The Top 10 Trends of 2014

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… this may not be the opening of a Charles Dickens’ novel, but such a phrase could never have rang more true in summing up 2014. It seems that this year was one giant rollercoaster of trends and we’ve seen it ALL - from the classic to the crazy – but there are always certain fads that make an imprint and stick with us. I’ve picked out my favourite (and not so favourite) trends that have caused a storm in the fashion-sphere during the past twelve months:

#OOTD | The Perfect Winter Jumper

Teen Skin Actives Review

Teen Skin Actives Clearing Spot Gel* £6.99
Teen Skin Actives Clearing Skin Wash* £9.99

Recently I was sent some fab skincare products to review from Teen Skin Actives and I must admit I've had so much fun testing them out for the past couple of weeks! The new range, created by specialist Eve Taylor OBE, is specifically formulated to be effective on younger skin, which is great for someone like me and other teenagers who often need to take that extra bit of care when looking after their delicate skin. The products are all colour coordinated (which I LOVE!) and are made from natural plant extracts which means not only are they soft and gentle on the skin, but they also smell absolutely divine! The products I picked have a gorgeous lemongrass scent to them which always leaves me feeling fresh as a daisy both morning and night. 

Buuuut rather than me just rambling on about the wonders they do to your skin, I think it'll be far more informative and beneficial if I showed you my mini photo diary from the week I first tried out both the clearing skin wash and blemish gel.... WARNING: View close up/unedited/au naturel photos of me with caution ;)

#CountdownToChristmas | Next Wishlist

It's the second installment of my biweekly #CountdownToChristmas series (if you missed the first post, you can catch up on it here) and this time I'm getting into the festive spirit by sharing my Christmas wishlist in coordination with Next's blogger network! Keep reading to see if anything tickles your fancy...

British Fashion Awards 2014 Red Carpet Highlights

Tonight saw the occasion of the prestigious British Fashion Awards, hosted by Jack Whitehall at the London Coliseum - a stylish event that celebrates the creativity and global success of British designers. Although I wasn't in attendance myself, I had great fun seeing the live updates by the BFC Instagram account as the evening was studded with A-list celebs who were all dressed up to the nines sporting various designers (and even high-street brands!) on the red carpet. Here are some of my personal highlights PLUS a FULL winners list below...

Harry Styles wearing Burberry

#CountdownToChristmas | The Christmas Tag

I can't believe it's December already! Where has the year gone? To celebrate the *official* advent of the festive season, today's post kicks off the exciting #CountdownToChristmas blog series that I'm taking part in this year. Every Monday and Friday until Boxing Day I'll be blogging about a range of set topics (focused around Xmas, duh!) so be sure to keep your eyes peeled and join me in the fun of counting down the amount of sleeps 'til Santa!

Image by Beautiful You & beautybyemily

Salisbury Cathedral

A few weeks ago my friend and I went on a lovely day trip to Salisbury and one of the medieval attractions we visited included the city's beautiful cathedral: home of Britain's tallest spire (123m), the world's oldest working clock and one of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta (!!!). As you can probably tell, the latter was definitely my personal favourite, since I'm a huge lover of history, although we weren't allowed to take pictures in the Chapter House where it's located - *sad face*, (but understandable). In addition to a rich history to explore, the architecture is absolutely stunning, and what's best is that there's no super expensive entrance fee to pay. All they ask from you is a small voluntary donation, which is more than generous for the experience you get. I loved being shown round by a friendly, knowledgeable and passionate tour guide and I really would recommend having a visit to anyone who's in or around the Dorset/Wiltshire area! Have a browse of my photos & let me know what you think...

The Style Inventory Magazine Q&A

Recently I answered a few fashion-focused questions for The Style Inventory, a brand new online fashion designer shop, and the piece I was featured in is now live on their site! If you fancy getting to know a little more about me, you can have a browse of the article by going to www.thestyleinventory.com and clicking the 'Magazine' heading or simply keep on scrolling to read my Q&A below:

November - Expectations vs. Reality

Hello November! Autumn has always been my favourite season, and although I love it dearly, I can't help but notice there are some things about November that are never as good as what we make them out to be in the months leading up to it. Maybe it's just a case of the grass always being greener on the other side, but here are five things I've picked out that tend to leave us ALL completely disillusioned by the time December rolls around...

