Barry M Royal Collection - Countess

Barry M Royal Textured Glitter Polish - Countess

I haven't swatched any nail varnish for ages and probably wouldn't usually dedicate a whole post to one single polish. However, this Barry M nail varnish deserves it.

This shade is 'Countess' from the current 'Royal Collection' of textured/glitter nail varnishes. It's the perfect purple shade with highlights of gold and lowlights of deep purple and browns. Purple is the most common shade in my nail varnish collection, so I really don't need any more, but I just couldn't resist picking this up! The swatches on my nails are awful in these pictures, but hopefully you can see some of the colours coming through from the bottle. 

The application of this polish is amazingly smooth and easy to keep neat, sometimes I find glitter is hard to keep neat around the edges, but this is no problem. The glitter pieces in the polish are very fine, almost halfway between a shimmer and a glitter. One coat was so very close to being opaque, but two coats really gives the full effect of the polish. A topcoat really improved the shine of this polish and showed the true variety of tones too. Surprisingly, it wasn't even that hard to remove either! I usually avoid glitter (because I'm lazy), but this came off without too much trouble. 

Have you tried any of the Barry M Royal Collection? What do you think? 

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Polka dot unicorn

Dress: Motel (only £20!) // Boots: Topshop (old) // Gemma Correll iPhone case: Iconemesis*

I think something happened to the settings on my camera when these were taken because I'm looking even paler than normal, to the point where it looks like I'm not wearing makeup either! 

My family had an early Christmas day this weekend, as we're not going to be together for the real thing. My parents, brother, nan, aunties and uncle, cousins and even my cousin's Old English Sheepdog, Humphrey came round for a massive lunchtime buffet, compete with full turkey and joint of ham. My mom loves to go all out on a buffet haha. I wore this Motel Rocks dress for the day, it's so good to wear for a big foodie day as it's so loose fitting! I love the dropped waist, it's a bit different to the usual skater style dresses I wear. It's only £20 on the Motel website at the moment too, down from £38! It was lovely to catch up with family, I won't see some of them now until May 2014! We're doing the same with Josh's family this weekend, then the weekend after that we leave, eek!

I was very kindly sent this cute Gemma Correll unicorn phone case* from Iconemesis this week, I debated choosing one of their beautiful designs that are slightly more elegant and grown up but then I was like naaah I'm getting a unicorn. I've never really been one for understated phone cases, I previously had a massive rubber hello kitty case, so this suits me down to the ground :) It's such a cute design and will be great to protect my phone while I'm out on the slopes!

Have your family started thinking about celebrating Christmas yet? What's on your phone at the moment?

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Dogtooth check

Cami: Oh My Love // Leggings: Fashion Union // Boots: Barratts // Beanie: Topshop (old)

This might be one of my last few outfit photos that doesn't involve snow... but then again we have still got a couple of weeks to go so I might have time to squeeze a few more in! 

I love these Fashion Union leggings, they're the perfect print, quality and style. You can't see because of my top but they're actually quite high waisted and sit just above the top of my hips which makes them such a flattering shape! They also have cute little leather pocket details, which again you can't see because of my top, oops. I wore this down to Southampton this weekend, for a birthday meal and fireworks display on the docks - but I added a cardi, coat and massive scarf too. 

I have now officially finished work! It's all very exciting and I'm going to enjoy the lie-ins but it's kind of sad at the same time. Definitely going to miss everyone I worked with there, but we'll stay in touch I'm sure :) we're all always on either Twitter, blogs, Instagram or Whatsapp so there's no escaping each other! I had a lovely card, lunch and gifts from everyone, so it was a really nice few days to end my time there. I'm going to miss chatting with so many bloggers and brands at work too, met so many lovely people even if it was just mostly through email! It's the end of a big chapter of my life, but I'm really excited to move on and see some other parts of the world.

Josh and I are really starting to pack up now, we're moving some of our belongings into storage for the time we're away, so everything's getting boxed up! We have a last few things to buy for family Christmas presents and stuff to take with us, so tomorrow we're off on a big shopping mission. Then fake Jones Christmas is on the 16th, fake Kinnersley Christmas is on the 23rd then the following weekend we fly - eek!

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#AxParty

This time last week, I was running around Proud Cabaret adding the finishing touches to the AX Paris blogger party before guests started arriving. It was a pretty tense couple of hours before the event kicked off, making sure that everything and everyone was in place and that all the guests were going to have an awesome time.

