Monthly Archives: May 2014

Sarenza Sunday- MEOW!

11th May 2014
In case you’d failed to notice, I’m a bit of a crazy cat lady as well as a shoe addict, so the second I clapped eyes on the pair below I just knew I had to own them. Thankfully I had a birthday coming up, and parents sympathetic to my feline footwear needs and so, for once my Sarenza Sunday post is about something I already own.
The ASPCA Cat printed Vans caused a bit of a stir when I shared my pair on my instagram and I had a lot of people asking where I got them from. Well, they are out of stock in a lot of places, but Sarenza do have more sizes than most left in stock and you can sign up for a handy alert to let you know when your size comes back in.
These really are the coolest, and comfiest shoes I own. I’m certain a few of my friends (and perhaps my boyfriend) would like to disown me when I wear these but I don’t care. For such a printed shoe they are surprisingly versatile due to the neutral colours so get worn with pretty much everything- they lend themselves especially well to denim. You can expect to see an outfit post featuring them in the not too distant future, although I have been very lazy about getting outfit photos lately…
Not a cat lover? They also come in a dog print hi-top version too, there’s also a fabulous mid-season sale on at Sarenza right now too, so do have a browse of that whilst browsing these- and don’t blame me when you make a purchase or two!
Are you a crazy cat lady or a devoted dog lover?
On Instagram? Leave your links below, I’m always looking for new people to follow. You’ll find me here.

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5Fashion

09th May 2014
Right now it seems barely a week is passing by where I don’t discover an awesome new place to browse online. One of my most recent finds is 5Fashion who sell an amazing array of on trend pieces at really reasonable prices.

Dress c/o 5Fashion | Shoes: Hobbs c/o McArthur Glen

Neon is one trend I really love but I’m a bit afraid to fully embrace. I’m a pale girl and super bright colours can wash me out if they are too cool toned. This dress is the perfect way to incorporate some super colour in to my wardrobe as it isn’t overpowering, and I do love me a floral print. I’m loving swing dresses at the moment as they hide a multitude of sins- namely my lack of exercise! At £20 this is a welcome addition to my closet and something I’ll be wearing a lot of this Summer, styled simply, just like it is here with either Converse, Sandals or my beloved Hobbs brogues.
I’m not sure how it’s happened but somehow we are at Friday once again. I hope everyone has some fun weekend plans- feel free to share them below, as well as trends that you aren’t quite sure that you can pull off (but wish you could!)

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Welcome to the Makeup Revolution

08th May 2014
As much as I love my high-end beauty products I only ever purchase them with Birthday/Christmas money or ask for them as gifts. I’m quite realistic and know that I personally can’t afford to be splurging on makeup right now (although fair play if you can!) and so I’m always on the hunt for good quality and affordable beauty brands. I’d heard a lot about Makeup Revolution on Twitter, Instagram and the many beauty blogs I read, so when they kindly offered to send me some goods to try I had high hopes as the feedback I had heard was very positive!
Firstly I could not believe the prices of these products, nothing in this package cost over £4.00 and they don’t exactly look cheap!
The eyeshadow palette was the first thing I tried (I swatched a few of my favourite shades above- sorry for my rubbish swatches by the way, I am still getting used to this beauty blogger lark!). I was sent the Redemption Palette in Day to Night (£4.00) and I just love it. I often find with palettes I’ll use one or two of the colours and ignore the rest but these are all super wearable. For day I’ve been using the nude shades for a base and then the super bright turquoise as a liner. The pigmentation of these is incredible, often with cheaper products you loose pigmentation but I’m delighted to say this isn’t the case here. This would be so perfect to take on holiday as you have every colour you could possibly want to take you from beach to bar.
The next product I tried was the Liquid Blush in the shade Rush (£3.00). I’ve always been scared of liquid blushers in the past as I’m a bit heavy handed when it comes to colour but this was a lovely, build-able colour which I wore quite sheer for daytime (swatch is the top pink in the first photo). There was no trouble blending this blusher which was my other concern, in short this is every blush addicts dream.
The Velvet Salvation Lip Lacquer in the shade “What I Believe” (£3.00) is probably my favourite product. This went on so smooth and dried to the perfect matte finish which lasted me an entire day of shopping! Unlike many matte products this didn’t dry my lips out and I love a shine free finish so I’ll be stocking up on these!
The other eye product I had was one of the Eye Foils in Rose Gold (£4.00). These are such a genius product and you can’t really see in my swatch just how pigmented and metallic the finish is. This is THE product for a night out, you just pop a little of the liquid primer in to the tray provided and mix in some of the pigment. You get a solid, metallic eye colour that really stands out from the crowd. I can’t wait for a proper excuse to wear this…I’ve not seen anything else comparable on the high street.
Lastly I tried out one of the nail polishes and to be honest, priced at just £1.00 I did not expect much as I’ve had bad experiences with cheaper polishes in the past. It’s always nice to be proven wrong though and I was! Two coats of Maybe Tonight gave a good solid finish which lasted me two whole days without chipping (with no top coat). With 40 shades to choose from I think my already huge polish collection may soon be expanding.
If you’ve tried any of the products I’d love to know your thoughts, especially on ones I haven’t mentioned here. I have my eye on the foundations next so links to reviews on that would be fabulous! As you can tell, I really rate Makeup Revolution and can’t wait to see more from the brand.

