Black Friday | Where To Spend Your Money

I'm hoping I'm not too late to the game with this post, as all the Black Friday deals seem to be starting so early this year! But I thought I would create a post with all the best discounts I have found so far. It's so easy to get carried away when you can pretty much get a discount on anything this weekend, and it's especially hard to control yourself when you're a poor uni student... I'm actually taking a trip to Westfield's on Saturday, which I now realise is a bad idea! Anyway, I think it's important to make sure you don't spend a crazy amount of money on impulse purchases. Of course, Christmas is soon approaching (I'm already finding it hard to contain my excitement) and what better time to get all your presents than now? I'm trying to be good and prioritise all my family and friends, and try and get all their presents sorted, so there will definitely be some links to discounts with present shopping in mind.

Below is a list of all the discounts that I personally think are the best, and save you the most money. It's very easy to get carried away, so just make sure you're buying something you need or have been lusting over for a long while!

Happy Shopping! 

Clothing, Shoes & Accessories 

Topshop - Up to 50% off on selected lines, including gifts

H&M - Selected shoes & accessories have up to 40% off, and if you join H&M Club you can receive 20% off anything with free delivery (ending tonight 23.11.17) 

New Look - 25% off everything (although New Look quite frequently do discounts)

Mango - I can't believe Mango are doing 30% off everything! This is definitely a discount to utilise if you find anything you love

River Island - 20% off when you spend £75

ASOS - They of course have their trusty 20% off everything, but I always love this because of the vast amount of brands sold on the website 

Pull & Bear - They have actually shut down their website until 10pm this evening (23.11.17) when they will be launching their discounts, including 20% off all clothes and 30% off all shoes... so get prepared! 

Bershka - The same goes for Bershka, who are launching their up to 50% off selected items discount at 10pm

Missguided - They are back again with their amazing 50% off everything (excluding sale) 

AllSaints - An amazing 30% off everything! It's the perfect time to buy that leather jacket you've been lusting over... 

Dune - Up to 20% off everything

Jack Wills - Up to 50% off everything, with a guaranteed at least 25% off! 

Whistles - 25% off everything (excluding Wedding & Sale)

Revolve - They have an 'extra special sale' with up to 50% off prices 

Urban Outfitters - Buy one get one 50% (on all stock)

Anthropologie - 20% off everything with free delivery, the perfect place to get some lovely gifts 

Aldo - 50% off the original price on all sale, and 20% off full-price merchandise

Mint Velvet - 20% off everything (they very rarely do a discount of more than 10-20%)

Very - Hundreds of different deals, including up to 50% off selected clothing and footwear

Kurt Geiger - 20% off

Office  - 20% off with free UK delivery

Next - 70% off all Black Friday event lines!

Zara - 20% off selected items

Stradivarius - 20% off everything

Forever 21 - Up to 50% off Black Friday deals, an extra 30% off sale items and free delivery!

& Other Stories - Selected items are discounted

Department Stores

John Lewis - They are price matching competitors, offering a variety of different discounts and I have to say there are some great ones! 

Selfridges - 20% off and 10% off beauty and fragrance 

Debenhams - They have several discounts on, including VAT free prices on all fragrance and half price coats and jackets (today only)

House of Fraser - Up to 40% off, with new offers being added every day

Beauty

(Remember the department stores also have discounts on beauty)

Illamasqua - 25% off, and a free gift worth £55.80 when you spend £60 

Kiko - An amazing deal of buy 3 products and get 3 free (online & in-store until 26.11.17), also with free express delivery online

Tarte - 25% off almost everything

Sephora - Several deals on several products found on their 'deals-giving' page

The Body Shop - 40% off hundreds of items

Stila - 20% off everything 

Miscellaneous

My 1st Years - Up to 50% off selected items, and 30% off everything... I love this brand for those more special presents for the little ones 

Red Letter Days - Up to 70% off over 600 deals, the perfect place to find gifts for couples 

Amazon - Several discounts, with new deals every day 

Waterstones - Half price offers, as well as books under £10... another great place to pick up some Christmas gifts

Links of London - 20% off (10% off 18kt gold)

Not On The High Street - Huge sale with up to 50% off, the perfect place to find gifts

Kikki.K - 20% off storewide and free monogramming

Disney Store - 20% off selected lines

Oliver Bonas - 25% off selected items, another great place to find lovely gifts

A couple last things to note... Be aware that not all brands have discounts running all weekend, some will end on Friday night, so make sure you shop your favourites first! And keep checking back at this post as I will update it over Black Friday and the weekend as more discounts are revealed.

