Clothes Show Live 2014

A few weeks ago on the 7th of December I visited Clothes Show Live, which has become an annual event for me. For those of you who aren't sure what the clothes show is, it is basically an event held in Birmingham at the NEC arena including a fashion show along with many stalls and boutiques where you can buy vintage and high street clothing. In addition they have a beauty area where there are a range of stalls including brands from the drugstore like Rimmell, BarryM and Models Own. They often have discounts or goodie bags that you can buy for an extremely good price!

 When my friend and I arrived, I decided to buy a clothes show goodie bag, which had a wristband and clothes show magazine. Apparently, this helped get discount off at certain stalls. It also included a map. Unfortunately, it didn't help me with discounts, but it was useful in that I had a guide of my way around, because with the NEC being so huge I didn't really know where I could find certain shops. It was expensive at £8 but I wouldn't say it was a waste of money as it did help me with my way around.

The show itself was phenomenal as always. Our seats this year were better than previous years and I had a great view of the show. To my surprise Jim Chapman (one of my favourite youtubers) was presenting along with a very good looking Rick Edwards. There was also a performance by Stereokicks to get everyone in the mood.

The show began with a scene in New York with very colourful, flamboyant outfits worn by the models, this then changed into a formal work outfit where the women wore faux leather white midi skirts which I adored! The screen at the back of the stage helped with setting the scene and the images were very vivid. There were a variety of colourful scenes, including a jungle theme, a theme park and a disco tech theme. I was pleasantly surprised with the music choices which were very lively and fitted all the themes perfectly. There were too slower scenes, one being a snowy wedding with "Empire" by Shakira being played and a contemporary dance scene with one male and female model. Not only that but all the models were beautiful with extremely chiselled features and my friend and I definitely appreciated the amount of topless models and the array of six packs.

One thing that was different about this year for me, personally, was that I saw a lot more celebrities. I managed to be face to face and inches away from Andy Jordan (from Made In Chelsea) and was next in line for a photo until he ended up dashing off. I also saw Dan Osborne, Lucy Mecklenburgh (both from TOWIE) and Jaimie Laing again from Made in Cheslea.

Sorry for the snapchat usage throughout this post

Onto purchases, I did find some amazing deals and bargains and contemplated buying almost everything, but I walked away at the last minute. Strangely, I was being strict with myself on buying things and I usually would have spent twice the amount I did. One thing I regret not buying was a pair of eyelashes from The Vintage Cosmetics Company. The packaging was so beautiful and I ended up convincing myself I only wanted to buy them because of the packaging, but infact the eyelashes were gorgeous and I didn't quite realise until I got home!

I have to say I spent up in Barry M. I ended up with 8 nail varnishes!! I did get a few other things from Barry M but unfortunately I can't post these because they're Christmas presents and I want them to be surprises.

From a stall named "Pepper Tree London" I bought a purple oversized jumper for £15 and I can tell already this will become a holy grail item, especially in the winter.

This has to be the item I am most content with and it was a skirt made from a shirt which sounds slightly odd. I'd never seen anything similar and it just appealed to me. It was £18 so not cheap or expensive.

After quite a bit of shopping, my friend and I found a photobooth which was inside a cute little car including props that cost £2.50 for a print out. So for a bit of fun we tried it out! Wow, these photo's are attractive.

Oh and if any of you are interested, I wore a high neck burgandy sleeveless top from Topshop, along with a check shirt from Tesco, my Topshop black quilted skirt and my black Dr Marten boots. I also did a classic red lip and curled my hair. Here's a rather moody selfie.

That was all for the clothes show this year. I did manage to see another catwalk on the Olympus Pen which was fun and worth the watch.

Thank you for reading! I would recommend the clothes show to anyone who hasn't been, just be sure to talk some money with you as you won't be able to resist the bargains!

