November 2015 – Vintage Frills

vintagefrills / November 28, 2015

A Little Catch Up

I thought it was time for a little catch up!

Well, it’s been a very busy few months. In many ways I never expected full time blogging to be quite so time consuming, writing my posts is the tip of a pretty huge ice berg involving hundreds of emails, loads of admin and of course all the perks and things that make me love what I do. As the work side of blogging has got more intense it’s been a bit harder to get the work/life balance, so if there have been fewer posts it’s because the kids need me more than the blog does! I’ve also been doing some really boring freelance writing jobs to pay the bills which has taken up so much time and makes me sad because I much prefer writing for this blog. I just wish it paid better!

Over the last few weeks I have been to some really fab events, which I love. Being a full time mum I really miss going to work and chatting to adults, so going to blog events and press days is one of my favourite things. This last month I have had to say no to more things than I’ve said yes to. I’m one of those people who feels like they’re missing out if they don’t go to everything, but it’s definitely been the right choice for me.

I am aware that the blog has changed a lot over the last year and so have I. I like that the blog evolves and I just write about the things that I’m enjoying at the moment. I know that there hasn’t been a huge amount of vintage related stuff recently, this is mainly because vintage events happen at weekends so I often won’t go unless the kids feel like it. There will be a lots more vintage related stuff soon I promise, I’m just enjoying other things too at the moment! My wardrobe is bursting with vintage dresses I want to photograph so watch this space!

Obviously the big highlight of my month was winning an award, I still feel ridiculously proud and happy. I can’t wait to write about some of the other fantastic things I’ve done this month, be it blog events, or just long winter walks and firework displays. I have a big backlog of posts to write and I’m planning to blog every day in December to catch up.

At the moment I am so excited for christmas, especially the baking, mulled wine and getting gifts for the kids. Before that Rob and I will both be celebrating our 30th birthdays. It feels completely crazy to be turning 30 when I don’t feel grown up at all!

I am feeling ridiculously excited about this weekend as I’m going to a 1940s themed ball in Manchester tonight! I will definitely be sharing pictures of my dress and it’s absolutely lovely having a weekend away with Rob. Anyway thanks for reading my little ramble!

The pics in the post are a few I took while I was having a rainy walk the other day. I love that there are still a few roses blooming despite the winter weather.

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vintagefrills / November 26, 2015

My Favourite Cyber Weekend Deals for Vintage Lovers

Over the weekend lots of our favourite websites are having black Friday weekend offers and I thought I’d share some of my faves on here as they come up. I’m going to keep updating this post over the next few days with my favourite offers so keep checking back.

First up is one of my favourite shops Lindy Bop who have a huge number of items on offer for the weekend, including further discounts on their current sale items. I’m loving the kids dresses for £6.99 each as well as the fur collars for £5.99!

What Katie Did have 25% off everything using code ‘friday02’. If like me, you’ve been coveting all the gorgeous vintage inspired lingerie on their site, then this is the time to buy.

Chi Chi Clothing have 25% off everything using code ‘CYBER25’. I love all their gorgeous embellished prom dresses. Perfect for the party season.

Hotter Shoes have 20% off using code ‘BLACK’. I have quite a few pairs from Hotter and I love them. I have my eye on the Donna heels in navy.

Miss L Fire have a huge selection of their shoes and accessories reduced.

The Collectif sale is now live. Take 25% off using code ‘pinkfriday’.

The Lady V London sale starts at midnight and will feature up to 60% off.

House of Foxy are giving vouchers away when you spend a certain amount. Find all the details here.

Tara Starlet also have reductions for Black Friday.

The Pin Up Girl have 30% off across their site.

Dolly and Dotty have up to 60% their selection of vintage inspired dresses.

Voodoo Vixen have many items at 50% off.

Love Miss Daisy sell an absolutely amazing collection of real vintage items and they are offering 10% off this weekend with the code ‘NOVEMBER10’

Take 20% off the gorgeous selection of jewellery from Pip Jolley using the code ‘orange’.

The Vintage Cosmetic Company currently have 40% off everything.

