Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged eBay
What I Wore: Hoodie
0
5 years
by Naomi in Fashion
Tobi Concrete City Oversized Hoodie / Primark Plaid Leggings / Primark Bobble Hat / Dr Martens Hazil Virginia Boots / Shop Dixi Willow Magick Gothic Ring / Handmade Spinner Ring
It’s getting to that time of year in the UK where one minute it feels like Spring is on the way, and the next you’re in the middle of a snow shower! That’s what happened on the day the photos above were taken (as you can see from the second one…)
Of course, the best way to tackle this is by layering, and this outfit did just the job. The oversized hoodie is from a US clothing website I discovered recently called Tobi, who also ship to the UK. The hoodie is big enough that it’s great for snuggling up in at home, but can also be layered up for an outdoor look which is cold-proof and comfortable. I can tell this is going to become a wardrobe staple of mine.
A hilly walk also called for some thick leggings and a pair of boots, so I teamed this with my favourite Dr Martens – the trusty Hazil Virginias. I’ve had these for a couple of years now and they’re still going strong, and were probably the easiest pair to break in. I’d highly recommend them and they’re currently in the sale, so grab them for cheap whilst you still can!
Naomi x
How to Make Money on eBay
2
10 years
I’ve been selling on eBay for years and I’ve noticed that, over time, it has become increasingly more difficult to actually make any money from the things you sell. With postage costs rising, PayPal and eBay both taking fees, and the sheer volume of items for sale, if you’re not a savvy seller, selling on eBay can take a lot of effort with very little pay-off.
So, today I thought I’d share with you all my tried and tested tips and tricks for making money on eBay, with a few of my own success stories thrown in too. I can’t promise you’re going to make a fortune if you take my advice, but you can at least earn a few extra pounds!
1. Use Keywords
The words you use in your titles can really influence how many people are finding your item when browsing eBay, and therefore how many people are bidding. Say you’re selling a black dress… Calling it ‘Black Dress’ will probably mean it gets lost amongst a whole host of generic black dresses, but if you add detail with fashion keywords you can really tailor your items, especially if you know what’s on trend at the moment, and what people will likely be looking for. In my experience, popular terms include ‘Boho’, ‘Gothic’, and ‘Biker’. Just make sure your item actually suits the trend you are advertising it as!
My Success Story: I recently purchased a faux leather jacket on eBay that, though it was nice and very on trend, really didn’t suit me. I only paid £2 for it, so I put it back on eBay at a similar price and would have been happy just to make my money back. However, I listed the jacket using a few keywords in the title that related to its style (such as ‘biker’, ‘punk’ and ‘goth’), and in the end the jacket sold for more than £16!
2. Go Charity Shopping
One of my favourite ways to make money on eBay is to go shopping myself first… If you’re willing to spend time hunting, you can come across some real designer gems in charity shops at low prices, that you can then sell on when you’re done with them. You won’t find something every time you look, but when you’re lucky it’ll be worth it.
My Success Story: A couple of months ago, whilst browsing a local charity shop, I came across a men’s t-shirt from Liam Gallagher’s ‘Pretty Green’ range of clothing. It looked brand new, and at £2.99 it felt too good to be true, but I checked the labels over and discovered that it was 100% genuine. I snapped it up with the intention of giving it to my partner but he didn’t want it, so again, I put it on eBay at a low price in the hope of making my money back. Within hours the t-shirt had gained lots of watchers, and by the end of the seven-day listing it sold for a whopping £23.
3. Take Advantage of Free Listing
If you list an item for under 99p, eBay allow you to list 100 single-quantity items per month for free! But if you want to charge more (as I suggest in tip 4) it costs, and the higher your starting price, the more it costs. For clothing it’s usually around 15p per item, which doesn’t seem that much, but if you’re listing several items at once it soon adds up! Paying to list items just eats into your profits, so take advantage of free listing days whenever you can. eBay tend to run a free listing weekend every other week, so I tend to prepare everything during the week (gather items, take photos, plan my listings etc), then list everything during a free listing weekend.
