Get The Label Urban Party

Hello!

Well, alluding to my last post, I haven't been a very good Sunday blogger!

I was at a hen party at the weekend which got pretty messy so I was out of action (again) on Sunday.

Having finished work a little earlier than usual today, I thought I'd grab the opportunity to blog about an amazing event I attended earlier this month- the Get The Label Urban Party!

I must say I was a bit dubious about this. I like to think I'm still down with the kids and can get away with a bit of streetwear but things that are overtly described as 'urban' tend to be a little on the cheesy side. We're talking a Vanilla Ice record.

My preconceptions about the event were completely wrong, it was actually one of the best executed blogger events I've been to.

There was plenty to do including style challenges every hour and video 'blog brags' to take part in- absolutely dreading seeing mine!

I'll apologise in advance for my terrible photos; I think I mentioned in my last post that mine phone got stolen plus I couldn't find my SLR camera charger on this morning so had to make do with my lacklustre old phone!

The clothes

Shoe heaven

Get The Label have a really good selection of Nike Blazers. They kindly let us choose a few pieces and I picked the red Blazers on the left above. Little did I realise that they were mens- oops! As the sizes are quite limited on some styles, I ended up choosing these low Blazers in bright orange which have now arrived. They are pretty awesome so I'll hopefully include them in an outfit post soon.

To make up for my bad pictures, here's some better ones from official photographer Jay Cain.

The cupcakes were excellent!

It was a really fun evening. I love coming to events like this in Manchester and getting to know the little blogging community we've got going on; thanks to Get The Label for a great event.

Love,

Foxy x

Sunday Girl

Hello!

I started getting into the habit of blogging every Sunday but as you can probably see, it didn't last long!

Once again I feel like I've been all over the place recently. I'm originally from North Yorkshire, my boyfriend whom I live with is from Warwickshire and we both went to uni in Birmingham so we're constantly all over the country seeing friends and family.

Last weekend I was in Birmingham for a uni friend's birthday and the weekend before I went out in Leeds with one of my oldest and best friends. It was in Leeds that some nasty person decided to steal my phone- boo!

Any time which could've been spent blogging was occupied with eating McDonald's (and other, not so well-franchised fast food eateries) and feeling sorry for myself. I'm thoroughly sick of my old phone and am bidding on a new one as I type!

Last week I took the opportunity to grab a quick outfit snap after work so I'd have something to post about!

Fluffy Jumper- Oh My Love

Trousers- Topshop

Boots- eBay (these)

Cross Earrings- Primark

Gold Chain- Charity Shop

This is typically what I'd wear to work which is fairly smart/casual. I'm so in love with this fluffy 90s-style jumper from Oh My Love. Seriously impressed with my first order from them.

These chunky platform boots are pretty 90s too and have rarely been off my feet since they arrived- an eBay bargain at £19.99.

Another reason I snapped this outfit was because I've got my new glasses on! I was lucky enough to win a money off voucher with online glasses store Firmoo with Maddy from Unstitchedd's blog giveaway! If you're after a cheap pair of fashionable glasses, you should really check them out.

I don't normally wear lipstick to work either but wanted to do a quick review of a little product from Lush I picked up recently.

It's the lip scrub in bubblegum and sells for £5.25 a pot.

I wanted to try this as I wear lipstick quite often at weekends and find that if my lips are a little dry, it doesn't always apply so well and spoils the effect.

The scrub is made of natural sugar and you simply scrub a little product into your lips with your finger and lick off the excess. Trust me, this stuff smells and tastes so nice, you'll find you put on a little more than necessary!

This is a really great step to add in before applying a lip balm to make sure your lips are silky smooth.

It also comes in 'Mint Julip' and 'Popcorn' flavours which also sound amazing!

Sorry for the thrown-togetherness of this post!

I went to a really great blogger event on Thursday so I've got a post on that coming up which should have much more direction!

