eBay Introduces New Collections Tool - See My Collections & Tell me What You Think!

eBay to me has always been the place that I turned to when I couldn’t find an item in stock, or had baulked at paying, or just couldn’t stretch to paying full price for something in a shop/online. Yep, it’s hit and miss as to what you find on there, but that’s the beauty of it as, whilst at times it may not have what you’re looking for, you can set up alerts for these searches… and when you get that email saying something you had been looking for has been listed, it is game on!!

Sometimes though, eBay can be daunting, with the sheer volume of items on there that it can be hard to find the products you want, especially when running with a theme, or trying to match them up to other items in general. So, eBay have come up with a pretty cool solution with their new Collections tool, a way of saving, and showing items that you think work well together.

This is perfect for your own organisational reasons or for sharing with friends and family; and I can totally imagine this working well for things like birthday and Christmas wish lists, as when people are asking what you’d like, you can just point them in the direction of your collections. Clever, huh?!

In preparation for the launch, eBay asked me to make some collections of my own and so I spent a good few hours scouring the site to see what treats took my fancy. You could say this was just a more elaborate form of my usual way to window shop, where I add everything I would like to own into any given ‘cart’, see the total cost, laugh (and cry) before closing the tab in defeat – as attempting to whittle down any shopping cart like that is near on impossible for this indecisive lady. ;-)

Here are just a few of my favourite collections from all of the collections I have been making (all clickable):

Modern Twist on a Vintage Wedding

Natural Glamour.

GOLD...

Wild About Animal Print.

Girls Night Out!

All Hail The Nail.

The rest can be found HERE!

The collections format actually reminds me somewhat of Pinterest, and other similar sites in the way that you add items, and the way it appears overall, and I think it’s going to be a great addition to the site. I’m already making more collections to lust after, in the hope that I come into some money. Ha.

What do you think about the new addition? Have you seen or used the new collections tool? Could you make use of it? x

P.S: Apologies if you're using a mobile to view this post, if the images are a bit wonky - not entirely sure what has happened with that.

This post has been sponsored by eBay.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Deichmann Collaborate With Fashion Blogger, Caroline Blomst for Spring Summer 2014!

Most people have their ‘thing’ when it comes to fashion… be that dresses, hats, bags, jewellery, shoes or whatever else takes their fancy. Me? I’m an ‘everything’ kinda girl. I like things, I like lots of them and they have to meet my exacting style standards; especially as I’m also incredibly indecisive. However, it has to be said that I do hold a dear place in my heart, and my wardrobe, for shoes. You see shoes are the only things I could always rely on, even at my heaviest, to fit me.

So am I a ‘shoe’ person? Why yes, yes I am.

When it comes to purchasing shoes, I’m totally a Carrie wannabe, in that I would love to be able to say that my budget stretched to the likes of Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahniks to be worn as my shoes du jour; alas, I tend to be more of a high street girl. That’s not such a bad thing though, as the good thing about fashion these days is that you don’t actually have to spend the earth on an outfit for it to look good, or make a statement.

This is why I love brands that pull out all the stops to bring us designs that look great, but without the threat of bankruptcy, or broken hearts due to our weeping bank balances. It’s not even necessarily that you end up saving as much as you think, as if you’re anything like me, money off/money saved just means you can buy more. Half price? This to me just means I can buy twice as much!

Which brings me onto the new spring/summer 2014 collection from forward thinking European shoe brand, Deichmann, which launched today (here) and was under heavy embargo so as excited as I was to tell you, I was unable to do so!

The collection, comprising of 7 different shoe designs has been designed in collaboration with Swedish fashion uber-blogger and all round fashionista Caroline Blomst, is to be stocked in store and online by Deichmann UK, with prices starting from just £17.99 and reaching no higher than £27.99. Good news for your bank balances, girls!

Video footage of the collection, provided by Deichmann UK.

The collection was an instant hit when I saw it, and whilst I might not wear every pair of shoes myself, I think that it's bang on many trends that are current right now. The 2 styles from within the group that totally caught my eye were these beauties:

Peep toe shoe boot with cut out detail, 27.99

These boots are so flexible, and could be worn with pretty much anything from your wardrobe, from jeans and leggings to skirts, dresses or even shorts; meaning they will easily span throughout any season. The 4.5 inch heel is fairly high, and with only a very slight platform to offset the height too. However, I found these shoes more comfortable than I first thought they would when they arrived with me, largely due to the fact that the boot styling almost fully encases the foot, instantly giving much needed support to the foot and ankle (the adjustable fastening adds to the overall look of the boots and can be tightened or loosened to suit your ankle size thus avoiding the shoe slipping off the foot as you walk - safe as well as stylish?

