Instagram Update #2

Clockwise from top: London Streets // Morning Starbz // New (very short) Hair // Dolly Wall at the Hairdressers // Afternoon Tea // Leadenhall Market on a Thursday Night // Strawbs // Highlighter Central // Afternoon Walk with the sibling // The Shard // Outfit Planning // Blossom // Last Night

Due to a busy work schedule, lots of exercising and many an evening out in London after work I'm afraid I've abandoned the blog once again and have been a little bit MIA for the past week or two. On the plus side, it means I have a fair few Instagram snaps to share with you and after whittling down the best of the best, this post pretty much sums up the last month of my life. The weather has been rather nice as of late, which calls for more evenings spent outside in various pub gardens; I've also been eating an absolute shed load of fruit and the WW seems to be going well, with a loss of half a stone so far; the biggest change by far occurred yesterday when I decided to head to the hairdressers for quite a big chop indeed. My hair has been something I've kept fairly quiet about for the last year, as it has gone from being ombre, to bleach blonde (yep, we're not going into that) to chocolate brown and then back to its normal brown-ish shade with bits of blonde-ness. It had also gotten very long and was in need of some TLC. After some umming and ahhing I finally decided to live a little and ended up getting 5 inches taken off the bottom - leaving a rather stylish/messy bob. I then spent the remainder of Saturday getting rather drunk indeed, to celebrate my friends 21st - you only live one right?! I hope you've all had a great weekend!x

The Little Details #1

Forever 21 Rings // Silver Love Hearts // Outfit Planning

Statement Jewellery: Armoured Silver Choker

So after finding this gem in Topshop a few weeks back, I had been meaning to post about it in the same fashion as all of my jewellery posts and as much as I wanted to call it, something along the lines of: Chain Maille Silver Choker but it was a bit of a mouthful and it doesn't quite a have a ring to it - but oh well! This simplistic silver beaut was a sought after find, since I'd seen it on the Topshop website and it had quickly sold out but with a £15 price tag, I told myself that "if it was still there by Friday, then it was meant to be and I could buy it" - this method, by the way, is how I tend to justify most of my purchases and why my bank account, frequently cries every time I whip out the plastic - but anyways, luckily for me the necklace was there on the Friday and I hastily snapped it up. 

Now, had I known at the time that its an utter biatch to fasten *cue giant clip thing* then perhaps I would have reconsidered and spent my dough elsewhere, but there is no denying that it is a definite keeper when it comes to a statement accessory. As this is one of my more subtle statement necklaces I tend to team it with the plainer outfits, often a t-shirt, jeans, Vans and a leather jacket and I really like how it adds a little bit of somethin' somethin' to what could ordinarily be deemed as dull weekend attire. 

I'm an absolute fiend for finding OTT accessories at the minute and from what it currently hitting the shops, there is no denying that this feature may start becoming a frequent post on the ole blog but for now sleep beckons as I've exercised my socks off and definitely deserve some well earned shut eye!

Spring Outfit Inspiration #2

Untitled #5

Topshop , £20 / Topshop , £59 / Topshop shoes, £59 / Michael Kors jewelry, £165 / Zara pearl jewelry, £20 / CÉLINE sunglasses / ANTIGONA MEDIA Givenchy

The sudden arrival of the sunshine in the South East means that all I want to do is go shopping for summery clothes. I'm craving skirts, sunglasses and sandals - although I think I definitely need to get my winter tootsies booked into a pedicure prior to whipping out the latter! Even if the weather isn't here to stay for that long - at least I can get some summery satisfaction by planning some outfits! Small things, eh?...

Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Socialite

Its common knowledge that I am partial to a high street make-up spree; and I love a good drugstore find, especially when it is of the lipstick variety and from one of my favourite affordable brands. As far as reviews go, I'm a little on the slow side and as much as I would love to call the Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipsticks "new" I just can't because they're not and I've been using them for nearly a month and a half now. However, at least you can expect a fully authentic review and they must be something worth shouting about if I've been carrying them around in my handbag for so long!

