Just in Case

Hiya!

About an hour or so ago I got a new phone case through the door, it was sent to me by Wrappz.com, they make personalised cases and skins for all manner of devices!  When I got an email from them asking me to try out one of their cases I jumped at the opportunity, they let me completely design the case so it was completely personal to me, I used a load of pictures off my Instagram and collated them onto the case, the result of it looks really good! 

I'm not actually massive on phone cases, I've had the same wooden one since getting my iPhone, but recently after seeing some Instagram cases I thought I'd give it a go! I'm always wary because I hate the thick chunky plastic cases that double the size of your phone, so when the case arrived I was super happy to see its made from a really thin plastic, it literally adds no weight or size to your phone, all ports and buttons are accessed as you would if the case wasn't even there. However it doesn't feel flimsy or bad quality, its a really glossy tough feel that feels substantial just not chunky!

What I love about the personalised aspect of the case is that you can carry around all your memories in your pocket, I sat and looked at a load of the pictures because I tried to pick some that have memories and meaning to them as well. These cases make an awesome Christmas present because you can surprise the recipient with a case full of funny memories or use one of the stock designs from the site!  The only issue I have is that the pictures are ever so slightly blurry if you look closely, this however could obviously just be the quality of the Instagram photos and when you look from a distance it isn't even visible anyway. You can Click Here to buy your personalised case!

 So, the lovely people over at Wrappz have teamed up with me to give every reader a free skin for their phone, completely personal to you! Click Here to pick your phone and personalise the skin, then enter FREESKIN when you get to the checkout, this will knock off £7.99 from the skin meaning you only need to pay £2.50 for the postage*! That's pretty cool, right?! Once you've got your skin, tweet me your order, I'd love to see what design you went for @SamSquireBlog you may even get a follow ;)

*Laptop skins etc cost more, the voucher code will only knock £7.99 off your purchase.

Enjoy and see you next time!

Oooh, Juicy!

Hey Guys!

I know it's been a little while since my last blog post, I literally don't even have an excuse!  Anyway, lately I've been on a bit of a health mission, and my new fave thing is juicing.  I popped to Argos to take advantage of a great offer they had on a juicer, which I didn't originally need but felt bad ignoring such a good offer. Come on guys, we've all done it! Below is a great little how-to for making a really nice juice that is super cheap and mega easy to make! As usual, click the links to be taken to the product page!

Step 1:

Get yo'self a juicer! Argos have an awesome offer running on a Cookworks juicer for just £29.99! This is a UK only offer however for the US, Bed Bath & Beyond have some great juicers at great prices, for around $29 you can get an Oster MyBlend which is a super cool little machine!

Step 2:

Head out and buy a fruit medley pot or a fruit salad pot, you'll normally find these in snack areas of supermarkets or drugstores. I went for the Tesco Strawberry, Blackberry and Blueberry because it's winter so why not have a seasonal pot? These cost £2 but you can make so much juice from 1 pot! 

Step 3:

Juice it baby! Whack it all in the juicer and let it work its magic! You'll end up with a super fruity, thick juice that's free from all those nasty ingredients that store bought ones can contain! Add a couple drops of lemon or lime juice to preserve it for a couple of days. Make sure to keep it refrigerated to keep it fresh.  

See you next time! 

Christmas Ideas for The Tricky Man!

Hey!

So I know it can be tricky this time of year, what to buy for the man who has everything (yes, we all know the penicillin joke).  But seriously, we all find it tricky to buy for Dads, brothers, uncles, husbands etc. Here's my list of the top 3 little extra gifts that I reckon most guys will like!  As usual, click the picture of the product to be taken to the shop to buy it!

1. Olloclip

The Olloclip is a nifty bit of techy goodness, essentially its a pretty simple little doodah, it simply clots over the camera of your iPhone giving you the option to use Fisheye or Wide angled lenses when taking a picture or video! They are perfect for the budding film maker, or selfie enthusiast, such as I.  Other Olloclips are available that allow you to use different lenses, however the basic one consists of the two. I give the Olloclip 5 Sam Faces, they're a really great, gimmicky gift that would add to a stocking really well!

