OOTD | GREY, FLUTE SLEEVES & KOKO COUTURE

I’m grey obsessed, anyone that knows me can tell you this. When it comes to fashion, grey (and black) is the colour of the majority of my wardrobe so it seemed fitting to talk you through how I styled my new favourite grey pieces.

Frills and flute/bell sleeves are everywhere at the moment and it’s a trend I have completely fallen for. Moving on from bell sleeved winter jumpers for the transition into Spring, I’ve picked up a few lovely pieces recently such as this blouse from Topshop. It’s grey of course, with a slight lilac tint which makes it perfect for this season. Unfortunately, this blouse is no longer on their site but I’d urge you to have a look anyway because Topshop are killing it with this trend and there are some very similar tops to purchase! I think I’m even away to add some into my basket after I finish writing this post…

Black jeans are my go-to and it’s unlikely you’ll see me in anything else. I’ve always been a Topshop jeans kind of girl but recently I’ve been trying to move out of my comfort zone and try some from other stores. I found this black distressed pair from New Look and instantly knew I had to have them. Ripped knees is a trend that has been around for a while now but what I love about this particular pair is that they also have ripped hems, which renews the style and brings them straight into ’17.

I’ve gone metallic mad in the last few weeks so these boots were a must-have! They are heeled but I find them incredibly comfy and can walk in them for hours and they jazz up any average outfit. Again, I picked these up from New Look and even better in their sale! There are a few different styles to choose from here so grab them before they run out.

Now for the star of the show – my bag. When it comes to bags, I’d say I was pretty snobbish and would only buy one if it were designer as I was all about the quality. That was until I had the opportunity to try out the Zoe Large Faux Suede Clutch bag in Grey from KoKo Couture. This bag is only £20 and it’s completely changed the way I view bags, which my bank balance is incredibly grateful for! It also comes in White or Tan if those colours are more up your alley.

This bag is perfect for a night out and is large enough that you can fit everything you need in it – purse, phone, keys, makeup – plus plenty room for more. It has a detachable silver chain strap making it versatile for different occasions and metal embellishments on the fold over closure adding a little extra oomph. The quality of the bag seems to be great and for the price I’m insanely happy with it.

If you are after this bag, you can purchase it from KoKo Couture‘s website but what’s even greater is that they are being stocked in Topshop stores so these beautiful bags are now even more accessible, along with more of KoKo Couture‘s line.

Have you ever tried KoKo Couture bags? What do you think of them?

Thanks for reading,

 

THAILAND ADVENTURES – BANGKOK

Last June, I took an incredibly exciting 2 week trip to Thailand with my friend Laura.

First on our travel agenda was Bangkok. Bangkok is the capital city and is more modernised than some areas of Thailand, yet still filled to the brim with Thai culture and history.

One of the first things we did was take a long tail boat down the Chao Phraya river which allowed us to see some stunning scenery and temples and get a real feel for Thailand. I do recommend getting a water bus though if you would like to travel by boat as it will work out much cheaper for you than hiring a private long tail boat like we did.

Thailand is home to many Buddhist temples and Bangkok is no exception with some breathtaking buildings to be viewed.

Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is a temple complex and is one of Thailand’s oldest and largest in Bangkok.

Of course, this complex houses the 46 metre long, gold plated Reclining Buddha which is probably the main attraction of this temple. A reclining Buddha is said to be a representation of him reaching ultimate Nirvana in his last moments of life. This is a must see as the the immensity of this Buddha cannot be shown in photo form. It is massive!

Around the Buddha, there are 108 small bronze bowls to symbolise the 108 auspicious  characters of Buddha. For good luck, you can buy coins and drop one in each bowl.

Wat Pho grounds are scattered with chedis (Buddhist commemorative monuments usually housing sacred relics of Buddha) covered in bright, colourful tiles making the ground very aesthetically pleasing.

There are 4 maim halls, or viharas, to visit when you are here – all just as spectaular as each other.

This includes the Ordination Hall, surrounded by large Buddha statues.

Inside the Ordination Hall is wonderful, just like every temple I came across on my travels. Intricate detailing from roof to floor make Buddhist temples the most amazing buildings I’ve ever visited. The Ordination Hall displays a gold plated Buddha for Buddhists to worship and make offerings to.

Close by is the Grand Palace, where the Kings of Siam/Thailand lived from 1782 – 1925. Although, this is no longer the King’s residence, the palace is still used for official events and royal ceremonies. The palace grounds is quite substantial with lots to be viewed.

