Back To Education Bag Ideas!

It’s now September and I know the kids are now officially back at school. FYI the weather is also rubbish, it’s 10am as I’m writing this on my day off (day before this post actually goes up!) and I NEED my light on to see what I’m actually doing. I feel sorry for the kids who have just has 6 weeks of crap weather. YUCK!

ANYWAY! I thought to go alongside the back to education post I did recently (which you can read here) I would write a bag ideas post too, so you have somewhere to store all that awesome stationary I talked about before. 😛

To be honest a lot of the bags I feature on this post are ones I’d buy myself if I was starting back at school, college or university. The prices will also range too due to this. I do understand that some of the bags on this list are very expensive, but it’s just to give an idea I guess on what kind of styles you could buy and use. Doesn’t mean that exact bag. 😛

On with the post… That has secretly made me want to buy new bags! Oh dear… 😛

• Killstar Spektra 90’s Warp Backpack – £49.99 (link)

Wow I’ve really kicked off this blog post with a HELLA expensive backpack, haven’t I? It is gorgeous though and is obviously 90’s inspired and follows the grunge trend. It looks to be quite a big bag though which in turn makes it perfect for education use. You can shove all your books in there as well as stationary and necessities. I just love the random patches all over the bag, but yes it is expensive for what it is… You could always find a black bag similar to this one and buy all sorts of patches on eBay or Etsy to iron or sew onto it!

• Pink Moomins Love Shopping Bag – £20.99 (link)

I wasn’t sure whether to add this bag to the list or not due to it being a shopping bag, but hey! When I was at college and university I used bags similar to this one and they were great! Due to how big the ones I used were they were a perfect size for carrying books in and a pencil case or pens. It wasn’t anything over the top and it did the job. I saw this bag though and thought the pink and Moomin print on it was so cute and definitely one you could use at university to go to and from lectures with.

• The Legend Of Zelda Shoulder Bag – £25.99 (link)

Although I’m not a Zelda gamer, I know A LOT of people who are and who were really excited when the new game came out with the Nintendo Switch. The main reason for adding this bag here is because of the type of bag it is. I had a bag exactly the same as this during my GCSE’s at school and I loved it so much! It was the exact same colour as this but it has a huge Green Day logo on the front… I was a massive fan okay!? The bag was huge though and you could fit everything in there including folders. I don’t know if this bag will be the same but it’d be a great bag to use during GCSE’s like I did and especially throughout college and university. It’s also a conversation starter when your’e meeting new people!

• EMP Full Volume Pearl’s Backpack – £24.99 (link)

If you love holographic like myself then maybe a holographic backpack is the way forward? This would probably be more ideal for school due to how bright it is, but hey if you want to rock something like this as you get older then I salute you! I would have probably worn something like this at school and college and probably ended there. I love holographic, but I feel like a backpack would be a bit much at my age… God I make myself sound REALLY old. 😛

• Ita Bag – £20.00 (link)

Don’t worry if you don’t know what an ita bag is, I will educate you! An ita bag is something that every anime mad girl in Japan will use and wear. The trend is now well and truly in the UK and myself included wants one. They come in various colours but I decided to use the black one as you can’t go wrong with that colour. Where the clear heart is on the front you use as a display window for badges, charms, keyrings etc of your favourite anime character(s). It’s a way to show off your love of a certain anime or just a certain character. I’d love to get a black one to put loads of Persona 5 charms in. I do think I’m too old for this trend now. If this came out when I was in university I may have contemplated getting into it, but alas I’m a little old now. 😛 This would be an amazing bag for someone starting secondary school to have. It would make for great conversation between anime fans. This would work out to be very expensive though, but at the same time it would make an amazing hobbie!

• Iron Fist Wolfbeater Tote – £45.99 currently £28.99 (link)

I actually owned this bag many moons ago when I was at university and it was by far one of the best ones I owned! I still have it at my mom and dads house somewhere! It was huge and you have a few different ways to wear it too. Not only that but it’s like a Mary Poppins bag, you’ll never be able to find what you want straight away as it’s huge! You’d be able to keep folders, books, necessities and of course stationary in there without a worry. You can get all sorts of designs on this style of bag too, I just chose this one as this is the same one as mine.

• Missguided Faux Fur Bag – £18.00 (link)

I can’t say I agree with the faux fur look fashion wise… It looks tacky to me and yuck. BUT I put this down to the hideous fluffy sliders that have appeared this summer. This backpack has the faux fur trend all over it and although I’m not a massive fan of the trend, this bag is really cute in it’s own right. This could  be worn by anybody and considering it’s by Missguided it’s probably going to be more fashion orientated and not as practical… But sod it! If you’re at university and live on site then this will definitely be a winner for you! You can carry your folder and look all American high schoolesque.  😛 If that wasn’t already a word… It certainly is now! 😛

So that’s some of my bag ideas for returning or even starting back in education. I can’t believe how quick the school holidays went, can you?

Do you have any bag recommendations for younger people than I? Make sure to tell me down below! Have you bought a new bag recently? If so let me know that too.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week!

Loungefly x Pokemon Duffle Bag

I’ve owned my Loungefly Pokemon bag for roughly a month now and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It really does gain some attention whenever I’m out and about which is always nice. If I ever go out shopping it town or anywhere else

I thought I would show off the bag a little more than what I did on my recent geeky haul post (which you can read here) including inside the bag as well as what is in my bag, as I know people love those kind of posts!

This isn’t really a review, but more of a show off of my new bag really. I just love it so damn much that I can’t NOT share it with you guys!

Over the past 10 years I’ve owned various pieces by Loungefly but of course this is my favourite one to date. My first Loungefly bag was a Skelanimals one which sadly broke and I had to return it to the store I bought it from. It didn’t put me off however and a few years after that I bought a bag with Bambi, Thumper and Flower on. I still own this bag, even though I don’t use it much anymore, if at all! After that the only other two items I bought from them were wallets, both fox ones. Sadly one was stolen when I worked in Costa but I still own my current one.

I wasn’t exactly in need of a new handbag, especially considering that the one I was previously using was a Michael Kors one. Although I love that handbag, I wanted something that reflected my personality and a handbag covered in the Red, Blue and Yellow starters is definitely the way to go!

I know a lot of people are going to ask me where I got it from and for how much. Well, I didn’t get it directly from Loungefly due to them not shipping to the UK. I’m pretty sure places like Hot Topic stock it, BUT I’d decided to go down the eBay route to prevent spending a fortune on customs. It took a while to find one but eventually my bag went up for sale and at first it was £50.00 but the seller put it down to £45.00 which is what set me off to buy it. I haven’t regretted it or looked back! Technically this was an anniversary present from Dane as he bought himself a new part for the computer, which cost around the same price as my bag. Instead of us buying them for each other we just bought them for ourselves instead. 😛

After I bought my bag I noticed that Loungefly were coming out with more designs in the Pokemon series for the duffle bag style (which is what I have). They came out with 3 new designs which are the tropical starter, Pikachu/clouds and Gyarados Magikarp waves. They all retail at $70.00 each, same for my tattoo flash design as well.

When I converted this online (I used XE… This is not a promotional post! xD) it said that $70.00 in pounds is £53.30, which is obviously more than what I paid. That obviously wouldn’t include any import tax that may have been added on top! I can only imagine the person who sold  me the bag paid out nearly £80.00 for this. SHIT.

So now I’ll FINALLY get onto the bag, because I know you’re probably waiting for it. 😛

This is a duffle style bag which you can carry using either the handles on the bag, or the shoulder strap which can be taken on and off the bag as and when you wish to use it. I didn’t like the shoulder strap myself so I carry my bag on the crook of my arm, or just by the handle. It depends on where I am and how I’m feeling. You could JUST hook it around your shoulder but it isn’t comfortable for myself. This being said though the handle loop is huge, which I love!

As I mentioned the shoulder strap is removable. It removes and is attached via a clip, which is the same colour as the hardware on the bag itself. As I don’t opt to using it the loops on each side of the bag are left bare. Soon enough I’ll be adding a keyring I recently bought from Roo from their online store (http://cosmicolor.tictail.com) which is Joker/Akira from Persona 5. I intend to buy more from there in the future, but for now I’ll be attaching him to one of the loops when he arrives. I honestly can’t wait!

