Tartan Crazy...

The tartan trend is all over this autumn winter season, not only is tartan for your typical skirt but now you’ll find it in anything from hair scrunchies to cocoon coat and scarfs to printed trousers. Dare I say it, I think we’ve gone tartan crazy! But my main purchase has to be my tartan scarf, many bloggers will have the seen the lusted over Zara tartan scarf, thick and cosy yet bang on trend but unable to fork out the cash for that pricey piece I scouted the hughstreet and found this one!

Priced at a mere £5 from the one and only Primark, I must say I was very pleased. I’ve worn it almost every day (tartan crazy over here!) with my green parka for winter casual days and dressed up with a white shirt and leather pants! It’s definitely a statement piece for the winter! So grab your tartan girls! 

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop x

Daisy by Marc Jacobs & Just Pink by Next, The Review

Afternoon! So today I thought I'd do a little perfume review, buying perfume is always a gamble and you can spend forever sniffing samples til your nose explodes! Prices can also sway your choices, so i've chosen my favourite high end and high street perfume and I thought i'd tell you a little about why I love them so much...

Daisy by Marc Jacobs

This perfume is loved by a lot of people, its such a popular perfume and I genuinely think its down to a) the bottle, look at it! its so cute, flowery and matches the scent perfectly which brings me onto b) the scent, its a beautiful floral smell thats not too overpowering like some on the market its sweet and fresh which makes it appeal to a lot of ladies! It can retail at around £60 for a larger bottle like mine so it's a little bit of a splurge but an early Christmas present wouldn't go a miss?!

Just Pink by Next

I've always bought this perfume, the shape of the bottle has changed over the years and now this cute shaped heart is simple which mimics the scent very well. The scent is fresh but simple its not overloading and very similar to the Daisy perfume scent wise, however with Just Pink you won't get as much wear out of it as it's not as long lasting as Daisy. However if your anything like me, who piles on the perfume til I stink out the house, then you'll do just fine! It retails at £12 which is an utter bargain for perfume!

I tend to wear the Just Pink by Next as an everyday use, its fresh and you'll get your moneys worth. Daisy by Marc Jacobs is my go to when I'm going out on a night out, for a meal or to a fancy occasion, because with a price tag like that I can't afford to be spraying willy nilly! But with the Marc Jacobs you don't need to spray half as much as the Next perfume so they work well together.

Let me know if you've tried these perfumes! 

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Looking Forward

Raspberry Sublime!

Yesterday I visited Manchester, I've actually never been into the city centre before, visited the airport many times (haha), but never the city centre. The reason for my visit was to go see Manchester Met University as I hope to do my final year of my degree there, Manchester is such a thriving city and many people are calling it the new London. So there are so many opportunities hiding in that huge city centre for me, especially as I'm doing a fashion degree!

The university was great, all brand new buildings that looked more like museums than uni buildings it really gave off a creative feel! The tutor we met on the day opened my eyes into the depths fashion can take us, she was so inspirational and it gave me loads of things to think about!

Having tea!

Later in the day, me and my friends did a little shopping! Well, we couldn't have left the city without sampling their highstreet which to my amazement was huge! We got lost several times, and wandered around looking puzzled but after lots of shopping we had to rest our withered feet. (I say that literally our feet ached so much after our trek around Manchester!) So we had tea at TGI Fridays.

I loved Manchester, the hustle and bustle of a city centre put me off at first but after exploring further I warmed to it, and decided I'd love to take myself out of my comfort zone and experience new things for my final year! So wish me luck, better get on with my personal statement hadn't I!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

English Heritage Photoshoot

So this weekend I did my very first location photo shoot! I've done photo shoots in studios before, but this was the first that I shot out on location. There is so many factors you have to consider when shooting on location, including the weather! Typical british weather it was raining, dull, windy and cold. So I had a bit of a delayed start however me and my model took a big brolly and braved the weather! My model was amazing, I sourced her myself and she worked so professionally, never complained about the weather or whatever awkward pose I made her stand in! The day was very successful we spent a few breaks stood under a brolly but during the times we could shoot it went perfectly! Below are some of the photos taken straight from the camera, so they're unedited but even before I've edited them they look great! The theme was 'English Heritage', a reflection on my style!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Love a good slogan tee!

So today I'm going to do my favourite purchase of the week! 

