Fashion Vouchers Xmas Party Outfit Blogger Challenge

A short while ago I was contacted by the Fashion Vouchers lot asking me if I'd like to take part in their latest, aptly Christmas themed, competition. It's a little scary that I'm not feeling very Christmassy yet, my birthday has been and gone, I've started card buying and gift idea listing and this is when it normally hits me, but it hasn't *gulps*. I certainly need Rudolph to come and kick me up the backside so here I am, trying everything I can other than shoving tinsel down my throat, to make me feel festive. I digress. 

The task is simple, design an outfit for £100 and under using one of the stores/merchants on the Fashion Vouchers website and you can then use available codes to whittle down the price further. Three £100 online gift cards/vouchers are up for grabs for the three best outfits. Closing date for entries is Monday 17th December - just in time for Christmas! You likey? Enter here.

Image Source: Metro;

Jacket - Dress - Shoes - Bag - Necklace;

Asking me to choose just one brand from all the corkers out there is a tough one, but in the end I chose the fabulous Fashion Union because I wanted to go for a store that, in my opinion, is slightly overlooked in fashion-land. 

I've channelled my inner Kristen Stewart for this outfit, I love and respect this lady so much and she has been wearing some ah-mazing outfits in her Breaking Dawn Part 2 promotional stint. I always believe people should be comfortable in what they wear so I admire her efforts to dress down a glam designer number when the important bits are over and done with at an event. 

You can't go wrong with sparkle at Christmas, isn't it compulsory? It should be. This dress looks perfect with the gold sequins played off against the black material underneath - it's festive and captures the metallic trend. Rather than popping on a pair of bashed up Keds, these toe cap pumps are perfect! I think they're such a great find; they're sequinned, sparkly and gold so you can easily work them into a party outfit without looking too casual. I'm obsessed with my biker jacket too so this scoop neck number is ideal to go with the strapless dress, there's no collar or lapel so it will show off your collar bones and the ornate heart necklace is great to pop a little something in the blank space. Of course the bag follows the colour scheme throughout and there's nothing like some badass studs to complete a killer outfit.

I've had to revise this look three times because they keep dropping their prices! Everything in this look is either in the sale or part of the 40% off winter essentials promotion and I'd also get a little 10% off any full priced item due to it being my first (hypothetical) order.

Gifts Vouchers Blogger Challenge

Fantastic Fashion gifts for £35 or less.

This challenge is perfect for the lead up to Christmas and I love a challenge. I must admit, I'm late at entering as I was contacted early October! My original excuse (to myself) was to wait so I could see what Christmas gifts were being offered up closer to the deadline but it turns out nothing from what I've chosen is in a Christmas collection.

I pride myself on my gift picking at Christmas, I love the buzz I get from seeing people genuinely impressed and grateful for their gifts wondering how on earth I found them. If you 'have an eye for quirky, stylish and cute products which would make great presents' like me, then this is a fab challenge to show everyone some great gift ideas for reasonable prices. All you have to do is search the web for at least 5 different gift ideas each of which must not cost more than £35. Entries end TOMORROW and you can find more information here.

Here are a few of my ideas: 

1. Kensington Lunch Bag- Yes, you're reading it right, this is a stylish lunch bag! From the outside it looks like a normal croc effect handbag with a cute Jammy Dodger-esque pendant, but really, it's a great insulated lunch bag! What better gift for a fashionable girl about town who needs to carry her lunch in style without the embarrassment of a kids lunch bag/box stuffed inside her handbag. The Kensington lunch bag is available direct from Clippy London at £24.50 plus £3 postage. It comes with a great accessory pouch so you can pop in your money, phone, sunglasses or any other bits and bobs that you don't want to be cooled alongside your sarnie or pasta salad. It's fully insulated with a zip closing to keep contents cool and fresh and has a handy shoulder strap. Different, stylish, useful and PERFECT!

2. Personalised Stitch Your Own Journey Map Print- I love a personalised gift, and I'm not talking about the hairbands or hairbrushes you used to get as kids with your name written on them in fabric paint (remember those?!). I find this Personalised Stitch Your Journey Map Print from Notonthehighstreet.com beautiful. Ideal for a special couple to stitch their life journey, a family to stitch their family holidays around the globe or a friend to mark your escapades together. 

