DIY Balmain style jumper

I recently saw Victoria from In the Frow wearing a gorgeous Balmain roll neck jumper in one of her YouTube videos. It is such a simple piece but the addition of gold buttons on one shoulder turn a basic roll neck into something much more sophisticated. However, the £575 price tag makes it somewhat less desirable to me. So, I had an idea! Why not do a DIY of this straightforward, yet stylish piece?

I headed over to Primark and bought a black roll neck jumper for £6. I sized down as I wanted it to be really fitted. Then I popped into the local market and picked up five gold buttons with an anchor detail on. 

 

I worked out the placement of the buttons and sewed them on one by one with black cotton. It took about 20 minutes in total. 

This is the finished jumper. The buttons don't sit quite as well and flush with the jumper because of the style of them. I think I'll keep an eye out for some other buttons to switch them with. Also the weight of the buttons is a slight issue as the ones on the neck cause it to droop slightly. 

It is quite an easy DIY though and not a bad saving.

Balmain = £575

Primark jumper and buttons from market = £7.75

Total saving = £567.25

What do you think?

How charming | Pandora charm birthday collection

I just turned another year older and my family made a great start to my Pandora charm collection. You may remember from this post that I bought the bracelet as a treat to myself during the summer and up until now I had been wearing it plainly with no charms. 

My boyfriend got me the October signature heart birthstone charm which is an open carved heart shaped charm with the birthstone in the center of each side. It is double sided so it looks the same even if it swings round. He also got the curious cat charm which is a single sided very cute little cat face to represent our lovely cat Alfie.

My brother got me the sister's love charm which is a heart shape with 'sister' engraved and a pink cubic zirconia. It is double sided, so it has the engraving an jewel on both sides.

From my parents I got the vintage E charm which is again double sided, an open carved sphere and the letter E carved with 3 small clear cubic zirconia's in the letter.

I'm so happy with my little collection of charms that are all special in their own way. 

At some point it would be good to get a rose gold one to match with the clasp and put in the middle of my other charms. But for now, I am loving the look of this.

Which charms are your favourite?

Autumn nails

I've neglected my nails since being back at work. Teacher's will know how it is; you get caught up in the craziness of the first term and never have much of a chance to take your foot off the throttle.

But now I'm in the routine and I'm seeing lots of beautiful autumnal colours, it is time to get back to it.

I've found a range of nail shades that I think will be perfect for Autumn.

Kiko 365 tattoo rose

Sally Hansen 370 commander in chic

Barry M cosmo berry

Essie cocktail bling

OPI stay off the lawn

Rimmel hottie choccie

I'm going to start off by buying the Kiko one - I fell a little bit in love with that when I discovered the picture on Pinterest.

If you think I've missed any good ones, please comment below and let me know.

Smelling delightful | The Fragrance Shop Discovery Club

In the Spring, I joined The Fragrance Shop Discovery Club and it has turned out to be the best £5 I spend each quarter.

 

 

 

Every season they send you a box containing a number of different fragrance samples. It tends to be five for the ladies and two pour homme (to keep the boyfriends/husbands/brothers/dads happy). There is also a little booklet in the box that tells you about each of the fragrances, along with voucher codes to use if you buy the full size of any of the scents. All this for only £5 including P&P. Just £5!

 

 

 

I find it a great way to try different perfumes and the samples are a great size to pop in your handbag and carry around with you. It is also really useful for me to hear what my boyfriend likes so I can make a metal note for birthdays and Christmas presents.

 

I have a one use voucher code that I am going to give away to one lucky person to get their first Discovery Club box free.

 

All you need to do is:

1. Comment on this post

2. Follow me on Instagram (@emma2710)

3. Send me a message me on Instagram and I'll send you the code.

 

Hurry though, as the code is only valid for a limited time.

 

What is your favourite fragrance for Autumn?

