Instagram Diary No.2...

Fortune Cookie...

Cake for cake day...

Nail Polish...

Boats on the River Thames... 

Sleepy kitty... 

Lunch spot in London...

Running track in the woods...

My favourite green nail polish...

My project whilst on bedrest...

One of my favourite quotes...

Make-up Haul...

This past few weeks I have been really unwell, (hence the lack of blog posts!) so my mum and I decided to head up to London to do a little make up shopping to cheer me up once I had recovered a little. And it just so happened that Benefit were having £10 off all purchases, so I had to buy some things right?!

I only picked up a few things but I thought it would be worth showing you guys anyway...

The first was their eye cream which I tried out at the counter and loved so I bought it. I am a person with insanely sensitive skin under my eyes and in just a few days I have noticed a difference already...

Next was their sun beam golden highlighter which I like to use in place of a bronzer in summer as it gives my skin a healthy looking glow and blends really nicely into my skin...

Next was their brow kit which is great for travelling because it has everything that you need to keep your brows looking neat and tidy on the go with a powder, wax for setting your brows, two mini brushes and a pair of tweezers...

I also picked up a coralista lip gloss which is a lovely coral/pink gloss whilst on my trip...

What are your go to Benefit products?

Smart summer date...

Smart summer date... 

This week I was invited to go out to the races and decided on the way back that my outfit would also have worked for  a cute summer date as well. So, for the main focus I chose a nude dress, which gives the overall look a simple and elegant feel and then chose a blazer with rolled up sleeves as outerwear for the journey to and from the venue. For shoes I went with a simple black pump to tie in with the blazer and to keep the look still fresh and polished looking. I chose a colour blocked clutch bag to bring another range of colour into the outfit and then topped it off with my rose gold watch. 

What would you have styled this dress with? What are you guys up to this summer? 

Healthy Habits...Pina Colada Smoothie Recipe

Whilst I've been trying to eat clean lately, which is very hard to do whilst unwell, I have been looking for new ways to make clean foods taste just as good as the not so good thing that I am trying to avoid, whilst packing in as many nutrients as possible. So, the way I have been doing so is through smoothies. This recipe I found online and it tastes lovely so I thought I'd post it for you guys to try...

Ingredients:

1/2 pineapple

1 apple

3 Tbs coconut milk

1 banana

1 orange

Instructions:

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, finish with an umbrella if you wish and enjoy. 

casual summer outfits

casual summer outfits by rayray180496 featuring suede handbags

How to style...a denim shirt

Untitled #21

As the weather has been pretty rubbish lately in England with rain every day for the past few weeks, I have been dressing more for winter than summer. But with this I have found it hard to keep up the colour in my outfits to keep them in season even when I'm wrapping up in a scarf! To do this I used the basis of a denim shirt, which I feel is just that little bit more summery, but still provides a warm layer, and paired this with darker coloured jeans, to keep up the coloured jeans trend and still dressing to the weather. To top this off I would choose a printed scarf, in this case cheetah just to break up the blocks of colour and give a little bit more interest to the outfit. As for accessories, I would go with rings as they are a way to add interest to your outfit, without it becoming to busy on the eye, and a simple bag to finish. 

How have you been dressing in the summer rain? How would you have styled this shirt?

Twitter: @sorayamanijeh

Review: Bio-Oil...

As a person who is totally accident prone I have a number of scars from accidents I have been involved in in the past. Most of these are small and go unnoticed, but last summer I had an operation on my arm which left me with a more substantial scar than usual. As it was on my arm, and clearly visible I decided to try and get rid of it. Bio-Oil is the most advertised scar reduction product that I had seen and as a few of my friends had recommended it I gave it a try. 

Overall I really liked this product and although it takes around 3 months to fully reduce the scar, I did notice a visible reduction in just a few weeks which was amazing. I have used this product for four months every day and as you can see the product does go a long way as I am still on my first bottle, which makes up for the fact that it initially looks a little expensive to buy seeing as you only get 125mls of product. 

Personally, I would recommend this product as I have loved using it and have really seen results from doing so and I feel that this really is a product that is worth every penny. 

What are your favourite products to use on discolouration?

Healthy Habits Introduction...

So, recently I have been getting back into working out and eating clean again, which after a year of injuries and exams has been pretty hard to stay dedicated to. But, seeing as summer is finally starting to appear I have decided to start being a little bit healthier again and to help my motivation I decided to start  healthy living section on my blog to help any of you guys who are interested or are trying to do the same. The main idea behind this all is to loose the weight healthily though, so this series will be orientated around a healthy way to stay fit and slim down, rather than a fad diet. Also, I think it is important to mention that although I am not a professional, I have done a lot of research into the subject to find the best ways to really make my diet healthier.

What kind of posts would you like to see in this series? What do you guys do to keep healthy?

