Wednesday 25 May 2011

Update + A Fashion Dilemma

As previously mentioned, I planned some reviews on make-up goodies for the future :) I'm still waiting on a few items to arrive, and I planned to review them all at once, so that's on hold for now ;)

I've generally been quite busy with work, so I haven't had too much time to focus on Sparklerose. But, I have got more ribbon rose earrings to add to the blog sales section, and a lovely cupcake necklace collection to show v.soon :)

I also celebrated my one year anniversary of my life in Lincoln on the 18th May, which meant me & Adrian were also celebrating our one year (of living together) anniversary too :)

Very pretty roses from Adrian

We went out to Damon's for a lovely meal to mark the occasion. I wore the dress that I'd received from Matalan, mentioned in this post. It's an American style diner, so the food was.. a little different to me. We tried an onion loaf, which looked like loads of onion rings squashed together. And for a dessert, a bakewell type of cake made out of snickers, chocolate and some other things all sandwiched together :) very delicious.

Anywho, onto the present, I've been invited out for girly drinks over the weekend, and I'm completely stuck for what to wear. I'm thinking flat shoes (I don't *do* heels, I buy them, rarely, just for staring at) and some kind of dress with leggings. A smart/casual type of thing.

Here's a few bits that I'm tempted with, I'm in need of some advice ;)

Orange Sleeveless Lace Dress - £26.00

I love the colour of this dress, and I love the lace, but I can't decide if it's too striking for me. And what colour flats would I team it with?

Orange Frill Chiffon Dress - £32.00

Again with the orange! But it's so pretty. But would wearing black leggings completely butcher its prettiness...


Taupe Cape Back Dress - £30.00

I really love the cape on the back of this dress, giving the illusion that there's a shrug. I hate showing my shoulders/upper arms so this would be suitable for me. It's a little plain, maybe a statement necklace or a belt would make it more 'night out' material.

Statement Feather Jewel Flat In Natural - £12.00

These shoes are adorable, they're just the right amount of 'fancy' for me. I want something with a bit of sparkle, with a bit of detail, but without being too over the top.

I'm definitely loving the shoes, but I think the dress situation is proving to be a pickle....

Love,
Fiona x

Friday 13 May 2011

General Update / Upcoming Posts

I've had the most relaxing day, in preparation for a mammoth work shift tomorrow (11 hours, wish me luck!).

Upon checking my emails this morning, I got very excited to find my pinterest invite sitting in my inbox. I requested one a few days ago, highly intrigued about what it's all about.




I have probably spent far too much time on it today, I'd say it's highly addictive for me. I'd recommend it for anyone who loves collecting things and/or pretty pictures.

It'll be so so handy for creating wishlists around Christmas time, as you can add anything from anywhere in one place :) very exciting stuff.

On another note, since my 'what's (currently) in my make-up bag' post, I've actually done a little bit of shopping online (thrifting, of course) and somewhat added to my collection. I've decided to review these items here :)

So here's a little list of the products I'll be reviewing over the next month or two:

+ No 7 Liplicious lipgloss tube in Candyfloss
+ MAC Glitter Reflects in Transparent Teal (I'm likely going to use this in nailart)
+ Barry M Lipstick in number 53 (Coral)
+ No 7 Eyeshadow single in Island Sea

I also wanted to say a thank you to my new readers. In the past month or so, I think my reader number has almost doubled. I really, really appreciate it :) It's lovely to know that people like what I write & what I snap with my camera. Thanks for all your support! :D

Love,
Fiona x

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Fashion Favourites: Smart Florals

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5

1. Cream Floral Meadow Print Sleeveless Dress from Topshop - £29.00
2. Flowers On Hessian Wristband from Topshop - £8.50
3. Tan Mini Satchel Bag from Dorothy Perkins - £18.00
4. Knotted Strappy Sandals from New Look - £14.99
5. Mustard Double Rib Trim Cardigan from Debenhams - £18.00

This collection reminds me of late summer picnics, park trips and afternoons drinking tea in the sunshine :)

Love,
Fiona x

Saturday 7 May 2011

What's (Currently) In My Make-Up Bag

I absolutely love stumbling across posts like these, it's great to see what other products people are using, so I thought I'd do my very own post :)

I used to own alot of make-up, but I decided to cut down my 'collection'. Now I have my make-up split into three:

+ A basic make-up bag
+ A Cath Kidston make-up bag with a few MAC lipglosses, a Barry M dazzledust, and a few other bits inside
+ My wonderful Urban Decay palette, all I'll probably ever need for eyeshadow, ever..


Cosmetics Bag from Accessorize via Ebay

I saw this lovely little bag on Ebay one afternoon years ago, while my mum was peering over my shoulder. I decided to bid on it, and found out she loved it, so when it arrived, I passed it to her. She used it for a little while, then passed it back to me. So this, is a very well loved bag ;)

I think it only cost around £4.00 with postage included, which is a bargain considering Accessorize purses and bags tend to be pricey. You can usually find some lovely Accessorize beaded and sequinned purses/cosmetics bags on Ebay, so it's always worth a look.


Here's what's inside:

+ Maybelline Volume Express Lift-up Mascara (you can see a review I wrote about this here)
+ Rimmel Hide The Blemish Concealer in Ivory
+ Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero
+ Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in Ivory
+ Bourjois Blush in Rose D'or
+ Maybelline Dream Mousse blush in Mauve
+ Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Warm Beige
+ Lip Smacker in Easter Cake
+ Lip Smacker in Vanilla Cola
+ Benefit Benetint miniature
+ Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Gloss in Grapefruit
+ Vaseline.. of course :D
+ A super sparkly (and super broken) mirror from Accessorize

As you can see, my basic make-up is all generally drugstore brands, although I would love to own more expensive better quality products, those products work fine for me :) and I hate spending alot of money on things that turn out to be rubbish, I'm a little boring like that.

