New Job Lookbook // H & M & Primark Haul.

Hello my lovelies!!!

I am baaaacccckkkkk "mwahahahaha".

I have some information for you guys, you might be interested to know, or you may not care one bit. 

Either way I am going to tell you anyway... I have FINALLY got myself a job!!! After frickin ages of searching I was finally offered a position!! You can now call me a Finance Department Administrator & Office Assistant. :) 

I am sooooo happy that I finally have a job, especially for Christmas too, I was really worried I wasn't going to find anything and it was baffling me as to why I wasn't getting any offers. After attending a couple of interviews it all boils down to the fact that so many people are applying for the same jobs, and if someone has a tiny bit more experience than you, you won't be getting the job. It's so cut throat right now it's ridiculous and really disheartening. Anyway, this position is only temporary until Christmas, but if I do a good job and they like me and obviously if I like the job and the company I might get offered to stay on permanently. 

Fingers crossed on all aspects, and obviously because it is a temp job I will still be job searching for something permanent for afterwards. Ooohh and it's little two minutes from where I live so it's only a quick drive to work and back, I will be saving a huge amount on petrol. 

Now, I had to make a quick dash around the shops in a bid to find some suitable 'smart-casual' work clothes and shoes, because as you know (if you follow my blog posts) I love my fashion and I have a pretty laid back approach to what I wear. I can't for obvious reasons rock up to the office in my Doc's and leather look trousers so I had to tone it down a bit but still have my personality in there somewhere. 

I have done a little 'Lookbook' & haul for you guys to see what I bought and how I styled it for the "office life". 

I hope you like it. :) 

Skinny Stretchy Trousers

H&M

£12.99

Black

Size 8

I found these trousers in my local H & M, I was looking for an alternative to normal bootcut, work style trousers and these are perfect. They have the same material as the bootcut's but for me in a more flattering shape. They are also high waisted and remind me of disco pants without the high-shine, perfect for tucking a shirt or blouse into.

They are really comfortable too and go with everything, you cannot go wrong with black!

Black & White Poker Dot Shirt

H&M

£12.99

Size 10

Bag: Primark £6

Necklace: Gift 

Trousers: As pictured above

Lipstick: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet, Olé Flamingo! £8.99

I "spotted" (ha, get it?!) this shirt when it came into store and I wasn't totally sold on it, when I found out I had got the job I was on the hunt for a stand-out shirt. I had tried on soooooo many of them, I am not a massive fan of shirts as I haven't really included them as a staple in my day to day look, saying that though I actually really like this one. I love how the majority of it is black which means I can wear it with most things and the white spots make what would be a boring top half, stand out. 

Fine Knitt Jumper

H&M

£7.99

Size Large

I really like this jumper, it's light weight and comfortable, it has that 'cosy' look to it and it's great for layering. I did originally pick up a teal jumper which I liked and that was in a very similar style to the jumper here. It was £14.99 and then I spotted this one and preferred it, plus it was a fraction of the price. 

This piece is more of the 'casual' to the the 'smart' and it looks great either skimming your trouser hem or loosely tucked in. I hate being cold so this is ideal for layering if the office air-con is too overwhelming. 

Black Shirt Dress

Primark

£10

Size 12

Hat: H&M £12.99

Bag: Primark £8

I am not loving my local Primark at the moment, it has all the same things in and not much new and I don't know if you have noticed this too but their prices are really going up. I am actually finding H & M cheaper than Primark and it's better quality. What's going on Primark, you used to be cheap?! 

The bigger stores seem to have more of a selection but I did come across this shirt dress a while back and I was hoping that they still had it. They did. 

I am a size 8-10 usually depending on what store I am in because a lot of shops I am finding, that their clothes are not true to size, they come up real small. So I got this dress in a size 12 as I didn't want it clingy, more free flowing. I love the design of this shirt dress and even though it's smart, it carries the casual too. I love the little tie string too so you can alter the waistline and it would look great with a pair of leggings, black tights or even for the autumn/winter months a berry coloured pair of tights.

