NOTD

By Sarah Redman

This is my first Nail Of The Day post for a while now. I have been partially distracted with cuticle tattoos (Tattoo Trends) and also by exams, etc (Cheating on Blogging with Magazines) to paint my nails.

That hasn’t changed – right now I don’t think I have the patience to do a half decent job with my nails. So I’ve made things a bit easier on myself and gone back to an old favourite. Nail Wraps.

On my nails at the moment are Elegant Touch’s Envy Wraps Bling Candy Sprinkles. Retailing at £5.00, these textured nail wraps are modern and fun. You can add a splash of colour underneath these clear films or just keep with your base coat for a simple yet striking effect. This ice-cream coloured, gem-encrusted design mixes a combination of pink, purple, blue, green and silver multi-sized dots – and each dot is surrounded by a simple gold ring.

In the past I have found some of these things a tad fiddly and if there is a straight-line to be found then I may as well pack up and go home. But with these wraps being clear asides from the design, even I found it hard to get it wrong.

My first one took about three attempts, but I think that was purely down to my lack of practice because the rest were simple. Just peal off, press down, shape to size and you’re ready to go.

I love this easy way to get super jazzy nails and have gained a few compliments in the days since having them on. These beauties last up to ten days, I’m on my third day with them and mine are doing pretty well so far.

What do you think of my super speedy nails? Do you like nail wraps or would you rather just wait for you polish to dry? Let us know and leave a comment below, Tweet us @thesarahsblog or post on our Facebook page.

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.

New shopping assistant

By Sarah Hugill

Let’s face it, our purses practically come with us wherever we go and i’d reached the point where my loyal Cath Kidson purse was looking a tad worse for wear. I spotted this black and gold purse, complete with black patent detail in River Island. I’m currently in my over draft, its official Christmas has hit my account hard but thankfully the parge was in a generous mood after I passed my shorthand exam so said he’d get it for me…. RESULT!

Are you a fan of River Island purses? Let us know @thesarahsblog

 

Topshop socks deal

By Sarah Redman

Socks are a winter basic and these lovely pairs from Topshop are no different. Both us Sarah’s are a fan of the lacey sock, we own so many pairs between us in all different colours, I figured one more par couldn’t hurt.

Lace trim ankle socks:

I am loving velvet this season so to see some velvet trimmed socks in my favourite colour was fantastic. These socks are so cute and would look great with a chunky black sandal to keep your toes warm!

Plum velvet trim ankle socks:

Finally I think the third pair of socks are so much fun. The gold running through the socks definitely bling’s up your outfit and I think a little bit of gold this time of year makes everything seem that little bit more Christmasy.

Gold fine glitter ankle socks (currently available online in bronze):

These socks were a lovely present from my mum whilst out Christmas shopping together, they retail at £3.50 each or you can buy 3 pairs for £8.00. All the styles are available in a range of colours.

Do you like Topshop’s sock and take advantage of the deal? Or have you seen a trend here you would like to try? Let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

Pamper treat

By Sarah Redman

With essays done and a free evening I thought I would relax, catch up on a little bit of Made in Chelsea and paint my nails.
#FeelingPampered

I used Mavala Mexico and accessorized with gold sticker skull and cross bones from Elegant Touch.

Have you treated your self to some me time and painted your nails? Let us know and tweet us a picture @thesarahsblog or leave a comment below.

Shoeaholics: Shoe shopping just got even better

By Sarah Redman

Shoeaholics.com, my new favourite discount online outlet shoe store. Run by Kurt Geiger, the website sells shoes up to 75% off, with new shoes added every week. You can find anything from Miss KG to Nine West, even Enzo Angiolini. With prices for shoes as low as £10.00 and they also do accessories and mens too!

Last week I finished my TV unit for this year, with deadline mania for a TV news package and a group documentary, I decided I needed an early Christmas present from myself. Thats when I got the email from shoeaholics.com and innocently clicked the link to the site.

My particular purchase just happened to be 90% off – I’m a sucker for a good deal and £150.00 down to £15.00 was just too good for me to by-pass. Especially when these are the shoes I have lusted after since they first came out and I couldn’t justify the price tag on a student budget.

My lovely shoes are Chloe by KG * Kurt Geiger in gold faux velvet (or display pairs available) – and I love them!

Have you shopped with shoeaholics.com or will you be searching for a bargain? Leave a comment below or Tweet @thesarahsblog us to let us know.

P.S. Sorry for the later than promised blog post – I ended up powering through my Christmas shopping and was so tired I could barely move, let alone blog.

Halloween Nail Art Inspiration

By Sarah Redman

Last year i missed Halloween as i was ill, so this year i am combating any illness with happy thoughts from my nails.

Below are a variety of nail designs for Halloween this year. You can do as i have and have something different for each nail or choose one (maybe it goes with your outfit?) and keep the theme across all your nails.

