I guess I'm dreaming again...

Floral Strapless Dress // Denim Jacket - Internacionale // Necklace - Bits & Bows

I took this a few days ago when a had a day off work and college, right now i'm in my PJs suffering from the flu. Just got Netflix, it's a million times better than Lovefilm, so just lazing about hoping to get better enough to drag myself into work tomorrow!



I bought this dress for a mere £10 a few months ago from Ark Clothing, it's by Hearts and Crosses who have some really gorgeous pieces. This style of dress is available in a range of colours and patterns. I'm definately going to get another one for summer.

Clo xox

Go Sunkissed not Streaky : A Guide to Fake Tan

I first started using tanning products when I was around 15/16, I knew absolutely nothing about tanning. Apart from I knew I didn't tan naturally, I just go a lovely lobster red colour! Fake tan seemed like it could be the answer to all my pale pasty skinned problems!

The first fake tan I ever used was Superdrug Foam Self Tanner. It ended with me looking an orange, streaky. Mess! It's worth noting, they have since changed their formula (as I have changed my technique) and it's actually a great tanner.

Since then I like to think I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I want to share this so no-one will ever have to go through

I don't use self tan very often, so when I do, I want to get it right (as it's usually for a special occasion) first time. This is what I follow to get it fight, first time round!

You will need..
Your favourite fake Tan (duh!)
Exfoliator / Exfoliating Gloves
Fake tan mitt
Moisturiser
Latex gloves

Preparations...

Exfoliate!

Try to exfoliate the day before you plan to tan, pay most attention to elbows, knees and ankles. After this apply plenty of moisturiser, although do not do this straight before tanning as you will definitely end up a streaky mess.

Shave

Do not shave, after tanning. Shaving has the same effect has exfoliating and will turn your gorgeous sun kissed skin into a patchy mess.

Application
The best way to apply the apply tan (for me personally!) is a tanning mitt, with latex gloves underneath. Most fake tan mitts don't even suggest this, and I have no idea why not! Every fake tan mitt I have ever used has leaked right through and left my palms bright orange.

I start with my legs and arms working in circular motions, this reduces the risk of streaking, until it has dried in. I always make sure to do my elbows, knees and ankles last, using minimal product to avoid patchiness. After that I do my hands no-one wants pale mismatched hands or patchy orange hands.


Developing
It will depend on the type of tan you are using to the development time. Right now I use St Moriz(Dark) which suggests leaving for a minimum of eight hours. The best way is to apply before you go to bed then wash it off in the morning to be left with a sun kissed tan. (Make sure you don't have white sheets or put a towel down!) My boyfriend doesn't like when I wear fake tan to bed, mainly because a few times I’ve ended up staining the covers (..oops?) so I normally wait until I have a day off work apply it first thing in the morning and get on with housework, college work etc while I’m too orange to go out :)


Washing it off
After you've let it develop, be careful not to shave or exfoliate straight after you have rinsed off your tan. It will remove the colour and you'll look a bit patchy.


Keep it tanned!
As I don't tan very often I usually just apply it the once for a special occasion etc then exfoliate to remove it as soon as it becomes patchy. Although to keep up your colour it is recommended to reapply every 3-5 depending on how dark you want the colour to be.


So there you go girls, get ready for summer!

Clo xox

Bargain Barry M

Barry M Nail Paints are currently on offer in Superdrug (Buy get and Save £1), pretty good deal.

 However online there must be a glitch of some sort online, and it takes off £1 for every one you buy. Meaning a bargainous £1.99 a bottle!

There is also free postage until monday.

Click here to be taken to the page.

Happy shopping!

Clo xox

H&M Wishlist (with discount codes!)

one  Fake leather biker jacket. I was after a leather jacket for a while, it would make a nice change from wearing my blazer or demin jacket with one of my many dresses. I actually already bought this while I was writing this, and managed to get it for a bargainous £22 including delivery. I'll post the codes at the bottom of this post.

two Orange Satchel. I'm desperate to start getting some more colour in my wardrobe, and this is the perfect start. All my handbags are either black or brown, and I mainly use my trusty Pauls Boutique bag nearly everyday so I think a change is in order.

three SUNGLASSES! I'm desperate to wear sunglasses this summer. I've worn glasses since I started high school (perfect timing i know!) and i've never bothered with prescription sunglasses because I just hate the look of them, it's hard to get nice fashionable frames and most are just normal glasses with a tint. I'm trying to wear my contacts more often so my eyes get used to them, but i'm so clumsy putting them in.

four Polka dot Skater Dress. I love this style of dress, it would be perfect with tights (and the jacket from number one) until summer finally hits Scotland. Theres a few other styles including a navy and white striped and a gorgeous orange one.

five Beige Flatforms. Just amazing. I've been dying on a pair for a while but every pair i've seen just seem just a bit too eccentric for me or are way out of my poor student price range. These are perfect at just under £25 and come in black or beige.

Codes
£5 off basket - 1304
25% off most expensive item - 9690
They can be used together, but the minimum total must be £6 after codes. I can't find an expiry date but I will update if I find out more.


