OOTD: Crop Tops and Cute Socks

Denim Jacket: American Eagle

Crop Top: Boohoo.com

Headscarf: E-Vintage

Boots: Topshop

Black Frill Socks: Topshop

OOTD: Good Vibes

Kimono: Primark

Tights: Boots

Loafers: New Look

Tshirt: Primark

Garland: Poppy Daisy

OOTD: Paper Dreams Hunnay

Denim shirt: New Look

Crop top: Topshop

Black brogues: New Look

Frill socks: Primark

Nautical Dress

The dress is from Asos Marketplace. I have worn it in a more summery style while Eloise has worn a wintery outfit. Hope you like it! :)

OOTD: Wearing Men's Shirts

Shoes: Topshop

Socks: Primark

Skirt: Topshop

Shirt: Primark (men's section)

Headband: Poppydaisy.com

New Year's Eve: Hair and Outfit

My outfit, hair and make-up for a New Year's Eve par-tay ;) ...

Make-up:

 Max Factor Face-Finity foundation

Sleek Contour and Highlight powder

Soap & Glory Hocus Focus highlighter

R powder blush

Collection 16hr concealer

Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Endless mascara

Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 01

Rimmel London Exaggerate lipliner in Eastend Snob

My hair is left natural because I was too lazy to do it, so it is just washed and left to dry naturally (and end up as a knotted trampy mess, but what can ya do, ay)

Clothes: 

Oh My Love at Topshop Deep V Scuba dress

Burgandy socks with black frill from Topshop

Sheer black heart print tights from Boots

Mega Cut Out Buckle Boots shoes from Topshop

Jewellery:

Drop cross earrings from New Look

Plain silver stud earrings: Dorothy Perkins

And that's it! I didn't post this earlier because quite honestly I am STILL recovering from the party :') Not to mention the walk of shame that I did all the way home and on the train in my Monsters Inc pyjamas....

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Winter Wishlist

I went shopping with my friend yesterday and as usual, my brain disagrees with my purse on what I want to buy and what I actually can buy...which means I build up quuuuuiiite a long mental wish list while I'm out.

So, definitely top of my wish list for winter is THIS dress...

It's a structured dress, it almost feels as if it has firm foam inside it which holds the shape of the skirt fairly stiff. The top has panels and a high neckline with an a-line skirt.

The dress is delicately glittery and just looks metallic and shiny (which I think looks better than tons of glitter that's in your face like BAM and you look like you've been dragged backwards through the cast of TOWIE's dressing room....) It is bronze but looks gold or rose gold under different light.

As always, please excuse the 'mirror selfie', it's the best I could do in the changing rooms. Oh -and ignore the fact that I couldn't be bothered to take my jeans off before putting it on!

I can't actually stop rambling about this dress, I really love it...

It is from Topshop, I shouldn't let myself near that shop! I always want EVERYTHING. The price of it was £65.00

I'll stop now...and just go and dream about this dress, and probably window shop online on Topshop's website...

OOTD: Glitter T-shirt Dress

This is the outfit I wore out for the night last night....

It's mostly from New Look, and here ya go! 

Black and gold glitter dress with necklace: New Look
Leather jacket: New Look - Generation Section
Black patent brogues: New Look
Knee high heart print socks: Boots
Vogue magazine print bag: is from a stall in Camden

The socks are like tights material and have hearts printed on them :)


The dress is black with gold glitter all over it, and it came with the big jewel-y necklace.

I like these shapeless, sort of t-shirt style dresses but they're often too long for me :') Although, this one was alright! :) and I wore it with a black leather jacket from the Generation section of New Look

  This is the bag I used. I bought it in Camden and it is black and gold-ish with cream colours and has previous covers of Vogue magazine printed all over it!

The shoes are black patent brogues which are also from New Look.

How to: DIY Henna

I've been henna-ing a lot recently and I really like doing it :) Although I get a bit addicted to it and have no space left on myself :') I do henna on myself, and my friends, and my Mum, and one of her friends :)

I started doing it in early May this year and it is something you have to practice and get better at doing!

So here's how:

1. Well to start you need some henna (mehndi) paste! So, you can either buy it or make it. So far, I have always bought it but I do want to try and make some soon. If you want to make your own, here is a recipe. If you want to buy it the easiest place to get some is in Camden, there are many shops and stalls which sell it. You can also buy Henna online. I have done both, and they've all been fine! You can buy it in different containers but I have always had the cones.

