Fashion: Amour Outfit of the Night

Although Valentines Day was a good couple of weeks ago now, I feel like I have to dedicate this post to it because it was really special for Nick and I. It was actually our first Valentines Day together and I know a lot of people complain that it's just a commercialised money making scheme, and "you should show your love everyday," but we love treating each other, and this was just another excuse to. During the day, he had work and I had a full day of uni, so we decided to have a romantic evening in with good food, a film and lots of candles and rose petals!

I felt very lucky! I thought i'd also include what I wore. I know we stayed in, but I still wanted to look nice, and I needed an excuse to wear this adorable red skirt with black leather panels from River Island. I bought it last year but have only worn it a handful of times so far. Straight after we finished eating, I ran upstairs and changed into joggers because that's the real me.. haha.

Black polo neck crop top: Select

Gold statement necklace: Primark (borrowed from my housemate - Thanks!)

Black waist belt with gold hardware: Primark (old)

Red mini skirt with black leather PU side panels: River Island

Black creeper styled shoes: New Look

Rose gold watch: Tesco

Pandora Bracelet with heart and bow charm: Gift 

So the night before Valentines Day, Nick and I stayed up until midnight to exchange gifts because we were so excited! He enjoys Geocaching (if you don't know what it is, google it) so I bought him a GPS device to use when he goes out, plus he's a real gadget geek. And I was surprised with my very first Pandora bracelet! The thought behind it was to buy a new charm at monumental times in my life, so each charm means something special to me and brings back certain memories. He had also bought me my first charm, which was the little puffed silver heart and the word 'love' in a few different languages. However, I was allowed to buy one another charm and chose the cutest little bow, i'm such a girly girl!

So I was a very lucky and happy girl and I really appreciated all the effort he went to in order to make Valentine's Day so special for me. I hope everyone else had a wonderful day too, in a relationship or not. My housemate who is single teamed up with one of her girlfriends and made cards and gifts for each other which I thought was a really cute idea too. 

I also need help and inspiration for new charms! I'm so excited to fill up my bracelet and make it personal. If you have one, or have done a blog post on one, i'd love to read it.

Tomorrow I'm heading down to Vodka Revs in Bristol for the #BrizBlogMeet - Let me know if you are also attending or if you want to follow the event throughout the course of the day, you can follow me on twitter (@katiefhowell) and track it through the hashtag stated above.

What did you do for Valentine's day? Do you have a Pandora bracelet? And if so, what kind of charms?

Shoetastic - ECCO

If you haven't heard of ECCO already, they are a fashionable shoe brand who specialise in comfort as well as style. In fact they take pride in suggesting that the shoe follows the foot! I was lucky enough to trial their new "sculptured 65" shoe which is a patent leather boot with a manageable heel of 6.5cm (perfect for people like me who aren't gifted with lovely long legs!) I decided to wear these out last night for date night with a friend and paired them with a casual outfit. Although I really felt like the shoes really added an edge to my outfit, adding not only height, but glamour and sophistication too. These are a really versatile and "grown up" pair of shoes which make me feel sensible and mature.

As I said, I wore these little cuties out last night and they are such a dream to wear! Not only do they seem to go with pretty much anything, but they really are so comfortable with a soft textile lining which contains a leather inlay sole and a moisture absorbent circulation system for maximum comfort. Being so short means that I like to wear heels a lot of the time, but with the  angle that your foot is at, it can be really uncomfortable at times and I also really struggle to drive in heels. However I can say that these are something else! When I was busy rushing around Bristol yesterday, the last thing I was thinking of were my feet, and as for driving - no problem at all!

As you can see, I paired these boots with a casual outfit of a grey speckled t-shirt and leather lookalike skirt simply because the weather has been so dreary recently, I've felt like wearing darker colours. Despite the weather, these boots feel so durable and I can tell they'll be a staple throughout the autumn and winter months. And, as I said before they can be paired with pretty much anything because they're so versatile. Here are a couple more outfit ideas centered around the boots..

