Harlequins Emporium*

I don't really wear that much jewellery but when I do, I like it to be different. 

Harlequins Emporium us a custom made genuine gemstone jewellery shop run by the lovely Sarah. She makes unique earrings, bracelets, necklaces - the lot! There are so many wonderful pieces on there that I keep eyeing up but due to baby I have to be sensible with money and prioritise :( 

Luckily, she was kind enough to send me a pair of her gorgeous earrings and I absolutely love them! They are exactly the sort of thing I would have chosen for myself and my favourite colour is blue! These earrings are only £8.00 on her etsy shop so to take at look at these and her other items click here

 All the jewellery on here is custom made and there really are some gorgeous pieces, personally I love crosses and skulls at the moment and there is a lot of earrings and bracelets with these incorporated! So, once I have money to spend on myself I will definitely be purchasing some of this beautiful jewellery, for now though, I can see these being my favourite piece in my jewellery stash! 

To follow Harlequins Emporium on Twitter >>Harlequinsempor

Like Harlequins Emporium on Facebook >> TheHarlequinsEmporium

Have you seen anything you like on Harlequins Emporium? Have you bought something from here before!? Let me know! 

Hair Extensions

Every girl lusts over having long, flowing locks but unfortunately we're not all blessed with them. Luckily for the unfortunate ones like myself, there are Hair Extensions! 

Now a days you can buy whatever you don't have... Eyelashes, Nails, Boobs etc etc and Hair is another thing to add to that list! I've been wearing extensions since I was about 15 or 16 starting out with simple clip ins. They are so easy to apply and you can clip them in and out as you please, although I wouldn't recommend sleeping in them! After a while, these started to matte and looked a mess, so I went out and bought more! You can get a full head for around £30-£50 depending on the type of hair, colour, length and company you buy them from. I kept doing this until I was about 19 and then I started to glue them in...

You can buy clip in extensions from:
Beauty Works
 Halo Hair Extensions 
Lush Hair Extensions 
Clip Hair 
Annabelles Wigs 

 (clip in extensions 2008)

Glueing in extensions is definitely NOT something I recommend doing. I 'm no hairdresser but with the horrible experience of picking out glue and masses of hair for a good 6 weeks, it definitely won't do your hair any favours! Although they remain a permanent feature for a good couple of weeks and you don't have to clip them in and out everyday, they can make your head itch and you see them a lot when you wear your hair up. If you are thinking about glueing extensions in, double check with your hairdresser to make sure you aren't allergic to the glue you will be using. 

You can buy a weft of hair from: 
Foxy Hair Extensions 
Lush Hair Extensions 
Beauty Works

(Glue in extensions 2009)

So ruling out glueing, I knew that my friend could weave in extensions. This, to me, was a godsend. I didn't have to worry about clipping them in and out everyday and there was no messy glue. There was a bit of pain though... having the weft sewed onto plaits on your head takes its toll but its definitely better than glue. Weaved extensions will last up to 3 months if you take care of them properly and get them re-sewn when they need to be. The only downfall of this is your hair once they are taken out, is really greasy because you aren't able to wash it properly whilst your weave is in. Other than this, a weave is a natural way without using any form of binding method other than specially designed hair thread.  

You can buy a weft of hair from:
Foxy Hair Extensions 
Lush Hair Extensions 
Beauty Works

(weaved extensions 2010)

And then, along came bonds. These glorious, natural looking singular extensions are the envy of all girls with short hair. Professionally, having bonded extensions will cost you around £350-£800 depending on length, weight, type of hair and obviously the company providing the service. Luckily for me, having a best friend that is a hair dresser, I get all the luxuries at a zero cost! The first time I had bonds, I bought pre-bonded extensions from Hairxtensions and an applicator off eBay for around £10.00. I did them myself and they turned out pretty good! But because I had done them myself, I couldn't section off my hair too well and a lot of my under sections become knotted and matted - the next time I would definitely be getting them done by someone else!


