Irregular Choice Cinderella: Call Me Cinders

My third review from the recent Irregular Choice Cinderella collection is Call Me Cinders. This style along with Home Before 12 were released separately from the initial launch (more on that later). Pre-Cinderella I hadn't seen these, but the description was enough to put them on my wishlist! I actually had a really stressful day buying them when they did come out. I managed to get a bank card stopped for suspicious activity (err, shoes, not suspicious at all!), had no other way of paying for them, watched them almost sell out and my Mum, who was in Manchester at the time, got in touch at the last minute and I managed to snag the last pair in my size.  The tears and tantrums were for nothing though as they got restocked later, but how was I supposed to know that?  Don't even get me started on the "live help" from a certain store that told me literally an hour before they launched that "no, doesn't look like we're getting either of those styles in", then proceeded to guilt trip me by telling me how she wished she could afford to buy Irregular Choice and then how quickly this stuff usually goes (as if I wasn't stressed enough).  Anyways, they arrived and actually I ended up with two pairs exactly the same size (don't ask) and here they are.      

Soap & Glory: The Whole Glam Lot

It's here, I got it! My Mum had an early hair appointment, so popped into our local Boots on the way and got me their Star Gift, the Soap & Glory The Whole Glam Lot. As I mentioned last night, it's half price for this week only, at £30 and comes in special packaging. I have details of everything inside...

Boots Star Gift: Soap & Glory The Whole Glam Lot

It's almost become tradition that I pre-warn you about this and then show you mine every year. In the run-up to Christmas, Boots offer a different gift(s) each week named the Star Gift, at a reduced price (usually at least 50% off). The most anticipated one each time is without a doubt, the Soap & Glory set. We all want it!  This year it is the turn of The Whole Glam Lot (this link will only work when the product is active), reduced to £30 from £60 and it launches online and instore tomorrow (Friday 9th).

Irregular Choice Cinderella: So This Is Love Review

Hello! Today I have another Irregular Choice Cinderella review for you and a pair you haven't yet seen on Shoesday Tuesday (the only pair I haven't had time to photograph)! For me, with most collections like these, there's a stand-out style that I'm really seeking from the out-set, then there's a pair that surprise me that I end up really loving when I see them in the flesh. For Cinderella, the latter occurred with this pair, aptly named So This Is Love (STIL).

Lancome: The O Beauty Set 2016

Hello gang! Oh my goodness last week just wasn't going my way. I had a scare a week past Saturday, we ended up having to phone for an ambulance for me (we've never phoned 999 before). I was in tremendous pain, it didn't feel normal for me and when it got unbearable, there were no arguments from me about phoning for help, which is a pretty good indication of how bad it was! Anyway I'm fine now, a little spooked by the whole thing, but decided upon a stress free week to recover. The universe had other ideas. On Tuesday I settled down to blog about my new shoes for Shoesday Tuesday and the editor I use online was down. I could've tried something else, but it takes so long when it's a system you're unfamiliar with and I figured it would be back up soon. It was working on Wednesday, so then it was the turn of the photo hosting site I use to stop working. It's still not letting me upload anything, so I'm furious as I pay a yearly subscription for this "service" purely for blogging purposes and that comes out my own pocket as I don't get paid for blogging. I sent off an extremely cross email to them, after getting no reply to my Facebook DM. No reply to that either funnily enough. I have zero confidence in them, there's been several MAJOR issues these past few months (where all my blog images appear as broken links, when their site is down) and they have just become wholly unreliable and I want to cut ties with them altogether.
I've never claimed to be a whizz when it comes to technical things.  I got into blogging through my love of fashion, beauty and writing and have had to learn photography, editing, HTML and dozens of other things along the way. You can't blog without all of that unfortunately, so you just have to adapt!  My generation didn't really have computers at school and most of my life existed without mobile phones or the internet, so I'm pretty much self-taught in that respect.  This isn't the type of stuff I want to be losing sleep over, but my blog can't function without those technical bits.  Obviously I'm completely overwhelmed when it comes to reading up on things like bandwidth limits or third party hosting and anything new takes time to learn, so last week was an unwanted hiatus, though I've been busy "behind the scenes" as it were. For years I've wanted to leave, I'm just going to say their name because they are so useless they deserve the bad press, Photobucket, but they have me over a barrel. They really do. From what I know, (I think) I'd have to delete every blog image from my 8 years of blogging, find where it's located (erm, I've had several PC's/hard-drives since then, so a lot are lost), upload to a new host site then individually upload them back into the blog posts in the correct order, as when I leave Photobucket for good, my images will appear here as broken links instead. Please shout out if this isn't the case, because I believe this is the unenviable task I'm going to be forced to do. If there's a bigger word than "dread" then that's what goes through my head when thinking of that, but it's going to have to be done. If I do a little bit each day (where I'll find the time, I honestly don't know), I'll be hard-pushed to complete it in a year (but IIRC my subscription runs out in August, so it'll have to be finished by then). I just checked and apparently I have 23,000+ photos stored on Photobucket (not all blog photos I hasten to add, but probably 98% are) and I have two blogs too, urgh, why is life never simple? Santa, send someone to do it for me please!

