the style post | the primark kimono

floral kimono - £15 - primark

i love a good print and this kimono from primark definitely delivers in that aspect! i picked this lovely up a week or so ago and love wearing it with a little vest top and skinny jeans. i think you really have to wear something tight with the kimono to balance out how full and oversized it is. i got mine in a 'medium' but i do almost wish i had tried it on in a lower size as it can be quite unflattering sometimes but hey ho!

i genuinely feel like a geisha or something whenever i wear this! today i just wore it out to uni - i can't believe my first week back is already over, it just shows how quickly this next year is going to pass!

the beauty post | the skincare tag

hello loveys!

 i'm currently unbelievably busy in the middle of my first week back at uni so decided to do a quick tag post today. a big thankyou to chanelle for tagging me to do this post, if you haven't already go and check out her blog here - you won't regret it!

now i must admit before i start, i am the world's worst person when it comes to skincare - i really don't do as much as i should but i prefer an extra 10 minutes in bed over the whole cleanse/tone/moisturise thing. slap me on the hand for i have beauty-sinned.

describe your skin care routine in 5 words;

lazy, quick, easy, affordable, basic.

what's your skin type?

i have combination skin - normal everywhere except the t-zone which can get oily during the day.

top blemish zapper?

just having a healthy diet - i can notice a huge difference in my skin if i have a particularly heavy night drinking  alcohol and not drinking enough water. i also eat loads of fruit and veg and keep my sweet tooth under control (most of the time).

face wipes - yay or nay?

both! i can sometimes be really lazy and use wipes to take my makeup off - but only every so often. they are also really good to use when you make a mistake when you're doing your makeup - i keep one handy in case i get blobs of mascara everywhere.

toner - yay or nay?

i used a toner for a year or so and really didn't see any difference in my skin so stopped and haven't been back to it since. however, since starting this blog i have read so many people saying that having a skin care routine is important so i might have to go out and get back on the wagon!

high-end skin care or high-end makeup?

make up! i have found so many skin care gems on the high street that works a treat for me personally and have found a lovely little niche which keeps my skin nice and clear. i have had the same routine for a good few years now and wouldn't want to change it up until it stops working for me (which i hope it never does!)

what is the most unusual skin care product you've tried?

i did once make a face mask at home out of all of these weird ingredients - i actually ended up eating most of it which wasn't really what it was intended for! 

tell us your top skin care tip;

basically just drink as much water as you can - skin becomes clearer and plumper and much more radiant when you drink it, and water is so cheap so you might as well!

after the amount if times i have written the word 'skin' in this post, this word now seems completely weird and quite a horrible word to me! i can safely say i don't like the word skin anymore

*squirms*

the style post | motel rocks skirt

tee - topshop (old) | a-line 'annie' skirt - motel rocks | boots - RI via asos

how beautiful is the print on this skirt?! i've really wanted an a-line skirt ever since i saw caroline flack rocking one with a little grey tee on the xtra factor. and lo and behold, i decided to style mine just like her and i think it looks absolutely lovely!

the print really reminds me of the sixties, very psychedelic but in a really wearable way. i also really love how it can be dressed up or down - i can't wait to wear this on a night out with a little vest top and heels, but also looks just as good how i styled it today. 

the material is a bit weird - it feels a little rough and it doesn't move freely but i think this will be sorted out after a wash in the machine! this skirt is £28, but motel are currently offering a student discount of 25% so jump on that if you can!

super quick post today as i've just come back from the dentist, and now i'm getting ready to run off to uni. it feels so lovely to finally have things to do during the day now that i'm back at uni, but it really does make blogging a lot harder!

the lifestyle post | sunday instagram catch up

finally got a graze box! | jazzed up nails: bourjois 1 seconde 'green fizz'/ l'oreal 'confetti' topcoat | sleepy cat | meal out

bottle of despos = life is good | healthy super breakfast | bobble and pinless bun | home baking

looking funky without my eyeliner on

birthday cake for my dad | opi nails | primark bargains | this drink is the one 

watching paranormal activity home alone was a bad decision

another busy few weeks rounded up in a couple of pictures! and a busy few weeks it has been;

 i went out for tea on thursday night with a few girlfriends and we were out for a good 5 hours or so - and only 1 of that was for eating! we were literally the only people left in the restaurant by the end of the night as we had such a good girly gossip and catch up and talked about all sorts - although some of the subject topics were hardly the best to talk about around tea (mainly when we were stroking each other's legs to see how quickly the hair grew back..). please tell me that we're not just a weird bunch and every group of girlfriends find themselves talking about rubbish like that!!

