Collective Haul

Since I finished exams, I've been treating myself to a few things every now and again after my extended dissertation/revision period and degree result :). These weren't all bought at the same time though, I can control myself, promise!

Cosmetics - I've bought a few Rimmel Salon Pro polishes recently. The shades are 'Cocktail Passion' and 'Reggae Splash', neither of which I have tried yet but I've heard good reviews. I think Reggae Splash is my favourite though! I also bought the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush which has been a revelation to me! It makes your foundation look airbrushed. I was using a beauty blender before which made my foundation look thick and gloopy when applied - not attractive. I would definitely recommend the Real Techniques brush though, it's worth those pennies! I bought the L'Oreal Superliner to replace my Rimmel liquid liner and I'm not sure about it yet, it's very shiny when applied and I think I prefer a matte effect eyeliner-wise. The final cosmetics product I picked up was the Bourjois Cream Blush in shade 03. I love a cream blush and this is the perfect rosy pink for my cheeks, and gives a little hint of sheen as well as smelling all floral-y in the pot!

Clothes - These Topshop lace shorts are perfect for the summer. Paired with heels or sandals and a shell top they look great on a night out. They'd be great for holiday too. Any shorts I buy have to be high waisted, I find them much more flattering! I also went a little blazer crazy in H&M. The cream blazer is part of the new collection and it has a really pretty lapel shape and is structured and will smarten up any outfit. The black beaded blazer was in the sale for just £15 and being a little more cropped, is different to the other black blazers I already own. Finally, the two tops I bought from Primark were such bargains. The cream top has an embossed style floral pattern all over it and is slightly cropped in length, and the longer vest is a lighter, floatier material in a baroque print. I think the cropped vest was £8 and the baroque vest £4 and they will look great with a pair of high waisted jeans or a skirt and a little blazer.

Have you been on any shopping trips recently and picked up any bargains?

Weekly Want No. 7

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Hey everyone! Sorry again for the lack of blogging action on my part, I moved home from university last weekend and have been trying to get sorted out ever since (I haven't even brought half of my things home yet!). I haven't done a weekly want in for-ev-errr and I went to Meadowhall yesterday so have spotted a few things I now have my little eye on.

I really want a more grown-up, new phone case and I think this H&M one is perfect. I picked it up in Scunthorpe a few months ago and put it back down & now can't find it anywhere but online, so an order looks like it may have to be placed! I love the turquoise necklace from Accessorize. I always wear a necklace under collared blouses and this one would be perfect against a crisp white or cream blouse. It also comes in a nudey-pink colour and a deep red, both with gold chain detailing too. 

The River Island shorts would be perfect for a night out, not so sure how much I will be going out now I've finished university but the textured polka dots are almost too cute to resist! The same goes for this Lipsy dress, it's now half-price in the sale but I just don't know if I can justify buying something I'm not sure if I'll wear very often! I love the sequin and mesh detailing on it though! 

The two make-up products I've chosen in this post are the Rimmel Salon Pro nail polish in 'Reggae Splash' which caught my eye yesterday as I ran into Superdrug for emergency tanning mitts! I think they have it on special offer for £2.99 at the moment (along with the rest of the range!) and it's the perfect colour for summer, a really peachy pastel shade...perfect for toenails on the beach maybe? The lip crayon is one of the new Bourjois Colour Boost range in a shade called 'Orange Punch', a lovely bright coral colour just right for the summer. Really excited to try one of these out as I've heard the pigmentation and smoothness of application is really nice.

Have you tried any of the cosmetics I've picked out/what are your summer must haves for fashion and make up?

Maxi Skirt

Skirt & Vest - ASOS; Blazer - Missguided; Shoes - Blog Sale; Necklace - H&M; Bag - Zara

Hey! After a long time away I'm back to blogging! I've had my dissertation and finals to do and then had some other bits and pieces to attend to before I could finally relax and start taking some outfit pics again! I am disappointed at the poor quality of this picture is though, my room at uni is so dark and I can't wait to get back home to do some nicer photos! 

I bought this ASOS maxi skirt a little while ago and I love it. The split is a little daring but this would be an evening outfit, I couldn't bare so much leg in the day! I bought this in a size 4 because the 6 was sold out and I am definitely NOT a size 4 so I think as it stretches you can afford to go down a size! I paired it with a little black vest top. a cream blazer and some cute flatform style shoes, but could dress it down with sandals or up with some nude heels. My Zara bag is properly being put to use now (I didn't want to use it for lectures as I thought it'd get messed up!). 

So nervous now I'm finally a graduate. Job hunting is v. stressful but I just need to keep at it and hopefully I'll have my dream career really soon! 

Hope you are all well, love you lots x

Mini Jewellery Haul

All items c/o MissCinderella

I've definitely become more of a magpie over the last couple of years. I was never really a jewellery girl before I came to university but now I always spend forever and day carefully select my necklaces, rings etc. to match my outfits each day, which can't be a bad thing, right?!
My lovely friend Hope kindly allowed me to select a few little pretty pieces from her new jewellery store MissCinderella, so in usual Grace style, the first thing I went for was a statement necklace. This pretty multicoloured gem necklace will look so nice under a blouse collar or over a plain black or white top in the day or at night. I also chose a Hamsa necklace, I'm not sure what they actually represent at all, which is probably a bit lazy of me, but I liked the neutral cream-coloured stones in this one which will match with lots of outfits. The evil-eye bracelet is probably the piece I have worn most, I just put it on with a watch and a few gold band rings and I'm good to go! I had to choose an animal themed piece (of course!) so this owl ring found it's way onto my finger. I love it! It's adjustable too so you're not limited to which finger you can wear it on :)!
Finally, I jazzed my phone up in the only way I know how.....PINK AND SPARKLES. I love the effect this case has, it reminds me of a mermaid with it's iridescent shine. 

