#OOTD 22nd July, Indiana Pacers

I've been feeling so uninspired lately, I don't know if it's this less than summery weather or my lack of real free time but I just haven't been feeling like blogging. Not ideal! That changed this week and in between the rain showers and almost-gales, my friend Emma and I took pictures. Lots of pictures! And so I'm back, back home and blogging again. May writers block and lack of inspiration not stop me again. Oh yeah, I had my hair cut and coloured too, I needed a change. What do you think?

Basketball jersey, similar here. Skirt, ASOS. Trainers, similar here.

When I saw this basketball jersey on the Cow Vintage website, I couldn't resist. It's the perfect mix of sporty and cool and I've already worn it to death with half the things in my wardrobe. It looks great with boyfriend jeans and mules too, watch this space! I've also finally got my hands on this season's It Piece, the button up denim skirt. After seeing numerous variations I settled on this Pull and Bear version, I like the extra pocket detail. The thing I love most about denim is it's versatility and I know I'll be wearing this skirt until winter. 

What are your hero buys this season? Leave me a comment!

"Take Me to the Beach" with Fat Face UK

This Summer I will be jetting off to Barcelona as well as visiting a cottage in Northumberland and relaxing at a log cabin with a private hot tub in North Yorkshire. I'll also be taking a trip to London. So with a variety of holidays and breaks planned over the Summer, I was in desperate need of some versatile Summer pieces... Enter Fat Face and their new Summer '15 collection. 

Dungarees and broderie top, c/o Fat Face. Sandals, River Island.

I've been searching for the perfect pair of dungarees for a while and this pair from Fat Face are so lovely to wear. The denim is so soft and they fit great, considering I'm tall. This broderie blouse is so versatile, it can be worn both as a beach cover-up and a casual top. I'd wear this look on a casual Summer lunch with friends and I will definitely be packing it for my trips to Northumberland and North Yorkshire. I was going to re-shoot these photos but I just thought the light was too beautiful to throw them away.

Broderie top, as before. Sandals, ASOS. Shorts, Topshop.

This look is definitely coming with me to Barcelona! This blouse is so lightweight it will keep me cool while I'm exploring and it literally goes with everything. I've been obsessing over gladiator sandals for a while and this ASOS pair are just the start of my collection. There are so many great pieces in the Fat Fat holiday shop, check it out here.

I wish the weather would pick up here in Sheffield! But I can't wait to get away, starting with Northumberland next weekend. 

Items marked 'c/o' were gifted to me by Fat Face UK, all opinions are my own.

#OOTD Monday 18th May, Boho Babein'

Jumpsuit, H&M. Sandals, River Island (similar here). Bag, Primark (last year, similar here).

I love jumpsuits because they are just instant outfits, all you really need to add is a pair of shoes and you are good to go. I especially love this jumpsuit because I picked it up in H&M when it was on special offer at £10! How crazy is that? I know this will be a staple in my wardrobe all Summer. 

Can we just take a moment to admire my sandals? I loved them for a long time before buying them but I just wasn't so sure I would wear them. I tried them on and fell in love! The heel is the perfect height and they are surprisingly comfy. What with this seventies revival and everything I thought they were the perfect shoe to add a little retro vibe to any outfit. This wooden block heel clog style shoe is everywhere at the moment, Topshop have some great options if you are looking for a lower heel than these. 

Are you loving or hating the clogs comeback? Leave me a comment!

Holiday Look Book 2: Bright Bodycon

Welcome to my second holiday-themed post! This post features my new fave ASOS dress, which is of course printed. If you regularly read my blog or follow me on Instagram you will notice I love my bright prints, especially for summer. 

I bought this dress a bit last minute from ASOS because it was part of their offer 20% off of dresses. I think it cost me around £9, but it feels so much more expensive! Love a bargain. 
I sometimes find that cheap jersey bodycon dresses tend to be made from very thin material and the print distorts when its stretched, but that is not the case here thankfully. Also the bust is made from a double layer of jersey so you can even wear it without a bra, handy since it's got cami straps.

