Oops I Did It Again! | Primark & H&M Haul

Hi Ladies! As you can see by the title of this post, 'Oops I did it again', I went shopping, AGAIN!! I must admit I went a little crazy when I got my first monthly wage since starting my new job but who doesn't want to treat themselves after landing a new job and working hard for a month? At least the things I've bought are from Primark and H&M so they were all relatively cheap and cheerful, yey! So without blabbering on for too much longer, here is what I bought...

Blue Slouchy Jumper - Primark

My mum actually bought this for my little sister but it was massive on her so she very kindly said I could have it. I'm very glad she did as I love the unusual colour and you really can't go wrong with a slouchy jumper at this time of year.

Black Playsuit with Leopard Print Trim - Primark

I wore this in a recent outfit post here and absolutely love it. It feels and looks much more expensive than Primark and can be worn casually or dressed up. I love owning clothes that are versatile so I can get lots of wear out of them.

White 'Guns N Roses' Vest Top - Primark

Now I'm not a massive Guns N Roses fan or anything, I just really loved this vest top. I own quite a lot of vest with graphics on the front like this one as they are so handy to throw on with leggings. I thought this one would look particularly nice with my leggings, ankle boots and a leather jacket.

Super Skinny Jeans - Primark

Oh my, these really are super skinny. I was becoming quite self conscious I'd gained weight whilst trying these on as my usual size tens looked like they'd been glued on. However, I tried the next size up and they were massive so I figured it was obviously just the style and after a couple of wears they would loosen up and fit perfectly. Does anyone else find skinny jeans are super duper tight at first but okay after a couple of wears?

Beige Slouchy Dipped Hem Jumper - H&M

The photograph below does this item no justice whatsoever. In reality it has the most gorgeous flecks of gold running through it, perfect for the Christmas season. As I said earlier, I'm a huge fan of slouchy jumpers at this time of year and think this one will look great if I want to look a bit smarter while still remaining warm and cosy. It also has a dipped hem back which is right on trend.

Sheer Fuchsia Blouse - H&M

As soon as I saw this blouse I just had to have it. I absolutely adore the bright pink shade and I have already worn it to work with a black pencil skirt and on a day out with my friend paired with skinny jeans, ankle boots and a spiked necklace.

Slipper Shoes

I'd lost one of my beloved Slipper Boots and with the weather being ridiculously cold, my poor little tooties were like icicles. I spotted these in Primark and loved the cute pattern and pom poms. By the way, there is two Pom Poms on each Slipper, one of them is just tucked inside the left one. They haven't left my feet since I got them, they are so cosy.

Skull Scarf - Primark

I'm a big fan of these Alexander Mcqueen style skull scarves so I couldn't resist this sheer black and grey version when I spotted it. It's perfect for throwing on over a plain top to spice up an outfit.

Black and White Bodycon Dress - H&M

I totally forgot to take a photo of this so I thought I'd include some photos of me wearing it at the weekend instead. If you follow me on Instagram (kayleighjcouture) or Twitter (@k_leexjx) you will have probably heard me gushing over how much I love this dress and how cheap it was. It only cost me £12.99 which I think is a complete bargain and I felt very ladylike and sophisticated whilst wearing it. I love the print, the shape, the length - EVERYTHING!!!

So there we have it, all the things I've (naughtily) been buying lately. I've almost blown all of my wages but I have bought lots of Christmas presents as well, so I'll let myself off. 

Have you been treating yourself lately?

