Bits & Bobs

I was going to do an OOTD post today, seeing as I wore some new tights and new shoes but by the time I got home, got a cuppa, took the damn shoes off I was done! Before I knew it I was in my PJs. So I'll have to wear it again next week and post it then. I am so freaking cold right now, I couldn't bring myself to get dressed back into it and pose round the bedroom. IT IS COLD.

I lit my candle/oil burner and gazed down lovingly at my goodies and thought "that's what I'll blabber on about today" So, here's a small insight into my accessories. I love necklaces, watches, headbands, hair clips etc and I do hoard them, so I try and find inventive ways of keeping them on display. I find that if I hide them away in a drawer I forget about them. I have the luxury of renting a 4 bed house from a family friend at a jolly good price and no skunky housemate anymore so myself and Pete have our own 'Rooms'. His is piled with shite, has a monster desk and 3 huge computer screens for his modelling etc.

Mine has a more feminine touch. I have all the things that don't match the house but I love from my old flat/old bedroom from home. My dream catchers, chimes, James Dean collectibles, my arts and crafts box (I make my own cards. Nothing fancy :) leftover crap from making my wedding stuff), flowers etc. I'm currently going through a cleansing phase where I'm cleaning out all the crap and making it an inspirational area! We have beds in both spare rooms (the other room is the 'cinema room - with sofa and projector - we're not rich - the screen a white window blind and the projectors from Argos!) but no one ever stays over.
Firstly, my in laws (Pete's parents) live across the road and 1 house up so they never 'visit for the weekend'. My friends say my house is toooooo far away (i live in a village about 7miles from everyone else) but its OK for me to get two buses to go their houses once a week. My Mum, Dad and Sister have been here 3 times in the 2 and a half years we've lived here - distance again. The only regular visitors are my Nan and Pap. So no one EVER stays. So, the bed in my room is going in the garage and I'm bringing a wardrobe in. It'll be my dressing room - so excited for this weekend when I can create it! I have some pink paint so I'm tempted to paint a wall!

So, anyway, this is my accessory area :)

My Station

My Perfumes (mostly Avon, I used to be a rep)

My Watches - stand is an old mug tree

My Beloved Necklaces - to display and prevent tangling, I hung them on pins stuck into a cork notice board. Nifty idea I had there :)

 

My computer = My Life!!



Anyway. I thought I'd also take this opportunity to show my earring habit. I keep them in the pink box.

Here's a few sets Ive worn recently. I LOVE the little robots :)

 

I'm done boring you now :)

Mucho Love  

Too Much. Not Enough Time

So I am back to work on Monday after a two week break. I guess this is good in a way as it means I get to wear my new shoes and showcase a few different office-y OOTD's. Ive had a difficult couple of days - just cant seem to get motivated! But here I am!

So, to catch up......I have received a delightful package from Yours containing 3 pairs of lovely shoes - all very different. Instead of blasting them all in one post, I am going to create outfits for them all week and do it like that. 

I have also managed to score a faux leather jacket on eBay for 99p! Including P&P it cost me £4.99! Cant wait to get that and see what its like - again, on another post. 

I freaking love eBay. You'll be amazed at what you can get on there. My fave Evans leopard print pumps come from eBay....my black patent sling back shoes for work were eBay. I have numerous dresses and items that I got from there. Its basically an online car boot sale! (or charity shop/thrift store/jumble sale)....the possibilities are endless!!

Anyway, I have one OOTD. I actually wore it a few days ago.

 

Just my trusty jeans, trainers, lazy hat and baggy top combo!


Jeans - Simplybe (ages ago)
Converse - Vegas a few years back but you can get them from anywhere!
Cardigan - Very (ages ago)
Top - New Look (sale £4)
Necklace - I think Avon
Hat - Primark (sale £1)
Glass Hair Clip - Xmas Present a few years back.


Not exactly thrilling but I was only going to me mums house!


Schwarzkopf Update

So I did send a pretty sh*tty email t Schwarzkopf about the epic foam fail/explosion. They responded....

Dear Mrs Darby

Thank you for your recent email concerning Live Shake It Up.

