Peaches, pastels and pinks

Nothing excites me more than finding my perfect summer shades, you know the colours you're just definitely going to stick to for the next four months? Well this year mine are peaches, pastels and pinks! Ooooo what perfect alliteration (my English student-ness is showing through). So i thought i'd pick out my favourite things in the shops and online so far this Spring!

When it comes to nail varnish i find it super hard to find pastel shades that give good coverage! So when i came across this MaxFactor mini nail polish in the colour 'pretty in pink' i thought it was great as i could try it out (they're also only like £3.99) but you only need 2 coats to get a good coverage! I've also just ordered two of Tanya Burr's products, a lip gloss in 'picnic in the park' and a nail varnish in 'bright and early' these shades just scream SUMMER to me! Next i came across this pale pink skater skirt from River Island, the thing i like about this is that the skirt is structured so it keeps it shape and accentuates your waist! It would look so cute with a bright floral vest top! My last stop was New Look (obviously) and i found this coral waterfall blazer this is almost like a boyfriend blazer as it is slightly floaty and baggy but it's still perfectly smart to wear on top of a cami or tunic dress. I also found these two tunic dresses, a cameo rose aztec dress and afloral print tunic dress both at the bargain price of £19.99! Bargain i know!! These are both super cute to wear with some heeled boots and a leather jacket for spring time. Top tip: the floral print dress looks super amazing with a cream peter pan collar shirt underneath!!

Have you chosen your summer shades yet?

xoxo

braided crown

How are all of you lovelies today? I'm currently very ill with shingles! *sobs* So, to occupy my time i started experimenting with my hair! I love plaiting my hair but i never know what to do with them! I saw some hair inspiration on Pinterest and thought i'd give it a go for myself!

It's super simple so perfect when you're in a rush, basically you create two small plaits on each side of your head, they're then crossed over each other at the back and secured with kirby grips, make sure the kirby grips are hidden by the alternative plait to keep the design tidy!

What are your favourite hairstyles to do in a rush?

xoxo

OOTD

After purchasing my white jeans i was desperate to try and style them with my existing wardrobe! So i thought i'd share my choices with you. 

I thought i'd keep this quite simple as i was just off to do some payday shopping then head to work! I picked up this top from Brandy & Melville last year whilst in London, i have to admit this is one of my favourite shops ever and i love the little quirky t-shirts you can get there (plus this is one of my favourite songs ever)! The shoes i chose are some platform gladiators from Primark with double gold buckles on each side, they're soo comfy and keep my height! i chose to wear a leather jacket to keep the monochrome style to the outfit but as it is still quite chilly i added a checked scarf too! I've been really into skinny jeans and baggy tees lately.

Where's your favourite place to buy quirky clothes from?

xoxo

Quirky storage ideas

Confession #1 of this blog post, i'm a hoarder! I buy way too much stuff i don't need and it get shoved to the back of my cupboards, wardrobes, drawers etc.. Confession #2 of this blog posts, i am completely unorganized when it comes to my own space, everything just always seems to be a mess, and saying as i have such a tiny space to work with when it comes to storage i need to be as clever as i possibly can! 

When it comes to make-up i like to have everything out in front of me soi don't forget what i have! I use a range of glass jars (mainly from Homesense) but for the things i just can't fit onto my dressing table i have small sets of draws from Ikea, i painted these white and they're perfect for arranging everything, they aren't big enough to store things such as palettes so i keep those in a 'posh' bag such as boux avenue, victoria secrets (i think underwear bags are just too pretty to throw away)! I have one of these sets for makeup and another for nail varnish. 

Next is my jewelry, don't you just hate it when all of your necklaces and earrings are shoved in the same jewelry box and you go to find the thing you want and its tangles into seventy other items? Exactly my problem. While browsing through markets and vintage fairs i always come across small trinket boxes that are too pretty not to buy! I think these are great for storing costume jewelry like bracelets etc.. I found two small crystal cherry glasses to set next to my candles on my shelf which are great for keeping my rings as i have wayyyy to many to put away and never see again (remind me to start wearing all of these again). When it came to necklaces i never have the patience to sit and untangle them all so i needed somewhere to hang them. I thought saying as my bedroom seems pretty cramped that the best place to hang them from is the wall! I went to a fabric shop nearby where they also sell curtain fabrics, hooks and rails, these hooks have small patterns engrave onto them which made them look slightly vintage and i thought these would be perfect to hang my necklaces from!