2. Grey Goose 

To clarify, I am of legal drinking age in the UK, I do not condone under-age drinking, for more information on alcohol and it's effects please visit DrinkAware.co.uk

I am quite the Grey Goose fan and they do some great little gift sets that would light up any heart on Christmas morning.  Posh voddy is a hit among most people so you really can't go wrong with Grey Goose, however, don't go over board, you don't want a head down the loo before you've even reached the turkey! Grey Goose gets 4 fabulous Sam Faces!

3. Custom Phone Case

I am an Instagram ADDICT, there, I said it! From casetagram.com you can pick from either a case made up of your Instagram pictures, OR, a case designed by loads of awesome people! Cases are roughly $39 but are totally worth the price, not only are they great quality but the designs are seriously awesome.  They have the vibrancy and flair of Instagram, just on a phone case?! They make cases for iPhone 4/4s 5/5s/5c, iPod Touch 4/5gen, iPad, Samsung Galaxy devices and loads more, i'd be surprised if you have a phone that cant have a case made for it! Casetagram get 5 Sam Faces because it is a seriously cool concept!

I hope this helps you all with your present buying woes! If you need more ideas, why not drop me a tweet? I am always happy to help @SamSquireBlog. Or, alternatively, comment below! 

See you next time!

#VLOGMAS DAY 1!

Hey!

As promised, here is Vlogmas Day 1 from my YouTube channel, please make sure to subscribe to my channel, like the video and why not recommend to your friends? It'd sure help me out :-)

See you tomorrow!

 

How VERY Disappointing

Hiya!

Today's blog post isn't really the usual fun laid back post, it's actually a bit of a moan about some really bad customer service and bad practice from a well known company, it's one I definitely think you need to read!

I'll set the scene, its Black Friday - a famous tradition in America and one that is just touching down here in the UK, not only Black Friday but also my payday, literally a great day on so many levels! I was searching the best UK Black Friday deals when I came across a website I haven't used before but one that I know is relatively popular - www.very.co.uk.  They had some fantastic offers, some of which seemed too good to be true...because, well, they were!

They had the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.2inch screen with £200 off at just £120! Obviously this caught my eye as a great Christmas present so, I clicked buy now (naturally). After entering all my details and signing up for an account I reached the screen shown below.

 When shopping on Very, you can either sign up for a credit account with them which means you don't pay upfront but pay for items in installments, or you can pay using your credit/debit card (red circled).  Not wanting a credit account, I clicked to pay with my credit card, it was at this point where things started to go wrong. I was greeted by a 'technical error' which I am fully aware happens on the internet, however it's 2013 so surely they have a great customer service team on Twitter?! *tumble weed* It took some time for a reply to my tweet and when I got one, well 'useless' somehow came to mind.

Yay, a smiley and a kiss, surely that will help?! Sadly not this time Ellie (the Very social media person). I totally get that it isn't the social media teams fault, however they are indeed the face of the brand so some flack will undoubtedly come your way! When they finally saw us mere customers as fit for a reply, they told us there was no issue and to try again, so try I did, et voila it worked, I could now pay, oh, ermm, only if I was prepared to pay another £150 on top of the advertised priced...

I would say it is relatively safe to say for a first time buyer with Very I was pretty shocked and with such a big sale event, it makes it look somewhat like a quick way of them getting promotion for their 'amazing' prices.  Amazingly shoddy. I absolutely DO NOT recommend Very.co.uk and would go as far as to say you need to avoid it at all cost, their social media is plagued with complaints about stock and undelivered items.  I actually managed to get the same tablet at a lower price than their sale price on Amazon who I would say appear to now be a far more reliable source.  As for buying Fearne Cotton's latest scatter cushion, well, maybe get a similar one from a competitor.

Sorry Very but you are VERY disappointing and a complete letdown. Have you had issues with Very? If you have I want to know! Please comment below or drop me a Tweet @SamSquireBlog.  