We were most concerned to learn of your disappointment and can certainly appreciate the inconvenience caused, on this occasion.

In order that we can investigate this matter comprehensively, please forward your full address together with the name of the shade purchased.

Upon receipt, we will send you a pre paid padded bag to enable you to return the
the product in question for our investigation.

Assuring you of our best attention at all times.

Yours sincerely

Technical Advisor

Gotta hand it to them, they responded very quickly. I replied with the deets and assured them that I am not after any money or compensation, I just want them to be aware of a faulty item.

Sooooooo having had such a bad experience with that and my red hair getting more and more orange and faded as the days went on, I went back to dark.

Yes I know I'll be crying in a week or twos time about how I miss my red hair. But next week, I'm adding a dash of pink to liven things up. For now, I quite like being a bit raven :)


Anyway, that's enough from me for now. 


Mucho love,

Satin Wood Boutique

Hi everyone. 

A lovely lady that I follow is hosting a crazy awesome giveaway! The specs are below;

And, some very exciting news for everyone! Satin Wood Boutique gave me a $35.00 CAD gift certificate to give away to one lucky diva! And right now, the site has many items up to 50% off, so that gift certificate will get you even more. =) The contest is open internationally, as Satin Woods does ship worldwide! Even if you won't fit into the clothing they offer (between plus sizes 12-40), they do have accessories too, so be sure to enter and you can score yourself some bling. =) Here are the giveaway contest details:


There are several ways to enter! Do all 4 and will you will receive 4 entries into the giveaway draw!

1) Get one entry into the draw by commenting on this post, with your email address, saying what you would like to buy if you won!

For the following ways to enter, you must leave a comment on this post stating that you have done the following, or we won't be able to keep track of it. Thanks divas!


2) Get one entry for liking Viva Voluptuous on our Facebook page.
3) Get one entry for liking Satin Woods Boutique on their Facebook page.
4) Get one entry for posting about this giveaway on your personal blog or social networking site (like Facebook, Twitter etc)

**  When you comment on this post, please be sure to leave your email address so that I can contact you if you win the gift certificate. The giveaway will be open until January 31 2012. The winner will be randomly drawn and contacted on February 1! **

So there you have it! Remember to like their pages and comment on Viva's post, not mine as she is manning this giveaway! 

Evans Tights/Brogues/OOTD

First Order of Business - OOTD
So a triple post today. I have several things I wish to go on about, all combined in this one outfit I wore to meet the girls yesterday.

New tights in Grey and Brogues

Cute Feather Hair Clip

Current Fave - heart/clock necklace

New Dress

New Bag

Final Outfit

 Again, apologies for the shit FMP (Faecbook Mirror Pose). I hate doing it more than words can describe!

This shows a chunk of what I bought when shopping the other day. The dress was a New Look sale rack bargain, the bag a Primark bargain and the shoes are Primark full price (shock horror!).

Cardigan - Matalan (yonks ago)
Dress - New Look Inspire - £10 (sale)
Scarf - Freespirit (donkeys ago)
Brogues - Primark £8
Biker Boots - Evans £40 ish i think!
Tights - Evans £6
Hair Clip - Primark £1 (sale)
Bag - Primark £5 (sale)
Necklace - Forever 21 (Oct 2011)


Second Order of Business - Tights
When I first started my blog I said I had finally found the perfect tights from Evans and that I would try out the coloured tights and get back to you? well this is me getting back to you!

I took advantage of their 2 for £8 sale and got 4 pairs. I knew I wanted the Purple and Berry and also decided a black pair would be a good idea. So that left me with Grey or Teal. Now, I'm trying to be brave with clothes and colours but did not feel ready to try out the blue just yet so I went with the Grey (which I trialled last night - in above picture).

So here's the struggle. I'm a 24-26 on the bottom and really struggle. I have normal sized hips etc but I have long legs so I always end up with ankle swishers (with trousers) or saggy ass  (tights) so I ALWAYS size up with bottoms. These tights come in 3 sizes.

