clothes show live

As usual, there's going to be an apology at the start of this post because of my lack of posts. And I know everyone's like 'you should only blog when you want to blah blah blah' but I feel that people will end up unfollowing my blog if I don't post more often so I'm trying really hard to get more posts done but I've got a lot going on at the moment and all my teachers are piling on the work so it's very hard to find a spare moment to take pictures of things and then find the motivation to write a blog post but I've only really got about 2 weeks left of school before the Christmas holidays so there will be more coming guys! Just bare with me!

Now I'm sure most of you know that last weekend and the past few days have been Clothes Show Live. I went last year and absolutely loved it so knew that I'd have to go again this year. I went with a different group of friends this time and it was very different to last year but still enjoyable! I'm going to put some pictures in the post now so you can see some of the things I got up too!

this is the view from my seat and as you can see, my friends and i were not actually that far away. last year i was on the front row so obviously these seats were not as good but i'm definitely not complaining!

george lamb and the winner of britain's next top model (i don't watch it so i don't know her name but grace rings a bell?)

the only way is essex stars (arg and maria) and the hollyoaks stars (lynsey and darren)

we had a lovely performance off the risk too!

my favourite model. nom nom nom.

we also had a performance from her majesty and the wolves (i didn't realise but kimberely wyatt is the singer which was such a good surprise!) and i really love them but they didn't do my favourite song which was sad but a good performance anyway!

my friends pippa & vicky and i with the band FranKo. the one to my right is, in fact, dave the laugh from the film angus, thongs and perfect snogging!

The day started early and meant getting a tram in the freezing cold (obviously i didn't dress appropriately, i never do...) into Manchester. As always, my friends and I had to run for our train (i'm not even joking, this has happened the past three times we've gotten a train) which led to a major stress out but we got there on time and found that we were, unexpectedly, all sitting together which was lovely as we thought we were all going to be split up. Relatively quick train journey with lots of laughs and gossiping and when we arrived I think the excitement really kicked in. We clambered (quite literally) off the train and through the corridors (is that what you'd even call them?) of the Birmingham NEC to the big halls where all the stalls were and where the show was being held. Like last year, I got the platinum ticket which meant a 'goodie bag' (got to love freebies) and I'll include the contents of it in my haul post coming up on Friday, hopefully. Anyway, after we got that we went into the main hall, stopped to watch FranKo's performance, had a quick toilet trip and then went to our show!

The theme of this year's show was A Night At The Deparment Store and it was incredible! Not only do the model's walk down the catwalk showing lovely outfits that I can only dream of pulling off, they also dance as well which really adds to the whole performance. They're not just regular dancers either, they're amazing! They really work hard as well as they must put on about 3 shows every day and the whole event lasts for 5 days so that's 15 shows with some pretty hardcore dance routines. Kudos to them! I've not included all the pictures I took of the show, only my favourites as I didn't want the post to be too picture heavy.

After the catwalk show, my friends and I went shopping which was definitely the best bit! I'm not going to tell you everything I bought as I'm going to do a whole other post on everything for you guys so be excited about that! We shopped for almost the whole afternoon (a grand total of 6 hours i think) which was definitely exhausting! Also during the afternoon, we met the band FranKo twice which was fun and each time I was my lovely, awkward self and managed embarrassed myself in front of the boys. Always a good thing. We also spent some time at one of the dance stages watching some groups of dancers. Some of them were incredible and I so wish I could dance like them but others were just not as good and I just felt awkward standing there. Just over an hour was spent sitting down and regathering strength as one my friends, Lydia, felt ill (as did i later on in the day along with our other friend Amy - coincidentally we all ate the same chicken nuggets at lunch...). Before we left to get the train back home we did have a go on the Xbox Kinect that was available which was fun and a nice way to end.

