A Late August 2018 Primark Haul - Clothes, Accessories And Beauty

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I honestly don't know where this year has gone, it seems to have flown by so fast that I don't seem to have been able to do anything, go anywhere or achieve anything. Please tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way or is this just middle age and life catching up with me? - who knows! Like most things this year Primark trips have been pretty thin on the ground, my last visit was in May so a little shopping trip was well overdue! It's always the way though isn't it, you don't go somewhere for ages and then you end up going three times in 4 weeks! a bit like buses I guess, but you what that means, it means that I have a couple of Primark hauls coming up for you in the next week or so, first up the goodies I picked up on two trips in August x

Last time I was in Primark way back in May, it was all about summer style, with shorts, vest tops , bikinis and sandals as far as the eye could see, this time round though the sale rails were clinging on to summer whilst the rest of the store, was bedecked in Autumn and Winter colours and styles.

Something that seems to be back big style for A/W 2018 is checks and tartan, I love a checked shirt on a guy but I'm also partial to a little bit of plaid in my own wardrobe. I've always loved tartan and checks for as long as I can remember; I remember having a couple of dresses in tartan as both a child and an adult, and I remember owning the most fabulous bright blue tartan mini skirt from C&A, it probably wouldn't fit me know but I wish I'd held on to it.

This top is probably a little bit more practical than my long lost skirt, and at just £5 it was a must have. It's basically a fine knit type fabric tunic, it has a slightly boxy bat wing shape, and a visible back zip.

Primark have apparently improved their sizing on a lot of their items, and this was one of a few items that I saw that was available in a 2XL, which they claim should fit a 22-24. Still not trusting Primark's sizing and always going for the largest size, this was the size that I went for, but to be honest I should have gone a size down because on me it's pretty roomy. Despite the fact that it's pretty lightweight it's still pretty cosy but since I do have a bit of extra room in it, and because it has 3/4 sleeves, I could wear it on top of either a long sleeved t-shirt or a black polo or roll neck for a bit of extra warmth on those colder days.

Although the store was full of Autumn and Winter bits, there were still a few basics and things that I think you could wear all year round. I love florals,  be it ditsy, gaudy, or even vintage, if there is a flower on something that you can pretty much guarantee that I'll like it. I'm also a huge fan or shirts and blouses so team either of those with a floral print, and I'll be there in a flash.

I couldn't resist this long line tie detail shirt, in a slightly sheer chiffon / gauze fabric, this off white shirt features a vintage style blush floral rose pattern. It only buttons half way down leaving you free to wear it loose or to knot it at the front.

It was only £12 and I loved it so much that I went back and picked up the same shirt but in a different colour and print. This one is in a beautiful deep teal, with a slightly different but equally big and blousey vintage floral print in shades of blue, blue, and beige.

Again it was only £12 and again you can wear it in several different ways. Being so sheer I probably will need to wear a vest or a t-shirt underneath but you could wear it unbuttoned as a kind of a jacket, tied, or even loose with the buttons fastened, giving it an almost slit detail look.

There seems to be a lot of this teal / petrol shade around at the moment and I also ended up buying one of my favourite long line t-shirts in this fab deep petrol shade.

I've talked about these Primark t-shirts on many occasions now and they are a real staple for me, this one was just £3.50 and again it's perfect on it's own and perfect for layering as the weather gets colder. I'm also a huge fan of their long sleeved t-shirts so I picked up this navy blue and red stripe crew neck t-shirt shirt for £4.00.

Although the long sleeved t-shirts aren't marked as being long line, on me the length is pretty decent, and because of the elastane content they skim my curves and they don't tend to ride up. If you want a bit more length though you could maybe size up a bit but I'm both long in the body and curvy and they're fine on me.

