I Wear My Heart On My Sleeve Like Its a Big Deal

Wearing- Shirt-Random old one my mama gave me, Tee- Forever 21, Jeans-ASOS, Shoes-Peacocks, Cape-ASOS, Bangle- U.O, Sparkly bangle- Italian market stall, Hat-TK MAXX

- For about a week straight every weather  man on the TV has been going on and on and on about this amazing heatwave that is going to hit us this week, what they must have forgot to mention was that it was going to hit everywhere except where I live. It has basically been rain storms all week and today was slightly brighter but it felt like it was December as it got so dark and dull so early, And is it just me or is everyone  you know started planning Christmas already, its like come on people don't wish away the dregs of summer already!!!

-Been listening to the Ed Sheeran album pretty intensely this week, got to say i thought i would instantly like it more than i did but i love it now after listening to it for a while, its definitely a grower.  His voice is just so soulful, right? 

-Watched Pan Am, have any of you seen it yet, what did you think?  I am obsessed with it already, The style/costumes blew my mind I'm such a sucker for that era anyway, but i just found it to be really authentically done.  And more importantly can you believe Donna from neighbours is in it? How crazy, although i did think she was one of the best in it, Harold would be proud!  Oh and new episode of The New Girl tonight for me too.  Yah for Internet TV or i would never be able to see any of these amaze shows.  I actually don't know how peeps even deal without watching Modern Family!

-I'm reading Pride and Prejudice just now, to be honest its only because its free on the Kindle and i feel like i just spend my life's money on that thing, if it accepted Paypal then i really would be sunk!  I have always wanted to read it as i get really curious about these big classics people go on about and i thought it was about time i found out who Mr Darcy is.... Are any of you fans of the book?

-My cards are going well, Thank You again to everyone who has got in touch with me about them to say lovely things I really appreciate that and all your comments too! Step 2 in Greeting Card world domination is to get them into some boutiques/shops.  If any of you lovely people all over the world know of any places that sells cards/stationary please do let me know as i would love to get in touch with them, I wanna go international Baby! Ha! You can still look/buy my cards .HERE

- I have been featured on the Most Wanted website with my review of my New Look Loafers, if you fancy it, you could go have a peek HERE

GOSH Bronzer Review

So this is the last GOSH product review of the goodies that they were kind enough to send me to try out.
I have to be honest when I saw this bronzer with the uber glitter in it, I was sure it was going to look very 1998 when I put it on, if you know what I mean?

I took some pictures before I used it to show you how glittery it was. 
I am a complete glitter fiend, I love me some glitter but just not on my face.  I love my face to look shimmery and glowy so when I saw this I was sure it would just be too much for me.

But once I used it I was really surprised, thankfully I had swirled it around and put it on to my hand first to see the true colour so my hand got the mega glitter rather than my face because once you have circled your brush around the compact a couple of times it seems to remove the top layer which is just basically glitter.
So thankfully underneath it’s a really lovely shade of bronzer with shimmer rather than sparkle.
So what I have gathered is maybe the glitter that sits on the top is just for visual reasons to make you notice the product at first as it doesn’t seem to be in the actual bronzer itself, which for me is a major plus, but if you buy it for the glitter then I imagine that must be a major downside.

As you can see from the picture above the colour is definitely more bronze than orange which is always a relief when you buy a bronzer you haven’t used before.  I genuinely couldn’t believe how pretty the shimmer was it was really lovely and worked so well with the colour. I think you could definitely wear this bronzer without a separate highlighter too as it really does give a great effect which is totally buildable.

I am super pale but I didn't feel like this was too dark for me, so I think it could work on a few different skin tones, obviously if your darker you would want to wear more of the product than I have to make the colour darker. 

After my initial glitter panic with this product I am really happy with it I think it will be a great alternative to wear when I don’t want to wear lots of different products. I can just put this on as it’s a bit of a two in one with the added bonus of the highlighter in it!

You can find out more about GOSH products and buy this HERE 

P.S- I just added in the picture of my new nail polish colour too, its a little bit orange with a little bit of peach too!

Shhh There's a Zebra Behind You

 

Excuse the whole 'AS SEEN ON TV' picture, it was the only one the website had.

I am really not a fan of the 'animals on jumpers thing' i never have been, I just don't really get it.

