Blogger Meetup and Lush Haul

Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend a blogger meetup hosted by the lovely Emily from Drained Beauty. It was held at one of the Lush stores near me and it was an amazing opportunity to see the new Christmas range, meet some local bloggers and learn more about the Lush message. I've always admired the values at Lush but I hadn't had the chance to try out too many of the products - I was like a child in a sweet shop! Everything at Lush smells divine and the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable about the product ingredients and skin care benefits.  






From the Christmas line, I loved the look of the 'Holly Golightly' Bubble Bar (surprise, surprise) and the 'Melting Snowman' bath bomb so I'll definitely be going back to Lush a little closer to Christmas to buy these - along with many other of their products! I had no idea that Lush stock everything from shampoo bars to toothpaste - it's incredible.


This is what I cam home with!




After the in-store demonstrations and bath-bomb making session, we had some shopping time where I bought the 'Snow Fairy' shower gel, the 'Joy to the World' gift set and a 10g pot of the 'Lush Charity Pot'. The 'Buche de Noel' face and body scrub and the 'Reindeer Rock' soap were kindly given as free samples and I can't wait to try them out! I made the 'Cinders' bath bomb myself which was a really fun experience.



This final photo is the gift bag given by The Blogger Programme which I was delighted to receive. I especially love the Crabtree & Evelyn Hand cream; it now lives in my uni bag! 


Are you a fan of Lush? Is there a product you'd like to try from their Christmas range? I'm planning on writing a Lush Wish List as a result from this event so keep an eye out on Twitter and Bloglovin!

xxx

Christmas Dresses: My High Street Picks

Christmas party season is just around the corner and nothing motivates me to work more than the thought of a new Christmas outfit. I don't have anything planned so far but it's always good to be prepared, right? There's nothing worse than being invited out at the last minute and having nothing to wear. This year, my favourite seasonal party styles are velvet, sequins and rose gold. I'll admit, these styles aren't exactly radical but they are truly classically 'Christmas' and they come back into fashion year after year for a reason. The 'My High Street Picks' series has now become one of my favourite types of posts to write and readers seem to enjoy them so please comment if you have any thoughts about it.  

1. How beautiful is this dark purple velvet and lace number? As seen on the model it can be dressed down with a hat and chunky boots but it can look equally sophisticated with heels and a clutch. The brand is Oh My Love which can also be purchased on the Topshop website. 

slide 1



2. I fell in love with this dress as soon as I saw it and the price is amazing! New Look are really killing it with their Christmas formal wear this year. 



3. Again from New Look but in the Premium range, this stunning sequinned dress would be perfect for any Christmas party. I'd tone down the accessories though and stick to black heels, smokey eyes and neutral lips to give the dress the attention it deserves!

Burgundy Premium Sequin Embellished V Neck Cami Dress  | New Look



4. Yes there's more velvet. No I'm not sorry. I spotted this navy velvet dress on Asos and I love the silhouette style - it's very Audrey Hepburn. 

Image 1 of Jack Wills Collingam Velvet Dress


5. Finally, leaving my favourite until last, this Miss Selfridge dress is probably one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. The design reminds me of The Great Gatsby so if you have a themed Christmas party whether it be Gatsby, the Oscars or Hollywood, this is the dress for you.  


Silver Megan Bodycon Dress


I hope you enjoyed my 5 High Street Picks for Christmas dresses. I'm aware there's quite a range in prices but the idea is that there's something for everyone!

Do you have any Christmas parties coming up? Which dress was your favourite? 

xxx

OOTN - Pastel Princess

Happy Friday everyone, it's nearly the weekend! Personally I've found this week quite stressful due to looming essay deadlines so this weekend will be used to catch up on sleep and relax. This beautiful pink jumper featured in my recent haul post which you can read here; I love the embellished detail and short sleeves. I wouldn't say pastels is a common trend for Autumn Winter as most high street shops in the UK are stocking dark, gothic colours or interesting textures such as velvet and sequins. On the other hand, I think pastels can be worn all year round and if I'd had time I would have painted my nails with Essie's 'Mint Candy Apple' to complete the look. I wore this outfit on a cinema date last night (to see Interstellar) and I think this jumper is the perfect way to add some glamour to an outfit without going over the top. I can't find the exact jumper online, however there is a similar version also from Dorothy Perkins here




Jumper - Dorothy Perkins (£26)
Jeans - Next
Clutch - New Look
Boots - Clarks

Please leave a comment if you like this look or have any suggestions for future posts

xxx

Fashion & Beauty Haul - Topshop, River Island, Dorothy Perkins

So it's time for another haul! I was lucky enough to be taken shopping in my home town when I was back for the weekend and I found some amazing things! 

