Winter Warmer Fashion Haul

Me and Andrew nipped into town this morning and as it's pay day I couldn't help nipping into Primark and Toppers to buy a few bits now the weather's got so cold. Talking of Topshop, if you haven't been in to the new store in Leeds Trinity you NEED to go. It is absolutely massive and has all the amazing concession brands we've never had here before such as The Ragged Priest, I had to get Andrew to hold me back so I didn't spend too much!

Tall Flecked Oversized Top - Topshop - £18

I love casual basics like this for throwing on for a long day at work. I always buy the tall option if it's available at Topshop as I love tops that cover my bum and have that oversized slouchy look to them. I think grey is perfect for Autumn/Winter as it goes with all the seasonal colours such as Burgundy and Khaki.

Disco Treggings - Topshop - £30

I love the whole disco pants trend that's been flying round for the past year or so but unfortunately they just weren't made for my figure. I've tried on the real American Apparel ones on a couple of times before and whilst they are of an extremely high quality fabric, they just don't fit right on my pear shaped frame. They are either too tight on my thighs and fit on my waist or fit on my thighs and absolutely swamp my waist! When I saw these Topshop ones I thought it was a much more reasonable price and they seem to fit much more evenly. They are less trouser like and more legging like but as I will be wearing them with a baggy tshirt or jumper over the top I don't think it will be a problem! Just a word of warning, if you are going to buy these I would recommend getting atleast 1 size smaller than you usually wear as they are deceptively big fitting and stretchy!

 Jumper - Primark - £6

Cable Knit Snood - £5

I love this jumper as it's so soft and slouchy and is in a beautiful speckled blue colour. I cannot believe it's only £6! This will be ideal for work as it gets so hot when I'm running around the shop floor but it will still keep me warm enough when it's quiet. This snood was also a great investment for winter as it is in the beautiful oxblood colour that is so in fashion right now and is a lot easier than wrestling around with my big long scarf.

Speckled Jumper - Primark - £10

Fur Stole - H&M - £12.99

Ok so you're probably sensing a theme now, I like oversized speckled knitwear! This jumper is actually from the men's section and has really nice suede patches on the elbow. I really love the Primark menswear as they do really nice chunky knits and baggy printed Tshirts that seem to all be a lot cheaper than the women's section. I bought the fur stole a few weeks ago but haven't included it in a post yet. It seems to instantly glam up any outfit and makes me feel like a Bond villain! 

Legging - Primark - £10

Slippers - Primark - £6

Gloves - Primark - £4

Socks - Primark - £3

The fair isle print seems to be on everything at the moment and I couldn't resist picking up a few cosy winter items in the cute design. I am OBSESSED with pyjamas, I literally live in them at home, so I bought these super soft Christmas leggings to wear in bed as they are so warm! I also needed a pair of slippers as the house is absolutely freezing so I picked up these adorable little booties and some snuggly angora socks to keep my feet warm! The last thing I bought were these fur trimmer fair isle mittens as I think they'll look nice with a plain outfit and were a total bargain for £4!

So those are my winter warmer buys from Primark and Topshop. What have you been wearing to keep cosy?

Becca.x

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Okay, so I know it's not quite christmas yet but I am getting so excited already it's ridiculous! With it being our first Christmas in the new house, and with money being significantly tighter than usual, we have started buying presents and decorations early this year so we aren't having to sell our bodies when December comes round. We have decorated our house in a country cottage kind of style so we wanted our Christmas decorations to reflect that, we have been buying odd, cute little baubles when we've stumbled across them and once again TK Maxx has become our best friend for quirky little bits and bobs.

These candles smell seriously incredible! I was going to splash out and buy a Yankee Candle or 2 but they are so expensive and I'm not actually keen on the jars they come in and then I spotted these bad boys in TK Maxx. They were just £4.99 and they smell out of this world and so christmassy, I literally want to eat Caramel Apple. Can't wait to start burning these!