 I continued with pre-bonded extensions and got my friend, Kristie, to apply them for me. They look so natural and were lasting me up to 6 months. I could wash my hair like normal, dye it, put it up and the bonds were pretty much un-noticable unless I pointed them out. It is definitely my favourite method of hair extensions. With the good though, comes the bad. When removing them you need to use acetone solution to remove the glue and it can be a tricky, long winded process. My friends normally sit and do mine for me because I can't do it all myself as reaching to the back of my head is a nightmare. Once they're out you need to give your hair a good deep condition too and pick out any remaining bits of glue. Other than this though, they again are better than glueing a weft onto your head! 

You can buy pre-bonded extensions from: 
Halo Hair Extensions
Clip Hair UK 
Beauty Works

Or get them done at a salon with:
 The Hair Extension Boutique > Cheshire based
Wonderful Hair > London based (Wonderful Hair offer a cold fusion bonding process that uses no heat)
Hairport Hair Extensions > Birmingham based
Kristie's Hairdressing And Hair Extensions > Warwickshire based

(bonded extensions 2010-2012)

          

The other options of hair extensions I would recommend are hair pieces. They have become more and more common due to their ease and range of colours. A hair piece is a simple attachment onto your own hair which creates either a longer look, an extra umpgh to your hair, ponytails, plaits, buns etc etc. I have yet to try out a hair piece but with friends telling me how good they are I am definitely looking at investing in a hair piece. Whats better detachable hair?! 

You can buy hair pieces from:
Beauty Works > online
Sallys Glitz & Glam > Barnsley based 
Hairport Hair Extensions > Birmingham based

As you can see there are so many different options to having hair extensions, you just need to find the right one for you! There are positives and negatives with them all and everyone is different, but if you look after your hair well, it'll do the same for you! 

Have you tried any of the above methods? Which do you prefer?! I'd love to know! 

RANT - Chockers Shoes

We all have a moan and groan sometimes but this one, I felt I needed to share with you all as I imagine I'm not going to be the only one that has experienced it...

For my birthday, my boyfriend bought me some gorgeous shoes from Chockers Shoes but unfortunately, they were way too high and unsuitable for me! I just knew that I wouldn't be able to walk in them. So, he sent them back in return for a refund. After about 2 weeks, he got an email saying that they could not refund him as he was over the return period (by 2 days) and that he would need to pay £4.00 for the shoes to be returned BACK to us. 

If this wasn't annoying already, to have to pay more money to get an item back that we didn't even want, the postal order that he sent and paid for was sent back to us saying it was refused at the company! So by now he had paid £45.00 for the shoes and £4.00 for a postage label to still not have any shoes...

He got in touch with them via email, as there is NO CONTACT NUMBER, and kept receiving the same response: "Please send us your order number and a member of our head office will be in contact..." Over the period of 6 weeks, this was all he were getting. We tweeted them too and got exactly the same response... To say we were getting pissed off is an understatement! 

He was then sent a further email with a link on to pay another £4.00 for postage so that the shoes could be sent back to us... Better than paying for something we don't even have I guess. He went ahead and paid this in hope the shoes would be returned. A week or so passed and he received another email saying "Unfortunately, we have no size 5 in stock at the moment." So they had actually sold OUR shoes that we had paid for and now didn't have any to send back to us! FUMING!! 

After paying £53.00 in total we were still without any shoes and without any decent form of contact. Luckily, after emailing them, tweeting them and also sending them a very blunt message on Facebook, Adam finally received an email saying that they would be issuing him with a refund for the shoes; 7 weeks later of course! 

There is still NO CONTACT NUMBER for Chockers even though they have stores and a depot, do not think it's easy to get in touch with them as it isn't. Their customer service is the worst i've ever experience and the fact you have to pay for your own items to be returned back to you is ridiculous. It's safe to say I will NEVER be using their services again. They have also blocked me on twitter so I am unable to follow them and I cannot view their Facebook wall either. Great way to say thanks to your customers!

Have you ever used Chockers Shoes before? What was your experience like!? 

OOTD: Midi & Boots

This weekend was a bit of a weird one weather-wise. It wasn't too cold but when the wind blew it felt like a thousand needles hitting your face! Yesterday, we went for a browse round town and stupidly, I wore a midi dress and a light jacket thinking it was A LOT warmer than what it was. Turned out I was wrong, very wrong. Even the extra layer of fat i'm carrying around didn't seem to help me out in any way either! 