It's a cute dress and you can layer with this too which is great as I love layering and I love autumn. 

 Black Dolly Shoes with Gold Hardware

Primark

£8

Like I said, I cannot rock up to the office in my docs and I NEVER wear shoes like this, so all of this is quite new to me, but I obviously needed a nice pair of shoes that would go with my outfits and my style. I liked these ones as the are a velvet material and a deep black and with black socks on, it actually looks really nice. I am thinking about teaming these with some black thrill socks for added cuteness. I love the gold hardware too. I have bought shoes from Primani before and they are made so badly, so I am hoping these one's don't fall apart.

I hoped you liked my little lookbook/haul and that I may have given you some inspiration into some ideas for yourself?

I start my new job tomorrow and I am extremely nervous, so much so I feel a little sick in my mouth. Ha.

I will be mainly posting at the weekends now as I will be working in the week, if I have enough time I might post late at night in the week like I usually do.

Either way if you like my blog give me a follow on Bloglovin' or leave me a comment as I love reading your feedback.

♥

Colour B4 Hair Stripper // Is It Worth It? My Review.

I love to change my appearance, especially where my hair is concerned. I have coloured my hair for years now, never myself though as I have mainly worked in hairdressers, so I have always had it done there.

Almost two years ago I was bleached, white blonde and I have always wanted to go this colour. After having a lot of my hair cut off to go that colour I soon managed to have the shade I desired and began to grow my hair again. 

 This is what it looked like not long before I dyed it brown.

I have always had like little nightmares about going dark but one morning I just decided to do it. Now that I have been dark for almost 2 years I have decided I want a bit of a change. I want to go lighter but not as white as I went before.

Obviously I have bleach under the colour I have now as that will always stay there until it eventually grows out or I have it cut out. Having it cut out is NOT an option for me.

No way!!!

To get my hair remotely lighter I would need to strip the colour I have on it currently, which you can see in the above picture. I have had bleach baths done before at the hairdressers and it does damage your hair and I didn't want to stress my hair out again and risk it snapping off. 

I was told about the at home stripper called 'Colour B4' which was originally created by Scott Cornwall, but he has since done another similar product and this one has been taken over by Katie Price, as the Ambassador. 

The product claims to strip your hair without the use of bleach or ammonia which would damage your hair but instead shrink the hair colourant particles and they get washed out by using Colour B4, leaving your hair in its natural state. 

I hesitated buying this product because I was unsure about it but because it claims to not damage your hair but take it back to the colour underneath, I thought "what do I have to lose?"

Big mistake. 

I will now tell you why.

I bought the Colour B4 in'extra strength' because that was what was needed for my hair colour and got the argon oil version as I thought it would put some nourishment back into my hair.

These are £11.99 a pop and I ended up using 3 boxes, two boxes on my first application to make sure I saturated my hair fully as it is long, and one on my second application just to get the remaining dark patches. 

I had watched YouTube video's on how this applied but I went through all the instructions that came with it with a fine tooth comb to make sure I did everything right.

Before I even touched my hair with this product I did a strand test to see what colour my hair would go. 

This was the result. 

After the processing time.

Once dried. 

This is the contents of the box.

It came with gloves, instructions and bottles A, B and C. You then pour (A) the activator into bottle (B)the remover and shake for 30 seconds, I timed EVERYTHING to make sure it was all done properly. Part (C) is the buffer which you use in the rinsing stage at the end. Once (A) & (B) are mixed together you are good to go. 

 

I sectioned my hair because I had a lot of it and need to make sure every strand of hair had the remover on it. 

And let me tell you now, this stuff stinks. At first it smells like perm lotion which I was fine with but after a while it smelt of eggs and when it was drying to me it smelt like a 3 day old kebab. It actually made me feel sick. 

Anyway, I coated all my hair in the remover and used two boxes. It was safe to say my hair was fully saturated in the stuff. I also combed it through too to make sure it was evenly distributed. I then proceeded to wrap my head in cling film so it would trap my head heat. You need to keep the product on your hair warm so it processes. I put a towel and two hats on too to make double sure it would all go smoothly. I kept mine on for 60 minutes. 

