Wednesday 28 December 2016

Christmas 2016

Happy Christmas everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing day. Mine's was perfect, spending it with all the famalam and of course I was surprised with some really lovely gifts as well, including a few nice beauty bits, which I can't wait try out!
This is just a quick post to share my Christmas day outfit and make up look.

The Outfit


Dress - Alter Petite from ASOS 
Heels - Topshop (last season, similar available here & here)
I also paired my metallic oxblood clutch from Mulberry with this is look as it matched it perfectly!

My little family (apologies for Rocco's demon eyes). I absolutely loved what Michael was wearing - tartan trousers ftw!

Make Up Look


Base
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light combined with Benefit POREfessional
Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream in Vanilla
Bare Minerals Blemish Remedy foundation in Clearly Silk
NARS Radiant Creamy concealer in Custard
MAC Blot Powder in Medium

Contour/Highlight
YSL Touche Eclat
MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Highlighter in Soft & Gentle
Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour palette

Brows
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Dark Brown
Benefit Gimme Brow in 5 Deep

Eyes
MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre (primer)
Charlotte Tilbury Dolce Vita eyeshadow palette
Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner 
Smashbox eyelash primer
Bare Minerals Lash Domination mascara

Lips
MAC Lip Liner in Oh Honey
MAC Lipstick in Cherish


I got my first ever pair of Louboutins from my mum & dad - how did they know how much I would love them?! Can't wait to wear them (saving them for New Years) but I have the fear about ruining those famous red soles! They also got me this beaut leopard jacket from Zara (another favourite). My brother also nailed it with the Zoeva complete eye set in rose gold. Thank you so much! 

Michael got me lots of wee bits & bobs including the dress I wore on Christmas Day and some gorgeous Thomas Sabo earrings which are very like the Dior Tribale one's. His parents took us to London for the weekend at the start of December (I'm yet to write a wee post about this trip) which was amazing, and then we were even more spoiled as we still had presents to open on Christmas morning. Overall, it's safe to say I have been completely spoiled from everyone and a very lucky girl! 



Saturday 3 December 2016

Black Friday

I haven't blogged in over a month but I do have good reason, well kind of. Uni is taking over my life once again - dissertation and another big essay hand in before Christmas. Half way through the essay (due on Wednesday) and only done my research for the dissertation .. so one might say I'm a little behind! But I will get there in the end... Anywaaaays that's enough uni chat, let's talk about something a bit more exciting - BLACK FRIDAY 2016!

Black Friday is traditionally an American thing that happens on the Friday following Thanksgiving, but over the last few years it's been taking over the UK as well! Everywhere seems to be getting involved and you can save yourself quite a few pennies! I managed to get quite a few Christmas presents and a some bits & bobs for myself so I thought I'd share those.

I'll start with these GORGEOUS make up brushes by Spectrum from their Marbelous Collection. I am literally in love, they are just so stunning! I got these at 30% from Beauty Bay. I think they are currently sold out there but you might still be able to get them from the Spectrum official site. I'll do a proper review of these soon, though my first impression is pretty good. They are super fluffy, haven't shed and pick up the product well. I also think you can't go wrong with £28 for five brushes. Plus they look great on any dressing table!



Next up, the Copper Luxe Limited Edition GHD set which comes with the Air Hairdryer and copper straighteners. I purchased this from ASOS as they had 20% off for BF and I had a £15 ALIST voucher so instead of £195, I got these for £141 which is great considering the straighteners alone were around £130. And I desperately needed a new hairdryer since my current one singed off a chunk of my hair - not good. Similarly to the brushes above, the set was just stunning to look at so a must have in my eyes! Nice little gift for yourself, or perfect as a Christmas present for your mum or girlfriend. Initial impressions are good as well, the hairdryer dries my hair so quickly which is fab! Definitely a salon quality hairdryer, which of course you would be hoping since the price. Currently, I definitely think it's worth the price tag!

This set has sold out on ASOS and most other places but you can still get your hands on it from Feel Unique.





My last little BF beauty purchase is something that I have literally fell in love with... it's the Charlotte Tilbury 'Dolce Vita' eyeshadow palette. I got this at 15% off from Harvey Nichols and also had £10 voucher so £22 for this was a pretty good price. I have used this a couple of times since I bought it and I just think it's amazing. The colour pay off is insane, the shadows are so buttery soft and that copper colour is to die for! Oh and they blend like a dream. It's perfect for all the Christmas parties coming up. I'll put up a wee make-up look using it over the next few weeks. 



Now I don't know about everyone else but I live in jeans. They are literally my go to item. I usually buy all my jeans from Topshop since they have a petite range, however this season they just haven't had any pairs that were really catching my eye and I really wanted some jeans that didn't have an rips in the knees. Now I know the rips look great, but I have really, really been feeling the cold and having holes in my knees just did not help! I really wanted to try out Paige Denim after hearing all about the brand from my fave blogger Lydia but unfortunately couldn't justify the £200 price tag just before Christmas - maybe a wee birthday treat to myself next year! So after seeing Leanne Lim Walker raving about Levi's on YouTube I thought I would give them a go as they had 30% off everything during BF weekend.

