Resolution- #Have a Little Haul

I don't know about you, but the more I tell myself I won't do something...the more difficult it becomes.

'Don't eat those cookies'...'what cookies?'...'the ones you just stuffed in to your mouth'

But sometimes, it pays to be a little bit naughty.

And so I had a little bit of a New Look haul.

I don't know if it seems like an 'obvious' choice but New Look is probably my favourite high street store. It's not over-priced and there's always some kind of sale going on.

These vest tees were two for £12 and I love them. I think they might be a little bit cool for a girl like me, but this is the year of Resolutions. The black one is v.Rihanna.

I like the slogan on this one :) I will only be wearing this when I have a proper holiday and post-holiday tan. Because right now my arms are the same shade as this. #PALEFAIL

Anyway, my justification for buying the tops (as if I needed one) was that they'd go perfec' with either one of these statement necklaces

Not sure if the offer's still on. but jewellery was buy one get one free when I excitedly pulled these off the stand and started salivating. At £5.99 , it meant they ended up costing less than £3 each. You couldn't even get that in Primark.

I'm loving the neon trend, so the bright yellow necklace seemed a good way to go. And I just loved the colour of the blue necklace. It didn't scream at me 'YES, YES YOU MUST HAVE ME' when I bought it. But getting it home and modelling it on myself (as I so marvellously do) I fell in love a little bit.

A bit of a boring one now- flats. I don't know, you might be a big pumps fan but I'm definitely a heels girl. Unfortunately when you're running around town or at work, that's not always an option. So I'm always on the look out for a pair of flats that can keep me on my toes. And for £3- can't go wrong with this pair.

Not entirely sure if I'd have paid the original price for these though

And finally, the piece d'resistance.

Every wardrobe needs a jacket like this, right?

I've been on the hunt for one that a) didn't accentuate my box-like features whilst b) not costing a bomb. And to be honest I didn't think it was going to happen.

So to get this for £11 was a treat. And it looks so much more expensive than it was.

It will literally go with so many pieces in my wardrobe, whether evening out or casual day.

Just can't wait for the weather to heat up now so I can actually wear it and ditch the ridiculous winter coat!

I'm sure you'll be seeing this in future outfit posts because I LOVE IT.

 

Resolution- #Lips on Any Budget

Although red is my staple, go-to colour, I wouldn't want to wear it every day. Sure Mac and other high-end lipsticks are some of my faves. But but a few and that's over £30. Which, when times are tough, just can't happen. Especially if, like me, you measure life in 'days before pay day' (NOTE- It's always too many)

Having a high-end piece of make-up feels great, but it's not always feasible.

So if you're just getting in to make-up or are maybe starting to pick up a few bits with your pocket money, or you're on a low budget, or the boss ain't paying you enough- there's no reason you can't look and feel fab. Here are my picks of the drugstore's bargain lipsticks-

From top left- Miss Sporty, Malage. NYC, Velvet Wine. VIVO, Wow Pink. Miss Sporty, I love.

I picked up the two Miss Sporty lipsticks on a whim, really. It was a rainy Saturday I was mooching around town with my parents. With a holiday to pay for, I'm really having to cut back. But sometimes you just have to have a treat, right? And also with a holiday on the way, that 'treat' couldn't be chocolate or a Costa muffin.

I was mulling over the different make-up stands, swatching, as you do, when I came across these. And for £1.59 a pop (I think they have now gone back to £2 or so) I couldn't go wrong.

The two of them together cost less than my coffee at Costa.

Not only are they cheap, the colour pay-off is great. They smell like holiday and they have a nice sheen.

'Malaga' looks a little more orange in the photo than it is, but it is a bright red.

 

Next up- NYC Velvet Wine. These lipstick retail for around £1.70 (how ridic). I mean, I don't want to know what they're made out of but for the price, you can't go wrong.

I know the brand has had a little bit of a change recently with a new line of lipsticks, so I'm not sure how readily-available these are.

But if you're looking for a deep wine colour, especially for A/W, that you don't want to wear every day, this is a good option

VIVO- Wow Pink. Now, this says it's a 'matte' and I've got to be honest, it's not really. Yes, compared to these other budget lipsticks, it is (apart from maybe NYC Velvet Wine)- but for £1, it's a STEAL.

I have a lot of pink lipsticks, and some v.bright ones at that, so to me, this isn't the most 'Wow Pink'- but if you don't have anything like this, it's a great place to start. It is slightly drying, so dab on some balm every now and again and definitely wear a lipliner for long-lasting colour.

On that note, if you're also starting out with lip liners- check out Natural Collection in Boots.

And of course, every body's favourite budget beauty brand- MUA. My favourite is this peachy, 60s colour, called Nectar. Personally, it's not something I'd wear every day. And so to only pay £1 for such a pretty colour is a bit good really, isn't it?

 

 

Resolution- #Work the Colour

SOMEONE, ban me from Boots.

Or, at the very least, drag me away from the Rimmel counter.

Because I. Just. Can't. Stop buying their nail colours.

Quite frankly, I'm peeved at the fact it's still freezing outside. WHERE IS SPRING?! WHERE IS THE CHANCE TO CRACK OUT THE NEW TRENDS WITHOUT HIDING IT ALL UNDER A MASSIVE COAT FOR FEAR OF GETTING HYPOTHERMIA?!

*sigh* well, I suppose these bright colours make it (somewhat) better.

Aside from the colour, I think these are a bit of a bargain given the quality of the product. And even more so now they're 3 for 2 at Boots.

I don't know what it is about me and my nails, but polishes don't tend to last very long on me. Even the more expensive ones in my collection will chip after a day.

These last. I mean, not for you know, 1,000 days or anything, but we're talking at least four before I need to touch up.

Azure is probably the colour I didn't expect to like so much. This kind of shiny blue reminded me of something I'd wear when I was 12 and thought a waistcoat with combat trousers was the bomb.
But then I saw it in one of essiebutton's vids and I was like, I need that in my life.


I mean, realistically, I need a new nail polish like a need a hole in the head, but you get what I mean.

My faves at the moment are Coral Romance, Sun Downer and Blue Eyed Girl

 

Sun Downer is a little bit too daring for my pale-ness right now, but when I come back from my holiday in March and I'm all, you know, fabulous and glowing (high expectations, Sam, high expectations)- this will look BOSS.
...I don't know why I just used a Tulisa word. What's happening to me?!

 

 

And for anyone who cares (just me then) at the moment I'm wearing Ready, Aim, Paint!