You all know by now that mine and Andrew's obsession with squirrels is getting a little out of control. We're going to end up as a weird old couple who can't move in their house for all the squirrel ornaments. We couldn't resist this cute little tree decoration though. Apparently squirrels are in this season, me and Andrew will deffo take responsibility for that!

We picked this gorgeous little tea light holder up from Sainsbury's in their Christmas decoration section. I love how rustic it looks, almost homemade, and I'll be using this all year round so it was a total investment for under £5!

I fell in love with this Christmas wreath in TK Maxx and expected it to be atleast £10-£15 but I picked it up and it was only £3.99! This is going to look so simple and festive on our door. 

We've managed to pick up a really good selection of baubles for the tree so far. With it being our first house I want to start building up a nice selection of different baubles so every year we can add to it and it will be nice and personal. I picked the little individual ones up from a local homewares boutique and the two box sets were from TK Maxx (again!)

On a side note, this week has been absolutely amazing! My cousin Abbi, who you may remember from this post, had her beautiful little baby girl yesterday morning, 2 weeks early, and I met her for this first time today. She is absolutely stunning, like a perfect little doll and I am so happy for Abbi and James, they have an amazing little family now. Lily Tessa Mae Baker was born at 1.56am on the 29th of October weighing a healthy 7.9. I am even more excited for Christmas now!

I'd just like to wish Andrew a Happy Birthday too, he's the ripe old age of 23 today and we've had a lovely day going to the cinema, eating Mexican food, and of course meeting the newest member of the family, beautiful little Lily.

Becca.x

Top 10 Nail Polishes for Autumn/Winter

Those of you who have been following my little blog since the start may remember that way back in June I did my 'Top 10 Nail Polishes for Summer' post. Now it's Autumn, my favourite time of the year don't you know, and I thought I'd do a similar post showing you my seasonal faves for these colder months. Since moving into the new house I haven't been able to afford many new makeup and beauty bits, hense the lack of beauty posts, so these are all from my old  faithful nail varnish collection!

(L-R Revlon  'Plum Night', OPI  'Romeo & Joliet', Essie 'Sew Psyched', OPI 'Warm & Fozzie', Rimmel Lycra Pro 'Beige Babe', Models Own 'Golden Green Beetle Juice', Sally Hansen 'Gray By Gray', Revlon 'Facets of Fuschia', OPI 'Stranger Tides', Nails Inc 'Queenstown Road')

1) Revlon 'Plum Night' - I love, love, love the colour of this polish. It is exactly what the name suggests, a true plum, very dark and rich. The only issue I have with this shade is that it does take a fair few coats to get it opaque and streak free as it is fairly watery but the colour you get at the end makes it worthwhile.

2) OPI 'Romeo & Joliet' - OPI are by far my favourite nail polish brand for their amazing shade range, their smooth application and their quirky names. 'Romeo & Joliet' is a dark burgandy/wine colour with shimmer to give it a metallic finish that is really on trend this Autumn/Winter. The colour is opaque in 1 coat as with most OPI polishes, although I always do 2 for good luck!

3) Essie 'Sew Psyched' - This is the perfect polish for this season's military trend. It is a khaki green and applies so creamy and even. This is by far my most worn Autumn/Winter polish so far this year. As far as I know this shade is now available in the diffusion line for Boots and Superdrug, however I ordered mine online from Fragrance Direct last year so it is the old formula.

4) OPI 'Warm & Fozzie' - Another favourite from the famous brand, 'Warm & Fozzie' came out in the Muppets Collection last year and is a beautiful bronzey-brown with multi coloured shimmer, seriously festive!

5) Rimmel Lycra Pro 'Beige Babe' - I'll be the first to admit this isn't the most exciting and glitteringly festive shade, but 'Beige Babe' is ideal for those times you're feeling lazy and want a colour that is going to go with everything. It is a creamy taupe and as I mentioned in the summer alternative to this post, Rimmel Lycra Pro polishes are by far my favourite formula.