Choose from UK, World, America, Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand maps, print size a4 or a3(+£5.00), map colour and thread colour and input personal map title and date for title if required. For it to be within the £35 mark the recipient would have to stitch it themselves- but that's part of the fun and romance of a gift like this. 

3. Mens Yoda Dressing Gown- Do you have a geeky guy in your life or a guy that just loves random character based things? Well, Sheldon Cooper eat your heart out, get your fella or brother this Yoda Dressing Gown from New Look for £29.99 complete with Yoda ears. 

4. Bookshelf Curtains- I just LOVE these curtains. They're ideal for a bookworm's bedroom or hideaway, a study or a children's bedroom. From H&M home for only £12.99. The website says 'curtain' so I'm unsure if they only sell one side? Either way even if you had to buy two you'd be in budget.

5. D.I.Y beauty sample kit- This is quite possibly my favourite gift idea. There wasn't anything in the rules explicitly defining what a 'gift' is, so I took this as an opportunity to get creative and think outside the box - a d.i.y beauty set featuring some of my favourite different brands and items ideal for someone who wants to try something different. I suppose you could plonk all these items in a gift bag, but isn't it just better value if the thing your items are presented in could be a gift itself. These baskets are perfect for presentation of your gift but also perfect to use about the house or in your bedroom for storage- something we all need more of I'm sure. This one I found on ebay for £1.99 and 50p postage, the same price, if not less, than what you would pay for a gift bag in generic high street card shops. I like value for money so not only is your presentation a great gift itself, but Superdrug have a 3 for 2 promotion on hundreds of beauty items, free delivery AND points on your beauty card for yourself! 

I've included Barry M's NEW Hi Shine Gelly nail polish from Superdrug for £3.99, MUA undressed palette from Superdrug for £4, Revlon Colorburst lipstick from Superdrug for £7.99, NEW limited edition Vaseline Pink Bubbly Lip Therapy from Superdrug for £3.49, Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner from Superdrug for £1.69 and finally the cute And Mary Enamel Mirror Compact Necklace from ASOS for £15 (half price!). Including the Superdrug 3 for 2 offer and free delivery this whole gift amounts to £34.66.

Regardless of this being a competition entry, I hope you have all taken some inspiration from this for Christmas gift ideas.

Boohoo £50 Fashion Voucher Blogger Challenge

Fashion Vouchers have teamed up with boohoo.com to host a cracker of a competition, introducing... the Boohoo blogger challenge (and yes, it is a challenge). Your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to create an outfit consisting of absolutely anything that takes your fancy from boohoo.com's incredible range but (yes there's a but) it must not exceed £50! Oh, and no sneaky cheating; student discounts or any other voucher/discount codes do not count. There will be four £50 vouchers up for grabs for those plucky bloggers with the best outfits for the budget. Fancy it? Enter Here.

This was a lot harder than I thought, not because the items are overpriced - far from it in fact! There are just far too many things I wanted to include and far too many looks I wanted to put together, it's very easy to loose touch of the budget when you are surrounded by so many pieces. This look I put together was more appropriately timed, shall we say. I've been seeing a lot of maxi and midi skirts and platform block heel boots in street style outside NYFW so here is an inspired look. 

Ruby Crop Stonewash Denim Jacket, Bella Basic Swing Vest, Justine Jersey Wrap Mixi Skirt,  Madison Winged Ring,  Lily Lace Up Block Heel Platform Shoe Boots;

Now all you need to grab is your black satchel strung over the back of your bedroom chair, a long silver necklace, sunnies, a black rolled up bowler or pork pie hat and finally match the shade of your lips to the shoes. 

I wanted my outfit to be more than just a dress and a pair of shoes resulting in a blown budget straight away - I wanted to see how much I could cram in and look at what I managed. Kudos to you if you've managed more! It just goes to show that if you make a saving on one piece in the look you can spend the rest of your budget on so much more. I still can't believe these gorgeous shoes were in the sale, sales have certainly improved it's not just all unwanted crap - who remembers those days?

Looking forward to seeing some of your entries! If i did win, I'd bag this lot in a shot. I'd be so fast you wouldn't recognise me.