St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night

If you are looking for something to distract you from the awful weather, then St David's Cardiff Ladies' Night might be just the retail therapy you are looking for. 

From 6.30pm until 9pm this Thursday, St David’s is inviting shoppers to step into a world of fashion and beauty treats, and is offering up to 20% off throughout the centre!

Over 60 of the centre’s shops, from the flagship stores of Debenhams and John Lewis, to brands like Kurt Geiger, Reiss, Oasis, Warehouse and New Look will be offering discounts and freebies on the night. Many stores will also be offering extra treats such as style advice, in-store entertainment and giveaways. You can find a full list of the discounts here.

And if you work up an appetite while you are shopping, you can take advantage of a range of discounts in the Eastside food quarter, e.g 40% off at Yo! Sushi.

Here are just some of the events running on the night:

The Hayes Big Red Beauty Bus (6.30pm – 9pm)

On The Hayes, the Big Red Beauty Bus will be offering makeovers.

Debenhams Talk Beauty Event (6.30 - 9pm)

10% off all of the beauty brands in store and lots of treats and makeovers for shoppers too.

Kamigata Beauty Pod (6.30pm – 9pm)

Kamigata will be on hand all evening offering relaxing hand and arm massages, head massages, hairstyling, mini manicures, stress fix rituals and goody bags.

John Lewis Holiday Glamour Beauty Event (6pm - 10pm)

Visit the Beauty Hall on the ground floor for a makeover, gift bag and refreshments. Tickets cost £5 (redeemable on the night against any beauty purchase). To purchase tickets visit the beauty department or call 02920 536000.

To take advantage of the offers on the night, you can pre-register here, or you can visit one of the VIP Registration Desks on the evening. Happy shopping!

St. David's Cardiff Ladies Night

This Thursday sees St. David's Cardiff shopping centre holding its first ever 'Ladies Night'. Over 80 of the centre's store, from Reiss to Warehouse, will be offering discounts of up to 20%. There will also be entertainment and nibbles, to add to your shopping experience.

Here are just some of the discounts on offer:

Warehouse - 20%

Gap - 15%

Monsoon - 10%

H & M - 10%

Reiss - 10%

L. K. Bennett - 20%

Dune - 20%

In addition to the discounts on offer, you will also get the opportunity to be pampered by the hair and beauty experts from Kamigata Aveda Salon & Spa at their pamper station. You should also keep a look out for the Big Red Beauty Bus on The Hayes (sounds like my kind of public transport!), which will be offering makeovers.

If you are stuck for Spring/Summer styling ideas, then why not check out the John Lewis Fashion Showcases, taking place at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm.

As part of the event, John Lewis will also be holding their seasonal Beauty Event, but this time until 10pm, giving you an extra 2 hours of beauty loveliness. I really enjoy these events, as they are a great opportunity to ask the advice of a number of beauty experts, all whilst sipping on champagne and nibbling on canapes! I always find the staff are really helpful, but never give you the hard sell. This time around, the store will also be turning its Espresso Bar into a Cocktail Bar. I wonder if Espresso Martinis are on the menu?

If you work up an appetite shopping, then you can pay a visit to one of the restaurants in the 'Eastside' restaurant quarter. e.g. Pizza Express are offering 20% off, and Yo Sushi! are offering a 40% discount.

You can find further details on the St. David's Cardiff website or Facebook page

I'm dreaming of a John Lewis Christmas

A whole Winter wonderland wardrobe; tables festooned with Christmas decorations; apple crumble cocktails served in vintage-look jam jars, and lots of gorgeous beauty exclusives from Nars and Origins. What a lovely way to spend a Wednesday night.

On Wednesday I was invited to the John Lewis Cardiff Press Event which was held in 'Peppermint', just down the road from the store. The team from John Lewis had transformed the upstairs of the venue into my idea of a perfect Christmas: lots of stylish party looks; fabulous accessories; quirky Christmas decorations, and oodles of beauty loveliness. Oh, and not to mention the 'Pick and Mix your own Christmas' stand, where we were invited to choose whatever we wanted: a selection of Christmas decorations; chocolates; candy canes, and candles, to name just a few of the items.

The womenswear team had chosen a great selection of pieces from a range of the brands stocked instore, including Kurt Geiger; Warehouse; Bertie and REISS. I was particularly drawn to this gorgeous pair of shoes from Kurt Geiger, and these jumpers from Warehouse, which are perhaps a more stylish alternative to the usual 'Christmas Jumper' concept.

