June Haul : Men's fashion 2014

I'm sure we can all agree on one thing this month , which is that where has the time gone ? May and June have just flown by without passing go or collecting £200. During June I decided that it was time to collect a few fashion bits and pieces for the summer,  as majority of my wardrobe still consists of heavy knitted jumpers. ( I'm a slave to winter fashion)! I don't often do Hauls of any kind, with majority of that reason being at present 1. I'm on a student budget and 2. I'm saving up for a house deposit.  The pieces of fashion I have chosen are more playful and colourful to match the vibrancy of the bright summer weather. If you wish to find the stores where I bought my items from, just click on the photo and it will send you to the webpage.

Hype T-shirt ( from Topman)

I'm a lover of floral for any day in any season and I fell in love with this garden floral print by "Hype". The Hype collections are found in most Topman stores and I have admired many of their designs,  though this shirt really took my fancy. The design consists of a bouquet mingled with garden greenery and the odd butterfly here and there. It is a very bold T-shirt but the white cotton background  helps to balance out the clashing colours. ( I've edited the third picture to emphasise the detail of the pattern)

Plaid Shirt from H & M

I love this shirt from H & M as it mixes three colours that would clash against one another if they weren't softened down as they are here. The shirt consists of a neutral tone pink, yellow and light blue for a soft plaid colour combination. I usually wear it buttoned up to the top with a pair of jeans though I could throw it over white T-shirt for a more casual look. I feel that due to the softened tones of colours, the shades may become more faded through general wash and wear, but will just add further to the neutral colour scheme 

.

 This currently retails for just under £20.

Nike Trainers - Asos

I have had my eye on a pair of white trainers for some time now and when I spotted this Nike pair detailed in Teal, I had to have them! Further more for my reasoning to have them was that I was able to grab them in the sale. The teal colour is beautiful, but how long I can keep these trainers sparkling white for is another question.

Jack wills- rucksack

I love my current bag but I decided it was time to get a back pack that was colourful and spacious so I can throw together anything that was needed for travel or a get away to the beach.  I picked up this Jack wills backpack from the sale, in a bright pillow box red with a contrasting navy panel and navy lining. The bag straps are comfortable and boasts an exterior and hidden interior pocket to keep items such as mobile phone tucked safely away. I'm impressed with the quality of this ruck sac which I expected as always with the Jack wills brand.

White polo shirt  - Next

My final high street purchase is this crisp white polo shirt from Next. I previously had a Fred perry white shirt that I would  wear with just blue jeans, though it seems to have dissappeared in the depths of my wardrobe . ( I still pray for it's return). I adore the contrast of a crisp clean white shirt against dark blue jeans for the summer, something simple yet stylish. The collar on the polo makes the shirt seem a little more formal and gives some structure around the neck and shoulders.

The mint Apple :)

#Haul : Skincare and Mens fashion

Who's still keeping up with their new years resolution? If you are, then keep going and bravo!  Nothing better to knock away any January blue's than a bit of retail therapy. I have to admit I haven't been so eager for the January sales this year. It makes me sad to see all lovely things I had bought a week prior to Christmas at 70% off , so I only snatched a couple of items from the sales. The skincare items included in this blog are mostly Christmas presents though they are things I have wanted to try for a while. 

~ floral hoodie , River island ~

So the first thing I have here to show you is this floral hoodie from River island. No surprise with the run up to spring, floral prints have burst onto the shop floors and I'm loving them. I chose this hoodie as not only did it have a dark floral design but it contrasted well against the light grey in the centre. It allows me to wear a bold floral print without it being like having a bouquet thrown at your face. I'm still on the hunt for a floral back pack but I hope to grab one soon.

~ Beanie and gym T-shirt, New look ~

The next items I bought were from new look. There's a lot of baseball, sports and gym style shirts out in stores at the moment with a vast majority made in mesh. Though I have't got one of those yet, I did pick up this red sleeved sports top which is easy to throw on on days were I just want to chill and lounge around the house. The black beanie also pictured above was £3 so if the price didn't sell itself to me, the accent hash-tag defiantly did. I can't resist a hash-tag!  I love seeing people out in about in town wearing black beanies and white shirts, the contrast of the two colours draws my eye.

~ Skincare~

With a new year and a new start ahead of me , I also got some new skincare.  Majority of the skincare is from superdrug's optimum range. The great thing about when I got these products is that they were on 3 for 2! I have tried the apple skin renewal moisturiser from Iuperdrug and really enjoyed using it so I have now ventured into their overnight skin renewal serum. As well as their apple skin renewal range I received two products from the super grape antioxidant line. The sturdy plastic packaging for both of these looks more expensive than it actually is ( see picture below) . The day cream has an SPF 15, they are both 50ml and both paraben free. I look forward to testing and reviewing these for you.

~ Badger balm , Lip balm set ~ 

 (excuse the chunky thumb). I have something to rival my trusted and beloved Burt's bees lip balms. I'm yet to try this lip balm set but the flavours include tangerine breeze, pink grapefruit, lavender & orange and vanilla Madagascar. errrm yum! With ingredients including beeswax, virgin olive oil and rosehip , I can't wait to tuck into these and smother my smacker with them. Has Burt's bees met it's match ?

~ Clarins , Liquid bronze self tanning ~ 

Clarins liquid bronze self tanner is a product I see and hear continuously in the youtube community. After a small debate with myself, I decided to give it a go. I hear great things about this product and look forward to writing a review about it in the future.You just add a small amount to a cotton pad , wipe it over your face and your done. Simple.Though this retails for around £18 , you do get 125mls of product making it great value in comparison to so many other face self tanners. 

~ Bodyshop, camomile silky cleansing oil ~

The last product I have is a face cleansing oil. It's the fourth bottle pictured above. unfortunately I didn't take a snap of it on it's own. With more and more people becoming more conscious of their skincare and what's in the products they use to clean their faces, cleansing oils have hit the town hard. I've noticed in the youtube community and stores a lot more beauty oils and balms are being favoured so I've decided to try them also. This is the body shop camomile silky cleanse off oil that has a light , clean and slightly sweet scent. I can't wait to slap this on my face and discover the results.

So that is the end of my haul. A little long winded perhaps but I wanted to show you all the things to expect reviews for in the future. Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment or add me on Instagram.

The mint apple :)