Boux Avenue

So today I am sat here feeling pretty sorry for myself after fighting a cold all week and trekking into work in the snow I have finally had to give in.

I'm in my onesie in bed feeling pretty crappy but I took these photos yesterday and looking at them makes me feel better!

I feel I need to share something with you: I'm a massive lover of underwear.

You just have to look into my wardrobe to find 2 massive drawers full of it, beautiful colours in lace, tshirt style bras, plunge balconette etc etc.

Having larger than average boobs it can be a little tricky to get yourself the right fit, in a colour and style to your liking at a price that is acceptable.
However as underwear is a wardrobe essential as a curvy girl I absolutely love shopping for it when I've found the right shop.

Cue Boux Avenue, who opened up their black boudoir style doors in the new shopping centre and enticed me in with pretty window displays and beautiful drawer type storage (which La Senza seem to have something very similar of now!)

For Christmas my nan got me a voucher to spend at Boux Avenue and I was so excited. Because of the spending ban I waited for the sales to be over so I could pick up some new items without the sale rush and also at a time when I really needed to spend some cash and didn't want to break the ban.
Their email telling me of the 'buy the bra and get the knickers free' deal swiftly threw that out of the window and 2 weeks later I'd already spent them!

This however was perfect timing for me, as even though I am a single girl, Valentine's Day is coming up and I full intend on treating myself and being as girly as possible all day!

I browsed the website for a whole evening before I finally made the decision to pick up the Tori style bra in baby pink, coral, and black, all with matching knickers in the briefs style:

The Tori style is a tshirt bra covered in lace, where the lace comes up further than the cup so you can see some skin through the lace where the cup joins the strap.

I love lace bras but for my own personal comfort prefer tshirt bras, and this is the best of both worlds!

The colours are absolutely beautiful!

Because of Christmas being only a few weeks previous to my order the gift wrapping was sadly not available but I'm all for saving the environment and so got over it pretty quickly.

These bras are the perfect fit and although are lacy I have worn them underneath my uniform (a fitted t-shirt top) and had no bumps or patterns showing through.

At £24 these may be a little pricey compared to other brands but the bras I bought when their shop first opened up in Cardiff still look new and have kept their shape perfectly.

I love the little details on the knickers, like the little bows, metal tags and also the lace panels across the back.

These knickers should have been £10 so were an absolute bargain for free!

If you buy in store, you can also get student discount.
When I checked last this deal was still on, so get yourself down there and treat yourself ready for Valentine's day!

One thing I will say, do not forget to sign up for their VIP card also! If you become as much of an addict as me then you'll soon be able to redeem them against future purchases :)

I may be single and not planning anything romantic but that sure as hell doesn't mean I can't treat myself and dress up for myself in the mean time!

Have you shopped at Boux Avenue before? What will you be planning for Valentine's day?

L xxx

NOTD: Essie's Chinchilly

I posted that I'd bought this a few weeks ago.

Essie's Chinchilly is a gorgeous greige colour that when I saw it, I just had to have it:

It's a really cool colour and unlike anything else that I own, and the name suits it perfectly!

It's a great colour in that I would imagine it goes with most skin tones and has been perfect for me going from day to night.

Apologies for my stained finger nails, I wore red on a weekend and it just wouldn't come off even with a base coat!

You can see how creamy the polish is, these were taken after 2 coats of Chinchilly and it comes out really even.

Another thing I'd like to mention is how it would look good with longer and shorter nails. I find some can make long nails look a bit footballers wife and others make short nails look stumpy, I haven't found this one to do either and I'm a big fan!

Having never bought Essie until a few months ago I am a massive fan and firm believer in their polishes!

I have bought Ballet Slippers too so will be using that one soon to see how it matches up to my expectations after all the hype.

Their range of polishes is just amazing and I'm sure after the ban i will have a pretty hefty list to work my way through. Hopefully they will be available online somewhere at a cheaper price too, but that's wishful thinking!

Do you like Chinchilly? Which Essie is your favourite??

L xxx

101 Things in 1001 Days: New Tasks

This post follows on from my original recap of my 101 Things in 1001 Days post which I uploaded last week, and you can find on this link.

My plan was to swap a few tasks that couldn't be completed for various reasons, and some that were too similar. Here are my other options which will be added in soon!

The first which will replace no.19: Go to the Harry Potter Studio tour thingymajig. I'm absolutely dying to go and if it's added on here then obviously it must happen. Sneaky.

