Hey everyone! Hope you all had the perfect Christmas. If you're anything like me, you'll be spending today browsing all of the crazy Boxing Day sales. I've rounded up all of the best offers online and have included some of the things I plan on buying today. Sorry money, it was nice knowing you...
I love being home for the holidays, getting cosy in loungewear and watching cheesy Christmas movies. It's taken me a while to feel festive because I've been so burried with Uni work, but this cosy night shirt from Jack Wills and cute little reindeer mug have helped me to get in the Christmas spirit. Let's be real, you guys always see me when I'm dressed up on here, but there's nothing better than an excuse to stay in bed and get cosy. Now that I've ticked off my Uni to-do list that's exactly what I plan on doing over Christmas. Yankee cinnamon candle, blankets, coconut milk hot chocolate and The Hobbit. Perfect!
I am a fully fledged highlighter obsessive. As a girl who's seriously lacking in the cheekbones department, highlighting products have always felt like magic to me. The Mary-Lou Manizer is a product which induced mass blogger hysteria not too long ago. But after looking at swatch after swatch online, I crossed this product off my wishlist thinking I was happy enough with my bronzey shades. Well, how wrong I was. The lovely girls at Company magazine popped it in my goodie bag at the end of my internship last summer, and after one swatch on the tube, I fell in love. It's a buttery-textured product which when dusted on the cheekbones, leaves behind a beautiful, champagne glow. It can be down played enough to only be visible in the light, but the shimmer and gold notes allow you to build it up to a more glamorous effect. With a classic red lip, I've been loving the gentle glow that this product gives to my skin. It works beautifully as a highlight for under the brow bone and inner-corners of the eyes, too, as the product is so effortless to blend. After all, a girl can never have too many highlighters, right?
What are your favourite highlighting products? Have you tried this?
If there's one dress that everyone seems to fall in love with around the Christmas season, it's the Motel Gabby. I mean, is there anything that can make you feel more glamorous than a sequin dress? Plus, the iridescent green sequins let me live out my life long dream of being a mermaid. I paired it with a bold lip and my new thigh highs. Now roll on the Christmas parties... Don't forget that if you've got your eye on anything Motel, they're have a HUGE sale with up to 70% off. Shop it here, thank me later.
Did somebody say Motel sale?! If you're still on the hunt for the perfect Christmas or New Year's Dress, or just want to treat yourself after nailing your Christmas shopping list (I haven't even started, yikes) then make sure you check Motel's sale! Motel have been my go-to destination for party dresses since forever. Every year they bring out amazing statement pieces that are perfect for the party season. My favourite will always be the Gabby, but I'm seriously in love with these picks which will all be reduced tomorrow! Velvet jumpsuits, patterned kimonos, tinsel skirts and statement dresses, Motel has got you covered. I think my favourite has to this off-shoulder leopard dress, what's yours?
Okay, let's state the obvious, I am by no means a photographer, but quite a few of you have been asking for tips on how to take outfit photos. Most of the time, I don't take them myself.,They're taken by anyone, from photographers I happen to meet, to family members who I have to explain a thousand times where the shoot button is. Stressful, right? It doesn't have to be, but sometimes it can be a long process until you're content with your photography game. I always think everyone can improve their photography and even now it's rare that I take a batch of photos that I'm 100% happy with. But in the sixteen months that I've been blogging, I have (mostly) figured out what works when it comes to taking photos. So, these are the main questions I get asked and my main tips...