Maybe its because i am totally not an animal lover, I've never had pets bar when i was little and had some goldfish and an ill-fated experience with a hamster.

But for some reason when i saw this jumper i loved it.

I think its the colour that caught my eye and the random-ness of the Zebra just sitting there at the side of the it.

Its from H by Henry Holland for Debenhams.

I am actually really impressed by some of his pieces for Debenhams, even though i never enter that store as i always just find everything in it so dull, i honestly can't explain it but you know when you just take a dislike for a store and you don't really know why, its just the vibe of it or something?

Anyway, that's why I've never really checked out his stuff, but after having a browse online just there i really like some pieces but the styling of them is just so uninspired i feel, actually that's one of my biggest bug-bears with Debenhams is that they genuinely have some amazing designers with lines but the way they present the lines its like they are always aiming for women in there mid-40s or something, just weird!

Ok, so Debenhams moan over, I kinda want this sweater.

What do you guys think?

Do you like and are you a fan of Debenhams?

Sunday Show and Tell

Such a beautiful video Found Via

Sometimes I think that it's an unfair question.
I mean how can you just choose one from your whole lifetime. 
I think when your put on the spot like that you are more inclined to pick the big moments when maybe in reality its the little ones that have meant more in the long run.
I think that mabye you should be allowed one favourite moment per year it makes it more fair, huh?
I wanna know yours, Go...Tell me.....

Cold days and nights

I am such a summer girl.

I love it being bright and (relatively warm) and not having to think about wearing big heavy jackets.
Although I do like winter up till Christmas, because then you feel there is a point to it being so cold and dark and snowy because you get the reward of it being Christmas, but seriously January/February is so horrid, right? It's always dull and freezing for me, i always feel like those few months go on for ages, you know?

But the one thing I do love about winter is getting to be warm and snugly 24/7. And these pretty bad snowy/arctic winters we have been having here the past few years have now made it acceptable (kinda) to wear OnePieces's outside something that i hope to take full advantage of this year!

My only rule about winter dressing is always start with the basics and just layer, layer,layer then add scarfs/hats/mitts when appropriate, simple!

So i thought i would do a little post about Celtic Sheepskin, which do some of the best/warmest basics around that i think would be a great start to a winter wardrobe.
The store, which is based in Cornwell is also online too, so you can shop no matter where you live.
I have to admit some of the pieces are pricey, and (alot) are out of my price range but there is some key pieces that are about the same price as the high street and for that you are getting real cashmere/sheepskin its amazing.

My mama actually ordered a pair of the moccasins, the ones above, last year and honestly they are the warmest, most comfiest things ever (i may have had a little try of them!)  and I would really love a pair.
They are so retro chic looking with the fur trim!

I have a list as long as my arm of the items i would love from this store, so i picked a few of them and put them together in the pictures above.

I think there is nothing prettier than a plain, over-sized cashmere jumper, a pair of jeans, warm boots and a big scarf in the winter, so pretty!
Buy all of the above HERE


Let me know what you think?
Have you ordered from Celtic Sheepskin before?

Oh and on another note, don't you always think Winter is a good time to have a bit of a makeover too, to get you ready for all the cold winter months. As you know i'm still contemplating getting my nose pierced and i'm thinking i might get it done for Christmas time, extra sparkle and all that! If you are thinking of getting something pierced or if you are looking for some new body jewellery, the best place to go to get discount body jewelry is Freshtrends!

Eyeliner Review

EDIT- A little note about the photos- I am a pale person but i promise not this pale,ha! The lighting in my room was just weird with the flash, also the eyeshadow doesn't photograph very well so makes me look like i have big black circles under my eyes, but again i don't its just the eyeshadow, I am not the most tired looking person ever, promise!

Another GOSH product I was sent to review was this Eyeliner.

It is a dark brown cream pencil liner called Truly Brown, it says its waterproof too, but thankfully i haven't had to have a cry since i have been wearing it, so i can not vouch for how waterproof it actually is!

I must admit i am a bit of a black liner addict, i rarely go anywhere without my eyeliner on and i always feel like my face looks a little bare if i don't have my little black flicks on my eyes.

