A Casual Disney OOTD & FOTD

Here's something a little different from me today, an outfit post and a face post all rolled into one. While I absolutely love fashion and all things clothes and accessories I'm still learning how to dress my body shape as it changes, and even though I'm jumping for joy every time I enter a shop to find that I might be in the next size down, I'm still a little afraid to show my entire self on my blog. Which is stupid, I know, but perhaps I'll perfect the art of OOTD posts and snapping my outfits more as I progress with SW. The same goes for my face...I'm noticing the difference in it now, but that's for another post!

Anyhoo, today is my day off from work, and although I'm not doing anything spectacular (aside from braving the SW scales and going to the post office) I thought I'd show you what I'm wearing as it's super cute, very casual, and 100% affordable!

Here I'm wearing all Primark (told you it was affordable!) and a Topshop necklace (which is a chunky beaded affair that I got a while back for £10 in the sale!). The adorable Bambi shirt was a steal at £6 and is a very recent buy. It's really lightweight with turned up sleeves which will make it perfect for Spring / Summer. The colours are like muted pastels and it looks a lot more expensive that what it is in my opinion. Under my Bambi shirt is one of Primark's staples, a long white strap top dress (again, a bargain at around £2.50) which enables me to wear leggings as trousers as it comes down past my bum. My leggings are also from Primark (£3) which makes this entire outfit (minus accessories) a grand total cost of £11.50. Now that's some Disney magic!

I am absolutely loving the fact that Primark has some amazing Disney clothing pieces in at the moment. For anyone that's a mega Disney fan like myself I suggest you hot foot it down to your local store and see what they've got!

My face is a mixture of higher end and drugstore type products today. My base is Bourjois 123 Perfect foundation (a post to come about that very soon) which I applied with my fingers, with a light dusting of Hourglass Dim Light powder over the top using a Real Techniques Powder Brush (a firm favourite of mine!). I have MAC Soft & Gentle highlighting my cheeks coupled with a stroke of Benefit's Hervana blush for a perfect flush of colour (and I recently hit pan!). My eyes are pretty simple, just a lot of Benefit They're Real mascara and some wings courtesy of my absolute favourite eyeliner, L'Oreal Superliner, and Urban Decay's 24/7 eye pencil on my waterline. I finished off with my HD Brow palette and Real Techniques angled brush on my brows, and then finally went bold with a MUA Luxe Matte lip colour (which is a brand I never wear, a colour I never wear, and a finish I never wear either - pushing that boat out, Louise!).

What do you think of my little OOTD & FOTD?
Are you a Disney fan too?

A Life in (Confetti) Letters | Tag

Hello everyone :)

I was recently tagged by Clare to complete the 'Life in Letters' Tag. I haven't done a tag post in ages so I thought this might be a fun little one to do for you to find out some random facts about me and my life. I love reading insights into the real life of the blogger behind the blog and this is a lovely way of divulging some tidbits of information without going overboard!

Found here. 

A...is for appendix, because I do not have one. When I was 14 years old I was rushed into hospital with a suspected bad case of flu. I couldn't stand up straight, I was exhausted and I was in a lot of pain. I had scans, x-rays and lots of meds before one night in hospital I just felt better, as if all of my symptoms had magically disappeared. That's when I was operated on and my appendix was found to have burst, with all of the gunk inside that was causing my hurt leaking around my abdomen. I ended up staying in hospital for 2 weeks, and had to have surgery twice before they removed all the mess. Nasty.

B...is for boarding school. I spent 7 years tucked up at a boarding school in a little village in Suffolk and it holds such fond memories for me, I absolutely loved it. Towards the end I felt like I wanted to escape and stretch my wings, but now looking back I wish I had just grasped at every opportunity. I sometimes sit and wish I could be back in the comfort of my boarding house, translating Latin texts in the school block or even taking a walk on the sea wall at the bottom of the playing fields with Matron's dog.

