Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Voucher
Waterstones Blogger Murder Mystery
1
7 years
I have some news… I am among several bloggers who are all suspected of committing a horrible crime against Mat of buckets and spades blog, and it is your job to work out who did it. Here are the details…
In celebration of the Agatha Christie Festival this week, Waterstones is holding the first ever Blogger Murder Mystery event.
Waterstones needs your help, dear reader. There’s been a crime most horrid committed against fellow blogger Matthew Pike at http://www.bucketsandspadesblog.com/. We need your help to find the culprit and be in with a chance of receiving a £100 reward of Waterstones vouchers. Detective Michael Scott is on the case, so be sure to follow him on twitter @DCIMikeScott where he will be revealing clues throughout the week until Friday 20th September. You can question any of the bloggers using their twitter handle and the hashtag #BloggerMystery to find holes in their alibis.
The list of suspects are:
Naomi https://bewitcheryblog.co.uk/ (You know I wouldn’t do it though, right?)
Jane @ITYDarling http://isthatyoudarling.wordpress.com/
Lucinda @ljbarton http://www.bakesbooksandmyboys.com/
Katrina @carouseldiary http://carouseldiary.com/
Sophie @sophiepatricia6 http://ileftmyheartinmiami.blogspot.co.uk/
Kel @kellovesclothes http://www.kelloves.com/
Eleanor @ebsnare http://threewordoutfit.com/
And here’s what the detective on the case has to say…
From DCI Michael Scott
“Waterstones invited six prestigious fashion and beauty bloggers – Elly, Kel, Sophie, Naomi, Katrina Louise and Mat – to its very first Fabulous Fashionista of the Year Award, held amid a lavish cupcake dinner at Cryptic Hall. However, events have taken a dark turn and Mat, the winner of the award, has been found dead in the bathroom. Foul play is most certainly suspected.
Details of the night are still sketchy, but we know all six fashionistas were known to each other at the time of the killing and enjoyed a friendly rivalry in the world of fashion blogging. Also in Cryptic Hall at the time were Jan, the owner of the manor, and a chef, Lucinda, who was hired to put on a delicious spread of cupcakes for the guests.
According to my interviews, the guests arrived at Cryptic Hall at around 6pm or just before. They sat down to enjoy Lucinda’s cupcakes and discuss their blogging with one another. There was a short break for coffee at around 6.40pm, during which time many of the guests seem to have left the table for various reasons. At 6.55 or thereabouts, we received a phone call from the suspect who found the body, claiming there had been a murder at Cryptic Hall.
Unfortunately, many of the suspects seem unwilling to cooperate, for reasons that are still being established. If you think you can tease more information out of them, ask them about their activities on that night via Twitter – and when you think you ascertained the culprit, the motive and the method, please relay your suspicions to me, DCI Michael Scott. Together, we can get to the root of this tale of intrigue, jealousy, high fashion and sweet, sweet cupcakes.”
Now, I wasn’t particularly keen on going to the award ceremony because Mat, my ex-husband, was bound to win and I didn’t really fancy spending any time with him. He was going with his new girlfriend Katrina, too. But I went anyway just on the off-chance that I was chosen as winner, and I thought it’d be a good opportunity to score points against Katrina. I don’t know who did what to Mat at the ceremony, but of course you know it wasn’t me!
So, get thinking… Who do you think did it? Once you think you know who the culprit is send a tweet to the detective giving the name of the killer, the motive and the method by Friday 20th September at Midnight. The winner will be selected on Monday 23rd September.
Good luck, sleuths.
Note: this competition is only open to UK residents
Don’t forget to tweet me and the other bloggers your questions to help work out whodunnit!
Naomi x
5 Ways to Save on Fashion Online
2
7 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
NOTD: No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ‘Totally Teal 330′
1
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
As my regular readers will know, earlier this week I reviewed No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ‘Violetta’. Since I had another £5 No7 voucher to spend, and I was fairly impressed with ‘Violetta’, I decided to add yet another nail varnish to my collection and went back to Boots to pick up ‘Totally Teal’ for £2 (rather than the usual £7).