 

 

A day at the office | Work OOTD

I've been dying to wear this outfit since I bought it during the summer holidays, but the weather has been too nice to wear trousers up until now (very rare for this country!). So, today with a cloudy forecast looming, it seemed like the right time for its first outing.

I think I've mentioned before that being a teacher, I often find it hard to find decent work wear. The shops have some great clothes, but sometimes for one reason or another they just aren't appropriate for school. 

The blouse for me was love at first site. Such a lovely material; really soft and luxurious feeling, sleeveless, just off white with a smart black tie. It was a complete bargain from H&M at only £14.99.

I decided to style the blouse with some black wide leg trousers which are going to be huge during AW16. This pair are from Miss Selfridge, they cost £30, but I think I had a 20% off email code from them. (I thoroughly recommend that you sign up to the Miss Selfridge mailing list as they regularly send out discount codes.)

Picture from ASOS

Finally for the shoes. I'm on my feet a lot during the day and I also walk to work, so comfortable shoes are a must. I do have some nice loafers, but sometimes you just want some height. These are the ASOS Shaken heels which are currently on sale for £24 (RRP £32). The heel height is perfect but they are hurting my big toes, so I may have to send them back if I can't stretch them out.

What is your favourite place to shop for work wear?

Go west | Festival look book

With V festival arriving at the end of the week, I've been thinking about the perfect outfit to wear. The western theme is really in this summer and is perfect for a festival. I'm thinking denim shorts, with a crop top or bralet underneath and a checked shirt, double buckle western belt and some boots to start. A hat, some sunnies and effortless wavy hair, maybe some gold stick on tattoos to finish.

I've put together this look with all day festival partying in mind - it is perfect for day to night.

Go west - festival look

Checked shirt - River Island
Western hat - ASOS
Crop top - Miss Selfridge
Western double buckle belt - Topshop
Denim shirts - River Island
Western bucket bag - ASOS
Gold tattoos - ASOS
Authentic peacock cowgirl boots - King Ranch Saddle Shop

These pieces are all great individually too, you can't go wrong with a crop top, denim shorts and a checked shirt at any time of year. The boots are a bit of a spending splurge, but how great would it be to have authentic Texan cowgirl boots that would last for years? And for all the men out there; boyfriends, man friends, best friends etc. you can get them some to match too.

What will you be wearing to V festival this week?

How I edit my Instagram photos

Over the past couple of months, I have become obsessed with Instagram. From browsing my favourite hash tags to looking for fashion and beauty inspiration. I want to have a feed full of beautiful pictures that people admire.

The thing I've realised recently is that it is all about the editing. A simple photo can be turned into something artistic with the right tools. Now I am still in the beginner's league of this, but I thought I'd do a little post for fellow newbies on how I edit my photos.

Original photo to final edit

Let's talk about the photo above... I wanted to show off my love of this Sally Hansen nail polish, so I needed to get the bottle in as well as a good shot of my nails. I tried holding it a number of different ways before I came up with this one. Initially my thumb was bare and as you can't see much of the thumb nail polish, I had the idea to put a ring on to add a little extra something to the picture. Also, in terms of audience, not only am I now showing off my nail polish, but also a Pandora ring, so potentially drawing in extra viewers. I took the photo using the sandard iPhone 6 camera set to 'sqaure'.

Although the orginial photo was taken in natural day light, it was quite a dull day and the white backgrond is left looking a dull shade of blue. So for the first step I took the photo into the Afterlight app to have a play around with the brightness, contrast and saturation. I always try not to play too much as I don't want the nail polish to end up looking a different colour.

Then I took the photo into Avatan to whiten up the background; this is a little tip I have learnt from various YouTubers. Apps like Avatan that have a teeth whitening tool are great for these kinds of shots. You select teeth whitening and then use your finger to run the brush around the white area and it instantly whitens it up. There is also a helpful eraser in Avatan so if you go over anything by mistake that you didn't want to whiten, you can correct it.