This week I got my hands on one of the t-shirts that have pun's on high end designer logos. I've seen these all over the fashion blogger network and I just think they're great! They sort of prove a point that you don't have to spend hundreds to bag a top with a designer logo splatted on the front. Anyway I decided to get the Hermés - Homies Tee, I personally think they're fab and also so easy to style! I wore mine with a burgundy mid length circle skirt and black strappy boots, really edges up the outfit whilst being comfortable and practical! 

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Mask of Magnaminty

A few weeks ago now I visited my local lush store, now to be brutally honest I thought lush was all about smelly bath bombs! I was proved wrong, I was prompted to visit due to a review of lush products by one of my all time favourite bloggers and youtube sensation Cassandra Bankson! (http://www.youtube.com/user/DiamondsAndHeels14) I love her and I have done a blog post once before about her (http://louiseelizabethharrop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/one-word-inspiring.html) please check it out as she's such an inspirational young woman. Anyways back to my review so I went to lush, searching for the ever so desired miracle acne treatment. I did my research before, which trust me I recommend saves you a heap of cash!

And decided to try Lush Mask of Magnaminty £5.25 (Small Pot, 125g)

'This peppermint mask does everything it can to fight eruptions and outbreaks and return your skin to tip top condition'

Now I have used this product loads, I'm almost at the end of the pot. It smells great, like mint choc-chip ice cream, but its not always about how good it smells ha! Truthfully, this product has not given me amazing results, however I can say that it did help to diminish my angry spots but this did take several uses of the mask to get rid of one spot. Which to be honest isn't great, I was hoping to see at least some improvement after one use at least, this didn't happen.

When I used the product I left it on for various amounts of time, ranging from the recommended 15 mins to 45 mins, this was to experiment with what results I got when I left it on longer. Honestly, it made no difference, not to totally slate the product but I personally would not buy this again as it didn't do anything amazing. If you only used this product once a week you would not see any improvement, I only saw improvement when I used it for several nights in a row.

Its fair to say that spots are different for everyone, dependant on what types of spots you get and how frequent you get them. Now if its down to hormones (it is for me) then its just a case of battling them and doing your best to keep them at bay. This product may work for you and if it has I'd be happy to hear your thoughts on it, so please comment below! But for now, I will keep trying to find a product that works well, and when I do of course I will review. But for now fellow bloggers my mission is still ongoing!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

L'oréal Collection Privée Review

Wearing lipstick is really one of the easiest thing a girl can put on to interject a pop of colour into her face. I love trying out new lipsticks, but I have a tendency to purchase cheaper brands as honestly, I'd rather spend the money on clothes! (Typical me) Anyway, my favourite lipstick had run out so I decided to invest in a slightly pricier lipstick. My mum loves lipstick so I bought this one in a 3 for 2 offer they were doing at Superdrug.

I bought, L'ORÉAL Collection Privée Lipstick in Colour Riche, Juliannes Nude. (RRP-£8.19)

This colour is gorgeous, really its such a good balance between a blushed pink and nude its a great colour to wear everyday which is what I was after. The colour lasts a long time on your lips until you have your lunch! But its not a hard colour to apply, so reapplying isn't an issue if your in a hurry. The lipstick doesn't smell or taste horrific either, it does have a lipstick smell (if you catch my drift) but its not too much like some cheaper brands. Also, I must mention I suffer from really chapped lips and this lipstick is great as it doesn't sit in the cracks and make your lips look ridiculous. I would definitely recommend this lipstick, and I know the other colours are rich and beautiful as well. 

As always, leave your comments below and if you've already tried this lipstick or similar let me know what you thought! 

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

University Haul

Ever since I started at high school a few weeks before we started back for the new school year, I would search every shop to find the new 'school bag'! When wearing a uniform the same as everyone else, the only thing to set you apart from others was your choice of bag, and I thought these purchases through very carefully! 

Nine years on and I'm still the same! So this week I searched and searched round every shop online and in store to find the perfect uni bag, that would fit my sketchbooks in but not be too big, it wouldn't be too thin it had to be thick and durable and of course it had to last me up til next year! So with these specifics to keep to it was a hard find, but I settled on this one!

Warehouse Belted Faux Ostrich Shopper £40.00

Now to some students that may be a little pricey, but lets not forget I do work for Warehouse so I got my cheeky discount off! Making the bag a little over £20.00... BARGAIN! Great sized bag, fits in all my sketchbooks, has phone holder and zip up pocket inside and isn't ridiculously big! Also the colour is so rich, I love the berry colour and the gold finishes, very autumnal and perfect for the A/W 13 season!

Oh, and of course you can't buy a new uni bag without buying some multipurpose uni/work shoes! Well, I (didn't) did need them! What girl can resist shoes!

