St. Tropez, Daaarlings!

I have always wanted to visit Saint Tropez. I imagined it to be hot and sunny, filled with immaculately dressed people and beautiful shops and restaurants. It's nice to be able to see that it actually met my expectations. It was an amazing place to explore and an even more exciting place to capture with my camera. The highlight had to be walking down a long sunny street with all of the extravagant designer shops lining the sides. Dior. Dolce and Gabbana. Louie Vuitton. I could go on.The picture above is the Dior restaurant that I passed. Before my trip, I didn't know that a Dior restaurant even existed. It was one of the most beautiful restaurants I've seen (like something from a movie, set in the twenties) and part of me was desperate to stroll in and order myself a glass of champagne but I didn't feel dressed for the occasion, nor did I have the money to justify it. Below is the outfit I wore (Skirt - Next, Flip flops - Havaianas, Blouse - H&M, Hat - H&M, Bag - H&M, Sunnies - H&M). I needed something cool to wear as the temperature was creeping just over the 30 degree mark that day and the only place to escape the sun was in an overpriced restaurant or bar.

I saw this dress in a D&G campaign in my ELLE magazine and then spotted it while strolling around the shops in St. Tropez. The moment I saw it, I was mesmerised. I love the rich red colour and couldn't take my eyes away from the outstanding detail. I rarely see something I like this much so seeing it in the flesh was really exciting for me and so I obviously had to take a photo of it to share with you guys! Anyway, here are a few more photos of my trip to St. Tropez. These were taken on the boat trip we took around the harbour.

It's really strange looking back at these photos. Especially as in a few days I head back to uni and have to leave my family again. It's nice to know I've spent some quality time with them all and even nicer having these pictures to remind me of that.

Let me know your thoughts on anything and everything to do with this post!

Thanks for reading,

Adventures in the Cote d'azur

I totally forgot to mention in my last post, that I wouldn't be posting for a couple of weeks because I was going away on holiday to the South of France. Well I'm back now (as of yesterday evening) and as per usual, I'm feeling a mixture of emotions. It's nice being back and understanding signs and driving on the left side of the road but I'm missing the beautiful weather. It was practically blue skies and a minimum of 28 degrees everyday. Whereas England is more around the 20 mark and not quite as clear but I shouldn't moan cause it's actually pretty good weather for us. I'm gonna miss eating breakfast outside in the sunshine. Fresh croissants and coffee. But it's nice to have my room and my double bed back. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few pics of my holiday with you and then I'm gonna do a few separate post over the next couple of weeks of some of my favourite outfits and day trips from my holiday. 

Shopping Trip: Oxford Street, London

The pictures above are ones I took on my phone while I was out shopping in London yesterday (hence the terrible quality). We caught the tube to Marble Arch and made our way down towards Oxford Circus and Regent Street and spent the whole day shopping and stopping for, much deserved, coffee breaks!

The photos below are of the things I bought that I thought I'd share with you...

Necklace - Newlook £7.99 

Bobbi Brown brush and eye liner - Selfridges - Brush  - £22, Eye Liner - £17.50

Liquid Eyeliner - Steel Ink 31

Nail Varnish - Topshop- £5

Bag full of underwear - Marks - £10

Denim skater skirt - Newlook - £14.99

So my sister got back from Australia two weeks ago. It's been really nice just going shopping, out for meals and just generally hanging out with her again. She was also kind enough to buy me the Bobbi Brown eye liner and brush, as a very early Christmas present, which I picked out, and had put on me by a make up artist, in Selfridges. I was nearly as happy with the iconic yellow Selfridges bag as I was with the beautiful make up! I had such a great day in London yesterday although the shops didn't blow me away and I would have liked to have bought more (seen as though most of these places were the UK flagship stores, they should've been a lot better). Besides a few hiccups, the company was great and I love love love the things I bought/ was given!

What do you think of my shopping?

Where's your favourite place to shop in London?

Also, I have recently been featured on A Place on the Bookshelf if you want to check out the interview. The girl behind the blog, Charl, will be featured in a guest post on my blog later this week so keep an eye out!

Hailes Hearts Instagram.

Follow me this Summer on Instagram?

What you can expect: photos of my nails, outfits, baking adventures and pretty scenes.

(click here to view my page)

The Beauty Test: Seaweed Range (day 5-8)

I have now been doing this skincare routine for a week and have definitely noticed some changes (mostly positive) in my skin in the last four days so I thought, instead of a big heavy paragraph, I'd update you by writing a brief list below of how everything is going as well as a picture. It is also worth mentioning that my next post in this series will be next Thursday as I want a chance to post different content between now and then! So anyway, back to my skin update...

• Over the last few days I have noticed a couple of small blemishes on my face but I think that's normal when starting a new skincare routine.
• My chin is definitely less oily now and the small breakout I had before has cleared up.
• My forehead and nose are less oily then when I started this but I'd like to see a bigger change over the next week or so. I may also buy the exfoliator from the same range to see if that helps (it's important to mention that it has been very hot here which doesn't help in terms of having a shinyer face than usual!).
• My skin is smoother and looks more fresh and healthy...yay! 
• I'm also considering buying a different moisturiser (see here) to use during the daytime in the summer as it has an SPF which I can use instead of putting oily sun cream on my face. 

