My New Tattoo

At this point it's pretty obvious to all who know me that I really love Harry Potter. 

I could go into great detail about why I love it and all the various bits and pieces of props I own as a result of this but instead I want to talk about why it was my obvious choice for my latest tattoo.

The symbol of the Deathly Hallows stands for the Cloak of Invisibilty, the Ressurection Stone and the Elder Wand, 3 Hallows that when combined, make one the master of Death. 

It's a very common tattoo amongst Harry Potter fans which was part of the charm for me, its instantly recognisable to Potterheads but most importantly its reference to Death and the idea that one can greet it well prepared and without fear is an idea that's comforting to me after dealing with certain losses in my family .

I also love this as a tattoo because it's so simple. I'm not a fan of colour tattoos so this is something nice and basic to wear on my wrist thats not too in your face .

Definitely looking forward to showing this one off, even though this is now my third tattoo, the rest  are on my back so I don't really get to look at them so it's nice to get reminded of Harry Potter everytime I see it. 

Let me know what you think and feel free to share any Harry Potter tattoos you have!

I Get Back into Pattern Drafting!

 My 4th year at university was filled to the brim of highs and lows. I'll admit that while I was thrilled with my 2:1 and the fantastic sense of achievement I felt, after months and months of stressing over deadlines and practically living in the sewing workroom I left university not wanting to even look at a sewing machine. 

I'm sure many fashion students will relate to this in some way. I've actually not touched my sewing machine in a year and a half now and feel it's finally the time to buckle down and get back into the swing of things.

At university I was trained to use a basic pattern block and develop my own patterns but due to the length of time since I last done this I'm really really rusty so I've started to invest in these New Look/Vogue patterns to sort of re-train myself. I believe pattern cutting is like riding a bike, once you've learnt to do it you can't really forget it, you just have to get used to doing it again!

What I'm hoping to do is a few posts on here of the garments as I go along, currently I'm waiting on 10 metres of pattern cutting paper for me to trace these over and since it's my first time using these I can do a little review of how I get on. 

I'm actually really excited to start getting back into the swing of things and then move on from there, hopefully once I do a few of these patterns I will be able to start altering them for my own designs like I used to do at university. 

I've got a few new pattern cutting books coming from amazon as well to help me re-learn so I will do a wish list of those on here at a later date to help any of you aspiring pattern cutters with what to buy to help you get started and we'll go from there. 

I feels good to be getting back on the bike! 

Ways to Save Money (So you can make that career move!)

Hello again everyone and apologies for my month-long absence from the keyboard but I have been extremely lucky to be able to go to London this month and somehow I've also managed to afford to go again next month for my 23rd so I've been busy making plans and scouting out fun things for me and my sister to do there. 

However I am not even a little bit good at saving. I'm one of these people who has to always have something to look forward to and therefore every month I'm making these elaborate plans and spending my cash on events in the future and leaving me with nothing for the rest of the month?

Sound familiar? 

I wanted to write this post because as I grow older I'm constantly reminded that I have no savings for the future and as a trained garment technologist living in Scotland, it's extremely hard to find a job that isn't in England. You spend hours looking at every job website known to man and wish you had savings so that if by some chance you did get the job, you'd at least have a little something to help you move down there and get set up. 

So this post is a learning curve for me as much as it is for you, my readers because I'm going to try and follow my own advice and save up some cash for the next year to help me apply for the jobs down south and move there if I got one. Sound good? 

So here are some ways to save money as well as some other neat things that can help:

1. I buy and make my lunches in advance instead of going out for it during work 

Now I'm a huge foodie and for ages after getting my new job I would go out to lunch but now I'm in a good habit where I bulk buy soup from ASDA to take with me to work for my lunch. You wouldn't believe the money I'm saving because I was a huuuge Costa lover and was spending £6/£7 a day on coffee and toasties as apposed to the 80p cans of soup I could be having. 

2. Limit how many nights out you're having a month

I used to be a massive going-out person when I was at university. I has Fridays off when I was in second year so on Thursday afternoon I'd come back to Livingston, meet my friends and go out in one club on the Thursday night and then another on the Saturday. I should mention that these weren't exactly cheap nights and because I done it so often I was suddenly wanted new dressed to wear out so that all got added on. I'm not saying you can't enjoy yourself and socialise but sometimes I'll just bring some friends over and buy 2 bottles of wine. It's way cheaper and you can have just as fun a night! 

