Friday 19 April 2013

Get one step ahead this summer


Happy Friday everyone!

Summer seems to bring with it a whole host of events that can often require new outfits. I’ve picked out some of my favourite shoes for s/s 2013 and given an idea of how and where I’d love to wear them:


BBQs


BBQs are one of my favourite parts of summer, I  love getting together with friends and family and being outside so long you see it turn from day to night. They are really popular all the way through the summer so I’d want to be wearing something comfortable and that I can wear all day. Pumps are great for this as they’re so comfy and they come with so many different styles and patterns that you can vary them up. I love a nice floral print in summer especially teamed with some denim shorts for a great casual look.


Festivals


Wellies are a given (unfortunately), don’t get me wrong wellies come in some amazing styles these days but the last thing you want at a festival is rain. I always try to be as optimistic as possible and plan for sun, although this has backfired on me before. However if you are praying for sun at a festival I would say trainers are my ultimate shoe. Anyone who has been to one knows that you don’t want to be carrying a lot so I try to take as little as possible, which isn’t easy. It’s great if you think about your outfits beforehand and then you can literally just take those rather than taking loads of clothes you won’t wear. There are some great outfit ideas in this post and all are perfect to be paired with a pair of retro high-tops. Gold or silver would be my choice but they come in so many different colours making them perfect for summer. You can dance all day in them and if the heavens should open at least you’re not getting caught in the rain in sandals.


Parties


I never need an excuse to attend a party but it is great in summer because of all the colours that are available (it feels so good to get out of black sometimes). I can never resist a pair of killer heels so of course that is going to be choice for a party especially in summer – if you’re in a dress they will make your legs look like they go on for miles! I really like to experiment with different materials as well as colours so metallic or suede is great. I would probably keep the dress simple though so I could let the shoes make a statement and have a great clutch bag to go with them. If you’re feeling daring try a clutch in a contrasting shade to your shoes to really stand out.


Weddings


Almost as common as BBQs in summer are weddings. It makes perfect sense really, the bride is never going to want to risk rain on her big day. I think any sort of formal occasion in summer whether it be a wedding or a day at the races is the perfect opportunity for open toe shoes or sandals. I always feel like I never really get a chance to wear these so I look forward to anything that provides the opportunity. They’re elegant and sophisticated whilst still being really summery and have just enough heel to make you look nice without being in serious pain at the end of the day.

I hope you like my choices and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

 Love Sally X

This is a post in collaboration with House of Fraser/Aldo, all thoughts and opinions are my own as always.


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Thursday 18 April 2013

Social Media Tips for the Workplace




Hi Everyone!



Now I'm by no means an expert in social media, but there have been a few incidents at work lately that prompted me to think about how the world of social media can affect your job and career so I've done some tips to help you not make the same mistakes as my colleagues.



The first thing and arguably the most important thing you have to understand is that anything that is put on the public domain is open to be seen by anyone. Whether it be current employers, future employers, colleagues or friends, things in the digital world can very quickly become REAL problems.



During candidate screening it is not unusual for employers to research candidates by googling their name, it would benefit you to have a LinkedIn profile with a clear profile picture (not ones on the beach or next to monuments etc) and detailed but concise work history. A picture can speak a thousand words and a simple head shot with a welcoming smile can make you appear friendly and approachable in a single glance. This can also help you network and enable recruiters to find you and contact you through the site. If you are speaking to recruiters and connected with current colleagues I would always make sure that your alerts are switched off, otherwise your colleagues will be notified each time you gain a new contact and make it blatantly obvious you are looking to leave.



This should go without saying but don’t say negative things about the company you work for or people you work with on public accounts. Odds are it will get back to someone and I have an example of a friend being passed over for a promotion due to a throwaway comment on Facebook about how she hated her job. The comment was seen by another member of the team and escalated to our manager and within a day a formal meeting was held to discuss the status and how it reflects badly on the team/wider company. My advice is if you hate your job so much you need to complain about it over the internet, I would spend that energy looking for a new job and evaluate exactly what it is about the job you don’t enjoy so you don’t make the same mistake again in your next role.




Be very wary of talking about company competitors, while your comments may be your own personal views you have to look to the bigger picture and understand that it may be very embarrassing later on down the line if you get pulled up on it by your own company or in the future go for an interview for the company. It’s very common for people to move around between competitor companies especially in the media industry and these things can all make a difference in the application process. 