1.HOW DO YOU GET THAT BLURRY BACKGROUND?! So, let's address the elephant in the blogger room, buying a DSLR. You don't need one, but it would really help. Trust me, I spent months wondering how the eff my favourite bloggers got that dreamy, blurry background in their outfit photos. It's all done with a lens with a low aperture such as the 50mm/ f1.8 lens which I use on my Canon 600D. This lens has completely transformed my photos and allows me to capture beautiful images in amazing detail. It also manages to make the most boring backgrounds look pretty. Pros of this? It gives you professional looking images where you’re in focus and the rest of your image is blown out. Cons? Because it’s a 50mm, you’ll need to ask your photographer to stand quite a while a way from you to get your full body in. This can be a bit awkward when passers-by ask if you're either a model or crazy. You'll get used to it. 2.HOW DO YOU POSE? The best outfit photos are always the ones where you’re not contorting your body into unnatural positions. When I first started, I was crooking my arm and doing that head tilt thing like it was going in my Facebook tagged photos. Okay, I haven't quite got over the head tilt, but my point is awkward poses do not work well. So, do not point and shoot poses, instead, walk around naturally. Keep posture and your best angles in mind, and you’re good to go! The best way to get those natural, unposed photos are to set your camera onto continuous shooting. Ask whoever is shooting your photos to keep clicking away as you move around. You might end up with 500 photos, but that’s better than 12 posed and unnatural ones that you probably won’t like.
3.WHICH SETTING SHOULD I USE? If you do set your camera onto continuous shooting, I’ve found that keeping it on Aperture Priority normally provides the best result. This should set everything automatically for you, including shutter speed, so your images should stay in focus. Always make sure that your depth of field is low by lowering your f.stop as low as it can go to make the background as blurry as possible. My photos are always taken on f.18. Don’t bump up the ISO too much, it’s better to brighten your images through an online editing programme than turn your photographs grainy because the ISO was too high.
4. WHAT MAKES THE BEST BACKGROUND? Backgrounds make such a huge difference. When I style an outfit, I normally have what kind of background I want to shoot it in thought out in my head. If you’re in a big city, why choose a plain white wall to take your photos infront of? Source out the florists, coffee shops, quirky painted houses and city streets. Try to pick something interesting, where the colours might compliment your outfit or enhance the mood of your images. If you spend too much time browsing the popular page on Bloglovin, you might feel a little disheartened. We don’t all get to live in NYC but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a little inventive with your backgrounds.
5. HOW DO I GET THAT LOW ANGLE? Ever wondered why bloggers look about 6ft tall in their photos? That’s from telling their photographers to bend their knees. You’ll need to work this out for yourself, but the lower the angles, the longer your legs and the more flattering the photos are going to be.
6. LIGHTING?!? Ain’t nobody got time for squinty photos when the sun is shining in your face or to spend 15 minutes of your life shooting photos for them to come out shadowy and sucky. Lighting makes a HUGE difference to your photos. Whenever I shoot, I always make sure I'm standing in front of the sun rather than facing it to avoid that awkward eye squint and overly exposed effect.
7. HOW MANY SHOULD I TAKE? Firstly, you need to nail the “main” full body photos. But you’ll quickly realise that 5 or 6 images where you’re doing a slightly different pose get boring. Switch between landscape and portrait, take photos of the small details of your outfits, shoes, handbag and headshots. Obviously this comes down to personal preference, but I’ve found that my posts which include lots of different photos from different angles always get the best response.
So, there you have it! Did you find this post helpful? What would your main tips be?
Sometimes an outfit is all in the accessories, and this scarf from Primark and statement heels from Missguided have been some of my favourite pieces to dress up in. Pretty much every blogger on the planet seems to have got their hands on this scarf which was just a £10. Bargain! Especially when ASOS are selling one for 3 times the price.
I wore this out for thai food after a day of Christmas shopping in Birmingham. Pad Thai, gimme gimme. I've had the most perfect girly weekend of dinners out, cocktails and may have spent too much money after buying the Urban Decay Vice palette. Whoops.
Cyber Monday is one of the best days of the year to bag yourself plenty of deals. If you've got some serious Christmas shopping to do or party dresses to buy, NOW is your chance. I've compiled a list of the best sales, so go go go before it runs out at midnight! xo My Top Picks...
