Parka Jacket - Never-ending Trend

An item that I've wanted for a while now is a khaki coloured parka. So many hight street stores have been selling them over the years but this year it was almost taken to another level with a wide variety of styles and interpretations of the coat.

With parkas being very highly priced I decided to wait until Christmas to get one - it was definitely worth the wait. 

The one I own has a quilted lining but a fleecy hood with a fur edging. The lining keeps me cosy and warm, something essential in a coat! I really love how it's been constructed as it allow you to tug the waist line in, showing off a nice waist.

The fur detail adds a touch of sweetness and warmth to the coat which completes the Winter feel of the parka. 

To wear with it, I like to wear plain black trousers/leggings with my black leather Chelsea Boots - keeping it simple. And to accessorize, my most worn scarf tucked in because I love adding this pattern to a fairly understated outfit.

I definitely recommend buying one of these, particularly if you live in a cold climate for the upcoming months.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas or you're enjoying your holidays!

Lazy Winter Day!

It seems to be getting colder by the hour here in the UK, making it very hard to stay motivated to get off your derrière!

I'm sure most of us have had the opposite of what we wanted this weekend - stress, stress and more stress! Of course this is most definitely the last thing we want a such a wonderful time of year, but hey-ho!

With the blistering winds and my failed attempt at a 4K jog (I won't venture into that today) I've tried to stay as warm as possible, inside the house. Wrapped up in blankets and drinking countless cups of tea with eyes glued to a screen, I decided that I wanted to find my creativity and do something productive!

Baking is something I've always really enjoyed ever since making animal shaped biscuits and thinking I was Mary Berry - I've definitely developed my skills since then! Last year I learnt how to make short-crust pastry which is something tricky to nail if I'm honest because there are so many cautions. With the pastry making skill learnt it was straight forward to make homemade mince pies.

Yesterday I used Delia's recipe for mince pies as she is brilliant and obviously knows what she's talking about, being an incredible chef:P I was quite surprised with the results actually, I managed to roll the pastry very thin which is key as no one wants to eat sick-thick pastry. The idea is for short-crust pastry to be light and crisp which luckily I managed to achieve.

If you've watched The Great British Bake Off, with Mary Berry herself then you'll know the astounding achievement that I am about to share - there were no soggy bottoms!

They may look very messy - mincemeat bulging out of the pastry but I feel that it shows thought and that it's homemade and not bought from a shop.

You should definitely have a go at making these yummy mince pies if you're having a chill-out Christmas Eve. Click here for  Delia's online recipe or, if you have her book 'Delia Smith Complete Cookery Course' (a very large paperback) then the recipe for her short crust pastry is on page 497 and the mince pie recipe itself is on page 502 - is it sad that I knew that off-by-heart? How did that happen?

I hope you all have a smashing Christmas and holiday! Merry Christmas!

Finding your personal style

Style can either mean the world to someone or very little. Not everyone has their own personal style - because they tend to follow all trends or just haven't found it yet.

I feel that personal style is somewhat of an identity, for instance, if you're wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase you'll be commonly identified as a business associate.

Many people have very unique styles that sometimes don't appear in magazines or stores, showing confidence and staying true to their personality and how they like to present themselves. Others will go ahead with the trends and stick to what's put on the mannequin.

Then there's groups of people who haven't decided or cared about this identity of theirs. If you are someone who's looking to discover your personal taste, firstly think of your personality and who you are - are you edgy? Shy? Wild? Think of this question quite carefully whilst shopping.

There'll always be the staples in your wardrobe, items that will suit everyone and go with everything! These include a white shirt, black jeans, a cosy cardigan or sweater and ballet pumps. What you want to do to achieve your personal look is use one of these items but add a twist on it. This could be a twist as subtle as a ring or a big bow, whatever you feel represents you.

I always like to know the current and upcoming trends of course, but I try not to look like every other girl on the high street.

I always like to wear a bold item that makes a statement - my favourite item being my red wellie boots which are bold and add a spin on the classic Chelsea boot. I don't like to be head-to-toe bold as I find it's too much on a shorty like me :P

Pairing the wellies or another bold piece with slightly more subtle items to complete your outfit equals in a great outfit!

