Primark Haul - Jewellery, Shoes, Clothes And Some Beauty Reviews

As I mentioned in my previous post June was a pretty rubbish for me health wise, in fact I can count the times that I left the house on one hand! One of the outings that I did make though was a big one and it was worth all of the pain and the exhaustion that it lead to. No I didn't run or marathon or go rock climbing, I just went to Newcastle with Mummy Lou.

Mummy Lou very rarely makes it in to Newcastle so it was a nice change for both of us, I had my brows tinted and waxed at Benefit and Debenhams, we went to Patisserie Valerie for afternoon tea, and on the way back home, I managed to have a little look into the Intu Metrocentre branch of Primark.

Because I'm in the process of losing weight at the moment, buying clothes isn't a huge priority for me, I'd rather loose a bit of weight and fit into the stuff that I already own then go out and spend money and things that might not fit in a month or so, that said though I did pick up a pair of trousers.

I'm going to be honest and say that these terracota coloured pants don't look like much on the hanger, but on the body they are so, so flattering and easy to wear.  They are basically a pair of slightly cropped wide culottes, with a paper bag style, tie waist. They are a just a pull on pant with an elasticated waist and I love them. I don't normally like tucking tops into my trousers or my skirts, but in this case I'm going to make an exception, I'm planning on wearing these with maybe a black vest or camisole tucked into them in order to show off the waist detailing. By doing that I'm probably drawing attention to the area of my body that I'm most self conscious about but sometimes you just need to do something that scares you. These trousers were just £10 and they also come in a navy blue, so even if I hate how they look and I don't think that I pull them off, I haven't really wasted a lot of money, nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

That was it for clothing but I did pick up a couple of pairs of shoes, including another pair of Primark's metallic faux Converse.

These are just a metallic silver, low top, lace up pump, with grey laces, and grey rubber detailing, they were only £8 and I think they are a good alternative to real Converse if you're on budget. I already have the metallic teal, turquoise pair, and I believe they also do them in metallic copper, bronze and in a few plain and patterned canvas designs

Converse and Converse a likes, are probably my go to shoes at the moment, I wear them with pretty much anything from leggings and jeans to jersey dress, they are a real all rounder shoe and I know that I'll be able to wear them all year round. The other pair of shoes that I got though are a little bit more summery.

I've seen just read something on Twitter that the temperature in Cyprus today hit 42 degrees, and what do I see outside of my window? Nothing but rain, rain and more rain, I know it been nicer down south but in my little corner of north east England, today's weather's been more akin to January rather than July! but I have to keep praying that weather will get better and I will at some point be able to wear my pretty new sandals.

I first saw this Valentino esq sandals on +suzyheartsbeauty  Instagram and I fell in love on sight. Primark's shoe game is red hot at the moment, and these sandals are just one example of their designer inspired designs. These particular ones come in a few different fabrics and finishes but I love these nude suede effect ones. They have a zip at the back and the straps are covered in a mix of square studs and faux pearls. These were just £10 which is pretty decent for a designer inspired look.

If you were to ask the average person on the street why they shop at Primark - probably the most common answer would probably be because of the price, and I think that's probably the reason I shop there. I'm one of those people who likes to get a lot for their money, and I love that I can buy a whole load of things for maybe the price of one, similar item, elsewhere. One of the reasons that I love Primark though is that it gives me the chance to try out different styles and different looks without spending a fortune, and without potentially wasting a fortune. I do buy a lot of clothes in Primark but I also buy a lot of their jewellery and accessory pieces. If you love an outfit but you want to switch it up a bit and give it a bit of a refresh, then just change your bag, or your shoes, or add a difference piece of jewellery, to update your look in an instant. I love high end jewellery pieces as much as the next person but I also have a huge collection of fashion jewellery pieces and budget buys, and Primark is one of my favourite places to pick up on trend, purse friendly jewellery pieces.

