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Unfortunately, it has been over a month since I’ve posted anything. With the year drawing to a close, finishing my first term at university and working almost every weekend, I was finding it hard to squeeze in the time to sit down and blog. This isn’t a moment for excuses but I feel that I’ve neglected something that became a big part of me whilst I was studying for my bachelors degree. It was a mini side project that I had intended to get off the ground and grow; which unfortunately became a bit of a chore.
However, now creating the time - and with new found determination - I am back! A few things have changed, the most obvious one being my hair which I’ve recently had cut short. It was one of those big moments where the hairdresser did a before and after photo because I had that much chopped off. A long awaited phone upgrade has occurred too, along with a mini over haul of my wardrobe which I hope to share with you all soon.
**I’ve also updated the layout of my blog just to freshen things up.
As it’s New Year’s Eve I figured I’d share some of my recent photographs before I blog more about what I’ve been up to. I’m very eager for 2018 to start, I have a heart full of hope and I am excited for what the year is going to bring.
Remember to tell your family you love them, keep your eyes fixed on your goals and never ever let anyone stand in your way.
~
Favourite song:
Don’t Delete the Kisses - Wolf Alice (I’ve played this every morning for about a month, found as many live versions of it on YouTube as I can, and have been shouting “what if it’s not meantttttt for meeeeeee, lovveeeeeee” around the house)
My favourite quote of the year:
“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.”
- Nora Ephron
Oh and I've also nearly finished the first season of The Crown after Emily said how good it was. It is really, really good. I've watched all of Mindhunter too which I recommend and I'm currently looking for something else to watch if you have any advice!
I hope you have an amazing New Year!
Lauren
Barry M Nail Paint // Boots // £2.99
I always get super side tracked when I go into Boots or Superdrug. I normally only want to get make up wipes, but the other day I ended up buying new eyeliner and nail varnish. I haven't actually bought new nail polish in what feels like forever. My nails went through a phase of constantly breaking so I gave up, however I saw this in Boots last week and had to get it. Millennial pink is a really popular colour right now and I've been looking for the perfect shade. For only £2.99 from Boots I thought this was a bargain! It takes about two layers to look good and recommends using a base coat but I didn't. This nail varnish is great and I wore it all weekend whilst I was at work, obviously it chips but it's easy to remove and reapply. Highly recommend!
Apologies for the lack of posts recently! I've been very busy!
Song of the day: All Time Low - Jon Bellion
Lauren
**32 Portland Place, Marylebone, London, W1B 1NA
**Closest tube stop: Regents Park or Oxford Circus (we walked from Oxford Circus and it took about 5 minutes)
Last week an email came through from the make up brand, Glossier, saying that they were going to be in London from the 15th to the 22nd. I've been keen to get my hands on their products for what feels like ages, and this pop up shop came at the perfect time to allow me to go and try some of their stuff. So, today after class, Bea (photo below) and I decided to walk to 32 Portland Place and check it out.
The pop up shop itself is split across two levels and inside a three story town house. It’s quite unassuming from the outside with just some roses on the steps to indicate where you are. As you walk in, people are queuing for their orders which we later worked out is because everything is done through iPads. You pick up what you bought at the end as there are no tills - and it's credit card only! To the right of this is a room with sofas in and big Glossier images covering the walls, followed by the first room full of make up. The ladies on hand to help were wearing these really cool baby pink Glossier coveralls - maybe they could expand into fashion too because I would 100% invest! Upstairs is the same sort of layout with all the Glossier products to buy in the middle of the room. There was also a room dedicated to their new fragrance, You.
We got there just after 1 today and it was supeerrrr busy. The decor was great, everyone was really friendly and it was such a good way to engage with the products. Visually, they have to be one of my favourite brands out there! If you’re around Marylebone in the next week it’s well worth a visit! We both ended up buying some products too and I picked up the heavily reviewed Cloud Paint in the shade Dusk. Stay tuned for a post about what I bought!
