drops of jupiter

top: primark | skirt: new look | shoes: river island | necklace: topman
The skirt, top and necklace in this outfit combined cost less than the shoes, and the shoes were only £15, haha. Sale shopping at it's finest! I picked up this top for only £5 and love the scalloped detailing. The only annoying thing is that it's quite short and the material on the sleeves rolls up, but I suppose you can't complain at that price! The skirt is quite longer than I usually wear, even when I wear it high waisted, and at first I felt a bit granny-like but I really like the colour and pattern so I'm sure I'll get used to it.

This post is scheduled so hopefully it posts! Think of my slaving away in work until 6pm whilst everyone else is getting merry and counting down the hours until 2012! Speak to you all next year!

cityscape

skirt: river island | tshirt: h&m | ring: topshop | bracelets: h&m and river island
I first spotted this skirt back in August and featured it in a wishlist and then couldn't find it in store and had forgotten about it. I was so excited to see it pop up in the online sale that I bought it in a panic and somehow managed to buy three by mistake! It can be a little bit indecent, but I still love it and it's so easy to style!

I've been using Osmo Berber Oil for the past few days, just massaging it into my hair before blow drying and it has made such an improvement in the condition of my hair already. I really noticed a difference in these photos! It looks much healthier already and feels a lot softer. I've also got a bottle of Moroccan oil to try so it will be nice to see how they compare since there's quite a different in price.

Oh, and I've started uploading things to my blog shop!

lush christmas sale

tin of pure imagination | gingerbread house tin | snow fairy gift
golden wonder bath bomb | candy mountain bubble bar
It's no secret that I love Lush, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I took full advantage of their legendary Boxing Day sale. Or that I, ummm, managed to spend £70 on bath products. The sale was 50% off all Christmas products (and any other products made before October) so I suppose it is a bargain really - at least that's how I'm justifying it!

I managed to sleep in so didn't get to Lush until about 12pm (I'm usually queueing outside the shop waiting on it to open so that I can grab the best gift boxes!) and I was really annoyed with myself to find that they'd sold out of the best box sets and completely ran out of Snow Fairy. The little pink gift box was the last trace of Snow Fairy to be found. I still got hold of some good items though, the big tins were a bargain at £15 and the little gingerbread house - which doubles up as a piggy bank - was too cute not to buy at £7.50! I bought one last year too with a slightly different design so I'm building up a collection it seems! I also stocked up on my favourite limited edition product, the Golden Wonder bath bomb.

I already had a big pink hat box (pictured in the first photo) full of Lush supplies, but I'd like to think that the huge mountain of products I've bought in the Christmas sale will see me throughout the year. Although it is me we're talking about here...

Most of these products will be sold out soon, until next Christmas. They've been taken off the website but the shops might still have some stock. I was planning on reviewing them but I'm not sure if people would read it since you're not able to buy the products. What do you think?

Did you get gifted any Lush products for Christmas, or did you buy anything in the sale? And for anyone who missed out, I've heard that the Lush mail order phone line (01202 668 545) might have some stock leftover.

wings

dress: missguided | shoes: ebay | necklace: disney couture
It's been a whirlwind few days and one of the best Christmases in a long time but it's finally all over (until Hogmanay on Saturday night!) and things are quieting down a little so I thought I'd show you all what I wore on Christmas Day. I really can't recommend Missguided enough for finding nice dresses!

I'm completely in love with my new wedges. THEY HAVE WINGS! Love. I usually can't walk in heels so wedges are my footwear of choice and these ones are really comfortable to wear! I spent days trying to decide between getting the tan or the black and I think I'll probably end up buying the tan ones too at some point!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I'm off to eat some more chocolate and play some Playstation (thank you Santa!) and will be back soon to share the huge haul of goodies I bought from the Lush sale with you.

merry christmas

merry christmas!
Presents wrapped, family home for Christmas and a glass of milk and mince pie left out for Santa can only mean one thing, it's Christmas Eve! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and I'd just like to thank everyone for all the kind comments that have been left on my blog throughout the year. It really means a lot!

