Miss drifted Snow White: UK Style, Beauty & Fashion Blog

Blog Sale: MAC Products

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Wed, 30 May 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Hola Amigos! Hope you are all well! I'm ok-ish... I've finally finished my degree (hurrah!) but I'm super broke because student loan & grant just isn't enough and in final year I could not afford working a lot.. So I'm utterly broke right now, which explains today's post: I'm trying to sell a lot now - things just don't use anymore so I might as well free myself from them!

Today is the first Blog Sale of a couple - featuring only MAC products. And these are all dirt cheap too!! But a few rules first!

Rules:

First come, first served
Payment only via PayPal
Leave a comment telling me which item(s) you want and your PayPal address so I can invoice you
Items are only reserved for 24hrs
P&P charges in the UK: £1 for the first item, £0.50 for each extra item || outside the UK: £2 for the first item, £1 for each extra item

Paint Pot: Fresco Rose (discontinued) - £6 PENDING

Paint Pot: Rollicking (discontinued) - £8 PENDING

Paint Pot: Chilled On Ice (discontinued) - £7 PENDING

Studio Tech Foundation: NW20 - £12

Lipstick:  Festivity (F) (discontinued) - £7
Lipstick:  Ruby Woo (M) - £5 SOLD
Lipstick:  Hue (G) - £7 SOLD
Lipstick:  Angel (F) - £3 SOLD
Lipstick:  ~~Fast Thrill (F) (~~discontinued~~) - £7~~ SOLD
Lipstick:  To Swoon For (G) (discontinued) - £7 PENDING
Lipstick:  Russe (L) (discontinued) - £5

Studio Tech Foundation: NC42 - £8

Paint Pot: Perky (discontinued) - £6 PENDING

Paint Pot: Otherworldly (discontinued) - £6 PENDING

Lipglass: Orange-Descence - £3Lustreglass: Morning Glory - £4Lustreglass: Ornamental - £4

Dazzleglass: Funtabulous - £8Dazzleglass: Totally Fab (discontinued) - £9

Once the majority of these items are gone, I'll launch another makeup blog sale featuring products from Makeup Forever, MAC, Revlon, Urban Decay, Sleek, Benefit, OCC, etc so stay tuned!

Orly Jealous, Much?

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:26:00 +0000

This beautiful and rare summer heat wave in the UK practically demands for bright and summery colours, so I decided to go for this gorgeous non-shimmery minty green Jealous, Much? polish from Orly's Cool Romance summer collection.

It applies really beautifully, 2 coats and BOOM full opaqueness (or is it opacity?)! It's definitely one of these perfect nail polishes that are worth picking up! I think this little fella only retails at £5 at Boots, if I'm not wrong?! Please correct me if I am!!

Paired with a bright pink neon top or mint green jeans this would make for a brilliant accessory-type colour for sure!

What are your must-have colours for this beautiful British Summer?

OOTD: Floral Prints

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Loobook // Chictopia // Chicisimo

WIWT / ASOS Fashion Finder / LOOK What I'm Wearing / Trendtation

Floral Playsuit: Primark
Pastel Floral Shirt: H&M
Necklace: Primark
Earrings: Topshop
Golden Belt: New Look

This outfit is from one of the days I went to Manchester Fashion Week! I completely forgot that I had the pictures and when I got ready to collage them I had to realise that I stupidly had resized them along with all the other pictures I took that day, so that's why the quality of these pictures ain't that great. I apologise. Also, there was only really one good picture where I didn't look like I was disgusted by what I saw (you know when you have the sun hit your face and your face goes squint? THAT apparently makes me look like I'm disgusted by something! Great!)

Anyways, the lovely Reena, who I hung out with at Manchester Fashion Week was kind enough to take these pictures of me! So, thanks Reena!!

So yeah, the playsuit is from Primark - I had just gotten it then and I've only worn it for a 2nd time since this day, because I, like probably everyone who owns a button-up playsuit, had to realise how incredibly impractical playsuits can be when you need the toilet and how you practically have to strip down to your underwear... But I still love this piece - it's sooo lovely floral and pink! I love it! I just wish it had some sort of zip on the side so you don't have to button it up, or instead of buttons it'd have a zip or something. More practical!!

But then again, when does fashion ever attempt to be pretty AND practical, right?! ;-)

OOTD: Mother’s Day

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:11:00 +0000

I bet the title is sending you into a wee little panic, but don’t! It’s NOT Mother’s Day in the UK today, so take a deep breath! However, it IS Mother’s Day in Germany today (I know, right? Why the hell are they celebrating it now rather than in March like normal people, eh?). Being German and even more so having a German mummy, I kinda need to go with that date, rather than the one we know.

But since I’m in the middle of my final round of final year exams (Hurrah!! Almost done with uni! Eeeek!), which also explains the lack of blogging hopefully, I haven’t really had a chance to find any gifts for her, let alone send them to her, so I thought I do a little blog instead – but not photos of me, but her!

Isn’t she beautiful? I can only be so lucky to look so fit at her age!

Now take a guess at how old my stunning mummy is – let me know in the comments and I’ll let you know how wrong you are :p EVERYONE GUESSES HER AGE WRONG muahahahaha.

Happy Mummy’s Day, mummy!!

OOTD: You Shone A Light On My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:14:00 +0000

Loobook // Chictopia // Chicisimo

WIWT / ASOS Fashion Finder / LOOK What I'm Wearing / Trendtation

Pastel Floral Blouse (underneath): H&M
Pastel Yellow Jumper: New Look
Pastel Pink Blazer: H&M
White/Blue Pinstriped Shorts: Be Beau [Matalan]
White Suede Wedges: Koi Couture
Gold Torque Necklace: Forever21
Red Gold Heart Belt: New Look
Aviators: TopShop
Rose Gold Bag: H&M

PHOTOGRAPHY BY IOANA PHOTOGRAPHY

Another outfit post! This one is an older one, from mid March actually! I know, I know, tut tut to myself for not uploading these sooner - trust me, I've been tutting myself every time I realised I hadn't uploaded them yet!

I really like the pastel look this season! None of these items are actually from this season - I bought them all last year either during the season or during the after-season sales! Lucky me that the trend came back this season haha :-) Oh wait, the jumper might be from this season, I dont even remember! Ah well, you get the gist though! ;-)

Like with the pictures from the The Sky Is Blue Outfit, these pictures were shot by the gorgeous and very clearly talented Ioana Maria!! I can't wait to work with her again once I'm done with my exams. I've already hassled her, but so far no definite yes from her - bet she's busy with her uni crap too! But I've reached out to other amazing photographers so I don't have to insult you any further with horrible pictures of me against a white wall LOL.

Hope you like these pictures & the outfit!

New Additions to Primark SS12

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sun, 06 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

There are companies that only do a few but substantial collections per season (mostly high-end), and then there are those brands who constantly bring out new items – and Primark is one of those.

Again, they’ve extended and replaced items they introduced 2 months ago to their SS12 ‘collection’ with new items in hopes to bring them continuous profit. And rather than just showing you all the items, I thought I’d rather create 3 looks with my favourite items from the new additions!

My absolute favourite piece is the yellow patent heels. I wish they were platform! But hey, I’m not complaining – it’s taken months to even find bright (not light) yellow patent heels – every single pair of bright yellow shoes I’ve laid my eyes on in the past few weeks were made of suede (and I freaking hate suede) or they were from abroad and the retailers wouldn’t ship to the UK.

