My January in Pictures

So as much as most of you will probably hate January, I love it mostly. Despite the amount of exams and revision, it's my birthday month and this year I was the big 2-1! Can you believe it? I feel old but don't look old haha! Here's a peak at my life in January.

1. New year, new calendar. I still love Tom Daley.
2. & 3. I've got really into fitness again, trying to workout 3-4 times a week but in order to feel good about myself, I have to have cute workout gear. I like a splash of colour in my outfit!
4. I'm obsessed with the Kardashians and own Season 1-5. Seasons 6 and 7 were going cheap on Amazon so I just had to buy them.

5. My ex-friend bought this box instead of a gift bag one birthday and I just love it. It's been empty for ages but I've been having a spring clean in my room. I thought it was the perfect size to fit all my nail varnishes in.
6. I had an evening off revision and this is how I spent it: reading Cosmo and Company and listening to Lady Antebellum. Bliss.
7. I'm such a hoarder and found a load of old magazines. Sadly now these have all gone away to recycling heaven.
8. I'm a huge Canterbury fan (seen them live 3 times) and they have a new album out. I have a signed copy because I'm a super fan.

9. & 10. This was outfit one of birthday week. I wore this grey cropped top with my pleather skirt to go for a Chinese meal with my two best friends.
11. Outfit number two. I wore this New Look dress for a meal with my extended family. I thought it would look super cute with red heels.
12. My actual birthday day. I wore this for a meal with my parents. Burgundy shirt, leather mini and bright blue ankle boots.
13. Last meal of birthday week. I wore this for a visit to the pub with my now-boyfriend. Long-sleeved blue top, my favourite skirt and navy loafers.

14. My amazing birthday cake my auntie made for me.
15. I went into town with my mum on my birthday and treated myself to some new sneakers.
16. This is the gorgeous necklace my boyfriend got me for my birthday. I have the key to his heart now.
17. At the end of birthday week, my best friend Ellie and I went to watch a ballet at our local theatre. I wore my grey stripey top, black skater skirt and cute ankle boots. The ballet was crap FYI.

18. Revision was nearly the death of me.
19. Workout month continues!
20. I love little surprises in the mail like the latest Asos magazine!
21. I love this top, so comfy.

22. Seem to be my favourite shoes to wear right now despite the crappy weather.
23. I've started wearing a lot of cozy sweaters lately. Jumper, jeans, boots is my new style I think!
24. My dad just got me this top the other night. If you didn't already know, I love sport. And speedway is one of my favourites. 

Today's Outfit 29/01/2014

So yesterday I spent the day at the pub with my best friend and then went bowling with my boyfriend. So two plans= two different outfits!

So for dinner at the pub, I went for a more relaxed, casual look. I'm obsessed with this jacket. It's great for throwing on over a t-shirt and jeans or leggings. I don't usually wear sports clothing outside of working out but I think this Adidas jacket looks pretty cool! It's got polka dots on it too so it's kind of cute as well as casual. I wore my 21 tshirt from Tesco that I got a while ago in the sale. I love how it's just the right length to go over my bum so I can wear it with leggings! These leggings are from River Island and cost me £18. I've wanted a pair of leather leggings for quite a while now but they all tend to be plasticy which is not what I want. These are stretchy and comfy, like a thin disco pant really. I paired my outfit with my beloved red Keds. I live in these for uni.

On the night, I ended up going bowling so I knew I wanted to be comfy but still look cute for my boyfriend! I paired this black and white Forever 21 plaid sweater which is super comfy with my Forever 21 jeans similar to these ones. Being short, it's hard to find a pair of jeans that fit properly and this fit like a glove! I wore this look with my £3 Primark loafers that I got for half price. They're navy with a gold anchor stitched on the front. I think they look pretty expensive but weren't!

So there it is; that's yesterday's outfits done! My style is definitely evolving since I had my last wardrobe clearout so I wonder what's in store for my style this year!

What's In My Make-Up Bag?

I've always seen my blog as a personal/style/personal style blog but I thought I'd branch out and feature a bit of beauty. Unlike many bloggers, I'm not massively into make-up. I like it but I'm not obsessed with it. I don't particularly like trying new products because I have eczema and sensitive skin so I tend to stick to products I know I like. In fairness, I don't even wear make-up all the time; only on special occasions do I go all out with my make-up. This doesn't mean I don't have any. Over the years, I've tried loads of products but nowadays I stick to the same brands as I know they work well. So here are the products I use the most :)

Face

George Face Primer, £5. A few months ago, I'd been looking for a primer but all the branded ones were £10+ so on the off-chance, I purchased this one. It was a new product at the time, at a trial price of £3, and I love it. It's light so it doesn't clog the skin too much and even if I'm not wearing any foundation, I wear it on top of my moisturiser for a bit of colour. As well as this primer, I'm a huge fan of Asda's nail polishes. They're only £1 or £2 and they look fab! There's plenty of colours to choose from too!