In the palace grounds you will find the Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is a royal chapel found within the walls of the palace and is regarded as the most important temple in Thailand. Here, the Phra Kaew Morakot (Emerald Buddha) is enshrined. The Buddha figure is made of a single block of jade, hence the name.

 

Like other temples, you must have your shoulders and knees covered upon entry to the temple. Since this is regarded as the most important temple, these rules are even stricter.

The Royal Pantheon, which was originally meant to house the Emerald Buddha but was disregarded due to its size, can also be found in the palace grounds. Surrounding this building are large statues of mythical guardians called Kinnarees.

So there are some of the highlights of my travels. My time in Bangkok, Thailand was a very educational one and an adventure I will remember forever. I would go back to visit in a heartbeat!

On my holiday, I also went to Chiang Mai and Koh Samui so keep an eye out for a post on my adventure there!

Have you ever been to Thailand? Do you want to go?

Thanks for reading,

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REVIEW | NYX VIVID BRIGHTS EYELINER

Are you looking to add a little bit of colour to your life? Well, what better way than adding some bright, playful eyeliner to your makeup look!

Since arriving in Boots, NYX has quickly become one of my favourite drugstore brands so when I saw these Vivid Brights eyeliners I knew I had to try them out.

I originally purchased the pastel purple eyeliner in the shade Blossom and over time I’ve kept going back for more and at a very affordable price of £5.50, can you really blame me?

Packaging

Each eyeliner bottle comes packaged in a cardboard box (in my opinion, this box is far too much for the product and does seem a waste) and long and slim in shape. The brush in each tube is a fine tip brush which allows for a thin application of colour to be applied to the eye. Personally, I don’t get on too well with the brush as I prefer a pen-type nib for applying eyeliner and I find anything else doesn’t give me the same accuracy but others I’ve spoken to swear by the Vivid Brights brush!

Quality

Let’s start with the formula of the eyeliners. It is quite watery in consistency but dries down completely matte. I suggest applying a thin layer of product because if you apply more than necessary it can have a tendency to crumble which is not what anyone wants but if you apply the correct amount it will last all day. I love wearing these above black eyeliner to intensify and add some dimension to a look or on their own to really give that pop of colour. Each way works great!

After two coats, the pigmentation of the Vivid Brights is opaque and indeed colourful. I would say some of the shades, such as Envy (green) and Halo (yellow), aren’t as bright as you may expect them to be so I would swatch the colours to know what you are buying and to avoid disappointment. For me though, this isn’t a problem and I like that some of the shades are more pastel as this makes them more wearable. For colours such as these, I recommend wearing above black eyeliner to define your eye since they are paler than some of the others. Fire and Sapphire are two of my favourite shades that do remain true to colour and are as vibrant as you would expect. These are beautiful worn on their own for a statement cat eye look.

Colours

There are 9 colours in the collection available at Boots which cover all your needs.

Of the 9 shades, I have 6 which are pictured above – minus the pastel yellow eyeliner in Halo as I couldn’t find it…

From top to bottom:

– Blossom (pastel pink)

– Petal (baby pink)

– Fire (hot pink/red)

– Sapphire (royal blue)

– Envy (leaf green)

Overall, I absolutely love these eyeliners to add some fun to a simple makeup look and they are perfect for fancy dress/Halloween. They are super affordable and I’d highly recommend giving them a go. I’ll definitely be picking up the other colours!

Which is your favourite shade?

Thank for reading,

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MOXY HOTEL LAUNCH – ABERDEEN

At the end of last year, I was invited to the opening of a brand new hotel in Aberdeen. Situated near Aberdeen’s International Airport, this hotel – The Moxy – is the first of its kind in the UK and if the launch party was anything to go by, I think we will be seeing many more of these hotels popping up over the UK in top destinations.

Moxy Hotel is a fun, quirky brand that aims to bring the customer a boutique-feeling stay at an affordable price.

The magenta Moxy logo is vibrant and really sets the tone throughout the hotel.

Inside, we were greeted with a free bar that made cocktails on request and stocked a selection of drinks you could just help yourself to, such as wine, champagne and not forgetting local beer brand, Fierce Beer.

Now, I have never been a fan of beer but I actually really enjoyed this. Check them out here.

BLOG GOALS FOR 2017

It’s nearly been a year since I started my blog and I love it. I’m happy with my content, I’ve been able to go to blogger events and meet some really lovely people.

So, in 2017, I want to step things up a gear and put even more time and energy into my little blog.

