The Look Show!

Morning all,

I hope you are all believers in the saying 'better late than never', because I'm eventually posting my review of The Look Show which took place nearly two weeks ago :-/ It's quite long (with a lil video at the end!), so grab a cuppa and enjoy...

I was one very happy (and lucky!) bunny when I got an email from New Look telling me I'd won a pair of tickets to The Look Show - an event hosted by Look magazine showcasing the hottest collections for Autumn/Winter from all our high street favourites. I'd never been to a fashion show of any description before so it's true to say I was positively bursting with excitement before the big day!

I didn't have much idea about what to expect so I spent ages umm-ing and ahh-ing over what to wear. As New Look had given me the tickets, I thought I should show my loyalty and so plumped for my New Look t-shirt, skirt and jacket. This is the ensemble I eventually ended up in...

Jacket - New Look

Tshirt -New Look

Skirt - New Look

Boots - Tesco

I also wore this gorgeous necklace that I got from Primark for £3. I've seen quite a lot of turquoise jewellery around recently, so I thought I'd add this little baby to my collection :-)

With my friend Fay as my plus one, we headed off to the Saatchi Gallery where the event was being held - a very ooh-la-la venue in Chelsea (I could get used to this life very quickly!)

Once past the burly bouncers and relieved to find our names were on the guestlist, we navigated our way to the champagne and canapes. With an hour to go until the show started we had time to people-watch and have a snoop around. The room was full of super stylish people dressed to impress, but it wasn't at all intimidating and bloggers, competition winners, models and people from all the brands mingled together.

There was even a handful of celebrities thrown in for good measure! We spotted the gorgeous (although a lot shorter than expected!) Shayne Ward, Callum Best, Ali Bastian, Una from the Saturdays (her hair is to die for!) and Joe McElderry amongst others. Although most people seemed to take being with all these famous people in their stride, I wasn't quite so cool! When I spotted Danielle Lloyd I couldn't resist asking for a photo - she was glowing and really pretty.

Whilst all this was going on, we were treated to some great musical entertainment. First up were 'The Like' who you can see in the picture. They looked and sounded brilliant, especially the lead singer who had an amazing voice. Next up was Gabriella Cilmi. She wore a gorgeous black lace dress, sounded great and had real stage presence - I was mucho impressed.

Just before the show started, Fay and I spotted this weird looking contraption...

It turned out to be a photo booth. But unlike any normal photo booth, this came complete with wind machine and instant airbrushing (no wonder the queue was so long!). After an initial unsuccessful attempt where we failed to notice the seat you were supposed to sit on and so ended up with pictures of our torsos, it was second time lucky and we ended up with some lovely pictures. If only my little digital camera could do this my Facebook pictures would be a whole lot more pleasing on the eye!

When 4pm struck we stopped with the schmoozing and settled down for the show. The basic format was a short video on the projector from one of the brands, followed by the models strutting their stuff in that store's outfits. It was really great to see clothes on the catwalk that were affordable and available on any high street. It really showed me that style isn't about how much money you spend, it's about how you wear things and the confidence you have.

The models were all stunning, and it was great to see some plus size beauties too. Fay and I went all 'Miss J' (of 'America's Next Top Model' fame) and were critiquing all their walks! But they did so well, made the clothes look gorgeous and successfully managed to stay upright on some ridiculously high heels!

There were pieces from all the collections that tickled my fancy, and New Look's was no exception. In fact, if it weren't for my huge student debt I would have happily toddled off to the nearest store and purchased the vast majority!

New Look's collection included faux fur (as I predicted in my entry to the competition!), cool hats and cute print dresses. The 70s were also clearly a huge influence with high waisted skirts and shorts, and bows on blouses. There was also a little bit of sparkle thrown in for good measure, which in my eyes is never a bad thing!

Even once the show over, the event wasn't finished yet! We were all treated to a great performance from Diana Vickers who rocked out despite being all alone on stage.

Eventually it was time for us to (reluctantly) head home. Fay and I parted ways, and as I sat on the train I had a rummage through the goody bag that we were all lucky enough to receive. Bursting at the seams with beauty goodies, discount vouchers and even some yummy chocolate to munch on the way home, we were extremely spoilt!

I slept soundly in my bed that night and had sweet dreams about fashion, celebrities and champagne!

I would really like to thank Look magazine for putting on a fantabulous event and, of course, major kisses to New Look for choosing me as a winner and giving me this great experience :-)

Throughout the day I also tried to record little snippets of videos, which I've combined below for your viewing pleasure!...

I could get used these events very quickly! Were any of you at The Look Show? DId you have a great time too?

xx

The wanderer returns... In Primark wedges!

Good afternoon lovelies, on this lazy Sunday (well it's pretty lazy for me anyway!)