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in True Ivory 103, £6.99. I used to wear foundation constantly when I was younger (I used to be a dancer) but then I quit at about 13 and stopped using it. Only in the past couple of months have I started using it again. I bought this on offer in Superdrug at £5 and instantly loved it. Because it's liquid, I only need one squirt of it and it covers my entire face and neck. I usually use my fingers to apply it and then smooth it over with a make-up sponge. It covers great but it doesn't look too heavy. I believe it comes in about 9 shades so they'll be a colour to match any skintone.

Miss Sporty So Perfect Stay Coverstick, £1.79. I do love cheap make-up. With concealer, again I didn't see the point in spending a whole load of money on something you use little of. On most days, I just wear concealer on my face in order to keep my skin clear. If I'm wearing more make-up, I tend to put this on top of my foundation. I apply this with a finger and then use the back of my foundation make-up sponge to blend it in properly.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Silky Beige 005, £3.99. The reason I love this is that it lasts all day long. I can be at work 9-5 and then go out for food for tea and it will still be on! For under £4, this to me is a bargain. It comes in 6 shades and I tend to vary between two. My face tans really well during the summer (I wish my body did too!) so I use a slightly darker shade in the summertime. Once again, I use a sponge to brush the powder on and then lightly use a tissue to wipe off any excess powder. This stops my face from looking super cakey.

Eyes

Rimmel London GlamEyes Trio Eyeshadow in The Twilight Zone, £6.49. Unfortunately this is out of stock now but it is the perfect trio for creating smoky eyes. As I said before, I don't wear much make-up during the day but for a special event, smoky eyes are my go-to. I love the texture of these eyeshadows and they blend perfectly. I tend to use the lightest just on the inner corner of my eye, the middle colour all over the lid and the darkest shade in the crease. With the dark colour, I always blend it in with a cotton bud so it doesn't stand out too much or look too dark.

Avon True Colour Eyeshadow in Purple Haze, £9.00. If I ever have a simple black outfit on for a nighttime event, it's nice to have a pop of colour to your outfit which is why I tend to use this purple set. Again I use the same routine as the Rimmel set (lightest on the inner corner etc.). I don't usually use the grey colour in this set, just because I stick to the purple shades! Again these are great to blend.

Rimmel London Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in Sable Brown and Jet Black, £2.99. I tend to be more experimental with eye make-up and have tried so many different eyeliners. None of them are as good as these Rimmel ones. They glide on so easily but are easy to remove if you make a mistake! I used to just own the black one but then I discovered it can look quite harsh for daytime so bought the brown one instead. They are great for smudging too; again I use a cotton bud to smudge them (they're one of my beauty secrets!). I tend to sharpen them after I've used them every time aswell.

An eyelash curler. I have no idea where I bought this but I only ever buy the cheap ones because they're not worth spending loads on (I've found they're all the same!). Even if I'm not wearing any mascara, I use this to open up my eyes (they are the window to your soul after all!). I use it before mascara though, otherwise it gets clogged up even if you do clean it!

Rimmel London Lash Maxxx Waterproof Mascara. It appears you can't buy this anymore which is sooooo annoying! After using the original GlamEyes mascara wand comb, I will never go back to using a wand. A comb is so much easier to use but it appears you can't get them anymore :( After they discontinued the GlamEyes one, I bought this one as it was the only one with a comb (thanks to the very helpful assistant in Superdrug who really knew about her mascaras!). I'm running out too so I'm going to have to buy a different one soon :(

Lips

Vaseline Lip Therapy, £1.99. This is my number one beauty buy. I have 2 pots on the go at anytime; one stays at home in my make-up bag and one is always in my handbag. I tend not to go into beauty stores to buy it like Boots and Superdrug but bargain shops like Discount UK and Home Bargains. They tend to have it for £1 or less! I use it as a lip gloss most of the time but if wearing lipgloss, I use it as a base coat.

Avon Ultra Glazewear Lipgloss in Pink Watermelon, Pale Pink Shine and Iced Pink, £6.00. The pale pink shine shade has been discontinued now so I bought the iced pink shade to replace it. I love pink lipgloss; I've tried so many but these are the best. The colour is so vivid on them! I have both light and bright pink in case I want a pop of colour on my lips.

