OOTD: Spring Layers;

First Post of My Face Alert!

Aloha fashion blog readers of the interweb! First things first yes, that is a Justin Bieber calendar but everyone needs a guilty pleasure don't they? And many apologies for awkward poses I'm not exactly made for standing in front of a camera.

Can I be the first (I'm really not the first) to say that I am done with winter!? Any excuse to crack out my legs in a skirt/ tights combo and I am there! This time I've opted for this Quiz playsuit, I'm also trying to break out of my black winter wardrobe and I thought the red did that nicely. I think a light jumper is a way to adapt it into spring when its still as cold as ice here! I also like the way I can still see my playsuit through this sheer jumper from Primark. 

I accessorised this outfit with my everyday ring that my dad bought be and a silver plain above the knuckle ring from Kukee. The bottom 2 of my necklaces are also from Kukee and the star necklace is from Delilah Dust. My nails are Queen of Green from Topshop dotted with a nail pen from Argos.

Is anyone as fed up with the weather as I am? And if you've been affected by the floods I send my love!

Lots of love, GAV

xoxo

February Favourites;

Okay, okay. My apologies for the being the crappest blog-writer ever, I will get the hang of regular posting. Anyone who is reading this; I commend you. On to the post! I know its not yet the end of February but I have favourites adding up that must be written about!

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

This has to be the single best cleanser I've ever tried! I get quite apprehensive about switching up my skincare routine as I have very sensitive skin and after some nasty rashes bought out by some of the Simple range I'm even wary of so-called suitable for sensitive skin products. But after reading review after review about how amazing this stuff was and how alike it was to Bioderma I just had to give it a try. It is an amazing cleanser it smells and looks just like water, it removes all of my makeup without any scrubbing, waterproof mascara is usually a bit of bugger but I've had no trouble! It doesn't dry my skin out, hasn't given me any break outs and doesn't sting my eyes like most cleansers do. It was £4.99 but for a bottle this size I don't paying that, I've used this 10-20 times and used barely any! Can I give this any more compliments?!

Elf Brush Shampoo

My new Christmas brushes definitely went far too long without cleaning (ew) but when I eventually got off of my arse this is what I used. Aside from my foundation brush which needed a long soak, I simply ran this through my brushes and rinsed it out and they returned to their pre-25th of December state. This did everything it says on the tin... Actually it doesn't say an awful lot on the tin...

LUSH Ocean Salt Facial Scrub

Firstly, don't use this on your face, ever, please. But if you're looking for a body scrub give this a whirl, it has large and small chunks (grains?) of salt which means it gets a tonne more dead skin than any other scrub I've used, hence why I don't let it touch my face ouch. I first bought this during summer and as LUSH can be on the pricey side I tried a few different scrubs but I found none of them did the job as well as this did.

Warning really rubbish photos coming up!

Elf Studio Matte Lip Colour in Tea Rose

After spending early November until mid January in bright, glossy lip colours with matching mini skirts, my lips have gone completely neutral. Matte lip colours in general have become a massive favourite but this Elf studio matte lip colour has taken the crown, the slightly purple shade probably doesn't suit my skin tone but I love it! The grey and brown make it subtle enough to wear in the day, the one negative with Elf is their horrendous online swatching so I had to do some blog-stalking before I bought this but I'm so glad I did!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer

My little trial of Boi-ing came in a sale Christmas box set I managed to nab before they all sold out and I'm so glad I did! This has to be the best item of them all. I didn't know what more to expect from a concealer I'll admit I did they all did the same job, oh but how wrong I was... This makes me look human even under my eyes which completely unheard of before. At £25 a pop I'm not sure I could justify buying the full size on a student budget but we'll have to see.

