Coraline Cowboy Boots.

H&M jumper dress, Mtng Originals boots from Polly, Aberystwyth

Just in case you didn't know which film character I was referencing in this outfit, here's a little picture for you. Ever since I saw Coraline a few years ago, I have been on the hunt for the perfect pair of blue cowboy boots. Now, I must admit, this search had not been particularly fruitful, so imagine my delight when I spot these beauties in the window of my favourite Aberystwyth shop! I raced back to get them the next day and have been stupidly excited about them ever since. I still can't quite believe how perfect they are. Not too high a heel, end at just the right point on my leg, nice metal detailing around the toe and the heel... Sigh.

Because I'm secretly a 6 year old inside I obviously had to attempt to dress myself in a full Coraline outfit, although I must admit I did hold off at the yellow raincoat. Saying that though, I have actually recently bought a yellow raincoat, but I am planning on doing a whole separate post on that at some point. And I really would like to have blue hair... Let's not get too carried away shall we?

In other news, I have been fairly busy over the past few weekends- meeting up with Kathy and Maria to go to a vintage fair in Oxford and heading back to Aberystwyth for the Bank Holiday weekend. I shall do some posts on those soon, but I was just too damn excited about the boots to not show you already! Although to be honest, this is a fair chunk of my Aber post really, all the rest is just a picture of some cake and the seaside. But you know, who doesn't love some cake and seaside?

I'm going to bed now before I prattler on any longer.

Oh dear. Its flamingos now, not just cats and giraffes.

Marks and Spencer Limited Collection dress, M&S Woman cardi, M&S shoes(!), scarf bought in France, silver bangle a gift, stone bangles from Space in Penzance, rings from Stars, Aberystwyth 

Oh, I'm so out of practice with outfit photos. You know, as I was uploading these pictures I found so many on my camera that I've taken in the last few months but never uploaded, because I'm just not happy with either the outfit or the lighting. It's just difficult nowadays. I feel like such a slob half the time, and like I don't really have anything very exciting to show you all anymore. I tend to just wear tee-shirts and cardis all the time. And the same 2 or 3 skirts on rotation. This was only amplified whilst on holiday due to packing restraints, but I thought I better show you my favourite new dress. Well I say new, it went into the last sale at work, and I think I've had it since February. Not quick on this malarky eh am I, I am never going to do very well with sponsored posts or affiliate links!

Anyway, a dress with flamingos and an elasticated waist- who am I to say no to that?! I've worn this so many times that in that strange way I haven't gotten around to photographing it, because its become so ingrained in my wardrobe. I also bought these new bangles when I was on holiday because they are so lovely and simple to wear. They look really nice with my rings and I've been wearing them every day since.

I don't have much more to say really. I have had a lovely day out today with Maria and Kathy, doing some shopping at the Oxford Vintage Fair and in my local Waterstones. But I will tell you all about that another day, along with some pictures. Exciting as the vintage fair was, the purchase I am most pleased with today is my hardback colour edition of Scott Pilgrim. So pleased that I am going to go read it now. Toodles.

MAC's Morange Lipstick... or how I justify completely frivolous purchases to myself.

MAC Morange Lipstick, MAC What a Blast! Pro Longwear Lip Pencil

This is not the most professional looking of make-up reviews, as it includes my dusty windowsill and already used lipstick! But to be honest, I was far too impatient to wear this lipstick to take a picture beforehand, and when I tried to take the photos the light was not great, hence why I took them as close to the window as I could! Also, you know, the only real white background I have. Check out Caroline's post for some better quality snaps.

Orange lipstick is something I never thought I would try (or could) pull off. My lipsticks, and clothes more generally, are nearly always very cool-toned colours- I wear bright pinks, purples, and reds most often. Ooh, and a hell of a lot of coral, but very much on the pinky-red end of the spectrum. Yes, so generally, orange was not on my radar at all. No orangey-reds, or orangey corals, nout. Recently however I had been getting a slight hankering for orange in my life. Now, in typical me style I decided rather than maybe try a slightly more subdued orange first, maybe something like the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, I would go for full -on bright neon orange. Kathy and I found ourselves in MAC in Oxford the other weekend and despite swatching about 20 shades on my hand, I kept finding myself drawn to this. I asked an MUA to try it out on me, and spurred on by Kathy's positive noises, I soon departed with a little black bag in my hand.