i've also been doing a lot of baking recently, damn you great british bake off for making me this way. (i'm actually sat watching it now as i write this with a brew!) i first made my dad a big strawberry cream cake which tasted alright but we had to throw most of it away as there was too much for just two of us! i then baked a batch of fridge cake the other day. they were basically my take on a rocky road - but with a few different ingredients! i've kept half of them in my fridge and took half to my friend as it is his 21st birthday today and it was my present for him.

i went over to york last night to go out with a huge bunch of friends for his 21st celebrations. we were playing a game called 'pub golf' which is a KILLER of a game! you basically go on a pub crawl and buy a certain drink at each one which you have to down in a number of gulps. i seriously went from drinking cider to vodka to ale (BARF) and then red wine (MEGA BARF) and we can all imagine the state i woke up in this morning. lets just say i was contemplating never leaving the bed again. 

that is basically why this post is going up so later than usual - i seriously got home about 4 hours ago, collapsed on the sofa and didn't move until my chinese takeaway turned up. i've just scoffed that now and am feeling ever so slightly more human!

i'm starting back at uni tomorrow morning at 9 and i gotta say, i'm so excited to finally start my third and final year! just a warning that my posting over the next week or so might be sporadic until i get into a better routine! though i'm sure you won't all mind ;) 

sorry for such a long-winded post, i really do need to stop rambling so much....

the beauty post | maybelline the falsies mascara

today i'll be talking about my current mascara favourite. i first caught wind of the falsies mascara from tanya burr, who raved about it no end and said it was the best mascara she had ever tried - including higher end products. if this isn't enough to tempt you into trying out this mascara then the price might - this only costs £7.99 which i think is amazing for a mascara which works so well!

the brush itself is  lovely - bristled and full and with a slight curve so you can reach almost every last easily. the bristles wrap right around the brush as well so whichever way you find yourself holding it will help coat the lashes. the formula is extremely black and has fibres in it which clings to the lash and helps them look longer and fuller - leading to the false lash effect. i do find that this mascara is much more for lengthening than volumising in my opinion, as the many bristles really help to separate and pull the lashes up and away from the eyes. 

i have this particular mascara in the waterproof version, as my eyes can become pretty watery - especially when it is as windy as it has been recently! in terms of waterproof mascara, this stuff is amazing. it doesn't budge all day - no matter what extreme weather condition i might be in - and only comes off with a make up remover specialised in taking off waterproof mascara. 

overall i do really love this mascara. i can't say that i will repurchase it again and again though, as i never have much love for mascara or one in particular, and just jump from brand to brand trying new ones out. although i do really like this one, i don't feel committed to just using this mascara forever as i do think there will be better ones out there, and i am always on the lookout for other ones to try.

this mascara can be bought for £7.99 from boots here.

the beauty post | l'oreal elvive extraordinary oil

i've been a lover of hair oil for a number of years now, as i can see so much of a difference in the condition and feel of my hair dependant on whether i have used it or not. i went for a couple of months this year without using any oil and noticed a lot more split ends, knotting and frizziness which aren't exactly what i'm looking for in terms of hair!

i've been umm-ing and aah-ing about buying the l'oreal elvive hair oil for quite a few months now. i like to stick with what i know and rarely wander from that path - especially in terms of something as important as my hair - and was always on the lookout for the hair oil i used first (the healthy sexy hair argan oil) but i could never find it for a good price with the full-size product. i finally decided to bite the bullet on a whim when having a look around boots and bought this hair oil, and am so glad i did it.

this particular hair oil is enriched with 6 different flower extracts, and promises to perfect the hair in five ways;

" Hair has a glowing shine

Feels intensely nourished

Flows with silky softness

Seems sumptuously smooth

Looks beautifully perfected "

i definitely agree with these five points in terms of my own hair - it is smoothed, nourished, shiny and basically as perfect as my coloured hair can get. i decided to opt for the oil for coloured hair over the normal oil as i have been colouring my hair in some kind of way since i was probably 14 or so, and i think it will have more enriching products in the oil than the normal one so my hair will be in even better condition. i basically just work a pump or two of the oil through my damp ends and leave my hair to dry naturally.

i do have one really huge niggle with this hair oil though - the packaging. i do really love the heavy glass (i think) packaging as it feels really expensive and worth the money, but the pump and lid really annoy me. basically, the pump moves from side to side to open and close the bottle so the idea is that the oil can only come out when you want it to. however, the pump can move so easily from side to side that the chances of spilling oil everywhere are dangerously high. i took this oil to my boyfriend's the other day when i stayed the night and i found the bottle in my bag with the pump open. i was lucky enough to have found it in time and saved my bag and belongings, but it really annoys me. there's also no lid to put over the pump which i think is so weird as it really is necessary with a product like this.

