Outfit: Summer is Coming!

Playsuit: Motel | Jacket: H&M via eBay | Trainers: Converse | Socks: Topshop | Sunglasses: C/O Firmoo* | Bracelets: C/O The Rose Chain* | Watch: New Look | Necklace: C/O Names4ever*

Is it? Is Summer finally coming? I have been waiting for weather like this for what seems like forever- it felt like it was never going to come and the bipolar rainy weather we were having a couple of weeks ago was making me feel so depressed whilst I was tackling the last of my assignments. Alas, the sun has popped his head from behind the clouds, and with me finally being done with university I am definitely making sure I make the most of it! Today, me and my bestest took a stroll down to the park with our cameras to take some summery outdoor photos and I thought I would take the opportunity to show off this playsuit I picked up in the Motel Rocks sale last week. I was never really one for the neon trend, but recently I have found myself attracted to anything bright, tacky and/or loud. I think the fact that this Summer is probably going to be my last before I enter a doomed life of full-time, permanent work (*shudder*) has released a "wild" side in me and I just want to have some fun.

Anyway, I hope you have all been enjoying the beautiful weather, let me know how you spent the Bank Holiday weekend in the comments :) I will leave you here with a photo of my best friend looking very handsome whilst I ruin the photo with my duck face (although I have recently acquired a new love for orange lipstick-what do you think?)!

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Outfit: #GTLUrbanParty.

Blouse: Charity Shop | Shorts: C/O Daisy Street* | Jacket: C/O Daisy Street* | Shoes: Funky Dory | Tights: Primark | Hat: H&M

I was going to pop this outfit on the end of my last post, but I decided there was already an overload of photos on there so it was better to do it separately haha. This is what I wore to the Get The Label Urban Party on Thursday. The sun was shining, but I don't trust the weather enough just yet to go all-out in bare legs and summery dresses. Instead, I decided to play it safe whilst still paying homage to Mr. Sun with this rather gaudy green blouse and bright lips and nails. I picked up these tights in Primark for just £1 last week and I love the floral design on the back of them- I wish I had picked up more pairs now as I will probably have torn holes in these after a couple more wears :(

I also forgot to mention in my last post that I had the chance to meet and chat to lots of lovely new bloggers at the Get The Label event, so make sure to check out their blogs below! :)

Danielle from A Blog From Blackpool

Lola and Fikki from Pastime Bliss

Laura from Heroine in Heels

Megan from What's New Pussy Catt?

I hope you like my outfit! Have you been enjoying the sunshine?

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items were giveaway prizes.

Event: Get The Label Urban Party

First of all, I apologise for how picture-heavy this post is! I just couldn't narrow it down any more! 

On Thursday I hopped on a train to Manchester to attend the Get The Label Urban Party. With it being dubbed a "Hip-Hop Urban Party" (not usually my style), I didn't know what to expect, but this was easily one of the best events I've ever been to!

Arriving at the 2022NQ basement, which was the perfect venue for this event with it's run-down, urban feel, we were greeted by the lovely ladies from Get The Label and Hat-Trick PR. Me and the lovely Danielle (A Blog From Blackpool) were the first to arrive (eager beavers) and we were given star treatment right from the beginning; being signed in, offered a glass of champagne or bucks fizz and shown around the different set-ups in the venue. We were handed three tags and set free to roam around the multiple racks of clothes and displays of shoes and accessories to pick three samples to be sent for review- very generous since a lot of the items were from brands like Nike, Glamorous, Lipsy and AX Paris! I fell in love with a pair of Nike Blazers and the pretty white lace dress that you can see in the fifth photograph.

Once more bloggers started to arrive, the canapes were brought out which were AH-mazing- I may have indulged a little too much in the bruschetta and the chicken, ham and asparagus pie slices, and of course I wasn't going to turn down a Get The Label cupcake! Staff were always on hand to ask if we wanted another drink, too!

There were many exciting features to take part in over the course of the evening too, including graffiti wall which we could doodle all over, and a styling competition in which we could put together an outfit using the items that were on offer and dress one of the Get The Label models or a mannequin. On the hour, every hour a winner was selected to win everything in the outfit she created, and guess who won the first one?! Me! I styled a lovely Glamorous playsuit which you can see on the model in the photographs below- the heels I chose to pair it with are killer! There was also a videographer on hand who was offering to film individual blogger pitches which will appear on the Get The Label Facebook page- I put off doing one for ages but went for it in the end; need to get over my camera-shyness sooner or later! I'm dreading watching it though haha, we had to give our whole pitch in a single take and I'm so awkward! 

To end the evening, we were handed a goodie bag which contained a Barry M Nail Paint, a necklace, a gift voucher and lots of sweets! There goes my healthy eating!

I'll leave you here with some more photographs that were taken by the official photographer on the night; make sure you check out the Get The Label Facebook Page as there are many more pictures there! Also, don't forget to take a look at their website- Get The Label stocks pieces from a lot of great brands for up to 70% off the RRP! 

Thanks for an amazing event, Get The Label!

[Following photographs are C/O Jay Cain photographer, taken from the Get The Label Facebook Page]

Have you checked out Get The Label? What is the best event you have been to?

Outfit: Tips for Bargain Hunting #1: eBay.

