2014 in Oufits

2014 has seen more outfits than ever before and has easily been my favourite year of blogging. (All down to the help of a tripod and self timer) I'm seriously struggling to pick a favourite outfit though- do you have one? 

The past few days I've been in complete denial that soon it will no longer be 2014. I've spent since Christmas day trying to distract myself with movies, tv and copious amounts of chocolate. This year has seen a lot of change for me but this little corner of the internet has been following me along. Here are some of last year's best outfits, if you want to see what's changed over the past year. (My hair has been shorter, for starters) 

It's time to wrap it up until 2015- I'm off to think about all the resolutions I'll try now to break next year. Happy New Year! 

Leave a comment telling me what you want to see on TM next year x

1) From The Depths   2) Take III   3) Twirly Swirly   4)  Distressed Up  

1) Celfie Time   2) Summertime Sadness   3) Rock Your Body   4) Cut It Out 

1) Stolen Dance   2) 18 (!)   3) Day One   4) Grey Area 

Two More Sleeps!

Christmas is getting seriously close! I was sorting through my wardrobe and managed to put together the most cliched christmas outfit ever. Yes, it's got the christmas sweater, some velvet and a hat and I don't have an ounce of shame. I might make it through the morning but let's all be honest, by the afternoon I'll be back in my pyjamas! 

Merry Christmas every one, and have a christmas cocktail on me! (Cosmos are my favourite, if you were wondering...) Look out for a round up of 2014 this time next week! I'm still in complete denial that the year is nearly over.

Barry M Aquarium Collection

It felt like in every November favourites video I watched this year duo-chrome nail polish was mentioned, so it was only a matter of time before I tried one out.

Barry M is always the place to look if you want to try out a new nail trend- they've probably got it covered for a price tag of £3.99! I picked up the shade Persian from their Aquarium collection, but it didn't quite live up to all my hopes. In the bottle it comes across as a purple / gold / green colour but after painting on two coats, it was a bright purple / brown colour. In hindsight I probably didn't pick the right shade for me - I consistently go for the more muted or dark shades, so many the navy option would have been a wiser choice. 

As with all Barry M polishes, the formula is great for the price you pay. Sans top coat it will definitely last a good 3-4 days before it needs some attention! I'm definitely going to revisit the collection next time I go to Boots. Are there any other duo-chrome polishes I should look at? 

Before I go- can I give a little shout-out to blogger and friend Katy? She braved the cold walk to the park to take these photos for me. Go and say hi on her blog for me? 

New Uniform

Wearing: Coat - Topshop, Tee, Jeans and Slip Ons - Primark, 

You might have noticed that my last post was a whole twenty days ago, and I feel like every time I write a blog post it starts with the famous words "Sorry I've been away, but I'm back now!" All I can say is thank you for sticking with me on this one, people. I still love this blog more than ever, but it seems that there aren't enough hours in the day to work, eat, blog and watch countless episodes of Gossip Girl when I should be sleeping. 

University has meant two things have happened. 1) Primark is my most visited shop and 2) I feel like I constantly wear the same outfits, this being one of them. Does anyone else agree with me in thinking that wearing a uniform was so much easier? I guess this is my new uniform - black skinnies, pumps and a tee. Super boring, but super comfy. You gotta get your priorities right! 

The "5 Product Face"

There are days when I crack out the palettes and multiple products, then there's every other normal day when I stick to five or six products before leaving the house.

1) Skip foundation and start with concealer. On my last trip to Boots I picked up the Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer which is great under the eyes, and any other problem areas or old blemishes, blended out with your usual foundation brush.

2) I add a bit of colour to my cheeks with a Sleek Luminous Pressed Powder in a shade or three darker than my skin tone, so this acts as a blusher / bronzer / contour / general warmth giver.

3) Liquid eyeliner is as technical as I get on a day like this and I'll often skip it out. I grab the first one I see, which turned out to be the Natural Collection Liquid Eyeliner today.

