House of Fraser Fashion Getaways Blogger Challenge

I received an email a few weeks ago from House of Fraser inviting me to take part in their Fashion Getaways Blogger Challenge for the chance to win a £200 voucher to spend with them. All you have to do is put together a key outfit, beauty look or room inspired by one of the iconic fashion capitals (London, Paris, Milan, New York or Tokyo) and get your followers to guess which one you've chosen. This is my first blogger challenge so I couldn't wait to get stuck in! I decided to put together an outfit, which I would wear on a night out in my chosen city. It is a glam, sophisticated rock chick inspired look. 

 The Vila Skinny Coated Jeans, £35, are the perfect jeans for a night out. They have a cool (faux!) leather look, but are primarily made of cotton, which would be more comfortable to wear. Team it with this Warehouse Guipure Lace Shell top, £25, to add a pretty, feminine edge to the outfit. This Throw-on Jacket by Mary Portas, £129, smartens up the look and is perfect for keeping the chilly night air away after the sun has gone down. No night out would be complete without high heels, and these Bewitched High Platform Court Shoes, £45, are perfect for this look. The Katie Clutch Bag by Therapy, £20, softens the look and compliments the rest of the outfit perfectly. Both the shoes and the bag are of course faux-leather! The weather in this city is always unpredictable, therefore this Fulton Plain Superslim Umbrella, £18, is the ideal size to keep in your bag in case of any downpours. Add a touch of bling with some gorgeous statement jewellery. These Coast Reese earrings, £15, Lola & Grace Square Solitaire Pendant, £24.90, and JewelEver Gold Plated Ring, £49.50, all add a touch of glamour to the outfit.
This outfit is finished off with a dramatic smoky eye look, which can be achieved using Bellapierre's Eyeliner Duo, £20. A subtle pink lip using Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Cowboy, £13, adds shine without being too dramatic. Both these brands are cruelty-free and BUAV approved. Complete the look with big, voluminous hair and you're ready for your night out in the city!
Can you guess which city I've chosen?  

OOTD - Primark Paisley Maxi Dress

Way behind with my blog posts but I hope to be posting regularly from now on! Here is an outfit I wore when I went up to Birmingham last month. It was the week of the start of our summer heatwave in the UK, so it was really hot and muggy, especially in the city.

As mentioned in my haul post, I bought all my clothes on the first day up there, and these formed the basis of my outfits all week! One day it was slightly cloudy so I opted for this paisley print maxi dress, which was £15 from Primark. I teamed it with my trusty denim jacket that I bought in New Look last year. I wore my old tan and black faux-leather flip flops that are from Peacocks (and are well past their best now!), and my new faux-leather cross-body bag which was £7.99 from New Look.

We took a wander along some of Birmingham's canals, where I excitedly spotted a little cafe that serves lots of vegan meals, including lemon cake! We couldn't not sit down and have vegan cake could we?

After our yummy cake we headed down to the Mailbox shopping centre for a browse, where we spotted some rather interesting statues!

New Blog Design!

Just a quick post to introduce you to my lovely new blog design which was created by the very talented Steph :)

If you fancy getting a makeover for your blog you can do so here: http://bonjourbelledesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

What do you think of my new look?

Why Veganism isn't About Being Perfect

During my years as a vegetarian, I often thought about going vegan. However, like many people, I had this vision of vegans being perfect, über strict police-types who would hurl abuse at you if you accidentally put a foot wrong. When I finally decided to go for it, I joined a few vegan Facebook groups and online forums, and I have to say I was really surprised. Vegans are actually a pretty friendly bunch!

Now, going back to the title of this post. You might think I'm trying to say that you can still be vegan and eat 'free-range eggs from your auntie's organic farm' or 'the occasional bowl of dairy ice cream when you need cheering up'. That is not what I'm saying at all. By all means, if you want to abstain from eating most animal products but still eat one or two things then that is entirely up to you, just maybe don't call yourself a vegan (or you will only add to the confusion of what vegans actually eat!).

What I am saying is, being vegan doesn't mean you are only allowed to shop from vegan supermarkets, buy clothes from super-ethical businesses, grow your own vegetables, buy cosmetics from independent vegan companies, or only eat at vegan restaurants. As ideal as that would be, it is just not currently possible in a non-vegan world (hopefully this will change in the future as veganism becomes more mainstream).

Of course, there is often much debate in these vegan groups, which does bring up some good points. For example, people regularly show off their 'vegan finds' (such as accidentally vegan biscuits or cakes etc.) that they found in the supermarket. Some vegans will say that they don't shop in supermarkets as they sell meat and dairy products, and therefore by buying other products from them, you are funding the very thing that vegans are against. This is a very good point. Which brings us onto the other debatable topic of buying cosmetics from cruelty-free brands whose parent companies test on animals (such as The Body Shop being owned by L'Oreal). Some of the vegans who say they avoid supermarkets may buy from the likes of the Body Shop, and vice-versa. But is there really any difference between the two?

One interesting argument for not boycotting supermarkets or cosmetics companies is that if the demand for vegan products dies down, these products may stop being produced or become difficult to get hold of, which would be a great shame after having so little choice for vegans for many years. One prime example is vegan alternatives to dairy products, such as Alpro and Vitalite, both of which are ironically owned by dairy companies. Buying these products may mean some of your money inevitably goes into the dairy industry, but on the other hand boycotting them may mean no more vegan margarine, yogurt or milk.

If you are thinking of becoming vegan but are worried that it will be difficult, my advice would be to just give it a try - it really is easy. As long as you do not eat any animal products, do not wear leather, suede, fur or silk, and only purchase products that you believe to be cruelty-free, then you can call yourself a vegan. Anything else you do, be it continuing to feed your pets meat, visiting zoos, or going horse-riding (all of which some vegans avoid), is your personal decision. As long as you are happy that you do as much as you possibly can to avoid supporting animal cruelty (which is, after all, what being vegan is all about), then don't let others judge you, when they are probably not 'perfect' themselves.