Inexpensive perfumes!

Christian Dior apparently once said that a woman's perfume tells you more about her than her handwriting does, and I love the idea that a girl can be identified by a simple scent. I certainly agree with the quote, in saying that a woman's scent is a very personal matter, and believe that a perfume is not something you can quickly choose.

As I imagine many other girls do, I tend to find one perfume and use it for a long period of time, and then usually after a period of time I fall in love with a new scent, which takes over. Since about a year and a half ago, I have been completely obsessed with Beauty by Calvin Klein. I always find that I am drawn to Calvin Klein perfumes, and Euphoria is another one which has been another of my favourites. However, although Calvin Klein is not too expensive compared with some of the higher-end brands, I do tend to use perfume a little too liberally, and so I seem to run out fairly quickly! I am always on the lookout for good perfume deals, and it is often how I find new scents. The shops/websites I have usually used in the past are just Boots and The Perfume Shop (the sister brand of Superdrug). I have recently discovered CheapSmells.com, a beauty website which mainly sells perfumes at discounted prices. Don't be put off by the not so appealing name (which is perhaps meant to be ironic and i'm just being dim), as I was ecstatic to find that they sold my favourite of the moment, Beauty at a much lower price than usual, and with free delivery! I got a 50ml bottle of it for £32.95 (RRP £48), which I was really pleased with, as I would usually buy a 30ml bottle for around the same price. The website also claims that the perfume is dispatched within one day, which also sounds really good, but i'll have to see! 

They have a HUGE number of different perfumes, including several couture brands as well as celebrity names. I would be surprised if anybody COULDN'T find their perfume of choice on there. I believe they also sell  cosmetics, skincare, haircare, tanning products and men's aftershave. I haven't really looked at anything other than the perfumes yet, but if everything is as inexpensive as those then i'm sure i'll be a regular customer of theirs!

Studded biker boots for the fall!

I am aware that having two very closely-related posts, in this case about black biker boots, is probably unjustifiable in quite a small space of time, but I feel it is necessary.
One of the trends of the moment which has caught my eye are the scatterings of spikes and studs which have been appearing amongst some of my favourite high street shops. My own personal style can be very feminine, but almost every outfit I wear includes some sort of spiky jewellery or studded item of clothing. Basically, I love studs.
I have recently been noticing and loving the black studded biker boots which I saw several pairs of when I was browsing in Zara a couple of days ago. Topshop and River Island have also caught onto this spreading trend, and it seems to be a fall favourite for this year. The timing for my noticing these gorgeous boots is a little poor, as I am going to Reading festival on Wednesday, which they would be perfect for :( I suppose I'll have to make do with boring wellies. Anyway, below are a few of my favourite pairs.

                                           

                                                                                                                                         
                                           


Unfortunately, due to my inconveniently expensive taste, the £119 (3rd row down, on the right) Zara ones are my favourites, closely followed by the above Topshop beauties. Oh well, at least I can just look at them all day :)

Favourite of the moment: pink nail polishes for summer!

As quite the nail art fanatic and owner of a very extensive collection of polishes, I am always chopping and changing the colours on my nails. Over the past few months, I have been favouring the 'accent third nail' trend which has been popular, as well as various other intricate designs, but more recently I have been going back a classic, solid colour on both hands. As the weather in England hasn't exactly been pleasant as of late (what a surprise, eh?), I have been more and more conscious that summer is almost over. While mourning the loss of chances to exhibit my barely worn summer clothes, I have been forced to channel my cheery, 'summery' impulses in other ways!
Pink nails have been a classic colour for any age. Pink can be childish, girly, fun, and sophisticated, and I have been wearing some of my favourite shades a lot recently.

The first colour, which I am in fact wearing as I type this, is the Boots brand 17, Lasting Fix nail polish in the colour Tropical Island. I think it's such a pretty shade, and of course its name confirms what a summery colour it is. The nail polish is of good quality, although I definitely think you need at least two coats, otherwise the colour is a bit sheer. It really does last a while, especially considering the fact that my nails are for some reason very susceptible to chipping. The polish costs £2.99 from all Boots stores.

Some of you may disagree with me in counting the above colour, appropriately named 'Peach Melba', in a post about pink nail polishes, but I think that it is just about acceptable! Of all of the nail polishes/paints in my collection, I would have to say that probably 70% of them are by Barry M. I love the range of colours, and there is a lot of product in the bottle. This colour has been a recent purchase of mine, and I hadn't seen any other brand make a nail polish in this colour before. It is feminine, subtle and gorgeous for summer, and like all Barry M nail paints, has a fab colour pay-off. It also retails for £2.99.



This colour is another 17 bargain, but part of the Fast Finish collection. The shade is not unlike the previously mentioned Barry M colour, but with a slightly pink tone to it, rather than orange/peach. It is called 'Pink Lemonade', and especially like the Barry M polish is perfect for this summer's pastel colours trend. I wore this colour for the first few weeks of summer, and its name reminded me of how much I love the drink, so naturally this brought back another obsession. Again, this cost me £2.99.