Pick up any fashion magazine at the moment, and I can pretty much guarantee that you will spot a long length necklace, they are everywhere at the moment, and predictably Primark is there to fulfil all of out long line necklace fantasies. As well as the length, this one also combines several more of these seasons key jewellery trends, tassels and discs or circles. This gold tone necklace was only £2.50 and I think it will look equally good worn over a vest or a floaty top in the summer, as it will with a roll neck or chunky jumper in the colder months.

Given the versatility of the long length necklace, it made sense to buy all of them, well okay not all of them but I couldn't resist this one which has a bit more of an ethnic / boho vibe.

This necklace was £3 and to be honest I would have paid way more for it. It's made up of gold tone filigree designs, and embossed discs, with lengths of gold tone, snake chain in between the discs. It's a lovely necklace and I really don't think that my photographs do either the detail or the length any justice.

Now something that I dabble with occasionally is Primark's beauty range, the cleansing wipes, cuticle oil, make up brushes and nail polish remover pots are staples in my beauty routine, and every now and then I'll maybe try a nail polish or a make up item. Primark's beauty range has gone from strength to strength, and you can now find on trend items such as contour sticks, strobing palettes and even Ms Jenner esq matte lip kits on their all be it, chaotic beauty stands. Despite that, you still don't see a lot of Primark items on beauty blogs, but at long last all of that seems to be changing, and there seems to be a bit of a buzz about some of their most recent releases.

Described by some reviewers as MAC inspired, the range is comprised of several different make up items, all with a hint of designer like, rubberised pastel pink packaging. I got a couple of bits just to see whether or not the hype was justified.

The first thing that I got was the PS...Eye Candy Eye Pigment in the shade Iced Gem which was £1.50.

From the outside this is the most MAC like item of all of the pieces, it's almost identical to a MAC pigment pot, in design, size and shape. Unscrew the lid though and your met with an internal cap to stop any accidental spills. I must admit it's been years since I last bought a MAC pigment, but none of the ones that I have, have anything like this, maybe MAC can learn something from Primark here, it's a great idea and I really do think that it will cut down and both wastage and spillage.

I must admit I wasn't expecting a lot from this product but I actually really like it, it's a lovely pinky, brown, nude shade that is packed full of sparkle. For just £1.50 the pigmentation is excellent, it's blendable and it's one of those colours that you could wear on it's own whether your just going to work or whether you're going out on the town.

Like most pigments you do get a bit of fall out, only in this case it's sparkly fall out, as long as you have some loose powder or a fan brush on standby though then you shouldn't have any real problems. For the price I think that this pigment is great value, the colour is perfect and a little goes a long way. I could only find this one colour, but if you've seen any more shades then please leave me a comment and let me know X

The final item that I bought was a lipstick from the same line, and keeping UP  with current beauty trends it's a matte shade, and it's one of the PS...Super Matte Lipsticks

In case the packaging isn't very MAC like, instead you have a pastel pink, rubberised, chunky, angular style tube.

These lipsticks come in several shades, and annoyingly Primark have done it again, and don't seem to have given any of these shades a name, the only way of identifying them is via the colour of the lips on the outer box that you can see in the second picture.

It actually looks slightly different in the tube but when it's swatched this one is in a warm bright pink shade.

It's has a pleasant fruity, taste, and as you can see the pigmentation is superb.

I love the colour but for me this is just a bit too matte. It drags ever so slightly on application, and once it's on the lips it just seems to suck every ounce of moisture out of them. It clings to and emphasises every lip line, and every dry patch. Understandably it wears incredibly well before gradually fading down and giving that not so attractive butt hole lip type look! If you love the matte lip look, or if you have perfect lips with no lines and no dryness, or if you love slapping on a that lip balm like it's going out fashion, then these may be worth trying. I really do love the colour, it's very me but unfortunately I just found the formula too drying.

You win some, you lose some I guess and least I didn't spend a fortune on it, I think I'll try layering it up with a bit of lip balm and a bit of gloss, to try and up the hydration a bit, never mind x I've filmed a little You Tube video to accompany this haul and I would love it if you could a little watch of it below or via this link, and pretty, please maybe subscribe to my channel as well x.



