My Very First EBAY Venture.

So, I've been meaning to get going on an Ebay account for quite some time now.

I set it up back in May, but then procrastinated (typical me) over all that verification malarky you have to go through to get it working until tonight, when I found I could no longer bear staring at the bag of discarded clothes in the corner of my room.

All the stuff I'm selling is in perfect condition (most of it is new), and I'm selling everything at very reasonable prices, so it would be great if you guys could check it out!

Here's a link to my EBAY, and here's to hoping I actually make a few sales.

Below are some examples of the things I'll be selling.

If anyone has any tips or ideas for me, I'd be more than happy to take them into consideration!

Deena & Ozzy brogues from Urban Outfitters- buy now for €12 (or bidding starts at €6)

Primark chiffon shirt- bidding starting at €5

Silence & Noise top from Urban Outfitters- buy now for €6 (or bidding starts at €2)

There are also a few more things for sale, with more to come.

VINTAGE Footwear.

The main reason I'm writing this post is to gain insight into my readers' opinions on vintage footwear.

To be honest, I've always avoided second-hand footwear like the plague.
The thought of sharing a shoe with someone who could have sweat into it, not worn socks, or even worse, had some sort of foot infection, has always freaked me out.
And the fact that I don't particularly care for feet hasn't helped me very much either.

HOWEVER, this view was somewhat altered when I was in Urban Outfitters on Wednesday, and spied what were possibly the most perfect boots I have ever seen.
I've been on the hunt for some great black leather boots for quite some time now, and have finally come to accept that what I'm looking for will probably only be available in vintage.
Black, woven leather, lace-up boots with a little heel, they were exactly what I'd been searching for. And what's more, they fit me!

After much humming and hawing, I left the store without the boots.
Why?
Because I simply could not overcome my fear. When the boots were on my feet, I could feel the imprint of the previous owner and found myself almost shuddering at the thought.

Two days later, however, after trawling the internet and finding nothing worth comparing them to, I find myself wondering if I shouldn't just go back and buy the originals.
At €50, the price wasn't outrageous, and they did look great with my jeans..

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?; that is the question.

Here are some other vintage boots I encountered on my travels, as I don't have a picture of the pair;

£25, Asos Marketplace.

UPDATE: I finally went back to the shop and took a picture of the boots;

(this picture looks really fake but it was taken against a white floor!)

The Past Few Weeks

001- mes recent Ring purchases. From left to right Miss Selfridges/Matalan/Bijou Brigitte 

Shoes-River Island, I love them so much!

002 Never Ever get Wet&Wavy Hair extensions pls stick to your indian or yaki hair.I actually hate this hair so much! I had this hair in for 2 weeks and every time i look into a mirror i wanna rip it off my head :(  I don't know why it looks a tad bit red in the picture????

So fellow Londoners if you know a really good,not too expensive weaveologist( It's a craft people, a craft) holla at me or please leave a comment below :)

I May Have Gone To Primark

Necklace £1.50 each

Bag £7

Glasses £2

Shoes £10

Black Flats £4

Makeup HAUL.

Recently, I've accumulated quite a few new products, all of which I really like.  

Part of the reason I've gotten so much makeup as of late, is because I've had two balls, both of which I got my makeup done for; the first in Chanel and the second in Mac.  

Both counters require a purchase of at least €40 worth in return for doing your makeup, which really isn't a bad deal.

So, here's what I got.

Chanel Pro Lumiere foundation in "10 Limpide- Nude"

Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in "14 Mystic Eyes"

MAC lipsticks in; 

"Vegas Volt" (coral) 

&

"Cyber" (deep purple)

MAC "Mineralize Skinfinish Natural" pressed powder in Light/Medium

Topshop Nails in "War Paint" (fluoro-coral)

It's definitely going to be a while before I need to buy any new makeup!

What are the products that you can't live without?

016 Look What I Just Got!

  

Ohh the detail…

Dress-Small Boutique
There's this small, tiny in fact store that’s closing up, and i just happened to pass by and spot this gem in the window. You see round F***** things don’t come for cheaps but as soon as he told me the price  I was sold.  I was ready to cough up big time. Less than £30 for a hand-stitched, Victorian inspired dress= Good Day! Also don't i look like a child???

Imma go all Jane Eyre on your asses now :)

As with the hiatus, i'm still on it but I felt like blogging...

Ciao X

ZARA S/S '11, love it.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Zara.

I've loved it since I was about fourteen, when one opened up quite near to where I lived in Cork.  

When I was that age, I liked TRF, but in the past two years or so, I've moved on to the 'grown up' section, and I think it's amazing.  

They're always right on trend, and it's definitely affordable.

Check out these shots from their most recent lookbook.  Oh, to have unlimited funds.

Shirt- €69.95

Trousers- €69.95

Court shoe- €79.95

Blazer- €59.95

T-shirt- €16.95

Shorts- €27.95

Blouse- €39.95

Shorts- €27.95

At the moment, I'm searching everywhere for a pair of bright flats.  I've got a dress, which I want to accessorize with colour blocked accessories.

I'm talking- evergreen, cobalt or coral hues.

Help!

Also- do you think that black or white works better in colour blocks?

DRESS SHOPPING; the good and the bad.

With my first ever Trinity Ball in just two weeks time, I was starting to stress about finding the perfect dress.  There's a great little boutique in Cork called Amity which I decided would be my first port of call.  Alas, though I found two gorgeous dresses, my size was sold out in both, and I wouldn't be back in Cork on time to collect one had I ordered it in.  Seeing as I had already retired ASOS, Nasty Gal and all my usual online haunts, I had begun to despair a little bit.  However, last Monday when I was in Topshop I found exactly what I was looking for.  Relief.

