The Perfect Summer Accessory

I saw this lovely bag a month or so ago, I tried to restrain myself for as long as possible, but eventually gave in and had to buy it. It's one of those "I really want it, but I really don't need it" purchases. But now I have the bag in my hands, I couldn't be happier with it! To me, this bag represents Summer completely. The beautiful, bold coral pink is the perfect pop of colour to add to an outfit. Being a regular monochrome wearer, bringing in colour through accessories is an easy way to make my outfits look more seasonally appropriate and give them that little perk. 

I found this bag on Mango's website, which I am loving at the moment. They seem to have some amazing pieces online in all departments, but I am especially loving their bags. I already have one or two more on my wish list! Mango are particularly great at creating high-end dupes, when I first saw this bag Gucci immediately sprung to mind. With the fold-over flap and statement buckle, they have created a beautiful bag that definitely resembles the Gucci Dionysus. Luckily this one is much more affordable! At £35.99 for an authentic leather bag, you can't really go wrong. 

It is a relatively small bag, however fits all the necessities. I can comfortably carry a few items of makeup (inc. 2 brushes, powder, bronzer and a lipstick), and there is a front zip pocket where you can store a coin purse or loose cards/coins. My phone which is rather large (iPhone 6s+) can just about slot in as well. I have to admit when I ordered it I was expecting it to be a bit larger, but I find the small size is absolutely fine, and it stops me from handbag hoarding! 

I'm pretty sure I've found the perfect bag to carry me through the Summer season. It's going to look great with pretty much everything I own, and will allow me to keep wearing black in the warmer weather! Now to find some shoes to match... 

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The Flared Sleeve Trend

When it comes to my personal style I like to keep things quite minimalistic. I like to focus on smaller details within garments, rather than bright, bold prints. So when the flared sleeve trend came around, I knew that I would love it. It's the perfect balance between simplicity and eccentricity, allowing me to add something new to my wardrobe without deviating from my usual style. Over the past few months I have picked up a few different variations of the trend, some understated and some more dramatic. One of the best things about the flared sleeve is that you can find it in so many different forms, there is certainly a flared sleeve garment out there for everyone!

I've picked out two of my current favourite flared sleeve jumpers, that I believe are perfect for the current not so Spring-like weather. You may even see a bit of colour, which is a rare sighting for me!

Jumper Here

1.
This jumper couldn't be more up my street. It's black, v-neck and features a tiered, frill sleeve detail that adds that extra bit of fun to a rather basic jumper. I love that this jumper goes with absolutely everything, and is an easy way of seeming like you've made more effort than you have! It is definitely a forgiving jumper and sizes up quite generously. If you're in between sizes I would recommend going for the smaller of the two. Lucky for you this jumper is now in the sale, however is sold out on the brands website. But I have managed to track it down for you on Zalando. To me this is an obvious wardrobe staple.

Jumper Here

2.
So this jumper is a bit out of my comfort zone, being that it is lilac. As I said, I rarely wear brighter colours, which is something I am trying to change, so I thought this jumper would be a good place to start. I found this whilst browsing on ASOS (a regular occurrence) and fell in love with the crochet detail and thought the colour would be perfect for Spring. This jumper completely perks up an outfit, and looks great against darker colours. It has definitely made me want to try out colour more often. The only downside to the garment is that for a tight fitting jumper, there is quite a lot of excess fabric, especially for someone with a short torso like me. So unfortunately it does wrinkle when on, which you may have noticed from the picture above. But other than that, I absolutely love this jumper! I think it's a colour that will suit most skin-tones and the crotchet is just so pretty. If you're like me and a bit scared of wearing brighter colours, then this is the ideal garment to help you transition.

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Barcelona 29.07.16

I have been lucky enough to visit quite a few European cities so far, including the beautiful Paris that I never believed could be topped! However, after visiting Barcelona last Summer, it quickly became my favourite.

Being a rather large city, there is so much to see and do. No matter what road you walk down, you're sure to never be disappointed. Full of beautiful buildings, cultural landmarks and incredible food, the city is a must-visit for everyone. 