Top: New Look | Necklace: Vintage | Hairband/Bracelet: C/O Popband* | Watch: Michael Kors

H&M Denim Bomber Jacket: eBay £7.00

River Island Culottes: eBay £2.99
New Look Shoes: Megan's Blog Sale £9.00

Dixi Sunglasses: Kim's Blog Sale £6.00
(All prices are including postage)

When you're a student, there's nothing you love better than finding a bargain. And spending your student loan on clothes. Unfortunately, the two often don't go hand-in-hand. This is where eBay, blog sales and charity shops have been a savior for me as they are great places to pick up a few bargains- if you know how to find them. Recently I've managed to pick up quite a few items for cheap and so I thought I would write a series of posts showing you what I have bought and sharing the tips that I use for hunting down bargains. I'm going to split it in to three posts; eBay, charity shops and blog sales/other. 

My tips for hunting down bargains on eBay

• Narrow down your search. What I do is I either type in a brand name (i.e. River Island) or a particular garment that I am looking for (i.e. Culottes) in to the search bar. Then I sort by "Time: Ending Soonest" to see if there are any bargains that I can pick up at the last minute. After this, I sort by "Price + P&P: Lowest First", which often brings up all the 99p starters. If there is anything I like the look of, I'll add it to my Watch List.
  
  
• If there are a few hours/days left on an auction, don't bid just yet! If other people have their eye on the item, bidding might start a bidding war too early, which could end up hiking the price up quite a lot. I usually put the item on my Watch List and if it is still at a good price or nobody else has bid yet around 15-30 minutes before the auction ends, I will place my first bid then.
  
  
• Decide how much you are willing to spend on the item and stick to it. When lots of people are bidding on an item that you really like, it's easy to get sucked in and end up paying more than what you first set out to.
  
  
• Think about what you are buying. I don't see the point in bidding on a £3 Primark dress with another £3-4 on top of that for postage when you can probably still find something similar in style and price in store. I try to seek out brands that might have cost a little more originally, like Topshop, Motel and Urban Outfitters, or items that aren't as easy to get hold of (i.e. vintage items or items that were bought abroad- the H&M jacket in my outfit was originally from the U.S.)

• Check the cost of postage and decide if you still consider it a bargain after you add that to the cost of the item. This is what has put me off a lot of items lately- as if the increase on Royal Mail prices wasn't bad enough, some people are cheeky and like to try and make a profit through postage costs.
  
  
• Check the seller's other listings as they may be selling lots of nice things for cheap. If you like more than one item, send them a message before you bid asking if they're willing to combine the postage costs. Most sellers are fine with this.
  
  
• Find the best time of day for bargain hunting. If you're a night owl or an early bird, this might be the time to see if there are any bargains ending soon as most people will be in bed, meaning less bidding wars! I also find that any time before lunchtime is okay too, as lots of people are at school/work. I tend to avoid eBay in the late afternoon/evening as that is when it seems to be the busiest.
  
  
• If you have a smart phone, download the eBay application; this way you can keep an eye on the items you are watching.

I hope these tips helped!
Let us know in the comments if you have any more tips for finding bargains on eBay :) For my next post in this series I will be sharing my tips for charity shopping with you :)
Now, if only we could have a decent Summer so I can wear this outfit outdoors!

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Giveaway: Win the new range of Imperial Leather shower creams.

Imperial Leather Soft Touch Moisturising Shower Cream with Jojoba Milk and Vitamin E- £2.29*

As much as I love my Lush and Soap & Glory bath and shower products, I do like to switch to a more "grown up", sophisticated shower gel every once in a while, and Imperial Leather is the one I usually reach for. I have very dry skin on my body so I love how moisturising their products are and they have just released their "best ever" shower product yet. The new range of shower creams claims to be twice as creamy as their other products and I wasn't disappointed when I tried out the Soft Touch shower gel with jojoba milk and vitamin E- It felt silky on my skin and left it feeling soft, and the floral scent (which is perfect for Summer!) subtly lingers on my skin the day after I use it. This shower cream is perfect if your skin is in need of some TLC- I really want to try the Citrus Burst and Ocean Fresh variations too as they sound really refreshing for the Summer.

Imperial Leather have been so kind as to offer one of my lucky readers the full range of shower gels- that means one of you can win all five of the new products by just following my blog and liking the Imperial Leather Facebook Page. Of course, you have the option to gain a couple of extra entries as well :) All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

The giveaway will be open for one week and will end at 23:59 on Thursday, May 9, 2013.
This giveaway is open to the UK only, I'm afraid! :(

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, lovelies! :)

Do you use Imperial Leather?

*DISCLOSURE: PR sample and sponsored giveaway.

Pandora Flash Sale at ACHICA.

[Images C/O ACHICA]

For all of you Pandora jewellery fans out there, I had to let you know about this amazing promotion over at ACHICA. For those of you who don't know what ACHICA is, it is a website that offers flash sales on luxury brands for fashion accessories, home decor, gourmet foods, furniture amongst many other things. The sales only last for a few days, so you have to be quick to snap up the discounted items!

Tomorrow (May 2, 2012) at 6:30AM will be the start of their first ever promotion with Pandora and it will last for just over two days. There are lots of gorgeous watches and jewellery available- You will be able to pick up bracelets for as little as £53 (RRP £125), charms from £12 (RRP £30), watches from £65-£125 (RRP £300-£775) and lots more. In the image above are some of my favourite pieces that are going to be featured in the sale.

If  you would like to check out the full range of products in the sale, you will find the watches here and the jewellery here. If you see anything you fancy, be quick and snap it up before somebody else does or before the sale ends!

Have you checked out ACHICA? Are you going to take advantage of the Pandora flash sale?

*DISCLOSURE: I was compensated for this post.