The size of the bag itself isn’t too small and it isn’t too big. I did worry that it was going to be smaller than the image on eBay showed but alas it wasn’t. It’s a perfect size for me and I love it! I does feel like a bit of a Mary Poppins bag and I often feel like certain items get lost at the bottom of it.

The print on the outside is amazing! It has that alternative pin up look with the tattoo flash print with the Red, Blue and Yellow starters on it, which of course are Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur and everyone’s favourite Pikachu. You also have a Pokeball print too. Everyone compliments me on this bag due to the print and you can tell when you meet a die hard Pokemon fan (like myself) when they go crazy over that alone. 😛

My favourite Pokemon on the bag has to be Bulbasaur. He just looks so happy and I love the blue rose underneath him too. It just looks really good and works well. It’d be a very nice tattoo to actually get done on my thigh… Not that I will. xD

So as you can see the Loungefly/Pokemon logo isn’t on this side of the bag, making it the “back”. WHEN in actual fact this is the front of the bag when I carry it… I hope that  makes sense. 😛

On the “front” of the bag you have a metal badge that has the Loungefly logo on, as well as the Pokemon logo. I love this as it makes it feel more like a designer bag. The reason I used ” for the front description is because the logo doesn’t face at the “front” for me, but actually at the back. I like the zip to be near to me so I swap the bag “front” around. I’ll show in pictures what I mean.

Not only is the print on the outside amazing, but the print inside is also pretty damn nice too. It’s a cream coloured fabric inside with black images of all the starter Pokemon, Pokeball and even a tudor rose. To fill a bit of empty space there is also some little stars and diamonds dotted around.

Inside the bag you get a zip pocket on the one side to keep things in and a phone pocket on the other side. Nothing really too special about the inside of the bag… Other than the awesome print. 😛 The pockets themselves are really deep, which is amazing as it means you can store loads of things inside of them. I always keep my phone in the phone pocket and in the zipped pocket I always keep my beauty related things, such as lipstick, lip balm, face powder, tablets, etc.

Both the zip of the bag itself and the zip for the pouch inside share the same zip. The hardware on the bag itself is like a rusty gold colour. I don’t like gold hardware on bags but this works really well and I love it! The zip has the Loungefly logo on and the zip is big and chunky so it’s easy to grab and use.

This of course is faux leather, although for $70 I would want it to be real! 😛 SOOOO this is a great company for vegans to buy from to be honest.

Overall I LOVE my Pokemon handbag and for years now I have always said how I’ve been after a bag that really does reflect me as a person. I know this sounds really weird, but if I’m going to be carrying around a bag all the time I want people to see me in the bag, as well as myself holding it. Pokemon is something I have been in love with since I was 5 or 6 years old and that love hasn’t died or calmed down.

I’m so damn excited to take this bag on holiday with me. I know it’ll turn quite a few heads.

Loungefly have LOADS of different designs and bags to choose from, not just Pokemon! They have Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Hello Kitty and more.

The official website doesn’t delivery to the UK, BUT there are a couple of stockists in the UK that you can buy certain Loungefly pieces from. The biggest one and one I’ve always gone to previously is Beadesaurus, a Birmingham based alternative fashion company. I remember when they used to have their own stall in the Oasis Market in town! Now they’re all online and as I said, stock Loungefly. They don’t stock Star Wars, Pokemon or Disney stuff though so you’ll have to probably track certain stuff down online.

EMP also stock Loungefly BUT they don’t state that it is Loungefly. If you’re after Star Wars stuff you’ll have to just search for Star Wars and narrow down what you’re after (e.g. accessories and wallet) same goes for anything else. They stock the Deadpool bag and wallet on there that I used to want. Not SOOOOO much now but I’d totally get the Deadpool bag for nights out! They also stock some Disney stuff, but again you’ll have to go and have a good search.

Amazon are said to stock SOME Loungefly stuff too but whether it’s legit or not, I don’t know. Same for some eBay sellers. When buying off of eBay make sure you can see a picture of the actual product. That’s what I looked for when buying my Pokemon bag.

ANYWAY do you like Loungefly? If so what piece(s) have you got your eye on? Have you ever owned any Loungefly stuff? If so let me know what!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you had an awesome weekend!

Christmas Presents!

Merry Christmas one and all! Even if it is a tad too late to say now… Everyone is saying, “Happy New Year!” at the moment, aren’t they?

ANYWAY! Christmas has come and gone once again, and as you can tell from my absence the past couple of days, I’ve had a really good one this year. I spent the morning over at my boyfriend’s house with his family, which was lovely. We hadn’t done this yet, so it really did make a nice change. Then in the evening we came over to my house, which was super chilled out. Perfect Christmas!

I worked Boxing Day, which sucked but it was a laugh with my colleagues and we all talked about our Christmas Day’s, and what we got for Christmas.

Tonight I’ll be sharing what goodies I received for Christmas! As I’ve stated the past couple of years when writing these sorts of posts, I am in no way bragging, or showing off about what I received for Christmas. I love reading posts like this (because I’m a nosey cow!) so I always imagine people would enjoy reading mine too… Especially anyone who loves foxes, and anime/manga related goodies, as that’s what the majority was which I received.

I also want to apologise for crappy pictures. These were taken late at night, I was shattered after a busy day, and I knew if I didn’t get something taken, I would have nothing to write about now as I’ve literally not had any time.

So, here are my presents!

As you can see I received a lot of gifts, and this isn’t even all of it! Nope, there is more…

As I mentioned in my holiday haul post here my dad bought me this gorgeous Michael Kors Riley handbag! It has been my go to bag ever since the holiday, and I can see it being used pretty much forever now… I love using it for work as it’s so light to carry and it fits the right amount of items in.

One of the best presents I received for Christmas was nightwear. I haven’t received any for quite some time, so when my boyfriends parents bought me this fox slipper socks, and my boyfriend bought me these woodland animal pajamas, I was thrilled! The pajamas he bought me are so damn comfortable as well! I wore them from Christmas Day to this morning, and I wish I could be wearing them now. I love long-sleeved pajama tops!

My boyfriends family were really generous and lovely this year with their presents to me. My boyfriends brother and his girlfriend bought me Lush, and although my boyfriend states that they didn’t know which gift set I was after, they bought me the exact one! I’d eyed this set up only a week ago in Lush, due to it coming with Twilight Shower Gel, which is a limited edition product, and only comes out in the Lush Kitchen. I haven’t used it yet, but I can’t wait to.

My boyfriends parents bought me various little bits and pieces, from the fox slippers mentioned earlier, a cute little candle with squirrels on it, and this beautiful fox pillow. I snuggled it all morning after opening it, and it now sits lovely on my bed… I’m leaning against it right now, and it’s so fluffy and comfortable! They also bought me some Pandora, but I’m saving that until last.

My families gifts were lovely, and to the point. Alongside all these my mom also bought me a navy dressing gown, but I never got a picture of it, sorry. One of the nicest presents she bought me was this gorgeous fox mug! I had told her I wanted it from Avon for a while, and she offered to pick it up for me. Alas she told me it had sold out, and had secretly hidden it for Christmas. She also bought me a cute little fox purse. I’m unsure what I’ll use it for at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll soon find a use for it. The hair towels were a complete surprise, and I was keen on getting some new ones, so these pink ones will do just the job! I love using these towels to dry my long hair, they really do the trick. As my mom did last year, she has done it again and bought me a new face powder, only this time on by Laura Geller. So far since getting it a few days ago I’ve been using it and it’s lovely, I cannot complain.

My brother is great when it comes to presents, he always gets good ones, and usually he’ll get perfume. He never knows what perfume I’m after (because I don’t really talk to him about that sort of thing) but he always seems to get me something that I think, “Ooo that’s nice… Meh too much money…” and it makes me smile. This year he has bought me the latest scent by Marc Jacobs, Decadence. I can’t even describe the scent for this. It’s pretty unique, and reminds me of something that Thierry Mugler would come out with. The bottle for this does astonish me too, with its little handbag design. This came in a gift set with a shower gel, which I used on Boxing Day. I intend to wear this on my birthday.

My boyfriend bought me so much stuff! Like SO much stuff! But in return, I also bought him lots of things. The majority of what he seemed to pick up for me, they were fox themed. He’s never bought me this much fox related stuff before, which surprised me. He bought me a fox umbrella, and a fox car air freshener from a company called The Fox Project, a charity which helps foxes that have been hurt, and need urgent treatment. Along these he also bought me two pairs of fox socks from M&S, as well as a fox mug. Said mug now lives at his house, as I’m always pestering him for tea and coffee.