overall, i do really love the actual product. it works wonders on my hair and makes it feel so healthy and nourished with a lovely shine. it also has a really lovely subtle smell that lingers ever so slightly on the hair. i think this bottle will also last so long as there 100ml of product and you don't use crazy amounts every time. i will definitely be repurchasing this product when it eventually runs out, but i really think that l'oreal need to work a little hard on their packaging and figure out a different kind of lid and pump to make it a lot less messy and easier to pack and carry around with you.

this hair oil retails at £9.99 and can be bought from boots here.

do you use a hair oil? have you tried out this one?

the style post | it's pleather dahling

quilted black tee - new look | pom pom shorts - asos | boots - RI via asos
 necklace - primark | lips: kate moss for rimmel in '107'

nice boob shot for you, no need to thank me (!)

just a quick post to show off my recent purchase from new look. i ordered a boatload of clothes online the other week and this was the only piece i kept as i didn't really love all of the others. i think it is just such a lovely simple piece that still makes you look like you've made an effort and is pretty perfect for winter. 

the material this tee is made out of is pretty weird - it's almost like a crepey material over the arms and back and then the leather-look front is a soft, slippery material that isn't at all like leather or pleather, but looks like it from a distance. it keeps all of the heat in too - i wore it recently on a shopping trip on a cold rainy day and actually didn't need a coat and only a thin jacket as the top kept me so toasty - perfect for winter!

today i just paired it with my trusty asos shorts and kept everything black so that the textures were centre of attention. today has been a pretty busy day - i woke up early this morning and actually did a workout which for me is crazy - i barely lift a finger if i don't have to. i really want to get fit again though as i used to go to pilates every week before summer but haven't done anything the whole time i've been away from uni. i really want to start toning up again as i felt a massive difference in just a few weeks of doing pilates and really want to get my body back into shape! so far in life i'm pretty lucky that i don't put weight on easily, but i think i might be pushing it now with what i'm eating and how little exercise i do, and could easily start really piling on the pounds if i'm not careful! so healthy eating and exercise are kicking off from now on! (hopefully!!)

anyway i best get off as i am forcing myself to be productive today and go work hard at my dissertation. i really want to be ahead in terms of having a detailed plan for it as i can imagine how quickly uni work is going to start piling up on me as soon as i go back. i really cannot wait to get back into the swing of things and actually have some order to my weeks now as although the summer has been a ball and so much fun, i really really can't be bothered with it anymore! roll on the next few seasons is all i'm going to say.

hope you're having a lovely tuesday!

the style post | stuck in a rut?

dress and boots - RI via asos | jacket and socks - primark 

here i am in another dress/jacket/boots combo. i really do need to mix it up a bit in terms of my wardrobe these days. i do think that this outfit really looks lovely though with the mixing of the prints, and i think they work pretty well together!

i went shopping with two of my best friends yesterday in preston and was extremely well behaved in terms of spending money! all i spent was £19 in primark on a  lovely kimono and necklace which i'll be wearing tomorrow night at a house party. i also saw a coat in new look which i thought was surprisingly lovely when i tried it on and i think i'm going to buy it when my student loan comes in as a 3rd year treat (or that's what i'll tell myself!).

i promise i'm going to start wearing a lot more different things and looks in terms of what i post on my blog, as i really don't want it to become to samey and boring! 

the beauty post | how i fill in my eyebrows

maybelline eyeshadow in 'chocolate chic' - £4.09 - boots | mac 226 brush - gift, part of set

i remember on my first ever proper  post on my blog all the way back in april (here) someone commented on it saying that i had lovely brows. that was the first time anyone had ever said i had nice brows, as i think they are pretty standard, but it's a compliment i have remembered ever since  - so thankyou jo fletcher if you are still around! :-)

i use a basic matte brown eyeshadow to fill in my brows - it used to be a benefit shade which came in one of their box sets that i go last year. however, i had used up all of the other products in the box and didn't want to carry on lugging around a massive box for just one shade. therefore i headed to boots yesterday to find a brown eyeshadow that i could throw in my make up bag which was easier to travel with and pack away. i found this lovely matte brown one in the shade 'chocolate chic' from maybelline and decided that it was pretty much bob-on in terms of what i was looking for. 