2True Plumptuous Lipgloss in Shade 18, £1.99. Despite it being cheap, I've never found a red lipgloss with such a deep colour. Occasionally, I like to wear deep red lips with a nude eye so they stand out and this is the perfect shade. It's not too bright but it's not super dark either. I've been using this colour for years and it's still as good as it was when I first started buying it!

So there you have it. There is a sneak peak inside my make-up bag. Like I said, I don't wear make-up every day but when I do, I tend to wear little. Only on special occasions or nights out do I wear a smoky eye or a strong lip. If I am going to wear lots of make-up, I will only wear colour on eyes or lips, not both!

Grammy Awards 2014

Last night was the Grammy Awards across the pond and because I had an early night, I had to catch up on all the red carpet action this morning on E!. I was so impressed by the majority of the outfits I saw, it looked like everyone brought their A-game! Here are my 10 favourite looks from the night.

1. My favourite look of the night was Taylor Swift. Yes I might be slightly biased because I love her, but this Gucci Premiere dress is exquisite. Of course she loves her sparkle but this has sort of a chain/mesh overlay which gives it extra edge. I love the simple silhouette, it makes her look like a statue. She said herself that wearing this dress felt like wearing a suit of armour because it was so heavy! I also love that she just wore her hair up in a ponytail to show off the sparkly neckline. Just perfection.

2. Next up is Chrissy Teigen. The model wore this gold Johanna Johnson dress which is everything I love on a red carpet: shows off your best assets, sparkly, eye-catching. Obviously the model body helps but this dress just fits her figure perfectly. I like that it reveals just enough skin with the slit up the front. Spot on Chrissy!

3. Katy Perry is known just as much for her music as her quirky fashion sense. Many people don't like this Valentino dresses but I love it! This dress would only ever be appropriate for the Grammys so why not give it a go? It suits her personality and I love the bodice and shoulders of this dress. Without the music notes, the dress would be beautiful anyway but they give it a kooky edge which is right up Katy's street!

4. Miranda Lambert in this Pamella Roland gown is breathtaking. Her new figure is amazing so why not flaunt it? I'm all for the colour of this dress and the cut and simplicity of it too are just divine. I think the neckline shows just the right amount of cleavage for this sort of event. This is old Hollywood style at its best. And can I also mention those earrings? I don't have my ears pierced but they are phenomenal!

5. Anna Kendrick, here in Azzaro, is one of my favourite celebrities to see on the red carpet. She knows her style and figure so well and always dresses correctly for the event. The Grammys means you can take that extra risk with embellishments and skin showing and this is perfect for it. Another dress with a front slit (is this the new thigh-high side split a la J.Lo at the event last year?), she's showing that us pale girls can wear pastel colours! I love the bejewelled bodice as well.

6. Iggy Azalea's figure is to die for (have you seen her bum?!) and this dress highlights that! This Elie Saab number would be seen on a stick-thin model on the runway so it's nice to see a woman with curves in it and look amazing in doing so! It's very different from her usual style; this is subtle and demure as opposed to her usually very sexy and out-there look. I also love how she's kept it girly with pink lips and nails, too cute!

7. Kacey Musgraves is fast becoming one of my favourite red carpet starlets. She's a newcomer to the music scene and this was her first Grammys! This Armani Prive dress is so princess-like and I love all the tiers of tulle. It is perfect for her debut appearance and the bow at the top is so cute!

8. Skylar Grey is not a singer I'm massively familiar with apart from that Eminem and Dr Dre song, I need A Doctor (which is a tuuuune btw!) but apparently she's pretty big in America. Here she is wearing a laser-cut pink leather Michael Costello dress is just stunning. I love that it's high fashion yet so rock-and-roll! It takes someone very brave to wear skin-tight leather especially on the red carpet but her body looks so good in this dress! Bold but well-executed choice!

9. Giuliana Rancic is one of my favourite journalists going. As co-presenter of E! News, it's her jobs to report on all the red carpet looks but people forget that she is such a stylish lady too! This orange Alex Perry gown looks so vibrant against her tanned skin; it's not often I like orange but this colour is just so vivid! I love the floral print of it and the sheer detailing in between the boobs. Hinting at cleavage is way sexier!

10. Last but not least is Sarah Hyland who has had a stunning red carpet season so far this year! I love that she went for a shorter dress as she's done a lot of floor-length gowns at other events. This dress is so cute but I love that it's quite relaxed as she's literally just there to have a fun night without the stress of maybe having to accept an award. I also love the sequin detail at the bottom of the dress.

