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Showing posts with label competition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label competition. Show all posts

19.2.13

My Week In Pictures #1

Hi Guys,

Tonight's post comes from a tired place. Sickness has taken hold of the Truly Polished family. My son has been ill for about a week and the last two days he's been chesty and coughing. And now it's my boyfriend's turn! Luckily I haven't caught it... Yet. I say yet because if you've been a long-term reader of my blog then you'll know I'm pretty much ill all the time! 

Anyway, I have a new feature to introduce today. It's been something I've been considering for quite some time so tonight is the night...



My Week In Pictures is my idea to keep my blog up to date with photos. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably have seen these already, but I know there are a lot of people who just read my blog, so I don't want people to miss out! I post so many photos to Instagram and it will be nice to share them here too.

This won't be a weekly thing, more of an "I've had an interesting week" kind of thing!

So here goes!

Valentine's Day, my boyfriend always knows the best cards to get me!
I loved this!
Some of my stash pre-organising
During the organising...
I CAN'T WAIT TO GET WOOD FLOORING!
GOODBYE TERRIBLE CARPET!
And then I found 5 more in my makeup bag...
And bought another 7...
Trying to eat healthily and get my Five A Day!
I got a lightbox, more of that soon
New Barry M textured polishes! 
Taping off areas to paint grass on my son's wall
After painting, we still have a couple of walls to do
Yesterday found out I won £250 to spend at ASOS in the eShores
Global Style Blogger Challenge, yay!
You can read my post here...

So that's that! My week in pictures! Let me know in the comments section or by email - trulypolishedblog@gmail.com - what you think of the new feature.

I'm hoping to get some swatching to do over the next two days because we're going away on Friday. I was dying for a holiday, but since my boyfriend got home, I have been having too much fun getting things done in the house. So instead of going abroad for a week or more, we're having a mini-break in Wales instead. We've rented a cottage for four days in Pembrokeshire. It's in a little complex of ten with an indoor pool and a soft play area for the kids. Sounds perfect for a change of scenery if nothing else. And we're going to stop in and see my boyfriend's sister in Swansea on the way home. It's over a seven hour drive but I just want a little break! 

See you in a couple of days! Don't forget you can see a lot more of what I'm up to on Instagram, find me at @truly_polished!

29.1.13

VALENCIA... Global Style Blogger Challenge

Hi Guys,

I was recently contacted on behalf of eShores to ask if I wanted to enter a style competition to win £250 of ASOS vouchers. As you all probably know, I love a good style competition, and this one has a twist. You can read more about it here.

The clincher for me was that you had to pick a stylish city that you love shopping in...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but I used to live in Spain. In fact, this year marks ten years since my family moved there. July 2003-September 2008, five years, and most of my teens (nearly 13-just turned 18). I loved it, learned a different language, had my own transport (a moped - Peugeot Speedfight 2 Silversport!) and became who I am today!

So, without further ado, let me present my style capital...




Valencia has the amazing Fallas festival in March, holds the Formula 1 in the summer, the Moto GP in the Autumn, and countless festivals in between. It has a great beach and so much going for it!

Most of all, Valencia was the city that taught me to shop!


I had a 30-40 stop in the city every morning and evening between trains to/from school and I used to love popping over the road to have an early morning browse! 

So... What do I love about shopping in Valencia? There is something for everyone! And I mean everyone! It doesn't matter about your budget or taste, you'll find something for you.


Before I go onto the main part of this post, here is my outfit! 


I've kept it simple. The colour scheme is my favourite kind of neutral, grey, with metallic hints of silver and champagne to take it from daytime to evening. It can be really sunny even in the winter there, so I made sure to pick out some sunglasses. As far as the dress goes, you could get away with no tights on a nice day, even in January, but on a cooler day I would add over the knee black socks, or black opaque tights. The bag is the perfect size to fit in a few small shopping items, and all my usual essentials, plus a bottle of water to stay hydrated for my whole day shopping!


Underneath the picture you will find links to each item. Fortunately, some of the items are available in the UK!



(Some prices in £GBP because they are available to buy online in the UK) 




Click "Read More" to read the details of this post, it's pretty long!

29.11.12

A big day and a little thank you to a fellow blogger!

Hi Everybody,

I hope you're having a good week so far. Today has been a pretty exciting day for me! It's my Mum's birthday, my boyfriend's step-sister had a baby girl this morning, my friend announced she's expecting baby number two, and I arranged for two sets of people to come and view my house. As I mentioned, we're moving soon, so the house we are renting needs new tenants. The sooner we get new people in, the less months of rent we have to pay because we're tied in until March! Fingers crossed the viewings go well, tomorrow I'll be frantically cleaning and tidying to make the house look as attractive as possible! 