Example of using Avatan to whiten the background

Finally, I take the photo in to Instagram and go through their great selection of filters and have a play around and adjust them until I find the perfect one.

Finished edit

Other apps that I find useful are Layout for combining multiple photos together, Repix for adding flourishes to fill any unwanted space or to brighten up your picture and Over to overlay text on your image.

Example of using Layout to combine images

Example of using Repix to add light flourish

MY TOP TIPS

1. Where possible I try to take photos in day light
2. A clean white background is always useful (I often use my desk)
3. Try the photo from a few different angles then see which looks the best
4. Keep an eye out for useful props (eg. plants, candles, fairy lights etc.) 
5. An iPhone camera is all you need
6. When editing makeup like liptstick, try not to alter it so much that the colour is not true
7. There is nothing wrong with double filtering
8. If you are taking the photo for Instagram, take it as a square. I hate cropping out great bits of a picture that I have taken in normal photo proportions.  
9. Most photo editing apps, hide changes/filters/edits that you have just applied if you hold down on the picture. I use this all the time to work out if my photo looks better or worse with the change I'm am trying out

What Kylie Jenner uses | MAKEUP

Somehow over the past few months I seem to have been sucked into the Kylie Jenner fan club. I don't know what it is about her, but something is fascinating.

When Kylie posted some snap chats yesterday revealing her makeup routine I jumped at the chance to have a close look at what products she uses. Then I re-watched the snaps and noted them all down so I could tell you guys.

For her base she uses the Urban Decay Naked Skin One & Done which is a cross between a primer, tinted moisturiser and sheer foundation. She uses this in conjunction with the Makeup Forever Ultra HD foundation which is now available at Debenhams.

After her base is in place, Kylie does her brows. She starts by using the Anastasia brow wiz pencil in Caramel. Then follows with the Becca ultimate coverage concealer to neaten and brighten under the brow line. Then using some of the foundation from before, on a concealer brush she neatness the top line of her brows. Kylie sets her brows in place using the Anastasia brow gel.

She then conceals around her under eyes, nose a centre of her forehead using the Nars radiant creamy concealer which she blends in using a beauty blender. She then sets her face using Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder and Chanel Mat Lumière powder.

Kylie then uses some brown and black eye shadow to create a blended smokey eye look - she didn't share the brand on snap chat.

The ever popular Benefit Hoola is Kylie's bronzer of choice which she pairs with the Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop highlighter. She gives her cheeks a healthy glow with the Sephora blush in 23 passionate.

Kylie curls her lashes and then uses a Lancôme mascara, I think it was the Définicils. She then mentioned using a seperate brown mascara on her lower lashes as it is more subtle - a trick she learnt from a makeup artist. For the waterline, she uses a Sephora brown jumbo waterproof eyeliner.

She finished off the look with her own brand lip liner in candy k and her brand new yet-to-be-released gloss in koko.

Which of these products will you be snapping off the shelf? My wish list has just got a lot longer!

Pandora rose collection

The Pandora moments bracelet with the rose gold clasp had been on my wish list for a while. This month I have been marking A level exam papers for an exam board to get some extra cash (and gain an insight of the exam for my teaching), so thought it was time to treat myself for my hard work.

I decided to order the bracelet from the online jeweller John Greed. The reason being that they do free shipping (Pandora website is only free on orders over £75), were offering 8% cash back on Quidco and included all the Pandora packaging, even the gift bag. The downside is the purchase failed to track on Quidco, so I have put in my claim and I'm hoping it goes through. 

I ordered it Monday evening and it arrived Wednesday, so the free delivery was super fast. It was only packed in a Jiffy bag, so I was quite relieved to see there was no damage to the box or gift bag. I'm quite surprised that they didn't pack something like that a bit better.

The bracelet itself looks great. The rose gold clasp really adds a little extra something and it complements my Olivia Burton watch perfectly. 