Alongside fox related items he had a habit for buying me lots of books this year (as I did for him too), and Umaru-Chan related goodies. He bought me two of these later items, one being a t-shirt, the other this adorable little notebook! I’ll be using that for work as a blog writing book. As I already mentioned, he bought me books, four in total. Three being books 10, 11, and 12 from the Nana manga, and one being the Pewdiepie book, This Book Loves You. I intend to go through it on my day off Wednesday.

As well as that he also picked up this cute little polar bear, as something I can snuggle when at his house, a Simon’s Cat calendar for next year, and a little Yankee Candle Christmas Eve votive candle.

He also bought me a special Pandora charm, but I’ll be going into more detail about that shortly.

These were two of the best presents I received from my boyfriend. I knew I was getting the Umaru-Chan Nendoroid, but the Baymax Pop! Vinyl was a complete surprise to me! I had told him I wanted it, but I didn’t know if he would buy him for me or not.

I am a massive fan of Big Hero 6, and Baymax really melted my heart. I can’t even remember how many times I cried when we went to watch Big Hero 6… It was a lot though! I’m not a huge Pop! Vinyl fan, I think the majority of the figures they release and sell look crap with how their paint work has been done. HOWEVER some of them do look amazing, and Baymax is one of these. He’s pearlescent in colour, and is bigger than normal Pop! Vinyl’s, which I actually really like.

As for Umaru-Chan she’s a gorgeous little figure, and one I fast fell in love with. I have spoken on my blog before about how much I love the anime that she originates from, and so when I got into the anime, my boyfriend knew he had to order the figure for me. I want to open her so badly, but she’s just too nice to open her. Instead I shall just gaze at her from afar and one day-dream of opening her.

Finally we have the two Pandora charms I was given this year. One from my boyfriend, and one from his parents. His parents gave me the little puppy charm (on the right) that is wearing a cute little red Father Christmas hat. It is such a little cute charm, and I wish I could have got some better pictures of it, but alas I couldn’t at the time. He’s sitting down, with his tongue sticking out. It’s a real cutie to add to my bracelet.

The charm my boyfriend bought for me is the fox (on the left) and it isn’t actually an official Pandora… But I don’t care about that! Pandora are taking too long to release a fox charm (you watch, they will now!) so when my boyfriend saw this one for sale on The Fox Project he snapped it up. It’s a cute little fox lying on a log, and I imagine trying to have a snooze. I love this charm so much because it really does stand out on the whole bracelet.

So that’s all… Wait… That isn’t ALL my presents? Is it?

My mom bought me a Kitchen Aid for Christmas. You know, like the ones they use on The Great British Bake Off? YES ONE OF THOSE! I was gobsmacked when I opened a massive present to not only see this, but a ceramic bowl, as well as a five piece kitchen/culinary set to use with the mixer as well. For weeks my mom has been lying about this massive box in the living room, saying it was something my brother had ordered… But it never budged. Until I came home for Christmas, and it had moved and was covered in wrapping paper. I am so excited to use it, even though I’m not 100% sure when I will yet. When I do, I’m sure I’ll have some sort of blog post about it.

Now, that IS all I received for Christmas. Although I did receive a wash set from my sister-in-law, and nephews, and I am yet to see what friends have bought me.

But yes, that is all my presents from Christmas ’15! What did you get for Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below, or even link me to your blog post about it if you’re a blogger.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you have a nice rest after Christmas. I would love one, that’s for sure. 😛

Holiday Haul!

Woohoo I’m officially back from my holiday (almost a week to be exact!), and boy was it good. The sun was out most days, and I’m now sporting a gorgeous natural tan. Don’t be too jealous! Whilst I was away I did a little bit of shopping. How could I not take advantage of a tax free island? Would have been rude not to… I didn’t buy as much as I actually thought I was going to, which left me feeling pleasantly surprised. Not only did I buy myself some odd bits and pieces, but I also bought some Christmas and birthday presents too.

The first things I picked up were actually from Birmingham airport. Duty free is always a must have to splurge on before you get on your plane, but this being said I didn’t exactly grab many offers… I won’t lie when I say that I wished I had waited until I had arrived at Fuerteventura to buy the first thing, but no point in crying over spilt milk, eh?

• Dior Blooming Bouquet 100ml EDT Gift Set

I’ve had my eye on this perfume for quite some time now after receiving a sample of it in the post back in the summer. It’s an eau de toilette so it’s a lovely light perfume, and perfect for summer due to it’s fruity, and floral notes. This set cost a purse crying £80.00, which came with a 100ml bottle of Blooming Bouquet, as well as a 7.5ml refill bottle. The refill bottle is stunning, definitely a posher version of a Travello bottle. So for the high price tag, it was sort of worth the money really. I wore this every evening we went out and I loved it. This will probably be my go to scent for my new job, as well as for spring and summer.

• Benefit The POREfessional Face Primer

I LOVE this stuff! It’s definitely a must have for me now since it recently returned into my beauty regime. I’m really low on my first tube so I decided to pick up another one whilst I was in duty free. I used this in the evenings whenever we went out, and due to how light weight it is on the skin, it meant it was perfect when it was still warm outside.Due to this, I would say this is a definite must have for holidays! The airport had a special offer where if you bought one it would cost £20.00, but if you bought the three/four gift set, it was only £53.00! I was really tempted by the special gift set (as you can only buy it at the airport… apparently), but considering how much I had just spent on the Dior perfume, I decided to leave it. Next time my parents fly out I’ll ask them to pick the set up for me and give them the money back. My boyfriend will be jetting out in January for a holiday, so I may even ask him to pick it up for me!

I have to say that one thing I hate about Fuerteventura is how they have a chain of lingerie shops called Women’s Secret, and we don’t! This being said, we can order online from there but meh it’s not the same thing as going in store and going through all the amazing pieces they have on offer. That and it’s cheaper in Euro’s. This being said we now have Victoria’s Secret, and that’s my favourite lingerie shop so I can’t be too sad about not getting Women’s Secret. I only picked up a couple of things whilst I was in Women’s Secret. I didn’t intend on bringing anything back, but alas I couldn’t help myself, and even then I was pretty good. The possibility of bringing back some pajamas really did tempt me, but I left it and just bought loads of knickers instead… 😛

• Hipster briefs (in black, white, and grey)

As you can see I bought quite a few of these knickers… This wasn’t even my intention to be honest! I originally bought a pack of black briefs to keep at my house in Fuerteventura, which I left behind but I loved them so much I just had to buy another pack to bring home with me. This resulted in my buying two more packs, a white pack, and a grey pack. I have no regrets because these knickers are just so bloody comfortable! If there is a pair of knickers sent from heaven, then they’re these. As you can probably see these are hipster briefs, comfortable, and perfect for hugging my curvy bum in all the right places. These weren’t on sale or anything, but cost €12.99 a pack, and you get three in a packet. I didn’t mind paying this price to be honest as I just love these so much, and doubt I’ll find any as good in the UK.

• Mickey and Minnie Mouse knickers

These were a bit of an impulse buy but they were on sale from €12.99 down to just €5.99. Who could say no to that? These are really cute, yet sexy, and comfortable. They’re grey with a picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse having a kiss and a cuddle on the one side, super cute! I am such an unsexy person when it comes to lingerie, so I choose childish, and comfortable over sexy, and lace any day!

One of my favourite places to shop in Fuerteventura is Correlejo, it’s basically like a smaller version of London (WAY SMALLER) to the island, and thus the place to go shopping. It’s especially a great place for surfing, and the fashion there is the best with the surf, skate, and (surprisingly) snow shops. This is the main reason why I like going there, as there are over a handful of these shops dotted around Correlejo, and although I wanted to go twice to make sure I visited all the shops, I only managed to pop into a couple on one visit. My favourite shop is one that is near the top of the high street as they sell some complete bargains in there, and they’re all high brand names such as Vans, DC Shoes, Roxy, Billabong, etc. So I picked up a couple of t-shirts from there.

• Vans Disney The Little Mermaid Ariel Raglan T-Shirt

I’ve mentioned on my blog in the past how much I’ve loved the collaboration between Vans and Disney. I did really like the look of The Little Mermaid goodies they brought out in the first collection, but not enough to actually pay the prices Vans had things for sale at. When I spotted that this shop were selling one of the Ariel t-shirts with 30% off I decided to snap one up quick. They only had large sizes left and whilst I probably should have tried it on, I decided to get it anyway. There’s nothing wrong with a baggy t-shirt. I’ll be teaming this up with some baggy jeans, denim shorts, and anything really. It’ll be perfect for lazy days, and shopping trips. I picked it up €23.00, bargain! When I tried it on at home, it felt baggy enough that it wasn’t swamping me, which is perfect really. I intend to rock this Christmas Day.

• DC Shoes T-Shirt

Another t-shirt from the same shop. I saw this and knew I had to have it. I didn’t want to worry if I left it behind I would regret it. This is a navy t-shirt with the DC Shoes logo in red, and white. It actually reminds me of a t-shirt my boyfriend owns by DC Shoes which is one of the reasons I picked it up. I love that t-shirt of his, and when we first got together I would constantly ask to borrow it to wear, or tell him to wear it. So it’s nice to kind of have my own version. That’s just so soppy isn’t it? I picked this up in a medium which is the only size they had for this one, I’m sure it’ll fit fine! This was 50% off in then sale so I only paid €13.00 for it. When I finally got this home and tried it on, it fit lovely but has a very odd boxy looking fit on the top half of it. I’m sure this will go away the more I wear it.

I didn’t buy much make up whilst on holiday, which I am somewhat surprised about, but at the same time I didn’t want to buy much anyway. So this being said, I did really good! Although I have three things here, I only bought two of them as one was a gift, but I still wanted to mention it here. These are all things I have wanted for years, so it was lovely to finally treat myself to them.

• YSL Kiss & Blush Soft Matte Colour in shade 3 Rose Libre

One evening when I stayed in I watched the 2014 film about Yves Saint Laurent which I’d downloaded specifically to watch on the plane to or from my holiday. I’m glad I didn’t watch it on the plane now to be honest, as I enjoyed it more during an evening in, whilst chilling in bed. It kind of gave me the push to buy the lip colour which I had nearly bought when I came here in January. It’s a gorgeous creamy lipstick and blush, which reminds me of a creamier version of Collection 2000’s lip cream (in shade Cotton Candy). Rose Libre is a cool neutral rose shade, and one that can be worn all year around, especially in spring! Due to how light it is on the lips this will be perfect to wear for my new job. It’s definitely a shade for wearing to smart events and such. I doubt that I’ll wear it as a blush, as regular readers will know, I don’t wear a full face of make up. This was an absolute steal at just €29.00 considering they cost £28.00! I’m sure I’ll be reviewing this in the New Year.

• Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Protector in shade 01 Rose Shimmer

This is another product that I’ve been lusting after for ages, again since January and even before then! My friend Ali over at (Maliberry Makeup) reviewed this not long ago (link to that review here), which opened my eyes to this shade, as I had my eyes on another shade beforehand. This is a lovely non sticky lip gloss that gives a nice conditioning feeling to the lips, whilst leaving them with a natural shade, this one being a delicate pink shade, which is somewhat bright. These Clarins Lip Protectors also have a gorgeous sweet scent to them as well, an aspect I love in lip products. I’ve worn this to work a few times now and it looked natural and beautiful. It’s going to be a staple for me when I don’t fancy wearing anything dark on my lips. These cost £18.00 in the UK, but I picked this up for just €12.00 which is so damn cheap! I wish I had bought more now I’m back home, but two of these is more than enough.

• Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Protector in shade 05 Candy Shimmer

This was actually a gift from my dad. He managed to snag it alongside another present for me for just €8.00! I couldn’t believe it when he told me, but he’s got a way with words, like myself really when it comes to trying to snag bargains. This is the shade I have been lusting after for years after my friend Poppy reviewed it over on her blog years ago. It just looked like such a gorgeous darker pink nude shade, something I don’t find myself going towards to be honest. It’s more of a peach shade and definitely darker than Rose Shimmer. Like Rose Shimmer, it has the sweetie scent to it, which really gives it a lovely feel overall. I’m going to be wearing these loads throughout the warmer months of the year, as they’re not sticky at all, and are also lightweight.

I didn’t intend on buying any games whilst I was on holiday, but alas I did… Oops!

• Nintendo 3DS games – New Style Boutique 2 Fashion Forward and Cooking Mama Bon Appetit!

I wasn’t going to buy any games whilst on holiday… Even though I was looking for the Style Boutique game the day after arriving. I had downloaded the demo to play whilst there, and I fell in love with the game after finishing the demo. I didn’t buy it until a couple of days before we were due to go home, and I paid hardly anything on it too! It costs £28.00, but over there it only cost me €27.99, which I thought was pretty decent. A day later I went back to the electronic shop I bought the first game from and picked up a Cooking Mama game. I loved Cooking Mama when it first came out, so to be able to play a newer version of the series made me happy, and I paid even less for it than Style Boutique. It only cost me €21.99. I didn’t bring the games boxes back to the UK with me, instead I just bought the game chips with me, which is of course what you can spy in the picture above.

In the part of the island we live in/stayed in they have their market every Tuesday and Saturday from 10am until 2pm, so we had to go and have a quick mooch around before we were due to come home. We went on the last Tuesday we were there, and within an hour we were done looking around, and buying things for ourselves, as well as for other people. I bought myself a little something, and my dad bought me and my mom a few things too.

• Black Baggy Genie Pants/Trousers

This is what I ended up buying for myself. I saw one of the waitresses wearing some pants similar to these, and I fell in love with them, so I knew I had to find myself something similar. These were only €10.00 which is cheap as chips! I wish I had bought another pair now, but alas I left it to just one pair. I wore them loads the last couple of days we were on holiday, and I knew I would be bringing them home with me. They’re pretty thin so they’ll be good if I just want to quickly pop out to run errands, and especially great for summer days, and evenings out with friends.

• Rainbow Scarf

This was another purchase from the market, and one my dad bought for me. He wanted to buy my mom something nice to bring home for her, and the only thing he could think of getting her was a scarf. You could buy one scarf for €7.00, or two for €20.00 so he offered to get me one too. I couldn’t really find much I was after, but when I spotted this scarf I knew I had to have it. I used to love anything with a rainbow pattern on, have done since I was a kid. I don’t know why to be honest. Since getting home I’ve been wearing this scarf for my new job, and it’s really lovely.

• Michael Kors Small Riley Satchel in Navy

I didn’t buy this, but it was a gift from my parents, bought whilst me and my dad were on holiday. It’s an early Christmas present, and I would have bought it myself but it was pretty expensive, and since buying all my Christmas presents before I went on holiday I was pretty skint… This bag was really cheap too, and before anyone assumes it must be fake it is NOT. It is very much real. This originally cost €294.00 but with 30% off it went down to €210.00. This in pounds made it £152.00, a complete steal for a Michael Kors bag, especially when this is meant to cost £260.00 (in John Lewis) it was a really good price! So far I’ve been using it since the last couple of days of holiday, and so far at work and I love it. It’s a small bag, but it fits loads in there, and it fits in all the things I need and that’s it! I picked it up in the colour navy, even though they had it in a nude shade too. I would have loved it in red or purple to be honest, but beggars can’t be choosers and quite frankly navy is gorgeous anyway! I will be writing a post about this bag before the New Year, so keep your eyes peeled for it.

But that is all I picked up whilst I was on holiday! I don’t think I did too bad to be perfectly honest, as I could have bought more. I did also buy some presents for my mom, and a couple of things for my boyfriend, and my friends.

I had a lovely holiday though, and being able to treat myself after graduating from university was really good to do.

I doubt I’ll be treating myself anytime soon… Well maybe not until the Boxing Day sales anyway, or my birthday!

Have any of you bought yourself some little treats at all in the lead up to Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all, and I hope you’ve all had a great week so far.

September Wish List

I’m so poor, I swear to God. I shouldn’t even be making a wish list! But it’s called a wish list for a reason… So it’s kind of acceptable, right?

I’m lusting after quite a lot with Christmas just around the corner and my parents offering to get me a gift for finishing my MA. But even so, I’m still poor and I can’t even treat myself after finally finishing uni. Oh well, when I have money I’ll treat myself for sure!

However, until then I’ll just have to lust after these gorgeous things. Oh be still my beating heart… There are quite a few let’s say luxurious items on my wish list this month and that’s because that is all I seem to be lusting over at the moment. Which in turn is extremely annoying!

• OPI Nail Lacquer in Coca Cola Visions of Georgia Green.