4) Mascara comes next, and more often then not I'll use Benefit They're Real! to coat my lashes.

5) Finally, fill in those brows! Last week I picked up the Maybelline Brow Satin Pencil which lets you add colour to get just the right amount of 'Cara'- nothing too over the top.

What's In My Bag: Uni Edition

Starting University last month was the perfect excuse to buy myself one of the many Zara bag I lust over. Enter the Zara Office City Bag with pocket. It could probably only be more beautiful if it came in black. (Yes, I did ask a lady at the till if it came in black...) 

The details:

A girl can't have too many lippy options. I'm nearly always a nude lip girl, and Topshop's Nevada and Rimmel's Notting Hill Nude are my favourites that I always carry around with me. Carmex has been saving my lips recently, and Vaseline doubles up as a good blusher too. 

Of course, keys always come with me, as do the headphones. 

With all the best intentions, I've been hauling Gone Girl around with me since I bought it. So far, so good, and I've just got home from seeing the movie and boy, I don't even know what to tell you. There are no words. 

There are always black biros rolling around in there, and a calculator is a new addition too. I don't carry all my old notes with me- just paper, and does anyone else get really fussy about paper? W H Smith all the way people. Weleda's Skin Food transfers between all my handbags because it's an all round good'un. Good as a lip balm, or just a general moisturiser. My purse holds my life so I keep it close at all times- who knows when I might need one of the numerous random discount cards for some elusive store? 

So there's what I lug around all day e'rryday. I won't lie, it's quite heavy! What are the items you keep in your bag religiously? 

From The Depths

Every now and then a blog post in the making gets lost in the depths of my computer. This one nearly escaped- until I decided to procrastinate from university work and give my laptop a clear out! 

I wish I could say that this weekend had been an eventful one, but it really hasn't been. I've spent the weekend reading chapter after chapter of numerous text books, and my brain feels like it's about to explode! But it's 21:46pm so I'm calling it a night. I have a hot date with Netlflix and my uni flat mates! I hope you all had a lovely weekend (finger's crossed it was more exciting than mine)...

Seeing as University is taking over my life right now I have a few themed posts in the works. They won't get buried in the depths, promise. Once I've well and truly settled into my room and jiggled things about there will be a room tour! (ugly carpet and curtains included, of course.)

Mid-Month Favourites

I'm just going to put my hands up and say that I haven't blogged in forever because university life has been hectic. Writing and shooting outfits is something that I love to do and it sucks that I haven't been able to. But, I've just handed in my first assignment and my the outfits should hopefully be back soon. For now here's what I've been loving recently.

1) Phone Case, Primark- This is the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was super cheap and cheerful and I was seriously needing to update my phone case situation!

2) Carmex- After my favourite chapstick went walkies I picked this one up at the Supermarket. It works like nothing else and I love the packaging.

3) Rainy Day Nail Polish, Topshop- blue toned greys are a new favourite nail polish shade. It goes with everything and the Topshop nail polish is so long lasting!

4) Vixen Nail Polish, Revlon- the brush on this baby ain't so great, but the colour is! This was doing the rounds on all the blogs last year but I held off because last winter was all about Essie's Luxedo for me.

5) Alarm Clock, M&S- I tried to bring as many little reminders of home when I moved into university. Being surrounded by familiar little trinkets has made my room feel so much more like my room, if that makes sense. 

How has October been for you so far? All I can think about right now is Halloween and playing dress-up. Did someone say Wednesday Addams? Watch this space! x

September Insta-Updates

Instagram will always be my favourite way of sharing the pretty snippets of my life. Here's the month of September in images.

1) I've picked up new bed sheets, a shirt and scarf from Primark recently, their new collection is so impressive! I also went to the other extreme and nearly broke the bank when I "invested" in a Zara bag. (Using the word invest makes me feel so much better about this decision) 

2) My mum sent me some pictures of the dog because she knew how much I've been missing the little scamp whilst being at university.

3) Spotting the Sartorialist at Somerset House, LFW. 

