattern. It was £1 from another bootsale.

Here are just a few beauty items i picked up aswell!

Firstly i got Benefit Bathina body so fine, it's a scented balm with a slight shimmer that you apply to legs and body for a 'seductive golden pink sheen'. I got it for a £1. 

Next i got  Benefit 'You clean up nice' face wash which states it soap-free and oil-free and removes dirt and make-up.  It was 3/4 full and again was 50p.

Lastly i brought these 4 nail varnishes all for £2.50 they are Clinique quick dry top coat, KIKO (label has been removed so i don't know the colour grr!), Topshop Big Smoke and OPI Royal Rajah Ruby.

I brought all these beauty products last Saturday so haven't had a chance to try them yet but once i do I'll put up a review!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

xxx

Magpie Monday!

I'm taking the plunge and joining Magpie Monday! 

 It didn't rain this Sunday, so i actually made it to the boot sale! To be quite honest i was quite disappointed and didn't end up coming away with a lot, luckily i picked up a few other nice bits throughout the week :)

I picked up this Vintage coat from a jumble sale for just 50p! One of the buttons is missing, however once replaced it will be keeping me warm throughout the Winter.

I picked up all this lot for £1.50 at a boot sale. The benefit eyeliner is brand new!

I love Ricky gervais but have never actually watched the office and at £1 i couldn't resist this box set. I also got both books for 50p each. I brought Stephen frys autobiography as well but i seem to have lost it within a day hmmm.

I got this lovely vintage red bag from a charity shop for £1.

I also picked up this lovely mirror yesterday for £1. It will replace the tiny compact I've been using to apply my make-up everyday!

My local charity shop seems to get a regular donation from Urban Outfitters, but as expected they sell out VERY quickly and i rarely get a look in. However, i did manage to find this belt left behind  for just £1.. i can't believe someone would pay £12 for it though!!

Lastly, i got these lovely padded hangers from a charity shop for £1.25.

I won't be able to make it to the boot sale this week but there is an auction Saturday and of course loads of charity shops to look through, so I'm hoping to find lots more bargains!!

Decoupage!

I've always liked trying out different crafts, but it's safe to say i haven't stuck with a lot.

I started  decoupaging a year ago and really enjoyed the simplicity of it and how quickly you're able to transform something.  Being an impatient person I think the quick results are what drew me to it, as soon as you stick down the first piece of paper the results are instant and small projects can be completed within an hour.

The options to what you can achieve with it are limitless, as there are millions of different papers to use and loads of different ways to apply it.

I tend to buy ran down items from charity shops/boot sales and completely change them into something beautiful.

I picked up this ceramic bowl for only 20p! When i got it, it was literally covered in dirt where someone had  kept it in their garden! The paper i used is actually gift wrap that i just cut up!

I picked these letters up from a charity shop at £1 each. They were originally from urban outfitters and each letter had a different pattern on it. I painted them white then used two different papers on each letter to create a pretty shabby chic look.

This was originally a little wooden bowl and i covered it in this lovely vintage looking rose paper. It's now at home on my dressing table keeping all my lipglosses safe :)

before

After

 This was a soap dispenser i picked up from the tk max sale for only 20p! 

This one isn't actually finished yet but i thought i'd let you have a sneak peak! I actually got my dad to pick out the colours on this one, as it will be living in the middle of the dining room table and when he picked them, i wasn't so sure about his choice but now i've started i actually really like the outcome.

It didn't rain today and i actually made it to the bootsale, so i got a few more bits to decoupage which i will put up when they're complete!

Vintage Scarves

At the minute I've got a bit of an obsession with buying Vintage scarves. I rarely leave a charity shop without adding a new one to my collection. In the charity shops/boot sales near me the average price you'll pay for one is 50p-£1.50, which makes them ridiculously cheap and basically irresistible to buy.
What i like about them so much, is that even with a plain outfit a Vintage scarf can completely transform it and make a statement.





Vintage Scarves come in so many different colours and lovely patterns.

 





This one is by far my favourite! I love the colour, size and the beautiful floral pattern.





These smaller scarves also look really nice tied into your hair!

I'm hopefully going to get lots of new bits and bobs (including scarves of course) at the boot sale on Sunday, if it doesn't rain of course!!