I’ve made a list of the goals I want to achieve throughout the year and hopefully I can look back in 2018 and feel proud of how far I have come.

So here are my goals:

1. Stick to a blog schedule of at least 1 post a week

I’ve always aimed to do this but sometimes life gets in the way. From now on, I am going to have a few posts written in advance so that I always have a blog post to launch. My upload day will be a Wednesday.

2. Collab with other bloggers for the first time

This is something I wanted to do last year but never really knew how to go about it. Over the past few months though, I’ve got to know a lot more bloggers so hopefully I can come up with some fun collab ideas. This includes finally meeting my fellow Mcfly fan, Karina , and cracking out some exciting posts for you all. I’ve known Karina for over 10 years now so it’s crazy we are yet to meet each other in person.

3. Increase my social media following

Social media, I feel, plays a very important part in the running of a successful blog. You can have the best written content ever but if no one knows about your blog your posts won’t be read. So, I aim to increase my following on Instagram to 2000 followers and Twitter to 1500 followers by the end of the year. My links will be below if you fancy helping me out!

4. Hit 15,000 views on my blog

This is quite a large goal for me and one I’m not sure if I can reach but I will give it my best shot!

5. Reach 1000 blog followers 

I know it’s not all about numbers but I do feel a sense of achievement when I reach certain milestones and to reach 1000 would be incredible.

6. Go to more blogger events

I went to a few blogger events in 2016 and they are some of my favourite memories from the year. Hopefully, I get to go to many more this year and get to know the bloggers in my city even better. It would also be great to go to some events outwith Aberdeen and get to meet even more wonderful people.

7. Comment and interact with other bloggers more often

This is something I find myself pretty bad at. I plan to take more time out to read others’ posts and actually leave comments rather than just liking them.

8. Improve my photography

I do feel I have made some improvement already with my blog photography. I now have a softbox to help me with lighting which helps a huge deal, but I definitely have work to do on the arrangement of flatlays and figuring out how to actually work my DSLR. With more practice, I will get there.

I’m very motivated this year to achieve great things with my blog and I’m so happy I took the plunge almost a year ago. If you are on the fence about beginning one like I was, I say just go for it! I can almost guarantee you will not regret it.

If you are also a blogger, what are your blog goals for 2017?

Thanks for reading,

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I’m a Coconut Queen with Coconut Lane. Use simplykirsty20 at checkout for 20% off your order.

 

2017 BUCKET LIST

The majority of us will have a list of activities that we want to do before we pass and mine is probably longer than most.

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to say yes to more (Read my New Year’s Resolution post here) so I thought I would split my bucket list up each year and try to get as much as I can done to make the mammoth, but exciting, task of completing my bucket list a lot more doable.

In a year’s time, I will come back to this post and see how much I manage to tick off!

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Around this time of year, we all begin to start thinking about what we are going to do differently in the year ahead. For 2017, I have thought of a few things I am aiming to do to make the year a good one and I’ve decided to share them with you.

GET BACK INTO MY FITNESS

By this, I mean both completing in regular exercise again as I have recently fallen off the bandwagon and also eating healthier. This year, I started Kayla Itsine’s workout guide and was the fittest I have ever been. I then went on holiday and found it very tough to get back into the swing of things when I came home. Through eating healthier and starting the workout programme again, I aim to get back to that level of fitness. I still want to have fun though, I am allowed treats.

CHRISTMAS TAG

I’ve seen Christmas tag posts all over social media at the moment so I thought I would join in.

1. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE?

My favourite would have to be either The Santa Clause or Elf, they are two films that really help me get into the Christmas spirit and will watch every year! Saying that, I haven’t watched either yet – must get on that.

2. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS COLOURS?

Up until this year, I’ve always loved gold at Christmas as our whole house has always been decorated in that colour so that signifies Christmas to me. This year, however, I am really into red decor.

CHAOPHRAYA EDINBURGH REVIEW

Not long ago, I took a trip down to Edinburgh to visit my good friend, Willum, for the weekend.

As soon as I arrived, we headed to Chaophraya which is an incredibly tasty, Thai restaurant on the top floor overlooking the city. They have a good view of the castle but you will need to book well in advance for a window seat with a view. Thai food is one of my favourite types of cuisine and stepping through the door filled me with great memories of my time in Thailand.

Just off Princes Street, the restaurant is very central. The building in which the restaurant is situated is very modern with a lift taking you up, then you walk through into a Thai atmosphere with Buddha statues welcoming you.