When it comes to Christmas decorations, John Lewis are offering three looks: 'Jazz' ("vibrant brights and lights"); 'Pearl White' ("winter white with sparkling frost"), and 'Established' ("a traditional Christmas"). My favourite was the 'Jazz' collection, which was really colourful and had a retro feel to it. Anyone for a cocktail?

On the beauty front, Jodie from Origins and Guy from Nars were there to show what their brands are offering this season. My particular favourites were the limited edition 'Famous Favourites' set from Origins; the Nars 'Arabian Nights' trio eye-shadow, and the Nars Votive Set.

My eye was also caught by a giant bottle of Guerlain's new release, Shalimar Parfum Initial. I have been wanting to try this ever since I watched BBC4's 'Perfume' documentary. Apparently I'm not the only person who is enthusiastic about this new release, as at the moment it's the store's sixth biggest selling fragrance. I'll write another post about it to let you know more of my thoughts about the fragrance.

I really enjoyed the event, and it has firmly put me in the Christmas (and wishlist-compiling!) frame of mind:

• Origins 'Famous Favourites' Limited Edition set
• Nars 'Arabian Nights' Limited Edition Trio Eyeshadow
• Nars Votive Set
• Warehouse 'Christmas Jumper'
• Origins 'Incredible Spreadable' Ginger Body Smoother

......... and that's just for starters!

Whistles 'Carrie' Red Pleated Midi Skirt v Warehouse Red Pleated Maxi Skirt

If you read my last post (for which I thank you!), or follow me on Twitter, then you will know that I have a lot of love for all things 'Whistles', when it comes to my wardrobe. My first 'Whistles Want' of the year was the gorgeous Carrie skirt which was a hit with style bloggers everywhere. However it was 'slightly' out of my budget, so had to stay firmly on my 'Whistles Wishlist'. This season, 'Whistles' released the skirt in three new colourways: burgundy; coral and leopard print *swoons* . 

Whistles Carrie Red Pleated Skirt

Whilst the new releases only made me want this skirt more, my budget sadly remained the same, so I was determined to find a substitute at a more budget-friendly price. That's where Warehouse stepped in with it's vibrant red pleated maxi skirt, which retails at £60. However, before I got a chance to pop instore to try it on, I saw 'Bargainista Fashionista' s ASOS Sale Picks on Facebook, which included the object of my desire. ASOS had very kindly reduced the price to £36, and by using the sale discount code, I managed to nab the skirt for £32.40! I am even more pleased about this given that the item is still full price on the Warehouse website!

I only placed my order on Friday, so haven't actually taken delivery of the skirt yet. Whilst there are differences between the skirts, e.g. the Warehouse skirt looks longer than the Whistles one, I have a feeling that this will more than satisfy my desire for some crimson floaty loveliness. I think that it will be really versatile, and perfect for taking on holiday to Italy with me in a fortnight. In the day I can wear this with a simple top and some flats for sightseeing, and then in the evening I can add a pair of heels and some accessories for a different look. It will also be perfect as the Autumn chill sets in, as I can pair it with some tights underneath. This season, jewel colours were seen everywhere, and I think this will be the perfect way to bring some colour to my Autumn/Winter '11 wardrobe.

All things bright and beautiful

As you will know from some of my previous posts, I am a huge fan of the bright nails trend which is popular this season. Looking at the photos from my Orly Va Va Voom and Holla posts got me thinking about how I have increasingly been choosing brighter colours over the last few months.Whilst my closet and makeup collection by no means resemble a Pantone colour chart, my recent additions have definitely been brightening things up a bit.

Previously there was a lot of black and white (in my closet, not my makeup collection!) but I have been making more of an effort to bring a bit of colour to proceedings. In the not too distant past, my makeup used to range from pink lipgloss to sheer browny-pink lipstick to...um,pink lipgloss, but now I love a slick of bright lippie! I find that wearing bright colours perks me up even when I'm half-asleep (as I most definitely am not a morning person).

In this post I've included some photos of some of my recent purchases and also some things that I had in my closet that hadn't seen the light of day for a while. Whilst writing this post I discovered an orange Barry M lipgloss I wore for a fancy dress party that I think I'm now going to try out day to day.

Previous readers of my blog will have noticed the blue ring before, in my Orly Holla post. It's from the Scott Wilson for ASOS colection from last year, and cost £35. I love it and it definitely makes a statement. Ever on the hunt for another statement ring, I purchased the orange ring yesterday from H & M for a bargainous £3.99!

The handbag is one that I bought in the Warehouse sale about 4 years ago. Not surprisingly my eyes were drawn straight to it so I snapped it up for £10. I love the combination of the patent, perspex and metal together. It's always guaranteed to bring a pop of colour to an outfit.

So are you a fan of brights or do you prefer sticking to darker colours?