dinner out in brighton

I love Brighton. It's definitely where I wanna live after I finish University. It's such a vibrant place with so much going on. I love all the restaurants and the buildings and the fact that it somehow makes grubby look good. It's not a polished city and not a particularly clean city either but there's just something special about it. Like there's a party everyday. It's a place you have to visit at least once cause it has the best of everything. The sea, lovely shops and bars, culture, countryside.
To be honest, it's only in the last few years that I've really fallen in love with it. I love wandering around the lanes, going for breakfast, finding little gems in random little shops and the laid back atmosphere of everyone. It's not a lie when they say anything goes in Brighton. Literally anything.

Anyway,  on Saturday night me and my family went out for an impromptu dinner in Brighton and ended up at one of our favourites Donatello's. It's a lovely and quite big Italian restaurant hidden away in the Lanes. The food is so good but also crazily cheap. Three courses for £10.95. So after feeling stuffed, we took a walk around in the lanes and I got the chance to take some photos (see all the amazing wonderful pro photos above...jokes). We decided to take a walk over to the famous Pavilion. It was such a lovely warm summer evening and there was such a great atmosphere that it just confirmed to me that I wanna make roots there after I graduate.

On a side note, I recent wrote a post on my blog schedule (see here) and you may or may not have noticed that my schedule hasn't exactly worked out. Posting three times a week is hard. When I have the time to post it usually means I haven't been up to much so I don't have anything to post and when I've been doing loads and have things to blog about I have no time. Talk about a catch 22! So from now on I will posting two times a week on Mondays and Fridays (and I'll be throwing in the occasional wishlist post on a Wednesday). I feel like this is more realistic for me and less pressure after all my blog is supposed to be fun. Hopefully this plan will work out better.

Dress ASOS CURVE

Kimono Newlook

Sandals & bag Dorothy Perkins
Necklace Unknown 

Happy Monday! 
Hope you had a lovely weekend!

the 50s summer dress

Yesterday me and my mum decided to go out for a day together, just us. This rarely happens. I mean occasionally we go out for a coffee and sometimes we end up going shopping for a bit but we rarely take the whole day to ourselves. Anyway we decided to visit this old country house/museum and garden called Michelham Priory that dates back to 1229 (only a short drive from where we live). It's supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Britain and although I felt a little uneasy walking around, I didn't get much of a creepy vibe.  

 The weather was ridiculously hot and sunny and beautiful so I decided to dress nice and light in my 50s style summer dress, which I got last year, with my newly bought heeled sandals. This dress has been featured on my blog before (see here) and is actually a halter-neck but I got my mum to sew on the ties as straps to create a nice sweetheart neckline (and cover up my bra straps). I actually much prefer the dress like this. I think it sits better on me and doesn't pull on my neck. 

We spent the day walking around the moat and through the gardens and wandering around the old house. We then sat overlooking the pond and countryside while having a pot of tea and a nice ploughman's lunch. After snapping away at flowers and ponds and trees, I decided to ask my mum to get some snaps of me in my outfit. I thought it'd make a nice change from my garden and a washing line in the backdrop! In the past I've been terrible at dressing for the summer but in the last couple of years I've definitely got better at wearing more season appropriate things instead of just wishfully living in Autumn clothes. Anyway, I thought the pictures of my outfit would come out awfully because, by this point, I was hot and a bit tired from all the walking in the sun but I'm actually quite happy with them!

Dress Joe Browns (Simply Be)

Sunglasses River Island

Bag & sandals Dorothy Perkins

What've you guys been up to this summer so far? What's your favourite thing you wear to stay nice and cool?

Happy Wednesday!

window shopping.

So I went out shopping today in the lovely sunshine but sadly, I didn't have much money to spend so it became window shopping. Ugh. I promised myself that after my recent spends (some I still need to show on here), I would take a break and execute some self control until I'd earned some more money. Why torture myself going shopping when I have no money, I hear you ask! Well my friend, Kristin, had a day off work and we decided to go out and naturally ended up going around the shops. We started out with a nice affordable lunch (no Bills for me) and then headed around the shops for a browse.

