All I want to do is blog.

2012 is definitely not my year.

I normally think of myself as a cheery, happy person and I like this personality to show in my blog posts. But at the same time, I am a born worrier who is always doused in anxiety, and this paired with the piles of crap that have been thrown my way since the very beginning of this year has sent me in to turmoil. This is why I have been MIA on here and Twitter a lot recently.

Blogging is usually my escape from this anxiety. Typing up posts and reading other people's blogs often feels very therapeutic to me and keeps my mind off other things. Everybody I have come across in this community is absolutely lovely, I have had some laughs with some of you on Twitter and all the comments I get make me smile (BLEUGH). Lately, however, all I have wanted to do is curl up in bed and sleep. I have tried to blog but I often can't even concentrate on how to spell the words I am trying to type. As a result I concluded to just taking a little break, I am a perfectionist and nothing feels worse to me than publishing a post that has been half-heartedly written.

 I feel that having a little break from my laptop for the past week has allowed me to refresh my mind a little, and whilst my personal life is nowhere near better yet, I have decided that I am going to make this little corner of the internet which belongs to me my happy place. My normal blog posts are going to resume tomorrow and I have lots of ideas lined up that I am excited to share with you all :)

I apologise for this very morbid blog post and I promise it won't happen again haha; I definitely don't want everybody to feel sorry for me, I suppose I just needed a rant about how life is unfair and all that. I also really love blogging and the people who take a minute or two out of their day to read my posts and leave me a comment, so I didn't want you all to think I had just lost my blogging mojo all of a sudden; I don't think I ever will!

 Now to reply to the abundance of comments I have neglected over the past few days! D:

I hope you're all doing well :)

Wednesday Wishlist #21

I think I am becoming known for doing my Wednesday Wishlists on a Thursday now haha, I think this is the third time! Better late than never! You may or may not have noticed that I have been a little quiet in the blogosphere over the past few days. This is due to personal issues but I am keeping my chin up and getting my head back down to writing posts.

1. OLIVE Mickey Mouse Skeleton T-Shirt £22.00

I discovered OLIVE the other day because of the £7 skull print tee that everybody seems to be going crazy over at the moment. I love the skull tee aswell but I think this Mickey Mouse t-shirt is cute in a very grotesque way hah!

2. Glamorous Black Disco Shorts £22.99

Glamorous have recently come out with their own (more affordable!) version of the American Apparel Disco Pants, and now they have taken it even further and are stocking Disco Shorts, too! Definitely need to get my hands on both.

3. Miss Selfridge Rose Applique Dress £65.00

I love the detail on this dress and I think it looks really girly and sophisticated, although I would probably add a bit of edge by pairing it with my leather jacket. It also comes in black but I love this dusty rose colour.

4. Directions Hair Dye in Pastel Pink and Lilac £4.99 each. 

I still love my dip-dyed hair although I am starting to get a little bored. I have been thinking of lightening it a little more and then adding some pastel pink and/or lilac to it... It would probably only be a temporary change as it is very "out-there" for me, but what do you think?

3. Topshop Studded Fingerless Gloves £22.00

Is it too early to be shopping for gloves? I stumbled upon these ones and I fell in love... I prefer fingerless gloves as I am an avid texter haha, and you know how I love studs...

Outfit: Minimal Effort.

Shirt: C/O Glamorous* | T-shirt: New Look | Leggings: C/O OMG Fashion* | Shoes: Converse | Necklace: Topman

Nothing beats an outfit that has the maximum comfort factor but still makes you feel great. For me, this is one of those. These leggings from OMG Fashion are, I would say, a budget version of the infamous American Apparel Disco Pants; whilst they lack the front button detail and pockets on the back, they sit high-waisted and are made of the shiny material which looks very flattering on the legs. I don't have a pair of disco pants to compare them to but I don't think these are as thick either so they won't suck you in as much, but at £14.99 I think these would be a great buy if you are not sure about forking out a bit more on a real pair of disco pants. I really love this Glamorous shirt, too... Orange isn't a colour that appears in my wardrobe often so this is a nice change for me, plus I love throwing over-sized shirts over whatever I am wearing when it is a little chilly outside but not cold enough for a jacket.