C...is for chocolate milk. I'm addicted to the stuff. 'Nuff said!

D...is for Durham University, where, last June, I graduated with a 2:1 (Hons) in BA Criminology. I have incredibly mixed feelings about being at University and looking back I know I didn't involve myself in Uni life as much as I was excited to do when I was 18 and applying. I'm really happy I went and got my degree, but if I could re-do the experience, in hindsight I would.

New Books bought in March

E...is for English Literature. This was my favourite subject at school, I got an A* at GCSE and an A at A Level (they didn't have A* at A Level in my day!). I absolutely adore reading and buy at least 2-4 new books a month.

F...is for food. I have a love/hate relationship with food because I'm so fussy, yet I love going out for dinner, or baking cake. I recently lost 2 stone with Slimming World and have ended up taking a longer break than planned, hoping to get back on it very soon.

G...is for Guide Dogs. When I was younger we puppy walked a guide dog called Nash. He was like a working family pet for a year and we trained him using the Guide Dog charity's techniques and raised him from puppyhood. He never made it to be an actual Guide Dog due to health problems but that was a good charitable experience all the same for me.

H...is for hotel. I absolutely love staying in hotels. I have no idea what it is about hotels that appeals to me so much, but I love the idea of staying home away from home and in a nice pristine room, with foreign TV channels and miniature toileteries, bliss.

I...is for ISA. One thing I am desperate to get sorted this year is my financial situation in that I want to fill up my ISA. We're planning on going to Las Vegas for our 5 year anniversary next year so filling my ISA would create some spending money for when I'm out there.

J and I at my Graduation

J...is for Joseph. J and I have been a couple for 4 whole years now, I found him at work on my GAP year and he stayed with me all throughout university, and now we live together (and work together again!), I love him lots.

K...is for Katherine. My middle name.

L...is for Louise. Hi, that's me.

M...is for McDonald's. I had to take a GAP year in between school and university and ended up taking the first job I was offered, which happened to be in McDonald's. Fast forward 4 years and I'm running the restaurant, a tutor for their nationally recognised Apprenticeship scheme, got chosen to work at the Olympics and training staff to high standards. Despite the fact that I am desperate to begin a new job, I've met so many crazy lovely people working in the restaurants that I've been in and can't believe that I'm at the helm of a multi-billion pound corporation managing up to 35 people on shift at any one time!

N...is for Naval Brat. This is an affectionate term for what us ex-pat kids were called when we lived abroad because our father's were in the Royal Navy. I am so thankful for my upbringing and I cannot imagine a life where I'd have lived in the same house in the same town all my life thus far. That's just alien to me! (I've had 16 different postcodes in 23 years of life!)

O...is for Organised. I am one of those people who decorate the pages of their Filofax. Yup, one of those. I cannot stand not being organised, I write endless lists and plan things meticulously.

P...is for Papa. I never called my Dad 'Papa', he was, and always will be, my Daddy. He passed away when I was 18, very suddenly and completely unexpectedly. I miss him every single day.

Q...is for quiet. I am actually a rather quiet person and can go for hours without uttering a single word to anybody. I really enjoy my own company, and would actually rather sit in a library on a saturday night than go drinking in a pub. Anyone else?

R...is for Russia, where I lived for 3 years between the ages of 7 and 10. Moscow was our home, the snow was still exciting at that age, and the summers were so hot that we would often escape to the British Embassy's dacha (a little wooden country house). I'd love to go back and visit Moscow and see what it's like now.

Fulla, my Arabic 'Barbie' Doll

S...is for Saudi Arabia. I spent my most formative teenage years holidaying in our family villa in between terms at boarding school out in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. I absolutely loved living there and would go back in a heartbeat. It gave me such an appreciation for Islamic culture, and also has some of the best shopping I have ever experienced. I miss Saudi every day of my life.

