Top - Topshop (old)
Skirt - Boohoo (I think! Via Next2Nowt)
Belt - Matalan
Shoes - Daisystreet
Necklaces - F21 / Miss Selfridge
Rings - H&M


   It's time I start to do this more often I think! Sometimes I find myself too caught up in blogger trends (ahem, the shoes...) and forget about older purchases and things I haven't even worn before. I've had the skirt for about 8 months now and I haven't worn it out (it's one of those things I try on when I'm planning an outfit and feel 'hmmm' about). It's kind of a high-low style, these photos don't really show it well! It was just £6 and it's really versatile, so I'm vowing to wear it more in the future.

   The top is extremely old, it's something that I wore a lot the first month or so that I bought it, but then I just stopped wearing. Luckily it's not something to ever be 'out-of-fashion' as such, so hopefully I can now keep wearing it until it falls apart!

   I'm actually really into the Olympics this time around. I'm not sporty at all these days, but I have nothing else to do at the moment due to lack of money and a serious lack of motivation to start thinking about my dissertation. It's really growing on me, from rowing to basketball! I guess there's something special about it being in Britain too. Are any of you feeling the same way?
   I love finding ways to save money and sharing them, but it had never crossed my mind to compile a list of my favourite money-saving fashion sites until I was contacted about Fashion Voucher's competition. It's such a great idea as so many of us readily share our favourite fashion brands, but canny fashion bargain-finding tools seem a little harder to come across on the web. 

   So, this list isn't just about fashion retailers. I also wanted to share with you some pretty snazzy websites that sniff out the bargains for you. This means less hassle for us! But more importantly you still get the brand names, styles and current trends many of us hanker after, but these tools will help your precious cash go further.
 

   I was really surprised when I discovered last year that Oxfam sell second hand clothes, shoes and accessories online. It'd never crossed my mind that a charity shop would sell it's goods online, but it's actually pretty handy! It's a bit more expensive than shopping in your local charity shop, but it's easier to locate what you are looking for and they offer free delivery! You can search for all your favourite brands such as ASOS, Zara, Carvela.
 



   Everyone has heard of Amazon. But not everyone realises that Amazon sell clothing, shoes and accessories. Better than this though, many brands sell their clearance and sale items through Amazon - brands such as Religion, AX Paris, Republic and Vero Moda. Money Saving Expert have this clever little Amazon bargain finder tool that will help you find the best discounts on what you're looking for. It really is handy, give it a go! Here's the link to the Amazon fashion outlet - you'll spot a ton of steals!




 
    My Style Search is the most intelligent tool out of the bunch - it's kind of an online catalogue of fashion. You can search for an item, such as a dress, by neckline, fit and so on. How smart is that?! There's also a huge sale section and a dresses under £20 section. So you could potentially find your perfect dress at an incredible price! It's also a great if you lust after designer goods as well as high street and online retailers as the brands in the catalogue range from Miu Mui and YSL to ASOS and Matalan.



   I came across this site an couple of years ago now in a magazine and I think you'll find it extremely useful if you're a fan of sales like I am! Signing up is easy - you select the brands you want emails about, how frequently you want to receive them. What makes this website extra super is that you enter your size(s) so that you will only be told about products in the sale that are available in your size. Perfect! Again, you can select from designer or high street brands like Chloe and Miss Selfridge. Here are some of my top picks from my recent Shop It To Me emails.





   My number one website is a clear winner to me. Next 2 Nowt source 'famous name' brand items and sell them on for incredible prices. Topshop and Dorothy Perkins are just a couple of these brands.  Some of the items have been used (although still in very good condition) and this is detailed in the item's description. They also sell unbranded items for unbelievable prices - they literally have thousands of fashion goods!  The clearance section (here) has some ridiculously great deals. I've now used the site a couple of times and have been extremely impressed with the service and clothes I've received. Clothing in Topshop that I've loved but felt was overpriced have popped up on Next 2 Nowt at half the price! Go and check it out for yourself, it's such a good idea and has certainly saved me a lot of dosh to date!


