Affordable Fashion #1

ASOS Contrast Piped Dress
Get it here for £27.50

Don’t break the bank.
It’s nice every now and then to splash out on something for yourself without worrying about the old overdraft going into the red. So welcome to the on-going series of pieces of clothing/accessories/shoes/etc. that are debit card friendly and pleasing on the eye.

As seen on screen.
While ASOS was once a website full of copies of celebrity and socialite favourites, but they have definitely came into their own with a majority of the clothes on their website now of their own designs. This dress caught my eye for the detail – the pockets, the buttons and the pin tucks around the waist, oh my!

Contrast.
The dress comes in khaki with cream, black with grey and also mink and black. The second colour of each group is the trim on the dress and pockets and also the actual piping and really makes the detail pop. I would snap this dress right up except for the one possibly flaw which is it looks like it’s for those with a bust much smaller than mine. Grab it while you can (and it’s available in petite size as well)!

What’s in your make up bag?

Picture courtesy of Mac Cosmetics, see the full sized image here.

Azure, freshwater, sky, light blue.
Have you ever really thought about what’s inside your make up bag and how much of it you actually use? I keep my make up inside a small see through yellow plastic tool box (with a lift out tray!) and when I did a clear out in January I was disgusted. I threw out three or four dried out mascaras, lip glosses which had gone solid and eye shadows which had definitely seen better days.

I was also astounded at the amount of useable eye shadows that were in multiples through similar colours from different brands. I had a few blues and purples which had never even been opened and swiped!

Clutter. Sparkly clutter.
I quickly dumped everything out on my bed, sorted out what I wanted to keep, and threw the unusable out. But this made me realise that I had filled my make up box with clutter. Cheap clutter. Really, I should have splashed out a few expensive, but basic, products and went cheap on “party” items. I’ll be honest, and have not as of yet done that, but I’m working through what I do have first before I part with my hard earned cash (and blow my student budget) on magazine cover worthy products.

The A-List.
But what are the items you should splash out on for that airbrushed-flawless-not-wearing-make-up look?

Foundation – this is the base of any make up look. While most teenagers and young adults do not need full-face heavy coverage from a foundation, it’s an important beauty item. With my teenage-young adult skin, I find that I only need a bit of liquid foundation down the sides of my nose/cheeks and chin to even out my skin tone.

Concealer – whether that be under –eye or –blemish concealer, it’s probably the most important product in your bag. Just a small touch of it over a blemish will have you looking flawless. Best applied with a brush to avoid transfer of bacteria which will certainly not help any blemishes.

Powder – it’s part of your base, of course you should splash out! A fine powder is a must-have, as it lies better on your face and helps to disguise any pores and imperfections which haven’t already been hidden by your foundation and concealer. Alternatively you could combine your foundation and powder and get a high quality mineral foundation.

The Z-List.
I find that interchangeable items are the ones which you shouldn’t be splashing the cash on. Interchangeable being things which you wouldn’t put on your face every day.

Eye shadow – a variety of colours are ideal. So don’t splash out on them! Instead get an eye lid primer (usually the cost of one expensive eye shadow) which will turn all of your eye wear into long lasting and intensely coloured eye shadows which look more expensive than they are.

Lip sticks/glosses – if you’re genuinely honest with yourself, how many of those “8 hour stay!” lip products actually work? And how often do you really put on more than a quick swipe of lip balm or a simple gloss? Hence, spend cheap on the colours. Especially with the hot lip colour constantly changing (one minute it’s red, the next coral!) and glosses getting more and more hightech with their lip pumping ingredients.

Blusher – this is one where I’d probably get a lot of disagreement on, but I’m going to stick with it. I buy cheap blush because I just don’t like a strong colour on my cheek. I’ve tried PosieTint and other expensive ones, but found that they’re really no better than the £6 pot I can get from Bourjois.

Grey scale.
Of course, there will always be a grey area in regards to things like mascara and eyeliner. Some say buy cheap, others will demand that you splash out. Me, personally? The best eyeliner I have ever used is a £5 GlimmerStick eyeliner from Avon and my current mascara is Dior Show Iconic. I splash out for mascara because I’ve found expensive brands work better for me. I go cheap on eyeliner because I genuinely have never found a better eyeliner.