Size 1 - Size 16-20
Size 2 - Size 22-26
Size 3 - Size 28-32 

Now you'd think Id fit nicely into size 2? Wrong! I have to size up for the bum/hips/height etc so went with size 3. So glad I did.... they are mega thick and have a certain amount of stretch but for a fat girl trying to pull them up fat thighs, theres not as much give as I'd like!! Plus, they don't come up quite as high as the cheaper, lower denier tights (pretty much under the bra!) but still come up high enough. I cant stand anything 'hipster'. Chubs were not designed for wearing hipsters (take note shops who think its OK to make hipsters for plus sizers!). The only downside to them are the seams on the bum/front bum region, they do sit a bit funny and I did find myself 'falling down' a bit but nothing I couldn't manage. I just count myself lucky I found them! 

They are very tough as well. I changed footwear before I went out and wore my biker boots and caught the buckle on my tights twice. Not one snag or tear. In fact, the second time I was convinced I'd broken my boot, not the tights!

I love them very much :) 


Third Order of Business


Ive decided that my red hair is too bloody high maintenance. No matter what I put on and how I condition, it doesn't take properly and fades to a pale orange after 3-4 washes.

So, I am going to go back to dark and/or my natural brown colour. I'll prob cry about not being red but to be honest I'm so sick of having either orange hair or greasy hair because I'm scared to wash it! Ill go back to a more natural colour and spend a few months deep conditioning. Its going! So watch this space.

Mucho love.

P.S. - I was not asked to do this review. I purchased the product myself and took it upon myself to moan about it. This is based on my experience only and other peoples experiences with this product may vary!

Schwarzkopf Live Colour XXL Foam

So I decided to try the Schwarzkopf Live Colour XXL Foam in Red Berry Passion. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm never happy with my hair and am constantly changing it but am the happiest when its red. I went into Savers and found that these were on sale so nabbed one for around £3.

Firstly, Live have not proven them self to me in the last few months and I am quickly going off them. I thought they may redeem themselves with the foam so I thought I'd give it a go.

First thing I notice is that yes, there is a nice fruity scent. Strawberry it is not, but its nice. I like that in a dye! I notice the smell before I've opened any of the packaging. 

 

So I follow the instructions and mix the developer cream with the powder by shaking 40 times. This was the result.

Ermmmm not quite what I was after!! I decide to shake for another 40 (give or take 50 cause I was getting annoyed at this point!).

I took the lid off and noticed and it rose a bit whilst the lid was off so I left the lid off for a few minutes.

(Please note that by this point I had already decided there was NO WAY IN HELL this was going on my hair!).

So, here's the result after my leaving it.

Freaking Heinz Tomato Soup right?!

It didn't rise into foam like it advertised it would and I don't suspect it would be easy to apply either! 

This has officially ruined my view on Live Colours and from the last couple of bad experiences to this? I'm washing my hands of it............literally! Just trying to get that lid off was a nightmare!

Sorry Live believers, this ones not for me.


Mucho love.

 
P.S. - Please also note that I've been dyeing my hair since I was 13-14 (I'm 26 now!) so I am very well experienced as to how it should be applied etc

P.P.S. - I was not asked to do this review. I purchased the product myself and took it upon myself to moan about it. This is based on my experience only and other peoples experiences with this product may vary! 

On a side note, ive just heard a massive bang, it literally made me scream and the dog is now petrified. My husbands in bed as he has to be up at 6am (its now 1am). It was the piece of shit hair dye exploding in the bin. I will not only recommend you dont use it....I would literally go out of my way to pursuade anyone not too. Nearly had a bloody heart attack. I' seriously writing a letter of complaint now!

Plus Size Shopping

Good evening!

So I've been a bit quiet over the weekend, and there is a reason for this.....all of my energy was poured into SHOPPING! Yes, I finally had some spare time and spare cash to get the bus into the town centre.

If your anything like me, we have pretty much naff all around. We have New Look (Inspire Range), Evans and Bon Marché. That's it. Oh and a Yours but that's another bus ride away (its right opposite where I work so not too far out of my reach!).

I will be posting about my purchases this week once I've road tested them (like my new brown brogues from Primarni :)) and I have a few other things planned to ramble on about. 

Sneak Peak
My first item to show will be the cute scarves I got from Primark. They had a few different variations but I was won over on both polka dots and the anchors! (set of 2). Not bad for £2!