Here's what I wore:

                              

Jacket - G-Star (Boyfriends)

Dress - Primark

Boots - H&M 

Bag - Primark

Necklace - Primark

Watch - Police

Even though it's still cold, I love wearing midi-dresses at the minute! 

What are you loving at the mo?! 

Pregnancy Update

I haven't really done a pregnancy post yet but I saw this on Liza's blog and thought it was a nice idea to keep you all updated with how things are going. If it's something you like reading please tell me... I was a bit sceptical as to how it would go down but I hope you enjoy it. It's only brief but gives you an in-sight as to how Me & Bump are getting on! 

Due date?

28th April 2013.

How far along? 

31 Weeks.

Gender?

Girl.

Maternity clothes?

Leggings and tights as they have support for my bump. Everything else is just a size or two bigger than what I normally am. Currently living in midi dresses as they fit perfectly around my bump and are so comfortable!

Sleep?

Waking up at least once a night to go for a wee and hard to get comfy!

Movement?

Very wriggly. Less kicks and more turning. She seems to like to wake me up and move the most when I want to go to sleep! 

Cravings?

Not so much cravings but I have a huge thing for chocolate now at the minute. I can't get enough of it. That, and coco-pops! 

Symptoms?

Other than the obvious bump and big boobs, no symptoms. Getting tired quicker now and struggle to walk for a long time though. 

Best moment this week?

Nothing baby related but waking up this morning with my boyfriend actually being in bed was nice! He's either always at work or can't lie in because he wakes up super early! 

Miss anything?

Pizza. Since i've been pregnant, I can't eat pizza! I've tried and just can't do it. Makes me wanna vom! Ugh!

 Anything making you queasy or sick? 

As above... Pizza, curry and stir-fry. The smell of curry or stir-fry makes me heave! 

Labour signs?

Not yet. ..

Belly button in or out?

Half & Half. Kind of in, kind of out. Definitely popping out though! 

Wedding rings on or off?

I'm not married (yet) but my rings I normally wear on my thumb, ring finger & little finger had to come off this week. My hands are definitely getting fat! 

Happy or moody most of the time?

Happy with vile days of depression and feeling shitty. 

Looking forward to?

My midwife apppointment on Tuesday to hear her heartbeat and find out which way she's lying! 

Are you pregnant too? What has your pregnancy been like so far!? 

MUA Lipsticks

MUA seems to be a bit like Marmite amongst us girls... You either love it or hate it. And I have to say that i'm torn between the two! I love their eyeshadows and lipsticks but their face products don't really do it for me and I don't think i'll be the only one with that opinion. 

Their make-up collection is so cheap with their most expensive item being around £8.00, it's definitely not to be overlooked! The lipstick range is small but mighty and at £1.00 each, who wouldn't want to get involved and try them out!? 

I went through a stage of getting a lipstick every time I went into a Superdrug and eventually ended up with 9 out of the 16 colours available. The pigmentation is brilliant, there are a few that aren't as good as others but I think that happens with other brands not just MUA. Some colours I don't have as they are either ALWAYS sold out or I feel that they are similar to one of the other shades I already have. Take a look at some of the colours I have...

(Left to Right) Shade 1, Shade 2, Shade 3, Shade 5  

(Left to Right) Shade 8, Shade 10, Shade 11, Shade 13

(Left to Right) Shade 14 'Bare', Shade 15 'Juicy', Shade 16 'Nectar' 

You can see from the swatches that the colours are really vibrant and vary a lot. They are super norishing too (coming from someone who has a nasty habit of picking their lips) so I only apply a lip balm at the start of my make-up application and then by the time i'm done, I apply the lipstick and voila! No nasty bits on my lips or cracked parts either!

I find with the lighter shades (5, 10, 14, 15, 16) they take a lot more application to show up properly and my lips are quite pigmented too, so these tend to be something I used just for a quick application if i'm staying in the house or to give a slight shimmer to my lips! 

I have to admit that I love a good bargain and when these are so good & so cheap, you can't go wrong! 

Do you use MUA lipsticks? What's your favourite shade?! 