Since I’ve recently reviewed Stay Perfect Nail Colour, I won’t go into too much detail about this one, as the consistency, drying time etc are the same as ‘Violetta’. What I will say though is this… I know I moaned about the flimsy brush last time, but now I’m used to it I found the application of this a lot easier as I now know how to control the brush properly. Because of this, the application was quick and neat – the brush is wide so you can apply an even coat in one stroke, which results in very little mess!
‘Totally Teal’ is a very pretty shade, sort of a deep bluey green that reminds me of the sea and mermaids. I have to say though, it goes on a lot darker than it looks in the bottle, which is slightly disappointing as it isn’t as bright as I had hoped. I still have a soft spot for it though, and I think it would like great as a pedi. It is definitely one of the more conservative nail shades that I own, but I’m looking forward to incorporating it into some aquatic nail art designs!
I took my own advice and did my mani a long time before bed this time, and it stopped the fabric imprints appearing on my nails. The varnish hasn’t stayed looking neat for long though… The picture above was taken this morning, and you can already see wear on the tip of my little finger nail. Since then, six more of my nails have chipped or scuffed, and I’ve been wearing it for less than a day! Not good.
Though I like the shades in the Stay Perfect range, I wouldn’t pay the full £7 for them. I’d rather spend a fiver on a Models Own polish as I know they’re great quality and good value for money as they last a long time. If I get any more £5 No7 vouchers though, they’ll probably go on more nail colours.
Naomi x
NOTD: No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ‘Violetta 70′
11
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
As I’m sure my fellow UK beauty fans will know, Boots are currently giving out £5 No7 vouchers. I’m not sure how much you have to spend to get one, but I received mine on a less than £10 spend. I’d never tried anything from the No7 range before, so after spending quite a while browsing the full range, I decided to use my voucher to get this Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ‘Violetta’ for £2, instead of £7. The bottle boasts that the nail varnish has ‘Pigment Rich Colour’, so obviously I had to put this to the test!
I first used Violetta late last week on top of Avon’s Mineral Fix, which I’ve been using lately as a base coat (I’ll review that at a later date). The brush is soft and wide which made application smooth and barely streaky, and the handle is a good size to hold which should give you more control over it. However, the stem of the brush is quite flimsy so it was actually fairly difficult to control at first. Also, the neck of the bottle is long so by the time you pull the brush out most of the varnish has dripped off, so don’t be shy about loading it up!
I really love the colour of this nail varnish. It looks like quite a deep blue at first glance, but you soon notice that it has a gorgeous undertone of pinky purple, which looks really luxurious. You also get completely opaque coverage in two coats, and to be honest one thick coat would probably have been enough, so it definitely lives up to the ‘Pigment Rich Colour’ claim!
The nail colour seemed to dry quickly, but the tackiness lasted a lot longer than I expected it to. I applied this an hour or two before I went to bed, which I thought would be okay, but when I woke up the next morning I noticed that my nails had fabric imprints on them from my sheets! Not impressed. Having said that, it did have lasting power. I removed this a few hours ago after three days of wear and it had only chipped a little bit, despite the fact that I spent all of today cleaning and gardening.
My overall thoughts on this Stay Perfect Nail Colour are mixed. The shade is beautiful, and the pigmentation is fantastic, as is the lasting power, but the fact that I was left with imprints on my nails is slightly disappointing! The brush could also be improved. I won’t let those things put me off though… I’m already planning on buying ‘Totally Teal’ tomorrow with my other £5 voucher 
I probably wouldn’t pay the full £7, but for £2 you’re definitely getting a bargain. I guess I’ll just have to get used to the brush and apply the varnish earlier in the day so it dries properly!
Which No7 Nail Colour shades do you own? What do you think of them?
Naomi x
