Aberdeen Student Lock In | Autumn Haul

Technically no, I am not a student anymore. Well at least as of the very end of September, and I mean I'd quite happily be exploiting my discount up until 11.59pm on the 31st of September that's how much I'll miss my discount. So you can imagine that when Aberdeen's Bon Accord and St Nicholas Shopping centre announced their annual student lock in I was first in line! (not literally unfortunately!)

Pre Lock In

Well the queue was massive, we actually arrived 40 minutes prior to doors even opening and we were I would say reasonably near the front, considering how far back the queue eventually went I was chuffed! 

During the Lock In

As cheapy as it may sound I had been expecting more freebies, I literally went away with one shower gel by L'Occitane and a catalogue from Warehouse which I could have got any time.  I don't feel like the actual discounts on offer deserved as much hype as there had been because there was literally an extra 10% and Boots didn't even bother with discounts, to the dismay of many shoppers we saw loading baskets with products!

New Look (20% Discount)

Tartan Pinafore
I've been dying to get a bit more fashion focused at work since all I seem to be wearing as of late are my black trousers paired with a flowy shirt, and this was RIGHT up my street not to mention on trend for the Autumnal months.

Burgundy 50's Flare Skirt
Something I've been dying to try out and not to mention suit over the past few months is a long skirt that isn't body con, and I do believe I've found it. It's a show stopper!

Parisian Tee
Admittedly I was drawn in due to Paris, our holiday booking is looming and I feel like I'm already behind in buying my holiday clothes! Plus it looks amazing with my 50's skirt.

Purple Floral Geisha Kimono 
When it comes to Kimonos, what can I say? I'm a woman obsessed I think at the moment I have 5 or 6, and this one well I had to have it! I wear these instead of blazers or jackets on an evening out so really you can never have too many!

Coral Stilettos 

Recently I have been dying to buy a pair of statement shoes for special occasions and evenings out, but I had no luck since my tiny size 3 feet only get the boring shoes! But at the lock in I spotted a rare find in the form of stilettos for a tenner! Now if only I had a party coming up!

Topshop (20% Discount)

Lippys! (Macaroon, Ditsy, Wicked and Trigger)

I'd heard good things about Topshop's lippy over the past few months, from their staying power to their moisturing qualities and even their great pigmentation, so when I saw they were on offer at 2 for £12 in addition to discount I jumped to buy 4! (Review pending)

Lip Liner (Burgundy)

Another one of my new obsessives is lip lining, I've seen the MAC girls in town lining to perfection and well I'm a sucker for trends!

Post Lock In
As a general guesstimate I Buyers remorse? Never! I am of course feeling so gutted that this year was my last ever lock in but I look forward to my senior citizens discount when the time comes!

Have you guys visited a student lock in wherever you are? If you have what was your experience of it, a lot of freebies? better discounts? Drop me a comment below, Tweet at me or come follow my latest posts on Bloglovin

H.Elizabeth x

Whats In My Bag Tag

It dawned on me recently that I don't think I have ever participated in a beauty blogger tag, quite a shameful act if I do say so myself, so today in true newbie fashion I thought I would make a go of the whats in my bag tag.

The Bag

My bag itself is a very very worn in leather satchel style which I have had since I started college (4 years ago) and my goodness it has served me well. I love this bag because I think it's a style that never really goes out of fashion, plus its massive so I can carry my life if I need to!
 

The Contents

Hairbrush and Hairspray:

Self explanatory really, I mean I do live in the North East of Scotland and we can't look fabulous all of the time can we!? I'm prepared for practically everything!

Crazy Cat Diary:

Sometimes I have trouble managing my time / remembering peoples birthdays so this is my life saviour. I get a mid year to mid year diary as I hate starting one in January, it was very handy as a student.

Leopard Print Notebook:

My blogger book! Should inspiration strike, and sometimes it does at awkward times of the day, I don't want to scribble on my hand, so this does the trick.

Green Elephant Purse (Urban Outfitters):

As much as you're not meant to and as bad luck as it's supposed to be, I bought this myself. Nobody knows how to buy me a gift like me and it's a bit tatty now and my poor elephant is going a funny colour but it serves me well.

Dior Glasses Case + Glasses:

Hello four eyes! Yes I wear glasses, I understand its from years at the cinema and sitting to close to a computer screen, but hey at least I can pull of Geek Chic without those awful false frames. Don't sit too close to the television kids!

Marc Jacobs Lola Perfume:

I have adopted this as 2014's signature scent. Mine at least. Years I feel I lusted after this sweet, flowery scent and now it's mine, my precious if you will and I wouldn't be a day without it.

Bottle of Evian:

A practicality if anything, it saves me gorging on yet ANOTHER bottle of fizz and helps for my long walks to work in the mornings. God forbid if I forget it I'm a sweaty mess after my journey!

And that's me, what do you guys carry in your bag that's maybe a little bit different? Eccentric even? I'd love to hear your crazy bag tag!