Love, Charlene xxx

december joliebox

opi gold shatter nail laquer | mitchell and peach shower wash | new cid cosmetics i-gloss
jane iredale 24-karat gold dust | yon-ka vital defense | kusmi detox tea | joliebox concealer brush
This month saw Boudoir Prive join forces with JolieBox, France's leading beauty box subscription service. I was excited to see what the new JolieBox would bring, and I wasn't disappointed! The first thing I noticed was the packaging - the box is slightly smaller, but the black gives the brand a much more sophisticated image. Inside there's a beautifully printed card containing all the product info, and the graphic designer side of me spent a good few minutes admiring the nice paper choice. It's small details like this that I like!

Although I'm not a huge fan of shatter/crackle nail polish, I was impressed to see a full size OPI polish (which retails at around £10) inside. The Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust also caught my eye with it's lovely rose pink colour and gold shimmer. I don't usually use shimmery products because I'm always scared that I'll end up looking like a discoball but I was really surprised with this, a little goes a long way and it adds a lovely glow to my skin. It's also a really generous size and will last for a long time.

I think the thing I like most about this months JolieBox is that each of the products are something that I'd use. I stick by my opinion, after receiving tea in the first BP box, that it doesn't quite fit in with my idea of a beauty box and seems like an odd choice but I do drink tea so I'm not going to complain. Another thing I'm happy about is the lack of perfume in the box since I'm quite picky and have never liked any of the perfumes included in previous boxes!

This month's box was definitely brilliant value for money, and I really am impressed with it. I told myself that I was going to unsubscribe to either this box or Glossybox by January because I can't justify £20 on beauty boxes every month and I think I've almost decided which I'll be keeping...

scottish bloggers meet

Yesterday was the day that my amazing co-organiser Rani and I had been planning for a while now and it turned out to be one of the best days out I've had in a long time!

We met in The Counting House where the ice was broken over a few pitchers of cocktails before taking a short walk to the absolutely gorgeous Thrill Room, hidden above the ROX jewellery shop, for afternoon tea. It was such a treat to be sipping champagne in such lovely surroundings, admiring the diamonds (and a £46,000 watch, madness) and the ladies at ROX were great hosts and they were generous enough to give us each a delicately wrapped gift bag with some sparkly jewellery inside. Next it was time for a spot of shopping, and a visit to the German market for huge sausages (mushrooms for me, I'm veggie!), churros and crepes before going to a random - but crazily cheap - bar. The night got a bit blurry after the 3rd or 4th shot, and I think it's safe to say we were more than a little drunk by the end of the night - in true Scottish style of course!

I think there will definitely be more Scottish meet ups to come! Everyone got on so well, and although I didn't know the majority of the people who went before yesterday, it's amazing how by the end of the night it felt like we had been friends for a long time.

Thank you to everyone who came, and also a huge thank you to Alison Jameson PR for the goodie bags and also to ROX Jewellery for the lovely afternoon tea and goodie bag!

The lovely ladies - and honorary boy - who came:
Rani, Paula, Lauren, Zoe, Ayden, Chloe, Andii, Morag, Max, Roisin, Gillian, Jen, Gemma, Claire.

week in photos #48

This post is brought to you from the comfort of my bed. After a busy week of wrapping presents and painting nails I let my hair down and had an absolutely amazing time at my work's Christmas party, so much fun that I didn't stop partying and come home until 2pm today. Oops! The free bar was flowing, I ran out of fingers to count how many shots of jägermeister I drank, got stuck in a bath tub and played dress up! Diversity also performed and their dances are even more precise and mind blowing than they are when you see them on TV! The little cute kid with the curly hair stole my heart!

I've got another busy week up ahead, starting off with the #scottishbloggermeet in Glasgow tomorrow! I'm so excited to meet everyone! :) Although I'm not feeling overly enthusiastic about the alcohol at the moment...

vivien

dress: missguided
I was hoping to show you all my new gorgeous sequinned dress that I'll be wearing to my works Christmas party tomorrow night, but it got dark and the photos turned out rubbish so you'll need to wait! I absolutely love it, even if it is bodycon and makes me nervous!

