... So Far

Lots of photos today and (hopefully) lots of home inspiration for you! I've left my blog rather neglected the past week but now you've seen just how much shopping and organising myself I've been doing you should understand. I move into my halls on Saturday and will have an ensuite room, share my flat with 7 others and cooking wise be self catered. Perhaps I should be at the stage where I'm getting excited but really there's nothing but nerves at the moment so if anyone's got any tips to combat them it'd be much appreciated. Obviously as a student, none of these things break the bank with the majority being either from Asda, Tesco or Dunelm Mill. I'm going to list links and prices of the more interesting and my favourite items but if you want to know about anything else, just leave me your question in the comments. If not, simply tell me what your favourite item is I've picked up and whether you're now after any of these. I think my personal favourite has to be the 'Unnecessary Item Fund' coin tin (£2.50 here) simply because I know that's what I'll use it for! 

Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas and I'll be back to more regular posting as soon as I can.

Lara xo

Items

Cupcake Themed:
Apron - £4 here
Tea Towels - £4 set of 3 (can't find online) 
                     £2 individual towel here
Oven Mitt - £4 here
All Asda

Purple Shower Scrunchi with Pink Platypus (!?!) - 49p here - Dunelm Mill

White with Blue Hearts:

4 pack bowls - £8 here
4 pack side plates - £8 here
Set of 4 Mugs - £5 here
All Asda

'Receipts for Money I Used to Have' Tin - £6.91 here
'Unnecessary Item Fund' Tin - £2.50 here

Budget Beauty Buys

Superdrug Haul

I popped into town today having heard that both a foundation and powder had been added to Collection's hyped Lasting Perfection range (not sure how behind I am on the news of that one though!) I, along with the majority of the beauty community, absolutely love the concealer, not just for its quality but more importantly for its shade; I have the colour 1 Fair and it's one of the few drugstore concealers that's light enough to actually offer some highlight under my eyes rather than an orange toned shadowy effect. I had high expectations that the shades would be similar in the other products but after swatching the foundations in Superdrug I barely found a difference between shades 1-4 and would categorise them all as for more medium skin tones. However, having come with £10 in  my pocket and prepared to treat myself I couldn't resist picking up a couple of bargains.

Both products are from Rimmel which I would consider now one of the higher priced drugstore makeup brands. I usually associate Collection, MUA, Makeup Revolution etc with bargain products as Rimmel, Revlon and L'Oreal are definitely pushing it now with one item sometimes reaching around the £10 mark. However both Brow This Way and the Exaggerate Waterproof Eyeliner were reduced from £3.99 to £2.99. On top of that there was a buy 1 get 1 half price across the whole Rimmel range meaning as opposed to paying £7.98, the total instead came to £4.50 which I was pretty chuffed about!

I picked up Brow This Way in the colour medium blonde (called mid brown on the website), however I did find the choices hard to pick between. Whilst I have brown hair, the shades are clear, blonde, medium blonde and dark brown so I did feel there was a perhaps slight gap in the middle as the dark brown was verging on black. I wanted to try it out as a cheaper alternative to Benefit's Gimme Brow and plan on doing a full review once I've used it for a while.

My other purchase was fairly standard; simply a black pencil liner. However, I haven't properly tried using one since old dance show days when I'd had very little practice with makeup and thought the more I looked like a panda the better as it meant I would at least show up on stage (I think I've been put off ever since.) The Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner is a retractable pencil design with a built in smudger and sharpener; certainly a bit more advanced that the basic pencil style I used to drop accidentally and manage to break all the way through. Hopefully I'll get on with it but even I don't I'm not particularly worried since it didn't exactly break the bank!

Overall, what started in disappointment all turned out to be pretty good and there's nothing like the excitement of new makeup in your stash! Have you picked up any bargains lately?

Lara xo

Back to School/Uni Essentials

Haul

As much as we hate to admit it, the time is very much upon us now as most schools have already gone back and university terms will begin at the end of this month. Whilst I haven't done my proper uni shop yet, I have begun picking up some bits and pieces as and when I saw them. In keeping with the student-esque 'I have limited money', I have been very conscious of only buying practical items but still that I would be happy to be seen with! So without further ado here's a small haul of what I deem some of my uni essentials.

A Waterproof Coat

Living in England, we have to accept that rain will be a given in autumn/winter and with the reliance of lifts from Mum now being taken away, it was about time I didn't place all my faith in a £2 umbrella. This mac has small, bright pink flamingos on which admittedly very much sold me from the start. It was also (and still is) in the sale; another great plus meaning it was only £10 instead of £20. Even better, it actually works! In the recent rain we've been having I've trotted around in this and successfully remained dry. I do wish the hood stopped at protecting my hair though rather than my entire face and causing slight visibility problems. And when you're done, this coat handily folds into its pocket making it extremely lightweight and easy to carry around in your bag which brings me onto . . . 