Jewelsy Wishlist

If you've never heard of Jewelsy (formerly known as Kukee) before, they sell gorgeously unique and on-trend accessories, many of which are handmade and priced below the more-than-affordable price of £2.50. They also happen to be my absolute favourite jewellery store, EVER, which is no surprise as I'm pretty sure 90% of my jewellery collection is taken up by their pieces! I've been set the glorious challenge of creating a wishlist from their site jewelsy.co.uk, which I had extreme fun in doing, so here are the items I'm currently lusting over...

Silver Studded Double Ring £1.00

Just look at those spikes! Anyone who knows me will be aware by now that I'm completely obsessed with anything studded/spiked/bejewelled - especially when it's in the form of a chunky statement piece like this.

NaaNaa Clothing | The Playsuit

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW | AURA Launch - 10th October

Today's post is a rather exciting one! It's time to welcome a new online jewellery boutique into the fashion sphere... AURA. Their website doesn't officially launch until tomorrow, however they've kindly allowed me to give you all a top-secret exclusive glimpse of their collection before it goes live: (!!!)

Outfit Of The Day: Monochrome Madness

Kimono - Chiara Fashion | Top - Primark | Jeans - Celeb Look* | Shoes - George

'Taylor' by Taylor Swift Perfume Review

Taylor by Taylor Swift 30ml Gift Set

After falling head over heels in love with Taylor Swift's debut fragrance, 'Wonderstruck', I've been longing to get my hands on her most recent eponymous fragrance, 'Taylor', ever since I heard of its release over a year ago. Fortunately it was my birthday a few weeks ago, and I was lucky enough to receive not only the perfume bottle, but the entire gift set along with it. 

#TeenBlogSeries Week 3: Favourite Highstreet Shop

It's #TeenBlogSeries time again! (If you're unsure as to what this means, you can read my introductory post on the series here.) As many of you have probably realised, I skipped last week's topic, 'Best Foundation & Brow Routine for Teens', as I don't really wear make-up often so I wouldn't have had much to contribute - however, I still enjoyed reading everyone's posts as usual! Moving on to this week's topic, it's 'Favourite Highstreet Shop & Picks' and I've chosen to focus this post on the lovely River Island, a highstreet store I'm sure we're all very familiar with.

Angelina Jolie's Wedding Dress - LOVE or LOATHE?

Ever since news emerged that 'Brangelina' (that's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) finally tied the knot together in France last week, fashion lovers everywhere have been dying to get a glimpse of the bride's dress - especially when it's the glamorous Angelina-freaking-Jolie, I mean c'mon!  Luckily for us, the first official images were released today *eek* and it's no surprise that Jolie walked down the aisle sporting a unique custom-made Atelier Versace gown created by master tailor Luigi Massi. However, it wasn't quite the extravagant design we were all expecting...

#TeenBlogSeries Week 1: 10 Facts About Me

As a 16 year old blogger, I'm extremely excited to be involved in this huge collaboration set up by fellow teen bloggers Anouska and Beth. I've heard there's approximately 80 of us taking part - wow! 

Outfit Of The Day: Fluorescent Neon

 Dress - Vantage Fashion* | Necklace - H&M | Shoes - New Look

The Inbetweeners 2 Film Review

The Inbetweeners has always been one of my favourite TV shows ever – I feel like it depicts typical British teenage boys in a nutshell and I can never truly pick a favourite character (although I do really like Will aka Simon Bird) as they’re just all so good. I’ve been counting down the days until the release of the second movie ever since it was announced MONTHS ago, and I was super excited to finally go and see it on Tuesday night at my local ODEON cinema!

Batiste Pixie Lott Dry Shampoo Review

When I first started this blog, I never imagined that I'd be one to post something beauty related (Hair counts as beauty, right?!) as anyone who knows me will be aware that it's just not really my thing; I hardly ever wear makeup or style my hair and I'm just generally clueless about it all - most days I literally just wake up, brush my hair and go! 

Summer Staple: Love Clothing Shorts

I can't believe we're already in August and I've only just found my summer staple!

Top - H&M (similar) | Shorts - Love Clothing

5 Co-ord Summer Must Haves

Co-ords are making a massive statement this summer, and who could be surprised? They're edgy, versatile and most importantly, take away the effort of attempting to piece together a top and a bottom! So whether you prefer to go short or long, bold print or basics, matchy-matchy or mix it up, co-ords are a HUGE trend not to be missed out on. 