I also love the floral blouse (top right) – combine that with a pleated mono-colour skirt and maybe a denim jacket or a nice pastel blazer --- HEAVEN.

I can’t wait to see these items in the shop (or maybe they are already?)!

Which items are your favourites from Primark’s new additions to their SS12 collection?

OOTD: Disco Inferno

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Lookbook // Chictopia

Shoes: Daisy Street Shoes
Pants: American Apparel
Blouse: Primark

BRA: Boux Avenue

ASOS Fashion Finder // What I Wore Today // LOOK What I'm Wearing

I've finally taken the plunge and bought American Apparel's Disco Pants. *Exhale*

I might have to explain that I absolutely hate my legs. They are too short (as long as my upper body, when they should be longer than my upper body according to The Vitruvian Man by DaVinci) and because they are so short they also look bigger than they would look if they were 1-2inches longer. I hate my legs so much, because whatever I buy for my lower body, I have to cut about 2inches of fabric off (and I can sew for sh*t, so not the best situation!). I hate my legs so much that when I used to suffer from depression I would rather cut my legs than my arms ‘cause I knew that I would never really be confident enough to just get my legs out without hesitation. I hate my legs so much that I’ve SERIOUSLY considered doing a leg extending surgery, but I unfortunately don’t have £100k lying about (anyone fancy sponsoring me? ;-))

But I also am incredibly stubborn. And want to push myself to do things that I would not consider doing. Blogging has brought me to that. So I have been playing with the idea of getting Disco Pants for a long while. But splashing out £70 for a pair of pants that would likely make me wanna cry seeing my legs in them, I just wasn’t sure. And Birmingham doesn’t have American Apparel, so you don’t see anyone else wear these up here (not to my knowledge at least), so add the sheer fear factor of being the first to wear something so sexual – not a great combo when you’re already paranoid about your legs!

But I did it.

And the feedback that’s already coming in about these trousers are making me wanna cry – but from happiness. Blogging really is by far the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. You guys give me strength and confidence that no one else could ever give me.

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

PS – sowwee for the sob story! LOL

Follow Friday Interview Series: Media Marmalade

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:54:00 +0000

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend!

To kick off this lovely weekend, I'm publishing another edition of the Follow Friday Interview Series, this time featuring yet another beautifully unique style & fashion blogger: Melissa from Media Marmalade!

Name: Melissa (aka mediamarmalade)
Age: 24 (as of the 18th)
Blog: www.mediamamalade.com
Twitter: @mediamarmalade
Height: 5ft5
Size: 8

How long have you been blogging?
In the grand scheme of blogging, I've not really been involved in the blogging world all that long. I started my blog at the very end of October 2011, so almost 6 months now. Although, since day 1 I've been utterly addicted and I've not missed a day yet. I genuinely love blogging, and can't believe I waited so long to get involved. I've become totally transfixed and inspired by the whole blogging world, I can't imagine my life without mediamarmalade.

How many subscribers (across all media incl Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc) do you have right now?
I currently have 1,103 followers on Twitter, 555 followers via GFC, 201 on Bloglovin, 90 on Hello Cotton, 101 on WIWT, I'm also on Lookbook and Chictopia. I find my blog is growing substantially every day, and as much as people say it, it really is true, I am so grateful for every new reader / follower / comment-er I get. It makes it all feel all the more worthwhile knowing people are enjoying what I write about.

What do you blog most about (outfit posts? trends? lust-lists? etc)?
My blog is 90% focussed around style & outfit posts currently, I absolutely adore clothes and am a serious shopping addict. I'm always sourcing new items to add to my seriously bulging wardrobe and just become obsessed with new things I find and HAVE to have them. I'm by no means any model esque clothes horse, but I do just like sharing my latest finds or style ideas with my readers. I sometimes post things such as 'wish lists' and also product reviews if I've tried something new, but I've always been a clothes, shoes and bags addict so my blog is mostly focussed around show casing my latest lusts :)

How did you come up with your blog's name?
The name of my blog originates from a nickname my Grandpa gave me when I was a little toddler, my Grandpa has a nickname for everyone in the family and mine happens to be marmalade. I also thought it was suitable, as the perks I get from working in the advertising industry are pretty jammy too. Mediamarmalade felt like an original and completely personal name for my blog.

What's your favourite part about blogging?
Sharing all my interests, mostly fashion, clothes and style with like minded people who genuinely have an interest in what I am talking about. I am, admittedly, a little bit of a serial shopper and my blog creates the perfect outlet for me to share my finds and rid my guilt a little. Being able to broadcast it to readers, who actually are interested is great. I can't also deny that meeting so many other bloggers is an amazing part of blogging, there are so many lovely bloggers out there who I've met so far. They make it all the more fun and enjoyable. Of course I also love the amazing perks I've received since starting blogging, whilst I never had any intention of my blog progressing this far, nor did I ever start writing to receive gifts etc, it genuinely is a lovely lovely treat which has developed as my blogs has begun growing. I've loved working with some amazing brands, attending their press days and trying their new collections. As a clothes and fashion lover this is a genuine perk which I am so grateful for.

How do you take your outfit pictures?
The $100 question, haha. Well my honest answer to this is 'by any means possible' - and it's true. I've tried everything, resting my camera on the stair banister / a pile of books / the fruit bowl, to roping in my poor boyfriend / sister / mum / dad to take photos for me (these always turn out the best) or more recently a trusty old tripod. I have a full time job working in media and don't really have much time for outfit posts in the week, so I end up juggling a 7am puffy eyed tripod outfit post pre work some days but in contrast some weekends I'll get my boyfriend to take some fab photos while we're out for the day. For me, it is a complete mixture of methods :) and that is totally reflected on my blog. I'm not a full time blogger, it's my hobby, and I don't believe we should feel pressure to deliver 'Industry Standard Photo Shoots' for our blog posts, we're not all 6* photographers and so we shouldn't feel pressure to be so.

What equipment (camera, etc) do you use?
When I first started my blog I tended to use my iphone and Canon compact camera for all my blog photos. This Christmas however I indulged and invested in a DSLR camera. I really enjoy taking photos and travel an awful lot so I decided that I'd love to develop some better skills and really start taking some fab photos. So I saved up and bought the Canon 550D, which I've not once regretted. It's an absolutely ACE camera and the photo quality is really noticeable. I've become addicted to photography since and spend so much time taking pictures and playing around with my camera. I've also just got for my birthday (although, not yet used) a macro lens for my SLR. It's the F1.8 Lens and I can't wait to test it out and start taking some fab close up photos.

Do you post-edit your pictures?
I occasionally will edit the colours of my photos, mainly this would be adding a 'cross process' to my images. I don't really do this for any reason other than that I love the look it creates. This tends to be when I've used a tripod or taking photos myself and have not been able to fully adjust the camera to the 'perfect' light / focus settings. I have photoshop on my Mac but don't ever use it as it's far too complicated ha. I find online sites such a picnik and picmonkey really helpful and actually fun to have a play around on.