Outfit One: Jeans - Topshop, Beanie - Topshop, Jacket - New Look, Top - Miss Selfridge
Outfit Two: Top - Topshop, Skirt - River Island, Watch - River Island, Bag - River Island, Necklace - Temporary Secretary
Outfit Three: Dress - Glamourous UK, Earrings - Asos, Clutch - Miss Selfridge

How would you wear the Sculptured 65 shoe?

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Wishlist: RI Sale Top Picks

A little bit different to my usual wish lists, simply because I found some super cute picks in the River Island sale online at the moment. Here's a low-down of my top sale picks.
1. Crazy as it may sound, but I don't actually own a make-up bag. All the one's i've had in the past have gotten so grubby that I've ended up throwing them away, so I just take minimal make-up with me on the go nowadays! However, now that i've finished school and i'm working, travelling and going out more, I feel that it's time to invest in a pretty but practical way to carry my make-up around with me and i think the river island make-up bags are just too cute! The print on this one reminds me a lot of Cath Kidston.
2. You can probably tell from this list that i've been more into comfort over style lately. I think it's mainly due to the weather being poor as well as being so busy! But i love these laid back styled tee's which would look good with leggings or jeans.
3. River island have some awesome jewellery in their sale at the moment! I totally love this skull ring, and it's only £2  so you can't really go wrong!
4. I've definitely hopped on the coloured jeans wagon, i'm totally in love with my mint coloured jeans and i really want to get a cute pink/coral pair. I just feel that they really add a bit of fun to an outfit and instantly make me feel brighter and happier, these pink ones would be perfect.
5. How adorable is this rose-gold kitty cat? Rose-gold has been so hyped about lately as you all probably know and I just think this is the cutest little thing! I don't see myself wearing it much, but it's on here for it's fun-factor!
6. I'd really like to get my hands on some new sandals so i'm prepared for the sun when it finally makes it's appearance! As i said before, i've been getting more into bright colours lately and i think these pink sandals are really pretty. I also like that they have a very small wedge because sometimes totally flat shoes can wear down and become uncomfortable. 
7. Another comfy top, white tee's like these look really great with coloured jeans so i need to get my hands on some. I actually quite like the colours in the picture too, very summery and pretty.
8. Finally, I've included these RI button style earrings. I don't know what it is about them, but I just think they look quite classy and expensive? I wear cheap studs in my ears most of the time but these look like they're big enough to make a classy statement, but not too big that they over crowd your ears!
Anyways, that is my current RI Sale wishlist (summer addition!) Fingers crossed for a heatwave!


What's on your wishlist at the moment? Have you bought anything from the RI sale?

Bristol Fashion Week at The Mall Cribbs Causeway

So as you all probably know, my Friday evening consisted of fashionista fun and meeting some really sweet bloggers down at Bristol Fashion Week. This is what i ended up wearing, thanks to everyone who helped in my last post!

See what the other bloggers wore here and please like your favourite outfits!
So I attended the event with my friend Grace and we headed down a little early to have a gander around the mall. I managed to get my hands on a sample of the new Chanel vitalumiere aqua foundation and the Estee Lauder foundation as well as 3 of the Revlon lip butters! I bought the shades Cupcake, Lollipop and Berry Smoothie and I'm not going to go into detail about these because i know so many other bloggers have and i agree with them, so if you want an in depth review you can have a lookie at this post.

Anywho, after a wander around, we headed down to the pavilion to collect out bloggers passes and meet up with Millie and Vicky (They're so cute, please look at their blogs!) And we headed into the show! We were greeted with a beautiful array of French fancies (yum!) and pink fizz wine. After a munch, we were able to take our seats on either side of the runway. 

