Friday Wishlist: AX Paris, Motel & Bliss

1. AX Paris Floral Belted Playsuit - £22

2. Motel Black Catalina Off The Shoulder Skater Dress - £37.99

3. Bliss Amanda Oxford Graduate Print Sweatshirt - £7.99

I've been on a bit of a spending ban as next month is going to be a very expensive month for me - uni halls deposit, boyfriend's birthday, train tickets, spending money for London trip... I'm panicking a bit about how I'm going to be able to afford it all!! So, in an effort to stop myself from lusting over anything new and shiny, I've been avoiding all clothing/beauty websites, emails and blog wishlists but somehow these three items snuck their way onto my computer screen.

I have a bit of a love affair with playsuits. They're so easy to throw on in the middle of summer with a pair of sandals for a dressed up yet laid back look and I especially love the pretty flower print on #1. I've also been lusting over Motel's Catalina dress. I really like how the design is so versatile. You could style this dress in a million different ways!

Also how cute is #3? I love the slogan on the front. If I meet my course's entry requirements I'm definitely going to buy one of these to wear around my (non-Oxford) uni come September.

Is anyone else on a spending ban too? Do you have any tips?

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Vampy Nail Colour Favourites

Barry M Nail Polish in Raspberry - £2.99

Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Polish in Blackberry - £3.99

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Damson Dream - £6

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Totally Teal - £6

Although we're well into spring now and accordingly I should be wearing pretty pastels on my nails, all I've felt like wearing recently is dark and vampy colours and these four are my favourites.

Raspberry is one of those nail polishes where the colour seems to constantly change. One moment it's a bright red colour, the next a deep purpley-red. It also applies so well and lasts a good amount of time with a topcoat so it's easy to see why this is my most worn colour!

Blackberry is another Barry M colour but this one is from their 'Hi-Shine Gel Effect' range so it has a really lovely, glossy finish without a top coat which I love. Barry M also have a couple of other dark polishes in this range which, if they are anywhere near as good as this one, I am desperate to try!

And finally the other two polishes, Damson Dream and Totally Teal are from No7. While the Barry M polishes have a fairly thin consistency (which I prefer), these are quite thick and Totally Teal has begun to start dragging when I apply it. While I do love the colour, I've seen a similar one by Barry M which hopefully will apply better than this one so I don't think I'll be repurchasing it. I do however get lots of compliments when I wear Damson Dream which is a very pretty shimmery purple/red colour and has remained easy to apply so I'll have to buy another bottle when I'm finished with this one.

What nail polishes do you like to wear when you're feeling a bit 'vampy'?

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P.S. Also, thank you to the lovely Jasmine from jasminepaige for nominating me for a Liebster award! <3

8 Summer Films I Can't Wait To See!

As summer is coming up and I seem to have gone film trailer mad recently (most of these I've watched over and over again!), I thought I'd share the films that I am most looking forward to. This list has been narrowed down from about 15 possible candidates so it looks like it's going to be an expensive summer at the cinema for me...

In order of release:

Now You See Me

Release: 31 May, 2013

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo & Isla Fisher.

I only saw this trailer for the first time today but it looks like a really good film with a brilliant cast. Jesse Eisenberg really suits long hair!

Man of Steel

Release: 14 June, 2013

Starring: Henry Cavill & Amy Adams

Oh my god. Oh my god. If this is anywhere near as good as The Dark Knight Rises then I will be all over this film.

The Bling Ring

Release: 14 June, 2013

Starring: Emma Watson

Although I've seen Emma Watson in a couple of other non-Harry Potter things, I'm really looking forward to seeing how she does in this film.

World War Z

Release: 21 June, 2013

Starring: Brad Pitt

I do love a good apocalyptic zombie film! Also, does Brad Pitt never age?!

Monsters University

Release: 21 June, 2013.

Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman & Steve Buscemi.

Sulley and Mike at University!

The Lone Ranger

Release: 3 July, 2013

Starring: Johnny Depp & Armie Hammer.

I honestly didn't realise Johnny Depp was in this film until I heard his voice! This looks like it is going to be a must-see.

Despicable Me 2

Release: 3 July, 2013

Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig & Russell Brand

AHHHHH! MINIONS! I have been waiting for this film for so long! I really hope the film is as good as the trailer looks.

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones

Release: 23 August, 2013

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower & Robert Sheehan

My friend sent me the trailer for this film a while back and after watching it on repeat several times, I decided to download the book that this film is based on and I loved it! Really cannot wait to see this film.

Are you looking forward to seeing any of these as well? 

Please feel free to link me to any film trailers I haven't mentioned that look good. I'm always on the lookout for new ones!

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Outfit #5 - Daisy print

Brave Soul Daisy Print Playsuit - £11

Etsy Daisy Earrings (old)

F&F Bow Sandals (old)

For the second day of the F&F Seven Days Of Summer challenge to win a £75 clothing voucher the theme is 'Florals' so I decided to pair my new daisy print playsuit from Brave Soul with my favourite daisy earrings that I bought from Etsy a couple of years ago. I absolutely adore this playsuit (especially considering the tiny price I paid for it!) and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it in the summer. I've had my eye on a biker jacket from Topshop for a while that I think will look perfect layered over this so here's hoping my pay packet tomorrow stretches far enough to let me get it!

Good luck to everyone taking part in today's challenge!

