Graduation Day

So, last week the big day finally arrived, Graduation day! After spending weeks agonising over a dress to wear (it took no fewer than 3 lengthy and tedious shopping trips!), I finally found the perfect frock. It was way over my original budget but thanks to my Mamma & Papa giving me a bit of help, I practically skipped out of the shop after my purchase.

I was looking for something a tad more sophisticated than my usual night out attire which meant that the length had to be considerably longer.. Basically, my top priority was that it had to be knee-length, I'm supposed to be a sophisticated graduate after all! I finally settled on a digital print, Ted Baker number which looks so unusual thanks to the close-up image of sequins and diamonds. 

Dress, £159, Ted Baker

Thankfully Graduation went without a hitch. I managed to avoid all the people I didn't fancy bumping into again and, probably most importantly, I didn't trip on the stage or fall down the stairs after my name had been called, hurrah!

I suppose I should show you how I styled my dress up to cope with the freezing northern winter we're currently experiencing..

I was brave and slapped on the fake tan meaning I could go bare on the day, though I cast many an envious glance at the girls who'd decided on thick black tights to keep their pins warm! I paired my dress with a vintage belt to nip in the waist, a peachy pink blazer from Primark for a bit of extra warmth and nude heels to tie all the colours together (and make my legs look longer!)

Now, whilst my University robes made me feel like something out of Harry Potter for the day, the hat was a completely different matter.. I'm not a hat person at the best of times, I just don't think I have the face for them. So, as you can imagine, I wasn't particularly pleased at wearing a heavy, bulky hat with a tassle dangling directly in front of my eye line for the day. As soon as the the ceremony was over and photos were taken, it came straight off, needless to say!

For some reason, every parent wanted their son/daughter to have a photo with Sheffield's golden postbox (thanks, Jess Ennis!) creating a queue of twenty somethings shivering and grumbling at the need of a photo with a postbox..

Now, unfortunately for the Graduation night out with my fellow students, my bloggers mind went straight out the window in terms of my outfit. I forgot to photograph and there are no images from the evening that capture it! But thanks to the Topshop website, I can at least show you the mannequin images.. I can't link you to it as it's now sold out country wide (apparently!) but there are plenty floating about on eBay for a much higher price than the RRP of £48.

Playsuits and lace are two of my favourite things anyway but to combine this with the backless feature almost had me squealing with excitement in the changing room. It's not for the fearful though, along with the backless element it's also pretty short, so one for those confident about their pins!

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little snapshot of my Graduation Day and the outfits I managed to pull out of the bag for it! 

Back To School Fashion

It would seem that shirts, pleats and pinafores are well and truly back in vogue, just a couple of months after the nation's children have headed back to school in scarily similar ensembles to what's now hot on the high street. 

I'd taken a fancy to this playsuit when it was £42 full price in Topshop and I couldn't bare to part with my cash. Though, in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't as only a week or so later, it was part of their mid-season sale! 

And it seems I'm not the only one who loved this flower printed playsuit, Little Mix's Perrie Edwards was photographed wearing it to London's Rose Club to celebrate the band's single going to #1.

Like Perrie, I styled my pinafore with a collared top underneath. I chose a navy blue, lace Primark number which matched the waistband and buttons perfectly. I matched the beige collar with a pair of sky high heels from Miss Selfridge.

Playsuit, Topshop £20

Collared Top, Primark £8
Heels, Miss Selfridge, £38 (Old Season)

Whilst I've dressed this playsuit up, I like the fact that it's so versatile and can also be dressed down for daytime wear. Wear with a shirt and cute pumps for a relaxed work look or shopping trip outfit!
Now, if only my school uniform had been as cute and fashionable as this!

Merry Ciate-mas!

Please, let's not get off on the wrong foot.. I'm not one of those people that starts getting excited about Christmas in October. Give me until at least the end of November before I start hyping about the festive season.

But one thing I am currently very excited about is Ciate's take on the traditional advent calender. Whilst most people usually settle for tiny squares of, usually tasteless, chocolate behind their advent windows this year will see many girls opening up a new nail varnish each morning!

Mini Mani Month Advent Calender
Selfridges, £38

Ciate has created the, "Mini Mani Month Advent Calender" which contains 24 mini varnishes: 17 best-selling colours, 4 caviar blends and 3 new glitter colours that are exclusive to the advent calender, not to be found anywhere else! 

At £38 it is more expensive than your average advent calender but in my opinion, and that of many other bloggers it would appear, it's totally worth it.

You can find the Ciate advent calender at Selfridges, both instore and online.
Will you be treating yourself to a mini mani calender this festive season?