The Hotel

Myself and my boyfriend flew from Heathrow airport with Vueling (who were amazing) on Friday 29th July, arriving late at our hotel in Barcelona. We stayed at the beautiful Granados 83 for 4 nights, in the Eixample district, which couldn't have been a better choice in my opinion. It's quite hard to define a location as central in Barcelona, as there is so much spread around all different areas. In terms of one of the main tourist hotspots, La Rambla, our hotel was around 20 minutes walk away. To some this may seem quite long, but honestly walking around the city was so lovely we didn't mind. Something we had been made aware of by quite a few people was safety within the city (pickpockets), so when we first arrived we were slightly concerned about the walking distance, particularly in the dark. I have to admit I am a cautious person, but not for even one moment did I feel un-safe. Just make sure you have a good cross-body bag, and you're good to go! 

Definite Must-see's 

So, with my recommendations of things to visit and experience within the city, I have tried to avoid discussing the generic and main tourist areas that everyone knows about (e.g. Barcelona Cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell etc.). All absolutely incredible, but I'm almost certain you'll have read about them countless times! 

Magic Fountain of Montjuic

One of my favourite things we did whilst in Barcelona, was visit the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. We spontaneously decided to do this the evening of, having heard about it before we quickly jumped on Google and were lucky enough to find there was a light show on that evening (you can find the timetables here). We took a taxi from outside our hotel (you never need to worry about ordering taxi's as there will always be a few driving past), and within about 10 minutes arrived at the fountain. I was shocked by how magnificent it was, and the vast amount of people that crowded the area - it all adds to the ambience though. The show is completely free to watch, and lasts around an hour. It is definitely something I would fit in to your evening schedule, and head for some tapas afterwards! 

Rooftop Bars

Rooftop bars are essential in any city, and in Barcelona you will find plenty of them. Lucky for us, our hotel had it's own, which was perfect to grab a drink whilst the sun was setting, before heading out for dinner. Our hotel had a lovely street view (the photo below doesn't do it justice), however it wasn't quite that idyllic city view. A rooftop which was on my list, but unfortunately we didn't get the chance to go to, was on top of a lovely hotel named Hotel Duquesa De Cardona. I'll have to save that one for when I next go back! 

(side note - the H10 is a lovely hotel too)

Parc de la Ciutadella 

If you're someone that enjoys a bit of chill time and doesn't necessarily want to be in the heart of the tourist areas, then you will love Parc de la Ciutadella. This is a huge, green area in the city where we spent a few hours laying on the grass reading our books and having a row on the lake. This is one of the areas in the city that we found particularly peaceful. And hiring a rowing boat is always great fun! 

Camp Nou

Another must-see on my list is something I wasn't exactly 'desperate' to visit in Barcelona, however my boyfriend managed to drag me there. If you haven't guessed, I am talking about Camp Nou, Barcelona Football Club's stadium. To my surprise, this was a day out I particularly enjoyed. Of course the whole experience is very football orientated, but it was much more interesting than I could've ever imagined. The best part of course was going out into the actual stadium and viewing the pitch. Being the largest football stadium in Europe, it was quite exhilarating being sat right up in the VIP seats where you had a complete panoramic view. Even if you're not interested in football, this is a really fun and different day out (plus it gives you brownie points with the boyfriend!). 

The Food

Trobador Ferran 

Barcelona of course is famous for its tapas. So, it was inevitable that we would eat plenty of it whilst there. One of our favourite places we went for tapas was at a lovely restaurant in the Gothic Quarter called Trobador Ferran (left image), we sat in the outside seating area and stuffed our faces at around 11pm (after the fountain show). We never usually eat that late, however it was perfect because the area was much more peaceful and a nice, calm temperature at that point. The food was delicious (as well as the Sangria), I would 100% recommend it for that authentic tapas experience! 

Surf House Barcelona 

As delicious as the tapas was, my definite favourite restaurant that we visited, has to be Surf House Barcelona (right image). The California style restaurant provided to-die-for food and incredible cocktails, especially the Strawberry Daiquiris! Surf House Barcelona is situated right on the beach front, which is particularly lovely in the evening. We were lucky enough to have a front row view of a group of locals salsa dancing right next to the outside seating area, where we were. That made the evening all the more special! But even without the dancing, the restaurant is certainly worth a visit. 

 

St Joseph Market - La Boqueria 

I am a big food lover (if you can't tell), so visiting this well-known and well-hyped market was on my to-do list. This food market has a bit of everything, full of glorious fresh food and the best ice-cream I have ever tasted! If you love watermelon as much as me, you have to try the watermelon ice-cream, it was so good I went back for more on our last day!

Further Advice & Recommendations

Shopping

Being the shopping addict that I am, I of course have to mention what it was like in Barcelona. A one word answer would be, amazing. The best area I found for it was La Rambla, it was full of all sorts of high-streets stores, including most of my favourites (e.g. Mango, Pull&Bear, Zara). Extremely busy, but oh so worth it!