6) Models Own 'Golden Green Beetle Juice' - This is a stunning duo-chrome polish that I've heard is a dupe for Chanel 'Peridot', although I don't have that to compare. This has a really complex shimmer to it and is one of the few nail varnishes to last more than 5 minutes on my nails without chipping, so for me it's a total winner!

7) Sally Hansen 'Gray By Gray' - This is actually a really versatile shade as you can get away with wearing it any time of year. Contrary to what the name would have you believe, 'Gray By Gray' is actually more of a tealy-blue and reminds me very much of a stormy sea at night (Im so deep). 

8) Revlon 'Facets of Fuschia' - This nail varnish excites me so much it is RIDICULOUS, it is just so god damn special! I'm not normally a massive glitter polish fan, they can look a bit tacky and are frankly, a total pain in the butt hole to get off but this is just so unique, it's like nothing I've ever seen before! 2 coats leave it looking like a black gel with different sized purple/fuschia glitter suspended within it, it really reminds me of the galaxy print that's so popular at the moment. Definitely get your hands on this!

9) OPI 'Stranger Tides' - This is a gorgeous pale pistachio shade that is perfect for when you want a nice Autumn/Winter polish but you don't want anything too dark. It is much, much lighter than Essie's 'Sew Psyched' and it has a similar affect to a nude polish.

10) Nails Inc 'Queenstown Road' - I am so gutted I only have the mini of this as it is the perfect Oxblood/Burgandy hue. It almost has a gel finish to it and is really dark and beautifully opaque in just 2 coats. I love matching this with a dark vampy lippy such as 'Dubonnet' by Mac which I featured in my similar 'Top 5 Lipsticks for Autumn/Winter'. 

So those are my 10 favourite nail polishes for these up and coming christmassy months, what are yours? Do you like to follow nail trends or are you still rocking the neons and pastels?

Becca.x

Ebaying My Whole Life!

Hello you lovely ladies! Some of you may have noticed me ranting and raving on Twitter all morning, I have finally managed to put a load of my clothes, shoes and beauty bits on Ebay to try and raise some money for my Christmas pressie buying fund. I haven't used Ebay for yeeeears so I wasn't aware there was a 10 item limit, I'm hoping to get that upped over the next few days as I have so much more to sell! Anyway here's the bits I have on so far, I'd love it if some of you would share this post on your Twitter so everyone can see my items, I don't fancy giving my family lumps of coal for christmas!

Office 'Gear Up' Boots

Topshop 'Dougie' Boots

Makeup & Beauty Bundle

Lipstick/Lipgloss Bundle

Topshop Parka

Topshop Trench Coat

Office Shoes 

Zara Studded Blouse 

Topshop Cross Tee 

Topshop Skater Dress

So that's everything on my Ebay so far, after looking back at that I'd like to point out I do know other shops exist aside from Topshop, you'd think my life revolves around it (You'd be right). Keep checking back because I'm hoping to get loads more items up over the next week or so, I'm selling some Mac and Bobbi Brown makeup bits and loads more clothes and shoes.

Hope you're all having a lovely sunday guys, Ive got the heated blanket cranked on full and literally have not moved out of my bed. This is the life!

Becca.x

What's In My Bag?

I am SUCH a crazy stalker and love these posts, who doesn't like to know what rubbish people drag around with them on a daily basis?! I am a total hoarder and don't even throw away sweet wrappers so when I show you the photo of 'What's in my bag' you can envision it littered with various different food related packagings if you like, I just thought I'd spare you the eye sore.

1. The purse I am currently using is this little studded number from Primark, it was only £4 and has a separate zip section for coins which is a must for me. As some of you may have seen if you follow me on Twitter, my purse got stolen a couple of weeks ago and I was devoed as it was the Chloe purse Andrew got me for my 22nd birthday earlier this year.

2. An umbrella is an obvious essential if you live in the UK, I've been thinking about buying a decent one for a while but never get round to it, this plain black one was from Poundland!