Apart for a pair of leggings, and a pair of my Primark wardrobe staple indigo jeggings, that was it for clothing, but I did go slightly mad in the hair accessories, does anyone really need 45 different hair bobbles, well I do! I honestly don't know where they go! Like so many things Primark have been playing around with their sizing on their hair bobbles, and I picked up a pack of their snag less 30 Standard Hair Elastics which were £1.50. I haven't tried these yet but on reflection I should have gone for the ones for thicker hair we'll see though and I'll know either way for next time. I also got a pack of 12 of the rubber / plastic Spiral Hair Ties in various shades of brown for just £1. Again I love the fact that these don't catch, snag or damage the hair, they also hold their shape pretty well, just keep them away from four legged felines if you want them to last though ;)

Now, as someone who grew up in the 80's and 90's I have many stories about the humble hair scrunchie, be it my scrunchie collection and when it became a bit of a competition as to how many you could wear in your hair at once! I'm not entirely sure that I want to go back there but scrunchies are immensely practical especially if like me, you tie your hair back for bed. They're soft, they don't catch the hair, and you can't feel them digging into your scalp! I have a few floating round that I still use but since they seem to be on trend again I thought I'd stock up with this pack of 3 black scrunchies which just a £1. I'm not sure I'll wear them out of the house, I think I'm over that but I'll definitely wear them for bed.

Next up beauty, and despite seeing a few things online that I liked the look of when I got into store I didn't desperately need or want anything, so I just ended up buying some face wipes and a lipstick.

Okay I didn't need a lipstick but for just 90p and since Primarks beauty range is now cruelty free, it would have been wrong not to have popped this PS Lustre Lipstick in Skin On Skin into my basket

In almost self coloured MAC esq packaging, the lipstick is in a lovely pink / nude colour, it has a coconut taste and scent, and feels very moisturising on the lips. The pigmentation is excellent and it has a nice sheen to it - overall well worth 90p and maybe even more!

Now I also mentioned that I picked up some face wipes, I have used Primark's tea tree face wipes for what seems like forever, I've gone through so many packets that I've lost count. I use them for all sorts of things and when I don't have them I panic! Since I hadn't been to Primark for around 3 months understandably I'd ran out and I thought if I just picked up some generic tea tree based face wipes from B&M that they would be the same, believe me they weren't and they made me realise just how good the Primark ones were, you can therefore imagine my horror when I couldn't find the ones that I usually buy - instead all I could find were these.

They were the same price and you got the same amount of wipes, and the ingredients looked similar so I hoped upon hope, that it was just a name and packaging change, and thankfully that's exactly what seems to have happened, they look, smell and feel exactly the same as they always use to - Phew!!! breathes a huge sigh of relief!

The eagle eyed and loyal LouLouLand and LouLou699 followers amongst may have already seen this but last week I posted a little video to accompany this blog post, you can find out a little bit more about the items that I've showed you here (bar one of the t-shirts that I forget to film eek) and hear more about a couple of things that I haven't talked about in this post. You can watch it below or via this link.



As I say I've got another Primark haul coming for you in the next week or so but in the meantime if you're a fan of hauls don't forget to follow me on Instagram (I'm @LouLou699 ) I've recently posted a TK Maxx haul on my stories featuring a few Illamasqua bits. If you've missed seeing that in my storeies though you can always check out my Instahaul highlights tab to see all of the purchases that I've shared on my stories over the last few months x I love reading and watching other peoples haul post so don't forget to link me up in the comments and of course please let me know if you have any questions on anything that I've bought x

A Small Fashion Haul And An Outfit Post

Hey everyone x I hope you've all had a nice weekend x I've got a little haul for you today and it's a fashion haul. I'm a bit of a fan of catalogue shopping and the majority of this haul comes from two catalogues - Littlewoods and La Redoute, with a couple of high street buys thrown in.

I've had catalogues in my house for the longest time, I used to spend hours at a time as a child pouring through my mams catalogues, circling all the things that I wanted and do you know what I still do that. You don't get as many printed paper catalogues as you used to so some of the magic has gone but a lot of websites now have a wishlist facility and of course there is always Pinterest, I'm still learning about that one but already I can see how much fun it is picking out wishes and wants. 