Irregular Choice Cinderella: Sparkling Slipper Review

Today I have the first of my Irregular Choice Cinderella shoes to review, which I'm very excited about. I got a bit exasperated with the setting, as I forgot how terrible the lighting is in Scotland in winter and my original idea for the backdrop was just not working at all. It was such a cool concept, but no, it looked stupid, so I had to scrap that and find something else. Not totally sold on this one either, but I have a couple of variations for the other pairs I bought.

Irregular Choice: Disney Cinderella Box

So Cinderella launched on Friday and while I take photos of the individual shoes to review, I thought you might be interested to see the box they came in. Irregular Choice have really outdone themselves with this one, I love it. I found myself gasping out loud as I unwrapped the pretty pastel coloured box, then once more as I slid it open to reveal the tissue paper inside.

Review: Nails Inc Lottie Tomlinson Good As Gold Paint Can

Hello lovelies, I hope you are well. I've been in a bit of a funk this week and didn't feel like blogging, so didn't force it and now I'm feeling much more keen to get stuck in. Starting with a beauty post and a really cool item, this Nails Inc Paint Can by Lottie Tomlinson in Good As Gold*.
Good As Gold is a limited edition shade (so snap it up now if you fancy it) and it's precisely what you'd expect of such a name, gold! The colour swatch on the can is a terrific indicator of the colour inside as you'll see in the photo below.

Irregular Choice Alice: Who In The World Am I? (Stripes)

Hola chickadees! Sad news. Well not entirely. This is the last pair of Alice shoes I have to review from the second Irregular Choice collection. Boooo! Fear not though, I have news of more (at the bottom of this post) along with links to all 10 (yes, really) posts so far and guess what's happening on Friday? Cinde-freaking-rella launches. Whooop! Sorry I'm wired just now, I had a good day yesterday where I got out (shopping), wore makeup (hell yeah) and actually enjoyed myself and we all know that's been years overdue, but anyways, shoes. Last week it was the sequins version of these Who In The World Am I? boots (please let me shorten to the only slightly less complicated WITWAI? from now on) and once more, I'll reiterate that I see absolutely no reason why you can't own both and not in a greedy-moo way. If you like and can afford both, then it's not something I'd feel 'guilty' about. They are different colours, different finishes, same style but really different in style if you get me.

Irregular Choice Cinderella: Sparkling Slipper

Today I have the final teaser for the Irregular Choice Cinderella collection.  A couple of weeks ago we saw a cat and mouse chase with Lucifer and Gus. Then last week, Bibbidi Bobbidi captured the magical moment where the Fairy Godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage.  Today is the turn of Sparkling Slipper inspired by the famous glass slipper. A monumental moment in the movie, this is the only remaining magical object after the clock strikes 12 and the one that takes Cinderella from rags to riches, as she proves the shoe fits.

Paperchase Purr Maids: Filing Units

Last week I began showing you my giant Paperchase haul(s) and I'm back with another Purr Maid product for you today. The filing units £10 took a while to come out online, but my sister had seen them in our local Paperchase and said I had to have them. I saw a couple of photos of them promoting the Purr Maid range and they did look rather fabulous. I eventually got them online and they are currently back in stock if you're interested.

