Wishlist: HURRY UP PAYDAY!

(Clockwise from the top)
Wall-Mounted Clothes Rail: In my new room I don't have enough space for a freestanding clothes rail so a wall mounted one seems like a perfect solution. I like this one but I can't find out the price. I've had a look on eBay and other places and they seem to be going for around £40-£60 which is a bit much for a glorified pieces of metal if you ask me so hopefully I'll be able to persuade my dad to build something similar!
Black Ballet Shoes: I need some new shoes for work, my Carvela ones are looking a bit scruffy now so they need replacing. I like these velvet ones from ASOS as I'm a bit of a velvet fiend.
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel: I've been trying out the mini size of this wash & I love it. It seems to be clearing up my awful skin. It's very gentle yet I feel like my skin is really clean and fresh afterwards. I've been using it with my facial buffer from The Body Shop which is amazing!
Aura Tracie Ellis Bedding- I need some new bedding and I saw this gorgeous set in TKMaxx the other day. I'd never heard of Tracie Ellis but she has some really pretty designs on her website. The set was £24.99 RRP £100!
Wooden Leopard Glasses- I know I've just got some new glasses but I want more in my collection! I adore this wooden pair and I think I need them on my face! They are $68 from Firmoo but I think they look so much more expensive.
Wooden Heart Ear Tunnels- I have my ears stretched and I've had some pretty wooden lotus tunnels in for the last 2/3 years! I'm not sure how the heart shaped ones would stay in my round holes but they are super cute. They are from this seller on eBay & there are loads of other great wooden designs.

So these are a few of many things that I would really like in my life right now! Every time I see something that I really want I write it down and I'm going to see if I still actually need it at the end of the month. I'm sure there will be quite a few wishlists in the next few weeks on here! I'm not one to splurge my money but then I don't really have a budget either. Isn't money a strange thing?!

Do you budget and save for specific items or do you tend to impulse buy?

Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx

Frugal Festivities: CHEAP YET CHIC CHRISTMAS SHOPPING GUIDE

Hello Everyone!

So as we all know (although some of us don’t like to admit it) It's getting close to the festive season and I for one always leave my Christmas shopping to the last minute! I thought I'd start a new feature 'frugal festivities'  to share all my thrifty tips with you over the next few weeks. I love buying Christmas presents & thinking of what would make a great gift etc but as a girl who doesn't earn a lot of pennies but enjoys the finer things in life (ha) I've come up with a few solutions to have a cheaper yet chic Christmas- save pennies whilst looking super-generous! All of my friends are always asking me how I find so many bargains, here are some of my secrets...

Image source

My top 5 Christmas shopping websites for amazing gifts at a fraction of the RRP:

The Book People- I LOVE receiving books for Christmas and I’m sure there are lots of people who do too.  This site has something for all ages! Here are a few that I would give as gifts...The entire collection of True blood novels (10 books) Only £6.99 RRP £79.90. Vintage tea party year (launched last month) £6.99 RRP £20. The Hunger games collection £4.99 RRP £20.90. Basically there are bazillions of book bargains and you should all go and check it out right now! Free delivery with orders over £25.

M&Mdirect- Back in the day I used to get my P.E trainers from here and that was about it! Now it stocks all sorts of clothing, footwear & accessories from big brands such as UGG, Hunters, Converse, French Connection, Firetrap & Levis! Perfect for those pesky family members & friends that will only buy brand names! Most of the items are heavily discounts, some as much as 75% so it’s definitely worth checking this site out! Free delivery when you spend over £30 with code: XS22.

Tkmaxx.com- I am such a TKMaxx fiend, I just can’t seem to resist popping into this shop and having a good browse through the rails, I guess that’s just the bargain seeker within me as I know a lot of my friends dislike the shop because they have to search through the rails (lazy!) I also like to check the online site as they seem to have a lot of great deals that aren't available in my local stores (although they are smaller than those found in bigger cities) The have a lot of flash sales too so it probably best to sign up to the newsletter or like the Facebook page if you want to be even savvier! The have a gift section on their website which includes many reduced-price designer perfumes (Gucci,  Chanel, Paco Rabanne) I spotted a Liberty leather notebook for £14.99 RRP £40 & they have some lovely boxed scarf & purse sets. Free delivery when you spend over £75.

Ebay Daily Deals- I love eBay! I’m not ashamed to buy second-hand however I know a few people can be a bit funny about this especially when it comes to buying gifts. A lot of people don’t seem to realise that eBay has hundreds of shops that sell brand-new items, it’s not just peoples cast-offs! eBay have a daily deal section that includes men & women’s fashion, homeware and technology stuff usually at crazy discounted prices for a limited time! Today my pick of the daily deals are an assortment of Religion clutch bags £11.99 delivered RRP £50 (very Alexander Mcqueen looking!) Jeffrey Campbell women’s platform trainers £29.99 RRP £79.99, a fitness weighted hula hoop (I’m hula hoop mad) £14.49 RRP £40 & for all you wannabe vloggers they have the Sony Bloggie camcorder for £99 RRP £250!