How to style...nautical stripes

nautical style stripes 

So, this style of outfit is something that I see as a classic summer outfit that is wearable every year because of it's simplicity. The main focus is of course the nautical stripes which can be worn however you personally choose, I tend to go with a jumper or t-shirt, but it's really personal choice. I then chose mint shorts to add another colour into the mix but this style of outfit also works great with darker shorts which bring out the colour of the stripes. As for finishing touches I went with blue boat shoes because, well it is a nautical theme after all, but pumps work just as well and chose a nude bag and a pair of sunnies just to top off the outfit and tie everything together. 

How do you style stripes in the summer? 

How to style a blue maxi skirt...

blue maxi skirt... 

For this outfit I went with a simple blue maxi skirt and paired it with a white crochet vest top to complement the white in the skirt. But I really wanted the blue to stand out so I chose all blue accessories for this outfit with a blue clutch and a pair of blue sandals. Although I think a nice wedge would have also gone with this outfit along with nude pumps being another possibility for shoes. As for bracelets I chose some simple bangles with a mixture of silver wood and blue to give the outfit another range of colours and to break up the blue a bit so it wasn't a complete overload. 

How would you have styled this outfit? 

Nail of the day...7th of July 2012

These past few days I have been unwell so I decided to make myself feel better by painting my nails in bright colours, and as you can see by the design I really did have a lot of time on my hands!

Polishes used in this NOTD:

Base Coat: Essie 3 way glaze
White: 17 lasting fix nail polish in mini skirt
Pink: Chanel 489 rose insolent
Green: Essie navigate her
Top coat: Rimmel London matte finish

How to style...a tribal print skirt

Untitled #17 

Lately I have been really into mixing and matching colours to brighten up my outfits and making them more seasonal and summery.  For this outfit I went with a range of corals and mint/jade greens to give my outfit a classic colour blocking feel with a trendy influence of the tribal print skirt, which is the focal piece of this outfit. I then paired this with a mint green over the shoulder bag for a girly finish to the outfit. As for footwear in this outfit I chose loafers, which for those of us who get tired of wearing heels are a great alternative to pumps or sandals in the summer as not only are they practical, but they give a slight boyfriend-ish feel to this otherwise girly outfit. 

What do you think of loafers as alternative to pumps? 

Face of the Day...5th of July 2012

Everyday makeup 

Today I am spending the day meeting up with a few friends but I thought I'd post a quick face of the day before I left as I am wearing some of my all time favourites today.


Foundation: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua

Concealer:Benefit Erase Paste

Mascara: Benefit They're real

Bronzer: NARS Laguna bronzer

Eyeshadow: Stila Jewel eyeshadow - (used only in the inner corner of the eye)

Lips: Revlon lip butter in Raspberry pie

What are your favourite makeup items of all time? 

How to style...studded red shorts

studded red shorts 

For this outfit I went for a pairing that is chic and up to date. I chose a white tie-front shirt to give the outfit a finished look but keeps the outfit young and up to date. For a subtle contrast i chose a light green bangle in the way of accessories for this outfit along with mint green nails to give the outfit a contrast in colour to break up the red a little. As for shoes I went with my favourites of the moment, TOMS, in navy blue again to give a wider range of colour in the outfit.

When wearing this outfit out I would go with a red bag and a strong red lipstick to really make the outfit pop with colour. 

How are you styling your shorts for summer? Do you have a favourite pair at the moment? 

Nail of the Day...4th of July 2012

Today I've been spending the day working on a cake for my brother's party, great when I'm starting my health kick tomorrow right! Anyway, I decided whilst on a break that I kinda liked my nails today so I'm doing a post on them. (I think that was the most pointless intro ever but anyway!). These two colours are actually two of my favourites of all time.

Both colours are by Chanel but the pink gives a lovely opaque colour to the nail even with just one coat which is why I love it. As for the grey, the blue/green reflex that this polish has is stunning in the light and really gives this nail of the day a little bit of interest rather than being just one colour.

As for my baking, this was the result...

How to style 4th of July inspired outfit...

How to style 4th of July inspired outfit... 

For this outfit I went with a casual daytime feel in keeping with the flag print shorts. I have been looking for a way to wear these style shorts that still keeps them fairly classy and not OTT. So I paired it with a faintly printed tee which I would just roll the sleeves up of a little to make it look a little bit younger. I then just finished the outfit with crochet TOMS which I love because they are both comfortable and stylish and a leather backpack. 

For those of you out there I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July, how will you be styling your themed outfits? 

A Little catch up...

So first of I have to apologise for being a pretty absent blogger for the past few weeks, with school finishing and prom etc, it has been really hectic lately so I haven't had much time to blog, but, that should all be changing by now as summer has officially started! Yay! :)

Anyway, this past Wednesday my friends and I decided to go to Wimbledon to watch some tennis. For those of you out there who don't know I LOVE tennis and Wimbledon is actually one of my favourite tournaments on the tour to go and watch, mainly because of the massive range of style both on and off the court at the tournament.

My outfit of the day was fairly simple but comfortable and stylish, but I've decided to put it up in a separate post so for now I thought I would share a few pictures from the day....

Yummy strawberries...
(they are my favourite fruit!)

Watching matches on court.18...

Playing cards in the rain...
(typical english weather)

Waiting for play to start again, In the rain...

Watching a match on court.18

Inside the grounds...