3. I don't take my purse to work

Some of you will read this and go "What Hannah?!?" but yeah, I try not to take my purse to work because I work in a department store where my staff discount makes any purchase look like a saving when I probably didn't need it in the first place. Plus my colleagues like to go out for lunches quite often and this way I really stick to just having my cans of soup. (I sound so unsociable haha!!)

4. BUDGET

This is totally self explanatory and you'll have heard it a thousand times but it's still something I am terrible at. My form of budgeting is leaving the purse at home or having my father look after it and refuse to give me it haha!

I found a link to a site you can read about effective budgeting so: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning

5. Sell old clothes

Fashion students are extremely guilty of this because we collect clothes, our closets are our babies but my sister is an avid ebayer and the money she just made in the past month from selling her clothes online is insane and I'm going to start doing it myself! Easy money!

6. Sell old video games

If  you're like me and you have a tonne of video games you don't play, we have a store called CEX where you can trade them in for cash. So instead of having all these games on my shelves that I don't even play I can trade them in or sell them to the store to make up some extra cash. 

(Side note: I know the last 2 suggestions I've made aren't about saving but they are about getting some extra cash in that you could put towards savings or make it a bit easier to save during the month)

7. Make the most of being a student

You get rediculous discounts as a student and here in Scotland there's such a thing as a Young Scot card which entitles you to discounts on all sorts of stores. Look into what you can get as a student in your area and keep an eye on websites geared specifically towards student discounts. I know apple offer an awesome discount to students as well so shop around and you can save some extra money to put towards savings here as well. 

8. The mason jar challenge 

When I need inspiration for anything I head to pinterest. It's amazing how much you can get advice on there and when I was looking up saving methods I found this neat challenge you can do at home to help you save. 

Now this won't work for everyone and my advice is to not start it in January or else by December the amount you're having to pay in each week will destroy any spending on others at Christmas. 

I would start in March/April and what you do is you start at week one by putting £1 in the jar and each week the amount goes up by one. 

This is something that would work for me because you can see the money gathering up and when I can see a big wad of savings I begin to just want to leave it and let it grow.

Others however will see this grow and immediately want to spend it on a big night out or a holiday so take this into account when you do it, will you be able to sit and watch it grow for the year? 

9. Keep a record of your spending and saving

God bless pinterest you guys. I just found this printable debt book there which is free to download and has been made to help you track your money! 

You can get it here: http://www.onebeautifulhomeblog.com/2014/12/2015-soon-debt-free-workbook/ 

 This is going to be my bible now for saving money and keeping track of where all the cash is going AND it has a nice little savings page that if you follow correctly will have you £1300 after a year! 

10. Remind yourself why you're saving

I have days where I go "This is it! I'm going to save up for a year, move south, get the dream job" and then 2 weeks later I'm like "Ugh I need to get away" and book a trip. Boom. Savings gone out the window. I'm not saying don't go away anywhere but just ensure you can afford to do it and keep saving at the same time. Don't blow the savings on just anything and remember it's all about the long term not just the next 2 months or so. I am totally guilty of this.

So my saving is for the future of my career. To keep myself motivated to save I will be doing the mason jar challenge but put a photo on the front of what I'm wanting to save for. That job, That move. That future. 

I hope this is helpful to those of you in the same position as me out there. I've geared this towards the younger audience, people who maybe don't have credit cards they can cut down or a lot of bills they have to pay but if you do I seriously suggest getting on pinterest and the internet and seeing what advice and sheets people can offer you to help. 

I'm off to find a big-ass mason jar!

Visual Merchandising - Model Store

I'm finally back with another post focusing in a bit more detail about the job of a visual merchandiser, it's been a while since I posted any photos of our displays and hard work in store so this is the perfect opportunity to share with you what I've been up to!

So my job these last few weeks has become increasingly hectic due to Model Store judging. 

Model Store for me and my job is when we as a visual team work tirelessly to make our store look the best it possibly can for customers, staff and the like and after many weeks of prep someone from high up within the company comes out and judges us on several criteria.

