Strathyre Holiday

 Hello! I'm writing this from my bed as yet again I'm ill (I don't know what I've done to deserve such a terrible immune system but I guess I just have to deal with it!), but I just thought I'd quickly share some pictures from my holiday last week because the views were too pretty to keep to myself! I was away for a few days with my best friend and my parents to Strathyre cabins... I had no idea where that was but it was somewhere near-ish Stirling apparently... and miraculously Lauren and I managed to get a train to meet my parents there with no mishaps, despite being very, very hungover.

We basically spent the week cycling, visiting small towns and drinking cider in the hot tub which was very pleasant indeed. Although the lack of WiFi felt near soul destroying at the start of the week, I ended up quite enjoying the peace and time away from notifications and emails etc which was really nice.

I took the pictures below on our last full day whilst we were on a drive to Aberfoyle...and we had to stop and get out the car to properly take in the stunning views by the road. When I see landscapes like this, it makes me wonder why I'd ever want to leave Scotland . There are so many beautiful places here that, compared to in many other countries, are really not that far removed from major cities. So yes, my appreciation of my country has been rekindled!

This next picture isn't spectacular or breathtaking or anything like that BUT it is very exciting to me. On our way back to Edinburgh we stopped to take a look around the Stirling University campus (where I'll be moving to in 20 days, aaah!!) and to see how the construction of the halls I'll be staying in was going. It's a little worrying that they're still in the process of being built this close to the start of term, but the building is looking pretty snazzy so far and I'm so so excited about living there next month (even excited enough to have started planning my outfits for each Freshers event...) It's going to be such a huge change but I'm more optimistic than nervous which is not normal for me, so, yay! 

 



I'm sure I'll be rambling about my preparations for uni a lot more in the next few weeks but for now - thank you for reading! I hope you're having a great day,

Iona x

Rainy Yoga Day

Hello all, I know it's not even mid-August but it feels like Autumn has come already with all this rain here in Edinburgh! I'm the kind of person that won't leave my house when it's raining unless I absolutely have to... so today I've resigned myself to a 'house day' which consists mainly of eating lots of comfort food and doing some yoga here and there whilst watching the rain through the window! As much as I don't like being out in rain, I do love watching it and listening to it... my back living room is the perfect spot for that haha.
  

 

You may have seen in my description thing that I'm a self-taught yogi... and I would definitely consider myself just a beginner! But it makes me so so happy. Psychologically I find it really calming when I do it, and seeing my physical progress, no matter how small, is a really big thing for me. For example, in April I was able to touch my toes with straight legs for the first time in my entire life which probably doesn't mean a lot to anyone else but I was so excited, because I'd always just accepted that I would never be able to do it. Even though it's really small, things like that have helped me to realise that with practice, our bodies can do some really amazing things, and that even I can do them (in my mind I still often see myself as the overweight, inflexible 12 year old that I was, so I'm always quite surprised when I realise I can do things like that).

 

I'm currently working on trying to touch my toes to my bun... I vividly remember trying desperately to do it in ballet class when I was 4 so I'd be over the moon if I could achieve it! But yeah I still have quite a way to go... I just have to practice practice practice!

 

 

I'm loving how good pictures taken on my new tablet have been turning out, it's so so much easier than using my phone haha! It's also really good just setting up the front camera when I'm doing yoga in this room to use basically as a mirror to check my form and progress.

Although, consequently, I end up taking pictures of me just messing around haha so here you go! It looks so damn bright outside but it's actually really really not (see first picture).

I recently got the Proelite shaker cup pictured from Amazon and although it's meant for protein shakes, I basically just use it for my smoothies and for water when I'm exercising and I love it - mainly because it holds such a large volume and the opening for drinking out of is so big (quicker hydration woohoo). Also, of course, it's pink!

I hope you're all having a good day, thank you for reading!

Iona x

 

 



Happy Day!

Hello! I have had today pretty much to myself, and I have to admit that I really really enjoy days like this, they are so chilled!