Now I am just trying to resist buying all the gorgeous charms I want in one go. I'm aiming to go for a theme of alternating silver and rose gold charms with some sparkly bits for good measure.

What charms would you recommend? 

River Island try on haul

River Island just had a 25% off code in Grazia magazine so I couldn't resist buying a chunk of my wish list at such a good price. I'm loving their stuff at the moment, I could happily just shop there and no where else.

I thought I'd show you what I bought...

Embellished Cold Shoulder Blouse

I'm still majorly into the 'cold shoulder' trend this season and my collection is growing. I love this blouse (which they also do in pink). Perfect for a date night, or drinks out with friends.

It is currently out of stock on the RI website, but they still have it on ASOS if you hurry and maybe in store.

Blue cold shoulder mesh top

This blue cold shoulder mesh top is perfect for summer. It would look great paired with some white jeans or denim shorts.

White bardot top

I saw the classic white bardot top on Amelia Liana's YouTube channel and immediately added it to my wishlist. The flowy chiffon material is perfect for giving your outfit an instant feminine flare.

Khaki frilly bodysuit and boyfriend denim shorts

The khaki frilly bodysuit is another summer appropriate piece, but the colour will allow you to also take it into the early stages of autumn when paired with a nice black cardigan or jacket. 

These denim boyfriend shorts also come in a light wash and as the perfect casual day time shorts, I'm kind of wishing I had bought them too.

Black daisy lace overlay bardot top and Amelie light wash ripped jeans

My previous pair of light wash ripped jeans made their way to the charity shop a couple of weeks ago as they seemed to have stretched and become too baggy for me. As soon as I saw the light wash ripped Amelie super skinny jeans, I knew they'd be the perfect replacement.

The black daisy lace overlay bardot top is another versatile piece that can be dressed up or down. I actually wore it to work today with a grey pencil skirt and it made a cute, smart outfit.

Now after this lot, someone really needs to take my debit card away from me. :)

Sally Hansen complete salon manicure review

I spotted a newly large stand of Sally Hansen nail polishes in Boots recently and was taken in by the gorgeous range of colours. I decided to get a freebie with my advantage card points and give one a try. I went for the barbie-esq pink "Aflorable" in the complete salon manicure range.

The range sounds amazing, with the Sally Hansen website boasting the following 7 benefits in one bottle:

"Featuring a base coat, growth treatment, runway-inspired color, top coat, gel-shine finish, chip-resistance, and a strengthener with keratin complex for up to 64% stronger nails, this all-in-one formula delivers up to 10 days of chip-resistant wear. It’s everything you need to achieve a professional nail look at home!"

When I first applied it I was a bit dubious about what kind of results I would get. Although the brush was a great size and shape the polish didn't seem to apply very evenly. However, it seemed to even out when drying and by the time the third coat was dry they were shiny and opaque. (Two coats didn't quite leave this colour looking opaque.)

Now 5 days along the line, they are pretty much chip free apart from my fore finger and thumb on my dominant hand. Staying chip free for this long is pretty much unheard of for me, so I am really impressed. I've even done my toes to match (although it has rained non-stop since, so I haven't been able to wear sandals and show them off).

I can see more colours from this range finding their way into my collection soon. What colours would you recommend?

 

How charming | Kate Spade

Kate Spade tweeted a couple of days ago that they had a sale on, no surprises I went straight to their website as fast as my fingers would allow.

I had a browse through and came across these gorgeous alphabet key chains. I expected the "E" to be out of stock, but as luck would have it, it was not! 

I ordered it on Thursday evening, it was shipped on Friday and it arrived Saturday. A* to Kate Spade for a speedy service. 

It is too pretty to be thrown in my bag on a set of keys, so I decided to use it as a bag charm. Most of my bags have gold hardware, so it goes perfectly. 

The RRP is £35, therefore I was quite pleased to add this to my collection for only £19. I recommend you go check out the sale now before all the best bits are gone.