H&M: Haul and First Impressions

Hi everyone. This weekend I found the time to film my second video for Youtube. On Sunday I went shopping at H&M which opened relatively recently at the redeveloped Macquarie Centre. It's my first time ever attending a H&M and I was pleased to see that the first store in Sydney was, for once, in the suburbs rather than the city. In the video I show you my purchases and talk about my first impressions of H&M. It's always such a big deal when an international store opens for the first time in Australia. It's always so popular and extremely busy. This was certainly the case for H&M even though it's been open for about three months now. I am often disappointed by the hype surrounding these international stores especially Zara and Topshop; I don't think we get the full range of products over here. However, I was more impressed by H&M. There weren't too many stand out pieces but I came away with a total of six items, all of which I will get a lot of use from. It's great for basics and the stores also have some fun items too. I was particularly drawn to a top which was entirely covered in Furby print. I was very disappointed to see it was sold out in my size; how often do you see clothes like that!? The redeveloped Macquarie Centre is completely different now; I'd often thought that it used to be one of the worst shopping centres in Sydney. I used to go to university just across the road from there for five years so all I can say is that it's lucky all the new stores weren't there back then. Otherwise I never would have been able to resist the pressure; I never would have turned up to class and I'm sure I would have spent a lot of money. Check out my video to see my purchases and don't forget to subscribe to my channel here. 

ITEMS MENTIONED:

-Cupcake Printed Dress $29.95
-Floral Printed Dress n$29.95 (similar here)
-Floral Printed Crop Top $9.95
-Stripe Printed Crop Top$14.95 (similar here)
-Leopard Printed Crop Top $14.95 (here)
-Feline AW 2014/2015 Sweatshirt (here)

Outfit

As someone who previously hated orange, I am certainly embracing this bold stand out shade now. This is the same dress which I posted a couple of months ago here but this time I decided to go for double orange; I like the lighter coral shade of the cardigan against the brighter orange of the dress. The dress is a piece which my dear friend had made for me in Hong Kong last year. It was awhile ago now but I still really appreciate the kind gesture and the opportunity to design clothes myself. I have three orange pieces in my wardrobe in total now. It started off with my orange Review Australia dress with white lace overlay that I posted here; it was great to get used to wearing orange after not doing so for so many years. But now I am definitely ready to showcase the colour in its entirety. The cardigan is one of my most recent purchases and it's from Alannah Hill. I'd admired this cardigan for so many months but simply couldn't justify the price tag. I wanted to wait for it to come on sale and I'm surprised that it's still at full price. I eventually bought it in the 3 for 2 sale at Alannah Hill which ended up being a good deal. I adore the eyelet design, the crop length and the coral orange shade. I own a large number of cardigans and orange was the only colour missing from my collection. I love wearing it with so many of my dresses. Another stand out part of this outfit is my shoes but the pictures certainly don't do them justice. They are rainbow glitter and the most incredibly unique shoes I've ever seen. They are from the UK brand Faith which I didn't know about until recently. Faith has a number of other amazing glitter shoes too. These were a Christmas present from my sister and I was so impressed that she found them. I'll show you more of them later as these shoes definitely deserve their own post. 













Faith Frost Rainbow Glitter Shoes via ASOS
Custom Made Orange Polka Dot Dress
Alannah Hill The Dating Game Cardigan in Coral

Linking to: Personal Style Monday, Style to Inspire, How I Fall, More Pieces of Me, On the Daily Express

Outfit

Hi everyone.Thanks so much for your comments on my first youtube video. It's hard to know what to expect putting the first one out there so I really appreciate your support. Please subscribe here! I often find it interesting the way in which we view the world having grown up in different countries. So many of you commented on me having an accent (which I did expect since youtube seems to be dominated by people from the US and UK). However, it's so strange being told that since, in my everyday life, I don't have an accent; those who don't speak like me are said to have an accent. I've never been to a location where people don't talk to me! I'll hopefully have another video up towards the end of the week.

Today I'm wearing my rainbow stripe dress from Portmans which I've had for a number of years now and I first posted here. I love how colourful it is; it's great how I can pick up on any one of the colours and wear it with a range of accessories. The obvious choice, in my opinion, is red accessories; I just love how a red cardigan accentuates the red stripes on the dress. I'm not too sure how the pink bag made its way into this look. I guess because a red bag would have been too predictable and I like to try something different. The main aspect of my outfit which I wanted to discuss is the 'Gloria Pointed Flats' which I purchased from B.A.I.T Footwear via Modcloth. I'd admired these shoes on the Modcloth website for so many months and eventually decided to buy them last month when they were part of the 50% off sale. Only $30 for these shoes is such a bargain! They are so sweet and adorable. I love the vintage element to them. The lace detail is unique on this type of shoe. The polka dot lining adds to the design. I also like that it's a B.A.I.T footwear piece since I'm rather obsessed with that brand at the moment. This is my third pair of B.A.I.T footwear and I love adding to my collection. Despite the fact that the Ione T'Bar shoes, which I posted here, generally seem more popular I actually like the shoes I'm wearing in this post more. I really want to have them in black too (but the spending ban is happening so I won't!) I ordered these shoes awhile ago but, due to the holidays period delays, I only just received them last week. I prefer that; I still had a treat last week even though I'm not spending money and the pieces I purchased near Christmas time were more spread out.















