July Music Favourites

Morning all, I apologise for my lack of blog posts this month- with T in the Park and a bunch of other stuff planned I never really got into the swing of posting regularly. However, I now have a ton of post ideas so I'll be back to my usual chatty self over the next few weeks. To ease me back into blogging, I've got a little music favourites post of all my top songs from July! 

Can't Feel My Face // The Weeknd

Hey Mama // David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj

Ties // Years and Years

Black Magic // Little Mix

The Kite String and the Anchor Rope // Prides 

Honey Whiskey // Nothing But Thieves

Big Boy // Charlotte Cardin

Oh My Love // The Score

Rivers // Thomas Jack

Fake Palindromes // Andrew Bird 

I'll be back in the next couple of days with more blog posts for you all, but until then have a lovely week!

What's In My Bag?

Evening folks, my local New Look had a sale on this week, and payday coupled with my complete lack of self control meant that I picked up quite a few pieces, including a new handbag. So naturally I decided to do a little 'What's In My Bag' post for today.

The bag I picked up is this yellow tote satchel, it has one large section on the inside plus three pockets, it's fairly spacious and actually feels fairly heavy in your hand, which I think is always a sign of good quality. It's also big enough to comfortably fit my camera in. 

First thing I plucked out of my bag was this bottle of Hollister body spray, I absolutely adore this stuff, which probably explains why so much of it is gone! 

My hair tends to tangle really easily so I carry my Tangle Teaser around most of the time, the bright orange colour means I can always find it and even though my one is fairly battered it's still going strong after a couple of years. Easily one of my top beauty product recommendations. 

The picture of my purse came out weirdly over exposed but you can see it in the final picture down below, and it's from Tommy Hilfiger! In my purse is a whole bunch of different cards, from my bank card to my NHS Organ Donor and Blood donation cards, as well as several store cards and a full Nero loyalty card, meaning there's a coffee coming my way soon.. for free! (It also means I've bought 9 Nero drinks in the past few weeks which doesn't bode well. 

Next up is my iPhone 5S, aka my fifth limb. In all honesty I normally have this in either my hand or my pocket, and my headphones spend a good 50% of the time in my ears, but it would be insane to not include both in my WIMB! 

My phone case is from Paperchase, I picked it up in the sale towards the end of last month so it's not actually available online any more, but they do have a really lovely selection of phone cases so if you're looking for one, especially for an Apple phone, go check them out!

I also keep a whole bunch of make-up in my bag in order to try and keep my face looking as un-horrific as possible throughout the day. I keep it all in a little bag, and normally have a few brushes, like the ones above, to keep everything in place!

Also in my make-up bag at the moment is a Rimmel bronzer and powder, plus a little mini boi-ing concealer from Benefit, as well as an eye-shadow that I actually picked up from New Look- who have recently created their own wee make-up line.

I also have an eye-liner from Collection, and two lip products- one from Maybelline and another from Rimmel. 

There we are, since my bag is fairly new I haven't been able to fill it with the usual crap I have in my bag, such as a billion bus tickets and half empty chewing gum packets. I hope y'all enjoyed seeing what I normally have in my bag, I'll have another post up for you guys soon!

The Price of Prom

Morning folks, after I uploaded my trilogy of #PromPicks posts and my little overview on how my Prom went, I was contacted by the lovely Sian from MyVoucherCodes, who gave me a few details on some research they have been doing on the increasing expenditure that comes from your end of school party. I know that I definitely associated the kind of ridiculous prom spending with American teens, but as A Girls World discovered, the UK is quickly catching up on their extortionate spending habits. I'll link their full article here as I'll be quoting their results throughout, as I attempt to contrast some of the more expensive choices with my own investment in my prom! 

One aspect of the prom fiasco in the US that hasn't quite reached British shores yet, in my opinion, is the 'Promposal.' Apparently it is no longer okay to simply ask your date to prom, and even asking over dinner or perhaps accompanying your question with a small gift will now result in you being shunned by the cool kids, 'Mean Girls' style. According to AGW, Promposals in the US account for a third of the overall cost, with a frankly insane $300 being shelled out by thousands of unwitting young boys, all in the name of a date. I cannot even comprehend how the figure reaches that level, but thankfully this trend is not yet echoed in the UK. Sighs of relief from teenage boys across the country no doubt. 

Our venue, The Dunkeld Hilton Hotel

My first actual cost for prom was the ticket to the event itself, which was paid in instalments throughout our final year, and totalled £55, which seems to be on par with many across Scotland, the UK and indeed the US. Not cheap, but considering that our ticket included transport to and from the venue (in the form of the much loved Stagecoach buses) a three course meal, the use of the venue and grounds, and a CD disk with pictures taken by the professional photographer. This was my favourite addition to the cost of the ticket, with the photographer staying from the moment we arrived until well after the meal had finished and the embarrassing dancing had begun.
(Total Cost: £55)

Now onto my outfit, I toiled for ages finding a dress, but that wasn't due to lack of choice. I set myself a budget of under £100, which I felt was totally reasonable and there were thousands of options. My personal favourite online retailers were ASOS, Debenhams, Miss Selfridge and Little Mistress- which is where I eventually found my dress. I paid £70 for it, plus a little bit for postage, and I already owned a lovely little pair of black heels from Dune, which aren't online but I'll link a fairly similar pair here. I therefore didn't have to spend any extra cash on shoes, and with my dress being so long, I didn't feel like there was much emphasis on anyone's shoes, meaning that if you're looking for an area to skimp on, that'd be my advice!
(Total Cost: £135)

In terms of accessories, I kept it fairly simple, with only a pair of drop earrings from Topshop to jazz up my outfit. I also avoided a large cost as I did my own hair and make-up, which shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone as I do run a blog focussing on all things beauty. Many of my friends had hair and make-up done, with treatments ranging from £15 for nails or fake tan, up to the £100 mark for hair styles and full face make-up looks. Some girls hair in particular was especially beautiful, so it's easy to understand why so many opt for something professional! AGW found that the average hair spend in the UK for girls is £70, with beauty coming in at £30- and I can definitely back up these figures with what I've seen!
(Total Cost: £155)

As our transport to and from the venue was provided, we didn't really explore any other options. However, one group of friends in my year did choose to hire a large pink limo to take them to and from the venue, which is something that I would find entirely too embarrassing to even consider. However, they all seemed to be pleased with their choice, posing for pictures and no doubt having a much classier drive to the venue that I did on the top deck of a double decker bus that usually frequents that back roads of central Scotland. Some of the most expensive travel options can see parents shelling out hundreds of pounds for their children, with helicopter travel becoming increasingly popular. I can't help but feel like the headphones you wear whilst in the air would probably ruin your no doubt professionally done hair. Gotta think these things through logically!

All in all, I had a wonderful evening at my Prom, and feel like I spent enough to make me feel glamorous, without breaking the bank. As a word of advice to any girls reading who are yet to attend their Prom, feel free to spend as much as you want, but at the end of the day nobody was judging anyone else on the pricetag of their dress or how nicely their make-up was done. Prom is a way of celebrating the fact that you've survived high school, an evening to spend with your friends having a brilliant time, so if you feel like you can't afford to wear designer clothes, don't worry about it ruining your evening.

Go check out the article from A Girls World, and MyVoucherCodes page too, for loads of savings. Have a lovely week and I will be back soon with another post!