Tonight I thought I'd do a bit of showing off, not bad showing off, but the good kind. I recently won a giveaway over at Confessions of a Small Town Girl. I never win anything, so to have my entry picked from over 600 was amazing. The funny thing is, Charlotte won my 30 follower giveaway a few months ago, our blogs love each other! 

I am amazed by Charlotte's generosity for her Autumn Pamper giveaway, it's things like this that make me love being a part of the blogging community.

Here is what I won, she put it all in the most beautiful box and included a card!

All packaged up so well!

Beautiful Prizes!
Included in this package was:

A card
A book
Perfume samples
Beauty Samples
Hair product samples
Full sized hair products
Kleenex blotting tissues
Body lotion
Face packs
Concealer
Lip gloss
Eye shadows
Nail polish (w7)
Tinted moisuriser
Rings

Isn't she lovely for giving all this away?! Thank you Charlotte for being so generous with your prizes, I love everything! I'm trying to think of what I can store in this pretty box, it's too nice for me to give away!

I started the book the day I got the package and it was perfect for me. I love this kind of "holiday read" because it's not hard to get through and this one was a real page turner, I was up until 3am reading it and finished it on Saturday night!

The main reason I did this post was to show you what you can expect to see on here over the next few weeks, as I'll be reviewing some of these products as I use them!

See you tomorrow! In the mean time, why not head over to Charlotte's blog and show her some love!

27.11.12

What's Your #partypose?

Hi Guys,

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I had a nightmare of a Sunday evening, my son turned into a crazy person and wouldn't sleep, so I caught up with the lost hours with an early night yesterday!

Recently I've seen a couple of my favourite bloggers doing these posts, and I couldn't help myself, I just LOVE virtual shopping. Boohoo is one of my favourite online stores, I shop there all the time. Their clothes are affordable and really good quality! You can check out their clothes here, the new range is so gorgeous!

You can read all about this competition here but in a nutshell, if you're a blogger and you can create the perfect party look for under £100, you could be in with a chance of winning £100, and £250 for one lucky reader!

I've gone for a really classic glam look, perfect for the party season! I'm so in love with the dress I picked, it would be so perfect for New Years' Eve. I'm writing this post at 11.30 and since I started, it has gone out of stock, but I'm really hoping it will come back in. I'd love to buy it! Thats the problem with these blogger competitions, I always end up buying things (like the playsuit in this challenge)!

Here goes, all the details and links will be under the photo!


































How did you like my outfit? I wanted to make it as complete as possible by adding the makeup and nail polish. I think this is absolutely perfect!

I can't believe that my dress has sold out in the last half an hour! I literally decided to do this post an hour ago, found everything, put the image together, and just when I was doing the links underneath, it said the dress was out of stock, outrageous! I really hope it comes back in stock, I can really imagine myself wearing it! And for £25 it's such a bargain, I'll be checking the website every five minutes, they're bound to have it in stock again before New Year.

The winner is drawn on the 14th of December, so fingers crossed, and one of you lovelies could win too!


If you're a blogger, head on over to the competition link I posted earlier, and then check out the Boohoo site to create your outfit.

26.9.12

Passion For Fashion Competition!

Hi Guys, 

Sorry I didn't post last night. I had planned to post my competition entry last night but it took me a lot longer than expected, we're talking over four hours probably, so I decided to prepare it over two nights and post it tonight. 

I was invited to enter this competition by MoneySupermarket, and it's probably the competition I've been most excited about! You can find out everything here but the basic premise is that you must put together five outfits: Party, Casual, Outdoor, First Date, and Office Wear. All outfits must be under £200, and you can mix and match brands and stores. This is so up my street! I got the email invite ages ago but I've been so busy, the competition ends tomorrow night (Wednesday) at midnight so this is very last minute!

Here are my outfits. I've tied in each theme with a trend for Autumn/Winter 2012 that I think goes well with it.

Each piece is numbered and you'll find corresponding links underneath to take you to each item!


Total: £181.98




Total: £192.99




Total: £194.41




Total: £184.50




Total: £149.97


I hope you liked my entry! Don't forget if you're a blogger and you want to enter, you have until Midnight on Wednesday 26th September! Very last minute but worth it. The overall winner will win £1000 and The New iPad (iPad 3) and there will also be one winner for each category who will win £200, the perfect amount to buy their winning outfit! 