I understand that the grunge style isn't for everybody as we all have different looks with features such as bone structure and hair. But it's about incorporating grunge and turning it into what fits your style. For instance, if your look is feminine or slightly smarter, change the tartan trousers to a skirt and add a pair of black boots. Instead of a studded leather jacket, go for a simple mac or a coat of your choice.

Remember, go for items that are true to you, the people around you may not be wearing the same thing but that's what shows your identity and how unique you are which is something you should definitely be happy about!

I hope you're all enjoying your week and that you're on form for the holidays!

The Ever-so-classic White Shirt

I think we can all agree that the white shirt is one of the most timeless pieces of clothing out there. They work on everybody, there isn't anyone who can't wear a simple white shirt.

Although it does vary in the way that people wear and accessorize the shirt. Personally I like to tuck a white shirt into my disco pants or plain black jeans and layer it with a jumper so that the collars are poking out creating an elegant, sweet look.

A lot of people will see a white shirt as business-like and too smart for everyday. This is not the case. Even though the shirt is so simplistic, the amount of different fabrics and cuts you can have is endless! The collars constantly change, the length and sleeve length goes on forever in it's variety!

If you're looking for a new white shirt, I suggest going for one that's of a sheer fabric with a classic pointed collar as this will be the trend in Spring/Summer 2014. When you go sale shopping at the end of the month and the beginning of January look out for these shirts as they are a staple in anyone's wardrobe!

Be certain of what length you have as the high-waisted trouser style is returning again in 2014 so I recommend the length to go as far as your lower hip so that you can tuck your shirt into the high-waisted trousers - very 70's indeed.

If you're planning on wearing your shirt over leggings then you may want to go for a slightly more tunic styled shirt so that you cover more of yourself if you want to feel more comfortable. This length can always be used to tuck into high-waisted items to give a more relaxed and baggy feel to your spring/summer look.

Nearly all high-street shops are selling white shirts so grab them and trust me you'll get so much wear out of it. If you want to go for something of higher quality but more expensive then All Saints are brilliant for silk and sheer white shirts and you could also pick up a leather skirt to match if you feel like treating yourself.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Tresemmé Luxurious Moisture Review!

Oh dear, another Tresemmé product has appeared in my bathroom. I've really loved this brand since I tried their products for the first time nearly 2 months ago, (click here to see the review!)

The newest addition to my hair care collection is the Luxurious Moisture shampoo and conditioner which is the new (ish) duo by the brand. I mentioned this set briefly in my November Favourites post as it of course had been one of my favourites for the month of November.

This duo moisturises your hair and locks in that moisture which leaves my hair feeling silky soft and improves the quality. When I say it moisturises, it really does. During the day my hair doesn't feel dry or damaged and I wash my hair at night which shows just how long the moisture is locked in.

Sadly, the conditioner doesn't contain Argan Oil which was probably my favourite thing about the Tresemmé Salon Silk duo but thinking about it, the conditioner doesn't need the oil as it's so rich in moisture. Thankfully this means I don't need to use a hair mask weekly to save my hair after a long, windy and drizzly week.

The 'lead stylists' suggest to use the conditioner as a mask as they say you should apply the product on to about 3/4 of you hair then use a wide-tooth comb to comb it through. Then you should leave the product to soak in for about 2 or 3 minutes - a much more convenient and fast hair mask!

Like I've mentioned before, one of the great things about the brand is that it's affordable!

"Professional. Affordable."

I recommend this brand for anyone of you as there are so many different formulas to treat a variety of hair types. Even though it's an inexpensive price it makes you feel so luxurious when you use it, as if you were using an expensive, high-end hair care product!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Bon weekend!

Tartan Dress!

Uh oh, another blog post that has something to do with one of my favourite patterns of the season - Tartan!

If you read one of my older blog posts on tartan then you'll know that I was debating on whether to buy a tartan dress because of how striking the pattern is on a small person like me. I was fortunate to receive a New Look gift card and this dress was one of the first things I spotted as I walked into the store and my friend, Carys convinced me to buy it... So I got it and I'm so glad!