Now, what I find strange about this shade is that despite it being bright orange, it seems oddly un-orange to me. Or somehow more of a blue based orange rather than a red? I don't know, all I know is that it doesn't make me look like I've got jaundice, so it must be alright.

I actually really like the way the orange contrasts against my green eyes, and I love it so much I wore it solid for a week, which is practically unheard of in my book. To be fair, I don't think it suits me as much as other colours, such as my pinks, but I am really chuffed to finally have an orange. Also, you know, because it was so completely unlike anything else I already own I could justify it to myself, unlike with most of my lipsticks, which are basically about the same 6 shades but in many different versions.


I personally find the Amplified formula a little difficult to work with (I have the same problems with Impassioned) because it tends to emphasise the somewhat wrinkly nature of my lips. (Don't ask, because they're quite full, they're also kind of wrinkly). If I could be arsed to use a lip brush these days that would do the trick, but I find that just using a little less and really rubbing it into your lips works fine, because of the creaminess and high pigmentation. The lip pencil is also a perfect match and works really well as a base underneath to prevent patchiness, and its one of the most comfortable I've ever tried.

I think that's more than enough wittering on now about lipstick. I don't know, I like to tell you guys the stories of my purchases, rather than just plonking them in with no context... or you know, I'm just a horrendous rambler. Sometimes I do worry that my 'concise writing' skills learnt during my English and Politics degree are slowly leaking out of my brain.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Easter. Unfortunately due to the joys of working in retail, I have had absolutely no extra time off whatsoever, but oh well. I am off to Cornwall in a week with my family and CANNOT WAIT. I need to see the sea and eat lots of tasty food and just generally lounge around for a bit. Hopefully I'll get lots of outfit snaps as well, since I will BE UNIFORM FREE FOR A WEEK. HOORAY. Also, seeing James McAvoy in Macbeth on Tuesday... right, clearly I have too much excitement to contain and must get myself to bed. Especially with work in the morning. Yawn. *waves*

(Oh, and I'm attempting to redo my layout, please excuse me if it looks a horrible mess at times.)

(Oh, and here's my latest Oxfam blog... NOW GO TO BED YOU STUPID WOMAN.)

Recently I've been...

(high five if you knew where I was going with that)


I'm not even going to apologise now.

What I've been doing recently,

Treating myself to fresh flowers to brighten up our little kitchen,

Collecting drawing materials to start work on this fantastic book,

Some new reading material after finishing Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, which just to say, was absolutely INCREDIBLE.

Listening to the new Kate Nash album obsessively ever since buying it. Conventional Girl is on constant loop in my head.

Made a healthy food choice for once and had a salad, even if it was covered in blue cheese and bacon....

 And then compensated with pecan pie and amazing ice-cream which had white chocolate, cookie dough and butterscotch pieces in...

Kathy feeling smug and virtuous with her salad, at George and Danvers, Oxford. 

Matching my jewellery to my tee-shirt. Yeah, I'm cool. 

French Skincare Reviews.

Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum, Bioderma Crealine TS H20 Micelle Solution, NUXE Reve de Miel Lip Balm

Ok, so I have been meaning to write this post for about 4 months *cough cough* Please excuse me, I s'pose  better late than never?! I bought these few bits of skincare way back in September, when I went to Paris with my boyfriend. I had compiled a list before I went of items I would like to try, and did have to try a few pharmacies before finding all these. I would have liked to have tried a few more but I didn't want to have a hideously heavy bag for the journey back!

So, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure whats the point of me adding my two cents worth to the crazy amounts of reviews these products have online, but you know, I said I was going to try my hand at this beauty stuff. Now, I'm sure any of you that read any kind of beauty blogs or watch YouTube will have heard of the infamous Bioderma. Its basically a cleanser that works by breaking down the oils in your make-up (I think....?) I have been using this every day, morning and night since the middle of September and am still only half way through the bottle. Now, I'm not going to lie, this is mainly due to laziness. Before that, I was using the Ultrabland cleanser by Lush, but that tended to be a bit messy. The great thing about the Bioderma is that you whack a bit on a cotton pad, wipe over your face and the make-up has gone. I have very sensitive dry skin, with a lot of redness, so a lot of products make my face sting. This did a little at first, but my skin seems to have gotten used to it now. I also have pretty damn sensitive eyes, and if I use this to remove my eye make-up it doesn't irritate. I however personally still prefer to use the Simple Eye Make-up Remover for my eyes, but if I was going away I could get away with just this. It removes all your make-up in one go and leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean. The only thing I personally dislike is the smell- despite it claiming to be non-fragranced, it instead has that really strong cleaning product smell. I am happy to use it though because it removes my make-up so well! I should probably be using some other kind of cleanser on my face as well, since I think this is primarily meant as a make-up remover, but I'm a little lazy with my skincare, despite having about six tonnes of creams and potions in my bathroom cabinet. Saying that, as someone with dry sensitive skin, this doesn't dry my skin out or makes me react adversely in any way.

The Caudalie SOS Serum is a hydrating serum for dehydrated skin. Now, this stuff was expensive. If I remember correctly, around £25 for the bottle... but I am yet to finish it, and I think overall the bottle will have lasted me about 6 months, so I don't think that's too extortionate in the long term. I have likewise been using this daily, underneath another moisturiser. If I use just one moisturiser, my skin can still be quite tight, so layering this underneath really helps, especially when I go to apply my foundation. However, it doesn't feel like too much on my skin, as it sinks in very quickly. I really love this serum, it makes my skin feel so cool and soft. It has a gorgeous fruity smell, and its a real treat when I go to put this on in the morning. Despite the price tag I think I will find myself having to repurchase this when I run out!


Oh, and now the real Holy Grail item. I myself have never been a massive fan of lip balms. My sister is one of those girls who has always got about 6 on her at any one time, hidden in various pockets and bags. I however used to really struggle to remember to apply it. However, as I found myself wearing lipstick more and more, I realised the importance of properly prepping my lips to avoid that horrible tight lip feeling. I also generally hate potted lip balms since I find them messy and unhygienic. For this however I will make an exception. It is the best lip balm I have ever used and I won't ever try another one! It goes on very thick, almost like a paste, but it doesn't disappear into your lips like others do. Instead it sits there and continues to nourish and soften your lips for hours on end. You know when you go to rub your lips and the balm has all gone? That never happens with this lip balm. I put it on in the evening before I go to bed and its still there in the morning. I just adore it. I have two pots now, one for in my handbag to have on me at all times and one next to my bed, for late night application. NUXE is actually now available at M&S, so you don't need to cross the Channel for this one, or pay expensive delivery fees. Whilst £9.50 seems a lot for a lip balm, the pot lasts forever and really, I could not do without it now.


On the whole I was really chuffed with the French skincare I tried. I'm not going to be one of those crazy ladies who comes back with a whole suitcase of the stuff, but I shall make sure I stock up on these items next time I'm on the Continent. Saying that, I think they've all become so integral to my skincare routine I may need to buy them online in the meantime!

I hope you've found this helpful, (just in case you hadn't already read 6 billion reviews of these products), and I promise I'll try and be a little more succinct next time. I won't usually be reviewing skincare, just showing you pretty lipstick, so it will hopefully be a little more interesting!

Oh, and my latest Oxfam post has just gone up- go have a nosey.

Shorts on Safari.

Limited Collection at Marks and Spencer shirt, M&S Woman cardigan, Dorothy Perkins shorts, Accessorize shoes

Ok. I realise I'm not managing three times a week but I am getting better aren't I?! I haven't exactly had anywhere to go this weekend either, what with all the silly snow. Grant and I had plans to go to Ikea to get ourselves a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, but unfortunately our clothes will remain strewn all over the floor for a week or so longer.