How do you keep your face protected from the sun during the Summer?

You can catch up on my skincare journey by reading the last two post listed below...

The Beauty Test: Seaweed Skincare (day 1)

The Beauty Test: Seaweed Skincare (day 2-4)

Disclaimer: All photos in this post are unedited and have been taken on the monochrome setting of my DSLR. All opinions expressed in this post are mine and there is no third party involved.

The Beauty Test: Seaweed Skincare (day 2-4)

So in case you didn't read my post last Thursday, here is a brief catch up...or alternatively you can click here to read the first post.

I have decided to test out a new skincare regime by The Body Shop, the Seaweed range, that is for combination skin. It is supposed to reduce excess oil, moisturise dry patches and overall, give a more clear and matte finish. I am using the seaweed cleansing facial wash, the seaweed toner and then there is also a day cream and a night cream in the range that acts as the moisturiser. As well as this, I also bought the tea tree blotting tissues. Before I started this test, my problem areas were as follows:

Results from day 2-4

Since starting this skincare regime on Thursday, I have definitely noticed a difference in my skin. I feel as though it has started to clear up the small breakout I had on my chin. Whereas before it was a little red and bumpy to touch, it is now clearer and softer. As well as this my chin, forehead and nose are definitely less oily (although my nose could be less so I'm hoping I quickly start to see a drastic change). I've been using my blotting tissues daily and find they help reassure me when I am out and about. They fit nicely into my little make up bag that travels around with me in my handbag and are easy and discreet to use. My skin has a nice glow to it and there is definitely more of matte finish. Another positive I have found is that I don't feel as though the products (especially the moisturiser) linger on my skin. It seems to quickly absorb and feels clean, fresh and soft afterwards. In the past I have used the Vitamin E range from The Body Shop but I found the cream very heavy and it made my face perspire more as it was coated in a thick product that my skin refused to absorb. My mum tells me it's better for drier skin, like hers (sorry mum!) as she  found it absorbed quickly on her and had a very different experience. This furthers the point that choosing the right skincare range is vital to it achieving what you want from it. In terms of negatives, I am yet to have any. The process can be time consuming and takes a lot of dedication but I have actually been enjoying doing it everyday. I have found very little reason to complain but I'm aware that it is still very early days and that a little further down the line, I am likely to find something I dislike.

Here is the latest picture of my face (excuse its bareness). Can you see much of a difference from the first post?

I'll next be posting about my skincare routine in four days time, so make sure you come back on Thursday and follow my beauty test!

Let me know any of your thoughts regarding this post or anything I have said in it. If you have any tips to share when it comes to skincare then please comment below. 

Thanks for reading!

Click here to view the first post in this series of posts, The Beauty Test.

denim days

Today I decided to wear a very denim inspired outfit, teaming my denim coloured skater dress with my denim shirt and denim coloured shoes. To add an edge I wore my spiky gold necklace and bangles. I also wore my favourite black cat-eye sunnies and put my hair into a messy side fish-tail plait. It was one of those days that was warm but became suddenly very chilly so I was a little puzzled as to what I should wear. Dare I admit that everything I am wearing here is from Newlook...maybe I'll just keep it a secret.

It is a month and a half until I go away on holiday to the south of France, so at the moment I am attempting to build up some more summer clothes. I am so excited to get away and enjoy some sunshine. We do not get enough in this part of the world. I think I am suffering from a vitamin D deficiency. It'll be lovely to go to the beach and pool and drink cocktails and just relax.

A little catch up? Well as you know, I have been back from uni for a few weeks now and have just been doing home-y things like meeting with friends, going for walks, reading and making new recipes for dinner. Last night, me and two of my friends went to a park near the seafront to watch an out door showing of Glastonbury. It was a nice evening but very Eastbourne-y. That's that only way I can describe it. Here is a picture I took last night that I thought was pretty cool.

What have you been up to? Are you going anywhere exciting on holiday this year?

P.S Below is one of the bands we were listening to last night that I really liked and You Tubed when I got home -

The Bristol Scene.

Yesterday, me and a friend travelled on the train from Cheltenham to Bristol to visit our uni friend. It was so much fun to just explore a new city. We visited the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, went around the St Nicholas Markets, went to some of the big high-street shops, stopped at numerous coffee shops and had tea and cake, sat in a park in the city centre and walked and then walked some more. I was well and truly exhausted by the end of the day.

In the pictures above, you can see some amazing clothes. These photos were taking in the St. Nicholas Markets. Amongst all the different stalls were places to get different types of cuisine, as well as souvenirs and also vintage clothes. I took photos of the clothes that stood out to me the most. If only I'd had the money to buy some.

What's your favourite way to explore a new city?

Thanks for reading,