Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - Christmas

Now that December is here I figured I could justifiably post my Christmas wish list. Obviously not expecting to actually get all of this stuff, but I wouldn't mind finding a couple of these goodies under my tree on Christmas morning ;)

Florence & The Machine Ceremonials - Love a bit of Florence; I used to listen to the last album, Lungs, obsessively and I'm sure I'll be the same with this one.

Illamasqua Freak Eau De Parfum - I made a mental note to put this on my Christmas list as soon as I smelled it at the Illamasqua event I went to. Such a gorgeous fragrance and the bottle is so unusual. Fabulous.

Lush Christmas Tweets - Lush is one of my favourite brands for lovely bathtime goodies and their Christmas gift sets are adorable. I really like the look of the Tiny Hands hand serum that comes in this one.

Topshop Faux Fur Collar Swing Coat - Desperately need a new coat and for once I fancy something quite classic. Normally I go for 'statement' coats (the one I'm currently wearing has a mix of leopard, zebra and dalmatian print on it) but I think I might try and get something a bit more toned down this year. The white fluffy collar on this looks super snuggly!

Chip & Dale Jumper H&M - There seems to be loads of Disney stuff in the shops at the moment, which is great for a crazed Disney fan like me. I once danced with Chip & Dale in Disneyland Paris (true story) so I need to get my hands on this jumper.

Ted Baker Roverz purse - I love my Shin & Company purse but I think it's time to admit defeat and get a new one as it really is falling to pieces. This Ted Baker purse is a proper grown up one (it's so shiny) but the silver clasp thing at the top is two doggies! Grown up AND fun - perfect!

Office Norman chelsea boots - Really wish I'd managed to get my hands on the Topshop Allegras but they're gone gone gone (although I am watching a few pairs on eBay). However, these Norman boots from Office are incredibly similar, I think the only real difference is that the heel is a bit higher, so I would happily get these instead.

Caitlin Moran: How To Be A Woman - I've been meaning to buy this for ages - Caitlin Moran is brilliant (follow her on Twitter).

Real Techniques Core Collection - When Samantha Chapman announced that she was releasing her own range of makeup brushes, I got very excited because let's face it, she is a genius. The Core Collection contains four fabulous face brushes (the buffing brush in particular is supposed to be amazing). I need this in my life.

Soap and Glory Big Splendour - Soap and Glory always bring out loads of gorgeous gift sets around Christmas and this is the biggest one available, containing ten of their most iconic products. To be honest, I'd be happy enough with just a tub of the Righteous Butter, but I wouldn't say no to all the rest!

H&M Snoopy Pyjamas - You have to get a snuggly pair of jammies for Christmas, it's practically the law. Love Snoopy, love the patterned bottoms, so cute!

So that's everything - I don't want much really, do I?!

Eeek Christmas is just a few weeks away! Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? And what's on your wish list? Tell me things!

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - H&M

There is very rarely an occasion where I'll go into H&M and not want to buy something. Unlike Topshop, where I'll pick up something gorgeous but then feel my stomach turn as I read the price tag, H&M is home to fabulous, wearable fashion that is super affordable and, quite often, a lot cheaper than you'd expect. Take, for example, the blue dress above; super cute, could be worn in so many ways AND is only £14.99. FOURTEEN NINETY NINE! When I saw it in store a couple of weeks ago, I expected it to be around £30, and I reckon most people would be quite happy to pay that. I actually tried it on but decided to get a different dress instead (sadly couldn't justify buying both, despite the cheapness, as I'm still very much a pauper) but I do think it's lovely.

The tiny glimpses of sunshine we've had this week prompted me to start thinking about Summer, hence my slightly more colourful choices for this wish list. I realised that a large portion of my wardrobe is made up of black or dark colours, although this must be subconscious thing, as I don't necessarily prefer dark colours, I just seem to end up buying them. This will change; I want to be colourful and wear pink and look cheerful and girlie this Summer and there's not much doubt that I'll be end up with more than a few pieces that hail from H&M, so it seemed like a good idea to start picking some stuff out, even if it is only February.

What do people think of the H&M online store? I can't say I've really used it, as there's actually two H&M stores in Liverpool anyway, so I don't really need to shop online. It is quite good for a browse, although I do find the layout a bit confusing; it's not quite as straightforward as other online shops. Also, it's a bit weird, because when you click on an item, it doesn't take you to a specific product page, it just opens up a viewing window thing (I'm very good at technical-speak, aren't I?) so I can't actually link to each item like I did with my New Look wish list. I'll still list the items with prices, but if you actually want to look any of them up, you'll have to just visit http://www.hm.com/ and search them out yourself, sorry!

Donald Duck tee - £9.99 - also available with Garfield on it!