If you display your company name on your profiles I would always recommend to include a disclaimer along the lines of “Thoughts and comments are completely my own and do not in any way represent the opinions of my employer”. This just protects you to an extent as you can then say you made it perfectly clear should you ever be questioned about any comments you might have posted they don’t agree with, this point particularly applies to twitter. I say protects you to an extent, if you put something REALLY bad odds are you can still get in trouble.


Another point worth bearing in mind is that with twitter for example, think before posting, ask yourself "Am I going to regret putting stupid statuses and rude/obnoxious comments or just really controversial stuff etc which seem really cool and badass at the time, but possibly not so in the future?" As seen lately on the news with Paris Brown, old comments can come back to bite you in the bum and were ultimately responsible for her passing up the job of a lifetime due to pressures of the media, who let’s face it like to make or break people and rarely look for the positives. 


The bottom line is that with social media you are essentially your own brand representative and your online persona can very much portray you in a positive or negative way to real people, so when utilised correctly can be a very powerful tool. Use it to your advantage and you're halfway to winning people over, just don’t be a twat in real life and ruin your hard work!



Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts/tips in the comments below.



Love Sally x
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Monday 15 April 2013

Spa Experience at Atlas Health Spa


Happy Monday everyone!



So many months ago I took part in a lastminute.com deal which I've only just got round to redeeming for one reason or another. The deal is basically that for only £39 you get a spa day at the Atlas Health Spa in Stevenage with full access to these facilities:

  • Indoor Pool 
  • Jacuzzi 
  • Sauna 
  • Steam Room
plus two 25 minute treatments of your choice from these options:
  • Hot Stone OR Aromatherapy OR Swedish Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage 
  • Express Facial 
  • Express Manicure
plus a £30 giftcard to spend on espa products online. Bargain right?



The Spa is within the David Lloyd Gym and easily reachable from the train station or if you are driving there is a huge car park as it is part of the big entertainment complex with cinema, bowling and restaurants etc. The spa is up the stairs on the right hand side when you arrive which will lead you up to reception where I was given a lovely warm welcome and details taken/voucher redeemed without a fuss.








I was then taken into the lounge to fill out a health questionnaire and wait for my treatments where I was treated to a drink. The lounge is super nice with comfy seats, magazines and the lights were dimmed/music playing to get you feeling chilled. Before I knew it I was greeted by my therapist for my first treatment which was an express facial.








On the way to the treatment room I had the treatment fully explained to me and was asked about my skin type/any problems so my therapist could tailor the products used and techniques for the best experience. Once in the room the therapist left for a few minutes to allow me to take off my top (not bra) and get onto the couch under a towel, this is because the the neck and decolletage area is worked on during the treatment not just the face as I'd previously thought. 







My skin was then fully cleansed, exfoliated, a treatment applied and then a mask, all of which were taken off with hot towels and applied with massage movements. In a nutshell it felt really nice, my skin felt fresh and smelt fab. Facials do bring impurities to the surface so I have had a couple of spots since and a touch of redness after the treatment but have noticed an overall improvement in tightness and softness of my skin.




Next I had my aromatherapy back, neck and shoulder massage. You remove all clothing except your knickers and lie face down on the couch on heated towels with your head on the headrest and a towel over you to cover you up. I was asked if I had any aches or pains to sort out but as I don't really have any we opted for a relaxing treatment with specially blended oils.







The massage itself was amazing and I felt in a almost dreamy state. I'm not going to go into specifics as I honestly couldn't tell you every exact thing that she did but I can honestly say I had the best nights sleep that night I have had in months! Apparently I have a lot of tension and knots in my shoulders which could be contributing to my headaches which I thought was interesting. My skin also felt really soft and nourished by the oils and I could still smell them when I was in bed.



On this occasion I opted not to use the other facilities as I'm not a huge fan of swimming etc and had a few time constraints being my siblings wandering round the shops so happily called it a day but next time I go I would definitely check them out. I had a really good experience over all and wouldn't hesitate to go again or recommend going to my friends.



Now, what to spend my giftcard on......



Hope you liked my little write up and thanks for reading. Love Sally x



(pictures are owned by Atlas Health Spa)






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Thursday 11 April 2013

Bootsale accessories haul

Hi Everyone! So here is part 2 of my bootsale haul, enjoy!