Once the time was up I was a bit apprehensive to take the cling film off because I had no idea on what was underneath and if I still had hair on my head. I say this because a lot of my hair was coming out when I was combing the product through in the beginning. 

I looked in the mirror and my hair was a bright copper colour all over. I was shocked it actually worked. It took the whole lot of my colour off, or so I thought!

The next step was the gruelling task of the wash off. I then had to rinse my hair for 10 minutes non stop to ensure the product had come off my hair. I then had to use the buffer (bottle C) and lather up and leave on for 1 minute, again all this was timed. I then had to rinse again for another 10 minutes and once that was done I then had to use bottle (C) again and do a normal shampoo. It didn't say to use conditioner after so I didn't. As I was washing it off I did notice my hair was progressively getting darker...Not like the copper colour it first came out like.

This is what it looked like once dried.

The strand test against my colour before it was stripped.

As you can see after the first application it had lightened my root area and only slightly on my mid-length and ends. It looked like I had a reverse dip-dye colour and definitely not the outcome it looked like I was going to have when I took the cling film off.

Far from the all over copper colour it was perceived I was going to have. 

I thought about it and decided that I must have had quite a bit of colour build up on the mid-length and ends so decided to get another box and re-do those parts and not touch the ends. You can re- apply up to three times in one go, or so it claims.

So a couple of days later I re-did it. This time it had lightened some more but the ends were a little darker still than the rest and it was really patchy and there were some dark parts in my root area which I couldn't explain as they weren't there before. And, I hadn't applied any colour there. I left my roots out of the second application.

When I had seen everyone's "supposed" outcomes from the product their hair is all one colour and even. Mine wasn't at all and a far cry from anything similar. I wasn't impressed but thought I'd live with it until I had it highlighted. It came out quite red/auburn and I kind of liked it. 

As you can see it went a really nice colour and I actually really liked it. It looked more even at night time but obviously in the day light you could tell it was slightly two tone. I could of lived with it though.

Now this is where it started to go wrong.

I decided to wash my hair 3 days later because it felt REALLY dry and disgusting. I wanted to wash it to make it feel like I had hair on my head and not an egg. Now this product had done some sort of damage because my hair felt so dry and a lot had snapped off.

After I had finished washing and my hair I noticed it seemed to be quite darker even when wet. I ignored it and thought it would be back to how it was before I had washed it when it was dry.

Nope. 

After I had dried it this is how my colour looked.

I mean "WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL"? 

All I did was wash my hair, there was NO reason for it to go darker. I just don't understand. I followed the instructions EXACTLY, after the second application it lightened and you can see from the pictures that it had. I washed everything out and now it's significantly darker.

Why? That is what I want to know. I have not applied any colour and it can't re-oxidise from just a simple wash 3 days later. I am actually flabbergasted with the results and to be honest disgusted with the product as a whole. I have shown hairdressers' these pictures and none of them have ever seen this happen with a product before and most of them have never heard or even used Colour B4 so couldn't advise me on why this has happened. 

I have emailed the company a complaint but as of yet I have heard nothing back off them. 

I will be completely honest with you now, this product is complete crap and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I am aware I had a lot of colour build up and I wouldn't get all the dark colour out due to cuticle staining. But after the second application it came out a 'decent' colour even though it was patchy, I cannot for the love of God understand why on earth it would almost go back to my original dark colour just through washing my hair. I would of had to have coloured it to get it that dark again as the colour was stripped out.

I am completely baffled.

It's left my hair in horrible condition, it's thinned out a lot and now I am left with what looks like massive roots that I am going to have to have corrected professionally. 

Not cool... Not cool at all.

I am actually quite annoyed about the whole thing and the fact I have wasted quite a bit of money. That is the whole reason I did a strand test, and I cut the hair where there was most colour build up and you can see from the picture's that it had lifted really well. 

