One World Week Fashion Show

Happy weekend! Last night I went to a fashion show the Warwick Arts Centre which was called 'Imaginarium', based around the multicultural Warwick One World Week. It was an amazing collection of fashion from all over the world and some entertaining dance routines to keep the show moving. I thought I'd share a few photos from the event - apologies in advance for the quality - and a few thoughts about the night. 

The University of Warwick hosts societies of all cultures - from African and Caribbean to Bulgarian. I particularly loved the dance element of the show as it added a little extra wow factor, not that the outfits weren't equally impressive! The fashion show vibe was all about letting out your wild side, and some societies even wore animal face paint to really commit to the theme. One World Week is all about bringing every international society in Warwick together and the show really put that notion of unity across to the audience. The clothes were mostly vibrant colours and the costumes represented each culture. As you can see below, we had a mini cocktail party in the interval. 

Overall I absolutely loved the show and it was great for the University to show off its cultural diversity and talents in all types of dance - salsa, pole, bollywood, hip hop, the lot. For a university organized fashion show, I was really impressed with the event and gutted I'll be on my year abroad for the next one in 2016! 

Have you ever been to a fashion show? What do you think of Imaginarium?

xxx

Prom Dresses: My High Street Picks

For the past few days all I've been doing is online shopping for the prom dress of my dreams. It's almost become an obsession. The Internet: 1, Melissa: 0.  Recently I've been helping to organize a formal event for my University which means I'm feeling a little extra pressure to get my outfit just right. The event theme is The Oscars and for me, the fashion trends that come to mind are glitter, stand-out colours and tulle. Trying to embody your inner Hollywood actress is pretty difficult when you're limited to a student budget but here are a few pieces under £50 that I picked out during my Internet Asos binge. I've ordered a dress today that I'm hoping will be 'the one' but I'm saving it for photos on the day - fingers crossed it fits.

1. As Audrey would say, you can't go wrong with an LBD and this stunning tulle cocktail dress from the beautiful Needle and Thread range from Asos is perfect for Oscar themed parties and formals. 
  

Needle and Thread, £40.00

2. This dress screams sophisticated elegance and the embellished neckline means you don't have to worry about finding a statement necklace.

Asos, £55 

(it would be under £50 if you include student discount!)

3. This is more of a statement dress and I'm a huge fan of the sheer sleeves and glitter detailing.

Little Mistress, £43

4. I'd say this nude scalloped beaded dress is more Gatsby than Oscars but it's still a dress worthy of the red carpet. The price is pretty amazing too. 

New Look, £16

5. Finally, this gorgeous floral piece from True Decadence is truly stunning and would be great for weddings too. I personally don't feel comfortable going strapless but nevertheless I'm still obsessed with this outfit. I think the satin floral style is going to be very popular in Spring Summer this year.

True Decadence, £55

I hope you enjoyed this post, do you have any proms, formal events or weddings coming up? Which dress is your favourite?

xxx

OOTN: Roses are Red

Surprise surprise, it's another Topshop OOTD. A year ago my wardrobe was full of New Look items and although New Look still has a very big place in my heart, I often prefer Topshop for quality pieces that won't go out of style. This is the outfit I wore for date night earlier this week. 

Top - Topshop // Similar here

Jeans - Topshop 

Necklace - Accessorize // Similar here

In the January sales I managed to pick up this beauty of a top for £8, I love the crochet collar and can see myself dressing this up for drinks nights or down for uni. The black Topshop Joni Jeans I'm wearing are a new addition to my Topshop family and probably the last big clothes purchase I'll be making for a while *sob* - with the small exception of a prom dress for a uni ball I'll be attending next month. The Joni Jeans are super high waisted, super comfortable and around the £36 mark. I know I'll be wearing these a lot in the colder months, my spring skirts and dresses won't be coming out for a while, it is the UK after all. Saying that, I find that the best way to get over your January blues is to start injecting some colour into your wardrobe which is why I love this red top so much. 

What's your favourite item from Topshop? 

xxx

Spring Perfumes

Let's be honest, the weather in the UK is pretty appalling at the moment (and in general). It's all wind, rain and icy temperatures, not a great start to 2015. One thing that cheers me up in a morning before I leave for uni is a beautiful perfume and these are the three scents I've been turning to this year. I was really lucky to be given a replacement bottle of the Marc Jacobs Dot perfume for Christmas as part of a gift set; it was my main present and I adore it. If you're interested in this for yourself or as a present, I found it at House of Fraser for £36 which is amazing. Admittedly I do prefer this scent as a special evening perfume but now and again I'll treat myself and use it during the day. In the Dot gift set, there's also a shower gel and body lotion that help to intensify the fragrance. As does everyone, I find it very difficult to describe perfumes however it's very distinctive, very sweet and very floral - typical Marc Jacobs! 

• Top notes - red berries, dragon fruit, honeysuckle
• Middle notes - jasmine, orange blossom, coconut water
• Base notes - vanilla, musk, driftwood

As you may expect, Zara Cherry is more of a fruity fragrance and I love it for everyday use. I'd never tried Zara perfumes before this one but my boyfriend bought me this for Christmas and I'm so glad he did - watch this space I may have to expand my collection!