The pictures above are just snaps from my iPhone that I took while I was out today. I absolutely loved the floral headband and am really tempted to buy it when I have more money. I also loved the white backpack. I seem to have a bit of an obsession with backpacks at the moment. You can see my new-ish backpack in the snaps of my outfit. I love its 90's vibe and also thought it'd be great for over the summer when I'm out and about but will also be great in the Autumn when I'm training it about. You can also see the numerous lipstick swatches on my hand. I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect orange-red lipstick for my skin tone so if you can any suggestions let me know.

If you're wondering why my hair looks such a mess it's cause these photos were taken at the end of day. This is documentation of two day old hair that was vigorously sprayed with dry shampoo this morning, swept back into a messy side bun and then exposed to 27oc heat. I must apologise. 

Anyway I guess this is the reality of being a fashion & beauty blogger. You don't always have money to spend! spend! spend! Sometimes it's just window shopping but nevertheless, we had a great day today walking around in the sunshine, trying pretty (but extravagant) headbands on and playing with my friend's adorable dog, Bo.

Dress ASOS CURVE

Cardigan Primark

Shoes & bag Newlook

Happy Monday!

P.s sorry for not posting on Saturday! I had such a busy day of housework, shopping and my oldest friend's 21st! I literally found no time to post so decided to get back on schedule by posting today!

hello summer, old friend

Hello Summer, old friend. I can't quite believe that you're here!

It's been summer for a while, I know, but the last couple of days have been so lovely that I think I've only just accepted it's here. Last week I kept finding myself saying, "In the summer I'm going to..." or "This summer I should really..." and then I'd remember that, HELLO, the summer is already here. The summer is here and I have loads of things I should be doing but when the sun's out and it's all blue skies, I just wanna hang out in the sun, drink cold drinks and paint my nails pretty pastel colours. Ah suuuummmerrrr... 

Anyway, this is what I wore today. Just an errand day of going to the bank and booking an eye appointment (oh the fun life I lead!) and also having lunch overlooking the seaside. I also decided to include the cute net shopping bag I got yesterday while I was out. We went to this cute little town called Lewes, had breakfast in Bills and a mooch about the shops in the sunshine. I got this bag to carry my new books, jams and tin of olives in. Just a few of my favourite things. Anyway, I really wanted you guys to see it even though I didn't wear it out today. It's gonna be my 'just popping out for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk' bag. 

On a side note! I had some good news last week. 

Firstly, I got short-listed for a novel competition I entered and I find out whether I've placed when I get back to Uni in the Autumn. I was super excited because I never thought I'd do well. In fact I was so worried about what I submitted I nearly sent a following email asking they withdraw my entry.  

Secondly, I finally got a job and a writing job of all things so, Hello there employment!

Top ASOS CURVE 

Jeans & pumps Newlook

Bag Accessorize

Net bag Bills

Necklace Unknown

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

hailes talks nails

I've always wanted to be good at doing my nails. To keep them nice and healthy. To paint them regularly. Just to not hate them as much as I always have and recently I've gotten into them a lot more! I've always painted my nails (and loved nail varnish) but I was terrible at shaping and doing all the prep work. This all changed after I  had my first manicure a couple of months ago. It was amazing seeing my nails go from chipped, dry monstrosities with horrible ridges in to lovely rounded, smooth, healthy little nails with the dreamiest pink painted on them. Well, while I was at the spa having them done I really picked the nail technician's brain. She'd do something and I'd be like, "Oo what was that? Can you show me how you did that?" and luckily she was lovely. I think she found my inquisitiveness quite amusing. But ever since that day, I got a taste of what it felt like to have nice nails and since then, I've been trying to keep it up. The pictures above show my absolute favourite nail polish. It's from Kiko and goes on so effortless. I've had it a while and it hasn't gone all gloopy which is always the sign of a great varnish!
The picture below shows all the products I've been using recently. As you can see they aren't in pristine-just-bought condition because I have actually been using them all a lot.

A Few Tips:

So I'm no expert. Really. I'm so far from it. But these are just a couple of things I've discovered since getting into nails!