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)

The show began with a candy cane heaven, bringing mouth watering ice cream shades and pastels to the runway. I couldn't believe these were fashions from John Lewis because I don't shop there for clothes, yet they seemed relateable and wearable. The models reminded me of dolly's! In scene 2 we caught a glimpse of some hawwwt half naked men showing off luxe sportswear from JD sports. This was inspired by the upcoming 2012 Olympics.

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)

Next, scene 3 was inspired by the romantic city of Paris including fashions from Hobbs with menswear from River Island and designer bags from Radley.

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
Scene 4 was a collection of tribal inspired prints including lots of aztec and a mixture of both maxi skirts and shorts. I love all the tribal inspired gold bangles! And i couldn't believe these fashions were from M&S and the jewellery from Clive Ranger. The next scene was a light hearted and fun collection of beach wear, i particularly loved the denim playsuits and plan to whip these out in when it gets a tad bit warmer! The clothing from this scene was from animal and the accessories from Claire's.

 (Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
Scene 6 brought us fashions from Evans and BHS and included a flirty 1950's prom style and i have to say, in this scene the younger children models looked so flipping cute! The dresses weren't really my thing though. And next we had a Latin treat with fashions from Oasis and menswear from M&S. The Latin fashions tended to be floral and tropical prints full of vibrant colours and energy.

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
I really enjoyed the next two scenes, i thought the decadent fashions from Miss Selfridge were absolutely stunning with a beautiful array of nude chiffons which looked totally glamorous and very 1920's at points. My all time favourite scene was the festival theme in scene 9 because i absolutely love the style! The leather shorts are something i wish i could pull of, but i just adore how laid back and grungy the fashions are.

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
This is a continuation of the festival scene because i laaaave it so much! These clothes were from USC, H&M and BHS. Seriously though, look at those adorable stripy dungarees! I want!

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
With a couple of scenes left to go, scene ten jumped back to a very clean, tweed chanel inspired feel with fashions from Jigsaw and River Island. After this there was a John Lewis nautical scene, inspired by sea life. I adore the yellow and green shift dress pictured above! 

(Photo's belong to the Mall Cribbs Causeway)
Next, there were even more fashions from M&S representing the sound of spring. I would say the theme for this scene was a sharp classic 1920's garden party including lots of whites and pale colours. Finally, a red, white and blue jubilee celebration presented the grand finale of Bristol Fashion Week which included clothing from various stores throughout the mall.
So all in all, it was a fab show and i want to thank the Mall Cribbs Causeway for having us and Gina for inviting us! I seriously hope there will be a bloggers invite for next season because i will definitely be there!
What's your favourite trend for the upcoming Spring/Summer?
P.S My giveaway ends on Saturday so don't forget to enter!*

The Original, "What's in your Bag?"

So if you follow me on Twitter, you will know about my pretty new bag! I bought it in the charity shop where i volunteer, Tenovus, for a nifty fiver. It's good as new as well, clearly has been very well kept.

 

It's a really good size too actually, unfortunately not quite big enough for 6th form with all the books this year :/ Anyway, i've decided to do one of the famous, "What's in your bag?" posts. I know, original right? Enjoy!

 

1.Typical lipsticks/lip glosses in my compact make up bag. 

2. Car keys with my super cute owl keyring that mum bought for me when i passed my test back in May :)
3. My iPhone.

 1. Cream Puff matte lip gloss in Powder Puff - £2.99 from Collection 2000
2. Bobbi Brown creamy lip colour in Crystal Pink - £18 from Bobbi Brown
3. Sexy Mother Pucker in Candy Gloss - £4-5 from Boots, Soap and Glory

 1. The latest Glamour magazine.
2. My Purse - This was a gift bought from a little local gift shop.

 1. My umbrella - Also a birthday gift from River Island.

2. My old iPod - I've literally only just transferred music onto my iPhone finally so this is still lingering around in my bag!

3. Post-It's and a pen - You never know when they'll come in handy!

 1. Tenovus cancer badge - A friend and I are arranging a sponsored event for the charity to go ahead in July 2012 so we've had lots of meeting with reps etc hence why I have one of their badges.