I love me some OPI polishes and one of the collections I love the most definitely has to be the Coca Cola collection from last summer. I picked up some of the shades in January in the miniature form and I love them all! So when I heard that OPI were bringing out a couple of more shades to go alongside the collection, I wondered what they would look like, and of course they’re gorgeous. There are two and the one that I loved the most is this gorgeous metallic shade called Visions of Georgia Green. This looks like a pretty sheer polish and one I would wear throughout the year. I’d love to pick this up for when I go on holiday, but we shall see!

• Christian Dior Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT.

I recently got this as a sample in the post and it really does smell beautiful! I remember giving this a sniff when I was on holiday in January and it didn’t seem to smell as nice then as it does now I have the sample. I’m very wary about EDT perfumes due to how weak they can smell, as well as how much they need to be topped up. It’s just a really fresh and light scent that smells beautiful. This isn’t cheap, but I think when I go on holiday I’ll pick this up in duty free, or whilst I’m away considering it’s a tax free island.

• Nintendo New 3DS XL Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer Bundle.

This is something I have already mentioned on my wish list, I’m pretty sure it was last month to be honest. BUT in August Nintendo finally announced that they would release a bundle with a special edition 3DS, as well as the new Animal Crossing game. I LOVE Animal Crossing, it really does make me happy and helps me to relax when I’m stressed out as well. My boyfriend has mentioned buying me this for Christmas, but I would ideally like it for when it comes out. It isn’t out for another month yet, so we shall see what happens.

• Lush Granny Takes A Dip Bubble Bar.

I never liked the original bath bomb version of this. I found it smelt way too strong and if anything gave me massive headaches. However I really did like this one due to the scent not being a strong. It would be one of those treats to have after pole dance fitness in the coming autumn and winter times. I may treat myself to this soon, especially since my MA is now finished. But I shall see… I have plenty of Lush products to get used up.

• Microsoft Xbox One.

This is a luxurious item and one I doubt I will get for a very long time… Probably Christmas if at all! Me and my boyfriend always play Minecraft when we’re at his with two of our friends and it’s definitely become a love of mine. Minecraft like Animal Crossing is such a relaxing game, and after being so stressed out lately, and my anxiety being really high, it has helped me calm down and unwind. When I felt poorly on Monday I played Minecraft and it really did help. So I would like my own Xbox One so I can play with my boyfriend and our friends from my own home, instead of just from his. Of course, this is expensive and the TV I have in my room would also struggle to run it’s graphics on it… So it would be rendered useless I guess.

• Yankee Candle in Cotton Candy.

This is one of the special appearances that Yankee Candle bring out on a regular basis and one I have been eyeing up for a while. I gave this a sniff last month and it smells delicious! I was imagining it would be really strong and sickly, but it’s actually really light and smells like sugar. It’s a very nice scent, and one I would like to own soon for when autumn time comes. I think if I have any cash spare soon, and it’s still for sale, I’ll pick it up.

• Vivienne Westwood Henry Winter Tartan Bag.

As old readers will know, I love Vivienne Westwood bags and it’s a brand I’ve always wanted to own something of, especially a bag. I saw my dream one at the start of the year, but I made the mistake of not ordering and missed my chance. However, I have soon realised not to let such a good deal in the sales slip by again so I’m making sure to keep my eyes peeled out for one of these bags for in the future. If I don’t get a new one, I’ll try and pick up a second hand one from eBay. I’ve eyed a couple up that I like the look of, but it’s about parting with such a large amount of money, without actually seeing said item first. I’ll have to see… But as I said at the start of this post, I’m pretty skint!

So, that’s my wish list for September, and boy what a wish list it is… What are you eyeing up this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, take care.

Hyper Japan 2015 Part 1

I have struggled to start this post because I just didn’t know how to start it, and due to that it’s actually a day late… Oops! I’m literally just going to throw myself into it and ramble on about things in the order they occurred on the day, which I’ll warn you was long and also picture heavy! I also bought quite a few things at Hyper Japan or was given plenty of freebies, which you can see above, but I’ll go into more detail about those throughout the post.

This post is actually going to be split into two parts, because as I’ve been writing it, it’s just appeared to be WAY too long! So I’ll have part one up today, and part one up tomorrow!

Although we were shattered, we were ready for Hyper Japan and made sure we got up bright an early to get a big breakfast and then head over to the O2 where the event was happening. I’ve never been to the O2 in London before so I was in shock when I saw how big it actually is. But to get there we took the cable cart over which was pretty cool, although I was really anxious when we went over the first time, damn anxiety!

We arrived and the queue was ridiculous… However we had paid a little extra to get fast registration tickets, so we were lucky and didn’t need to wait in that queue. I later read online that it took people an hour to just over it to get into the arena. Not good! We had a bit of trouble waiting in the queue but for once my anxiety didn’t hold me back from voicing my concerns and I spoke to a member of staff about what was happening. Basically, people were pushing in and then laughing at us all who they had pushed past. Me raising these issues got us to the front of the queue, which we couldn’t complain about.

When we finally got inside we were even more excited! The O2 wasn’t that busy but it was sure heaving with restaurants. It just meant if we didn’t wish to eat at Hyper Japan, we had some choices around us.

There were various places you could visit at Hyper Japan including, Eat Japan, Hyper Fringe Market, J-Culture, Hyper Kawaii, Hyper Live, and the first place we visited, Hyper Game & Anime Park. This was probably one of the funnest places for us so it being the first place we went into was pretty awesome.

As the name suggests the Game & Anime Park was of course full of those. Nintendo was of course the main gaming event in there with loads of different demo areas for various different games, as well as a huge stage where members of Nintendo were talking people through new and upcoming games, as well as some cool events happening. We went there to watch about the latest game from Animal Crossing, Happy Home Designer (I’ve already pre ordered it!). I’m a huge Animal Crossing fan so I was super excited when we were told that event was happening on the stage. We watched the whole thing and due to being such awesome people, we were given a free Mario Kart 8 keyring, which I gave my boyfriend.

As well as that there was also a Playstation 4 console where people could demo the new Sword Art Online game, which is coming out in autumn this year! Exciting news for Sword Art Online fans like me and my boyfriend. We both had a go on the demo which latest about ten minutes and it was a pretty straight forward game. There was a huge queue when we first went into the Game & Anime Park so when we went in for a second time, that’s when we got to have a go.

Of course due to Nintendo being there, they also had some of their Amiibo items on display for people to look at, which of course we did. The ones I got most excited for were the yarn Yoshi ones, which have come out to accompany the Wii U game Yoshi’s Woolly World. They come in three colours, my favourite of course being the original green Yoshi. These are made out of real wool so not only do they look like little woolen figures, but they actually are!

Going back to Animal Crossing and the new game Happy Home Designer, these are coming out alongside it so it was nice to have a look at the cards that will be coming out for it. You use these cards to call different villagers and people in the town then and there instead of waiting ages for them. It was also nice to discover that Nintendo are bringing out an add on for old 3DS, and 2DS ‘s where you can use the cards, instead of needing to but the new 3DS.

Not long after the event where the people of Nintendo were talking about the new Animal Crossing game, a Pikachu suddenly waddled past us and over to the main Nintendo section. We followed it to discover that you could have pictures with it, so we got in the queue and got our pictures taken! It was so adorable and I wish we could have gone back and had some more pictures of it. But alas, we had things to do.

Before we left the Game & Anime Park I had a quick picture (or two!) with a massive Colossal Titan head that had been blown up with air for people to take pictures with. It’s from Attack On Titan, one of mine and my boyfriends favourite manga/anime. My boyfriend didn’t bother having any pictures with it, but I made sure to take advantage of it, as it was pretty awesome and the picture I got of me with it is definitely one of my favourites from the day.

We picked up a few bits and pieces from the Game & Anime Park and my boyfriend was lovely enough to buy me a handbag. I had my eye on it since the seller announced they would be selling them at Hyper Japan over on their Facebook page. When I told them I wanted to buy one they were lovely enough to let me look over the bag I got to make sure it was okay and such, which of course it was. It also came in a dust bag which I love! I keep it in there when I’m not using it to keep it nice and fresh looking. It’s a dupe of the Samantha Vega handbag which I’m fine with, as it’s a nice dupe and when I’ve used this bag since me getting it, it’s amazing quality and is really sturdy and great! I’m super pleased with it, and for £35 it was well worth the money. My boyfriend also bought me some green tea matcha Kit Kat’s, which were only 80p each! By far the cheapest ones in the whole of Hyper Japan.

