Saturday 31 March 2012

March Haul

I don't think I have done too bad with spending this month, I actually thought I'd bought way more than I did this month, I was kind of dreading putting together this post haha! A few of the things I actually bought right at the end of February; I made my February haul post a few days before the end of the month because I didn't think I would end up shopping again before March, but I did! Also, I doubt anybody will be able to notice but in my previous hauls, the wardrobe I use as my background was all discoloured and old, and I thought it was making my photographs look a bit nasty, so my dad repainted them white so they look good as new! Haha, dedication right there!

Anyway, on to the haul, as always I have included links to all the things that are still available online.

Clothing

 Floral Shorts: via FashionismyH2O's blogsale, £3
I bought a few things from Sarah's blog sale this month, I had never noticed that she had one before, she has some lovely things on there so make sure you take a look :) These shorts are perfect for the summer, you can see me wearing them here.

 Black Bandeau: New Look £2.99
I thought I'd pick one of these up to wear under sheer and low cut tops and they're such a good price. I think I'm going to pick up a white one too.

 Peter Pan Collar Dress: via FashionismyH2O's blogsale: £6
Another lovely piece from Sarah. I really wanted something with a Peter Pan collar and I think this dress is really cute and perfect for all year round.

 Black Bodycon Skirt: Primark £4
I think a black bodycon skirt is a staple in every girl's wardrobe and I have only just got round to getting myself one. Some of the Primark ones feel really flimsy and cheap, but this one is great quality for the price!

 Blue Silk Dress: Via FashionismyH2O's blogsale, £4
I adore the colour and the material of this dress. The cut and length of it are perfect too, this is one that I will be dressing both up and down.

 Striped Bodycon Skirt: Via FashionismyH2O's blogsale, £3
The last thing I bought from Sarah's blogsale. I am loving the stripe trend this season and this skirt fits perfectly. You can see me wearing it here. I believe that this skirt is from H&M and you can still buy a similar one here.

Wild Child Top: New Look, £12.99 £5
I couldn't resist buying this from the New Look sale. I mainly liked the back of it, which is open and ties at the bottom. I have already worn this on a night out with my black bodycon skirt and bandeau top.


Shoes and Accessories




Black Loafers: Select £12 £10.20
I had been wanting a pair of black loafers for a while and couldn't turn these down for that price! They were originally £12 but my student discount knocked them down to £10.20!

Studs: eBay £2.75 per pack of 100
I bought these studs to decorate my loafers with, Topshop Vectra style! Once I figure out how I am going to do it, I will post a DIY tutorial :)

Moustache Ring and spike rings: Miss Selfridge £5  £2 each
Definitely couldn't leave the moustache ring behind when I saw it, it's so cute! The spike rings came as a pack of 3, I love wearing them on different fingers.

Scrabble Ring: eBay £1.80
I did buy a scrabble ring from Coleyyyful, but it broke :( so I ordered another one from eBay. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the seller I bought it from is selling them anymore.

Gold Necklace: Dorothy Perkins £10 £3
Dorothy Perkins always has such good sales on their jewellery! This is just the perfect length to wear underneath collared blouses to add something to a plain outfit.

Clutch Bag: New Look, £7.99
I went on a night out with my course mates at uni last week and wanted a clutch bag to take with me as I feel more secure with a clutch, so I just picked this cheap and cheerful one up from New Look.

Make-Up


Maybelline 24HR Color Tattoo (Immortal Charcoal, Permanent Taupe, On and On Bronze): Superdrug £4.99 each (Currently 3 for 2)
I actually hadn't really thought about buying any of these, but I decided to pick them up today after I went in to town and none of the things I really went for were in stock :( Permanent Taupe is the one that I knew I definitely wanted, but I swatched On and On Bronze and fell in love with the colour. And since there was a 3 for 2 offer I decided to pick up Immortal Charcoal as this is the only other one I thought I would actually wear. There will be a review and swatch post in the next few days :)

Topshop Lipstick in Innocent: Topshop £8
I went in to Topshop to buy this as I wanted to see what all the hype was about with Topshop lipsticks. I am definitely a Topshop lipstick convert now; this is a lovely colour and the formulation of it is lovely. Definitely going to pick up more colours soon!
Sorry about the stock photos, but I haven't recieved these items in the post yet! I bought the O.P.I. Nail Envy Nail Strengthener and the O.P.I Nice Stems Collection via BuyaPowa for amazing prices (Nail Envy RRP £18.50 £7.50, Nice Stems set RRP £12.75 £6.75)! I can't wait to try them out. I will do swatch and review posts soon so you can see proper photographs of them :)

Phew, I think that's everything! Have you bought anything nice this month?