Have you ever been invited to any blogging events? If yes, which one was your favorite?
I've attended a couple of events, including blogger meet ups, press events and blogger parties hosted by brands (e.g. Aussie). I probably have to say my favourite event yet was the 1st event I ever attended, the Aussie party back in October. I was invited as a plus 1 with a friend who blogs, at the time I'd never blogged or really read blogs before, but post this event there was absolutely no turning back. I loved all the girls I met, and was so in my comfort zone surrounded by people who loved the same things as me (and tons of half dressed Australian men). This really triggered me to start my own blog, and so has to go down as my #1 event :)

What's your favourite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
Oh lord, I can't even begin to answer this question. I really don't know. I love my Mulberry collection, I've been collecting them for 5 years now and love all my bags and purses, my shoe collection is rather special (aka, MASSIVE) and I have some gorgeous KG's, clothes wise, I can't even begin to thing. I am a little obsessed with blazers and have about a zillion all in different colours, I love my 'fail safe' French Connection studded black dress (it never fails me), my lush new pastel aztec Mango jumper, my amazing watches that I've collected over time and my new strawberry pink skinny jeans. I really don't think I could just pick one thing, I LOVE IT ALL.

What's your must-have accessory this season?
A pair of Jeffrey Campbell boots. ADORE. (or floral print shorts. yum.)

What fashion brands do you swear by?
Oh er, You can't go wrong with a classic Mulberry handbag, Zara never fails you with it's massively on trend designs that don't break your bank, Topshop is of course fab (but a little annoying that everyone has the same things) , as is Mango (i'm loving Mango right now). I also do love a good little bargain find in H&M.

Who are your favorite bloggers?
Right now, my top 3 are:
http://www.themoptop.com/ (love her style)
http://wishwishwish.net/ (amazing Photography)
http://www.myshowroomblog.com/ (I want her wardrobe)

What's your pet hate?
I hate bitching & arrogance. A lot.

What's your vice?
Pick N Mix .... OMG I LOVE PICK N MIX.

What makes you subscribe to a blog?
Great Photos, Great style, Great Content.
A blog is amazing if it's completely personal and a true reflection of a bloggers style and interests. When a blog is unique and personal, it totally shows, and this makes me want to read more and follow :)

How do you think your blog stands out from the other blogs?
This is a tough question. To twist my answer slightly, As mentioned on the last question I absolutely love and think that Individual personality & style makes a blog stand out. I love a blogger that doesn't try to be anything else but themselves, true style shines :) I hope my blog reflects this too.

Whose style do you admire (celebrity, fashion blogger, etc)?
My most adored celebrities in regards to style and inspiration are: Sienna Miller (she's just so cool, and has such an casual chic style), Rachel Bilson (fab fashion sense), Mollie King (she always look amazing, albeit she seems a little annoying), Blake Lively (so pretty and who can't deny Serena Van Der Woodsen has amazing clothes). I also must say, Edie Sedgwick, one of Warhols muse's just has the most intriguing and engaging style and charisma, I find her look quite inspiring :)

How would other people describe you using only 5 adjectives?
Oh god, haha. I am actually going to ask someone this, here's the response from my Exec at work:
1) Girly
2) High Maintenance
3) Pinickity
4) Chatty
5) Blake (lively) - i'll take that one, haha!

What is your go-to fashion magazine?
Look, hands down, the BOMB.

What food can you not stay away from?
Pick N Mix . BBQs . Potatoes . Sushi <3

What do you prefer: online shopping or shopping in stores?
I love a good trying on session, I get nervous shopping online that the clothes may not fit, may not be good quality, nice in real life etc. I like shopping in retail as you really know what you're investing in. Having said that, there is nothing more exciting than receiving a package in the post. That is definitely the perk of buying online.

Is there something you wanna share that you haven't shared before?
I may go and treat myself to the nude Molly Aspinal bag ... UH OH.

I really enjoy reading Melissa's blog - she puts sooo much effort and energy into it all. Everyday, you'll see a new outfit post - I don't know how in the hell she does it, what with it constantly raining?! But her happy personality definitely shines through her posts, so maybe she's just parked the UK sunshine all for herself? ;-)

Anyways, if you want to follow a cute, girly style and fashion blogger who likes to combine high-street fashion with online-exclusive retailer pieces or the occasional high-end piece, someone who's always happy and super dedicated to her blog, then Melissa is your person!

Follow her blog, her twitter and if you want her Lookbook too!

OOTD: Pink in Pink

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

LookBook // Chictopia

ASOS Fashion Finder // LOOK What I'm Wearing // What I Wore Today

Jeans: Joe Browns (*)
Cardigan: New Look
Tee: Primark
Earrings & Bracelets: H&M
Boots: My 1st Wish (*)

It’s been a long while since my last OOTD – I’m really, really sorry, but I actually wanted to spare you these (IMO) crappy taken-at-home kind pictures. I found these lovely photographers, who are so talented and manage to actually make me look great in their pictures, but with final year exams and this crappy UK weather, there has just not been any time or occasion at all to get out there to take lovely pictures :’( Anyways, this is what I was wearing yesterday for a full-on study day!

But Joe Browns were so lovely to send me these amazingly comfy bright pink jeans – my first proper colourful addition to my wardrobe in terms of bottoms! I love them so much already! Maybe a tad long what with my legs suffering from acute lack of length and all, but then again even ‘petite’ jeans are still too long for me LOL. You should definitely check out Joe Brown’s range – they are really affordable clothes!! These jeans retail at £30!

I was also the proud recipient of these amazing Lita-esque boots by My 1st Wish, another great online-exclusive UK retailer, which is relatively new to the scene. They have an amazing collection of boots and when I saw that they had these cute soft pink Lita-type boots that are NOT suede (I *hate* suede! urgh! worst material for shoes EVER!!!) I was over the moon when I could have them!! Same as Joe Browns, My 1st Wish have an amazingly affordable collection of shoes, clothes and accessories that you should check out.

Definitely you will be hearing more about these 2 brands in the future that’s for sure!

Fashion & Style Blogger Programmes

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

A lot of UK online retailers still don't fully realise the power of bloggers to their full potential - they have a lot to learn from some of their American (but internationally active) counterparts. UK brands some might work with a selected few bloggers, and those lucky ones are selected and managed by the retailers' PR team. It's not really something you can apply for. In the US however, online retailers are capitalizing the power of bloggers a lot more openly and cooperatively - ROMWE, SheInside and OASAP are just a few to mention, who openly run blogger programs.

Here, as a style/fashion blogger, you can apply to become part of their blogger programmes which will provide you with a specific amount of store credits (dependent on your number of followers) and you place an order. Once you received the items, you then have 7-15 days to blog about them with specific links and then your credits get reassessed and renewed if you have generated traffic to the retailer. If you don't do these posts within the given time period, you will be dismissed from the programme.

I think this is a brilliant way of effectively managing an international community that is becoming stronger and stronger. It's all about wearable fashion - people are interested on seeing clothes, accessories, shoes and jewellery on real people, bloggers, and seem to be more and more inclined to buy through those bloggers than because they saw this and that product in a picture of a skinny, possibly retouched model. More and more brands realise this power and especially the reach of this and so they offer these programmes to bloggers. In the end these bloggers can generate sales for the retailers.

OASAP Programme
- Have at least 300 followers on either Lookbook, Chictopia or Blogspot (by which they mean Google Friend Connect), then you can apply here.

ROMWE Programme
- Have at least 2,000 followers on either Lookbook or Google Friend Connect, you can apply here.

SheInside Programme
- N/A on minimum numbers of followers, but you can apply here.