2. Now you need a design. I like to Google, Instagram or Pinterest search henna patterns for inspiration and then make my own design up as I go.

3. It's pretty simple to do once you get started. Just draw your pattern on whilst evenly squeezing the paste out of the cone and onto the skin. It will come out as a brown paste, all you have to do when you're finished drawing it leave it to dry. Wipe or peel it off once it is completely dry and is starting to flake, I tend not to wash it off with water as it can make it fainter if you wash it too soon.

4. Just care for it and it will last a couple of weeks or so. It will be very orange coloured at first, but overnight it will go more brown-ish. Moisturise it regularly and rub lemon juice in it if you want it really dark.

This is a photo of my most recent Henna which is on my foot. I think Henna tattoos look best on hands and feet, BUT then... there is always the option of a good moustache....!

OOTD: denim pinafore

GIRAFFE! Snazzay giraffe phone there ;) I apologise for the mirror selfie...I'm ashamed of myself...

And yes the hoover has made a guest appearance in the background there ;)

Glasses print shirt: Forever 21

Denim pinafore: ASOS

Brown jodphur boots: Primark

Things That Make Me Happy

ALOHA! So today I was just thinking I'd like to write a post, telling you about the things that make me happy and just in general what I think about being happy!
To start, you can't take life too seriously, because what's the point! No-one gets out alive! Okay, so maybe that's not the best point to begin on...but it's true! There's no reason to be serious all the time or not enjoy life! In fact, as best you can, although it's difficult sometimes -enjoy everything! It is hard, and I can't say that when I have a double chemistry lesson I am the happiest of bunnies, or that I spring out of bed every Monday morning but make the best of the life you have!
Being relaxed and laid back can be good for you, as stress is not good! It can have so many bad effects on your health such as high blood pressure. And I know some people just get stressy naturally but try your best to stay relaxed (I find this a bit too easy, as I can be too laid back which that isn't good either when it comes to things like getting work done!) If you don't find being relaxed easy, maybe try yoga or other relaxation techniques. Ultimately if you're not naturally laid back, being relaxed comes from allowing you to be content in yourself and your life (whooaaa, that's deep mann...)
Always be clear on how lucky you are! Don't dwell on bad times, it won't make them any better! I understand how hard that can be, and I'm not saying don't be upset at all, but I'm saying don't let negative things affect you forever. Self pity, in my opinion, is one of the most self-harmful things. You have to move on from bad things, for yourself you have to let them go and really just get over them. It is healthy to forgive people, as if you hold grudges, it's only damaging you -even if you can't see it, the tension's only inside you. You just have to know in yourself what makes you lucky in life.
Another thing is, don't beat yourself up about things! This is something I didn't fully understand until I started yoga, and it's now a lot clearer to me. One of the fundamental teachings of yoga is to live without being harmful. It's obvious that this means do not harm others but it also means do not be self-harming. Which is something that a lot of people are on a small scale. So in an everyday example, if your friend said something to someone which they took in a negative way but your friend did not mean it in such a bad way, you would reassure your friend and tell them not to feel bad as long as they apologised they aren't a bad person as they did not intend to be harmful. Yet most people would not say the same to themselves, they would beat themselves up about it and not let it go. In most cases, a good rule is to treat yourself as you would treat your best friend.
I believe that people change everyday. You're constantly being influenced by your surroundings and experiences and you grow into a new person. People change everyday. In most cases the experiences are so minor that you don't change by much, but your brain is learning from everything that you do. However, very often, especially for people around my age, we can get too hung up on one thing and care too much about it. Despite what you may believe we are not strongly defined by one thing (whatever you're stressing over, whether it's something embarrassing you have done, body image, exam results etc...). Eventually you'll get over it and realise that one thing didn't actually define you as a person as much as you thought it did.
And, don't over think things! Don't waste your time over thinking, you'll probably regret it! And don't let it hold you back from doing things you want to do!

~~~~~~

Do what makes you happy!

~~~~~~

Originally this post was just going to be a list of a few things that make me happy but then I ended up rambling on about all of that jazz up there! But anyway, this is my list of a few of the things that make me happy...

