La Piscine

Recently I watched Jacques Deray's 1969 film 'La Piscine' as it stars one of my style icons Jane Birkin. Apart from the beautiful cinematic landscapes and the gripping plot, what really stuck with me was the chic costumes of Romy Schneider and Jane Birkin. Romy's character oozes elegance with her simple swimwear and backless evening dresses whilst Jane's short girlish dresses and skirts accessorised with sunglasses and her infamous basket are simple but ultimately sexy.

As Autumn is upon us these dreamy stills from the film will give you a much needed dose of sun. Now to find a black gingham dress so I can pretend I'm in the south of France...

Wish List 007:

001: Topshop Knitted Fluffy Crop Jumper - I love cropped jumpers and I have my favorite red one from last year but I'm really diggin' this blue mohair style ice blue one. It's just sickly sweet enough without being too Dolores Umbridge.

002: New Look Tapestry A-line Skirt - I think A-line skirts are so flattering and look nice all year round but especially with woolly tights. The pattern also reminds me of a Liberty's sofa my family had when I was younger.

003: M&S Monk Boots - I'm always looking for things that make me look more like the 5th member of The Beatles and these boots definitely would. Annoyingly the're not leather but I love them anyway.

With the sun on my back it's a nice day

Since the weather has been so summery recently I have realised that I don't own very many summer clothes. My wardrobe is mainly coats and jumpers, which I can't seem to stop buying, so a trip to Primark was in order. I only got a few bits but I thought I would share. 

Poppy dress- £13

I had been eyeing up this poppy dress for a while online at ASOS after discovering that they sell a small selection of Primark clothes on there. I hadn't seen it in my local Primark but I had gone out to Gravesend with my dad and that store is much bigger so I was looking in the dress section for it when I spotted one at the back of the miscellaneous rail which happened to be my size. I think it might have been a return from ASOS as the till wouldn't recognise it at first so I'm not sure if they are in stores at all.

 Bow bag - £8

I love small bags and I'm always looking for cute ones to lug my stuff around in. I really like the small handle on this bag but it does also come with a longer shoulder strap. It's quite smart and different to my other bags but I just couldn't leave it behind.

 Polka dot sandals - £8

 As well as realising I own very little summer clothes I also noticed that I don't own any sandals. I have some jelly shoes which I bought last year but they have mysteriously disappeared. I originally had my eye on a pair of white gladiator sandals with thick hardwear but my feet are so awkward and they looked really strange on so I settled for these cute polka dot cross over ones which make me feel all 50s.  

 It's been so nice recently that I've just wanted to stay in the garden all day and relax before I start at university (31 days eek). I hope your all having a nice summer and make the most of this weather!

Wish List 006:

001. Topshop Breton Stripe Tee - I have enough breton stripe t'shirts but I also don't, you know what I mean? This red one is a rad boxy shape and only £16, so why not.

002. Uniqlo Ultra Stretch Jeans - At the moment I only have a pair of black jeans and I wear them all the time so it seems about time I buy some blue ones. Uniqlo's denim is really good quality and not too expensive either.

003. Miss Selfridge Felt Fedora - I love hats but I've never really had the confidence to wear them. I'm hoping that buying this hat would make me look like I'm in a cool girl band but then again maybe my hopes are too high.

Dainty Doll

I have always wanted to try Dainty Doll products but they're not very widely available so I'd forgotten about them until the other day when I happened to be in my local Poundland and I let out a squeak of excitement. I immediately rummaged through the whole section finding the complete colour range. They only had four eyeshadows and a base out of an original nine products but beggars can't be choosers when they are a pound each. Dainty Doll is designed for particularly pale skinned people, and as I'm not the palest in the world I was worried how the colours would transfer to the skin but I thought it was worth a try.

001 Frankie Girl: This is a very pale cream eyeshadow base, for me possibly a bit too pale but used sparingly it blends well. The consistency is a little powdery (like the Topshop creme blushes) and doesn't feel too sticky on the lid, which I was afraid of.

002 Treat Her Like A Lady: This shadow is my favourite out of the four, it's a mauve taupe colour with a slight silver shimmer through it. This would look great used as an all over colour in a smokey eye, or under a cat eye.

004 Copacabana: This is a matte bright aqua blue shadow, I don't usually wear brightly coloured eye shadows and don't own many apart from a sleek palette, but after recently seeing LLYLMRS video on 'Wild Makeup' I was inspired to get out of my comfort zone. I liked how she used her blue shadow wet as a liner and I think its a very wearable way of experimenting with this colour.

007 Lollipops & Roses: This colour is a little scary, a bright fusica pink with silver shimmer. I have always been afraid of reds and pinks in eye shadow in case I look like I've been poked in the eye. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, I might just reserve it for festivals.

008 Jungle: Again, I think in the pan this looks scary, but on the skin it looks like a metallic mint colour with a lot of silver tones. Blended out with some more neutral colours pixiwoo style it would look beautiful.

How to survive a festival:

I've been going to music festivals since I was 10 years old and I've learnt a few things (the hard way). This year I'm going to Glastonbury and Reading with my friends and as I was making lists for packing I thought I should share some of my tips. 