***

Approaching companies to practically ask them for freebies in return for coverage seems a taboo in the UK [because some bloggers do it with a sense of entitlement or demanding freebies!], though I think there's nothing wrong with asking - in the end companies know what they want and what budget they have available and if they think you're not a fit, I assume they would tell you so - in the end if they accept you and give you freebies, they will have to justify that action to their supervisors. This applies especially to PR companies, whose clients set them targets in terms of reach of campaigns with budget limitations - they will definitely have to justify their actions. A lot of PR companies seem to actually be grateful for bloggers to be proactive in their approach because the sheer growth of the blogging world and the always relatively small PR budget means that they often can't keep up with finding all relevant and new blogs. But then again I might be wrong - I don't work in PR so I don't know if it's common to say no to bloggers when they aren't a good fit and when they should be said no to (according to the client's specifications). Maybe someone can tell me?

Either way, I wanted to let you know about these programmes - I thought it might be helpful to some of you out there!!

Follow Friday Interview Series: Rainbows & Fairydust

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Since last Friday was spent talking about the fabulous Missguided shows that took place at the Manchester Fashion Week, I'm super excited to be bringing you yet another interview as part of the Follow Friday Interview Series - again, featuring a gorgeous fashionista that's definitely worth a follow!!

Let me introduce you to Clara Astra from Rainbows & Fairydust!

Name: Clare Astra Morris
Blog: Rainbows & Fairydust
Twitter: @rainbowsnfairyd
Height: 5ft9.5
Size: 12

How long have you been blogging?
2 years now, time flies when ur having fun huh!

How many subscribers (across all media incl Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc) do you have right now?
I dont think numbers are important, I blog because I want to share my style and bargain fashion finds with friends and like minded people, my readers are all fabulous and much more than just numbers! Blogging is a super fun hobby for me and anything extra that comes along with it is a blessing :-)

What do you blog most about (outfit posts? trends? lust-lists? etc)?
I blog mainly about fashion, lots of "what I am wearing", things I have seen in the shops that I like, nail art, and of course pics of my little dog Captain Bob -)

How did you come up with your blog's name?
When I was younger and used to write letters and cards to my friends ( as most giggly, fluffy pink teenage girls do) and I would always sign them "lots of love, rainbows & fairy dust, Clare Astra". So when I decided to start a blog Rainbows & Fairydust just came to mind and I thought it was cute and original!

What's your favourite part about blogging?
Making new friends, I love chatting to people through my blog and I have made alot of lovely new friends through blogging who I really treasure. I also really enjoy helping girls find great fashion pieces at high street prices. The reason I started blogging was because my friends always wanted to know where I got my clothes from, and a lot of blogs out there were girls wearing clothes that us "normal" people just cant afford! I am a HUGE believer in affordable fashion, no matter what your budget you can ALWAYS look stylish!

How do you take your outfit pictures?
I like to do them outside as I think it gives more interest and the light outside always shows the clothes off better, and I am usually out somewhere walking the dog when the opportunity to snap an outfit arrises!! My husband takes my photos.

What equipment (camera, etc) do you use?
My pics are usually taken on a Canon SLR or a Leica

Do you post-edit your pictures?
I usually put a vintage touch to my pics in Photoshop, if I think the outfit is appropriate!

Have you ever been invited to any blogging events? If yes, which one was your favorite?
Yes, they have all been really cool, most fashion brands are VERY generous to bloggers as they know the blogosphere is a great way to showcase their products, I LOVE events with photobooths and cakes the best tho!!

What's your favourite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
Oh my gosh I have soooo many how can I pick one!? At the moment I am REALLY into my pastel and neon jeans ..... cant stop wearing them!! I am also a MASSIVE maxi dress/skirt wearer! I am a bit of a hippie at heart!

What's your must-have accessory this season?
Arm Candy! More is More has ALWAYS been my moto when it comes to accessorising! Load up your wrists with bangles, bracelets, friendship bands and watches - trust me you will look AWESOME!!

What fashion brands do you swear by?
I shop EVERYWHERE, High street, Markets, Charity shops, and online! To find great unique pieces you cant limit your self to a few stores, you never know whats out there until you explore!

Who are your favorite bloggers?
I have soooo many but here are a few Style Marmalade, Fancy Tree House, Sara Luxe, Sterling Style they are all COMPLETELY different but each inspire me and I just loove mixing fashion styles together! I have many many more but these are some that are fairly new to me so I thought I would like to share!

What's your pet hate?
People who put their bag on the seat next to them on the train so nobody else can sit there! AND people who talk through a gym class, the other week a woman took THREE phone calls during 1, 45 min spin class! I nearly pushed her off her bike! - I have soooo many more but I shall stop at 2! :-)

What's your vice? Shopping!
I shop WAY too much! I would be living in a BIG house my now if I didn't NEED all of these shoes!!

What makes you subscribe to a blog?
It can be anything from, amazing photos, to great writing, interesting content or just great fashion / interior / craft / art inspiration!

How do you think your blog stands out from the other blogs?
Thats a tough question! I just want to share my fashion finds and inspire other girls, and show them that you can be stylish on a budget! Fashion is for everyone, not just the rich!! Also I like showing off how cute my little dog is!! My hubby is a brilliant photographer, and if nothing else I have a high standard of photography on my blog!! I really just enjoy getting to know my readers and chatting about all things fashion with them! I have such gorgeous readers and am blessed by them ALL of the time :-)

Whose style do you admire (celebrity, fashion blogger, etc)?
Isabel Lucas, I am obsessed with her style! She is sooo effortlessly chic! I love her hippie vibe and her HAIR ... I die!

How would other people describe you using only 5 adjectives?
Hahah I hate these questions because I am just gonna sound like a big head! Here is how I hope people would describe me - Fun, Creative, Caring, Chatty & Honest - (not always at the appropriate time!)

What is your go-to fashion magazine?
I read LOOK every week, Vogue, Elle and Dazed & Confused - when I remember to buy it!!

What food can you not stay away from?
Crisps!!!! I am LOVING prawn cocktails pringles right now! I also LOVE bananas! Oh and peanut butter!

What do you prefer: online shopping or shopping in stores?
Depends on my mood! Shopping online is great when you don't have any time, but nothing quite beats and day strolling around the shops, especially if it involves afternoon tea and cocktails!!

Is there something you wanna share that you haven't shared before?
LOL NO! You know it all and the rest shall remain a mystery :-)

I'm super-jealous of Clare's hair. It's so beautifully curly! And she has one heck of a talented husband who takes really gorgeous pictures of her outfits! Oh yeah, AND CAN I PLEASE HAVE HER WARDROBE?! I love her sense of style, even though it's completely different to mine! Love the hippi-esque flair :-)

Follow her blog, her Twitter and if you have it, follow her Lookbook too :)

MCRFW: Missguided (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Last week I gave you a taster for how awesome the first 3 shows of Missguided at Manchester Fashion Week were so I want to show you the last 2 shows they did on the second day of the MCRFW because they were just as totes amazeballs as the first 3 shows!

Show 4: Festival/Grunge

So after the colourful Colour Pop show, which I absolutely lovedLoved, Missguided showed off their items that are just as smack on trend for this season: Festival/Grunge. So for those of you who are planning to let loose at any of the amazing festivals this summer brings, these clothes are gonna be perfect for you!

My favourite items: the gold-crosses-embellished black dress, the studded denim shorts and the black cut-out dress (I cant find it on Missguided’s website :’()

Show 5: Disco/Party

The final Missguided show was all about looking flash on the dance floor, so it involved a lot of very fitted, short dresses, sequins, low-cut necklines, lace and other sheer materials. Everything to look sexy partying your ass off. They even had some DJs (the names escape me *ooops*) getting the audience into the mood for clubbing!