Arm Candy

I was having a bad day last week and what does every blogger turn to when things aren't going right? Correct, retail therapy. So I bought this little beauty from Zara...

Handbag, £39.99, Zara

I've had my eye on this bag for aaaages, so it wasn't exactly a spur of the moment choice but I'm so glad I finally caved and purchased it! I'm a big fan of anything in tan, I think it's such a good colour for the A/W season as it can be matched with just about anything. Plus, I'm not a massive fan of black handbags, I feel some can look a bit harsh.

Unfortunately I haven't had much chance to show it off as the weather recently has been awful. Rather than a zip that stretches the the whole length of the bag, it has a flap that zips over the middle. Because of the rain I haven't taken it out much as I didn't want the contents of my handbag getting soaked, hence the generic website images!

I did manage to catch a fair weather day at the end of the week for a lunch date with my friend, so I jumped at the chance of taking my new bag out to play! And, as expected, my friend noticed, and loved, my new bag instantly!

So, I think it's safe to say that I think my bad day retail therapy fix was totally worth it? Either way, I love my new bag and expect to be showcasing it a lot more throughout the winter months (weather permitting!)

Scottish Antics

For anyone that doesn't know, I have a whole load of family that resides in Glasgow, therefore I'm often hopping up past the border for an impromptu visit. Sheffield can get tedious so it's nice to know I've got a little bolthole to run away to when things up North get to be too much!

So, I recently spent the week staying on the outskirts of Glasgow with my family and indulged in a few days off fabulous food and deathly vodka.

My cousin picks the best places for scran in the city and once again, she didn't let me down. We went to a cute little Thai place on Bath Street called St Jude's that offered delicious food and some of the most attentive service I've ever received.
I had chicken tempura with chili jam for starters, thai green chicken curry with jasmine rice for main and then somehow managed to squeeze in a mango and passion fruit cheesecake for dessert.. Fatty, I know.
And you know when you order water in a restaurant, you're lucky if you even get ice? This place went the extra mile with a half a fruit bowl in my glass! And it was constantly refilled which was a lovely touch. And we each got a fortune cookie with a bill, I love the little messages that come inside them!

Being in Scotland, a night out was definitely on the cards.. When in Rome and all that! We started off in a very student-esque bar called Driftwood, the drinks were cheap and the music was good, what more could you ask for? We then made our way up to one of Glasgow's most popular clubs, Garage, where there really was a room for every kind of music taste!

And the bar offered a speciality that would leave many English folk baffled.. A, "Bucky Bomb." Bucky (or Buckfast, to give it the proper title) is a tonic wine that is ridiculously popular in Scotland. Whilst it's not to my taste, I personally think it's vile, I can only imagine the taste is somewhat improved when it's sunk with Red Bull? I didn't try one so I can't really report back, but I wasn't willing to risk it coming straight back up and into a toilet bowl..

The day after provided a hangover of delightful standards which meant only one thing, I needed bad food.. And fast. And when in Glasgow, only something deep fried can cure a sore head and flipping stomach. My deep fried treat of choice? Why the pizza, of course. It may sound awful, I thought this to begin with, it's surprisingly moreish and the sheer amount of battered margherita goodness quickly sends any hangover packing.

Obviously I managed to fit in a teeny shopping trip in whilst in Glasgow.. Though on this occasion, I was on the mission for a friend's birthday present. But I did manage to find these Topshop dupes in Primark for the bargain price of £10! I already have them in nude so I was over the moon to finally find the elusive black ones too.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend and enjoy reading about my Glaswegian outings! xxx

Duty Free Goodies

For anyone that follows me on Twitter (@emmalouisewilso, for those of you that don't!) you'll know I've been home alone for the past two weeks, as my Mum and her boyfriend have been away sunning themselves in Bulgaria, lucky devils. I've spent the last fortnight tweeting the pros and cons of being by myself but I have to say, I'm so glad to have them back, I hated being alone at night!

But, on the plus side, my Mum going away always means one thing.. She brings me home a few fabulous Duty Free treats! And boy did she do well this time. 

First up, she bought me a massive bottle of my favourite perfume, Nina by Nina Ricci. I love the bottle, it's shaped into the most adorable pink apple and is a really girly addition to any dressing table. I'm a big fan of sweet perfumes and this one certainly does the trick!

Now this is the present I'm most excited about, my Urban Decay Naked2 palette. For so long I've seen bloggers posting about their Naked & Naked2 palettes but I've never been able to justify buying one for myself and now I don't need to! I love how with this palette you also get a little freebie.. A miniature tube of Lip Junkie, which I can't wait to try out. 

I absolutely adore Milka chocolate and whilst you can get in in the UK, you get so much more variety elsewhere in Europe and thankfully my Mamma knows this, picking me up a few different bars!