If you'd like to see me do another blogger tag or if you simply want to say hello, drop me a comment below, catch me on the Twittersphere or if you want to keep up to date with my latest and greatest catch them all on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth x

Lashes? Au Natural, Strips Or Go Indy

Over the last few months I have been experimenting with a few new looks and products to extend, improve and basically falsify the look of my lashes (it's both a passion and a beloved past time) and I thought  it would be fun to share my recent efforts with you guys and the blogosphere. So if like me you are facing the age old dilemma of daring to bare, over the counter full on falsies or perhaps going under the therapists tweezers and going for full on lash extensions this review might be just what you're looking for!

 Daring to bare

Clinique High Impact Mascara RRP£17.50

As you'll all know by now I am a great lover and avid hunter of mascara. If there has been a latest and greatest fad, I've been at the front of the queue, from L'Oreal's Miss Manga, the cat eye mascara that swept us beauty bloggers a few years ago (which in my opinion smelt terribly like cat pee!) right down to Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara (which I continue to be a great lover of) but no matter. If you do dare to bare your lashes, in my opinion there are only two ways to go. My much beloved Benefit mascara has gotten me through many a dark stubby lash days or my other love, Cliniques High Impact Mascara in black (can be seen in the photograph below) With the appropriate technique (wiggle wiggle wiggle) and a steady hand you can actually achieve falsie heights and volume with either of these two wonder products.

                                                                                           

   Strip Falsies   





Eylure KP Lashes (Sweetie Pie) RRP £5.95

Ah falsies from my youth, when the hair was super backcombed and my eyelashes almost met my hairline! I don't think these will ever grow old. Given that they are simple enough to put on and don't look too full or thick you could easily pass these off as your natural eyelashes. Steady hands and a but of know how is your best friend here ladies, make sure you apply the glue to your strip first give it a wee wave then apply glue to the other, this should give eyelash one a chance to develop a tackiness that will allow easy application. I have never really strayed from my Eyelure lashes so maybe I'm not the most objective but these honestly do wonders and if you look after these properly and remove any tack or glue after each use you could use these for up to one month (with about  3 or 4 days use a week) For temporary lashes these are on the pricey side but when it comes to something near your eye, you don't exactly want to scrimp out.



 Individual Lash Extensions

Baker Street Salon Aberdeen £30.00

Last but not least, the contemplation of lash extensions. The allure of long, lush lashes on a more semi permanent basis I admit got the better of me a couple of months ago when I visited a local salon to have them applied. An uncomfortable procedure involving a large cotton pad under your eyelid, tweezers and a painstaking amount of time. Of course I fell in love as soon as I saw them, more natural looking than my beloved falsies yet longer and better than my really real lashes. The downside? The incredibly intense upkeep and maintenence is impractical for a busy city girl like me, also for someone who likes to give their face a good scrub, or likes to merely touch their face, or sleep comfortably. These may not be the best route to go down, but if you live in a plastic bubble and literally sit around all day then these are right up your street.

 Verdict    

If you're going for a more nautural day look I would of course opt for the mascara, it's light, won't weigh down your lashes and you won't blow people away with a blink.

On the other hand if you're going for a full, glam evening look or you just want to look super dressed up then falsies are your friend.

As for the individual lashes I would not recommend these at all unless you are prepared for something super high maintenance on your face (I'm talking washing your face will be your new nightmare!)

Hopefully this has helped some of you lovely beauty enthusiasts make an informed choice today, if you have any lash loves in terms of mascara, falsies or maybe you've had a fabulous experience with individual lashes drop me a comment below, tweet at me on the Twittersphere or if you'd like to keep up to date and see more of the Granite City Girl be sure to follow me on Bloglovin

H x

                   

GCityGirl Catch Up

Hello lovelies, and thank you for being oh so patient with me while I have been off gallivanting and having all sorts of milestones, events and well just adventures really (also my laptop broke) Apologies, but rests assured I am well and truly back and you have my (almost) undivided attention!

So today's post is going to be a shameless justification of why I have abandoned my blogging duties and neglected to share with you my lovely life updates. 

Here goes nothing:

1) All of my hard work finally paid off and I graduated in Communication and PR with a 2:1 Honours Degree. Woop!

2) My lovely friends treated me to a very suave and sophisticated hen weekend in Edinburgh

3) Shortly after my nearest and dearest took a 13 hour train journey to celebrate my marrying the love of my life in the most perfect Cornish wedding there ever was, has or will be! 

4) I swapped careers a couple of times, but have finally settled into a job I am super happy in and actually get to use my degree

 (More exclusive than the Jolie - Pitt wedding)

All in all ladies and gents a whirlwind few months for me, I hope all of you guys are keeping well and if you've celebrated any big days, milestones or had a fantastic moment in life recently I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a comment below, be sure to catch me on the Twittersphere or if you want to see more keep up with me on Bloglovin

But for now I leave you with a wee collage of the past few months (above), hope you enjoy.

H x

The Faux Bob - Granite City Style

Hi everyone, so today I am going to take you through a quick and easy hair tutorial for you gals out there who maybe like me don't want to spend too much time on your hair but still want your lovely locks out of your face for a while.

What you will need

Curling Iron

Dry shampoo (if you have day old hair/grease prone hair)

A Large Grip hair clip
A smoothing comb (ideally)

As many bobby pins as you have! (I cannot stress this enough)

Hair Spray / finishing spray (if you live in Scotland LOTS of hairspray!)

