OUTFIT | #130

top: H&M; trousers, shoes: Topshop; lipstick: Topshop 'Inhibition'; watch: Casio

I have such a hard time finding summer-y tops I like. I usually end up buying one every summer and wearing it to death. Last summer it was this peter pan collar blouse from H&M. This summer I think I'll be wearing this crochet style top, also from H&M, a heck of a lot. It's everything I like in a top: slightly cropped, keyhole detail in the back (I'm such a sucker for this), plus the crochet detail brings an interesting texture. A winner all round. 

It feels weird to be talking about the summer when I'm in the middle of exams and trying to figure out the next academic year. Or rather, trying not to think about how there are only a few months between me and my final year of university. Cue ramblings about 'how did this happen, it all went so fast' etc. I should be doing some pretty exciting things this summer though so let's just focus on that for now, shall we. 

OUTFIT | #129

blazer, jeans: Topshop; sweater: Zara; loafers: Urban Outfitters; lipstick: Topshop 'Inhibition'; watch: Casio

This is not a post whining about the nice weather. The nice weather is my favourite thing of late. Particularly because when it's sunny outside, daytime drinking is suddenly socially acceptable and I'm all about that. Especially when I've been putting in too many hours revising in the library recently. Pimms outside in the sun? Yes please. Back to the point, this is a post about how I've worn so much colour lately, in light of the nice weather, that I no longer feel like 'me'. So today I decided to go back to my roots and throw on an all-black outfit and a vampy lipstick.

I actually got the idea for this outfit from a Polyvore set I saw on Tumblr. It's pretty (read: really) simple, but it was one of those combinations I saw and thought 'Why the hell haven't I thought of putting those things together before?' Thus this outfit was born. Now I kind of never want to take it off. It's definitely one that's going in my regular go-to rotation. I'm a big fan.

OUTFIT | #128

blouse: Urban Outfitters; skirt: J. Crew; boots, necklace: Topshop; watch: Seiko

I already wrote and scheduled this blog post once but I'm a fool and managed to accidentally delete it. This is why you don't blog at 3am when you get in from work. This outfit came on a rather interesting journey with me. I was bored out of my mind on a Friday night and went for, what was supposed to be, a few quiet drinks at the pub with a friend. One glass of wine led to another and somehow we ended up at a nightclub in a 13th century crypt until the early hours. Very unlike me; I don't really do spontaneous as a general rule. I need exact details of all social occasions at least a day prior to their occurrence so I can sync my various planners, colour-coded of course. 

Story-time aside, this is one of my many new skirts. I love the fit and the colour. Colourful skirts are my current favourite thing, I think. They're a pretty easy way to make my wardrobe look less wintry and a little bit more season appropriate. It's over 10 degrees most days here now. Finally. I also slapped on some red lipstick before I left the house, since that's been my go-to colour of late. You just can't go wrong with a good red lip.

INSTAGRAM | #3

my new favourite super simple recipe; someone answered my prayers and brought Vanilla Coke back; baby bro being adorable as per

time for some new kicks; walks around my beautiful city; in two minds about dyeing my hair back to black

You can also follow me on Twitter or Instagram for more pictures of my life, or just general ramblings.

OUTFIT | #127

jacket: Forever 21; jumper: MissGuided; jeans: Topshop 'Kristen'; shoes: Converse; necklace: H&M

I swear these jeans always make me look so short in pictures. I'm a pretty average 5'5" but in these jeans, I feel like I look smaller. When I was a kid I was always tall so I've got a bit of a thing about my height. I like to refer to myself as a tall person in a average sized body. Whatever that means. I still like the jeans though. I realised recently that Topshop don't make the Kristen jeans like this anymore. Mine are a good 3-4 years old, as with most of my jeans. The new style seem less high-waisted (not that you can see how high-waisted they are in these pictures, but just take my word for it) and have only 2 buttons up the front, while mine have 4. Odd. I prefer the old style, I think.

I wore this to run some errands. I think on this specific day I was on the hunt for some mozzarella and ended up going to 3 different shops before I found any. Absurd. Thought I'd pull out my lovely MissGuided jumper before it warms up and I start wearing my knitwear less. Plus I really like it with this jacket. They seem to go well together.

OUTFIT | #126

dress: Warehouse; shoes: H&M; watch: Seiko; lipstick: Topshop 'All About Me'; nail polish: Revlon 'Fuschia Fever'

This title's a bit of a misnomer. I wore this to an awards evening at my student union but my society didn't actually win the awards it was nominated for. However if there'd been an award for 'Best Shoes', I definitely would have taken it home. Everyone loved these babies. I lost count of the compliments I got about them. I blogged about them absolutely ages ago, probably nearly a year ago now. Yet I've never had the chance to wear them yet. I figured with this cream dress I needed some bold shoes so their moment finally came.

The dress is actually my sister's. She wore it to that wedding I mentioned going to last month and then I borrowed it for this occasion. Girl's got good taste. I'm always wary of wearing cream since I'm pretty pale and it tends to wash me out. With the red hair it works better though. Something about redheads and cream just balances the whole situation out. Plus a hot pink lip never hurt either.

OUTFIT | #125

cardigan, boots: H&M; blouse: Forever 21; skirt: Topshop; watch: Seiko

I feel like this outfit could be summed up in one sentence: 'It was warm, so I wore linen.' Since that's basically what happened. Redundant statements aside, I had this training thing all weekend where I'd be indoors mostly so I had to layer in case it was cold inside or something. The bright coral linen blouse was my homage to the warm weather though. Coral is one of those rare brights I like. Pink looks atrocious on me but coral seems to work. Even with the red hair. It was actually warm enough to ditch the cardigan for most of the day too. Small miracles, I tell you.