T...is for Travel. You may have guessed by now that my family and I are a bunch of explorers, I absolutely love visiting new places. I've been so lucky to have been to Hong Kong, The USA (Florida, NYC, Boston, DC, Philly), Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Belgium, Barbados, Antigua and many more. 2014/2015 is also a year of travel as I'll be heading to St Lucia in September, Las Vegas in March and then Paris next Summer, can't wait!

U...is for unicorns. I love the idea of unicorns and wished they exist. I once told my Mum I couldn't clean my room because there was a unicorn under my bed who wouldn't be happy if I did it. She indulged me in this fantasy...but then I cleaned it anyway because I hate mess!

V...is for Victoria's Secret. This American brand is something that I am obsessed with, and keep purchasing things from. Whenever I'm in London I make sure to stop by their Flagship store on New Bond Street.

W...is for Walt Disney. Wow, what a guy. I'm a complete Disney fanatic, owning 25/50 of the original animated films (with plans to get them all!) and forever dreaming of the day that I can set foot in a Disney Park again. I want to get to every single Disney park on the planet, with Paris, Anaheim and Tokyo left to go!

X...is for x-ray. I once broke my wrist by falling from a micro scooter and slamming into a massive sheet of metal. We were in Russia at the time and my Daddy made me wait until the morning before taking me to the hospital. The x-ray showed that my bone had broken and one piece had slipped behind another so I had to have it pulled back into shape. Grim.

Y...is for YSL. I absolutely adore YSL makeup, the packaging, the products, the lot. Yummy :)

Z...is for the Zoo. I adore visiting zoos, which, when you think about it, sounds really wrong because the animals are in captivity, but I just love the excitement and the educational aspects that zoos offer. Longleat is my favourite Zoo in the UK, and I loved visiting Washington D.C zoo too.

So there you have it, 26 little snippets into my life. I tag YOU reading to do this tag, leave me a link to your post when you've done it so that I can have a read!

Bath & Body Works PocketBac Hand Gels

Hello everyone :)

As you may know, last week I went to London to celebrate my birthday with my Mama. While we were there we popped in to Victoria's Secret (VS), the fabulous American lingerie brand that has it's UK flagship store on the corner of New Bond Street. I've been to a few VS stores in the USA, and have see the building of the store in London, but never had chance to properly explore the UK shop before. I made a cheeky little underwear purchase for my birthday, as well as some makeup bags, and I left the store wishing I could be in a mall in America doing some proper American shopping. This lead to me to browse eBay to see if I could pick up any American treats and I didn't close Safari empty handed!

I chose to pick up two of Bath and Body Works (BBW) famous 'pocketbac' hand sanitizers, teeny tiny bottles of anti bacterial hand wash that smell amazing, look adorable, and need no running water to cleanse your hands...for a massive neat freak like me, these are so perfect!

I had such a difficult time choosing which sanitizers to purchase as there are so many flavours (for want of a better word!) on offer, from a multitude of different UK based eBay sellers. I chose Pink Vanilla Macaron from the new Sweet Shop collection, and Ice Cream Dream from the new carnival collection. They both smell pretty true to form, not too sickly sweet and artificial, but just enough for you to distinguish their actual flavour. I've had a little try of both and they've cleansed my hands nicely, without drying out my skin, something I find that standard hand cleansers do to me. The prices are not too extortionate either as I had feared they might be, each pocketbac retails for $1.75 in the US (about £1.06) and I've found them on eBay for between £1.84-£6.99 a piece. (I think I paid £1.99 each for these two.)

Overall I'm very happy with these two hand cleansers, they're a nice addition to my handbag, keeping my hands germs free and smelling nice. I love the cutesy packaging too, makes a nice change from standard hand cleansers you find in the hand wash aisles of Boots! If you want to find BBW PocketBacs for your own enjoyment and use, just search 'pocketbac' on eBay.

Are you a fan of hand sanitizing?
What's one American product you wish we could get hold of more easily in the UK?

