Now since I hadn't been to Primark since the week before Christmas lots of things had changed, and the boots and winter woollies, had been replaced with shorts, bikinis and flip flops! Despite seeing a few people in shorts recently, I'm not quite ready for summer just yet, but I did end up buying a few pieces that are probably better suited to barmy spring days rather than the snow that's forecast for next week!
When it comes to dressing my bottom half, I do think that I'm stuck in a bit of a rut, jeans, leggings and jeggings are my go to's, and whilst I did pick up a pair of my wardrobe staple, black, cotton leggings for only £2.50, I'm fancying making a few changes style wise this year, and wearing a couple of long forgotten bits in my wardrobe, and picking up a few new, and different things.
Since I'm all about comfort the most obvious bottom half solution is / are joggers! At their heart, they're slouchy, and comfortable but depending on how you style them, they can actually look pretty stylish. Primark was full of joggers, and harem style pants, in all sorts of different designs, fabrics, and colours, and I ended up buying two, quite different pairs
The first pair, which were £7, I guess were the safe option. When in doubt go for a plain colour, and you can't get a safer option than a pair of black trousers. These are just a basic pull on, straight legged pant, with an elasticated, tie detail waist. The fabric is quite thin on these so their definitely more of a spring / summer piece, but they really wearable and black trousers go with pretty much anything.
The second pair that I got though, were a bit more of a gamble, but when I was a bit more daring in my fashion choices I used to love striped trousers - A good vertical striped pant can make you look taller and thinner, which is always a good thing in my book.
These are more like a traditional cuffed jogger, the fabric is slightly thicker, and has a stretchy jersey type feel. Again they are in the pull on style, and they have a waist tie, that is tipped with metal accents. They have a slight harem shape and are a bit wider at the waist and hips, and they narrow down to a cuffed hem.
They are in a lovely navy blue shade, and as you can see they have white vertical, solid and broken vertical stripes. They were £6 and whilst they obviously aren't as versatile as the black pair, they are so soft and comfortable that I know I'll get a lot of use out of them. The most obvious choice is to team them up with a white top but I'm definitely going to have a play with shapes and colours - I'm loving different shades of yellow at the moment and I can just imagine these pants teamed up with a yellow cami in the summer.
Whilst I still feel that I need an overhaul in the bottom area of my wardrobe, it's probably fair to say that I'm pretty well off for tops, and if anything I probably have too many as it is, but I do love a bit of tie dye, and I'm really that there is so much of it around at the moment.
I've already bought a couple of long sleeve tie dye, ombre style tops from Simply Be, and I couldn't resists picking this one up because it's so different for any of the other tie dye garments that I already own.
This boyfriend style t-shirt which was just £6 is just so fresh, and spring like with it's pale, sky blue and white horizontal stripe tie dye design. I actually sized down in this because it was so slouchy and I wanted it to be a little bit more fitted. I know Primark can sometimes be a bit hit and miss quality wise but this has a real quality feel, the fabric is nice and soft, and it has a nice thickness to it, and I can't wait to wear it when the sun comes out, and it actually feels as warm as what it looks like through the window :)
Next up something that I don't think that I've ever shown you on the blog, my knickers! Now I love fancy undies as much as the next person, and I recently added a few pairs of sexier pants from Victoria's Secret (shock horror I found something in there that fits my curves!!!) to my underwear drawer, but lets be honest my fellow females, sexy undies are perfect for making you feel amazing and obviously for those special occasions but sometimes you just want a nice and comfy pair of pants. Like so many others I used to swear by Marks and Spencer for my everyday pants but in the last year or so I've being buying multi packs like this from Primark and to be honest I haven't noticed to much difference in terms of quality or wear. One thing that I despise though is baggy undies so I always tend to buy a smaller size than what I actually am, there is nothing worse than washing your pants a few times and the elastic giving up - go a bit smaller and they end up fitting perfectly. Even if you are an expensive underwear wearer, then these pants are perfect for everyday use and for that time of the month - this pack of 5 cost me just £3.50.
So that's it for clothes next up jewellery and shoes! Ever since I was tiny I've always had a thing for shoes, and do you know who I blame Mummy Lou! Some of my earliest and fondest memories are the trips that me and my mam used to make to the massive Tommy Balls shoe factory outlet in Blackburn, I have a vivid memory of sitting under a shoe rang whilst my mam filled up her basket. She always complains when I buy more shoes but it's pretty obvious to me who is to blame for my shoe addiction.
Long gone were the boots of winter, instead Primark was full of summer sandals, flip flips and pumps. They had some lovely sandals but with summer still being a little way off I ended up buying something that I can wear now, and that will take me well into the warmer months, and hopefully beyond.
I love flat and comfy, skate type shoes, and lace ups, and I virtually live in one of my numerous pairs of Converse. These are more Vans like in appearance actually but I love the style and I since I'm loving mustard's at the moment, these were a must have. These were also £6
Over the last few months or so I've been trying to shop my stash a bit when it comes to jewellery. I've rediscovered so fab things that I'd forgotten about including some amazing, retro looking mustard beads, but you know me I can never resist a bargain, so it goes without saying that I ended up with a couple of new jewellery pieces.
Finally beauty, and I always say it, Primark's beauty range just keeps getting better and better. Their own range now, is entirely cruelty free, and they had loads of fab new things in, including a Hello Kitty range, and some gorgeous new highlighters, but I stayed strong and I picked up a few staples including two bottles of their fab cuticle oil for just a £1 each, and some of their tea tea based face wipes that are just £1 for 2 packs of 25.
One of the things that I was surprised to see was the Alex Steinherr skincare range, I know that when it first came out it was only available in selected stores, but it looks as though it's rolling out into more stores which has to be a good thing. I wasn't that desperate for anything new skincare wise, so I only bought one thing, but if you have any recommendations, then please let me know so I can maybe pick up a few more things on my next visit. The one thing that I did get on this trip though, was the Alex Steinherr Pore Balance Blemish Rescue Stickers.
I'd tried something similar in the past from both Sarah Chapman , and from one of the more acne focused drugstore brands, maybe Oxy, Biore or Clearasil and I loved the concept. No mess and no fuss!
Basically you get 22 clear plastic circular stickers that are infused with both tea tree and salicylic acid, which are designed to help calm the redness and irritation of a spot. They are vegan, not tested on animals and fragrance free.
All you do after cleansing is apply one of the patches to each spot, and leave it on overnight or between 8 and 12 hours, before peeling it off. Obviously these would work out quite expensive if you had a lot of spots but if you like me you just get the odd one or two, angry hormonal ones at that time of the month then these are ideal.
I've only tried one up to now but it made a big difference, it stayed stuck to my chin all night and it seemed to bring the spot to a head so it looked less angry, and it seemed to fade more quickly. These were £3 for 22 stickers and I'm definitely going to be using these next time my skin decides to misbehave.
So that was my first Primark haul of 2019, I am aiming to buy less and wear more in 2019 so I don't think Primark trips are going to be too frequent this year but we'll see - it's impossible to go in without buying anything, and who knows what else this year has to offer. I have a nice repositioned mirror which is ideal for outfit selfies, and Mummy Lou is has been practising her photography skills, so I'm hoping to try and get a few more outfit posts and pictures up on both the blog and my Instagram this year, so make sure you're following on all fronts to see some of these bits and more on something other than a coat hanger x In the meantime if you have any questions on any of the items that I've bought then please let me know x
*I Have Worked With Intu Metrocentre Within The Last 12 Months