As explained in my post 'Uni Bags - My High Street Picks' my satchel broke a few weeks ago and I've been in desperate need of a replacement. Cue this gorgeous River Island upgrade! The neutral colour scheme is very 'me' as it epitomizes ladylike chic. The size is perfect for uni and the cross body straps mean I won't get neck ache from all my books! It was fairly expensive at £45, I was fortunately shopping with my generous mother at the time, but a good uni bag is an investment for any uni student. It's also one of the most beautiful bags I've ever seen. Unfortunately I struggled to find it online, but check your local River Island to see it in its true glory.




The Blush Pink Embellished Jumper is from Dorothy Perkins and was £26. Again, I can't find it online, but I'll do some more research when I include it as part of an OOTD. The rose gold earrings are from Topshop and were such a bargain price I couldn't resist. Also, I bought my first Topshop Lipstick and the shade is Macaroon. Finally, I included this month's Cosmopolitan as Taylor Swift is the cover star in this issue! If you follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/modernaudreyh)you'll know that I recently got tickets to Taylor's World Tour next year. Beyond excited.




I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a lovely day. Please leave a comment if you liked any of the items included.

xxx

Uni Bags: My High Street Picks

There was a sad moment last week when my beautiful Topshop tan satchel broke after our one year anniversary and so I'm currently in the market for a new uni bag. Since I'm also on my uni reading week (a.k.a lie ins and procrastination week) I've had some time to have a look online for bag inspiration and these are my top picks from the UK high street. Warning: your existing uni bag may just get jealous...

#1   This River Island beauty is the perfect mix of pretty and practical - the long strap means that you can wear it across the body if you have a heavy store of library books but it's still chic enough to use as a shopping bag at the weekend! It's the most expensive pick of the 5 but it would be a great addition to that Christmas list you've already started..




#2  My favourite aspect of this structured boxy bag is the burgundy paneling - as you can tell from #3 I absolutely love this colour for Autumn Winter. The size of the bag isn't the best but if you like to carry a separate book bag like myself, this bag could be used for essentials such as stationery, money etc. 




#3   In comparison to #2, this bag is much more practical size-wise and the colour will really add something different to your lecture outfits. Love.



#4  This Topshop 'Whipstitch' satchel is very similar to my old one and I can't praise it enough. Despite the handle breaking, I still feel it was a good quality for the price and was the perfect uni bag for my first year. Now that I'm a second year I'd like something a bit different but as a recommendation, Topshop satchels are truly lovely. 



#5   Finally, this blue satchel from Accessorize caught my eye because of its Nautical feel and simple style. I can imagine pairing this a red striped top and long tan boots - very Taylor Swift!




I hope you enjoyed this post, browsing new uni bags has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to actually buy a new bag; hopefully I'll find one this weekend when I take a trip home to see my family and have some spare time!

Which bag is your favourite?

xxx

Taylor Swift Inspired Fashion

With the new release of Taylor Swift's amazing new album 1989 (Anyone love the song 'Welcome to New York'?), I thought it would be fun to take a look of some of the UK's newest high street offerings and pick out some Taylor-inspired outfits! I am always getting style inspiration from Miss Swift; her style is very feminine and put-together which I adore. 




#1  It's a well known fact that Taylor loves to wear red and these jeans are a great way to add a pop of colour to your wardrobe. Combine the jeans with a red lipstick, a leather jacket and some black chelsea boots and you're good to go!

Jade Stretch Skinny Coloured Jeans
 

New Look, £12.99                                      Oasis, £15


#2  This second look is all about this gorgeous plum coloured skirt! It's a great Autumn Winter tone of purple and the ditsy blouse complements it perfectly.




Image 3 of Sister Jane Black Flower Blouse

Sister Jane at Asos, £48                           New Look, £12.99



#3   Taylor loves a co-ord, as do we all, and this gorgeous grey structured set is a great way to try a new style without being too daring. The bag is equally adorable.




                    Missguided, £14.99 each                       


I hope you liked this post, which Taylor inspired look is your favourite?

Also, I've recently created a new Twitter account for my blog, follow me here 


https://twitter.com/modernaudreyh


xxx


Halloween Look 2 - The Vampire Diaries

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween last night, I certainly did! This Gothic vampire look was inspired by The Vampire Diaries - Caroline Forbes, specifically - and it was very simple to create. I used a water-based white face paint (higher quality than previously) and red lip liner and purple eyeliner to create the creepy under-eye Vampire veins. My favourite Halloween costumes I spotted last night were Sims-inspired characters, broken dolls and Black Swans but the night out was so packed my main focus was not to lose our group! My outfit is quite simple and although it isn't particular vampire-esque, I didn't want to buy a full costume - this is when Halloween can get expensive! A lot of my fellow student friends were very thrifty and creative with their outfits, which I think is more impressive!      





Top - Topshop
Skirt - Miss Selfridge
Bag - New Look
Necklace - New Look

What did you get up to this Halloween and what was your costume?

Also, check out my first Halloween look here.

xxx