As promised, here's more of what I got in the online sales over the Christmas period. Even though I didn't get exactly what I wanted from the Next sale, I was really happy with the stuff I ended up with!
I love statement bags that bring a bit of glamour to an outfit so this heavily studded oversized clutch bag was a no-brainer for me. It was down to £15 from £30 and the best thing is that it's big enough to fit all my bits and bobs in it without sacrificing on style. The studs are on on the front of the bag and the interior is a lovely royal blue colour. I love that you get a flash of colour when you open it up.
I'm a sucker for sparkly shoes and these embellished gold sandals struck me as the perfect footwear for one of the weddings I am attending this year (there's 4 so far!). The heel is a decent height without being too high, I love skyscrapers but not when I have to stand around in them for more than 12 hours! These sandals were reduced down to £20.
These sandals are really comfortable due to the wide straps so there won't be any bits digging into my feet. Next is always a good bet for pretty shoes that will last a long time. I always seem to find something I like there even when their clothes are not always the best.
I got this belt from River Island and it was originally intended for my lovely mother-in-law, Maddie. She had spotted it in Ireland but they didn't have her size and it was so much more expensive over there. I spotted it in town reduced to £7 in the sale so I picked it up as a surprise. BUT she text me a few days later saying that she managed to get herself one so I had to spill the beans. She told me to keep it for myself if I liked it and I definitely do!
It's a combination of pearls, intertwined with suede lace and diamantes. I've tried it on with a few of my plainer dresses and it finishes them off nicely. I think it was originally meant to be worn on the hips but I have made extra holes so I can wear it high on my waist.
I also got a couple of dresses from the Rise website. I got this 'Georgia' black pleated mesh dress with a nude coloured lining for £17, down from £35. These are the first items I have bought from the brand and at first I was a bit disappointed. BUT that was because I had just received my items from Reiss and was so impressed by their quality. When I compared my Reiss stuff to the Rise clothing I had bought, it just didn't match up and the fabric didn't feel as expensive. However, I stopped myself and thought "get a grip Laura"...how could I expect to buy a dress that was originally £35 and expect it to match up to something that would cost over £150 from Reiss? Rise is competing with the likes of H&M, Primark and New Look and as such the quality of the clothes is akin to those brands. So with that in mind, I tried the dress on and you know something? The size 12 fitted REALLY well and was very flattering on me.
The striped pattern on the dress is very slimming because it directs the eyes away from the stomach area which, in my case, is far from flat! The design on the chest area is really flattering for bigger chested girls too because it accentuates what you have without anything spilling out! That's not classy. It basically has the same effect as a balcony bra.
This dress was a copy of the dress that Lauren Conrad wore in this pic....
The second dress I got from Rise was the Hayley ivory bandeau dress with jewelled embellishments, which I bought for £25, down from £45. Once again I got the size 12 and I was impressed that this brand is true to what you would expect your size to be. This dress is also very flattering for curvy girls (for your reference I am a 34E so it's hard to get dresses to fit sometimes!).
This is the dress I was wearing in my last post about NYE so you can get an idea of what it looks like on me from those pics. Because I had the blazer over the top though, it hides the embellishments. The material on this dress does feel quite thin but it's not see through. As I said, the quality is the same as the items in New Look or H&M.
Now onto a review of a product I spontaneously picked up while food shopping yesterday in ASDA. I had seen this mascara on a few blogs and it's had great reviews so I had to try it out for myself since it only costs £4.99! It's the Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara in Black...
They claim it "provides sensational lashes that really stand out from the crowd. The unique 3D lash coating tube technology will plump and stretch each individual lash without clumping or smudging... New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara is set to re-create the false lash look with the mere wave of a wand. Achieve phenomenal length and volume!".
I don't usually buy anything from Collection 2000 because it has been a big disappointment in the past...I kind of just assumed it was a brand for young teenagers given the price range and previous media images. However I was impressed with the packaging, it looked alot more expensive than the price tag. I won't beat around the bush...the wand is HUGE. It's probably the biggest wand I have ever used so if that's a big bug bear for you then you should probably just give this a miss. I actually found it easy to use though when you use just a little more care.
I really like the formula of this mascara because it doesn't dry instantly when you apply it so it gives you the chance to layer the coats and build volume without it going clumpy. It definitely lengthens your lashes to the extreme but it took three coats to get the volumised effect shown in the pics above. I don't mind having to apply three coats though because the mascara is so cheap, you can afford to go to town with it! I must say, my lashes did look almost fake when I had finished and because the mascara is water resistant, it didn't smudge or flake at all during the day. Normally water resistant formulas are a nightmare to remove at night but this is really a doddle to take off.
So my take on this mascara is that it is great value for money and it has now taken it's place in the top five mascaras in my collection which includes Rouge Bunny Rouge Amplitude, YSL Singulier, MaxFactor Calorie 2000 and YSL Faux Cils.
Now onto something I have been meaning to do for a while. I REALLY need to get my wardrobe sorted out, especially since I have accumulated alot of new clothes over the past few months. I might sound like an OCD freak here but I find it hard to feel relaxed when my wardrobe is a complete bombsite. It's a nightmare trying to find anything in there. I really want to look into some organisation solutions like the one below so I can neatly file everything I have...
At the moment, I forget about alot of the things I have and overlook them when putting together outfits because they are hidden away under mounds of shoes, bags and other stuff. I really need to sort it out once and for all and I will start tomorrow by checking around a few different hardware stores to see if I can get some flexi-shelving as shown above to build a custom shelving unit for inside the built in wardrobe I have. I want somewhere to clearly display my shoes, a slide out drawer for jewellery, a couple of rails for my dresses and delicate items and a couple of slide out basket shelves for my bags. I think I could buy some individual shelving units like the one below (which is down to only £5 in B&Q!) to slot in to this system and these will house my scarves, belts etc.
I actually feel excited about creating a new storage space for all my things because it will make choosing what to wear a hell of alot easier! Wish me luck in my search and I will update you guys when I have finally transformed my wardrobe!
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