I hope you like my outfit! Got to love clothes that are super comfortable but make you feel great, right? :)

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.

Calvi On The Rocks 2012 Round-Up.

In order to separate the abundance of outfit posts that is going on on my blog lately, I thought I would throw something a little different in to the works. I didn't really do a full round up post of my trip to Calvi when I got back, so today I thought I would share with you some of the photos I took and talk about what we got up to during the four days we were there. :)

I was initially quite nervous about the trip; the organization was rather fast-paced and a blur with me having only found out that I was going a couple of days before my flight. On top of that I had never travelled abroad alone before and I am not the keenest flyer. Once I landed in Nice and met the lovely Gail from Diesel UK, however, I was totally put at ease.

The next morning we hopped on a Ferry and sailed out to Calvi, on the beautiful island of Corsica. Despite the journey being six hours long, it was quite enjoyable and was a great opportunity for me to start catching a tan. Once we arrived we caught a taxi to Motel Les Pins, which is the most gorgeous resort at which we stayed. We didn't have much time to hang around; we dropped our bags, freshened up a little and headed straight down to the beach to dive in to the action.

Diesel in Casa was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The whole beach is buzzing with tanned, swimsuit-clad people dancing away to amazing DJ sets from the likes of DJs Erol Alkan and Busy P. The weather was glorious the entire time we were there; at highs of 31 degrees it was a nice change from the weather back at home (I thought of you all, I promise!). The evenings were spent grabbing a nice meal (French food is amazing!) before heading down to the Calvi On The Rocks festival itself, and dancing away to some beautiful live music until the early hours of the morning. I definitely recommend checking out The Rapture, Singtank and WHOMADEWHO if you haven't heard of them already, they have been playing non-stop on my Spotify playlist since I got back! 

One of the highlights of the trip was definitely taking a (somewhat rough) ride on the Diesel speedboat to a secluded area away from the beaches, where we climbed up on to the Diesel yacht and ate lunch and then jumped off in to the sea for a swim.

Overall, the whole experience was amazing and I wouldn't hesitate to go back in the future or recommend Calvi On The Rocks to anybody who is looking for a short holiday getaway. I arrived back at home in rainy England last Wednesday, my skin a lovely shade of lobster, and the post holiday/festival blues quickly kicked in. Thankfully it looks like the sun is starting to shine over here so hopefully we can all experience a little bit of Summer! A huge thank you to the lovely Diesel UK team for taking me along to Calvi with them!

If you would like to read some more of my Calvi-related posts, click here. :)

*DISCLOSURE: This was an all-expenses paid trip, courtesy of Diesel.

Outfit: Little Black Dress.

Dress: C/O Glamorous* | Tights: Marks and Spencer | Shoes: New Look | Necklace: Dorothy Perkins | Ring: Coleyyyful

Once upon a time I complained that I wasn't able to do enough outfit posts, but lately most of my posts seem to be outfits haha; the joys of finally having somebody to drag outside to help me take photos! I hope you all don't mind the outfit post over load, but they are definitely my favourite kind of post to put together :)

Anyway, say hello to my new favourite little black dress! I have been wanting a new LBD for a while now and since I also love cut out details at the moment, this one from Glamorous is perfect. It is great for creating the illusion of curves on more athletic figures and the skater style skirt is flattering on almost anybody and is perfect for dressing for both the day time or going out. I really love wearing this collar necklace with it, it falls at just the right length and I think it is a really cute addition to my outfit.

I hope you like it! Do you have a staple LBD in your wardrobe?

*Starred items are PR samples.

Outfit: Casual Black Maxi.

Dress: C/O OMG Fashion* | Jacket: Vintage via Sweet Monday | Shoes: Converse

Today's outfit is one that I actually surprised myself by wearing. The thought of one of these loose, jersey maxi dresses has always scared me a little, I always imagined them to highlight every lump and bump on my body as well as swamp my petite frame (it is a little long on me haha!). I really love the way they look on other people though, so I finally decided to bite the bullet and get this one from OMG Fashion. It is the perfect piece of clothing for this horrible inbetween weather that the UK is getting at the moment; It is sleeveless with a racerback design, making it cool enough to wear when it is sunny (or muggy, in our case), yet it covers enough of you to keep you warm paired with a jacket if gets chilly. I bought this jacket from the lovely Kim over at Sweet Monday. I remember seeing it featured in one of her outfit posts a few months ago and I fell in love with it, so I was quick to bid on it when she put it up on eBay! I am so happy that I managed to get my hands on it, I love the print and its slightly oversized fit.