Friday 30 March 2012

Red Rock Fashion.

I do love myself some inexpensive vintage style and even more than that I love vintage clothing with a personalised edge to it. Not too long ago I discovered REDROCK, a Northampton-based fashion label that takes vintage clothing and adds their own modern twist to it. Their aim is to "breathe new life in to vintage clothing", and I think they do exactly that.


REDROCK make clothes that cater for girls from size 6 to 18, which means that everybody can enjoy their beautifully quirky pieces, and there is something to suit every style, from studs and leather to lace and bright, girly prints.

Each piece starts off as an original vintage garment from the 60's all the way up to the 90's, which is then customised to give it an edgy look without compromising its original vintage appeal. The greatest thing about this label is that no two of their pieces are the same; the floral print dress or studded shorts you buy will be unique to you.

I think I have said enough now, so here I leave you with some of the beautiful photos from their latest photoshoot.





Gorgeous, no? I'm loving the dresses and playsuits, and I need to get my hands on one of those studded collars!
REDROCK offer free UK delivery, but they do ship worldwide too, so what are you waiting for? Here are all the places you can find them:

Have you bought anything from REDROCK? What are your favourite pieces?
 *DISCLAIMER: This post is part of a collaboration with REDROCK. Of course, this has not affected my opinions (all opinions are my own).
Wednesday 28 March 2012

Wednesday Wishlist #6

The sunny weather this week has had me searching all the New In sections online this week for bright summery new clothes! Oh how I wish I could afford it all! I hope you like my picks for this week :)



1.Topshop Lipstick in All About Me and Brighton Rock £8.00
I am missing a bright pink colour in my lipstick collection and I have recently dived into the Topshop lipstick hype and I love them. I can't decide which one of these two shades I like better so I have a feeling next time I pop in to Topshop I'll be leaving with them both!

I am not normally brave enough to wear bright printed shorts but I really want these. The pastel colours make them so subtle whilst still having a fun, summery print. I think they'd look lovely worn with a simple white t-shirt tucked in.

3. Topshop Nail Polish in Razzmatazz £6.00
After seeing swatches of this nail polish on Fleur De Force, I have decided I have to get my hands on this. It is such a gorgeous holographic glitter polish that looks lovely both layered up on it's own and also as a top coat.

4. Denim Jacket £40.00
I think it's about time I got a denim jacket in my life, it seems that they're such a timeless piece! I remember owning one when they were "on trend" back in the late 90s but then they seemed to die out and I wouldn't be seen dead in one. But since it looks like they're here to stay for a while now, I really want a mid-light wash jacket to wear over a crop top or bralet :) Before I go rushing out to buy this Topshop one, however, I think I'll scour the charity shops for a cheap alternative first because I've seen a few recently :)

I adore the peach colour and the car print on this dress, it is so cute! I'm not too sure about the black bow but I think it might look okay on. I believe there is a similar car print top in Primark at the moment? I think I might go and pick that up as I think the print is absolutely adorable!

I've been needing a new purse for a while as my current one from Primark is starting to fall apart! The main thing I look for in a purse is lots of slots to keep my cards as I have so many! I always think River Island does the nicest ones, they're a good size and look so simple yet classy :)


I hope you liked this post and that you have been enjoying the sunny weather! :)
Tuesday 27 March 2012

OOTD #4

Where has this weather come from?! I'm definitely not complaining, mind! I was stuck inside yesterday and Sunday but today I decided that I was going to make the most of this weather (because let's face it, it probably isn't going to be around for long), and me and a friend ventured out with my DSLR and took some photos whilst soaking up the sunlight. I apologise for my miserable looking face in these photos, I did smile for a lot of the ones we took but when I got home and looked at them on my computer, they were blurry or there just wasn't something quite right about them :( I'm not always this serious, I promise!

This is my "the-sun-is-hurting-my-eyes" face.


Blouse: Primark
Shorts: Internacionale via FashionismyH2O
Boots: Peacocks
Sunglasses: Primark
Necklace: Vintage
Nails: MUA Love Hearts Collection Nail Polish in U ROK


Have you all been out enjoying the sunshine?