Firstly I want to say sorry (cue puppy dog eyes) for my absence recently. As you'll know if you follow me on Twitter I've moved to a new part of the country recently and have been super busy making our flat feel like home (and getting a job in the process - yay!). Anyway, because I've been run off my feet I haven't written a post for over a week :-/

I promise to get my act together now we're all settled, and I still need to fill you in on all my goss from The Look Show I went to last week - better late than never! My post on that should be up real soon.

For now though, I just thought I'd do a really quick post on my latest purchase. Now I love Primark as much as the next bargain-hunting fashionista, but on my last few visits I haven't found anything that tickled my fancy. However, yesterday I grabbed (in a slightly aggressive manner I admit) the last pair of these beauties from the shelves...

I wouldn't normally dedicate a whole post to one item, but these just have to be one of my best buys in ages - I'm in love with them :-)

I've been reading everywhere that 'camel' is the colour for this season, so I really wanted to get myself some camel-coloured shoes. These ones are just perfect. They have a suede feel and wedge design, and in my opinion were a bargain at just £12!

I think they'll be perfect for my new job, as they look professional but are still young and on-trend (and comfy too, which will be important for all the traipsing round the office that I'm sure I'll be doing as I learn where everything is and no doubt get lost on my way to the canteen on my first day!)

What do you guys think? Have you got any good bargains in Primark recently?

Again, sorry for my lack of posts recently but now we're settled in the flat I'll be back and firing on all cylinders! If you have any requests of posts or videos you'd like to see, just let me know - I have a week until I start my new job so should have some time to get writing/filming :-)

Hope you all enjoy the rest of this lazy Sunday...

xx

Specs Appeal (or not, as the case may be!)

I'd always thought my eyesight was pretty good, so I was a little bit sad when I went to Specsavers a few days ago and was advised to get glasses :-( I don't have to wear them all the time though, just for 'concentrating tasks'... for some reason this makes me laugh, as I seem to concentrate a lot when straightening my hair, choosing an outfit etc, but I don't really think that's what they meant! Watching tv and being on the computer was more what they had in mind...

Anyways, as I won't have to wear the glasses that much I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I went for one of the cheapest pairs they have in Specsavers - these black rimmed ones at £25... (please don't laugh!)...

It's not that I don't like glasses. It's more that I like them on other people but don't like them on myself! Other people can make them look cool or sexy, but I'm not close to achieving either of these looks! But hey, if they help my peepers, then I'm all for them :-)

I'm slowly getting used to my spectacles (I love that word!) although I can only wear them in short periods at the moment. Adjusting my eyes should be achievable. Mastering looking cool/sexy/seductive may take a little while longer!

Now I'm off to plan my outfit for The Look Show on Friday. Let the deciding I hate all my clothes, throwing everything out of the wardrobe and crying, commence!...

xx

My First Fashion Show! Tres Excited!

Hello loves :-)

I have some very exciting news to share - this Friday I'll be attending my first ever fashion show! Needless to say, I'm a very happy and excited little bunny.

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to The LOOK Show in a blogging competition being run by New Look, who'll be showcasing some of their latest pieces at the event. To enter the comp, you had to write a short paragraph on your 'Top Autumn Trend Prediction'. As is always the case with me and these types of thing I got rather carried away, and instead of just writing a short paragraph this is the entry I submitted (you can click on it to see it bigger)...

New Look must have liked it, as I got an email earlier today saying I was one of their two winners :-) I'm so excited as I can't wait to see all the clothes, and apparently there'll be some celebs there too, and I do love a good ol' bit of celeb spotting! I'll be sure to post pics on here, and obviously I'll be writing a piece for the New Look blog too, so I'll post a link to that once it's up.

So now I'm off to find a friend to go with and, most importantly, decide what to wear! Any suggestions are most welcome...

xx

Getting DIY Design Confident!

As I had a few very lovely comments on a recent post I wrote about a table I bought from a car boot and decorated lovingly (you can see it here) I thought I'd show you my latest creation. Again, I plan to put this to use somewhere in our new flat which we move into soon.

This time round I bought a stool. Again, it was from a car boot and cost £2. It was a pretty basic and boring stool that wasn't in the best condition, so I wanted to give it a bit of a makeover!

This is the bit when I go all Blue Peter on you! he he. Here's me (looking rather scruffy I do apologise :-/) with all the bits and pieces I used. I needed...

- white paint - I just used one tester pot from B&Q which cost 98p

- coverlon (I don't know if it's actually called that, but that's what I call it! You know that sticky stuff you cover your books with at school. Sticky back plastic?)

- piece of wrapping paper

- 1 meter of beading

First up I painted the whole thing (except for the top) white. Obviously you could paint it any colour, but this just went with the look I was going for.