Lots of Love,

Shopaholic Problems | Collective Haul

Caudalie Cleansing Water

Palmers Cocoa Moisturizing Body Oil

Garnier Fructis Pure Volume Dry Shampoo

Schwartzcopf Ultimate Repair Treatment Mousse

OPI Mauving to Manitoba

The Body Shop Body Butters - Strawberry & Mango

Revlon 'Berry Haute' Lipstick

Ankle Boots - Dotti

Floral Peplum Top - River Island

Dipped Hem Aztec Top - Cotton On

Double Chain Spike Necklace - Diva

Spiked Collar Necklace - Dotti

Spike Double Ring - Lovisa

Hey Ladies! I hope you are all well. I haven't posted a haul for a while so I thought I would show you some of the things I have been buying over the past few weeks. I bought some of these things with my birthday money and a few of the others were gifts. I went to Brisbane a few weeks back so my boyfriend treat me to this gorgeous double ring from an amazing jewellery shop called Lovisa. I walked into the shop and could of bought everything in there - there was four walls covered from top to bottom in amazingly gorgeous jewellery *heaven*. As you can probably tell from the jewellery I have accumulated, I am loving spikes at the moment. Anything spiked is a winner for me and I must get my hands on a pair of spiked shoes ASAP. 

I am also loving the peplum and dipped hem trends that have been popping up everywhere so I decided to treat myself to these two tops. I bought the RI one with my birthday money and I love it. It is such a flattering shape and can be dressed up or down which is always a bonus. I will be wearing it this weekend as I'm going to Brisbane (again!) so look out for an outfit post featuring it. As for the dipped hem top, I loved it as soon as I saw it. I'm a bit mad on aztec print so it instantly caught my eye. I bought it from an Australian shop called Cotton On which sells really affordable and on-trend clothing and accessories. This top only cost me around £17.00 so I thought it was quite the bargain. I will also be wearing this at the weekend so hopefully I will get some pictures for an outfit post. 

I have also bought a few random beauty products lately that I didn't really need but couldn't resist anyway. My boyfriend bought me the body butters and Caudalie cleansing water as part of my birthday present and I bought everything else when I was in Brisbane or shopping at the supermarket haha. Is it just me that is always attracted to the 'toiletries' isle in supermarkets? Anyway, look out for reviews on all of these products as I have been really enjoying using them.

Now my absolute favourite thing from this bunch has to be these gorgeous ankle boots. I have wanted some boots like this for such a long time so when I spotted these whilst shopping in Brisbane, I just had to have them. Me and the boy went half's on them (he's a good egg!) so I didn't pay too much and I just know I will get so much wear out of them in Autumn/Winter. They will go with almost anything! Yey!!

So there we have it, my shopaholic tendencies got the better of me again. I will probably buy more in Brisbane this weekend - I just can't resist. I may as well make the most of it while I can though as I will be going on a strict spending ban when I return to the UK. Boo.

Have you treat yourself to anything recently?

Lots of Love,

H&M Treats

Hey Ladies! I just wanted to quickly share with you all these lovely treats I got bought from H&M recently. As I mentioned in my Louis Vuitton post, my Dad, Step Mum and two brothers have just been to Hong Kong for the week and they came back with gifts galore. As if a Louis Vuitton handbag wasn't enough, they also made a trip into H&M and picked up a few things for me. H&M is one of my favourite shops and I've been having withdrawals whilst being in Australia. They are yet to catch on to the wonders of H&M you see. I had no idea there would even be a H&M in Hong Kong but I saw a picture my dad put on Twitter and it is absolutely HUGE. I now want to go to Hong Kong just for the shopping. Anyway, my Step Mum picked out these gorgeous pieces for me and I couldn't be happier with them. I don't know which item I love the most as I've tried them on and they all look fab. I think the blue and white boho style dress will look perfect with a tan waist belt and chunky bracelets. I was very pleased with the neon top as I've been seeing this trend everywhere at the minute. I think it will look great paired with a high waisted skirt or shorts. As for the 'mullet' dress, I absolutely love it. It is the perfect dress for summer and I think it will look lovely with a tan waist belt and wedges. I just need to find somewhere nice to wear it now. Overall, I am very happy and a very lucky girl! I'm sure all of these items will feature in outfit posts very soon. I'm not sure how much these cost as the prices were in Hong Kong currency but if any of you have seen these items in any UK H&M's, do let me know what the prices are so I can update the post with them. Thank you muchly.