Have you bought anything nice in Primark or anywhere else for that matter? Let me know the comments and don't forget to let me know if you have any questions on any of the items in this post x

Chunky Thighs, Summer Clothes And A May 2017 Primark Haul

Whilst the weather in the last few hours has been more reminiscent of a tropical storm or the end of days, it's been hot and sunny in most parts of the UK this week, so at last it looks as though Summer 2017 has officially started. Like most of the UK this week, I opened  my wardrobe and started looking for something cool and more summer appropriate to wear, and rather unexpectedly I closed the door and came out empty handed. In pretty much every Primark haul and video this year I've talked about why I don't need to buy anymore summer clothes, and that is still true, I own plenty of summer clothes, at the moment I just can't get my fat stomach and thighs into them! Talk about disheartening! needless to say I had a good cry, and then I went online and ordered myself a few bits in a larger size, and in an attempt to save myself a bit of money I've made the decision to resume my diet on Monday, so I can actually get some wear out the clothes that I already own.

So anyway back on point - this a Primark haul post, and both of the trips that I made this month were before I realised that I was a bit too chunky for the majority of my bottom half clothes, so clothing wise this haul just included a few basics and a few bits and pieces that I loved on sight.

Yes more stripes, I'm slightly obsessed at the moment, and I'm embracing my love of horizontal stripes and I'm thoroughly enjoying breaking those fashion rules, even if there was something in the news this week, about the Breton stripe inducing headaches hmm! Anyway this was the top that I originally bought last month that was on the wrong hanger. It's an ordinary long line t-shirt in white almost slubby type fabric with a very thin black stripe, it was only £4 and thankfully this one fits perfectly.

Next up more black and white stripes, and although this one is described as a cami dress, on me wearing this as a dress in the UK, could lead to an arrest for exposure! On most people these are probably just a very decent length, long line vest, I already own a couple of these in plain colours, and they are really good for layering. This one is black with a thin white stripe and it was also just £4.

So yeah stripes are huge in fashion at the moment, and something else that is also pretty on trend is the slogan t-shirt, jumper or swimsuit. We all seem to be obsessed with words and quirky sayings, and it's a trend that I'm personally a fan of. Although I'm more obsessed with having French words emblazoned on my clothes (odd but in reality the French accent doesn't do a lot for me!) the odd quirky phrase in English can be a lot of fun.

I already picked up a slogan t-shirt in my previous Primark haul (read it here) and I couldn't resist this one especially since it was just £2.50! It's a tiny bit shorter and snugger than I would have liked but at that price you can't really argue. I'm in the middle of a coffee love in at the moment so this slogan was perfect "Coffee First Then The World".

The final clothing item that I picked up is actually from the swimwear and beachwear range. An overseas holiday is looking pretty unlikely again this year for various reasons, but if I was going I would definitely have taken a closer look and Primark's holiday section. Admittedly I probably wouldn't have been able to squeeze my ass in to much but they had some gorgeous things for not very much money at all. I did pick up one thing though, this off white, crochet, lace effect beach cover up.

Although I think that this intended to be worn on the beach or by the pool over a bikini or a swimsuit, I'm intending to use it as a layering piece over a plain strappy vest to give it a bit more interest and to cover up a little bit. I've bought a few cover ups in the past for exactly this purpose and I think that they look great over a pair of leggings or jeans, with a pair of flip flops or sandals. This was also just £4 and it comes in a few difference colours.

That was it for clothing but i pick up a few pairs of shoes, I originally went looking for the Prada and Valentino copies but they had long gone in the two stores that I went in to. If you follow me on Instagram (i'm @LouLou699 you'll know that I recently picked up a pair of gorgeous pair of metallic pink, cool rose gold, Converse, and I love them. There are a whole range of metallic Converse on the market at the moment and I want all of them. My low Converse are probably my most worn shoes at the moment and if I couldn't wear nothing else bar Converse at the moment I would probably be okay with that. That said they are pricey and as yet I'm yet to see any in this shade.