4. Factor in Fees
Unfortunately for us sellers, both eBay and PayPal take a percentage of the sale price of your items, including from what you charge for postage. PayPal take between 1.4% and 3.4%, plus an extra 20p, and eBay take 10% of the final value. So, if you actually want to come out of a sale with something other than a few pence, it’s a good idea to factor these fees into your pricing. I personally never list anything for 99p, because once all the fees have been taken away you’re left with next to nothing, so I tend to start items a little higher. Perhaps £1.49 for small items, or for labelled brands a bit more.
It might also be an idea to up your postage costs too. It costs £2.60 to post a small parcel in the UK, but if you charge £2.60 you’ll end up paying some of the postage out of your own pocket, as some will be taken in fees. I usually put mine up to around £3.00 as P&P does also include packaging!
5. Take Good Photographs
Ever found something interesting on eBay, only to find there’s one small, low quality image of the thing, probably taken on a mobile phone in a badly lit room? Chances are you’re not going to want to bid on something if you can’t see what it looks like, so good photographs are always important in making a sale! I like to take mine with a digital camera rather than a phone, in natural light, and I always include a few close up photographs too so buyers can really see what they’re getting.
Do you have any tips for selling on eBay? Please comment if you do as I’d love to hear them!
Happy selling,
Naomi x
What I Wore: Bitch
3
10 years
by Naomi in Fashion
I know I’m a few years behind the universe on this one, but I recently started watching Breaking Bad and, just as the rest of you were, I am well and truly hooked! So much so that I just had to add something Breaking Bad related to my wardrobe. Jesse Pinkman is my favourite character (he’s just so well written), and I love the fact that he single-handedly revived the word ‘bitch’ from the bottom of the 90s insult bin, so this t-shirt is my tribute to Jesse and his famous catchphrase.
Jonny Cotton Jesse Pinkman ‘Bitch’ T-Shirt / New Look Black Skinny Jeans / Schuh Black Biker Boots
I ordered the t-shirt from an eBay shop called Jonny Cotton. I was slightly worried at first as it’s impossible to judge the quality of t-shirts like this on eBay, but I’m really pleased with it. Both the fabric and the print are great quality, and at £7.99 with free postage it was an absolute bargain. I’m usually a size 12 but I ordered a men’s medium as, being 5’10”, I often find women’s tees to be too short in the body and I wanted something baggier, and it fits really nicely and isn’t too shapeless. I’d definitely recommend Jonny Cotton for printed tees.
I teamed the t-shirt with my go-to black skinny jeans from New Look, and a pair of black biker boots from Schuh that I found lurking under my bed. I must have had them for about five years now and I wasn’t too keen on them at first, hence why they were under my bed, but they’re starting to grow on me now.
Do you like Breaking Bad? I’d love to hear your thoughts. But please, no spoilers!
Naomi x
What I Wore: Purple Knit
2
10 years
by Naomi in Fashion
Yesterday was a fairly mild day for December, so my fiancé and I decided to take advantage of the Autumn sun and go for a little wander around the lakes with my camera. Whilst we were there, we took the opportunity to take some ‘What I Wore’ photos, featuring my new oversized purple cardigan from Primark.
Primark Purple Knit Cardigan / Primark Plain Black Vest / Primark Leather Look Leggings / Dr Martens 1460 W Purple Shimmer Boots / eBay Multi-Layer Leaf Necklace
I was really quite pleased with this Primark find as I’d been looking for a big cardi for weeks, but hadn’t been having much luck finding one I liked. In fact, after a lengthy browse I was ready to give up on Primark, but as I was about to leave I spotted a sale rack with this gorgeous cardigan on it. Admittedly, quite a few of them were cut weirdly and I had to try a few on to get one that fit right, but I’m glad I persisted, especially as it was reduced from £12 to only £5!