It was the clashing colours that first attracted me to this dress, who would've thought purple and orange would go so well together? 

I went for minimal jewellery to let the print take focus, the necklace is from H&M. The sandals are also H&M and they are by far my favourite buy of this season. They were meant to be £29 but I used a discount code and got them for £18. To say they are from H&M's 'Premium Quality' range, I thought that was a great price. They are obviously real leather and they are actually really heavy, but so comfy! And they are so versatile, I just throw them on with anything. The contrasting chunky sole is really on trend and looks a little sports luxe. 

I went for a darker lip with this dress just because a coral would have looked too matchy-matchy with the tribal print. I mixed both these lipsticks to get a glossier purple than just the MAC alone gives. The MAC is a matte lipstick in Smoked Purple and the right is Benefit in Breathless. 

Another photo taken by my boyfriend Ben here on our little balcony in Turkey, not the best lighting but you can see how the dress fits! Next investment: a proper camera!

Are you loving any prints this summer? Leave me a comment!

Holiday Look Book 1: Printed Playsuits

If you follow my blog you will know I just returned from a week-long holiday in Turkey with my boyfriend... That means it's time for my first holiday look book post! This first post is dedicated to my collection of printed playsuits. I love playsuits, they are so easy to wear and require little styling to look good. I wore 3 in just a week on holiday! 

From left to right: Ark Clothing, Primark, H&M. This to me is the playsuit trifecta; 3 totally different prints and styles that are so versatile. I wore mine with flats all week, but I think they would look great with heels too.

I think this pink H&M playsuit is my favourite of the bunch. It's made from a gorgeous chiffony material and the draping is so flattering. The neckline is versatile too, it can be worn completely open and plunging for a more dramatic look or a slight V-neck just by fastening the press-stud. I saw this in H&M one shopping trip and I had to go back for it, I just kept thinking about the outfit possibilities! At on £19.99 it was a bargain. It feels and looks so much more expensive. The only thing I would advise is it's pretty small fitting, I'm usually a UK 10, but I had to get this in a UK 14 to fit over my bum! But the waistline is still fitted on me.

 I styled this with my favourite JuJu Tinkerbelle jellies, they have a slight wedge. And the clutch is from Primark: perfect pastel colours.

No foundation on here, but I have on Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect eyeshadow in Silver Storm and Benefit lipgloss in Kiss You.

We have to thank my boyfriend for all my holiday outfit pictures, he tried his best and as a first time blog photographer I think he did well. 

This playsuit was an absolute bargain in Primark at £13! I love the silky material and the tropical pattern makes it a perfect holiday essential. The sliders are from H&M and a total Marni dupe. They are so comfy and the jewelled straps add a dressier edge.

I didn't bother with much make-up on holiday, it was far too warm! Here I'm wearing the Clinque Lash Doubling mascara in black and one of the new Benetint lip and cheek stains in the darkest rose colour. Understated minimal make-up lets the print on the playsuit keep focus.

The final playsuit  I wore is from Ark Clothing, it's actually 'Hearts and Bows'. At £26 its the most expensive, but still a good price. 

I decided to go for a bright lip to complement the coral print of the playsuit. I'm wearing MAC lipstick in Lady Bug, by far my favourite red lipstick.

I wore this suit with my H&M sliders again, but I think it needed heels. It's pretty short so I think although I have long legs myself it doesn't really do wonders for my hips here! Even a small heel would work. I really love the sheer neckline, revealing but still classy.

I've had this little drawstring bag literally years, it was a great eBay find! It's actually Topshop and it's real leather, I only paid around £6 for it on eBay though! If you are looking for a similar style, try ASOS. 

Are you packing a playsuit for your holiday? Leave me a comment!