My favourite pieces: the golden sequin shorts, the high-low chiffon & lace black & white dress and the red maxi-dress! Disco Feeeeverrrrrr!!

Now let’s get to my FAVOURITE PART of all of the Missguided shows: THEIR SHOES.

Those who follow my Pinterest might have already seen my ‘Shoe Porn’ board, where I’ve been pinning literally dozens of shoes on. I’m such a shoe-girl, such a heels girl, even though I can’t really walk on them at all HAHA! At their launch event in February I immediately fell for their shoe collection – I had never noticed Missguided’s shoe awesomeness before (maybe they hadn’t even done shoes before? I don’t know!) All I know is I GASPED as I saw their shoes – and the same happened again during their shows at MCRFW. They made me fall for their shoes all over again! So I thought I make a special section post about their shoes, just to make you drool as much as I did!

The Shoes

What can I say? I’m just starting to drool looking at these pictures! They are all so awesome! There’s something for everyone really – unfortunately I didn’t catch all shoes, only those that were worn during the last show, as that was the only time I sat in a position where I could take pictures of the shoes. There are a lot more, lots of flatforms that are soo popular at the moment (I personally dont get them, but ah well, what do I know haha).

My favourite shoes: the black silver-studs lita-esque ankle boots, the gold glitter wedges and the black spike-studs ankle boots.

Phew…. That’s it! That was Missguided’s day at Manchester Fashion Week! Doesn’t it look amazing? I hope you don’t mind that I had to do too separate posts, but you could already guess from the first part post that this was going to be picture heavy!!

What was (or would have been) your favourite show? Which items are now on your lust-have list? Did you drool as much as I did (and still do) about those shoes? LET ME KNOW!!

Keep Me Inspired Blog of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

OMG! I've just received word that I've been shortlisted for Blog of the Month by Keep Me Inspired for Best Blog Design!!
Every month Keep Me Inspired will let you vote for your Blog of the Month (which you can nominate by the way), but each month will have a different theme! This month's theme is Best Blog Design and I have been short-listed! WOW!

I can't believe it - I've never been short-listed for anything and considering that it is for my blog design, which I do by hand all by myself is such a massive, massive honour. I basically never stop working on the design and those who have been following me since the beginning have seen my blog already go through 5 or so different designs, so it takes up a lot of hours so just being nominated, let alone short-listed is such a lovely unexpected reward.

Click on the image below if you want to take a look at who I've been lucky enough to be short-listed with and place your vote!

How To: Find Clothes That Fit, EVERY TIME

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Normally my bum & hips force me to buy a size 8 or 10 at Primark when it comes to trousers, so if I shop at a different store, that will obviously be the size I reach for there because that should be the size that fits me. Logic forces me to think that a size 10 is the same in every store. But the other day I picked up a size 10 at H&M and it was too big, so I thought size 8 should fit me then. But since I couldn't find the trousers I wanted in an 8 and desperately wanted these trousers I picked up the 6 immediately thinking "I will never fit my bum into those" - and yet I did, without any problems!! Why is that?! It's not like I suddenly lose a stone in weight going from Primark to H&M (I wish LOL I'd definitely cope with being at Primark a lot better haha!). Us girls obviously know the answer: a size 10 isnt always a size 10.

Blokes don't have this problem. They pick up a 40R jacket at H&M and if it fits, they know that a 40R jacket in Topshop will most likely fit them too. Dependent a bit on the cut of course. But for us girls, just because we fit into a size 8 at H&M doesn't mean we'll fit into the size 8 from Topshop. That means often we need to pick up 2-3 different sizes of the same item to find the one that's a good fit. Hello effort! And how shit do we feel when it's a size that's a higher number than we normally fit in to? But also how awesome do we feel when it's a size smaller than we normally wear! Hello shopping rollercoaster! Not to think of the issues we face when doing online shopping (as if the model's height and what size she wears is in any way helpful - of course she's 5ft9 and wears size 8 - that's model size requirements after all and how many of us can say they have model proportions?!).

But there is a silver lining on the horizon now! A lovely geeky fashionista namely Anna who had enough of the sizing malarkey has created a brilliant free online tool for us women folk to always find clothes that fit! "Maria, what is this magic that you speakest of?" I hear you ask! "No magic," I say. All you need is to know your measurements (bust, waist, hips) and a little bit of time.

So go grab a measuring tape and get into your birthday suit and get measuring at the widest points of your boobs and hips and narrowest part of your waist. Note the results down on a piece of paper. Now click on the image above, that'll take you to Anna's brilliant invention. Toggle the sliders to your measurements and on the right it will already tell you which sizes from what retailer will fit you! How awesome is that?! And below that you can see some more retailers including some high street ones (ASOS, New Look, Dorothy Perkins, Zara, etc) that Anna took the official measurement information from and fed it into the sizing tool!

But of course there being a million and two retailers out there it's impossible for Anna to build all of those into that tool, and I think that's more than fair enough. But there's something you can do here too.

Still got that piece of paper where you noted down your measurements? Why not note down what Anna's tool says what sizes you are in which of the retailers she's listed? And, and here's where you need that bit of time that I mentioned earlier, why not go onto your favourite retailers' websites and look at their size guides and find what sizes you fit in there? Note it all down. AND THEN PUT THAT PIECE OF PAPER IN YOUR WALLET! That way, whenever you go shopping you don't waste your time with wondering whether something will fit or with trying million different sizes of the same item on.

And THAT’S how you find clothes that fit, EVERY TIME. :-)

MCRFW: Missguided (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

This week I got to go to my very first fashion shows ever at the very first Manchester Fashion Show, that was sponsored/supported by Missguided – one of my favourite fashion retailers!

I was so excited to see the Missguided shows! To see the the beautiful items that I got to see at their Spring/Summer Collection Launch Event in February on real models! YAAAY! And the day was sooo wonderful because I got to meet Kavita, Victoria, Rosie, Lara and Sara and see Becca & Gemma again too!

Myself, Gemma, Victoria, Rosie & Kavita

Being the sponsor/supporter of the first MCRFW, Missguided had the Tuesday – the 2nd day of the MCRFW – all for themselves to showcase the numerous stunning items from their current collection in 5 differently themed shows, and showcase they did! Which is why this post will be very picture-heavy! I took over 600 pictures and managed to restrict myself to 1-2 pictures per outfit, but that’s still a shedloads of pictures! But I could NOT for the life of me cut it down anymore.

I tried doing the ‘My favourite outfits from Missguided @ MCRFW’ thing but I just couldn’t decide and also I didn’t want to keep any from you, just because I prefer something doesn’t mean you will and vice versa, so better not to hold back, right? ;-)

Show 1 – Theme: Prints

Missguided kicked their 5 shows off with the Prints theme. And true to what the funny twin brother hosts said (“the more clashing, the better”), Missguided went to town with dots & stripes, aztec & animal, floral and other cute patterns.

My favourite pieces: the upside-down black & white cross jeans, the floral playsuit and the tropical floral leggings!

Show 2 – Theme: Nautical

Nautical being the theme for the 2nd show, Missguided showed their light, flowing fabrics and cute playsuits, dresses and shorts ideal for your beach holiday – there’s perfect clothes for day time and night time!

My favourite pieces: The light blue chain print shorts, the white/cream lace waistband skater dress and the blue one-shoulder playsuit!

