Spring in Primark

Well hello there!

You know it seems that Spring might be winging its way into our lives, there has actually been a fair few April showers but aside from that the blue skies have begun returning along with the SUN! Shocking, it's hard to remember what that's like sometimes.

But that aside I went to Primark last weekend and picked up a few spring themed goodies!

These beautiful mint coloured travel bag and wash bag are just an example.
A lot of my wash bags have been free from magazines and the like, and over the years have turned very grubby! Seeing these I couldn't resist picking them up and throwing out the old ones.

The colour and patterns are really cute and although they are pretty basic inside without any additional pockets and compartments they're perfect for travelling with, which is exactly what I need.

And for £4 for the 'Essentials' bag and £5 for the 'Travel' bag I couldn't resist.

The set is so cute!

There is also a 'Make Up' bag available in the same range.

Muslin cloths are the bane of my washing, they're always dirty and always piling up. 3 face cloths in Primark cost £1.30 so its about time they also got changed up, there's only so much mascara they can take!

Summer shoes are something that Primark do so well, the massive range of colours is awesome and there's almost anything you could possibly want!

These aqua coloured lace up pumps are a staple every year for me but I normally get them in grey, these will brighten up any outfit over the next few months and if I somehow manage to ruin them in the rain (seems to happen every year.....) then for £3 I can buy another!

Such is the fickle world of fashion that although they're in for every summer the colour of the moment changes, but at this price it's affordable.

These beauties I also couldn't leave behind, cream shoes are perfect for wearing with almost anything and I wore mine until they fell apart!
These feel really soft to touch as well, so even though they have so many cut out details that I worry would act like a cheese grater on my feet these actually feel so soft.

What have you been buying recently? Have you snapped up any wardrobe updates for the Spring season?

I really need to brighten up my wardrobe so I'm going to work really hard on doing that this year as I own far too much black and grey!

L xxx

Vintage Fairs and Payday Treats

Morning!

Just over a week ago me and my mum went to the Lou Lou's Vintage fair in Cardiff. We've been once before and I loved it, so we decided to go again for their January sale. It was lots of fun and I picked up a few accessories before we also headed into Cardiff to raid a few shops there too!

I really enjoyed our trip previously and although i didn't expect to find much here again I did spot some lovely things. I love having a browse of the stands and a small rummage - I haven't quite got to the stage of rummaging through the rails of clothes yet....that's still a bit beyond me. I find it hard enough to buy clothes in shops nowadays so I don't think that vintage clothing is going to cater for my taller frame. A longer body with longer legs than the average person makes certain types of clothing hard to buy, but rest assured accessories are always available!

How beautiful are these cat eye sunglasses?! They cost only £5 and they're UV400 which is something to think about when purchasing vintage sunglasses - this means they are probably not real vintage just vintage style but nevertheless you won't be finding them in any other store. I love the marbling effect in the frame too, it makes the shape seem less harsh.

The necklace is a steampunk style - it's the insides of a watch attached to a gold chain. I loved it as soon as I saw it, I've got a bit of a thing for watch necklaces as it is (I own about 6!) with the official Harry Potter time turner necklace being one of them. This cost me £15, a little more expensive but worth it for the unique design.

The ring is a beautiful clear crystal set in a silver coloured twisted ring. The crystal is cut to be pear shaped - it's a gorgeous design and when me and M were looking at rings in a shop window the other day it was one I surprised myself by liking so when I saw it at the vintage fair I had to grab it! This was £8 so a few bargains at the fair this time as before I spent well over £100!

Next up was Primark. I don't find many clothes from Primark but their pyjamas and casual tshirts are normally something that catches my eye.

Harry Potter pyjamas are number one in my eyes; I've bought as many of them as I can get my hands on. The above navy tshirt and vest and shorts combo were ones that I couldn't leave without, I didn't get the matching navy bottoms but wish I had so I think I need to go back! You can never have enough pyjamas....

Which is why it would have been SO RUDE if I had left these Batman pyjamas behind too!
I do love the leggings and tshirt combinations and anything superhero and magic related I just cannot resist.

I would say that I don't need any pyjamas for a while now but that would be silly; I'm sure I'll be back in there soon!

I also had a browse of their workout gear and was surprised at how extensive it has got. The grey hoodie will be great for my running in the evenings and so will the armband (£2.50 by the way!). They seemed to have a few colour ranges with neon green, orange and pink being the biggest, the orange was definitely my favourite.

The gloves will also be good in future, only £3 and I love the pattern and colours!

What have you been buying recently? Are you a superhero fan like myself?

Do you like going to local vintage fairs?


L xxx

Primark Shoes

Morning!

