What's In My Bag?

Heyy,

I was in Accessorize the other day and I saw this beautiful Double Pocket Core Bag in a tan colour. It was £37 and I couldn't afford it that day, but my sister said that she had exactly the same bag, but she doesn't use it anymore, so she sold it to me for £5! I did not complain and when she dropped it round the other day I was over-the-moon excited about it.

The Review

It's the perfect size for a handbag and it has 3 pockets; two zipped pockets on the side and a main 'core' pocket with a magnetic popper to secure it together. It has a 3 pockets in the main pocket as well - a total of 6 pockets woahhhhh

The bag [when new] comes with a long unattachable strap as well as the shorter handles attached to the bag, but I think my sister lost it! It doesn't really matter to me because I like the shorter handles as I'm used to the shoulder strap but I wanted to try a different style because it always gets in the way or falls down.

 What's Inside...

Main Pocket

My phone

I never leave the house without my phone because you never know when you'll need it; to call someone in an emergency, play games while your waiting for the bus or wasting your battery on social media (like me)! My current phone case is Harry Potter and it's from a friend but she bought it on eBay

My purse

You might have seen this in my What I Got For Christmas 2014 post, but I bought this River Island purse in the after Christmas sale for £12 with a voucher I was given. The purse is the perfect size for everything and I still love it.

Umbrella
Living in Britain I always need some form of protection from the wet weather, because you never know when it will spring on you. I have been carrying around this cute little black umbrella. I have no idea where it's from but it's the perfect handbag size.

My keys
Of course. I've been locked outside far too many times.

Water bottle
I'm starting to get into the habit of always having water on me because I never drink enough water and this means that I can get headaches/dizziness very easily when I'm out and about, so having a water bottle in my bag is a great way for me to stay hydrated!

Food & drink
If you bring your own drink and snack to town, you will save so much money! Trust me! Some of my friends tease me for always having a Carpi-sun and a packet of crisps, but they come crying to me when they're hungry/thirsty and have no money left!

Book
I'm a massive bookworm but I never have enough time to read! At the beginning of this year I set myself the challenge to read 30 books and so far; I'm not doing very well. To try and reach my goal I make sure to bring my book around with me so as I can read while I wait for the bus or if I have some spare time.

Headphones
If I'm not reading, I'm listening to music, so I always need my headphones. These ones are a turquoise blue Phillips headphones and have a play/pause button on the wire [£12 from Asda]. I wrap these up and put them in the large open pocket on the side so they don't get tangled or lost at the bottom of my bag.

Front Side Pocket

Body spray
My body spray is from Ted Baker and smells incredible. It lasts quite a long time and is an easy way to smell nice during the day once my perfume has worn off.

Roll-on deodorant
Sometimes I need more than a body spray, especially after going to the gym or running to the bus stop, so this Sure roll-on is very handy to keep in my bag. It smells nice and lasts for up to 3 hours (although the packaging promises 48hr protection..I think not!)

 Make up wipes
This is really just to wipe down after the gym because I don't like using public showers, I'd much rather wait until I get home. It's also handy for any time you'd need to wipe your hands or mop up a ketchup stain from your McDonald's chips!

Compact hairbrush
A handbag essential I would recommend to anyone! I have quite long hair and it always ends up in a knot, so I always need to have a hairbrush on me at all times and this cute purple one comes with a small mirror on the other side

Tissues
You never know when you need a tissue...

Lip balm/Lip tint
My lips can get quite dry, and because I talk so much, any product that I apply in the morning seems to wear away after an hour or so. I like to keep any lip product I used that day, in my bag to re-apply later on.

Compact mirror
I'll need a mirror for that!

Hair bands & bobby pins
Sometimes my wild mess of hair can get too much and I need to get it away from my face, so it's vital to keep hair bands and bobby pins in your bag. If I had a penny for anytime someone asked me for a hairband, I'd have a small fortune!

Sanitary products
Ladies; be prepared.

Back Side Pocket

Notebook & pen
I'm always coming up with blog ideas or things I need to write down (I'm a big list-maker), so a cute notebook and pen is essential for me.

Of course there are scrunched up receipts and wrappers at the bottom of my handbag, but you don't need to see them...

I hope you enjoyed this post, please comment any posts you want to see from me and +1 this if you liked it, it would mean a lot. :)

Love Liv x

Recent Buys

.......Hello?.........Anyone there?

Long time no see / hello and welcome to my blog; The Beauty Stuff

I'll save you the explanation of where I've been that I make every few months with a promise that "I'll try to post 2 times a week" no. Realistically that's not going to happen, is it? So I'll just say that I'll be around for a while, especially since it's coming to summer and I have a whole stack of things to talk about.

Anyway, I'm here today to show you some of my recent purchases from various shops I have perused in the past week or so while I'm on half term.

Joggers: £12.99, Vest: £8.99, Crop top: £9.99

I have a gym membership. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say! With my sparkling new membership card, comes sparkling new gym clothes. I hunted around for the cheapest-but-still-good-quality sportswear and I found that New Look had a very good selection for a good price. I ordered a Blue active abstract crop top (Sports bra/crop top), Black airtex trim sports vest (Black vest) and Grey contrast fine knit joggers (Grey jogging bottoms) I really like the quality of their sportswear and after going to the gym I found it very cooling and I could live in the  joggers forever.

