Ahead of the big day tomorrow, some of my favourite retailers have already dropped their prices for Black Friday and Cyber week. Now you know how I do love to shop and browse, so I've saved you the time and effort of trawling through all the bargains to bring you only the very best!
The shop section below shows my absolute favourite products in the sale at the moment, and i'll be adding to it as I find more, so bookmark this page and check back often!
Also, just to help you out, here are the best sales so far:
Brace yourselves folks because things are about to get a whole lot more festive here on the blog! I've been dying to post about Christmassy goodness since the moment Fashion Week ended but finally, with gift guides appearing here there and everywhere, I feel like it's finally acceptable. What better way to kick of the Fashion Mumblr festivity than a Gift Guide with a difference, not just some gift ideas, but also some tips on how to be an efficient Christmas shopper!
Each year, Charlie and I proclaim that we want to be super organised when it comes to Christmas - getting the presents bought early, decorations down from the loft, cards written and ready to go, and this year we decided to kick things off early and made a beeline for Debenhams on Oxford Street earlier this week to make a head start to our Christmas shopping.
1. Make a List!
Sounds kinda obvious but think back to last year's Christmas shopping, did you have a list? Did you really?! Charlie and I made lists on our phones for everyone we needed to buy for, Mum, Sister, Brother, Friends, oh and of course each other! This made it so much easier to be an efficient shopper, each concession we encountered lured us with different tempting gift sets, so we consulted our lists to see who we could treat. In Debenhams we were spoilt for choice - with Clarins,Clinique and YSL to name a few all creating perfectly packaged box sets with cult favourites - our Mums were ticked off our lists within moments of stepping into the store!
Look out for Promotions!
The Christmas shopping period is SO important to retailers, and many brands and stores will cut their prices in the lead up to the festive celebrations. Box sets are a great way to get lots of product for your pennies, and in Debenhams we spotted some incredible special offers on top such as in Clarins you get a free festive candle when you spend �75 or more.
Set a Budget
Again it's one of those things that I tell myself that i'll do, and then once I step into the store and am faced with all the pretty products, it goes out the window. But it's important to sit down and think about all your outgoings over Christmas - from gifts and food to travelling to see family and friends. Charlie and I agreed on a �100 limit for each others pressies this year, and luckily we both found each other's favourite fragrances in Debenhams. I snapped up a large Eau de Parfum of Charlie's favourite Bleu de Chanel for �65 as well as a Clarins Men Grooming Essentials Gift set for �39 (OK, I went �4 over but shhhh), both of which I know he will love! As for me, I spotted Charlie eyeing up a gift set of Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb which I'm hoping that he added to his basket!
#FoundIt at Debenhams
In less than an hour Charlie and I had ticked off everyone from our lists, just from visiting one store - now that's what you might call efficient Christmas shopping! There's no harm in keeping an eye on an more special promotions that might crop up over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, but for now, I can tell you that the feeling of having our Christmas Shopping sorted is pretty darn good!
Just over a week ago, I wrote a post about the Primark Autumn Winter 2015 Press Day, and all the best pieces to look out for in the coming seasons. I mentioned in the post that prior to the press day I'd made my first EVER trip to the store, and I have to say, you guys were very forgiving! As someone who had never visited the store before, I stocked up on essentials as well as some of the fashion pieces, and I've shared them all with you in my newest video! I also did some online shopping on Missguided, so threw those in for good measure too. Enjoy!
Happy Sunday! So by now you might have noticed that the Sunday slot on the blog is usually reserved for some for of day out/afternoon tea/things to do type post, and today is no exception. Last weekend, for Mum's birthday, we had my brother and his wife and two children over to visit, so we headed to Richmond for a family day out. Close to London but without the overcrowding and tourist traps of the city, and with plenty to see and do without spending a fortune - it's one of my favourite places to spend the day.
We arrived hungry, so our first port of call was Jackson & Rye. I'm a big fan of their breakfasts and often visit the restaurant in SoHo, the decor is exactly my taste too, rustic but without feeling derelict. The Richmond restaurant overlooks the river and has a beautiful long marble bar if you just fancy an aperitif, or leather booths for long, relaxed lunches.
So the pre-holiday health kick went out the window, as we couldn't resist the burgers and Mac 'n' Cheese, as well as a cheese cake to finish, but we soon walked it off with a stroll down the river bank and through the winding shopping streets.
After mooching round the shops (I picked up lots of home pieces in Anthropologies, home haul video coming soon!) we stumbled upon the Farmer's Market, discovering home made macarons, beautiful flower arrangements, and delicious biltong.
If there's one thing I learnt on our day out to Richmond, it's that my sweet tooth definitely runs in the family, with Mum, my brother and both my niece and (2 year old) nephew ordering double Mr Whippy ice creams! Charlie had strawberry sauce too which I immediately regretted not getting too, it looked delish! But as you can see from my face, I was still pretty pleased to be enjoying my first ice cream of the summer!
I chose a new casual day dress with pretty detail on the neckline from M&S for the day trip, as well as some white leather mules (also M&S) which have a super spongy sole making them incredibly comfy for a day wondering around. My Tory Burch bag was perfect to throw in all my little purchases for the day, as well as my cardigan for those cool moments when the sun went in!
