Bump-it!

Here is a review for a Christmas present I received this year they're called Bumpits - (without a hyphen slightly unfortunate name depending on how you see the world!) They are plastic hair accessories designed to give volume to your hair. In the kit you get three sizes an instruction leaflet and a comb.

Now then, I am usually quite sceptical about plastic things meant to make your hair fabulous, having tried many many things throughout my early 20's I never found anything that fulfilled its promises! Bump its are pretty good though, even with my limited hairdressing skill and equipment I managed to pull together a couple of looks that with a lick of hairspray I think would stay in...

The kit

 My hair in a pony tail normally...

 with bumpit first attempt...

 With buimpit Second attempt...

 If hair-bands are your thing or tiaras (or your'e a bit younger than nearly 30!)...

 My hair down...

 Half up with bumpits (very 60's beehive!)...

Without the pinning at the back...

All in all a great little product. I would say they are primarily for special occasions. They could be spectacular used for an up-do for a ball or a wedding. (or even very good for fancy dress) I dare say a hairdresser could work wonders with them.

Thanks mum great little prezzy!

Holidays = Nice Nails for a Change!

I work in a lab and I'm not allowed to wear nail varnish of any sort - for very good reasons - it's not my work being mean, it's just the way it has to be :-(

I love holidays I can wear nail varnish and my nails even grow since they're not squished into nitrile gloves!

This Christmas I got a gorgeous amethyst ring from my mum. Here it is teamed with No7 Stay perfect in 'Starlet' (it came as part of a gift pack - that I gave to my mum and she decided this was too dark for her and let me have this one! bit of a fail there really but I guess at least I can wear it!) This is a perfect colour to go with dark amethyst - my hands feel gorgeous which is a welcome change!

My Sale Bargain! Love at first sight!

My all time favourite way to get out of the house after Christmas is to hit the sales!  (I have yet to brave London on Boxing day, one year I might but not this one) Instead I headed into Crawley - actually a great place to do a spot of shopping - we have a big new look with an extensive inspire range plus a H&M with a good BIB range, our Evans is OK -a bit small but we just got a branch in BHS too.

Anyway we will be moving house next year sometime so the plan was to be sensible and not come back with too much... thus saving money and wardrobe space!

I could have gone crazy in H&M (they had a gorgeous tassel dress) but I resisted I was a good girl... UNTIL I hit Monsoon that is! This time I bought something sensible though, an investment piece as it were. A beautiful red coat - the minute I put it on I was in love with it! I paid £110 (was £160) which is still very expensive but I got a bit of extra money from work this month so why not eh?!

Anyway on to the pictures. Not great quality - the light was fading fast, but here I am on a day out to Brighton at the Royal Pavilion.

 I love red so much! The colour in this shot is great...
(this coat is ever so slightly tight on the bustline, but hey most things are, I'm not complaining!)

The tunic is from New Look  (Non sale - but I had a voucher, so I decided to go for something a bit different!) The empire line, jersey type fabric and print make it very flattering -plus the length is good, its about the shortest I would go with tights but it looks great with leggings too. The sleeves are also lovely, long with ties at the end, It's a great winter tunic.

My stats: 52-46-54

Coat @ Monsoon (sz 22)

Dress @ New Look Inspire (sz 22)

Belt @ Evans (Med)

Boots @ Evans

Scarf @ Primark

Tights @ Evans

Happy Sale shopping Folks! Have you got any good bargains?

Christmas! (belated happy Christmas to you all!)

A belated happy Christmas to all you lovely followers. I hope you all had a smashing time, either celebrating or just enjoying a break. For the first year ever I cooked for 6, beef and turkey, with ALL the trimmings! It was a hectic but a triumph for my first one!

No outfits here, just some quick snaps from my home. Some of my favourite decorations nom nom!

Sainsburys finest!...

'Stumpy' my rescue (last minute sale) tree proving that with enough baubles any tree can look gorgeous, even if you are missing a few branches here and there... work with what you've got!

Christmas Party Outfit

Here's my Christmas party outfit for this year. It was a rather strange one this year, I seemed to start off composed, got pretty tipsy in the middle and then regained some composure towards the end! It was a good night though - not epic- just good. 

This dress is from re-dress in New York, I bought it back in the spring whilst on holiday. I forgot about it and pulled it out at the last minute - this year I spent ages trying far too hard to put an exciting outfit together, I was desperate to buy something new but instead I pulled everything out of the wardrobe and bought three new jumpers instead! 

dress @ redress NYC

Cardigain @ New Look

Shoes @ New Look

Bag @ ?!

Bracelet @ New Look

Necklace - Whitby Jet

For the first year ever I booked a hair appointment and got my hair professionally styled for the event. Here's the best photo I could find - alas I didn't take a proper one. Bye the way let me introduce my other half and photographer, believe it or not he pretty much pulls this face in any potentially nice photo of us! So I'm blogging it hah!

Not sure what is happening here, but one things for sure the headband and tie were not mine to start with! Throughout the course of the evening I also became the temporary owner of two tiaras and a sparkly red hat.

 Here's the obligatory balloon stealing moment: (plus the comfy shoes too- also new look!)

Hope you all go to fabulous parties this year! Anyone planning fabulous outfits?

Jumpers Rather than Dresses? - Doesn't Sound Like me!