The cardigan is lovely and chunky, so I wore it over a plain black vest and my leather look leggings, and still felt cosy and warm. Of course, I had to team it with my trusty purple Dr Martens, and added a multi-layer leaf necklace for a bit of extra detail. A simple outfit for a chilled out day, which ended perfectly with nachos and quesadillas, doughnuts and Breaking Bad!
What did you wear this weekend?
Naomi x
Victoria British Boutique Vintage Charity Fashion Show
3On Tuesday, my sister, my mum and I headed down to the Leicester Tigers rugby stadium for a special event – a Vintage Charity Fashion Show organised by Victoria British Boutique. The fashion show was in aid of “20-20 Voice” Cancer Appeal, a charity who provide support for head and neck cancer sufferers, with the aim of purchasing new, up to the minute camera technology with the money they raise, so hospitals can detect such cancers early.
Victoria British Boutique (VBB) is a vintage boutique owned by the lovely Vikkie, which specialises in a mix of unique, vintage pieces and current, stylish designs, both evening and day wear, all of which are British. The boutique is situated online, on eBay, so people from all over the country can browse and buy from Vikkie’s store. The boutique also prides itself on aiming for 100% customer satisfaction, so you know you’re going to get good service when you buy from VBB.
On the night there were a lot of one-of-a-kind outfits and items of clothing for sale at very reasonable prices, with most of them being modelled on the catwalk by six gorgeous nurses who work at local hospitals. I was lucky enough to get a front seat next to the catwalk so I had a really good view of the show and the clothes on offer. There were some really lovely pieces for sale, including a purple floral dress and a green and purple skirt suit which you can see below. I just wish they were my size! The models did a great job and were really well-received by the audience, and the show was a lot of fun to watch – well done, ladies!
As mentioned earlier, the aim of the evening was to raise as much money as possible for the “20-20 Voice” Cancer Appeal, so there were also stalls selling handmade jewellery and other goodies, and there were several raffles and competitions to join in with. Unfortunately we didn’t win anything, but congratulations to everyone who did!
Overall, all three of us had a great evening at the Victoria British Boutique Vintage Charity Fashion Show and I hope it raised a lot of money for such an excellent cause. You can find out more about the “20-20 Voice” Cancer Appeal here, and you can find Victoria British Boutique here. You can also follow Vikkie’s boutique on Facebook and Twitter if you want to keep up-to-date with all the latest news from VBB!
Naomi x
5 Ways to Save on Fashion Online
2
10 years
Let’s face it, we all like to look good, and new clothes, shoes and accessories really help with this, but when you shell out a lot of money for the pleasure the mood can be soured somewhat. So, what if I told you I’d found five websites that will not only help you look fantastic, but will save you money in the process, making you feel good too? Read on to find out how to get fashion with big discounts, for £5, or even for FREE…
1. Everything 5 Pounds
For unique fashion at a low price, Everything5Pounds.com is the place to be. As it says in the name, absolutely EVERYTHING they sell costs just £5 each, meaning you can get yourself a full outfit for around £20. I’ll admit not everything on the site is the most stylish, but if you spend a little while browsing there are some real gems to be found. Everything 5 Pounds’ bags and shoes really stand out for me, but in my experience you have to get in there quickly as they’re so popular they can sell out in minutes (it pays to join their mailing list/follow them on Facebook, believe me). Check out this bag I ordered from them a few months ago – the quality is amazing and people are always asking me where I got it!
2. Fashion Vouchers
My go-to website for all the latest sale news and voucher codes in the world of fashion is FashionVouchers.com. With categories including womenswear, footwear, accessories and beauty covering the most extensive list of fashion stores I’ve seen on any voucher website, Fashion Vouchers has a bargain for everyone – you just have to hunt it out! It really is an internet treasure trove of discount gold, and you can be savings savvy at just the click of a mouse. Any time I want to order something online from one of the popular fashion sites, I always check Fashion Vouchers first and more often than not I’ll find a code for money off or free delivery. Current offers include up to 50% off at Clarks, £20 off when you spend £100 at Lipsy and 10% off at Missguided.