Stargazer False Lashes- £1 

New Look Flower Headbands- 50p each

New Look Charm Bracelet- £1

New Look Charm Bracelet- £1

New Look Earrings- £1

New Look Earrings- 50p

New Look Earrings- £1

New Look Ring- 50p

New Look Earrings- 50p

New Look Necklace- £1

New Look Necklace- £1

New Look Headband- 50p

New Look Headband- 50p

New Look Earrings- 50p

New Look Headband- 50p

New Look Headband- 50p

Hope you liked my stuff and I will do another post if I get anything nice this weekend.

Thanks for reading. Love Sally X

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Tuesday 9 April 2013

Boot sale clothes haul!

Hi All, 

So on Sunday I went to a bootsale and here are the gems I picked up!



Brown jumper with metal studs, So Fabulous. £4


Sheer black blouse, Essence. £1


 Black button up coat with hood, Evans. £5


Chiffon spotty dress, Essence. £1


Brown and black trim blouse with pussy bow detail at front, F&F. £1


Cable knit waistcoat with front fastening. £1


Bird print dress (doesn't fit booo) £1


Butterfly chiffon dress £6


Sheer spotted nightdress £1


Lurex striped jumper with sparkle £3


One shoulder dress with embellishments, So Fabulous. £6


Stud detail dress £3

Floral palazzo pants, Sienna X Couture. £4


Black trousers £3

Satin Nightdress £1

I hope you like my bits and bobs I picked up, there were other non clothes items like hair accessories and stuff. Let me know if you like these kinds of post and I'll write up my other bits.

Thanks for reading! Love Sally X
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Monday 8 April 2013

Outfit of the Day

Hi Everyone!

Hope you're all well and had a nice weekend? The weather was actually OK, for a change.

This is what I am wearing today in the office:





Dress- bootsale £1
Black tshirt- Asda £6
Leggings- Sainsburys £10

I'm writing up a boot sale haul as we speak to show you what else I got. Do any of you guys go to car boot sales? They are so much fun!!

Thanks for reading!

Love Sally
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Saturday 6 April 2013

Dainty Doll Cream Blushers

Hi All!

This post follows on from my last one which is a review of the powder versions of these blushers.


L-R Paper Roses, Orange County Girl, Billion Dollar Babies


They are pretty standard cream blushes, nice and smooth, good colour payoff, pretty shades. These seem to mirror three of the powder blushes in my other post but have different names.

Here are the swatches:


Top to bottom: Paper Roses (baby pink), Orange County Girl (peachy pink with gold shimmer), Billion Dollar Babies (tan/nude/bronze)


Now, the minute I swatched Orange County Girl something seemed oddly familiar. So I grabbed my Nars multiple in Orgasm and thought I would do some comparisons:




Top: Orange County Girl
Bottom: Orgasm


They are very similar, a pretty peachy pink with golden shimmer and a very similar texture. I would say that possibly OCG  is slightly more pink and Orgasm has slightly more shimmer but in the flesh you would struggle to tell the difference. A bargain at £1.99 each, just a snip of the cost of Nars.

All in all, I am happy with the products, particularly OCG and would recommend trying them especially while they are on sale.

I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading. Love Sally X
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Dainty Doll Powder Blushes


Hi All, 

Recently I bought a haul of Dainty Doll products on sale on www.fragrancedirect.co.uk they were 80% off and only £1.99 which is obviously a total bargain! I've been curious about the brand, created by Nicola Roberts specifically for pale girls and am really excited to try out a range of products.



First I will start with the powder blushes and the other products will follow in separate posts to keep them short and concise.



Top L-R: My Girl, You Are My Sunshine
Bottom L-R: Hippy Shake, Money Talks


First of all the packaging is really cute, very vintage and retro looking but classy and the compacts are simple black with a mirror. The compact does attract fingerprints and marks which leaves it looking grubby quite quickly which is a shame but I bought it for the product inside so not a huge issue for me. Another slight issue is that the compacts only have the number of the blush and not the names. You get 7g of product inside, for comparison Mac powder blushes are 6g so you are getting more product for a fraction of the price. But how good are they? Swatch time!


Top to bottom: Hippy Shake (lilac), Money Talks (tan/bronze), You Are My Sunshine (pink/gold),
 My Girl (pink)


The pigmentation is good, a creamy texture, blends well and the colours are pretty. I can't ever see a use for Hippy Shake which is a lilacy white and blends just to a sheer white but the other 3 are really quite nice and I can see myself getting use out of them. I would put them on a similar level to my Look Beauty blushes and think they are a bargain at £1.99 but wouldn't have paid the full price if i'm honest. 

I hope you enjoyed the review and thanks for reading. Love Sally X




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