• I don't care what they say. It ain't no beauty myth. Putting your nail varnish in the fridge does works. It goes on better, stays on for longer and gives a more glossy effect.
• Burt's Bees cuticle cream (see above) is ah-mazing and it smells even better. Such a handy sized product to carry around in your make up bag for when your nails are feeling a little dry.
• Under coats and base coats make ALL the difference. 
• The nail technician told me that if you get ridges in your nails (which I always do), to buff them out. I didn't know this. Maybe everyone but me knows this but man, it really works. Try and steer clear of those cheap cube filer/buffer/shiner/polisher/does absolutely nothing'er. Pay for a good buffer and you'll see the difference.
• If you're going nail varnish shopping take some sellotape with you. Then pop a bit of tape over your nails and you can try out the testers and then just remove them when you're finished. I discovered this amazing tip when I first found a Kiko shop in the south of France. This helps to save your from that horrible situation of having random testers all over your nails!

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you a couple of funny nail memes I found on Pinterest recently...

To follow my nail journey some more, feel free to follow me on Instagram here...

Also, let me know your top nail tips and your thoughts on anything and everything I've discussed in this super long post!

Happy Monday Y'all!

{how to} transition your wardrobe

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On Wednesday, in my wish list post (see here), I touched upon how you can make your wardrobe transition from summer to autumn. If you have a lot of money to spend on clothes then this probably isn't necessary for you but if you're like me, consistently poor, then following some of these tips may help save the expense and effort of attempting to buy a new wardrobe on a tiny budget! These tips don't just apply for this summer to autumn, they can be used when considering the transition from any season to next however the examples I'm giving apply to the seasons previously mentioned. All the items shown are examples of pieces that are great for both summer and autumn.

"Pick your colours wisely"

Summer is pretty much open season (no pun intended) for every shade of every colour. You can get away with pastels, neons, metallics and those lovely deep colours we usually attribute to autumn (do those colours have a name? if so please tell me in the comment section!) However when the summer comes to an end so do those softer, cooler colours and out come the burnt oranges, dark greens, plum purples and earthy tones. So if you want your wardrobe to transition, it's important that you pick your colours wisely! For example, if you are out shopping and you see a swing cami vest and it comes in a range of different colours, pick the colour that will work well for both summer and autumn not just the one you like the most. That sherbet lemon may be perfect to wear at the weekend but, come September, will end up being packed away with the rest of your summer clothes. If you're unsure what would work well in your wardrobe or there are too many colours/prints to choose from then black and white will never let you down. However, if you want to be more experimental and colourful then pick bright but deep colours like emerald green and magenta. Both of these can be styled for a summer or autumn vibe depending on the accessories you put with it.

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"Read up on trends"  

It's hard to plan ahead if you have no idea what you're planning for. How can you go shopping with the next season in mind when you have no idea what's going to be 'in'. Well, the great thing about fashion is that it's always ahead of itself. Read up on trends by following the fashion weeks online or simply Google 'A/W 14 trends'. If you want it spelt out for you, magazines like ELLE and Vogue will often have a section dedicated to the next season with catwalk pictures and tips. Also, if you subscribe to the ASOS magazine (which I love), it usually has a section detailing upcoming trends so there's no reason to not know! Trends aside, it's also important to remember that there are certain summer trends, like kimonos, swing dresses/tops and joggers, that are going to stay where they are and will be big players this autumn, so make sure you buy into them sooner rather than later. An item like the kimono is such a transitional piece simply because it's versatile. It can be worn with shorts and a vest/over your bikini in the summer or with a vest, jeans and a pair of boots in the autumn so if you don't already have one, hurry up! The best ones seem to be going quickly.

"Restyle and play around"

In the summer you wore that black swing dress with your tan, a pair of sandals and a whole load of after sun. In the autumn, pop a cute white shirt underneath, add a pair of tights, your ankle boots and a big scarf. The real key to transitioning your wardrobe is restyling it. So you bought that cami top in the plum purple and you have a monochrome kimono but that doesn't mean you have to wear those pieces in the same way that you wore them in the summer. Use this opportunity to restyle and play around with what you have. Also remember that whereas your wedges and floppy hat were you accessories during the summer, you now have scarves, hats, tights and boots at your disposal so make the most of them.

