Suede

So Revlon gripped us all with their Lip Butters and then with the Kissable Balm Stains too, now I've got my eye on their ColourStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick.

The colour range is gorgeous. The image above is pulled from their website but I believe they have more of a range out in the shops. I've got my eye on the 'Flashing Lights' shade, not completely sure if orange will suit me but I'm sure we'll find out! I'm thinking of popping to Boots tomorrow morning to pick up a couple of shades. I do not need any more lip colours... but any excuse!

Luxe

Satchel - Miss Luxe*

The satchel craze has been around for a while now and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon! I've had variations of satchels before, but never something as classic a shape as this so I'm glad to be on the classic satchel bandwagon finally.

I love the gold detailing on the satchel, gold is my favourite metal for jewellery so gold hardware on a bag is always a big yes from me! The frilled edge of the satchel is a great little detail, that makes the plain black material a little bit more girly.

The satchel is the perfect size for everyday use. My current work bag is quite big and I tend to carry round all sorts of rubbish, so smaller bags are great to force you to cut down on clutter! This satchel is also available in a coral red colour.

Miss Luxe are offering a 20% discount to my readers, so go ahead and pick up a bargain! Just use the code launch20 - valid until 10th June!

What do you think about satchels? Have you got one? x

Have you entered my giveaway to win a one-of-a-kind Warehouse denim jacket yet?

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Roasted pepper & tomato puff pastry tart

I made this for myself and Josh, for dinner, the other night and I didn't intend to blog about it initially. However, when I got it out the oven and it looked pretty (as pretty as a tart can look...) I couldn't resist taking some photos and making up a little post.

This was such an easy meal to make. I took some pre-rolled puff pastry (I went for the 'light' version to make it a little healthier) and laid it out onto a baking tray. I then scored a square around the pastry, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Don't cut all the way through, just about half way through the layers of pastry. Pop this in the oven for about 10 mins.

After 10 mins are up, get the plain pastry out the oven. You need to squash down the center part of pastry so you can fit your filling in! Spread some pesto over the base of your tart, then add thinly sliced peppers, tomatoes, black pepper and a few dots of cheese onto the pastry and pop it back into the oven. Bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the peppers and tomatoes are softened and the cheese has melted.

I served this with garlic and herb new potatoes and a side salad. It was really tasty and really simple to make! I took some leftovers into work the next day and it was really nice to eat cold too - it's kinda like a pizza!

I'd love to know if you decide to make this, let me know what you think! :) x

Have you entered my giveaway to win a one-of-a-kind Warehouse denim jacket yet?

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Branching out...

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

I need to broaden my skirt horizons before summer properly hits, so I thought I'd write about a couple which are currently on my wishlist. My go-to skirt has most recently been my trusty black skater skirt, which has seen a lot of wear and goes with pretty much everything! The items above are much brighter and more summery - so we just need the weather to cheer up now!

Pink & Sparkly

I think this is the girliest design I've ever had on my nails! I'm not usually one to go for a baby pink shade on my nails, but I though it would suit this iridescent Barry M polish perfectly!

Despite looking pink in the bottle, the base of the nail varnish is actually pretty clear once on the nail, so I'm looking forward to trying this over the top of other colours too. It's going to be great if the sun ever comes out again this summer... It was also really hard to get a photo of the shimmer created by the varnish, it shimmers in loads of different colours which is impossible to pick up on camera!

Quite a boring nail design but there we go :) sometimes you just need a quick and simple colour combo to brighten up your nails! What's your go-to simple nail design? x

Have you entered my giveaway yet? You could win a one of a kind Warehouse denim jacket! :)

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Giveaway - Warehouse Denim Jacket

Warehouse have customised one of their classic denim jackets with copper studded detail, to create a one-of-a-kind piece. They have kindly allowed me to give this unique item to one of my followers! It would be the perfect summer jacket, I would personally roll up the sleeves slightly and wear with a white babydoll style dress and sandals! You can see more details on the original jacket (without the customisation) here.

This jacket is a UK size 12, but I would guess that it would be likely to fit a size 10 - 14 too. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to my UK readers.

The rules are simple, you just need to be a follower of my blog and then let me know through the Rafflecopter app below! Good luck! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions -

The winner's name and address will be passed to Warehouse, who will be dispatching the prize.

The giveaway is open to UK residents only.

Warehouse will be responsible for the shipping of the prize, I cannot be held responsible for loss or damage in the post.

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Dreaming of white sand and blue seas...

cover up // bikini top // jelly shoes // sunglasses // bikini bottoms

This miserable May weather is starting to make me dream of exotic beach holidays, far far away. Sadly, I haven't got a holiday booked until mid August, so I've got a bit of a while to wait. And even then we're staying in a town about 30 mins away from the beach so it's not exactly going to be a completely beach-based holiday, but it'll still be nice anyway! :)

I love this white cover up/t-shirt dress, I'm really pale and burn easily so I always need something light to put on at the beach. The shoulder cut-outs are cute, but you'd definitely need to remember to keep them covered in suncream to stop weird looking tan (or in my case, burn) lines. 

