May Favourites 2014

It seems a little unbelievable to me that June has rolled around already. For the last four years of my life, May has meant revision, exams, deadlines, stress and a fair few tears; it's been pretty blissful not having those worries this year and being able to spend the occasional sunny days sitting in pub gardens and the drizzly ones snuggling under the duvet. It also means that I have no excuse to be slack on the blogging front, so here we go with another set of monthly favourites...

SheInside Haul // My SheInside Experience

About two and a half weeks ago, I made my first SheInside purchases. I was pretty nervous about ordering from them as I had read a lot of negative reviews citing poor quality products, orders not arriving and their customer service team being unresponsive. However, seeing as I managed to pick up a t-shirt, dress and coat for around £40 I decided to risk it. I'll leave a full review of my experience with SheInside at the end of this post, for those of you who are considering ordering from them. 

The first thing I added to my cart was this (fake, obviously) Acne Studios t-shirt. I'm a bit snobby when it comes to fake designer shoes or watches, but one teensy tiny fake t-shirt is acceptable, isn't it? Apart from being terribly creased when it arrived, the quality of this t-shirt isn't too shabby. The cotton is quite thin, and not the soft sort that you get with Topshop or H&M t-shirts, but the sizing is nice and the stitching looks fine. 

Umberto Giannini Painted Lady Talons - Nail Wrap Review

I have been wanting to test out a set of nail wraps for ages now; there's something very appealing about being able to just stick a pattern on your nail with the promise of it lasting for a whole week, especially when you're as lazy as me. However they can be pretty pricey and I wasn't ready to drop £10 on a product that may or may not work for me. Whilst making an enthralling purchase of sixty hair grips in Boots the other day, I saw these Umberto Giannini nail wraps in the clearance bin for just £2 and I couldn't resist giving them a go.

 Umberto Giannini Painted Lady Talons in "Green Python" - Boots, £5.00

Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm Review

A few months back, I got a 15ml sample tube of Elemis' Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm (try saying that five times, fast!) free with a copy of Cosmo. Like most sample products, I tried it once and then tossed it in to the place where make-up products go to die; the bottom drawer.

Having suffered from dull skin lately, I decided to dig this little gem back out and applied it slightly more liberally. To my delight, it worked wonders. In all honesty, I had never heard of Elemis before sampling this product, and after looking at their retail prices (£32 for a full sized tube of this Flash Balm) I realised that they weren't quite within my price range. I researched the brand a little further and whilst I find the design of their webpage rather offensive, they claim to be "the leading luxury British spa and skincare brand", which isn't too shabby for KJ. 

Primark Spring/Summer 2014 Collection

I've never been a huge advocate of Primark; I pick up a few of my basics there, and I am a fan of their bags, but it's not a shop that I tend to visit regularly. I'm not being a snob when I say that, it just seems that I'll spot something nice in the window which then takes me about an hour to find in the store, as you have to navigate your way around a multitude of t-shirts with trashy slogans on and tacky push up bras. More often than not, I then discover that it's actually made out of a really uncomfortable material or is a lot less flattering on my body than the hanger.

I was therefore surprised when my friend sent me a link to Primark's Spring/Summer 2014 collection and I found myself lusting after the vast majority of it. Whilst their notoriously cheap prices have increased slightly so that they are now almost on par with high street brands such as H&M and New Look, their increase in the style stakes is much bigger, making their new collection worth the few extra pennies.

Tailored jumpsuits and fitted asymmetrical skirts alongside chic dresses and classic heels make up one half of the collection, whilst summery shorts, floral prints and funky accessories make up the other half. A subtle nod towards Burberry's "The Petal" bag and seemingly taking inspiration from Matthew Williamson's LFW show make this collection a step above all those previous to it. 

 I've chosen my favourite pieces for you to browse (unfortunately Primark does not yet have online shopping so I can't include links but you can view the collection here). I intend to pop in to my local store soon so that I can try some of these pieces on, so you can expect a haul post soon!

H&M Sportswear: Review

 Since I joined the gym about six or seven weeks ago, I've been working out in an old, loose pair of jersey shorts, an M&S sports bra and an oversized Bristol Half Marathon t-shirt that I got given for free at a DofE tent-putting-up competition a few years back. Seeing as I've been exercising four to five days a week, it's not really ideal for me to only have one outfit to get all hot and sweaty in (Honestly, at the end of a session I look like a tomato that's been put through it's paces). So, I finally got round to hitting up H&M and purchasing a whole new set of workout gear; I put together this sassy little combo which came to just under £30 all together, not too shabby if you ask me! 

Let The Magic Begin

After months of wistfully perusing the Hogwarts collection on the Black Milk website, I finally purchased the First Year Swimsuit in their Cyber Monday sale.

Wearing my Winter Wishlist

I have posted both a "boots" and a "coats" wishlist so far this Winter, and I have since done something rather out of character and gone ahead and purchased two of the items I was lusting after!