The event was held at Proud City Cabaret, near Tower Hill. A burlesque club where every element perfectly fits the theme; from the decor, to the staff, to the entertainment and cocktails. AX Paris wanted an event to showcase their Christmas advert, new clothing collection and to mingle with some of their favourite bloggers and affiliates.

The guests were plied with plenty of cocktails and canapes on arrival, plus there was also a pick'n'mix stand for a little trip down memory lane. The evening was hosted by Proud's amazing compare, he introduced each act, interacted with the crowd and performed a few songs of his own. He had an awesome voice! We were then treated to some performances from the beautiful burlesque ladies, I had never seen any burlesque before so wasn't really sure what to expect, but I loved it! There's quite a lot of nakedness but it's not cringey at all, it's all very classy haha. Some of the performers used fire and knives to spice their performances up, like they needed any more! Ax Paris then featured some of their new collection in a catwalk show, with bloggers wearing their pieces and Jade Thompson - winner of BINTM - introducing the collection!

I had so much fun on the evening of the event, I chatted with so many of my favourite bloggers - some I had previously met and some I hadn't! It was great to catch up with Leigh, Clare, Law, Steph, Megan, Paige, Michelle, Amy and then finally meet Claire, Lauren, Amy, Emma, Islay, Kavita, Wioletta, Olivia, Leanne and Rhea! This list got pretty unexpectedly long and there's still people I haven't included ahh! Apologies if I have missed you off, it's not intentional I promise.

This was the last event I will arrange and host while working at etailPR with Kim :( I only have just over one week left at work now! I feel pretty sad when I think back at some of the amazing opportunities I've had, but then I'm also so excited to leave and start some new adventures!

If you'd like to see some more photos from the night, you can check out the #AxParty hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, or you can see the photos on the etailPR Facebook page here and here. I hope everyone had a great time if you attended, we've loved reading everyone's posts at work! x

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I've counted to 10 and I'm feeling alright,

Jacket: Urban Outfitters // Jumper: H&M // Jeans: Topshop (leigh jeans) // Boots: Shoe Zone*

This is a very casual weekend outfit, typical of a visit to my parents house - where these photos were taken. I had a pair of these pink boots when I was really little and I remember loving them. There's a photo of me aged about 3 or 4, bouncing on a picnic table in a navy/nautical inspired outfit with my pink builder boots on. When I saw these boots in a Shoe Zone press release I was recently sent, I couldn't help but pick them out for an outfit post! These boots are going to be great for stomping around in winter, my shoe collection is not really very winter friendly at the moment, so I really need to get my hands on more boots and shoes that aren't going to leak or soak up water. My ballet pumps all have a habit of doing that.

Thank you for everyone's lovely comments and tweets about my last post and leaving for Switzerland, it's made me really excited! I really want to write a first post on our ski season blog, but I don't know where to start. How on earth I wrote my first post on this blog, I'll never know. Josh and I are starting to get all our stuff together now, buying all our equipment, selling our old junk, getting ready to move out of our flat and planning to visit friends and family all around the country before we leave. It's going to take a lot of planning and organisation but we're starting to get on top of things ready to go :) how exciting! x

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Life update: I'm going to work a ski season!

So, yesterday was a pretty big day. I handed in my notice at my job of a year and three quarters, as I'm going to be leaving the country at the end of November to work in a ski resort in Switzerland! I'm lucky enough that my lovely boyfriend is also willing to pause his career, sell his company and move with me.

There's going to be no more 'Kim and Emily' at etailPR, which makes me really sad and I'm going to miss everyone there so much. But this is a massive chance for me to do something that I've wanted to do since I was little, so I need to make the most of it! I'm going to be out there for five months and hopefully snowboarding almost every day, which is going to be amazing - I can't wait! I've been lucky enough to have some amazing career opportunities for my age, as well as have a very steep learning curve since leaving uni, but now it's time to do some travelling.