Happy 23rd Birthday To Me - London, Walks In The Park, Cocktails, & Laduree

March the 12th is an extremely special day for me...it's my birthday! I absolutely love my birthday, I always feel like a princess, love being treated, and love spending time with my family. Yesterday was no different, I had a fabulous time with J, my Mama and my brother.

Mama and I on the coach to London. 

My birthday officially began on the 11th of March, as my Mum treated me to a trip to London for the day, requesting a detailed itinerary of things I wanted to do in order to maximise the use of the 8 hours we would spend in London. I always have places I love to visit in London, Covent Garden, Harrods, Victoria's Secret and Selfridges to name but a few, and when we arrived we got straight on the Piccadilly line to head to Harrods to indulge in a very exciting tearoom, Laduree. *squeal!*

I had originally wanted to go for afternoon tea, but it hadn't started serving yet, so we settled for macarons and champagne. I chose to try some macarons that I had never had from Laduree before, the Rose, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Marshmallow. My Mama treated us to a glass of champagne each which were filled with raspberry syrup, pink champagne and topped with a strawberry - yummy! Laduree also gave us some cute little canapés for free, I cannot remember what was in them, but I know that they were incredibly tasty! We then had a hot drink, and I chose a chocolat chaud, it was like drinking liquid chocolate, so yummy.

Everything about Laduree appealed to me, the mint green and pastel colours, the cute little macarons in all of their bright colours, the perfect service, and of course the food. I was also loving looking at all of the incredible handbags that were sitting under the tables (such a bag lady!), I espied a few Hermes Birkin bags and Celine delights. I got to pick up my own fancy bag when my Mama treated me to eight macarons to take home!

We then meandered through Harrods, stopping by the Rolex concession in memory of my Daddy (his favourite watches, and now my brother wears his old one in honour of him!) and dribbling over the diamonds in the jewellery section. I then went to squeeze the handbags, trying on some beautiful Mulberry bags in the process.

We then got the tube to Covent Garden, walked down The Strand, and then crossed Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square to arrive at Regent Street via Piccadilly Circus. We then took a turning down Bond Street and I marvelled in the delights of seeing some of my favourite designers and their flagship London stores, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany & Co, Moschino and so on. It was amazing to see all of the Porsches and Ferraris parked on double yellows (not caring about the parking fine!) and even more amazing handbag on the arms of fashionable ladies walking down the street. We made our way to Victoria's Secret and spent a good 40 minutes meandering through the amazing underwear and smelling all of the lovely bath things VS has to offer. I made two exciting purchases and then we left to walk to Selfridges.

Feeling very Carrie Bradshaw!

I adore Selfridges because there's always something new that you've never seen before. Living in a small town in Somerset everything's always the same and the most exciting thing I have to look forward to on a trip into town is the teeny tiny Topshop or the new beauty hall in M&S and that's it. In Selfridges we stopped by Louis Vuitton and I got a treated to a Happy Birthday card from my sales associate, the promise of champagne (but they'd run out - sadface) and a beautiful handbag. I'm literally still on cloud 9...!

After Selfridges we decided to make our way back to Hammersmith. Travelling to London for the day and wandering about was such a treat! It was such a perfect day, and we had a quick trip to Bills Cafe before getting back on the coach to the West Country, ready to wake up on my actual birthday day...

My actual birthday was spent having a little lie in and then deciding what to do, I opened some wonderful gifts (post to follow) and then we walked into town, went for a milkshake, and went for lunch at Frankie & Benny's. We then strolled around our country park, playing pooh sticks under a bridge and marvelling at the sunlight. My brother and J left us to come home and play the PS4 and my Mama and I carried on walking in the sun. When we did make it home, arms laden with party food and wine I got home to find cake, a Disney Princess birthday banner and light up Disney Princess balloons - just perfect for me!

I had an excellent 23rd birthday, two perfect days back to back. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Many thanks for all of your birthday messages too, I loved reading them :)

Have you ever been to Laduree?
How would you spend your ideal birthday?