Beau-Belle Hair Extensions VS Wish-Dream Best

Beau-Belle and Wish-Dream Best are both small retailers of human hair extensions and hair products on Amazon who I've recently had the pleasure of purchasing from and I've been quite impressed. 

The hair extensions I ordered from Beau-Belle were 18 inch extensions in the shade Dark Brown and I have to admit I was sceptical at first because they were selling for such a cheap price, (£23 on average compared to the £58 I was prepared to pay for a set on FoxyLocks) and they were selling on Amazon, rather than their own individual website. However I took a shot in the dark and I'm glad I did. The Beau-Belle extensions arrived within just two days of me placing my order, a day before the estimate of 3-7 days, which was impressive. The branding and packaging was cute and I definitely felt like someone had gone to the effort to make this product feel special. But let's talk about the hair. The hair is 100% Remy human hair, which means all the cuticles are kept intact and are all aligned the same way as they were on the head (this freaked my sister out and she now refuses to wear someone else's hair on her head). I don't know who's hair this was but my god did they look after it - these locks are so soft and shiny, I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with hair until now! The only issue I had with the locks, which is my fault I have to admit, is the fact is that the hair is a shade too dark for my natural colour. As they are human hair though, I can dye them but I'd rather not for the time being, especially as they are only 70g in weight, not nearly enough to give me voluminous locks, which is again, my fault as I didn't read the full description and got carried away by the affordable price tag.

so shiny

So, I ordered a second set, making sure that it was at least 120g of hair and a shade lighter, a medium brown, but these measured 20 inches. I was going to order from Beau-Belle again, however Wish-Dream Best were cheaper with their full-head sets of extensions. These took longer to arrive, about 2-3 weeks, which of course, was painful. At the time I didn't really know why it took that long but now I know that despite the company having business headquarters in the States, they have suppliers from China, where your order is directly shipped to you from. When these arrived, I was slightly disappointed. Maybe it was the high standard that Beau-Belle had set, but this hair was not soft and shiny really, and felt quite straggly and tangled. However, the colour shade, Medium Brown is exact to my hair colour, I honestly cannot believe how well it blends. These extensions did come with two spare clips, which gained Wish-Dream Best extra points, but the added weight from 70g to 120g of hair was no match for my new healthy and consequently thicker hair. So all in all, I am still sans-perfect hair extensions. 

the photo deceives your eyes trust me it's not that shiny okay

So do I buy more but from which seller? The good quality ones with excellent customer service who put a smile on my face (thank you very much, I think most probably) or the extensions that match my hair colour to the exact shade, that I can't even tell which is my own hair when I wear them, but take ages to arrive and aren't as fabulously silky smooth? DILEMMA.

I need your advice! The links to the hair are down below so you can read other reviews etc to get an overall judgement but your opinions would really help me so if you could leave a comment that'd be fab.

click here to see the Beau-Belle extensions
click here for the Wish-Dream Best extensions


Thanks for reading!
Melissa xoxo

OOTW - 15th-19th April :)

So this week I was away from home and returned on Friday, in the morning and I attempted to take a selfie to show my ootd for each day while I was there but of course I forgot on the FIRST day wouldn't I? So I thought I'd do it from Tuesday to Saturday, that way you can see the outfit I wore for my friend's birthday party which was neon 80s/90s themed.

Tuesday 15th:
On Tuesday, I had come back from staying at a friend's house but still had limited clothing with me so this quick outfit was something I literally had no time to plan but is a favourite of mine to wear casually in the spring months here in London, but can also work well in the cooler months with high riding boots or wellies for example. My stripe top is from New Look, jeans from Primark, shoes also Primark.

Wednesday 16th:
Today I had a lazy day, showered and threw on chill clothes to study in before having to get changed and head to work in the late afternoon. Here I wore a mustard shirt from H&M, and smart joggers from Primark.

Thursday 17th:
I went to lunch at this cute French restaurant, plus it was super sunny and spring-like that day so I wanted to dress the part. Here I wore this chiffon ivory shirt from Primark and these floral lilac print trousers from H&M. Slipper shoes also from Primark.

Friday 18th:
This day I had to be up early, pack my case and get home so I threw on some black jeans from Primark (they are a lot nicer than my Topshop Leigh jeans) and this dark red and blue plaid shirt from Select. I paired this outfit with brown Chelsea boots from New Look and a studded belt courtesy of Primark.