And here's one I made earlier!! I was so into what I was doing that I forgot to take pictures at each of the next steps! But basically I cut a circle of wrapping paper the same size as the top of the stool. Then I cut a slightly larger circle from coverlon, and stuck this to the top. You could then see the coverlon stuck down around the sides, so I superglued some beading around the edge to hide it.

And voila!!...

I think it looks really cute even if I do say so myself :-)

I actually think it's too nice to use as a stool now, so I might use it as a stand with a plant or something on and put it in the corner of the room.

I'm in the process of making over a couple more items that I've managed to get my little mitts on over the past few days, so if anyone is interested I'll post pics of them too. Let's just say I plan that one item will incorporate a feather boa!... should be interesting!

xx

The Big 2-3 - My Birthday!!

I've had a lovely few days of celebration this weekend because it was my birthday on Saturday! I hit the big 2-3 which I'm finding very scary since it only feels like two minutes ago that I was 18. However, a day out in London helped take my mind off my rapid ageing, so I thought I'd just post a few little piccies.

We headed down early in the morning to queue for tickets for Wicked at the Apollo, and luckily we managed to get our hands on some. Before the matinée started we went to Covent Garden. I know it's really touristy, but it's still one of my favourite places to go to in London.

While we were there we saw a Pearly King collecting for charity. I just had to grab a picture as he looked so dashing! (and of course I added my donation to his collection box).

The street performers were all out in force as usual. I think the human statues are brilliant, but I never stand at the front to watch because I find them a little bit scary!

At 2.30 we headed back to the Apollo for the show...

I knew very little about the show before we went, and was surprised (and very pleased!) to find out that the talented (and a little bit gorgeous!) Lee Mead was in it...

I can't praise the show highly enough - it really was amazing. The set was stunning and the voice of the lead character in particular blew me away. If you happen to be in London I can't think of many better ways to spend a few hours.

After the show we headed to the Waldorf for cocktails, and then on to an Italian back in Covent Garden for dinner. A lovely day finished off with my favourite meal...

All in all I had a fantabulous day - a very happy (and lucky) girlie :-)

Now, to find some wrinkle cream and my Bonmarché vouchers...

xx

Feelin' Fruity!

Evenin' all!

I'm a wee bit late with this post, but thought better late than never... (I always say that when I'm trying to convince myself that my questionable timing is not a problem)...

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to enter and win a Rimmel competition, and as a result was sent a bundle of Rimmel goodies as a prize :-)

On Twitter, Rimmel (@rimmelondonbuzz) challenged their followers to send a picture of themselves and the make up look they were sporting that day, from which they'd choose a favourite who would win a goodie bag. As I was feeling creative and had the time on my hands (one of the benefits of having a long summer before finishing uni and starting work) I created a look based on Rimmel's Twitter logo. Now, as I've said on here before, I am no expert with make up at all, but I though't I'd give it a whirl, and even if I didn't win I enjoyed doing it. Rather than just sending a picture of my finished face, I created this little collage below which I sent to them (maybe I should change 'have time on my hands' to 'have WAY TOO MUCH time on my hands!)...

Despite having some other great entries, Rimmel must have liked it as they announced I was the winner!! They messaged to say they would send me some goodies and so I was mucho excited when a few days later Mr Postman came a-knockin'!

The gang at Rimmel Towers were extremely generous and sent me a great selection of products...

The products are...

- I Love Fruities Lasting Finish Nail Polish - 053 Apricot Punch

- Glam'Eyes Eye Shadow - 200 Spicy Bronze

- Glam'Eyes Eye Shadow - 500 Posh Peacock

- Vinyl Gloss - 330 Snog

- Stay Matte Pressed Powder - 004 Sandstorm

- Volume Flash x10 Waterproof Mascara - 001 Black

- Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer - 240 Aqua

If anyone is interested I can review any of these products in more detail, but for now let's just say I've tried them out and they're amazing. I'm particularly in love with the eyeshadows, and although not an obvious combination, I've found that if blended well the two colours actually look really good together (trust me!).

I have got some pictures of the nail varnish though, as I've just applied it ready for my day out in London for my birthday tomorrow (yay!). I'm not normally a fan of orange (not just in nail varnish but generally in life!) but because this is more on the coral side than red side I really like it. Also, the lid claims that when dried the varnish would smell of apricots, and I was highly doubtful this would be true (sorry, I'm a naturally cynical person, what can I say?!), but it actually does! I can't stop smelling my nails, which may look slightly strange to passers-by, but it just smells so good! Looks good and smells good - what more could you want?! I love it!

That's all for now folks - I'm off to get sorted for my birthday trip :-) Hopefully I'll have lots of nice photos to post on Sunday. Until then, hope you have a fantabulous weekend (and why not start following @rimmelondonbuzz on Twitter if you don't already, and look out for any future comps).

Kisses.

xx