Irregular Choice Alice: Who In The World Am I? (Sequins)

Alongside the Lost Your Muchness knee high boots from the second Irregular Choice Alice collection, was an ankle boot, in two colourways. Now if you thought the green My Cup Of Tea were too similar to One Lump Or Two? from the first collection, you'll have no such inner quarrel with yourself over Who In The World Am I? You could easily wear both, without someone noting "don't you already have those?", they are just so different to one another. The style is identical, but because of the materials used, they are like chalk and cheese. I actually liked both, so got the two and today I have the sequin version to show you.

Irregular Choice Cinderella: Bibiddi Bobbidi

Following on from the preview last week of Lucifer and Gus, I have another pair of shoes from the forthcoming Irregular Choice Cinderella collection to reveal.

Paperchase Purr Maids: Ideas and Planner Journal

You may recall last year I went a bit Paperchase crazy with their fabulous unicorn themed Pony Party and Wild Aztec ranges. I still don't think I finished reviewing and photographing all those bits for you as I kept adding to my stash! I had the PP mid year diary, which I'd been getting a lot of use out of for blogging purposes and was a bit worried that it was coming to an end this summer, so was on the look-out for a replacement. My sister spotted an updated version with a sweet little mermaid cat on it and immediately got it for me. Then we investigated and discovered an entire mahoosive collection was coming out and I spent an absolute fortune when it did and bought almost every single thing (probably a 1/3 shown above). I took photos of most of it (months ago), then fell ill and never got round to showing you them (I'd planned on doing one thing at a time). The collection was aimed at "back to school", but some of it is still available so I thought now that I have the time, I'd run through some or all of the things. I don't know how annoying it is for you, seeing stuff that you might not manage to track down, so I'll stick with the items still online for now. Beginning with this wonderful little Ideas and Planner Journal £8.

Irregular Choice Cinderella: Lucifer and Gus

As announced last week, Irregular Choice are once again collaborating with Disney on a brand new collection, Cinderella. This week I have the first teaser for you, Lucifer and Gus.

Irregular Choice Alice: My Cup Of Tea

Hello, hope you're all well tonight. It's been a few weeks since my last Irregular Choice review as I've been struggling to fit everything in and these types of posts are rather time-consuming.  I usually dread the editing process (let's face it, it's pretty tedious), but it's been weeks since I took these photos, so I was enjoying looking at these beautiful shoes and their tea party setting again.  You may recall my first Alice review (here) was of the pink version of these shoes, My Cup Of Tea. Already owning two pairs of teapot heels from the first collection, I was only allowing myself to buy one of the two colourways that launched this time.  I was drawn to the blue immediately, but I ordered the pink as well, only to see what they looked like and to check sizing really.  I was adamant I was only keeping one, but I really fell in love with parts of the pink (which I'll go into later) so I had a hard decision to make.

M.E. On: The Scary Meeting

So before you read this post, you really need to look at the first part (seeing a psychologist here) which gives some background on how and why this meeting came about. In my last couple of sessions with the psychologist, we prepared for this meeting. It was hard to do though when we didn't know what the others were bringing to the table. Actually our last session had to be done over the phone and I never feel quite as relaxed with that as I do talking in person. So I didn't feel ready for this to be honest. It's such a hard illness to hold discussions on, because there's no right or wrong way to deal with it or no tried and tested method that works for everyone. I am constantly told that nobody knows what to do with me. They are frustrated. I'm obviously frustrated. So I wasn't expecting miracle cures or magic wands I'd never known about before. I didn't know what we were going talk about though. I wish I'd written this post straight after the meeting, but I began my previous post and didn't have time to finish that. Once I got home there were so many things I thought I should've said (great one for "after the event") and I felt I had a lot to talk about to the psychologist in the next session. As time progressed that feeling of being annoyed with myself for not thinking of it at the time was still there but I started to lose sight of what I wanted to say. That has now turned to a total jumble in my head (but I can't stop thinking about it) and rather than feel frustrated I'm getting angry. Not necessarily at myself, more at them for some of the questions and now I'm feeling...I think disillusioned would be the right word. I feel more confused than ever about what the next step is or what I should be doing and how I should feel after this meeting. So I'm sorry this post might not be as logical as it would've been had I written it back then, but I'm hoping as I get into my stride, I'll remember bits and pieces and it might also help get things straight in my head.