3. Big Wardrobe
A few years ago I came across a website called Big Wardrobe, ‘The Worldwide Fashion Exchange’, and it has become a firm favourite of mine. Big Wardrobe is a cross between eBay and Facebook, in that you make yourself a profile, list the fashion items that you want to get rid of, and communicate with other users to negotiate swaps and sales on your things. The whole concept is a brilliant way to get new clothes for practically nothing, and you can even make yourself a bit of money too. After losing weight, I swapped items that were too big for me for some beautiful new clothes that fit perfectly. The swapping process is just so much fun and I highly recommend you try it!
4. eBay
The old classic for saving on fashion is eBay. When I was teenager I probably saved hundreds of pounds on clothes and accessories by buying from eBay, and I’m still fond of spending evenings scrolling through pages of dresses and shoes to see if I can bag myself a bargain. eBay is great for picking up unique pieces that can’t be found in stores, or even for finding highly sought after items that have sold out everywhere else. They often run special offers too, such as the current Summer Holiday Shop where you can get up to 50% off women’s fashion. I’m currently lusting after this Animal Swimsuit, down from £35.00 to just £13.00!
5. Fragrance Direct
No outfit is completely without make up, nails and perfume to match, and Fragrance Direct has it all. The website boasts hundreds of top brands at just a fraction of the RRP, and the icing on the cake is postage is cheap too! As a nail varnish fanatic, Fragrance Direct helps me feed my obsession whilst saving me some hard-earned pennies, as you can get brands such as Essie for just £1.99, and even OPI for £3.99, which is almost £10.00 off. Of course, they sell loads of designer fragrances too, with everything a lot cheaper than you’d find it on the high street. For instance, you can currently get the Vera Wang Princess Gift Set for £24.90, instead £45.00. Impressive, right? Here’s one of my recent Fragrance Direct hauls…
Which websites do you use to save money on fashion?
Naomi x
Chocolate Treat Week: Fashion and Accessories
8
11 years
Welcome to my final Chocolate Treat Week post! It’s been a busy week but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, and I hope you have too. Today’s post will focus on chocolate themed fashion and accessories, including a rather nifty T Shirt, a couple of stunning items of jewellery and a cuter than cute pocket mirror. So, let’s begin…
Cadbury’s Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt from TruffleShuffle
I was recently sent this amazingly quirky T Shirt by a fab clothing company called TruffleShuffle, and I absolutely love it. Creme Eggs have to be one of my favourite chocolate treats (why oh why do they only sell them at Easter??) and, as my regular readers will know, purple is my favourite colour. As such, this T Shirt really was made for me, especially when you consider my penchant for philosophy! After all, the fun, clever design takes on one of life’s most pressing questions.
The T Shirt itself is extremely comfortable as it is cut well to fit womanly curves, and you can tell that the fabric is fantastic quality. It is very soft and quite thick, and has a good stretch to it, and it’s also a nice length… I’m 5’10” so very often I will get T Shirts which are irritatingly too short for me, but this one is just right due to its slightly longer length.
I love how bold the purple shade of the fabric is, and the logo is equally as bright. The logo is also really well printed, and neither the fabric or the logo have faded since I received the T Shirt. The fading you can see in the photograph is part of the retro design, and the rest of it isn’t going anywhere in a hurry! This T Shirt has already become a treasured part of my wardrobe and, just like the logo, it’s here to stay.
TruffleShuffle’s Cadbury Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt retails for £14.99, which is incredible value for money for such a high quality product, but you’ll be pleased to know that you can get an even better deal at the minute as it is on sale for £11.99! They have a few other Creme Egg designs in various colours too, for men as well as women. TruffleShuffle specialise in 80s and Retro T Shirts but they also sell jewellery, accessories and gifts. Their customer service is outstanding as if you order before 4pm your items will be posted the same day. I actually received my T Shirt the day after it was sent, and it even contained some sweeties which was a nice extra touch! TruffleShuffe really are ‘Officially Awesome’ and I’ll be going to them from now on for all of my T Shirt needs!