28: Increasingly important to me is my health. After being the epitome of gluttony in university and generally being the perfect student slob I am now a regular gym attender, avoid fat like the plague and generally try and take good care of myself. I'd like however to drink more fruit and herbal teas instead of caffeinated ones and other drinks. This isn't a massive deal, but I don't seem to drink enough throughout the day and different teas are easy and healthy!

30: I always used to love going to different gigs, and I miss seeing bands live like I used to. So over the next 2 ish years I plan on seeing lots more. I've recently bought tickets to see Rihanna and McFly so am off to a good start!

64: I've decided this year will be about decluttering. Decluttering my room of excessive beauty products, unworn clothes and old useless magazines. Also I would like to declutter my life of crappy people, pointless junk and old things that I've kept in my life and no longer need. I have already this year removed a large pile of 'stuff' that I was planning on ebaying, along with a huuuuge cardboard box of folders and books from my school/uni days. Let's hope it continues!

67: In 2010 I redecorated my room from a pink and girly fairytale room to a white and turquoise room with 'traveller' style items. By this I mean I have an array of suitcases dotted around my room plus a gold chair and trinkets from all over the world. However I've always wanted a globe, sepia coloured map and loads of pictures and postcards on the walls to decorate it but have never quite got round to it. This year it will happen!

72: I suppose somewhere on this list the inevitable will makes it's way.....some of my friends are getting married this year and therefore I need a date. I am currently single and have been for the majority of my life which doesn't normally bother me but on these occasions I would not want to be the only one without a date, nor do i want a date that in 5 years time I will look back and think 'WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING'. So this may be the biggest task of them all, but a challenge that my friends have already decided is going to begin with speed dating, just for the laughs. (Oh God)

89: Having been there when I was a child, I have been reminded of Longleat Safari Park and have made my decision that I definitely 100% want to add this to my list after remembering the maze! I want to complete that maze and get to the tower.


So there we have it! Took me a little while to come up with them and I haven't managed to update the actual page yet. But I should get round to it on the weekend.

What do you think of my replacements? Have you written down your list of things you'd like to complete?

I guess it's like a Bucket List, but quicker!

L xxx

Spending Ban Update 2

Hey it's been a while since I've posted. I still don't have Internet and I've had a few stressful uni weeks. Bring on Thursday and uni will be done and a week on Friday I'll bhave Internet hopefully.

I've got so much to post about it's just awkward to do on my phone as our photos have to be uploaded via photo bucket. L has been great at putting in photos for me.

Anyway my update. By Thursday I was feeling disheartened.  It was com up to pay day (which is today) and I was still completely broke.

Until yesterday I still hadn't bought clothes or make up.  Which was more than a challenge.  I had an hour to kill when I met my OH for dinner one evening and two shops had things I'd been lusting after since summer in my size and 70% off. I managed to not succumb to the temptation.  Boy yhat was hard. And on Thursday L and I took a trip to TK Maxx. My hair is begging me to get the Macadamia oil and it was so cheap in their.  But I resisted and had to drag L with me ;-).

Where I'm going wrong at the moment seems to be food. My partner received some bad news this week so I've bought him a few dvds and treat food to cheer him up and bought his mum flowers as a pick me up. I think with just moving as well cupboards need stocking and getting used to a longer commute is hard as I'm tired and not wanting to cook. All in all lots of excuses and I need to stop letting my OH persuade me to go to McDonald's which is now across the road.

I broke the ban by picking up OTH season 8 when I was getting my OH his dvds. I love one tree hill and have 1-7 on dvd and it was cheap. Naughty me.

I've also had the week after Christmas and a bit before on this months pay check.

My plan this month is, to stop wasting money on fast food and dvds. I have four birthday's to buy for this month including 2 expensive ones and valentines and meeting up with an old friend. So February is expensive.  Must cut back somewhere.

So onto my wishlist

Last times
Mac Brick-o-la lipstick
Urban Decay Setting Spray
MUA Eyelid Primer
Nars Sheer Glow
Bobbi Brown Corrector
I have decided I no longer wanted the Nars Sheer Glow as gorgeous as it is I don't think it'll be for my skin type. The Bobbi Brown Corrector I'm unsure on as I do love my Erase paste so the last two are off the list now. I will edit the list with eacg update. I wonder if any will last 100 days.
This time I'm adding
Illamasqua Pigment base
Origins Cheeks and Balance
La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo
Daniel Sandler water colour blush.

So after 21 days I've not bought make up, skincare or clothes but I'm still broke. Oh well. Less has gone on the credit card. How are your bans going? 

Don't forget to check out Marvelle from Blog of Shadows blog for others doing spending bans. Link here. Her latest Disney series look is stunning too.

Love M Xxx