Keep a look-out this week for more holiday outfit posts! 

Holiday Prep: Skin and Hair

If you follow me on Twitter, you will know I've been very excited about going on holiday with my boyfriend. The time is finally here! We fly at 7am tomorrow morning, so today has been a day full of pre-holiday prep... I've packed, checked I have my hand luggage essentials, printed my documents and of course I've prepared my whole body ready for a week in the sun. 

As women we like everything to be perfect: our hair, our nails and our skin. With this in mind, I've compiled a few of my favourite products and pre-holiday beauty routines for this post, so we can all look great on the beach. 

I like to use a body scrub on my legs and arms for around a week before I go on holiday, not only will this ensure silky smooth skin, but it makes shaving a lot better. By using a body scrub you are removing dead and dry skin cells, this means when you shave your legs the shave is closer. Anything that gives me a longer lasting smoother shave I will try! I always find shaving my legs such a chore, I'm 5 ft 11 so you can imagine how long my legs are! 
I love this Soap and Glory scrub, it really is the 'Scrub of Your Life' without feeling too harsh and scratchy.

After all that scrubbing and shaving, you will need to moisturise! My all time favourite is the Body Shop butter: it smells amazing and works wonders. There are so many flavours (yes, that is the right description!) to choose from its hard to pick a favourite. I tend to use the nutty ones such as almond, brazil nut or coconut. They still smell great without being over-powering to any perfume you might want to wear. However, I also love the blueberry one too. Some of the flavours are in the Body Shop sale right now, for only £5 ! Perfect time to invest and stock up.

 











The last thing you want when getting bikini-ready is shaving rash or in-grown hairs. Germolene antiseptic cream is the perfect cure. Stops any irritation and gets rid of any redness, what more do you need? My Nannan used to use this on me when I was younger, I was so clumsy I would fall and cut myself all the time. She called it magic cream.

When it comes to looking after the skin on my face, I love Temple Spa. My boyfriend's mum let me use her foaming Temple Spa cleanser just once and I was converted! I have combination skin; it can be dry but also it can get oily. The 'Good to Go' cleanser solves all this! As for moisturiser, I use Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser. It doesn't clog my pores but keeps my skin looking glowy. 

The sun and pool water tends to dry hair out, so before I go away I always use a hair mask. Lately I've been using an Argan Oil mask I bought in Home Bargains. Yes, really. I'm not even sure what brand it is! But you can find it on amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argan-Oil-Hydrating-Hair-220ml/dp/B00DT41ZB2. It leaves my hair so shiny, soft and bouncy. It's also really lightweight so doesn't leave any unwanted residue. The perfect hair pick-me-up. 

Before using the hair mask, I use a clarifying shampoo. The humidity abroad wreaks havoc with my naturally wavy hair, making it incredibly frizzy! To tame this frizz I use a lot of product. So to make sure my hair is completely clean before I go away I use TRESemme Deep Cleansing Shampoo. It cleanses away product build up which may weigh hair down, so I also use it when I get home too. 

I've also had my eyelashes tinted this week before I go. I have pretty decent eyelashes, but they are very blonde at the ends. The lash tint covers this and gives a subtle hint of mascara. I don't wear much make-up day to day anyway, but when I'm on holiday I usually wear even less. I've never been a big fan of waterproof mascara so a lash tint seemed like the obvious second choice and so far I am impressed. Unfortunately I couldn't really catch a good picture of my eyes  to show the results but I would recommend it. 

As I go away tomorrow, I won't be posting until next Sunday, 6th July. However, when I get home there will be lots of exciting posts to look forward to including a holiday look-book and a couple of book reviews. Orange is the New Black seems to be everyone's guilty pleasure at the minute, but did you know it based on a real-life memoir? Well, I've bought the book to take on holiday with me.. Should be an excellent read! 

Do you have any pre-holiday beauty rituals? What is your favourite moisturiser? Leave a comment and let me know!