Peep toe with drop side and metallic heel, £27.99

These glam metallic accented heels are possibly my favourite item as they totally appeal to my glam nature and weekend wardrobe of bodycons and bandage dresses. The design is also mega flattering as they instantly lengthen your legs, and who here doesn't want longer looking legs?! Metallic accented shoes featured highly at Paris Fashion week recently, so these are totally now, however I expect to get wear from these for quite some time to come! Adore.

 My final thoughts?

You can see the thought that has gone into the collection as a whole; and it's apparent that whilst style is high up on the agenda, Caroline also wanted these shoes to get a lot of wear, with comfort also seemingly factoring highly.

Her consideration that the designs were versatile, and could be styled with a plethora of different outfits, tailored to your own personal style preference, is also glaringly obvious; and I'm quite sure that this collection would not look out of place on any of the fashionistas that we all know and love.

Unfortunately my camera gave up the ghost which meant that I could not shoot the shoes sent to me in the manner I had planned, so I apologise for the stock images, but it at least ensures that you actually see the collection.

View the boot-y!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Holy Macaroni, Look at These Shoes!

I'm just browsing the internet, hypothetically (mostly) spending money I don't have on things I probably don't need, and I came across these odd shoes from Schuh. They're £155 (eek)... and part of me thinks they're genius, but part of me (I think a larger part) thinks they're pretty hideous too.

They're slightly better in the other colours available, but I'm still not sold on them:

What do you think?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Megan Fox Copy Cat Shoes!?

I saw this picture of the stunning Megan Fox over on The Huffington Post, looking amazing after giving birth a short time ago. I instantly found myself looking at her feet, well her shoes, actually and admiring how lovely they were. So, I set off to find something similar, and these heels from Dorothy Perkins are what I found:

They're not identical, they're peep toe for a start, but I quite like the cooler toned nude shade, and I'm a sucker for any kind of sparkle which make these shoes ideal for me; taking just about enough inspiration from the Megan Fox heels to keep me satisfied.

Unfortunately stock is limited on the Dorothy Perkins website, with only 2 sizes available. However, I've seen these aplenty in stores I've been into lately, if you fancy getting yourself a pair; and frankly their delivery service and online customer service is shocking, so it's probably a blessing in disguise.

What do you think, ladies?

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

My Pre-Party Season Sale Picks From Dune!

I got an email, informing me of the Dune sale yesterday, which was like a red rag to a bull as I have no self control when it comes to spending. I actually need a lottery win as I've seen at least £10,000 worth of things I want to own, over a number of websites... and that is me being conservative with my online window shopping, as I have this fantastic ability to go onto a website, and see that minutes later, I have put over £1,000 worth of products in my basket. Madness.

Anyway, in a bid to save a bit of money (well, not really as I never actually save anything, I just buy more) I decided to treat myself to a few of the sale items in preparation for the (hopefully) many Christmas parties and nights out I'll be attending. So I'm showing you what I bought, and also linking to some of the items I didn't buy, even though I desperately wanted to.

You'll notice that there's a running theme with these shoes, that I only really noticed after sending my order, and that is that most of the shoes that have stolen my heart, are all full of sparkle and glitter - even the flat ones. What is wrong with me, and how much glitter and shit can I actually get away with at the age of 31 and up? Ha.

So without further ado, here's the booty info:

Dance-Tear Peep Platform Court, £38 - I actually bought these last year for about £90 after lusting after them for a couple of months before they were released. However when they arrived, they were faulty as they had been made too small and I ended up feeling like one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella trying on the glass slipper. They they just did not fit, and even if I could have shoehorned myself into them, there's no way I could have walked in them. I was gutted to find out that there were no replacements available, and thus I was given a refund whilst my heart slightly broke. So imagine my joy when I saw them available for this bargain price, needless to say, I snapped them up! I bought them in 2 sizes this year, just in case.  Unfortunately, there are only 5's and 6's available and I expect that stock is low*.

Macie Fold Up Sequin Ballerina, £16 - I bought these for that inevitable time in the night that I need to change from heels to flats (which these days is usually after about 10 minutes, once everybody has seen the pretty heels, as a gesture). I thought I might be able to fool people into thinking I still had the heels on, since they're quite similar in texture. Available in all sizes bar size 6*.

Octave D Round Toe Platform Court, £22 - I've wanted some nude-y shoes, purely because I just don't own that many pairs and with all the glitter, I felt I had to be a little bit more grown up with at least one of the pairs I bought. Plus, they're a total bargain! Available in all sizes, bar 2, 7 and 9*!

Mazzy Fold Up Glitter Ballerina, £16 - Another pair of shoes to try to disguise the fact that I've shrunk, and my legs are looking dumpier due to ditching the heels mid-evening. More glitter, but what would you expect by now?! Available in all sizes*.