O.P.I's Nail Envy for as little as £7.50?! *Now closed*

Buyapowa have certainly caught my eye this past week! First with their O.P.I. Nice Stems Nail Collection for just £6.50 and now we could get the much raved about O.P.I Nail Envy nail strengthener for just £7.50 (RRP is £18.50!)!!! Join me now to get the price knocked down, we are currently at £10.50!




DISCLAIMER: I am not being paid or asked to write this post, I have however supplied my referral code.
Monday 26 March 2012

Week in Instagrams #6 + New Twitter!

Hello girls, I have another really short Instagram post for you today, it has been another uninteresting week this week. One thing I want to mention before I get on to the main post though, is that I have created a new twitter account for my beauty/fashion/blog related tweets. A lot of you may follow me on my @Francesss__ account. However I felt that my blog post tweets and taking part in the #bbloggers chat every Sunday were annoying my non-blogger followers, and also that my personal rants may be annoying you girls :/ so I created a blog twitter to separate the two.  I also want to keep my personal account private so I will be protecting it in a few days time, although I have no problem if you want to follow that account too, just send me a follow request and I will happily accept :) So, my blog account is @FCassandraBlog and my personal account is still @Francesss__ :)

 
1. Found this quote by C.S. Lewis on my feed and wanted to share it. I think it's very true, but that's just life, right?
 
2. Cooked myself a rather unhealthy but very yummy breakfast!
 
3. Some of you may or may not know that I have a musician account on YouTube. I haven't uploaded anything in a while but I have been trying to get back in to it. If you would like to visit my YouTube channel, click here :)

4. So some of you agreed that crispy M&Ms are the best, whilst some of you didn't. Who agrees that these are the best Doritos?

5. Went on a night out in Liverpool with the lovely people on my course :) Had a fab night and this is what I wore :)

6. My recording equipment. Attempted to record a new cover song but I don't know if I will make it in to a video yet, I'm still a little rusty!


Sorry for another short post, have a lovely week! :)

Saturday 24 March 2012

OPI Nice Stems Nail Collection for as low as £6.75! *Now closed!*

I will be honest, I was never really drawn in by BuyaPowa, it never really brought down the prices of things enough for me to justify buying them (silly student budget! ), but today I made my first BuyaPowa purchase! A co-buy for the OPI Nice Stems Nail Collection is currently live, and the best price is a measly £6.75 for four mini OPI nail polishes in the gorgeous shades show in the picture below (RRP £12.75). Shipping is free too! I don't know about you but I think that this is a great deal for OPI nail polishes and this set would be great for people like me who can't afford to buy OPI nail polishes, or who have never really dabbled in OPI before and want to try them out. We are well on our way to achieving the best price (currently at £8.75), so if you would like to join me and help push the price down, join the co-buy here!

 
DISCLAIMER: I have not been paid or asked to write this post, however I have supplied my referral link.
Friday 23 March 2012

Sport Relief Blogger Blackout

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Thursday 22 March 2012

Review: Lynx Attract for Her Body Spray.

I am sure a lot of you are already aware that Lynx has launched a limited edition women's body spray, which was made available to buy back in February. As Lynx is such a popular deodorant brand amongst men (and women ;) ) I was interested in trying it but totally forgot about it until I did a Tesco run a few days ago and spotted it whilst I was looking for a new deodorant.


The can is the same signature shape and design as the men's deodorants, which I like as it makes it a little different from the rest of the women's body sprays sat on the shelves in the shops, and as a person who always seems to lose the lids of her products in her bag, I am a fan of the twisty lid. Of course, the can has been girlified with a white and pink colour theme.

The scent is described as a:
"Fruity, floral and woody fragrance. A vibrant colourful mixture of succulent fruit creates an enticing fusion while floral notes leave a feminine accord."
"A vibrant colourful mixture of succulent fruit creates an enticing fusion while floral notes leave a feminine accord. Bottom notes of wood, musk and vanilla give the fragrance a sheer creaminess."

I definitely agree that this is a mixture of fruity and floral scents. I do quite like it but it isn't anything too special; it reminds me of something that I have smelled before but I can't quite put my finger on it- kind of like an artificial watermelon or cucumber spray scent, if you have smelt anything like those before you will know what I mean. 