HOWEVER, the day only got worse from there on. I started getting a headache towards the end of the afternoon but thought nothing of it, assuming it would go but it didn't. I was fine for the first half of the train ride but then a migraine started kicking in and I knew I just had to get home. But it wasn't going to be that easy, was it? Oh no. A girl had to steal one of my bag's didn't she? Last year I'd found a new make up brand called Jelly Pong Pong at the Clothes Show and fell in love! This year, I planned to go back and they had the most amazing deal going on; a goodie bag full of great make up for £5! Anyway, when I was having a nap on the train, I must have kicked the bag (which was quite small) under the chair in front of me. So as I was gathering up my stuff to get off the train I realised that it wasn't there and the 4 girls in front of me had left the train too. Was I suspicious? Just a little. Anyway, I told my friend's and a lady who was sitting where the girls were sat, overheard and leant over. It turns out that she had seen the bag and thought it belonged to one of the girls so called them back, asked if it was theirs and they took it. My friend Pippa later told me that apparently the girls realised that it wasn't theirs when they were stood on the platform of the train station but just laughed it off and didn't seem to care. Anyway, because I was feeling really ill and because it was only £5, I wasn't too upset and it wasn't like losing the make up was life threatening. It was just an annoying situation. As we were about to leave the train, however, the woman who had overheard me before came up to me and offered me £10 to make up for the fact that the girl had stole my bag. I literally couldn't believe she was doing this because it was in no way her fault for the girl taking my bag and I was definitely not going to blame her for what happened. I told her I couldn't take the money off her but she wouldn't listen to me, stuffed the money in my bag and ran off! I'm still in shock right now to be honest! She was such a lovely woman and I still don't blame her for what happened but it's completely restored my faith in the belief that there are nice people in the world! Back to the story though! We went to get the tram and I really started to feel sick and I had a bad feeling that I was going to puke any time soon. I was completely dreading the tram journey home and when we finally got on the tram, my stomach was just being thrown about everywhere. Luckily I wasn't sick but I definitely had a migraine and my dad did pick me up when I got back to the tram station and I just went home to sleep it off. The next morning, I was right as rain which was brilliant!

So unfortunately it was a bad end to a great day but I really did have an amazing day apart from feeling ill and I completely recommend people to go to Clothes Show Live next year! There are so many bargains and it's so enjoyable! There's even plenty of things for boys to do too!

I hope you've enjoyed this post and I do have more posts in line for you! I'm also thinking of starting another feature type post (yes, it's one of those again but this one will hopefully last longer than the others!) so expect that to come too. I hope everyone's had a good week as well and everyone is well! I'm off to watch a double bill of Come Fly With Me and to read a bit of The Great Gatsby for my English Literature class so I hope you all have a good evening too!

my day off

So last Friday my school had a non pupil day which meant a lovely day off from school which was much needed. I had been planning to go into Manchester that day to go and purchase some winter jumpers from Primark that Emma spoke about in one of her posts (can't remember which one, sorry!) and some Topshop bracelets but then my friend Emma (a different one!) said she wanted to go in so a trip was planned!

So, unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the winter jumpers in Primark (although there were some lovely ones in the men's section that i wouldn't mind getting a few of!) so my friend Emma took me to this place just off the centre of Manchester called Ryan Vintage where you can get loads of second hand clothes for pretty reasonable prices. I got this jumper from there and it was only £10. Obviously I had to give it a wash (see if you can spot the lovely brown mark on the top row of white diamonds...) but it's definitely worth it because it's so cosy! Also, the design probably wasn't meant to be Christmassy but I get such a festive feel from the jumper and I have a feeling I'm going to be wearing it a lot this year! I've already planned on wearing it to Clothes Show Live on Sunday so look out for it in that post!

I first saw these bracelets on the Topshop website after they sent out a link on their Twitter account. Excited about both the cuteness of them and the price (£2?! yes please!) I added them to my basket and went to checkout. But oh no. Of course something would go wrong. For some reason, Topshop said that they couldn't deliver these to my country? Disappointed I just forgot about them and justified it with the fact I don't need any more bracelets. However, when I decided to go into Manchester I made sure to go to Topshop in order to pick these up. But I couldn't find them anywhere! I almost gave up hope until my friend Faye went to go and buy a pair of boots and I saw the bracelets on the counter! You wouldn't believe my happiness. With 2 of them at £2 each and a 10% student discount, I walked away extremely happy and only £3.60 poorer (some of which will go on to a charity!). The squirrel one is my favourite and so that was a definite. I also really liked the heart one but I did think the heart would be bigger. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer the heart this size but I just assumed it to be a big heart! There is a wishbone one but I wasn't interested as I'm not a big believer in luck 'enhancers', if that makes sense?