Love,

Foxy x

Blue Jeans

Hello!

Last weekend I didn't have much to do so thought I'd pop into a few of the charity shops near me.

I was so pleased I did because I got an awesome new pair of jeans! After saying I'd given up on looking for the perfect pair of vintage high-waisted 'Mom' style jeans and consequently bought the American Apparel ones, I found these babies.

They were just £3.99 and still had the tags on! Despite being 'new', I think they're a good few years old from the style and cut. Being petite length they make good ankle bashers too.

Beanie- Honour Over Glory

Gold chain- charity shop

Crop top- Forever 21

Belt- charity shop

Shoes- Dr Martens

Sorry if you're bored of seeing the pewter Dr Martens brogues- absolutely rinsing them at the moment; love them!

I'm loving the 90s revival at the moment and am a die hard fan of high-waisted anything so these are just perfect.

Funny story about these jeans. They're pretty tight and first time I tried them on I bent straight down to do another turn up and pulled a muscle in my stomach. It was agony and having read up on it online I convinced myself that I'd torn an abdominal muscle so iced it and was waited on hand and foot all night. In the morning I felt fine! Boyfriend wasn't impressed haha.

Have you uncovered any bargains recently?

Love,

Foxy x

Manchester Fashion Week Blogger Meet and a Box...

Hello!

So last week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting some of the other Manchester Fashion Week official bloggers at a meet-up at Castle Galleries on Deansgate, Manchester (which has some amazing fashion-related art if you wanted to check it out).

With most blogger things I've been to in the past, I've gone with someone I know so I was feeling a little uneasy about it, though was so happy I went as everyone was so lovely!

It was nice to see some familiar faces and meet other bloggers based in the region whose blogs I'd yet to come across.

You should deffo add these ladies to your reading list; Fikki and Lola the duo behind Pastime Bliss, Danielle of A Blog from Blackpool, Lily of Lily Kitten, Maya of Big Dreams, Small Girl, Kate of Fashion Fallows, Maria of Miss Drifted Snow White, Irena D of Irena D World, Martyna of El Martina and Gwen of This Fashion is Mine. Sorry to those of you I've left out- there was a lot to take in (and I stupidly thought I could remember everyone's names and blogs. Fail).  Please comment me if you're one of these as I'd like to add you to mine too!

Also an extra special mention to Alex from Alex D Photography whose image I've stolen borrowed as even though I lugged my camera there, I managed to miss out on taking any pictures! Besides the rather sad Instagram one which follows of my mini red velvet cupcake and champers...

You can spot me in the top left with messy piled-on-top-of-head hair, wearing a cream thrifted shirt and black H&M jumper

We also received our next monthly goody box at the event. It was another cracker for sure!

Inside...

Beauty

Seascape 'Refresh' Hand Lotion: I received this gorgeous hand cream from Seascape who I hadn't heard of before. After having a look at this product on their site, I was pleased to read that it contains no artificial colours or fragrances which I'm hoping will be good for my hands as they're quite sensitive and can get very dry. This was nice to use with a pleasant fragrance.

Tanatomicals instant self tan mousse: Sadly I won't be trying this one! While 'deathly pale' is probably pretty apt for me, I'm just not a fake tan person. I've grown to love my paleness and simply can't be bothered with the brown stuff! I took it out the box and gave it a sniff and can say that it smells pretty nice (unlike some fake tans do) and it's got some good reviews on Superdrug. I'm thinking of doing a giveaway soon (as I've never done one) so I think this will be making its way into the prize box!

Sweet Treats

Jelly Belly Assorted Jelly Beans: I was so pleased to get these! I'm not so big on jelly beans but Jelly Belly is a whole different ball park! I absolutely love their flavours. These were gone pretty quickly...

Firefly Orange and Passionfruit Drink: Despite my drink being out of date (!), it was still really nice. I often bypass these sort of drinks as I find they have a lot of added sugar but surprisingly this didn't. This flavour was lovely and really fruity.