I've enjoyed putting together these looks so much, so fingers crossed one of them is good enough! 

See you on Thursday!

24.8.12

House of Fraser Blogger Style Challenge


Hi Everyone,

Another fashion post from me today! A couple of weeks ago, the lovely people of House of Fraser invited me to enter their latest blogger challenge. I LOVE these competitions and jumped at the chance to create a look and enter to win a £200 voucher. 

House of Fraser is one of those shops that has something for everybody, and every time I go in there I see plenty of things I want to buy. What I love about it is that it makes higher end products more accessible to those of us who don't live in areas where we don't have little designer boutiques! 

Every time I walk in there it reminds me of my teenage days living in Spain when I'd rush to El Corte Ingles in between trains to and from school to have a look! I feel so grown up now I can go in there and buy things! The makeup range is amazing and the clothes are to die for!

I've seen a few of these posts about and a lot of people seem to be going for a very "fashion" theme, or something they can wear during the day and then out to a bar etc, so I thought I'd do a different and more personal take on this! 

I'm a mum of one, and my son is at the very naughty stage at ten and a half months old, so when it comes to my outfits, I like simple pieces that I can mix and match without too much hassle, so that's what I'm showing you! This outfit is something I'd wear day to day, at home, at playgroup, to go shopping... Pretty much everything I buy is like this, so you can get a real insight into my personal style!







I hope you liked my picks! My favourite items are the boots: shearling and leather is one of my favourite winter trends, and the nail polish: I love to add a bit of glitter to a plainer outfit to add a special something. Chunky knits are always a winter staple for me, I think this Tommy Hilfiger one is amazing! Pieces that have a rock look are a winner for me so that's why I went for a skull theme with the earrings and t-shirt and paired them with the jeggings. The bag is ideal for me. I love the hobo style, and the oversize bag is perfect for me to fit in my essentials as well as all of my baby paraphernalia!

Let's not forget the watch! Rose gold is becoming so fashionable! I've loved it ever since I first saw it in the middle east in the 90s as a child, so I'm really pleased it's becoming so easy to get hold of now. I have a gorgeous watch that I got as a graduation present, but if I didn't have that, I'd LOVE one of these Marc by Marc Jacobs ones. I love the combination of the grey ceramic against the rose gold, it's an instant classic! 

Thank you so much to House of Fraser for the opportunity to enter! And don't forget if you're a blogger, you can enter this competition too, find out more here.

Let me know what you think of my look!

4.8.12

How To: Save Money Online This Summer!

Hi Everybody!

We've finally reached the end of the week and I couldn't be happier! I caught my son's cold, so I've just been achy and gross all day. The good news is that from Sunday I'll have it a bit easier, my boyfriend will be back (he's been working away for eight weeks) and I won't have to look after Caleb on my own  at last!

Today I have another "How To" post for you. As a mother of a young child (milk and nappies cost WAY more than they should) I'm always looking to save money when it comes to myself. I'm a typical girly girl, I love clothes, makeup and everything that comes with it, so I don't want to cut back on shopping but I do want to buy everything in sight cut back on the cost! Online shopping is a great way to do this, and seeing as I don't drive, it's a great way for me to get everything I want without moving a muscle!



So here are my top 5 websites to help you save money on fashion this summer!

1. eBay

 I LOVE eBay, it's come a long way from people getting rid of their junk and it's no secret that I check there first for whatever I need before I check specific shops. What's really interesting is that big brands and stores are realising the potential of the site and are setting up shops on there, you can find Karen Millen, House of Fraser, Levi and Superdry with up to 70% discount. It's well worth having a look.

Fun Fact: I'm going to be maid of honour at my friends wedding next week and my dress is from eBay. It was brand new, in the bag, with tags on from a big store and it was reduced from well over £100 to under £40! It's a beautiful dress, you might even get to see it in a future post!

2. Voucher Code Sites:

The recession has hit the country hard, and this means that voucher code sites have become increasingly popular. FashionVouchers.com is one of the ones I use a lot, and it has a great layout where you can search for the brand you want codes for. VoucherCodes.co.uk is another one of my favourites (not least because ASOS codes are really easy to find on there!)

Fun Fact: My Mum signed me up for the emails from Martin Lewis at moneysavingexpert.com and they come in really handy. They send voucher codes and offers to my email inbox, and they also tell you if there are good magazine freebies to look out for!