I can actually provide you with a link to this shirt because its current stock! So many of my clothes are pretty old or ones I bought in sales so its very rare I actually show you something you can buy, but when this shirt came into work I knew I had to get it. Despite the fact its sleeveless I just fell in love with the colour and the safari print. I also really love the contrast of the black and white pattern with the coral and the black collar. Its one of those items I'd like to wear buttoned all the way to the top but alas, that styling trick does me no favours. 

I also finally succeeded in finding a pair of shorts that don't rid up in between my thighs and end up looking like an inverse nappy.  These ones strangely seem to be alright despite seeming too short. It also helps that they're black denim and I wear them with very thick tights! I think they look ok, I must admit it is nice to not have to worry about pulling my skirt down incessantly. They're one of those things I have been looking for for ages, but I do feel quite nervous in them. Not to sound bitchy, but I really didn't want to look like one of those chubby girls trying to pull off things they really can't, but I think by effectively blending them in with my tights and keeping everything quite matt and opaque they're just about passable.  

Oh, also apologies for my slightly deranged face in the second photo, but I thought it would be nice to have a second one that wasn't just me staring down at my feet!

Better tootle off to bed now, back to work tomorrow *yawn* Hoping I'm not the only one in because of the snow! There are many, many advantages to living so close to work now, but I must admit, I do miss having a snow day! Hope you've all had a lovely time in the white stuff, or if you're like me and you had plans, that it hasn't scuppered them too much. 

Manchester Fun Times.

The Civil Wars concert tee-shirt, skirt from Silence and Noise at Urban Outfitters, ancient Laura Ashley cardigan, M&S tights, Accessorize shoes

One of my aims this year was to go to as many concerts as possible. Now, that may have been a badly chosen turn of phrase, since what does 'as many as possible' actually mean? But, I have managed to go to several in the last couple of months, thanks to the handy fact that my sister is at university in Manchester. She very kindly bought me tickets to see Greg Davies and the Civil Wars over a few days at the end of October, so I popped up to Manchester for a little holiday.

Greg Davies was first up on the Sunday night. It was a bit of a rush to get there since we only arrived in Manchester at about 6 o clock (we had both gone home to Devon for the weekend) but we made it to Salford Quays with about 5 minutes to spare! I must admit, I haven't seen much stand-up at all but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did actually cry with laughter at several points. The mixture of self deprecation and crazy anger at the bizarre actions of people cracked me up. Anyway, its difficult to describe comedy (at least for me anyway; my main point of reference are Carry On films after all) so I'll move on to the music.

I was incredibly excited to see the Civil Wars. I first came across them on Jools Holland ( I have to get into watching that regularly, its such a good way of discovering new music!) and was immediately hooked by their haunting melodies. I became slightly obsessed with their cover of Billie Jean and went to ITunes straight away to download their album.

Now, you could say my music taste is eclectic; it mostly consists of indie rock circa 2005, but also encompasses some pop and also a little folk. I normally like music I can bop along to (hence my love of We Are Scientists and Maximo Park) but the Civil Wars are something different. The concert was just incredible; it was at the O2 Apollo in Manchester which is rather a large venue, but it felt like such a small intimate gig. You know that normal low level of chatter that rumbles underneath at most concerts? None of that, you could have heard a pin drop. I can't explain how good they were, its difficult to explain unless you were there, but I had goosebumps literally the entire time. Some of the harmonies they did just sent a shiver down my spine.

Wow, this is not turning out to be the well articulated post I was hoping for, just a hideous bunch of cliches. Music writing is clearly not my forte.....

Anyway, basic point of this post, GO SEE THEM IF YOU CAN BECAUSE THEY WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.

And make sure you watch that cover of Billie Jean because I think its one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard

Ooh, and also a little mention of the Lumineers who were the support act. They're getting fairly big now actually and are on loads of ads, but just to say, check them out if you like a bit of stompy American folk. They were also fantastic live and I could have happily watched them all night!

I was also going to talk about the Maximo Park concert I went to in November, but I think I've wittered on for long enough today! I hope you didn't all find this hideously boring, please let me know in the comments if you did. This post should have been done on Thursday but I must admit, instead I went out and saw an old friend, so I kind of forgot about it. Better late than never though, and hopefully I can get a beauty post in tomorrow.