"80% basic and 20% statement"

When you go shopping, don't get caught up in buying too many statement pieces. Yes. there is such a thing as too many! The basics are your best friend. That means a good pair of skinny jeans, a trusty LBD, plenty of simple tops/shoes/bags in nude/black/white. A denim jacket. A leather jacket. Items that are going to be easy to restyle and won't be going out of fashion any time soon. Statement pieces are vital to anyone who loves fashion but I think there's such thing as a good balance. I'd say 80% basic and 20% statement. This gives your wardrobe a nice amount of versatility within the season as well as taking you effortlessly into the next. 

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"Make the most of crazy trends"

Sometimes crazy things happen in fashion. The summer/ duster coat being a perfect example. This year has seen the rise of girls wearing big long coats out on hot summer days. If you read a lot of fashion blogs you'll have seen this during the last couple of months. At first I was against it. Summer is not a friend to the coat. Nope. I was outraged! But the more I saw it, the more I started to fall in love. In fact, I'm on the hunt for my own. My advice is to make the most of these crazy trends. The duster coat will be perfect when the weather cools down and the sandals are put away. It will effortlessly fall into that rotation with your leather jacket and tweed blazer. Although you can find summer/duster coats in most shops online, their doesn't seem to an an abundance of them. I think it's probably because it's a risky trend and brands are unsure that people will but into it. However I think that they will start appearing more and more towards the end of this season and will be pretty big this autumn. 

Let me know what you think of my tips to transitioning your wardrobe and feel free to share your own in the comments section below!

Happy Saturday!

{wishlist wednesday} the summer shoe

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Rather than simply posting what I am wanting...or wishing I had money to buy, I thought it would be kinda cool to add in a theme to my (weekly?) wishlists. So this week is all about 'the summer shoe'.

There are definitely some clear shoe trends occurring this summer. Ankle straps. 90s. Bright pastels. White. Metallic. Wedge heel. Sliders. So many to choose from! Now, usually I'm not a shoe lover. My shoe collection isn't much to brag about. I don't have two hundred pairs of heels. I have a couple of pairs of ballet pumps, a good winter heeled ankle boot, a pair of kick around trainers, flip flops and a couple of pairs of simple heels. Yes. How boring am I? Very. Honestly, I feel ashamed admitting this on here but I'm sharing this now because something strange has happened to me in the last couple of months. Basically, I fell a little in love with shoes...

 The other day, I bought myself the coolest casual heels (similar to number six) to wear with my ankle grazers. They're black and have this lovely metallic detail with this cool 90s vibe. They'll also transition perfectly into the Autumn read as my favourite fashion season and just seem to go with everything. Did I mention they are ridiculously comfortable? But yeah, I think that it's important to buy shoes that you will get enough wear out of through the year because chances are, you will want to buy new shoes for next summer. I know I will anyway. Buying transitional shoes can be achieved quite easily. Think of the shoes you want for the summer and then consider which will also be appropriate for Autumn in terms of colours, styles and what you'll be wearing with it. Rich hues (e.g burnt orange) will transition better into the Autumn than ice cream pastels so if you don't have money to buy both, buy one that'll work for both seasons. A great way around this is to pick pieces that are black or white. Monochrome is timeless in the world of fashion and can become staple pieces in your wardrobe much more easily than a patent yellow platform. If you have plenty of money then I guess planning your purchases isn't necessary however if you're like me (a student or just poor in general) then it pays to plan ahead about what you will get the most out of. Impulsive buys are fun but nine times out of ten, they don't benefit your wardrobe or your bank balance so try and get out of the habit of making quick fashion decisions.

Anyway, I'd love to know your thoughts on anything I've mentioned in this overly long post about shoes...comment below or tweet me @hheartsfashion 

Also if you missed my last post on my new blog schedule then you can find it here!

Happy Wednesday!

keeping a blog schedule.

I've debated this for a while. The schedule. Do I post when I feel like it or do I make a schedule and keep to it? I know my fors and againsts having one but in the past I've always opted on the against side. The things is, I've done the whole 'posting when I want' thing for the last four years so I feel like it's time I tried something different. In fact, I wish I'd tried it before!