1) Spending my spare time taking flat-lay shots, because why not?

2) Walking the little monster. It was the first day I noticed the leaves had changed!

3) Lazy days sporting a birthday present. You can never have a bad day when you're wearing a t-shirt covered in Ryan Gosling's face, right?

1) Celebrating my birthday in a different style. We skipped the main course and went straight in with homemade desserts. 

2) Freaking out because I'm finally 18!

3) Making rice crispie squares for the blog. So. Good. 

I'm always looking for more instagram accounts to follow so leave your username in the comments! Follow me to see what I'm up to in October (I refuse to believe the year has gone so quick) 

follow me on Instagram.

Day One

I'm still really not awake, but we'll try this anyway. My first few days of Freshers are done, and I have a lecture starting at 10am. Day one of university, let's do this! (I wish I was so enthusiastic in person, but the whole 4 hours of sleep thing is not treating me so well.) 

Tying a check shirt round my waist is my new favourite thing to do. I figure if Essie Button does it, it's got to be cool, right? But anyway, I'm going to wrap it up here, (unintentional Essie Button reference, I swear) and have a slow wander around to my lecture building. The Sun is out, but I have a feeling that it's going to be deceptively cold this morning. Autumn is here, people. 

Grey Area

Wearing: Skirt, Tee, Boots - Primark. Bag - Zara. 

Hello internet, the outfit posts are back! I had a mini hiatus from my usual content because 1) My wardrobe was feeling very uninspiring after a major clear-out (and I mean major. It was only a matter of time before it happened though, and Anna's video was the final push) and 2) Why not shake up what appears on TM?

The countdown has officially begun- I only have 3 nights left in my bed before I move out. The fact that I can't take my bed with me seriously upsets me, by the way. I guess this means that I need to start packing and step away from all the London Fashion Week vlogs on YouTube? 

Autumn Inspiration '14

My annual Autumn Inspiration post is always one of my favourites to write. One year on and I'm still in love with burgundy nails, stacks of rings, ankle boots, and any other autumn cliche you can think of. Sorry, not sorry. Just looking at this compilation of images makes me excited for the colder months. 

On Sunday I'm heading down to London for what seems to be becoming my traditional trip to LFW. I don't know how long I've spent looking blankly at my wardrobe, but I still don't know what to wear. A wardrobe full of clothes, and nothing to wear. Apologies, this post is just one cliche after another! Sending big love, xo 

The Recipe: Chocolate Crispie Squares

This recipe came to the rescue last week when I wanted to bake an edible "thank you" for my last day of work. (Although, I would be lying if I said that I saved them all for my colleagues. I had to do the taste test, right?!)

*Credit for the recipe goes to Lucy Young and her book Secrets of Aga Cakes. It's the only book I go to for baking- if you have a sweet tooth you need this book, no questions asked.

For 16 squares you will need:

12x9in baking tin, lined with cling film
100g butter
100g marshmallows
100g soft toffees
200g coco pops

All you need to do is:

Melt together the butter, marshmallows and toffees together on a low heat. Keep stirring so nothing gets burnt! Stir in the coco pops, making sure they're evenly coated. Spoon into your tin and use the back of the spoon to pack the mixture down, so it's compact. Pop it in the fridge for at least an hour. Then you can tip it out the tin and chop up!

If you're feeling fancy...

Melt 100g of chocolate (white, milk or dark- your choice!) and drizzle it over the top.

18 (!)

 It feels like I've been waiting for this day to arrive for a while. So, what's changed in the past year? My hair is shorter, I can actually drive a car now, and in three weeks' time I'll be settling into university. My wardrobe has changed a bit too- I'm slowly embracing the fact that I'm 5 ft10" and can still wear heels, and there's lots more black in my wardrobe than this time last year. Case in point, right here. 

Here's what I wore last year. 

I'm spending the day eating pizza, cake and there's a very high chance of a movie marathon this afternoon. Spending my first day as an 18 year old in style, of course.