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd had a rather small (large!) splurge in the lovely new Primark in Cardiff's city centre. It's absolutely huge, has 5 floors of goodies to browse through and I just couldn't help myself but pick up a lot!

The shoes that were there were amazing so I just ended up buying loads.

Here's the first pair, look how chic these are:

They're a mock suede finish with an ankle strap and pointed toes. They're the kind of shoes that would go perfect with trousers and jeans for a work or pub outing for the summer and winter (as long as its not raining!)

The details are really cute, zips up the back and gorgeous gold ankle straps too

I am yet to wear these due to an appauling social life currently but hey, they can look pretty in my wardrobe for the price of £8 which is what I believe they were! 

These pumps have been amazing for work:

So comfortable, these lace effect pumps are perfect as i have to keep my feet covered in work in case any chemicals spill in the lab. I'm not sure where they draw the line seeing as most pumps don't cover your feet but they are allowed and I jumped on these seeing as they're a lace effect too and will hopefully keep my feet a little cooler than my usual brogues!

I've been wearing the black mostly but the cream have been great for wearing with summer dresses, when the weather is a bit sunny of course!

Pumps like these never last very long due to the fact I literally wear them until they fall apart so i always buy them from Primark every summer. For £3-£8 a pair you can't really refuse can you?!

Which are your favourite? Do you buy many shoes from Primark?

L xxx

Cardiff's New Primark Store (and haul...!)

Hello there!

Happy weekend lovelies!

I hope you've got some fun things planned. I'm at a close friends wedding today and have been looking forward to it for months! It's a small wedding but a rather large party so I imagine it will be a lot of fun.

I've had a few shopping trips recently, although I'm pretty poor it has been such a long time since I've bought clothes properly that all of them seem to be falling apart. I mean I'm at the stage where some clothes are too big where I've lost weight, some have holes in where I've worn them so much and some just are NOT in fashion any more.

So when Primark opened their brand new absolutely fabulously big store on Queen Street in Cardiff it would have been a travesty for me not to go and check it out wouldn't it?

This was my first purchase and it was a steal at £12. I cannot believe that this BEAUTY of a top was ONLY £12!!!

Look at the beautiful details and stunning patterns.

This top might not be silk and it might not be hand sewn but let's face it, with this much elegance who on earth cares?!

Even the bottom hem of the top is edged with the same gorgeous iridescent coral sequins, and I love a bit of coral (read obsessed).

When I saw this gorgeous jersey maxi skirt next to it for a bargain £10 it was in the basket before I blinked. Even my mum was impressed that as of yet, i hadn't picked up a tshirt nor a black item of clothing.

A bit further into this new stores 5 floors (FIVE!) and I found this super cool navy and white maxi skirt with huge polka dots and thigh splits. This was the first maxi skirt I ever tried on and the polka dots with the thigh splits just sold it for me.
Spots are my favourite pattern and the splits allow me to move freely with a lovely breeze to cool me down.

Look at those splits! There's one on either side too so it helps to keep my modesty during a particularly sudden gust of wind.

So eventually the black tshirt related item did make it into the basket! But it must be acceptable when it's this cute right?!

I love American sports style clothing and this is so comfy and goes with leggings and jeans for a slouchy weekend.

This floral tshirt dress is also a comfy purchase, its very short on me as I'm taller than your average but its a very pretty print and I love the colours.

Who on earth doesn't love tshirts like these? Paired with jeans, denim shorts or just as a beach cover up I love a tshirt especially when they're as cheap as these.

I'm a huge super hero fan and this Wonder Woman tshirt is a new favourite of mine. It's a lovely baggy tshirt and is great for dress down days at work.

The Coco Cola tshirt is another great one, plain white tee with a simple logo. Simple is always best I think!

Who doesn't love a pair of sunglasses as happy and summery as these? They remind me of the frames that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum wear on 22 Jump Street, loads of people had these on at Glastonbury in a myriad of colours. They just seem to go with everything due to the dual colours.

Lastly, at £3 a pair it would have been REALLY rude not to pick up at least a few of the colours of these pumps. The grey and white are staples every year for me but the floral and pink are new additions. £12 for four pairs of the pumps means that they can be worn to death and thrown out at the end of every summer. Let's face it, they always stink after a few months of wear and although you can put them in the washing machine they never turn out the same!

So what do you think of my buys?

I think the new store has a much better lay out that the previous store and a much wider variety of stock. They have allegedly taken on a total of 600 employees for this store so it's not surprising that it so much better organised.

I am almost certain I will be making many returns and have been on a bit of a shoe haul recently, a new post will be sure to make it onto the blog soon!