I used to always use MAC's liquid liner then last year i changed to Bobbi Browns gel liner in the pot. I have to say its pretty amazing and so so simple and easy to put on.

I have a ridiculous amount of black pencil liners too which i use for the rims of my eyes and underneath, my favourite of those is either MAC or Urban Decay.

As well as having every black eyeliner under the sun I also am a lover of a coloured eyeliner now and again, although to be far i probably wore the coloured ones a lot more when i was younger, whereas now i wear them when i feel my eyes need a little pop of colour rather than everyday.

But the one colour that i just never wear on my face or even in clothes is Brown.

I have never seen the point in brown mascara, brown eye shadows wash me out and i always think brown eyeliner makes me look like i have big black eyes with bags under them.

So i must admit when i was given a Brown eyeliner to try i was very dubious as i really didn't think it would suit me.

I decided to go with a smoky golden/rusty eye shadow, something that i wear quite often but always with a black eyeliner although i have often felt the black is a little harsh when i wear it with these colours so i was interested to see if the brown would look any different.

And to my complete surprise i liked it.

I really feel like it goes better with this shadow than black does and i never thought i'd say that.

I think what helps is this brown is very very brown and dark, so just slightly softer than black, there really isn't much of a difference.

What i was most impressed by though was the pencil itself, if you can see in the above picture, it looks really really similar to the nib of an Urban Decay pencil, these types are always the most long lasting and easiest to sharpen, i have bought cheaper pencil liners before and when I've sharpened them its sometimes felt like it was going to give me a splinter and i haven't been able to use them again but this one looks great.

The texture of the liner is cream and soft, again very similar to Urban decays (to be honest, if someone had blind folded me and asked me to guess where this pencil is from i would have said Urban Decay, they are that similar.) The staying power has been great, hasn't smudged and there is no tell tale marks on my brow line from the pencil either!

Over all I'm really impressed by the quality and if you were looking for a cheaper alternative to the consistency of U.D liner then i would definitely try GOSH.

And even though i will always be a black eyeliner gal, I am totally going to rock my brown liner now too!

Buy the liner Here for £4.99

WHat do you think, are you a fan of GOSH and their liners?

Oh and on a completely different note, i totally caved and bought the feather from Regal Rose, from this post.  I couldn't help it I love it!

And also a MASSIVE Thank You to everyone who has tweeted/commented/emailed about my cards I really appreciate it and i am genuinely sooo happy you like them!

If you haven't already check out my store HERE



P.S. If you were to play that Come Dine With Me drinking game, with the word 'liner' in this post, you would be a very drunk person by now, Ha!

Sunday Show and Tell

As soon as I knew Zooey Deschanel (the coolest/most stylish lady ever) had a new TV show coming out I had already decided it was going to be my favourite show, then finally a few days ago when it premiered I watched the first episode and I am happy to say it was even better than my expectations for it.
Not many TV shows make me actually laugh out loud but this one did, it is totally my humor, I can not wait till the next episode.
If you haven't watched it already you should definitely check it out online, i think you will love it too!
Oh and if any of you have saw the film PaperHeart (i.e. the sweetest film ever for all you fellow Michel Cera fangirls) the super cute best friend/director guy from that is in this too!

My Store Launch

Wow, I'm so excited to show you all what I have been working on...
Please welcome The Pretty
The home of Greeting Cards for The Cool Kids


The store officially launched this morning and I couldn't wait to show all you guys them first.
I have been making cards for people since I was really little and as I got older I got into it more and more. Then in High School i kinda took a sabbatical from it and it wasn't until i started to do writing for some Magazines that I realised that i could combine my love of words and my love of making people cards together.
I started off making my designs all by hand but after selling them i realised it was too hard to keep doing it all by hand, myself so i decided to take the step of getting them printed and opening up my own online store.
It was really important to me when i was getting my cards printed that i still wanted them to look exactly the same as before and have a sort of imperfectly perfect feel about them. So they still have the exact same wording and my own hand-drawings on them too!


I really don't think there is anything nicer than receiving a hand-written card through the post, either for a birthday, an invite or just a little note from someone who you haven't seen for a while.
This is what has made me feel so passionate about making and selling my cards.
Don't get me wrong i LOVE technology and the fact that we can send an email or a text message and the person gets to read it in the blink of an eye, but i think there is just something so special about knowing that someone has taken the time to pick out a card that they think you will love or it will mean something to you and taken the time out of their busy lives even if its only 5mins and wrote you a little note.
Somehow it always seems to mean more right?




