Outfit: White Tunic over Wide Leg Trousers
Sunglasses: ASOS
Shirt: c/o F&F via Fashionchick
Trousers: H&M (similar)
Sliders: Topshop (similar)
Clutch: c/o ASOS
In summer I'm all about those easy, lightweight outfits that don't take much maintenance, and this is one of my current go-to looks. Oversized shapes and long lengths make up my favourite kind of silhouette, and a pop of colour is perfect for this time of year. Plus, it's hassle-free and I can wear it to the office - score.
On another note, I'm heading off to Kefalonia on Tuesday (SO excited), so this is my last post for a week or so. I had planned on scheduling some posts in but I haven't really had the time and I kind of want a real break when I'm away, not thinking about anything work or blog-related. Feel free to follow me on Instagram or Twitter for lots of holiday spam though.
Holiday Beauty Essentials
For the hair - Aveda Sun Care Hair Cleanser to remove all of the salt and chemicals from swimming, and Label.m Shine Spray to inject a bit of life into it when I'm away.
For the body - At the MyBag event in Manchester a couple of weeks ago, this Phyto Phytoplage Sublime After Sun Oil was sitting in my goodie bag. I'm a big believer in after sun and am always slathering it on after a day of sunbathing; this oil will do the trick and also smells really nice. Another oil I've picked up the Sublime Dry Oil from He-Shi, which promises to enhance my tan.
For the face - These are another two products I got in that same goodie bag. I'll be topping up my skincare routine with Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum and using Vita Liberata Trystal Minerals as my makeup base - self tanning bronzing minerals that is a makeup product and self tanner in one (perfect as I don't like putting my face in the sun!)
Outfit: Black Maxi Dress and Statement Necklace
Dress: H&M
Necklace: c/o Wallis via Fashionchick
Sunglasses: ASOS
Clutch: Whistles
Flats: Zara
This H&M dress has been one of my best purchases for a while - it's so easy to style and its oversized shape makes it really light and simple to wear. It also hides a multitude of sins - I took these quickly on my phone on the way out to dinner last weekend and it proved the perfect garment for hiding my food baby post-meal! I paired it with this stunning necklace from Wallis to add a bit of detail, keeping my other accessories and hair pretty simple to let it take centre stage.
Lust of the Week: Weekday Slouchy Shirt and Trousers
Is this summer suiting heaven or what? I love nothing better than something that is really easy to throw on and takes minimal styling, but really makes an impact. This linen shirt-and-trousers combo from Weekday ticks all of these boxes and would be perfect for summer evenings.
Outfit: Black Shift Dress over Culottes
Dress (worn as top): Zara (similar)
Culottes: Monki (similar)
Sandals: c/o ASOS
This is quite an easy look I've been wearing recently; an old shift dress I bought in Zara years ago, tucked up slightly and worn on top of culottes. It's light enough for the heat and I can wear it to the office without much thought in the morning. I really like the silhouette it creates - and hey, it has pockets - pretty much my favourite thing in an outfit.
Beauty: Healthy Hair with Moroccanoil
I'm sure most women have gone through life with a bit of a love/hate relationship with their hair, and I'm no different. From my childhood years of throwing it up it an orange scrunchie, to the teenage era of emo fringe and dodgy layers (SO many layers. Why?!), my hair has seen some low moments - but I guess that's all part of growing up.
When I was at school, I never really liked my hair the way it was; from wanting to have naturally curly hair to straightening it within an inch of its life (oh the early noughties), or constantly cutting a fringe in and instantly regretting it.
I've reached a point now where I'm happy with my hair, embracing it for what it is and working with what I've got. I want to stay happy with it, so I'm a bit anal about keeping it healthy. Luckily I've never really dyed my hair (except once in uni when I dyed it dark brown. I know, I am ca-ra-zy) so it isn't damaged in that respect. I also have naturally straight hair and prefer a simpler getting-ready-routine, so I tend to forgo heated hair tools aside from hair dryers.
Apart from that, a good diet is key to healthy hair (isn't it always?) but I enjoy pizza and Prosecco a bit too much to rely on that alone, so a little help is needed. About a month ago, LookFantastic sent me a beautiful box of Moroccanoil products along with a limited-edition Tangle Teezer and these have all now become part of my healthy hair routine.