Chiffon tunic - £19.99 - available in powder and pink

Butterfly top - £7.99 - available in turquoise and powder pink

Tiered dress - £14.99 - available in bright blue and yellow

Lace up pumps - £7.99 - available in floral, leopard print, blue, white and black

Skirt - £14.99

Ring - £3.99 - available in black/gold and coral/silver

Are you an H&M fan (how could you not be?!) Bought anything good lately?

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît - New Look

I have decided that I don't do enough 'wish list' posts and this must change, so from now on, I'm introducing a new feature; "Je voudrais s'il vous plaît", which is French for "I would like please" (doesn't really make sense, but neither do I). Each post will focus on a different store, thus keeping us all up to date with what's currently in stock in various places and also meaning that I won't be spending HOURS clicking from online shop to online shop, trying to compile wish lists and simultaneously weeping with sheer materialism and greed for all the beautiferous items. I have no idea how frequent these posts will be; in a perfect world, I'd say weekly, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep, so I'm not going to specify any kind of time frame at the moment. (but in my head, where the secrets and plans are kept, I'm aiming for fortnightly... we shall see...)

I've been majorly unimpressed with New Look recently; it used to be one of my favourite shops, but seemed to go really downhill over the last few months, so I stopped bothering with it. That is, until last week, when I had some time to kill in town, and having exhausted all my other favourite haunts, I went to New Look for a nose (not an actual nose - you can't buy noses there. With all the advancements in cosmetics and stuff, it's probably only a matter of time before you can, but at the moment you definitely can't.) What a sight I was greeted with! So many beauties! I rushed about like a child with a severe sugar dependancy in a sweet shop, slightly overwhelmed but very excited! Sadly, as I'm currently on another "no more buying things until payday" stint, I didn't actually get anything. But that's not the point, this visit served a far more important purpose - it's rekindled my love of New Look. Hello, old friend, how I've missed thee...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Now I know there's some stuff going on here that we've all been seeing A LOT recently; leopard print, crop tops, Peter Pan collars (why are they called Peter Pan collars? Did he even have a collar? This is the boy who tried to stick his shadow back on with soap - I think it's safe to say that he'd have no idea how to fashion himself a collar...) but I think, if you're onto a good thing, why change it? I think my favourite item is the pink top (which is mad, because I don't even really wear pink), but I also love the slouchy black jumper and the leopard print satchel. So much good stuff!

One thing I have noticed is that the prices are a lot higher than I'm used to. Is it just me or does £21.99 seem a lot for a top from New Look? Normally I'd expect to pay about £15 maximum. Is this to do with the VAT increase? Or have New Look just upped their prices massively? What's happening here?!

Which items do you like? Do you think the prices have gone up or is it just me being stingy again? And what store shall I feature for my next "Je voudrais s'il vous plaît"? Tell me, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais s'il vous plaît

Bloody typical. You put yourself on a spending ban for a couple of weeks, and suddenly it seems that all the shops in the world are calling to you, saying;

"oooh Franki, look what we've got! Look at all the pretty things! Look at them, aren't they pretty? Don't you want to buy them, Franki? Don't you want to buy them all? DON'T YOU?!"

I can officially say that Topshop's new Heavy Duty makeup collection is right at the top of my list of things I want to buy, but currently can't justify buying. Isn't it rubbish being skint? One day, when I'm a rich grown up, I'll buy all the Topshop makeup I want, you'll see, I'll be able to bath in the stuff, that's how much I'll have. For now though, I can only look longingly at the pictures on the website. Sigh...

Solid Gel Eyeliner in Ravine, £8

Lip Marker Pen in Berry, £7.50

Nails in Grunge, £6

In addition to the new Heavy Duty collection, they've also added some new products to their standard makeup line. I'm loving the new mono eyeshadows in a variety of earthy shades, and the Concealer Duo which, after having a very quick try of it in the store, looks like it gives fairly good coverage. Plus I think it's a good idea that there's two shades of concealer in one, so that you can blend them together for the perfect shade.

Eyes in Potion and Dirty Martini, £6.50 each

Concealer Duo in Light, £7

The other things I got super excited about when I was last in Topshop are the new nail wraps. I'd been thinking for a while about how I'd like to try Minx nails, but as I'm a DIY girl there's no way I'd pay to have them done in a salon when I could just learn how to do it myself instead. However, when I looked into it, I saw that you have to use a heat lamp on the Minx foils to soften them and help them adhere to your nail, and I figured, "well I don't have a heat lamp, so that's the end of that". You know what I do have though? A hairdryer, yes indeedy, and that's exactly what you need for the new Nail Rock nail wraps - wahey! As soon as I get my hands on a set of these, I'll do some kind of review on them, maybe even a video tutorial, who knows? I'm very excited though. I mean VERY excited.

Metalic Lizard and White Lace Nail Wraps, £6.50 each