M.E. On: Seeing A Psychologist

A week past Friday, I was up and at it early. Well early for me or any chronic illness sufferer. Being alert at that time of the morning can only mean one thing. No, sadly not limited edition shoes, that's thankfully usually a more attainable 12pm! I had a medical appointment. A meeting actually. It's happened reasonably quickly (in the NHS world) and I was keen to tell you all about it and get my thoughts from the day down on paper (so to speak) while it was all still fresh-ish in my mind. A bit of background first and something I haven't told you, I'm currently seeing a clinical psychologist and have been since last year. It's not my first donder down this path, years (and I mean YEARS) ago, I was referred by my doctor in the hope that they could offer something new to try, as they were dealing solely (in my area) with pain management and chronic illness. Back then I think I baulked at the idea. How could talking about an illness that was disabling physically and tiring physically, help me? Were people thinking this was an illness "all in my head" (not uncommon unfortunately) or even that I was depressed and in need of counselling? Did I say this to anyone but my nearest and dearest? No, I graciously accepted any help that was offered, mostly for fear of being mistaken for someone happy in their current situation, not in need of help and not willing to get better.

Irregular Choice Alice: Lost Your Muchness

Last weekend I set about photographing the remainder of my Irregular Choice Alice collection. I'm in my element in this situation; surrounded by shoes and strange bits and pieces! Last time we had a tea party theme for My Cup Of Tea in pink, so I thought I'd contrast with Lost Your Muchness this time. Being a lover of quirky boots, I was thrilled by All Mad Here ankle boots from the first collection, so imagine how excited I was that we were getting "proper" boots in the second collection. Yes, I may have mentioned it more than once! Upon seeing the teaser, I immediately fell for these-they remind me of Irregular Choice's Babi (Blythe) mixed with All Mad Here and Curious Feeling (also from the 1st Alice collection). A three-way hybrid!

Irregular Choice Alice: My Cup Of Tea (Pink)

The 2nd Alice instalment from Irregular Choice launched last Friday and my haul arrived this week. I honestly could've cried happy tears with how stunning all my purchases were (sorry, not sorry for spamming Instagram with all the snaps and videos). I've said this before, but even after all the character heels I own and hundreds (well more realistically, thousands) of shoes I've owned in my adult life, I still have to pinch myself to believe that these things really exist and that they are here in my hands. So many times they are shoes of dreams, fantasy shoes you didn't think could be reality and yet here they are. It's extraordinary. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be reviewing each of the styles I tried (3 boots and these heels in two colourways) and of course I'll attempt to wear them for Shoesday Tuesday on The Shoe Girl Diaries with more fit information. So I'm going to begin with My Cup Of Tea, which I actually bought as a possible backup (only keeping one colour) and because I wanted to try a different size too.

Irregular Choice: Alice 2nd Collection Stockist List

The second Irregular Choice Alice collection launched yesterday and while I wait for my shoes to arrive (damn the bank holiday), I thought I'd collate all the sizes of styles remaining online for you in one post, as I've done previously.  Each style is split into UK and international sellers, with the latter separated into Australia, USA and Japan.  You can of course shop from your "local" Irregular Choice site too, though I've only included the UK site stock here.

M.E. On: Life Right Now

So things have been quieter than usual on my social media and blogs lately and that's because I've suffered another downturn with my health. The hard thing about writing about M.E. is the fact I have M.E.! Yeah it kinda gets in the way of me being able to lead a consistent blog life. I've typed and re-typed this post dozens of times during this period, because I know I can waffle (!) and more so than usual my concentration is limited and words and sentence structure get really jumbled in my head and I don't want you reading rubbish, no matter how much of an accurate account that might be of the current situation! So I'm starting from scratch and re-writing this post one final time and leaving out a lot of chatter, so I actually get it finished this time.
I've been plodding along as normal (well normal for me) until one day at the beginning of June when I had an appointment at home. I'd felt fine that morning, but after the home visit ended, I was way more shattered than I'd usually be. I slept where I was sitting. I haven't taken daytime naps for years (haven't needed to). Well I haven't picked up since. I am fighting the tiredness, battling to keep my eyes open on a daily basis (several times a day), struggling to sit up and finding even talking difficult. Sometimes I give in and sleep, other times I doze, not wanting to properly sleep in case I don't sleep at night (I always do though). The exhaustion is simply overwhelming and relentless, it just won't go away. I have zero energy, no strength to get up and do the limited amount of things I used to do myself. I wasn't getting outdoors or having any sort of social life anyway, but now I'm finding it difficult to get up the stairs at night and choosing between going to the kitchen to take my medication or the toilet, because I know I won't manage both. Showering was already a big deal for me, but I'm really, really struggling with that now. I've been ill long enough to know that this isn't normal for me and I don't have any plausible explanation for having done too much and therefore gone backwards from that.