2. My New Look gift cards - Need to spend these! 

3. My car tax forms.. It's that time again :/

4. William Blake - Songs of Innocence and Experience. I'm studying it in English at the moment, his poems are very inspiring! Have a read if you get the chance.

So that's what's in my bag! Hope you're all having a good weekend! 

Much Love, xxxxx

Eighteenth Birthday Celebrations

Uh oh. Haven't posted in a while! Woopsie, sorry. In all fairness, i've been busy turning 18!

I've made a quick instagram to sum up my birthday :)

  

1. On the day, i woke to breakfast in bed (scrambled egg on toast & orange juice) and a lazy morning opening a few cards and presents. Me and my boyfriend then went to see the inbetweeners, as we hadn't seen it yet! Anyone else seen it? It's hilarious!! I loved it. Plus we had the whole cinema to ourselves - so yes, we claimed the luxury seats. In the evening we met a few friends for a meal and cocktails at TGI fridays, so this picture is me, Joe, Alley, Grace and Shannon drinking our free birthday cocktails! I think the picture in the background says it all really - "Let's have a drink, Let's have some fun, at last the job is done."

2. This is a picture of the chocolates and cava i got from a few friends - i know chocolate is like a "typical" present, but i do looove luxury ones like Thornton's ones! I snuggle up in bed with a box and a movie, like you do! (thanks Grace :))

3. My brother got me the shoes and nail varnishes! I chose them, he bought them. The shoes were £10 from ebay here. (Mine are in coral.) I loved them after i saw Kavita's on her blog, and i had to get some! The colour goes with everything as well and their so comfy so you can wear them all the time. The nail varnishes are models own, i got them when they were 4 for a tenner!

(L-R "Juicy Jules, Dusty Mauve, Gun Grey and Nyla Nude."

(Juicy Jules, Dusty Mauve, Gun Grey and Nyla Nude. One coat only.)

4. On my birthday, i hit Vodafone and took out a contract on the iPhone 4. My contract runs out next month and theres a brilliant deal at the moment for argos employees to get 50% off all line rental contracts, meaning for a nifty £20 a month, i have everything i'll ever need! I love it, i haven't come off of it since i got it! I'm especially addicted to tiny zoo and tiny tower.

5. This pearl bralet from Yayer, may just be my new favourite thing in the world. It is absolutely gorgeous!! It was a gift from my boyfriend, alongside the remington pearl wand (pic 6). The bralet has a black lacey layer with pearls hand stitched on the top with a zip down the centre front. It's one size for all and the cup is just a little big for me, but i wore it out to town last night over an LBD and it looked and felt perfect. Yayer has quite a unique feel which is why i love my bralet so much! Not to mention, it came it gorgeous gold shiny wrapping. A few of the pearls have fallen off, but can way easily be sewn back on. 

(I wore it to TGI fridays that night)

(White Cropped Cardi - New Look. Pearl Bralet - Yayer. Vintage Locket - Inherited. Belt - Primark. Skirt - River Island. Wedges - Ebay. Pearl Bracelet - Gift from mum. Ring - Llymrs. Nail Varnish - Juicy Jules over Nyla Nude from Models Own.) 

I'm wearing one of the many Llymlrs rings i now own! I ordered a five ring stone mix, and mum and i loved them so much that we ordered 2 more sets straight away. They are so easy to wear and go with everything. Especially as with the mix you get a range of colours and shapes. Plus they are adjustable so they can fit any finger :) I'm keeping some and using some as gifts too. Here's some of the mix i have left. The ones in packaging will either by future gifts or possibly a giveaway for my blog in the near future! (Keep your eyes peeled!) 

(My favourite is definitely this one. And her business cards are cute aswell! Be sure to check her out.) 