What are your storage techniques, i'd love to learn some more!?

xoxo

White on white

When it comes to new trends i'm all for trying them, but this is one i was slightly weary about trying. White jeans are an accident waiting to happen in my view, but with careful consideration and styling they can be the perfect companion. I picked a pair up from zara, they're high waisted jeggings with two silver zip pockets, similar to these. As soon as i put them on i fell in love, sometimes it can get a bit boring wearing dark denim, and the great thing about these is double denim doesn't seem as scary! I love how you can dress these up and down as i think they're slightly more dressy than your average navy denim. So i chose my top picks to dress up and dress down this look:

When it comes to dressing the pants up (now by no means would i pair this as a whole outfit!!) but these are my three picks for three different outfit styles, the patterned blazer is from River Island and i thought this would go perfect with a white cami and some bright orange heels. The coral court shoes are from Dorothy Perkins, these keep in with that spring pastel trend everyone's in love with and adds a sophisticated tone to and all white outfit. Last this lime green shirt is a perfect tiwst on a button up shirt and something about it makes it much more dressy than an ordinary shirt!

For the casual look i chose to go towards the grunge trend. This flannel button up shirt from Topshop is the perfect alternative to a jacket when the weather starts to get warmer, either buttoned up to the collar or open with a lace 'worn to be seen' bra underneath. I thought these mock croc cut out boots from Boohoo.com were the perfect transformation from winter to summer, also the patent croc adds a little something! If the weather still isn't amazing, what better to wear than this biker jacket from Asos, the basic style has been altered and jersey sleeves have been added, i think this gives it a nice twist to the norm and makes it feel more NYC chic.

What would you pair your favourite pair of jeans with?

xoxo

pastel nail art

It's been so long since i've experimented with my nails! When i had long nails i used to have to paint them every other day, so when i cut them the colour seemed to last for weeks! So today i decided i would do a very simple tutorial on how to create daisies with a dotting tool! If you don't have a dotting tool i suggest you get one as i think they're amazing- i picked mine up in a nail art set from Topshop.

First of all i filed my nails down to get rid of any jagged edges, then i applied the Rimmel nail nurse rescue as a base coat. As i was going to add colourful nail art i wanted a neutral background colour, so i went for elegant touch pink manicure set and only used the pinky colour (i applied two coats of this, if you wanted it to be denser i'd go for three!)Then using the large side of the dotting tool to create five dots surrounding a (pretendy) circle making sure they touch in the inner corners, i did this with Barry M hi-shine gel effect nail polish in the colour Prickly pear (the lilac colour) and repeated it with Revlon nail enamel in the colour Eclectic (minty green shade). Using the smaller side of the dotting tool i applied Maxfactor colour effects mini nail polish in the colour Pretty in pink (salmon shade)to create some smaller daisies. It doesn't matter if these aren't all symmetric or overlapping, i think the messier the better! Then using Maxfactor colour effects mini nail polish in the colour Mellow Yellow and created the centre of the daisies. 

To finish the look i used Sally Hansen insta-dry top coat, this makes the polish super shiny and dries super quick (if you're as impatient as i am then this is the top coat for you!!). 

I hope you liked this tutorial, i'd love to do some more so please leave me some ideas down in the comments!

xoxo

My new obsession: Dolce

You know what it's like, when you're strolling through your local department store and the beautiful fragrance women are whispering at you to try THEIR new fragrance, because their's is better than anyone else's. Now by the 3rd lady i'm usually running through the beauty department to escape the clouds of perfume attacking me. But this is one i stopped for. 

Dolce by Dolce&Gabanna is just perfect, i'm not one for fresh floral scents normally as i feel sometimes they can be a little overpowering but this has the perfect balance of sweetness and freshness thrown together. I'll definitely be picking one of these up soon!

read about it here

buy it here

xoxo

“The nobility of the soul, the elegance of every day gestures, the joy of sharing from generation to generation, and the effortless perfection of a single white flower. This is the picture of Sicily that I carry within me, and the one captured in this delicate fragrance”- Domenico Dolce.