Good luck if you are braving the shops like me!

*Black Friday image taken from Topshop.com 

Feeling Comfortable in Your Own Skin

This is quite a difficult post for me to write, because really I have only recently become comfortable within my own skin. And of course, every now and then I still get doubts and I still nit-pick at myself, but that's normal. Recently I've been thinking a lot about how easy it is to put yourself down, and how hard it is to make yourself feel good. And I've come to realise that most of it is down to false expectations and caring too much about what other people think. I'm definitely guilty of that. I feel like I've spent the last 5-10 years of my life caring about what everyone else has to say about me, and what they might think of me. But I've now come to understand that thinking like that is only going to negatively affect yourself, it's never going to change the way people will think. It's all about forgetting about everyone else around you, all the stereotypes and judgements, and just doing things that you like and make you feel comfortable.

When it comes to fashion I think it's crucial to dress the way that you want to dress. Who cares if your styles a bit eccentric, a bit boring or a bit fancy... as long as you feel comfortable then that's all that should matter. I personally find I'm always usually the overdressed one, who turns up wearing boot heels rather than trainers. But who cares? Honestly, when I'm wearing a pair of my favourite boots I feel one million times nicer than I do when I'm wearing my vans. It doesn't mean I'm pretentious or arrogant! It just means I dress for myself. I dress in things that make me feel good about myself, and really, what's wrong with that? I've spent so much time in the past worrying about whether or not I should wear a particular item, because of how I'm worried people will judge me. And now I look back and think how silly I was to care so much.

It's so easy within today's society to get wrapped up in expectations and how we should look. The media is constantly defining the way our bodies should look, and the way in which we should dress ourselves. And yes, of course I follow hundreds of social media accounts, and yes I know it's easy to compare yourself to those people. But that's where you have to understand that everyone is truly different and everyone has their own identity, and there is no reason why you should try and emulate that. You should create your own individual identity. After all, how boring would it be if we all dressed and looked the same?

So I guess what I'm trying to say (and I hope this is clear), is that everyone should be true to themselves. Put all those negative opinions and associations to the back of your mind, and do whatever makes you feel good about yourself. By doing that, you will definitely be one step closer to feeling comfortable in your own skin.

My Autumn & Winter Colour Palette | Knitwear

Finally, the cold and crisp weather is kicking in. And I have to say I am extremely excited to have gotten all my knitwear back out of my wardrobe! I guess there is a pretty standard colour palette that goes hand-in-hand with Autumn/Winter, you know black, burgundy, grey etc. But I thought I would show you what my own personal colour palette consists of for the current seasons. Of course there's black, it will always be my base colour, it is just so easy to dress with. This usually comes in the form of jeans and boots. I will always be a burgundy and grey lover too, they are of course still neutral colours so are easy enough to integrate into anyone's wardrobe.

The new colours I have discovered for AW17 that I may not have previously experimented with so much are blush shades, red and camel. Pantone Colour Institute released their colour report earlier on this year for AW17, featuring some lovely camel-toned shades 'Toast' and 'Copper Tan'. There's a beautiful bright red 'Flame Scarlet', and some gorgeous earthy tones. So clearly we are going to be seeing lots of clothing along this colour wavelength this season. Some of these colours featured in the colour report are still currently on my wish list, however sadly university means less online shopping. But I am on the hunt for a beautiful camel coat, and would really like to get some boots this year that AREN'T black for once (we'll see).

I've put together several outfits for you, focusing on knitwear. Seeing as in Autumn and Winter that is basically what I live in, it only makes sense. Most pieces are new/recent, but I have included a couple from last year. I think I've found some pretty great wardrobe staples to see me through the colder months. Here are some of my favourite pieces...

The Cable Knit | Red

The Bardot Knit | Grey 

The Back Detail Knit | Burgundy 

The Turtle Neck Knit | Grey 

The Sleeve Detail Knit | Beige 

I hope you like the pieces I have picked out, I have linked the ones that I can. I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm now covered in the knitwear department!