6. Moving on from my rambles... Picture six is some more gifts i got, including the pearl wand from my boyfriend - not as good as i thought it would be. I've heard great reviews at work, but you really only get what you pay for it to be honest. I also got some miss sporty nail varnishes in pretty colours, a new purse and the Nadine false eyelashes. The eyelashes are fab! They're not too over the top, so they actually look fairly natural. I wore them out last night and tonight and they still seem very durable. I've actually just put them on my boyfriend for a laugh too! If i was allowed to take a photo i would have shown you. Let's just say he looks.. feminine.

Woah what a long post! Haha i guess this makes up for me not posting for a while. Anyway, i hope you're all good!

Much love xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Birthday Wishes..

As some of you may know, this time next week I will be celebrating my 18th birthday! I'm quite excited to be able to use my own ID! Haha, and as mum pointed out, I'll be voting at the next elections.. scary thought! Anyway, this is what's on my wishlist this week.

1. I love this princess ring from Temporary Secretary! I actually love a lot of her items and recommend you check her out if you haven't already. I wouldn't usually go for this type of ring, but i think the colours are actually really pretty and glitzy.

2, 3 and 5. I swear I am totally obsessed with lush products right now. Mum and I went in the other day and got so many goodies! The smells are so amazing and the staff are so friendly! I bought a tub of dream cream, and use it constantly, my legs feel so smooth and  moisturised all the time. Anyway, the lemony flutter can be found here (really good for nails and cuticle softening), the sympathy for the skin here (smells AMAZING), and the 9-5 cleanser can be found here.

4. I don't actually own an umbrella and really need a pretty one now autumn/winter is approaching. This one is a little bit pricey for me, especially as I am a pro at losing misplacing my umbrellas. But it is pretty cute!

6. I've always wanted a pretty case for my laptop and this one's adorable! Plus I'm also a little bit obsessed with paperchase at the moment as well! Anyway, even the name "bubble and sweet" makes this laptop sleeve sound cute :)

7. Another paperchase addition, I am really in need of some new stationary for sixth form! My friend has the cat highlighters from paperchase so i really want the panda's! You can find them here.

                                              

 What's on your wishlist this week?

                                                               Much love xxxxx

(don't know what's going on with my sig'n.. it just doesn't want to go central!)

What's on my Wishlist.

1. I love the colour of this Models Own nail varnish in Dusty Mauve! It's so pretty and would look good  for a night out. £5 isn't too bad for models own either! They have a sale on at the moment for Facebook users.. 50% of orders over £20! 4 bottles for a nifty tenner means I may have to stock up.

2. Recently i discovered Love Hearts and Crosses - such a cute little store! I've been meaning to get a cross ring for a while and for a fiver, this one's adorable! I've literally just purchased it actually along with a few other goodies! They have a bank holiday deal - over £10 it's free p&p and a free owl necklace, can't wait to receive my package in the post! You can find this cross ring here.

3. I've had my eye on this cardigan from missguided.co.uk for a while now. It would be so perfect for autumn because of the wine colour. And it looks so warm and cosy!

4. Since I went on holiday in the summer and realised I was probably the only teenage girl EVER not to own a pair of fake eyelashes, i've been lusting after a pair that aren't too heavy but add a bit of length to my lashes. MAC's are gorgeous. I'm really craving MAC make up at the moment.

5. My 18th birthday is soon to approach and i've been searching the internet for the perfect dress. This one from Modcloth would be perfect if I could afford postage and packaging to the UK!

6. Stumbled across this beauty earlier on RI and it's soooo pretty! And i thought, really unique. It is a little bit pricey, but river island products tend to be really good quality. Just this bag alone would spruce up an outfit. I love all the little detailing, it makes it look so intricate.

7. Finally, i originally found these cutie booties on Modcloth while i was searching for dress inspiration and thought they were adorable.. then when i saw them on RI i was so excited! They would also be such a cute autumn staple item. Reminds me of being a kid again :)

What's on your wishlist at the moment?

Katie xxx