WISHLIST | THE SPRING EDIT

When Spring rolls around I always love to brighten up my wardrobe and, as I'm not one for wearing bold, bright colours I usually tend to switch my blacks for blues and incorporate a lot of white into my wardrobe. After scrolling down my Instagram feed enviously and seeing photos from Coachella earlier last week I'm completely obsessed with the boho, festival look and I'm currently on a mission to buy way too many gold necklaces and bracelets so I can layer like I never have before (Meghan Rienks is to blame for this one!) Sadly, the reality check hit and no matter how much a girl can dream I do not live in L.A so my wishlist had to become a little more practical for the unpredictable UK weather.

By practical I mean simply switching high waisted shorts for a pair of jeans, these Topshop Ripped Leigh Jeans to be exact. I know I own way too many pairs of jeans already but I'm loving the ripped trend and even though I used to hate wearing jeans the Leigh style from Topshop converted me - they're unbelievably comfortable! Whilst I was in Topshop the other day I tried this beautiful Floral Bardot top on and I'm having serious regrets about not picking it up. I love the print, the fit and the style of this and I feel like I'm in the 70s when I wear this. I can imagine wearing it with the jeans, a huge floppy camel coloured hat and pairing it with these Block Heel Sandals from New Look. I always buy tan coloured sandals but the little heel on this pair dress up an outfit just the right amount without being too high and leading to painful feet!

One type of fabric I always gravitate towards when the weather starts to get a little bit warmer is that white, floaty cotton material. I'm in love with the Bellfield Sally Top which you can also find at Joy! I adore the embroidered pattern, the double layered effect at the bottom and, of course, the combination of blue and white! It's a classic piece that I can see myself reaching for year after year, especially on holiday.

My love for blue and white doesn't stop at clothing! In fact, if you add a little gold or silver in the mix I end up loving it even more. I don't actually own too many pieces of jewellery from stores like Topshop etc. but after seeing how amazing layering necklaces and bracelets can look at Coachella I've decided to invest in a few pieces! I love the detailing on the chain of this Louche Cobalt Pendant and I think it would look so pretty with some smaller, more simplistic gold necklaces. As for bracelets I'm planning on picking up some simple gold bangles (perhaps from Forever 21?) and I think this pretty white and gold Warehouse Bracelet Set would look really cute mixed in!

If you have any favourite, online jewellery stores I'd love to hear about them! 

Let me know, along with what you're lusting after this Spring, in the comments below.

My Little Box | My Little Dream Box (April 2015)

When this little package from overseas landed on my doorstep a couple of days ago I couldn't contain my excitement, the delivery of My Little Box is quickly becoming the highlight of my month. This month's theme was the Dream Box and it has to be the most beautiful subscription box I've ever received - just look at the illustration on the front of box! Kanako is one amazing artist and I've definitely started keeping all the little illustrations in the box for my room. 

Similar to last month, I received 3 beauty products in the Dream Box. The first was a My Little Beauty Nourishing Hair Mask (£7) which I used this morning and it smells divine! It's left my hair feeling so soft, it looks incredibly healthy and shiny and it also looks adorable in my shower (which is obviously very important!) so the product gets a big thumbs up from me! The second product was a Tinted Lip Balm from Loved by Lou Lesage (£8) and as I love red lips I was really excited to receive this. It looks very opaque in the pot but this is actually quite sheer and a great product to add just a hint of colour. It has a gel-like consistency and although it doesn't feel that nourishing it's a nice little product to pop in your handbag! 

The final beauty product varies between individual boxes and, sadly, I really had my heart set on receiving one of the perfume sticks from Sabe Masson. With a £20 value it was definitely the star beauty product in my eyes - the packaging was absolutely gorgeous and the idea of a perfume stick sounds so handy for travelling! It's quite hard to find here in the UK which is such a shame as I'd really love to try it. The product I received, however, is still lovely and I suppose that disappointment has to be expected when you take the risk and subscribe to a beauty box! I received the Cowshed Wild Cow 100ml Body Lotion (£6 for this size) and Wild Cow is a refreshing and invigorating mix of lemongrass, ginger and rosemary. It's unlike any other scent I own and it's definitely growing on me so there's always a silver lining to every disappointment! 

Cutting open the adorable foam cloud was heartbreaking but the surprise inside was definitely worth it! It contained this pretty Bonne Etoile necklace by jewellery designer Delphine Pariente (£20). Personally, I like wearing this as a bracelet but I can also see myself putting the pendant on my own gold chain when the thread becomes old and worn! Every month My Little Box manage to include such thoughtful and unique lifestyle pieces and I know this is something I'll always treasure. necklace 

The final lifestyle item is a rotable stamp and ink pad and the inner stationary addict inside of me squealed when I used this (yes, I was that girl in primary school with every scented gel pen!) The stamp includes some lovely phrases in French and English, a cute To Do sign and cute symbols and numbers. It's great for stamping on notes and on the back of envelopes and I might even find some way to use this in my blog photography!

What do you think of this month's My Little Box?

Also, let me know what you've been dreaming of in the comments below! (I'm currently dreaming about visiting Croatia!) 

Spring Blushes from bareMinerals!