Saturday 19th:
As I said, it was a friend's birthday that I went to which was neon themed, and neon is actually quite hard to find! So I wore this neon pink shirt which is friggin adorable from H&M (thanks Mum for the awesome find), white jeans from Primark and the black slippers also from Primark.

#celfie

I apologise but this is true to real life, my wardrobe is a majority of Primark and H&M and I am too wearing a t shirt from H&M right now accompanied by Primark running shorts so please understand that these two places are just my fave high street stores okay and that's where my clothes are from because a) nice stuff b) super cheap.

Thanks for reading!
Melissa xoxo

Favourite Clothing Websites!

I have been asked plenty of times by friends, "what online stores do you use?", well, here is that insight! I love to browse online, especially as the vast majority of clothes are shown online and are not in stores (that is often the other way around with H&M though I find). So here are the following sites I like to browse on and I'll show you the most common sites I actually purchase from. Bear in mind that the sites I browse on I would purchase their stuff, I don't just look for fun - if that makes sense? It just happens to be that I haven't ordered from them as of yet! 

Top sites I've purchased from:

ASOS:
 Of course! This is literally my most ordered from site in the fashion category (maybe of all time too/probably joint with Amazon) but the key reason I love ASOS is their wide range of brands on the site. For example, I think my most recent order from ASOS didn't even include anything from ASOS brand itself. I ordered brands such as Vero Moda, Rare London, Love, Pull&Bear and New Look. I also just bagged myself a new Eastpak backpack (pun intended) for half price too which was an absolute steal! Plus, free delivery (woohoooo!)

H&M:
 One of the main reasons I order online from H&M is because I find that H&M stores (well ones near me anyway) change around their stock quite fast, either it gets put in the sale, is an old line or just gets moved around to a different part of the store. So shopping in H&M used to stress me out a bit, hence why I browse online. I find that online, H&M have loads of great sale stuff - I rarely ever buy non-sale items online. When I do buy in store, which I have done quite a lot recently, I buy non-sale items, which are so cheap they may just as well be!

New Look:
 Now this is one of those sites that kinda cheats a bit because I've only ordered online from them once. However, I so rarely ever buy anything in store from them now I feel like it needs to be in this part of the post. New Look online stocks tonnes and tonnes of clothes that I'm quite frankly surprised they sell that many in the first place. (Maybe because my local store is a tad small). New Look sale items online are often such bargains, that in the last month I bought 8 items all in the sale for such decent prices, that I fell in love with 2 pairs of shoes, 2 tops, a cut out waist belt, hair accessories, and a skater skirt. But oh my god these shoes are to die for okay.

Top sites to browse:

As I said before, I would definitely order from these sites, I just haven't yet!!

Boohoo.com:
 I have to admit I was sceptical at first as for some reason I had it imprinted in my head that boohoo didn't sell good quality clothing. However, I learn that they are and when payday comes I know exactly what I am ordering from this site! The sell a lot of basic clothes, like wardrobe essentials at really great prices so I can't wait for my next pay check to come in!

Fashion Union: 
 I saw an advert on the tube for this site and the model wore a gorgeous blue dress, ideal for the upcoming summer with brights and pastels being on trend. So I checked it out online and my God was I in for a pleasant shock. The prices are so good for what this site sells - pieces of fabric that you can drape on your skin that just shine as if from angel Gabriel's butt. They sell such unique, fun and pretty clothes that make you just want to order everything.

Sex and the City

As we are all quite aware, Sex and the City is one of those good old 90s TV shows that makes us all warm inside and the thing about it is that this show tends to make us feel more confident about our sexuality and just being ourselves... well it does for me anyway!

Being more open about our sexualities was definitely one of the top criteria in the 90s, especially in the US which is shown in shows like this one and Friends. And of course, the focus on women's open sexuality is displayed in how the characters are dressed and their experiences. So why am I talking about this? I think it needs a renaissance, a rebirth, if you will. There are many morals of Sex and the City which I have recently rediscovered after watching reruns of the show endlessly on my laptop. These morals definitely were the New Year's resolutions of many New York women come the new millenium and personally they need to be reinvented and reestablished to younger women and girls. 

