Birthday Girl

Last weekend i celebrated my 19th birthday, thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! Usually i really take celebrating to the extreme on birthday's, but this year it was a rather quiet affair, i spent the day working followed by an evening in with my family, Indian take-out and a glass of champagne. Classy, right? I received some lovely gifts and a really tasty birthday cake! So i thought i'd share some snaps from the day with you. 

 Birthday lunch at Las Iguanas & My amazing birthday cake!

Overloaded with gifts!

Malibu & Disaronno, my favourites..

Gifts from my brother - Purse, belt and scarf.

Pretty cards, scents and candles..

New geek stuff.. yay for a hard drive!

Pretty, sparkly things..

Some cute make-up bits, the bronzer is so pretty!

As you can see, i got some really lovely little gifts. Not to mention, i was lucky enough to spend the day on Sunday in London, visiting my best friend and exploring the joys of Oxford St. I really enjoyed trying everything on in Forever 21, oogling over how big Topshop is and spending hours on end in Victoria Secret.. It was literally like my version of heaven. I did also pick up a few treats for myself including some cute bow earrings, a new hat, sparkly bow pumps and a delicious VS scent. 

Have you visited London recently? Where's your favourite place to spend birthday money!?

My Top 5 Favourites: Nail Polishes

Following on from my top 5 favourite bloggers post, i thought i'd turn this into a little series and this time talk about my favourite nail varnishes that i own. Plus i needed an excuse to use this nail wheel because they're so therapeutic to paint!

 First up is my favourite glitter polish, Juicy Jules by Models Own. I only buy the Models Own nail polished when there's an offer on because i think they are slightly on the pricey side, but i absolutely love they're polishes. I think they have a really good consistency and i particularly love the glitter because you can wear it over the top of a colour as an accent nail or you can build up the glitter on it's own. It's got  mainly blue holographic glitter in it but there's a mixture of other colours too. Who doesn't love a good glitter polish!?

Secondly is this gorgeous holographic ruby red colour by Nails Inc called Bond Street. All of their London polishes are named after streets i believe! And don't you love the packaging on this bad boy! I just love the rhinestones on the lid. I find that this colour is gorgeous for nights out, you really can't beat a classic red. But it looks a lot more "grown up" and sophisticated because it's a bit darker than your average red. It also glides onto the nail really nicely and you only need a couple of thin coats for opaque colour.

Next up, i never thought i'd rave about a Miss Sporty product. I've always seen their products aimed at younger girls for some reason, but how wrong am i! I seriously love this nail polish. It was gifted to me last year on my birthday along with a couple of other colours from their "clubbing" quick dry range. This is a very silvery based pink/purple and i just love the finish. It's almost metallic in a way and you literally just need one coat and you're good to go! Plus it really is quick dry, so it's perfect for people like me who are super impatient. I also believe these are rather cheap, so if you haven't already, i urge you to try miss sporty nail varnishes because i was very pleasantly surprised!

I love this colour so much that it's the only nail varnish i've almost reached the end of! (It is a mini version though). I can't find the name or number on the bottle which is annoying but it's an absolutely gorgeous spring time colour. It's (another) holographic greeny/bluey colour but when it hits the light it almost looks a bit pink/purple. The colours really remind me of a mermaid, it's lovely. I will say though, it does tend to chip quite quickly and you need a couple of layers to build it up but it's worth it!

Finally, i had to mention my trusty Barry M hot pink shade in "Shocking Pink." I've been repurchasing this one for a couple of years now because it's just a really nice basic pink. It looks lovely in the day but can also be worn at night, looks good in any season, it's just a really girly, versatile nail polish. I find that the Barry M range is so reasonably priced as well and they have a good solid finish too. 

On another note, i recently hit 200 followers so thank you all for that! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know 200 people read what i enjoy writing about :)


If you have any ideas or requests as to what you think i should do for my next "Top 5" post, let me know in the comments - all ideas are welcomed! 
What are your favourite nail polishes? 

The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer, is Singing Loud for all to Hear!

Seeing as Santa Clause is coming to town tonight, I thought i'd wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all get everything you wish for and relax and enjoy this wonderful holiday season. I thought i'd also share a few pictures of Christmas in my home this year.