New Look is my favourite high street shop to fill up my wardrobe and I'm loving their Summer collection this year. I have my work experience coming up in a few days and I wanted to wear dresses for the time that I'm there. I bought two dresses from New Look and the rest from Primark (as you'll see later).
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The first dress is a black and white 'criss cross' patterned dress with a white peter pan collar. The dress itself is not from New Look, but the range they sell called: Cameo Rose. It was in the sale for £10, probably because of the make up stain on the collar, but when I washed it, the brownish line came out and is totally suitable for a primary school placement!
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The second dress is a White Abstract Print Border Sleeveless Tunic Dress for £14.99. It fits nicely and hangs just above the knee. The material is quite thin and silky which means that it will be nice for summer garden parties (because I'm always getting invited to garden parties) and also my work experience with my black blazer and pumps.
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In 2 weeks I am seeing 5 Seconds of Summer in concert at the SSE Wembley Arena and I'm so excited but I needed a new outfit and I have been wanting a pair of light denim dungarees for as long as I can remember. I finally found the perfect pair for a great price and good quality. This beauty was £24.99 and perfect for the 5SOS concert and summer days at the beach.
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To go along with my summer wardrobe, my sister picked up these tortoise shell sunglasses with metal sides for £7.99. It's very hard to find glasses that suit my face shape but as soon as I put these on, I knew they were the ones for me. The tortoise shell pattern is very chic and is softer than a black frame and the actual glass is tinted to make things look pinker which I really like - everyone looks sun-burnt in my eyes.

WH Smiths - £9.99

Carrie Hope Fletcher has been an inspiration since the first YouTube video I watched of hers (It'sWayPastMyBedtime) and since the announcement of her first book, All I Know Now - wonderings and reflections on growing up gracefully, I was very excited to have a copy of my own. I am still on Act 1 (the book is set up like a theatre production as her day job is a West-end actress) but I love it SO MUCH already, the book is aimed at teenagers who might need help with certain aspects of teenage life for example; making friends, how to handle a bully and the birds and the bees. 

Quite often Boots has a 3 for 2 deal across all cosmetics or certain brands and when I visited the other day, Maybelline had the 3 for 2 offer and there were a minimum of three things I wanted to buy and getting one for free was an added bonus.

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 I have heard so many good things about the 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow Tattoo and I bought mine in Creamy Beige because it was the most wearable shade out of the selection. I love how long lasting and easy to apply it is, I will defiantly be buying more colours!

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I also bought the Lash Sensation Waterproof Mascara for some reason I thought that a waterproof mascara would be good for the Summer if I spend my spare times at the beach but it's quite hard to take off at night, the mascara is amazing and I really recommend it. 

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The third product is the Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara in transparent because I'm not a massive fan of filling in my brows because I think it looks a bit weird on my face but the hairs always move around so the sculpting mascara is a great purchase for me.

From Superdrug I bought some Simple cleansing make up wipes because they are always a staple for my make up drawers. It was on a 'buy one get one free' deal so £3.45 for 50 wipes is pretty great in my opinion. Ohh and it's very kind to my skin!



Primark brings me great joy (when I have money and a list of things to buy) so when I went shopping with my sister and a mission - I was very happy with the outcome! I still had a few clothes to buy for work experience since I had only bought 2 dresses from New Look, plus I needed some tights, a sports bra and shoes - and that was exactly what I bought...
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The first dress is very similar to the white tunic dress from New Look, but it's black and has a white pattern. To add a bit of detail, the dress has some cut outs on the shoulder sleeves and the bottom half is a different pattern to the top half. Like the New Look dress it's thin and hangs just above the knee. It was £10 which I think is a good price, but does anyone else think that Primark have up-ed their prices?
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The second dress is a much thicker material and is a 3 quarter length sleeved skater dress. It's navy in colour and has white flowers on it. I like that it's thicker and heavier than the others for days when it's colder, also it looks good with...
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...my black blazer! This steal was only £15 and came in an array of colours, but I thought that black went with everything so it was a staple for my wardrobe. The jacket is lined with a silky fabric so it's quite light but covers my arms for when I'm walking to the placement. It would also be great for other smart events.
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The last dress is one of my favourites. It is a skater dress with caped sleeves and a chevron pattern, it has a thicker material like the second Primark dress but it isn't long sleeved, so it is good for Summer evenings (and work experience). This dress was £5 in the sale, down from £8!

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As much as I love shoes, I hardly have them! A pair of boots, some espadrilles and school shoes - that's it really! I didn't want to wear my school shoes because they aren't as smart and clean as the once were, but Primark has a good selection of cheap pumps to last me this Summer. The small bow over the gold bow-thing looks smart but can be casual.
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Now I have my membership, I have a new obsession with sportswear. This sports bra was only £4 but really comfortable and good quality! Not much more to say really, but I will probably do a post on my workout soon.
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Done. Wow I haven't written a blog post in so long and that was a mammoth.
Hope you enjoyed it! Look out for new posts soon...

Love Liv x