On a lighter note...
Dont forget to hit YouTube tomorrow as my vlogs will be starting! Wooooohoooo!

See you next time!

Fra La La La Laaaa La La La LA!

Hiya!

So we are pretty close to December and I am reaching Christmas overdrive! I have barely started my Christmas shopping yet but literally can't wait to get my tree and decs up next weekend! Have you started your Christmas shopping? I hope you're not one of these that is done with their shopping by June and have it all wrapped by July.

In this post I'm going to show you how to create a smart-casual look for your work Christmas party! Click on the links provided to head through to buy the look. I'm all about a smart, slick look this year, brighten it up with a bonkers jumper, though! 

The Shirt: For the look I used a plain blue Oxford shirt, there are loads around, I find River Island and ASOS have the best ones at the moment, Oxford shirts give a really nice tailored fit and a really modern look.

The Jumper: I'm big on slightly wacky jumpers this year, pictured I wore the snowflake jumper from Burton, at £25 it is about in line in price with all of the other brands.  I just also purchased a really great one from Next, it was also £25 and I am becoming such a big fan of sweaters now. 

The Blazer: My blazer is actually a previous season one from Burton, it is a tweed/herringbone pattern and goes really great with the red jumper, you don't want to mix too many colours in one outfit! My current favourite party season blazer has to be this one from ASOS, I think slim fit blazers are so much better for the party season.

The Jeans: Any skinny fit jeans will work great, I wouldn't recommend a chino, mainly because I think the denim works well with the look. Avoid light denim, you don't want to wash the look out, black or darker blue jeans work really well.

The Shoes: These shoes have appeared on the blog before, and its mainly because I am a massive fan of them! These are my Lagunas from ALDO Shoes, they are absolutely perfect for a party, and noone will take you on in them (I joke).

Accessory: I wore these black and gold collar tips to give the outfit a bit more of a smart-casual look, these were originally from River Island but they don't appear to be selling them anymore.  Collar tips are great, they are perfect for 'blinging up' (so sorry for using that phrase) an outfit that is otherwise somewhat plain. 

So that is it! What is your favourite look this party season? Also, what do you think to the christmas look on the blog? I can confirm it will be getting a heck of a lot more festive on here as the weeks go on! 

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel (SamSquireBlog) for loads of festive things as I will be doing Vlogmas this year, and follow me on Twitter to stay up to date @SamSquireBlog

See you next time! 

I fell off a chair....

Hiya!

First off, I have been ridiculously unorganised for some reason this week, so this blog post is a few days late, muchos apologies amigos!

As you know from my last blog post, I will be doing Vlogmas on my YouTube Channel.

I am super  excited to get going so I uploaded a sneaky peek into what the channel is about, you can check it out below! 

I had major issues when trying to edit due to being too lazy to use my Mac. Therefore the quality of this isn't what I wanted it to be but they'll improve as I get more into the editing process! I have created a little timetable to show which type of video is which day of the week!

Here it is:

Monday - Reviews

Tuesday - Follow me Vlog

Wednesday - How To's

Thursday - Miscellaneous 

Friday - My New Fave Thing

Saturday - Follow me Vlog

Sunday - Commenting on Things

That is the days and the type of video I'll be uploading on the day!  I cant believe how quickly I have reached 100 views on my current video, the power of social media is craaaaazy! Please don't forget to subscribe to my account you can Click Here to be taken to the sub link.  I always love to get feedback so please let me know what you think about the channel and the videos. 

I know it's a short one today but I'll get back into the swing of things next week, I've had a stinking cold (manflu) so I've been feeling very sorry for myself.

See you next time!

Christmassy Announcement!

Hiya!

Christmas is fast approaching and so is December so I thought this was a rather apt time to let you in on a little something called Vlogmas.  Basically you do a daily vlog for each day of Christmas! This year I have decided I'd give it a good old try, with each days vlog being uploaded on the morning of the day after (Monday's vlog uploaded on a Tuesday morning). 