Irregular Choice: Green Savan Swan Heels

Hello lovelies, hope you're enjoying the warm weekend. I did a little bit of al fresco meditation earlier. Trying a double boost of Vitamin D and mindfulness in one go. Actually if you don't already, follow me on Instagram, as I'm getting into this new "stories" malarkey and pop videos and things up on that as well as my main posts (but you need to be a follower to see the stories bit-in the carousel across the top of your screen, if you haven't seen it already and they magically disappear after 24 hours). Ok, in my previous post I showed you the pink Savan swan heels from Irregular Choice (well actually they are called "white") and I mentioned I was waiting on the green/gold version to arrive. I was to choose between them and keep only one pair, so read on to see how I got on.

Irregular Choice: Savan Swan Heels

Hello lovelies, a special Irregular Choice post today with the first character heel of the new season! You know I always get so much more excited by A/W stuff than summer styles (not sure why, it's just always been the way), though these are a very good transitional or all year round shoe I suppose. "Season neutral"!  It means a new sole, inners and box too, so there's lots to see in this post.

Irregular Choice: Starry Night Bag

You might recall I mentioned in my Irregular Choice handbag collection post back in May, that a new addition had just arrived (seriously it happens every single time I take a group shot). It was the elusive Starry Night from AW15. Elusive to me at least. My priority last season, was to get Forest Fantasy and Swan Lake and the universe never really aligned for me and this bag. Anytime I had cash, it had sold out. It would come back and I either couldn't afford it or pondered if I really needed it (bigger bags are never top of my list) by which time it had gone again. Naturally once it had gone for good, I realised I did really like it and it would've been nice to have in my collection. A couple of months ago after yet further misses (seriously!), I managed to get my hands on a brand new one from eBay.

Irregular Choice SS16 Sale Shoes

A couple of weeks ago, the summer sale began at Irregular Choice and I took the opportunity to pick up a couple of items I'd had my eye on all season.

Irregular Choice: Star Wars Floral Artoo

This week I have the first of my in-depth reviews from the Irregular Choice Star Wars collection, phase 2! No fancy photos I'm afraid, I've not been feeling up to it and couldn't put my hand on anything thematic for the setting, so ordinary pics it is. You can find photos of my other R2D2 heels from this launch (Battle With Artoo) on my feet, over on The Shoe Girl Diaries, though I still have those to review here (and Day Of The Trooper).

M.E. On: Have You Tried?

I'll admit I thought twice about posting this. Maybe even a third and fourth time actually. I've realised while I have an opinion on many things, I don't really like confrontation or causing conflict.  So, I knew talking about this would ruffle a few feathers, maybe hurt some feelings (even though mine are hurt every time this happens!), but it's not directed at any one person.  If you suffer from a chronic illness like M.E. or CFS, you'll probably be nodding at your computer screen reading this, others might not realise this existed or that it was an issue, so I'll try and explain it as best I can.  Though this letter (pictured below) probably illustrates it far more eloquently than I could. Someone gave it to my Mum after ripping it out of a newspaper insert, thinking it related to me. Despite liking the person that did this, the second my Mum said "oh I have a newspaper clipping for you..." my eyes rolled. Here we go again, I thought. However I read it and as I got to the bottom, I fully expected to see my name as the signature! It sounded exactly like something I would say or my inner thoughts at least (remember I'm too timid to voice it out loud). It really resonated with me and while I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in fielding this advice, it's sad and annoying it's so commonplace.

Irregular Choice: Thermidor Handbag

Hello lovelies. After all the excitement of the Star Wars launch (check my post here if you're still in search of sizes), I'm back with another handbag review from the SS16 Irregular Choice range. Last time I spoke about Flounder, a new shape in my collection, however Thermidor is my third of this style. I was completely hooked after my first (Purfect Pose), so am always eager to see if there's a new colourway each season.