The Beach

Barcelona beach is quite a walk from the main areas of the city, albeit a very enjoyable walk. If you love the beach (like I do) then it's worth a visit, as the weather is always fabulous in the Summer months. However, if you aren't the biggest fan of crowded areas then I would steer clear, as the beach was incredibly crowded and honestly not the most relaxing.

Money

I would suggest saving up for a trip to Barcelona, especially if you're visiting in the Summer. We definitely didn't spare money where we could have, such as taxi's, but food and drinks are expensive like most European cities.

So, hopefully now you will see why I love Barcelona so much. And if you are planning a trip there anytime soon, I hope I have provided you with some useful recommendations. I honestly can't imagine anyone not loving this city! This Barcelona city break was in fact part of a longer Summer holiday for me. On our last day in Barcelona we flew back to Heathrow airport, stayed overnight and then hopped on a plane to another destination the very next day! Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming blog post all about the rest of my 2016 Summer holiday...

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Denim Must-haves

Recently I've found myself gravitating towards denim and blue in general, leading me to naturally update the denim items in my wardrobe. I've always been a jeans girl, but sometimes I find it difficult to move away from black. Denim seems to be a huge trend in shops at the moment, especially the denim jacket (which I haven't owned since I was about 12!). New jeans and a denim jacket specifically have been on my shopping list for a few weeks now, so I thought it was about time I made some new purchases! 

The Jeans

 Topshop Jeans Here

Zara Jeans Here

The most obvious and easiest denim item to wear, of course is jeans. I love jeans and wear them 24/7, however I usually find it almost impossible to find a pair that fit me perfectly. The jeans featured on the left of the above images are from Topshop (as you may have noticed). They are your typical high-waisted medium wash jean, in their Jamie style. Topshop are a pretty reliable brand to buy jeans from, but this is the first time I have tried the Jamie style. One tip is to go slightly longer on the leg if you want them to be full-length, as they are an ankle grazer. 

The pair on the right are from Zara. Zara has always been a brand I love, but I would never manage to find a pair of jeans due to their typical mismatch in sizing! However, recently Zara jeans seem to be working wonders for me! I have to admit I still have to try on about 20 different pairs before I find some that fit, but when I find that pair they're pretty good. 

I particularly love these Zara jeans because of the light, mixed wash and the distressed hem. They also feature some rips on the knee and thigh, but this is quite minimal. These are the perfect pair of Summer jeans in my eyes! 

The Denim Jacket

Topshop Jacket Here

This is the dream denim jacket! It is slightly cropped (falls about hip length), in a medium wash which I find is the easiest shade if you want to brave the double denim look. This jacket goes with everything and is especially flattering, I am super glad this trend is back! It is quite generous in size, I went for a size 8 and I usually am between 8-10. This is definitely the jacket to carry you through the warmer months!

The Bardot

The dress version of the top is available here 

Now I know this doesn't 100% count as denim, but Lyocell is a fabric I am loving at the moment and looks very much like denim. I couldn't resist this top when I saw it. Anyone that knows me, knows I love a bardot top. So when I saw this beautiful blue, embroidered one I had to have it! I can't wait to wear it with white jeans when it finally gets warmer.

They say 'In the right denim a girl can conquer the world', and I think I've found the perfect denim items!

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Hello

So, I guess I should start by introducing myself... I am a 20-year-old Fashion: Media & Marketing student obsessed with fashion, beauty & all things travel related. I want to provide you with a blog that is relatable and take you on my journey as a student finishing University and entering the REAL world.

I plan to post a little bit of everything on my blog, anything that I find I enjoy writing about! Of course there will be lots of fashion related content, as this plays a big part in my life.

One topic I am certain I will discuss is travel. One of my main passions in life is to explore the world. I like to say I'm pretty well-travelled for my age, but there are still 100's of places I am desperate to visit. Slowly but surely I will get there, and wherever that may be I will be certain to take you with me!

I've been an avid follower of blogs for years now, but it's taken me a lot of time to pluck up the courage to start my own. I've always been so worried about what other people will think and how they might judge me, but University has made me realise if you want to do something you should just go for it.

So here I am! Writing my very first blog post (kind of), who know's if anyone will read it or even like it, but at least I will enjoy creating it.

I'd love it if you joined me on this brand new blogging experience!

Lauren xx

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