Milk Chocolate Ring from Purple Magpie
This gorgeous statement ring was made by Lynda, an independent jewellery maker who runs a lovely little jewellery company called Purple Magpie. Lynda is a self-employed artist and has been creating jewellery for the past two years, which she sells at Newcastle’s Quayside every Sunday, as well as on Etsy and Folksy. Most of Lynda’s jewellery features food and sweets, and her Milk Chocolate Ring is no exception!
The chocolate fudge-looking ring is handmade using polymer clay and it is very neat. The detail on it is absolutely incredible too… From the teeth marks in the ‘bite’ to the piped chocolate heart on top, it all looks so real! If I didn’t know better I’d want to eat it, but obviously I wouldn’t, that’s just silly. The ring itself measures 18mm in diameter at its smallest, but it is adjustable so it is suitable for just about anyone. It might be chunky and a decent size, but don’t let that fool you. Polymer clay is very light so it doesn’t weigh your hand down at all when wearing it which is a massive bonus.
Purple Magpie’s Milk Chocolate Ring is available on Etsy for just £4, and there are a few other chocolatey items in Lynda’s jewellery range too. It is clear that all of Lynda’s jewellery is carefully made with love, and considering the high quality of her products you are getting an absolute bargain. If you decide to buy, I’m sure you’ll love your chocolate ring as much as I love mine!
Miniature Chocolate Necklace from Sweet n Neat Jewellery
Necklaces are perhaps my most worn accessory, and out of the many that I own this Miniature Chocolate Necklace is one of my favourites. The necklace is handmade by Laura of Sweet n Neat Jewellery, who started making jewellery last November, and has since started making accessories as well. All of Laura’s jewellery is made from Fimo, and she tells me that she likes using Fimo as it is easy to mould and comes in any colour under the sun! She also takes pride in making her jewellery as ‘sweet’ and ‘neat’ as possible, hence the name.
The chocolate pendant is very dainty and cute, but despite its small size it is still detailed and looks wonderfully realistic! It is coated with a glaze which makes the chocolate look shiny and yummy, but unfortunately it isn’t edible (although the missing corner makes it look like someone’s had a nibble!) The pendant also hangs perfectly as it lies flat and at a slight angle, and since it is on an 18″ chain it sits nicely in the centre of my chest. I do believe the chain is sterling silver too, so it doesn’t leave any green marks on the skin.
Laura’s Miniature Chocolate Necklace comes delivered in a gift box and is currently selling on Etsy for only £6. You can even buy matching Miniature Chocolate Hair Grips! If you’d like to follow Laura, her Twitter name is @SweetnNeatJwlry, and she also has a Facebook page.
Cocoa Cookie Pocket Mirror and Comb from eBay
My final chocolate themed accessory is this cute pocket mirror which I picked up on eBay for 99p. The mirror says ‘Cocoa Cookies I Like’, which isn’t fantastic English but that doesn’t really matter I suppose. The mirror is made to look like an Oreo cookie, and is quite a decent size. It might have been cheap, but the quality is pretty good and I think it looks absolutely adorable! Probably the most exciting thing about this mirror, however, is what’s inside…
That’s right – the cream inside the cookie is actually a little comb! How innovative is that?
If you’d like one for yourself, you can order your Cocoa Pocket Mirror here.
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Nonfashionista.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Well I like the chocomania products from body shop. I’ve tried the lip butter and it’s nice!!!
I’m a fan of their body butters but I haven’t tried the chocomania one..i’m sure it’s as nice as their coconut one!
