Denim Dare Day 3

I decided to wear denim on top today. This shirt was a great buy from River Island. It's something I bought thinking I probably wouldn't wear it much but I definitely needed one in my wardrobe but to be honest I wear it loads, mostly in winter when I'm layering up. This outfit matched my new bracelet from Happy Wrist perfect!

Shirt - River Island
Shorts & Boots - Zara
Bracelet - itchelita.etsy.com

Happy Wrist!

Mr Postman delivered a very special package for me today. A fabulous bracelet from Happy Wrist by Itchelita. Isn't it divine! It's a gold and gunmetal textured bracelet and feels gorgeous. I definitely reccommend going to this girls Etsy store and have a look as all her pieces are amazing, they're so reasonable and she ships worldwide. She has also started making anklets and other pieces. It's hard to choose which one as I want them all. She is on Facebook and on Instagram so you should all check her out!

Follow her work:

facebook.com/happywristbyitchelita

itchelita.etsy.com

Denim Dare Day 2

In on day 2 of my denim dare. So far so good! Today I opted for grey jeggings. I totally forgot I owned these so denim dare has been handy as I've rooted out all my pairs of denims. I found a few golden oldies!

Shirt - River Island
Denims - Topshop
Shoes - Penny's

Denim Dare Day 1

I was dared by the fabulous blogger Fix In Flats to wear denim for seven days in a row. This won't be difficult as I am a denim junkie. (I would be ashamed to admit how many pairs I own!) So here is day ones outfit, my favourite denims of the moment. I love these mint denims. A small bit easier to keep clean than a white pair!

All clothing from Zara.

Feeling Lacey

I love these shorts but I wish the weather would hurry up and get better so I can wear them more often! It just means I've got to stock up on tights......maybe colourful ones?!

Top - Topshop
Shorts - Zara
Boots - River Island
Jewellery - Penny's, H&M

The Finished Product!

So here's a picture of the finished bun. Happy styling!

Pretty Hair Bun Tutorial

I was asked by a follower on Instagram how I managed to get my medium length hair into a bun without using padding so I decided that I would do a tutorial to show how! This is a great way to style hair if you don't have time to wash it. After a few practices you should be able to do this style in super quick time.

1&2. I find that it's easier to do this style or indeed most braiding and updos when hair is curly. Tong hair in large sections. It doesn't need to be perfect as you are tying it up.

3&4. My hair tends to be quite silky and flat so I use a product that textures hair. I love Batiste XXL. I have done a review on this recently as I adore it so much. (Check out my older post for directions on how to use.)

5&6. Tie up hair in a ponytail, very high up on your head. You should look a bit like Pebbles from the Flinstones!! Spread the hair out and leave it fall.

7&8. Tease and backcomb the hair underneath in sections. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect, it's just to give the hair texture and volume.

9. Start wrapping hair around on circular motion. It should do this very easily as you will have curled and back combed the hair.

10&11. Stick hair pins into the bun. Starting with one into the front, one into the back and then one into each side. This will hold the main bun into place. After this any other pins you stick in should be just to tidy up stray ends. It's also worth going to hair supplies shop to buy a box of pins as the ones from chemists are really useless. It makes all the difference using strong pins that match your hair colour!

12. Finally pull and pinch out the sides of the bun. Don't worry it won't fall out as you have prepped the hair and it's quite sturdy! Finish off with a little spray and maybe add a little flower or bow to accessorise!

Remember, practice makes perfect and don't give up if it doesn't work out the first time!! X

Beautiful Booties!

I have been searching high and low....well shops and online....for a pair of perfect booties to wear under dresses and shorts. I found a fabulous pair on ASOS but they didn't have my size and were way overpriced (€350 I think!) So one day last week I was browsing in Penny's when I came upon these gorgeous babies! And even better, they were under €20. Great for festivals and now I'm not worried about destroying an expensive pair of shoes!

Boots - Penny's / Primark
Top - Zara
Lace Top - Topshop
Shorts - River Island

Pretty Dress!

I picked up this dress in the Topshop sale. A great find at only €24! I'm a very lucky girl.

New Product Alert

I have made a major discovery! It has changed my life forever.Let me introduce to you Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume.

Not only does this act as a dry shampoo by banishing oily roots it also has added ingredients that add massive volume and texture to your hair. I found that it gives height and volume in the same way back combing does. Amazing!

I do so much up styling every week and this is a must have product that I will be keeping in my kit. It gives hair a day old feeling and makes the flattest hair beautiful and bouncy! I used it to freshen up day old curly hair that I then pinned up in a loose twist.

To use:

Make sure you shake bottle well. Spray around 30cm from the head. Too close will leave dark hair with white marks! Spray onto roots and massage with your fingers. Then style as desired! It's that easy!