I'm hoping to keep this blog going as much as I can, but it might not be exactly the same. There's only so many outfits you can wear in the snow! Of course I have also set up a separate ski season blog for myself and Josh, so if you would like to keep up with our lives while we're there then please give us a follow :) There aren't currently any posts, but hopefully we'll have something on there soon! I hope you guys will stick with me while I'm there, it's going to be pretty strange moving to a completely new country - but I'm already counting down the days :)  

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Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids

Plaid shirt: H&M // Skirt: Topshop // Rocket Dog Satire Western boots: Barratts*

Wearing this plaid shirt and western boots together did make me feel a little bit like a cowgirl, but then I was going round to a friends for a fajita night so it was pretty fitting I think? I recently bought this shirt from H&M and it's a really good length so can be worn with jeans, leggings or a skirt - I love a good multi-use item! It's my first dive into the whole tartan/plaid trend so far, but I think I'm definitely going to be trying more. I've got my eye on a pair of River Island red tartan leggings, I'm just worried about what shoes and jacket I'd wear with them!

These Rocket Dog boots are so comfy, they have a rubber base to the heels so when you walk you kind of bounce rather than clip-clop along... it's great (I'm easily pleased)! It's also good to have an alternative to my trusty Topshop boots, featured in most of my dress/skirt outfit posts, which are starting to get a bit tatty now. I've worn them in too many grubby bars and clubs, they need a bit of a clean! I love how ankle boots can be dressed down with jeans or daytime and worn with dresses and skirts for a slightly dressier look. This Rocket Dog pair is no exception, with a little nod to the cowboy style. 

It's nearly Friday guys, the working week is nearly over! I'm off to Southampton tomorrow evening after work, to meet up with some of Josh's friends and then go to his sister's engagement party on Saturday night. It's so exciting that they're engaged! :) What are you up to this weekend? x

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Black and gold

Black cami: Oh My Love // Leggings: Missguided // Boots: Topshop

Kim and I popped to London for work last week, but of course we had to take a few outfit photos while we were there. We both ended up wearing our new Oh My Love purchases by chance, so we have a couple of matchy matchy posts on our hands - same backdrop and same brand - check out Kim's here :)

I love the shape of this cami, it's so flattering to wear with jeans or leggings. It's just the right length and it skims over any bits you're not too keen on! I love the back too, as we were there for work I thought it was more appropriate to wear a little vest underneath, but you can just wear it without too. I do always have issues with low backed tops though, what do you do about bra straps?! I always try and find a nude strap, or a backless one if I'm going somewhere dressy. 

I'm currently at my parents house this weekend, but I'm hopefully going to rope my mom into taking some outfit photos for me, let's see how that goes! Also, Glastonbury tickets will have gone on sale this morning (it's currently Thursday while I'm writing this), oh my gosh so excited. I could either be wallowing in self pity or could be the happiest person ever when this goes live. Josh and I didn't get tickets last year despite our best efforts, so fingers crossed for this year! Check my twitter if you want to know the outcome.

What are you up to this weekend? I've got a few things listed on ebay at the moment, ending later this afternoon! There's loads of Topshop, Republic, Glamorous and more - size 10 - 12! Click here if you'd like to take a look.

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Atticus giveaway

All items from Atticus - Pale Eyes Shirt, Sweet Jesus Tee, Bad Things Cold Shoulder Crew.

I featured Atticus on my blog a while ago, I actually have the Pale Eyes Shirt and I love it! Atticus are making a comeback with their women's clothing, I've got my eye on the jumper with the shoulder cut-outs above, it would be perfect for Autumn, when it's not quite cold enough to wear a massive knit but you need something to keep you covered! I also love a good graphic tee, they're so easy to wear with jeans or leggings. I can't say from experience but this Atticus tee looks like it would be a great shape too, the rolled sleeves are always flattering on women's tees.

You can win £200 to spend at Atticus through the app below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bloggers, you also have to chance to win an additional £200 to spend across both women's and men's wear on the site by writing a short post like this! To find out how you can enter just click here. You only have until 10am tomorrow (3rd Oct) to enter, so be quick! :) x

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Hi-Tec St Anton snow boots - initial thoughts

Hi-Tec St. Anton 200 Waterproof Boots*

You might not know, but I love snowboarding. I try and go out to a resort on holiday almost every year, I'd definitely say it's my favourite type of holiday. Yes, I do love going somewhere warm and drinking cocktails by the beach, but I absolutely love flying down a mountain on a board and ending up in a bar at the bottom of the slope. 

When I was given the chance to review these Hi-Tec boots, I knew that I'd definitely be able to put them to the test fully. I'm already dreaming of snow, now that we're getting closer to the cold season, so I can't wait to try these out properly! For now, I'm just going to run through my initial impressions and thoughts.