I recently did something that I never do! I had bought this dress from New look in both red and purple because I couldn't decide which colour I wanted to wear! Having tried them on a few times I decided I wasn't so sure and returned them both! Now I never return things, I try to make good decisions but this year I have been in a state of dress panic for the Christmas party! (to cut a long story short I am wearing something old!)

Anyhow since I can't seem to go into New look without giving them my money I decided to buy this jumper in place of the dresses:

Jumper @ New Look 

Boots @ Evans

Jeggings @ Evans

This jumper caught my eye because I love the colours, I don't normally wear love hearts but I just couldn't resist this for some reason! This jumper is actually a dress so It's hitched up a little bit here so the pattern sits just below my hips (normally I go for a 22 but this is also a size 20 - and I would have liked to try on the size 18 as it is pretty roomy but alas not one in-store).  I would say this jumper does stretch a bit on wearing, it's one of those things that relaxes when worn,  If you are interested in it I would recommend popping into store and trying one on as the pattern sits around the tummy area and may not be to all tastes!

I am also sporting a pair of jeggings here which is not my usual style at all - I was going for weekend comfort! Plus I thought I would lend some moral support to Monkey and the girls for their five take challenge. (which I have been enjoying following!)

Anyway back to work tomorrow after an impromptu holiday (although by Friday all this being snowed in business was wearing a bit thin!) Here are a couple of pretty shots of the snow:

The final measure was 14inches which was quite enough! Here I am looking rather round in several million layers!

Anyway cheerio for now, I hope you are all well and looking forward to the Christmas break, it's getting rather close now! Do any of you lovely fashionistas have fabulous outfits planned for your Christmas parties?

The Kind of Weather for a Lovely Cuddly Jumper.

Well we have snow here in abundance. Lots and lots of snow fell last night and through today. I was obviously gutted when I phoned into work and discovered the site was closed however, I battled on sitting on the sofa, playing on the wii with the other half, drinking hot chocolate and starting a sewing project!

I wanted to show you my bargain jumper from Peacocks I have been after a patterned jumper for a while but most of the ones out there are dress length and generally don't suit me. This one is very snuggly (it is draped over my knees as I type) and at £13 you can't really go wrong! It is a size 20 and is a belted cardigan so lots of room in it plus the kimono sleeves go over tops long sleeved and short. (they probably look best over a long sleeved top)

I love that the pattern stops in the bottom area! (fussy patterns only add to the bottom expanse!)

 Boots @ Evans

Cardi @ Peacocks

Now for a terribly unflattering picture of me in the snow:

Yes I abandoned fashion in favour of practicality today! I popped on my karrimor walking boots (courtesy of TK Maxx) which are amazing - besides being very light my feet remained warm and dry!

I also donned three jumpers and my regatta coat which cleverly includes a fleece and a waterproof (so I guess that's 4 jumpers!)

(In this picture I am standing on a step would you believe! The straight line by my left foot is actually the edge of our bottom step outside the back door!)

We had a great time playing in the snow then came home for hot chocolate with marshmellows cream and malteesers!

In other happenings we Supported Movember at work this month (since us ladies couldn't grow out own moustaches we made/bought fake ones!) Here's my effort! It's the Ned Flanders with added pink! (and sequins!)

Cami @ monsoon

Cardi @ M&S (last year)

Stay safe in the snow folks!

Uncertain Times and New Boots.

Apologies I've been off the radar for a little while, change has been afoot over here. The other half landed himself a new job in Oxfordshire, so I have been getting used to the idea of moving from our little place in Sussex up to a new county altogether! As if that's not enough I have just accepted (well timed) redundancy from my job (which I love to bits) :-( sad but I am currently (and have been for 2 years)  in a site closure situation so it's not a case of 'if' just a case of when. So, still feeling a bit numb, on one hand life is about to get exciting, on the other hand I am faced with the scary prospect of job hunting and uncertain times ahead :-(  

With all this turmoil I have not been spending too much time on-line. I have been keeping an eye firmly on what's in the shops as I am currently deciding what to wear for the works Christmas party. This year will be my last with my current job and I thoroughly intend to push the boat out!

Anyway in the meantime here are a few recent outfits. Nothing startling just a few quick snaps.

This top is from H&M it is very comfy and the shoulder detailing is pretty. I think it looks better in real life than these photos!

 Top @ H&M

Jeans @ Evans

Shoes @ ASDA

Necklace @ ASDA

This outfit is what I wore to a recent Christening:

                                                    

Necklace @ sensation Brighton

Trousers @ TESCO 

Cami @ Monsoon

Shoes @ Evans

Cardi @ New Look Inspire

Jacket borrowed from mum (since I'm not sure they let you in a church dressed in leopard print!)

Lastly a familiar outfit but I wanted to show you my new boots (forgive the pose I'm a little drunk and being egged on by my parents!)

Boots @ Evans

Cardi @ H&M

Cami @ H&M

belt @ Evans

These boots are from Evans alas they are no longer on the web but they are great boots. I actually wanted something with a little more heel, as the ones I bought last year are gorgeous but do hurt my feet. As it was, this pair was the only option that were knee high, fitted me, were in leather (not suede- I love suede but would wreck it instantly!) and didn't have a killer heel! Still they are great and I love that Evans do knee highs that fit me! Thanks Evans great boots!