B.A.I.T Footwear Gloria Flats via Modcloth
Review Australia Cardigan 
Portmans Stripe Dress
Guess Bag 

Linking to: What I Wore Wednesday,

Monthly Beauty Favourites- December 2014

 Hi everyone. I've just created my very first youtube video which you can see here. When I mentioned in my last post that I wanted to start a youtube channel I never expected that I'd actually start creating it that weekend. I also was surprised by how many of you said you'd watch my videos. Thank you (and I hope you don't change your mind after you actually see them). It's a big deal to put my first video on the Internet; I've thought about it for so many months but never thought I could actually do it. I still think my video is very basic and wish I was much better at appearing in front of the camera! I cannot believe how much work it takes to create a video. There are so many small aspects to consider such as the background of the video, what to wear and whether my hair looks acceptable on the camera.  I downloaded some video editing software and I've only used the very basic features but it takes an incredible amount of time. I'd say it's probably taken around eight hours for me to edit the video. I've become so involved in  it, there just isn't enough time after work, I've been staying up way too late. I can definitely see this getting in the way of my full time job. After putting so many hours into filming and editing, I just wanted to finally get the video out there. I now have so much respect for youtubers considering I now know how long it takes.  I don't know how people are so articulate in front of the camera as I can't seem to finish a sentence without pausing or repeating myself. I'm no expert at video editing. I know I tend to waffle on and there are a couple of places where it's way too obvious that I cut off the end of a word while editing. I did the best I can.



I decided to film a beauty favourites video because I've been intending to write a blog post on this for about six months now (never got around to it, worst blogger ever?!) . I'm also no expert on beauty.makeup products (I know so much more about clothes and shoes) so this is just some products that I've come to love in recent times. Let me know if you have any recommendations for videos you'd like me to film. I have a few ideas but I' definitely up for suggestions. Here are the products I featured in my video:

Rimmel Provocalips Lip Colour in 500 Kiss Me You Fool
Savvy by DB Ultra Matte Lip Colour in Icon
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Hard as Nails Polish in 470 Bubblegum Pink
Dirty Works Bath Soak Bubble Bath
Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush
Incredible Things by Taylor Swift
MaxFactor False Lash Effect Mascara in Black
Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in 60 Silver Strike

Outfits from 2014 and Plans for 2015

Hi everyone, happy 2015. It's that time of year again where we all seem to write about our goals for the year and reflect on 2014. I usually write a lot about this annually on my blog but this time is different. 2014 was without a doubt the worst year of my life and I struggled beyond what I could put into words. I just don't even want to think about it or I'll cry. While I want this year to be completely different, I know that change doesn't happen overnight so the beginning of the year isn't particularly important to me. Rather than rambling on, about the positives and negatives of the year, I'll just leave you with a short post of just a few simple plans for 2015.   

I found this quote while following up a story that I watched on Dr Phil (yes, I am the biggest fan). I really connected with it so I wanted to share it here.   

Start a Youtube Channel- Ever since the middle of last year I've become interested in youtube; it's great for when I feel alone or bored because it's almost like being with friends. I follow a couple of the big youtubers, although definitely not all of them. My absolute favourite youtube channel is Mammaful Zo. She's so genuine and kind; I'm so excited every time she uploads a new video. I've wanted to join in the fun for a number of months now but still feel a little shy and inexperienced. But I think I'm close to doing it. I need to learn some basics. Do I need video editing software? What can I film videos with? Does anyone know? Any youtubers out there?

Feel Less Depressed- this is a big one and much more complicated than you could possibly imagine. I've tried just about everything over the years so I don't hold out much hope, but I wish more than anything it could happen. 

Exercise- I'd like to get back into running very soon. I tried to a few months ago but had to give it up again because I couldn't stand the constant injuries; I'll take it more gradually this time.  I love the fulfillment and achievement that comes from sport. When I was a child my whole life was sport for so many years and, all these years later, I've never replicated that feeling from anything else. Exercise is obviously supposed to have numerous additional benefits so I hope it will improve my lifestyle. 

Blogging- I'd love to reach at least 1 000 followers on GFC this year. I've been blogging for ages now and I'm still not there yet. Of course blogging isn't just about numbers so I hope I can improve the variety of my posts and further develop friendships.  

Save More Money- Last year my spending was out of control. Each year, when I say I'll save more, the spending gets worse and worse. But I truly believe this will be the year. I've had my fun and I'm over the spending. Last year proved that additional spending doesn't actually make me any happier. Maybe seeing my savings grow will make me feel more motivated towards life. 

Life Outside Work- Last year, particularly towards the end, my life was completely about work. I can barely recall a single experience I had outside of work. I didn't mind at the time because there wasn't much else to rush home for, but I really don't want another year that boring.  I'm tired of working the longest hours because I have absolutely nothing else to do and I'm so over spending the weekends alone in bed. This isn't the fault of my job, I like the people there, I just want to create a life worth living outside of the office. 

Here is an overview of my outfits from 2014.



What are your plans for the year?