And the final thing I bought was a new piercing. If you don't know me very well you won't know that I'm slightly 'addicted' to piercings. In total I would love to have 10 ear piercings, a possible lip piercing and maybe my nosed pierced. It sounds crazy but I will try and make it tasteful. I currently have 6 ear piercings (4 on my right, 2 on my left) and on Friday I got my 6th one, my rook. At first I wanted to get a 3rd on my left ear but Emma persuaded me to get this one done and after not really thinking about it I just went for it. Honestly though, I was so nervous as I almost fainted with my other two cartilage ones but the man who did it was very nice and after a quick needle prick and a bit of fumbling, it was over and I felt hardly any pain. I'm really happy I've got it done even if it is a bit sore at this current moment and if anybody wants to get it done but is worried, do it! It's definitely worth it and it honestly doesn't hurt that much (about as much as an injection).

Anyway, I don't really have much else to say apart from I hope you enjoyed this post and that maybe I have inspired you to go out and buy some nice treats for yourself before the Christmas shopping season begins. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself as I've already started my Christmas shopping - I've got 2 tickets for Strictly Come Dancing Live for my mum and whoever she wants to take (though it will probably be me going) and then possibly some tickets for a wine tasting show for my dad and mum. Not much but it's a start and I'm very happy with my early start!

How is everyone else doing with their Christmas shopping (if you've started)? And what does everybody want for themselves for Christmas? :)

benefit carmella perfume

Well, I think a post is due! I meant to post at the weekend but I had so much going on that any spare time I did have, I just couldn't be bothered to make a post or I was too tired and then I was going to post yesterday but again, no time. However, I had a bit of time yesterday whilst I was just watching TV (after parent's evening - went well guys!) and thought I would start writing then and take the pictures today (hope that makes sense!).

I got this perfume, I think, last year for my birthday after I'd tried the 'Crescent Row' collection in my nearest Debenhams' store and Carmella was definitely my favourite out of all the fragrances. If you don't know, the collection consists of 7 different eau de toilettes (there were originally 6 but Bella was recently introduced. i also have Bella and when it is used up, i intend to do a post on it like this one) and, personally, I think this is such a great way to produce a fragrance line as you can keep adding to it with different names. Also, if you haven't had a chance, I'd go and take a look on the Debenhams' website as all the fragrances have a really different scent so I think there is something to suit everybody.

Carmella's 'full name' is So Hooked On Carmella and I mainly spray this at the start of the weekday (i have a different perfume for the weekends). It lasts me all day because it's quite a heavy and strong smell which is great because it means if I'm working or at school, I don't have to worry about topping it up during the day.

The website says So Hooked On Carmella features "top notes of lemon, grapefruit and rhubarb; middle notes cyclamen, peony and tiare flower; bottom notes of vanilla, sandalwood and amber". For me, the vanilla just stands out so predominantly, it's unreal.

As well as loving the scent and concept of these fragrances, I really really love the packaging. Each perfume bottle comes in a little 'house' with gorgeous details on the outside of the box. To get inside, to the perfume, the roof must be lifted and the front 'flap' pulled down (essentially opening the front door) and inside is made to look like the inside of a room/house. The perfume has a little slot to stand in and if you pull it out, you can see the full effect of the detailed box. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it in my life and don't think anything could compete with it. I mean seriously, what other fragrance box is made to look like a house?

I really can't rave enough about this perfume and after I've finished my Bella perfume, I can't wait to buy another in the range! I could definitely see myself building up a collection here...

outfit of the night

Got a little outfit post for you guys! I was going to post it yesterday but I didn't have time due to my friend's and I having our first Come Dine With Me night. It was honestly SO fun and I recommend everyone having a go with their own friends/family!

popadoms, nom.

naan bread, so good!