Step 1:

If you have day old hair I suggest using a little dry shampoo, not only to make it more manageable, but if like me you have grease prone hair it will also make for a nicer finish.

Step 2:

Clip the top layer of your hair on top of your head (or wherever comfortable and out of your face) and using the curling iron curl even sections of your hair. You can make it as curly or wavy as you want it will all depend on the look you are going for, I tend to make it fairly wavy rather than hardened curls. Spritz the layer with hairspray and then do your top layer.

Step 3 (OPTIONAL):

Once you have curled the entirety of your hair flip all of your hair upside down and gently backcomb the roots of your hair to give yourself a bit of volume (spritz again with hairspray) If you do backcomb and it goes a bit awry then just give it a once over with the smoothing comb.

Step 4:

Sweep all of your hair over to one side and begin rolling your hair upwards into a bun / ball of awesome hairiness. And (this is not the techy techy term) START PINNING!

ET VOILA

So guys that's that the hair look I've been loving so far this Summer, if you have any questions for me about this tutorial or have any suggestions of what you would like to see in the future be sure to drop me a comment, tweet at me on Twitter or come find me on Bloglovin!

Hope to hear from you soon!

H. Elizabeth xx

What I Wore | Casual Mondays through Sundays

Hello everyone, computer problems are still reigning supreme over at our house, diagnosis slow with a case of the human lazies. Sorry guys!

Anyway I know how much all of you readers, fellow bloggers and indeed vloggers out there love a good ol' 'what I wore post' so here goes my millionth. Today's outfit is very casual but I like to think classy and incredibly comfy, my personal summer favourite.

What I wore on my body

Top - Plain black 3/4 sleeved slinky top, Dorothy Perkins, this top is so comfortable and form flattering especially for curvacious ladies like me and it honestly cost me £3 in a sale.

Bottoms - My one true bottom love, dark jeggings, Urban Outfitters.

What I wore on my head and face...and neck actually

Hair - Oh no it's all gone!!! Not really, but stay tuned for my faux bob tutorial coming up later this month!
Face -  Benefit PoreFessional Pore Minimiser / Primer
L'Oreal 24hr Infallible Make up (Porcelain)
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Fair)

Eyes - L'Oreal Colour Riche Eye Pencil (Midnight Black)
Clinique Mascara (whose name eludes me, sorry guys!)

Neck - Another lovely gift one from my future sister in law. I believe this lovely futuristic / grecian style statement necklace is from Topshop.

Hopefully you have enjoyed my casual what I wore post today, I really just wanted to do a sort of plain ish style 'WIW' post because I feel a lot of the time, whether explicitly or implicitly, the online foakals will lead readers and viewers to believe you need to break the bank in order to look good and feel confident within yourself...well I'm calling it! This outfit was achieved in under £20 and I feel fantastic when I wear it (unless I bloat!)

So stay tuned for some up and coming hair tutorials, little life posts and fingers crossed for a spending splurge sometime soon! If there is anything you would like to see more of or if you would even like to see something a bit different going on on the Granite City Girl drop me a comment below, come chat to me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date come follow me on Bloglovin!

Catch you on the next one.

H.Elizabeth xx

New Additions | Feeling Comical

A few weeks ago I went on a bit of a spending binge, I'm afraid it progressively got worse the further along I my dissertation was coming, probably as a result of filling the void where my social life used to exist... but I'm pleased to report that it is indeed working its magic. So I thought it was high time to post something, since hibernation/dissertation mode has also robbed me of my blogging time and since this binge is literally all I have to share right now, here are my latest and greatest wardrobe buys!

Comic Print Midi Skirt - Miss Rebel

You know I just had to! Having just visited the London Super Comic Con 2014 back in February when I bought this I was in super geek comic pop arty mode. I have since worn this once it's a lovely fit for girls with a fuller figure with lots of curves like myself, however there is a rather unfortunate word placement on the skirt with the word 'crack' being right across your booty.... comical indeed!

Star Wars Baggy T - H & M

My new best ever favourite sleepy loungy comfy top ever. This top is never off my back it's quite a long fit so on hot nights I'll wear it as a nighty and it can always be paired with my loverly furry sleepy boots. As you can see I have been a very indoorsy person as of late....I blame sheer exhaustion from university but I promise as Summer rears its head things will get better!

Space Shorts - Topshop

Oldies, goodies and I wish I could still fitsies!!! These faded space patterned shorts got me through Summer 2012 / 2013 in style, before the pre graduate pounds crept onto my waist!

Spacey, Geekery Jewellery

As you can see from the pics above I love accessorizing my geekery clothing with equally geeky jewellery like my star trek emblem earrings which I acquired from London Super Comic Con 2014. If you'd like to know where I got the specifics leave me a comment below!

Well those are my latest and greatest comical geeky best buys, if you guys have been loving any and all things 'geek' lately drop me a comment I would love to check those out. As always you can find me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up to date with the latest Granite City Girl posts catch them all on Bloglovin!

H.Elizabeth xx