It is definitely a pick-me-up scent, I apply this in the morning and it makes me feel more refreshed and awake. I have worn this spray for twelve hours from 9AM to 9PM and the fragrance is still lingering about slightly by the end of the day, which is always a good thing when it comes to body sprays.

So do I think that the women's spray is up to par with all the men's sprays? Unfortunately no. I would still much rather steal one of the boys' deodorants and spray that all over me (let's admit it, we've all done it), but I will enjoy having my own can of Lynx in my bag for the next few weeks :)

Lynx Attract for Her is usually around £2.95 from most supermarkets and drugstores, but it is currently only £1.99 in Superdrug.

Have you tried this body spray? Do we smell as good as the men?

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Wednesday Wishlist #5

It's Wednesday again, so that means it's the time of week where I scour all the online stores and fall in love with things that I can't afford :( Haha, I hope you like my picks!



These have been highly inticipated in the blogging world for the past few month and were finally released properly in UK stores at the beginning of the week. I haven't had the chance to pick any up yet but I can't wait to go and have a look at them. Have you bought any?

At first I didn't know how I felt about this, but the more I look at it the more it grows on me. It's such a simple but unique piece, there is something very nighty-ish about it but I think it would look lovely with some heels on a night out.

I saw this on one of Fleur (De Force)'s recent videos, and I instantly thought of the Urban Decay Hot Mess nail polish I featured in this post. I have been looking for a dupe for it as I love it and it is such a unique polish, and can no longer be purchased from Urban Decay, and although it is not exactly the same, I think this is as close as I am going to get!

I am loving the Beetlejuice stripe trend that is going on at the moment, and I really want some black and white striped skinny trousers/ jeans. I bet they would make your legs look soo long and thin!

5. Taupe Handbag £38.00
I have been looking for a nice neutral coloured hand bag for the Spring/ Summer months and I love this one from Aldo. It's so simple but it looks a really good size for carrying all my things about, and I love gold hardware on bags, I think it makes them look more expensive!

6. Open Knit Jumper £36.00 
I really want an open-knit jumper as I think they would be lovely for Spring worn over a vest or cropped tshirt on those days where it's a little bit breezy but too warm to wear a jacket.


I hope you enjoyed this post! :) 
Don't forget to vote in the poll on my sidebar for what you would like to see in my next giveaway!
Tuesday 20 March 2012

Review and Swatch: Sleek Face Contour Kit (Medium)

 Yes, I am aware that the majority of you have probably already heard of or own this palette, but I never rule out a review because of that as I am sure there are people who may not have caught the rave, so I hope not too many of you find this review boring!

So, I picked up the Sleek Face Contour kit last Summer; I spotted it whilst scouring around Superdrug looking for a good matte bronzer as there seemed to be a major lack of these. The palette contains two powders; one contour bronzer and one highlight shade. It is available in three shades; light, medium and dark- The one that I have is Medium.


The packaging is very simple and and made of a sturdy plastic that protects the product well. The case is matte black, adorned with Sleek's signature logo in a glossy print that isn't too in-your-face. I think this makes the kit look more expensive than it actually is. Inside the lid of the compact is a good sized mirror which makes this perfect for touch-ups throughout the day.


The Medium contour palette consists of a warm matte brown contour colour and a champagne highlight that has a very fine gold shimmer. Next time I purchase this product I think I will opt for the lighter shade, as this is already quite dark and I find that the highlight shade doesn't really highlight my cheek bones, rather it just adds a bit of shimmer. It isn't too much of a problem, however, as the contour shade is actually very buildable and isn't as scary as it looks in the pan.

Both powders are extremely well pigmented and a little goes a long way- I have owned this palette since June last year and you can see from the picture above that I am not even close to hitting pan and I use this product at least three times a week. The texture of the powders is quite creamy, although the highlight is slightly chalky and I sometimes experience a bit of fall out upon application.

One particular con about this palette is it may not work on those of you with very pink undertones- I have seen quite a few bloggers saying that the contour shade looks muddy on their skin as it comes off as quite a yellowy-brown. It is definitely worth swatching these in store before you buy one.


This product has become a staple in my make-up bag and I will definitely repurchase it if I ever get to the end of this one!
The Sleek Face Contour Kit retails at just £6.50 which is so good considering the quality of the product and how long it lasts. You can buy it online at the Sleek website or in store at Superdrug.

Have you tried this contour kit?