Some outfits, make up, bits and bobs...

As my dear Ma is off travelling around Cuba like the jammy moo she is, I've been left with the responsibility of looking after the home, paying the bills and generally bringing up my younger sibling. So far our neighbors have had to take the bins out every time as I've forgotten, there are piles of laundry in nearly every room and a bowl of dried pasta on the bookshelf to my left. The latter is not mine I might add.

I think I may be turning into my mum. Last night the little sister didn't get home until 5 in the morning and I couldn't sleep as I just find it impossible to settle if I know someone is coming home and I worry if they're doing okay and if anyone's being mean to them. So I sent various texts ranging from the breezy but concerned 'Everything okay? Stay safe' to the 'PUT YOUR SEATBELT ON IN THE TAXI!' I had visions of having to call my mum in Cuba and tell her the person I was meant to be looking after hadn't come home and I needed her to fly back immediately and make missing person posters with me. Thankfully she'd just had a hoot of a night out and is currently lying in bed unable to move at 4 in the afternoon.

But that's not what this post is about. I've digressed before I've even got to the topic in hand. Which is this- I noticed some post for me lying on the kitchen table before I left to catch an 11pm train and thought 'Oh it won't be anything of any real importance, I'll get it tomorrow when I come back.' I then didn't return for several days and when I finally got round to opening my post...it was a big fat tax rebate! Did I immediately cash it and go dine on lobster and woo woo's?

No, I did what a sensible person does and googled 'yoga retreats in Morocco for one'.

Anyway, as well as being in charge of the house and my mum's other sprog my manager also left for a two week vacay to Wales and left me in charge of running her award winning luxury five star spa for the rich and famous. No easy feat I can tell you! Especially when you also have a team of 8 girls with very different skill sets and personalities. So I worked 12 days out of 14 and had my mobile constantly charged and on extra loud just.in.case. And I made it! Not only did I make it but I got an email from HR saying I'd done a really good job and two emails from guests saying how lovely the therapists are and that I'd made them feel really relaxed and it was the best customer service they'd ever had! Not only that but we made target for the first time! So it was treats all round.

Which brings me to the actual post. To keep me going I rewarded myself with extra treats most days in the form of new lipsticks, a cocktail here and there and some new shoes.

So this post is a blur of all of those treats plus some life events thrown in as well.

I literally spent a whole seven days and six nights travelling between Manchester, Macclesfield, Crewe, Stoke, Stone and Staffordshire and back again and I had hardly any clothes with me. I ran into 'Primark' just as it was about to close and the person I was shopping with pointed out a pair of minty green jeans which were £12. I ran back to take a closer look and agreed they were pretty cool. So all I wore for that week were a pair of mint green jeans.

My other 'Primark' purchase was this aztek inspried cardigan which I have worn to death since the moment I bought it. Again I think it was about £12 and I've had lots of compliments since as it really doesn't look like it's from 'Primark' at all. I've got some really expensive cardigans (including a pale pink woolen one which was over £100 and I've never even worn it, how bad is it that? Don't tell). 

'Primark' jeans are actually quite thin which means they hug your bum and make it look nice and peachy which is another reason why I'm liking these jeans so much.

This is my 'It's way past the time I was meant to leave my desk and I'm about to go get on yet another train and trek an hour out of my way to get home only to do this again tomorrow' outfit. I'm not very creative with my outfits when it's the working week as there is nobody on the train I want to sit next to let alone impress.

During that week I also went to a Thai and Teppanyaki restaurant which is just around the corner from where I work. It's huge and must be a pretty thriving business as each course was around £20 and it was absolutely packed. My best friend owns a Thai restaurant where they cook the food infront of you and hers has maybe four tables whereas this one had about eight and it was incredibly noisy. That may be because the prosecco is sooo nice there, my lot managed to get through five bottles and there was only eight of us! 

I went for the salmon.

It was my friends birthday so the cooks all sang happy birthday to her and to about fifty other people whose birthday it was that night.

I had bought new shoes from 'Topshop', they're called 'Gwenda' and they're £58 and come in lots of colours. If I was brave enough I'd have got them in a colourful tone but as they're real suede I know I would have committed a murder had anyone stepped on them so black it had to be.

After that we went on to a Cuban club where they had dancing ladies, limbo, the can can and cocktails in teapots. It was full of twenty somethings which I was glad about as after Malia I was starting to wonder where my age group had got to. The music ranged from traditional Cuban music to James Brown and Kanye which I loved. I didn't stop dancing which is not easy in brand new stillettos and then a Cuban waiter salsa-d over to me, whispered in my ear that he loved me and then started twirling me around. I can only assume that's normal in Cuba.

One thing that hasn't left my side from the moment I bought it is this little 'Topshop' number. My friend Fran came into work with this bag that I had wanted since forever but at something ridiculous like £85 I could only dream. It's real leather so I understand the hefty price tag but as Fran is a graphic design uni student I was pretty sure it was out of her price range too. Until she told me she'd bought it for a tenner at a discount store down town and inside the pocket had been a Tiffany necklace! I instantly got her to draw me a map and off I went in search. From the outside it looks like a big warehouse and inside it's pretty much that but rows and rows of clothes, some vintage, some pretty out dated and some just pretty naff. But then there's a rack of bags by the till and there were loads of 'Topshop' bags lined up neatly waiting for me to take them home. It was like Aladdin seeing the cave of wonders for the first time! I scooped up this one for £10 and another red one I'd had my eye on also for £10.

