Paris haul!

I didn't go too insane in Paris, meaning I didn't buy too much... but here is the round-up of all my purchases that will forever remind me of a beautiful trip. Sorry it is so so late - I really have to catch up!

Essie nail polish in Sugar Daddy & Rouge Baiser nail polish in Pastel Jaune.

I am a complete sucker for nail polishes, and these sugar sweet shades were too cute to resist.

Hand painted Vogue cover art.

I bought this by the Seine near the Notre Dame. It was perfect for me - classy, elegant, Parisian, and of course featuring Vogue!

Assorted postcards.

I picked these up all over the city on impulse, and I plan to stick them all around my room to remind me of the trip. My favourites are the show posters and the Moulin Rouge.

Perfume spritzers - Belle du Jour.

I adore anything retro glamour and was captivated by the vintage ones in the window of this Montmartre boutique. Unfortunately my budget didn't stretch that far but these reproductions still look gorgeous.

Metallic dress - Isabel Marant (second-hand).

The likelihood of me ever affording anything by Isabel Marant was absolutely minute, until I stumbled upon this in a second-hand/vintage store in the backstreets of Saint Germain. It's gorgeous, sparkling and glamorous and I love it.

Clutch bag - Cos (second-hand).

I also unearthed this in the second hand shop, and fell for the unique print and on-trend fold-over style.

Vintage bracelet.

That second hand shop really was full of treasures, and this delicately beautiful silver bracelet is possibly my favourite.

 Bralet - Brandy Melville, Home Made.

The back of this cute bralet is my favourite part, love the detail.

And that is the end of my Paris haul - see? Restrained. Although if we're honest most of my money did go on pastries and BNs... I am so so pleased with all of my purchases though, and they will be permanent reminders of a beautiful trip.

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Who's a lucky girl then?

I don't even know how to start.. I suppose with a massive thankyou, lots of love and cyber kisses for MyDaily UK and my-wardrobe.com, since I won their£500 to on my-wardrobe, thanks to the See It Tag It Love It competition. All of the prizes are incredible, and I was blown away to have won anything - especially a legitimate chance to spend, spend, spend minus the guilt! MyDaily & my-wardrobe, you are now my NBFs.

Choosing what to buy was a long, excitable, difficult, enjoyable process, since I have never had a chance like this before (God, don't I sound sweet/pathetic..), and after I picked my items I was half expecting to find out it wasn't real - you know what they say about "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".. But it was for real, and my gorgeous, gorgeous pieces came today! I got very overexcited, and a little carried away taking pictures, so prepare yourself for a long-ass post about my first ever designer shopping spree.

Oh the excitement I felt when I saw these little packages.. I took my time opening them, trying (and failing) not to rip the paper - I felt like a kid on Christmas day. First to be opened was this gorgeous Lola Rose bracelet, which came in a sweet little pink bag.

Okay, okay, so there are more photos of the pretty packaging than the actual bracelet.. but I fell in love as soon as I saw that cute pink bag! The bracelet itself is something I adore, but would never have been able to afford if it wasn't free - Lola Rose is a fash-pack favourite, thanks to her combination of semi-precious stones and cute charms. I chose this sweet rose quartz one with a little star because it is pastel-hued, and my name means star so it is kind of personal.

My second beautiful, *free* designer purchase was this green belt by Malene Birger. It was purely an impulse buy, a complete what-the-hell moment, and I wouldn't have bought it, or anything like it, had I not had this opportunity. But I just love how kitsch it is, yet stylish and almost elegant at the same time. The bright hue combined with the plastic just makes it so sweet and unusual, it is the perfect detail to pull together and rev up some of my day-to-day outfits.