~ Cat Memes: C'mon now! Don't even lie to me -I know they make you happy too!
~ Soft Socks: I love to wear soft, fluffy socks...my feet are always cold and they like socks OK!? Plus I always take my shoes off when I'm out (shoes are so mainstream...) and cross my legs (yes, I have some strange thing about just not sitting like a normal person...) so wearing fluffy socks is cosy....despite the judgmental looks/comments I receive! :')
~ Spontaneity: I just don't particularly like routine and I enjoy doing whatever I feel like and seeing where my mood takes me.
~ Driving at Night: *cringe* but it's true; I actually love it! I think I'm  like a dog, I just like being out and about...I mean, I might even have my face out the window while we're driving for the wind to blow through my chops...kidding...you hope!
~ The Smell of Cinnamon: I can't even explain my love for cinnamon. I would give up chocolate for cinnamon without a doubt, yep -that's commitment!
~ Creative Things: I find them a lot of fun and quite relaxing. Sometimes I like to paint but usually I like doing henna, making cards, sewing, making headbands, decorating things and stuff like that! I've heard that creativity can be a good outlet.

~~~~~

Do what makes you happy

~~~~~

One Year Blog-iversary: Tips for new bloggers

Today is my one year blog-iversary (blog anniversary), so happy 1st birthday to Sparkly Blues and Rainbow Shoes! All of that means that I have been blogging since the 8th November 2012 and I just thought I would share the things that I have learnt with you, so if you are new to blogging or just thinking of starting a blog, hopefully these things will help ya out!

My experience:

I had been thinking about creating a blog for a long time, mostly to put my OOTDs on, but I was unsure of how to start. In the end, it was my friend who encouraged me and so we started Sparkly Blues and Rainbow Shoes! Originally it began on Wordpress (under the same name and it still exists) but we decided to switch to Blogger as it was a better tool to write blogs with and seemed to have the largest blogging community. Right now, this blog has almost 12000 views; around 1000 views a month, and my most popular post right now is my DIY Ombre Dip Dye review.

My Tips:

~ Although stats (numbers of views) aren't everything it is nice to know that people are reading (possibly even liking...) the posts that you've spent time writing. But don't get too hung up on it!

~ Before you upload photos, name them on your computer. Where your photos are saved, choose to rename them to something relating to your post. This means that when people look something up, your photo can appear on search engines which could lead viewers to your blog.

~ Write about things that interest you as this is the only way you'll get a decent post. Also, blogging is all fun anyway so don't write about something that is boring for you.

~ Use relevant labels and interesting titles. You can add labels to your post and this is how people can search a topic and find your blog (like hashtags on twitter) so write a few labels which are things people might search. Make sure your titles are intriguing but not mis-leading. 

~ Interact with other bloggers, leave comments on other bloggers' posts and reply to your comments!

~ Post regularly; this is something which I can be bad at as I tend to blog everyday for a period of time and then not post for a few weeks. If you can post regularly then do but is that's difficult then there is the option to schedule a post's publishing on the right hand side (on blogger) when you are writing a blog and you can choose a date and time so blogger will automatically post it for you then! This can be really useful as sometimes I write three or four posts in one day and schedule them to be posted on consecutive days to spread them out.
~ Think about your audience: this is something which I should work on. Sometimes I write too much as if I am speaking and it's hard to develop it into a well written blog post. It's usually good not to be too formal.
~ Check your spelling and punctuation! It's really difficult to read a whole blog post if the spelling and grammar is really bad! And you get boring people like me with no lives who actually get irritated by the wrong use of "your" and "you're". I'm sure I have quite a few mistakes in my posts as I'm typing them but just try to keep your blogs fairly well written so they're readable! (not even sure if "readable" is a word...?)

Remember to show your personality in your writing as it's so much more interesting to read when everyone doesn't sound the same!

If you haven't started your blog yet - JUST GO FOR IT! I thought about starting for soooo long before I did! But to be honest, you learn most of what you need to know as you go and get a feel for blogging and you realise what you, personally need to do. Just think of a good name for your blog, decorate it to your taste, put lots of photos on it and create posts on whatever topic has interested you enough to write about!

GO FORTH AND BLOG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Autumn LookBook

Here is my Autumn LookBook, and yes I ashamed that I have had to stoop as low as a mirror selfie...but it's all I can do when I'm late EVERY morning!

