A Dead Famous Halloween

 A fan of all things positively spooky? Then, like me, you will be trembling all over with excitement that Halloween is looming around the corner yet again. It is one of my favourite holidays and although I have read many a time that it's 'the one time during the year that a girl can dress as a slut and no other girl can say anything about it' me and my friends thought the standard sexy cat/witch costume was not for us and so decided to bring the dearly departed stars of the past back from the grave for one last party...

Pavarotti, Winehouse, and troublesome duo Laurel & Hardy all dug their way out their coffins to do not only the time warp but a very amusing version of gangnam style. Trust me, it was not something you see everyday. My friend converted the back garden barn into the most scary of haunts complete with Albert Einstein as DJ! If you hadn't guessed already I was a Zombie Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's) which proved quite a popular choice as I contended with not two but three other Audrey's, although I was the only one who showed her more deadly side..

Have you got any plans for Halloween? Whether it be trick or treating, or dressing up as a massive pumpkin let me know!

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

Bit's I've Brought #1

I've been trying so very hard (okay, not that hard) to not spend more money and buy anything for myself especially with Christmas on the way in less than nine weeks now, I know right, how quick has it come around? But I've had a slight slip and gone ahead and picked up a few bit's and pieces with of course I'm am justifying as investments...
Yes, that's stick to that story.

  

New home for my lipsticks via e-bay!

MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection Lip Liners and Eyeshadow

So, so, so glad I took the plunge and took advantage of the sale going on the Yankee Candle UK Site.

Miscellaneous Beauty Products from Boots, Topshop, and Sephora

For full details on any shade names, prices, or where exactly I picked individual items up, feel free to give me a tweet or leave a comment and I'll reply to you all. Sorry it's been a bit of a quick and lazy post but I felt like I really wanted to post at least a little something today before typing up my lecture notes and burying myself in yet another book. Joy!
There will be lot's of reviews coming your way as well as some winter friendly outfit posts and once again my apologies for being a bit of a lazy blogger recently, bare with, bare with! ;) - If you get that reference please let me know, you are my new best friend.

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

midweek wishlist: winter essentials

001. Twinings Calm Camomile, Honey & Vanilla Tea £1.29 - 002. Petite Military Coat - Topshop - 003. Autumn Leaves Candle - Yankee Candle - 004. Wonderland Set - Models Own - 005. Amber Stud Strap Zip Boots - Topshop

Winter Blues are setting in over at the Honey Hut (that's the name of our student home, named after the fact we have the only bright yellow door on a street lined with dull brown entrances), it's not a pretty sight with sniffling and coughing galore. We're all dosing up on Lempsip Max in the hope of banishing beastly coughs and splutters and so in order to cheer ourselves up we run afternoon movie sessions (mainly Disney or romcom, come on we're a house full of sick girls) and tea runs to try and liven our spirits whilst still trying to not let Uni work slip out of control. The obvious essentials would include medicine, Kleenex tissues, and a hot water bottle but I thought I would compile a wishlist of the not so essential essentials that can bring a smile to any soul suffering the dreaded flu...

Adding honey to our tea has been a savior to the throat as it acts as a natural soother and so, whilst adding items to my online Asda shop, Twinings Calm Camomile, Honey & Vanilla Tea is right up there on the top of my list! Us honey's are avid collectors of all things tea related with our own tray housing an assortment of fruit and herbal teas ready to get us through.  I've also been on the look out for a new winter coat and khaki green's are what I tend to eye up on every occasion and would go very nicely indeed with the burgundy topshop boots that have been in my basket awaiting bursary day...

I've recently stocked up on some autumnal scents to add that little touch (or should I say, smell!) of home to my room by completing an order to Yankee. I picked up two candles, one of which I might give to my mum for Christmas, I'm not sure yet, it really does smell delicious; which I will be putting a post up about very soon, so keep those eyes peeled!

Is your household becoming bogged down with cough and cold? What little treats do you like to cheer you up when you're feeling a little under the weather?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

we lost faith, in the arms of love

vintage knit jumper - the vintage set jeans - topshop leigh jeans

I recently stumbled upon online fashion store The Vintage Set and fell in love. An array of vintage items without the heart wrenching price tag that has become associated with the tag of 'vintage' recently. As soon as my order came through I couldn't wait to face the winter winds, proudly, and very snug indeed, wrapped up in this gorgeous grey knit jumper teamed with the cutest pearl button decorations and, of course, a collar neck. Ticked all my boxes!

