Amour for accessories

You will have to bear with me as I'm using the iPhone for blogging until my laptop returns (fixed I hope) and I'm not sure if it'll work but here goes...


I finally decided to part with some cash on a Ted Baker purse. Now I've been lusting after one for years but could never decide which colour to pick and at £65 i wanted it to be something i loved in a few years time. Purple is usually a favourite of mine but i wasn't feeling the Ted Baker lilac-y shade. I wanted something bright that would instantly cheer me up and would go with most of my handbags already. I spotted the orange colour on the website and was very tempted to buy especially when a discount offer appeared in my inbox but i held off until i visited my nearest John Lewis. I reckon the shop assistants must have thought i was stealing it after umming and aahing for 30 minutes - oh yes indecisiveness is one of my traits.

Here it is alongside two new purchases...

There are variations of this purse on the website (patent/glitter/mock-crock etc) but the one i bought is called Anitah.

The other items in question are a Hermes-esque bag from Miss Selfridge's Purist collection £39 and a straw trilby from Peacocks £7. The bag, I've been a little unsure over only because I'm hoping it doesn't look like one of the cheap bags off those stalls in the middle of shopping centres (you know the ones with the fake Chloe Paddington's), but I really needed a new bag for work that's deep enough to fit everything in Mary Poppins style-e.

The hat i saw somewhere before but can't remember, I'd been after a panama type hat which i was going to buy off the market but i kind of remember seeing this Peacocks hat and i managed to get the last one in the shop. I was going to wear it only when my hair's curly but i took a quick iphone pic and it does a good job of hiding my bed-hair.

I hope it suits me, hats don't usually, what do you think?

A quick note: i may be absent from blogging for about 2 weeks until my laptop returns but i will try and post if i can get access to Internet.

An early Christmas present for you....

With the high street vying for your pennies this Christmas I've scoured the net and my inbox to bring you the best deals and discounts - don't go office party dress shopping without reading this!

http://www.office.co.uk/

- 10% off online purchases for 3 days only, ends midnight 25/11/10
Code - "EARLYGIFT"





http://www.tedbaker.com/

 - Free UK standard delivery on all orders placed between 22nd November and 22 December. No code needed. On my wish list: Anitah, Caza or Roverz purse please!

http://www.asos.com/

- 20% off ASOS brand items - not sure how long this is running for so be quick.
Code: ASOS20






http://www.frenchconnection.com/

 - Sample Sale 26th, 27th and 28th November.
Location: Centro One, 39 Camden Street, London, NW1 0DX
Opening Hours: Friday 26th: 9.30am - 7.00pm
Saturday 27th: 10.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday 28th: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Entrance Fee: £1 - donated to charity
Expect coats and jackets from £40 and knitwear and dresses from £20. If only i lived in London :(

- UK Glamour Magazine - the December issue comes with a free Nails Inc polish worth £11. You can choose from: Jermyn Street, Saville Row, Hampstead Heath or Warwick Avenue.
Magazine costs only £2 and includes a 25% discount for Kurt Geiger - double whammy.
I picked up Saville Row - a deep plum, v.wintry.

http://www.boots.com/

- 3 for 2 mix & match across make-up, nails and eyelashes. Doesn't apply to premium ranges, but includes L'Oreal, Urban Decay, Barry M, Bourjois etc. I picked up 3 Revlon products, a matte pale pink lipstick, a deep plum/purple lipstick and a compact blusher - swatches and reviews to come in a new post.





http://www.warehouse.co.uk/

 - Spend £50 at Warehouse online or in-store and receive £10 off - great for party dress season.
My eye is on the one-shoulder column maxi - hands off!
Online code: GRAZ12106 - valid until 30 November
In-store: Voucher in week ending 22 November UK Grazia magazine (Victoria Beckham on cover). Valid until 15 December (not concessions).






I'll update this with any new offers but feel free to post any of your own and let me know what you got with your discounts.

I only went to return a jumper!

I've just had a very eventful afternoon of shopping today. I only went to return my Warehouse camel sweater and ended up with bags of shopping - eek! V.naughty!

The purpose of this visit was to try and exchange my camel jumper for another colour. I did buy mine online and the colour just seems to wash me out so i was hoping i could sneakily do an exchange in my Outfit - simple eh? Oh no, unless you don't mind a little bit of embarrassment don't try to con/lie to a sales assistant they always seem to catch you out - damn! Tried to say i had lost my receipt and do a quick exchange for the purple colour, even though it still had the labels attached the sales assistant was having none of it. "You can't return items to concession stores blah, blah, blah. Looks like a trip to the post office is in order.

The camel jumper is question... ...you see looks very nice online, but in the flesh the colour has more of a gold tone to it - definitely not great for my complexion, but love the gold buttons - thumbs up for detail. The fabric is ever-so soft as well - cashmere it is not, a viscose blend.



 
I couldn't do the exchange but still bought the dark purple jumper as an ideal winter piece.
 

I am a little disappointed this colour didn't have the gold buttons, as i do love gold accessorising, but the grey/black still work. The belt was a sale bargain from Miss Selfridge only £12, i had my eye on this before but £25 was a bit steep for belt. This will probably become my LBD's best friend.
 
Now i have a thing for black trousers, i love them, whether its jean, jeggings, leggings, harems, chinos - i don't care but i do live in them. Warehouse and Dorothy Perkins both have some great sort of soft suede trousers in at the moment which i am loving. Ever since harem became en vogue for summer, i have been embracing my inner MC Hammer and working them to death. I was torn between two pairs, i went with Dorothy Perkins because they were a little cheaper and look a bit smarter so i can just add heels for work.
 

You can't really see the detailing clearly in the picture, but they come with a tie belt and have low slung pockets and a tight ankle.
 
I reckon that's tomorrow's work outfit sorted.
 
I've been after a new make-up bag for ages but I've been looking for some pretty ones that will add some glamour to my office desk. I've been using the free Topshop one up until now but as it's cream I'm struggling to keep it clean not to mention the pen marks that seem to keep appearing!
 
Ted Baker is usually my fail-safe and i headed to Boots to pick this one up.
 

I'm not usually one for florals but purple is my favourite colour and i love the bow - v. pretty. Best of all i used my Boots points so if didn't cost me anything!

I've been determined to turn into a gym bunny especially before the onslaught of Christmas with all the parties and meals going on, not to mention the amount of chocolates and biscuits appearing daily in the office, so i was in need of some stylish gymwear that will distract from the day's make-up sweating down my face. A quick nip into Sports Soccer and I'm £65 lighter but two sports bras, two sports tops and a pair of tight fit trousers/leggings heavier - all set for Wed, Thurs and Fri gym sesh. Pre-gym OOTD's to follow soon.

My final splurge was a cheap one courtesy of Barry M and Saskia The Style Fairy - saw it their first. I have to rave about their new nail paint, Instant Nail Effects £3.95 which is a top coat that creates a nail art effect on top of your already painted nails. Hard to explain but have a look - this is definitely the future of nails.

I've only painted the little finger nail as you can see - it was hard to pick up on camera but i tried, see below.
 

I love it - so I'm off now to paint the rest - what do you think?