Boats and Birds….Summer Prints

It’s probably just me but I think everyone should have a boat dress in their Summer Wardrobe.

It is my ultimate ‘Yes!!! It’s Summer’ dress and it just so happens that I love boats.

One day I will own a boat and it will be even fancier than Jay Z’s and Beyonce’s!!

Anyway, since the weather has been suprisingly lovely recently, I thought I would share my love of prints with a few snap shots of what is in the shops at the mo.

The bird print skinnies are from Warehouse; not normally a Warehouse kind of girl myself– a bit TOO safe for my liking.  However I love these! A little bit edgy but smart! Sometimes I think printed jeans look too studenty but these just have the right amount of class.

Check out the Bird Print Court Shoe!!! Trying to put together an outfit in my head with these bad boys; no such luck though.  I guess the more ‘out there’ fashionistas would get away with them.

MY PERSONAL FAVE

This is a Zakee Shariff top in bird print by peopletree.co.uk, even better… it is 100% Fairtrade Certified Organic Cotton.  Check out peopletree.co.uk for more clothes with goodness!!!

So there you have it, short and sweet; a few cutey Summer prints!!!

xxxxxxxx Katie

Lacura skin care from Aldi – who said you get what you pay for?

Old news to some but still worth a post as it’s gorgeous and effective!

OK, so Lacura from Aldi doesn’t sound the most luxurious of skin care options but you’ll be surprised how good the Lacura lotions and potions are.

I usually use Primordiale day/night cream from Lancome. It’s £49.50 for 50ml. Apparently it’s for the first signs of ageing and I have bought this product for a good few years now. But as my disposable income had been shrinking, my face cream budget shrunk too….so off I went looking for alternatives.

I didn’t have to look far as a colleague at work recommended the Lacura  Q10 cream and she absolutely raved about it. I said I’d try it but I secretly thought to myself, it’s not going to be a patch on Lancome.

But I was wrong and I searched no further.

I tried the Lacura Q10 cream £1.99 for 50ml. It pretty much matches up to the Primordiale e.g SPF, first signs of ageing, moisturising, firming. It sinks in easily and leaves your skin with a dewy finish. It takes a few seconds to sink in but it works really well and keeps my face soft all day. It is quite thick though but I like that.

Did you know…?

1. Its featured in The Mirror and their results of a blind test sparked a nation wide sellout
2. How to Look Good Naked voted it as the number one face cream
3. There are 35,000 Q10 creams sold in one day

They do loads of other products too, like a serum, eye cream, night cream, face wash etc. You could buy it all for under £20. I have used both serums and they are ace! The Multi Intensive Serum in particular is awesome. Really light but you feel the difference when wearing it. The night cream is super moisturising too. However I would say their eye cream is only average, so maybe shop around for your eye cream.

Did you know…?

1. The serum is one of the cheapest around but beats 2,000 rival products in a series of blind tests
2. It pushed Boot’s Protect and Perfect Intensive into second place (we all remember the buzz about that serum)
3. At one time 30 ml bottles were selling on Ebay for £75!!!

I have tried the shimmer moisturiser too which smells absolutely gorgeous, like apricots. It has won a few awards and it has loads of vitamins in it.

Also probably my favourite Lacura item is their concealer pen. Wow is it fabulous! It’s £3.59 and it really works. I have tried YSL’s Touche Eclat and it’s just as good. It really covers dark circles and it does it in that sheer, healthy looking way. I am so happy with this buy.

They do other make up too but I haven’t tried it yet. But I am definitely going to give it all a try at their prices and and results!

I just want to add, these skin care products aren’t just good because they are cheap. They are good because they are good quaility. If I paid £15 for the Q10 I’d be happy, even at £30 I’d be satisfied but anything more than that is for the luxurious brands with all the benefits, like Gift With Purchase and make overs, for example what  Lancome offers. But that’s the only reason why I wouldn’t pay a premium price for it.

I thoroughly recommend the Lacura products, if you pass an Aldi, give one a try as you’ll probably end up with some great skin for the price of a small coffee. I am definitely converted. No more Lancome skin care for me.

Debs xx

Shopping Online….I pick StylistPick!!

No suprise here but I love Shopping! I love CLOTHES.  So, you would think online shopping would be for me, what with all the little online boutiques out there (majority owned by TOWIE girls mind)  However, I seem to get really overwhelmed with how many things I do actually like (e.g ASOS–678373 pages of dresses), I end up filling my basket, unfilling it, getting wound up by the p&p terms, getting stressed with online payments and basically I end up logging off and going to the White Rose Centre.  Also remembering that everytime I do buy online, my parcel seems to to get sent straight to the Royal Mail Depot who never seem to open at normal times and NEVER (no word of a lie) pick up the phone or to a crappy courier who must just be rushing to get to his local for a pint… so by the time I get my parcel, the event I needed it for has passed.

This blog does have a POSITIVE ending.  I tried StylistPick for the first time after reading up on in in Grazia… an online store selling Shoes, Accesories and Handbags with a twist…..The idea is to fill out a short quiz which then determines your style aided by Celebrity Stylists.  You then have access to a showroom which is catered to your style.  Clever.  The thing I like is that there aren’t millions of shoes on the page you have to trawl through..just a nice selection to keep you interested but not bored… What is even better that they are all the same price £39.95!!! (Except Cheryl Coles range)

StylistPick Quiz

There are also plenty of style hints and tips, blogs, trend alerts to keep you up to date with the fashion world whilst browsing.

Another twist is… that once you buy your first StylistPick, you are a fully pleged member meaning that every month you are given a new showroom adapting to the new season and trends;  watch out though if you do not ‘Skip the Month’ you will be charged the £39.95 OR if again you spot something you fancy you can purchase as part of the subscription.   If you are likely to buy once and not again, remember to cancel!!! I suppose you can treat it like a standard direct debit; Mortgage, Mobile Phone bill, Utilities, Car Insurance, StylistPick shoes etc, but at least you have the option of ‘opting out’ by ‘skipping a month’ and not getting the shoes.  It does explain this a little more on the website although it did take me a while to get my head around. 

I purchased the Safia boots, I loved the curvy heel, very on trend I believe!! Also as a first time buyer, it was £10 discount, so £29.95…. I chose the Free Delivery option (I hate been over charged for postage grr), entered my details and BOOM Bob’s your uncle…first StylistPick purchase!Woohoo.

With having chosen the ‘Free Delivery’ I assumed it would be a good 4/5 days before they arrived; I ordered them to work (to avoid any confrontations at the Royal Mail Depot).  Literally within 24 hours, my shoes were here!!! Gobsmacked! All perfectly packaged in a box, paper carrier bag along with a sticker of my item! Also as a little extra, I recieved a lip balm which has turned out to be a lifeline with the cold weather!

Also, check out Cheryl’s range; now they are lovely shoes; but I just wouldn’t pay between £79 and £119  for them…I’d rather buy a good pair of Kurt Geiger heels!!

All in all… a fun, unique way of shopping but REMEMBER if you don’t want any shoes as a current subscriber; skip the month!!!

 

Katiexxx

To see more… visit….http://www.stylistpick.com