So I implore you to have a proper look at your make up and figure out where you could upgrade or trim the excess.

What I’ve bought recently?

Frivolous.
It’s been exam time at my university, and with my last exam tomorrow I couldn’t be anymore ecstatic if I tried. Since I’ve been spending my time… studying (read that as watching copious amounts of Come Dine With Me) and doing not much else, I’ve not had time to go further than Tescos to buy myself anything. Except from the internet. Oh ho ho, you damn internet and your cheap and cute things.

Ride like the wind.

Buy it at HMV.com for £7 here.

I didn’t pay £7 for it, but something silly like £3.59 when it went down to £4 a few weeks ago. It was a boring a lonely Saturday night, and I was alone in halls. I had had a long day at work and was browsing HMV looking for something cheap and this was it. I really like Toy Story, so much (and I think the second one was better than the first) and the rumours of a third one being made for next year just makes me weak at the knees. Oooh.

A dash of lemon.

Do you spot the eBay camera logo? You’ve caught me. I bought these off of eBay mere moments ago (for less than £5, and of course I went through Quidco first). I’m planning on doing a lot of baking this summer while home for uni, and I’m sick of using an old mug for my measurements with American recipes. If it was see through it would be so much easier, but I digress. I thought I may as well get me some proper baking tools. And of course, they had to be fabulous. A fabulous hot pink definitely suffices. These cups are slightly smaller than what I’ve been using (250g for a cup, whereas these are 237g or so) but since there’s a cup for every size I could possibly need I’m not too worried.

A happy rain cloud or a happy cupcake?

Buy the t-shirt (men sizes only!) here for £12+P&P).

I have a YouTube account which I used to subscribe to channels. Mostly I subscribe to Vlog’s which aren’t really Vlogs… but are by people who live in the UK (and in some cases live extremely close to me!). One of them is Johnny Durham who makes me giggle. He also makes t-shirts which are a bit Threadless stylee – the cute funny ones which make me laugh, but I don’t want to order since postage is fairly expensive. I bought a size small, and I’m a 10-12 and find that it fits me well, with just the right enough of bagginess for comfort. I probably will never wear this out of the halls/flat/house, but if I was feeling lazy (or fat!) I might. I think I paid about £14 after postage and it arrived fairly quickly. And I got the matching bag. Mega cutes.

Now back to the notes for my exam tomorrow. Though I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue… the girl I live with just asked who the Osmond brothers were. Jesus. Christ.

The Best Fairy Cakes In The World.

See the full sized image by TheBleedingHeartBakery@flickr here.

One cup of…
While the above photo of those pretty cupcakes are not mine, I can still make a pretty mean one! My decorating skills are also not entirely up to scratch. As one who likes the finer things in life (to an extent), I enjoy the idea of team parties (though hate tea!). As such, I usually have my own version of tea parties with juice, fruit smoothies and cupcakes! They’re my speciality, and after trailing through the internet I found the perfect recipe (that with a few tweaks) that never fails to get me compliments.

What you will need.
I’m going to break this down into ingredients and tools for simplicity:

For the cake mixture:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter (approx 125ml when melted)
• 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of self raising flour
• 1 pinch of baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

The tool list:

• 1 measuring cup
• 1 microwave safe cup/jug
• 1 large mixing bowl
• 1 large bowl
• 1 small bowl
• 1 sieve
• 1 fork
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 cupcake baking tin
• Cupcake cases.

What you get.
The above ingredients will make approximately 18 standard sized little cupcakes. For the measuring cup, to go with the above recipe, should hold 250ml to ensure that the right quantities are used. I use cups for this recipe as I have as of yet to measure out the ingredients on scales, and it’s easier with the wet ingredients for this reason. Plus it’s more fun and makes me feel a bit Americanised!