Where To Buy: Irregular Choice Star Wars 2

The second Irregular Choice Star Wars collection launched online today at 12pm. I am pleased to say the online queue system worked wonderfully on the IC site and we were able to look around and shop in a virtual orderly fashion with no crashes or slow running pages, whoop!  Seeing as my Alice post was so popular last time, I thought I'd list current stockist information of which styles and sizes are available from where. I didn't do it this early last time, so obviously the numbers are going to change considerably throughout the day and over the weekend, as it's the first day. Physical stores won't be getting stock until next Wednesday (1st June), it was only online that launched today. I will keep updating this page as more stock arrives/returns are made, so keep an eye out. 
This time I've also split the stockists into UK/Worldwide, so you can easily choose between them. As always, remember goods coming from overseas are subject to customs charges/import duties and these can vary depending on the total value of your order and which company is delivering. Some of these sites offer low or free postage to overseas buyers, but you do have to consider customs as an extra. I'll again link to this Facebook group and also this one, where private sellers will no doubt be listing their purchases if they didn't fit or they ordered more than one size.  Auction sites such as eBay will also likely have some styles, but sellers often have to charge considerably more than rrp in order to recoup their costs, due to fees from both eBay and Paypal.  I've written sizes below as they appear on the websites-so some of the American sizes will need converted (others already show the European size) and remember the likes of Schuh call a 36 a 3.5, whereas Office and IC call them 3's. Schuh offer next day delivery for just £1 and they will arrive tomorrow (Saturday) if you order today before 10pm, they also offer Sunday delivery for £1.  Otherwise standard delivery is free, Scorpio and Office are also free and Monday is a bank holiday, so not all postal services/couriers will be operating.  Pah, do they not know we are desperate to see our shoesies?! Some of the styles from the first SW collection have been replenished in limited numbers on the IC site, but I haven't linked to those.  Also check out the exclusive R2D2 colourway available from Think Geek at the bottom of this post.  If there's anywhere I haven't mentioned, please comment below and I'll add them to the list for everyone to see. Go forth and buy!

Review: Jolen Creme Bleach

Hola chickadees, another beauty product up for review today. Jolen Creme Bleach* is one of those classics, though I have to admit to never trying it before. It's a gentle bleaching product that can be used on the face to lighten unwanted hair. A great alternative to more permanent solutions such as lasering or waxing and it can also be used to lighten eyebrows.

Irregular Choice: Flounder Handbag

I've been awaiting the big launch of new season bags from Irregular Choice. I'd seen previews of a couple and knew they were going to be spectacular and when they were released a couple of weeks ago, they didn't disappoint. I decided to buy Thermidor, a lobster bag in a shape I already own a couple of, which I'll review next time. Today I have Flounder for you, a new shape for me, though it has been around for a few years now.

M.E. On: Surviving On My Own

This past week and a half has been difficult for me. My parents are away on holiday for a fortnight, leaving me and my younger sister at home. She works full-time and I generally only see her for an hour or so at night as she has her own things to do, so mostly I'm on my own. Positives first, I'm really enjoying the peace and 'freedom' that comes from being on my lonesome all day. When I first fell ill, nearly 14 years ago, both my parents worked, so for many years I was home alone. It took some adjusting when my Mum gave up her work and more when my Dad retired a few years ago. My Mum talks (or sings) non-stop (total genetic thing), so it's tiring when I have to listen or talk to her whilst trying to write something for the blog or read emails. It splits my concentration, which is already depleted and takes more time and energy to do what I'm doing (different story when she is concentrating on something, but hey ho). My Dad (sorry) is really annoying to live with and also quite deaf, so conversations are constantly repeated and voices raised and the TV is always blaring (even when he's not watching it). He goes stir-crazy if he's indoors for longer than an hour (!) and generally drives me round the twist. I've had discussions with him before about noise and bright light being an issue for me (I suffer from migraines), but he can be pretty selfish and takes the huff and says his home isn't his own, blah-di-blah, so I back down. I guess there is sometimes that feeling that I am a guest here or at least that if I were well, I'd be elsewhere. I don't like "taking over" or being demanding, but at the same time, I'm suffering and often it's unnecessary or could be helped.

