candy stripes

Today I have taken my talons and trotted them over to Roz's blog. She kindly asked me to guest post for her whilst she is away gorging on pasta and catching some rays under the Italian sun. I was honoured, if not slightly jealous of her sunny vacation, so to see how I achieved these fun, candy striped nails and to visit Roz's lovely blog, click here.

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primark purchases

Yesterday I took deep breath, gritted my teeth and ploughed into Primark in Cambridge with one mission in mind. I rarely shop in Primark; and not in a snobby way, but simply because I don't have one particularly near me and always find the experience a little bit too stressful. I like nice, organised shopping with room to peruse and the ability to try items on without waiting half an hour...but when needs must, Primark is sometimes the only option. The need being flip flops and the must being my imminent holiday in three weeks time. With a very patient boyfriend in tow, I managed to emerge into the fresh air triumphant, even if some girl did try and snaffle my sparkly flip flops from Rob whilst I was trying on some very disappointing dresses!

Flip flops - £1 per pair.

How many pairs does one need for a two week holiday?! Three pairs apparently (2 x functional, 1 x fancy!)

Well for £1 each, I figured even if they don't return to England with me, it is hardly any great financial loss.  

Espadrilles - £1.

I have been after a pair for ages, but was reluctant to shell out for a pair of Toms. When I saw these ones, I thought they were really sweet - especially the pastel green colour. I find the shoe area in Primark the most terrifying terrain of the whole shop. I like to execute a grab and go policy, literally seizing all the pairs of shoes in my size and then seeking some solitude in a corner somewhere to try them on. 

Belt - £1.

I forgot how much fun Primark accessories are. Such a pleasant surprise, and a section I also missed as I was on a direct path to pay and go. I could have spent another half an hour stocking up on unnecessary hair bands and flower bandos, but sensing I had pretty much exhausted Rob's Primark threshold, I grabbed this belt and the below earrings and scarpered.

Chevron earrings - £2

Turquoise stone earrings - £3

I know, I know... I was breaking the bank a bit here with these two bejewelled buys! I particularly love the chevron earrings, very dangly and a little bit Aztec-like. And as for the turquoise ones, I have this romanticised image of me in a flowing maxi dress, cocktail in hand, barefoot on the Egyptian sands as the sun sets wearing these earrings. :)

I hope you are all well and enjoying the weekend. Thank you to all who have entered my giveaway so far - I am overwhelmed with the response already.

Have you found any good buys in the shops recently?

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this is my instagr.am life #1

Hungry ducks in the morning
Shiny clean car for the weekend
Evening therapy

Colossal cupcake
Wishlist skater dress (Topshop)
Medium skinny chai tea latte to go please
Candy stripe nails
New cushions
A handcrafted creation
One cute cat
Saturday night, sorted
Golden pyramid nails


Everyone and their nan seems to be riding the insta.gram wave at the moment, myself included. It is an app available on the iPhone which alters your photos to many different effects of your choice and gives you the chance to share them with your followers. It is a bit like a textless twitter and is much more visually pleasing. It is highly addictive and I am forever capturing and creating pictures of my daily delights. Food does tend to feature quite a lot! You can follow me in instagram if you like, just search for 'pinkpixiedoll'. 
I know a lot of people do these type of summaries, Jennie in particularly has recently shared her instagram snaps on her blog too, but I quite liked looking back through my phone library and  compiling a little storyboard of my instagram life.

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braving beige

Tunic - Yuki Tokyo
Jewellery - Accessorize
Belt - River Island
Nails - Bourjois Jaune Trendy


I recently received this tunic from Yuki Tokyo - an online clothing store which also has a concession section in Topshop and many boutique stores worldwide. Yuki takes inspiration from the Shibuya street in Tokyo, a lively and colourful area which spawns many up and coming fashion trends, and incorporates these key styles within their range, making each piece a little bit unique and individual. Their range is quite varied, stocking what I would describe as 'chic work wear', simple, sophisticatedly cut dresses and shirts, as well as the floral and the frilly for casual daytime wear.