Sorry for the short and sweet post, I've been pretty busy today and have only just had chance to write a post before I go to sleep. It is currently five to one in the morning here and I am absolutely knackered!

I hope you are all well!

Lots of Love,

Sales Assistants - Polite or Pushy?

Image - weheartit

Hello Lovelies! Todays post is something a little bit different but something I wanted to share with you none the less. I'm going to start doing more of these 'lifestyle' type posts as I find it pretty interesting reading about other peoples day to day experiences, wether the subjects be trivial or serious. This post is going to be pretty trivial (we'll leave the serious stuff for another day ha!) and the topic I'd like to discuss is Sales Assistants. Now you may think this seems a strange thing to discuss but I wanted to get your opinions on Sales Assistants and the way the act when we are shopping. I realise most of you bloggers will be shopaholics like me so you may understand where I'm coming from when I say some of them do a darn good job at annoying the heck out of me. 

I was out shopping today at a local shopping centre when I spotted some jeans I liked in the window. I've been on the hunt for a new pair so I decided to go in and try them on. As soon as I walked into the shop the sales assistant was at me like a fly around shit poo. "Hi, How are you today?'. "Do you want me to take those in the changing room for you?". Now I realise you may think she's just being friendly but no, this chick was ready to pounce on me from the minute my foot entered the door. I replied with a short and almost snappy "I'm fine thanks" in the hope she would realise I was trying to have a nice browse but no, she persisted. I made my way into the changing rooms to try on the jeans and I hear a voice over the door calling "Are you okay?", "Can I get you anymore colours or styles in those?". Again, I retaliated with "I'm fine thanks". I then decide enough is enough, i'm sick of being pestered and I just want to leave the shop. I make my way out of the changing rooms and she's straight over asking me if they are any good and basically implying I should buy them. She began showing me different colours and styles and I just though to myself 'Here we go again'. I wasn't planning on buying anything so I handed them back to her and said "I'm going to have a think about it and I might come back later". I certainly wasn't planning on buying them or coming back later but she had been so pushy and eager, I almost didn't want to let her down. In my opinion, we shouldn't have to be made to feel like this when we are out shopping. Don't get me wrong, I realise this girl is just trying to do her job and has probably been programmed to speak to every customer like this by her even more pushy manager but seriously, let me shop in peace and at my own leisure.

I realise some of you and I myself have worked as sales assistants so I realise the pressure on these girls to sell the products. I have worked in Topshop and French Connection and in my opinion they were nightmare jobs. Most girls would dream of working in a nice clothes shop but aside from getting freebies/discount, it was awful. Everyday we would be told to 'sell, sell, sell' and pounce on every customer by awful managers that only cared about their 'add on sales'. Of course I had no problem with greeting people and asking them if they needed a hand, thats just common curtosy but what I was uncomfortable with was pestering people. It's just not me and the way I see it is if someone is going to buy something, they will buy it. If they have come shopping for a dress, they most likely do not want a whole new wardrobe. If they did, they would be on the phone to Trinny and Susannah or Gok. Pestering, pushy antics will not persuade someone to buy an item of clothing. If anything (well in my opinion), it will put them off. 