When i was designing my cards I thought of what type of cards i would want to buy and just went from there.
My biggest thing with cards is I really dislike the fact that it is so hard to find a card that can do for any occasion and dosen't have HAPPY BIRTHDAY or YOUR NEW BORN SON all across it.
I designed my cards so that they really can do for any person and any event.
I also wanted them not to take themselves so seriously, to be fun and/or funny (depending on your humor matching mines!) and for them to really just say what you mean.
If I'm sending my friends a card i don't talk to them in long scrolls of heart-wrenching poetry to tell them how much of a good friend i think they are, I just say 'i think your awesome thanks for being my friend' and its that simplicity i wanted to capture in my cards.
Also some of you may have noticed my tag line- 'Greeting Cards for The Cool Kids'
Please know this is an ironic statement and not trying to alienate half of the entire population!
 One of my idols in life is Napoleon Dynamite (Along with Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory!), in my eyes the man (character, whatever!) is a legend but one thing i think you will all agree on is he isn't your traditional 'cool dude' but in my eyes those types of people are the coolest in the world, and i feel the humour on my cards would relate to my fellow 'Cool kids' Ha!
I think there are a million amazing beautiful greeting cards out there for everyones tastes I just hope you see mine and think they fill a greeting card shaped hole in your life!
I would LOVE to know what you think and if you feel inclined to, please feel free to blog/tweet/facebook/shout from your window etc etc about The Pretty, i would really appreciate it!
Get in touch if you would like me to send you a press release and some images if you don't want to use these ones!

BUY THE PRETTY CARDS HERE
FOLLOW THE PRETTY ON TWITTER HERE

Demi has a 'Moment'

Sometimes I think we are inundated so much with images of celebrities on red carpets or at awards ceremonies its hard to tell one herve Léger apart from another, it's hard for people to stand out when there is so much competition out there, 9 out of 10 times they always look great but sometimes, something happens and the stars align in the sky for certain people and in the blink of an eye (or the twinkle of a star)  they have their 'fashion moment' and are transported into another league.
Not everyone gets one but for the chosen few that do, its normally an indication that their career is going the same way- skywards (think Elizabeth Olsen, Zoe Saldana, Emma Stone, all have recently had a fashion 'moment')
And personally I think this is what we have just witnessed happen to Demi Lovato.
Everything about this outfit screams perfection.
Her hair, make up, simple yet effective jewellery all combine to make this 'moment' happen for Demi and also maybe even more importantly she is wearing the dress, not the other way around, something that is not an easy feat.  She looks radiant and confident which only helps her carry the dress off with even more class.

Congratulations Demi, you had a moment and by the looks of this stunning outfit, your next one isn't too far off.

The beautiful Demi Lovato is wearing the most amazing Maria Lucia Hohan dress at the ALMA Awards last weekend.

Sunday Show and Tell

Shopbop Giveaway Winner

Drum Roll Please.......
And the winner of the Shopbop $100 gift card is.....
Ada.
The winner was chosen at random using Random.Org
Keep an eye on you inbox Ada, as I will be sending you an email with how to collect your prize.
Thank You so much to everyone who entered.
I really wish i could have picked more than one winner, but I will be doing another giveaway pretty soon for all of you who didn't win today!
X

GOSH Cosmetics Review

So first off, apologises for the crazy close photos of my lips, i wasn't even going to include it as i thought they looked a bit, well...awkward to say the least but then i realised it was pretty hard to get a true colour of the pink from the swatches on my hand.(although the second lip gloss wouldn't photograph well so i couldn't include a photo on my lips)

Anyways, I was sent these lovely lip glosses to review from GOSH cosmetics.
I have used a few GOSH products before and have always been impressed for what you get for the price.

I am much more of a lip gloss girl than a lipstick girl, although i am trying to wear more and more lipsticks as because I'm really pale I feel like i sometimes need the stronger lip colour to add a bit of a 'pop' to my make-up.

The lighting is a bit weird in the picture of my face for some reason but i would say that's definitely a true representation of the colour.