The grand finale of my £500 shopping spree (and the thing that took up most of that money) was my first mainline designer dress. I am now the proud owner of a D&G velvet & lace LBD, which I intend to wear, love and keep forever. I saw it on the site and couldn't drag myself away - with an opportunity like this, you want something spectacular, and I simply adore this dress. The mix of textures adds interest and detail to a classic shape, while making sure it remains chic and timeless. I love the side panels and bow belt too, for the sweet yet sexy detail. When I opened this up I literally ran around my house hyperventilating at the fact I was wearing D&G - not cool, I know, but incredibly necessary.

So yes, today is the day I finally got my first real designer items, and they will stay with me all my life I am sure. My favourite thing is of course that dress, it is stunning, it is chic, and it is D&G! I can't wait to christen it by wearing it out to a party, but at the same time I don't want to waste it's first appearance on something that isn't special.. Whatever. For now I am just enjoying looking at it all wrapped up in its garment bag.. 

Once again, thank you so much to MyDaily UK and my-wardrobe.com for making a little fashion blogger's dreams come true! And if you thought my designer tastes were satisfied, you'd be wrong.. my appetite has just been whetted by this stunning dress. Sorry about poor picture quality, but what do you guys all think? Was that the right way to spend £500? 

Love and kisses, Tara xox

The only way to spend a day off is shopping.

As pretty much everyone in England knows, today is the day of the public sector strikes, which is a bit of a blessing in disguise for students - day off! But I have technically lost valuable lesson time.. Shockingly, that doesn't bother me too much, since I was incredibly glad of the lie in, and a chance to get some more Christmas shopping done. It's not even December and I am already making excellent progress on the gift front, aided by the fact that today was payday too! Here's what I wore to brave the Christmas shoppers again..

Dress, Blazer, Shoes & Earrings - Topshop; Tights - Primark; Faux Fur Stole & Bracelet - ASOS; Bag - Tous; Ring - Parfois.
I decided that if the weather is going to be deceptively light and spring-like, I can be too! Hence the thin tights, summery dress & light blazer - although the faux fur stole is a definite hint towards winter. I was also feeling quite ladylike today, as you can probably tell, and my wardrobe lends itself quite well towards that.. Again, like many of my recent outfits, this one was actually pretty simple, consisting primarily of a dress & blazer, but the accessories lend it a more luxe feel and definitely stop me blending in to the background. One final comment about today's look is that the simplest addition to an outfit can make it or break it - the dark berry lipstick was a last minute thing, but without it, the look wouldn't have had the same pop. If you were wondering, I have used Boots' 17 lipstick in Rich.

As I said, today I got some more Christmas shopping done (aren't I organised?) and currently have the major parts of my mum's, dad's and granny's presents in the bag. Hopefully this current trend will continue and I will have all of my Christmas shopping done in a few weeks time, so that I am not freaking out about it come December 23rd or something stupid like that... But since today was payday, I let a few little presents for myself slide into the shopping bags too..

Accessorize were having a little seasonal event, where everything was 25% off, and this supersweet little wishbone bracelet found its way into my hand, then exchanged itself for a very small amount of money - and I'm not even sorry! You can never have enough jewellery, especially cute little bracelets like this that can either be worn alone for some simple styling, or stacked and layered up.

Next up is an impulse buy of the highest order - this amazing Topshop faux fur hat! I never used to be a 'hat' girl, but this year, much like maxi dresses, I have woken up to the fact that there is a hat out there for everyone - maybe even several. I saw this one in store, and was firstly drawn in by the faux fur, something I am going crazy for right now, then the colour (actually an amethyst kind of hue, not that it looks like it here) and then the temptation to try it on was too strong. Unfortunately, it looked pretty darn good, considering I thought I couldn't really pull off hats, and I decided to say what the hell, and buy it anyway. For one, I had just seen how much money was in my bank account after getting paid, and could definitely afford it, and secondly, this will do many jobs in winter (keeping my head warm, disguising bad hair days and revving up my cosy, practical outfits). Thirdly, you only live once. So why not treat yourself once in a while, and live that life as stylishly as possible. I am now in love with this hat. Even if I feel a little Russian in it... Love and kisses, Tara xox