I got up fairly late and made a faaab breakfast to enjoy outside in the sun. My staple is oatabix which I love, but it was nice to have something a little different this morning that was just as filling.
I had:

• One banana
• Three chopped dates
• Handful of grapes
• Handful or raspberries
• One 'Shape Delights' chocolate & hazelnut yoghurt

This had more calories in it that my breakfasts usually do (just under 450) but it was worth it, and they were good, healthy calories!! After years of obsessing over calories when I was younger, it's so nice to be at a stage now where I'm not scared of eating high calorie meals when I know they're 'good' calories. Also, I absolutely adore dates - they taste like caramel sweets or something and feel like such a treat (they contain a lot of fibre, potassium and iron too... even better)!

 

I didn't really feel like properly working out today... but found myself messing around attempting handstands in my garden for a good half an hour which surely counts as some form of exercise?! I'm still not very good at them, but just keep practicing with the washing line poles, haha! It feels like it's giving my body such a good stretch though, so I'm not too fussed that I can't yet handstand unsupported.

 

 

I also did my usual 20 or so minutes of yoga which is always nice and relaxing. Even when I don't feel up to it, I force myself to and end up feeling much much better for it... it really is magic haha.

 

I'm really excited about dinner tonight... we're having homemade burgers and making garlic potato wedges - woohoo! I'll also be going for a hillwalk this evening with my boyfriend which I'm really looking forward to, I'm hoping for a pretty sunset. Ah happy days!
I hope everybody else is in as good a mood as I am today. Thanks for reading! x



Day trip to Stirling

Hello!
The past few days I've had some extended family staying with me and my parents which has been nice, and has given us an excuse to be tourists in our own country for a wee while. On Thursday we took a trip to Stirling, a small city not too far from Edinburgh, where we climbed the Wallace Monument (all 246 narrow, winding, claustrophobia inducing steps of it).

Although I've been to the monument before when I was younger, I appreciated this feat of architecture much more this time, it really is quite a spectacular building with an interesting history (it was built to commemorate the life of Scottish hero William Wallace - you may know him best from the Mel Gibson film 'Braveheart', haha).

 As well as the building itself being of great interest, I found it really worth the climb to see the fantastic views from the top of the monument! It was a pretty clear day too which was a bonus. The Alloa hills looked amazing! I'm such a sucker for a pretty Scottish landscape, must be in my blood.

 

Another reason I enjoyed this trip was because Stirling as a place is becoming increasingly relevant to me as - in short - I will be living there in just over a month!! I will be leaving home (scary scary) and moving into the halls of residence at the University of Stirling and aaaaaah I'm honestly so excited about it. I will be studying Retail Marketing which probably seems awfully dull to many people but it's something I've always taken an interest in. I picked my optional modules yesterday and I just can't wait to get started, haha.  In the picture below this (in the furthest background) you can see the white buildings that I think are the halls I will be in! Yay! It was really nice to see the university from this perspective, and to see how lovely the city itself looks as well as how much greenery there is around it. It seems rather tranquil, which is never a bad thing.

 

Sorry this post is a bit dull, but I will no doubt be mentioning my transition to university a lot more in the next few weeks as my time to depart is coming ever closer! I hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend.

                                   Iona x

 

New tablet!

Hello all,
I've spent the best part of today marvelling at my most recent purchase - a Microsoft Surface 2 tablet! I got it mainly for going to university in September, but I'm so excited about some of the features on it (including the insanely cool painting app haha). The camera quality on the front and main camera is a lot better than on any other device I've used in the past so I'm really looking forward to taking some good pictures for this blog!

Of course I had to test out the camera, so took a couple of pictures of an outfit... I cut out my face because I'm actually wearing no makeup other than the lipstick for the pictures, and I thought it'd be best to save you from that disturbing sight haha!

 

Everything seems to look better on a semi-good camera, yay! Anyway, if you like this outfit you can hype it on my Lookbook here or vote for it on Chictopia here ! I hope you're  having a brilliant day,       

Iona x

Manicure With A Twist

Hello, 

as I'm currently on my Summer holiday I have a lot of time to spare, so in turn have spent a lot more time testing out nail art than I usually would! The design that this post is about was surprisingly really, really simple to do and only requires a relatively steady hand. 

