Showing posts with label boots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boots. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 September 2013

a day out to edinburgh



so on tuesday, me and a friend dragged ourselves out of bed at the ungodly hour which is 5am, and set about getting ready for our day ahead in edinburgh. with my friend's strong love for pandas and the fact that edinburgh zoo is home to the only pandas and koalas in the uk (apparently, anyway) we thought it'd be a good day trip for us both, because when else were we ever going to get the chance to see pandas or koalas?!

the zoo wasn't disappointing. due to the time of year, it wasn't crazy busy which means we had the chance to stroll around at our own pace without having to worry about fitting anything in, however arriving so early meant that a few animals hadn't yet gotten out of bed which meant that we missed catching a glimpse of some animals, the big cats in particular. we weren't disappointed though as we got to spend plenty of time cooing over the koalas, and after a very long hour wait, the female giant panda (who is currently pregnant, eek!) finally made her way out of her cosy den and came to give us all a glimpse - it would've been very disappointing to have travelled all the way to edinburgh to have not seen a panda!

on our way to the zoo we travelled down edinburgh's princes street, and after laying eyes on what looked like huge h&ms, a primark, boots and lush, we decided it was essential to have a quick shop before we headed back for our train at 6.30pm (very long day!) i was pretty well behaved when shopping and bought a couple of bedroom 'essentials', along with a denim dress i just couldn't leave as i'd not yet seen it in middlesbrough's primark, and a no.7 skin mask which i've only used once and already want to sing the praises of. i did take my camera along with me for the day with the intention of taking lots of pictures of what we'd gotten up to, however i always find that i spend the time actually enjoying the moment rather than trying to photograph it... it seems i can never manage to do both!

all in all, i really enjoyed our visit to edinburgh; the city is beautiful, the people were friendly and were definitely not in a rush. the place in general reminded me a bit of london, however i found it much easier to relax and enjoy myself there as it wasn't as hectic and aggressive as london has been when i've visited previously! already i'm excited to visit again and explore the city properly, i just now need to find a reason to revisit...

Monday, 16 September 2013

september 2013 haul: boots, primark, asos

since starting to read blogs (which began around this time last year,) i've found myself making more frequent purchases than ever before. i try to tell myself these purchases are necessary due to reasons such as, "but that mascara has had such good reviews!" and "but that dress will look awesome with my chunky boots!" but more often than not, i come away with shopper's guilt after having spent a little more than i'd have hoped to for the month... this month was no exception, what with me starting uni again and needing to once again become less frivolous with my money, but for now i thought i'd show you all what i've purchased throughout the month of september - and who knows, maybe it'll inspire you to do as i so often do and go trawling the highstreet for items you've seen on blogs!



1: collection pressed powder, £1.99, boots: for me, this product is cheap and cheerful and does the job of setting my face and reducing shine just as well as any other, more expensive powder i've tried out, so i figured why pay any more for another?

2: collection last perfection concealer, £4.19, boots: i'd never tried out the collection concealer before, but after reading such great reviews and it costing a measly £4, i figured i'd give it a go while boots had a buy one get one half price offer on. 


3: benefit they're real mascara, £19.50, boots: as someone who doesn't like splashing on one item, the price tag of benefit's they're real on the high street always put me off the purchase, however, after finding the product on ebay for just £7, i figured i'd jump on the bandwagon and put this apparent miracle mascara to the test; so far, i'm impressed overall. 

4: collection 24 hour felt tip liner, £2.99, boots: before this purchase i'd never used a felt tip liner, and now, in hindsight, i see how foolish i was. eyeliner application with a felt tip is a breeze and i'll definitely be repurchasing this when i run out.


5: rimmel kate lasting finish lipstick in 01, £5.49, boots: the only reason i purchased this is because i'd previously bought a MUA lipstick (i mean, come on, they're a pound) in a similar shade and loved it, however it transferred far too easily for my liking so i was on the hunt for a similar shade with a better wear time, which happened to be this.

6: rimmel kate matt lipstick in 101, £5.49, boots: another 'a blogger uses this and i like it so i'm going to purchase it' purchase here. after seeing lily melrose mention this in one of her favourite lipsticks videos, i figured i just had to go out and buy it because the colour is so pretty. also, i figure lily knows what she's talking about, so if she recommends it, it must be worth the pennies. 


7: patterned skirt, £8, primark: when i laid eyes on this in the shop, i was instantly reminded of this print i'd seen on the motel website. i thought the skirt looked a little more expensive than your average primark find, so for £8 i had to have it. 


8: tartan dress, £13, primark: anything tartan gets a yes from me, but combined with this adorable collar and loose fitting, i was smitten after trying it on. i'm sure this is something i'll get plenty of wear out of throughout the colder months. 


9: tier necklace, £4, primark: i'm a sucker for anything chunky or layered, so when i saw this necklace for just £4 i threw it into my shopping bag just knowing that it would look great under collars, or over jumpers, or to pretty up a plain dress, etc. etc.

10: woven chain belt, £2.50, primark: i probably own too many belts, but i really liked the subtle gold chain woven into the belt and thought it would break up tops and bottoms well without being 'too much'. and anyway, it was only £2.50...


11: t-bar shoes, £12, primark: these shoes have to be my favourite purchase of the month. after eyeing up dr. marten t-bar shoes and refusing to pay the hefty price tag, these were the perfect compromise for me. they're just so adorable!

12: paisley smock dress, £25, river island: i grabbed this from asos during the students' 20% off event, meaning i picked it up for £20. after eyeing it up for such a long time, i figured 20% discount was a good enough reason for me to go ahead and finally purchase it.

13: silver stud belt, £8, asos: this was another blogger inspired purchase (lily melrose, AGAIN...) after seeing and loving the belt she wore in this outfit post. when the belt arrived i was a little disappointed at how thin it was, but i thought it would suffice and kept it anyway, and have since found plenty of wear in it regardless.

so, there are all my purchases, and after totting up the total spent i'm giving myself a little tap on the wrist... i will be better throughout october! as ever, i'm always interested in reading about others' hauls, so if you have any posts you'd like me to check out, please leave links below. thanks for reading!