Have you discovered any great new products recently?

Love,

Foxy x

Easy DIY: Floral Shades

Hello!

I don't know about anyone else but I'm thoroughly sick of the weather in the UK! I swear it decides to snow whenever I want to do anything. Despite the plummeting temperatures, last week I decided to do a quick summery DIY to cheer up the miserable day!

I remember being completely taken by the 3D flower sunglasses from A-Morir last summer; they're so beautiful and perfect for festivals.

The A-Morir 'Phillips' and 'Cass' styles:

These styles will set you back around £200-300. They're handmade to order and I'm sure are worth every penny, though at that price, they'd cost around the same as the holiday itself for me!

Taking inspiration from these, I thought I'd have a go at making my own.

First, you'll need a cheap pair of sunglasses.

I bought a couple of wayfarer styles from Primark- can't a wrong for £1 a pair.

You'll also need some 3D plastic flowers with a flat base.

You should be able to find some in any good craft/bead/jewellery making shop. I got mine from a bead shop in Affleck's Palace, Northern Quarter, Manchester- also my go to place for cool charms for jewellery making! The have an online shop too, here.

Pretty handily, they had some strips of three linked flowers in various colours which saved a lot of time and effort. A three-link flower was 50p a piece.


Then simply glue your chosen flowers to the specs wherever you like. I simply added a strip of three to either side at the top, but you could go all out and add single pieces all around the rim.

(I used Loctite superglue if anyone needs a good glue recommendation. I've found it to be the best I've come across for this sort of thing)

And voila!

Total cost £2 a pair! What do you think?

I think these make a great alternative to a flower crown, don't you?


Have you come across any cool summer DIYs lately?

Love,

Foxy x

On the Road Again...

Hello!

I feel like I've been all over the place these past few weekends, visiting family and work stuff. Clifford the Clio has seen his fair share of the country and I've neglected my usual weekend duties of slobbing around in my onesie, shopping and doing a bit of blogging!

These snaps were grabbed just before setting off to Warwick to see Chris' parents a couple of weekends ago.

Sunglasses: Ray Ban

Fringed Leather Jacket: Topshop (sale, old)

Top: Urban Outfitters (sale, very old!)

Belt: Charity Shop

Jeans: American Apparel

Pewter Brogues: Dr Martens

Vintage Head Holdall: Charity Shop

I'm wearing my new American Apparel high-waist jeans. After getting frustrated trying to find the perfect pair of vintage jeans, I flirted with the idea of getting the new Topshop 'Mom' ones; though I'd seen these and loved them but I do tend to find AA a bit over-priced. Luckily, an email popped into my inbox a while ago with a 30% off offer so I snapped them up. I had a nightmare getting the right size though so be warned- try them on in the shop first!

The old school Head holdall bag was quite the bargain- a £2.99 charity shop buy, perfect for a weekend away.

It was surprisingly sunny so I felt the need to break out the Bans for the first time this year! I don't know why but I enjoy driving so much more with a pair of sunglasses on.

I think sunglasses instantly make almost anyone 10x cooler; I recently watched David Lynch's Wild at Heart so for no reason other than they look awesome driving across America in a pair of shades, here's messed up lovers Sailor and Lula.

(Fairly obscure reference there but it's an awesome film- watch it!)

Have you been on any road trips recently?

Love,

Foxy x

Fashion Week in the North

Hello!

You may have noticed a new addition to my bar on the right- I'm super excited to announce that I'm an Official Manchester Fashion Week Blogger!

I'm stoked to be a part of the proceedings this year. I find Manchester such a fashionable and inspirational city with such great design talent and established companies; it's only right that we have our own fashion week!

As a perk of being a Manchester Fashion Week blogger, I will receive monthly gift boxes of treats and products to try out from some of the partner brands.

So without further ado, here are my thoughts on box number one.