This tunic is probably not a style I would normally pick out; I do seem drawn towards the aforementioned floral dresses and anything remotely colourful, but I was really pleased with how it fitted and worked once I had added my own accessories. Their sizing is one size (8-12) in everything which I was a bit nervous about, and without the belt this would have been a bit sack-like, but the fit on top and the length was perfect on me. The material is beautiful too, even if it does demand some laborious hand washing, and hung really nicely. I think their pieces are quite pricey in all honesty, but I think you are paying for the material and cut, which you really do notice. I particularly love the low looping armholes on this shift dress, creating the illusion of a double sleeve. I braved some bare legs with this dress but I think it would also look really pretty with some tights and chunky knitwear for the impending Autumn season, which seems chillily close!

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fancy tips

I am no nail art expert and rarely stretch to anything fancy on my fingers; I am a paint 'n go kinda gal, but following the No.7 nail art event I attended a few months ago, I decided to become a bit more experimental. These tips may look fancy but they were ridiculously quick and easy to execute, and almost 100% fool-proof.

GOLDEN PYRAMIDS

Base coat - Eyeko Pastel Polish

Tips - No.7 Hot to Trot

COSMIC CURVES

Base coat - Eyeko Pastel Polish

Tips - GOSH Holographic

I used the below manicure guide stickers to achieve the above looks. We received these at the event but unfortunately I am not sure exactly where they came from. However, I have investigated and if you search for 'nail guide stickers' on eBay, there are hundreds of different styles that pop up.

Simply paint your nails with your chosen base colour. Now the important part is to wait until they are completely dry before applying the stickers. If the varnish is even slightly tacky, it will come off as you remove the sticker. Equally, once you have positioned your stickers and painted the tips, ensure this layer of polish is completely dry also before peeling the sticker away, otherwise the line won't be sharp.

Providing you make sure the varnish is totally dry at both these stages - this technique is really easy, very effective and opens up endless possibilities. I am already mentally creating my next colour combination.


What do you think?
Is this something you would try?

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mac haute & naughty lash

There is a multitude of mascaras on the market nowadays all promises to lengthen, thicken, curl and define our lashes to colossal proportions. So much so that it appears two wands are now necessary to satiate all these vows and achieve those lovely long lashes we all lust after.

MAC's Haute & Naughty Lash mascara is no exception, deceivingly offering two separate wands - which is, in fact, one wand, but two sets of brushes, one inside the other. Previously I have tried, and loved, one MAC mascara (Zoom Fast Black Lash) so was looking forward to trying this product out and seeing how it compared.





The mascara has two caps; the pink "haute" one revealing the daytime wand - a skinnier wand and a less dense applicator. And then there is the sparkly "naughty" one - the evening wand, offering a thicker wand and a heavier applicator.





You can see the evening wand is double-brush applicator which gives you a lot of mascara, hence a wetter application, and thicker bristles. It is designed to give you a more bold, dramatic look with maximum volume and length.  





The daytime wand is a single brush which emerges from the tube a lot cleaner than the other wand. It is still a relatively large mascara but has more defined bristles which in turn separates and curls your individual lashes really well, achieving a softer, more natural finish.

For my top lashes I used the evening wand applicator, giving me a more dramatic finish. However, I did feel it clumped a little so I took the daytime wand and combed through my lashes to help separate them. The thicker brush reminded me of Benefit's Bad Gal which I personally really dislike and find too heavy and 'gloopy' on application. It was still effective and definitely added volume and blackness to my lashes, but without the other wand, they would have been left quite clumpy.

For my bottom lashes I solely used the daytime wand for a softer finish. I absolutely love this wand as it defines, lengthens and separates my lashes without being too wet or heavy. Regrettably, the only thing it doesn't do is thicken. The formula of this mascara is very nice and my lashes held up well during the day - no flaking, smudging or crispiness!

I wouldn't say this is a must-have mascara; I do think there are much better products out there for achieving luscious long lashes, but I do highly rate the daytime wand and the pink sparkly packaging is an added bonus!

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have tried this product.

Which is your must-have mascara?

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a splash of claret

Tee - H&M
Scarf - McQueen
Maxi skirt - H&M


I have recently been loving basics. And where else from than H&M. I have accumulated tonnes of tees over the last few weeks, in all colours and levels of slouchiness. I particularly love this one which has a little breast pocket, sadly concealed by my scarf, and a V-neckline. So simple to wear and lends itself well to be tucked into high waisted skirts and such. And the claret colour is a shade braver than I would usually choose but I really like it, even if it does clash with my hair somewhat...
x

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