I hope you like my outfit! How have you been tacking this difficult-to-dress-for weather?

 *DISCLOSURE:Starred items are PR samples.

Wednesday Wishlist #20

1. Topshop Fringed Leather Biker Jacket £185.00

My leather jacket is a staple item in my wardrobe and I throw it on over whatever I am wearing to cover up and give my outfit a grungy edge. I love this jacket from Topshop, the fringe detail adds a little something to separate it from other leather jackets and it looks fab on the back too!

2. Topshop Mixed Word Ring Set £10.00

I love simple band rings and I have seen these engraved word rings sold seperately in a few stores lately and have always liked the idea of mix-and-matching them, so I love that Topshop has brought out a set of them.

3. LOVE Cream Cut Out Dress £44.00

I am a big fan of tops and dresses with cut out detail lately. I think this one is super pretty and I love the three cut out sections in the bodice.

4. Topshop Black Oversized Holdall £50.00

I am in need of a new, large-sized bag to carry all my things in when I am travelling about or when I need to carry a lot of things to uni. This looks the perfect size to fit everything in and I love that it comes with a short and long strap and side compartments.

5. River Island Tiger Print Scarf £16.00

The colours and the design on this Tiger Print scarf are so pretty and detailed. I think it would look lovely teamed with a simple outfit.

I hope you like this week's picks! :)

Outfit: Skulls and Crosses.

If you know me you will be aware that I am obsessed with anything that has a kind of "grungy" style to it- Crosses, spikes, leather, skulls... that is why I am in love with this outfit that I was kindly sent by FunkyDivaa. I had been wanting a pair of cross print leggings for a while but had never got round to buying a pair; these ones are super affordable at £7.99! I was also planning on doing my own DIY skull cut-out vest but I decided to take the lazy route and get one already made haha... I may still do the DIY, however, as I love it and wouldn't mind having another one in a different colour (I will make a post on it if I do!)

Vest: C/O FunkyDivaa *| Leggings C/O FunkyDivaa* | Boots: eBay | Necklaces: Topman | Rings: Miss Selfridge

I hope you like my outfit! Are you into crosses and spikes too?

*Starred items are PR samples.

Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation.

I realise that I am very late on the bandwagon with this foundation, however as soon as I got my hands on the much hyped about Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (review here) a few months ago, this made an appearance and everybody started raving about this instead. I really liked the Bourjois foundation but I am always open to trying out new products, so I picked this one up as soon as I ran out.

Rimmel claims that this foundation eliminates signs of tiredness and fatigue with radiance pearls that illuminate the skin. Peptides also increase elasticity to minimize premature skin aging.

The shade I use is 200 (Soft Beige) if anybody is interested. Like most drugstore foundations, a downfall with this product is that it is only available in seven shades, which don't stretch to cater for very pale or very dark skin tones.

The product comes in transparent glass bottle which makes it feel more expensive than it is and it has a pump dispenser, which I really like as it allows for you to control how much product you use. I'm not too sure if I like the bright orange lid, but this isn't too much of a problem, plus I must admit that it matches the "wake up" theme of the product.

The consistency of this foundation is a little thicker than the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation which was very watery. It spreads easily and without streaks. I would describe this as a medium to heavy coverage foundation; it doesn't quite cover everything but it does leave your skin looking naturally radiant. The finish is quite dewy and there is a subtle shimmer running throughout the foundation, but I don't think it is too dewy that it would look greasy on oily skin, however I would recommend this more for drier skin. I have an oily T-Zone with dry cheeks and I don't find that this clings to any dry areas. I always use a setting powder to keep my foundation in place and I have found that this has lasted me around ten hours with minimal streaking.

L-R: Upon application, blended out.

Although it is a very close call, I do think that the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation has taken first place over the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, simply for the better packaging and slightly thicker consistency that I think is easier to work with. At £8.99 for 30ml, it is slightly cheaper than the Bourjois alternative and I have seen it on offer quite a few times too (I remember paying £6.99 for mine). You can buy Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation from Superdrug and Boots.