   The blogging world has been (mostly) going crazy for disco pants for a while now, but recently it's become more clear that we're not all able or willing to fork out £70 for the real deal. There's been a sudden boom in disco pant dupes - I guess retailers finally realised just how popular a cheaper alternative would be! Online shops such as Glamorous, Very and Own the Runway have released their own, cheaper alternatives to American Apparel's highly sought after originals. I think the highstreet stores are yet to catch on. Unsurprisingly, these have been raved about all over the fashion blogging world. But I wanted to share with you guys a pair that I found that are pretty much half the cost of any of these disco pant dupes.

    Just prior to starting my blog I took it upon myself to trawl through ebay using a zillion potential keywords that would lead me to finding dupes. Everything other than the pair I'm about to share with you were just plain old shiny leggings - not what I was looking for! Finally, after many, many searches I came across these. For £14.99 I couldn't believe my eyes (which at this point were almost weeping with joy). Faster than... well... anything, I ordered them. I posted about them initially in this post here - but as you can see, that was ages ago! Better photos are definitely needed and now I have a bigger audience to share my bargain find with.


   I got a size S/M, I'm about a size 10, they fitted me perfectly! In all honesty, they're not identical. They're not as high rising, they're thinner, have small false pockets on the front and have belt loops... BUT from comments I've received on them, they are somewhat convincing - I've even had people think they were genuine American Apparel (-that surprised me!). £14.99 for any pair of trousers would be good regardless of them looking like disco pants! In all fairness, they're not the 'dupiest' disco pants and they're definitely not the best dupes around now, but if you want an even cheaper option I would really recommend them.

   I bought these probably 8 months ago now and they would still be as they were when I purchased them if I hadn't caught the stitching on one of the legs on something. That's my own clumsy fault... but honestly, I'm so surprised by the quality of them for the price. I also recently bought a similar pair from Daisystreet, which you can see me wearing here. They're more of a leathery look though, but are more accurate to the real disco pants in terms of the rise.

   I hope this has proved somewhat of an improvement upon my initial post sharing these disco pant dupes! Share any other dupes you found that I haven't included in this post as I know a lot of people will be keen to know (I'm bound to have missed a ton out as I'm not personally hunting them down anymore!).


   Ok, so I've come up with a bit of a concept. Seeing as these posts will probably become a bit more frequent I've decided that they need a name... and a concept! So, what I'm going to do is to choose a trend, set a budget and see what I can find. Anyone with a trend for me to hunt down at bargain prices, throw them at me (ok, not literally... just post a comment below or tweet me). 'Low Spend, on Trend' was the best name I could think of for these posts at this moment in time. I'm open to any other suggestions - but it's got to be somewhat catchy (and preferably more grammatically correct than my idea).

   Enough jabbering on! I love this whole spikes and studs trend and I love black, so I actually really like everything I've picked out here! My favourite find of this bunch is the shirt / blouse (I'd say shirt, but it's described as a blouse, advise me?!). If I had the money, I'd actually buy this right now! The shorts look good length - not hot pant risque-ness, a more (as the oldies would say) 'appropriate' length. I've seen lots of people wearing the Topshop Vectras now and as nice as I think they are, I rarely find pumps comfortable. I really like thes spiked loafer alternatives and I think they're cheaper than the Vectras (correct me if I'm wrong)! The jumper is ideal for our temperamental summers here in the UK. I usually layer, or at least take a jumper with me anywhere in the summer months just in case! Might seem a bit pessimistic, but let's not lie, there's probably more than a 50/50 chance it will rain!

Ps. I AM DISGRACED! I didn't realise that since renaming my blog word verification had been turned on?! Huge apologies - I know how annoying it is an I'm a faithful slagger-off of the darn thing! I hope it's now been removed! 

   I've used a few John Frieda products over the past few years, such as the Luxurious Volume Mousse and a couple of products from both the Sheer Blonde and their Frizz-Ease lines too. I've never been disappointed by their products. I've recently been trying out 3 products from their Full Repair line - the deep conditioner, perfect ends deep infusion and the style creator heat-activated styling spray. I was just as (if not more) impressed with these new products!

