WIMH - What's In My (New) Handbag

Happy Sunday morning!

Hope you're feeling as fresh as I am this morning :)

Today's  post is something I've always loved reading but never ever done my own version of. I recently picked up this absolutely gorgeous bottle green bag from New Look for the grand total price of £24.95 - which as you can see from looking at it below is an absolute bargain. With my excitement I decided to do a WIMH post as I've never done one before and as my bag is super clean and free of 1000s of receipts it was the perfect opportunity.

I always love little details on bags and this one doesn't disappoint. Gold is my favourite metallic and its all over this bag!
Buckles, zips and nifty edges along the bottom corners so it doesn't get worn, this bag is just me.







It's actually quite a large bag and fortunately I haven't yet managed to fill it with crap though I'm sure the time will come. It does unnerve me somewhat that it doesn't close entirely and only has a magnetic fix to hold it shut, albeit a very strong one. I will just have to take a different bag when travelling in busy areas as this one will mostly move from my car to my work desk which let me tell you, is not far at all!



So what's in it? What are the essentials for my every day life?



It is surprisingly a tidy amount of things most of which are functional and useful, and so far not a receipt or empty packet of food in sight!

I try not to ever travel without an umbrella, I do obviously live in Wales where it does very frequently rain so it would be rather brave to go out without one. Case closed.

My Jane Shilton purse was given to me by my mum, I thought it was huge initially but actually its a perfect fit for everything and the leather is really good quality.

Never go anywhere without my headphones and my charger. You never know when you will get stuck somewhere and need either so they are a must to keep me occupied!

My glasses are also pretty obvious; though normally it is just the case that's in my bag as I wear my glasses 90% of the time and change to contacts for the gym and special occasions. I'd love designer ones in future!



Next up is the product section; essentials only!

EOS lip balms, Mac lipstick in Coral Bliss, OPI hand cream, Sure deodorant and Soap and Glory hand gel.
I'm extremely shocked that there is only one lipstick in here; last time I emptied a bag I found 12! But it's probably as I've had so many weddings etc recently that I've taken them all back out again.

I'm hoping to get some drawers for my desk at work soon as mine were stolen the week before I started (grrr) so I can leave all of these essentials in there when they arrive.

You can never go wrong with a packet of tissues, they have saved my life many a time. Nude eyeliner from Rimmel is a great way to wake up tired eyes of which I am always a sufferer of! Blink eye drops single use bottles are amazing and have really helped me be able to wear lenses for longer when necessary. My eyes seem to hate wearing lenses now which is a shame and in future I'd love to have eye surgery but again; savings will need to occur pretty rapidly for that to happen!

I also never go anywhere without a mini notebook and a pen, for when inspiration for posts or a list needs to be made. I rather like lists and sometimes they need to be written not typed.

Lastly food. Now it's the weekend so I've clearly not restocked my handbag after a week at work but normally there would be about 5 different bars, apples, bananas and god knows what else lurking around at the bottom. 9 bars are my current favourite but I am also quite keen on Sesame Snaps before the gym and Bounce balls and Naked bars. I'm one of those people who gets 'hangry' easily so snacks are a must for keeping my mood up!

I normally also carry around a box of peppermint tea bags which has just run out. I'm quite partial to tea as it is but with my IBS this tea can work wonders on stopping any cramps so I drink it quite regularly. 

The only downside I've seen to my new bag is a few threads like above; I've cut them off with scissors but I suppose it's just something that hight street bags come with sometimes as otherwise this one was immaculate in the shop.

What do you think of my new bag? Do you have similar contents in your bag?

Send me your WIMH posts for a nose!

L xxx

Essie: Vested Interest

Hello!

Here's the second in my Essie Winter Collection posts. I have previously written about Cashmere Bathrobe which is a gorgeous shimmery grey and will be getting a lot of use from me. 

I haven't managed to pick up any more of the collection yet as they seem to have sold out everywhere but I did pick up Vested Interest at the same time as Cashmere Bathrobe.

This is Vested Interest, a grey green colour:

Essie say:

'Stock up on the classics. This tweedy, woolen cool gray teal nail lacquer has sartorial style all buttoned up.'

I say this colour is completely different to anything I've ever owned and I wasn't sure about it.
But I love these kinds of colours for winter and as I wear lots of black and grey, this is a nice addition to my nail polish wardrobe for a subtle addition of colour.

Granted it's not a bright colour but for work colours like this are so easy to wear, both this and Cashmere Bathrobe have proved to be great staples and alternatives to the more commonly used reds and blacks of winter.



The polish applied easily thanks to the Essie brushes being so good, and only needed 2 coats for opacity.
When the top coat was applied you can see how shiny and pretty the colour becomes, it looks perfect!



These photos show the polish with flash above and without below, the colour is quite true and there's not a lot of difference between the two.




This colour was a surprise for me as I've absolutely loved it!

I've been desperate to get my hands on the blue and red from the collection, After School Boy Blazer and Twin Sweater Set but it seems it's not meant to be so far.
I've been trying a number of times on the Boot website without any luck, it's infuriating trying to load a page that constantly says 'generic error' and it happens every time I try to find something on there.

It's really put me off trying to use the Boots website at all, how useless!

One day I will get these Essie polishes...

Which Essie product is your favourite? Which of the collection will you be picking up?

L xxx