dressjunkie

Don’t they just!

I think it’s the best bit of PR I’ve seen from a cosmetics company in a long time!

The premise of the deal was that if Models Own got to 100,000 likes on their Facebook page then they would throw a 50% off sale for one week on their website.

They reached that number last Friday and I don’t think that even they were prepared for the sheer volume of traffic the site would receive. Since then it’s been constantly falling over but with perseverance and a hell of a lot of patience orders can be made! Trust me!

I placed my order late Friday and it arrived this morning. Tbh I didn’t expect to see it for a few weeks so kudos to the staff. I’m very impressed by any company that doesn’t just fold under the pressure of a big sale.

Also loving that each polish was individually bubble wrapped. To me this says Models Own are a company that care about what state my purchases reach me in. I like!

On to the haul….

Well… initially I had 4 polishes in my basket but OBVIOUSLY the lure of 50% was just TOO much of a bargain. I ended up with 8.

Total was £20 inc free p&p. Now that’s flipping fabulous! I already have several Models Own polishes and I believe that even at £5 they are ridiculously good value for money. £2.50 each is just a steal!

I got:

L: Pearly Queen R: Snow White

Pearly Queen is very subtle pretty pink and the name is apt. It’s pearl earrings in liquid form.  The Snow White swatch is a bit pointless but basically I got this as a base for the blue glitter.

L: Champagne R: Nude Beige

Going on sight and swatches alone Champagne is the stand out beauty, a rich pearly light gold. Nude Beige on the other hand is slightly disappointing, definitely not as nude as the site swatch. Much more minky than I was expecting. Jury is OUT!

L: Raspberry Crush R: Tickled Pink

I love both of these. Raspberry Crush is much more cerise than it’s appearing here, really vibrant and it’ll make a great toenail colour. Tickled Pink is a great glittery rose. Super feminine.

L: Blue Sparkle R: Silver Spangle

I’ve wanted both of these for an absolute age but I probably wouldn’t have bought them unless the sale was on. Why? Well crazy glitter polishes always seem like a bit of a waste. Lets be honest I’ll rarely wear these. I am looking forward to experimenting with them though.

Initially the glitter seems like it will be easy to place on the nail. If I had to pick a negative I’d say that these took almost twice as long to dry on my swatch card. Definitely not ones to be apply if you’re in a hurry.

Overall I’m delighted. I really hate spending big bucks on nail polish, unless it’s something super special, because quite honestly it’s not my favourite beauty product. However I’m well chuffed that I have eight new shades to play with and they didn’t break the bank.

You can still take advantage of the offer here up until midnight Friday the 27th of August. Make sure you add in the code FACEBOOK50 at the checkout

xo

you overindulged at the weekend?

*raises both hands*

I love red wine. I love Indian food. Sadly my insides disagree.

Today I am STILL recovering after a fun Saturday night out. Bread and muchos water please!!

Outfit wise I had planned to wear a frock on Saturday night, but absolutely crazy weather put an end to that idea. I ended up heading out in straight leg jeans and a white blouse from Warehouse. Absolute bargain at £7.50! There is another 50% off their sale prices in store.

This was a bit out of my comfort zone, so I did spend a large proportion of the night pulling at it and feeling the need to smooth it down. However it was very comfortable and cool to wear so it’s definitely opened me up to the idea of a shirt and jeans as alternative going out attire.

Both necklaces are from River Island. I think my favourite high street jewellery comes from there. It’s always a bit different and the pieces I have already have lasted well, unlike Primark bits n pieces. I’d rather spend a few quid more and not worry about it falling off my neck halfway through a night

Shoes were another sale bargain from the fail that was Faith. £10 in the Debenhams outlet. I thought they were really cute but classy, and they even have a little cone kitten heel. I can see these getting a tonne of use!

Speaking of fashion I’m currently lemming a hacking jacket… you know the type. Fitted tweed with elbow patches? I’ve tried a few on in Zara but not been overly happy with the fit and at £79.99 I expect to be! Anyone seen anything similar? Link me up please

xo

I went into town today to buy a bra. I came out with….. a Winter coat   
Sometimes I surprise even myself…

It’s from the Top of the Shops (Topshop for the slow ones…) and cost 80 smackaroonies. I’d rather have spent less… about 80 pounds less.. but since it wasn’t in the sale and I’m not keen on shoplifting I had to suck it up!