Gina x

Dark Colours and Purple Checks

One of my favourite colours to wear is black because it's flattering and goes with almost anything. Today, I've decided to do another outfit post like my last one. However this is slightly more grunge with mostly dark colours. I'd wear this on many occasions and I actually wore it to see Mockingjay part 1 and for my friends birthday meal. It's nothing too fancy so could be worn casually as an everyday outfit, but on the other hand the black dress can make it appear classy and even then it could be worn as a dressy or party outfit.

I own way too many check shirts for my liking. I don't know what it is about them but I always seem to buy them even though I'm aware I don't need anymore. This one is from Topman which might seem strange that I buy mens clothing, but I prefer the baggy look when it comes to shirts and women's shirts are often fitted. I love the colours too and surprisingly I think purple is becoming one of my most worn colours.

I didn't accessorise too heavily, regardless of my love for jewellery. I think thats due to the fact that I was seeing a movie so I wanted to be more comfortable and casual. If I were making more effort I'd definitely include some rings, maybe a watch and earrings.

I wore my Dr Martens which are up there with my favourite pairs of shoes. These are the 1460 W Boot which I will leave a link for at the bottom of the page. I know Dr Martens aren't for everyone, you either love them or hate them. If you are considering buying some I'd say go for it, they're extremely good quality and are worth the cost. They do take a while to break in, I don't know if that's just something I've found personally or not, but once broken in they mould to the shape of your foot and are as comfy as ever.

I know I'm not the most adventurous with hair styles as it seems I always have it curled on my blog, but I am thinking of doing a post on 5 of my daily hairstyles, so look out for that!

As for my makeup, I went with a subtle black, smokey eye and a dark burgundy lip which is my favourite colour to wear in autumn and winter.

Here are the photo's, I look slightly moody on the last one but trust me I'm not miserable. I also couldn't help but include a traditional bathroom mirror selfie. 

Black Dress: Boohoo
Check Shirt: Topman
Choker Set: Topshop
Tights: M&S
Shoes: Dr Martens
Lipstick: Mix between MAC Diva and Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Smoulder 
Eyeshadow: Urban Decay NAKED basics palette

Thankyou for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post or got some ideas from it. 

Gina x

GRWM Ed Sheeran Concert

Todays post is a 'Get Ready With Me' and I decided to show you a look that was quite dressy but still casual. I wore this for the Ed Sheeran concert at the Capital Fm area in Nottingham. I'm going to structure this with a step by step process, including how I did my hair and makeup and the outfit I wore.

I always start by doing my hair when I'm getting ready as it takes the longest to do. Also when I curl it I like to leave a little time before I go out for the curls to drop. I also wear hair extensions usually to add volume and thickness to my hair. The extensions I use are Dirty Looks HK Full Head Hair Extensions which are 20-22 inches in the shade Paparazzi Highlights. Over the years I've tried out a range of different hair extensions and it seems these are the ones I always come back to. The quality is very luxurious as the hair is all real and it has just the right amount of shine. I only wear 2-3 wefts as my hair is almost the same length anyway. These extensions can be curled, straightened, washed and dyed and if kept in good condition can last around a year.

Dirty Looks website: http://dirtylooks.com/

Using Tresemmé's Curling Wand I wound my hair around it and curled it away from my face. I did a looser curl for the bits of hair around my face just to frame it. I added a spritz of Urban Iced Raspberry and Vanilla Hairspray to keep the curls in place and to add volume to the crown of my head.

Next up was my makeup. I decided to go for a fuchsia lip with a neutral brown smokey eye. I'm in love with smokey eyes at the moment as they make my eyes appear much bigger making them pop and stand out. Some people are able to pull it off everyday, but unfortunately for me it takes too much time so I took this opportunity and added a winged line to it. I thought this was a fun makeup look due to Rimmel's Apocolips pink lipgloss/stain, but didn't seem too casual like my everyday look.