There are a few more sales I need to add, so check back this evening, when I’ll be adding a few more of my favourites.

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vintagefrills / November 23, 2015

I Won A Cosmo Blog Award!!!!

I am a very very happy lady at the moment! On Thursday I attended the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards feeling a little amazed that I was there at all. When I made it to the shortlist I was so stunned I cried! To be in the Best Use of Photography category was an amazing thing for me. Since the blog started, the photos are one of the things that I have really worked on. I’m a very visual and creative person and making the blog look beautiful has always been important to me.

When they announced the winners and said my name, it was the biggest surprise ever. At that moment I realised just how much I hadn’t expected it and I was thrilled. It’s a moment I will remember forever!

A huge amount of hard work goes into all my blog posts and each one takes a long time both to write and to photograph. To have that recognised at one of the most prestigious awards in the blogging industry, just means more to me than I could ever explain. I just feel like jumping around hugging my award because it really is such a fab thing to have happened to me.

Anyway, I just wanted to say !!!!!!!!!!!!THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! to all the lovely people who helped make this happen for me by nominating me and then voting for me when I made the shortlist. You really are the best, if I could give you all hugs and cake I totally would right now.

Going forward I just want to keep improving the blog, posting as often as I can and just enjoying what I do. My award is going on the shelf in my office and I am so incredibly proud to own it.

I’ll probably post a bit more about the actual awards soon, but I just wanted to quickly let everyone know my fab news and to once again say thank you! xxx

Also I decided to leave my camera at home and just enjoy the night without taking loads of pics. I took about 10 pics on my phone so I know the qualities not great, but thought I’d share anyway!

You can see a full list of the winners and a video of the event on the Cosmopolitan website.

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vintagefrills / November 22, 2015

I Love Lush Oxford Street

Lush has been one of my very favourite shops for what feels like forever. I think I really do love every single thing about it! The products are gorgeous and the staff are always so helpful and happy. From the moment you step into the shop to when you are soaking in the most luxurious and colourful bath, the whole experience makes you feel good.

I’ve been to many local branches of Lush and although generally they are quite small, I’ve always found everything I’ve needed. But when I heard they were opening on Oxford Street I was absolutely delighted. A few weeks ago on the way back from an event, Fay and I had a very fleeting visit to the shop and it was love at first sight.

It’s absolutely HUGE and has so many exclusive products and it’s teaming with amazing staff who are the most helpful friendly people ever. Because the shop was very near closing we didn’t have a proper chance to look around, but we knew we’d be back.

A couple of weeks later and like too women on a mission we returned! Within a few minutes of exploring and taking way too may pictures, we got chatting to a lovely member of staff called Camsha. She offered to show us around the shop and talk us through all of the products and she was so much fun to look round with. I was so impressed by how well she knew all the products and she was so much fun, it was like shopping with a new friend. There was no rush with her and she made us feel so at home, devoting nearly an hour to us. What other shop offers that kind of service.

Of course no shopping trip involving me and Fay could ever pass by uneventfully and half an hour into our tour another customer was taken ill and collapsed. Fay being a nurse immediately stepped in to help and I was so proud of her. She looked after the lady so well and was amazing. Luckily the lady was just exhausted and hadn’t eaten so it wasn’t serious. The staff were so sweet and gave Fay a gift to say thank you and a bottle of Snow Fairy for me for waiting while the situation was sorted. Lush are such a lovely company and it was so nice of them to make that gesture.

The other eventful thing that happened was running into the incredible Tess Holiday, plus size model and body positive superstar. We spoke to her for a couple of minutes and she was absolutely lovely. She is just as beautiful in real life as she is on Instagram and it was really nice to meet someone who has achieved so much and really is an inspiration.

Anyway back to the shop, which is spread over 3 floors and houses not only the usual lovely Lush products, but also some Oxford Street exclusives. The shop is really spacious and is divided into easy well signed sections so it’s very easy to find exactly what you are looking for. There are staff everywhere, so really all you need to do is ask. As an ex visual merchandiser, the appearance of shops is always really important to me. Lush gets five stars for excellent displays and shopability (not a word? I don’t care). Everything is gorgeous!

