November Favourites '17

Some months I literally do not try a single new thing, bad blogger I know, so it makes writing favourites super hard. However, with this month being my first proper pay month, I may have done a little damage on ye ol' friend Visa.

  1) Chunky Knits

Missguided, the babes that they are, did a 40% off all clothes via their app this month, and I managed to steal a couple of jumpers. One of them, a little questionable, and a little boy-repellant, but I absolutely adore it. It's this pastel striped babe here. The other, a lot less 'out there' as just a plain off-shoulder black knit (which incidentally comes in lots of other colours I may treat myself to). I have been loving pairing these with either just jeans, or trialling out this whole 'leather skirts and jumpers' trend, which I am slightly loving....

2) Hoop Earrings

Who'd have thought that big hoops would be back in?! I have the most temperamental ear piercings of all time, and I can only wear gold without developing some sort of reaction, but I have been loving wearing hoops this month. These are just Primark ones, god knows what they're made of, I don't want to know, my ears hate them, and I don't recommend them. Nonetheless, I just love the look they give, and I am 100% treating myself to a gold pair when I get paid, so I can stop with these absurd reactions every time I want to look glamorous. 

3) THESE boots

Would you believe me if I told you I got these for a mere tenner? No, I wouldn't believe it either. I haven't shopped on Public Desire since last winter, but I got an email at the end of October with a £10 boots deal, which I was all up for (as a massive boots hoarder!). These absolute beauties were in the offer, along with many others which I regret not buying, but they just go with everything. I've been loving pairing them with my leather skirts for a mix-up in textures, but they also look adorable with jeans. They are bloomin' £39.99 now, but still so worth it. 

4) Me Time

I have never been one for spending time alone, but this month I have really enjoyed spending time with myself, having time to unwind and reflect. At weekends I see Andy, but he will referee at least two matches a weekend, which leaves me alone in his car for around 4 hours total across the two days. At first, I was not a fan, but now he has made a pact to buy me a McDonalds Toffee Latte (guilty pleasure, they're amazing but also only use dairy milk...boo!) after each match, and I have learnt to enjoy this time to myself, it's actually not so bad. I've been using the time to catch up on writing blog posts, which I am struggling to do with a full-time job and no time to shoot pictures, and also reading. People seriously underestimate spending time with yourself, and I highly recommend for those of you who are perhaps dependant on others to have a good time, to try spending a few hours on your own a week. 

5) McDonalds Toffee Latte

So my previous point brings me to this one, I bloody love a Toffee Latte. I never ever buy coffees with regular cow's milk, I am a soya latte girl through and through, but McDonalds doesn't offer this, and sometimes I don't want to spend a small fortune on a Costa. It's just so sweet, but gives you the caffeine you need, and also they top it with whipped cream (although, small complaint, a lot of McDonalds drive-thru's always forget...convenient) and toffee sauce. Seriously guys, if you're not vegan/plant based, definitely try one!

I can't believe there is only one more month left of the year, how mad is that?! I'm sure I will pop up a yearly round-up of favourites in December/January, so keep an eye out!

Maybe Dresses In Winter Aren't So Terrible...

Dresses in winter is something which if suggested to me a year ago, I would've simply laughed at. I am one of those people who just wants to be warm in winter, even if I end up looking like the Michelin man, or like I am wearing my duvet. However, this year I have been massively on the hunt for a good jumper dress, to widen my winter wardrobe, and I am so bloody glad I did!

It took me a while to find the right dress, as someone with quite a wide frame, if something doesn't hug my figure it can make me look like a huge tent, and jumper dresses do tend to be quite shapeless, or alternatively be completely bodycon, neither of which I wanted for a casual day-dress. After making about 5 online orders for various jumper dresses, from various companies, and having an array of issues (mainly them not covering my butt, which as a 5ft 7 girl I didn't think would be an issue?), I've finally found the one.  

Knitted Dress - £22.00

Boots (similar) - £25.00

Scarf (similar) - £19.00

Belt - £8.00

I'm all up for recommendations of other good jumper dresses guys, so hit me up with them please!

Is owning less better than owning more?

Comparisons aside, I would consider myself to have a fairly decent sized makeup collection, however, whether or not I use everything is a different matter. Recently I have been wondering whether owning more is actually better than owning less.

Realistically, I gravitate towards the same products everyday, especially on work days. So 5 out of 7 days of the week, the vast majority of my makeup is simply gathering dust. Most makeup expires in a relatively short space of time as well, and there's no way you're going to get through a whole bottle of foundation before it expires, if you're only using it at weekends. If you didn't even know that your makeup goes off, here's a list of how long products should generally be kept:

Eyeliner: 6 months to 1 year 

Mascara: 3-6 months 

Powder cosmetics: 1-2 years 

Foundation: 6 months to 2 years 

Lipstick: 2 years 

(Huffington Post)

I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I definitely have mascaras that have been abandoned after a few weeks, and have been hanging at the back of my Muji drawers for the past 8 months or so. I also most definitely have a MAC Eyeshadow palette that hasn't been touched since I was back in school.

And on another note, it quite frankly stresses me out every morning looking at my lipstick collection and wondering which lipstick to wear, and so I will always wear the same one (Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow N Arrow...if you were wondering!). I am basically owning all this makeup for it to eventually go off and have to be thrown in the bin, I mean...what is the point?

So basically, I suppose what I am trying to say is why do I have all this stuff if I don't use it? What is the point in buying more and more if it's just going to eventually end up in the back of my drawers gathering dust? I think in the new year I am most definitely going to put more of a ban on buying cosmetics, until I've got through a bit more of my collection, or at least had a clearout. Owning less seems like a much better idea at the moment, especially living in my parents house where I have one room for all of my stuff. Perhaps when I am living in my own place, with more space, and am comfortable enough in my job to wear MAC Heroine to work, then having a larger collection will be more appealing.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this, large collection vs. small collection?

The Autumn Jacket of Dreams

Anyone who knows me will know I have an extensive coat/jacket collection, half of which I don't wear and are quite frankly are not needed. However, I cannot stop myself from buying more when the seasons change, and this mustard baby is perhaps my most favourite in a while. I have been lusting after it for ages since seeing the beautiful Em Sheldon wearing it over on Instagram, and it had been out of stock for a while, which just made me want it so much more. When it came back into stock I had to grab it up, and boy am I glad I did.

It's by no means a warm Autumn jacket, but it is perfect for the start of the season where the weather is a little chilly but you can 100% get away with just a jacket and a scarf still. I doubt it will make it much further than the end of November with me, but it has been my favourite companion for October.

Cue even more posey photos *now*.

Missguided Mustard Biker Jacket - £35.00

Bershka Jumpsuit - £25.99

Converse - £55

My apologies this was not a very wordy post, but how much can one say about a beautiful, mustard, suede jacket? (I mean...quite a lot but I didn't want to bore you all) I'm sure I will be sharing many more Autumnal jacket/coat purchases with you soon...