Finally this Neroli and Orchidee perfume by L'Occitane was part of the Festive Treats collection which had some great beauty and body care samples to try out (reviews coming soon!). The scent is quite musky and floral and could be worn day to night. I'm not sure if I will repurchase this after I've finished it but that's the beauty of samples.

• Top notes - orange, mandarin
• Middle notes - neroli, peach, fig milk, lily of the valley
• Base notes - orchid, musk, iris

Have you tried any of these perfumes? What's your go-to spring perfume?

xxx

My Current Skincare Routine

When it comes to skincare I like to keep it simple. Over the past few years I've really started to appreciate high quality skincare and can tell the difference in my skin. Clarins is now one of my favourite brands and I've also turned my mum onto it. As a student I'll admit the price is steep at around £18-20 per product but if you buy the value sets, it works out a lot cheaper and is the perfect present to add to birthday or Christmas lists. This set for combination to oily skin is £22 and includes a cleanser, toner, wash bag and mini eye makeup remover. My combination skin has definitely improved since using these products as I was previously suffering an oily T-zone and lots of annoying spots. I love how gentle the cleanser is and the toner is great at removing any impurities. My current twice-daily skincare routine is as follows :

1. If in the evening, remove eye-makeup using Clarins Gentle Eye Makeup Remover, Boots Simply Sensitive Eye makeup Remover or Boots Simply Sensitve Eyemakeup Remover pads

2. Dampen face with warm water

3. Apply Clarins Gentle Cleansing Milk

4. Wash off with a flannel or muslin cloth

5. Apply Clarins Toning Lotion

6. Use Neutrogena Oil Free Moisturizer

7. Once a week, I use a scrub such as the Clarins Gentle Refiner of the Clarins One step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with orange extract. I asked for a sample of this last time I was at a Clarins counter and I'm definitely going to buy the full size to add to my skincare collection. 

As you might notice, many of the product names include the word 'gentle' which firstly means this would be great for sensitive skin but also that the results may take a while to notice as the ingredients aren't as active in targeting spots. I personally think that in the long term gentle skincare is better but it completely depends on your skin type. If you're planning on buying anything from Clarins or any other higher end skincare brand, I'd definitely recommend asking for samples to try them out beforehand. You usually get about 4 uses out of each mini bottle and that's enough to work out whether your skin likes it or not.

I hope this review was helpful, what's your favourite skincare product? Do you think higher price means higher quality?

xxx

OOTD: First day back

So yesterday was my first day of classes back at uni after Christmas and I'm one of those girls who like to dress up a little on the first day. It's absolutely freezing in the Midlands (even for me coming from the North!) and so warm layers are an essential. You may recognize the Topshop jumper and necklace from my recent haul post which you can read here, they've quickly become my favourite jumper and necklace combo! Teamed with this Zara striped skirt, bright lipstick and navy nails, I'm really happy with the overall look - I can see myself wearing these items together a lot!  

Jumper: Topshop

Skirt: Zara

Necklace: Accessorize

Lipstick: Topshop Fast Lane

What do you think of this OOTD? I love reading comments and checking out new blogs 

xxx

A Few New Additions: Collective Haul

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had an lovely NYE with lots of bubbly! I had a meal out with my family and watched the London fireworks on TV which were pretty spectacular. Today's post is a collective haul including a few items I've bought over December, either pre-Christmas or in the sales. I went to Leeds earlier this week and had a little spending splurge with some Christmas money. Instead of writing a 'What I got for Christmas' post, I'll be writing up separate review posts about some of the beauty gift sets I gratefully received from family members. I have lots planned for January! 

Firstly, I ordered the Topshop Glisten Bead Jumper early in December when it was priced at £30, it's now £20. After reading Lily Melrose's OOTD piece (here) I was convinced it had to be mine. It's a lovely thick material and the beading detail is gorgeous. 

The triangle necklace is from Accessorize (it was actually a Christmas gift but I felt that it really completed this photo). My mum knows my jewellery taste very well and I love it. Unfortunately I can't find it online but there's a similar one from Accessorize here.

I bought the Topshop Lace Skater Dress in Leeds and looking online, it's very new to the Topshop collection. I really like wearing skater dresses at uni as they're comfortable as well as stylish - look out for an OOTD soon.

I can tell these Accessorize embellished slipper shoes are going to be a staple item in my wardrobe, they were a steal at £17.50 and I can't wait to pair them with an evening dress.

The purple clutch bag was also in the Accessorize sale in Leeds, at £8.50 you really can't go wrong. 

Finally, the Clarins value skincare set here is my everyday skincare routine which I repurchased recently. I'll be doing a detailed review on this soon with my thoughts on these products as well as the mini sample of the One Step Exfoliating Cleanser.

What have you been buying recently? Link your haul posts below as they're my favourite type of post to read!

xxx