This works best with fairly long nails for the 'french tips' aspect of it. You'll need a pale pink coloured nail varnish and one other colour (it was an obvious choice for me...had to be mint...). If you have a nail art pen this works best as with a normal sized brush, the tips could get fiddly. 

I used a Model's Own Nail Art Pen.

Method

1. File nails down to a square shape 
2. Paint nails a pale pink and leave to dry (may require two coats, depending on how opaque you want it to look)!
3. Using the thin brush section of a nail art pen, carefully go over the naturally white nail tips 
4. Use a clear top coat to ensure they don't chip too soon!

Once you've mastered the method you could try this with any colour combination - I might try it again soon but swap the French pink for a brighter colour!  

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend, 

                                                             Iona x

Super Simple Breakfast Smoothie

Hello!
I'm really excited to share with you my first food-related blog post.
Recently I've been trying to stay as committed to healthy eating as I possibly can. Obviously, it's never going to be easy but it definitely does improve my overall mood when I do it right! At the same time though, I'm being careful not to get angry at myself when I go off track - I've had far too much experience with doing that in the past and it only leads to very negative places!

I do think it's very important to find a balance between eating well, and knowing when it's okay to eat pizza and cake. Life is too short to get too hung up about it!

That all said, I started off my day in a healthy and incredibly tasty manner with a breakfast smoothie.

You should probably know before I go any further...I'm not really one for using measurements when making smoothies. I kind of just chuck everything in and hope for the best! As of yet, it has never led to any disasters so I think it's okay, haha.



I made enough for a couple of small glasses (or one large one really), using:

• 1 small kiwi
• 6 wedges of fresh pineapple
• Handful of cherries (5/6)
• 150ml sweetened soya milk 

I used soya milk purely because I don't drink dairy milk, (though it would work just as well with any kind of milk) but because it's sweetened, it does give the smoothie a lovely sweet taste.  

There's not really a method to it...basically if you have a blender, put it in and blend it until it's smooth, haha!
Just to make it a little more interesting, after pouring it into my cup I added:

• Handful of sunflower seeds
• Handful of dried cranberries

This is relatively low-calorie (slightly higher if using dairy milk), so could accompany toast/cereal or whatever else you may enjoy for breakfast...it also makes a great healthy snack at any time of the day!

Please let me know what you think of this post or this recipe if you decide to try it! It would be much appreciated to get some feedback as this is not something I'm used to writing about, so I'd like to know if there's any point continuing!

Thanks for reading, 

                              Iona x

IMPORTANT/EXCITING NOTICE

Hello all,
as you may have noticed, I have come to neglect my fashion blog over the past few months (...maybe even years...). To be 100% honest, my interests have changed a lot since I first decided to create a blog way back in 2011, so I think now it's time that I altered my blog to cater to my current lifestyle!

I'm really excited to begin regularly blogging again, however my focus will be less upon just fashion and more upon my life in general which may include such things as: fitness, nail art, recipes, just little rants and rambles and of course still some outfit posts!

If you haven't noticed, I've already changed my blog title to Mint, Minimalism & Me , and my URL to http://mintminimalismandme.blogspot.co.uk/ (quite a mouthful, haha)! I'm still working on changing other elements of the layout etc, so please bear with me in this period of transition!

I'm looking forward to keeping you all updated on what is going in my life and I really hope you will enjoy the new direction that my blog will be taking!

Have a wonderful day,
                                        Iona x

Ten things that I have learnt in 2013

1. Stop stressing over school. Work no harder than you feel comfortable with and keep it in perspective - it’s really not that important.

2. Take every opportunity to be outside when it’s sunny if you live in a place where it rarely is.

3. Don’t build the foundations of happiness on another person. Don’t let them become the reason for recovery. Set down te roots on your own so you can learn to be content that way instead of pinning it all on someone else. It’s not fair on you or on them and will inevitably end in regression back to a not-so-good place.