We moved over to the other areas of Hyper Japan and probably spent most of our time there looking around all the various stalls and stands.

This is the Tofu Cute Candy Festival and something we visited twice because we loved it so much! For just £6 we got all these treats to eat and try, so we got two of these. There were various things we got from Pocky, Kit Kat’s, chocolate, sweets, and as you can see on this picture, a green tea matcha mochi, where was delicious. It was a great way to sample things before buying them in the shop next door. The shop was so busy too, it was probably one of the busiest stalls of the day.

As the Saturday Hyper Japan day is split into two separate events people are told they need to leave for half an hour whilst the event is swapped around so before we headed off we ordered a picture to be drawn of us together, as well as picked up a picture of me that someone had drawn in the Fringe Market.

We also decided to grab some food from the Eat Japan section. We bought some tuna onigiri, and to the Japanese onigiri is like a sandwich to us, which I LOVED! They were two for £6, which wasn’t cheap for but for how filling it was, it was really nice. I think we’re going to try and make these ourselves in the future.

Then we headed back to the hotel as we were pretty shattered and wanted to drop off some of the stuff we had bought, as things were beginning to be quiet heavy. The queue for the cable cart was long! But luckily we were alright and soon got into a cart with some people. I felt a lot more relaxed the second time we rode it and I would love to go on it again in the future.

And whilst I was going to continue talking about Hyper Japan, I’m going to stop for today and call this part one out of two. This post is just turning out to be way too long to fit into one post without it not beginning to be boring.

So tomorrow I shall talk about the second half of Hyper Japan in part two!

What do you think of my first Hyper Japan experience so far? Did you go to Hyper Japan? Let me know in the comments.

Until tomorrow, take care all.

2015 Big Wish List

This is going to be a different wish list from normal. I have decided that this year I would like to own some things that I have wanted for years, but never had the money to buy them. It’s not as if I’m going to have the money to buy them this year, but I want this to be the year where I go up in the world somewhat, and even if I just end up owning one of the things on this list, I’d feel a little bit better about making my way up.

There are some expensive things on this list, but that’s why it’s called my big wish list. 😉

• Vivienne Westwood Tartan Bag.

The first thing I would love to get this year is a new handbag… Well I want a new handbag every other month, but this is different. I’ve always wanted a designer handbag, because if I have to carry something on my arm/shoulder day after day I want something that will get heads turning and make me feel good whilst wearing it too. The one designer handbag I have always been after is a Vivienne Westwood bag, and I still want one! I’ve found this gorgeous one in the sale and I wish I had the money to splurge on it! It’s a gorgeous blue tartan and just looks so professional and grown up, but with a touch of rock chick, definitely what I want! My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy for wanting a bag at so much money, but I don’t care. By the end of 2015, I will have a Vivienne Westwood bag.

• Frozen Elsa Nendoroid.

For my birthday I received my first Nendoroid figure and I doubt it’ll be my last! I bought my boyfriend his first Nendoroid figure for Christmas and we’ve both decided that we wish to create a collection of the figures together. We’re already looking at some to place on our wish lists and this one is probably at the top of my wish list right now. It was announced before Christmas and won’t be out in the UK until May, which feels like forever but I know will be upon us soon enough. She’s absolutely stunning and even comes with a little Olaf figure, so cute! Whether I get Elsa or another Nendoroid figure, I’m unsure right now but I know I want to add another one or two of these figures to my collection.

• iPhone 5s OR 6.

My phone contract comes to an end towards the end of the year and I already know I want to upgrade to an iPhone 6! They look and sound amazing… Apart from the whole bending in your pocket thing! I’d go for the gold shade as it just looks so classy and different. My iPhone is playing up at the moment which is annoying and I need to get that sorted as soon as I can. I just can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by and soon enough I can get an upgrade! If I don’t go for the iPhone 6, I’ll definitely go for the iPhone 5s as it looks and sounds just as good.

• My own place, whether it be a flat or house.

This year me and my boyfriend have set our goal to try and have our own flat/house together by the end of 2015. We’re saving up the best we can and if we don’t have our own place by the end of the year, start of 2016 then so be it and we’ll keep on saving until we have enough money. We’re also trying to decided where we may want to move to, as it’ll either be between Birmingham and Coventry, or maybe even in Coventry as quite frankly apart from my family I don’t really have anything I’m particularly leaving behind in Birmingham. We shall see how it goes.

• A puppy! Preferably a dachshund!

With our own place, we would eventually get a puppy and whilst I know for sure this won’t happen this year I want it to happen as soon as it can. It’s been seven years since my dog passed away and I finally feel like it’s time to have another one. We’re not 100% sure which breed we’ll be going with yet, but we’re going to make sure to look into all the breeds we’re interested in to see which one will be right for us. I can’t wait quite frankly but I want to make sure as a couple that we’re both stable financially and time wise as puppies need loads of time and care and as they get older they still need care, as they’re like babies. Still, can’t wait!

• 2 week holiday to Japan.

I know I’ve only just come back from a holiday but I’m already starting to think about another and somewhere I really want to go is Japan. I’ve wanted to go for years and every year I try and save up enough money to go there, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot of savings to go to Japan. Returns flights alone are just over £600, let alone how much a hotel would cost for two weeks and spending money! I’d probably need to save up nearly £3,000! I’m still going to try and save up though and we shall see.

• A new car! Either a Peugeot 107 or a 108.

This is the year I’m hoping to get myself a new car. I’ve looked into which make I want and it’s another Peugeot, which I drive at the moment. I may as well stick to what I currently drive and plus the two models I have in my mind are gorgeous! Plus they’re purple, which is the colour car I’ve wanted ever since I first passed my test. I’m undecided which car I want the most, or which one I’ll get but it’s a toss between the 107 and the 108. Either way they’re beautiful and man I just can’t wait! My car is great that I own at the moment, it gets me from A to B but it’s old and won’t last long on motorways and long distances, which is annoying as I need to travel far for university, to see my boyfriend, as well as go and see my friends. So I’m hoping to get myself a new car this year, this is the main item on here I’m hoping to gain.

So that’s my little list of things I want to get this year, and although I would love them all this year, one will do me… Maybe two.

What big things are on your wish lists? Let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all and see you soon.

Preparing for my Holiday!

With my holiday in less than a month, I’m starting to prepare for what I’ll be taking with me and possibly what I may need to buy beforehand too!

I was having a look over at Two Seasons website and found loads of lovely pieces, which are all in their sale too. So I may have to treat myself after Christmas in preparation for my holiday, as well as for some bits and pieces throughout the spring and summer here in the UK too.

I know this seems like a sponsored post (and how I wish it was, I love Two Seasons!) but it honestly isn’t, Two Seasons is just one of my favourite shops on the high street. They sell skate, surf and snow clothing which are all styles I love. So they can never go wrong with the pieces they bring out!

I have to say I didn’t realise that most of these items were Element and I apologise for that… But I do really love the clothing that Element bring out!

• Hype Break Glass Flip Flops – £7.50 originally £15.00.

I NEED some flip-flops for my holiday, I don’t own a pair and for being around the pool and walking around in the day I could probably do with some. I really like the look of these Hype flip-flops and for less than a tenner, I don’t think I can go wrong really!

• Element Anton Clutch Bag – £15.00 originally £30.00.

I’ve had my eye on this clutch bag for quite a while and to see it in the sale has actually made me happy and the timing is perfect too! I really do want this for my holiday, as well as for nights out here in the UK too as it’s such a pretty but simple piece. I love foxes so this hooked me in the first time I saw it. I’d use this on nights out as well as in the day if I was just popping out somewhere local. Perfect!

• Element Shennanigans Handbag – £25.00 originally £50.00.

This isn’t a must have item, but I have been thinking about picking up a new bag for 2015 anyway! I love my backpack, but I guess I just feel a bit young to have one of those now. But this being said I want a handbag I can settle on for quite a long time now and not feel the need to change it… We shall see about  this however. This bag is gorgeous though and I have looked at it before now in store.

• Billabong Cacy 19 Boardshorts in Pinkfizz – £15.50 originally £28.00.