Instead, I'll show you my back up dress reserved incase I have a total melt down (very likely considering I'm working right up until 1hr before the party starts - argh!) and decide my dream dress clings to all the wrong places on the night! I fell in love with it online, and it's slightly shorter than I'd hoped but I still love it! My favourite colour, combined with leather-look material? Perfect.

Tody is also the last day to make an order at Dainty Nails to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas!

in the flowers

dress: dorothy perkins* | ring: topshop | necklace: accessorize | nails: fashionista magnetism*
I was kindly sent this dress from Voucher Codes to take part in their a day in a dress campaign. It's the perfect shape for me, I just wish there was a bit more space around the boobs because the buttons are almost popping open! The dress is from Dorothy Perkins, somewhere that I don't often shop. They do have a lot of nice dresses in at the moment though and Voucher Codes has some discount codes that might just tempt me into making an order as a little Christmas treat to myself!

The whole magnetic nail polish trend is something I never thought I'd like but after trying out this nail polish by Fashionista I'm sold! I've not been doing much nail art on my own nails lately because I always end up ruining it within a day whilst painting shop orders and the magnetic nail effect is really quick to create and although it's still quite subtle it's a bit more exciting than plain colours.

week in photos #47

Despite being really busy, it's felt like such a long week! It's finally starting to feel like Christmas, mostly thanks to the snow, spending most days painting up orders for the 12 Nails of Christmas and writing my Christmas cards. The temperature has taken a serious drop (my car informed me that it was 0.5°C one night and it had frozen on the inside too, brrr!) and I just want to wear my cosy socks and have a cup of tea to wrap my fingers around 24/7. I also got a new phone, discovered the first pink lipstick to suit me (love!) and bought the most amazing dress for my work's Christmas party.

christmas wishlist

velvet cat slippers | moustache mug | wooden hedgehog necklace
canon 50mm f1.8 lens | lush snow fairy
cat & owl hottie | ps 3 console | call of duty: black ops
It's been a bit of a struggle answering people when they ask me what I want for Christmas this year, mainly because I've bought myself quite a lot recently but I've still managed to put together a wishlist of bits and pieces that I'd like.

It's such a mixed bunch - from the cutest little cat slippers to video games which are notorious for "stealing boyfriends" from many of my friends (although in my scenario it would probably be me getting moaned at to turn the damn thing off because I've become so horribly addicted that I need to get my own console!) with a bit of Lush thrown in for good measure.

What's on your Christmas list this year? If you've created a similar post then please link me to it, I love looking through other peoples wishlists!

scottish bloggers meet

With just 12 days left until the first Scottish Bloggers Meet and Rani and I thought now would be a good time to update everyone on the plans!



We've decided to meet at 2pm in The Counting House which is right next to George Square, across the road from Queen Street Station and a nice central location with plenty of seats!

We'll give everyone a chance to arrive and get to know each other and then at about 3.30pm we can brave the cold and visit the Christmas Market, have a mulled wine and do a spot of shopping.

At around 6pm we're hoping to go for something to eat and then to a few bars. We're still looking for somewhere budget friendly, that doesn't require a deposit, to have dinner and we do need confirmed numbers in order to book a table. After this we'll be hitting the town for drinks. Tiki Bar is definitely on the agenda!


IMPORTANT: If you plan on having dinner with us you NEED to let us know you're coming no later than Tuesday so that we can book a table and reserve you a seat.

Please also let us know your name and blog address so that we can make everyone name badges!

RSVPs can be sent to scottishbloggers@gmail.com

As we've said before, feel free to pop along later in the day if you've got work or other plans. Alternatively, if a group of drunk Scottish Bloggers isn't your scene then you can skip that part! ;)

You can also follow me and Rani on Twitter as we'll be tweeting throughout the day to keep you updated with the plans and where we're off to. We'll be using the hashtag #scottishbloggersmeet to keep track.