This last colour in my list is quite an old find of mine. When rediscovering it not so long ago, all I could think of was myself, aged 12, with this messily painted in thick gloops on my nails. Perhaps it was its neon shade which initially put me off, but recently I have been going back to it. Maybe a part of me just felt nostalgic, but I have actually been really liking this lately. The trick with bright, vibrant colours like this, I think, is to do one or two thin coats. Less is more! Anyway, it is by the brand Stargazer, in the colour 205. I believe it was £2.50.

Pretty Little Liars - yet another series which has consumed all free time I get

These four beauties pictured above, have replaced the likes of Blair and Serena/Marissa and Summer/many others and are the subjects of my main current obsession. 'Pretty Little Liars' was first aired in the UK in October 2010, and the promos shown on Viva which led up to the show's premiere drew me in so much! They are here if you would like to watch them - I challenge anyone to be able to resist the temptations of watching the TV show afterwards. I have been completely hooked on the show ever since I first watched it, and now that Desperate Housewives has ended *sob sob*, it has been satisfying my craving for mystery and horror combined with good old classic teen drama.
I didn't find out until a few months ago that the programme was actually based on a book series, which, as an avid reader, I was surprised not to have heard of before. Of course as soon as I heard this news, I had to run out and buy a copy of the first book (actually I just ran to the computer and went onto Amazon and ordered it). The books are perfect for some light reading in the summer, and Sara Shephard, the author, does a great job at keeping the suspense going in the novels. I read the first one in about a week, and after a long draught from reading due to exams and school work, I have recently been able to resume my reading habits. I bought the second book in the series - 'Flawless' - on my kindle, and read it within 3 days! The books aren't difficult to read, but the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter kept me hooked on the book, and meant that I literally did not put it down. It is a little confusing simultaneously reading the books and watching the TV show, I must admit, as they are at completely different points in the story. But I am certainly not prepared to put either one on hold anytime soon because they bring me so much joy.
In terms of difference in storyline, I know I have only read the first two books, but I have already noticed a lot of changes. One book spans across the equivalent of about 4-5 episodes, and there has been some correlation between the books and the programme, but as I previously mentioned, there are some large differences which alter the entire story.
Nonetheless, both formats of the story are equally as thrilling and addictive as each other in my eyes, and I would certainly recommend both the books and the TV programme to anyone who is a fan of other similar teen dramas such as Gossip Girl, The OC, Desperate Housewives (not so much teen, but still applicable).
I am off to watch the most recent episode now!

Miley and her amazing boots (and more)

So, it is no secret to my friends and family that it might be an understatement to say that I am a fan of Miley Cyrus. Apart from her beautiful hair/voice/face/body/skin/everything, I have been lusting after almost every piece of clothing she has been photographed wearing lately. Her style is continuously effortless but gorgeous, and she seems to be able to pull of everything she dares to step out of the house in.

One feature of her coveted wardrobe which I am particularly envious of are her Frye Veronica Shortie boots (pictured above). She has been photographed wearing them several times, and is not the only star who seems to favour them.

(Picture above are Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale, Rachel Bilson and Leighton Meester)

The punkish, worker-style boots look great when worn with shorts, dresses, or with jeans tucked into them. If only I had $298 (or its equivalent) to spare! However, until I get my big break and have lots of riches, River Island and Blowfish both sell pairs similar to the sought-after Frye originals for a quarter of the price.

(Above: River Island Biker Boots, £75)

(Above: Blowfish Tribecca boots, £75)

As well as her fantastic boots, Miley's attire also caught my big green eyes. From reading certain 'steal her style' type articles, I gather than Miley often shops at American Apparel, a favourite of my own, famous for their simple, staple wardrobe essentials. I love her tiny white crop top shown in the first picture, as well as the high-waisted white denim shorts, but really, i'd rather have her washboard abs and long legs to go with them. Actually, can I just be her? Because really, who else can pull off that trademark scraped-up ballerina bun of hers.

I'm back!

So my efforts to continue as a regular blogger have not been quite as good as I perhaps anticipated (to say the least). I don't think I chose quite the right time to begin writing a blog, as my AS level exams were just about to begin, and I would then start the A level course in September and would probably not have quite as much free time as I would have liked to.
Anyway, I am all finished with school now. I am, and have been, on my summer break since 21st June, and have only recently been leaning towards re-starting this blog again. I have a long summer, and already have lots of ideas about what I can be blogging about. I am not going to attempt to collate a structured idea of what this blog will consist of, as it will most probably just be 'what I am obsessing over at the moment'.
I am hoping to go to university in September to study English with American Literature, and am considering a post-grad course in Fashion Journalism. But I am fully aware that I am still young and impressionable, and my interests and desires are likely to change over the next few years, so nothing is set in stone just yet.

I have changed the name of my blog, as it matches the URL of my tumblr - leather-and-platforms.tumblr.com - which is much more casual and a bit more personal than this blog. Any tumblr users reading, please feel free to follow it, as I always appreciate more followers :) The content of it is probably of a similar theme to that of this blog, but mostly pictures rather than text.

So, with all of those explanations out of the way, I am now hoping to have another go at continuing with this blog!

Holly xx