River Island Loafers in Tan £28.00

But with my cheeky student discount on ASOS, I managed to get these beauties for just over £22! 

(River Island is now stocked on ASOS, so pick up some discount all you student lovers!)

Loving my new purchases for the week! As always let me know what you think!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Blog Lovin

I am now on BlogLovin, a great site where you can easily follow and read your favourite blogs everyday! Its great and all your bloggers will be already loving it, I'm a little late catching on haha!

So, please follow this link, www.bloglovin.com/blog/8451519/loustyle
or
Please search my URL: www.louiseelizabethharrop.blogspot.com and get following!

As always, let me know your views, comments and any advice you have for my blog!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

English Heritage

Never heard of Polyvore.com til this week at uni and I must say its one of the best inventions ever for a fashion student. I've been on it all day! Mixing and matching different outfits together, and of course a little shopping at the same time! (Never miss an opportunity us girls)
So this was one of my final sets, I call this English Hertiage, a walk through the countryside. I will be using this little inspiration for a photoshoot I have to do for one of my modules soon at uni, of course I'll upload the images as soon as they're fully edited! Very exciting things to come, so If your a little bored sign up to www.polyvore.com and get your stylist head on, its great for finding future cheeky purchases

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

English Heritage by louisbrill featuring highwaist pants

Equipment blouse
modaoperandi.com

Coat
$390 - glam-net.com

Dolce & Gabbana highwaist pants
matchesfashion.com

Office penny loafer
$80 - office.co.uk

Mulberry purple purse
mulberry.com

BKE necklace
buckle.com

H M brown belt
$21 - hm.com

winter sandal boots...

Decided to invest in some new heels, I've been looking for a pair of black chunky strappy boot heels to edge up outfits I wear when I go out on an evening! I saw these and they just fit the bill perfectly! Exactly what I wanted, they edge up this high low dress I wore to the theatre, and they are a great heel as well comfortable and easy to walk in. A standard pair of black boot heels for A/W 13 is just what you need to get you through the season, choose your style and get those outfits looking funkier in no time!

-Louise Elizabeth Harrop

handmade aprons

I have recently begun a little business, oh yes! I love to hand sew, machine sew I can deal with in small doses but wow does it cause me stress! Anyways, I love handcrafting, embroidery and hand decorating things I make. I have made my mum several aprons which she wears every day. When I posted them on social media I got a lot of interest and I've made  quite a few now! I love doing them and they are so original, every person I've given them to so far are so grateful! It's a great little hobby of mine and each one I make is original and perfectly personalised, and thankfully there isn't a huge amount of machine sewing! So my stress levels remain low!

- Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Coralicous

Loving my new shellac colour, beautiful coral orange with glitter shimmer!

my skincare routine...

If you are similar to me the one thing that really gets on my nerves is finding the perfect make up and skin care. As of this year I have put in a bit more effort into finding the ideal beauty regime that works best for my skin, so in this blog post I want to share with you some of the success and failures I've had trying to find the best products and trust me! I wasted so much money and time going with what adverts tell me instead of listening to the real advice from reviews and opinions online!

So firstly, my skincare routine. A lady I have once blogged about before called Cassandra Banks on youtube is such an inspirational women, her youtube videos showing how girls with acne can get through any obstacle relating to their skin are amazing. So for my daily skin care routine I have to give a little bit of credit to her. Granted nowadays we sometimes feel the need to pay more so that we get more out of a product but here is where I can prove you wrong. My whole skin care routine comes to a total of just under £20. And its amazing, today I'll talk to you about my face wash...

On a morning I use Garnier Pure Active Deep Clean Cream
Wash, this comes in at around £3.80 from Superdrug. This face wash has so many advantages to it, for one it doesn't leave your skin red raw after you use it! Which if your like me and already have red cheeks you do not want this enhancing when you wash your face! It doesn't smell funny, I recently tried the Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Face Wash and let me tell you now if you do not like fragranced products on your face DON'T go for this! I used it once and it went straight in the bin, so the Garnier face wash is great for not having an overpowering fruity smell. And finally it works with your skin to fight spots, although I use other medically prescribed products to treat my acne I feel this face wash is ideal for working harmoniously with my other products as it fights oily skin and the over production of oil during the day which leads to angry spots! Oh and let me just point out the price again, its £3.80 which is so cheaaaaap! It lasts me about three months and for this price I will continue to buy it until they stop making it!
(http://www.superdrug.com/garnier-pure-cream-wash-150ml/invt/88358&bklist=)

-loustyle94

ways to keep in touch...