What to do:

1. Preheat the over to 170-180'C before you start and gather together all of your ingredients and tools.
2. In your microwave safe jug (I borrow my flatmates Pyrex measuring jug) throw in a slab of butter and put in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, taking out and stirring to ensure that it doesn’t explode (leaves a greasy microwave). For baking, I buy the butter than comes wrapped in foil and cut off 1cm portions at a time.
3. While your butter is melting, measure out one cup of sugar and pour into the large mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and stir the two together.
4. Crack the egg into the small bowl and whisk up, ensuring the yolk is broken and mixed in.
5. Into your large bowl, sieve the two flours together and mix well, adding the pinch of baking powder.
6. In your cup pour in your milk and add the vanilla extract.
7. Using the dry-wet-dry method add the mixed flour and vanilla mix to the large mixing bowl, alternating to make sure the mixture become too dry or too wet. When finished the mixture should be a pale browny-yellow beige colour and pourable.
8. Put the cake cases into the cake tins. Fill the cases between half and two-thirds full, depending on how much of a dome you want to have.
9. Place in the heated over for 12 – 15 minutes, rotating half way through the time.

When the cakes are ready you should put them on a wire rack to cool… but I don’t have one so just leave them on a plate for half an hour or so. They have to be fully cooled before decorating or it’ll get messy.

I love baking.

Exams are not for the faint at heart.

The last one.
My last exam of first year is next Tuesday. It’s on my business law module, but it’s open folder so I’m not worried. I’m more worried about finishing my notes on time as I had originally thought it was on Thursday next week.

That’s the reason.
This is why there were no posts yesterday and probably won’t be any until about next Wednesday, maybe Tuesday afternoon.

The teachings.
Thus, the moral of this story is that no matter how much time you have (or think you have) or may have in the future you need to do exams and start preparing for them a bit more than a week in advance. Checking when it is would also be useful I imagine.

Packing, to pack, pack.

See full sized image by flint knits@Flickr here.

End of term.
It’s almost here for me, while for other people I know it’s already done and dusted. One more exam and I’m free for 105 days before having to repack everything and move back. But I’m more concerned with the packing that I’ve got to do… yesterday. I’ve not done it yet. I have another week before I’m taking almost everything home (then one more week being a minimalist) but I want to get everything packed soon so I can see if I need any more boxes (which I think I will). In hindsight, I brought far too many things with me to university, and though I’ve taken a lot of it home, in the past week I’ve managed to fill two holdalls and a large plastic storage box and my room still seems cluttered and full. I’ve definitely learned my lesson but we’ll see if it carries on to next year.

Going…
My real problem is I brought far too much to university with me in the first place – I have things here which I’ve never used or worn. When I tried to think ahead to what I would need I drastically overestimated and thus over packed. I really could’ve been a bit more minimalistic about it all and only brought:

• Clothes I like and wear – not everything that fits you in your wardrobe; if you haven’t worn it for 6 months prior throw it, donate it, leave it, whatever. Really you only need enough clothes to last you between washes – in my case I wash my clothes every week, week and a half so in theory only need 10 days worth of clothes, but a little bit of variety is nice.
• As above, but with shoes.
• Fancy clothes – eg. fancy dress. Bring one proper fancy dress outfit and also school stuff. Why do you need school stuff in university? Because there’s always a school themed night. Also so swimming/beach clothes – always a themed night.
• Accessories – only the ones you use/wear. I brought a load of scarves that I had collected over the past couple of years and I think I wore maybe two of them once each.
• Towels/bedding (if not supplied) – maybe two sets. Definitely not more – you only need a set to use and one for when your other ones are in the wash. And please, please, please, bring something to cover up with after a shower like a bath robe – I’m sick of seeing one of my flatmates half naked all the time, it’s not nice.
• Toiletries that I actually use. I brought all my make up with me, and even though I had a throw out of stuff that’s old or out of date I still have a lot that I don’t use.

I ended up with a lot of stuff sitting gathering dust (literally, this room is helluva dusty all the time) and not getting used, meaning I brought them for nothing. Of course everyone’s different – some people might actually wear everything they take.