L xxx

Primark Floral Crown and Headband

Hello lovelies!

I posted on the weekend about my trip to Cabot circus in Bristol with my mum and shared a few snaps of what I'd bought. One of those 'few' things was a floral crown and a floral headband from Primark.

I've been lusting after some of these for a little while but having nowhere to wear them to I was a little stumped. However this year me and M are both going to Glastonbury (eek) so i have every excuse I ever needed!

These are the two I chose from the huge range they had there. Both have small pretty flowers to break me into the trend gently, I've never worn anything like this so its a case of one step at a time!

First up is this one, a beautiful coral/pastel coloured head band with a price tag of £3....honestly it was only £3 what a bargain.

I've been playing around with it and it can be worn with your hair up or down, though I expect it will look better with your hair flowing in the wind (only for the first few days then...after that its going to be scraped back!)

It's a decent size and if anything may be a little big, I'll have to make sure I take some kirby grips with me to make sure it's not going to fall off, but it's really comfortable and I can see me wearing it a lot.




The flowers are relatively big (for me) but they're such a gorgeous colour and not too bright that they don't feel as big as they are. This will go with so many outfits over the summer so hopefully i will get lots of use out of it.



My second purchase was this floral crown:




I believe this was either £2.50 or £3.50.....amazing!

And this requires minimal work to look like a fairy princess with a crown, just stick it on top of your head and leave your hair to do the work.



It seems to sit perfectly on my head without falling, sliding or anything, which is a miracle on my hair is it can be quite a chore to get things to stay in place.

I had my hair relatively straight when taking these photos but any kind of hair would look good with this, go crazy as I imagine curlier hair would rock it even better.

What do you think of my floral head gear? Worth the bargain prices? will you be picking some up too?

I wasn't sure about them...but now I've tried some on I'm in love and cannot wait for more festival gear to make its way into my life! I also bought a hat from Primark and I'm hoping I manage to keep it from Glastonbury for Thailand but I'm awful at losing things so I haven't got much high hopes!

L xxx

Cabot Circus

Morning!

I had an absolutely amazing week off and did so much more than I thought i would. All those little things I planned on doing like sorting out my shoes, books etc have not happened at all!
Never mind eh.......I did go shopping with my mum to Cabot Circus one day and I had a bit of a haul at Primark!

I've been craving a holiday for years....the last time I went was a good 4/5 years ago so I'm really looking forward to some genuine sun. I'm planning on a trip to Thailand in November so need some new summer clothes and also have Glastonbury coming up. I don't expect to be keeping the clothes after they've served me at a festival and backpacking so I went straight for Primark, cheap and cheerful!

I picked up some shorts to start with, they go with everything and are easy to wear. The ones above were about £3.50 i think, so a really good price.
I have a pair of denim shorts already but another pair are always handy. These are a boyfriend cut with a bit of fraying detail and are a bit longer than normal so should deal with every situation.





No festival goer worth their tent will be there without some accessories....I've picked up this hat and the flower headbands/crown which I'll be featuring in an upcoming post as they're just too good for the money!





I know for certain that aside from shorts; dresses will be my go to whilst travelling, and so I've picked up a few cotton ones to be worn as cover ups.



The one above will be perfect for the beach and the dresses below are exactly the same just orange and white in colour (and a bargain £5 each!)

 



I love this kind of detail on summer clothes (broderie anglaise isn't it??!) its so lightweight and breathable.

That was it for my trip to Primark and I ended up buying a bikini in Next. The weather was AWFUL at the time and cold and rainy, so it felt really weird to be buying such a summery item but it was too good to miss and they had my size in stock....it was a sign!







I do love stripy things and the pink gives it an updated twist. Hopefully it will look good when I'm super pasty and when I've got a bit of a tan going!

Lastly I went to New Look and was obviously having a shorts oriented day...I couldn't resist picking up these two. The black and white patterned pair could be worn during the day with a floaty top, on the beach or out in the evenings for casual meet ups. The grey ones match the bikini perfectly! They were made for each other with the pink accents.

The bikini retails at £10 for the top and £6 for the bottoms.
The shorts were £10-12 each.

I had a lush day browsing with my mum and could have spent so much more! We both spent a good while in Aldo checking out the bags and shoes; there was so much we wanted we had to go and do a lap of the centre before returning! Why don't we have one of those in Cardiff?? They'd make a fortune!

What do you think of my purchases? Are you buying similar items for your holidays?

What's your number one item you'll be stocking up on this summer?


Do you have any travel tips for Thailand?

I cannot wait to go and experience a totally different country, especially those idyllic beaches from paradise!

L xxx