3. ASOS:

ASOS is 100% my favourite online store of all time. If I had to choose one store to get all my clothes on for the rest of my life, it would be ASOS. My favourite thing about this site is the sale/clearance section. It's amazing, items start from £1.50, shoes start at £4, tops from £4.50 and dresses from £6... And they also have a designer outlet! What's not to love! I've bought so much of my summer wardrobe from ASOS this year and I've saved so much money! What's more, they offer free international delivery! There's nothing I hate more than buying a lot of clothes and then getting slapped with a £5 delivery charge! 

Fun Fact: ASOS offer a one off payment of £14.95/year for unlimited next day delivery. So if you're impatient (like me) you can save money rather than paying £5.95 every time you want your order the next day!

4. Boohoo:

I love Boohoo, it's a store I've been shopping in for a few years now and it never disappoints me. Their summer range this year has been amazing and the prices are too! They have a sale on right now and you can get pretty summer dresses for as low as £5 but even full price they don't break the bank. The average price for dresses on there ranges from around £18-25 which is a total bargain!

Fun Fact: I have never paid full price/delivery costs at Boohoo. Look out for discount codes and you're bound to save a couple of pounds!


This is definitely aimed at the more high-end consumer, you won't find dresses for £10 on here! I am in love with the Outnet and spend many an afternoon browsing on there, imagining myself in Marchesa and Herve Leger dresses! They sell designer clothes with HUGE reductions. You can save a lot of money on here, they have items with up to 80% off. Some of it isn't cheap, but you can find some things for as low as £25, so don't be put off, there are some designer bargains to be had!

Fun Fact: I'm not even engaged, but there's a certain Marchesa dress that I can definitely see myself walking down the aisle in!

Don't think I've forgotten that this is blog that revolves around the nail world! Just before I go, here are my favourite sites to save money on beauty products! 

Cosmetics Fairy: This site has nail polish from 35p a bottle, you can find old, discontinued polishes, Bourjois polish from 99p, it's amazing. I've bought from here a lot before, if you want to get a variety of nail polishes and you don't want to spend a lot, then this is a great site to try.

Cheapsmells: My Auntie got me into this site in 2009 and I've made quite a few orders. They sell discounted cosmetics and perfumes and skincare products. This site is really good when it comes to makeup, I've ordered a lot of Stila bits and pieces, they also do Benefit, Urban Decay, OPI, Essie, MAC (at times), Chanel, Dior, the list goes on. You will always make a saving against the RRP so it's well worth having a look, you might find something you never even knew you wanted!!!

I hope this little post helps you save a little bit of money this summer! Let me know if you get anything nice from any of the sites I mentioned...

Most of all, have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday!


*Disclosure. I was invited to write this post by FashionVouchers.com. My decision to include them in this post was down to the fact I love their site, and it will not affect my chance of winning. All opinions stated are 100% my own as always!

7.6.12

Giveaway Polishes!

Hi guys,

I've had such a busy day today, we had to go and get my son a new car seat, and I had to change a couple of tops, so of course that turned into a full shopping session! We went to IKEA as well, which takes a day in itself!

I announced my 30 follower giveaway yesterday and promised I'd have swatches of the polishes up tonight, so here they are! 

Catherine Arley 673

Catherine Arley 805
Hedys Ma.Nish.Ma Blaster and Way Out Fucsia
My full mani of these polishes

The holos are Catherine Arley 673 and 805. 673 is a gorgeous grape purple with a scattered holo effect and 805 is a black with scattered holo. The holo effect in these is very similar to in A England polishes, where sometimes it looks almost linear. The formula on both was really smooth, I used two coats for the black and three for the purple. 

The glass fleck polishes are Hedys Ma.Nish.Ma Blaster and Way Out Fuscia (their spelling, not mine...). Blaster is a purple/blue duochrome and Way Out Fuscia is a pink polish with a shift to blue, with orange at extreme angles. My photos show one coat of each layered over black. My index and ring fingers show Blaster, and I have Way Out Fuscia on my middle and little fingers. My thumb shows half and half.

I decided yesterday that seeing as I layered these polishes, that the prize would be incomplete without a black. So I will be adding a black to the prize! 

These means that the winner of this giveaway will win all four of the polishes shown above, with a black creme as well. It's worth mentioning that the polishes I swatched are my own, you'll be winning new, unused polishes!

It's definitely worth joining to win this prize! As I mentioned yesterday the draw will be on Sunday 10th June at 12pm GMT.