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April clothing & accessories haul

Hello! Despite the fact that I've supposed to have been on a mini spending ban this month as I've got to save up for a university halls deposit by June, I've actually managed to buy quite a lot of clothes and accessories! So here are my sneaky purchases from April...

Clothing:

Brave Soul Daisy Print Playsuit - £12

Still can't believe this was only £12! I'm looking forward to wearing this in the summer with my oversized daisy earrings, a brown belt and wedges.

Linea fitted dress - £18 from a secondhand shop

Exact match here on eBay

I fell in love with this beautiful dress when I saw it in a secondhand shop. I bought it to go on my mannequin but sadly it was too small and wouldn't do up properly at the back so I've pinned the sides back and have got it hanging up in my room now instead.

Primark navy skater dress - £5 from a secondhand shop

I actually bought this dress in a different size a couple of years ago when Primark had it in their shops but had long thrown it out after it didn't fit me anymore. However I came across this one in a secondhand shop which was my current size for only £5 and I knew I would regret not buying it. The material is actually really lightweight and breezy so I think this will be another great summer item.

Accessories:

Felt Hat - £10.99 from a vintage shop

H&M Bowler Hat - £7.99

Sorry neither of these photos are very great but it's actually a lot harder than I thought it would be to take photos of hats! My Mum bought me the vintage felt hat as an Easter present when we went visited my Aunt's house over the holidays and I love it. It reminds me a lot of the hat Taylor Swift wears in her '22' video which shamelessly makes me like it even more.

I've also wanted a bowler hat literally for years but all the ones I'd spotted in vintage shops had always been upwards of £30 which is a bit out of my part-time shop assistant/student budget. So when I spotted Gemma from What's In Her Wardrobe wearing this £7.99 H&M one, I ordered it straight away. I must warn you though that H&M's delivery times are generally awful. This hat took over 3 weeks to arrive. I might actually do a full review of their delivery service because this is not the first time this has happened to me. Otherwise it is really lovely and I'm so happy that I finally own a bowler hat!

Dorothy Perkins Fan Clutch Bag - £5.00

I got this one in Dorothy Perkins's sale for only £5 which I think is an absolute steal! I really love this bag. I haven't had chance to use it yet though as I want to save it to wear on a special occasion.

Flats from Primark - £4 to £6

Have you been buying much this month?

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Eggless Chocolate Malteser Cupcakes Recipe

Hello! A bit of a different post from me today. I decided to do a bit of baking after being constantly inspired by Becky at milk bubble tea's beautiful creations. I adapted this really simple recipe from my Mum's popular eggless Victoria Sponge cake which I thought would be a good one to share as I know from trying to find things for my Mum how hard it can be to find desserts without eggs in.

Ingredients:

Cupcake mix:

225g self-raising flour

50g cocoa powder (I used Cadbury's drinking hot chocolate)

150g castor sugar

1 large tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla essence

100ml vegetable oil

200ml cold water

A cinema-style bag of Maltesers

For decoration:

A tub of Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Icing

A normal-sized packet of Maltesers

Makes approximately 20 - 25 cupcakes.

Method:

To make the cupcakes:

1. Crush up the Maltesers and freeze overnight beforehand to prevent the chocolate from melting while cooking. To break them up, I just put the Maltesers in a freezer bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. Make sure you don't break them up too finely - you want large chunks rather than a powder!

2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together in a mixing bowl.

3. Place in all the other cupcake ingredients apart from the Maltesers and mix in well until smooth.

4. Beat the contents together for approximately 2 minutes to remove any remaining lumps.

5. Add in the crushed Maltesers and lightly mix in so they are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

6. Divide the mixture into cupcake cases.

7. Cook in preheated oven at 175 degress (fan) for approximately 15 minutes.

To decorate:

1. When the cupcakes are completely cold, spread the Betty Crocker icing generously over each cupcake.

2. To finish, add a Malteser ontop of each cake.

And voila! The finished product!

I hope you guys enjoyed this kind of post. Let me know if you'd like to see more like this in the future!

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Friday Wishlist: Pay Day Wants

1. F&F Limited Edition Broderie Crochet Trim Top - £20

2. ASOS Leopard Cat Ears Watch - £20

3. Leona Lewis White Musk Libertine Eau De Parfum - £13

4. La Moda Riley Tan Bucket Bag - £20

5. L'Oréal Color Riche Nail Top Coat Confetti - £4.99

6. La Moda Eva Black Handbag - £20

Okay, so this may be a day early but as pay day is coming up tomorrow I thought I'd share with you some of the things I'm considering buying tomorrow.

I still can't get over the fact that #4 and #6 are only £20 each! I originally found out about La Moda from Megan at Student-stylexo (who you should definitely follow as she finds the most amazing bargains) when she did a blog post on them. My go-to River Island handbag and my trusty Primark bucket bag are coming to the end of their days so I was really excited when I came across Megan's post. They also have some lovely satchels and fringe bags for the summer so they are definitely worth taking a look.

Although I might not get around to buying them this month as I have a £250 deposit looming for June (!!), Leona Lewis's new collection for The Body Shop is also on my wishlist. The product packaging is so pretty and I love some of the names e.g. Oh Deer! Blush. How cute?! I've not used a blusher or bronzer before so I think I'll have to try one of them out along with the eau de parfum when my current perfume runs out.

What are you lusting after this week?

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