I love social media and I'm pretty sure all you bloggers and readers do as well! Please follow or add me on the following social media sites:

Instagram: louiseylouise94

Twitter: louiseylouise94

Facebook: Louise Elizabeth Harrop

Any advice, questions or messages to me are welcomed on both my blog and social media sites!

Much love, 

-loustyle94

prim and proper!

This outfit for the week includes my favourite summertime trouser, the cigarette pants! I absolutely adore this style of trouser I already have three different p
airs, however this pair is my favourite and considering it only cost me £7.99 from H&M makes them even more lovable! (No, i'm not lying!) For this outfit I've teamed them with a plain white shirt (H&M) buttoned up to the top, with a chunky necklace (Warehouse) and my staple sandals! (Missguided). Enjoy the bank holiday weather, I'm hoping its here to stay!

-loustyle

first year of my fashion degree, done!

The stress of deadlines, presentations and hand in's means only one thing for a uni student. Its the end of my first year of uni! Proud I've made it through as doing a practical fashion degree including making two dresses, a shirt, many sketchbook projects, branding and promotion projects, its truly exhausting! Not going to lie, never experienced the levels of stress I have done this year, doing your degree isn't for the faint hearted especially on the week of final hand in's!

outfit for the week...

love being able to wear my summery dresses from last year, I may be wishful thinking for this weekend! but it has forecast 19 degrees that's our summer! #britishweather

-loustyle

yellow cut out dress - river island, white flower wedges - h&m, watch - dkny, necklace - warehouse

real techniques brush

I may have mentioned before I'm not the best at make up! So I take all advice and tips whenever I read them or someone suggests them to me. So this is just one tried and tested tip I had to share with you,  my fellow bloggers. Now normally I used to put my make up on with just a standard make up brush but someone mentioned to me to start using a stipple brush as It gives a more even finish to your foundation, granted it did! I bought a cheap one off eBay for like £2.95! Bargain... But I taught myself a little lesson here it lasted me a few months then the bristles started to fall out.. It was clearly malting haha! So I gave a desperate plea on twitter to find a new stipple brush, not wanting to spend over the odds but the design of the brush is so good I needed one that would last. Anyway several off my friends suggested the real techniques brush, I bought it off amazon for £10.99 and I tell you now, best £10.99 I ever spent! It's great! A really good make up brush, it does all the things a stipple brush should do but it's a tad smaller so it gets in the little nooks and crannies between your eyes and nose! It has a flat bit at the bottom so you can stand it up right and it's super soft! So to conclude! My journey continues to find the best make up, and this make up brush is a must buy! 

-loustyle94

Outfit for the week!

Topshop dress, new look wedged sandals, statement necklace warehouse

-loustyle94

nailed it!

I love new nail polish, I have such a collection at home but I still feel the need to buy new colours! I'd been wanting a pastel lilac for ages so when I found this Barry M (shade cherry) I had to purchase, it's so summey!
-loustyle94

new jewels from the canaries

I recently visited the canary island of Fuerteventura, now not forgetting the sun sea sand element of a family hol, we did a little exploring of the island and I managed to find some beautiful statement jewellery! These necklaces look gorgeous with a plain white shirt or simple tee and jeans! You can create such a comfortable look for day to day by adding accessories, the rose gold flower bracelet was so cute I couldn't resist plus it matched my watch! And the triangle colour block earrings I've seen all over the high street back home and for 2€ I couldn't resist! I got all this jewellery for just over 20€ which I think is pretty much a bargain!
-loustyle94

midi dress please!

this weeks outfit of the week, midi dress boohoo, statement necklace primark, clutch bag blanco, strappy sandals bershka!

the wonderful british weather...

Getting ready for Saturday night out with the girls has to be one of the most stressful times a girl endures! What to wear, how to have your hair, eyelashes or no eyelashes, fake bake or natural whiteness! So this time I decided to sort my outfit out a week before! Call me strange but that's what you call a planned getting ready situation! I had everything worked out, I did a little fake tanning two days before, washed my hair in the morning! Oh yes, I was prepared!

Until the weather that us brits have to deal with every day hit! Rain... Snow... Wind! After a full days work and stepping out of the staff doors i soon begin to realise that even though I was so prepared nothing was going to make me go out in this ridiculous weather. And when you look at my outfit below, off the shoulder crop top teamed with pink skater skirt and bare legs, it's fair to say I hadn't prepared for a night out in the blizzard...