I didn't notice that the dress had a short waist, almost empire waist at first but I'm really pleased that it is because I don't actually own anything with this waist band and I've been intrigued to try one out!

I really love the colours of the print as they make accessorizing easier. I like to pair different patterns with each other sometimes even if it's something small like this necklace which has a hint of cheetah print on one of the beads.

This black bowler hat from H&M is so simplistic yet so cool that it adds a little something to the outfit, and paired with my red wellie boots and the dress I think it definitely makes a statement outfit.

This dress was £18 and from New Look of course. I really recommend getting your hands on a tartan dress or skirt for Winter as it will be a staple in your wardrobe!

Au Revoir!

November Favourites!

As it is finally December, I thought I'd do a post on some of my favourite products, items and random favourites. I've never done a monthly favourites blog post before so I thought I'd give it a go!

Hair & Beauty

I decided to try out a new shampoo and conditioner in November as alas, I had finished my previous bottles of Tresemme duo. This was a new duo by Tresemee and it is the Luxury Moisture shampoo and conditioner. This gives my hair a very silky finish and really locks in the moisture for a long time. 

(I don't want to go into this too deep as I'm planning on doing a full review in a future blog post).

My next hair favourite has got to be this brush. It does wonders! I got this for my birthday and since that day my hair's looked a lot healthier and silky with the help of Tresemme:P It ditangles my hair whilst still keeping it's natural bounce and wave which is just amazing!

For my nails, this Barry M nail polish has been beautiful! It's a matte nail paint which is something I'd never tried or considered trying in the past. It goes on really easily and is a really pretty 'topee' colour so very subtle but a perfect colour for everyday nails I think.

Fashion

I have of course been loving my red wellies from River Island that I purchased a little over a month ago. If you'd like to read a full blog post on these wellies click here! I just really love these. They're extremely practical for the damp and wet weather here in the UK and since October I've had a lot of wear out of them and I'm very pleased!

Disco pants! Well what an amazing invention! I love my disco pants, they are a bit 'out there' but I think with a low-key t-shirt and cute shoes they can work for a daytime outfit which keeps you nice and warm. They're available in numerous stores, especially Topshop and River Island.

As you can tell, this isn't me modelling:P But this is similar to how I like to style my disco pants!

My final fashion favourite is the tartan scarf. As tartan is such a huge statement this season, I wanted to get a scarff with the pattern on and fortunately I got this one from Urban Outfitters. This is great for keeping my neck warm and I think it's very stylish and adds something to my disco-pants-and-jumper look!

Music

If you read my Saturday Night Tunes blog post, you'll know that I've really been enjoying Chase & Status & Rudimental's new albums. Therefore all of the songs on the album have been my music favourites for this month!

I hope you enjoyed this post on my November Favourites! Let me know if you'd like to see another monthly favourites post in January! Bye!

December Day Out!

Happy December everybody! I woke up extremely tired but also extremely excited to open my advent calendar!

I adore this, I mean there's a tree with a hat on it, what more do you want?!

Cheesy selfie:P 

I didn't wear any make up today because I ran out of concealer and I wanted to give my skin some relief as I was having quite a good skin day and I'd been wearing make up all week. I wish I had some concealer to put under my eyes to make me look slightly more awake which is what I'd usually do on an every day basis.

I decided to wear my Christmas pudding hat because it's now December and I thought I'd get in the festive spirit! I also wore my pink 'snood'/infinity scarf from H&M.

I apologize for my braces, fortunately they are coming off in 2 weeks! For my top I wore a plain, sheer, collared shirt from H&M paired with my favourite jumper of the moment from H&M.

I wore my black skinny jeans which are from Primark with my very lovely Chelsea style wellies from River Island. To give the outfit a little feminine touch, I wore my frilly Topshop socks which are very sweet and add a girly element to an outfit.

For jewelry I wore this really pretty key necklace that's really old actually and I have no idea where it came from unfortunately. But I think it's quite simple and just adds a little sparkle to a simple Wintery outfit.