Fashion || Spring Primark Haul!

There are times when you can walk into Primark and leave with nothing, and then there are the times when you find everything you want so exit with half of the shop. My recent trip was definitely the latter of the two!

For those who may have missed a couple of my tweets over the last week (follow me on Twitter to never miss a life update again - lol), then you won't have seen that after months of interviewing and applying I have finally been offered a full time position working in London. Finally my dream job has come into my path and I am so excited, but also extremely nervous too! With a new job obviously has to come new clothes right? I have been working in retail for the last six months so really felt the need to update my wardrobe with some staple pieces, which I definitely found on my recent Primark visit. 

I knew when I arrived at my local shopping centre that Primark was the only store that I wanted to shop in. Infact I actually spent over an hour in there browsing every single section on my own and loved every minute of it! The main reason I went in was to buy a blazer that would go with a couple of outfits, I found the blazer in the first five minutes and had lots of fun pairing it with outfits. 

Dressing Room Try On

What did I buy?

Flamingo Print Vest Top - £2.50

I mean can you really go wrong with a basic vest top in the summer? I thought that styled with a cute little blazer this would be perfect for the smart/casual look. 

Forever Basic T-shirt - £2.50

I am always shocked when I see T-shirts like these for so cheap. If you were to purchase the same design in Topshop it would be £12.50 and I probably would have bought it! This shirt is basic, but goes with everything and anything, including the cute pink blazer which is my staple from today's trip. 

Relaxed Pink Button Blazer - £17

This blazer was the most expensive thing that I purchased on this trip, but it's by far the cutest. I have been on the look out for a simple, smart but relaxed blazer that I can wear with jeans when I start work. I am so glad I found this blazer, as I know it's going to be worn a lot this summer! 

Sleeveless Long Summer Dress - £10
So I can already imagine what my brother and dad will be saying when they see this dress. So I will say it before they can. Yes it looks like a deck chair, but a very fashionable one. I spotted this from across the shop on a mannequin and loved how simple but cute it was! I initially thought about putting this away for my summer holiday to Italy, but looking back at it on now I think it would be perfect for working in the summer too. 

Black Polka Dot Plisse Playsuit - £5
Another amazing thing about Primark is finding random little sale sections. I found this playsuit amongst the going out section and loved how cute it looked. After trying it on I knew I needed to get it, and for £5 you can't really go wrong! Again, it looks super cute paired with the soft pink blazer. 

Frill Crepe Short - £10

So, I am never normally one to copy what a mannequin is wearing... however that is exactly what I did for this look. I love the flounce on the shorts and think it pairs perfectly with the pale pink shirt and blazer. I love how they hang when worn too as it makes for a really flattering silhouette. 

Accessories and Homeware

 Belts - Top: £3, Middle and Bottom: £1.50

 Blush Handbag- £8

 Nude tights- £2.50

 Free Standing Mirror- £3.50

 Disney Pins- £3

 Marie Cushion- £6

 Marie Frame- £4

 Cotton Pads- £0.90

 Paisley Bandana- £1.50

 Minnie Mouse Card Holder- £3

 Mermaid Float- £7. Watermelon Towel- £7

Disney Chalkboard- £3

Overall, I am so pleased with everything that I managed to find in Primark. Before I started my shop I knew what I was looking for so that really helped me stay on track. Obviously the mermaid float and Disney bits were on my list...

Let me know what you've found recently in Primark, or if there's anything I missed that you think I might enjoy! 

Until next time, 

Lifestyle || HP Sprocket Review

I have always had a love for photography, infact my very first blogpost was a review of the Fugifilm Instax camera, so it was probably about time that this smart little device made it's way into my life and then onto this blog too! I had been dreaming of owning the Sprocket for such a long time but never got around to purchasing it myself, so when I opened it on Christmas day last year I was over the moon! 

If you have never heard of this nifty little pocket printer before and are into photography, crafts or generally printing out your photographs then this is the device for you. The sprocket is honestly the pocket printer that you never knew you needed, but are kind of glad you own! I won't lie, the prints aren't always the best, but it works perfectly for my needs and I enjoy the simplicity of setting it up to connect with a mobile device! 

The Sprocket that I was lucky to receive was the rose gold gift set. As well as receiving the white and rose sprocket printer, the gift set also included a cute little photo album, rose gold Sprocket case and a pack of photo paper. I love the sleek, smooth design of the Sprocket and the rose gold features on my printer add a really pretty and delicate touch. (This is the gift set that I received, but there are many other ways that you can purchase the Sprocket on it's own too! - https://www.amazon.co.uk/HP-Sprocket-Photo-Printer-Limited/dp/B076FTRGV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520669960&sr=8-1&keywords=sprocket+rose+gold) 

One of the best features about the Sprocket, and probably a reason why I am now favouring this over my Instax camera, is the ability to edit and decide what images you want to print. Gone are the days where you have to use up all 10 films to capture one image. Using the Sprocket is so easy which makes the whole process quite enjoyable! After downloading the Sprocket app, and connecting your phone to the Sprocket's bluetooth network, the Sprocket is ready to go! The app itself has been designed really well too. As you open the app you are greeted with your phones camera roll. You select the image you want to 'edit' and begin the printing process.  