I'm not yet sure on a name for the YouTube channel so any suggestions would be massively helpful (comment below, it can be your early present to me).  However you wont even need to go to YouTube to view it! There will be a dedicated SamSquireBlog.co.uk page JUST for the vlogging side of life, I am literally making it that easy for you to watch my face for 25 whole days. Lucky Devil. I'll also update you on all the deets as usual via Twitter @SamSquireBlog. I am super excited to get going with it!

I went Christmas shopping today and as we all know I am what I refer to as a 'Christmas Enthusiast' basically meaning utter nutter at Christmas time. You can imagine my gigantic bauble sized meltdown when in John Lewis and I saw this lot...

...Literally crazy excited!

Anyway that's all for this little update post, comments below or drop me a tweet as usual! 

Must Haves - Posh Party

Hiya!

Now we all love a party I should hope and so I have got 3 things you literally need in your life this party season.  These aren't just normal things, these will posh up most outfits, they are for parties so posh that they are referred to as 'pardies'.  Click the image of the product to head over and buy it! Thanks to ASOS for sending me all the bits and bobs for their Looking Sharp campaign!

This gold piece of fantasticness is the Casio A159WGEA-1EF Digital Watch, they are so retro looking and really finish off an outfit, smart or casual (Or even smasual).  No picture will do the gold finish of this watch justice, it's a really full colour and the great thing about these is they are unisex! This is currently on sale at just £37.50 and would make a great piece for a Christmas party or even a stocking filler for Santa to bring!

I am a collar-tip convert! I was always really unsure of men wearing collar tips, however with a smart blazer and shirt they look really good! The gold a black looks super smart but team them with a denim shirt and you've got yourself a really great casual look too! Collar tips aren't expensive, these are just £4 (Was £8) and are a really great mens accessory!

How about these? Possibly the most exciting thing I have ever received, thank you so much ASOS for these amazing ALDO Lagunas! ALDO have a great selection of shoes and I personally think they have a really sophisticated party look to them rather than that old 'I am an office loafer' look. The matte leather offset with the patent leather gives a really great look then framed by studs it gives the shoe a casual yet smart and elegant look. I love these so much they may become my work shoe - I'm not sure how well these would go down in retail! These are the luxury item for this blog post, at £95 they aren't cheap but they are amazing quality and you totally get what you pay for when it comes to shoes!

What I want to know is what is your favourite mens party look for christmas? Are you a sharp suit or a geeky sweater kind of guy? Drop me a Tweet or comment below! My full christmas party look will be available to view on the ASOS website very soon as part of their #TonightIs Looking Sharp campaign!

Isn't it getting chilly now? Not a fan of the mornings and nights getting darker! Wrap up warm and I'll chat to you soon!

'Tache On!

It’s November, or for us men, Movember.  For me, unfortunately I can’t seem to grow facial hair, any that I do accidentally grow ends up looking extremely threadbare, I therefore steer very clear of it and remain clean shaven. However, if you’re planning on growing a handlebar only a penny-farthing could be proud of then this post is for you!  I have compiled a list of the top 3 men’s essentials for this ‘tache-tastic month.

 

Gillette Fusion Proglide 3-in-1 (£15 Boots) 

Trim it, shape it or shave it all off with this, the Swiss army knife of shaving.  It lets you sculpt easily with the Braun trimmer. And, when Movember’s over, you can use the wet-shave end to shave that caterpillar off!

Movember ‘Mo wax’ (£5 Penhaligons) 

Sculpt your handlebar, trucker or horseshoe with the Mo Wax in association with Movember.com. £2 from each tin is donated to Movember, and it’s a necessity to keep your ‘tache looking and smelling fresh.

Moustache Comb (£28 Murdock) 

No one likes a tangled tache so keep yours sleek and crumb-free with the Abbeyhorn comb by Murdock London. After it’s combed, style it with some wax to ensure swooning*.
*Swooning cannot be guaranteed

Are you doing Movember? What 'tache are you growing? Comment below or drop me a Tweet @SamSquireBlog.