Excuse the crap in store photo, washes the colour out a bit and I appear to be sucking on a lemon… but you get the general gist of what it looks like on. It’s a Wool Duffel and it’s AMAZING!!

You can see the caramel colour better here.

The deep pockets, cuffs and hood have a classic tartan detailing.

Check out the wooden toggle buttons with quirky red and green stitching. The quality and finish is superb.

One of my favourite features is the deep hood. My head ain’t small and a hood normally pulls up to my hairline at most. This can be pulled right down over my eyes if needs be and two top buttons allow the coat to be fastened up over the chin. A perfect hidey hole on a bitter cold morning.

Size wise it’s an odd one. I’d normally be a UK size 14 in a coat, especially a winter one where I’ll be layering jumpers underneath. In this even the size 10 was ok on me, room to spare. I think it’s the intended fit. It’s meant to be a roomy coat. I ended up going for the size 12. Happy medium

I really don’t want to take it off yet! However I don’t think it’ll be too long until I’m pulling this coat on out of necessity.
Especially once the NI Brrrrr! sets in.

The only other thing I bought today was this sweet little necklace from River Island for £6.99.

xo

What’s that you say? It’s Friday?
Holy crap.

I honestly don’t know where this week has gone. ……Sunday to Tuesday was spent in Dublin with Matt to celebrate our fantastical 2nd Wedding Anniversary, after that it’s all a bit vague. So vague I thought today was Thursday… which it clearly isn’t…

Ho hum

Friday it is! Perfect day for a little in and out

Loving

Lipsy Dress

This is the frock I wore for our Anniversary dinner. I bought it in the Topshop sale for £30. Really flattering wee number if you hold any weight around your middle/ hips like moi.

Sorry about the flash but the hotel room had “mood lighting” and this was the only way I could get the colours to show up.

The Farm Restaurant, Dublin

“Affordable, tasty and home sourced” With as much of the produce as possible being organic and free range.
I didn’t quite know what to expect, especially as we were going on a Sunday night but it really was a treat. The interior is modern but homely, with a very feminine feel. Little sparkly lampshades and floral wall mirrors.

The food was gorgeous, my steak was melt in the mouth good. Matt had the lamb and was similarly impressed. The dishes were uncomplicated and clean though. No overly fancy “jus” or seasoning. Just good Irish fare at a reasonable enough price. We’ll be back.

Tesco Pumps (not the petrol kind…)

I’m not a massive fan of flats due to the negative impact they inflict on my joints, but when I see a pair as nice as these for £10 I can’t resist. One pair of foot pillows later and they are comfortable as well as cute.

Treating myself

Ah you’re a long time dead. If I want something I tend to write it down on a desktop sticky. If I still want it a month or so down the line, I usually purchase. It’s a good system.

I’ve deleted 5 MAC lipsticks off one already this week. Turned out I really didn’t want any of them that much

One thing I have wanted for about 3 months though are the David Smallcomb cuff bracelets that Lorraine sells on her website. I went for 3 small silver and 3 small gold fill, and people they ARE small. I have really slim wrists (about the only part of me that is) and they fit me just perfect. If you regularly have to get 3-4 links taken out of any watch you buy then the small is for you, if not order the large.

I totally <3 them. Brilliant buy!

Clogs

I love the clog trend. I had a pair when I was younger and they were the easiest things to wear. 2010 clogs, not so much. Sky scraper heels and open toed numbers are all very well but lifestyle wise they just wouldn’t suit me.

I needed practical & comfortable and the hubby delivered. He treated me to them in Clarks of all places. Reduced to 40 euro. They have hardly been off my feet. Perfect heel height, spongy lining and look trendy to boot. I’m a happy camper!

This also requires an honourable mention, Compeed Anti-blister Stick. I could feel my clogs rubbing slightly on the side of my foot. One swipe of this (it’s like hard vaseline) and the issue was gone.
No more rubbing because the surfaces can’t get purchase on each other. Best invention evaaaar! I got mine at Superdrug. It was a few quid.