I had my friends, Grace and Alley over last night for a pre-Christmas dinner. I wore a Miss Selfridge dress that I found in the sale of the limited edition range for £25 a couple of months back. It has beautiful draping sleeves and pink embroidery around the hems.

Presents! Grace received (pictured left) Some yummy chocolates, hair wax and creme brulee vasaline from Alley and some cute hair accessories from me. I received (pictured right) some yummy chocolates, Collection 2000 Cream Puff in Fairy Cake (post to follow), Rimmel London Scandeleyes Mascara in 001 and Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Varnish in Deep Mauve and i was over the moon with my gifts! Alley received a delicious bottle of white wine which was glugged all evening and a Ted Baker Bath and Body set.

As you can probably tell, too much wine and Buck's Fizz was drunk, but we had a jolly evening munching on chicken, stuffing, roast potatoes and vegetables. For desert we polished off a lovely chocolate cheesecake that Grace kindly made for us.

I sincerely hope you all have a marvellous day tomorrow and I can't wait to see you all posting about what you got! Merry Christmas, much love xxxxx

Collective Haul

This is a collection of bits and pieces i've picked up recently for myself. I've been on a bit of a spending frenzy lately, but a lot of it has been Christmas presents which i don't want to post on here in case anyone see's any spoilers! 

 The first thing i want to talk about are these gorgeous pieces of jewellery my mum gave to me a couple of days ago. The first is a locket she's had since me and my brother were small and she passed it onto me just because she doesn't wear it anymore to be honest! But I think it's lovely and it's got pictures inside of us when we were small. She also passed down one of her rings (may have been a wedding ring? I can't remember!) and they are both 9ct gold. The ring has two small diamonds in the middle. So they're some precious little gems added to my jewellery box!

The next thing I got my hands on was a replacement foundation. I just went for the same one I usually go for because it was cheap and easy to be honest! I know i like it and i didn't fancy fussing around after work. I use Max Factor Miracle touch liquid illusion foundation in creamy ivory (Yes i'm VERY pale!). I think it's £12.99 from superdrug, but I actually had some vouchers so i got it for around £9-10. I really like this foundation because it gives that sort of natural dewy finish without looking greasy and it lasts a long time too! (A little bit goes a long way).

My next recent purchase was from my local charity shop, Tenovus. I feel like i talk about this shop far too much on here but i find some real beauties there! This gorgeous little bag was £6, which is a bit steep for a charity shop but it is almost brand new. Plus it's absolutely adorable and i feel like it goes with almost anything (I love the snakeskin effect!) It is slightly on the small side though, like i can't fit my purse in there.. but hey, what are pockets for?!

Another goody I received from mum a couple of weeks ago were these burgundy winter boots. I'm not sure where they're actually from, but the colour fits so well with this season and i love the fur lined rim. Let me just clarify she also passed these down to me because she can't wear them anymore - she doesn't spoil me with new things all the time! Anyway, I just think they were nice to show you guys.

I've need a new bigger bag for ages now (due to the heaviness of school books, my last two have sadly seen better days!) so i decided to take the plunge and invest in this bad boy. I found it through vipxo's tumblr ebay links and fell in love with the bag and the price! It did take a little while to arrive but it's so worth it. I think all the little detailings are adorable, like the studded bottom and the double straps. And the size is perfect too. 

In the charity shop, i also picked up this leather jacket originally from H&M (£5). I haven't actually paid for it yet because i wasn't sure if i definitely wanted it or not, so the manager kindly said to take it home and try it on with other things before i decide if i want it or not - bless her! But i am going to pay for it next time i go in to work. It has got a bit of wear and tear on the sleeves but i think it gives the jacket a bit of character and i've wanted a leather jacket for a while now too.

Okay guys, this is where i need your help! I've also got this top from the charity shop which i'm not sure about so again, i haven't paid for it yet (Hence why the tag's still on). It's originally from Bershka and its going for £4 but i'm not sure if i like the style and what to wear it with. I was really attracted to the stud detailing on the shoulder which is why i picked it out, but I don't think I like the top overall and I can't decide whether to keep it or not! The sleeves and hem are elasticated so it could be worn as a short dress or baggy top - What do i do?


So that's my latest haul, probably the last until after Christmas due to a lack of money.
Hope everyone's well, Much love, xxx