Primark AW16 Press Day

Primark is one of my favourite high street stores, with it's fast, affordable fashion what is not to love?  As Autumn is quickly approaching I thought it was about time I shared some of the items I was able to see on display at the Autumn Winter Press Day. There was lots of blush pinks, glitter, rose gold & all of the textures you can imagine, faux fur, embroidered denim & silk to name a few. Primark have always been my go-to shop & now some of these items are starting to arrive in-store I'll be popping in every week to see what I can find!
I was able to take little Lulu Pug along with me to the press day which was the best thing ever, so scroll to the bottom of the post to see her posing away for Primark's Instagram & enjoying her new found fame! 

Both of these bags scream Christmas party to me, the rose gold sequins number is seriously pretty & I'm sure I'll be seeing it all over the blogosphere!

Copper rails holding all of the new season collection, so many beautiful pieces I just wish I could have it magically appear in my wardrobe...

These rose gold brushes attracted a lot of attention & got everyone talking! I've actually seen these in store recently & they are super cheap with prices starting at £1. I decided to pick up the rose gold eyelash curlers when I saw those, they're a perfect blog photo prop as well as being useful too of course.

Primark homeware is my weakness. It's so cheap it's easy to transform a room on a budget, I'm a big fan of their cushions, throws & candles, I could spend a fortune. I got a bit overexcited when we reached the homeware section, it was like walking into a bloggers dream. Cacti, pineapples, pugs, pastel colours & copper, a perfect theme!

Pom moms are everywhere & I am absolutely loving this trend! I especially love this fun flamingo print cushion.

Will you be checking out Primarks Autumn Winter collection?
L x

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Pinterest

May Primark Haul

As I mentioned in my previous post I had a spree at Primark I thought I'd post some photos of my haul. All of the stuff shown was from the Manchester store & I'm pretty sure it's all reasonably new stock so if you like anything hopefully you'll be able to pick it up from your local store!
First up we spotted the jewellery stands & straight away I noticed the Pineapple chain necklace, it was only £4 so I couldn't resist it. I think it will look cute with a plain top, it's the perfect Summer accessory anyway & even if I never do wear it, at least I can use it as a blog photo prop! I also picked up the trio of necklaces, I really liked the rose quartz one & I'm sure I'll end up wearing the other two sometime. Continuing on the accessory theme, I got myself a new bag! I'm loving the tassel trend at the mo, but with a little Pug around it's not the most practical trend for me to sport, fringed kimonos are a serious no no as I can absolutely guarantee Tilly would be swinging from it! I thought the bucket style bag was a semi-safe option, as I'll mostly be using it out of the house when Tilly isn't with me hopefully I won't end up with half-eaten tassels! 
After having a browse we headed upstairs to the PJ section, you can't beat a new pair of pyjamas! I got my hands on the Rugrats short & crop top combo, gutted that someone muddled up the sizes though so I've ended up with a pair of shorts way too big for me! The second pair I bought were pink pj bottoms with a Pugicorn print & keeping with the Pug theme I got some new socks too. Finally we made our way over to the Home section, where I spotted glass jar candles in lots of Summery fragrances. I went for Appletini but I wanna go back & get the Watermelon scent too now. They're only £3, I'm usually a bit of a candle snob & stick to Yankees but I'm actually really impressed with these! I also picked up a chevron print throw which I stupidly packed in a box before I photographed this haul so unfortunately you'll just have to wait & see that when we move into our new house. I really wanted to pick up some of the Pineapple print bedding too, but I didn't feel like carrying that around Manchester all evening so hopefully I can get it in my local store. 
What is your favourite item from my haul? L x

Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin' | Facebook | Pinterest

my week in photos #9

I need to start getting back into doing these posts each Sunday as I enjoy having a little summary of my week & it'll be nice to look back on in say, a years time & reminisce on what I got up to! I have actually included a few of my favourite photos from the past few weeks because I didn't want to miss them out, so really this post should be renamed as 'what i've been upto' but I'd prefer to keep the little series going. If you don't already follow me on Instagram my username is 'loulabeth'. 

Red cups are back! | Firework style nails | Nails inc freebies in Glamour |

Nandos with Dom | Me being a geek & heading to the library! | The cutest lil puppy in Harrods |

Cupcakes I made for my Sisters birthday | My Sisters birthday presents | Huge primark haul!