This blouse is one of many dirt-cheap button-downs I bought at Forever 21 when I was in the US. That place is such a goldmine. I know we have it in the UK now but not anywhere near me so it's still a novelty. I usually just stock up on blouses and those camisole undershirts I wear under basically everything, since those things are like $3 a pop and amazing for layering/keeping my cold ass warm in the typically rubbish British weather. 

OUTFIT | #124

top: Topshop; skirt: American Apparel; creepers: New Look; necklace: ASOS; watch: Casio

I remember wanting a pair of creepers back when I was 14 and an avid MySpace user. Of course, I never bought any because duh, I was 14 and had no money. The real deal are expensive. But now everyone and their dog has a pair of creepers and they're dirt cheap. Yay. I got this pair at New Look for about £20. Ridiculous. I haven't worn them much yet because it kept snowing but I figure now's a good time to break them out. 

So far I like to wear them with pretty simple outfits. I kind of like the 'bookending' thing I've got going on here in particular. Black and grey in the middle, red on my feet and my hair. Super simple. I'm sure they could worn a plethora of other ways but you know me, I keep it pretty basic. No frills or fancy crap over here.

OUTFIT | #123

jumper, boots: H&M; skirt: J. Crew

Some outfits you like in real life but then in pictures, they just don't look so good. This is one of those for me. I don't know what it is. The majorly creased skirt isn't helping though. Oops. I guess that's what you get wearing linen to sit down in a pub for 3 hours. I should probably iron things more. To add to this list of outfit-related whines, I got rained on while waiting for the bus home from the pub so my hair is looking all kinds of large and in charge. Damn you, April showers.

I'm back in the UK now and over my jet lag from the journey home. Thank god. Usually I'm out for about a week, jet lagged as hell but this time I was good and forced myself to bed at sensible times and got over it more quickly. Just in time to go back to uni and take all my summer exams. What fun.

RECENT PURCHASES | Skirting the Issue

skirts: American Apparel

skirts: J. Crew

For a while I was talking myself out of this blog post's title and thinking of less cheesy titles. But then I remembered I was confusing myself with someone who doesn't use cheesy puns so I just embraced it. Getting to the point, I bought a bunch of skirts. 4 in one day, actually. Do I have a problem? How many skirts are too many? I let myself off because hey, not a single one of these puppies is black. They're pretty damn colourful, actually. Merit points to me. 

So basically, the short version of the story behind the skirts is that I went to an outlet mall the other day and I just... couldn't help myself. They had a J. Crew outlet. It was like the most beautiful torture I could think of. If I had money to burn, you know I'd be dressed in J. Crew head-to-toe. In the mean time, I got 2 skirts to tide myself over. Then I went to American Apparel and stocked up. I am finally an owner of the ubiquitous circle skirt and yes, it's as short as everyone says it is. And yes, I love it. I got the camel corduroy colour although I was tempted by all the shades of purple and blue they have it in too. Maybe another time.

OUTFIT | #122

jacket, jeans, flats: Topshop; blouse: Forever 21

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm visiting family in the States for about a week. So, what fun, it's time for another new background and more roping my sister into taking my pictures. Today was our first day, after flying in really (really) late last night. I was pretty groggy so I just threw on some comfortable clothes and mascara. I'm a big fan of this hairstyle lately. It's probably because I've been rewatching Game of Thrones from the start. I call it my Cersei Lannister hair, but it also works really well on days that my hair isn't behaving/needs a wash and I can't be bothered dealing with it being in my face all day.

It's a little bit warmer over here than it has been in the UK lately so I took the opportunity to ditch the winter coat for a jacket. The little flats are new too, since all my old flats were so worn out I had to throw them away. I love my chelsea boots but I figured a girl needs a least one pair of ballet flats for days I dress more simply.

WHAT'S IN MY BAG | Travel Make Up 2013

So, I haven't done one of these 'What's in my make-up bag' posts for donkey's years. They're always fun, right? I know I'm not the only nosy bugger who loves knowing what crap other people carry around with them. I'm going to visit some family in the US for about a week so I figured I'd share what products I threw together in my last minute packing frenzy. 

Face:

-Anastasia Duo Brow Powder in 'Brunette/Dark Brown'

-17 clear brow gel

-Benefit Erase Paste in #2

-Maybelline Super Stay 24 concealer in 'Ivory'

-Collection Stay Perfect concealer in 'Fair'

-Rimmel Stay Matte translucent pressed powder 

-Bare Minerals 'Well Rested' eye brightener

Eyes:

-Urban Decay Naked Palette

-Urban Decay miniature Primer Potion 

-Wet'n'Wild eyeshadow in 'Brulé'

-L'Oréal Super Liner

-Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliner in 'Nude'

-Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara

-L'Oréal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Cheeks:

-Bourjois bronzing powder in #52

-MAC blush in 'Harmony'

-Natural Collection blush in 'Pink Cloud'

-Natural Collection blush in 'Rosey Glow'

-NARS highlighting blush in 'Albatross'

Lips:

-Revlon Lip Butter in 'Red Velvet'

-Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in 'Vintage Pink'

I know what you're thinking. Only two lipsticks? Ridiculous. I know. But I'm working on the premise that I will likely buy some lipstick while I'm away, or even at the MAC counter at duty-free. So why bring tons when I'll just bring more back? And no, I haven't forgotten to pack foundation. I never wear it. I just use 3 different kinds of concealer instead, because whoever said less is more had not met my under-eye circles. Also there will be no artfully framed shot of all my make-up bursting out of my make-up bag because I'm bringing a really old, ugly make-up bag that may not be pretty, but it gets the job done. Plus I left all my nice ones back at uni. Boo hoo.