i use the standard mac 266 angled brush to run the eyeshadow through my hair and that is literally all i do on my brows. i plucked my eyebrows to literally a tiny strip when i was 12 or so (BIG mistake!) and ever since i have tried religiously to grow them out. i'm actually pretty happy with them as they are now, although they are pretty sparse towards the tails, as i really demolished them in my youth, and that is the place that is taking the longest to grow back in. i don't like my brows looking too unnatural and out of place, so eyeshadow is definitely my go-to thing for brows. 

there definitely isn't a very noticeable difference between the before and after pictures above, but they are much more defined and bold, yet still look very natural. i can safely say that i will NEVER go and do a 12-year-old laura thing and pluck them all off again as i can safely say that i never looked worse!

how do you do your brows? have you ever done a -12-year-old laura?!

the style post | for busy days

top - topshop (old) | tube pants - RI | socks - primark | boots - RI via asos

just casually sorting my socks out

leather jacket - dorothy perkins | jacket (just seen) - primark

bourgois green fizz w/ l'oreal confetti topcoat

i really am running out of excuses to wear these boots every day. i used to say i was just wearing them in but with the amount of time they spend on my feet i am most likely wearing them down now! ooops.

anyway, today i am pretty busy and have a few errands to run. i need to nip over to the pharmacy, pick up a new look parcel, and then nip into town and pick up a few bits of makeup. 

i recently made an order at new look (last thursday) and have been sat around like a lemon for the last few days waiting for it to arrive. i don't think i really needed any of the things i ordered but they were all so pretty that i had to! i think it will finally arrive today and i am pretty damn excited to see them all. i also can't wait to nip down to boots. i've recently been using up a lot of my samples (if you follow me on instagram you would have seen the incriminating amount of samples i found. if not, go have a look: laurapratt_ !) and have found so many products that i genuinely love so want to go and buy those. plus, i need a new eyeliner and mascara and want to see what else there is i can spend my money on. i haven't bought any new make up for a while and really want to get some in so i can tell you lovely people about them!

i also recently re-did my nails in my lovely bourgois polish in 'green fizz'. i also added an accent on my ring fingers with the l'oreal confetti top coat in an almost gradient effect and i really love it. sadly the green is starting to chip so i really need to invest in a better topcoat that i use now. 

sadly i won't be able to do any of my errands until this afternoon as my dad's car broke down the other day and he's been using mine ever since so i'm stuck at home until he's finished using it. it's a good job i have my two cats to keep me company or i would be going stir crazy right now! i'm  going to be spending my time wisely until i have the car by doing some work on my dissertation for when i go back to uni. i am so scared to be in my final year and finally writing my dissertation - i remember all the way back in my first year when i thought of writing it and here i am doing it - the last two years have really flown by and i just can't get over that this time next year uni will be finished and i will be out in the big bad world! 

the lifestyle post | sunday instagram catch-up

zebra face in ibiza '13 | short white nails | my new meerkat | homemade veggie chilli, rice and flatbread

my new RI booties | sweet slice of cake | england's best burger | vintage style packaging on my tissues

my boyfriend made me breakfast in bed. it was amazing | samples attack | my cat/child | healthy salad o'clock

it feels so long since i did one of these posts, i almost forgot how to do it! basically, in the time since i did my past catch-up post i went on holiday to ibiza and it was AMAZING. oh my gosh, i don't even know how i survived a week in ibiza but i did and it was brilliant. 

now that i'm home i'm basically just recovering, getting used to normal life and - as these pictures show - eating a LOT of food. oh my god, i can't believe how much food i instagrammed this week - and how much of it was bad for me! all but two of these pictures are unhealthy and i'm surprised i haven't seen an expansion on my belly yet! now i'm back on the healthy-eating wagon for as long as i can as i'm starting to feel a bit sluggish from all the crap i've been eating. 

there was also a picture of my new boots up to see if people thought i should keep them and it was a resounding YES and i have talked about them in every single blog post since, and i promise that this is the last time i shall talk about them, i swear.

i've also been watching a hell of a lot of dexter these past few weeks, i always wanted to watch it and have finally found it online a month or so ago and i have been watching it religiously since. there are so many cliffhangers and twists that i can barely keep up, and i am already on season 5 out of 8 - please never end!! i'm thinking that after i've finished watching it i'm going to start re-watching lost as well. i love love LOVE lost and watched it all a year or so ago but really want to watch it again as well.

anyway - that's my week rounded up, i hope you have all had a really lovely time yourselves! 

ps; i recently reached 100 followers on gfc so a huge thankyou for that! :-)