I love how you get such value for money when you hit duty free in the airport and I've been particularly lucky with the haul my Mum has brought me back this time..

Festival Fun

So, it's been a couple of weeks since I returned from Leeds Fest and I think I've just about recovered. I've gotten used to not waking up in a tent, drinking a can of cider for breakfast and I've shaken off the dreaded post-festival flu. Unlike the poor folk who went to Creamfields, we were very lucky with the weather, which considering I don't cope well in the rain, was probably in the best interests of everyone else.

Unfortunately I wasn't organised enough to take photos of my outfit choices for each day but I do have a small selection to show off what I packed. It's probably for the best I didn't take outfit photos each day anyway, as by the third day my body was breaking down, my hair was a state and make-up was minimal, so I'm probably saving you all a fright..
My festival essential is definitely a onesie and I chose a fancy leopard print one to take with me. It kept me cosy in my freezing tent at night and was perfect for lazing around the campsite in whilst coping with a hangover in the morning. The only downside? Being a onesie, going to the loo was awkward but there were more positives than negatives! 

Onesie, £16.99, New Look

As any festival goer knows, a decent pair of wellies is an essential if you don't want to destroy your clothes with mud, alcohol or whatever else is getting thrown about.. This year I finally took the plunge and invested in a pair of pink Hunter wellies and matching Hunter wellie socks (so fleecy and warm, definitely the best thing I packed for the whole festval!) and I absolutely love them. They're so girly and definitely worth shelling out the cash for.

Hunter wellingtons, £64.81, Amazon
Hunter wellie socks, last season £6.99, ASOS

The only day I have an official, 'Out Of The Day,' is for the morning and I set off and bear in mind, this photo was taken at 4.30 in the morning so I wasn't feel totally fresh. It also shows that I can't pull off a backpack to save my life, but I'm okay with this because backpacks aren't my thing anyway..

Scarf, Accessorize
Jumper, Topshop
Shorts, Topshop
Socks, Primark

So it's safe to say I'm extremely sad to be home and I'm kind of mentally counting down till next year. What's not to love about getting drunk for 4 days, sleeping terribly in tents and listening to your favourite music all weekend?

Did you go to any festivals this summer? If so, what were your festival essentials?

Posh Spice Turned True Fashionista

Only a matter of weeks ago, many took to their Twitter accounts to question why, in the fashion section of the Olympics Closing Ceremony, a Victoria Beckham piece had been chosen to feature alongside other, much more established, designers such as Westwood and McQueen.

Image from The Daily Mail

But boy did our Vicky do us Brits proud. Georgia May Jagger looked stunning in her metallic gold dress as she strutted round the arena alongside fellow models including, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. The dress fitted in seamlessly with the fellow designers' picks for the models, all dressed in gold to celebrate the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Image from The Daily Mail

Whilst many folk still appear to sneer Mrs Beckham's fashion credentials as merely another celebrity fashion collection this should all hopefully come to a stop after she showcased her stunning S/S 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week.
The effortlessly stylish collection, coloured in black, white and orange, combined a selection of dress, trousers, blouses, skirts and jackets for every occasion. Whilst a VB piece will cost you upwards of £1,000, they are classic pieces so you could definitely justify it as an investment piece you could wear again and again!

Whilst Victoria's past collections, and no doubt new collection too, have become firm favourites with celebrities around the globe, the lady herself is definitely the brand's best model. She's frequently photographed in her own designs and New York Fashion Week was no different and she hit the catwalk for the finale in a modified version of one of her own designs and looked as fabulous as her models!

Images from MTV

What do you think of Victoria Beckham's new collection, are you a fan?

Benefit Freebies, Courtesy Of Glamour..

Okay, so I know this is probably the hundreth blog post you'll have seen on this month's Glamour magazine giveaway.. But I do think that when Glamour do freebies, they just do it so well (better than a lot of other magazines, in my opinion) and it deserves to be raved about.

So, this month, for the tiny price of £2 you could buy the July issue of Glamour as well as bagging one of 3 Benefit cosmetics: That Gal primer, Bad Gal mascara or The Porefessional pro balm. I'm a big Benefit fan, so snapped up three copies of Glamour to ensure I bagged one of each product!

I've read a lot of blog posts and tweets about how so many people have found 'That Gal' a hard product to find with the magazine. I picked up all three items in one trip from magazines that I found in my local Marks & Spencer, a place that not everybody always associates with magazines, so if you're still looking for that elusive primer, that could be your next stop!

I loved the mini packaging all three items came in! Even though they were magazine freebies, including them in boxes showed the reader that a lot of thought had still been put into it and indicates that it's still quite a high-end product. 