I also want to give a mention to Ariana Grande. I'm not a huge fan of hers to be honest (her voice goes right through me!) but this dress isn't too bad. The main issue I have is that she always wears the same style of dress: floral, strapless, super girly. However the thing I want to bring to your attention to are her legs. SHE HAS NUDE TIGHTS ON!!!! That's just a massive no-no. The only place this is acceptable is if you are on stage performing. Sorry Ariana, cute but expected.

Who were your favourite/least favourite looks of the night? Comment below or tweet me @sianreed93

Style Crush: Ashley Madekwe

Now I'm a huge fan of Ashley's style; I follow her blog religiously! I'm obsessed with her super effortless style and the fact that despite having a bit of money, she still wears trusty high street clothes such as Zara and Topshop! Here are a few of her outfits I admire and her favourite pieces. (You will notice she wears items more than once which is amazing as apparently celebrities never do this!)

Denim, this woman knows how to rock denim! Skinny jeans are her staple; she is experimental with denim too though. Different washes, colours, pieces. Not only does she rock jeans but denim shirts and shorts too! Above she wears her denim with flats; now as much as I love celebrity fashion, I hate that the majority of them are always in heels; it's just not practical! Here she's gone for Doc Martens, smoking slippers and basic black pumps. Below, she shows us all how to dress up denim. Just add a pair of heels and you're good to go!

Here she also dresses up boyfriend jeans, which I think is always one of the hardest trends to master every spring/summer. She also has a wardrobe full of staple items. Stripey tops, simple jumpers, leather jackets, basic t-shirts. Yet she mixes and matches them to reinvent them, now that is chic.

Another denim item she loves are denim shorts. They're just so easy to dress up and down during the summer and for winter, all you need to do is pop a pair of black tights under them. I love how she just teams them with simple tops or jumpers and still manages to look stylish.

Another item that takes her from day to night are dresses. Gone are the standard 'plain colours for day, pattern for night' motto; here she mixes it right up. Little black dress for day, simple red dress for night. The thing here is that any of these dresses would look right at day or night (well apart from 2, that's a strictly night-time dress!). I need to take note of this tip because I only ever seem to wear dresses on nighttime occasions!

I wish I could wear a pencil skirt like Ashley does! Being a mere 5"2, they sometimes look a bit frumpy on me so I'm insanely jealous of her model-like figure! Again, not shying away from pattern, she looks amazing in that tartan skirt. I also love that she likes the monochrome look; often she will add a pop of colour with shoes or a bag.

Leather skirts have been everywhere recently, whether it's skater, pleated or a tight mini. Like Ashley, I am the owner of several leather skirts (if you read my blog regularly, you'll know how much I love a bit of leather!) and every time, she gets it right on point. Denim and leather look great together but the key here is to let the leather skirt take centre stage. By pairing it with a simple top or denim shirt, the skirt will grab all of the attention.

Like me, Ashley is also a huge fan of leather! Shorts, tops, dresses even. The trick is to just wear one leather item at a time or you go into funny territory! I'm a big fan of the leather dress here with a shirt underneath. It makes the look more wearable.

So there you have it. Ashley Madekwe, one of my style icons. Despite her having more money than I will probably ever have, I wanted to stress how simple these outfit are. You can easily pick up pieces similar to hers on the high street. In fact, I own quite a lot of clothes that look the same, if not, they look pretty close to hers! I definitely steal some of her outfit ideas and spin them in my own way :)

Are you a fan of Ashley's style? If not, who are your style icons?

Bloglovin

So I'm just getting used to blogging and finding all these new platforms for us bloggers so I've just joined Bloglovin! It would be great if you guys could follow me and help a fellow blogger out! I'll make sure to follow everyone back :)

Us bloggers need to stick together! Thanks guys :)

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So In Fashion: My Wishlist

Recently, I've been trying to look for clothing websites outside my usual few (Forever 21, New Look, Zara etc.) and discovered So In Fashion. I'm a huge fan of the amount of clothes that are so on-trend right now and the fact that the prices are fairly cheap! If you readers should know one thing about me, I'd like a bargain! So whilst having a break from my essay, I decided to share my favourites items off the website for you!

As you can see here, there is quite a bit of tartan here. I love it so much! I'm obsessed with this playsuit; it looks so expensive yet it's only £25! I think I'd wear this with chunky black heels like these that I have and a black bag. I'm very tempted to buy items 2, 4 and 5 and wear them as an outfit; it would only set me back £34 too. That's for a full outfit! I've been after a pair of wet-look leggings for ages and this look ideal. The shirt is great for dressing up or dressing down; it would look equally as cool with coloured jeans or tucked into a leather mini. My favourite item is probably item 3; it looks elegant yet sexy at the same time. I love the strip of leather down the middle and the contrast of material. Now I already own a tartan dress but at only £15 and £19 each, 6 and 8 would fit perfectly into my wardrobe. Both would look very cute with black tights and either brogues or boots. Finally, this bag is exactly what I've been looking for all this time. I love satchels but unfortunately can't afford a Cambridge Satchel or a Mulberry one. At £22.50, this is right in my budget!