The style of this bikini set kind of gives off a slightly vintage, 50's feel. I think it's mainly the halterneck top and floral design. Padded swimwear is always a good choice too, giving you that bit of extra support and shape, the structure makes you feel much less likely to ping out haha.

Are you heading off to a beach holiday this summer? What will be your essential beach pieces?

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*sponsored

Top tricks for decorating your room without spending a fortune

Sometimes we all need a change in our lives. Whether it’s a new pair of shoes or a change in surroundings, it’s always good to mix things up. Take your bedroom for instance, really small changes can make the world of difference, but if you like to change things often it’s important to do this without blowing your budget.

Here's a few of my most wanted homeware pieces at the moment -

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

The Great Gatsby wishlist

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

I am very excited to be seeing The Great Gatsby this week, tomorrow actually! I love the era the film is set in, I've always had a fascination with the fashion and style from the '20s, so I'm really hoping I'm impressed.

I've noticed an increase of 1920's inspired fashion around at the moment, probably influenced by the release of this film, so decided to feature a quick wishlist on the trend. It's not exactly an extensive wishlist, as it's only four pieces and they're all from Miss Selfridge haha, great. I just got too over excited on their website and they seem to have got the trend pretty covered! I might create another more extensive wishlist or outfit inspiration after I've actually seen the film, so that might be more accurate :)

The beading and feather details featured above are standout themes from 1920's fashion, they're so delicate and add so much glamour to clothes! I really love the playsuit on the far right, but I think I'm too messy and would definitely spill something down that!

Have you seen The Great Gatsby? What do you think of 1920's style? x

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Contrast

Contrast sleeve dress: She Likes*// socks: Topshop // Vans: Office // Necklace: The Bohemian Collective*

Please excuse my hair and facial expressions in these photos, it was very windy and cold outside and not very enjoyable! I love the contrasting sleeves on this She Likes dress, the main body of the dress is a soft jersey material but the sleeves are a leather effect fabric. It's only a simple design but it does make an outfit that little bit more interesting. I'm also getting a lot of wear out of this lovely Bohemian Collection necklace, it's such a simple yet interesting piece of jewellery. It's great with plain dresses and jumpers, adding detail to higher necked pieces of clothing. I definitely recommend checking the website out, there's some lovely jewellery and loads of above knuckle rings too!

I feel a bit like Lily Allen at the moment, I can't stop wearing dresses and trainers. Trainers (especially Vans) are just so comfy and once you've started wearing them you can't stop :(! I do try and girlie them up a bit with frilly socks though, so hopefully it's not too bad.

I'm heading over to Southampton this weekend, to visit Josh's sister and her boyfriend. I'm really looking forward to it, the're having a Eurovision party which will be loads of fun and I'm also way too excited to visit Turtle Bay! Turtle Bay is an amazing Caribbean restaurant which we aren't lucky enough to have in our town, so we always make the most of it when we're visiting. They also do amazing cocktails <3

Enough about my plans, what is everyone else up to this weekend? x

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I also have a blog sale on!

I wish I was a mermaid..

... So I could wear bras like this on their own, all day long and not get any funny looks.

I first spotted this brand on Sammy's blog and instantly fell in love. These bras are made by Luna Belle Attire who create custom bras and accessories. These are just too pretty to cover up, I wish I had the guts to wear one of these alone - they'd be great for festivals! 

Despite being custom and handmade, Luna Belle's prices are actually really reasonable. They're between £30 and £40 for your own unique piece of underwear which I think is a pretty good deal!

Would you be brave enough to wear one of these? How would you style it? x

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I also have a blog sale on!

Blog sale!

I'm having a bit of a clear out so thought I would do a blog sale rather than go straight to eBay. There's loads of Glamorous, Topshop, Motel, Oh My Love clothes and there's also some jewellery, hair products, homeware items and some makeup bits too :). I feel like everything's really reasonably priced so I hope you can find a bargain!

Click here to go to my blog sale page!

If you have any questions then please comment or email me (emmerliejay@hotmail.co.uk) x

Smooooth...

John Frieda Smooth Start Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner*

I don't have particularly dry hair, but I always tend to go for products that claim to hydrate and moisturise your hair - I just love the feeling of having amazingly soft silky hair. I do also tend to get those annoying flyaway hairs, so I find that moisturing products tend to have the weight to keep these down.

This John Frieda shampoo and conditioner is great for doing both things mentioned above. The shampoo is an amazing smelling, thick product which is really easy to work through the hair and bubble up. The consistency makes the shampoo feel really rich and luxurious, which is great for a high street product. The conditioner is equally as rich and really easy to smooth through your hair. 

After thoroughly rinsing and blow drying my hair, the results were instant. My hair felt soft, really smooth but still managable. Sometimes hydrating products can go too far and make my hair feel heavy and lank, but these are the perfect balance of moisture and light, healthy feeling hair. The results of the shampoo and conditioner lasted right up until my next wash too, my hair felt 'just washed' and silky smooth the next day too :)

Overall these are lovely products and I would recommend trying them as a great high street alternative to salon products. Have you tried any John Frieda products? What do you think to hydrating shampoo and conditioners? x

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