3. I always carry this little makeup bag I got free with a No7 purchase not that long ago for on the go touch ups. I carry my Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in 'Medium', my Real Techniques Buffing Brush, a Mac Kohl Liner in 'Smoulder', a bronzer and whatever lipstick I'm wearing that day.

4. My keys. I always forget my keys; I left them at my mum's the other day and Andrew went out and locked me in the house, he wasn't impressed. On them I have a floral key ring that my mum got me from Cath Kidston last Christmas and a cute little willy I got in Spain last year. (Did I really just say 'cute little willy' on my blog?)

5. Chewing gum & Deoderant - So I don't stink obvs.

6. I always have my glasses in my bag but hardly ever wear them. I got them last year and decided to splash out on a more expensive pair as I thought I'd wear them all the time, turns out I don't oops. If you were wondering the model number is CH3213 and you can get them from www.eyewearbrands.com although I got mine directly from the opticians.

7. I tend to carry 2 phones, one for my bro's and one for my hoe's. Nah just joking, my IPhone broke but it can still connect to Wifi so I use it for WhatsAppin' and I use this amazing Nokia for texting/calling. Gutted it doesn't have Snake though.

8. My Kindle goes everywhere with me; I read it in bed, on the bus, on the toilet (No but really), in the canteen at work, EVERYWHERE. I've nearly finished my current book so let me know what I should read next, nothing too scary though or my imagination works overtime!

9. I always, always, always keep my work tag in my bag. The second my shift is over it goes straight in there or I know I'll forget it. As you've probably all worked out from my OOTD posts, I work at Office!

10. Lipbalms. As you all know I have an obsession with lipsticks so I always have at least a couple of lip balms floating around in case I need a bit of extra moisture. Korres Lip Butters are my absolute fav, especially the Pomegranate one.

So that's what I carry round with me on a daily basis, minus all the rubbish. I'm not a big bag person so I tend to use a bag until it falls apart, and then I'll finally buy a new one; Hense why this Zara bag has appeared in pretty much every blog post I've ever written.

What's in YOUR bag?

Becca.x

Top 5 Lipsticks For Autumn/Winter

With my love for lipsticks ever growing, the start of new seasons brings about exciting new lip colours and new trends to try out. Surprisingly, I haven't actually bought a new lipstick this Autumn yet (although Mac-Rebel will be mine) so I've put together my Top 5 Autumn/Winter lippies from the ones already cluttering up my dressing table.

(L-R: Nars 'Senorita', Revlon Lip Butter 'Macaroon', Revlon Super Lustrous 'Spiced Brandy', Benefit 'No Competition', Mac 'Dubonnet')

Apologies in advance for the moody faces and the greasy scraped back hair; it just personally really annoys me when I'm looking for online swatches of a lipstick and all I can see is it on the back of someone's hand. I don't want to see your hand, I want to see your face!

1) Mac - 'Dubonnet' 

You may recall I included Dubonnet in my 'Top 5 Mac Lipsticks' post back in June when I started my blog and it is easily my favourite Autumn/Winter lipstick of all time. The Mac website describes it as a 'Deepened Claret' and I would definately agree; It is a beautiful dark, wine red that applies super smooth and creamy due to it's Amplified formula.

2) Revlon Lip Butter - 'Macaroon'

I bought quite a few of the Revlon Lip Butters when they first came out in the UK as there was a massive hype around them but I actually found myself to be quite disappointed with most of them. This is one of only 2 I ended up keeping and it is a beautiful dark dusty rose colour with a subtle shimmer. It is perfect for the Autumn and Winter months due to not only it's rich colour, but also it's moisturising formula.

3) Benefit - 'No Competition' 

The Benefit website describes this lipstick as a 'Heathered Plum' and it's amazingly creamy and moisturising formula has made this a firm favourite in my A/W2012 lipstick collection. This is the only Benefit lipstick I have but I love the texture so much that I definately want to add to it and 'Espionage' is next on my list for an even darker berry hit.