And now here are just a few pairs of the shoes I also wanted to buy!

Babbington Platform Glitter Court Shoe, £64.

Dragonby Low Platfrom Peep Toe Court Shoe, £64.

BO Concealed Platform Glitter Court Shoe, £68 (shown here in Pewter, but I also had my eye on Champagne and Silver too).

And just as a final note, does anybody else think the shoes below look like they're fresh from the Wizard of Oz? I kind of want them too 'There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home' but I don't know why, it's probably because of the glitter. ;-)

Blaire Flared Heel Almond Toe Court Shoe, £42 (shown in Red Glitter).


*All stock levels correct at time of writing. However, if the ones you want do sell out in your size, then you could check over at John Lewis as they're price matching the sale items (seemingly not the cheaper, seemingly clearance items), so some of them are available over there too. x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Oliveira Lisboa Shoes - Perfect Holiday Shoes!

What girl doesn't love a good pair of shoes? I know I do! I've got a fair amount of shoes to my name - although I have to say, I do spend most of my spare (and not so spare) money on beauty products, so my collection isn't as large as I'd like it to be - yet! ;-)

I have to admit, I love a bit of animal print, and these fabulous shoes from Oliveira totally satisfy my animal desires, without going over the top. The mixture of the animal print with the bronze-y brown works perfectly and would flatter any skintone, in my opinion.

I also think that these are perfect for taking on holiday, firstly because I think they'd look even more amazing against tanned skin (don't forget your SPF though, girls), but also as they're quite lightweight, and wouldn't take up lots of your precious suitcase space.

The design of the shoe is quite different from most shoes I've worn in recent times; mostly due to the quirky toe post, that is one of Maria Oliveira's signature design features in her shoe collection - and I think it works very well with the design as a whole. I was fully expecting the toe post to rub, like between the toe flip-flops have done to me in the past, but actually it's been perfectly fine, and dare I say... comfortable.

Comfort has to be a factor when I wear a shoe these days (unless I know I won't be stood/walking much, in which case, bring it on), and these shoes have proven to be very comfortable indeed. I think the slightly cushioned soles help a great deal, but I also think that the heels are just the right height to look good, whilst still allowing me to be able to walk in them.

All in all, I'm very happy with these shoes, and am just willing on the warmer weather so that I can make more use out of them.

I should also mention that Oliveira shoes come in an amazing plastic shoebox that has a draw in it, so that the shoes inside are accessible even when stacked up - I love this, and would happily transfer my whole shoe collection into these boxes. You can actually buy the boxes separately for £5 each - which seems like a lot if you own a lot of shoes, but if your shoes are worth more, then it's a no brainer to keep them safe (and make your life easier)!

You can buy the Lisboa shoes from oliveira.uk.com for £70 with free delivery.

What do you think my lovelies?


PR Sample - Views are my own!

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Asos Order - Done!

I've been 'window shopping' for bags for a while on Asos, putting items into my basket and then not being able to choose which ones I should buy, and in which colour. So when I got to my bare minimum in terms of the styles I really loved the look of, I decided not to choose which colour, and instead ordered them all. My thinking being that I can send back any that don't grab me so much in the flesh (that's the theory, I might actually like them all - eek!) and then at least I've made some progress.

My items!

• Asos Twist Lock Satchels in Mink and Tan - £42 each!
• Asos Twist Lock Satchel in Chocolate - £35 (showing as sold out now though)!
• Paul & Joe Nail Enamel Trio - £8.75 (total bargain)!
• Nica Alicia Satchel, Black - £30!
• Rocketdog Boots - £28 each!
• River Island Superskinny Jeans (still can't believe I'm buying 'super skinny' anything, hope they fit, ha) £27!
• Firetrap Wysteria Boots in Grey Suedette - £40!

www.asos.com

I'm still waiting for the majority of my order to arrive, just one bag arrived so far with a broken clasp, so that is bring replaced. What do you think of the items I've bought?

My Fab New Shoes!!

Not strictly a beauty post (I hope you don't mind, in fact please do let me know if you'd like to see more 'other' posts like this) but these shoes, in my view, are beautiful. When I saw them, I just knew they had to be mine, and so they were!

I can never say 'new shows' without thinking about my (unintentionally) hilarious mum getting tongue tied when asking somebody if their 'new foos shit them' - she's never lived that one down!

I thought I should actually take a quick snap of the shoes 'on' - as you can see, it is only a very quick snap but I hope it shows you how lovely they are. Sorry for the weird leg shot/angle below - I just couldn't get my foot/camera placing at a decent angle.

They were a complete bargain at £13.99 in TK Maxx, and worth every penny; I've actually just ordered some more online to give as a gift too (although they were more like £23, but still worth it).

Do you like them ladies?