I do love autumn/winter fashion and this has been a very welcome addition to my winter wardrobe, which is currently brimming with all shades of berry and khaki green alongside oversized jumpers and my trusty leather boots. Perfection.

One thing I do miss about the Summer, in regards to blogging, and especially blogging outfit posts, is the sunshine and chances to snap away in a pretty floral coated field or back garden. I'm finding it really hard to blog these days as now that I'm back at university time isn't always in my favour, especially when I return home at four and we've already been enveloped in darkness. Being back at my university house has also thrown a spanner in the works with where to take photo's, our garden being less than beautiful and lack of natural lighting being rife. But I will manage! I do apologise if picture quality has been less than average of late and hopefully I'll find some spare hours to wander around and find a more picturesque setting than that of my landing...

Rightio! Back to my box of Kleenex and mug of hot ribena, the winter flu has set in, boo! Anyone else suffering from the dreaded cold and cough?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

Giveaway! Win Dark Shadows on Blueray

Warner Bros. Pictures is proud to announce the release of Dark Shadows on DVD and Blu-Ray October 15th 2012; along with the Dark Shadows Blog App! 

From the incredible mind of Tim Burton comes the hit film Dark Shadows, based on the classic US television series!  Barnabas Collins has been trapped for two centuries by an evil witch (Eva Green) who just happens to be an ex lover.  Barnabas now has to struggle with the ever changing 1970s and save his family’s business!  With an all star cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jonny Lee Miller and more, Dark Shadows will be sure to wet your appetite for fun.

I went to see Dark Shadows with Jon at the cinema a few months back and Tim Burton did not disappoint  yet again I loved his take on the story and being a beauty blogger couldn't help but admire the make-up used and the seventies outfits!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLAIMER: I am working with Warner Bros to offer up this prize after being contacted via e-mail. I have not been paid to host this giveaway and chose to take them up on their offer at my own digression.  This giveaway is open to UK residents only with a full address (no PO boxes allowed). You must be over 16 or with parental permission to enter. You must be a follow of my blog via GFC (Google Friend Connect). You can enter through the Rafflecopter form above. You must leave a comment on THIS blog post telling me what your favourite film is and why.  The prize itself will be sent from Warner Bros directly to the winner.

Read More

Graze Healthy Nibble Box

I first became interested in testing out Graze Boxes when my friends Cara and Milind raved about them over various social media platforms and offered up their free code to start out. Having tried for the past few weeks to get my diet on a healthier track, swapping fried chicken for home cooked stir fry and chocolate for cranberries, I decided now was the time to take the plunge and test out the graze box for myself. 

Graze has 100+ healthy foods for you to choose from, being somewhat of a foody fusspot I really appreciated the concept of rating all the choices available online which can be altered at any time to suit your ever changing taste buds. Based on your ratings Graze will then hand pick four choices to be sent delicately packaged to your front door. You have the option of receiving a box daily but I opted for once a week as a little midweek treat to myself and every Wednesday I eagerly await the postman to get my clutches on what nutritious treats I have in store for that day. I must admit the element of surprise is one of the very attractive qualities of Graze.

This week I received four punnets sealed tight housing tasty treats that are also packed with healthy goodness, antioxidants, fibre, and vitamins vital to a healthy diet. All key nutrient facts and figures are displayed clearly on a leaflet which let you know about the snacks you're receiving, what ingredients they each contain and calorie intake. Each punnet holds a snack that I have recently highly rated and the 'Scrumptious Blueberry Swirl', which is packed tight with blueberry yoghurt raisins, raspberry cranberries & blackcurrants, was one of the items I opted for Graze to 'Send Soon' only two days ago when filling out my ratings.

Overall, I cannot fault Graze Boxes, yes, I will say that £3.89 per box isn't always student budget friendly but when shopping dried fruits and nuts are always quite pricey anyway and for a person who isn't always aware of what healthy snacks I could come up with I like that Graze provides me with a range of foods I wouldn't have necessarily tried before. There are always promotions floating about such as receiving your fifth box for free that you can use as well.
I'm hooked. That's all I can say really, I am SO pleased I finally tried Graze for myself because I've opened up my palette to a variety of foods I would have turned my nose up to whilst shopping.