This is a perfect example of what should be a message to young women. In a relationship, your feelings should go both ways - both of you should want to be with each other just as much as the next person. I'm not saying that thirteen year old girls should start watching this show, (we don't want them to get any ideas) but as far as the fashion, friends and fun in the six season show goes, it's definitely one for the books when you enter the 'real-world' of relationships. 

But it doesn't just cut it there, the show provides certain proof that being single isn't the end of the world. The first video still occurs when Carrie admits to Aidan (season four, I believe) at best friend, Charlotte's first wedding that she cheated on him with the infamous Mr Big and he leaves her. At this exact point, Carrie narrates how that despite the dreaded that she had done, her friends are still there and still love her no matter what, something we all need to remember. 

Sex and the City is also the master of two successful blockbusters, where the quote above is shown, which I find quite empowering. Being a New York woman, Carrie Bradshaw would immediately fit in as the type of girl who devours diets, design and desire. But none of the four main characters immediately define themselves as the 'keep skinny' type, the type of woman who might desire to be thin by excessively dieting and restricting what they eat. And I love it. Just as much as I love food myself. 

I find Sex and the City such an empowering show that makes me feel comfortable in my own clothes. The empowerment I feel stems from the ability to be liberate with what I wear, as in to say that fashion isn't about sticking with trends but the capacity to wear what you want to, and to wear it with confidence, and I 100% agree that this show does that for me. 

Thanks for reading, (I know this is a little different but I really felt like writing this okay, don't hate me). Hope you enjoyed and tell me what you think please! 

Melissa, xoxo

How To... Heart Shaped Chocolate-Chip Pancakes!

I have to admit these were seemingly hard to make and I probably made it a lot more difficult for myself than I needed to but this is the step by step guide to exactly how I got the pancakes shown in the picture.

Firstly I used a basic pancake recipe from our very old and very well-used Delia Smith recipe book which requires;
*2 eggs
*A milk-water solution of 350ml of water and 250ml of semi-skimmed milk (I actually used fat free/skimmed)
*4oz of plain flour
*2 tablespoons of butter (again I used margarine - Flora light to be exact) + an extra bit for cooking the mixture
*A pinch of salt (if ya feel like it)

( I apologise for the mix of metric and imperial units there)
Basically I sieved the flour, making sure the sieve was held high so that the flour could get air easily. Then once sifted, I made a small well in the centre of the flour to crack the eggs into. Once the eggs were in, I stirred the mixture in the bowl, gradually, pouring in the milk-water solution as I was mixing. This then becomes really running once all the milk-water solution is in and looks more recognisable as pancake batter. Next, I melted the 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan and added to the mixture so it was ready to be cooked and stirred in half a bag of cooking chocolate chips (about 50g give or take). Then I got out my heart shaped metal cookie cutter and placed it in the pan and poured the batter in to it so there was a thin layer of batter covering the base of the heart shape, about 2mm thick - this is important because if it s too thin, the pancake will produce air bubbles and if it's too thin, it will burn on one side and be difficult to lip over if the batter on top is still runny. But once you feel that one side is cooked (it normally just hardens up around the edges) then flip if over, still inside the cutter and normally the pancake will just fall through the heart shape, however I had some trouble with this as the batter got stuck to the underside of the cutter but it's easy enough to just poke the pancake through so it can cook on the other side. Once done, dress with your favourite sweet things, maybe some squirty cream and chocolate sauce? But the fact that these have chocolate chips in them means you don't have to excess on those sweet accessories for your pancake!

I know I could of done some of these things a whole lot easier, for example, instead of pouring the batter into the heart, I could have literally just used the cutter to cut out heart shapes from a regular pancake. And when mixing the chocolate chips into the batter because I found that the chocolate melts and leaves on side of the pancake covered in burned chocolate and the other all neatly finished. So instead it maybe suggested that you might want to add a teaspoon of chips to the pancake once it is in the pan but it actually hasn't started cooking yet, when it's still runny.

Hope you enjoy this quick little recipe! If you like these kinds of lifestyle and cooking posts, just let me know by leaving a comment below and what kind of foods/recipes you have in mind or you would like me to show you. If you have made these sweet treats yourself and have used the alternative methods please let me know by hashtagging your photos with #cookingwithmel* on twitter and instagram!

*I use this hashtag when I show the internet what wonderful things I am cooking and it can get a bit chaotic/weird at times I apologise greatly

Thanks for reading!
Melissa xoxo