The gym bag...

Monki Sonia Gym Sack, £18 ASOS

Whilst browsing Asos the other day (supposedly Christmas shopping, oops) I spotted this awesome bag by the Swedish brand Monki.  The design is absolutely gorgeous - if I could get it made into a poster for my wall I would - and the fact that it was labelled as a gym bag (which I'm currently lacking) gave me a reason to pop it in my basket!  It wasn't cheap, but it was about the same price as your usual Nike bag and the fact that the print is so unique justified it for me.

It's actually got a larger capacity than my Longchamp tote, which surprised me somewhat and it holds everything I need - towel, deodorant, spare shirt etc with room to spare.  I'm so in love with it though that I'm planning to use it as a regular bag on those days when I want to be hands-free!  All in all, if you're on the market for a new gym bag go check this one out :)

xxx

(Also, a little sidenote at time of publishing - all Monki is 20% off currently so it's only £14!)

Collective haulin' :Beauty

I've been very well behaved the last few weeks, and only picked up a few beauty items!  There was a 3 for 2 offer on in Boots at the time, which I didn't make the most of (rather daftly) as I bought everything on separate occasions - but I'm overall really pleased with everything I purchased...

First of all, there was the Maybelline Colour Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil in the shade '310 Berry Much'.  I'm in love with the Nars Lip Pencils, but a) don't have anywhere nearby where I can go swatch them, and b) at £18 a pop they're a bit painful for my budget running up to christmas!  These have been hailed as an awesome drugstore alternative, and although at the time I was looking for the 'Red Essential' this shade caught my eye as it's the perfect plummy, vampy lip.

Continuing on with the bold lip theme, whilst I was picking up decorations in Wilko I spotted that the Essence counter had a bunch of their lip liners in stock.  At only £1 each and having seen fab reviews of them, I grabbed a couple and chucked them in my basket without a second thought!  The shades I picked were '14 Femme Fatale' (a true red) and '15 Honey Berry' (a lovely dark berry) which I thought would be great for layering up under bold lips these holidays.

The final lip product I picked up was the Maybelline Colour Elixir in 'Caramel Infused', which I ran out to get after hearing Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup say it was like the gloss equivalent of Mac Patisserie (my favourite MLBB lipstick!)  I've been wearing it every day for the last week, and am in love.  Although the scent is a little more floral than I'd like, the formula is amazing and the colour really sticks around - there'll be a full review to come soon I'm sure!

And last (and priciest) of all is a tube of Nars Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base.  I ummed-and-ahhed over this and the Urban Decay Primer Potion a while back, but settled on the UD as it was a smidgeon cheaper.  Recently though, it just hadn't been working for me - and with party season around the corner (jks, homebody granny here :P)  I thought I'd take the plunge and replace it with something new.  I'd been really impressed with the longevity of Nars' Creamy Concealer on my oily skin, so had high hopes for this :)  I've used it for the last few days though, and so far am super impressed!

xxx

Collective haulin' :Clothing and accessories

Despite the fact that I know I shouldn't be shopping for clothes etc just before Christmas, I just can't help it when I see an amazing deal on something!  I wanted to share with you a few bits and pieces I picked up over the past few weeks, some of which are from my trip to Manchester last weekend, others from Ebay and also a few items from the Black Friday sales :)

I'd been eyeing up the Whistles sweatshirts for months now, but even with student discount they're ridiculously overpriced for just printed cotton.  I spotted this one on Ebay though, for less than half price, and even better the cute French lettering is not only red and festive - it's also stitched on so should survive the crazy uni laundrette tumble driers much better!  (Just don't tell my mother how much it cost *whoops*)

Another brand on Asos that I recently discovered whilst Xmas shopping was Becksondergaard - a Danish company that makes gorgeous printed scarves.  Full price, they're super duper expensive but I spotted a couple of absoulte bargains that I just couldn't turn down - the starry scarf shown is a wool-silk mix one that I got for myself but I also got a gorgeous snowfall print one for my mum and a super cute peace sign print one for my best friend.  That one in particular was a complete steal - £4 reduced from £30 - so much nicer than the Primark ones and it'll make an awesome stocking filler!

The adorable Christmas pudding leggings shown are from Primark, and are honesttogod the most comfortable things I have ever worn on my legs.  Soft, cosy but not fluff-depositing.  These are gonna be here to stay well after the holidays are over *sod the weird looks I'll get at breakfast* :P

Finally, I spotted these boots in the Topshop sale.  With student discount they were only £18, and arrived the following day with free delivery!  They are the 'Billy Buckle Boot' style, and although I had to loosen the bottom buckle they fit perfectly straight out of the box.  They're also real suede, so a real bargain that I know I'll get masses of use out of!

xxx

Time has flown by...!

Since it's been almost a month since I last blogged, I thought I'd do a quick little post to let you all that I'm still alive (just super busy with uni work!) and haven't abandoned blogging :D
I'd compiled a list for October favourites (and for November too) but just hadn't gotten around to typing them up properly.  The plan is to smoosh them all together into a sort-of autumn/winter faves post, maybe with the fashion and beauty stuff separate - so it doesn't become one huge monster post!
There's also a pale concealer swatches post in the works, but since the lighting is all kinds of awful now I'm taking the photos for that when I get home next week and I don't have to rely on my tiny little daylight lamp for brightening!
Anyhow, Sunday All Summer will be resuming normal posting schedule as of this week *am beyond excited for Christmas!!!*

xxx