CAMPING

 ♥     If you've bought a new tent, are going with someone who hasn't put up a tent before or you yourself are unsure it's important you have a trial run at both putting it up and folding it away. It's a fine art but you don't want to be faffing when there's so much to do. 

 ♥     Make sure you have enough tent pegs, cheaper tents often don't come with enough for all the holes and the guy ropes, which you'll need especially if the weather's bad.

 ♥     Keep your guy ropes short, the longer they are the more people will drunkenly trip over them and could rip your tent. They’re usually adjustable, but make sure they’re taught, following the seam of the tent.

 ♥     When choosing where to pitch bare in mind that if it's forecast to be wet, don't camp at the bottom of a hill because the water will drain into your tent. Your best bet is a slight slope with the door facing downhill. You also don't want to pitch too near the toilets (omg the stench) or near a water tap as the ground floods around it. Also avoid being near a walkway as your tent will be trampled or bushes as people piss in them.

 ♥     Try and camp near a flag or near a sign so that you can find your way back when your blurry eyed and half asleep.

 ♥     Everyone always forgets a mallet, but if you don't want to carry one make sure you bring a heavy shoe to bang pegs in with.

 ♥     If the festival you're going to allows fires, position your tents facing inwards around the fire pit. Remember that tents are highly flammable, keep the fire contained with a wall made from empty beer cans.

 ♥     If you bring chairs make sure you put them in your tents when you leave, people will steal them.

HYGINE

 ♥     I always bring a bucket to wash my hair in. Dip your head into a bucket of water, shampoo then tip the water back over your head. (do this by the taps rather than your tent)

 ♥     Dry shampoo is fantastic, as are wipes. You can buy all sorts of wipes from deodorant ones to 'feminine care' ones. 

 ♥     Toilets are bad. there's no beating around the bush. The 'porta potty' types are vile and I would try to avoid unless you’re ok with "Is this mud on the seat?" moments. I have found the long drops to be the cleanest, you don't really have to touch anything, they get flushed out daily and the're quick. If you really can't stand the smell tie a scarf round your face and spray it with body spray before you go in. Just don't breathe in and don't look down. 

 ♥     I always take a loo roll with me and packets of tissues in the day. There isn't toilet roll in toilets and they just come in handy really. Equally bin bags are really helpful, whether it be a make shift poncho, something to sit on or waterproofing.

GENERAL

 ♥     We all love clothes and festival fashion is rad. You can really wear whatever you like, and that's the fun of it. I feel the cold really badly so I always make sure I have layers as it get cold really quickly in the evening, things like beanies and shirts make all the difference. For shoes you need to think about the weather conditions, if it’s raining all weekend wellies are the best option, but if it’s not I would suggest something more like Dr Martin's as your feet are more supported and won't ache as much. With wellies make sure your either wearing a sock that comes above the wellie, tights or tucked in trousers otherwise they will cut your legs.

 ♥     Read the line-up and clash finders before you go so you don't miss a band you really want to see. Read the booklets the give out, they often have adverts for fun things happening and occasionally where to go for freebies.

 ♥     Choose which day bag you take carefully. For me, I know if I take a big bag I will fill it with unnecessary stuff. Also a large bag is annoying in a crowd. A small cross body bag or a bum bag work really well. Make use of pockets in jackets as well.

 ♥     Read the rules. It differs from festival to festival what you’re not allowed to take in and it's often for a good reason. For instance Glastonbury don't allow glass bottles on site because it causes harm to the cows who move back in after the festival.

 ♥     Food tends to be really expensive, so take non-perishable food like cereal bars and biscuits to curb your hunger.

 ♥     Taking around plasters and paracetamol will save you at least once over the weekend.

 ♥     Take disposable cameras instead of your swish camera. It won’t matter if it gets wet and the photos always look nice.

 ♥     Take an old phone, it'll ruin your weekend if your iPhone gets stolen, and as there's no service generally at large festivals you'll only really use it for emergencies.

 ♥     Choose which bag you pack in carefully, the odds are you'll have to walk miles from where you get dropped of from to your pitch. A hiking bag or a duffle bag is probably most suitable.

 ♥     Talk to strangers. Obviously be ‘street smart’ but you’ll meet some wonderful people.

I hope you have a fantastic time at whatever festival you’re going to this summer! I’ll try to post some photos of Glastonbury at the end of the month but here are a few photos from last year’s Reading festival of me and some friends, looking back through them has got me all excited!

us with 'Robert Smith' before the Cure hahaha 

Wish List 005

001. Monki Carrie Shirt - I saw this EYE catching (sorry not sorry) shirt on the Monki website and fell in love. Since then its started to do the rounds on blogs so I'm hoping it won't sell out soon. I've never bought anything from Monki but I've heard that the sizing can be very large so I might have to visit a shop when I'm next in London.

002. Topshop Denim Pinafore - I'm on the search for the perfect pinafore and this denim one comes pretty close although I do already have a dungaree dress similar. I might put my sewing skills to good use have a go at making a pinafore (obviously blogging every moment)

003. Cambridge Satchel Classic 11" - I already have a Cambridge Satchel but its a 15" 'Batchel' in bright yellow. I love it and its my school bag most of the time but I really need a reliable bag for weekends. I think I would opt for a subtler colour though this time and maybe splash out on an embossing.