A Bag That Will Not Destroy My Posture, Actually Fit My Stuff In and Not Disintegrate in the Rain

Catchy title - I know. I am guilty of many bag crimes over my school years; telling Mum that yes this bag is big enough then proceeding to carry most my books in my arms all year, choosing one made of canvas then drying textbooks on the school radiator and carrying so much stuff in my bag that now one shoulder seems to permanently droop. Well no more I say. This rucksack from Accessorize is large enough to fit in A4 folders (and more than one I add), made of plasticy coated material so will be shower proof at the least and will be possible to carry for when I wish to cycle from my accommodation to lectures with considerably less balance issues. Accesorize also offers 10% student discount and despite being a rucksack it doesn't look like I'm about to set off on a D of E trek. An all round perfect bag I think.

Sensible Footwear

Sticking again with the waterproof theme I really did need some practical shoes that would stay on my feet, be comfy to walk more than 2 steps in and be suitable for most weathers. It seems all my shoes end up being from New Look but once again they've provided a shoe that ticks all the boxes and you know they're good shoes when the first time you wear them they don't rub at all. I chose these Patent Chunky Lace Up Brogues in burgundy because they're still subtle enough to go with nearly everything but if you did want, they are also available in black. New Look is another store offering student discount but even at full price of £24.99 they're well worth it as even my Mum commented on how good quality they looked. (Rest assured though I will still insist on wearing my heeled boots as often as I can manage this term!)

Pretty Stationery

Perhaps not a necessity to everyone, but definitely something that appeases me! I will still be doing a much larger stationery shop but for now I have a basic purple ring binder and the main feature, this beautiful set of 24 different colour sharpies. It really does make me feel so happy every time I look at it! The purple folder really was only bought so I could save £10 on the sharpies meaning they only actually cost me £6.99 (and getting my Financial Maths practice in that means they're around 29p each.) I'm definitely going to end up labelling absolutely everything using these this year.

And that's it . . . For now. Let me know what you think of these things and when you're off to school/uni. At least getting to shop before hand makes the pain of going a little bit less!

Lara xo

London Haul

Nars, New Look, Zara, H&M, Superdrug . . . 

A week ago now a wrote this wishlist post having spent a day browsing London shops. I also mentioned I had a second trip planned and this time I did not come back empty handed! Having spent around 6 hours in Westfields I can safely say it is the largest shopping centre I have ever seen with a great variety of shops and I absolutely loved it. Here is what I picked up:

Nars Duo - Kuala Lumpa was the only thing on my original list I purchased as I try to save high-end purchases for special occasions, but with this I simply couldn't resist. It's actually my first Nars product though seeing how smoothly the eye shadows apply, I can definitely predict me being tempted into buying more in the future! I am conscious, however, of trying to keep its matte black packaging clean, as whilst it looks very sleek and sophisticated I fear if I'm in a rush my grubby foundation hands will quickly mark it. All the same I love the shade combination and can definitely see me using it a lot to add a little more colour into every day make up.

 I picked this bag up for a bargain £5 in New Look sale, but despite the low price tag, the leather look finish doesn't look at all plasticy as can often be the case with cheap handbags. The burgundy colour is perfect for me as it is subtle enough to go with lots outfits yet is more interesting than simply black. My favourite heels are also this same burgundy shade so pairing them together will be perfect. It is big enough to fit in my purse, phone, camera, glasses and a small bottle of water so is a very practical design whilst not encouraging over packing. The same bag but in black is still available on the New Look Website here for £9.99.

These 2 tops are from Zara and H&M respectively and both cost £9.99 (the Zara one was reduced to half price.) The first I think just looks so arty and creative and quite different from other tops. The orange collar compliments the design nicely and the hemline is also interesting with a slit near the bottom on either side then falling longer at the back than the front. For me it is a more flattering high-low cut. I love Disney so the Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald print on this H&M top made it a must for me. It is also rare to get Disney branded clothing at such a low price. The top is very over sized even though I bought a small so is ideal for just slouching around and being comfy or for when you want something a bit more baggy and airy in the summer heat.

I thought it was about time I tried some of the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints as they've been being talked about for a while. I made the most of Superdrug's 3 for 2 offer on selected nail items and bought the shades Lychee, Sugar Apple and Blueberry. I though the 2 pastels would be perfect for Summer and I find it's always useful to buy nude shades as I go through them quickly because of the number of coats they usually take to appear opaque. Hopefully Lychee won't be as sheer as some other nudes.

Overall, I think it was a pretty successful shopping trip and I can't wait to use/wear all my new purchases!
Lara xo