One of my friends really likes the chocolate shampoo from carol’s daughter.. I think they talked about it at Oprah’s.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
My favorite chocolate treat..that’s a thought one..I love chocolate!!! I love anything chocolate..I would probably have to say a good slice of my mother’s chocolate cake, that’s really moist and creamy inside! Also I make a mean chocolate mousse 
and.. ben’s cookies: any chocolate or other 😛
So, that’s it! The end of my first ever themed blog week – Chocolate Treat Week. I really hope you’ve enjoyed all of my posts, and if you have then please share them with your friends and fellow bloggers! If you haven’t already seen my other chocolate posts, you can do so here:
Skin, Bath and Body
Hair
Makeup
Nails
Thank you so much for reading, and a big thank you to all of those who took part in The Last Rolo!
Naomi x
*The Chicken or Creme Egg T Shirt, Milk Chocolate Ring and Miniature Chocolate Necklace featured in this post were kindly gifted to me by their respective companies, for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own*
Thrifty Finds No.1
10
11 years
As I’m sure you all know by now, I love a good bargain. I’m a big fan of browsing eBay, charity shops and car boot sales for thrifty finds and I’ve recently had quite a few, so, I have decided to introduce a new feature to my blog! Every few weeks, or whenever I’ve gathered enough budget buys, I will post my Thrifty Finds for you all to see. Today is chapter one, and I will be sharing all the clothes I’ve picked up cheap this week. I apologise in advance for the bad pictures – taking photos of what you’re wearing is difficult, especially when there’s nowhere to balance the camera to put it on timer! My sister did come along and help in the end but they still didn’t turn out very well.
First up, dresses. I wear dresses throughout the year, just dressed up or down depending on the season, so I’m always on the look out for pretty new pieces to add to my wardrobe. These three dresses were all from eBay.
Black shift dress with silver skull print. £3.64 including postage.
Ditsy Tea Dress. £4.49 including postage.
Red Skater Dress with Black Bow Print. £3.70 including postage.
I also bought this brand new top this week from a charity shop. I hope I can get some wear out of it before summer ends!
Floral Print Sun Top. £2.99.
The last two items I bought in anticipation of Autumn. The purple one was from a charity shop, and the deer print jumper I bought today from a car boot sale. Both are previously unworn.
(Sorry if this just looks like a close up of my boobs… I really couldn’t get a good photo of it! It shows the detail on the top nicely though).
Purple Jumper Dress. £3.00.
Brown Deer Print Jumper. £1.00.
And that’s everything! Although I did find two very rare books in a charity shop earlier this week as well… They were £3 each, but I’ve seen them going on the internet for £150 each – amazing! Do you like thrifting too?
Naomi x
NOTD: 2 True Crystal Nail Polish – Shade 4
3
11 years
by Naomi in Nails
This morning, after a week of waiting, my huge eBay nail varnish haul arrived in the post! I am a sucker for all things purple and sparkly, so when I saw this I had to try it out straight away. The 2 True Crystal Nail Polish is from a limited edition range in Superdrug, and is described on their website as ‘Regal Purple’. If I remember correctly, 2 True nail polishes retail at just £1.99 each or three for £5.
The dainty 7ml bottle advises to ‘Apply 2 coats’ and use a base coat, so this is what I did, and this is what my nails looked like (with Avon’s Peeling & Brittleness Solver underneath and L’Oreal Manicure Shine on top)…
I have to say, for such a cheap nail varnish I am very, VERY impressed! The brush is easy to control and the varnish applies extremely smoothly. After one coat it looked fantastic but the second coat added that extra bit of even coverage. It dries quickly too so there’s not much waiting around required.
The colour is absolutely stunning – a pinky violet purple with delicate multi-tones of blue and bronze (which can be seen above). The swatches were photographed in natural light so you can get a good idea of the true colour from the picture. The shimmer looks great, even indoors, and unlike a lot of glitter varnishes this one is smooth in texture so it doesn’t feel horrible!
I have noticed that one of my nails is already slightly scuffed/chipped, but I did start moving boxes a little while after I painted them so they might not have completely dried yet – my fault, not the varnish’s!
I think this shade may become one of my most used. What do you think of it?
Naomi x
