My New Handbag Love

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today's post is all about a new addition into my handbag collection. Now, I am a self-confessed handbag addict. When I see a beautiful handbag on display in a store, I get the same excitement as many of us do when we see our dinner being brought to us in a restaurant and this particular handbag was no exception...

About a year ago, I was out shopping with my Dad's girlfriend and whilst she was trying on dresses in Karen Millen I was perusing the handbag and shoe display and spotted this beauty. A gorgeous tan leather medium sized messenger bag with large gold square studs around the edges. I'd never owned a tan handbag before, and now that I'm thinking about it I don't think I've ever bought myself a real leather bag. I picked it up and modelled it with eyes full of lust followed by a heart full of sadness as I laid it back down, knowing I couldn't and wouldn't bring myself to lay down a whopping £185 for it.

Fast forward about 4 months and I was in a Karen Millen outlet shop near where I live and spotted the exact same bag up on the shelf for £90!! I can't remember exact details but I'm pretty sure I let out a little squeal and skipped over to it. Again, I modelled the bag and argued with myself about how even with 50% off, I couldn't spend that much money. Let me give you some context, at the time I was a 3rd year student who was buying products for my practical dissertation and travel tickets. So I put the bag back and walked away.

Back to present day about 5 months later and I was walking idly around the same Karen Millen outlet again and yep, you've guessed it. There it was. It was knocked down further to £60 because it didn't have the long strap. However, my Dad's girlfriend had a similar bag and said I could have her strap as she never used it. Score!

Now onto the actual bag itself, as I have mentioned it is real leather. As I've gotten older and have been earning my own money, I have really learnt that quality completely trumps quantity when it comes to handbags and shoes. I also really love the pale gold hardware on the bag as it gives it an edge compared to other plain tan messenger bags. The lining is lovely too, it is a understated and classy leopard print and I think makes the bag a bit more exciting visually as linings can often be very plain. In terms of pockets, it has the usual zip pocket, phone holder and another miscellaneous pocket next to it for an oyster card or keys maybe. On the reverse of the bag, there is a flat pocket with a magnetic closure. I really like this for popping my phone, iPod or my train tickets in here for quick access.

As it has been about a year since I first saw this bag at full retail price, I don't believe it is available to buy anymore but if you live near a Karen Millen outlet, you may see one floating about. I have also seen a few of these bags and other variants on eBay too. 

I hope you enjoyed this little review of my first quality handbag purchase. I really love it and I find it is perfect for the summer. However I do believe my love affair with handbags is now going to become a tad more expensive (though this one was a complete bargain!) but all the more beautiful. 

See you on Friday!

Beauty Favourites | January 2015

The start of 2015 has been promising! I was gifted some gorgeous products at Christmas by my very generous family and boyfriend. I've been given them a full road test along with some other products that I purchased with my own money so let's go...

Urban Decay Naked Palette. The OG and the forerunner of the Naked palettes. It took me several attempts at my birthday and Christmas lists to finally get this baby and my oh my was it worth the wait. I'm a neutral eye kinda gal and this palette, as the name would suggest, just does the job right. I am a particular fan of the shades 'Naked' and 'Buck' for all over the lid and in the crease. I've also been using 'Half Baked' to push on some sparkle into the centre of my lid to open up the eye and 'Smog' for something a little smokier.

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Nude Foundation in 100 Ivory. I bought this a few days before Christmas as my teeny tiny sample of a Benefit foundation (the name escapes me...) was running low and I needed something new. Drugstore foundations are probably my most sought after products to try. I'm all about the base (no treble) when it comes to make-up as I like to even out my skin tone and reduce any redness going on. I didn't love this at first, I found it didn't give as much cover as I'd like but since persisting with it and changing the tool I use (more on that further down), I can whole heartedly say that I love it! When it's buffed into the skin properly, it really does a good job at evening out and giving a natural finish to the skin.

Clinique High Impact Mascara in 01 Black. This was another gift from a family member this Christmas that I find myself reaching for on an everyday basis. It was on my list as I had tried a sample out from a magazine many months ago and held onto it because I loved it that much! It makes my lashes so effortlessly long and thick at the same time but not too much that they look spidery or clumpy. I love the wand as its a soft fibre one; I don't get on well with plastic ones at all.

Maybelline Brow Satin Eyebrow Pencil in Mahogany Red. For a long while now I have been searching for a eyebrow pencil that somewhat matches with my hair colour. I'm a full on natural ginger/redhead/strawberry blonde whatever you want to call it with extremely fair blonde eyebrows. However, brow products that I try out are always too cool toned and grey. It comes with a thin wax pencil on one end and a setting powder on the other and the colour just works really well at making my brows look a little thicker and more suited to my hair colour.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF 15. I'd say its pretty common knowledge that the Eight Hour Cream is somewhat of an icon in the beauty world. It's extremely moisturising and can be used on many parts of the body where dry skin can occur. I've had this lip balm for a very long time and its pretty much attached to me all throughout the winter months. You can actually tell how long I've had this as it know comes in much more swish packaging.

Zoeva 106 Powder Brush. My lovely boyfriend very kindly got me the Zoeva Rose Gold Brush Set that I had been lusting after for months for Christmas and it has not failed me. I absolutely love this powder brush for setting powder and bronzer. It's ridiculously soft and washes really well.

Zoeva 102 Silk Finish Brush. This is very similar to the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush but has slightly longer bristles and has a rounder shape. I love this for the Rimmel Foundation I just mentioned. It applies the product really well, is extremely soft and isn't so dense that I feel like I am tugging at my skin, especially my eyes.

Zoeva 227 Luxe Soft Definer. A blatant dupe for the MAC 217 for much less money and from what I have heard, much better. As you can see from the photos, this brush has been very well loved and I often partner it with the Naked palette. It applies and blend eyeshadows so incredibly well that it makes blending so seamless and easy. I could honestly just sit and blend for a considerable amount of time. I think I may find myself on love-makeup.com stocking up on these as I use them so much!

I hope you found this post useful and has maybe swayed you into trying one or some of these products for yourself. Let me know what you have been loving this month in the comments below!