I'm now tucked up in bed, about to start revising for my exam tomorrow morning, my degree is pretty demanding, 2 exams & 2 assessments this week so I'll probably be quiet on the blogging scene again! :( On a nice note though, I've lit my Vanilla Cupcake Yankee candle & have a bar of Cadbury's fruit & nut chocolate to get me through! 

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin 

i'm back!

Dom & I | Drinks | Cute card | Risotto at Strada | Tea & Toast in bed | 

Homemade risotto (obsessed atm!) | Rain hair | Royal Borough | Tower Bridge | Sisters halls! |

Costa cawffeeee | New foundation | A rose I saved from Dom<3 | Current read | Primark shopping! |

Spike shoooeeezzzz | Red pepper dip at Nandos (try it!) | Cute necklace | Mirrorball collection | Cosy |

Journey to London | YSL sample | Cath K shop | Amazing dupe | Waiting for a train to Manchester 

Firstly, I need to apologise for being MIA for around a month now, but for also having two 'Instagram' style posts in a row. I didn't want to return to blogging without a little update though!

So, where have I been!? The last time I posted was the day I moved back to London to begin my second year of university, but even before that I was posting quite irregularly... Since moving back to London I have been alot busier than I planned to be, plus we only had the internet installed on Tuesday night. In a nutshell I have done the following: worked as a student ambassador/been getting to know my new housemates, especially with nail painting sessions in the kitchen!/had an interview/Dom came to visit/various nights out... including Fabric!/travelled back up North/helped my little sister move to London/completed uni work & assessments/& of course I've been shopping! 

I'm currently back up North again because I had to return for a friends 21st last night (they also got engaged, cutest thing ever! I can't believe I'm at the age now where my friends are getting engaged, having babies etc!), I also went shopping with my Dad yesterday & I surprised Abi by visiting her at work! Today I've been to visit my Nana & Grandad & little brother, Harry :) had a lovely Sunday lunch! It might not seem like I've been that busy, but for some reason when I'm in London the time actually whizzes by! I got to see Dom last night for the first time in eight days, which of course I was super super super excited about & I'm really enjoying being back home. London is amazing, but it can be a really difficult place to live in, so I'm thankful to have a bit of a breather this weekend. 

Hope this post is okay as a little refresher, I have tonnes of stuff to blog about so my blog should gain some normality again over the next few weeks!

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin

crimewave

Jacket - Primark

Jumper - Primark

Skirt - H&M

Bobble Hat - Primark

Nails - Essie Bikini So Teeny & Models Own Disco Mix

Finally an outfit post! I've honestly not stopped wearing this jacket since I picked it up a couple of weeks ago in Primark, I did originally want the River Island version as I prefer the shade of khaki, yes I'm being picky over a shade & the leather look sleeves look better quality! Sadly I couldn't justify the price, I shouldn't really have bought this one either as I am SO poor atm, student life is rubbish! Even so, I am still ridiculously happy with this little jacket & I've had loads of compliments on it too!

I'm also obsessed with this jumper, again from Primark, its so comfy & I love the oversized fit. I normally buy knitwear in a few sizes bigger than my usual size but this is a size 8 & fits just how I like! I also picked up the bobble hat for only £2 as they're one of my fave things to wear. I seriously wish it was socially acceptable to wear bobble hats anywhere & everywhere because I feel I look a lot better when I wear one haha. Plus they're perfect for hiding bad hair days!

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin 

a little haul

It’s been such a pain trying to post this, I’m in London at the moment and currently don’t have an Internet connection at my new house! I had planned to go across the road to the library but lost track of time and had to be elsewhere. Here I am at Doms uncle’s house in Old Street, tethering my iPhone so I could quickly upload! I’m on the third floor of the house and my laptop refuses to connect to the wifi here, so thank you iPhone for saving the day, once again!

I thought I’d blog about what I’ve bought recently as these are one of my favourite kinda posts to read from other bloggers, probably because I’m so nosey... I definitely wish I was brave enough to create a YouTube video for this post, it’d make my life a lot easier as I can sense I will have loads to type about!

Everybody loves a Yankee candle and after buying quite a few various scents in sampler size I thought it was time to buy a proper jar! Vanilla cupcake is my all time favourite smell, but I also love Mango Peach Salsa after getting it for Dom (yes my boyfriend likes candles haha) and Strawberry Buttercream is heavenly! I cannot wait for all the Christmas scents to appear in the shops, especially Christmas Cookie, mmm.