OOTD

When the weather gets slightly warmer i love experimenting with new looks to try and get this seasons trends! Today i opted for a neon yellow crop top from Topshop (£6.00), with my waxed high waisted pants from New Look and as a cover up my zig zag printed kimono from New Look also. As the kimono is so long and i'm so small i needed to add a bit of height, i paired this outfit with my black heeled chelsea boots. If you weren't wanting to wear heels, you could pair it with some tan peep toe ballet pumps and a tan slouch leather bag for a more relaxed look!

xoxo

happy mother's day

As mother's day is less than a week away i thought i'd share with everyone what i have purchased my lovely mother! When i was little i never understood why mother's and father's day existed and as i was always told "everyday is children's day!!" which is partly true. But now that i'm older and have such a great bond with both of my parents i enjoy shopping for them and surprising my parents on occasions, even if it's not mother's/father's day. I decided to collect small bits and pieces from different places and put together a 'goody bag' for my Mam and she always tells me i'm not allowed to spend a lot!

My first stop was lush, now i don't know if it's just me but i can't go into lush without picking up a little something! I found these little cuties called mumkin's and i do believe Lush made a range especially for mother's day! This is a bubble bar and i know my Mam loves these soo much i just had to get her this little one!

Next up i dropped into Homesense (the home part of TkMaxx), now my dining room is all shades of purple and stone so when i saw this tealight i had to get it. I can't wait to see what patterns this creates on the walls when a candle is lit inside!

If you can't think of anything else to get your Mam on mother's day you can't go wrong with a bit of Soap and Glory! I opted for the mist you madly body spray, i think it's the perfect summer smell as it just smells so fresh and clean, the pink packaging is just a bonus!

And last i dropped in at New Look to pick up some jewelry. As rose gold is all the craze at the moment i picked up this cute little wrist watch (it's also adjustable) and i thought the peach face adds a little colour perfect for summer. I also saw these daisy earrings which are sort of a stone colour, this means they'll go with practically anything- and they aren't TOO dressy.

What did you choose to get your mother for Mother's day?

xoxo

The world of Pinterest

I was introduced to Pinterest a while back in 2013 but i never really took the time to sit down and figure out how to use it, so today i sat down and created my first proper pin (round of applause please aaaaah)! I decided to do my favourite subject of the moment: spring has sprung. So i thought i'd show you some of my favourite spring looks of the Pinterest world.

I'd like to thank the creators of Pinterest for fueling my new obsession, you'll be seeing a lot of these types of blog posts soon as i can't keep away! I love how there's so many sources coming from every different sense of style possible all in one place for me to scroll through, it's great!!

xoxo

OOTD

With the first day of spring falling just a few days ago the sun has miraculously came out to play up here in the north, however those awful gusts of wind keep knocking me off my feet. Today i've got a lunch date so i thought i'd share my 'spring has sprung' ootd with you guys, hope you enjoy!

 When it came to my actual outfit i kept it mainly grey (i know i've just blabbered on about it being all sunny and that) but i did add a pop of colour with my bag! My striped swing vest is from New Look and i just paired this with some plain black leggings, as i just bought them the other day and wanted to experiment i chose to wear my Jelly Shoes, i think these keep the outfit quite summery and balance out the dark colours. Also to keep the outfit bright and colourful i chose to use my Guess tote bag, as i purchased this in America last year i found a similar one here. I wanted to keep my outfit quite boho-ish so i opted for a messy bun and miss matched jewelry, my rose gold necklace is from Fossil and my silver necklace is Tiffany's, the tiara ring is from Pandora and my other ring was my dear Grans. Lastly my face, i purchased these sunglasses from Steve Madden whilst in America. I chose to go for a peachy look for my makeup today keeping it one colour only, my blush is Maxfactor flawless perfection blush in the shade classic rose and my lips are Bourjois colour boost lip crayon in the shade Peach on the beach.

What are your top tips for keeping and OOTD casual?

xoxo