*Warning* you definitely need a steady hand for this, but give it a go. These are Halloween nails after all, so if the face of your ghost gets a little smudged then just call it artistic development and say its to make it look that little bit more scary…

This first hand is my favorite, it was much easier to paint as i’m right handed. It also contains my favorite two designs the mummy face (on my thumb) and the monochrome ghost (on my ring finger). I think for Halloween i will be going monochrome and a mixture of these two designs.

This hand i experimented with texture and colour, to be honest it was pretty fun. I also love how versatile my new Barry M nail foil is!

Products used:

• Rimmel London – Stronger Try Harder Double Duty Base Coat Strengthens & Protects (£4.59)
• Rimmel London – 5 in 1 Nail Treat Base & Top Coat Total Care Action (£4.49)
• Rimmel London – 60 Seconds 800 Black Out (£3.69)
• Barry M – Nail Paint Nail Foil Effects 320 Gold (£3.99)
• Missguided – Splash & Polish Misstaken / Orange (No Longer Sold)
• Nail Art – Black Pen & Crystals (Varies due to multi packs)
• Models Own – Nail Art Pen Black (£6.00)
• Models Own – Nail Art Pen White (£6.00)

I hope this inspires you to sort some quirky nails for Halloween – its not all about the costume.

Please feel free to share your pictures with us on Twitter too!

What did you think of these nails? Do you like the designs or would you be interested in tutorials from us? Leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog to let us know.

The golden triangle

By Sarah Redman
I haven’t done a ‘What I Wore Today‘ post in a while, so I thought I would share today’s outfit. My outfit is made up of some golden oldies found in the back of the wardrobe / jewellery box.

In accessorising this outfit has centred around ‘The Golden Triangle’. I’m not a matchy-matchy person, but I am a shoes and jewellery person, so it was only a matter of time before they matched!

Shoes: I love these shoes, they are the most comfortable heals I own (shown by how battered they are!) these are from the wonderful Clarks. I have always associated this brand with comfy shoes, but last year I really noticed how fabulous some of their pieces are – even if I can’t bring myself to replace these beauties.

Jewellery: In sorting out my jewellery box I have found these lovely gold triangle matching earrings and necklace from Dorothy Perkins. I got these in one of their end of season sales where all their jewellery is really discounted #Bonus I’m never one for matching jewellery but I love how these pieces have a little bit of quirkiness about them, but are still nice and simple.

Bag: This is the first preview of my beloved holiday bag. Last year I went to France and completely fell in love with the woven bags sold at the markets (great for carrying all the fresh fruit and veg home… And I have actually done that, but when I wanted stuff for a smoothie from Waitrose!) so this year I finally came to a decision about which one I wanted. They come in all different shapes and sizes, not to mention colours – the stalls always look beautiful. But I decided understated and versatile would be best for me.
Finally, my jeans are this season Gap, whilst my jumper is another oldie but goodie from H&M. This jumper is great it is really comfy and so versatile – H&M have done it again! My nail polish is the new Clinique ‘A Different Nail Enamel‘ in Hi Sweetie. I also thought I would share a little pic of my hair, loving my new hair care routine as my hair is easily styled like this even freshly washed! *new post coming soon*

Does your outfit ever centre round your accessories? Let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

Following in the French’s footsteps (literally)

By Sarah Redman
I have noticed that the perfect accessory to tanned, toned ‘legs up to here’ (… And mine only go up to here – Bridget Jones) that all the French girls have #ColourMeGreen, is an anklet. Whether gold and silver chains, or fabric braids, or even ribbons, they are wearing them.
So I decided, I may not have ‘legs up to here’ or anything closely resembling a tan (think more freckled lobster!), but I could damn well still have the jewels to match the non existent tan.
I got my lovely anklet from a small store on a side street in Antibes, costing me €5.00. I
opted for the simple gold chain as recently I have been wearing more gold jewellery than silver and a plain chain would be the easiest to wear. I also thought the sparkly charmed ones would annoy me too much as I was walking along.

I love my new anklet, it is so light and easy to wear; I even forget I have it on. This seems to be one of the easiest jewellery trends I have tried out lately.
What do you think of extending your jewellery all the way down to your feet? Let us know and leave a comment or a tweet us @thesarahsblog

Oops I’ve done it again…

By Sarah Redman
… And before my friends who may be reading this roll their eyes and tell me I need to go to shoe rehab, I haven’t actually bought these. Although this may only be because I am in another country on my iPad with no credit card to hand!

Above are the lovely Nala by KG Kurt Geiger in green and they are still in the sale, with a few days remaining, at a rather reasonable price down from £140 to £35 #WouldBeRudeNotTo
I am not sure whether it is the cork heal that is a personal favourite of mine on a summer shoe, the fact that it is rocking the Perspex & jewel trend so effortlessly, the price, the fact they are Kurt Geiger with a little golden star on the sole telling me they are none other than KG (whilst making me feel like a princess – if I can have red leather then I can damn sure have gold stars on my soles!) or the fact that these shoes would be no. 55 in my wonderful collection but I really want these!
Have you bought any fantastic shoes lately or got a great bargain the sales let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog