Hiya - welcome to the latest post from my Expectation vs Reality series. 


I'm going to take a moment to quickly set the scene for you here, as you may be new to my blog [hihihi!] and wonder what in the hell I'm on about, or you might have forgotten what this series is even about; as good old Hong Kong's postal service seems to have eaten up a fair few of my parcels, so I haven't written a post like this for a little while. 


Well, there's not that much to explain really. I'm well poor. I'm that girl - the one who lurks in the Smart Price aisle at Asda, the one who scavenges food off others like a massive tanned [when I can be arsed fake-tanning] seagull and the kinda bird who picks coins up off the floor no matter what. The high risk of said coins being soaked in scally urine, surrounded by broken glass and ensuring a general loss of dignity - just a few of the hurdles I've come across in my life as a penny picker [although my luck's been in recently -  I actually found a whole 50p on the floor the other day. Legit struggled to cope with how someone had managed to drop this small fortune and not notice.]


Combine this with the fact I have an uncontrollable urge to buy things, an addiction to online shopping and that I am also a self confessed eBay junkie - and you have the basis to this series. Boom.


On the rare occasion I can afford to buy something - no matter how little I might have paid for it, I want to know what I'm getting will be sh*t hot, not just plain old sh*t. But sadly, more often than not, that amazing looking playsuit you got for a quid and that looked pure fit on the model turns out to be nothing more than a sick joke with lace on.

This, my friends, is what the cool kids call an 'Expectation vs Reality' moment. You know what I mean; you order an absolute bargain online that looks like it's going to be a pure fitty, but then when it arrives... you don't know whether to laugh or cry because of how terrible it is. And sometimes, you just give up and do both; simultaneously. THAT. 

This series tests out some of the cheapest bargains of the internets, to see if they meet the expectations that their stock imagery suggests. Kind of like a cool Watchdog; with much less Anne Robinson and much more swearing and inappropriate comparisons.

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Expectation vs Reality: Part #9 > The £2.24 Lace LBD


Expectation > Black lace bodycon dress. £2.24 - and not being shipped from China - say whaaaat?! I was bidding on this bad boy and thought 'I'll be reckless and put a £3 max bid on' [like a pure baller, splashing the cash] and then all of a sudden, the auction was over and I'd won it for £2.24 including postage. First impressions were good - it looked lovely on the model [but we all know that first impressions can be well deceiving - take the 99p playsuit and 99p top for example *shudders.*] What was it like in reality?

The £2.24 dress - insanely sh*t, or remotely fit?



The images above are stock images from the eBay listing

Reality > I love complaining. I really do. Nowt better than being a bit of a drama llama. However in the case of this dress, I actually can't find too much to fault - especially as the dress only cost me £2.24 and was delivered to my door within three working days. After the fiasco with my last Expectation vs Reality purchase ['Here's my boobs squashed into a lacy horse harness'] this dress is surprisingly... normal.





I mean granted, it does look a bit different than it does on the model - and I have defo some beef with the awkward length of the sleeves, but I can't really complain, given the price I paid for it and how pleasantly surprised I was to crack open some Expectation vs Reality mail and not do a sick in my mouth. And if all else fails - I can just roll the sleeves up, like I'm about to wash up.


Conclusion > I feel a little sad that I can't do loads of complaining here; especially that I haven't been able to use the phrase 'sick joke' in this post [my fave.]

However, I also feel triumphant in that I have discovered that sometimes, you can get stuff for next to nothing online - and it won't bring you out in hives / the urge to vom / hysterical laughter.

If you fancy seeing whether you can get one of these dresses for a similar price, check out the seller's shop on eBay. They have tons of similar items / listings, all super mega cheap. Also, a surprising amount of bondage gear - but maybe skip past that [unless you're into a bit of bondage, but in which case I'd probably still avoid buying it, as I wouldn't trust being bound and gagged by something that cost 99p. Hello hilarious / embarrassing A&E stories!]

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What are your thoughts? Have you had any epic Expectation vs Reality moments with things you've bought online, or any amazing bargains off eBay?