You can never go wrong with boardshorts, especially if you like swimming and such like I do! I’ve already decided on my holiday that everyday will involve swimming and my boyfriend and I are even planning to try surfboarding, so these would definitely come in handy. They come in four different colours (black and white stripes, white and red stripes, coral and hot pink) but I like this colour the best. If I felt up to it I would wear these out and about in the day too. Can definitely see me picking these up.

• Element Fox T-Shirt – £15.00 originally £30.00.

This was a really expensive t-shirt, but what more do you expect from a high-end skate brand? When Element go in the sale though, they go cheap and are well worth the money. Once again,  I love foxes and have had my eye on this t-shirt for quite a while now. It sold out on the website for a while though and I was gutted, only to recently discover that it’s not back online. I would definitely like to pick this up for my holiday, as it’s just an excuse to buy it really!

• Element Lou Mini Shorts – £12.50 originally £25.00.

I actually like these shorts a little better than the Billabong ones and I think it’s just because they’re not board shorts, so I could get away with wearing these a little more than the others. Either way I love both and you can never have enough shorts! These are a gorgeous banana yellow shade, which I really like and they would work perfectly with a few of my t-shirts I plan to take with me, as well as with my new bikini. Bargain too at under £13.00!

• Element Sunset T-Shirt in Chilli Pepper – £15.00 originally £30.00.

Another t-shirt… Also another Element t-shirt. I do apologise! This t-shirt is beautiful! A deep red and it looks really snug fitting and somewhat thick too. Element t-shirts are great and I already own a couple that I often live in when I’m having lazy days, as they’re just perfect for it. If I don’t buy this for my holiday I’ll buy it for more lazy days.

So that was my holiday preparations list! I can’t believe in just under a month I’ll be off on my holiday! Also it’s Christmas soon too! How exciting is that eh?

Just to say I’m sorry for being so quiet lately, I’m just do busy with uni work that sadly my blog is having to take a step back from my life. But I’ll be having a guest post one of the days this week so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I hope you’re all well and that you’re ready for Christmas now. Are you? If not then who do you have left to buy for? Let me know in the comments down below.

Take care all and see you soon.

Disaster Designs Paper Plane Satchel & Bonus What’s In My Bag

Recently I bought myself a new bag and after a few weeks of using it, I’m finally getting around to showing it off on my blog!

It’s my gorgeous new Disaster Designs bag! It’s the Paper Plane design and it’s been about for ages, since my second or third year of university and that was back in 2009-2011! One of my favourite shops in Birmingham used to sell the whole Paper Plane’s range but as a skint student I just lusted over the expensive bags, never buying one for myself. At the time it was out in the shop in question it cost either £40 or £50, a lot of money for a bag and I couldn’t justify paying that much. To make matters worse a girl in one of my classes at university had this bag and I envied her every class we had together!

As regular readers will have seen, I mentioned this bag in my February Wish List earlier this month and how much I was in need of a new one and when I remembered back to this satchel that I had wanted all those years ago, I went straight to eBay to try and find a good bargain.

There were a couple of these on there but they were either new but too expensive or used and in terrible condition for nearly just as much as the new ones on there. Eventually I stumbled across this bag, brand new and bloody hell did I have to do some bidding to get it! Eventually I won the bid and snapped this beauty up for £30.00, with £4.00 for P&P.

Since test driving this bag over the past 2 weeks, I knew I had to do a post about it, and as well as writing about my new bag, I thought I’d show you what I keep in there too. Think of it as a bonus!

But first of all, about the bag!

This is definitely a different satchel than ones you would normally buy, and that’s what I like about it! I love the Paper Plane theme and it looks so pretty and cute. You can buy all sorts of bags from the Paper Plane collection but this one just grabs my eye that little more than the others, probably because of its letter and plane theme. It just seems frightfully romantic and really does bring out the writer in me.

Not only does the bag look gorgeous with the style of it and design, but the cute little features on it too really do stand out and make it rather unique to anything else you would find out there. The front of the bag has little features such as a bird, which looks to be a swallow, as well as a red and white bow on one of the buckles, a hanging postage stamp shaped piece that says, “travel in style” with a swallow in the middle, and in between the two buckles on the flap of the bag it reads, “Return to sender” which I love the most about this bag.

Even on the back of the bag there is some detail, but only one! In the middle of the back of the bag there is a little white square with a red envelope inside, underneath it says “S.W.A.L.K” and quite frankly I don’t have a clue what it stands for! So, I went to Google and I found out exactly what it means (I found out the meaning on Wikipedia):

S.W.A.L.K. is an acronym usually seen on a love letter of a courting couple. It stands for “sealed with a loving kiss” and is one of several acronyms that seemingly originated during the Second World War. A variant is S.W.A.K., sealed with a kiss.

If I didn’t love my bag before knowing this, then I must be IN love with it now! It’s such a gorgeous think to put on the bag and makes the bag seem even more beautiful than I already thought it was.

I love this bag so much and whilst some websites do still sell it, your best bet might just be to pop onto eBay like I did. I typed in “Disaster Designs paper plane satchel” and you should at least find one bag if not a couple.

So, what’s IN my bag?

Yes it’s time for the bonus part of this post where I show what I’m keeping in my new bag. I took these pictures after a close shift at work, so this is what was in there when I got home. I didn’t add or remove anything either, so I’m not cheating. 🙂

I always make sure to throw a book in my bag if I’m going to work or if I’m meeting a friend as I like something to read before I head into work or if I turn up somewhere early or a friends running late. I’ve recently started reading Simon Pegg’s autobiography called Nerd Do Well. I’m only on chapter 2 and I love it already! It’s such an amazing book and so far with the way he’s planned it out it’s great. I can see me writing a huge post about it once I’ve finished reading it.

Of course I must have my iPhone 5 in here. I actually slipped it into the case I use at home, which is my rubber Game Boy case, but when I’m out and about I use my hand red case as if I were to drop it with my Game Boy case on, it could smash… Which isn’t good!

Another necessity for anyone, whether you have a bag or not are house keys and some money. I love my house keys, they’re multicoloured tartan but it’s my key rings that I like the most. Three of them are Lego related, one being R2D2 from Star Wars (this is my second one of him, as my first was 10 years old and the print faded), whilst my other two are of Frodo Baggins and Bilbo Baggins from Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. Finally I have a glass seahorse that was a recent purchase when my friend Poppy and I visited The Sea Life Center in Birmingham. She bought the same one, so now we have matching key rings, which is somewhat cute.

I love my wallet so much, as I love foxes, but also because it reminds me of my Gran. For my 22nd birthday in 2012 she gave me some birthday money, which I used to buy this wallet and as regular or old readers will know, she passed away nearly a year ago. Not only is it a gorgeous wallet, but it holds so much stuff in there too! It’s by Loungefly and whilst it wasn’t cheap, for the two years I’ve had it, it’s doing me well! I thought about buying the matching purse and bag for this but sadly I can’t find them anywhere to pick up!

As I drive I keep my car key and my car stereo in my bag whenever I’m at home as I drive pretty much everywhere now! I really don’t know how I could travel via the bus, it’s all cars and trains for me now. I love my car and what better way to show it than a couple of cute key rings! I was going to have small key rings on my car key but I knew it would be impossible to find them in my bag and I didn’t want to keep my car key with my house keys… So I opted for a massive plushie key ring for my car key! As well as that when I saw this cute 101 Dalmatian key ring in the Disney Store years ago, I couldn’t leave it behind and bought it to keep on my car key too.

My stereo is pretty standard, I listen to must a lot whilst driving, but I HATE having to make a new CD to listen to every few weeks.

Just some standard things a woman will keep in her handbag… A mirror for when I top up my lipsticks, hand sanitizer, paracetamol, tissues and some hand cream. Nothing special!

Finally we have what I keep in the little zip pocket inside my bag… I know I have a lot of lip balms, but I shall explain why! I bought the Carmex one on a whim that I was loving the original and wanted one to keep in my handbag. As you can see this one is in Strawberry and it’s vile! I can’t wait to use it up, but at the same time it does do a good job when applied over lipstick, but it tastes fowl! I think my favourite lip balm every has to be my Apple Chapstick and I think I’m running low on this too. It’s not the best lip balm in the world though, it just tastes and smells delicious! The best one out of the three is my Palmer’s Cocoa Butter. It’s really creamy and out of them all is the only one that I can actually feel working when I apply it, but at times I think my lips are allergic as they tingle and hurt. Either way I keep three in my bag incase I lose one… Good enough reason, right?