To accessorize the dress I picked up a pretty cocktail ring and some bright nail polish, and I have yet to find shoes and a bag.  Now I just live in the hope that no one else will turn up in my dress (it's likely, I know.)

(I'll post pictures during the weekend after the Ball.)

Below are a few options (alternative to physically going shopping) when searching for that perfect dress;

Rent it:

I recently came across a website called Girl Meets Dress. This great website offers designer dresses for rent.  Why is this so great?  You'll never have to wear the same dress again, nor will you have to worry about spending way over budget.  From Marchesa to Chloe to Proenza Schouler- they have it all.

hire this Marc Jacobs Rainbow Paillette Dress for £89.

(Retail price; £900.)

hire this Herve Leger Fuschia Dress for £129.

(retail price; £1,252.)

hire this Marchesa Notte Bow Cocktail Dress for £179.

(retail price; £540.)

Thrift It:

Living in Dublin, we're lucky enough to be surrounded by great vintage stores.  There's Harlequin, Wild Child, Lucy's Lounge, 9 Crow Street and Jenny Vander, just to name a few.  If you're skilled at rifling through racks of clothing, then thrifting a dress is certainly for you.  Online options include the Rokit website or Ebay, though I would say that with vintage dresses and such, you're better off trying it on.

Black Velvet & Satin A-Line Dress;

£40, from Rokit.

Purple Satin & Lace Dress;

£45, from Rokit.

Black Sequinned Strapless Peplum Cocktail Dress;

£45, Rokit.

Borrow It:

If you're lucky enough to have a sister or friend who wears the same size; lucky you.  There's absolutely no shame in borrowing a dress, think of all the money you'll save and can spend on makeup/shoes/extra drinks for the night!  The only drawback about wearing a borrowed dress is you've got to be extra careful; you don't want to make your friend an enemy.

LUSH LUSH LUSH

I made the epic mistake of going to the Covent Garden Branch of Lush on a Saturday, tourists maaanyyy tourists.
I basically went for stuff that would make my skin soft and I heard especially the Butterbath bomb would do the trick. They discontinued yummy yummy :( ahh well…
What are your fave lush products/what do you recommend?

005

 
Scarf-Primark/Blazer-Topshop/Necklace-River Island/Peter Pan Dress-Primark ( £6!!!)
Also I finally went shopping, I'm piss poor now but it’s worth it  :) Primark have great thing at the moment, seriously. Need to go there more often…

ZARA S/S 2011.

I love Zara.  It's probably one of my favourite places to shop, though I don't go there that often (which is probably a good thing on account of the fact that I find it very difficult to leave without first making a purchase).  Today, I decided to take a visit (stupidly, as I'm completely broke) and I loved what I saw.  Seriously- I wanted everything.  It is a wonderful collection of light chiffon, luxurious leather and simplistic cotton, in a gorgeous variety of classy hues- camel, black, white, nudes and cornflower blue- amongst others.  I was also taken by the pops of neon colour they had on offer, which is really on trend at the moment.

dress with contrasting sleeves- €69.95

long studio skirt- €79.95

leather dress- €139

pleated trousers- €29.95

coloured miniskirt- €29.95

open work peep-toe- €69.95

I seriously need to go shopping.

Im in Manchester at the moment, so I'm extra thrilled that I will be able to hit the northern quarter and Affleks Pallace. Also I must say that Manchester is way ahead style wise,everyone not in a tracksuit looks quite nice!

BARGAIN HUNTING in Cork.

While I'm a terrible sale shopper (I either end up with a few bags of rubbish which I will never, ever wear, or else give up after the first rack), I definitely love a good bargain as much as the next person.  As I haven't been home in almost a month, this weekend, when I did come home, my mom, my sister Caroline and I went to town for a few hours and had a look around the shops. Usually, I find that Cork is only mediocre for shopping.  There's no Urban Outfitters and no American Apparel- two of my favourites- and there is a limited amount of vintage. This rainy Saturday, however, luck was on my side and I snapped up two excellent bargains in the space of two hours.

Bargain #1: Last year, I fell in love with a gorgeous houndstooth/tweed blazer in Topshop.  Alas, it cost a whopping €106, and my budget simply would not allow it.  Today, however, I decided I'd tackle the dwindling sale rack upstairs in Topshop, Opera Lane, and much to my surprise, there hung the blazer, marked down to €45- less than half the original price!  Along with student discount, the blazer cost me only €40.50.  I'm absoultely delighted with it- though it is a size bigger than I would normally buy, it hangs nicely, can be worn as a jacket come Spring, and it's black and grey colour palette will match the majority of my wardrobe.

Bargain #2: For a while now, I've been searching for the perfect college bag, to house my laptop, and A4 notepad, my wallet, and the numerous other items I carry around on a daily basis.  Rather than just go out and purchase a brown satchel, I was on the hunt for something slightly different.  Before Christmas, I found a beautiful leather bag in The Cobbler on Oliver Plunkett St., Cork, but as it cost €175, I had to give up hope.  Today however, I decided to take a second look in The Cobbler to see if there was any new stock there for me to lust over.  There it sat, on the glass shelf, a beautiful, deep red leather, briefcase style bag- perfect for college, and exactly what I had been looking for.  As picked it up and slung it over my shoulder, my eye caught the price tag- €50!  It couldn't be.  I examined it closer, only to discover that the price had been reduced due to "damages" ie. a few scratches here and there.  Perfect!  It even had that second-hand aura, but still held on to the satisfying scent of  brand new leather.  I had to have it!  I just can't wait to use it for college come Monday morning.

here are the scratches- the reason for the reduction in price.