4. Everything is temporary. Anger and frustration and sadness and pain will eventually pass, don’t make rash decisions when in such a state.

5. Try to respect yourself. Even if you feel worthless, don’t take actions in an attempt to prove it. It will only make your situation worse.

6. Don’t take everything people say at face value. Whether it’s intentional or not, people play mind games and being open to understanding them is a step towards protecting yourself from being drawn into them.

7. Question everything but don’t make unfair judgments. Question your own thought mechanisms too.

8. Try not to let the negativity of those around you become your own. Separate yourself from unnecessary negative energy where possible, and hold sacred the things that inspire positivity within you.

9. Trust what your body is telling you - it's usually right.

10. Remember that you’re entitled to your own opinions and thoughts and feelings. They’re as valid as anybody else’s and just as valuable.

Happy (almost) New Year everybody. :-)

Friday Night Fashion Confession

I cried when Lee Alexander McQueen died.

I cried a lot.

I still find it slightly puzzling why I was so affected by it. Maybe it was because I'd only just become fully accustomed with his brilliance and then... suddenly it was no more? Maybe it was the connection to the situation on a human level? Irrespective of what a person has achieved in their life, the fact that they have extinguished it by their own hand will always be something that deeply saddens me. Or, maybe, it was because I feared that the sheer genius of his pioneering designs would be forever lost?

I'm not entirely sure why it moved me so much and, to be honest, why it still moves me. And I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to share this right now either! I don't know, as silly as it sounds I am so overwhelmingly happy that Sarah Burton has been able to carry on his legacy with such seamless beauty. It seems to me almost as though he lives through the designs. That sounds a little odd, I don't know. But hey it's my thought for the day.

Have a great weekend x

Life is a funny thing.

I have to admit, it feels rather alien being back on this blog! But... I thought that maybe it was time to resurrect it, so we'll see how it goes. I feel like I've outgrown the layout of this blog, however, so I may try and play around with it soon to find something more 'me'.

I'm not entirely sure where I was going with the title of this post but it seems to sum up the past few months fairly well. I must admit, I have been struggling a lot with my priorities and with the direction that my life is headed at the moment which is all rather scary but - aren't we all?! I don't know, at this (very young) age we're all on the precipice of something new and unknown and we can either choose to embrace the opportunity or retreat to our comfort zone and pretend it isn't happening. 

I tend to do the latter. 

I'm still trying to work out how to turn this mentality around but (I don't mean to sound pessimistic but I'm unsure how else to word this) the realisation that everything is essentially meaningless is something that I have found really comforting. This could be seen as a destructive thing, but somehow it really helps me to understand that getting so bogged down by the minutiae of life is not necessary or helpful - in the slightest! I suppose I just need to learn to take a step back and recognise that it's okay to be struggling. And it's okay to be unsure of what the future holds. And it's okay to not follow every convention. What's not okay is letting these things consume you. 

Ah I don't really know where I'm going with this and I could probably rant for ages attempting to make my thoughts clear but I'll leave it at that for now! I hope everybody is having a lovely day, whatever you're doing...even if, like me, you're currently procrastinating - haha! 

Au revoir x

The xx, among other things...

Ok, I apologise in advance for the fact that I am about to go off on a rant about how much I love The xx (If you have never heard of them, they're a band. You should really look them up, it'll change your life).

 I went to see them live at the Usher Hall on Wednesday and OH MY GOD they were fantastic. Wonderfully, beautifully, insanely fantastic. The songs, the set up, the lighting, the atmosphere...It was all perfect. I can confidently say that it was the best experience of my life - I just want to go and see them again!!

So yeah...really the point of that was to explain the t-shirt that I'm wearing in this post... I bought it at the gig, and the 'x' is the same as the one on the cover of their new album Coexist. I love it so much, I don't want to take it off! 