Mumford & Sons

How are they not Irish? To me they’re like a modern day Saw Doctors (sorry… I still love them too) and the whole album is a winner, real hairs on the arms stand up greatness. Get it and LOVE it!

Reading

I just love to read, but bad eyesight and a vain refusal to wear my glasses meant that lately I hadn’t done much of it. I had to finally admit defeat when I was struggling to read my computer screen and munching tension headache tablets like smarties.
So I stick my glasses on and lo and behold it’s like someone turned the world into focus. I’m such a twat.

Reading is no longer a tired squinting affair and I’m no longer considering shares with Nurofen.
I’ve just finished Skinny Bitch. It’s very clear that the authors have their own agenda in regards to animal rights however accepting the contents at face value this was an enjoyable read. Certainly not life altering though.

Not loving:

Spider Season
It can fuck right off. Creepy eight legged freaks that like to hang out in our bedroom. Ugh. Major hate.

John James
If you don’t watch the UK Big Brother my apologies. If you do I’ll take a high five on that. He’s a major twat. Please put JJ and Josie in some kind of one way space destined rocket.

Indecisive weather
Be sunny. Or don’t. Just PLEASE don’t do the sun and rain thing. It’s not big or clever, just friggin impossible to dress appropriately for.

LONG Delivery Times
11 week lead time on a sofa?! What are you doing exactly? Making the thing from scratch?….. Oh you are. Well anyway when I order from somewhere as main stream and lets face it cheap as DFS I expect that they have multiples of the same sofa lying atop each other in some big NI warehouse.

They don’t. It like really truly actually comes from Italy. My worlds on its head here
Floor down on August 10th… sofa arriving Halloween… #fail

Milk Men
Or maybe it’s just my Milk Man. He likes to deliver practically our whole weeks supply on one day. Not only is storing that a headache BUT clearly we aint paying for freshness here. Plus when I try to cancel him he ignores the “No more Milk please, just the final bill, thanks” notelet and leaves a further 2 pints of milk. I’m losing the will.

I WAS trying to be polite about canceling his services. However now I’m thinking a “Please bugger off” note is the only way to go.

And just for cuteness, the one and only Tedster doing what he does best. Winky flashing on our bed!

Over and out xo

I’ve got it all under control….

Oh yes, this week I’m in a “can do” mood. Terribly irritating for everyone around me but excellent for the Monica Geller that was in hibernation deep within.

This was the state of my shoe/ bag closet yesterday morning…

Shameful

I’d lost ALL control of storage. Too many shoes + not enough boxes= Shoe Chaos

Thankfully the postman delivered  these two life savers yesterday….

A fifty piece shoe rack and a “purse” or bag rack. Whatever floats your boat! I paid just over 70 of my own pounds including 4 of postage. However if you live in the mainland UK I believe the shipping is FREE. Win for you! (I’ll just sit over here and grumble about being an unrecognised part of the UK… grumble… grumble…)

I did a lot of research before settling on Tszuji. I did think it was slightly pricey until I started looking into getting something custom built. I soon realised that actually 70 odd quid was a bit of a bargain!

However reviews on the site were mediocre so again I wasn’t convinced that it wouldn’t just topple down under the weight of two pairs of platforms. This is part of the reason I opted for the chrome framed one rather than the many plastic ones they offer.

I was pleasantly surprised. Although the frame is basic it does screw tightly together “Ikea” stylie. It took me about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Voila! *Happy sigh*

The purse rack was more fiddly. It comes with a set bracket size (you can order bigger ones tho) which were unfortunately two narrow for my door width. I had to use the wall fixings supplied instead which I screwed to the closet doors.

I’m really happy with it, however bags with thicker handles may require use of two clips (each rack is supplied with 6). Also if you’re a designer bag freak and can’t bear the thought of your precious leather sitting against plastic hooks then this might not be for you. I’m not that bothered. I think most bags look better with a little wear…. and actual use…

Overall I’m delighted. It’s my little Aladdin’s Cave and I can’t wait to add to it. Next up is a search for the perfect costume jewellery organiser. I quite like this one at Swag Bag but £30 seems a little steep. Maybe I can make something like it myself….

xo