Okay they aren't the real thing obviously but they are pretty damned close, and I absolutely love the bright metallic teal blue colour. I'm an 8 normally in Converse but I managed to get these dupes in a size 7. At just £8 I think that shoes are a real bargain, and I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on the silver pair as well.

I'm loving metallic anything at the moment, and loving navy and blue and much as I do, these metallic, rope effect, espadrille pumps are perfect and they are ridiculously comfortable as well.

They had these in a few different colours and for just £4 a pair they really are a summer most have. The sizing is pretty generous so in this case I also managed to get a size 7 and with even a little bit of room to spare.

Although I'm trying to cut down on the amount of jewellery that I buy and instead actually start wearing some of the pieces that I already own, on my first trip which was to the Newcastle store I did buy a couple of necklaces. They are both in the bib style and this first one which was £3 features a mixture of gold tone and crystal set discs.

The second necklace is also in the bib style, and it reminds me a lot of the Egyptian style necklaces that you see in images and representation of the likes of Cleopatra. It was £4 and it's comprised of gold tone, snake chain, with semi circles in both gold and silver tone hanging from, to give the illusion of hanging spikes.

I mentioned in my previous Primark haul post that I wanted to have a better look at their new beauty products, and I managed to a good rummage, and whilst I was impressed with a lot of the products for the price, in all honestly I didn't really need anything so I stayed strong, and just picked up one of their new nails polishes.

There was a few of these and I was initially going to be a few of them but since my nails have gone down the drain again, I just ended up buying the one, the PS Holographic Nail Polish in the shade 2 Cute 4 U. I'm not sure whether or it, I would describe it as a true holograph but it's actually a lovely pearlised iridescent with a sprinkling of holographic sparkle. I haven't properly yet so I'm not sure whether or not it's a full coverage polish or whether or not you could use it as a top coat but purely in the bottle it reminds me of one of the limited edition Nails Inc Unicorn colours. This nail polish was £2.

The final thing that I bought was a home item, and as much as I'm loving Primark's cactus and flamingo love in at the moment, I'm running out of space for frippery, so I just bought a reed diffuser. A few people have been talking about the quality of Primark's reed diffusers lately, and since I did really like the last one I tried, I though I'd give this tropical, summer scented Mango and Passion Fruit one a try. It was just £3 and I have really high hopes for it, I just hope that it doesn't disappoint.

So that was my latest Primark haul, giving my rather rotund frame at the moment I think I'm going to be looking elsewhere when it comes to summery bottoms (video or blog post to come when I do buy something elsewhere though ), but I did see a couple of tops that I might go back for. In the meantime don't forget to watch the accompanying video below or via this link.



If you have any questions please leave me a comment below and I'll see you soon with another blog post x

A Shoe And Accessory Haul Featuring Mel, Primark And More

This week on the blog I'm going to make a huge effort to get a few outstanding posts done including some long awaited reviews and a few belated hauls. I'm really conscious that it looks like I've been shopping non stop but all of the items in this haul and in the next one I'm going to show you have been picked up over the last couple of months. It's quite scary when you realise just how much you can buy with just the odd item here and there, it all adds up to a lot of stuff eek.

Anyway this is the first of two fashion hauls, I might do a video to accompany the next one which is a clothes haul but it will definitely be live this week, but in the meantime this one is all about shoes and accessories.

One of my earliest ever memories is sitting on the floor at the Tommy Ball's shoe warehouse in Blackburn, amongst a rack of shoes - we regularly used to make the trip down to Lancashire and I think it's one of the reasons why I'm so obsessed with shoes. Give or take a bit of swelling, shoes will always fit you no matter what your size, and I love them for that.

One of my favourite shoe brands is Mel, the diffusion line of rubber shoe manufacturer Melissa. Rubber shoes I hear you cry? Well yes and if you haven't tried them you should I have a few pairs of their pumps and some of their flip flops and they are so comfortable. My feet have never felt overtly sweaty in them and smell of bubblegum.