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Posted in beauty, make up, review

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Boho Vibes

07th May 2014
I seem to have veered away from my more girly side of style lately, favouring bolder colours and brighter, more graphic prints. Sometimes though, it’s good to go back to your roots and when I was sent the most ethereal, floaty dress recently I remembered how much I enjoyed all things feminine.

Dress c/o Valour and Valkyrie | Shoes: Georgia Rose @ Sarenza | Necklace: La Jewellery

I hadn’t ever really heard of Valour and Valkyrie until recently but I found myself smitten by their website and ethos of creating fairytale worthy clothing. This dress is an absolute dream and a delight to wear. From the floaty batwing sleeves to the pockets; a dress with pockets is always a winner, this lends itself perfectly to neutral accessories- a bronze necklace and golden brown boots for starters on a grey and dreary day, but I’m thinking bare legs and gladiator sandals with perhaps a floral crown for warmer and sunnier times.
The necklace, which I purchased after featuring La Jewellery on the blog before Christmas is one of my most worn pieces. “Carpe Diem” is a constant reminder to myself to stop over thinking everything and seize every single day as it presents itself. It toned in perfectly with the dress and I think it’ll become a constant companion for it.
How has your style changed recently? How would you have styled this dress, I want more ideas!
Valour and Valkyrie is also available on notonthehighstreet

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April Degustabox Review

06th May 2014
I’m a bit late in popping up my thoughts on the April Degustabox, for no reason other than I don’t know where on earth time has got to lately! I’ve had quite a few of these boxes now- a monthly subscription box full of surprise food stuffs, far exceeding the £12.99 cost (including p&p).
I’ve been really impressed with all of the boxes I have received so far but I have to say that the April one has been the best yet! I was like a child at Christmas when it came to unpacking the goodies.
1. One of the products I was most excited to try was Miso Soup sachets from Clearspring (£1.29 each) as I love Miso soup, more as a warming and savoury drink than anything else- it’s basically flavoured hot water in terms of calories! I’m saving these to take to work, for when there is too much morning left before my actual lunch but I have super high hopes- although at the RRP I’m not sure I’d be making the purchase often myself.
2. I’m not much of a crisp fan so I passed these on to Mum, who is to share her thoughts on them. I’m not actually sure she has tried them yet as I haven’t heard any feedback from her, but she seemed quite excited when presented with the bag of Keogh’s Atlantic Sea Salt & Irish Cider Vinegar crisps (£1.00). Again, a luxury treat and not an every day kind of crisp, but I’m sure these would be lovely served with a cold glass of wine or two!
3. Another product I haven’t tried myself, these Mornflake Superfast pots look awesome! The only reason I didn’t devour these straight away is because I can’t eat nuts, but I’ve passed them on to Ben who is forever snacking on crisps and chocolate in place of breakfast or lunch! These are perfect for him to take when he is working at the studio due to their “magic milk”, meaning you only need to add cold water to get a ready made bowl of cereal. Complete with spoon these cost £1.20 each.
4. DRINKS! This month’s box contained Cawston Press apple juice with rhubarb, which is actually amazing (and I’m not much a juice fan!). The Rhubarb adds a gorgeous edge to the drink, and at £1.00 a can it’s priced in line with many other soft drinks. The box also included a bottle of Crabbie’s Raspberry alcoholic ginger beer (£2.19) which isn’t really my thing. I’ve tried but just can’t love ginger beer no matter what the taste is disguised with- Dad happily took the bottle off of my hands though! A product I’m saving to take to work with me is Go Splash Blackcurrant squash (£2.45). This little pack contains enough super concentrated squash to make 6 litres of drink and will be fabulous during my clinics when I talk my mouth dry!
5. Saving the best to last- on to the sweet stuff! I love Jaffa cakes, and I love mini rolls so these new flavours from McVitie’s (£1.30) each were well received. The Tropicool flavour were my favourite but both were super yummy- I haven’t tried out the suggestion of popping them in the freezer for a Summer treat yet though! I was also delighted to see three treat sized bars of Lindt chocolate appear in the box (£0.80 each). I’m a HUGE fan of Lindt chocolate but didn’t get to keep them to myself, sadly. I haven’t used the Dr. Oetker baking chocolate (£1.69 a bar) yet as we have an influx of birthday cake in the house right now. This however has been ear-marked for some chocolate chunk cookies, so I’ll share the recipe when those are baked!
If this post has tempted you in to trying out Degustabox then you can save yourself £3.00 off of your first box when you register by using the code CAUAT. I can’t recommend the service enough, it’s so exciting to get new ingredients delivered each month and it’s led to new creations and new favourites.

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Posted in food

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