On their website it shows 'before and after' pictures and a lot of the people have obviously had their hair re-coloured and bleached which is not actually showing the true results a lot of the time. It's deceptive and by all means if you still want to try this product that it totally up to you, but I highly wouldn't recommend it at all. It's an awful product and not worth the risk. 

If anyone reading this could explain to me why my colour darkened after washing I would love to know, or if you yourself have had a similar experience I would love to hear from you. 

I hope this has helped you overall in regards of what to expect from this product and the procedure you have to endure. 

♥

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick // Review.

Hey ladies (possibly gents) I haven't written a post in like 5 days as I have been so busy and haven't had the time to stop and write a post properly. 

However, today I am doing a review on one of the products that most of the blogger's are raving about!

I am glad I am doing this post today as the time off has given me the chance to buy the shades that I wanted to try out.

I want to give an objective and realistic review, especially after trying out the different shades and wearing them long enough to form an opinion. 

And as stated in the title I will be reviewing the 'Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks'. 

I watch Gabby's (VelvetGh0st) YouTube channel religiously and I was sat there one day and thought to myself "I really like her lip colour, I wonder what lipstick that is?" and it turned out that she answered it in her video. Coincidence?

 The colour looked so vibrant and matte (my favourite type of lippy) and when she said the brand I thought I would go and get the colour that she was wearing. Which was... Shade 05 called 'Olé flamingo!' I think that's what it was anyway.

I have been into both Superdrug and Boots a few times really wanting to try these lipsticks out but they are £8.99 each. I didn't want to buy it and then hate it like I did with the Revlon Matte Balms. So at first I went for just the one lipstick.

To be honest with you this product is more of a lip lacquer/gloss  than a lipstick before it dries, but it dries to like a matte lipstick so that's how I am going to describe it. 

When I did some swatches of it in the shop I LOVED how it glided on smoothly and actually did feel like velvet when you wiped it off. I was so excited to try this out. It comes in 8 different shades, ranging from vibrant reds, through to popping pinks and lastly mellow nudes. 

I am not going to lie I really did not like it at all when I first tried it out on my lips. The applicator was horrific to use, you couldn't get a nice outline with it and my lips just looked uneven and wobbly. I was so disappointed that I had bought another product that didn't live up to the hype of other blogger's. And that I had wasted my money. 

I left it for a couple of days and decided to go back to it, but this time use a lip liner brush with the product to line my lips first. 

This did the trick, I got some of the product and carefully outlined my lip so that all the lines were straight and my lips looked even. I then proceeded to use the original applicator to fill in my lips and do the finishing touches. The product glides on soooooo smoothly it's a dream. It feels so nice on your mouth and applies pretty evenly. 

The consistency of the product is quite thick especially in appearance, but you can apply it either thinly or build it up to produce a more of a bright look. 

The colour payoff is true to how it looks in the packaging but only if you either layer it up or apply it super thick. If you want to go for a more subtle look then just apply a thin coat and it finishes with a softer tone.

Like it says, it dries to a matte finish and I LOVE IT!! It is true to its word. Sometimes you don't even notice you have anything on, but sometimes I a can apply it a little too thickly towards the inside of the lip. I then get that annoying thick rim which I have to try and remove or blend in. 

It has some staying power too, so when you eat or drink it doesn't really budge which is amazing and always a positive when buying a lip product. I am always eating something so I like to feel comfortable with my chosen lippy of the day. 

I loved the product that much I bought two more shades (they have an offer on at Superdrug currently for 'buy one get one half price').

I bought shade 03 'Hot Pepper'.

I think this shade is actually my favourite go to product currently. The colour is super vibrant and it dries to such a nice colour... Just like the picture. Love it. 

The last colour I bought was shade 06 'Pink pong'.

I haven't tried this one yet. 

I hope I have cleared up any of your doubts about the product and I would highly recommend using a lip brush to line the product as the applicator is too clumsy.

If you love the sound of this product but haven't yet tried it  then head on over to Superdrug and take up the offer.

Click here to view product. 

I will also insert a #OTTD (outfit of the day) picture now to show you what I teamed my makeup with. 

 ♥