4) Nars - 'Senorita' 

Whilst berry colours are the most obvious choice for an on-trend Autumnal lip colour, sometimes the occasion just calls for a nice nude and it's particularly in these colder winter months that I struggle to find a shade that doesn't make me look like the living dead. I bought Nars 'Senorita' online last year and it's taken me until these last few weeks to actually dare to wear it. In the tube it looks incredibly frosty and shimmery, and to be honest, on the lips this does pick up too, but it manages to really warm the skin up and create a fuller looking lip. I LOVE this lipstick and recommend that everyone tries it on before ruling it out, it truly is transforming. 

5) Revlon Super Lustrous -  'Spiced Brandy'

'Spiced Brandy' is possibly the nicest textured dark lipstick I've ever worn. I often find darker lipsticks to be quite drying but this is seriously moisturising and lovely and creamy. I have heard a fair few people saying this is a pretty good dupe for Mac's 'Fresh Moroccan' but having not tried that I can't really comment. I personally find it gives a similar overall effect to that of 'Dubonnet' however this has a fair bit of shimmer in, which normally I would say I'm not too keen on but in this case looks really pretty and perfect for these colder months.

So those are my top 5 lipsticks for these treacherous winter months. I'm thinking of following this up with a similar nail polish post as Autumn is by far my favourite time of year and quite frankly, it's getting me excited for Christmas. Too soon? 

What are your favourite lipsticks for Autumn/Winter?

Becca.x

A Welcome Back Haul

I FINALLY HAVE INTERNET! It's been weeks without it and I have missed sitting down at my crappy old broken laptop and blogging more than I ever thought possible. It is my aim to blog atleast every other day now as I really want to get back into the swing of things and I thought I'd start by showing you what fashion and beauty bits I've been buying this past few weeks.

Bowler Hat - H&M - £7.99

I've wanted a bowler hat for ages now but all the ones I've seen are like £20+ and I knew I wouldn't get enough wear out of it to spend that much. I found this one in H&M for £7.99 so picked it up straight away!

Burgandy Jeans - Topshop - £38

I've wanted the burgandy Leigh jeans from Topshop for soooo long but when I got these home in my usual size they were so tiny! A lot of the reviews have said the same on the website so I'm going to have to swap them for a bigger size.

Necklace - Topshop - £16.50

'All About Eyes' Set - Clarins @ Debenhams - £20

Clarins 'Wonder Perfect' Mascara is my favourite of all time so when I saw this set for the same price as the mascara alone I knew I had to get it. It is the perfect bristle wand for creating full, natural, fluttery lashes.

Bag - Primark - £6

Peplum Top - New Look - £22.99

I love this top but I haven't worn it yet because I'm really struggling to find a way to wear it that suits my figure. I'm really pear shaped so I think the peplum style is a bit unflattering on me so any suggestions of what to wear with this would be really helpful!

Split Side Tee - Topshop - £15

I love this long baggy Tshirt so much I bought it in black and khaki. I've been wearing them over skinny jeans for work with my new Topshop necklace.

Chunky Scarf - Zara - £25.99

I felt unsure buying this scarf as I think 25quid is A LOT of money for what is essentially a long piece of material but since getting this home I've pretty much lived in it. It's so soft and makes any outfit look a lot more put together. 

'Gear Up' Biker Boot - Office - £85

These are the softest leather boots ever and look really nice slouched down with skinny jeans and the black Topshop slit tee.

Brick Red Vans - Office - £44.99

I have wanted Burgandy Vans for soooo long and I finally got a pair! They're really big fitting so I'd definately recommend going a size down but they are so comfy and look so casual but thought out. I don't know how I coped without them before!

So there's all my buys for the last month, if you want reviews of anything specific just let me know in the comments and I'll write up a post for you. It feels so good to be back and I can't wait to blog more often. I hope you're all well, you'll be seeing me again very soon!

Becca.x