   The Full Repair range is ideal for my hair as it's made to nourish, repair and improve the look of coloured, chemically treated and damaged hair. All of the products in this line have inca inchi oil in them, but I didn't find any of the products weighed my hair down. The oil contains high levels of omega-3 (maybe that's why we're told putting egg on our hair is good?!) - it feels very different on my hair to my Moroccan oil, a lot more light weight, so probably better for daily use. I have been using all three products together and they work absolute wonders! My hair is so much more manageable when wet and dry, but my hair still has plenty of body to it.

 Full Repair Deep Conditioner* (£5.99 at Tesco)

   The deep conditioner wasn't overly conditioning, which for me is ideal. Sometimes I find products that are too nourishing can make my hair stretch and therefore break, especially when it's wet. I'd say it's light enough to use everyday if you have very dry hair.

Full Repair Perfect Ends Deep Infusion* (£6.99 at Tesco)

    I found that the deep infusion serum was particularly good at detangling my hair and making it feel smooth - it's the product out of the three that I would definitely go out and buy again. As you apply it when your hair is damp, prior to drying, it really helps combing through the hair as you dry it.

 Full Repair Heat Activated Styling Spray* (£5.99 at Tesco)

   The styling spray helps to retain the soft curls / waves that I put in my hair most days. It's handy that the spray contains heat protection too - it's like three or four products in one bottle! This is a brilliant product, it gives you smooth, shiny hair that is protected from heat and holds style well.

   In all I am really impressed with these products. I'll be picking up more of the deep infusion serum when I run out! I saw that Tesco are doing an offer for 3 John Frieda products for £10 at the moment - that's definitely worth checking out if you're interested in trying any of these products out yourself!

  


  You may see more posts like this on my blog over the next couple of months, I have far to much time on my hands and far too much of an obsession with finding (and buying) bargains! I won't be posting these daily, but maybe a couple of times a week. Let me know if you'd like me to try to find any trends / items / themes in particular for bargain prices.

   Anyhow, onto today's finds! There are so many bargains to be found on Daisystreet, but I've shared just two of my current favourites with you for now. They offer free delivery on everything by the way! The pineapple top has been reduced to £8.99 - I think it's really cute! Perfect for summer (let's pretend the weather is better than it is right now...!).

   Next up, a jumper. It looks so cosy and perfect for the actual weather at the moment! I love layering so I can imagine this looking great oversized. It's £9.99 - I can't believe that!

   I also came across this bralet. I don't think you'll ever catch me in one a) because I can't see them fitting me right and b) because I'm not confident enough... but this is £4.99, so I couldn't not share it with you all! You do have to pay for delivery from this website, but there are a ton of bargains to be found on that website, you just might have to sift through the less 'nice' bits!

   Finally, I absolutely love this Internacionale skirt, it's £9.99. I'm a sucker for studded clothing / shoes / anything! I think it would look brilliant for a night out, or dressed down with some tights and boots. They're currently offering £1 delivery and 20% off if you sign up to their newsletter. I actually managed to just order it as I've been writing this paragraph... oops!




Vest top - Urban Outfitters
Trousers - Daisystreet
Necklace - F21
Bodychain - Miss Selfridge
Boots - Doc Martens

  The cat top obsession continues. I popped onto the Urban Outfitters website last week and came across this. It was £14 then - darn UO, it's now £10! - and I managed to get free delivery as it was my first online purchase (using code: WUDF). Needless to say, I love it!

   The trousers are from DaisyStreet, they're out of stock at the moment unfortunately though [Edit: 18th July - they're now back in stock!) They fit pretty much exactly like disco pants, but the fabric has a more matte look - more leather like. They're a nice change from my disco pant dupes that were like £17 with delivery from ebay. Click here  to see a post about them (it's really old, so excuse the rubishness of it! I'm hoping to re-do it soon as I know people are on the hunt for cheaper versions of disco pants at the moment!).

   Still wearing my Docs in... will it ever end?! I need some reassurance! As much as I love them they don't half butcher my feet. I bought some woolly socks from Primark and they're helping me out a bit with blister prevention. My bag is from  TK Maxx, I really love it but it broke the second time I used it... so now I can only put minimal weight in it. I can't bring myself to throw it away so I'm holding onto it anyway! I'm trying to get plenty of wear out of my body chain. I've come to the conclusion that wearing it under my tops is much more convenient as I seem to get caught on everything when I wear it over my clothes!