That Gal is a shimmery, pink-tinted primer that can be worn underneath make-up as a base for your foundation to stick to. It also promises to smooth skin and create a brighter complexion. It can also be worn alone if you're lucky enough to have perfect skin!

I've always been a big fan of That Gal, it's a favourite primer of mine but my bank account won't always let me purchase it so a little freebie will happily tide me over till I can buy the full-size bottle.

Up next we have one of Benefit's cult products, Bad Gal mascara. With it's jumbo brush, many bristles and deep pigmented colour formula, Bad Gal effortlessly pumps lashes with length and volume that not many other brands have been able to rival. This mascara is an item that's a long-time resident in my make-up bag so to receive a cute handbag size tube is ideal for nights out or weekends away when packing space is at a minimum!

Finally we have one of Benefit's newest cosmetics, The Porefessional, a nude, light feeling cream. The box informs us to, ' apply this silky, oil-free formula to minimize the appearance of pores & fine lines for smoother-than-smooth skin.' Now, until I received this freebie, I'll admit I've never tried it before. On first use, it does make skin feel soft and smooth, and I did think my make-up lasted a little longer with this as a base but I can't really comment on how effective it is until I've used it for a little bit longer!

You can purchase the full-size editions of all three products here:  http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/main/makeup

With Bad Gal retailing at £16.50, The Porefessional at £23.50 and That Gal is £21.50.

Each copy of Glamour also has a different cover girl depending on your freebie, pick from Kylie Minogue, Eva Longoria or our very own, Fearne Cotton (my personal favourite!)

So, did you mange to pick up a Benefit freebie, or three? What did you think of them?

Ball Gowns Galore!

Hello everyone!

Well, it's official, I've submitted my last assignments and completed my last over-night sessions in the library, aside from receiving marks back, the University life is over, sob sob. I've made some great friends who are all heading back to their respective home towns whilst I settle back in at home in a little village in the middle of nowhere (think Emmerdale, with more nosy neighbours and less pretty scenery..) But let's not dwell on such sad events, I'm here to tell you all about the fabulous Graduation Ball my friends and I went to last night, and more importantly to show you what we wore!

All us girls decided to go full-length and fabulous and hit the shops to find the best maxis England currently had to offer!

I decided on a Northern designer Lucy Bennett, owner of brand Roc & Doll after seeing one of her designs on the red carpet earlier this year and was delighted to find out she was stocked in a local Sheffield boutique, Each To Their Own. I chose a beautiful full-length navy maxi which from the front looked elegant and sophisticated.. But turn around and it was backless with beautiful beige draping. I stand by the statement that it's probably one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing I've ever owned! I teamed it with a gorgeous Accessorize rose flower bando, pearl studs and my prized possession... My Tiffany pearl bracelet.

Dress, Roc & Doll

Headband, Accessorize, £7

Pearl Studs, Accessorize, £2

Pearl Bracelet, Tiffanys

Whilst the colour variation of my dress is no longer available, the current Roc & Doll collection does the same dress in a black/coral version. You can find the whole collection here: http://www.rocanddoll.co.uk/store/current-collection/

Now, it wasn't all about me last night, I have to mention my beautiful girls and dashing boys! Like I said, all of us girls opted for full-length dresses, and they all looked gorgeous, don't you think? The boys suited up and looked very dapper, a big change to the usual jeans and t-shirt combos many of them rock on a day-to-day basis!

We started the night off in a sophisticated and demure manner with a Pimms reception and 3 course meal before painting the town red in a club till the early hours! I even managed to fashion my dress into a mullet style to stop my fellow clubbers standing on it (there are no photos of this fashion fix, much to my disappointment!) But a lovely, and drunken, night was had by all and it was definitely the perfect way to finish off my life at University.

Despite heading to the ball with the friends I've made from my course, I found plenty of my other friends had gotten tables there last night too! So we found plenty of time to gossip over Pimms and pull some shapes on the dance floor.

I waved goodbye to the girl I'd consider my ''best Uni friend'' (she'll laugh at the terrible phrasing of that) today and it was definitely as sad as I'd expected it would be. I'm used to seeing her on a near everyday basis and not a day goes by where we don't text, yet now she's however many miles away back in her hometown. But she won't be getting rid of me, she's got no chance, I'm already forging plans to invade her hometown and she's already a firm favourite with my Mum so I'll be dragging her back to the Steel City in no time!

I didn't think it was possible but I think I've possibly found my bitching soul mate in this girl. We're thick as thieves and when we're together, nothing and nobody can stop us. I love you!

Hope you've enjoyed reading this post and nosying through the photos as much as I've enjoyed writing it! It's been an emotional day but last night couldn't have been any more perfect ❤