Dear River

Hello everyone! I hope you're all well and happy. Its been quite a busy weekend for me as I've been working quite a bit over the past few days but hasn't the weather been lovely?! It was glorious today and I couldn't resist taking some pictures, or rather getting my brother to take some for me!

I love this outfit, the dress is one of my favourite summer pieces and the shoes I adore. I wanted to show you guys this outfit because I've worn it quite a few times this month already. The first time I wore it to my friend's 18th Birthday party which was a lovely garden party and a great night, I also wore it to a job trial the other day.
The dress I bought from Warehouse this time last year in the sale for only £25 and the Levis waistcoat I bought in November at a vintage sale at my SU. I paired them with a pair of Rocket Dog ballet pumps that I bought about five years ago at the airport on our way to Spain and my sunglasses from River Island. I couldn't resist wearing my Tiffany jewellery either, it was an 18th I went to after all!
I hope you guys enjoyed todays quick post, if you would like more of these quick, simple outfit posts in the future let me know. As always I hope you enjoy the week ahead and I'll see you soon!
Love Holly x

The Fashion Of A Freak: Festival Style

Hello my lovelies! I hope you've all enjoyed the good weather this week, its been boiling here. Today I'd like to share with you all something that irritates me...

I've seen a lot of bloggers, Youtubers and magazines cover festival style recently as its summer now and festival season is well under way, but I feel like they're not giving very good or genuine advice on the styling of your festival attire. Here's why:

I have been to seven festivals, some indoor and some outdoor, and at least seventeen gigs, mostly punk rock and a few embarrassing pop concerts that I'd rather not admit to. I have seen my fair share of festival and gig madness, I feel like I am perfectly knowledge of them to say what I'm about to say. And I'd like to say, before I say what I'm about to say, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm not slating anyone or directing this post to some one in particular, nor am I saying that someone can't have their own style or do things the way they want to, but...

Most of the pictures and posts I've seen about festivals etc have mainly consisted of lacy and chiffon tops, long maxi dress along with kimonos and flower crowns among many pairs of sandals. And yes, that is the boho, festival style we all think of and love. But, in a more practical sense...you could never wear that to festival.

For starters, festivals are muddy. I live in the UK where our summers mainly consist of rain and more rain, fields get muddy, and with thousands of people trampling all over the grass for three days straight it gets REALLY muddy. If you go to a festival in a beautiful pair of sandals they are going to get ruined! And if you, like me, love to get right at the front of the crowd for your favourite artists and jump and sing and, for lack of a better word, "mosh" along with the other hundreds of people in the crowd, your feet with come out broken and bruised. 

Secondly, chiffon and lace kimonos and tops. All beautiful things, all very bohemian, all rather expensive if you buy nice ones. Why would you wear them to a festival?! They are totally impractical, yes I imagine they would keep you rather cool which is a good thing because it can get rather warm in those crowds, but usually they come in white, cream or pastelly colours which spells a recipe for disaster at festivals because as I've said before, festivals can be quite muddy. If you get pushed over in a crowd or circle pit and you're wearing a cream chiffon dress it is going to get covered in mud, and good luck getting that stain out two days later when you return home a tired and smelly mess. Also how you could possibly keep anything chiffon uncreased in a cramped and smelly tent for three days I have no idea. 

Thirdly, everyone seems to style their hair really beautifully for festivals, and thats fine for the first day, but when you've been there for two hours and some arsehole in the crowd has thrown a full cup of beer over everyone in front of him because he thinks its funny, your hair is going to get ruined! No matter how well you've styled it the beer will land all over your hair and dry, become sticky and smelly, destroying any hope you had of it looking acceptable for the next three days. And all those beautiful hair styles you had in mind? I'm sorry but its just not going to happen.

Now don't get me wrong, its not that I don't love the bohemian style, I do its brilliant and its not that I don't think the way that everyone has been styling these outfits are bad because they look amazing. I just don't see how anyone could wear them to a festival, they're too impractical and half of the pieces are too beautiful to be ruined by mud or beer. So, here's my advice, and how I dress for festivals:

Rule number one: Do not take your favourite, most expensive pieces with you.