So the moral to my little escapade is, check the bloody weather before you start the endless preparations for a nigh out!

-loustyle94

Inspiration from instagram...

Now I may be really old and this may have been around for years but I love instagram! Posting photos of my daily purchases and style choices and seeing other people's fashion! I love it, it's so inspirational! Seriously, before you go shopping or browsing online flick through your news feed and providing you follow the seriously cool fashionistas on instagram you will definitely have some outfit ideas that you can channel when doing your shopping! Theirs accessory ideas, ways in which to style your outfit and underground trends that emerge from the likes of us posting our fav styles! Here's some of my fav styles from instagram, I didn't photograph these images myself!
- louiseylouise94 (instagram)

Drab Denim.. Think Again!

I for one love denim. Its the comfiest piece of clothing that I own, especially jeans! I own so many denim shirts, denim dresses, denim skirts, denim jeans! The list is endless. I also am a true supporter of the double denim trend, so long as people think about what they are doing! Please don't go around matching the same coloured denim head to toe.. mix it up! That's all I ask. Every single person on this earth will own a pair of jeans, whether they style them up for fashion or wear them for comfort they are the most important piece of clothing a person could have in their wardrobe! One of this summers key trends is denim not just jeans but shirts, skirts, dungarees, dresses, coats and jackets! So look out for the new denim trends hitting the high street, and (to save those pennies) get out your old jeans and cut them up or decorate them! You really can't go wrong!

Living the austrialia dream..

A few week ago my best friend moved to Australia, only for six months lets not forget (because she will be coming back, a girls holiday is definitely on the cards for her arrival home!). She's the sort of girl that lives her dreams and follows her spontaneous heart all the way to the other side of the world! I mean she's living it up over there, sunning herself in the aussie heat, going for romantic dates to watch the sunset and genuinely loving life. Well me and her other friends gave her the best send off when she left. Cocktails in our favourite bars and busting shapes in our favourite club. I know she will enjoy it and I know she will be missing us and we are missing her too. But I wish her luck and encourage her to follow her dreams and get that gorgeous tan and lightened hair she's always dreamed off! Better get on the sunbeds before she comes back!

Much love for my best friend, miss emily audsley x

Fashion that lasts three lifetimes..

My family means the world to me. The relationship I have with my mum and my grandma is extra special, we all have so much in common and the days me and my mum visit my grandmas and chat over a ham salad sandwich and vanilla slice are the best. Fashion is always something we have to discuss, the amount of times I've gone 'Skinny jeans are the only ones people wear now, people don't even think about boot cut any more '. And my mum or my grandma will go, 'Oh you mean drainpipe jeans?'! I mean as if? Drainpipe jeans don't sound too appealing to me! So funnily enough only a few decades ago those skinny jeans that we all own a pair of used to be in fashion back in the 70's, the name may have changed but its the same pair of jeans designed to make your legs look like they go on forever! This is always happening, a new trend out in high street stores and designer catwalks has been re-invented from back in my grandmas days! I love how fashion is recycled, and how some trends seem to come out of thin air but in actual fact they were worn before. The ever famous midi skirt that is at large among the high street this trend has been recycled from the 50's and a few year ago I bet most people would of gone, 'Oh that's so old fashioned' 'Too long, we need short skirts!' and now we see fashion fanatics all over the country supporting the midi length! Another advantage of having fashion forward family members is that borrowing clothes from them is simple! My grandmas love for fur and skater skirts is always handy if I ever need a one off piece! And my mums wardrobe (oh so similar to my own!) is at the touch of a wardrobe door, however the downside is she's a size 5 foot so borrowing her shoes is not on the cards. So to wrap up my little blogpost today, I love my family and there knowledge of fashion trends from the 1940's is also useful too :)

Mr Vuitton

My fashion crush is Louis Vuitton, it always has been since I was little! The signature print branded onto scarfs, hats, gloves and most importantly handbags! Seeing it on celebrities all over the world and knowing exactly which designer made it! Now, I'm not made of money so a few years I bought a knock off Louis from a Tenerife market, for hmm €40! I must say I bargained him down to this price as well after he claimed it was real? This bag was my all time favourite bag I took it everywhere and anywhere I could, until a year later the handles where hanging on by a single thread. It was a sad day when it finally snapped!

Anyways, my auntie bought me a belated christmas present! And I must say I was like a little girl again when she gave me the beauty of the Louis Vuitton Palermo with matching purse. It's beautiful and absolutely ideal for me for uni! Thank you so much auntie! I will treasure them forever!

Love For Louis x