T-shirt - The xx merchandise; Jeans - Topshop; Creepers - New Look

For the concert on Wednesday, I used the covers of both albums by The xx: XX and Coexist as inspiration for my nails. (I bet I sound like such an obsessed fan). It was quite fiddly to do - I put two strips of sellotape over the base colour, painted the whole nail and then took the tape off to reveal the colour underneath. I was doing it quickly before I went out so they ended up looking pretty messy...but from far away they seem to look fine! And I actually quite like the idea of having the nails on each hand a different colour...it's an easy way to make them look a bit more interesting!

Yesterday I finally bought myself a pair of brothel creepers. I have wanted a pair for months but only got around to buying them now and, surprisingly, they are sooo comfortable! They're probably the comfiest shoes I own to be honest, and they're really easy to walk in as well which was a nice surprise. I wore them in the rain today and I kind of expected them to get wrecked (clearly I didn't have very high hopes for these shoes), but they were fine - woo! Overall I am really happy with them. I want to go and get them in other colours now, haha!

Well I hope everybody is having a great day, Bye! Iona xo

I'm back!!! + Comme des garçons

Ok, firstly I would like to apologise for my extended absence - I'm not really sure what happened! The past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic with schoolwork, this year seems like it's going to be insanely tough... I'll be lucky to make it out alive! Anyway, I hope everybody had a great Summer.....

On that note: As you may have gathered from the fire in the background of the first picture – it’s beginning to feel a lot like Autumn here in Scotland. Slightly reluctantly, I dug out a big thick jumper to wear today because it was cooold!

The reason I called this post 'comme des garçons' was sadly not because anything I am wearing is from the brand 'Comme des Garçons', but because of it's meaning - 'like the boys'. This outfit is a lot more androgynous than my usual outfits, but I am quite enjoying the 'mannish' look...although I paired it with heels which kind of ruins the effect!

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but the jumper is actually a v-neck school jumper worn back to front…haha! It probably looks a bit silly from behind, but at least I have long hair to sort of cover it up. I have never worn my treasured mint shirt with a jumper over it, but the idea came to me during a daydream in school today (a bit of an epiphany really) and I knew I had to try it out when I got home.

Because the jumper is quite thick and baggy though, I paired it with some treggings…is that even a word?! If not, it is now. They’re basically a cross between trousers and leggings; treggings are a wardrobe staple for me, they're just so comfortable and easy to wear.

 

I hate having to admit this...but these aren't my real nails *gasp* ...they are false nails that were black with white polka dots... until I got bored of the design and painted over them in mint (then topped them off with a pearly white). It's fair to say that I am becoming addicted to false nails...I feel rather bad for my real nails :( I bet they're in a terrible state right now. Sorry guys.

I hope that everybody has a great weekend, see you soon! Iona xo

8.7.12 - neon flatforms

Heeey, I've not really had anything to post the past few days because I've become so lazy and have basically been living in my pyjamas haha! But today (shock horror) I actually left the house and went shopping.
 I was only meant to be buying people birthday presents but there was a sale in Topshop and I couldn't resist the neon flatforms. I am so sorry purse, I have been abusing you quite a lot lately.

I have plain black flatforms already which I love, but I've had my eye on a fluorescent pair for months. I didn't want to pay full price for them because I'm guessing they're something I won't wear all too often, so I was well happy when I found out they were in the sale! They don't match anything I own - apart from a nail varnish - but I kind of like that. It will be easy to pick me out in a crowd at least!

Denim shirt, shorts & shoes - Topshop; T-shirt - New Look; Tights - Accessorize

Wheeee

Here's a better quality picture of them... they do slightly resemble bowling shoes haha!

I hope that everybody is enjoying their Summer so far :) Bye! xo

Days 2 & 3 of Work Experience

Sorry this has taken so long for me to post this! I've been pretty busy this week and haven't had a chance to blog. I also apologize because I was too unorganized to get pictures of my outfits on days four and five of work experience, woops. 

I'd just quickly like to say that I had such a good week at New Look though, the staff were all amazing and I got to try different things every day, it was a really great experience overall!