As you might have seen in one of my most recent posts I'm a huge fan of catalogue shopping, and both me and my mum have a few catalogue accounts, one of which is Littlewoods. Recently they sent me a discount voucher which to be honest I wasn't going to use until I had a look at the shoe section and saw these.

These are the Mel Flower Flip Flops, and I love them I'm a huge fan of daises as you probably now and I just loved the sharpness of the black, white and yellow design. These were £32 full price, and although they don't have them on the Littlewoods site, Top Shop also stocks them in a bright yellow.

Naughty LouLou, I couldn't just stop at one pair though could I, I also ordered and subsequently kept these ones too.

These are the Mel Honey 3 Flower Detail Flip Flops, and they originally retailed at £30. I already have some Mel ballet flats with a similar design and they remind me quite a bit of the Chanel Camellia's.

I think I'm slightly obsessed with Mel and Melissa shoes and I can definitely see myself adding to my collection this summer. Very have a similar range to Littlewoods, and Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins also have a few nice styles, as do ASOS who stock the higher end Melissa line and a few designer collaborations. Hmm I think I might get some more ballet flats if I'm honest, I wear my black bow ones an awful lot, so they would probably be a better investment than buying yet more flip flops.

Speaking of flip flops, I also bought a pair from Primark. As well as flip flops in all the basic colours, this year they're also doing a character range with the likes of Minnie Mouse and Frozen. I liked them but I went for something from the men's department.

Minions! sometime large feet have their advantages, I usually take between a 7 and an 8 depending on the brand, and the Men's size small fitted perfectly. I loved the Minion Havaianas but I've only ever seen them in children's sizes so at just £3 these were a great alternative. As yet I'm not going away this year but I'm such a child and I'm so excited for the Minions movies that I just had to pick these up.

Pair of shoes number 4 and it's a pair of Converse. I only have one other pair of Converse which are
hi tops, and whilst I do like them, they can sometimes be a pain to put on when your in a rush, with all of the laces, so I tend to reach for my low rise Converse a likes instead.

I couldn't quite make my mind between the navy and the white, but in the interests of practicality of went for the navy. My two favourite colours at the moment are probably navy and orange, which are both very different but great summer colours in their own right. The navy and white combination is a real classic and I know that I will wear these an awful lot, in fact I may have already worn them in some pics that I've had taken for an upcoming outfit post - so keep your eyes peeled and see if you can spot them.

From shoes to handbags, and believe me I love my bags just as much. From designer bags to budget totes, a good bag can make a real difference to any outfit and at the moment I'm loving all the quirky bags that out there. From bags that are shaped liked lips, to ones shaped like fruit and even perfume bottles.

I saw this in the Next Spring sale and I had to have it. I have no idea where I'll use it but I needed it. Its a hard plastic box clutch in the shape of a perfume bottle, and it has label picked out in faux leather. It opened with a snap clasp at the lid and it has a removable chain strap so you can wear it two ways.

I think I paid £12 for this but unfortunately I can't find it on the Next website anymore but you never know it might still be available in store. They also did a playing card bag and a postcard and a Swizzles bag that were very similar in design.

I also got another bag from the Next sale and this one is still a clutch but it's a bit more practical. Again it's a clutch but this time it's just a flat zip up pouch in an almost exotic floral design with a tan zip pull. Apologies but I can't remember how much it was but this too has disappeared from the Next site.

Another Next sale purchase was this necklace. This was originally £40 but I paid £12. I love statement necklaces and this one definitely fits the bill.

It's a really dramatic multi-layer piece with all different types and colours of chain and charms hanging from a gold tone chain. It's quite heavy to wear but it's a real impact piece. Again this is no longer online but you may still be able to pick it up in store or in a Next Clearance.

My final accessory, shoe and jewellery purchase came from...Poundland! I saw this necklace from their Purple Ivy range on a few instagram post and again I love the multi layered look

It's made of silver tone and gunmetal and features various different chain types, and some spike charms. I think it;s really decent for the price and it certainly looks like you would have paid more than £1 for it x

I hope you've enjoyed this little haul, my next haul post will be a collective fashion haul, so you'll either see that up next or some beauty content x Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x