Show 3 – Theme: Colour

By far the busiest show was the 3rd one that was themed as ‘Colour’ – and it was by far my favourite. I generally love colourful clothes (no one would guess it looking into my wardrobe, but I do love it, especially in the autumn/winter time) and love it even more when it is bright colours clashing in their fight for attention. Missguided changed into 5th gear and really brought out the brightest colours in neon pink, neon yellow, bright orange and fuchsia but didn’t forget that pastels are also massively popular at the moment!

My favourite items: the coral blazer, the mint green pleated shirt-dress and the pastel yellow skinny jeans!

What I REALLY, REALLY loved about the Missguided shows is the use of different shape and height models. Their models’ sizes and heights ranged a lot (from size 8 to 12 as far as I remember), which surely didn’t make it easy for their stylist, but in the end it just showed off how wearable the Missguided clothes really are! It just demonstrated that the brand is about being for everyone who wants to look very fashionable on a small budget! Well done to Sara for putting all the outfits (and the entire shows) together!!

Stay tuned for the 2nd post about the Missguided @ MCRFW which will feature the Festival/Grunge Show and the Disco/Party Show as well as some of the mind-blowingly amazing shoes the lovely models were lucky enough to wear! Prepare for more clothes envy!

Always & Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:58:00 +0000

2 years ago my heart was lucky enough to find its one in 7 billion.

Craig, my love,

You make me feel so loved. You make me feel so special. Your love lifts me up and makes me a better person – the person I always wanted to be and now have to courage and strength to become. I feel your love every moment of every day. With you I can be who I really am, I can let down my guard. Without you, I’m nothing.

I love you with all my heart and soul, with every fibre of my being, my past, present and my future. Always and forever.

Follow Friday Interview Series: Fash-Ling

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:30:00 +0000

It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! YESSSSSSS I'm soooo excited to be "relaunching" my little Follow Friday Interview Series that I ran for the bigger part of last year! You can't believe how excited I am! Wanna know why? Because I get to possibly introduce you to some awesome bloggers that I have discovered in my recent adventure and venture into the fashion side of the blogging world! Still every day I discover more and more inspiring bloggers and fashionistas and I can't not introduce you to these gorgeous girls!

For me beauty & fashion go hand in hand and after all, my blog is about anything that makes a person more beautiful! So the first fashion blogger I'd like to introduce you to is the very cute, quirky Aisling from Fash-Ling.com!

Name: Aisling
Age: 23
Blog: Fash-Ling.com
Twitter: @AislingNM
Height: 5ft9
Size: 8/10

How long have you been blogging?
Nearly a year

How many subscribers (across all media incl Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc) do you have right now?
Twitter - 794 & all Blog platforms - 360

What do you blog most about (outfit posts? trends? lust-lists? etc)?
Mostly outfit posts but there are the occasional beauty posts

How did you come up with your blog's name?
It's a play on my name which is pronounced 'Ashling' (it's Irish, where I was born) and as I wanted to blog mainly about fashion I came up with fash-ling.

What's your favourite part about blogging?
Meeting other blogging ladies and talking about all our favourite things!

How do you take your outfit pictures?
Tripod

What equipment (camera, etc) do you use?
I have a Nikon D3100 and a tripod, and away I go!

Do you post-edit your pictures?
I only ever crop or change the lighting in photos. I once retouched out some lipstick on my teeth - forgive me please?! Lol!

Have you ever been invited to any blogging events? If yes, which one was your favorite?
I've been invited to a few, my favourites have probably been the ZOMG Bloggers Bash and Motel's Spring Summer event. Lots of yummy food and bloggy chat is always the way to my heart!

What's your favourite piece of clothing in your wardrobe?
Oh my! That is a very tough decision, I don't think I could pick! One of my favourite items are my new River Island aztec jeans.

What's your must-have accessory this season?
I am massively lusting after a Celine bag, I think you all know which one I mean!

What fashion brands do you swear by?
Typically I love Topshop! I also adore Zara and H&M for lots of simple but striking pieces.

Who are your favorite bloggers?
Oh my! Frassy is my ultimate girl crush, I also love Michelle from Daisy Butter and Laura from Belles Boutique is an absolute babe.

What's your pet hate?
Slow walking people, such a typical Londoner!

What's your vice?
Shopping! I have serious issues when it comes to spending money, I always want to buy new things!

What makes you subscribe to a blog?
Pretty layout, nice clear pictures, amazing fashion style and a friendly writing style.

How do you think your blog stands out from the other blogs?
Well the fact that it's my own? It is 100% me and the things I like, people may think some of my outfits are a bit crazy but it's what makes me, me!

Whose style do you admire (celebrity, fashion blogger, etc)?
I love Olivia Palermo, I wish I could be that polished all the time! I also love Marina Diamandis, she is so adorable!

How would other people describe you using only 5 adjectives?
Ginger, wild, spoilt, friendly, loyal (I guess, I cringe at answering questions like this)

What is your go-to fashion magazine?
Vogue

What food can you not stay away from?
PIZZA

What do you prefer: online shopping or shopping in stores?
Both have their advantages, honestly I'd probably lean towards online as I hate crowds and messy shops!

Is there something you wanna share that you haven't shared before?
I am eternally grateful to anyone who follows me, but I hope that's not a secret!

I love this girl! I find it so refreshing to find someone who hates masses and slow-walking people as much as me to resort to preferring online shopping over going into stores and dealing with the crowds. I always kinda feel ashamed of myself for that because I actually like people! But not when I'm out hunting for the best new additions to my wardrobe I guess! Haha! Also, I massively owe her because I found my favourite new pair of trousers thanks to her!

Follow her blog, her Twitter and if you have it, follow her on Lookbook too :)

OOTD: The Sky Is Blue (Well, Not Really At The Moment)

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:09:00 +0000

Beaded Blouse: Primark
Skirt: H&M
Bag: New Look
Aviators: Topshop
Earrings & Bracelet: eBay
Shoes: eBay

Photography by Ioana Photography

After doing my first photo shoot with the lovely Jessica Oates I got in touch with a few other photographers on ModelMayhem.com to see who else was up for dealing with an incompetent-at-posing girl who sort of thinks her clothes are nice enough to be shown on the internet, and lucky me, I found Ioana.

She’s madly talented and easy to talk to but most importantly, she’s as tiny as me and as foreign as me and sort of gets me in a way that I thought no one would be able to when it comes to fashion blogging!

And the photos turned out to be absolutely amazing in my opinion! What do you guys think?

Recent Issues with Blogger, SEO & Google Analytics

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:22:00 +0000

I'm on a war path with Google Analytics. That's probably nothing new to those who read my lengthy Google Analytics post about how it works and most importantly what it doesn't do and how it doesn't reflect your traffic accurately. I've been trying to educate bloggers and PR people alike about this issue, but so far to no avail. But I'm not going to give up.

Another issue has now crystalised in the past few days for Google and Google Analytics, and that's got to do with Blogger enforcing localised Blogspot addresses. "Localised Blogspot addresses?" I hear you say. Let me explain what it is first.

Before, all blogs on Blogspot/Blogger had a "username.blogspot.com" address format, right? My blogspot address was msdriftedsw.blogspot.com. But now, to enforce some country-based legislations (or something along those lines), the ending of the Blogspot address now is controlled by where you are. Say you are in the UK. If you type in a blogspot.com. address into your address bar, you'll see seconds later that the ending changed to .co.uk. If you are in Germany, it'll end on .de, if you are in Australia, it'll be .com.au, etc. Only those in the US will continue to see the .com ending. It's got to do with where you are based in the world. Hurrah for them ;-)

Of course for your visitors it doesn't make too much of a difference, because they will still type in your Blogspot address and probably won't even necessarily notice that the address in their browser's address bar changed slightly. And it doesn't screw up those who have custom domains either. That all stays the same.