Irregular Choice: Bag Collection

Now that I'm back to regular blogging, my weekly Irregular Choice posts have returned! It's been a few weeks, so I thought I'd better come up with a corker of a photo for you! I actually bought two handbags from the new SS16 range which arrived this week, but I haven't had the chance to edit the photos yet, so I'll review one of those next week for you. In the meantime, I've been desperate for a photo of all my IC bags together.

Review: Beuti Beauty Sleep Elixir

Sometimes you get sent something to review and it doesn't wow you, nor do you hate it. It's just so-so. Those reviews are really hard to write, because you're stuck for something to say. Thankfully this product I'm about to show you, is firmly in the 'wow' camp which makes my job an easy one. It's the Beauty Sleep Elixir* by Beuti Skincare, a face oil containing an impressive 14 precious plant oils.
It's marketed as an anti-inflammaging (AI) product, aiming to both protect and repair skin damage. Firstly, if inflammaging is a new term to you, I'll try to explain the process, so you don't go through this entire review without a clue what I'm talking about. If you already know, you can probably skip this paragraph!

Very Exclusive: 30% OFF 6 Totally Awesome Outfits

You may have already seen my Facebook posts regarding this, but I have a fantabulous 30% discount at Very Exclusive for you, which expires at midnight tomorrow (11th May). The only restrictions are it can't be used on sale items, Vivienne Westwood or GHD or in conjunction with any other offer. There's tonnes of brands available, such as Alexander Wang, REDValentino, Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld. With shoes by Terry de Havilland and Camilla Elphick, makeup by Anna Sui and Paul & Joe and accessories from Aspinal Of London and Miu Miu. If you're in need of some inspiration on what to spend your discount on, I've put together six awesome looks for you. Links to each item underneath and use code K936L to claim your discount. Let me know if you see something you like!

Very Exclusive #1 by pinkhairedprincess

Look #1: dress, shoes, bag, sunglasses.

M.E. On...

I don't make a point of talking about being ill on my blogs.  Though I don't go out of my way to hide it either. I reference it occasionally, usually when explaining a long absence from blogging! I've had it in my mind for a while (since last year or perhaps even before then) to make more of a regular thing of blogging about what it's really like living with a chronic illness. It's not like it's a big part of my life, it's my entire life (and has been for almost 14 years) and dictates everything I do (or rather don't).  There's several reasons why I haven't spoken about it in-depth before. The main one being not wanting to come across as a moaner or to talk negatively. My blogs are my "happy place", they keep me going and I'm a firm believer in emotions being contagious (even through reading) and I'd really hate for this blog to be a depressing read or have you go away feeling sad and thus liable to avoid my blog forever more! The last thing I'd want is to alienate readers or drive you away when you've likely come for shiny shoes! I've realised recently that despite what I'm going through, I'm quite a positive person, so it wouldn't really be a fair representation of me if it was all doom and gloom (though my everyday life generally is if I'm forced to think about it).  Certainly when it comes to blogging, I try to be chirpy and positive and when I'm talking about things I love (hello shoes!) it's not difficult. I let the words flow the way they would in real life (if I were talking to a friend), the result naturally being enthusiastic and upbeat. So it's out of my comfort zone to write a post that doesn't have either a happy conclusion, something constructive or even a lesson to be learned.

Swatches: NYX Matte Lipstick Shy & Butter

I'm trying to get back into beauty blogging again. My old features such as Monster High Monday, the Lipstick Challenge and Beloved Beauty Bits, fizzled out when I was unable to wear makeup and keep up my beauty regime. Poor 'Too Pretty To Swatch' died before it even began! I contemplated resurrecting it, but the thought of 'ruining' these items purely to swatch for the blog then relegate back to their box, kinda defeated the purpose of the whole thing. The point was to see beyond the pretty surface and hopefully find new favourites that I could integrate into my regular makeup routine, not a one-time use thing. Even wearing makeup once a month would be more than I'm capable of right now, so I'm trying to work around that to see if there is something more 'manageable' I could continue doing on a regular basis. Of course, I also don't buy nearly as much makeup as I used to, because I don't see the point when I'm not wearing it, but I recently ordered some lip products and thought I'd swatch them, as that used to be my favourite type of beauty post to do.