Voucher Codes & Discounts*

We all love a bargain right!? Well, most of us will completely forget to take advantage of voucher codes whenever purchasing something online or even in store. You may think that it's just students that can claim the luxury of getting money off items in certain shops, but you're wrong! 

With companies such as Groupon, Wowcher, Vouchercodes and lovemyvouchers there are discount codes / discounted prices out there for everyone to use. All it takes is a quick sign up and away you go, you are able to access thousands of discount codes for hundreds of different companies. 

Although Groupon and Wowcher wouldn't necessarily class as a 'discount code' and you can't use them online or in store, the offers they have on their website are fantastic and you can find yourself saving £££'s off deals from holidays to everyday items such as knives and beauty products.

Vouchercodes IS one that you can use in stores... if you download their app it lists different discount codes that you can use in stores around you and these can vary from restaurant discounts, store discounts and freebies too! All you have to do is download their app, load the relevant voucher and show it to the shop assistant at the checkout & voila, you've saved yourself some cash! 

Lovemyvouchers is another great way to get discount when shopping online. Just type in the store / category you are looking to purchase (travel, computing, shopping etc) and see if they have a code for you to use! It will be a simple code that you can copy and paste into the 'discount code or promotional code' box at the checkout. It's worth checking out every time you're making an online purchase as you could be saving up to 25%! 

For all you students out there you get the luxury of student discount in hundreds of places from Topshop to McDonalds but did you know that with Unidays, you get more discount just from showing them the app on your phone!? Preferably you need to have a university email to sign up and then you can download their app to your smartphone to use when you are out and about. 

NUS extra cards also offer the similiar discount as you can enter your NUS number at the checkout of many online retailers or show the cashier your card in stores! Reek these rewards students, you can't afford not too! These are available online for £12.

*(Sponsored post by Bloggers Required)

Mini Primark / Boots Haul

I hate it when people ask me if I want to go shopping... I can't say no! Even when it's my parents asking!! Because it's half term, they came over to the town where I live to do some shopping as it has better and more shops than Tamworth does and so, I ventured out with them with the idea in mind that I wasn't going to buy anything as i'm ridiculously short of money at the moment. 

Walking into Primark, this 'idea' was obviously abolished and I got a few little bits that I feel I needed to get anyway... 

Make-up bag - Primark £1

Face wipes - Primark £1 

Garnier Make-up remover - Boots 2 for £4 

Underwear - Primark £1 each

Red plimsolls - Primark £4  

Nighties - Primark £4.50 each

Midi dress - Primark £10 

Like I said, most of these things were necessities - as for the nighties, these are for my hospital bag for when I go into Labour because I don't have anything like these that are suitable for that sort of thing & for £4.50, you can't go wrong! 

The midi-dress of course was a treat! I don't really get to buy myself many clothes given my state as nothing fits and I only have 9 weeks left so it's pointless but these midi-dresses are great! They stretch over my bump and hopefully, I can continue to wear them after i've given birth! 

Have you been shopping lately? What did you buy?! 

Mini Lush Haul

 I hate that I live so far from a Lush store as I love their products... So, when I went to Birmingham on Friday, I made a few cheeky purchases! 

There are some favourites of mine that I had to stray away from as I want to try new things. Its a shame that a lot of their products are only around for a limited time and also the fact that a lot of them are fresh makes it hard to stock up but it made no difference to me and here is what I got... 

I used 'Secret Garden' and this is how it turned out. The bath water turned into what looked like a pond! The petals were a nice touch but it was definitely a 'pamper yourself' bath rather than a 'get clean' sort of bath... You'd find yourself with petals in your hair and eyes and all sorts if you tried to get clean! 

I got a sample size of 'Honey I washed the kids' as I was recommended it but never use the soap in time and it ends up loosing its fragrance - so luckily, they gave me a very generous 50g sample of it and I couldn't have been happier! 

Im saving 'Space Girl' for another 'pamper night' as it's full of glitter and I don't fancy having to re-wash myself once i've soaked in the bath for an hour! 

I've seen good reviews on 'Ikkle Baby Bot' on bloggers' sites so i'm really looking forward to this one. I've been struggling to get to sleep lately because of baby so definitely saving this for a late night bath... One that I can just jump straight into bed after! 

Have you got a favourite product from Lush? Let me know!!