I've used the Moroccanoil oil for a while and have always loved it but always bypassed the rest of their products, thinking I could overdose on the stuff and end up with an oily mass of hair. I decided to put my oil-based fears to one side and honestly, even after the first time using the shampoo and conditioner, my hair felt so soft and most importantly - healthy. I thought using all of these products would weigh my hair down but it was the complete opposite - it's never felt lighter. The mask is an absolute treat too when you've got time (and you can be bothered to sit with it on your head for 5-7 minutes). The only thing I would say is the smell, for me, could be a bit nicer but it wears off pretty quickly.
As for the Tangle Teezer - where have you been all my life?! I've never given into the hype with these, always thinking they couldn't possibly be any different to my usual brush but boy does it glide through my hair with ease, knots and all.
Outfit: Minimal Maxi Dress at LC:M
Dress: Finery London
Necklace: c/o ASOS
Bag: Zara (similar)
Sandals: Clarks c/o Spartoo via Fashionchick
Last weekend I headed down to London for LC:M for the first time with work (you can read all of my reports from the shows I went to on the Coggles website). I've never been to men's before so it was great to get a taste of it, see some great menswear (and see what style tips I could steal for myself!) and see how it compared to LFW (way more chilled and lots of well-dressed men).
This is one of the outfits I wore when I was there. I wanted an easy, minimalist look that still made an impact, so went for this maxi dress from Finery that's made from a really lightweight, slinky fabric. I paired it with my new Clarks sandals from Spartoo; with a short block heel, they were perfect for adding a little bit of height but comfortable enough for walking around the city all day in. A simple piece of jewellery finished the look - I'm really loving thin, delicate gold pieces at the moment, so this necklace from ASOS is perfect.
Lust of the Week: River Island Wide Leg Jumpsuit
I'm a sucker for a good jumpsuit; an outfit in one, it's one of those pieces you can just throw on and go, plus they're really easy - and comfy - to wear. The only downside is practically stripping down naked every time you go to the loo, but hey, no one else needs to see that. I love the 70s-inspired shape of this jumpsuit from River Island, plus the blue and white stripes just scream summer. Check out my Holiday Edit for more summer pieces I'm loving at the moment.
Outfit: Sleeveless Shirt, Culottes and Lace-Up Heels
Shirt: c/o F&F via Fashionchick
Culottes: c/o M&S via Fashionchick
Heels: c/o Fashionchick
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate how amazing these shoes are?! They're part of Fashionchick's new LA Luxury shoe collection and they landed on my doorstep a little over a week ago, becoming the best thing that I've opened up in a while. Fashionchick, you sure know how to treat a girl! Despite how they look, they're actually comfy too - I wore them out and didn't get any soreness or blisters. Not one. Bliss.
Because of their bold colour, I decided to pair them with a pretty simple white outfit of a long sleeveless shirt over culottes (the, er, creased look is what I was going for...spending the day in linen culottes didn't do them any justice!) This dressed them down a bit too, and ended up being the perfect outfit for an evening out for drinks.
Event: MyBag AW15 Preview
On Monday night I headed to Artisan in Manchester’s
Spinningfields for the MyBag AW15 preview event, combining my job (I write
editorial content for the site) and my role as blogger for the night.
Beautiful bags from the likes of The Cambridge Satchel
Company, Aspinal of London, and Lulu Guinness were all lined up on the long
wooden table taking up the middle of the private dining room in Artisan, while
Prosecco and mini burgers and pizzas proved the perfect refreshments (deciding
which bags made my AW wish list was hungry work…and a drink was definitely
needed after totting up the total price!)
The new collection from The Cambridge Satchel Company is
already available on site – think its classic satchels updated in autumnal reds
and burgundys, plus a couple of new styles – but the rest will be trickling in soon.
Aside from fawning over the bags (plus a few intricate lacy
bits from L’Agent by Agent Provocateur), it was a great night of catching up
with other bloggers and meeting ones I’d never met before. After living in
London for the past few years, I’m pretty new to the northern blogging scene! An
evening of designer handbags, Prosecco, pizza and fellow bloggers? Perfect end
to a Monday.