I don't know how they had these bags for such cheap prices and I'm not asking any questions. All I know is this bag is my dream bag and I am one very happy discount shopper!

Also, my hair is growing again at an alarming rate! It was a short bob, nice and swishy last time I looked and now it reaches my shoulders. I almost miss it being short!

Other things I've had my eye on are the above. I refuse to buy them though as everyone in the world has 'Nike' blazers which is infuriating because I was wearing them back when I did Lacrosse with my dad when I was in highschool. I was still wearing them two years ago when I worked in 'Office' when they started lining up the shelves and that's when I had no choice but to stop. And now I miss them. I want them back but it's too late. These I found in 'Urban Outfitters' for £70 and they're really thin, I love the speckley design and I know they'd look brilliant with absolutely everything. I'm still uhhmming and ahhing though so I'm putting them on the wishlist until I've decided.

Another treat is this 'Diablotine' lipstick by 'Dior'. If anyone has seen the adverts for 'Dior' recently you will know the model is wearing this shade in the pictures.

I love the soft coral colour to it but because my lips are so red and pigmented it just kinda makes them redder. If I put foundation over my lips to mute them first then it looks really really pretty and shimmery and I love the creamy consistancy to it. It's made with moisturing oils so your lips don't dry out and it doesn't show up any dry bits but it does mean you have to re-apply it everytime you eat or drink.

It has a matching nail varnish too which I've lusted over for months now but I'm in a no nail polish phase so can't bring myself to part with the money to buy it right now.

As you can see it's pretty sheer and needs a couple of coats to build it up. If you have pale skin and lips this would be great for you but as I have cool toned, olive skin it just doesn't show up on my lips.

My next treats were a little less high class and I bought them on a 2 for 1 offer at Tesco. I've been using 'Clinique' face cream for a while and absolutely loving it despite what everyone says about the brand being too clinical and harsh. I've seen some amazing improvements in my skin since wearing their anti-aging face cream. However I've almost run out and it's since been discontinued (that has never happened to me before!) so I've been looking for a replacement for less than the £40 cost.

I browsed the make up and body wash aisle of 'Tesco' in a panic as I was staying in Stafford for the night and all I had was sun cream as a moisturiser. I went for this one because it has an SPF15 and a creamy texture to it.

I also went for the eye cream, again for the texture. It does make my skin more glowy and I think I can see a difference under my eyes but I'm not sure it matches up to 'Clinique' so after this runs out I may have to seriously invest. So far though I don't have any complaints.

My other treat was the much talked about 'Creme D' Nude' lipstick from 'MAC' from their cremesheen range. I'd gone in to find another lipstick I'd seen on 'Pinterest' (don't get it, I'm addicted) but in real life it was like a brick red when I was after a nude. I don't know why I get these urges for lipsticks when most days I forget to put it on but I do and I have to feed the urge or it just bothers me and I sit at my desk thinking 'My life would be amazing if I just had that nude lipstick', I'm an advertisers dream! 

It's actually more of a nude colour like the above than my picture shows. You have to be careful not to completely blot out your lips as it's a very true beigey-pink nude and can make you look ill if you put too many layers on it. It's the perfect lipstick to compliment a black or brown smokey eye with a bit of bronzer which is my all time favourite make up look. This was £15 and I've worn it every day since (granted this is only the second day I've had it but still).

My last item on the old wish list is this jumper. I don't know why but I love it and I want it and I'm going to hunt it down until I find it. I think I like the fact it's pink the most. I can see myself sitting in my conservatory eating peanut butter cookies with my best friend watching films in this wearing my glasses and a pineapple bun and yoga pants and walking socks. That's honestly when I look my best!

Today's make up

I had the day off today so I slept in till lunchtime and then spent three hours getting ready. I'd booked tickets to go to 'The Comedy Store' tonight but the person I was taking broke down on the motorway so the only people who were wowed by my amazing make up were my grandparents who I'm not sure even noticed.

Oh well.

I'll talk you through it.

I don't know why I've gone for half up, half down today as I don't think I've done that since Primary School but hey, it's really working out today.

I wore my new 'MAC' lipstick and this necklace which was £14 from 'Urban Outfitters'.

I went for golden and bronzed with a pale lip and darkish smokey eyes.

I used 'Snakebite' from my 'Urban Decay Naked 2' pallette all over the lid.

Then 'Blackout' as a liner super lightly.

I powdered my forehead, nose and chin with my 'MAC' powder in medium and then a little bit of 'MAC' bronzer in natural, both from their skin finish natural range.

I put some 'Sugarbomb' by 'Benefit' on the apples of my cheeks for a bit of a shimmer. Most blushers look terrible on me as it brings out any red in my skin tone whilst bronzer brings out the golden tones, this is a great combination of both.

When I first got this bronzer I hated it, it was flat and made me look a dirty brown and the brush was no use to me who likes the fresh faced, apples of my cheeks, golden beach girl look. However, if you use this as a bit of a contouring bronzer it's absolutely brilliant.

And that's all there is to it really.

Autumn is on it's way and I need new UGG's.

Bella

x