Last Month In Pics

Hello peeps! Jeez I forgot how long it takes to edit photos, I've been working on this post since last week! I've also taken some pics of my May 'Beloved Beauty Bits', so hopefully I'll get that finished this weekend. Here's a collective post of some bits and bobs from the past month...

I haven't been buying shoes much at all lately. Check my temperature! I'm struggling for room for more shoes, so am trying to reign myself in. Last pairs I got were these scribble Ablaze boots from ASOS, much brighter in person than I'd expected... and some Blythe 'Cookie' (Irregular Choice) from eBay.  Both quite wintery, so I doubt I'll be wearing them just now.   My attention has turned instead to designer sunglasses. It's quite good when I think about it because sunglasses take up less room, don't get 'worn' as easily and are more of a 'classic investment piece'...oh and always fit! Scotland is lucky if it's sunny in Summer though, never mind all year-round, so I have to bear that in mind! I'm bordering on obsessed though, I just can't get enough of them and find myself staring at celebs trying to ID their eyewear! As with any big expense I spent weeks trawling the internet, looking through pictures, reviews and the best price from who seemed less dodgy! I narrowed my wishlist down to Tom Ford 'Nikita' (black cat-eye vintage-esque), Prada Minimal Baroque (wowzer legs and oh-so glamorous, not to mention I've wanted them since last summer) and Dior 'Mohotani' (curved high-brow). That trio was going to set me back oodles, so I eventually 'settled' with two pairs and decided my ASOS highbrow pair would be a substitute for the Dior (although I haven't ruled out ever buying them). In the end it was best to order them from Italy (the extravagance I know!).
I got the Prada pair (SPR 27NS) for just under £135 with a '10% off' discount code through FB and shipping included at £9 (a really decent price for them actually considering the rrp is £215) from Otticanet. They were dispatched the same day and arrived 3 days later. After worrying about whether the sites I was browsing sold 'genuine' stock, I was rather paranoid and nervous before their arrival, but I couldn't fault their service and can guarantee they are genuine Prada thankfully! It sounds like a cliche but honestly, you can tell the moment you put these on that they're quality glasses. Normally in my Primark pairs I'm still squinting in bright sunshine, but not at all with these. Also because they are so large-I feel my entire eye is protected all around, from every angle, plus they are super comfortable. Sometimes it pays to buy quality! I can't say I've been nervous wearing them; I'm generally not much of a klutz when it comes to sitting on and scratching glasses/lenses, probably because I've been wearing 'real' glasses since I was 5.   I certainly wouldn't let my nephews near them though as they've broken at least two of my cheap pairs! The case they come with (and box) is rather large, so it's not the best for carrying around if you like smaller handbags like me.
I kinda got nailed with the Tom Ford pair, just a little. This style was generally harder to find and usually pretty expensive. According to the '£' price on the UnitedShades site it should have been £135 plus shipping. I actually found a discount code to cover the shipping, so expected to pay bang-on £135, but whether the Paypal conversion wasn't good that day (I doubt it because I bought the Prada pair in the same day and paid what I'd expected to), they maybe add on some hidden expense or the website conversion is untrue, whatever the reason, just over £146 came out of my account. When I checked my 'notes' I'd compiled over the weeks (saddo!), it turned out that price was still cheaper than anywhere else, so I continued with the sale. At the end of the day, they retail for £256 so I guess I got a 'bargain' regardless. They took longer to arrive than the other pair, around 10 days from date of order. They come in a velvet case..ooh! Then you'll have already guessed from the first set of photos; Irregular Choice brought out a range of sunglasses and seeing as it's my new obsession and I love IC, how could I resist them? I knew I wanted the Mischief, black cat pair but at £89 they were outwith my budget. I tried ever so hard to forget about them (actually not all that much, although I didn't 'stalk' them like I usually would), but randomly added the pair to my basket one day only to realise they were the only pair left! Panic stations! I wasn't sure if they'd restock them (probably and indeed they have now a couple of weeks later), but I didn't want to risk it. So I moved a little money into my account from my ISA and there we go, some pretty pussy-shades arrived! Naughty I know, but I'll pay it back! They are purrfect, they really are. They have a flicked cats-eye shape but unusually are oversized round frames. Both my faves in one! The little cats have jewels on them and even the end of the legs (which are paw shaped) feature a metal cat with 'IC' inscribed-they do indeed feel like a quality product and I'm completely in love with their unique-ness! Oh and did I mention the floral, bow case? Muahahaha, amazeballs! My parents go to Madeira every year and always come back with some little gifts. I got this gorgeous Blythe keyring (Mum thought she looked like me) and wallet, a little drawstring 'Madeira' bag and some stickers!