Beautifully wrapped...

The contents...

The low-down...


Fashion & Beauty

Thoughts.

Lancome Hypnôse Drama Mascara: I love a good volumising mascara; for me, it's probably the most important item in my makeup bag. I'd actually never tried this one so was really pleased to receive this sample in my box. FYI, some of my past favourites are Dior's Diorshow, Max Factor's False Lash Effect, Yves Saint Laurent's (or should I say Saint Laurent?) Volume Effet Faux Cils and currently Benefit's They're Real! I've been using this for a few days now and am quite impressed! I'd say that it's main effect is thickening. It provided good volume and length but wasn't as great on separation (something I find my Benefit mascara gives well). The brush is a curious curved shape as opposed to the original Hypnôse version and I've heard there's a correct application method to get the effect right with this one so it may just require more practice.

Lancome Génifique Yeux Youth Activating Eye Concentrate: While I can't comment on the anti-ageing effects of this, I've applied it on a few mornings before putting on my make-up and found it really nice to use. It has a velvety texture but feels light on the skin. It's slightly cooling on application and made my eye area softer and appear brightened.

Redken Velvet Gelatine (07) Cushioning Blow-Dry Gel: I love my hair products and was very happy to hear that Redken were to be a partner brand for Manchester Fashion Week as I'm a big fan of their products of which I have many (almost as many as Tigi's). I've used this on several occasions in place of my usual  Tigi Bed Head Superstar Thickening Spray on wet hair before blow-drying. Though a 'gel', it feels really silky and absorbed really easily and left no residue on my hands. Even without my usual thickening spray, it left my hair volumised and bouncy with plenty of body. My hair looked shiny and healthy after blow-drying so it's a thumbs up from me!

Gift Voucher from Hair 1 UK: I received a £10 voucher from the team at Hair 1 UK. I've never been to the salon before but looking forward to going!

Inner Me Lustrous Locks Vitamin Complex: These girly vitamins contain MSM and Silica and promise to give healthier looking hair in two-weeks. The first thing I noticed about these is the packaging- it's so pretty! I love the illustration, it reminds me of a blogger profile portrait. These are marked with the days of the week to remind you when you need to take them which I found really useful (though I've still managed to miss a few). So far I can say my hair is looking good!

Multi-pearl Ring from Accessoryo: I'd heard of Accessoryo before but never really had a look at their jewellery collection. While the ring in my box probably isn't something I'd pick myself, they've got a good range of fashion jewellery on the site at reasonable prices.

Snack Time

Hotel Chocolat Milk Oblivion Sleekster Selection: Who doesn't love a nice box of choccies and they don't come much better than Hotel Chocolat. These were scoffed by Chris and I within two days (oops). My faves were the cinnamon praline and sea salted caramel chocolate.

Megaload Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Cups: I love American sweets and chocolates but sadly hate peanut butter! That didn't stop me from having one (and a half...) of these though and they were actually really yummy!

PopChips Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips: I've heard a bit about Popchips recently having done the rounds at London Fashion Week (the new Vitamin Water??) but haven't seen them on the supermarket shelves anywhere. These are made from potatoes like regular crisps but are 'popped' like popcorn so they're healthier than fried crisps and tastier than baked ones. I would be inclined to agree and at 95 cals a bag I think I'll be buying these in the future!

Teapigs Darjeeling Earl Grey Tea: I'd heard good things about Teapigs from various tea enthusiasts but it wasn't until I went to a conference with work a couple of weeks ago that I actually tried one of their teas; I can honestly say it was the best peppermint tea I've had! After this I was pleased to receive another in my box to taste but being the uncultured northerner that I am, I think I probably spoilt it by adding a glug of milk. It probably would have been nicer without but it was really fragrant and I enjoyed it nevertheless.


I've really loved trying out everything in my box and can't wait for the next one to arrive.

Have you had the chance to try anything new recently?

Love,

Foxy x