Collective haul: ZARA, Mango, H&M, ASOS & more (fashion & beauty winter sale & spring 2013)

I’m ba-hack! After almost 2 weeks of no posts, I’ve decided to grace you all with my presence once again. I do have to say that I will be taking it easy. This means: no daily posts as of yet. I will post whenever I have the time/ feel like it. I have plenty of ideas for posts and even a ton of pictures to get me started, but time is short and my computer is still MIA. Once I have that back I might be able to post more regularly again. Right now though I’m trying to get 2 -3 posts online a week.

And I thought: what better way to kick back into the swing of things than a massive collective shoplog featuring pretty much everything I bought since Christmas? With sale time running to its end I got some pretty good deals and I even shopped at a few places I don’t normally go to. Keep on reading to see what I purchased in the January/ post Christmas sales and which spring collection items are already hanging around for when the weather takes a turn for the better.

Studded black leather brogues (ZARA)

I already posted these babies on Instagram and I am in love with these shoes. I’m in love with shoes in general, but these take the cake. I already saw them on the ZARA website and included them in my ZARA wishlist, but didn’t get them straight away. When I went to ZARA to return one of the items I did get, I saw one lonely pair of shoes sitting on a shelf. I checked the size (a 37!) , tried them on (perfect fit!) and when I saw they had been reduced one extra time (oh yeah!) I got them. This was meant to be!

Dark floral tapestry print dress (ASOS) & Psychedelic print body con dress (H&M)

Remember that dresses kick I was on? Yep, still not over. I bought the top dress because I love the tapestry print. The fabric is a very surprisingly lightweight jersey which is super soft. It fits nicely too and looks very flattering on. The body con dress is something new for me. These dresses usually don’t look very flattering on me, but this one, because of the cut and the hysterical, mind boggling print does. I did take out the hideous shoulder pads it came with though.

Black ‘suede’ & velvet leggings (Action)

I found these two pairs of leggings at ultimate budget store Action. I paid no more than 2.50 for these I believe. I already wore the velvet pair and they are comfy though not as stretchy as they could have been.

Assorted nail polish: H&M, Max Factor, OPI & Stargazer

It had been a while since I last bought nail polish. So after I had been sick and feeling horrible for more than a week, I decided to treat myself to something pretty: nail polish. I first took home the two OPI polishes: The Impossible, a liquid sands polish from the Mariah Carey collection (swatch no. 4), and Every Months is October Fest from the Germany collection (swatch no. 3). I also picked out a nice duo chrome polish with an oil glaze color by Stargazer (no. 307, swatch no. 2).

At the H&M sale I also found to polishes which were discounted Lady Luck (swatch no. 5) and Fabulous Nails Honey (swatch no. 6). My drugstore also had a buy one get one half off deal on Max Factor nail polishes and when I found Fantasy Fire (“unicorn pee in a botte”) (swatch no. 8) and Deep Mauve (swatch no. 7) I bought both. The last two were a bit of a disappointment when I swatched them, but I hope that layered over another color these can still still work.

Denim vest (ZARA), Faux fur snood (ZARA), Grey shirt with multicolored ‘pills’ (H&M)

The top two items you may remember from my ZARA wishlist mentioned before. I ordered these items from the ZARA website and kept them. I had been eyeing the denim vest since the beginning of the fall/ winter season so I knew I’d like it. And I simply love scarves, can’t go wrong with that. The t-shirt is quite basic, but that’s what I like about it. It will go with a lot of different items come spring time.

Indigo jeggings (C&A) & dark floral print slacks (H&M)

Some more bottoms. I desperately needed a replacement for my favorite pair of indigo treggings. I had worn them so often that the knees had slowly faded and so when I went shopping with my mom and found these at C&A (a store I don’t normally shop at), I immediately picked them up. When I saw the floral pants in the H&M catalogue I was immediately drawn to them but wasn’t sure. I tried them on and I found them very flattering and the print is fun. This is a great piece for spring.

Taupe suede wedge (H&M) & Black suede mary jane plateau heels (H&M)

I already own the first pair of shoes in black and love them. I thought the taupe would be nice for spring/ summer. I found them on sale at half price so I thought they would be a nice addition to my ever growing and adapted shoe collection. I have been hoping to find a cool pair of mary jane plateau heels for over a year, but couldn’t find any to my liking. The minute I saw these on H&M’s website I went with them and they are super comfy. Can’t wait to wear them.

Magenta lace skater dress (ASOS) & Black & white houndstooth skater dress (ASOS)

You all know I can’t get enough of skater dresses and when my grandmother very kindly gifted me some money for Christmas I knew exactly where it would go. I had already found these dresses before Christmas (together with the tapestry dress above) and simply ran with it. The magenta dress is a bit darker in real life than in the picture. The houndtooth dress is a perfect fit and has the best skirt ever: it flares out when you spin round. I can be such a little girl at times!

Assorted beauty products & accessories

What girl doesn’t love pink brushes? This pink fluffy brush from H&M is awesome and cheap! I also bought a dark green eyeshadow from The Body Shop in their sale. It’s gorgeous as it’s dark and has a nice amount of shimmer to it. Along with the eyeshadow I indulged in some other TBS beauty products from their sale: a hand lotion from their vanilla Christmas line and two body butters in Blueberry and Almond. When I was at H&M I picked up a pack with assorted silver bands. I love how they have different sizes so you can mix and match to your liking.

Black & white coarse knit cardigan (Mango) & Red, black and white paneled woolen sweater (Mango)

Another place I hardly shop at: Mango. I usually only like their sale as the entire shop is turned into an outlet. I found these two ‘frumpy’ sweaters in their sale. Both were only half price. The first one is a lumpy cardigan. I love throwing these things over dresses, t-shirts, blouses, well anything that could use some added warmth. The sweater is great, as it not only has different colored panels, but also has buttons down the back.

Neon coral knit sweater (H&M) & Light blue chambray button down (C&A)

Neon is a trend color this year and it was actually my mother who spotted this sweater after I pointed out the floral pants which I showed you earlier in this post. It goes perfectly with the pants and what’s more: the chambray shirt fits nicely with it too. On my spring wishlist was a light wash denim shirt that is a bit more tailored. I have two denim shirts but both are big and baggy and this will go nicely underneath sweaters, but will also work on its own.

Pff… Did you make it till the end? I know I know… It’s a lot of stuff, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. What are you favorite items? And did you find any good deals during the January sales?