Video: Irregular Choice Pegasos

Hello! If you follow me on The Shoe Girl Diaries or indeed my Facebook or Instagram, you'll have seen my new Irregular Choice shoes this week. I've been SO excited about these (yep totally deserving of bold and capitals). I've not been very patient waiting for them either! Thankfully the postman didn't leave me hanging on Monday and promptly delivered and I set about taking photos for Shoesday Tuesday on TSGD. I haven't taken 'proper' blog photos yet, because my energy levels have been rubbish and trying them on used up my quota for the entire week (you'll understand why in a minute).

My Favourite Sunglasses And Why I'll Only Buy High End

You probably know this, but several years ago I developed an obsession with sunglasses. It began with cheapo Primark ones that I liked and at £2 a pop, didn't hurt my bank balance. One in every colour? Sure. I bought loads. I liked that it was another aspect of my outfit that I could chop and change to whatever I fancied that day, like jewellery or a handbag. Then, I don't know what triggered it, but I started seeking out unusual shapes or colours or frames with fancy bits on them and thus delved into the world of luxury eyewear. I bought the stunning loopy legged 'Minimal Baroque' from Prada, sleek and fierce cat-eye 'Nikita' by Tom Ford and a couple of deliciously quirky takes on 'cat eyes' from Irregular Choice (well one was a birthday present). Last year I eventually tracked down the gingham D&G frames that I'd unwillingly left behind in TKMaxx years previous. I even found the limited edition red Dior Miss Cherie pair that again, I'd missed out on elsewhere.
Now that I've gone high end, there's no turning back for me. I'd love to tell you that there's little difference between the two, but honestly you can feel the superiority of the designer frames. Not convinced? Read on for why I believe it's worth paying more.

Irregular Choice Alice: White Rabbit

Long time, no speak! However, I'm reviewing White Rabbit, my final Irregular Choice Alice shoes for you tonight. Firstly I want to apologise for the lack of blogging lately. I've been spreading myself a little thin this past month and something had to give. So I concentrated on TSGD and PHP got ignored, sorry! With this post, I've now shown you all of my Alice shoes in both reviews and on the foot, so I'll do a mega link at the bottom of the post if you've missed any.

Irregular Choice Alice: Tea With Alice

Today I have my penultimate Irregular Choice 'Alice In Wonderland' shoe to show you, Tea With Alice. I've previously posted Flowers Can't Talk, All Mad Here and One Lump Or Two? and will link at the bottom to The Shoe Girl Diaries posts where I've worn the shoes. Tea With Alice were the one shoe from my Alice wishlist, that I perhaps could've lived without. Don't get me wrong, they are lovely, but I liked the detailing on others more. In saying that, I just knew I'd get loads of wear out of them, so they'd be worth buying. Unusually for IC, they were rather plain and definitely the most simple style of this collection. The colour was a big draw for me, it looked beautiful and is it just me or could you actually see Alice wearing these, if she could only choose one style from this range?

Irregular Choice Alice: Teapot Heels

This week I have another of my Irregular Choice Alice In Wonderland purchases. This time, I'm ticking two off the list, with both the teacup shoes and boots. You can find the floral Flowers Can't Talk here if you missed them last time and next week, I'll have yet another pair to show you. It would've been criminal to ignore the obvious tea party theme for these two, but I've kept the backgrounds different for all the other styles, so there's even more for you to see!  Like I said originally, I found it really difficult to choose between these two pairs, despite them having the same heel. I'll admit I loved the boot more, but still maintain they are different enough to warrant owning both. I'll begin with the shoe, One Lump Or Two?, which I felt were the R2D2 of the collection. Do you know what I mean by that?  The title shoe or poster shoe of the collection if you will. They are everything I would expect (and more) from an Alice themed shoe whilst remaining true to the brand.

Irregular Choice Alice: Flowers Can't Talk

Hello lovelies, today I have the first of my Irregular Choice 'Alice In Wonderland' shoes to show you. As stressful as the shopping experience may have been, it was quite exciting to have them come in separate packages from different places over the course of a few days. My shoedoo sense of guessing sizes was pretty spot-on, with the exception of the All Mad Here boots, which I had to re-order in the size down (but more on that when I come to those). I photographed all 5 pairs earlier in the week and I'll be showing each style individually, as I took over 400 photos, which need to be cut down and edited! First up are the beautiful Flowers Can't Talk.