My job as a visual merchandiser involves presenting well thought out mannequins that were pinned well, dressed appropriately to the stock on the mat, create various hotspots throughout the store at key sightlines to promote stock within the store and change over our windows to designer stock which would encourage customers to come into store. We were also doing general maintenance such as cleaning, painting and touching up mannequins to make them look pristine in condition. 

Aspects such as colour flow, power of three, trends and layout were all key in the process to ensure the customer journey was carried out consistently through the store and looked chic. 

Last year one of our big criticisms was that we went over the top with our displays and as a result they were too busy and detracted more from the stock within the store rather than enhance it. 

Below I have a whole bunch of photos to share with you all, showing you the standard we set this year and I'll describe underneath what we were trying to achieve to explain to you all in better detail because it can sound a little confusing. 

So here you go! My stores model store displays for S/S15! If we've done our job properly you should look at these and immediately think "oooh wheres that stock?!"

Our main Safari tend catwalk 

Priority One window, the blues and stripes trend 

70s hotspot 

Swimwear mannis, note that the blue and red colours flow up to the handbags at the far end of the walkway (colour flow) 

Our Wedding Gifts hotspot. Lots of power of three 

A home hotspot, again lots of power of three and repetition, good colour flow between the products 

A hotspot at out luggage department to promote sales 

One of our bed displays 

Another bed display 

Collection formal first catwalk 

Collection formal second catwalk 

One of the lingerie hotspots 

Ted Baker 

Lingerie pillar with a display on the top 

Another angle of the Safari trend catwalk (notice how the floral print is continued throughout the mannis) 

Rocha manni display, good colour flow through mannis to match back wall merchandising and the height difference creates interest 

A shoe hotspot 

BDL mannis

Blues and stripes hotspot at the top of the escalator (this continues the story from our front window into the store) 

Jasper hotspot (notice all the blue?)

Behind the hotspot at the top of the escalator (rails have been added to the clothes can be shopped immediately after seeing the mannis) 

Toddler boy hotspot

Girls hotspot at height to draw attention 

Swimwear hotspot, good symmetry here 

Young fashion, mannis placed beside each fixture wearing the clothes to promote sales 

Same again 

Same principle but beside a graphic rather than a fixture 

Tropical hotspot 

Henry mannis, situated at various heights to create interest, good colour flow 

Mother day hotspot in the lift area, lots of power of 3 

Hotspot at the bottom of the escalator with shoppable rails 

Side view of the hospot, notice the detail on the catwalk continues up the wall 

Mens catwalk, maroon and blue colour flow 

Mens suits catwalk using staggered height to create interest 

Purple catwalk 

Pale blue young fashion mens display at height 

Mens shoppable hotspot at the back of the escalator for our mac trend 

So you may have realised that a lot of blue was projected around our store this year, Dark blues in womenswear, teals in home and the brighter blues in our young fashion areas. This helps carry a shopper through the store and is pleasing to look at. There was a lot of good merchandising in the store using these colours to enhance the journey as well but I have no photos of them.

If there's a certain display you like or want to comment on leave your thoughts down below!! 

My Top 5 Nude Lipsticks

Recently I've been loving my nude lipsticks, especially for work because I like to try and keep my make up looking nice and clean, nothing too crazy and so I've decided to share with you my current top 5 nude lipsticks. 

Now I didn't follow any kind of criteria when picking these I just picked my favourite 5, the nude lipsticks I find myself reaching for the most in day-to-day life.

The lipsticks aren't listed in order of preference because I love them all so I'll list them how they appear in the photographs and will tell you why I wear them and what I like about them. 

1.

First up in this top 5 is MAC Myth, a lipstick I ended up buying when I was in London at Fashion Week and therefore has a little sentimental value to it. 

This lipstick smells amazing, as does all lipstick from MAC and the colour is fantastic for someone with pale skin like myself. However, when I have a tan this lipstick makes my lips look so much lighter than the rest of my face- the dreaded 'foundation lips'- so in that regard it's not as diverse as the rest of the nude colours on this list.

As for the texture of this lipstick it isn't as smooth as some of the others to apply in this list but it is very durable as a result and I've had no problems with it coming off as the day progresses. 