If you would like to try out Graze for yourself, use my code 'YCRZRDHD' to get your hands on your very own FREE box. Remember, you can cancel at any time so even if you just want to try it out once without having to part with any money, you can! Get Grazing, and enjoy! Have you tried Graze? Let me know if you do and what sumptuous treats you receive! 

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

autumn leaves under frozen souls

black knit jumper - primark
green leggings - river island (sale)
purple druzy necklace - delilah dust silver cross bracelet - delilah dust*

FINALLY a new outfit post is up, I'm really sorry for my lack of posts especially outfit one's, I am back at University now and struggling to get to grips with getting back into the routine of planning my time efficiently enough to get posts out more regularly whilst juggling dissertation and course essays. Not much fun let me tell you. I have been literally running around like a headless chicken trying to get back on track but I am actually really enjoying being back at University and having more productive ways to spend my day. 

I did have a bit of a cheeky spend up when my loan arrived but I did tend to stick towards sale items like my new favourite dark green leggings that went down from £20 to £10 in the River Island sale, thanks Jon for your eagle eyed shop savvy skills! I also picked up the much talked about plum lippy sported by Cheryl Cole on X Factor which I've totally given up watching as it has become a bit of a farse in my opinion, thought it was meant to showcase people than can actually sing?

I love that cosy knit jumpers are making a very welcome re-appearance in my life, with the right accessories not much time is required to put together an outfit to be proud of and with time management being one of my top priorities these days I couldn't be happier. Now I think it's time to switch on the kettle, brew myself a tea, and relax with a good book and mellow music. Nothing beats a bit of time to unwind and snuggle up in the wintertime!

What do you do to wind down during the dark winter evenings?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

MAC Marilyn Monroe Deeply Adored Lipstick

MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection Lipstick in Deeply Adored £15.50

This is the first of three posts I have of what I managed to get my eager little mitts on from the latest MAC Marilyn Monroe collection. As you're all probably very aware the collection sold out like hot cakes on the actual MAC website and silly me having forgot the release date was then one of those frantically scourging the internet to get my hold of my wishlist. Selfridges still has a few items from the collection, including this lipstick still in stock so get in there quick!

Deeply Adored caught my eye straight away, in tube form it appears a very vampy deep plum which is quite off putting to the more timid lipstick wearers, however, once applied you have a dark Scarlett with brown undertones running through it so only just verging on the plum side of things. The brown undertones make it more suitable for medium to darker skin tones but I actually really loved strutting out with my dark matte lip for a night out and think it's a flattering shade for nigh on everyone (as you can well see from the only photo of me wearing it I managed to find, obviously being taken by a club photographer, sorry liver). This lipstick added a touch of Old Hollywood Glamour that every girl loves to emulate every now and then thanks to its gorgeous icons such as Marilyn herself. 

In the picture above I had been wearing Deeply Adored for around four hours so it has real staying power which is a must for a night out especially as there's no need to keep dashing to the ladies room for touch ups! As it's a matte it can be a little drying on the lips especially if it has been built up but one swipe leaves an opaque finish and I added a little lip balm to aid any dry areas. 

I do deeply adore 'Deeply Adored', what do you think? Did you pick up anything from the Marilyn Monroe Collection?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

W7 Metallic Eyes

W7 Metallic Eyes Eyeliner - Blush Comestics £1.99 each*

Not that long ago I was that girl who was still too wary of exploring the bog standard black gel or liquid eyeliners but recently I've adopted a cats eye slick on many a night out and so jumped at the chance when Sophie contacted me about testing out W7 Metallic Eyes range. 

I received three shades, a cosmic blue, a silver speckled gravel brown, and a gold, which you can see me wearing in the not so flattering photo of me above. For a very purse friendly £1.99 I don't really think you can go too wrong with picking these up. Quality isn't up there with the likes of NARS or MAC but then again it is a far cheaper brand of products.

The eyeliners are all waterproof and I can attest to the truth of this as I did go out wearing the golden eyeliner just the other week and, dare I admit it, ticked off the emotional crying outburst, as a friend of mine was feeling rather homesick, off my drunken checklist. Yes, not very classy but at least my eyeliner didn't budge one bit and I wasn't left with streaks of mascara or eyeliner dripping down my cheeks so my dignity did remain that bit more intact! 