   The weather was really stuffy today so I could get away with wearing just this. It would be nice if the sun came out though! Fingers crossed we get some sunshine on the weekend! 

   Hope you all have a great week!

Top - Primark
Leggings - H&M
Boots - Doc Martens
Necklace - Miss Selfridge

(Sorry the photos aren't brill. I did them when I got back from the cinema so I had to use flash... eeek! I just wanted to show that I have a lot of days where I choose clothes for comfort rather than for them being flattering or stylish!)

   I had such a nice day out today with my Dad. Since he's retired I've got to spend a lot more time with him, which is great - especially when he buys me lunch and takes me to the cinema! No, but honestly, it's lovely to spend time with my parents when I'm home. I think I'm a source of entertainment for them... still... at the age of 20!
 
   We saw The Amazing Spiderman and I really enjoyed it! I won't spoil it for anyone... but I found myself getting a bit emotional in parts (darn you hormones)! There seem to be a few films that appeal to me coming out over the next couple of months! Ideal for me seeing as I've not been able to get an internship or even any summer work for whilst I'm home. I guess that's one of the major downsides of living in the countryside.

   Anyhow, onto the outfit! I can't cope being constricted or uncomfortable in the cinema! I sit in the weirdest positions at the best of times, including the cinema, so I need to wear stretchy / loose clothing! I bought this top on Saturday for £3 in the sale in Primark from the men's section. You can't really see it in these photos, but it's got neon yellow and pink flecks in it. The length of it is great on me as it covers my bum in leggings. Definitely comfort over style!

   I had to say a hard goodbye to one of my favourite necklaces the other day when it decided to snap in half as I put it on. I actually only recently got into wearing / buying jewellery, so I don't really own that much. I decided that the necklace breaking was definitely a sign for me to go and buy some more!

   I've come to realise that on the high street it doesn't really matter whether you buy your jewellery - it all tends to have a relatively short life-span in terms of breaking or even being able to retain it's colour! I don't know if any of you have had similar experiences? I only really buy jewellery in sales or from ebay for this very reason.

   I went shopping in the torrential rain today and spotted some brilliant bits in the Miss Selfridge Diva jewellery sale. Everything was under £4 in my local store, I could have bought half the rack - but I managed to pick out 3 pieces, which all together cost me just £8! I worked out that I saved myself £18.50 - how good is that?!

   I got a body chain (reduced from £10 to £3), a long necklace with multi-coloured crosses and beads on it (£10 to £3) and also a short necklace with a hamsa symbol on it (I think that's what it's called! £6.50 to £2).


   Have you picked anything up in the sales recently? I love going through the sales racks when the shops aren't jam-packed. I'd love to know what you guys have picked up recently! Also, what's your favourite of my bargain buys? I think mine is the hamsa necklace - I'm quite into short chained necklaces at the moment! By the way - after just checking the Miss Selfridge website the items I got in store were actually cheaper than the prices online, so it will probably work out cheaper to buy in store!
   On my last post I got some lovely comments about my hair and I realised that I haven't yet blogged about my hair care routine! As most of you will know, I really only buy things that I can afford with my student budget (although, I'll admit on occasion I'll treat myself to a designer brand product!). These 6 products are the only things I use to look after my hair - I've found these all to be great products that I've used for at least the past year.


   I thought I'd just point out to start off this post that I wash my hair about 3 times a week on average. I find this is all my hair needs and there's no point putting my poor, bleached hair through any more exposure to heat / chemicals than it needs! I also never use straighteners on my hair unless I need to. This helps the ends to stay in relatively good condition, as I'm a bit hairdresser-phobic and very rarely get my hair cut... tut tut.. I know!

   Of course, the first two products are a shampoo and conditioner. I've used Tresseme Colour Fade Protection (renamed to Colour Revitalising?!) for probably around 4 years now - I find it conditions my bleached hair just the right amount so that it's not straw-like but not stretchy either (if you know what I mean?!). The 900ml bottles last forever! I think my last lot took me over 6 months to get through! I normally buy these in when they're on offer, but they're only £4.69 each at Tesco without any offer, pretty darn amazing for more than half a years worth of product! 