Last December, my parents and I decided that each month we would go out for dinner to a different restaurant to a) try out different places near to us that we've never really noticed/tried before and b) have some more family time. Therefore, on Saturday we had our November meal at this Indian restaurant near us. I'd never been before but I know my parents' love to get a takeaway from there so I was very interested in trying it out. We ordered popadoms and naan bread to start with and gosh, they're my favourites. So so so good! For my main I ordered this chicken dish with some roasted and almond nuts with some basmati rice. However, I wasn't too keen on it. It had a very weird texture and the chicken was too pink for me. I ended up sharing my mum's lentil dish and my dad had mine. Even though I didn't enjoy it much, I would probably go again to try something else.

The outfit I wore was a zebra print vest that my dad got me years ago from America (i think?) with some black harem pants that I've had for a while too and love! The belt in the picture is one I wear with practically everything! It came with a River Island skirt that I initially got for school but I wear it with a lot of other things. I also wore my trusty Vans that I think everyone should own a pair of. They're so comfortable and you can wear them with practically everything! Also had my lovely Gorilla bag that my mum got from Portugal  about 10 years ago, I think, and I've just stolen it because I love it so much. And then the 4th and 5th picture show the nail varnish I wore.

I hope you've enjoyed this post because I don't usually do outfit posts and it's not because I don't like them but it's because I don't explore with what I wear. I wear what I like and I think looks good on me but I'm going to try and start doing more outfit posts. I also don't buy new clothes often and I'm sure you guys wouldn't like to see the same old outfits, week after week!

LATEST IN BEAUTY box #1

Now I know that everyone's heard about beauty boxes (GlossyBox, Boudior Prive, Carmine, Feel Unique - if you have any others, please let me know, i really want to look into more) but I've never seen a post on Latest In Beauty boxes (only mentioned by Kate on an old post which is where i first heard about it) and I really wanted to put my two cents in because although it's not very well known and the quality is not as good as the others, it's the cheapest and most interesting.

Basically, the concept of Latest In Beauty is you only pay £1 for a text to recieve a code that allows you to order your box and then the box is essentially free. At first I thought I wouldn't have to pay anything but when I found out you had to pay a £1 I thought it was understandable because they have to make some money (you can order full size products from them after you've tried out the sample but i'm not sure how much profit they make out of that) and I still went ahead with the order.

Latest In Beauty is a lot different to the other boxes because instead of being 'surprised' with the products you receive, you get to pick which samples you want to try out. There are three categories Make Up, Fragrances and Hair & Body and you can pick 3 samples each month. These can either be one from each category or three from one. Whatever you want. This month I picked one from each and I'm happy with the ones I got. I'm really excited to try them out.

I picked the Blemish Relief Kit because I've always had problems with my skin and am up for anything that says they can, basically, sort out my face.

The reason I picked the Nicky Clarke Volume Shampoo & Conditioner is because I always like trying new hair products. I'm the type of girl who doesn't really care what she puts on her hair, as long as it washes/cleans it so I'll be interested in seeing if it really does give me volume.

And lastly the Crabtree & Evelyn Body Lotion & Eau De Toilette purely to try more fragrances and to break out of my comfort zone with my perfumes. I've never owned a product that smelled of lilies before so I'm looking forward to trying that out.

I can order my next box in 19 days (the website told me, i'm not keeping track...) and I'm already looking forward to it! I'm not sure if I have to pay the £1 next time but I'm not entirely fussed if I do.

I'm also planning on ordering two of their 'themed boxes'. They basically have themed boxes that come out at certain times of the year with quite a few samples in (you know what they are before you order) that are priced at £4.95 (again cheaper than the others). When I get the chance I'm going to get the 2011 CEW Beauty Insiders Choice Award Winners Box and the Festive Stocking Box so look out for those posts soon!

Hope you've enjoyed this post as a 'twist' on the ever famous sample boxes.