Trusted Timberlands

By Sarah Hugill 

For once I went for the sensible option for shoes…. shocker I know!

With a trip to New York on the horizon (which I have to add reached -14 degrees when we were out there) I thought a boot for all weathers would be ideal. As much as I love my UGG boots, as many of you will know snow is not their friend!

I would advise that you wear Timberlands in though if your planning on doing a lot of walking in them, as I found they did rub slightly where the boot finished on my leg. But overall I’m really happy with my purchase. I even managed to fit a pair of fluffy socks under them and didn’t have to dart out of snowfall for fear of it staining the suede!

The traditional choice of Timberlands was definitely the right one for me! Have you got a pair, or have you considered buying some? Let us know @thesarahsblog

My new favourite outfit

By Sarah Redman

This year I decided to avoid the sales as much as I could. I took one look at my wardrobe and thought seriously this needs a clear out. Frankly, that bright idea of mind is still sitting on my to do list, but I have done what I consider to be very well in the sales. With only two clothes purchases and one pair of shoes… and a little bit of make-up. But in fairness Boots had some kind of major reduction flash sale just as I finished work… would have been rude not to really.

My new favourite outfit comes from a couple of different places. My first sale purchase was the shoes, with my collection hovering around the 60 pairs I figured one more pair couldn’t hurt. I was right my lovely new Nine West courts definitely don’t hurt my feet! I found these lovelies in the Fenwicks sale for £39.00 reduced from £125.00.

My second sale item is this lovely burgundy pencil skirt from Dorothy Perkins, actually bought on my lunch break whilst I was shopping for someone else but it was just sitting there in my size for a tenner. So I snapped it up and even got student discount on my sale purchase – bonus.

The last addition is a staple black t-shirt. This is a H&M number I’ve had for a while, although it hasn’t seen many outings. I first bought this in a cream at the beginning of summer and wore it to death, so at the end of the season thought a black version would come in handy for Autumn/Winter. I love the subtle detail of the mesh shoulders and around the neck, this tee also has a gold zip running from the back of the neck through to the end of the mesh.

Finally I accessorised with black opaque tights as its winter and there is some serious chill in the air right now. Alongside one of my amazing Christmas presents from my parents, my gold chain and black rope statement necklace.

Unfortunately I can’t find my mum’s camera anywhere and for some reason this was the only one in use the night of our belated New Years gathering with old friends of the family, so no photo’s of me on the night! Sorry, although I will post an update when I find a decent photo – or even wear this outfit again.

Did you like any of my sales purchases? Or would you have styled this differently? Leave a comment below, Tweet us @thesarahsblog, or comment on our Facebook page to let us know.

Winter booties

By Sarah Hugill

Everyone needs a cosy pair of shoes to keep those tootsies warm.

I found these in Dorothy Perkins for just £32. With sheepskin lining, and a suede finish these booties are the perfect winter shoe.

Have your brought a new pair of boots this season? Let us know @thesarahsstyleblog 

Colour me green

By Sarah Redman
I recently acquired this fantastic concealer set; ‘No Show Camouflage Fix‘ from POP via asos.com from their flash beauty sale and have been loving the green redness corrector section. The green blends with your skin, changing red marks into the same colour as your skin, evening out your skin tone – great if you have problem skin or for when you get that one pesky spot just before a night out!

With everything I buy, whilst i may love a brand or product, i am also a sucker for a bargain. So i am always combing the high street for a cheep version that still works, or a great offer on that product i love. For this product, whilst i cannot find a replacement that meets the standard set in being able to buy four different types on concealer in one, I have found a ‘Green Corrector Stick‘ from Natural Collection (boots.com) for only £1.99, bargain as this is the bit i use the most. Queue, me and Nicola running across to Boots after work and snapping up the last two there before they closed!

(The green is more of a pastel colour than shown in the picture)
Are you a fan of a green concealer or will you be trying this out? Let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

Boots bargain

By Sarah Hugill

Who doesn’t love a good deal when they see one? I always feel a sense of achievement when I have whipped out my bank card, but don’t feel guilty for doing so. I’m sure many of you feel exactly the same, so thought I would share with you my latest bargain!

As a loyal customer to Rimmel London products I was pretty impressed with Boots latest deal. If you spend £10 or more on Rimmel products then you get their volume flash scandal eyes mascara for free! Who can resist a deal like that? Well, I certainly didn’t have the will power too, especially since I have a weakness for glitter nail varnish and always use their lasting finish foundation.

It is definitely worth a trip to Boots if you fancy getting yourself a free mascara! I am yet to use this particular mascara from Rimmel yet so I will have to let you guys know how I find it, as I usually go for a mascara that enhances volume and this one looks very promising!

Have you used their mascara before? What do you think of Rimmel’s latest deal in Boots, let us know at @thesarahsblog or leave a comment below.

They’re Real!

By Sarah Redman

Yes, i’m talking about the new Benefit mascara ‘they’re Real!‘

This product I acquired through the goodie bag from the Cosmo Careers Masterclass, but you can get yours from Boots, feelunique.com or anywhere with a Benefit counter! It may come out at an eye-watering (excuse the pun) £19.50, a fair penny more than some great high street brand’s best sellers. However, even as a student, i would definitely invest in this product – it’s worth it.

The reviews speak for themselves, with the Benefit site racking up 461, Boots 130, and feelunique.com 38, with the majority overwhelmingly positive. The one downside seemed to be that the mascara itself was ‘clumpy’, mine has been fine so to anyone with this problem I suggest having a look at where you store your make-up! Yes the bathroom mirror may have great light, but those hot showers aren’t doing your make-up any good. Don’t forget, they may be promising fantastic lashes but if you pile any mascara on too heavily it will clump – sorry! Take it slow and watch a few YouTube tutorials or ask your local makeup counter for some tips.

Before this mascara I used Clinique‘s High Lengths Mascara (£16.00), I have been using this mascara for a while now and to be honest would be and still am reluctant to change. It is great to have variety in your make up, because lets face it you wouldn’t go out in the same make-up you wear down the supermarket, so I would advise having a few – just make sure this is one of them. My sister is blessed with stunningly long natural lashes that look like she is wearing falsies or at least a good mascara when she has little or none on – Grrrr… and breath! But this mascara helps with the sibling rivalry, it has a fantastic precision brush which separates and defines lashes for a wide-eyed look.

Clinique have also released High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara (£17.00) this product promises not only the length of their High Lengths Mascara, but also great volume – when pay day arrives i’ll let you know!

I have also recently tried 17‘s Doll’d Up Mascara (Up to 24 hr curl), retailing at £6.29, however if you are beauty savvy you will have already noticed that your recent vouchers for your Boots Advantage Card contain a lovely discount on this product, bringing it in at a credit-crunch happy £2 (Not going to lie I bought it first and foremost for the discount, without even looking at which mascara was so cheep!) But boy am I glad I did. For a mascara that is great for a student budget even without the discount, I was really pleased with the results, I have fair hair and am fair skinned, but the ‘Black’ wasn’t too harsh and actually produces a finish not dissimilar to Benefit’s ‘they’re Real!’ just without the stunning length. This is not to say they don’t add length as the brush is great for that, but curl your lashes before applying and that curl will last!

If you have a favourite mascara and want to share it or want to let us know about one of those mentioned please leave us a comment or tweet the sarahs style blog @thesarahsblog