But the issue is for those who track their traffic through Google Analytics (for personal or monetizing reasons). I discussed before that Google Analytics only tracks the traffic for the address/url that it's set up for. If you're Google Analytics code is set up for your blogspot.com address, it will now not pick up the traffic that comes from outside the US because for everyone non-US based the address will change to the localised Blogspot address.

And there is no real fix to this, unfortunately. There is a bit of code that can suppress the ending change visually, but it won't do any difference to Google Analytics not picking up traffic accurately. Here's how to install the code if you do wish so (thanks to Faye Marie from Girl does Geek)

Step 1: Go to Blogger > Design/Template > Edit HTML
Step 2: Press Ctrl+F and type "</head>" (without the "" symbols) - you will only find it once
Step 3: Right above that line that has "</head>" in it, paste the following code into it:

<script type="text/javascript">
if ((window.location.href.toString().indexOf('.com/'))=='-1')
{
window.location.href = window.location.href.toString().replace('.blogspot.fr/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.com.au/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.co.uk/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.nl/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.de/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.ca/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.id/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.ie/','.blogspot.com/ncr/').replace('.blogspot.th/','.blogspot.com/ncr/');
}
</script>

Step 4: Click 'Save'

I'd stick to Blogger Stats (because they pick up traffic to your blog regardless of what address your visitors access it from, including custom domains). But even Blogger Stats isn't 100% accurate (I'll explain this in another post soon I hope), but at least it doesn't run on JavaScript (which is another main reason why Google Analytics and also StatCounter are traffic inaccurately as many users disable JavaScript on their web browsers manually or through adblockers and then aren't tracked).

More importantly, this localised Blogspot address crap is REALLY screwing with Google and its search methodology and PageRank, SEO and all of that jazz. Basically for Google's search crawlers, your blog exists multiple times now under the Blogspot-type addresses. And Google crawlers don't like that, because they think that you're creating duplicated content to artificially improve your coming up in searches and punish you for that by not listing you at all in search results (and that will obviously affect your traffic too).

Here's a bit of code that's supposedly fixing that issue too (again, thanks to Faye Marie from Girl does Geek):

Step 1: Go to Blogger > Design/Template > Edit HTML
Step 2: Press Ctrl + F and type in "<head>" (without the "" symbols) - you will only find it once
Step 3: Right below that line with "<head>" in it, paste the following:

<link expr:href="data:blog.canonicalUrl" rel="canonical"/>

Step 4: Click 'Save'

So while your Google Analytics stats won't be fixed, at least you won't have any future issues with confused visitors and your search results and ranking should remain the same.

Hope this helps xx

OOTD: Cherry Picking

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:30:00 +0000

I’ve been getting extremely frustrated with my outfit pictures recently, snapping away on my own in my room with that stupid bed sheet hanging behind me, never getting the right light and even when I did, there’d be a vertical shadow from my window frame. Just hateful. I wanted to offer you better pictures. I know I’m not a model and I know my outfits aren’t ground-breaking, but I want the pictures to be at least worth looking at. So I tried taking the pictures myself outside, but it’s just not happening either. I just don’t have the patience.

So I reached out to Birmingham-based photographers asking whether they could spare some time for little old me. And Jess from Jessica Oates Photography said yes!! So we met up last weekend when it was all sunny and beautiful and tried getting some nice pictures done for you.

I hope you like them! Do let me and Jess know what you think!! And make sure you check out Jess’s photography on Jessica Oates Photography!! She is a very talented photographer with a great kit and most importantly A LOT of patience for an awkwardly posing, constantly babbling, nervous Maria.

Hat: H&M
Jacket: H&M
Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Earrings: Primark
Sunnies: TopShop
Bag: Primark
Shoes: New Look
Bracelets: Forever21

Photography: Jessica Oates Photography

18 for a 2nd time -- Seaside Style

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Have you ever dreaded turning yet another year older to the point where you push that thought completely out of your mind so that you forget to organise drinks for your birthday and make no plans? I was in that position for the past few weeks. To the point where my friends would ask what my plans for my birthday were and I’d go “oh yeah, crap, there’s that!”. So for self-entertainment, I was going with ‘I’m turning 18 for a 2nd time’ ;-) It's not a day worth celebrating anymore I thought, so I told Lodz that I might not be the happiest of bunnies on my ‘special day’ once I woke up. But perfect as Lodz is, he knew exactly what I needed to be at ease – the seaside.

I grew up by the sea. I used to sometimes just take my sleeping bag and just cycle to the shore and sleep there. When I was little my family and I used to spend the 8 weeks of summer holidays camping (in style) by the seaside. I need the sea in my life. And out of all places I live in Birmingham, probably THE town in the UK that is the furthest away from any seaside. I need the sea. The salt in the air. The sound of the waves crashing onto the beach. The seagulls. And I got all of that. At Southport.

I squealed like a little toddler, jumping up and down full of joy at seeing the sea.

And then Lodz took me to Steven Gerrard’s fancy restaurant Warehouse that we had all for ourselves with the most delish food ever. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. In the end, the day was exactly how I needed it to be. Soothing and pure and beautiful.

Outfit of the (birth)Day

Coat: Authentic
Blouse: New Look
Vest Top: Missguided
Skirt: H&M
Shoes: New Look
Bag: New Look
Earrings: Forever21
Sunnies: Playboy

Thank you to every single one of you for your lovely tweets, texts, instagram comments and facebook messages. I loved seeing my phone light up so often. It means the world to me to know that there are people in the world that care about little ickle me.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

PS - I'm planning to launch a little giveaway tomorrow featuring items from Orly, Liz Earle, Bourjois, Colour Couture Cosmetics and Jelly Pong Pong! Stay tuned!

MUA Out There Plumping Lipglosses

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:30:00 +0000

MUA Pro Out There Plumping Lipglosses in Sienna (*) & Candy Pink (*)

I’ve been raving about MUA for many many posts (about their BB cream, about their liquid liner, about their glitter crackle polishes, the nail polishes from their Love Hearts collaboration, etc). I absolutely love that brand! They are really right on trend with the products they are releasing on to the market, and they are doing it at the right price (let’s hope they are doing it ethically too!).

So naturally, with all my positive experience with MUA I was super excited to get their newest Out There Plumping Lipglosses from their Pro range, even though I’m not much of a fan for lip products (I have them, in plenty, but I just don’t wear them because they just wear off within minutes of leaving my house because of my smoking and then I just cant be bothered with reapplying it and all that jazz!). But hey, these are MUA lipglosses – they will be awesome, right?

WRONG! And I hate to say that. It really hurts me. Because I feel like I’m betraying myself. I love this brand. I really do. But I just can’t lie to you guys either – and my integrity and honesty to you is more important to me in this case..

The Out There Plumping Lipglosses come in gorgeous shades – I love the Sienna one they sent me with its orange/tangerine tint with the super tiny golden sparkles in them. Just purely beautiful. And they apply like a dream too – they are definitely not sticky, BUT whatever MUA put in them to make them supposedly have a plumping effect, it BLOODY BURNS!!! I couldn’t keep the lip glosses on for much longer than I had time to get the swatch shots done!