The pink is my ideal colour and I've had that on non-stop, its just a pale pink with the slightest shimmer in it (not sparkle) that gives off a great reflected sheen to your lips. 
The other colour looks orange in the tube so i was a little wary of it but when you put it on its really sheer and although it is more of a stronger looking colour on my hand, its really not on your lips.  Its just got a nice apricot tinge but nothing more than that, so its really natural looking.

The texture of the gloss is good not too sticky but as with any gloss it is going to get sticker the more you put on, I found the consistency to be quite similar to MAC's lip-glasses.

There is no smell and it doesn't have any sort of taste, which is refreshing as I'm so used to all the lip glosses i have having such strong scents.

But personally the best thing about these glosses I think is the quirky little feature of the 'Flashlight' in the inside of the lid and the little mirror on the edge of the gloss. 
Its such a great added bonus for when you are out and trying to avoid the whole 'clown mouth' look by putting your lipstick on in the near-dark with no mirror, so this solved all the problems!

On the whole i think these are really great lip-glosses for the high-street price especially with the little added features.
If you are looking for a 'strong' colour though i would definitely say you would need to layer something under these as they are definitely more on the sheer side, which personally i think is great as to me they are more wearable as on an every day basis i do like to keep my make-up natural but i know some people do like their glosses to have a strong tint.

What do you think, have you tried any GOSH products before and what do you think of make-up with added features with the light and mirrors, are you a fan?

You can buy these lip glosses in the UK at Superdrug or on their site HERE and NON-UK'ers can buy GOSH here

Oh and as I am posting about beauty things, I thought some of you may be interested in the promo that The Fragrance Shop has got going on just now too.

You have the chance to win one of five "money can’t buy" exclusive city breaks including the chance to see Beyoncé live in concert, an exclusive trip to Milan and a helicopter ride to Monte Carlo Bay to celebrate top fragrances.
1,000’s of other ‘must have’ prizes are also on offer, so you can't really lose out, it's sort of win-win, huh?.
Customers will be eligible for a card every time they spend £10 or more between 30th August and 29th September 2011. Every card is a winner with hundreds of runner-up prizes up for grabs and thousands of money-off vouchers.
Thousands of ‘Golden Ticket’ scratch cards have been delivered to stores nationwide and are available on-line and in store. 
Let me know if you win and you know, want to take me with you to see Miss Bey or anything!!!

A.Winter.Outfit

This is my version of an alternative to your coat, when you've had just about enough of wearing it all through Winter.
I have never been a fan of a'gilet' especially not furry one's but there is something I love about wearing clothes in the way they are not meant to be worn and wearing some glamorous Faux-fur over a collage sweatshirt just really works for me. In an oxymoron type of way.
I am an Ivy-League geek, i can't get enough of the whole 'american' college razzmatazz.  Blame it on watching too many John Hughes movies or something but either way it's inspired my love of all things preppy and let's be honest you can't get any more preppy than a Harvard sweater.
Throw on some skinny jeans and some chucks/court heels/knee-length boots and your good to go.

-Buy these lovelies here....
-Harvard Sweatshirt - (If you are in the UK or any where they deliver too, and you love Ivy-League stuff as much as me then you have to check out this site- Inkwell and Ivy, its the only place in the UK that sells all the genuine I-L shirts etc..... And its pretty amaze!)
-Fur Gilet
-Hat

Company

I have wanted to write this post for a few months and have never got round to it till now.

I don't know about you but up until a few months ago I had a pretty clear picture of what i thought Company magazine was like. 

I had never bought it but i had picked up copies here and there and knew enough about it to know it wasn't for me.

I LOVE magazines, seriously I read so many but i have to admit i am pretty picky with them. I never went through that stage of reading Bliss or Sugar when i was little, i went straight on to Elle.  I was never interested in problem pages or wanting to know what Boyzones favourite colour was.  I just wanted to read about fashion and even though i was too young to really 'get' what all the big fashion glossy's were going on about, I still loved devouring them and soaking up all the inspiration flying from there pages.

Don't get me wrong I equally loved celebrity gossip too but I didn't ever appreciate the condescending tone of those 'Teen' magazines, i just went straight for Heat magazine!