I adore them. I use scarves as actual scarves, headbands or wristbands depending on the mood and outfit. Here's me using one as a headband.


Please note that I had just got off the bus to my mums and had to walk in what can only be described as a freak mini tornado! My umbrella is dead, my hair and make up ruined and my big paper Primark bag nearly cruelly ripped from my cold wet hands! Weirdly enough, it stopped dead after about 2 Min's. Calm as you like - so you can imagine how hard I had to convince my family it HAD actually just pissed it down! Annnnyway, I look a mess, focus on the scarf/headband!

MESS! But cute headband!

Ive ordered some bits from a few shops online and have a few outfits to try out this week so watch this space. :)

On a final note for tonight I wanted to show you my nails.  I couldn't decide what colour to paint them and had finally narrowed it down to two colours. Then I thought "Why do I have to chose!" so I did one hand one colour and the other hand the other colour :) Well chuffed.

So thats me done for tonight, will be back tomorrow with my outfit for meeting the girls :)

Mucho love

OOTD from Yesterday!

So I chickened out of wearing what I said I was going to wear yesterday. I looked out the window and it was raining and miserable, so I made a quick switch!

(again, apologies for the "Facebook Mirror Posing". On my own again today!).

So you'll notice I was wearing my lovely tan wedges then all of a sudden I'm in tired old leopard skin flats? Well I remebered I had to walk a mile to the bus stop, walk all around town then back from the bus stop, up a mahooooosive hill to my house and not die, so again, I chickened out and went with my flats. I also whacked on my thick green cardy (another old faithful).

Specs:

Dress/Top - Tesco

Jeggings - Simplybe

Necklace - Forever 21 (last year)

Cardigan - Very (last year)

Tan Wedges - Simplybe (Viva La Diva)

Leopard Print Flats - Walmart (last year)

Stupid Face - Thanks to my mother (26 years ago) :)

So I have no where to go tomorrow so I'm not sure what I'll be getting up to later. I have my Nan and Pap coming over for lunch shortly so no doubt the dogs will go bat sh*t and spend the day charging around. Pains!

Missy (in need of a wash)

Clive

Maggie

Missy is a Shih Tzu. We bought her as a puppy. Shes sweet. She has protruding bottom teeth and a gammy eye so she does look funny bless her! She is really cuddly :)

Clive is a Chihuahua X Jack Russell. We rehomed him about 2 years ago. He was a death row dog that was given a second chance. Hes a complete brat. He doesn't like people (after what he went through, I cant blame him) but once you get to know him he is the most loving little dog youll ever meet. Constantly wants cuddles. We're trying to teach him not all peope are bad.

Maggie is a Jack Russell. Shes my Nan and Pap's dog. We rehomed her for my Nan and Pap after they lost their dog. They werent sure if they wanted another at first but once we took the chance and took them Maggie, they fell in love. Now shes the best thing since sliced bread to them!

Not sure why I felt the need to share that! 

Mucho love x

Hair Pieces

I'm having a bit of a tidy up at the moment and discovering items I had thought had long since vanished. My focus right now are my hair decs. I'm a bit of a loon when it comes to hair accessories and buy them in hoards. In fact, when I go to Vegas, most of my spending money tends to get obliterated in Hot Topic and Forever 21. 

So I got to thinking....which are my favourites? I have selected a few;

So after this thought, I wondered how often I actually did wear these pieces out. So I rummaged through my old files on my main computer and rustled up some oldies! Some are posed, some are drunken escapades, some are too bad to even post so I wont! It made me smile about how addicted to these little clips of joy I am! (plus you may notice my hair colour AND length vary!)

My brill yellow bow - lost this one now :(

My cream lace bow

My green zombie brains bow :) goes great with my zombie necklace :)

My pink leopard print bow

Big black flower.

Pink and white polka dot flower <3

I call this my burberry bow. Not burberry tho!

One of the earliest! Black bow hairband - with hideously badly dyed blonde hair....

My pale pink flower

And the obligatory "what I'm rocking now" photo.....

My black and pink glitter bow :)