handbag heaven.

I own a few designer handbags... So I thought I'd share my capsule collection with you. There's only six of them, but I think they cover staples for all seasons and all of the colours I typically wear.

Most of them were bought as Christmas or Birthday presents from my parents or from myself to myself haha... Who says you need a man to buy you expensive gifts when you can buy your own!

I know some of these are a little outdated, but my collection has been bought over the past eight years or so. I'll write about them in chronological order.

The first bag I bought was this one from Mulberry. I don't know the name of it, it's so long ago since I bought it. It was my staple bag when I first started work and I still use it every so often. Mulberry bags are so well made and the leather is hard wearing, even though this is probably about eight years old it still has that gorgeous leather smell about it.

The second bag is my Chanel bowling bag. My parents bought me this as a present for my 18th Birthday while we were away on holiday in Barcelona.

It was the first high end designer bag I owned and I remember feeling so special and lucky :)

I've sort of fallen out of love with it because it feels a little dated, but with monochrome + pastels being such a big trend for SS14... I might try styling it again and see how it looks. 

Again another Mulberry bag which I don't know the name of! This one was bought from Cheshire Oaks designer outlet. I think it was about £200-£300, so a steal for a Mulberry. I haven't worn it for quite a while, but what with pink being very current for SS14 I'm going to get it back out of the cupboard.

Again I used this quite a lot for work when I bought it. Being patent leather it's really easy to clean and is quite hard wearing.

This is my Smythson bag, again I don't know what it's called! I absolutely adore this and have been seen with it quite a lot lately. The detail on the front is really beautiful and I love the way it fastens.
I was wearing it in Autumn Winter with a grey long check coat from Topshop and orange studded slippers. I love a monochrome outfit with colourful accessories :)

Because it's grosgrain material, it's really not worn very well on the back side. The red has worn off to reveal white underneath, so it's a bit sorry looking! I'd love to get it repaired so if anybody has a suggestion or recommendation of where to get this done, I'd really appreciate it.
It's also quite a large bag so I have to remind myself not to overfill it as it can get really heavy.

Here is my Chanel 2.55 :) I think it's in large as it's one of the bigger versions. 

This is my most treasured handbag, it was a present from my parents for my 21st Birthday. I hope it's something I will have forever and be able to pass onto my daughters / granddaughters one day as a beautiful vintage accessory.

Excuse the awful photo, I've managed to make such a beautiful bag look really boring! I promise you the lambskin leather is so soft and perfect. I've worn it so much and where it's rubbed on the back side the leather looks almost navy blue. It's become my staple handbag for nicer occasions and nights out so I have worn it quite a lot.

I'm trying to get the cost per wear down to a reasonable amount so I can justify spending so much money on it!

My most recent purchase is my Mulberry Tillie. I bought this in the AW12 sale on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve shopping and dinner out has sort of become a tradition in our family. It's always great to see Manchester's Christmas lights and markets and of course, have a last minute shop.

I remember the shop assistant being so lovely when we bought this... My Mum bought another bag form Mulberry at the same time and as it was around 30 mins before closing for Christmas Day, she gave us the sale price which was starting on Boxing Day.

I've got a pair of nude Christian Louboutin pumps and I often wear these two pieces together. It's a bit matchy matchy but I kind of like that. Otherwise it's just a great casual bag for shopping, as it holds so much stuff and the cross body strap is really useful.

So there we go, my capsule collection of designer handbags. I've got my eye on a YSL Cabas Chyc medium leather shopper in black or maybe an Alexander Wang Rocco tote for the next purchase, so watch this space.

Bye for now

February beauty haul.

I've been watching videos from a lot of beauty bloggers lately...
My favourite being the gorgeous Tanya Burr :)
I love watching her videos because she comes across as so down to earth and I love her beauty and fashion choices.

Anyway, she inspired me to refresh my make up bag... There's a lot of things in there which I've been using for a long time and I know aren't necessarily the best products for me anymore.
So here is a February beauty haul for you.

I started with buying some lip glosses from the Tanya Burr collection available from Feel Unique. I wanted to update my spring lip colours, I've got a couple from Urban Decay which are my staples, but fancied a change.
It was SO difficult to pick colours, I initially limited myself to three but couldn't resist another as there's such a great range of shades in the collection.
So here's what I bought, I've swatched them for you as well.
L to R we have - Champagne Toast - First Date - Picnic in the Park - Just Peachy

 

I haven't tried Champagne Toast yet, but so far my favourite is Picnic in the Park.
It's a vibrant coral pink which I think looks really fresh with my pale skin. I can see myself wearing it quite a lot!
I'd highly recommend them all, they smell and feel divine on my lips. Sometimes I find lip gloss can be quite drying but these aren't at all.
I must say, I love the actual packaging of the lip glosses... But the cardboard packaging they came in felt a little childish. Probably because it's aimed at a much younger target market than myself.