Ding, fries are done.
Kitchen items though are something that I didn’t skimp on quantity of, and I’m glad of it now. I brought three plates, bowls, etc. and at least one of each has been broken or chipped badly. I’m glad my parents and I bought cheap in that respect, with each piece only costing £1 or £1.50 as some people look like they have some expensive items which would be a pain to replace if they were broken (which is extremely likely to happen in a student kitchen). I also bought cheap for pots and pans, as I figured that someone else might use them and burn them (which they did) or that they might go missing (which they have). The ones I do have left will just be thrown out at the end of the term and I’ll buy new, better quality, ones to replace them.
Alternatively, a lot of people now log on to social networking sites before they head off to university to see if they can make friends with people on their course before they go. I highly recommend this as I found a girl I would actually be living with during the year this way. If you’re lucky enough to do this, and manage to find a good chunk of the people you’re living with, you could agree before hand which kitchen items people are to bring so that you don’t end up with a million and four kettles and toasty makers.

That’s the home time bell.
I’m leaving university halls in less than two weeks now as I mentioned above. I did a little bit more packing between when I started writing this and today and now have almost everything that I’m taking home this weekend in one of many bags, though I’ll be making a few last minute additions on Friday (such as my own bedding, since it takes up so much space, and I’ll spend the last week using the bedding provided by the university). With my room now semi-empty and bags everywhere, I think I’ve definitely learned my lesson on what I should and shouldn’t take with me next semester. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to pack my toasty maker.

Link #1 - Charade

What. This is a blog that I began following recently after discovering it through another blog. The lovely Megan posts on a variety things, but ultimately tips and guides on life (as a student this is invaluable!).


Shop more, save more.

Internet shopaholic?

I used to be. Maybe not to extremes where I was spending hundreds of pounds a month, but definitely a good tens of pounds on things I just didn’t need. If I saw something I liked and I had a few spare pennies in the bank account I would have it. Though never really clothes, I think the TopShop logo is appropriate.

A new vice.

However, since starting university, I no longer spend my money on things I don’t need (read that as “not as often as I used to). My spare pennies from my student loan and job go on DVDs a lot now. Why? Well because HMV always have at least one I want that’s only a couple of pounds. Also I have my HMV student card loaded on to my online account so it takes a further 10% off the price of anything I want (including sale items!). My last unneeded DVD purchase? Toy Story 2 for £3.59 or so. I dread to think how much I have really spent on DVDs since September, especially during the time when Zavvi was in liquidation and they had some amazingly cheap items.

Spend, but save.
This post isn’t going to be about my extravagant tendencies however. No, this is about how to shop on the internet and save a bit more than you would on the high street (though postage costs need to be taken into a count and how lazy you are as well). When I shop on the internet now I have two port of calls to click on to before I actually part with my hard earned cash.

Visit HUKD here.

Deal anarchy from the masses.
hotUKdeals does not only deal with cheap tips and deals online and on the high street, though from the front page that it was it might appear as. It’s much more than that. It lists deals, yes, but it lists vouchers to use in store and online and freebies you can sign up for so you get a little smile when they finally arrive in the post.
It may now be obvious why I go here when I’ve found something I want to buy online – I like to search for vouchers to see if I can get some more money off, even if it is just a measly 5%. For example, Dorothy Perkins are doing free delivery, while HQHair are doing 15% off (subject to expiry as no date is listed). While both may only save a few pounds in the long run, it’s still worth it – it takes literally seconds to have a quick search using the voucher finder which is on the front page at the top right. The one time you don’t search may be the time when there’s an amazing voucher which you’re missing out on!

Visit Quidco here.

Cashback as you shop.
There’s a few of these “cashback” sites on the internet now, but I’ve been using Quidco for a good couple of years now. In fact, logging in to it now I can see that I’ve received £24.68 back since I started using it. The only draw backs with Quicdo is a £5 admin fee taken off your “earnings” every year – however they will not take anything until you have earned £5, and also the payment can take a couple of months to come in to your PayPal account (that does mean you get a nice surprise of a couple of pounds when you least expect it). I don’t shop online as much as I used to and so far this year have only earned £6.02, but for someone who shops online a lot (or is maybe buying Christmas presents online) this site could potentially save a lot of money. Some of the cashback rates are pretty high – though with some there is the catch of using a voucher results in a lower cashback rate.
HMV for example, have 5% rate of cashback on DVDs, so 5p for every £1 you spend, but if a voucher is used the rate drops to 1%, potentially creating a payment as low as 3p for me. I still go through them though as that 3p in better back in my pocket that theirs!
La Senza is another site I shop on often, especially when they have a sale since I have a small back, but large bust size and they cater for that. Their cashback rate is 12% and is not affected by any vouchers (though they usually only offer free delivery vouchers). The cashback rate is also not altered by sales items. 12p back for every £1 is pretty good though, since I spend about £30 in one go usually.
Even eBay can be accessed through Quidco with a cashback rate of 40% when you win an item, however the cashback is based on the revenue eBay makes for the sale, not the price you paid. I received 12p for something I bought which cost about £6, but hey 12p is 12p!