 As a reader, I quite like to know when to check out a blog for a new post. I find it so frustrating when I Google one of my favourites and it's been three weeks since they last posted but then I realised that it's less about knowing when they are posting and more about wanting regular content from them. There's a big difference. With everything else that's going on in my life, I rarely remember who's posting when amongst getting uni work done and going out and just existing. Does anyone care enough to remember these things? Probably not. But for me, I read blogs in between these things and I like to know that when I haven't checked a blog for a week, there'll be a post waiting for me to read.

As well as for my readers, I think that creating a schedule is also good for me as the writer.  Having a schedule should encourage me to post regularly and also consider my content more. It should make me think about covering fashion and beauty more evenly because both are as big a part of this blog as the other. Hopefully, this will also draw people to my blog because they know what they are getting. It isn't just a lucky dip. I also find that plans and lists are one step closer to achieving the thing I am trying to get done because once I've written the thought down it has taken that first step out of my brain and entered the physical world. My brain knows it is sitting on that piece of paper/ or written on my OneNote planner and is waiting to be done as opposed to jumbled up amongst all the mundane thoughts of washing my jeans, buying a loaf of bread, replacing my shampoo, remembering to watch Big Brother etc. 

So from now on I'll be posting every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. A few extra posts may pop up in between those days if I do something different or special, so keep an eye out! 

I'd really love to know your thoughts on this subject! I know it isn't strictly fashion or beauty related but I felt it was something I wanted to discuss. Whether you are a blogger, reader or both, I'd like to hear your thoughts on either how/if you schedule your blog (and social media) and as readers, whether you find irregular content frustrating or more authentic? 

You can do this by simply just leaving a comment below or by tweeting me @hheartsfashion or following my Facebook page and dropping me a message!

Happy Monday!

P.s Excuse the silly photos! I wanted a picture to accompany this post so it wasn't just dense writing...I'm not sure how this happened...but it did.

getting naked.

I've seen this urban decay naked palette everywhere on the blogosphere and usually, I'm not one to jump on a blogger trend...however, I just couldn't seem to escape it. I first saw it on Zoella's vlog channel and then I found that with every b/vlog I was reading or watching I was noticing how amazing the b/vloggers make up was (especially the eyeshadow). It would, of course, turn out to be one of the naked palettes (usually the original one). Eventually I gave in and decided that I did, indeed, want to buy it. Who cares about conforming! Sometimes it needs to be done.

 At £37 though, it had to be an investment purchase, not something I'd wear every now and then. Also, in the last couple of years I've stopped wearing shadow as much because I found it made me look too made up. I like to look quite natural so this palette seemed ideal. Obviously it's called the naked palette for a reason but despite all the colours being very natural, they are that bit more glamorous than the usual beige, cream and brown you seem to find. In this palette some are sparkly, some have a shimmer and others are more...matte? Not sure if that's the right word but that's the one I'm gonna go with. It's rare to find a palette that has all of these things and even more rare that I actually like all of the colours not just a few. Obviously I'm drawn to a couple of the colours more than others (half-baked, toasted, sin) but overall I can see myself using them all whether to blend or to just add a different dimension to my make up. I can wear the less sparkly/shimmery ones during the day and then go all out in the evenings and look like a total drag queen! 

Last night before I went out for dinner, I decided to spruce up my make up by applying one of my new eye shadows. I didn't spend ages on it and I plan to show you a proper make up look using this palette some time this week but I thought I'd just share a couple of snaps of my make up anyway. Despite the heat and humidity last night, it stayed on from 6pm until 11:30pm when I took it off before bed. Usually my eye shadow loves to vanish in the summer so I was shocked at how well it stayed on. Also, I got four free eye shadow primer samples to trial out which I haven't had chance to use yet but I will include this in my next post about this product.

Also, I randomly decided to include a picture of my nails cause I thought it was a cute snap! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I am always posting pictures of my nails, new purchases and food! It'd be great if you could follow me @hheartsfashion or check out my pics here!

Happy Thursday Y'all!