primark | p.s. love 'strong nails'

primark p.s. love strong nails: £1

better stranger

acid wash

jacket: river island (old)
shirt: primark
necklace: lilac edge
belt: primark
mom jeans: topshop
boots: primark

hi world, and welcome back to another instalment of my infrequent but definitely-still-a-thing outfit posts! i've spent today working on the beginnings of a picture book spread and broke it up with a visit to the post office, and because it was such a nice day i figured i'd take 20 to snap a few outfit pictures too. as i was only nipping out briefly i couldn't really be bothered with the effort of premeditating an outfit before chucking it on, so while in the process of chucking on clothes i reached for a striped shirt (as ever) and my trusty mom jeans that weren't going to flap around in the wind on my way to the post office.

i'm currently still working on the aforementioned picture book spread, and i think it's going well so far; i'm feeling a little bit rusty at the moment but i'm sure by the end of the week i'll be back into the swing of things! i'll probably give myself another hour or 2 on this spread now while waiting for my housemates to get back from uni, and then i'll be giving myself some necessary time off to stuff myself silly with pancakes with lots and lots of jam and nutella (not together though, obviously.) happy pancake day everyone!! 

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magpie

turtleneck jumper: primark

necklace: primark

midi skirt: topshop

boots: primark

if you know me, you know that i cannot walk past a shiny/sparkly/glittery/metallic item in a shop without having to go over for a look/feel, and it was no exception when i passed this rose gold number in the topshop sales. after picking it up and seeing it had been marked down to £5 (!!!) it didn't take me long at all to try on and get myself straight to the tills. five bloody pounds, bargain! 

sidenote: does anybody else feel like they'd make a kickass teacher every time they wear a midi skirt? or is that just me watching a little too much new girl?

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the waiting game

top: h&m

necklaces: lilac edge

skirt: primark

gilet: boohoo

boots: primark

since presenting for one module last week and handing my dissertation in yesterday, i've essentially been playing a huge waiting game, nervously anticipating my results from my first module of the year which were said to be given to us before the end of this week, so as you can imagine i'm currently sat around frustrated at the fact that they still haven't gone live. i just need to know so i can lay it to rest (!!!!!!!) 

in other news, had you noticed that stripes are my new go-to? well if not, they are. this top and skirt combo is an outfit i've been reaching for lately when i can't be bothered to properly plan an outfit, simply because i know it works and it's a comfortable option. i've been feeling a bit icky and a little ashamed of myself lately, so i've picked my bum up now i've recovered from my stint of illness over the last week or so and am back on with doing the 30 day shred again to try and get back into shape after failing to do so over the summer. seeing as i failed this summer just gone, hopefully i can make up for it by making it my goal to be in shape again by this summer!

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back in the swing of things

shirt: charity shop

necklace: h&m

gilet: boohoo

skirt: boohoo

boots: primark

hi world, i'm back! i was presenting my work at 9.30 this morning, which means that i now have all day to myself before going out for celebratory drinks tonight, so i thought why not finally get some new blog stuff done to drag it out of its mini hiatus?! last week i decided i was going to treat myself a little when my loan came through because a) i worked bloody hard over christmas, and b) i didn't really spend all that much on clothes or makeup throughout term one, so i went along to boohoo and found some things i'd been after for a while.

the gilet and tapestry skirt were part of my order, as well as a metallic dress that i plan on wearing tonight. i'd been after a shaggy gilet for a while, and this fit the bill perfectly for £15. tapestry skirts are always something i eye up but never end up purchasing, so i thought to hell with it and finally added one to my wardrobe. i'm a bit wary of ordering from cheap online shops such as boohoo and missguided because the quality's often questionable, but i really seemed to drop on with the three items i chose because they're all fab. the boots here are also a recent addition to my collection within the last week as i decided it was time to finally replace my old primark chelsea boots as the heel was starting to come loose, and i really didn't want to risk any unfortunate mishaps in public... 

here's to hoping my blogging mojo's back, ey? hope you've all been keeping well!