I got the Mile High Super Skinny Jeans in the wash 'Shut the Front Door'. The wash is a lovely colour, slightly different to how it appears online. I got a size 24 waist, normally I'm a 25 in Topshop Petite jeans and this fitted perfectly. They make your bum look fab! The only downside is I got a 30 leg which is supposed to be the shorter length and they are still too long for me. I don't particularly like the look of rolling skinny jeans up so I'm going to take them to a seamstress to get them shortened. I know Levi's have an alteration type service in store so I think I'll give that a try first. 


This next purchase is one that I need a little bit of advice on. Now I seen this jumpsuit months ago and just couldn't get it out my head, I loved the colour and fit so when Ted Baker were offering 25% off for BF I took it as a sign that I had to have it! Unfortunately, now that I have got it home and tried it on in front of my own mirror, I don't know how I feel about it.. what do you guys think? I LOVE the top half, I'm just not sure if culottes are my thing. I have thought about getting it altered to make the trousers slim, but then the jumpsuit was pretty expensive so what if it didn't work out...




So please let me know what you think of the jumpsuit! Is it worth it or should I return?
What bargains did you get at BF?

x

Saturday 22 October 2016

How to do Black Tie on a Budget

Long time no see! I've once again neglected my blog... sorry! I've started back at uni and being my final year it's all go. Dissertation, dissertation, essay hand in's and some more dissertation so I've been a little bit pre-occupied with all that exciting stuff. I finally had a wee bit of free time today so thought I'd get a blog post up!

A couple of week's ago I had a black tie event with my boyfriend and I didn't particularly want to spend too much money on it as Christmas isn't too far away and I've got quite a few birthdays coming up and I'm going to London at the start of December as well! (Money, money, money! I really wish money tree's existed haha!) The other thing that I wanted to consider - would I actually wear this dress again? Let's face it girls, we are all pretty guilty of buying gorgeous dresses and wearing them once and they never see the light of day again. Grad ball dress, I'm looking at you! Hence, I wanted to do black tie on budget. First stop was finding a dress! Now I found two that I fell in love with, one from ASOS (which is the one I went with) and one from House of CB. The House of CB dress wasn't so budget friendly at £110. I really wanted it so I tried really hard justifying spending that but I just couldn't do it! So I ordered the little Club L number from ASOS and guess how much it was?! £28!! Yes ladies, £28! Aaand I got my 10% student discount so all in all it was only £25.20 which was amazing and I definitely think it looked much more expensive. I paired the dress with a nude pair of heels & nude handbag (I just tucked the chain inside to make it a clutch) which I already owned, so saved myself some cash on accessories. 

Tips for doing black tie on a budget:


1. Shop around! There are loads of online retailers where you can get ball gown type dresses that are pretty inexpensive. My favourites are ASOS & Missguided (both have a petite section as well). My bestie also just got a gorgeous dress for a ball from PrettyLittleThing so check them out!

2. Use accessories that you already own. Staple pieces in black or nude will go with everything and most girls will own one or the other (or both!). There's not much point in spending £50 upwards on fancy shoes/handbag that you will wear with that one-time dress and then they will lie in your wardrobe gathering dust.

3. Be brave! Dig out a dress you've only worn once before! Who cares if you've had photos taken? If you look good & it makes you feel good, get it on! Plus, the chances are no-one else will remember that you've worn it before. You could even it mix it up with a new pair of shoes since you're saving money by not buying a new dress.

4. Hire it. If you've fallen in love with that super expensive dress that's over-budget and you know you'd only wear it once, rent it out. There are loads of shops that hire dresses out online at a fraction of the cost price. Guilt-free spending!



Dress: Club L at ASOS
Heels: Office
Bag: Gucci Soho Mini Chain 


Sunday 21 August 2016

Metallics

Metallics are going to be HUGE this season! I have noticed metallics almost everywhere. I think it's such an amazing trend progressing from Summer to Autumn as they look great with your holiday tan and then again, a great trend for the festive season in Winter. Perfect party looks. Personally, I prefer one or two metallic pieces per outfit, be that in accessories or one key piece of clothing. I think less is more with this trend!

Here are the few pieces I picked up whilst in Spain:


 

Pink Metallic Top - Find it here
Rose Gold Metallic T-shirt - Find it here
Metallic Bomber - Find it here
Turquoise Metallic Top - Find it here

If you follow me on Instagram (@__nicoleashleigh) then you will have seen these two bits already, but I love them too much to not share them on my blog as well!


This nail polish is stunning! I love it on & it lasted almost a week without chipping, which is fab. I picked this up in duty free but I'm sure you'll be able to get it in your local OPI stockist. 


This is the Whistles Baxter bag that I did a blog post about a couple of weeks ago (read it here). I finally took the plunge & bought it as a wee treat when I returned from holiday - cure those holiday blues! The silver is no longer available on the Whistles website, so I purchased this from ASOS which was a bonus as I got my 10% student discount and I got to use my ASOS A-List Vouchers so I actually got it for a great price. 

Here are some of my favourite metallics I've seen recently: 


They have some really amazing Gucci dupes in just now and of course at a fraction of the price! I think I'm definitely going to have to buy these pink loafers, especially as they will match my Bayswater perfectly.






 













 What are your favourites?
Send me links in the comments below.

x







Tuesday 26 July 2016

Spanish OOTD


Top - Zara
Shorts - Topshop
Wedges - Dune
Bag - Gucci

x

Monday 18 July 2016

Nudes









Top - Topshop
Shorts - Topshop (Similar)
Lace Up Sandals - Pull & Bear
Wedges - Dune Kailee