Summer Essentials + A Little Catch Up
With the little heatwave we've been experiencing here in the UK it seemed like the perfect time to share my summer essentials, but of course now that I've got round to posting this it's back to rainy miserable weather. Typical. But I think we also need to have a bit of a catch-up seeing as I have been rather MIA lately. The only place I have been consistently active is on Instagram, so you should definitely follow me over there y'know. Any excuse for a bit of self-promo!
So I've been in quite a bit of a slump lately. It's not that I've lost interest in blogging, not at all, it's more just a case of feeling uninspired and therefore unmotivated and sometimes, when you're feeling down, it's just easier to come home from work and binge-watch Pretty Little Liars for a few hours instead of writing blog posts. So I decided not to force myself into putting out posts that I'm not happy with, hence the two week break between posts!
But this all coincided well with a few days off work which I had booked, so after some much needed me-time I'm feeling a lot better about things. I know for a fact that the whole 'social' side of blogging is where I lack and this gets me down a lot, but it's so hard for me to change that when my anxiety pops up every second. Having blogger friends to bounce ideas around with would be so beneficial in these situations, but alas, I need to just keep trying and taking the baby steps that I am.
Anyway, back to my summer essentials which is essentially the point of this post, not my rambling and whining.
Summer Sandals - As much as I tend to live in boots every day of the year, sometimes it's nice to actually dress for the seasons, isn't it? This pair are my current fave which I rambled on about in this post.
Hats - I am 100% a hat person. It doesn't matter what style, I'm always up for wearing a hat and in summer straw hats/floppy hats/baseball caps all seem to shine don't they?
Nail Polish - An all-year essential for me really, but they look especially nice in summer! I can never decide if I prefer brights or pastels for summer but this Barry M coconut oil infused range has decided for me. So luxurious!
Lip Oil - Sticking to Barry M (because they really are one of my favourite drugstore brands!) these lip oils are perfect for a sunny day. Lip gloss but not sticky, basically. And they taste amazing!
SPF - Always essential, especially on sunny days! Even though my day cream has SPF in it, when it's summer I use a facial SPF as well, because better safe than sorry, y'know? This Soap & Glory one is perfect, nice and lightweight and it doesn't have that weird suncream smell.
Facial Spray - I first got this Clinique spray last year and, not to be dramatic, it was life-changing. Working 9-5 in an office, summer (especially in these little heatwaves) can be horrendous, but this is cooling and moisturising and a great pick-me-up.
Sunglasses - My favourite thing about the sun is getting to showcase my sunglasses collection! I wear them all year round tbh if I can get away with it, but it's summer when they work best obviously. No outfit is complete without a pair. These two feature in my mini sunglasses haul I shared recently!
Perfume - Obviously I'm not just saying 'wear perfume in summer' but I like to rotate fragrances through the seasons, so my favourite that I talked about in winter isn't the same as the one I'm talking about now. Obviously, Bronze Goddess is up there, but I haven't got any atm (sad times) and BonBon is another super nice, light, floral but not too floral scent (if that makes any sense at all? Probably not).
Any summer essentials that you think I've missed?
Loves. Emma.
Let's Talk: Dressing For Your Body Shape?
When I'm browsing social media or the bloglovin explore tab, I often see posts about 'how to dress for your body shape' or 'how to dress your size' and I just don't ~get~ it. At a UK size 8/10 I might not be the best person to discuss this. I'm a basic size, I have curves but not curves, I'm not super skinny but I don't come close to 'plus-size' either. Which, I don't even know if that's the right term to use? The average size in the UK is a size 14, so why are people at that size described as plus? The whole notion is a bit messed up to me, but like I said, I'm not the best person to debate this. Everyone has their own ideas on it anyway!
Like anyone, I have parts of my body that I'm not comfortable with. I don't like showing the tops of my arms or my thighs, I'm not a big fan of clingy clothes in general, but if I want to wear a mini skirt that shows off my very untwig-like thighs, who's to tell me that I shouldn't? That it's not right for my body shape and a maxi skirt would suit me better? Go onto any online magazine site and there's a 99% chance there's a 'what shape is your body' quiz with images for you to define yourself as an apple, a pear, or an hourglass, etc. I hate the idea of trying to fit into a box like that and then be told that I would best suit a style of clothing which I would never choose to wear.