Left to Right:

Benefit POREfessional Primer

Urban Decay 24hour Liquid Liner

Rimmel London Apocolips in 303 Apocoliptic

MAC Prolongwear Foundation in NC15

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC15

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel

Ecotools Eye Brushes 

Cosmopolitan Blush Brush 

MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NC15

Benefit They're Real Mascara 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush 

Benefit The Bronze of Champions Kit

Okay, so for the outfit I decided to wear dark colours which consisted of mostly black apart from my skort which was the main attraction of the outfit. Although it had a floral print it wasn't girly or too feminine. In addition I found that it sat comfortably, unlike most skorts I own which can be uncomfortable but because of it's stretchy fabric this skort was fine. I like the wrap effect as it adds a little more to the look, making it more interesting. I decided to wear tights because the weather was quite cold out and I didn't want to brave it for the walk there (although this look would look fine without tights.) I wore my leather jacket to keep me warm, and this jacket has to be a staple in my wardrobe at the moment. These boots too are very comfy and surprisingly easy to walk in. The buckles also make them edgier. 

Wrap skort - New Look £17.99

Black cami - New Look £9.99

Leather Croc Print Jacket - TXMax 

Boots - Boohoo £29.99

As for jewellery I accessorised with a chocker from Topshop which has an attached Yin Yang necklace dangling from it. The colours of these worked well with the outfit.

Part of a set - Topshop £12

Here is the finished look! I've also included a photo of myself and my friend before the concert, and although you can only see half of my face it was the only close up photo I had that showed my makeup. I apologise for the poses.

Thankyou for reading! I've decided to do another post following on from this one, which will be about the concert itself, so for any Ed Sheeran fans I'd recommend the upcoming post for you. Sorry that this has been slightly late but I've got a lot more idea's so I'll be hoping to keep on posting regularly.


Gina x

Yellow Tartan OOTD

This is my first OOTD, so heres hoping you all like it!

I decided to go for a versatile look, something that could be worn throughout the day and night for a variety of occasions. It could be worn on just a normal day out shopping, or on a more casual day substituting the boots for a flat shoe. Furthermore, it could be worn on a night out as it can appear as dressy, and could even be worn to a meal. I also attempted to use colours that fitted to the Autumn season. 

Hat: Primark
Yellow cami: New Look
Tartan skirt: New Look
Leather Jacket: TXMax
Boots: TXMax
Necklace: Primark 

This yellow cami is actually really comfy with plenty of flow in it which is good as I didn't want it to be tight and I love the combination of the cami and the skirt, because the colours work well together. The most common tartan colours are those of red and greens, so I wanted to mix it up a little and try something different with yellow and navy. The skirt itself has proved popular in my wardrobe as its easy to throw in a bit of pattern and colour into an outfit without being too much. I also love the warm toned yellow in the cami, as it's easier to wear than a more vibrant cool toned yellow. 

I'm loving these hats at the moment as it adds class to an outfit and they're great on a bad hair day (which I was having on this day). I find that these hats are flattering on most people and give the appearance of longer hair, you can also get them really cheap depending on where you shop! 

These shoes are a holy grail of mine! I always turn to them if I'm wearing black tights and they can be worn in the evening and daytime, so they come in handy a lot. I love the chunky boot look, as it adds a bit of grunge to an outfit without being too over the top. Cut out boots are more interesting and make your foot look slimmer, which I suppose is a positive! Unfortunately mine are a bit scuffed and aren't in great condition. 

I decided on red nails as it went with my red lip, which I thought added more vibrant colour to this outfit. I also accessorised with a silver statement necklace and a few silver rings. I thought this was the right amount of jewellery as its easy to over do it. 

Rings on index and middle finger: Primark
Other ring: Bottlekiln

I also love the scaly, snake skin texture of the leather jacket because it gives an outfit more edge, in particular in this outfit I wanted a few different textures running through it, otherwise it can come off a little plain. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked my OOTD, and I can't wait to do more of these in the future! I also hope to get a better camera, so I apologise for the quality of some of these photo's. 

Gina x