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a quick look at my nudes...

collection volume sensation lipstick in 13 'satin bow': £2.99  |  soap & glory fabulipstick in 'super nude': £9

makeup revolution lipstick in 'the one': £1  |  primark matte long last lipstick: £1.50

collection  |  soap & glory

 makeup revolution  |  primark

as i mentioned a couple of weeks back in my everyday autumn makeup post, nowadays i'm a massive fan of a nude lip, so i thought i'd pop by this wednesday to share with you my collection of nudes (pun intended, sorry guys!) the entirety of my collection is bought from the highstreet, so while the prices of each lipstick vary, i think all four of them are definitely at least affordable for the average student. 

first up is the collection volume sensation lipstick, and as the name suggests, this lipstick tingles a little on your lips when applied and in turn gives them a slightly plumper look. this was the first nude lipstick i ever bought, and it's definitely the pinkest of the four. it has a really lovely, creamy consistency which applies easily and leaves your lips feeling moisturised.

next is the soap & glory fabulipstick which is my most recent nude purchase, and i think that for me this is a great 'my lips but better' colour. it's warm toned and is the peachiest of the four colours, and with its matte finish it helps to add a little bit of something to your lips when you're wanting a bit of colour, but nothing too bold. 

thirdly is the makeup revolution lipstick, which is the palest of the four colours. it's cool toned as opposed to the soap and glory offering, and because of this i think it's a true nude for my skin tone. like to the collection offering, it has a very creamy consistency which applies easily and leaves your lips feeling moisturised. 

lastly is the primark matte long last lipstick, and this is more of a mauve, vintage pink colour which i think is great for achieving the 90s nude lip that is all the rage at the moment. the formula of this product is a little odd as it has a slight shimmer through it, and while you can't see it on the lips, it does mean that it can often feel a little bit gritty on them. i've found that the more i've worn the lipstick the less gritty it feels however, so i assume it's just a case of wearing down the top layer of the bullet!

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back to black

turtleneck jumper: primark

skirt: primark

boots: primark

long time no outfit post, ey? i've attempted to take some outfit pictures a couple of times since my last outfit upload, but because of issues with the weather and lighting they just didn't come out well enough to share unfortunately, but last friday i scrambled out into the garden just in time before it started to rain and managed to take some successful snaps! i've got more of a bitchface going on here than i'd desire to have, but i thought to hell with it and decided i'd share anyway seeing as my blog's been so horribly quiet over the last couple of weeks.

i nipped into primark last week after seeing them share this skirt on their twitter page knowing that i had to have it, and luckily enough for me it was available in store and waiting for me to take it home. it's a lovely thick, wooly material that's perfect for keeping warm in the winter, even if it's somewhat constrictive when you're sat in a lecture theatre, but you can make compromises for pretty items of clothing, right? paired with a turtleneck and my faux fur trimmed coat, i can see this becoming one of my winter staples this year. 

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primark | cinnamon & maple christmas candle

primark cinnamon & maple christmas candle: 80p

now halloween is out of the way i'm happy to start thinking about all things christmas related (because the 31st halloween/1st november crossover represents the death of halloween and birth of christmas, right?) and my first point of call was this primark candle (aside from the fact that i'd wrapped some of my christmas presents earlier in october, but we'll keep that as our little secret...)

when i'm in primark i always go for a little mooch around the home section and for a while now i've been a fan of their cheap but strongly scented candles, so when i spotted this cinnamon & maple scented candle picking it up was really a no brainer, especially as it was priced at just 80p!

as much as i love primark's coconut and vanilla scented tealights as they smell reasonably strongly and retail for just £1.50 a pack, they really don't have anything on this cinnamon & maple candle. from the minute you start burning it your room smells heavenly, and the strong cinnamon scent is enough to get anybody into the festive spirit (yes, even misery guts me who hates autumn/winter!) i've found that if i burn the candle for an hour on an evening, my room still smells strongly of cinnamon the next morning – which is definitely not something i was expecting from an 80p candle! – so i've taken to burning it for an hour on a morning and evening to keep my room smelling deliciously festive all day long. 

the candle has an estimated burn time of 12 hours, but i've lit the candle now for the last three or four days twice a day religiously and it's hardly made a dent in the wax, so it's fair to say that the product's well worth the measly 80p you pay for it. the next time i'm in town i'll be heading straight back to primark and stocking up on these babies because they are delicious; move over yankee candle's cinnamon stick, i have a new favourite christmas candle!