Outfit: Jovanna Striped Shift Dress
Sunglasses: ASOS
Dress: c/o Jovonna London at Topshop via Fashionchick
Clutch: Whistles
Flats: Zara (similar)
This is the type of dress that makes me want to hop on the Eurostar and spend sunny days in Paris. I'm not sure why, exactly, it's just something about the short shift silhouette and black and gold stripes that really reminds me of chic, carefree Parisian style - especially when paired with pointy flats and a pair of oversized cat-eyes. Or maybe I'm just dreaming about escaping the UK and using this dress as an excuse...
Lust of the Week: Missguided Sleeveless Duster
The sleeveless jacket is the perfect cover up for summer - it adds another layer to your outfit and will do the trick when it starts to get a bit cold in the evening. It's also a chic addition to your outfit and is summer-appropriate; much better than taking a bulky jacket to wear over your summer dress or culotte-and-top-combo. The belt also means this can act as an outfit in itself. Wear over a slip dress to create a layered effect, with the different lengths making an interesting silhouette.
Outfit: Black Jumpsuit and Sleek Hair with Tigi x ASOS
Last week, ASOS sent me a kit of products from the Tigi S Factor range to put to the test, complete with a new outfit to go with my 'do. True to form, I went for something pretty simple in this black jumpsuit - I love the fit and the cut out sides (hey side boob), adding a pop of colour with these metallic sliders.
Jumpsuit: c/o ASOS
Sandals: c/o ASOS
When it comes to hair, I'm pretty low maintenance. Apart from my various oils and protective products, I don't do much to my hair and stick to about three different hairstyles (as you probably will have noticed if you've followed my blog for a while...) The main reason for this is that I don't really have the time to do anything more to my hair than the requisite washing and drying so I just stick to the natural look.
On my list of styles is a deep side part with super sleek, straight hair - one I tend to use with minimalist outfits like this one and when I want my outfit to be the main focal point. I thought I'd put my new products to the test to create this style and I have to say I was definitely happy with the results!
First off, I washed my hair with the Diamond Dreams Shampoo and Conditioner. After that, I sprayed my hair with the Leave-In Moisture Spray (a god-send for anyone who ends up with a knotted mass of hair after towel-drying) and sprayed it with the Flat Iron Shine Spray before blow drying as normal (nothing fancy for me, basically just blasting it with a hair dryer). Using a tail comb (I got mine at Boots), I made a deep side part and ran straighteners over my hair, ensuring it was completely straight. To finish, I used a pump of the True Lasting Colour Hair Oil and ran it over my hair to keep it sleek and prevent any flyaways. The result? The exact look I was going for, plus super soft and shiny hair.
The Holiday Edit
From top left: ASOS Wrap Playsuit, River Island Cami Swimsuit, Lavish Alice Cape Shift Dress, Office Oslo Sliders, Warehouse Cross Body Bag, Mango Asymmetric Metal Cuff, Finery London Juniper Cami Dress, ASOS Shorts, River Island Tan Sandals
It's that time of year when we all start thinking about leaving the, quite frankly, miserable weather of the UK in search of some summer sun and vitamin D. This means you need a whole new wardrobe too, obviously. I've been searching through all of the online stores trying to curate my perfect holiday wardrobe for when I go to Greece at the end of the month and these are a few of my favourite pieces I've come across. Easy, simple pieces but stylish nonetheless - perfect for holiday.
Outfit: Oversized Maxi Dress
Dress: H&M (similar)
Clutch: Marc by Marc Jacobs at Coggles
Heels: c/o Miss Selfridge
Anything oversized wins in my book so when I saw this dress in H&M, it wasn't long before I snapped it up. Here I've dressed it and added a bit of colour with my statement heels and clutch, but I've also been tying an old belt around the middle and wearing it with flats for day. I'd also wear it with a big necklace for boho Ibiza vibes in summer (seriously, where is summer?) or pop it over my bikini on holiday for the perfect beach-to-bar outfit.
Lust of the Week: Atterley Road Grey Shift Dress
There's something about this dress that I really love. I'm not sure if it's the simplicity, the slightly oversized shape, mandarin collar or button detail - or the fact that it looks like one of those dresses you can just throw on and go. This is one of those dresses that would look great with heels or pointy flats in the office, and sliders for days in the city at the weekend. What more could you want?