Offering both a matte and moisturising finish, the ColorStay Ultimate Lipsticks are yet another lip product hybrid to feature on the Revlon shelves. The texture of these lipsticks is extremely creamy, similar to that of a lip balm and the velvety soft application leaves a matte finish, which is a little on the sheer side but still a bit glossy - yes, I know it sounds like an odd concoction but believe me its an absolutely perfect result!

I'm completely in love with the shade Socialite, which is a very subtle pink/nude that is ideal for day time wear. Adding a bit of colour and sheen to the lips, this shade is a handbag essential especially for days at the office or chilled out weekends, where minimal make-up is the norm. 

Overall I'm impressed with these lipsticks; the finish on the lips is rather nice and very moisturising, considering that it is a matte product. I'm intrigued to try more shades as I think this formulation would be perfect for testing out a brighter lip during the day - fingers crossed there may be a subtle summery orange hidden away in the 20 shades that are available! My only nit-picking fault is the packaging - for £8.99 you'd think the folks at Revlon could have come up with something a bit nicer than this cheap looking plastic stuff - but oh well, when a product is this good, I guess some factors can be overlooked!

Instagram Update #1

Clockwise from top: Shameless Selfie // Russell & Bromley loafers - my new prized possession // Reunited with my old friend... the Strawberry Daiquiri // Work night out // Mr Fred // Nothing beats a Browns brownie // Cookie Cheesecake with Baileys Cream and Maltesers // Ma-hoosive Cookie // Basking in the Sunshine // Dead Henry // My Favourite Building in London // Oreo Cupcake // Beautiful Sunset

So you will have probably noticed that I haven't posted for my weekly Instagram updates for a little while now. I think its really easy for any recurring post to get a little stale, especially when (like myself...) you don't actually do much in the week, other than drive to work and exercise and especially when everybody and their cat posts a weekly update of their filtered snapshots. So I've come to the conclusion that instead of abandoning my beloved Instagram posts completely, I will post updates every so often, once I've built up a stash of photographs to share with you all. The last few weeks involved my sisters birthday celebrations, lots of cupcakes, an epic curry night, too many cocktails, karaoke night at work, along with basking in the newly arrived sunshine, lots of baking and a dead Henry hoover (I thought it was rather witty...) All in all, the next few weeks will hopefully involve sunshine, beer gardens and maybe even a holiday - along with the normal 9 til 5 work day, lots of exercising and eating healthy. Yippee!

What's on my Bedside Table?

First things first, my bedside table technically isn't a bedside table but a "Whats on my Chest of Drawers" post didn't have the same ring to it, plus my actual bedside table tends to be a bit of a dumping ground for various lenses, my iPad Mini, a mug of peppermint tea and my phone - this sound familiar to anybody? Or perhaps I'm just a bit untidy?! 

My chest of drawers, however is a whole other story as I do actually make a conscious effort to keep it tidy because lets face it when the twinkly fairy lights are on, it does look rather nice. At the moment, I've got my two favourite perfumes out on display as the bottle are just so gorgeous and they kind of go with the blinged up tea light holders. A few cheeky references to my dream city, Paris, also feature with my wire Eiffel Tower (from Next Home, if you'd like to know...) along with my Disneyland Paris cup and saucer - isn't it adorable?! I've also got a white shabby-chic looking multi-frame from Next, which still needs to be filled up with snaps but I'll save that for another time. Other bits and bobs include my Michael Kors watch, a Disneyland Paris notebook and keyring as well as whatever polish of the moment I'm wearing - in this instance it was a new Barry M Gelly polish in the shade Pomegranate (a post is on the way, I promise...)

So there we have it: my sort of bedside table. Perhaps a little too cluttered and busy for some but in my eyes, its a nice reflection of my life at the present moment in time and I do really like those fairy lights so who cares anyway!