My First Christmas in Manchester

A couple of months ago I took the big step of finally moving out of my parents house and into rented accommodation. (Bonus points if you recognise the Jack Whitehall reference there). And though I will be spending actual Christmas Day and the various other days surrounding it with my family and loved ones, this will be my first ever festive season living entirely away from home, not just at university. And with this comes changes, new experiences, new purchases and of course new wish lists. So as part of the Debenhams Win Your Wishlist Competition, I thought I'd share a few of the things I will be doing this year and a few things on my wishlist to make my new apartment a home away from home.

My Night Out Essentials

I'm a sucker for a night out. There, I said it. As much as I love a good night in complete with takeaway curry and a good film or two, as soon as I get that "you coming out?" text, I'm straight in the shower and throwing back a rum and coke. Whether it's a case of FOMO or just being a weak ass bitch, I just can't resist getting dolled up, having a good old dance and doing one two many shots of vodka. And since moving from my tiny little hometown with one nightclub to Manchester, I've loved going out and trying out all the different clubs and bars, as well as really switching up my look. It's almost as if I have an alter ego some nights. Seriously, last weekend I was 26 year old Isla from London who'd been married for 6 years. Don't ask. So why not share with you some of my recent night out essentials...

Debenhams Christmas in July Show

I love Christmas. Like, a lot. And though we may only be coming to the end of August, there's nothing more exciting to me than the idea of seeing all the A/W and Christmas releases in the middle of July and this is exactly what happened at the latest Debenhams Press Show. I was flattered again to be invited down to London by Vanessa and the rest of the team to another beautiful event held in a stunning townhouse in Fitzroy Square, full of fashion, accessories, homeware, gifts and my personal favourite, makeup.

Debenhams AW16 Home & Fashion Press Show

Prepare yourselves for a very image heavy post. I know I've said this numerous times before but this time, I really mean it. I was lucky enough to be invited to the Debenhams AW16 Home & Fashion Press Day in London this Thursday and though I had the last hand in of my university life the day after, I couldn't miss out on such an exciting opportunity. A huge thank you to Vanessa and everyone at Debenhams for putting on such an incredible event, the collections, venue and entire set up was just beautiful. Honestly, I've left with a shopping list as long as my arm and interior design goals for a house I won't have for at least another 5 years.

Huge Beauty Haul

As most of you will know I was lucky enough to attend the Debenhams SS16 Beauty Press Show last month in London and after looking at all the latest releases I couldn't help but treat myself to a few (ok more than a few) new purchases. I did some serious damage to my student loan, in fact it's times like these when I'm glad that I don't live in the city as I know I'd soon be well into my overdraft. A fair few of these are products that I was introduced to at the event and just couldn't wait to get my hands on afterwards, as well as a couple I'd been lusting after. Part of the reason for waiting so long before writing up this post was that I wanted to give as many of these a try as possible, so I could give a proper opinion of them as opposed to just a first impression. Not to mention I finish uni in a week so life is pretty manic right now. (I don't want to enter the real world yet, I'm not ready.)

Debenhams SS16 Beauty Press Show

As I sit writing this on a Saturday afternoon the sun is positively beaming through the window, the birds are singing and I've got two days off to celebrate my birthday with friends, so all in all it's a pretty good weekend so far! And this weekend started off in the best way it possibly could, spending a day in London looking at all the latest beauty releases with Debenhams. In all honesty, I was completely shocked and massively grateful to be invited to an event like this, especially after only about 6 short months of blogging. I'd really like to thank Rebecca and Vanessa over at Debenhams and all the girls involved with the event for inviting me and making me feel so welcome and at ease. I guess there was a part of me that felt like I didn't deserve to be there or wasn't good enough, I was massively nervous in the days leading up to it but everyone was so lovely and it made my first blogging event one to remember. Warning, this post is going to be very photo heavy but I simply couldn't cut it down any more.

Treat Yourself This Valentine's*

If you read my previous post about Valentine's Day, you'll have hopefully picked up a few ideas on how to spend the day whether it be with a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, friends, dog, cat or alone. In this post I thought I'd give you a few gift ideas for you to either treat yourself or someone else you love. Because we all like to be treated once in a while, god knows we deserve it.