Finally, look at me with my .co.uk! I thought as my blog has had a facelift (more Bruce Jenner than Pete Burns) I'd get myself a new domain, so I did, what do you think of the new layout?

See you next time!

Winter Prep - My Favourites

Hello!

I hope you're all okay and haven't been blown away by this ghastly weather, we didn't really get much up in Lincolnshire, the '90mph winds' here were quite the opposite and had the force of a sneeze.  Anyway, I thought it was about time I did an outfit post, this is my first so thought I'd go all out and wear my current favourite things! Don''t forget, if you see something you like, click the link in the section and it'll take you straight to the item!

I'm an Insider!

Hello!

Before you panic, no it isn't Monday and yes this is blog post numero dos for this week! Its just a quick post because I wanted to let you all know about something pretty cool! A few weeks back I applied for #AccessAllASOS, now if you know me then you know I am a hashtag fan and I am also a big fan of ASOS. AAA allows ASOS obsessives such as I the opportunity to get that little bit closer to the company and have exclusive access to special invitations, previews and even the chance to visit ASOS HQ! I returned from work on Wednesday to find a parcel from ASOS, due to completely forgetting I had applied for AAA, I went into panic mode racking my brain to try and figure out what on earth I have been ordering! Below is a picture of the little box they sent to all of us accepted onto the scheme. 

Along with a handwritten note (thank you Jayne), I also received a pair of burgundy socks, a really nice skinny tie and a fortune cookie which sadly didn't have a very long life after I opened the box...we shall speak no more of that incident! ;)

If you didn't get accepted this time or didn't even know this wonderful thing existed then do not fear, you can apply to join us in 2014 just click here!

So, it's official I am an agent ASOS Insider! 

 See you next time!

Fashion Focus: Greg Fidler

Musicians not only have to create a style when it comes to their music but they also have to have an individual fashion sense that matches their genre. Greg Fidler is a talented musician from the UK and having had a top 40 hit, keeping his image and presence in the music industry is key for Greg.  Whilst preparing for the release of his debut single, he kindly helped with this blog post and we have together created a look-book for the kind of outfit he goes for and Greg has also answered a few fashion questions.  This post focuses solely on items available from boohoo Men's.

Keep it clean!

As we all know (hopefully) the modern man looks after his image. Your face is a big part of your image so keeping it fresh and squeaky clean is a must!  I've trialled 3 skincare products over the past few days, to clarify these are products that I bought completely with my own pennies from Boots (currently on 3 for 2). No donations or sneaky bribes have occurred here, these are 100% my opinions.

Product 1 is from the men's Botanics collection from Boots and it is the Men's Eye Roll-On (£6.99 - Boots). The mornings are getting darker and waking up is becoming a mission, I wanted something that would refresh my eyes and cool them, ultimately making opening them in the mornings an easier task. The product contains ginseng which naturally revitalises the skin, it operated with a metal ball in the top that rolls the product onto the skin, something which unfortunately let the product down when I first used it. The product was coating the ball and sticking onto the ball rather than being distributed onto the skin, however, after cleaning it off and starting again it worked. The product is applied morning and night and seems to be working well as far as I can tell.

Wrist Fashion - Its Timeless!

I have to admit I am a huge watch fan, my watch is one of the things that I cant leave the house without in the morning.  My wrist feels somewhat naked when I decide not to wear a watch.  Here are my 2013 top-notch-watch choices.  I think watches make a great present idea, and they dont even need to be expensive, I'll show you my favourite low, mid and high range options that you can take into account when buying a watch. Click the name of a watch to be taken to the best priced website that I have found for you.

Casio Collecion

London, Paris...Peterborough?

On Saturday I attended the Autumn Fashion Fix, a showcase fashion show held in the Queensgate Centre, Peterborough. Not only is this a great way for retailers in the shopping centre to showcase their fashions but its also great for us fashion conscious folk to ensure we stay au fait with the latest trends. I've chosen my favourite looks from the show and compiled them to give you the ‘411’ on what you should be wearing this autumn. 

Look 1: Animal Instinct