Clo xox

red and hearts

Dress (with belt) - Primark / Necklace - Bits & Bows

I love this dress, it was a bit of a random purchase at Primark about a week ago. It's a gorgeous tea dress style, although it's slightly long for my frame and the excess fabric seems to swamp me a little bit. It'll be easier to wear when the weather gets better and I can wear it without tights! The bright red belt is perfect to split up the pattern and stop it being too much. I would like to buy a better one (this one came with the dress), as it's not great quality and it is actually quite big, normally I have the opposite problem with belts.

As soon as I uploaded this I realised my fringe is squint, but this was the only picture that I didn't have an abundance of cables at my feet or my eyes were squinting from the sun. I've been trying to get used to wearing my contact lenses again (I want to be able to wear sunglasses this year!) but it's not going so great.

Clo xox

Mundane and monochrome

Top - Primark / Skirt - New Look

After trying to get out of my constant rut of living in tights and bodycon skirts, I fell back into it. I love this lace top from Primark, i've seen so many people with either this, the navy or the pink (want!). This was a bit of a "right that'll do" when I was in a rush to college a few days ago, i really love how simple the top is with the black skirt but I have nearly no jewellery and not pulling it off well, but i like it. :)

clo xox

oh so cool Britannia

Wayfarers / Oversized Bag /Cath Kidston Earrings / Cath Kidston Necklace / Iron Fist Heels / Hand Wipes / False Nails

Today I found out we get an extra 2/3 days off college because of The Queens Diamond Jubilee. I think that deserves a bit of shopping to celebrate.
I've been in love with Iron Fist shoes so oh so long, but never bought a pair. Their beautifully high thin heels means I wouldn't make it two steps out of my front door. But never the less, i love them. I will definately be on the look out for either similar or other Iron Fist heels with a wedge/thicker heel.

Love
Clo xox

Sprinkles

On Wednesday it was Keeley from colleges 18th! So I made this "slightly" oversized doughnut. I used a mould I got from B&M bargains a few months ago but never had an excuse to use.

This is just a recipe for a basic sponge cake, I had to hope there would be enough mix because i had no idea how much they would need to be filled. I originally started off with just half this but I had to make another batch! Incase you're interested this is the recipe I used. This will obviously also work for a regular sandwich sponge cake.

Ingredients

200g Sugar

200g Margarine

200g Flour

4 Eggs

Cocoa Powder

Icing Sugar

Chocolate Sprinkles

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C

Grease and flour your baking tins/moulds.

Get a mixing bowl and cream together your margarine and sugar.

Then beat in the eggs. And finally mixing in the flour and cocoa powder.

Pour the mixture into your moulds/tins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Once cooked leave to cool.

Spread the middle with either some icing or jam.

I havn't included exact measurements for the icing sugar as I don't think I've ever measured icing sugar. Just add a tiny amount of water at a time and keep mixing to ensure it doesn't become to runny. No-one likes runny icing.

So there you go. You know how I made a cake. Enjoy :)

Clo

xox

all work and no(t much) play.

So as you'll have probably guessed, i'm in the process of starting my own online boutique selling vintage style jewellery and just general lovely-ness. I originally opened my website last year but after moving house and a long time without the internet, it wasn't possible to keep the website open.

So after a very long break my website is due to open next month so i've been busy getting all my designs ready and photographed to go online. Here's a little sneak peek of some of the rings i've been busy working on today. I'm also hoping to have a little giveaway either when the website opens next month or when I hit 50 followers. But there will be more on that later.

Clo xox

red and navy.

Top - Primark / Red Shorts - Internacionale / Necklace - Bits&Bows

I bought this top a few weeks ago, it's one of the many scalloped cropped t-shirts that Primark have in at the moment in loads of gorgeous patterns. I was feeling a little stuck on what to wear with it, rather than the usual black tights and a bodycon skirt *yawn*.
Until today i picked up the perfect pair of shorts from Internacionale of all places. They're high waisted so perfect for going with cropped tops (which for someone who doesn't like to show flesh i seemed to have aquired alot of). They have quite possibly the perfect fit, they have just the right amount of stretch in them, but without being skintight on my thighs :)
 I also got a pair of light denim ones to replace my much loved vintage levis that have have seen better days, they're not as perfect as the high waisted red ones but will still be perfect for summer, also an absolute bargain at a fiver!

Love

Clo xox

My inner goth kid

Top // Skirt // Necklace // Loafers

This outfit is definately my inner goth kid. I bought this top a few weeks ago from new look, but have been trying to find a new way to wear it.

I originally wanted a similar skirt from Topshop but I came across this chiffon skater style skirt from eBay, it's available in 14 colours/ patterns all less than £10 each. They are shipped from HongKong though so delivery does take a bit longer, can't wait to see how the quality is.

I finally decided I wanted a pair of vectras, late on the band-wagon much? But they're sold out in the black, so i'm going to have to settle for another eBay find with these suede effect ones.