Summer Haulin'

Summer is definitely my favourite season; I am one of those people whose mood is instantly brightened when the sun is shining. The clothes may also be a factor for my love of all things summer as your outfits aren't always hidden under your one winter coat. The colourful clothes in the shops are just that bit more enticing and so over the past few months I may have done just a litttttle bit of shopping.

I generally find River Island a bit hit and miss; their clothes often have a very distinct style which I tend not to like. However, saying that, I have been loving their clothes this summer and have to restrain myself in order to prevent maxing out my overdraft! As said in my Weekend Wishlist post  I am loving palm prints at the moment and these first two items are what started this love affair.

Palm Print Blazer - River Island (not on their website anymore but it is on sale on ASOS for £36)
Palm Print Skirt - River Island, £25 (can't find it on RI website but it is available on ASOS)
Shorts - River Island, £20 (not available anymore, but similar style here and here)




With birthday money (and the American Apparel voucher from Christmas) I went a little overboard on the tops front. I have really been loving all the neon yellow/lime green tops in the shops recently however, I don't think it suits my skin tone that well. The first t-shirt is a perfect way to pull off the neon trend as the grey background tones it down a little. I was struggling with what to buy with the AA voucher because it was worth £34 and as you may know AA is pretty pricey in England. However, I saw Laura Whitmore wearing this crop top a while ago when presenting I'm A Celeb...Get Me Out Of Here and had loved it then so, when I saw this still in the shops I snapped it up, and it's palm print, double bonus! The final two basic tops are to go with the palm print skirt and the yellow crop top also goes really well with the shorts.

Grey Lace Overlay Tee - Miss Selfridge, £20
Jungle Leaves Crop Top - American Apparel, £24
Blue Vest - H&M, about £6 (similar here)
High Neck Ribbed Crop Top - River Island, £10 (Yellow not online but this is the style)

Again, as said in my Weekend Wishlist, I have been in desperate need of a new pair of sandals as the sole of my previous pair of tan gladiator style sandals is flapping off despite my attempts at super gluing them back to life.

Metal Look Hardware Sandals - Next, £30.

I learnt last year that you cannot buy bikinis in summer - there will be none left. This year I started my summer shopping earlier and managed to nab these around May time, however they do still seem to be available online and so maybe in the shops as well.

Blue Twist Front Bandeau Bikini Top - Warehouse, £12
Blue Ruch Side Bikini Bottoms - Warehouse, £10
Apricot Lace Covered Bikini Top - H&M, £12.99
Apricot Lace Tie Side Bikini Bottoms - H&M, £7.99

I would say that's the end of my summer shopping for this year, however I did a bit of shopping whilst in California, but when in Rome right?

Weekend Wishlist #1

I definitely do not need to go shopping after a few very spendy months (I blame exams), however I cannot help but scour the sites and pick out some great summer pieces (just in my head, I promise!). 

1) Palm Bandeau Skort Playsuit, £48 from Topshop. I'm having a palm print moment currently as you'll see from an upcoming haul. This playsuit would be ideal for a holiday and the green would complement a tan perfectly. It also comes in both tall and petite versions which is handy.

2) Floral Duster Jacket, £39 from Miss Selfridge. Kimonos are the perfect addition to your wardrobe especially for our English summers which don't always get too hot or for a summer's night abroad. This would look perfect with a coral cami top, light wash denim jeans/shorts and some tan brown wedges.

3) Blue Leopard Tribal Print Split Maxi Dress, £40 from River Island. RI has really been hitting the nail on the head this summer and this maxi dress is no exception. I'm not amazingly tall (about 5"9), but I do tend to find a lot of dresses are a bit too short if I want to keep some dignity, especially with summer dresses and so I have been swaying towards maxi dresses. This one is very glamorous with slits on both sides and the back is plain black so as not to be too overwhelming.

4) Simone Fine Cateye Sunglasses, £16 from Topshop. I find sunglasses to suit my face shape (think perfect circle) very hard to find and have hence had the same pair for about 6 years so I am definitely on the lookout for a new pair. After recently trying on a similar shape pair I think the cat-eye shape may be my go to as the angular sides draw my face up a bit and the tortoise shell finish is a bit softer against my skin tone. These pair are also reminiscent of a certain Prada pair but of course lot cheaper - I may be breaking my spending ban for these!

5) L'Oréal Professionnel Solar Sublime Advanced Protection Conditioning Spray, £11.05 from FeelUnique. Everyone is well aware of the importance of applying sunscreen to your face and body however many forget about protecting your hair. The sun can be very drying to your hair and can fade coloured hair so it is important to use a UV protection spray to help combat these effects. I will be heading over to California for 2 weeks soon and so will definitely be picking one of these up as I not only have coloured hair (although slowly returning back to my natural darker colour after a year and a half of highlighted hair) but use curlers and straighteners so damage my hair enough as it is!

6) Multi Jewelled Colourful Sandal, £30 from Warehouse. I saw these sandals hanging up whilst walking through House of Fraser (a Warehouse stockist) and was instantly drawn to the coloured gems. The embellishment colour and pattern reminded me of something by Shourouk however at a fraction of the price and it was definitely hard for me to leave them behind. The colours just scream a Caribbean holiday and would look amazing against tanned legs.

Summer Loving: Fragrance

This perfume is summer in a bottle. That is all there is to say about this scent; you take one whiff and you're on a beach drinking out of a coconut, the sun shining down on you with the blue ocean lapping at your feet. Estée Lauder describes Bronze Goddess as  'A sensuous, sun drenched blend of Bergamot, warm Amber, Tiare Flower and Vanilla combined with delicious creamy coconut'. To me it smells of some form of sun cream/coconutty combination in the best way possible. I was spraying this all throughout exam season to try and fool myself that I was in the Maldives as opposed to my dull room with a pile of never-ending revision notes.

This perfume only gets released in the summer so I totally recommend picking it up while it's still in the shops, although it already appears to be out of stock online on Debenhams however House of Fraser still has some here.

OOTD: Summertime Sadness

Although clearly not summer in the UK, I thought I would pop this post up anyway as I know lots of people go chasing the sun in the Christmas holidays, it's summer in Australia and there's no harm in reminiscing about the sun, sea and sand when stuck inside on a gloomy day, right?
(Beware - picture heavy post!)

Outfit 1:

Kimono: River Island (summer stock but I like these: 1, 2, 3)

Vest: Asos (similar here)

Denim shorts: Topshop (very old, similar here or here)

Belt: Next (very old)

Bag: Zara (different coloured versions here, similar here)
 

 

Outfit 2:



 

Cropped Cami: Topshop (here)

Maxi Skirt: Topshop (in grey here)

(excuse the lovely toilet background)

Outfit 3:





Dress: BooHoo (summer stock but I like this)

Belt: Aldo (very old)

Bag: Zara (as before)

Sandals: Next (very old)

 

Outfit 4:



 

 

Playsuit: BooHoo (here)

Bag: Zara