AKA my favourite category of items in my wardrobe...
Coat - c/o LOTD | Roll Neck - Peacocks | Necklace - Accessorize | Jeans - Boohoo | Boots - Deichmann | Belt - Primark
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Black ankle boots have been such a staple in my wardrobe for about the last 5 years. What I wore on my feet on the daily before then is a mystery. I started with a pair from Next at a modest £32, and as well as serving me well, they changed the game when it came to stylish, everyday footwear. I've never been a huge lover of wearing trainers, always preferring to be on the more put-together side of things. I had dolly shoes and ballet flats, which were fine but were hardly weather resistant, and then I had more functional pairs of boots such as Ugg-styles, but I never thought of the humble little black boot. It genuinely makes me feel uneasy thinking of a time when I didn't own a pair of black ankle boots, that's how much I love them now.
I currently have a couple of options in my wardrobe, and although it is a semi-minimal capsule wardrobe, black ankle boots is something I don't mind having a few pairs of, because of how much I wear them. Then I have more of a statement pair from Topshop, which has a snakeskin-style detail to the faux suede and a gold heel. These were a bloomin' bargain as I picked them up in the sale for half price at £18 but this pair from Office are similar and a) pricer but also b) dreamier... Talking of statement boots, I'm really lusting over this gorgeous pair from LOTD which have a pointed toe (my jammmm!) a slightly higher heel and a really unique ruffle cinching in the ankle with pearl detailing. The design features make them slightly dressier and they would be beyond gorgeous with leather trousers, the temptation is real...
I lived in my buckle detail boots (this Boohoo pair is similar) from Matalan last year, and they're coming to the end of their life now, but I've just bought this heck of a Chloé Susannah Boot dupe from Deichmann for £34.99. I've never bought from Deichmann before, but these are really comfortable and have so many design details that make them almost identical to the Chloe pair, just about 5% of the price! This Topshop pair are also gorgeous and on sale for £25 down from £45 at the moment. I've been loving pairing my studded boots with my straight leg jeans that I picked up recently from Boohoo. I originally bought these jeans to go with my loafer but I really like this look, particularly with my Topshop gold heeled boots (although they do hurt my feet!). Black ankle boots are my comfort zone, they make me happy (LOL such a saddo) and fit in so well with my capsule wardrobe. I'm addicted!
Are you an ankle boots lover like me?
- This post contains PR samples (c/o) sent for consideration. All love of ankle boots, my own -
Beauty spending ban take two...
You might remember in June, I went the whole month without making a single beauty purchase and documented it in my Diary of a Beauty Spending Ban post. Whilst I named it a "spending ban", that wasn't really the reason I decided to give myself the challenge. Although I can't deny that it saved me a pretty penny, the knock-on effects that my 30 day beauty ban gave me were priceless, and it's something that I want to tap into again, thus bringing me to No-buy November! The main thing that I took from my previous spending ban was that it made me so much more aware of the products I was buying, and it really made me question the value/benefits it would add into my life. It made me research potential purchases a lot more rather than picking them up willy-nilly because it was 'new' or simply 'looked cool'. Through this, I realised that I was coveting higher end brands a lot more than drugstore, so the Boots/Superdrug hauls were slowly phased out.
Something I didn't expect was that it affected my thought processes when it came to non-beauty items. I became less materialistic, and generally started to buy less crap (technical term for the useless rubbish that serves no real purpose). I began questioning whether I really needed to get the train or could I get the bus and save a fiver, or did I really want that £2.50 cup of tea (how can places get away with charging SO much for a brew these days?) when I could have one at home. It changed me, temporarily, and whilst I still retained a lot of the effects, as shown by my capsule wardrobe and declutter videos, that restraint when it came to beauty products soon faded away...

Why am I doing it again?
As I mentioned, I've slipped back into bad habits (although not quite as bad before), coupled with the fact that it's just been my birthday. It's not so much the money I'm spending on the products, it's more the fact that I'm adding more and more products to my collection (whether it's something I've bought or received as a PR sample). It means that I don't get the chance to properly enjoy and test out products before more are being brought in and things get forgotten about. There is truly no value in a product if it's going to sit unused. If you're someone that purchases for happiness and to better your life, that product ain't gonna do shit if it's sat in a drawer. If that's the case, you have to actually use it to get joy out of it. I do my regular declutters to ensure my makeup collection remains relevant and full of products I will actually use and enjoy, otherwise, it's just dead weight. Having so much makeup really does devalue it, and you start to see it not as this coveted item, but a lump of plastic that takes up space. I want to limit the items coming into the house, and spend time enjoying and trying out the products that I've gotten recently.
What are the rules?
Have you ever done a beauty spending ban?
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