Buyapowa- I have literally only discovered this website earlier this week, I can’t comment on delivery, customer service etc because I haven’t actually bought from it yet! For the beauty addicts amongst you today’s co-buys are the new Urban Decay Vice palette, Kerastase Elixer & Burberry Sport perfume. Basically the more people who agree to co-buy the cheaper it gets & you can usually save a decent amount! There is a video that explains it in greater detail on their site. Also all of these deals are only for the day and tend to sell out really quick! You can also request certain items to be on the site & sign up for reminders of upcoming sales.

I hope the first installment of 'frugal festivities' has inspired you & given you some present ideas :)

Stay tuned for more posts including DIY Christmas present ideas, How to create a luxury Christmas hamper & thrifty yet magical Christmas wrapping ideas!

Are you an organised christmas shopper? Have you used these sites before for gifts?

As always, Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx

Outfit Of The Day: I'M SO GLAD THAT I LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE THERE ARE OCTOBERS

 Shirt Dress: C/O Bench

Faux Leather Jacket: C/O Bench

Tights: Happy Socks via TKMaxx

Hunters: Stolen from Mum

Hat-Accessorize

Scarf-Charity Shop

Lipstick: Eurydice by Illamasqua

So I have to admit Bench is a brand that hasn't really been on my radar for a while. I remember doing a fashion show at secondary school for Bench & Hooch and wearing the massive slogan hoodies that Bench are pretty well known for. However when I checked out their latest lookbook for the A/W collection I was pleasantly surprised, it's laidback, street style vibe and gorgeous coats and knitwear really appealed to me.

As I mentioned in my last post, Bench very kindly let me pick a couple of items so I could style them in an outfit post.

The dress is super easy to throw on, I didn't own a shirt dress before-hand and I really like the colours of the check pattern. The jacket is going to be my new wardrobe staple! I love leather jackets and even though its faux leather it feels incredibly soft & the contrasting knitted fabric makes it really comfortable to wear. Another awesome thing is the collar, it zips off so you can wear it like a casual biker style or a more slick, collarless neckline. It's the little details that I really love about the new A/W collection. 

It was a little nippy in the Lake District today so my favourite old man scarf came out of storage as did the hat but they weren't worn for long as the sunshine must have tried a bit harder and I did warm up :) 

We went for a walk in Cartmel woods today & they look so, so pretty at this time of year! Cartmel may be boring but it is very pretty :)

Right now on the Bench website students can get a generous 25% off with a NUS card or you can get 10% off  your order by using the code: SELFMADE12

Let me know your thoughts on the new collection, did you used to wear Bench when you were younger?

Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx

Outfit Of The Day: AUTUMN DAYS, WHEN THE GRASS IS JEWELLED

Army Jacket-Vintage

Scarf- Really old (16th birthday prezzie!)

Ruffle top-TKMaxx

Shorts-River Island

Socks-River Island

Boots-Dr Martens via TKMaxx

Autumn is here yaay! I love Autumn, super layers, halloween, bonfire night & my birthday :)

Anyway I wore this the other day. Most of the outfit is old apart from the top & lovely Dr Marten boots both from my trip to TKMaxx the other day.

I've said it once & i'll say it again, I really do not need to wear heels but when I spotted these, they were the only pair in the store and they were in my size-fate huh? Plus they were reduced from £100 to £29.99 BARGAIN! TKMaxx also had other styles of Dr Martens so you should check out your local store to see if they have any left. I love the oxblood leather and I can't wait til they look a bit more worn and battered.

Also I want to mention my love for this army jacket- its the real deal not some high street knock-off and the best part? It was only £1 from Preston flea market :)

 Photos are taken in my mum's overgrown garden!

 Whats your best TKMaxx bargain? What do you think of heeled DM's?

Thanks for reading :)

Rachelle xxx

PS The post title is from my favourite song at school-Who remembers it?!

Ugly/Beautiful Jeffrey Campbells!

So we all know that bloggers just love Jeffrey Campbells and whilst I do think that they are pretty cool they've never been high on my wishlist as:

 1) I don't have the money to spend £100+ on shoes

2) Its really unnecessary for me to wear 5 inch heels when I'm so tall already

3) I feel like everyone has the Litas or cheap copies so I usually go for something more individual!

All this went out the window when I spotted these beauts in TKMaxx in London! I was completely in two minds whether to get them or not as they are amazing but very much on the border of ugly haha! But I think the shape of the shoe combined with the maroon colour and tapestry stops them being too 'old lady'! I had mixed responses when I wore them out to the opening of my final degree exhibition. Some complete strangers asked where they were from, jaws dropped, the words 'granny transvestite shoes' may have been spoken but all in all it was a positive reaction even if I was the tallest person in the entire university building :)

One thing that really surprised me was the comfort of the shoes! I have heard that some Jeffrey Campbell shoes are really uncomfortable but i had these on for a whole TEN HOURS and I only winged a little bit when faced with a cobbled road!

Also the price-I love TKMaxx and always seem to find good bargains whenever I venture in, these shoes were no exception only a mere £39.99! Whilst I wouldn't usually spend that much on shoes I couldn't resist and thought that they could be a graduation present to me from me ;)

Here they are on my feet, at our 'All Killer No Filler' fashion styling exhibition which was awesome by the way :) I also updated the blog for our exhibition so if you want to see what a final year fashion promotion with styling class gets up to then check out  http://allkillernofillerstyling.blogspot.co.uk/

Do you own any crazy beautiful/ugly shoes? I think I need more in my collection :)

Thanks for reading!

Rachelle xxx