In terms of cost and packaging I've always had a problem with the canister MAC lipsticks come in. I know a lot of you out there love to collect MAC lippies but something about the packaging seems quite cheap to me, maybe its the matte platic container but it's just never appealed to me in a big way like my YSL lipsticks do. The price of MAC lipsticks is much more affordable though and most importantly they are one brand that is super easy to get a hold of, especially in the UK. 

2.

I have a small obsession with Urban Decay lipsticks and I'm amazed that this particular nude was one of the last I bought instead of one of the first. 

Urban Decay lipsticks have fantastic coverage, each lipstick is smooth and this is no exception. 

Out of all these lipsticks this is one that I reach for more often than the others simply because I think the colour is extremely pretty for a nude, it's less beige and more pinky which makes it really quite feminine and perfect for wearing to work.

The colour itself is bold and stays on really well but remains creamy on the lips unlike MAC myth which is durable because its a drier texture. 

In terms of cost this lipstick is really affordable for a brand that is forever increasing in popularity and the packaging is really sleek and pretty and these lipsticks in particular are the ones I'd recommend to someone getting into make up and wanting to expand into more expensive brands. 

3.

This Estee Lauder lipstick was a free gift as part of a big purchase I done at the Estee Lauder counter for my sister and as it was the first ever one I bought I naturally bought a nude. 

Now this colour is stunning, it's extremely beige and the colour pay off is amazing which is what you'd expect from £24 lipstick. The formula is extremely creamy, probably on par with the YSL lipsticks except this lipstick isn't as durable as a result. I've also found that the lipstick itself moves around in the tube after being used a few times because the formula is so soft and therefore I have to poke at it to move it back into the middle to stop it rubbing off against the sides of the tube. Bad times. 

The packaging for this is stunning, probably my second favourite after the YSL again because it has this lovely sleek navy blue tube and a magnetic clasp that keeps both parts of the canister together. 

4.

Ah YSL Rouge Volupte lipsticks, anyone who has followed this blog for a long time will know I am in LOVE with these, in my eyes they just can't do anything wrong and their Nude Beige was my first high end make up purchase. 

YSL lipsticks are super creamy and have this lovely mango smell to them which makes them an absolute dream to apply to the lips. The colour pay off on these lipsticks is also amazing and one coat is really all you need to set you up for the day ahead. 

As for the canister it is honestly one of the prettiest on the market and is a reason why so many people love to collect them. The only downside to a YSL lipstick is the price which can be pretty steep depending on what colour you're getting, if I'm speaking candidly I would think twice before buying these if I didn't have my discount from work and I owe my collection to the fact I'm lucky to get 20% off.

This lipstick doesn't have amazing staying power but to be honest you wouldn't mind because there's something really nice about pulling out your YSL and reapplying it throughout the day. 

5.

And now for the cheapest lipstick on this list.

Well, actually it's not a lipstick but a lip lacquer that is applied to the lips and dries a matte colour but at a mere £3 it is the cheapest nude in the top 5. 

As you can see from the swatch photo below it is the darkest nude and extremely beige in colour but because of this is works well on both tanned skin and pale skin. 

The trick with these lip lacquers is to only apply one layer. The colour pay off with these is brilliant considering the price but with these formulas its natural to want to apply more than one layer to really build up a bold looking lip. However, more than one layer of this product and you could literally pick it off your lips. 

The good news is that just one layer of this on your lips is enough to last all day because it has amazing staying power. 

This product doesn't really have a smell to it but amazingly for the £3 they cost to buy the canister doesn't look particularly cheap. Indeed I have 3 of these now and when they're side by side there is something quite high end about them because of the sleek long tubes and matte black lids, of course it is all made of plastic but still...!

 Starting from left to right: 

mac myth - £15.50

urban decay native - £13.95

estee lauder pure colour envy sculpting lipstick in insatiable ivory - £24

ysl rouge volupte no1 nude beige - £22.50-£26 

mua luxe velvet lip lacquer - £3 

Each of these nude lipsticks has a certain quality about it and different areas in which one will perform better than the other but all in all these nude lipsticks are all stunning shades and a good addition to anyones collection. 

If you have any nudes you are really loyal to feel free to share them in the comments below because I'm always in the market for a new purchase!!