Editing the images is one of the best parts of the whole process. You can, obviously, print the image as it is straight from the phone making it more of a natural shot. Alternatively you can edit the colours, add a pretty filter or pop on some stickers before clicking the printer icon to have it sent to your sprocket device via bluetooth. Sprocket update the stickers that you can select quite often so if your for example celebrating Christmas, you can add lots of borders and stickers to reflect this in your images - honestly, it's much cooler than I am making it out to be! 

As you can see from the image above the printer quality isn't always the best, but it isn't rubbish and it does a great job of making the print as true to your edit as possible. 

I am sure that there are other printers on the market which would work better than the Sprocket, but for me it's just the device I wanted. One of the main downsides of owning the Sprocket, and probably the same downside of owning any device of this kind, is the price it takes to refill the paper. Although the paper is on offer a lot of the time on Amazon, it is still quite pricey for only 10/20/50 images. With that being said though, it makes you really decide on the photos that you want to have printed which can only be a good thing! 

So what can you use the Sprocket for I hear you ask? Well... there are many many uses for your prints thanks to the sticky back paper. For me, I wanted to use the Sprocket to document and journal. Instead of keeping all of my images in the little photo album all the time, I have purchased a small sketchbook from Paperchase that I have been using to put the prints in at the end of each month. Perhaps at some point I will share that on here too! 

Hope you've enjoyed today's post! 

Until next time, 

Lifestyle || Steps I've Taken To Up My Photography

Taking photographs for my blog is probably one of my favourite steps in the whole blogging process. I love trying different things, using different props and generally experimenting when I shoot. As much as I love photography, it does at times become quite stressful. I can picture how I want images to look in my mind but it doesn’t always translate on the camera. I’ve been changing a couple of things up recently which, in my opinion, has helped me to take better photographs.

1.    Planning

I already kind of mentioned this above, but I find planning out what photographs I want to take before taking them helps a lot. This obviously changes depending on what I am photographing. I plan in a couple of ways. Simply searching flat lay ideas on Pinterest or scrolling through Instagram is a good way of researching ideas. Another way of planning, which works mainly with makeup photography, is physically looking at products to see which angle they will photograph best. Do they have anything special on their containers that’s worth photographing?

2.    Props

I’m a big fan of props, especially ones that can be used for a multiple of pictures! As well as my Marble backdrop board that I created as the perfect backdrop, I also use diaries, ribbons and confetti to scatter in the background of images. More recently, and probably thanks to the Christmas season, I have been using fairy lights to add a bit of ‘background’ to my images. You might have noticed a gorgeous light pink faux fur rug in a couple of recent Instagram photos? – That’s my comfy Zara Gilet. So you can truly use anything as a prop for your images! I have listed below a couple of ‘Blogger’ favourite’s that always look pretty when photographed.

-       Light Box (I’m yet to use mine in photos, but they look great!)

-       Other Products – This is a great idea when photographing products from the same brand.

-       Candles – Always look pretty when photographed from above, just be careful not to have them lit as this can damage your camera!

-       Jewellery – There’s something about jewelry that looks pretty when laid out.

-       Rugs – Faux fur, brightly coloured or monochrome. Rugs are always a great addition to a photo, and they extend your frame too if your running out of space on a surface!

Both ribbon and shredded paper that came with my Glossybox made a great photo prop!

Fairy lights and Christmas garland aren't just for Christmas!

Blurred out, the fairy lights and garland look pretty and make the background interesting.

Marble board, fairy lights and my trusty faux fur body warmer!

3.    Looking back at images

This is a step that I have been doing a lot recently, especially with the changing of weather and light when taking my images. Although I now own two studio lights, it’s still tricky to control the outcome of my photographs. So looking back over them when there’s time to change the finishing product is a great step to take. This can be annoying, especially if your using a tripod as you have to take everything apart before continuing with your images, but it’s worth doing trust me. It makes the editing step a lot easier, as you’re kind of taking out the middle man.

Before

After

4.    Angles

I read a great post the other week (I am so annoyed I now can’t find the post or the blogger!) about changing up the angles of which you take your photographs. I agreed with every point that the blogger made about taking photographs for you, and following your own instinct when it comes to blogging photos. Since starting my blog I have been a firm fan of the flat lay, and don’t get me wrong I still am, but I have enjoyed switching the angle slightly and changing up my lenses to photograph in a fresh profile style way.

5.    Have fun!

This isn’t really a step, or a tip, but something that’s taken me a while to truly grasp. Photography is such a fun thing to do, and half the time we stress out so much about it the enjoyment is taken away. I try to combat this by photographing when I want to, rather than when I need to. This does mean I tend to plan my posts in advance, which can be annoying, but it also gives me time to come up with ideas for Instagram posts as well as for my blog. Things don't always go right either and that's ok too! As you can tell from the next set of photographs, taking photos AND owning cats brings up it's own problems!

Hope some of my tips have helped in some way. Photography is truly all about how you want to do it, no rules and no guidelines. I think that’s probably what I like about it the most! I was going to go into tips on shooting OOTD’s or fashion posts on your own, but think that’s worth a post all of its own! Let me know if that’s of any interest!

Until next time,