It was also my 32nd birthday a couple of weeks ago. Thirty-two doesn't sound too bad, but next year I feel is bordering on scary! I try not to reflect too much each year as it can just be depressing to see that nothing has moved on for me since I turned 22 and I haven't done half the things I expected to by this age. It is what it is and there's not much I can do about, I just have to get through each day and hope I'll eventually turn a corner. My birthday itself was pretty quiet and that weekend the family went out for a picnic.  It was absolutely scorching that weekend and I hadn't realised how difficult it was to shield oneself from the sun!  There was no shade whatsoever but Mum had the bright idea of taking along this huge parasol (I think it was a GWP when I used to work on the perfume counter in my teens!), which never left my side and I had my Factor 50 and Prada sunnies on!  Thankfully I managed to come away without the slightest hint of sun-I don't like that sweltering, sizzling feeling!
Onto my gifts and this is just a small selection as I met a couple of friends for lunch last weekend and others sent pressies after I'd taken these pics. I had asked for an MP3 player, which is a rather odd request for me as I'm not very gadgety! Headphones don't work in this computer for some reason and I like my tunes during the day, so it seemed like a logical solution. Also living at home with the parents, they yap considerably throughout the day when I'm trying to work, so I need as much of a deterrent as possible to cease the chatter and block out their noise and the TV! I wasn't interested in getting anything fancy and although I would've preferred a pink one (which they do make but it was impossible to find), at the end of the day as long as it works, that's all that matters.   Now I'm wondering how I ever managed without one-it's rarely been out of my ears in 2 weeks! My little sister got me a Kitsound bunny speaker to use with it, so cute!
I also got a new duvet cover, a large tiered 'birdcage' style cake-stand which I'm going to use for displaying little nick-nacks. The My Little Pony's are from my wee sister; we'd bought some 'blind bag' ones a while back (I think it was Pinkie Pie I got) and luckily she found these (not blind) in our local Tesco and they had the exact three I'd wanted; Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. The bow hairband I've worn loads already you'll have noticed and I love the leopard print, perspex doggy clasp. I'd first spotted the handbag in red in a local boutique a few months ago. I researched it online and found they also did it in black, so when my big sister gave me birthday money, I knew exactly what to buy! It's gorgeous!
Clarins have certainly been kept afloat from my purchases recently. You may remember me placing an order online and being treated to multiple samples. My skin seems to have expensive tastes, just like the rest of me (!) and really benefited from using the Multi-Active moisturisers (which I've always been a fan of). I would pay or do anything for my skin to behave to be honest, so after seeing the results after a week of use, I knew I should invest in the day and night creams. Debenhams were having a bonus points event where you got 500 extra points when spending £40 on beauty and a further 500 on Clarins. So I placed two separate orders online on different days, so have accumulated two lots of 1000 points! Once converted, that's £20, so when I think I got a tenner off each moisturiser it doesn't seem so bad. Plus they had 10% off beauty at the time. I also got a couple of balms. The Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector was another sample I'd tried with my original order and was so impressed with, I wanted a full-size. It's the yummiest, most amazing balm ever! I got Rose Shimmer and my mini was Nude Shimmer (thought I'd try a different shade, although I do love the nude). The other one I bought was Colour Quench Balm which I've heard rave reviews about. The shade is Nude Delhi which is part of their summer collection. And I think that's it! I was getting rather frustrated with my camera because when I started to edit these images I noticed some areas were soft, when I wanted them sharp (and they appear out of of focus). I guess I'll have to play around with the settings, as I hadn't noticed it on the live-view screen when taking them. The picnic was my first chance of an outdoor 'shoot' and I was over the moon with the (many) images I took that day. What about you, have you been buying anything lately? Saving for summer hols?