Soo these are just some Autumn-y-ish outfits for ya...

1. 

Spotty Denim Shirt: New Look

Floral Skirt: H&M

White Shoes: Topshop

Cream Frill Socks: Topshop

Flower Garland is one that my friend gave me :)

2.

Green Jacket: Primark

Strapless White Top: Hollister

Black Trousers: New Look

Black Loafers: New Look

Frog Necklace: I "borrowed" from my Mum ;)

3.

Pink Dress with Cutouts: Topshop

Brown Cardigan: Depop

Pink Frill Socks: Primark

White Shoes: see outfit 1

Big Brown Bag: Primark

Flower garland is one which I made

4.

Black dress with sparkly peter pan collar: Violet Hill

Necklace worn as belt: New Look

Spotty Tights: Primark

Black Loafers: See outfit 2

5.

Blue Top: Primark

Blue Skirt: Primark

Blue and Brown Shoes: Primark

Brown leather jacket: H&M

Brown Bag: see outfit 3

6.

Red Skater dress: primark

Black loafers: see outfit 2

Black belt: H&M

7.

Burgandy coat: Topshop

Flowery Top: New Look

Burgandy Bodycon Skirt: New Look

Black Patent Brogues: New Look

8.

Black Jumper: H&M

Printed Wool Skirt: Primark

Black Belt: see outfit 6

Black Patent Brogues: see outfit 7

Black Socks: New Look

9.

Brown Leather Jacket: see outfit 5

White Jumper: Gilly Hicks

Brown Jodphur Boots: Primark

Cream Socks: Primark

Brown Bag: see outfit 3

And black leggings

10.

Black Coat: Primark

Printed Wool Skirt: see outfit 8

White Aztec Top: American Eagle

Black Patent Brogues: see outfit 7

Floral Wire Headband: New Look

11.

Khaki Jumper: Forever 21

Patterned Jeans: Topshop

PU Leather Rucksack: Primark

Brown Brogues: Mr Shoes

Cream Frill socks: see outfit 1

12.

Brown Leather Jacket: H&M

Embellished Sheer top: Miss Selfridge

Brown Skirt & belt: Primark

Black Loafers: see outfit 2

Daisy Flower garland: see outfit 1

13.

Khaki jumper: see outit 11

Black dress: Lipsy

Black loafers: see outfit 2

14. 

Denim jacket: American Eagle

Black crop jumper: H&M

And black leggings

15. 

Burgandy bodycon skirt: see outfit 7

Black crop jumper: see outfit 14

Moustache & glasses necklace: Topshop

Moustache shoes: Primark

That's pretty much my everyday (oh jesus, I was meant to leave the house 15 minutes ago) autumn wardrobe! I usually like to match EVERYTHING together but I haven't been doing that as much as usual lately...probably because of how late I'd be every morning if I spent as long as I'd like to picking an outfit!

My Crazy Tights Collection

Lately, I seem to have started to collect some erm...unique (?) tights, so I thought I'd share them with you...

These tights are from Primark and are comic strip print with Mickey mouse and other characters on them! I'm wearing them with black patent (Doc Marten style) boots from Primark and a red lace dress from a boutique (Dolly's Boutique)

The cat tights are from a shop on eBay called 'hot-air2013' which I think is somewhere in China, so I did have to wait quite a while for the tights to come in the post, but they were worth the wait :) . I wore them with a red tartan skirt from New Look, a black sheer shirt from a boutique (Fashion Avenue), black braces which I got online, and in the evening I had a bag which I bought in Camden which has Vogue Magazine covers printed all over it. I wore this outfit all day and I love it :) I wore it to sixth form and most people complimented my tights (other than my chemsitry teacher, who's comment was "what on earth are you wearing") haha :') I also wore the outfit out to a gig in the evening and I'd definitley wear it again, despite my tights being "innapropriate for sixth form" :')

These red tartan tights are from Primark and I am wearing them with the same black boots I wore with the mickey mouse comic strip tights, a black skater skirt, a checked shirt from H&M, a black bow I made from ribbon around the collar, and a black leather jacket from New Look.

Although, these three are probably my most interesting pairs of tights, I do have more patterned tights and I will post those too soon! :)