Song of the day: Flesh Without Blood - Grimes
(this was playing as Bea and I were waiting for our orders)
Lauren
Instax Mini 9 Camera // Urban Outfitters // £79
Gosha Rubchinskiy Football Scarf //Goodhood // £65
See You in Hell Pin Badge // Lazy Oaf // £7.99
Concrete Desktop Planter // Barbican // £20
Boy Smells Cedar Stack Candle // The Conran Shop // £35
Overalls Tote // Carhartt-WIP // £35
Eastpak Cross Body Bag // Urban Outfitters // £22
Not There T-Shirt // SCRT // £35
House of Plants Book // Goodhood // £20
So, without a doubt, Christmas has to be my absolute favourite time of the year. Wearing big coats, getting hot chocolate, spending time with all the family, and of course, the food! I thought it would be fun to make a list of all the things that I think would make perfect gifts this Christmas, from some of the brands I'm loving at the moment! I know it's a little early but I hope this helps a few of you guys find the best presents!
Song of the day: Cutting My Fingers Off - Turnover
Lauren
Song of the day: Cutting My Fingers Off - Turnover
Lauren
So, i’ve recently taken it upon myself to explore more of London by foot, if and when the weather permits. Running late for class and when it’s raining are currently the only reasons I would take the tube, and obviously if I’m trying to get over to the other side of the city i’d take the tube too. I’ve decided to do this mainly because 1. it’s more cost effective and 2. I just want to see more of the city. There are so many side streets and independent cafes out there that I’d like to to discover. Palm Vaults in Hackney is a major place I want to visit, i’m just never in North London. Maybe i’ll go next week after class.
Things i’ve learnt recently:
Dominos pizza makes my skin break out really bad
Sometimes sweatshirts will fit the length of my body but not the length of my arms? Why is that?
I’ve started listening to Podcasts to help me sleep and found a really good one on Spotify called Stuff You Should Know! It’s really good, 10/10 recommend.
Hope you all had good weeks! Weird how it’s already November, it’s been the longest shortest year ever, if you know what I mean.
Song of the day: Sway - Mooseblood (actually their whole album, Blush, is really great)
Lauren
MagCulture
Spin: Adventures in Typography #1 // £18 // buy
It’s October 30th and I just tried to go and buy a pumpkin. I was optimistic, and ASDA did have a sign outside saying “pumpkins for £1”, but obviously everywhere has sold out of them by now. I actually ended up just buying a bag of drumstick squashies sweets, some halloween themed chocolates and November’s issue of British Vogue. I think i’m almost at the end of my cold that i mentioned in my previous post too, realising that it wasn’t helped by my last walk around the capital in the rain.
I’ve been meaning to go to MagCulture for a realllyyyyyyyyy long time. So, last week, I did. Myself and two other students from my course got the tube from Oxford Circus to Angel and walked in the rain till we found the shop. As you guys know (or may not know) i’m in the process of collecting magazines. My latest edition to the stockpile is a typography booklet from the graphic design agency, Spin. Named “Adventures in Typography”, the booklet contains aspects of Spin’s work “that might otherwise go unrecorded or unexplored”. Each page is a sort of print out of various different type forms that never took flight I suppose. I’m really pleased with this purchase and it fully compliments my major project for this semester at uni. As for MagCulture itself, I highly recommend a visit. Inside there were a lot of areas where you could sit down and flick through the magazines. They also had such a huge range of publications i’ve never seen or heard of before, so it’s such a great place to go and get inspired.
Song of the day: That Don't Impress Me Much (Triple J Like A Version) - Haim
Lauren
I went out and got tonnes of jobs done today and i’m really glad that I did. It’s cold / flu season so I drove to Boots to pick up some medicine to help me with the sore throat i’ve acquired. I tried to cure it last night by eating a microwavable treacle pudding and drinking 15 cups of tea, which did in fact make me feel somewhat better. Whilst I was up last night I decided to scan in my work from the first project I did on my new course in London. I’m having a ball by the way - I love my new university and i’m so pleased with how this project turned out.
We had two weeks to make a 24 page zine based on a specific topic. Mine was beer, but people had snow and mushrooms and spectacles as themes - we didn’t get to choose our topic so what we each ended up with was totally random. Our responses didn’t have to be fashion related but mine ended up going down that route. We had to include a short feature and fun things to do such as word searches or horoscopes. For the content, we were encouraged to take our own photos, use found imagery and create pages using collaging etc. I had so much fun working on this little zine and even ended up going to a brewery to interview them about what they do. I got a tour and was allowed to take photos which I have included throughout my zine.
