Ins(ta)piration | SAAS-y ways to spend your funds

Oh the struggles of how to spend your money!

So your bank account is looking a little happier than usual and you're of course struck with the dilemma not to mention endless possibilities of how to 'treat yo self'.

A new Anastasia palette or a splash out on ohpolly.com? Would you rather have a beaming highlight or another outfit that you'll possibly probably never wear again after it's seen the light of your Instagram grid. Do you suffice the waste of money on a dress that you will merely outfit repeat. Hmm but the dress IS to die... you NEED it.

Sound familiar?

This is generally my internal dilemma when this situation/urge to spend occurs (often). I've discovered a variety of tips/hacks shall we say to ensure you always find the best deals about. Online sights as you will know are very diligent in offering discount codes. Asides from the general 10% or 20% student discount it is not uncommon to see 30% off codes floating around nearer to the end of the month when most of us are a little tight. It always seems to be that whenever I need (or more likely want) to shop these discounts aren't so available. Generally by searching the brands commonly used hashtag you'll manage to find some sort of Influencer who has their own personal code. For example misguided use the hashtag #babesinmissguided.

Anyway, back to the point! Personally when in need of a spree, my first instinct is to hit the Instagram discover page and see just what clothing styles are catching my eye. I like to save these in the saved posts tab of my account for future reference. When trends are quite premature it can take some time for most websites to catch on - this is where the trustworthy google comes in handy. Very self explanatory I know but if I can't find the specific style of item on one of the popular websites (Missguided, Pretty Little Thing, Oh Polly, Miss Pap, Missy Empire and Rebellious Fashion are generally my first port of call) then I'll take to google and use key words to find an alternative website. Sometimes you can be disapppointed and fail to find a the item at all, but fret not - Instagram will always prevail!

The opportunities of influence are almost endless and obviously susceptible to your own personal taste. Here however are a few Instagram Influencer Accounts which I have found to be very influential over my own purchases (I'm sure you yourself will have come across these accounts yourself). These are the people I blame for my constant desire to spend - not including the obvious affect of celebrity accounts also - so follow at your own risk.

Sarah Ashcroft @sarahhashcroft

Perhaps the first influencer that I happened across somewhat 4 or 5 years ago. When I first started following Sarah's Instagram and YouTube she had just started to grow a base even taking photos for her blog using clothes which she would later return to the shop. The influencer now has a ridiculous 766k followers and sell out ranges for inthestyle.com, so it's easy to see that she has a large scale affect on the publics buying habits. If you're looking for lounge wear inspiration or perhaps a very glam night outfit this is the account. If you don't already follow Sarah prepare to want to spend ALL OF THE TIME.

Yasmine Chanel @yasminechanel

I discovered Yasmine Chanel's page around the same time as I did Sarah's. The two influencers had become friends and obviously through the use of tagging I came across Yasmine's page. Yasmine's style combines comfort and effortless sass through the pairing of leisurely trainers and more dressy tops. Again for go-to big night out dresses and effortless put together day time looks, this is the account to follow.

Amanda Ensing @amandaensing

Amanda Ensing, better known for her gigantic Youtube following and Makeup Guru Status also deems a pretty impressive instagram feed. Her figure hugging style is an ode to the slightly curvier figure and sticks to a fairly neutral colour palette.

Jordan Lipscombe @jordanlipscombee

Jordan Lipscombe has seemed to crawl out of the woodwork this year after starring in campaigns for INTHESTYLE alongside fellow Youtuber Hannah Renee. She styles effortless comfy items to create an edgy, yet girly style.

Jessica Hunt @jesshunt2

I don't think there's a single brand that Jess Hunt isn't repping at the moment. Often caught in Glasgow shooting for Quiz clothing and working mostly with Pretty Little Thing, Jess too has starred in her own campaign for isawitfirst.com.

(read my I SAW IT FIRST blog post here)

Arianna Ajtar @arianna_ajtar

Arianna Ajtar also owner of the brand 'Mars the Label' is great inspiration for festival clothing and holiday wear - often jetting off to Ibiza spontaneously after a night out. Her own clothing line is heard to be of a super high quality and looks red hot on insta.