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think? Would you compare it to Healthy Mix?

Festival Fashion in France.

Since festival fashion fever is all over the place with the top UK festivals coming up over the next couple of months, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the outfits that people were wearing at Calvi On The Rocks in France, especially since it is not the kind of place that you were going to spot wellies and waterproof jackets. Diesel UK and I scoured through the crowds in search of some very well-dressed beauties and here are a few that we found!

1. Loving this couple's clashing prints; I wish a guy I knew would be brave enough to wear such a bright shirt haha!

2. Beige is a colour I find hard to carry off as it can look a little plain. This girl has got it spot on though, the dark coloured belt separates the two pale shades and I love the gold cuffs to accessorize!

3. This lovely lady was easy to spot in her lemon yellow jumper! I love the Alexander Wang style bag, too!

4. This is a style I wish I could pull off so bad! A simple, slim fitting maxi dress with converse; so comfortable yet effortlessly cool.

5. LOVED this girl's outfit. It looks like the French are loving tribal prints too, and the red lipstick and the headband really finished off her festival look.

6. Don't you think these girls look like they should be a girl band? I love the pops of colour in their otherwise simple outfits, and I am very jealous of those tans!

7. Supermodel much? This pretty lady had legs so long I couldn't even fit her on the picture haha! I love the tribal-esque collar around her neck, definitely jazzes up her LBD!

What do you think of the Calvi festival style? Or are you partial to a pair of wellies?

Outfit: Lost and Found.

Today I thought I would show you one of the outfits that I wore in Calvi for the festival in the evening. Obviously it wasn't 15 degrees outside, nor was it muddy, so wellies and knee-high socks were not present. Instead, my lilac converse won the prize for comfortable-but-cute.

I love this t-shirt; even though it is a part of Diesel's new A/W collections, the material is soft and light and it has a slightly cropped cut making it cool enough to wear for such a hot and muggy event. I also added a straw trilby hat to channel the typical festival fashion that we see back at home.

Sorry the back shot is part of a different outfit, I didn't realise until the next day that the ones we originally took were blurry, so we had to quickly take them again!

Top: Diesel* | Shorts: H&M | Shoes: Schuh | Hat: Local stall | Necklace: Names4Ever* | Bracelets: Various

I hope you like my outfit! What are your festival fashion essentials?

* PR samples

Review: Firmoo Sunglasses.

So I arrived back in the rainy UK yesterday and my post-festival blues are already setting in; I am listening to my Calvi On The Rocks playlist on Spotify and feeling so depressed haha. I have a few Calvi-related posts lined up over the next week or so, such as a couple of outfit posts and also looking at French festival fashion. Today I have a little review of these Firmoo sunglasses* I was sent to try out. They have been a saviour to my little eyeballs in the intense sun over the last few days.

Firstly, here is a little bit about Firmoo:

Firmoo is an online eyeglasses store, whose goal is to create vision and fashion in a frugal way, therefore making high-quality and fashionable pieces at decent prices. On top of that, Firmoo have a program where they offer free eyewear to first-time buyers, meaning you get to try a pair of glasses for free before deciding if you would like to purchase from Firmoo again!

You can pick between normal eyeglasses or sunglasses, and you can choose to have prescription lenses if you need glasses to help your vision, or just to have fashion lenses. As I don't normally wear glasses, I opted for a pair of sunglasses. There isn't a large selection of sunglasses on Firmoo but they do have some nice, fashionable frames available and they get new styles in stock quite often. They also have a virtual try-on tool so that you can upload a photograph of yourself and see how the glasses would look on you before you choose them.

My sunglasses arrived around 4 days after they were dispatched, which I think is great considering they were shipped from overseas. They came with a hard case (pictured above), a soft pouch and a cleaning cloth.

They seem to be of good quality and shield my eyes from the sun well. The sunglasses from Firmoo also have a wrap-around design, which gives you more protection from the sun and is apparently more flattering on the face.

If you are in need of a new pair of eyeglasses/ sunglasses, click here to find out how you can get your free pair!

Have you tried Firmoo's service?

*PR Sample. My opinions are still 100% honest and my own.