Ok, so on day two I carried on my mint theme (no surprises there) with the dotty top I got for my birthday which was great because it is made from quite a thin, floaty material meaning I didn't get too warm in the shop. I wore it with my high-waisted Topshop jeans and the same shoes as the day before. The handbag is possibly my favourite bag ever... I brought it to work every day! I like how it's so sturdy, and is the perfect size to carry everything I need without being too bulky. I also love the coral detailing which makes it a lot more interesting and appealing to the eye than any of my other bags. 

On my third day, I wore an outfit completely from New Look (apart from the shoes). I bought the top last weekend with work experience in mind - and I really like it, seeing as it is a bit more grunge-y than anything else I own, particularly as I'm going through a pretty pastel phase. I teamed it with my coral skirt and a pleated belt to counteract the gothic vibe though. I was going to wear a black skirt, but thought it made the whole look a bit too dark.
I may have lied a little in the next pictures... I actually didn't wear the Doc Martens to New Look, I just wore plain black plimsolls. They looked ok, but I wanted something that would make more of a statement for taking these pictures!

Top, Belt & Skirt - New Look; Boots- Doc Martens

 As you can see, I got a wee bit carried away taking pictures! My legs look super short here, haha.

Tippy tooooes

I tried to match my nails with the skirt but they looked a bit too plain... so I added black dots to my ring fingers to miror the black in the top. It looked a bit messy and strange, but it was just a last minute addition before I left the house! I seem to be incapable of leaving my nails all painted one colour...I just think it looks a bit boring because I'm so used to having patterns or contrasting colours!

Thank you so much for reading, sorry for such a picture heavy post. I hope you're all having a great Monday! xo

Day 1 of Work Experience - Mint Jeans & Collar

Hey, so today was my first day of work experience at New Look - and I'm really enjoying it so far. All the staff are so lovely and it's really interesting to get an insight into how this branch of the fashion industry works. Plus, I'm a bit of a compulsive tidier which seems to be very useful in shopfloor work! I can't wait to see what I'll be doing tomorrow. 

Today I wore my mint jeans which I am stilllll in love with, although I'm always paranoid that they are going to get dirty. I paired them with my new white top which has a (yes, you guessed it) pretty little mint collar on it. My love of the colour mint is bordering on obsessional, I can't help it though - it just makes me so happy! 

Jeans - Topshop; Top - Tesco; Shoes - Accessorize; Watch & Earrings - New Look

The top is actually from Tesco...normally I would only buy items such as plain cardigans from there but when I saw this I couldn't resist. I was fairly surprised to find such an on-trend piece there, but I'm not complaining at all! The only thing I would say about this top is that it is very see-through, so I have to wear a white vest underneath it. 

I don't really understand why some people are so opposed to buying clothes from supermarkets...I mean, I know the image attached to them is not something that is exactly fashionable or sought after, but at the end of the day if you like something then why does it matter where it's from? Also, they are a fraction of the price of clothes in the stores that I normally shop in. I have no problem mixing Tesco and Topshop, haha!

I hope everyone had a lovely day, and I will be posting about tomorrows outfit soon! As always, thank you for reading xo

DIY customized sunglasses

Hey! I was feeling quite creative on Friday, so decided I would customize a pair of sunglasses that I got free with my copy of Cosmopolitan magazine. They are just a simple pair of black Ray-Ban style glasses that you could buy pretty cheaply in any high street shop if you wanted to customize them yourself. 

I was in the middle of painting my nails when the idea came to me that I could paint a design onto the glasses with nail varnish - I decided to stick with a pretty simple design though as I didn't want to ruin them!

 The dots are a bit messy, but hopefully that won't be hugely obvious when I'm wearing them. I might even add some more colours at some point if I get bored.

 I must admit that I got a bit carried away with it...you probably won't even be able to see the dots along the top of the glasses, but oh well - it was fun to do!

 Here are the three nail varnishes that I used...You could use any colours and do any patterns you feel like though.

Baby Blue - Next; Mint - BarryM; Electric Blue - Topshop

Thanks for reading! xo

Fake Tattoos...