My iPhone didn’t leave my hand as I buzzed around taking pictures of everything, especially all the new Christmas products. You can see everything I bought in my Lush Haul post.
I just want to say a big thank you to Camsha for being awesome and to Fay for being my favourite shopping buddy for the last 16 years. If you’re near Oxford Street, make sure you pop in, it really is the best shop ever!

See the full range on the Lush website.

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vintagefrills / November 21, 2015

What’s in my November Birchbox

November has absolutely flown by! It feels like we’ve just said goodbye to the summer and now winter is upon us! With another month comes another lovely Birchbox. Yet again I’m really happy with the contents of this fabulous beauty subscription box. I’ve now been subscribed for nearly two years and I’m always amazed by how many fantastic products I’ve got to try through the boxes.

This months box is another really pretty one. Since Birchbox started using pretty patterned boxes rather than the old brown ones, I’ve started using them to keep bits and bobs in. They’re great for organising make-up and jewellery. This month’s box is a collaboration with Skinny Dip and includes a discount voucher for the store.

So what did I think of this months products? I always like a box with a good mixture of skin, hair and make-up products. This was one of my first boxes which didn’t contain anything for my hair, but overall I was pretty impressed.

The first product was a full sized Mascara from So Susan. I’m not familiar with the brand so this was the first product I’d tried from them. The Featherlash Mascara is a nice subtle mascara in a perfect black shade. The effect is subtle and it really spreads the lashes for a naturally full look. Perfect for everyday make-up.

My only misgiving with the product is purely a matter of personal taste. I don’t really like mascaras with brush wands. I prefer plastic comb ones as I feel they suit my lashes batter. So although this a great product, its just not for me. The usual price for the mascara is £18.

The second full sized product in the box, was a rather wonderful hand-cream from Cowshed. In the colder months I definitely need a good hand-cream to carry around and keep my hands feeling happy. This one is lovely and moisturising without feeling sticky and it smells amazing.

I’m really happy with this product and it’s probably my favourite in the box. It has a real luxury feel to it and I’m definitely going to keep this in my handbag and use it everyday. The hand cream is available from £8.

Another really useful product is the Absolution La Créme de Teint. This is a very faint tinted moisturiser which you apply over your moisturiser instead of foundation. I really like to let my skin breath so mid-week if I’m not going anywhere special I prefer to go very light on my make-up. This is perfect for brightening the complexion without a build up of heavy product and I absolutely love it. The full sized product costs £35.

I’ve used a few Lord and Berry products before and always been quite happy with them. The Silhouette Neutral Lipliner is a very handy little product. It works in the same way as a coloured lipliner, ensuring a neat finish without any bleeding. However being clear you can use it with any colour lipstick and it’s super subtle. I haven’t had a chance to test it properly, but I think its a great idea and very useful. The full sized liner costs £9.

Another great skincare product from this months box is the Delaron Créme Acquaconfort. This is a lovely cream with lots of natural oils to comfort skin that needs a little TLC.

It’s a lovely cream and I love the scent and the great list of ingredients, however I prefer slightly heavier face creams so although it’s clearly a very product this one isn’t something I’d buy again. The full sized product is £34.

The last product in box somehow passed me by when I was taking my pictures, sorry! I’ve tried quite a few English Laundry perfumes through birch box and I’m always really pleased with their old fashioned classic fragrances. On this occasion i tried the Notting hill Femme Eau de Parfum. I love spicy winter scents and this one, which is a feminine take on their classic men’s fragrance is perfect for me. The full sized perfume costs £60.

I really loved this box. it was great to have a box full of high end and luxury products, which is one of the things that first attracted me to try Birchbox. I really feel they’ve upped their game in recent months and I’ve not been disappointed for a while.

See how this box compares to last year’s November Birchbox.

If you’d like to receive a monthly Birchbox too, I have a refer a friend link with add £5 worth of points to your account. These can be used to buy full sized products in the Birchbox shop.