I also found these wonderful sandals for £5. I needed a new pair after an embarrassing scenario which involved them breaking. Imagine the toe post snapping when you're walking through town! So freaking annoying, luckily though they had support at the back so at least I had something to hold my foot in. I had to walk very slowly and carefully to the nearest shoe shop, which with nothing to support the front of my foot was a bit of a quest. I had to buy literally the closest pair I could find, and they just happened to be god awful patent blue ones, just disgusting really. So anyway, they needed replacing with sandals I actually like, and I found these, I love the fact they're not toe post sandals because they're more comfortable, but still look modern. 
On the same spree I visited New Look, a shop that goes up and down in my expectations, I used to hate it, but just recently have been finding some real gems in there. The only thing I find consistent about that place is the shoes, they always have something I like, and are so affordable. I found this top, which when I describe as cropped and tie-dyed sounds like an 80s throwback and bloody awful, but for some reason I love it. It looks nothing on the hanger, so I will have to post a picture of an OOTD to convince you otherwise. It's slightly slanted so is slightly shorter on one side than the other and is tied in a knot on one side.
I also found this t-shirt dress with ruched flower detailing on the sleeves. It's available in a few colours, but it's very slim fitting, so not very forgiving I'm afraid, black is the only colour I thought I could pull it off in, the nude pink was gorgeous, but a bit on the revealing side.
It looks kind of boring as it is, but teamed with a contrasting belt and shoes looks pretty nice. The detailing on the sleeves just gives it that delicate edge.
I left my umbrella at work and since I've now left for the summer and will be starting somewhere new soon, I won't really be able to go back for it, so I bought a new one. It's a similar style to my old one, except my old had white detailing, so a white frill at the bottom and a white handle and stitching. It was also plain and transparent, whereas this one has a cherry print all over it, it's very cute. I have a feeling it might actually have been from the 915 range as it was all on it's own with more grown up looking ones! Oh well, I like it. 
The top was £14, the dress £20, and the umbrella £8. Bargainous! So I was very content with my shopping experience, I spent quite little for what I bought which is always a good thing, especially when you get just what you want.It's not only material things I buy that put a smile on my face, but even smaller things like coming home and making my own capuccino.
Yum! A bit of effort but worth it, and tastes great. Another thing that I've come to realise made me happy was my garden at my parent's house. I took it for granted when I lived there because everyone had a garden where I grew up. Living in London, I have a balcony, which I realise even that it somewhat of a luxury in my area. It's not huge but we are making the most of it. I will have to tidy it up a little better and show you pictures. But here is the sunflower I planted a few weeks ago. I can't believe how quick it's grown and it seems like it's reached it's peak now and is ready to flower soon. I was quite surprised how easy it was to grow, I thought I would kill it as I'm not reknown for keeping plantlife alive, but it's thriving really well, and I'm actually quite proud of it! 
Anyway, I realise I've gone off at a complete tangent on this post. Well done if you read this far! So I guess I'd like to know...what are the little things that make you smile? They might be beauty related or otherwise, write a comment or your own blog post! xXx
Loving the Japanese themed ornaments in this room.
I think it was Liparazzi who drew my attention to these two colours. They are often overlooked, or maybe it's because everyone owns them so doesn't mention them either way I'm glad I have them now, I can see me reaching for these a lot. In the picture below Jest is on top, Retrospeck underneath. Jest gives your eyelids like a glow. I find it hard to describe the colour as it's not anything specific, it's not really golden, or pearl, but somewhere between the two. It's very pretty, and really makes your eyes look healthy and alive!
Retrospeck is similar to All That Glitters, but slightly more golden and with more chunks of glitter in. It's not fall out city though, so don't panic. Below, I have put Jest next to Hush for comparison. When I bought Hush I made the mistake of not looking at the colour in natural daylight, but only what I saw in the MAC store. 
Under the shop lights, I saw a neutral colour that I could wear on my lid. Reality, Hush is very much on the light pink side, it doesn't look all that pink, but when swatched it has a real pink tone to it. It's pretty, and works great as a highlight for a pink eyeshadow look, but it's just not what I intended to buy. What I did want was what I found with Jest, it looks kind of pink in the pan, but it's really not an over the top pink, it's almost colourless, I guess peachy is a better word. Not too light, just the perfect tone for a wash over the lid. Here they are swatched, Hush is above and jest is below, as you can see, quite different.
I also went in to Accessorize today, I bought a couple of flower hair clips. I think they're nice and summery, and look pretty and girly with a summer dress. I have an obsession with Japanese culture, so couldn't resist this cute necklace with a Japanese doll. It hangs quite high on the neck so will look good with other chains of different lengths.
Not related to this shopping trip, but thought I'd throw this in anyway, I bought these a couple of weeks ago with a half price sunglasses voucher from Boots. They're by French Connection and were originally £52, which I was prepared to pay before I got the voucher. I was toying with the idea of getting these, or a pair of Chanel ones. I'm glad I was so indecisive because then I got the voucher, and the decision was made for me! Chanel can wait til I earn a better wage!