The boots feel exceptionally sturdy, yet they're still light-weight which is great for plodding through the snow. The soles feel like they'll provide amazing grip on snow and ice, with loads of ridges and bumps for traction. The laces across the top of the foot and the ankle really pull the boot in too, which is good for people with shallow feet like me, your foot is kept completely secure inside the boot. The inside sole of the boot is really cushioned and lined with soft material, my feet will definitely be kept toasty warm with that! For snow boots, these are also really good looking boots. They might look out of place in some of the normal outfits I post on here, but with my snow jacket and warm jeans they'll really look the part. I love the look of the fur up the front of the boots, it gives them a definite winter fashion feel!

Overall, I think these boots are going to really stand up to use in a ski resort and I can't wait to test them out properly. Another post will be coming up, once I've had chance to test these in the snow :)

Have you ever tried skiing or snowboarding? Are you starting to think about winter wear yet? x 

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Oh My Leopard

Leopard top: Oh My Love // Bandeau: H&M // Jeans: Topshop // Shoes: Primark

Oh god I haven't looked at these photos in a while, I really look as rough as I felt that day ha! Ignoring the deathly pale, uninterested face, this is the outfit I wore to the Cheltenham blogger meet up a couple of weeks ago.

You can see one of my bird tattoos, Bert, poking out the back too - I have a couple and he's my favourite :) I'm not sure if I've actually shown them on here before! The weather's been so temperamental the past couple of weeks, this day was pretty warm and sunny, then it went cold again but now it's back sunny again! I just don't know what kind of outfit to put on in the morning, you never know how the day's going to turn out.

I've had a weird few weeks really, hence the lack of posts. Josh has been away DJing at freshers events across the country - if you went to some kind of headphone/silent disco at your uni then it was most likely him DJing. While I'm missing him, I usually get lots of blogging done, however I've been busy and out and about so not much has happened really. I did join a gym while he's been away, I've only been once so far but that's a good start ha.

This has turned into a big of a jumbled update really, sometimes I feel like there's so much going on in life it's hard to decide what to share on here and what not to. What have you been up to the last couple of weeks? x

I have also listed loads of Topshop, Glamorous, Republic and Primark items on ebay! Take a look here, all 99p start prices! :)

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Cheltenham blogger meet at The Curious Cafe

Last weekend, I met up with some lovely local bloggers at the Cheltenham Blogger Meet - organised by Alex from Bambella. We met up at The Curious Cafe, one of my favourite places to meet for a cup of tea or brunch in Cheltenham. It's a small cafe inside, however out the back there is a beautiful garden with loads of climbing plants and vines covering trellises - we were lucky enough to just catch the end of the summer weather, so we were able to sit outside for our meet.

I was suffering with a massive cold (it was pretty much man-flu), so unfortunately I only stayed for a quick cup of lemon and ginger tea and a bite to eat, then left the other girls to wonder round the massive array of charity shops around the cafe, while I headed home. Prairie Charms provided a little gift for each blogger at the meet, I received this really cute plaited material bracelet plus a super sparkly bow. 

I had a really fun lunch out, despite feeling really rough and it was great to meet some bloggers from the local area. Make sure you check out their blogs below :)

Caz - Caz 'n' Polish

Hattie - Project Rattlebag

Selina - Miss Fashion 1994

Roxanne - Lolly Lou

Do you know many bloggers from your local area? x

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Hey, Keds!

Shirt: Atticus // Leggings: Missguided // Trainers: Keds (available in Schuh stores)*

I'm usually a Vans girl, but to be honest I can't really resist any kind of trainers! These Keds are so comfy and easy to slip on with a pair of jeans, leggings or even a cute little dress. Sometimes I do feel a bit like Lily Allen, what with my habit of wearing trainers with anything and everything. I also recently bought these leather-look panel leggings, I used to have a similar pair from H&M but I tumble-dried them and they melted together, oops. So I was very glad to see this pair at a bargain price on Missguided! 

Believe it or not, but this is an Atticus shirt. I wouldn't have normally thought to turn to Atticus for women's clothes as I remember it being loads of guy's band t-shirts (which my slightly emo, 15 year old, self loved), but they've just launched a new website and it looks like they're going to be branching out into more on-trend womenswear in the near future! I love the way even the shirt buttons have the trademark Atticus bird printed on them, the little details of this shirt are awesome! I teamed it with an under the collar spike necklace - I feel shirt collars and statement necklaces just go together so well.