The rest.
There are of course many other internet sites that can help you make money off of your purchases, but I’m not familiar with them and would much rather stick with what I know. A popular forum for saving money, not just from internet shopping, is Money Save Expert, however I don’t like it very much – the front man of the site just annoys me and it’s full of people who are trying to get out of debt, which I am not.

And so.
With just a few clicks to other sites before you hit the checkout button, you can save yourself a few pounds, which may not seem like a lot, but will quickly add up to a new top or a night out on the town (at least it will on Student Night)!

Does anyone else have any tips they'd like to share?

Review: The Body Shop – Honey Moisturising Shampoo

Product page can be found here.

The spiel.
According to the Body Shop’s website this shampoo is:
”For Dry/Damaged/Chemically Treated Hair.
A rich, creamy, moisturising and gently cleansing shampoo that leaves the hair softer, more manageable and healthy-looking. With regular use it will help improve the condition of the hair over time.”
It’s available in three different sizes: a 60ml travel/trial size for £2.40; a 250ml size for £5.35; and a large 400ml size for £7.80. A matching conditioner is also available. Full ingredient list available on the product page.

The consideration.
”Perfect!” I thought. After six months of bleaching and highlights my hair was far from perfect condition for a princess. I had just re-coloured back to a dark rich chestnut brown (which, to be honest, suits me much more than blonde) and even through it I could feel the damage and the coarseness. I had been using a deep conditioner fairly regularly while going through bleaching, but nothing really can combat the damage. I decided that I would have to try and help my hair from all angles – shampoo, condition and heat defence. I chose this particular product because it sounded like it smelled amazing and was part of an offer at the time. I bought the 250ml size as you really need to use a product for about three weeks to get the full benefits and a 60ml bottle just wouldn’t have been enough for me as I have quite long hair.

The testing.
I wash my hair every day, as I cannot stand the feel of my hair being remotely greasy at all. I also have fairly thin hair so build up on it is extremely noticeable, especially to me. Why is this relevant to the actual use of the shampoo? Well, because the shampoo is a thick, opaque, white cream. When I first squeezed it out on to my hand I though I had picked up the conditioner in the shop instead of the shampoo. It’s also extremely difficult to work up into a lather in the hair – my hair has to be sopping and drenched before I can get any soapy bubbles.
Due to living in university halls, the water pressure in my shower varies greatly, but it’s never poor. I’d say it’s average for a non-power shower. Again, why the relevance? Well, because this shampoo is helluva a hard to rinse out. Even on the days where the water pressure was higher that usual, I still had to rinse for significantly longer than I would have with any other shampoo.
Even after significant rinsing, I found I still had quite a bit of shampoo residue in my hair when I finally dried it, and though this didn’t make my hair look dirty, per say, it felt a bit greasy to the touch. Now when I use it (because I’m a student who can’t afford to throw a full bottle of shampoo out) I only later it up in the length of my hair and give my scalp a good massage and scrub with my slightly soap hands to get it nice and clean.

The resulting opinion.
I don’t like it at all. My friend with thick, course, short hair also didn’t like it when she used it after a night staying over. It’s too thick and creamy for a shampoo, even a damage control one, it’s difficult to wash out and, if being honest, does not smell all that amazing – nice enough, but not amazing. If you’ve got thin hair that’s easily greased up, I would avoid this like the plague. I still have half a bottle of it to get through and I’m only using it every second day, substituting with some of the new Herbal Essences range to make sure my hair’s getting a decent clean and there’s not too much of a build up of product.

Out of:
Out of 10, with 10 being the highest and one the lowest, I would give this product a 2 (because it smells ok), maybe a 3 when the water pressure is really high.

Has anyone else tried this shampoo? What did you think?

Summer is on its way.