Yes you'll look lovely in photos, but only the ones taken in the first five minutes of you getting there. Festivals are not the place to show off your beautiful summer outfits because if they are ruined at a festival you won't be able to wear them for the rest of the summer. Get a cheap pair of shorts from Primark and trash those ones. The ones I'm wearing in these pictures are actually Levis because all my other pairs are indecently short however I would never wear these to a festival. The shirt I'm wearing is my least favourite of all the shirts I own and it cost £7 from H&M last year. If this one got ripped or lost I wouldn't be as heartbroken as if it were one of my other shirts so it would be fine to take to a festival.
Rule number two: Wellies.
As I've already said, festivals can get pretty muddy. If you got in sandals or converses they are going to get destroyed and it is not worth it. Wellington boots were designed for this kind of thing so get yourself a good sturdy pair with either a classic Hunters aesthetic or a stupidly outrageous pair in a bright colour or print. Make sure they're adjustable as well because if they are too tight on your calves and you're not wearing knee high socks they are going to rub your skin throughout the day with all the walking you're going to be doing. My wellies are from Joules.
Rule number three: Tie your hair up.
Hair can be a bit of a nightmare at festivals unless yours is naturally beautiful and easily maintainable. Mine? not so much. I recommend keeping it tied up because of the gallons of flying beer that will get thrown over you in the crowd. If your hair is down when the beer hits its going to dry and leave your hair stuck in that position whereas if you have it up, the surface area of your hair to be hit is lessened and if you do get hit, its out of the way and you don't have to think about it. Also by having your hair tied up you're less likely to run your hands through it and play with it so it will stay cleaner and less greasy for longer.
Rule number four: Take your sunglasses.
Sunglasses are an obvious festival choice, they were designed for the summer. They are great at festivals because if you are lucky enough to get some sun they'll protect your eyes and after a few days when you're exhausted and hungover they can help to hide the massive dark rings under them. Get a good pair with UV protection but again I wouldn't recommend taking an expensive pair, you don't want to lose or break your Ray-bans. And don't do what Katie and I did at Leeds Fest and forget them, well done us.
Rule number five: Wear things that will keep you cool.
If it is a warm and sunny weekend you will be boiling, especially with all the jumping you'll be doing in those massive crowds. If its not a sunny weekend and it rains, wearing lighter items of clothing and shorts rather than jeans will mean the cold water won't be stuck in you clothes for as long and your legs won't weigh a hundred pounds and be an effort to hurl around the campsite with you. Also lighter things pack up smaller and take up less room in your tent.
So there you are, my advice for dressing for festivals and how I dress when I go to them. I really really want to go back to Leeds Fest this year because the line up is AMAZING but I don't think thats going to happen unfortunately. But if any of you are going to any festivals this year or have been to any already let me know which they are and if they were any good, I may get a chance to go next year who knows!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and they'll be more coming soon so sit tight! I hope you all have wonderful weekends and I'll see you all soon!
Love Holly x

I'm Back! What I Got For My Birthday: Beauty

Hello strangers!
I'm back! Yes I finally managed to sort out my stupid computer and although its still giving me grief the good news is it will at least let me upload pictures now so I can get back to blogging! I'm so excited I've really missed taking pictures and writing for you guys. I checked the dates and (excluding my last post about why I couldn't post) the last time I wrote for you guys was the 19th of May! That's almost a month ago! Well now my computers working again I promise there will be no more gaps of absence, at least not for that long anyway!
Since I last spoke to you guys I turned 19, moved out of my halls at uni and have returned home to Bradford where I have been reunited with my family, been to Slam Dunk festival, seen friends I haven't spoken to in months, sorted out some work experience and got myself a summer job so everything is hunky dory where I am!
And now to todays post, as some of you know it was my birthday on the 20th of May and I received lots of lovely presents from my darling friends and family and so I thought I would share some of them with you today!
Disclaimer: I am not trying to show off with this post I am simply sharing these products with you all because I think they are lovely and I thought you might like to hear about them.

This is the Bodyshop's Cocoa Body Butter and it is divine. My lovely flatmate Zana bought me this and it was just in time as I'd run out of it and was devastated! I've always loved the Bodyshop's Body Butters and had many a tub when I was a young teenager but I stopped using them because the scents were too fruity for me. I hadn't bought one in years until back in January when my skin was suffering because of the bitter cold of Newcastle and I wanted something to make it feel more alive again.
I went into the Bodyshop in Leeds with my Mum whilst sale shopping and bought a tub like this one which cost £12 and I fell in love again. This one is delightful, its really smooth and sinks into your skin leaving you smelling beautiful. I usually put this all over my body when I get out of the shower and it leaves my skin feeling lovely all day long. The scent is not at all overpowering and its not sickeningly sweet like some of the other Bodyshop Body Butters so its perfect for me as I prefer strange and subtle scents when it comes to beauty products. I really love this stuff so thank you very much to Zana for giving it to me.

This next present was given to me by my two best friends Katie and Megan. This is Giorgio Armani's new fragrance Si and it is beautiful! Seriously, it is truly gorgeous. I have been in desperate need of some new perfume as I've been wearing the same one since I was 14! I've never really had much money to spend on perfume and only ever acquired top-ups for birthday or Christmas presents and so always asked for the same one because it was easy and I didn't really know which one I wanted.  After all this time however I'd decided enough is enough and I was going to find a new scent. I asked Katie and Megan to buy me some new perfume and the week before my birthday I met Katie in town to choose a new one which we quickly decided on. Unfortunately Megan wasn't able to help me choose it as she is living in Australia and I missed her very much on my birthday but the lovely message she sent me on the day made me feel much better, thank you Meg.
I'd seen a sample for Si in Vogue a few months before and thought it was lovely and with Katie's approval decided that this was to be my new scent. As I said earlier I'm not one for florally or fruity perfumes and so this one is perfect, its quite subtle and delicate but its refreshing and elegant which is exactly what I wanted.