I'm a big fan of wear what you want, basically. If you like it, wear it. If it makes you feel good, wear it. You can own that crop top whether you're a size 6 or 16, y'know? As women (I don't think I have any male readers? Soz if so!), there's so much that we get judged for so why would you encourage other women to judge each others choice like that? In the grand scheme of life, does a persons style choice really matter, just because it's something you wouldn't choose? This post seems to be getting a bit preachy but whether it's posts that I see online, talking to friends, to even conversations overheard in changing rooms (lol) it's upsetting to know that people see clothes which they like and then don't purchase because it's engrained in them that it wouldn't suit them. When in actuality, they could like incredible but just haven't tried it yet!
I picked up these culottes from Primark a few months ago and fell in love. They're a super thin, lightweight material, perfect for Summer! I wasn't sure how they'd suit me, being quite short can be a struggle with mid-length trousers/skirts/dresses only making me look shorter, but who cares tbh. They're also great for dressing up or down and are just the bomb considering they were only about a tenner! (I can't remember the exact price).
Wearing: Culottes, Primark - Tee, Next (old) - Shoes, Zara (not online) - Sunglasses, ASOS (old)
Loves. Emma.
Summer Sandals
I know for a fact that I would have a lot more money if it wasn't for social media and bloggers. It's just ridiculous how little will power I have when it comes to new clothes/shoes/accessories. I saw Danielle's post about summer sandals a few weeks back and decided that I needed a new pair. To be honest, I don't really have sandals, mostly boots and a few pairs of shoes, so it was easy to justify it to myself. I've also never had any lace-up shoes before so I had to hop on the trend, didn't I?
This pair are from ASOS and were only £19.99 (they're even cheaper now they're in the sale!). I just love how ~unique they are with the stars, I've not really seen any like that. And being black they suit my often monochrome style perfectly! I do find the ties quite annoying though. I don't know if it's just me, but they don't stay up my legs, like, at all? I've pulled them fully up so that the tie sits behind my knee and it's helped to hold them up but I prefer when they're tied a bit lower down the leg, with the straps less stretched out. So if anyone has any tips for keeping them up, help a gal out!
Wearing: Sandals, ASOS - Shirt, Forever 21 - Shorts, River Island - Hat, Boohoo (old)
Loves. Emma.
Prints & Posters
I actually shot the photos for this post months ago, it was kind of a 'I don't have any outfit shots and it's raining everyday so lets get some back-up photos' time but then I managed to get the outfit shots I wanted and these got a bit forgotten about. But that doesn't mean it's not a post I really want to share, because it is! Hence why I'm sharing it now when I have two sets of outfit shots ready for my next posts. How very organised, I know!
But I haven't actually decorated my room in so long, I wanted a bit of a change. I have plain white walls and laminate flooring and any changes I want to make are generally small changes, such as new bedding/curtains/accessories. So I decided to make the wall above my bedhead a bit of a feature wall for artwork. I scoured the internet and have somehow ended up with this little collection.
First up, how can I not talk about Kate? I got this Kate Moss poster off of eBay and the frame for it from The Range. In fact, I think all of the frames I got are from there, super cheap and perfect for what I want. This is just such an iconic picture of Kate and I've wanted it for so long.
Stef & Hannah Michalak are my absolute favourite ~vloggers to watch. The quality of their videos is incredible and I just admire them as a family so much. So when they brought out the MaggsLondon prints I 100% had to get one in support of them. I got the 'Stay wild' print and love the simplicity of it all.
When I was browsing Etsy I found Macarons&Mimosas, which an amazing shop for budget prints! I got the download versions which are perfect if you want them immediately, and have a printer handy of course! I only order the 'pretty things & witty words' quote but they sent me the Chanel one by mistake before realising, so I ended up with two for the price of one!
Also from Etsy is the dandelion/lion print which I absolutely love for how unique it is!
I got another 2 for 1 deal when I ordered the pineapple print from NouvelleDaily and the Hide&Seek print was included with a cute little surprise note! Another great little shop for picturesque prints.
The Rabbits and Butterfly artwork are only from The Range along with all the frames, and the Vogue postcards were in a set, available here!
Loves. Emma.