The UD eyeliner came as part of a set with a few other lovely colours (I have them somewhere), I seriously recommend these eyeliners, they are wonderous.

The Clinique gloss was a freebie from a magazine. I heart freebies :D

Easter Cake Lip Smacker

This is one of my most recent purchases, I bought it a couple of days ago from Primark for 50p! I guess it's their easter stock, so they're keen to sell, but cake is cake, and this does smell delicious (boyfriend thinks it smells sickly). I love wearing light lip balms in the summer, I find lip glosses too sticky and I rarely wear lipstick. So easter cake and the vanilla cola will be travelling around with me alot over the next few months.

Benetint Miniature

This is such a cute little thing, and although I rarely use it (as you can tell), I still love having it around. I tend to use a teeny tiny amount on my lips to make them look naturally pinker. It works a treat :)
The miniature comes from the Justine Case set. The Benefit website no longer sell it, so it's worth a google search if you're interested in it, just beware of any potential fakes out there (incase there is any).

Bourjois Blush in Rose D'or

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Mauve

I can never decide which one of these is my favourite, they're both really lovely. I find the Maybelline mousse easier to apply for precision, but the shimmery effect of Bourjois' Rose D'or is perfect for adding some sparkle to my cheeks. I originally saw the Bourjois one on a blog entry from Sailboat, where Jennie shows other shades, too. I'm also keen on Rose Ambré ;)


Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette

Adrian (wonderful boyfriend) bought me this beautiful palette for Christmas, and it's taken me on an eyeshadow journey like I could never believe. I've always loved eyeshadow, and loved looking at eyeshadow looks online. But whenever I tried these looks, it would all go wrong, I'd look like someone had punched me in the eye or I'd let a child loose on my eyelids. But this palette encouraged me to learn, and now I've mastered a few looks that encompass all the colours, and suit work also ;)

My favourites are Drink Me Eat Me, Oraculum, Muchness and Queen. These are the colours I use most frequently :)

If I've mentioned something you're keen to try, but would love more information about it, or perhaps you'd like a proper review, please feel free to send me an email to sparklerosedesigns@live.co.uk :)
I'm no expert (believe me) but I have been using these products for a long time.

**Before I go, if you're a fan of The Body Shop and love their famous body butters, them go grab yourself a copy of Marie Claire (June 2011). You get a free lovely body butter, 50ml travel size, in either mango, shea or one called Dreams Unlimited, which is based on their new perfume.**

I picked up mango, yumyum :)

Love,
Fiona x

Friday 6 May 2011

Pretty Etsy Finds - Vintage Twist

Just a small collection of goodies with a vintage-esque theme from Etsy.com today :)

Memory Wire Beaded Bracelet - Ocean Garden
By Jacarandadesigns
This beautiful bracelet has sat in my favourites for ages, it's so pretty and autumnal :)

Shabby Pink Rosette Necklace
By Sophine Giam
I've featured a pair of her earrings before, her jewellery really is stunning, focusing on vintage looks.

Lilac Floral Cameo Necklace
By MaruMaru
MaruMaru offer plenty of gorgeous necklaces and earrings that are made with cameos, they even have some adorable owl printed lockets that are super cute :)

Spring Romance Handmade Lampwork & Crystal Beaded Earrings
By The Pink Martini
When I saw these, I was in awe, they are so cute! It looks like a flower covered lampwork bead, which must have taken forever to craft. They're really pretty for spring, and they're also on sale :)

Sparkle Twig Bracelet - Brass, Olive Green
By Sweet Findings 4 U
This is also another autumnal find, I love this particular colouring, but there are lots more different colours in their shop.

Scallop Swing Locket
By Dreams By The Sea
One word; cute!

Love Letters Vintage Envelope Locket Necklace
By Bumbershoot Designs
I love envelope pendant necklaces, but I never seem to find one that I really love. This one is really lovely though, the envelope looks worn a little, and the flower to the side really adds something to it.

What are your fave pieces? :)

Love,
Fiona x


Monday 2 May 2011

The Jewellery Files (001)

I have been AWOL the past few days due to a rather unpleasant bladder infection. The weekend was particularly hurrendous, as I had alot of other symptoms as well as the actual infection. I felt terribly sick and my head throbbed. However, I am now on anti-biotics, and I'm drinking plenty of fluids, so I should be on the mend pretty soon :)

I thought I'd start my first feature post for The Jewellery Files, which is a new feature I've created for the blog. In each post, I will show jewellery that I've dug out of the inner depths of my jewellery drawer, and generally talk about it. Being the jewellery magpie that I am, I have so many pretty jewels but I seem to go for the same pieces over and over again. Sooo.. I do hope this blog feature will encourage me to wear my whole collection.

The first piece I dug out was a heart necklace. Sadly, there's only one piece being featured today, I was a little jewellery lazy this week.


It's actually really cute for a pendant necklace. It's made of glass with small daisies inserted inside. Can't believe this one has barely got some love over the past few years!

I got it when I was in London for a post-birthday treat, which was my 18th. I picked it up in a market somewhere, I'm not actually sure where, and I think it cost me £7.00. It reminds me of the time where I was just about to go to Uni, the excitement and anticipation was pretty strong at that point.

I also remember buying far too many bags to go with that necklace...

Love,
Fiona x
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