Continuing on the lip colour theme, my Mum gave me this Avon Anew Lip Restoring Colour Balm recently as she didn't think it suited her. It's in the colour Luminous Berry and comes in a twist brush pen.
It has a beautiful fresh scent, not flowery at all... And it feels super nourishing.
Whilst I like the colour, I'm not keen on the packaging and I find the twist element a bit of a gimmick.
We'll see if it's still working a few weeks down the line.

The next beauty items I have are Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 010 Light Porcelain and Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent.
I haven't tried either of these products before but I've worn them on a couple of nights out since I bought them and am loving them!
I've been using YSL Foundation for the last few years or so and didn't realise how greasy it felt on my skin, until I tried this Match Perfection. It so light and non-greasy.
It's so reasonably priced as well, at £6.99 from Boots and the powder at £3.99. Much better than around £30 for my previous YSL foundation.

I also bought a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush from Boots. I didn't realise how much difference it would make putting my foundation on with this amazing brush!

I've heard a few people raving about it and at £9.99 it's not expensive to take a chance on. But I certainly wasn't disappointed.

I normally apply my foundation with my fingers, but you really need to try this to see how great it is.

My foundation literally looks flawless when I apply it with this, even with my combination skin.

I have quite dry skin around my nose and cheeks, but my chin and forehead are really oily.

I find as long as I exfoliate my face well beforehand, this brush works absolute wonders :)

The next beauty buy I've got for you is Maybelline the Falsies Volum' Express Mascara

I usually wear Bad Gal from Benefit or Soap and Glory Thick and Fast, but I thought I would try something different. I'm really fussy with mascara, I bought this one as Tanya Burr uses it in pretty much all of her videos and loves it.

I've been wearing this every day for a couple of weeks and I like it... But I don't love it. It goes on quite thick and can get quite clumpy if you over apply it.

I'm going to persist with it though and keep trying it over the next few weeks.

Next here's a hair product I thought you guys might like...
If you have fine and slightly limp looking hair like mine, this product will be your saviour!
It's Osis Dust It Mattifying Powder from Schwarzkopf. You just sprinkle a little of it on your roots and it creates great volume.
I tend to use it on the underneath roots rather than around my parting, as my hair can look a little unkempt... But it's so amazing. I've been using it for a few years now and it's my go-to for volumised hair on a night out.

Now a few products I've bought or been given as pressies from Lush.
I've recently discovered Lush... I used to walk past and be repulsed by the overpowering smell. But I braved it and I am so glad I did because it's awesome!

Here I have - Sunnyside - Sex Bomb - Love Locket - Twilight

I also had a Butterball, but I couldn't wait to use it and it didn't disappoint! I got out of the bath feeling all silky and nourished.

I had another Sex Bomb which I've used already as well, the colour it turned my bath was so vibrant.

I really value my quiet time in the bath if I'm feeling stressed... Products like this make my bath feel so much more special and relaxing.

And the last product I have for you is really multiple products in one... My Glossybox

This is the first one I've received, I decided to sign up to get a bit of variety into my make up bag and I've heard really great reports about these. They're such a fantastic idea :)

This month I got Nougat London Sparkling Body Shimmer, Eldora Eyelashes, Ciate London Paint Pot in Red Hot Chilli, Maybelline Colour Sensation Stripped Nudes Lipstick in Naked Brown and Toni & Guy Stick it Up Gum.

I would never have picked out a brown lipstick, but this one looks great on me so I can't wait to figure out an outfit to wear it with and show you. The lashes and nail varnish are right up my street and the body shimmer will be great when I've got bare legs.
The only product I can't see myself using is the hair gum, but I'll give it a go... If it's not for me I'm sure Gareth will use it on his short hair.
I had an email yesterday saying my March box is being dispatched, as I've signed up for a monthly subscription... Hopefully the postie will arrive with it soon and I can write another little post about the contents.

So there you go... Lots of beauty purchases I made in February.
If you've got any recommendations of products you think I might like, leave me a comment.
Thanks for reading :)