Here are my personal top five favourites that are certain to add style to your summer wardrobe:

OOTD: Japanese Cherry Blossom (+ DISCOUNT CODE!)

Dress - Laundry Boutique* | Shoes - Primark

Good evening all!

Recently, online clothing store Laundry Boutique were kind enough to let me look through their gorgeous site and pick out an item that I'd like to blog about. After a thorough browse (and some intense drooling over their pieces) I decided upon this pretty black sleeveless dress in Japanese Blossom print.

What I Wore: Prom Night

Dress - Missguided | Shoes - New Look | Clutch - FCUK

It was my Year 11 leavers prom last night, so I thought I'd share my look for the occasion with you all: 

OOTD: New Look Navy Plaid Skater Dress

Dress - New Look
Shoes - Primark

Manchester Fashion Week: Day 2 - My Favourites

Manchester Fashion Week kicked off on Good Friday (see the first show here) at the prestigious Halle St Peter's and is scheduled to continue over the Bank Holiday Weekend. The second show (Independent Brands & Online Store) was last night and although I wasn't fortunate enough to attend, I enjoyed seeing all the tweets and photos from the event, so I decided to make a blog post about my favourite picks from the catwalk!

Show Schedule: Sofia Dourvari, Boda Skins, South Beach, Florina, 304# Clothing, Didi's Fashion Boutique, Horsebird, Virgin Rebel, GinTonic Vintage, OMG Fashion, Aouse of Jones, Luke 1977, Dead Legacy, Eustratia, SVE Fashion, Lily Lulu Fashion.

The show opened with designer Sofia Dourvari's pre-autumn collection which featured elegant evening wear and sexy leather looks - all accessorised with jewellery by Wearing Memories. 

Sofia Dourvari (image credit)

These two leather pieces are some of my favourites from her collection! I absolutely love the metallic colours and the edgy cut of the dress gives both outfits a fierce yet sophisticated look. 

Sofia Dourvari (image credit)

Another look from the collection: this gorgeous dress features 600 flowers handsewn by the designer. I think it's definitely my favourite couture piece of the night - just wow!

Didi's Boutique (image credit 1 & 2)

Didi's Boutique is a brand that I'd personally never heard of before, but ended up falling in love with by the end of the night! I'll definitely be keeping up with their latest designs from now on. Their collection last night showcased a range of styles - including glitter, pastels and metallics. Perfect for creating a girly look this spring!

Eustratia (image credit)

Eustratia is a brand specialising in latex designs and accessories. These two outfits are my favourite from last night's collection - you can never go wrong with a bralet and skirt for summer! The pretty floral embellishments top of the look and compliment the pastel shades.

Florina (image credit 1 & 2)

Ahh Florina definitely wins my vote for the most creativity on the runway! (Are they berries being used as earrings?!) Their collection is made entirely out of plants, with moss being the chief material, and appear to be have a common jungle style. Although I can't see myself sporting a grass dress any time soon - I admire how unique and individual Florina's designs are!

OMG Fashion (image credit)

OMG Fashion is a brand I've been a fan of for a while, so their collection was definitely the one I was looking forward to the most... and they certainly didn't disappoint! They showcased a beautiful collection of playsuits and two-pieces in bright floral and neon patterns - these lace playsuits are my favourite!

Boda Skins (image credit)

Boda Skins showcased luxurious leather jackets, which are a staple piece for any wardrobe! These two designs are great for styling up a simple outfit or just being worn for warmth and still managing to look fashionable.

304# (image credit)

304# Clothing sported some slogan tees and brought a sport-luxe vibe to the catwalk! These shirts are great for when you're dressing casual but still want to look fresh at the same time.

Sve Fashion (image credit)

These chic two-pieces are from Sve Fashion and are definitely high up on the list of items I need in my wardrobe! I love the layers and flirty ruffles of the outfit, especially with the neutral colours, which creates a cute yet striking look.

Lily Lulu (image credit 1 & 2)

Lily Lulu showcased a wonderful range of jumpsuits in these lovely fun floral patterns, which are ideal for the spring months!

Clare Baxter (image credit)

 These dazzling showgirl costumes spiced up the show a bit! Designed by Clare Baxter, they're a sparkly mix of glitter, tassels and feathers! The pieces have a gorgeous cut near the midriff which flatters any body shape.

So there you have it - my favourites from Day 2 of Manchester Fashion Week!

Which collection is YOUR favourite? Drop me a comment below!

Until next time,

Nina xo