*all photo credits [other than my own work] to the seller on eBay

You may have seen my post last week featuring the fabulous Zara Snake Print Dress from Luxemme [and if you didn't, it's well worth a read - though I am slightly bias, like.] Well, I was that impressed with the item itself, I only went back for more, didn't I? 

You know when you have one of those days when you're feeling pure miserable and even a brew and a whole packet of Bourbon biscuits later, you're still not smiling? Well yeah, that happened - and old Mr Credit Card took the brunt of dem feelz. Soz lad. 

Since my accident last year [accident as in I injured myself, not like 'I had an accident' in the sense of publicly weeing myself or anything...] I've felt a bit on the turd side of life. So I wanted to treat myself to something a bit fit for over the Christmas Party Season; just on the off-chance a miracle happens and I start to actually have a life and leave the house to converse with actual human beings. 

The more I browsed Luxemme's website, the more bits I started to eye up - when I suddenly clapped eyes on this little beauty and it was love at first sight [I wanted to make some pure pun there, like love at first website or something but I'm too tired to make that work - so I'm just gonna leave that hanging.]

Meet the Paris Ruched Side Wrap Dress, £28.00. 







I don't really even have many more words to say here [and that's unusual for me.] Just that I absolutely love it. 

I don't really own any nude, beige or camel clothing - so I feel proper sophisticated and [dare I say it] like I'm channelling some Kardashian vibes in this. Minus the figure, lips or boot-ay like; but almost like an actual, functioning human being.

I love the colour, I love the shape [and how flattering it is] and I love the slinky, soft material. Until now, I've never really owned anything else quite like this; but I'll never be without a dress of this style again! It's a fab shape and colour - and a style which you can really dress up; for almost any occasion. I'm super excited to try a few different looks out pre-party season :}

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What do you think? Are you a fan? Have you ordered from Luxemme before?

Does it count as a manicure if you do it yourself and your skills in the nail polish game aren't that strong? Either way - here's a sneaky little insight into my [dull as frank] life and my talons of choice for the week. 

I've actually felt a little bit festive this year; tis the season to plaster everything in glitter. Whether it's party dresses, Christmas trees or your nails - everything looks better with a little sparkle during the run up to Christmas. 

So when [during a quick diversion I took in B&M Bargains on Friday to avoid the village smackheads who suddenly loomed at me from out of nowhere] I noticed they had little sets of 2 Rimmel nail polishes for sale for like £2-something, I was on it like a car bonnet [not like I make a thing of getting on car bonnets like; I did try it once, but it wasn't sexy in the slightest.] I picked up two fab Glitterbomb top coat polishes; a pinky one in shade 019 Disco Diva and a silver, more glitterball-esque shade called 018 Disco Fever in a little plazzy bag and I was buzzing.


I frigging heart these Rimmel nail polishes. I picked one up this time last year; in a like, red and blue glitter mash up and I loved it - so there was no way I was going to miss out on such a bargain. 

Glitter top coats are genuine life savers. Sh*thouses when it comes to removing them - soooo much scrubbing and nail polish remover is required, but insanely brilliant in making your manicure last forevs. A quick top up coat hides a multitude of sins. They also look fab worn over your naked nail, with loads of coats built up for a full on sparkle-city experience. Unfortunately however, my natural nails aren't fit for public consumption at present, due to the glorious orangey hue from fake tans past that they're sporting [that I've already mentioned here and here] so I won't pure harp on about it!


I decided on a nude polish this week - I don't know why, but having nude, white or pastel nails makes me feel like I've got my life in order. I definitely don't, but yeno; it's always nice to feel that maybe other humans might look at me and imagine I do. This fab Colville Mews polish by Nails Inc was free with Glamour the other month and has been one of my firm favourites ever since. It just applies so well. So yeah; I popped on a couple of coats before layering a mix of both glitter polishes over the top, for an ultra sparkly look. And here's how it looks.







What's on your nails this week? What do you think of this colour? Do you have any Rimmel recommendations?



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