I bought the Aussie shampoo, conditioner & three minute miracle reconstructor full size after I tried out the minis of all 3. My hair/scalp is quite sensitive so I often buy the mini version of a shampoo first to see if I can cope with it! I’m going to write a proper review on these products as my hair loves them and I’ve seen such a difference. I bought these when they were on offer in Tesco, 3 for £10, and I think Boots are currently running a similar offer.

St Ives Apricot Scrub was a much loved product during my early teens. I’ve never had particularly bad skin, luckily, so this is ideal to purely freshen up my skin in the morning!

MUA reached 25,000 likes on Facebook and to celebrate they offered 25% discount on orders over £10 plus free postage, obviously I couldn’t resist this! I’ve been meaning to pick up the Heaven & Earth palette for ages now but found it hard to get hold of, so I’m glad I finally own this! I also bought the Undressed palette as I’ve heard it’s a great dupe for Urban Decays Naked2 palette. The blusher is shade 4 and has quickly become my go to blusher, it is super pigmented though so a little goes a long way. I did buy a lipstick too, shade 15 or ‘Juicy’ but I gave this to my sister as she wanted a peach/nude toned lipstick but was yet to find the perfect one until now, well done MUA!

L’oreal Liquid Superliner is my current eyeliner, it’s easy to use and lasts all day. I’d like to try some other liquid eyeliners though, please feel free to leave me some suggestions (:

I really hoped I wouldn’t fall in love with anything from the latest Essie collection, but of course I want almost all six shades! I really liked Mojito Madness, it’s a perfect grass green & Fear or Desire is a fab, fiery orange colour but I managed to decide on Bikini so Teeny eventually. I can’t fault the Essie polishes though, they apply so nicely and last well.

Why has Primark been SO good the past couple of weeks!? All my recent wardrobe purchases have been from there! I am over the moon that I finally got my hands on the khaki/leather jacket that is an amazing dupe of the Zara/River Island/Topshop version, plus it was less than half the price. The cream chunky knit jumper is super cosy and has cute coffee coloured elbow patches too! Finally I picked up the black studded bag for uni as it will fit A4 folders in, plus my laptop and anything with studs is a must for me! I NEED the studded clutch bag that lots of you seem to have, I’m going on a hunt for it tomorrow in fact...

Keep an eye out for upcoming outfit posts featuring the clothes I’ve shown above and also full reviews of the products I purchased!

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin

angelica nail polish

(Angelica Nail Polish* - Glossy Top Coat | Foiled Again | Brit Pop | Heartbreaker)

I had been contemplating picking up a few of these products in Primark a couple of weeks ago when I was in Manchester as I had seen them featured on various blogs. I decided not to because I was trying to save money, therefore I am so pleased I was lucky enough to receive these when Angelica Nails selected my blog after asking people to tweet them. They are priced at a very reasonable £2.50 and next time I am in Primark I will definitely be picking up a few more colours, my Mum has also asked me to get her some as she thinks they are fab! Plus my little Sister has her eyes on them, & as she is forever asking me to paint her nails I think I will start her a little collection of these cute polishes!  

I am being completely honest here when I say this, but I cannot believe how well they apply, they're a dream come true... seriously! After applying only one coat the coverage was perfect, the brush is an ideal size & for the first time in my life I didn't get the polish all over the sides of my nails. I did apply a second coat to see if the colour was enhanced anymore, but there wasn't much difference although I prefer to wear two coats as I know the polish will stay on longer. So far I have no chipped nails either... yay! I have tried all three colours plus the top coat, however I am only featuring images of 'Heartbreaker' applied on my nails because I have 'Foiled Again' & 'Brit Pop' on my toes & no way will I ever take an up-close picture of my feet & upload it to the internet! I will say though that 'Brit Pop' is extremely similar to Technic Carnival that I featured in THIS post, which I'm sure lots of you will be glad to know as it is quite hard to track down now... plus this glitter is easier to apply, I found that it gives a more even spread of glitter. I will be featuring these two in a nail of the day post soon though & I'm looking forward to Christmas time even more so now because 'Foiled Again' seems quite festive to me!

When I opened the lovely little box Angelica had sent to me I was very excited to see the shocking pink colour, as I don't have many bright polishes, mainly pastels, but there has been a bit of a neon craze recently! I would describe this as a neon pink, as it really is very eye-catching when worn although it does have blue iridescent shimmer to it. Some people will think this is ridiculously tacky & some will love it, I actually love it alot! It's great for me because I tend to wear quite neutral clothes so this adds a pop of colour to my outfits. I applied the glossy top coat over which added a smooth finish, although I did notice the brush picked up some of the colouring, I managed to wipe it off the brush but I assume it was because the colour is so intense? Anyway it didn't happen when I applied it over the silver polish.