I did a lot of my own illustrations as well as collaging torn up bits of magazines. I have a printer at home so I photocopied and scanned a lot of stuff too!
Hope you guys like it!
Song of the day: Your Graduation - Modern Baseball
Lauren
No shame in sitting and eating meatballs, gravy and mash alone in Ikea... The daim cake is actually a large proportion of the reason why I decided to drive all the way to Ikea too...
VARDAGEN bowl // £1 each
CACTACEAE potted plant 3 pack // £4.50
FLAKEBERG organiser with compartments // £6.95
I've actually been using this for my make up and it's so great! I have all my brushes and foundation separated now.
GURLI cushion cover // £1.75
ISFRID inner cushion // £1.50
FORSÅ work lamp // £16
RYET led bulb // £4
So, earlier in the week I decided to drive myself to Ikea. The closest one to me is about 40 minutes away and I left with enough time to get myself some lunch too. I actually took a sat nav but ended up getting horrendously lost, like I mean genuinely I was so lost for about half an hour - I even pulled in somewhere and asked for directions, I was just driving around and around.
There were a couple of things that I had in mind about buying - storage bits and bobs, just the standard Ikea purchases. However, I got a bit sidetracked in the self service area, you know where you can choose things like plates and towels and picture frames. I ended up buying a few bowls (???) and some cacti (???). I'm still living at home so i'm not entirely sure why I bought extra bowls... anyway I had a really great time and it was fun shopping in Ikea even though I was on my own. I bought a few other bits and bobs, so I think I spent about £42 in total - and I bought one of those blue carrier bags too!
Does anyone ever go into Ikea and literally plan what their future home is going to be like? I always do that!
Song of the day: The Sound - Tom Odell (the 1975 cover)
I'm obsessed with this song omg
Lauren
Puffer Season #1
Puffer Jacket with Pocket Detail // ASOS // £65
Nike Puffer Jacket // ASOS // £85
Pillow Puffer Jacket // Urban Outfitters // £76
Premium Padded Jacket // ASOS // £80
Last year - maybe around this time - I made a post about my top picks of puffer jackets for autumn. That post has actually gone on to be one of the most popular things i've written about on here - which is pretty cool. Due to its success, I figured I'd make one this year and share with you guys some of the coats I've been looking at. Personally I find that puffer jackets suit me a lot more than the other different styles that you can buy. I admittedly have a hoard of coats, but for me, puffer jackets basically work with my entire wardrobe. Over hoodies, without hoodies, with crop tops, with vest tops, with jeans, with leggings, the list is endless.
So, here's my round up of puffer jackets available on the market this autumn. I'm not big on branding but the occasional logo can sometimes tie a whole outfit together. As with the rest of my wardrobe, I've selected jackets that I would actually wear so the colours aren't very bright. I own a lot of grey, black and white clothes therefore I always opt for a coat that will compliment what I already have. A typical outfit, or I guess my go to outfit would probably be a jacket layered with a hoodie, leggings and finished off with a pair of trainers.
Song of the day: Wildest Moments - Jessie Ware
Lauren
The top photo is actually of Hammersmith tube station, but we changed there coming from Piccadilly Circus on the Piccadilly Line to get to Ravenscourt Park Station. Anyway, I'm actually really enjoying this little series of posts from London of the various places I'm getting to visit as I become more familiar with the city. Today I met up with my old flatmate from Edinburgh for lunch. He now lives in London and it was so nice to see him after I finished class. We decided to go to Ravenscourt Park as there was a little garden centre there with a sweet coffee shop. It took us about half an hour to get there on the tube from Piccadilly Circus and my friend bought a cactus for his room (not the one pictured haha). I wish I could keep plants in my room, so hopefully I can get a few cacti for home soon! I feel I need a trip to Ikea!
Best places we visited:
Wagamamas Great Marlborough Street (I had teriyaki beef donburi and it was yummmy)
W6 Garden Centre (kind of on the edge of Ravenscourt Park and very cute, the coffee shop is under the arches of the district line so you constantly hear trains running overhead, lovely location though and great tea! £4.80 for a hot chocolate and a pot of tea. Not bad!)
Song of the day: Dakota - Stereophonics
Lauren
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