All Saints: 20% off all styles Code: CYBER Shop here
There's a term us bloggers like to use when we're on a roll, and that's 'blogging mojo'. When you've done a post you're proud of, a bit of networking, replied to your e-mails and feel like an unstoppable force of productivity, that's when you've got your blogging mojo. But what happens when you lose it? Last month I suffered a serious case of blogger's block. My notepads were empty, I had no ideas and couldn't seem to find that motivation to get a post written. When you feel like you've lost your blogging mojo, it's easy to stay uninspired and hard to break out of the cycle. But here are my tips for picking yourself back up again...
1. Have a Brainstorming Session Burn some candles, clear a space where you can focus and spend some time jotting down ideas. When I'm brain storming, I always use my calender to plan upcoming blog posts. This helps you to keep in mind any holidays or events coming up and gives you a clear visual calendar. Think about what you've been loving lately, current trends, the products you've recently bought, and figure out interesting ways you can write about them. If you incorporate this into your everyday life, then blogging becomes super easy. If you've figured out a way to style a recent trend, or have got your Christmas party outfits planned, share them with your readers. Inspiration is everywhere, just make sure to write down all of your thoughts!
2. Make use of the 'Notes' section on your phone I would be completely lost without my iPhone 'Notes' which I use as my diary when I'm out and about. Your phone is always something you have with you, and is really useful for writing rough drafts for posts when you have free time to fill. Inspiration for content can strike in the most unusual places, so making use of your 'Notes' means you can keep all of these ideas in one place. iPhone automatically backs up to your Gmail notes section, too, which makes things even easier!
3. Get Re-connected One of the most important parts of blogging is keeping up an online presence and posting regularly. If you haven't posted for a while, your blog interaction will take a serious hit. It's really important to stay connected and keep your social media updated so that your readers know about your new posts. Be sure to social out your blog, post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
4. Read Your Favourite Blogs Reading my favourite blogs always motivates me to get blogging. Sometimes you have to remember why you started your blog and what you love about it to get your enthusiasm back. Staying connected with other bloggers is also really important when you feel like you've lost your blogging mojo. They're the people who get where you're coming from and are always on hand for support. Try to schedule in a Twitter chat, use the #fbloggers and #bbloggers tags, and be sure to get back up to speed with other people's blogs and comment on them.
5. Answer Your E-mails! Nothing says TRIUMPH like an empty inbox. Working with PR companies is a huge bonus of blogging, but when you're being chased by PRs for blog posts and have dozens of people to reply to, it can get quite stressful. My main tip would be to reply to e-mails as you read to keep on top. Keeping a log of the products you're reviewing and ticking them off also helps. Try to get a time frame in mind, answer your e-mails and refocus!
What do you do when you feel like you've lost your blogging mojo? Do you agree with these tips?
Is there anything better than getting to wrap up in a blanket whilst feeling incredibly stylish AND cosy at the same time? I don't think so. A lot of my friends have been a bit confused by how I've been walking around in something that could be a picnic blanket lately. But paired with a pair of thigh high boots, this has to be my favourite trend of the season. I picked mine up in TK Maxx but Boohoo currently stock a similar one (use WRAPUP for 24% off). My favourite ways to style blanket capes are with a simple, basic piece like this pleated dress from Topshop but I've also got my eye on these turtle-neck dresses from ASOS. I'm all about that Olsen twin, tramp-chic thing, and I guess going out in a blanket kind of hits the nail on the head. Can we all just take a minute to appreciate my new boots?! When these arrived on my door step it was one of those scream at the postman in happiness, angels singing and rainbows forming kind of moments. I was obsessively checking ASOS like a crazy lady for a similar pair to come back in stock until I found them on Schuh. They've sold out now, like the cleated heeled versions have pretty much everywhere, but you can find the exact same pair on River Island. They're a little pricey but definitely an investment as thigh high boots are the perfect staple piece to dress up any outfit and never go out of style.
What do you think of this outfit? Are you a fan of blanket capes and thigh high boots?
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