You can find Angelica on Twitter, Facebook & their Website is currently being updated but check it out anyway :)

Do you own any of the Angelica polishes? 

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin

my week in photos #3

Wow this is a very food heavy post, oops! If food looks pretty I can't help but take a photo though...

Received these Angelica nail polishes in the post, the colours are fab! | Core collection, finally... | Dom treated me to Krispy Kreme | Disappointing glossybox | Pink french fancy - the best ones :) | Berries from the picnic! (on a healthy eating 'kick', you can't tell from these photos though, whoooooops | A customized studded jumper that I'm selling - comment/tweet me if you're interested | Bow bracelet & earrings | Cookie & coffee for breakfast

Been abit of a strange week really as I've not done much, blogged every day though! I have lots of blog post ideas for next week too. I might nip down to London this week, crazy I know as it'll be hectic due to the Olympics, but I kinda like that haha. I need to sort out a flat anyway so I need to have a visit sooner rather than later! Hope you're all having a lovely Sunday afternoon

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin

little grey dress

(Grey dress - Primark | Jacket - H&M | Frilly socks - Topshop | Underground Creepers - Office | Ring - Primark (old!) | Spike necklace - eBay)

Here is a quick outfit post today, not entirely happy with the photos but they will do! I missed Dom being my photographer haha, I balanced a load of boxes on my bed to act as a tripod for these!

The grey dress is a dupe of the Topshop speckle dress that almost everybody has, I searched everywhere for that damn dress but was never lucky enough to get my hands on it, so when I discovered this in Primark I snapped it up immediately. Primark sizing is ridiculous though, this is too big for me round the waist which is annoying, but I bought a pair of pjs in the same size and they are too tight for me... make up your mind Primark! 

Quite a simple outfit today really, the weather is being strange, I normally wear black tights with this dress but decided to be abit more summery with the socks and clear tights, I'm not brave enough to have completely bare legs though! Not much else to say, I'm trying to be as productive as I can be today, so far so good, I got up at 9am which is almost unbelievable for me nowadays...

L x

Follow me on Twitter | Find me on Instagram: loulabeth | Follow me on Bloglovin

disco crosses

(Velvet Shirt - eBay | Cross Top - Primark | Disco Pants - AA | Lipstick - MUA, Shade 1 | Nail Polish - Models Own, Disco Mix)

Finally, here is my first outfit post! I managed to convince Dom to snap some photos of me, which he did quite well, considering he isn't creative at all, bless him. We ended up using his iPhone 4 camera, as my camera died seconds before we were about to take the first photo, annoying but the quality isn't too bad luckily.

I am absolutely in love with my disco pants, I can't stop wearing them, I really do think they are worth the £70 price tag, although I managed to get them for £49 when AA gave their subscribers 30% off! I've noticed alot of dupes are available, including a pair by Glamorous, which are the best I've seen so far, a little bit gutting after I'd splurged on the real thing but nevermind.

The top half of my outfit is a complete bargain really, with the velvet shirt costing just 99p from eBay and the top was £6 from Primark. The top reminded me of a jersey dress I had seen in Topshop a while back, which was also embellished with silver beaded crosses, but there was no way I could justify the price... even though I can justify the price of disco pants haha. Primark also sold the top in cream with gold beaded crosses, which of course I also bought, I couldn't resist at that price!

I've been wearing my hair up an awful lot recently, which I don't really like but deal with it because I'm in desperate need of a haircut! I've been growing my hair for a year now, it has finally got to a nice length but all the layers have grown out so my hair is a massive frizzball that needs sorting out ASAP! I have really thick hair anyway but I used to have it thinned out every 6-8 weeks so it's actually nice to have a load of volume back in it. I need a proper fringe back in my life too, I used to have a full on emo fringe which I was so proud of hahaha ~loser~ but I really miss it so I'm gonna snip it back in properly when I'm feeling brave enough!

Oh! and I didn't show my shoes in these because I was wearing little leopard ankle boots that didn't really match, I would have preferred my creepers but I didn't have them at Doms house ): and I'm sorry some of the pictures have a slight blue blur to the right of them, the phone case slid over the lense abit, hope this okay for my first outfit post!

Have any of you got AA disco pants? What is your favourite way to wear them? :)

L x