A simple and summery nautical inspired outfit

Is it not funny, and quite fantastic, how the nautical stripes come back summer after summer, regardless of the year or even the decade? For as long as I can remember, nautical themed fashion has always been a go-to style during the summer months, and I never get tired of it!

This white and blue stripy summer dress from Jack Wills is of a thin and summery material that is nice and cool, but still firm and of good quality. There's nothing worse than flimsy material that loses its shape after a while, but this won't happen with a Jack Wills dress.

What I really like about this dress is the thin spaghetti shoulder straps, and the waist band that you can tie any way you like. It adds the perfect amount of detail to the dress which makes it interesting, but still nice and simple.

I'm pairing it with my clever little brown "super organiser" leather clutch bag from Pia which I first featured last summer.

Red shoes are a must when it comes to going for a bit of a nautical theme, don't you think? These little kitten heel shoes with a bow detail have been in my posession for about 5 years now. I don't wear them often, but I think they're perfect for an outfit such as this one.

I'm wearing red heart shaped button earrings to match my shoes.

These were a find at a little craft convention a few years ago in Leeds. You can easily make similar ones yourself with buttons, super glue, and silver earring backs with a flat front. A piece of cake!

By now you already know that I'm obsessed with Ray Ban aviator sunglasses. You just can't have enough colours and variations of them. These classic black and gold beauties are from OCO glasses.

What do you think of my simple and summery nautical inspired outfit?

Paul Mitchell & New CID Cosmetics blogger event in Leeds

Last week I attended a blogger event by Paul Mitchell and New CID Cosmetics which was held in one of the suites in Quebec hotel in central Leeds.

I was greeted with a glass of Prosecco, and sat down to watch and learn from makeup artist James who was doing a demonstration on fellow blogger Kariss from Shy Strange Manic.

James has worked as a professional makeup artist for 9 years, and he sure knew what he was talking about. I was very impressed! He was focusing on highlighting and contouring with the help of concealer and bronzing powder to really bring out those female features -  something I’ve not really tried myself due to lack of knowledge, but I really can’t wait to try it after I’ve seen this fab makeup demonstration.

James told us that New CID Cosmetics has a photography studio background, and the first thing he taught us about foundation is to avoid ones with SPF if you know you’re going to be photographed (for a wedding, a special event, or just in a studio) as SPF creates a flashback from the camera flash, which does not look good in photos.

Once you’ve applied your foundation you want to move over to highlighting, and the first thing to focus on is the “triangle of light” which is located on each side of your nose and stretches out to the outer corners of yours eyes. Use a concealer which is lighter than your foundation to highlight these areas in order to add fullness to those parts of your face. You should also highlight the bridge of your nose. 

When it comes to bronzing and the magic of contouring you want to start by adding some bronzing to your upper forehead, just along the hairline. Add some on the tip and on the sides of your nose to make it look straighter and slimmer. You can also add some bronzing along your jawline to make that double chin disappear and to make your jaw look straighter.

To find that perfect cheekbone shadow where you want to contour to make your cheekbones stand out more, simply suck in your cheeks to see where the shadow falls naturally, and apply your bronzer there. Make sure to bronze all the way down from your hairline/ear to avoid getting a weird looking gap.

Use some shimmer where you’ve highlighted, but use a small blending brush to apply it. Like James said; -“You don’t want to look like you’ve been slapped by Tinkerbell.”

Sarah from Paul Mitchell was talking us through their new hair care range ‘Ultimate Colour Repair’. She said that UV rays and thermal styling are the main reasons our hair colour fades, but the protein and amino acid rich quinoa in this range protects your hair and its colour, and prevents it from fading. The shampoo and conditioner are also sulphate free, and contain lemon peel and sugar cane extract which gives shine to even blonde hair (which often tends to look dull). I’ve used it for a week now and it gives some great volume to my hair, and it smells amazing! The sea salt and coconut fragrance is like a holiday in a bottle!

Thank you so much for inviting me - it was a fabulous night!