Even as i got older i stuck with the fashion glossy's branching out to little independent titles too but basically i skipped out on that whole genre of 'women' magazines. You know the one's i mean, Cosmo and Company, etc. Its not that there is anything at all wrong with these magazine, it's just that i was never interested in reading those types or things they had in them and dare i use the word 'trashy' but its what i thought (think?) most of them were like.

So you can imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago as i scanned the shelves of the newsagents for my monthly Marie Claire, a magazine cover jumped out at me it had a white background and the front was so eye-catching, it wasn't even who was on the front, it was the fonts, the deisgn, the colours and the wording (FYI I am a big magazine geek, i write for them, read them that's why i notice things like fonts, i know proper geeky!) It looked amazing, i thought i must have missed the launch of a new magazine or something and then i saw the name COMPANY. To say i was shocked was an understatement, i immediately picked it up and started flicking through it, nothing about it looked the same, I bought it straight away so i could have a better look as my curiosity got the better of me!

And that is the story of how Company magazine has become one of my favourite magazines. Honestly i am still a little shocked that i am actually even writing that but seriously that first issue and every other issue i have bough since (3, i think) has been really really great. 

I do not have a clue what happened to the magazine or when it changed from what i thought it was (or maybe it was never like those other magazines in the first place, did i mis-judge it?)

But i really wanted to do this post on Company in case some of you also still had this idea about it.

I can confirm that the word 'trashy' couldn't be further from what it is.  I would class it as mainly a fashion magazine with some added extras.  They have amazing clothes (that are affordable and wearable), really great editorials and a really really lovely young and fresh layout which is definitely reminiscent of Nylon but with a more British/high street twist.

I honestly can't praise it enough other than to say i am really considering a subscription which in my world is the biggest compliment i can give to a magazine,Ha!

So I would urge you to check Company out this month if you haven't read it for a while, it may just surprise you!

What do you guys think, do you agree with me about Company's radical makeover and have you changed your views about any magazine you read/used to read?

House Of Harlow

Picture this......
Someone goes all Fairy Godmother on you right now, I mean literally as your reading this, you F.G grants you one shopping spree, where you get to have a whole collection for free.
But the catch is you can only pick one designer/label and you have to make the decision in a spilt second, like that game that Phoebe plays with Joey and Ross in Friends where you only have a second to decide your answer and it's meant to revel the real truth as you don't have time to make up a better one.
What label/designer would you pick?
Honestly right now, if my F.G granted me a spree without even pausing to think about it I would say House of Harlow.
I love me my Chanel and my Marc Jacobs, Erdem and don't even get me started on Marchesa but truthfully HOH would be my answer.
I LOVE Nicole Richie, she is a constant source of inspiration to my style (seriously if you've followed my blog for a while, you will know that MKA and Nicole are my go-to gals for inspiration posts) and what she has done with HOH is amazing every piece looks like you have worn it for the past 20 years, it looks like its a part of you rather than some shiny new jewel you have put on for show and that's exactly what i think the best and most classic forever jewellery should look like.
I don't own any House Of Harlow but hopefully my Fairy Godmother will appear soon and I will have this beautiful collection in this stunning video.
Oh and don't forget tell me who you would pick for your spree, no cheating though, don't think about it, it has to be the first one in your head........

Hero&Cape

This post is sooooo long overdue.
I meant to post about this Amaze new label a few weeks ago, but alas I didn't get round to it!

If you haven't already, please meet Hero&Cape....
Not only can they claim to have one of the best names for a shop ever (seriously who doesn't love a hero or a cape?), they also have some of the prettiest Tee's you will find.

The store, which was launched just over a month ago is already going from strength to strength with new little bits and bobs such as jewellery being added all the time.

The uber talented Niki Lau is the brains behind the fabulous original hand drawn illustrations that are then screen printed onto the white T-Shirts.

I love when I see awesome little shops popping up, selling clothes that aren't only affordable but are truly unique too. 

I can't get over how adorable the 'Peter Pan collared tee' is and the 'Peace sign' tee would just be a staple in my wardrobe, it would work with everything, I really want it, think I may be having to make an order pretty soon!

You can check out their store HERE and you can tell them how much you love their Tee's(or anything else equally as lovely of course!) by following them on Twitter HERE too!

Sunday Show and Tell