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electric together

 fedora: depop

crop top: topshop

choker: lilac edge

necklace: primark

jacket: ebay

belt: primark

jeans: primark

boots: primark

when the going gets tough, i'm finding it's pretty easy to still maintain a more personal style focussed blog, probably because i have to throw clothes on at least four days a week and half an hour is easy to find to snap and edit pictures and throw together a paragraph or two about whatever's relevant on the day. i've felt a bit disconnected from my blog, work and the internet in general lately due to freshers and now my dissertation work, and i'm getting to a point where it's beginning to bother me. i want to be creating and writing interesting things, but i'm struggling to find the time to do so when books take hours to read and gathering and analysing information, quotes and references ends up taking days at a time, which ends in me feeling too exhausted by the end of every day to even want to think about blogging/drawing. meh, third year, right?

whiny excuses aside, i headed out in this ensemble last friday and i've never felt more like i was trying to look like a blogger. ripped jeans are everywhere at the minute, and when i spotted these in primark i was too curious to not try them on, and after a bit of deliberation i decided that i loved them. i ended up grabbing a size up and although they're far too big around the waist and can only be worn with a belt, they fit like a dream on my legs because i prefer a little bit more room and less of a skinny look. when teamed up with some chunky boots and a fedora i definitely felt like i was ticking all the relevant 'fashion blogger' boxes. i don't know if i found the whole thing more funny or sad, but i felt good regardless and i'm sure that's probably the most important thing!

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bad habit

jumper: primark

dress (worn as skirt): primark

socks: primark

shoes: primark

i don't know why but i always feel a strange sense of achievement when i can walk out of the house in a head to toe primark outfit and still feel pretty bloody good. it's probably something to do with the moans of those who "can never find anything in primark," so to know that over time i've found enough quality bits and pieces to combine together into one super outfit helps me to justify (in my own mind...) the ridiculous amount of time i manage to spend in various primark stores up and down the country.

i've paired up my most recent primark purchase (the shoes) with a couple of my favourites from last autumn/winter (the jumper and dress) and am loving how the burgundy sits against the green/blue tartan, however i'm not loving the beginnings of the autumn weather as it means being perfectly snug in this outfit whilst outdoors, but proceeding to melt upon entering a warm building. i've said it once and i'll say it again: you autumn/winter lovers are odd.

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90s revival

 sunglasses: primark

choker & necklace: lilac edge

dress: upcycled

shoes: primark

yesterday the sun came back out, and as if by magic, the air was warm and it felt like summer once again after the last couple of weeks that've felt a little autumnal, what with the cold bite that's been lingering in the breeze. i decided to embrace the lovely weather and threw on this little gem of a dress that my mum handed down to me at the beginning of the summer. it's a dress of hers from the 90s (potentially older than me!) and although it's a 14 and doesn't fit as intended, i find it looks wonderful as a shift dress that just gently skims over my hips and i love it. the dress was more of a midi style when she gave it to me, but ten minutes with my sewing machine meant i could remove a couple of inches from the bottom and make it into this wonderfully fitting dress that has a somewhat oriental style floral print, which i find gives it a kinda grungy vibe, especially when paired with chunky shoes and a choker. it's altogether a wonderful piece of truly 'vintage' clothing that i very warmly welcomed into my wardrobe. 

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black lace

jewellery: lilac edge

lace kimono: primark

dress: charity shop
boots: missguided

i'd been lusting after a midi length kimono for a while, but didn't quite want to pay the going rate of £25 - £30 for one, so imagine my delight when i stumbled across this lacy little number in primark for £8! i wanted a midi specifically because i wanted something a little longer than the skirts and dresses i normally wear so that when it's windy there's a little bit more protection around my bottom to avoid the dreaded wind blowing your skirt up scenario – i'm sure we've all been there!

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