Pigmentation wise, I can't fault them, I actually gained quite a few compliments from wearing the cosmic blue as well as the gold as it drew out the green in my eyes. The brush is a little bit frayed and so I did have to trim mine as to achieve a smoother and more equal stroke and once dried in some cases it can feel a little gritty when trying to remove your make-up but I will happily re-use these products again and again.

What do you think of a more metallic eye look for autumn/winter?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

New Look #DenimComp

(All Items New Look) 001. Cameo Rose Black Leather Look Biker Jacket £34.99 - 002. Supersoft Skinny Jeans in Burgundy £19.99 - 003. Cameo Rose Black Studded Neck Peplum Top £19.99 - 004. Black Side Zip Shoe Boot Wedges £19.99 -  005. Berry and Diamonte Bangles £5.99 - 006. Silver Triangle Spike Earrings £4.99

I was recently approached about a blogger competition that New Look is running with Fashion Blog Asteria Sparkle, for full details about entering the competition click here. Closes 5th of October so get your entries in ! Competition revolves around New Looks new denim jeans launch! Tweet your entry with #denimcomp

I decided to keep my outfit simple and you could say it is not the most vibrant of outfits with the two key colours being black and burgundy, however, wine reds and berry tones have been snapped flitting up and down the catwalk at London Fashion Week and are a top choice for the autumn/winter season. I personally love the shade of burgundy used for the pictured skinny jeans as I think it suits every skin tone and just screams autumnal crunchy leaves and mulled wine to me, perfect for getting in the mood for Christmas! 

I love teaming up denim and leather so I went for this leather look jacket at a very student friendly £34.99, no need to break the bank balance to pull off biker chic!  I would quite happily wear this outfit on a night out as I find peplum tops to be hugely flattering and I love the added studded neck and sleeves to rock it up a little. My boyfriend always says a pair of fitted dark skinny jeans are what he finds sexiest and it just goes to show you don't leave to bare your pins to the winter winds this season to look good! I also think if you take away the heels and pair this outfit with a leather pair of boots it would be great for everyday wear to University, school or lounging around town with your mates.

New Look is really doing it for me at the minute, since attending their a/w launch a few weeks ago I've found myself browsing their rails more often after formerly abandoning them for Topshop. The prices are much more affordable and the quality is on par and their denim jeans are super snug to see me through the bitter cold and trudging back and forth to University this autumn!

What do you think is the perfect outfit for nights out during these colder months? What do you think of New Looks newest clothing range?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More

Fashion Contact Lenses - Eyesbright

Vivid Green Fashion Contact Lenses - Eyesbright £14.49*

You're probably wondering who is this strapping young man, that has taken to modelling fashion contact lenses for me, is? Say hello to my very lovely, and very patient, boyfriend, Jon. Originally I tried using the contacts myself but after countless attempts, even when Jon held my eyes wide open to help me put them in, my eyes continued to have a little panic attack and flutter like crazy. I do have a thing about eyes, my eyes especially, even someone else applying my mascara sends my heart racing but I was determined to try out the Eyesbright fashion contact lenses for myself so the effort continues behind closed doors as I'm desperate to wear them when I dress up as Poison Ivy for my friends 21st fancy dress party!

As not to keep the ever so patient, Kate, who contacted me on behalf of Eyesbright waiting Jon kindly stepped in to showcase just how eye-catching, geddit ;), their coloured contact lenses really are. On a daily basis many of us are constantly accessorising with different shades of lipsticks, with bracelets and necklaces but Eyesbright beg the question, why not your eyes too?

Personally, an individuals eyes are what I first notice on someone and I often wish my swampy green pair stood out more. I chose the vivid green pair as I thought they would bring out the auburn tones in my hair as well as stand out against my fairer skin and would also be something I could wear on a night out or a daily basis (up to four months). However, Eyesbright offer an array of not only standard eye colour based lenses but themed lenses such as UV, Anime, Halloween based and funky patterned pairs such as leopard and chequered. I would really recommend giving their site a visit especially with Halloween fast approaching! 

Jon assures me that once his eyes got used to having something foreign in them, not being a regular contact lenses wearer himself, that the lenses were not in the least bit irritable and he soon forgot they were even in. And despite my utter fail at trying them out he told me to tell you all that they were extremely simple to put in and that I'm just a special case. Thank you, Jon, I think!

What do you think of contact lenses as a fashion statement?

Bloglovin'//Twitter//HelloCotton//Facebook

                                                               instagram: ohlittlered

Read More