Have any of you checked out this website? Is there anything you've got your eye on on there? Let me know!

My December in Pictures

December was a pretty stressful month, trying to balance uni, work, rehearsals and dating but of course, I still managed to capture some moments!

1. December is a sexy month on Tom Daley's calendar. Only a few days after, he confessed he's dating a guy. Gutted but I still love him!
2. I was just casually looking through my local paper and my favourite section is always the dating part just before the sport at the back. This was my favourite.
3. My Taylor Swift tickets came! Now only a month to wait until Ellie and I go back to London!
4. And so the studying begins. As you can see, it's an interesting topic.

5. This is the dress I wore to go to a Chinese restaurant for Ellie's 21st birthday. I love how it fits my body perfectly!
6. I couldn't even wait until Christmas Day to open our box of chocolates.
7. It is tradition on Christmas Eve for me to get new pyjamas to wear.
8. This year, the parents said you won't get much. Ah the joys of being an only child!

9. Usually I can get through a large box of Maltesers in one sitting. Not anymore!
10. I spent the majority of Christmas either at work, studying or in bed with a hot chocolate.
11. My new dress for my birthday. A bit different to what I'd normally wear but it was only £16.20 with student discount!

So that was my jam-packed December! I imagine January will be just as manic too with exams and my 21st birthday!

14 Resolutions for '14

In just over a weeks' time, I will be the big 2-1. Scary times. I feel like I need to become a proper adult with responsibilities. This got me thinking about a blog idea and my aims for the year. So I've decided to make a bucket list for 2014/my 21st year of living.

1. Stress less. I'm one of those people who lets every little thing get to them and then I just get moody. It doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist either. This year I'm going to try and chill out more and not take on too much stuff and not be able to handle it.
2. Get organised. This links in with my previous point. I tend to get stressed when I feel disorganised. This year I will make sure I have my diary on me at all times to make sure I know where I need to be at any given time. This year I will also get my assignments in earlier.
3. Cancel plans less. I'm such a phony person sometimes. When I make plans with people, the majority of times, I cancel them. Sometimes I've double-booked, sometimes I'm ill, but sometimes I just can't be bothered. This year I'm going to make more of an effort with everyone.
4. Smile more. Someone who I work with said to me "You always look angry" the other day. I'm not going to lie, this made me a little sad. I used to be such a bubbly person when I was younger, but I got to a point where I just stopped. This year I will be happy.
5. Enjoy myself more. This fits in with number 4 and 1 really. In order to distress, I need to just enjoy life while I'm young! This year I'm going to live life to the fullest.
6. Get outside more. I'm such a homebody. Nothing more I love than a night in. Maybe that's why I'm ill so much, because I spend so much time indoors. This year I'm going to get outside in the fresh air as often as possible.
7. Exercise more. I know getting fit is often a New Year's resolution that people tend not to stick to for very long but I'm determined to workout at least 3 times a week. Even if it's just dancing around my room or a brisk 10-minute walk, every little counts. This year I will find more time to work out.
8. Look after myself more. Again, this is closely linked to number 7. I need to become healthier, both inside and out. I need to get a proper skincare routine sorted and cut the amount of junk food I eat. This year I will become healthy.
9. Read more. Classic books, chick-lit, magazines. A mix of all. This year I will become a bookworm.
10. Make more plans and generally be nicer to people. I constantly moan how I never have time to see anyone so once I get organised, I am determined to catch up with friends/family more. This year I plan to meet up with people a lot more often than I did in 2013.
11. Save more money. Seeing as I get a student loan and don't have to pay board at home, I should save all of that money as well as a bit of my wages every month. Maybe I'll end up saving for something in particular but for right now, it's just for my future. This year I will put more money aside so I have something to fall back on, should I need it.
12. Experiment with make-up more. In fairness, I don't often wear make-up at the moment but when I do, I will ditch the traditional smoky eye and nude glossy lip and try different colours and wear red lipstick. This year, I will reinvent my make-up look.
13. Blog more! Again, once I get organised I will have time for my blog. This year I will try to write at least one blog post a week.
14. Go after what I want more. Guys, my career, job prospects in general. This year I will make things happen for me.

So there you have it, there are my aims for the year. What are yours?