Spring is definitely my favourite time of the year to experiment with blush. During the winter months I usually opt for a fairly basic base and amp up my makeup with a dark lip and in the summer I'm much more focused on transforming into a bronzed goddess. As the weather finally begins to reach double figures here in England I've started to change up my makeup routine and I've been reaching for two blushes in particular lately, both of which I was lucky enough to receive as gifts. The first, Vintage Peach by bareMinerals*, was kindly sent for me to review and the second, Love Radiance, was a Christmas present from my boyfriend's Gran which seems to suggest my love for bareMinerals is becoming pretty darn obvious (and perhaps borderline obsessive? Haha!) 

Before I delve into reviewing the products, I thought it would be useful to feature which makeup brushes I use to apply the blush as I've found it's so easy to overdo it with a loose powder blush! When I first started using loose powder blushes I made the mistake of grabbing my regular Sigma SS168 angled brush which applied way too much blush onto my cheeks! Instead I like to tap a little bit of blush out into the lid, take my bareMinerals Tapered Blush brush* and focus on the apples of my cheeks, applying it in small circular motions. Afterwards, I apply a little bit more blush onto my very old and well loved bareMinerals Light Stroke Fan brush (which sadly you can't buy anymore - yes, it's that old! It's from back in the i.d. days!) and I lightly sweep it across my cheeks which helps to blend whilst adding a little extra colour.

 
Vintage Peach* is possibly the prettiest and most flattering blush I own. It reminds me of a toned down and more peachy NARS Orgasm. Vintage Peach also has golden, shimmery particles in it which I love and I can imagine this will look even more incredible with a tan! The blush is fairly pigmented but it's not too intense so it's definitely a buildable shade if you'd like to amp up the colour for the evening. Unlike a lot of powder blushes that I own, this isn't chalky and after application it doesn't make the face appear powdery at all. In fact, I've found it blends into the skin really nicely and leaves an almost creamy texture. The finish looks very natural and the shimmer is so pretty that I often find myself skipping highlighter when I use this! As with all the loose powder I've tried from bareMinerals, the product is really pigmented so a little really does go a long way! Vintage Peach contains 0.85g of product and retails for £20.

Love Radiance is a limited edition all-over face colour which came with the Glow All The Way set this Christmas. You can actually use the bareMinerals All-Over Face colours in a variety of ways but for this particular shade I love using it as a subtle blush. Despite it appearing rather dark on the lid, my swatch below shows how it leaves a beautiful, peachy orange tint to the skin. I usually opt for the shade when I want a more natural look or if I'm contouring my face and, even though it hasn't translated that well in my swatch, it leaves a beautiful glow to the skin. It has the same, creamy texture as Vintage Peach and blends easily across the cheeks. 

Swatches (left to right): Love Radiance (swatched quite heavily) and Vintage Peach.

What blushes are you reaching for this Spring?
Let me know in the comments below!

Blogging Tips | How to Edit Photos on your iPhone!

Lately, it feels like every beauty blogger has upped their game when it comes to photography. At the moment I can only dream of owning a DSLR, lenses and ring lights so the most important step for me when taking photos for my blog is editing. And believe me it can completely transform your photographs in a matter of seconds! 

When I first started blogging I often completely disregarded photos that looked like my 'Before' photo above. I spent ages wandering around the house looking for perfect lighting and often abandoned taking photographs at all if I couldn't find anywhere to shoot. After moving back to University in September I found myself limited to only a few rooms in the house and well lit areas became hard to come by during the winter. So I've found ways to adapt (which include claiming my boyfriend's room as my photography space!) and editing has played a big role in transforming my photography. I'm not, in any way, a professional photo editor of course but I thought it would be nice to share a few tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way. Although I do own Photoshop I'm often away from my iMac and, whenever I go home or visit my boyfriend's house, I always edit on my iPhone. I hope this post helps you realise that great editing software is readily available for all iPhone users for free and, honestly, editing photos is a lot easier than it looks!

March Favourites

March has absolutely flown by and I'm thankful that winter is officially over! I've only just started to get into the spring mood as England begins to heat up over the Easter weekend and I'm currently itching to dig out all of my pastel nail polishes and bright blushes and change up my makeup routine! Throughout March, however, I haven't really been reaching for anything too different but there are one or two things I've fallen in love with or rediscovered and I can't wait to share them with you!

GIVEAWAY | Win a Subscription to Scarlett of Soho!

For those of you who have never heard of the brand, Scarlett of Soho offer a monthly subscription service for eyewear. Subscription services are so popular lately and I think this has to be one of the coolest I've ever came across! They've created a range of price plans so their customers can swap and change their glasses multiple times a year and they have so many vintage frames and even prescription sunglasses available! I've written a previous post, which you can find here, where I test out their Home Try On kit. This kit is delivered to your door and includes 4 of your chosen frames that you get to keep for 7 days to decide which is your favourite! After writing my previous post, Rob was kind enough to offer my readers a free subscription to Scarlett of Soho for an entire year. The plan I'm giving away is called The Seasonal, worth £180 in total, and you can receive up to 4 different pairs of glasses in the year!  If you'd like to win the free subscription for a year, please read the rules carefully and enter via the Rafflecopter form below. 
Rules 1. You must complete all 3 mandatory entries to qualify. You can then unlock 2 extra entries which are optional. 2. UK only. Sorry to my international readers but Scarlett of Soho haven't expanded their services outside of the UK yet! 3. The giveaway ends on 16th April 2015 at 12:00 am.  4. The winner will be contacted directly by myself or Rob from Scarlett of Soho. 5. If the prize isn't claimed with 48 hours I'll be drawing again.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!