See full sized image by neloqua@Flickr here.

There’s no clouds.
Or at least there weren’t any earlier today. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the air was clear. Of course, being in the UK meant it was almost too windy (and thus too cold) to go outside, but that didn’t stop lots of the people on my university campus from braving the chance of being blown into the lake for a little bit of heat.

A high of 30 degrees.
Or so say the Met Office about this year’s British summer. We can only dream, hope and pray for it. But what should we do? When was the last time you can remember there being actual sun in the sky in the summer?

Survival Guide.
Here’s my advice for you for when the sun hits in June:

1. If you’re not a student, or you’re a student who has a job, phone in sick. Or be a good employee and book the day off work in advance.
2. Wake up relatively early, 9am at the latest, so that you can get the most out of the day. I don’t know how many times I’ve woken up late in the morning and seen the sun, only to emerge from the shower an hour later and it’s already overcast and dull.
3. Take a quick shower. After you dry off apply a suitable factored SPF to your skin to protect it. I will admit to being very un-fabulous and not using any unless I’m in Spain or Florida, but I’m sure I will be paying for it later. A good SPF will help avoid damage to your skin from the sun’s rays – wrinkles ladies!
4. Have a bite to eat and a large drink of something hydrating, preferably water, so you don’t overheat in the sun straight away.
5. Get your bits and bobs together to take out into the sun, whether it be into your own back garden or the local park. If you’re going on your own pack a book, your MP3 player, something to drink and another snack (possibly something to lie on as well). If you’re meeting up with friends pack some snacks, a drink or two, portable battery operated speakers for an MP3 player (if you have them) and a pack of cards.
6. Head out into the sun and enjoy!

The clothes on your back.
I panic the minute the first streams of sunlight hit my face through the blinds as I lie in bed. Not because I’m terribly pale and scared of ruining my Princess roses and cream complexion by burning; not because I don’t have anyone to enjoy the whether with; and certainly not because I prefer the cold and the miserable rain.
I panic because I don’t know what to wear! But really, once I’ve calmed down it’s easier enough, especially if you’re not going out there to impress anyone:
A little pair of denim hot pants – available anywhere and everywhere from TopShop to Tesco, from as little as £8 to as high as £50. The best pair I’ve ever bought were actually a quick impulse buy from Primark last year for £8. They’re getting a little baggy now though, but they lasted me well and have survive trips to the beach and nights out fine. I would never buy shorts in the higher price range – to me their just not worth it, but when I invest in a new pair I’ll probably hit up a pair that are about £15 to £20 for a bit better quality.
A teeny little vest top – again, you can get them everywhere, though I would avoid the lower priced shops for them as they’ll quickly stretch and become baggy and faded. TopShop vests are fairly good quality, but do tend to stretch a bit in the wash so buy a size down than normal for a perfect fit. The thickness in strap in a vest top might not seem important but if you plan on playing games with your friends or running about a lot, I would suggest a thicker strap to avoid the strap-down-the-shoulder-OMG-I can’t push-it-back-up.
A light, full sleeve, cardigan – remember we’re in Britain. The weather can change quicker than you can ladder your tights climbing on barbed wire. Your legs might still be chilly, but your arms will thank you and it makes a good make-shift rain cover as you run for the nearest shop should the heavens unexpectedly open.

Finally.
When summer finally does hit properly for you, whether it’s your holidays from uni or a long weekend from work, please enjoy it.

Does any one else have anything else they think is essential for summer preparation?

Introduction into the not so fabulous.

It's all a lie.

And that is what this blog is about. Being a lie. Sort of. Not actually being what I'm trying to be. Not actually being a Princess.

Who's lying?

Me, Marie. I'm a simple University student in the UK, approximately 18 years of age and studying a very boring financial subject. I would like to think of myself as somewhat of a Princess, but let's be honest. On a meager student budget (even if it is supplimented by the parents) it is simply not possible to be all that fabulous. But damnit, I will try!

And what it's about.

This blog is about how I try and strive to be simply fabulous (and what it's really like to be a young adult today!). I'll post about things I buy, reviews of various items and things, things I find pretty, inspirations I have and of course funny YouTube videos because everyone likes them. Really, it's just going to be a mash up of what's going on in my head.