The bulk of this haul comes from Littlewoods but you can also get the same items on Very and a few other sites. From the minute I saw this shirt I knew that I needed it. I've become a huge fan of sheer shirts from the Definitions brand this year and the gaudy, psychedelic, floral pattern on this one really stood out.

Again it's quite sheer so I'll need to wear a vest or a camisole underneath it, but I love the combination of the purples and the burnt oranges. This was £37 and they also do a dress in the same print.

The next thing that I got was another blouse from the Definitions line. Although it's described as a blouse, for me this is a pull on tunic.

In a sheer ivory fabric it features an orange, beige, burgundy and blue floral print. On the website it's called the Printed Contrast Trim Blouse and down the back, down the front and around the neckline and cuffs there is a black contrast, fabric band. This one was £37 as well, but if you fancy buying this shirt I would definitely consider sizing up especially if you're a bit fuller on the bust.

My final Littlewoods fashion purchase was from their own South brand, and it was the South Blocked Tunic.

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This is basically just a long line fabric t-shirt with navy blue block sleeves, and a navy blue chiffon trim with small side slits. The body of the top has a navy blue and white almost shutter like, stripe print, overlaid with a blue and white floral print. The length is really good and this is definitely a top you could wear over skinny jeans or leggings. The sizing on this one is pretty generous and if anything I probably could have gone for a smaller size. You better get used to this top if you subscribe to my You Tube Channel because I'm wearing it in 4, yes 4 videos :) including the one at the end of this post - £25 well spent x 

Next up another catalogue and this time La Redoute. I'm been a fan of La Redoute for a while now, their clothes are just a little bit different and whilst I haven't bought a lot from them lately their catalogues and website are always worth a look. To be fair this time round I sent a lot of stuff back and I only ended up keeping the free gift, navy trench coat and this top.

From their own Mademoiselle R line, this is a Short Sleeved Jewelled Collar T-Shirt. It's basically a short black t-shirt with a white Peter Pan style collar covered in an acrylic jewel, floral pattern. I love the collar detailing so I couldn't resist it. The sizing isn't that generous and it isn't the longest t-shirt I own but it's cute. This top is £19 and comes in both black and grey x 

Next up yet another top, another blouse and this time something that you could pick up with your weekly shop.

This fabulous floral peasant like top comes from the Florence and Fred (F&F) range at Tesco. Made of a slightly sheer, soft, silky, satin feel fabric, it has a pussy bow fastening and the neck and it has long puffed sleeves. Described as the Retro Floral Print Pussybow Blouse, this blouse is covered in a fabulously, gaudy floral print, in shades of red, mustard, teal and white. I'm not convinced that this is the most flattering top I've ever bought but I do love a pussy bow and that retro, in your face floral print so it's a thumbs up from me. There is no stretch in the fabric so I would probably size up because you'll probably need to wear something underneath it. This top was just £14 which is really good value when you look at the styling and the softness of the fabric, and you can also buy a dress in the same fabric for £20.

For as long as I can remember I've loved colours and prints like this so I'm really loving the current 70's trend. As I've said before my usual outfit is a pair of jeans, trousers or leggings and a bright top but this year I'm trying to be a bit braver with my clothing choices so I decided to buy something that's way out of my comfort zone - a dress!

So many people wear dresses and look amazing but since I've gained weight I just haven't had the confidence but I really liked the look of this jersey dress. I love the high neck and the tan,and blue floral and botanical print so I went for it, it was just £9.99 so it was no great shakes if I didn't wear it...

I did wear it though, and it had it's first outing on Wednesday night at the Metro Centre Fashion Live and House Of Fraser event. I have to admit I felt a little bit self conscious and I would have preferred it to have been a little bit longer but for £9.99 you can't really complain. I thought I would document the day I tried something new so Mummy Lou took some pics for a very rare outfit of the day.