Swatches of Sienna (left) & Candy Pink (right)

Most lip plumpers use some kind of menthol ingredient that make your lips tingle, but these actually really burn. And I have spoken to other bloggers and friends who have tried these – they all reported the same issue. They burn and proper hurt your lips. Even when you have removed the product with wipes, you can still feel a slight burn.

So yeah, they might only be £2 and come in gorgeous shades and I know us women are willing to go through pain to look beautiful what with our skyscraper heels and epilations, waxing, etc, but it’s a whole new level of pain when it’s on your lips! Stay away, people. Far far away from those Out There Plumping Lipglosses. Sorry MUA xxx

Boux Avenue Birmingham Store Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:30:00 +0000

Theo Paphitis – one of the famous Dragons – is renowned for resuscitating La Senza and turning it into a multi-million pounds business. He’s now moved on to take care of Boux Avenue – a lingerie brand and store chain that prides itself in giving its customers a luxurious high-end experience without the big price tags but high-street prices. Boux Avenue also pride themselves in serving a wider range of customers due to the huge range of products (standard underwear, nightwear, swimwear, bridal wear, etc) and sizes they offer (30A to 40H, size 8-20) – again, without the extreme price tag. They even offer decorative things for bridal showers and weddings (or just to pretty up your makeup desk) and some beauty essentials like lip balms, hand creams, wet wipes, nail files and the like.

Theo & me - he wasn't so scary after all! What a tame dragon! ;)

After having 8 stores across the country, Theo opened the 9th Boux Avenue store in Birmingham’s Bullring last Thursday and I got to take a sneak peek in the store before the mad rush of the on-lookers. I had already been to the store in Manchester and therefore sort of knew what to expect, but if you haven’t been to Boux Avenue yet – YOU ARE IN FOR A LUXURIOUS TREAT!

Clean, structured layout
The first thing you notice when you come into any Boux Avenue store is that the rails and racks aren’t overly cluttered with all the products being on display. Bras and knickers are either nicely laid out on trays or hanging of wooden hangers or – what I love most – in little trays in drawers, nicely sorted by size for the customers and sales assistants’ benefits of finding the size you’re looking for so much quicker.

Amazing changing rooms
The changing rooms are another highlight of the store. Taking your clothes off and showing yourself in your undies for a bra fitting can be a very frightening experience for some people, including me. But the ladies are so lovely that they make you feel at ease immediately. Each changing room has a cute little name matching Boux Avenue’s bras (e.g. Taffeta) and the room has a door that shuts the outside world away rather than the typical curtain kind of ‘doors’ you find in most fashion retailers. The room also offers three different light settings so you can see what the undies you’ve picked to try on look like in different lights: Day, Dusk and Night! What a brilliant idea!!

The huge range with amazing fabrics, designs and sizes
Where to begin? I really don’t know! I would’ve loved to buy the entire store if I had the budget, that’s for sure. Looking at the different bra types (t-shirt bras, plunge bras, balconette bras, etc) it’s immediately clear that quality fabrics are used and yet the most expensive bra is only £28!!! Most ladies fall into the standard sizes of bras that can be bought at many places, but unfortunately I’m not one of those. I’m a 30-back. So I always struggle finding the right bra, and up until now it was only La Senza that were doing this size – and only in one style: t-shirt bra. Great selection, right?! Most of Boux Avenue’s bras start at 30-back! Hurrah! So that for me is a big win!!

But it’s not just me who can benefit from Boux Avenue’s wide range. For example, normally bigger ladies find that clothes for their sizes are just upscaled, bigger versions of standard sizes – completely ignoring that bigger ladies need support in specific areas that average size women don’t need support in. But Boux Avenue takes that into consideration!

Or take their swimwear. Normally, you go into a store and you get a set of say, size 10. Or maybe 10/12 if you are lucky. But most of us are not the same size top and bottom! You can be a size 6 but have big boobs, you can be a big girl with small boobs. We come in variety, don’t we! Again, Boux Avenue takes that into consideration. So you match your bikini tops & bottoms to a set that fits YOU.

I could go on and on about this store, the brand and how amazing it all is, but I’d like the images to speak for themselves.

standard underwear

swimwear

cutest pjs

My favourite part was buying my Ultra Boost Bra (*), which is Boux Avenue’s absolute hero product. It makes your boobs look full and more importantly TWO SIZES BIGGER!! I myself have already seriously considered getting a boob job done, but this is a fabulous, cheap and safe alternative. The bra comes in I believe 4 different colours/patterns and when you get everything packed up, the lovely ladies wrap up the bra and put it into a cute little box and sprinkle it with fragranced fabric rose petals!! It’s all so very luxurious. I love it.

Ultra Boost bra in Leopard Print (*)

Have you ever experienced the luxury that is Boux Avenue? What were your experiences? Or are you now going to check it out? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear what you think!!

PS – Sorry for the picture & text overload!

No7 Fanomenal Lashes Mascara

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:30:00 +0000

No7 Fanomenal Lashes (*)

As part of their Spring/Summer event the Boots-exclusive brand No7 introduced their latest mascara called Fanomenal Lashes, which is said to give you… well, phenomenal lashes!

Look and feel ‘fanomenal’ with this revolutionary new mascara from No7, which provides volume without clumping for a fuller lash fan. The helix shaped brush is made up from alternating discs to allow maximum comb-through to ensure lashes are separated, lengthened and provide you with more application control.

Sounds great, right? No clumping and some newly shaped brush for separated and lengthened lashes. Sounds really, really great. Except for that it doesn’t really do that.

Unfortunately the product is relatively wet and thus tends to clump the lashes together. Secondly the individual plastic bristles are very short, so they don’t really grip any lashes all, so I don’t see the much proclaimed separation either. I just found the bristles to be extremely scratchy when I tried to get the bristles between my lashes to then separate them.

Don’t get me wrong, this mascara does make your lashes look longer and fuller, as you can see in the pictures below, but it’s not mindblowingly better than most mascaras that I use (Benefit They’re Real, L’Oreal Voluminous, 2true Voluptulash, Maybelline The Falsies, 17 Blow Out are just to name a few that I use in rotation that perform similarly or better than this mascara).

But then mascara is a very personal thing. It’s like lipstick – it must give you what you want and that depends on you. Some want fuller looking lashes, and maybe this is a good mascara for that. But then some would prefer separated, fanned lashes – and then this probably wouldn’t be the best mascara to go for. I don’t know. But for me, I definitely wouldn’t say it gives me fanomenal lashes, that’s for sure. Maybe in a few weeks, when the product has started to dry out a bit, then it’ll be better? I certainly hope so!

If you wanna give No7’s new Fanomenal Lashes mascara a go, it will become available in store and presumably online on 13th June for £12.75

OOTD: 70s Spring

noreply@blogger.com (Miss drifted Snow White) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:30:00 +0000

Jacket: H&M
Jeans: TopShop
Shirt: [no clue, my mum got it for me]
Scarf: eBay
Brogues (not seen): Primark
Earrings: Primark

Necklaces: Lodz via Etsy & Orelia (*)

~~~ FAN Miss Drifted Snow White on LookBook ~~~

I hate giving outfits a name – I’m not that creative with these kind of snappy, cute, yet descriptive names. Someone mentioned to me I looked like from the 70s because of my flared jeans and the leather jacket (I assume they meant the rock/punk 70s) when I was wearing this and since it’s now officially Spring, I thought 70s and Spring. Boom.

Yeah the folds of my brain have some moments of pure awesomeness, don’t they? ;)