   I also mix in a small amount of the Pro:Voke Touch of Silver Twice a Week Brightening Shampoo (phew!) when I shampoo my hair. Probably twice a fortnight I'll shampoo with just this to reduce brassiness. They sell this for £2.50 at my local Factory Shop, but I used to buy it on Amazon for a similar price. It lasts me about 3 or 4 months.

   Onto post-wash care. I guess the most important thing for anyone these days is heat protection spray. I've used Tresseme Heat Defence Spray for about 2 years now - this is the bottle I bought two years ago and it's still going despite using about 4 sprays each time I wash my hair. I still have about a third of the bottle left! I use it when my hair is damp. It's suitable for use with GHDs as it protects against heat up to 230 degrees (I've found this important to check if you use high heat straighteners / curlers, as some only protect up to 180 degrees etc). This retails at £4.69 (300ml) at Tesco and Superdrug.


   I also use this Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Spray. It's not the best leave in conditioning spray I've come across, but it's still a great product. It does make my hair more manageable. It's also lasted me a long time, after a years use I have a third still left. I spritz 4 pumps of this into my hair after using the Heat Defence Spray. This retails at £4.49 (250ml) at Superdrug.

   Finally, I use Moroccan oil on the lengths and ends of my hair about once or twice a week max. I apply a couple of drops after using the sprays, then I'll leave my hair to dry off in a towel for half an hour or so before finishing it off with a hairdryer. As you can tell, it's a bit of a messy product, but it works a dream! You'll also notice it's not the real deal, well, not the 'real' Moroccan Oil brand! I spotted this in T K Maxx for £9.99 (120ml) - saving a bucket load on the branded oil! It's by Monica Olsen and I'd really recommend it. I've seen a few other lesser known brands' versions of Moroccan oil in TK Maxx too, so before you fork out on the real deal have a look in there to see if you can find any bargains. This has lasted me probably nearly two years now too and I have more than half left.

   Well, this has turned into a rather long post... I hope it's not too overwhelming! If you have any other questions about any of the products or anything else to do with my hair feel free to contact me here or on twitter (@RobynMayday), I'll be more than happy to answer!



Shirt - H&M
Dress - Glamorous (at House of Fraser)
Shoes - Converse
Bracelet and ring - eBay

    I've been longing for a Glamorous dress ever since I clicked my way to their website a few months ago and discovered their gorgeous range. The unique designs, cute prints and colours of their garments has caused me to call upon all my will power not to click the 'checkout' button all too many times... so when I came across one of their dresses in the sales yesterday for £16 I wasn't going to miss out on it!

   I went sales shopping in Exeter, which was actually shamefully unsuccessful until I popped into House of Fraser. The brands they stock seem to be ever-changing, so I headed in for a peek. To my delight there were several new brands stocked in the branch, including Vero Moda (Alexa Chung makes me want to buy everything I've seen her in their ads!) and Glamorous (- dresses and skirts muddled into racks of TNFC dresses and the like!). 

   The dress I picked up wasn't really 'me' as such. It's very girly and well cut - things I seem to avoid! But as I've been on the hunt for a dress with the cut-out-side feature at a reasonable price for weeks now, I thought I may as well try it on - at £16 (was £32) and the last in my size it was all too perfect! The fit was just right and it seemed appropriate for wearing as a day dress or going out in too. Needless to say I bought it! Trying it on again today for these photos I'm growing to like the print more and I've noticed how it disguises my belly (probably the result of indulging in too much ice-cream and food in general on holiday...) perfectly due to the clever cut. 

    I haven't been able to find it on the Glamorous website, but they still have sizes 8-14 in stock (although very limited) on the House of Fraser website! There's tons more Glamorous items in the sale too for amazing prices.

   A quick note to say thanks again to my guest bloggers and thank you all for your comments! I had a great holiday - I assure you I did go... my lack of tan is a result of my deathly pale skin and cautious application of plenty of high factor sun cream!

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