What I Wore

Patterned Jersey Dress - H&M

Black Tights - Asda

Marc By Marc Jacobs Chicory Leather Strike Tote Bag

Fluffy Bag Charm - H&M

Black Brogues - Dolcis 

Wooden Bead Necklace - Gift From Godparents

I don't think it looks too bad, I decided to play on the tan / brown floral print, and team it with a tan bag, OPI - Basque In The Sun nail polish, and a toning wooden bead necklace. I went with plain black tights and shoes to coordinate with the background, and I teamed it with a black faux leather jacket from La Redoute. I'm not the most stylish person by any means but I really want to start doing some more outfit of the days - I just need to practise my posing a bit and Mummy Lou needs to practise her photography skills!

I went on a bit of a You Tube filming spree this week and I filmed 4 videos on Friday, 2  of which are already live including the video to accompany this haul which you can see above, and another 2 at least will be live next week, so make sure you're subscribed to my You Tube channel and you're following my blog for some more hauls and some lifestyle and beauty content x Thanks for reading and hopefully watching and if you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you x 

A Huge, Collective Clothing, Shoes And Jewelley Haul

Hi all, I'm back with another haul post for you and this time it's a clothing, shoe and accessory haul x I've got quite a bit of stuff to show you so I'll cut out the rambling and get started.

First up shirts or blouses or whatever else you want to call them. They are my latest obsession and I'm particularly loving bright shirts that I can throw on over a pair of jeans. Last month I showed you a gorgeous sheer white shirt with neon floral print that I bought from Litttlewoods (see it here), well I loved the shirt so much that I went back on the site and found and ordered two very similar shirts.

The first shirt that I got is in a sheer white material but this time, it covered in a bright, floral, rose design. It also has a solid white collarr, and a solid white covered button placket. This is the shirt that I'm wearing in the accompanying video later on in this post and it was £35.

The next shirt that I got was also from the Definitions brand at Littlewoods (and Very). Again it's in a sheer white fabric but this time it's covered in a random pink and purple almost paint splash design that resembles flowers and birds if you let your mind wander a bit :) This one was £34.

I'm really loving these sheer shirts at the moment. Yes, you probably do need to wear a camisole or a vest underneath them but they look so cool and smart for the summer, just throw them on with pair of leggings or some skinny jeans, and some heels or some sandals and you're good to go.'

Sticking with the shirt theme I also got something slightly more sensible, I was looking through my wardrobe and to be honest something was missing - a good, classic white shirt, I've got a couple but they've definitely seen better days so I ordered a couple from Next. One of them was a bit too boring and went straight back, but this military style shirt was definitely more versatile. Made from a slightly stretchy, self stripe fabric, this shirt will work equally well with a smart black skirt like I wore it with today, as it would with a pair of jeans and some boots. This one was £28 which I think is great value for something that I'll get a lot of wear out of.

From something that's subtle and classic to two pieces that are bright, eye catching and in your face! Last month I also showed you a top that I'd purchased from QVC and more specifically from the Wearable Art By Bob Mackie line (take a little peek here to refresh your memory) I loved the psychedelic patterns and colour so much so that I had a little look in the clearance section on the website and I bought two more brightly coloured, and patterned pieces.

They always say that if you like something you should buy it in every colour, well I didn't quite buy it every colour but I did buy the same top in two different colours. With a geometric, almost Aztec and daisy print, I got this top in both a pink and lilac combination and in a fabulous almost periwinkle blue and green.

These tops are made of a gorgeous lightweight, almost slinky type fabric which feels lovely and cool against the skin. I paid less than £20 each for them which I think is pretty good for the quality of the product and for their originality and exclusivity.

Next up H&M and I couldn't resist a little sale and non sale order. The first item that I got was in the sale and it was the blush pink version of the navy blue skirt that I bought here x

Again it has an elasticated waist, and two front patch pockets. This was £12 in the sale reduced from £24.99 and it's still available online.