I have been ill and busy so far this week, hence the lack of posts recently! I came down with a stinking cold last Thursday and it took until Monday for it to start to disappear (there's still the slight remains of it left though, gross), then Monday and Tuesday nights I had dinner out with friends - we went to Yo Sushi yesterday, a new one has opened in our town so it obviously needed testing and it was pretty good to say the least! :)

What have you been up to this week? Are you a trainer-kinda-girl and how do you style shirts? x

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Night in or night out?

Bunny PJ Set // Fairisle Slipper Boots // Cat Socks // Palmers Face Mask

September is here and in my mind, that means summer's over. I think it's just down to a large portion of my life so far being spent in education, when September equals the sad end of the summer holidays, despite having finished uni over a year ago now! Anyway winter will soon be on the way and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm looking forward to some nights tucked up on the sofa with the duvet, good friends and a film!

I love a good night out, but what I don't like is being cold, rained on and miserable before even getting to a club! Ladbrokes have found that an average of 70% of UK women prefer a girl's night in to a big night out and sometimes I can totally agree with that. About 60% of the ladies taking part in the survey agreed with me about being caught in the rain on the way to a club too! It definitely puts a dampener on your night ;) ha, sorry. 

How you do feel about winter nights out? Would you rather be on your sofa, watching a film with the girls? And how cute are those bunny PJs?! x    

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Paisley kimono & cut-out boots

// Kimono: Missguided // Jeans & socks: Topshop // Boots: Linzi Shoes* // Vest: Primark //
// Necklace: The Bohemian Collective //

So I've gone and bought into the whole kimono trend. I've been on the look out for one for ages and finally found this one in the perfect colour-way for my black/grey orientated wardrobe (I really need to start branching out)! I love the paisley print, I'm hoping that it will go just as well over black smock and skater dresses as it does dressed down with jeans and a vest!

And how cute are these cut-out boots from Linzi Shoes? The heel is the perfect height - they're so comfy! I'm looking forward to wearing them with all different types of socks, mainly lacy and bright colours, just to give a little pop of colour and interest to an outfit.

How would you style a kimono, casual or dressy? Any recommendations of socks to wear with my new cut-out boots? 

On a more personal note, I got back from Creamfields this week and I'm having major festival blues :( I realised that it was my last festival this season and it makes me sad! I need to plan some other things to look forward to before Christmas.

Did you see, I launched a giveaway this week - you could win a beauty and hair product bundle! Including Macadamia Oil hair masks, OSiS 'Dust It' powder, John Frieda volume spray and more!

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Hair and beauty giveaway!

I've been collecting up some products over the last couple of weeks to use for a mini giveaway - there's no real reason behind this giveaway, I just felt like giving something away to thank everyone who reads my little old blog!

One person will win:

- 1 x John Frieda Luxurious Volume blow dry spray

- 1 x Little White Lie tanning lotion (lighter)

- 1 x OSiS+ 'Dust It' texture powder

- 3 x Hask hair treatment oils

- 3 x Hask hair treatment sachets

- 1 x Nail Art nail stickers

- 1 x Neal and Wolf shampoo and conditioner sachets

- 2 x Macadamia Oil deep repair masques

- 1 x Halo eye makeup remover wipes

Terms and conditions:

UK entrants only.

Giveaway ends midnight on Sunday 1st September and winner will be contacted and announced within 24 hours.
All items are brand new. Prize cannot be exchanged for alternative.

Entry through the Rafflecopter form below.

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Some items in this post have been provided by PR companies

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Raining (cats &) dogs

Clear mac: Miss Luxe* // Vest: Primark // Leigh jeans: Topshop // Wellies: Primark (last year)

As I'm at Creamfields this weekend, I thought it was only fitting that I showed you this amazing mac from Miss Luxe. It's made from a clear plastic, covered in a tiny dog print. I'm no dog expert but I think it might even be a French Bulldog?! Anyway, the forecast says there's meant to be rain (hopefully not too much) so this mac will be coming in pretty handy I think!

I think it looks best over simple outfits, so I've packed some vests, shorts and plain dresses for this to go over the top of. Because it's made from plastic I imagine it's going to be pretty warm and sweaty inside, perfect for in a dance music tent ha... mmmm.

I love my wellies, too. I bought them from Primark last year believe it or not... they haven't even leaked yet either! You can't see from these pictures (maybe due to the residual mud from my last few festivals) but they're leopard print with multicoloured glitter throughout the plastic coating - classy or what!?

Is anyone else at Creamfields this weekend? I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend! :) x

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