Fashionista Custom Design Blush

L-R Crimson, Milan, Blushing, Rome

I found out that Fashionista did these build your own palettes via Instagram, they are a great idea. So much cheaper than other brands, I picked out 6 eyeshadows 3 blushes and a bronzer, the blushes are what have stood out to me as the best. The pigmentation is so great for the price and they have such a great choice of colours. I will write a full review on these soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Maybelline Babylips in Pink Punch & Valseline with Aloe Vera

Lip balms in general are a must with the typical British weather at the moment! The Maybelline Babylips was definitely a grower to me at first I didn't buy into the hype and I hated it! I found if I applied this before I left the house it would evaporate leaving my lips even drier, but I tried using this mostly to get rid of it and to my surprize I ended up loving it. I use it underneath my lipstick as I find it keeps my lips silky smooth and moisturised all day. I have the Vaseline lip therapies in every variety as Vaseline is the only thing I find makes my lips soft and actually keeps them that way, but the one with aloe vera is the one I've been reaching for most this month. My Vaseline with aloe vera is my more deep action lip balm as the aloe vera sooths any chapping. Vaseline is the only thing I find makes my lips soft and actually keeps them that way.

Thank you for reading and if anyone could comment decent but cheap (or free) photo editing software I would be very appreciative

Lots of love, GAV

xoxo

Primark Haul;

Primark  is quickly becoming my favourite store, lately I seem to be taking weekly trips in for so-called essentials. Primark has definitely upped its quality game the last year, the prices have of course risen with that but its not quite breaking the bank yet. This week I picked up a few wintery bits, and some accessories...

Jumper; £6

 My only fashion piece of this haul is this sheer white jumper. I've been looking everywhere for plain jumpers for tucking into skirts, over the top of dresses and hanging on to summery clothes for as long as humanly possible and I think this was an absolute steal. The only reason I resisted buying this in every colour is because I do need some jumpers to see me through when the even colder weather, and this is slightly sheer and doesn't exactly keep all the warmth in.

Snood/ Circle Scarf; £5

I can't believe I found this snood/circle scarf in Primark, it looks so much more expensive! A few years back I had a slight obsession with River Island scarves, but that was an expensive habit so this chunky-knit gorgeous scarf in Primark was great! The plain colour means it will go with everything, its very thick and will actually help keep the cold out in the months to come and its made very sturdy (as far as I can see).

Socks; £3 (3 pack)

I have a thing about knee length socks under boots during the winter, and the day I went shopping I had a pair of ankle boots on, they just looked so plain without that little bit of sock poking out! These socks are the usual length and they finished off my outfit so well and I see me wearing these out over winter.

Midi Rings; £1.50 (8 pack)

Midi rings are one of my favourite accessories even if I don't need an excuse to wear more rings, but they're so small I have a tendency to lose them. But for £1.50 for 8 it doesn't matter if I lose them or if they discolour! They're plain and in every colour so they will go with everything, its safe to say I'm so glad Primarni has jumped on the midi ring bandwagon!

Scrunchies £1.00 (3 pack)                                      Hairband 50p

I have to wear my hair up for work so I'm always looking for simple ways to jazz up my up-dos. The right hairband goes so well with a high ponytail, I already own this in gold but black goes with everything (except brown). Seeing these scrunchies lit up my day, I'm a 90s kid and I ran across River Island when I saw dungarees during summer! I've seen scrunchies hopping across UO and Topshop lately but they were expensive and I like to keep to fairly neutral colours at work and keep my hair down when I'm home so these were perfect. They go great around ponys and doughnut buns.

Hairgrips £1.00 (40 pack)                              Clothes Hangers £4 (10 pack)

These were my true essentials and the only reason I actually ventured into Primark (oops!). The mythical hairgrip fairy seems to have stolen all of my grips yet again, I swear I have to buy new ones every month, where can that amount of hairgrips even go?! I also have completely run out of hangers (again) and these are great they have a sort-of velor (how do you spell that again) material which is great for sheer shirts etc. as it helps them to grip, and the price is cheaper than Wilkinson!

Lots of love, GAV

xoxo

:Girl About Village

Hiya, bloggers, blogettes, blog readers, and any aliens in between. I'm a 19 year old part-time law student and barmaid, who lives in the South-West of England. I take far too many outfit idea photos and I'm partial to an instagram haul so I thought I'd share a few of these with you. I believe in wearing eyeliner everyday and never going without lipgloss and sunnies in my handbag.

Hope you enjoy, GAV

xoxo