A Week in Turkey

Hello everyone. The past few weeks have been utter craziness in my life! But in a very good way. I've started a new job, which has been taking up a lot of my time, but I was also lucky enough to go away to Turkey for a wee week's holiday with my friend. It was an amazing hotel, in a beautiful location, and we had so much fun! I thought I'd share with you some snaps from the week.

It was such a good week, I came back feeling so relaxed! I loved the sunshine but now I'm ready for Autumn. I have a lot of Autumn/ Wintery themed blog posts planned!

Also when I was in Turkey I picked up some amaaazing bargains! Loved Marmaris shopping!

(Can't beat a bit of Turkish delight! And apple tea is now going to be my drink of choice at work)

❤

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Battle of the gradual tanners!

Hello everyone! So I have something to admit... I'm a little bit addicted to fake tan. I love love love having that sun-kissed summer glowing skin! It looks so healthy, like you've been frolicking outdoors when actually you've been inside watching Netflix while the rain pours down... However, despite this I do not enjoy the hassle of the fake tan process - I always feel like its a lot of effort to go to for something that's just going to disappear once you get in the shower! For this reason, I am a die hard gradual tanner fanatic. You get the benefits of fake tan without all the mess and effort, and it lasts longer! I don't really mind about my tan being really dark as I'm quite fair skinned, I just like to have a bit of colour.

Gradual tanner suits me for my busy lifestyle (and when I can't be bothered) I can just apply it after the shower, 2 or 3 times a week, in place of my usual moisturiser et voila! I'm good to go. Over the years I have tried and tested many a gradual tanner, and I thought I would share with you my findings on the four best ones (in my opinion)! These are all high street brands and very affordable.

Ranked in order, from least favourite to most favourite!

1. Tesco Sunkissed Gradual Tanning Lotion in medium bronze

This was a recent purchase for me, always on the look out for new gradual tanners! I was enticed by this and wanted to see if Tesco's own product measured up. I was very pleasantly surprised! The best thing about this product is the colour pay-off - it has the deepest tan out of any of the products I've tried and I found it more comparable to an instant tanner. It also smells of cocoa butter and feels very moisturizing and luxurious on the skin, which is a plus!

2. Dove Summer Glow

A cult favourite of mine - this is a product that I keep coming back to and I have many bottles of this stuff in my bathroom! Moisturising and never fails to give a great colour. The smell isn't as good as some of the others but I don't mind it- it reminds me of summer time now anyway! I prefer the one without shimmer, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of a sheen to your skin!

3. Garnier Summer Body

This product is such a winner. A lightweight, fast absorbing formula that smells of apricots and sunshine, providing an even, all over sun-kissed glow. Love love love. I switched from using the Dove one to this because not only do you get more for your money, the smell is 100% better and I love how easily it applies- I can get ready so much faster!

4. St. Tropez Gradual Tan Firming 4 in 1

This stuff is amazing. I purchased it recently out of curiosity and I can honestly say I'm converted! A little bit pricier than the others but well worth it. Not only does this give you an amazing colour, (not too dark, super natural and healthy looking) but it also moisturises well, smells great and according to the packaging, it also tones and firms your skin! The jury's still out on this one, but anything that claims to give me better looking legs in time for my summer holidays is something I'm willing to put to the test. In the meantime I'm enjoying using this up! You only need a small sized amount to cover your whole body- a little goes a long way. All I can say is, hats off to St Tropez!

These are my top four gradual tanners for Summer 2014, but I'm sure there will be more added to the list in the future as I always like trying out new ones! If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them :)

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New Summer Clothes Haul!

Hey everyone! So I've been feeling a bit "spendy" recently - inspired by the lovely Amelia Liana ! I've been picking up quite a few pieces and building up my Summer wardrobe! I had a masssssive wardrobe clear out a few weeks ago and got rid of more than half of my clothes, so it feels nice to have everything more stripped down and minimalist. I feel like as I'm getting older my style is growing up too - I like staple, basic pieces that I can team with lots of other items and create chic outfits easily that are quick to put together but look like a lot of thought has gone into them. Since it's Summer now I've been wanting to introduce a bit more white into my wardrobe - so I picked up these cute shorts or "skorts" from F&F at Tesco:

They were such a steal at only £16 - I feel like the cut of them makes them dressy but they could also be worn with a cute cami top on a sunny day for a more casual outfit. I think skorts are so flattering and I love the look of them! I also picked up this cute pair from Primark:

Best bargain ever- only £7 for these!  I couldn't believe it when I found them - I think they look like something from Topshop or Zara- the print is absolutely gorgeous and the lightweight material makes them perfect for those hot summer days!

Speaking of which, I couldn't resist this cute and flirty little dress from Forever 21! It has cut out sleeves which show off your shoulders in the most flattering way- and the floral print is so eye catching! It's a bit short so I may have to wear shorts underneath - or maybe over a bikini on holiday! I love Forever 21 - they have so many gorgeous Summer pieces at the moment! I can't wait to go back and have another browse.

I recently watched a haul video by the beautiful and super stylish Barbara (ThePersianbabe) where she showed this adorable little smock dress from H&M! It's so pretty and I've been looking for something just like it - which is why I knew I had to go out and track it down right away! Especially since it was only £5.99! You just can't argue with bargainous H&M finds!

Another absolute bargain was this gorgeous, dusky pink backless dress from Zara! I was looking for an outfit to wear on a girls' night out on Saturday and this totally fit the bill! I would have payed full price for this baby so I had a mini stroke when I read that it was down in the sale to just £17.99! I love Zara's sale- they always do such good reductions on so many excellent items!

I paired the dress with these nude and rose gold pumps from F&F at Tesco (where I work) They were originally just £20 but I snapped them up when they went down to £10 in the sale! Just madness. They look so chic, will go with everything, will be perfect all year round and I wore them out all night dancing and my feet didn't get sore! Such a win all round. 

Here's a photo of what the dress and the shoes look like on:

Finally, I snapped up these little darlings from a recent trip to Primark. They are the perfect white Summer sandals- not too high a wedge, feminine and girly with a bit of an edge. I've been looking for something like this for a while and was so happy to find them in Primark! They were only £10, and I can tell I'm going to get a lot of wear out of them.

That's it for my haul guys! Check back soon for a lookbook styling these items :)

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