I'm sorry this has taken so long - but my 'Fake Tattoos' review and tutorial is finally here!
First of all, the delivery was really fast as promised - it only took a couple of days which was great because I'm so impatient when it comes to deliveries! The samples were really well-presented in a pretty pink pouch too which was lovely.

I was sent six samples, two of each design shown below. I love the four leaf clover one because it symbolises luck, and I've always wanted a tattoo on my wrist that represented this, so it was perfect for me. I really like the other two designs also, and they'll be good for Summertime (if we even get a Summer here in Scotland...sorry I always complain about the weather on my blog!)

The first one I tried was the clover, which I applied to my wrist. The instructions were really clear and the application was remarkably quick and easy (there's a tutorial further down). Personally I think it looks very realistic, and so many people asked me if it was real! The tattoos are meant to last between 3-10 days,and I had mine on for five days without any noticeable fading or rubbing off which was really impressive. 

Here's how to apply them...It's just like the ones you used to get at birthday parties when you were little!

Step 1: Make sure the place you are applying the tattoo is clean and make-up free, then remove the protective top sheet.

Step 2: Press the tattoo down firmly onto skin with the design facing down.

Step 3: Hold a wet cloth against the paper backing of the tattoo, pressing down to make sure the entire design is wet - and wait for 30 seconds.

Step 4: Peel off the paper backing to reveal the tattoo - et voila! (For best results, rinse it gently with water after this).

As you can see the application is really simple, they look fantastic and last longer than most temporary tattoos do - what more could you ask for? 

I would definitely recommend these to anybody interested in temporary body art or who isn't brave enough for a real tattoo...I've already been raving about them to people the past few days! I will definitely be buying some more designs at some point over the Summer because there are so many beautiful ones to choose from on the website: http://www.faketattoos.se/en/ ... they're not expensive either.

As always, thank you for reading! Iona xo

Spring

Hey, sorry I've not been posting much recently. Life has been pretty hectic the last month or so and I've now started fifth year at school which is both exciting and very, very daunting. It's quite scary to think how quickly my time at high school has gone by.

A couple of weeks ago - believe it or not - it was really sunny here in Edinburgh. In true Scottish fashion though, the good weather didn't last and it's now gone back to the dull weather we are used to, so in an attempt to cheer myself up I thought I'd post some pictures from the little glimpse of sunshine we got! 

I bought this cupcake from Waitrose partly because lime and white chocolate sounded like an interesting combination, and partly because the icing is such an appealing colour! (For the record it was very tasty too, haha!) My nails were done using a technique my cousin showed me where you apply the polish with a sponge, and I actually really like how it turned out - although it was a bit fiddly to do!

Bag - Topshop(£36); Jeans - Topshop (£40); Watch - New Look(£10)

I haven't gotten around to doing an outfit post with my new clothes and accessories yet, but for the time being here's a bad quality picture. I love the handbag so much, I just want to take it everywhere with me! Just about every bag I own is either black or brown, so it's a nice change to have something paler and more feminine - particularly because I'm going through a pastel phase.

Here's a better picture of the jeans since the last one doesn't really do them justice...aren't they lovely? I mean, they would look far better on a model's legs, but I just love the colour so much, and they are the same style as my trusty coral pink Topshop jeans so I knew I'd like the fit. I think they will be my summer wardrobe staple!

I hope everybody has a great weekend, Iona xo

'Fake Tattoos' review coming soon

Hey, this is just a quick post to tell you about an upcoming collaboration that I am very excited about!

I will be reviewing some temporary tattoos from the Scandinavian company 'Fake Tattoos' who work directly with their guest designers to create unique and innovative designs which are really very beautiful....and realistic too.

The samples should be arriving soon, so I will be writing about them here in not too long! I am really interested to see how they will look when applied and how people will react to them. In the meantime, here are some pictures from their website(here's a link if you are interested) http://www.faketattoos.se/en/ to give you a bit of an idea of what they are like:

I hope everybody is having a lovely day,

Iona xo