Grrrrrr!

Ok so maybe I jumped the boat a bit last week when I gave out about the sale in Zara because look at this gorgeous animal print dress I picked up! I had my eye on this dress with over a month but thought it was quite expensive at €70. Zara added more lines to their sale this week and this dress was down to €25! It was well worth the wait!

All Items - Zara

Summer Sales

I was very disappointed in River Island and Zara sales this year. Although it could be argued that I own half the store anyway before the sale ever started! I did pick up amazing bargains in Topshop. They had 50% off the half price. I was in my element! This top is one of my buys. I adore skulls and I was channeling my inner rock goddess when I wore this top! More bargains I picked up are my new cuff and bracelets. All were under €5 each!

L-R - H&M, Penny's, Penny's

Top - Topshop
Denims - Penny's
Shoes - Zara

Python

Ok your probably sick of seeing this blazer but I honestly wear it to death! I really hope Zara sells them again....in every colour. I find it hard to get a really good fitting blazer but I find Zara the best. I need to find a good black blazer for A/W'12 so I'll keep you all updated on my progress.

Blazer, Top, Heels - Zara
Denims - River Island

White On Green

I love white and green together. Even better when a peplum is thrown into the mix. This top is from Zara but I here Penny's are doing a whole load of peplum in their A/W'12 collection!

All items - Zara

Bargain Queen!

Can you believe that this whole outfit only cost €48! That's head to toe including jewellery and shoes. You can beat good old Penny's. No wonder I'm smiling so much!

All items - Primark/Penny's

Maxi

It's very hard to know what to wear in Irish summers. Maxi skirts are a great choice and this one is now available in Warehouse for only €10! Bargain!

Maxi Skirt - Warehouse
Vest - Dorothy Perkins
Denim Waistcoat - Topshop

Armcandy

I haven't really blogged about jewellery much. I think the main reason is because I have so much and I forget where I got most of it from! I always buy when I'm abroad as I love seeing a certain piece of jewellery and thinking of a special moment. I especially bought loads when I was in Indonesia as there was so much fabulous silver there. At home I buy a lot of my jewellery from Penny's and Topshop.

L-R - Warehouse, Matthew Williamson,
Topshop.

Top - Penny's
Denim, bag & Wedges - River Island

Top Knot

This is my favourite jacket of the season. I love the zebra print silk lining, it's a very detailed piece. It's a very bright jacket so I wore it with soft grey and little black booties.

Blazer, Booties & Skirt - Zara
Top - Topshop
Clutch - Warehouse

Golden Girl

I did very well in the sale in Zara. Especially in the shoe department. These gold babies will go perfect with my new summer wedding dresses. (I will blog the dresses at a later date) For this look I wore with my favourite blazer and teal denims.

Blazer & Heels - Zara
Top - River Island
Denims - Next
Clutch - Jasper Conran

Lace & Poppy

Check out these lace shorts! Aren't they gorgeous! I see lace shorts everywhere at the moment but couldn't find the right pair for me. A lot of them were very very short and left nothing to the imagination. Some were the wrong colour or wrong texture with no stretch. I found these in Zara and better still, they were on sale! The heels were also on sale. I had been looking for them for ages and couldn't believe my luck when I found the only pair on the stand in my size. Happiness is finding the perfect pair of shoes!

Shirt, shorts & heels - Zara

Stripes & Mint

This blazer is one of the best buys ever. I bought it in Penny's about a year ago and it's still popping up in more expensive stores. I'm sure it was under €20 and that I saw a really similar version in River Island recently for around €70. I do love a good bargain! I teamed it with mint today!

Blazer - Penny's
Top - Topshop
Denims & Heels - Zara
Clutch - Furla

Wet Look On A Rainy Day

It's a horrible summer here in Ireland. Loads and loads of rain even though it's so warm. It's easier to layer it up when we have wet humid weather. This is a great day outfit and I wore this meeting friends for lunch. Wet look leggings to keep the wet out!

Leggings - Topshop
Top, Heels & Cardigan - Zara
Handbag - DKNY

Braid Dare Fashion

I was so busy doing braids that I didn't get a chance to blog about all my outfits of the week. But here is all the pictures of each days outfit.

Braid Dare

Over the last seven days I took part in a braid dare set up by my fabulous co-blogger Fox In Flats, a fantastic style blogger from Australia. I had to style my hair each day in a braid. Eventhough I'm a hairstylist this was still quite a challenge as I love doing other peoples hair but not my own. I'm a bit boring like that! So here are the pictures of each style. I think I'm going to do a few tutorials on some of the more popular ones over the next few weeks!