As well as pushiness, theres just something really fake about some sales assistants and their whole 'OMG, it looks SO nice' attitude. Quite clearly I would look better in a bin bag so lets get read hear. When I worked in retail, I would always be honest with the customers. Yes, I may 'lose a sale' but so what? I'd rather lose a sale than fool someone into buying something that is clearly two sizes too small, clings to all the wrong places and looks unflattering on them. I realise this is a total random and ranty post but I have been left annoyed by one too many sales assistants lately. I'm sure they are worse in Australia too so if any of you reading this are Aussies please let me know if this is a common thing here? For example, me and my Step-Mum went to get our hair done in Brisbane the other day and before our appointments we decided to have a little shop. We went into a shop called 'Universal' and oh my days the girl in their would not leave us alone. Even when we were in the changing rooms she was throwing things over the top that had no relevance to the items we were trying on. One included a hideous jumper with a huge love heart on the front which she kindly informed me was new in today. No thanks. She even said "what are you trying on now?" the nosey blooming parker. My step mum was also getting irate as she was trying to make her try on mini skirts when she had taken in two maxi skirts. How this girl thought that was similar is beyond me? I did end up buying a checked shirt but when she saw I was only buying one item her attitude suddenly changed and she was fairly rude towards me. She packed my bags in a hurry, didn't say thank you when I handed my cash over and looked at me with a stuck up little grin. When we left the shop I had a huge rant and thought to myself, isn't shopping supposed to be fun? This is when I had the idea to write this post. 

I wanted to share with you my experiences and see if you have found yourselves in any similar situations? I am by no means saying all sales assistants do this and some can be very, very helpful but one thing I do find massively irritating is being forced into buying things or feeling guilty if I don't spend enough money. If I like something, I'll try it on. If i need another size, I'll ask. If I want something, I'll buy it. Its quite simple really. As long as you greet me with a warm welcome and let me know your there if I do need anything, I'm happy. Other than that, please just leave me to enjoy a browse instead of trying to sell me your whole shop. 

Do you find pushy sales assistants irritating like me or am I just being a moany miss? Are they just trying to be polite? Please do let me know your thoughts and opinions so I don't bite off the next pushy sales assistants head!

On a plus note, its Friday which means it's the weekend. Yay! Enjoy!

Lots of Love,

Massive Clothing Haul - Confessions of a Shopaholic

Hey Ladies! If you read my collective beauty haul yesterday, you will know I said I was going to do a clothing haul too. I have bought so many clothes lately its an actual JOKE. Like I said in my beauty haul, I'm going to Australia next week and I always feel like I need new things when I go away. I realise that I probably don't need anything but it makes me feel good and shopping really is one of my favourite things to do. I have to say before you think 'woah, she must of spent a bomb' that I didn't just go out and buy all of this in one day. I have bought these items over the past few weeks after I decided I was going to Australia. I also made quite a lot of money on ebay, about £300 precisely, so that went towards all the things I've been buying. I feel as though I've bought some real staple items lately that I've been meaning to get for ages. I tried to take pictures of everything but a few bits and bobs are in the wash and other things have been delivered to my home address in the Lake District ready to pack. I also won a Missguided Twitter competition meaning the cream dress pictured was a freebie, yey! As well as going for an actual shopping spree, I am actually obsessed with online shopping. I sometimes don't feel like I'm spending money when I'm shopping online. All I have to do is log in with my email address, put in my security code and wallah, I have some lovely new clothes on their way to me. I think I should be banned from the internet, it is totally lethal for a compulsive shopper like me. Anyway, enough of my blabbering. Here are the things I've bought.

New Look

River Island

Marks & Spencers

H&M

Missguided

Republic - (To see this better have a look at my 'New Favourite Dress' post here).

Primark

Ebay

Accessories

Travel Make-up Bag - Primark, Tan Pumps - Marks & Spencers, Black Sandals - Primark, Cream Handbag - Marks & Spencers

So there we have it, all of the pretty clothes I've bought lately. I hope you enjoyed this post as it has taken me AGES to do. Uploading all these pictures and making them big and clear is fairly time consuming. I can't actually believe that on top of all this I have three more things in the wash and four more things being delivered home. I guess I'll be doing another haul over the weekend. I really am a shopaholic if you hadn't already noticed. It's been so nice to have a bit of money to spend lately and my family have bought me a few things for easter/leaving presents. All in all I am extremely happy with everything I've got and I hope you like it all too.

P.s - If any of you have Twitter, feel free to follow me here. I've been really enjoying chatting and getting to know other bloggers on their lately.

Lots of Love,