I would recommend you definitely check out MissCinderella soon, there's so many more pretty items on there and a lot more to come v. soon! 

Growing Up..

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You might have noticed a distinct lack of activity on my blog of late which I'm so sorry for! I've been caught up in dissertation and finals revision woes and finally my dissertation is complete. Taking it to be printed and bound tomorrow woohooo! Anybody who's in/has been in this situation will know how relieving this feels! Just 5 exams to go now & that's my university life over forever (so sad :'(!!), which leads me onto this post.

I feel that although my style has changed considerably over the past five years or so, I need to dress more smartly. Going out into the world looking for a job is going to need a lot of maturity and an equally mature dress sense. I'm not saying I'm going to start dressing boringly, I sort of want the Kate Middleton effect (who doesn't!). She dresses amazingly smart yet still on-trend which is something I want to channel now I'm 22. At the moment, I'm a sucker for animal printed clothes which I think needs to stop! As does wearing really short skirts (unless I'm on a night out!). First impressions count way too much to put a foot wrong!

I've chosen these few pieces as a start. Blouses can look really smart with trousers or skinny black jeans, and I think these two are perfect. I'm trying to move away from my classic button up blouses, and these two are light, pastel-y and chiffon-y (so many -ys!) perfect for Spring. I chose an equally pastel coloured nail polish to complement them in Essie Fiji, which will look amazing against a tan. Also with regards to make-up, I think it's about time I bought some decent make-up brushes! Everyone raves about the Real Techniques brushes and I found these so I may make a naughty little purchase later! Accessories wise, this Reiss credit card holder is the most gorgeous shade of pink and will look fab in anybody's handbag and this dainty feather necklace from Warehouse will set off any outfit without looking too OTT.

I hope you liked my picks in this post. I may be spending a little of my last ever student loan quite soon I think ;)

Products I Love ♥

I don't normally do posts like this, as I tend to wear the same make up each day and prefer to spend the majority of my money on clothes and accessories. I thought this post would make a nice change and give you a little insight into my favourite products around at the mo!

Trevor Sorbie Beautiful Curls Constructing Spray 

I love this little bottle of miracles! Recently, because I don't have any layers in my hair at the moment and my hair is SO thick and heavy and naturally frizzy, I've found curling my hair a problem! As soon as I went outside after curling, the curls would drop leaving me with horrible wavy kinks at the ends of my hair, despite using a lot of hairspray! So I decided, curl prep was required, and so I found this in my local Boots. You spray it on each section of hair before you curl, wait for the hair to dry, and curl as normal. Now my curls stay in pretty well even if it's a bit windy, hooray for Trev!

MUA Pro Brow Eyebrow Kit 

I used to fill my eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil but I found the colour didn't really last very long and sometimes I'd be a bit heavy handed and have to wipe off excess colour a lot (I'm not a great fan of the Scouse Brow look!). I picked up this MUA kit which has 3 brown shades, a light, medium and dark and the medium is perfect for my eyebrows for everyday. The powder lasts me all day, however if I go out in the evening I would definitely have to reapply. The wax is also pretty good, but I find that it runs out a long time before the powders do, which is a shame!

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream

I have very oily skin, which makes wearing moisturiser, primer and then foundation a nightmare, especially in the summer. I detest moisturisers that make my skin even more greasy than it already is, so this mattifying day cream is perfect. It gives me a nice oil-free base to apply primer and foundation on to, although I have to apply powder continuously throughout the day to keep the shine at bay! Hopefully it'll work as well when the sun hopefully puts his hat on!

MUA Lipsticks in Shade 7 and Shade 14 
My favourite lipstick ever is the MAC Costa Chic Lustre lipstick which I find incredibly hard to find anywhere! It's a much softer shade than the Frost Costa Chic that's being sold currently, so I've been trying so hard to find a dupe for it. I heard that MUA sold lippies for ONE WHOLE ENGLISH POUND, so I had to investigate, and this is where I found Shade 7. It's very very similar to my coveted Costa Chic Lustre and for a pound I couldn't resist. I find these lipsticks do dry my lips a little, so I normally apply Vaseline over the top so the colour looks a lot more smooth.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Base Primer

I don't actually use this primer as a primer, I tend to use it to highlight my cheekbones and the bridge of my nose. It gives a beautiful dewy finish to the skin and looks very fresh and natural, unlike the horrible glittery highlighters which I cannot stand. A classic understated look is much softer and nicer, and this primer ticks all the boxes in my opinion.

Hope you enjoyed my little(-ish!) ramble about these products! Are there any bargain products you're loving that I should look out for?

A-Line Mini

Top - H&M; Skirt - Miss Selfridge; Hat - Missguided; Bag - Zara; Necklace - Zara; Bracelets - H&M and gifts

Here's another of my typical university outfits - except I'm scared to wear the bowler hat out, I also have a fat head so it pings off after a certain amount of time wearing it! This skirt is one of my faves, it's jersey with an a-line shape but it is super short! I think it was from the Petite section at Miss Selfridge, and I'm 5ft 4, so taller girls may struggle with the length of it. I wear it with really thick tights all the time anyway, just in case! I normally just wear this with a simple black top, but sometimes I wear a sleeveless white button up blouse and silky scarf instead - a little schoolgirly but hey, why not ;) My grandma bought me this Zara bag in October and I had to wait til Christmas to get my mitts on it, but it's finally in use, though I'm scared to overuse it because I love it so much! Thank you Grandma! :) It's the perfect size for every day and looks way more expensive with the gold hardware.