As well as those I keep a little hand cream in here which is the same as the large one in the previous photo as well as a lip product. The one I’ve been using a lot this week is this lip gloss by Collection 2000 called Lock N Hold. I might review this soon but I know one thing I will say, it doesn’t last 6 hours at all! I wear this at work and have to top it up every hour, which doesn’t bother me, but when I’m on a shift for less than 6 hours, it’s concerning. Let me know if you want me to review this!

So with an empty bag, I’ve thrown everything back in and got into bed!

I love my new bag so much and it’s going to be featured a lot on future What I’m Wearing posts, which I want to try and get back up on my blog again.

So, what do you think of my new bag? Love it, hate it, or not arsed? 😛 Let me know in the comments!

If you have any questions about the bag, or anything else mentioned in this post, please feel free to ask in the comments too.

I hope you’ve all had a great week so far and here’s to the weekend!

Until next time, take care all.

8 Most Worn Things Tag

Happy Bank Holiday everyone! I hope everyone’s day is going well so far! I’ll be at work when this post is made live on my blog, but by the time I get home I’ll have met my boyfriend at work and be cooking us dinner and having some much-needed cuddle time after not seeing each other for over a week. Which believe you and me, has sucked!

But anyway, another week, another tag!

I really enjoy doing tags, they’re so enjoyable to read so even more enjoyable to join in on too.

After reading Maliberry’s 8 Most Worn Things on Friday I decided I would give it a go myself after she tagged anyone who read her post. Go and check out Mali’s blog, she’s a wonderful person and an amazing beauty blogger.

It was really hard to try and answer some of these tags as I couldn’t pick one item for the majority, but the more the merrier eh?

1. Most worn lipstick/gloss?

Left: MAC Rebel.
Right: MAC Lickable.

I couldn’t pick one lipstick, no matter how hard I tried to pick between these two I just couldn’t decide. When it comes to autumn and winter I just use both on and off over the course of each week. These are my two favourite lipsticks and depending on what I’m wearing, where I’m going etc will depend with one I reach for to wear, whether it be day or night. FYI reviews for both of these are scheduled for this Thursday and next.

2. Most worn fragrance?

Left: Freak by Illamasqua.
Right: Loverdose by Diesel.

Once again, I couldn’t pick one and I ended up having two choices for this question. These are both 30ml bottles so I usually throw these into my handbag whenever I’m going to work, a night out or over to my boyfriends for the weekend. The less I have to carry in my weekend bag when I stay over, the better! I love Freak, it smells like nothing I have ever smelt before and as soon as this bottle runs out I’ll be buying another one.

My Mom bought me Loverdose as a Christmas present years ago and I’m only coming towards the end of it now. I nearly bought a 50ml bottle when it was on offer in Boots, but I didn’t have enough money and had to leave it. As soon as I have spare cash I’ll be repurchasing it. It smells really unique too. Both these perfumes are great to use throughout the entire year whether it be day or night.

3. Most worn nail polish?

Frilly Knickers by Butter London.

This is by far my favourite and most used since my Mom bought it me in May. It looks lovely on its own as well as applied over darker colours. It dries matte so I often use this over nail print designs so that they dry quickly and look nice at the same time. I love this polish so much, I’m going to paint my nails with it later today me thinks.

4. Most worn hair product?

Left: Head & Shoulders Citrus Fresh.
Middle: Philosophy Summer Grace Shampoo, Bath & Shower Gel.
Right: Liz Earle Botanical Shine Conditioner.

I don’t really use products on my hair and whenever I have I’ve fast regretted it. I don’t use dry shampoo as it annoys me how it is pretty much talcum powder and gets everywhere! Plus I don’t really straighten my hair or design it in any way so I don’t really use gel or hair spray. I just wash my hair with Head & Shoulders to get any dirt and dandruff out, then wash with a nice shampoo, which is currently Summer Grace until I have money to buy some nice shampoo and finally my Liz Earle conditioner, which I love! It makes my hair so lovely and soft.

5. Most worn handbag?

Front of tartan backpack from New Look.

Back of tartan backpack from New Look.

I love this bag so much. It suites everything I wear and it’s such a huge bag that you can throw everything in it and still have room for more things. I remember buying it after a crap first day at my work experience at a well-known newspaper (which shall not be named…) and I wanted some retail therapy. This bag isn’t available anymore and at the time I had wanted this bag for months so I was glad to finally have it. I have thought about adding some studs onto the pockets on the front and along the straps too, but whether I do this or not, I’m unsure, we shall see. I definitely want to stick some badges on it… Think I’ll do that after I finish this post…

6. Most worn earrings?

… Okay I don’t have my ears pierced so I’m having to change this to:

6. Most worn jewellery?

Closed red heart locket necklace.

Open red heart locket necklace.

My Mom bought me this locket back in 2009/2010 and it’s one of the nicest things she could have bought me. It didn’t cost a lot but it’s the thought that counted. We were in Argos when she was buying herself something, she could see I was looking at the necklaces and said, “Nat you don’t have any proper jewellery do you?” to which I shook my head and she asked which necklace I would like, to which she bought me this locket. Still to this day I haven’t put any pictures inside of it and I don’t really have a reason why. Whenever I wear this I get such lovely compliments and it always makes me think of my Mom.

7. Most worn shoes?

Studded flat shoes from Topshop

Yellow, red and black skate shoes by Vans.
Checkered black & white laces by Vans.

Brothel creepers from Shoe Zone.

Triumph 12 Eyelet Leather Boots by Dr Martens.
Post about them here.

I’m sorry but I just couldn’t wear one pair of shoes, I just couldn’t! I wear a different pair all the time. I bought my Topshop flats at the start of 2012 but never started to wear them until spring this year. They’re the most wonderful shoes and I doubt I’ll wear them as much in the autumn and winter time.

My Vans skate shoes are the oldest shoes I own and I bought them when I was 16 years old, so they’re seven years old and still to this day they’re pretty much my favourite shoes. If I could wear them for work, my life would be complete! They’re just so damn comfortable and have never let me down during the winter time when it’s icy.

My creepers are great and out of all the pairs here were the cheapest. I don’t wear these as much as I used to but I know as autumn and winter comes along these will replace my flats. This my second pair of creepers as my first pair got massive holes in the bottoms.

Finally my Dr Martens. I’ve owned these over a year now and they’re also my favourite shoes. If you check out how they used to look when I first bought them, you’ll see how well-worn they’ve grown over the year. I’ve worn these in spring, summer, autumn, winter, to Stratford Upon Avon, to Coventry, to Wolverhampton, to Cheltenham and in pretty much every club in Birmingham. I love these boots so much and will wear them lots throughout autumn and winter.

8. Most worn shirt?

Black poodle t-shirt by Altru.

The Amazing Spider-Man sweatshirts both from Forever 21.

I actually have five shirts altogether but I cut out two from being in this post due to realising I don’t wear them all as much as I do with these three. I bought my poodle t-shirt back in 2009/2010 from Urban Outfitters during one of their sales. I wore it to university all the time and also on nights out. One afternoon it wasn’t traceable anywhere in the house and it upset me that I could have lost one of my favourite t-shirts. Two days later still with no luck of finding it I purchased another, only to arrive at home to my Mom saying, “Nat I found that t-shirt, it was inside a pillowcase!” but I never returned the second t-shirt so now I have two of them. That t-shirt is also slightly famous, it features on an advert that I’m in for the university that I attended, which is pretty cool.

I love Spider-Man and I have done from a young age and when I saw these in Forever 21 (on different occasions/years) I just had to try them on and buy them. The red one was the first I bought in 2012 and it was something I wore quite a lot throughout the winter months with a pair of baggy jeans during the day and shorts for nights out. I’ve worn it for bed before now too just because it’s so damn comfortable, as well as looks really nice with your hair down and some bed shorts. The grey one I bought a couple of months ago and while it was a silly thing to buy at the time due to the warm weather, I knew if I didn’t I would never see it again and I haven’t since, so it was a good idea to buy it. I wore it for the first time the weekend before last and it was so comfortable to wear with skinny jeans. I’m planning on wearing either one of these at work tomorrow, not sure which one…

So we have come to the end of my 8 most work things and thus the end of this tag.

I really enjoyed doing it and I tag ALL OF YOU to do it too!

Please link your blog down below if you do it, I’d love to see your answers to the questions.

Hope you enjoyed this post and I also hope your bank holiday is going well.

Until next time, take care all and have a great day!