As well as the skirt I also got one full price clothing item x This short chiffon kimono comes from the Divided line and was only £7.99

It originally came in a variety of different designs but this geometric, Aztec design is the only one that's still available. I really like short boleros, shrugs and kimonos for covering the top of my arms when I'm wearing a vest or a camisole. This really is a multi coloured piece and I think it would work well with a variety of different colour camis.

Next up a scarf, and although I don't wear them anywhere near as much as I used to I'm still slightly obsessed with neck wear.

Alas this pretty navy blue floral scarf isn't online anymore, but it was just £2 so it's worth having a look in store if you fancy it.

My final H&M purchases were all jewellery pieces including this gorgeous, statement bracelet which was just £4 in the sale.

It's a basic silver tone clamp bangle with a beautiful, eye catching, opalescent and sparkly faux crystal design.

I also got some earrings including this mismatched four pack which was only £3.

This gold tone set contains a small stud, a small circle design, an ear cuff, and a little crystal star on a hoop.

I also got a full price set of 9 pairs of earrings. The set contains 3 crystal pairs, 3 faux pearl pairs, and some gold tone ball studs and gold tone knot pair, and they were just £3.99

Next up Avon, and over the past month I've picked up a couple of their bracelets including this one.

The picture isn't great but it's multiple strands of navy blue waxed cord, with a gold tone fastening, and attached to the cords are tiny gold tone and crystal flowers which move freely along the cords. The design reminds me a lot of some of the Folli Follie flower pieces, but this was a lot more purse friendly. Unfortunately I can't find this bracelet online or in the most recent brochure but it's worth keeping an eye out when a sale supplement pops through the door.

Something that is still available though is this Irlana Bracelet which is currently on special at £5. What these are, are oval natural gemstones attached to different coloured adjustable cords, with different coloured findings. There are 4 different stones to choose from but I went for the Cream Quartzite which represents Health - believe me I need all the help I can get! This semi precious stone comes on a black cord and features gold tone detailing

I love this bracelet and I can definitely see myself buying a few more colours, next on my wishlist is the Chalcedony which represents love -awww x

My final jewellery purchase comes from ebay and it's an inspirational quote necklace. It comes in a silver tone and features a circular double sided pendant. I'm not sure how well you can see it but one side is engraved / embossed with the words " Life The Life You Love"

and the other side features the words "Learn From Yesterday Live For Today Hope For Tomorrow"

I love quotes, and inspirational sayings and this necklace was only 99p including postage from this seller .

My name is Louise and I'm a shoe a holic, well I'm not as bad as I used to be but I still love my shoes, and despite getting rid of numerous pairs, I still probably have more than one person will ever need. That hasn't stopped me buying some more though and over the last few weeks I've picked two more pairs.

Yes more Mel's, My black rubber ballet pumps with huge bows on the toes are probably my most worn shoes of 2015, so I decided that another similar pair would be a worthwhile investment. Again in a black, bubblegum scented rubber, instead of a bow these ones have a cut out heart on the toes.

I paid £36 for these ones from Dorothy Perkins, which isn't cheap but for me they're well worth it. They are comfortable and based on my experience, they wear really well, and always look box fresh.

From some quirky but classic ballet pumps, to some fun and summery sandals from New Look, via ASOS,

I love anything sparkly, holographic and metallic and these strappy sandals fit the bill perfectly. They're quite simple and feature just two simple, fixed straps, but they are in the most gorgeous silvery, holographic faux leather. These sandals were just £.9.99 and whilst I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of them this year, I couldn't resist their metallic prettiness.

If you want to see all of the items in this haul in more detail and you want to listen to me rambling on, then please have a little watch of the accompanying You Tube video below, if you're on a mobile device though you can also find the video here x



So that was my pretty epic, collective clothing, shoe and jewellery haul, If you have any questions, you know the drill - leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you x Thanks for reading  x