Megan and Katie must have been on the same train of thought as Zana as they also very generously bought me these! The first one is the Cocoa Butter Body Scrub and the second is a smaller tub of Cocoa Body Butter, both from the Bodyshop, (it really is no secret how much I love this collection!). The Body Scrub I use in the shower and it is great, the sandy texture is really good for exfoliating your skin and it lasts too as a little goes a long way with this product. The cocoa scent isn't very prominent with the scrub but it doesn't need to be, its a lovely product.
The Body Butter is exactly the same as before but the smaller tub is really handy and would be perfect for travelling or staying over at a friends house so I'm saving it until such an occasion should occur. Thank you ladies!

These next presents came from another of my best friends, Billy. Billy, Katie and I went for a meal together the day after my birthday as they too are studying in Newcastle and the three of us are practically siblings and so they acted as my family for the day. Billy rung me on his way to my flat and said "I'm walking through town looking for a present for you, is there anything you'd like for your birthday that you've run out of?" and so I requested some more of Lush's Volcano Foot Mask.
This is another of my favourite products at the moment its glorious! I bought my first tub about two months ago as summer was approaching and I tend to neglect my feet during the winter cause I'm not a massive foot fan (who is?!) and so I thought I'd better give them a little TLC. I love this product however it is a little bizarre; the first time I smelt it I thought it vile as it has a peculiar scent because its made with pumice and china clay but now I love the smell. Its also a little strange as you cover your feet in it then wrap them in cling film for ten minutes before you wash it off but its great fun and your feet feel lovely and soft afterwards.
Because Billy's such a star he also bought me some Sexy Peel soap which admittedly does look like a large chunk of cheddar cheese but it smells wonderfully citrusy and is full of lemon zest.
I do wonder with receiving all these body and scented products if my friends are trying to tell me something...

Now for the beauty products my parents gave to me for my birthday. The first of which was a YSL Touche Elcat Radiant Touch Highlighter in the shade 1.5 Luminous Silk. I had yearned for a Touche Eclat for years as my Mum has had them before and they were always brilliant. I'd never bought one before because they are quite expensive at £25 but they are fantastic. They usually last quite a long time as well, some of Mum's have lasted her years. I use this product under my eyes to brighten the area and make me look more awake, I also apply it over any red areas or if I have any blemishes and it covers them in a flash. Its really light as well which is a nice break from my current concealer which is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer which is quite thick and heavy. Thank you M & D!

My final beauty related present to show you guys today are these Bodyshop Make Up Brushes. I have been in desperate need of a good set of make up brushes for a long time as I was given some a few years ago but I'd lost a few of them and they needed replacing as the brushes weren't as nice as they used to be. I had originally asked Mum for a collection of Zoeva make up brushes however they didn't have any left in stock on the internet and so we were going to wait for them...until we went to McArthur Glen Outlet Centre just outside York.
We had planned to go in the hope of finding new dresses as my Uncle is getting married in August and both of us jump at any opportunity to buy new frocks but unfortunately it was not to be our day. We did however do well with other things, I bought a pair of Levis shorts for £32 (score!), we stocked up on flaxseed from Holland & Barrett, Mum bought some new Whittard mugs for the kitchen and we came out of the Bodyshop in a state of shock.
We only went in for some face wash for me and some mascara for Mum but then we saw their Ultimate Brush Collection which seemed like too good an offer to turn down! Eight lovely brushes for £51 reduced from £85 and I have to say they are the best make up brushes I have ever seen! They are wonderfully soft and it is a complete collection so I have brushes for everything! The collection includes:
- Face and body brush
- Foundation brush
- Blusher brush
- Eyeshadow brush
- Slanted eyeshadow brush
- Blender brush
- Lip and concealer brush
- Brow and lash comb
It truly is a brilliant set and the brushes are divine, I don't know what I did without them until now! The reason Mum and I were so shocked at how well we did in the Bodyshop was because this set alone cost £51 and we had also bought mascara, face wash and a bottle of toner and somehow through a crazy amount of discounts only ended up paying £49 for the lot! It still baffles me.
So that is it for today, I hope you all enjoyed this post and now that my computer is working, sort of, there will be lots more over the next few months and they will be far more frequent, I promise. I hope that you all have splendid weeks and that if you are currently in the middle of your exams I wish you the best of luck and to everyone who has now finished I hope your summers are off to a terrific start. I'll see you all later on this week for a fashion-y post seen as my last few have been beauty related, I'll keep you posted.
Love Holly x