Statement necklaces

I'm loving (and only more recently learning) just how much of a difference adding a necklace to an outfit can make. When I'm feeling too casual, a statement necklace can work wonders in transforming my look as well as making me feel more confident about my outfit. Who knew eh?

Here's a roundup of my current favourite necklaces...

I'm not mad on heavy silver but I love how this ASOS one manages to keep in with the trend of the moment and feature some pastel-coloured stones. It's so different, and I think it will work great this spring/summer with light colours.

I received this gorgeous Accessorize necklace from my boyfriend's parents for Christmas, and it's fast becoming one of my favourite staple necklaces as it goes with pretty much everything!

This one was a right little bargain from a shopping trip in Shepherd's Bush when I was back in the UK last. I can't remember which shop I got it from, but it was somewhere like Replay - definitely a clothes-focused shop as opposed to jewellery, but they had a little stand near the till filled with bits and bobs on offer. I think it's perfect for daytime wear and is a great way to feminise and quirk up a shirt!

I initially saw this gorgeous Taupe & Pearl Aila necklace on Gemma's blog (Miss Makeup Magpie) back in February when I first started blogging, and I fell in love with it. It manages to avoid the OTT 'blingy' feel that these kinds of necklaces usually emanate. I think it's got a subtle class about it, maybe helped by the gorgeous pastel pink and blue colours (show me pastel and I'm in!). And I love the ribbon detail. It's just byoootiful and a HUGE steal at only £9.50.

The *good* news is I'm planning to run a giveaway for this necklace in June time when I return from my USA trip (more on that soon), so keep your eyes peeled and feel free to follow me on Bloglovin' here to keep track of my posts if you're enjoying them!

What do you think of these necklaces? How would you wear them?

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

L'Oréal Miss Manga Mascara

Ooooh my first-ever mascara post! I'm putting it out there now that this is likely going to be a pretty short and sweet one from me, because - let's face it - the pictures say it all. I doubt you want to read too much about the packaging, the wand shape, the texture, the blah de blah blah blah, when you can see straight off exactly what you want to see. What does it do to your lashes? Does it lengthen and thicken them? Does it transform them? Does it make you want to never live without it?

SO, I do apologise for exposing you to my dreary 'unmade' eyes, but it had to be done for authenticity purposes of course. I won't even go as far as labelling them 'before' and 'after', because that's just plain insulting :)

In case you did want to hear me babble on a little bit about my views of the mascara, I actually have to say - and it seems I might be on my own with this one from the reviews I've seen - I'm still not 100% convinced by it. I find the wand itself to be too 'bendy' and flexible, making it a little difficult for me to control the position of my lashes as well as I'd like. I also find the wand doesn't allow much in the way of separation of my lashes, so it can come across as a little clumpy.

Saying all that, one of the plus sides is that it washes off well in comparison to other mascaras I've used in the past (more recently, namely Diorshow, Benefit Bad Gal and Rimmel Scandaleyes) and doesn't leave me with too much of a panda eye thang. It has grown on me as a daytime mascara, but I would probably try a different mascara next time, since who doesn't have a lifetime quest to try them all? 

Have you tried this mascara? What do you think? Can you recommend any I can try next?

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

A big Thailand adventure

When The Bloggers' Lounge announced their competition in conjunction with gapyear.com to win a New Zealand adventure tour, I knew it was the perfect time for me to blog about my Thailand trip. All you have to do to enter is blog about your biggest adventure, and I plan on blogging more about my travels and time in Switzerland anyway, so this is the perfect ammunition...

So, without further ado, THIS is Thailand - through my eyes.

It all really began back in May 2012. I had upped sticks in the UK and relocated to Switzerland after bagging a job here; my boyfriend had made the huge decision to join me, giving up his (pretty secure and well-paying) job to see where life would take us. We had no idea what he'd do here (he's a human factors engineer, which - in Switzerland - seemed non-existent), but he knew he wanted to be with me and give it a go out here so that - for me - was where our adventure began. Sitting beside the River Rhine in Basel one summer's afternoon in August, we got carried away thinking about new destinations for our bucket list (greedy huh?!) - and the Thailand adventure was born!

We made another big decision to ditch the company of our families over Christmas and New year and go in December, mainly because the public hols meant I could take more time off without eating into my holiday allowance. We knew it might feel odd celebrating Christmas in a hot climate and on our own, but we were also uber excited by it. Life's too short not to embrace a bit of change every now and again eh?!

We took over 1000 photos of our trip, and I wish I could bore you with all of the pics but it would be nice to keep some readers! So, instead, here are some of the highlights of our big adventure...

• Arriving in Bangkok but being too excited to go to bed and rest...so we hit Khao San Road, and proceeded to drink far too much Tiger and Chang (beer). The night ended up with my boyfriend falling asleep on the bathroom floor...and I ended up being sick the following morning...twice. Classy. Also known as the 'Chang hang'. 



Notice the jet-lagged eyes and the Tiger beers, soon to be followed by the lovely Chang

• Arriving to our hotel in Bangkok, being reassured the room was a lovely one and away from the noisy main street, and entering to find a charming little window in the corner of our room. All fine and dandy, with some opportunity for fresh air and morning sunshine we thought, that is until we realised it overlooked a corridor of the hotel - and it didn't open. Oh how we laughed.

• Arriving in Chiang Mai to see our tuk tuk driver with a 'Hunter Danielle' sign (my name backwards) and having to giggle when he shook my boyfriend's hand and called him Hunter.

• Ordering an omelette with cheese and getting an omelette with a square of processed burger cheese on top...skills right there.

• Spending Christmas day on this beach...heaven.

Railay Beach, Krabi

Railay Beach, Krabi

Railay Beach, Krabi

• Being way too excited at having our own balcony hammock!

Viking Nature Resort, Ko Phi Phi

• Drinking out of buckets (at Reggae bar, where customers are invited into a boxing ring to kickbox). Class right there! It was these kind of fun experiences that made Thailand unforgettable.



Buckets in Reggae bar, Ko Phi Phi



• Sharing the same bit of The Beach beach that Leo DiCaprio graced back in the day...paradise.

• ...and thinking I was literally going to crash and die in the little wooden shack of a boat that got us there...over seriously choppy, open waters. All worth it though of course.



Maya Beach, Ko Phi Phi

• Hiring a scooter in Ko Pha Ngan and heading for the centre of the island to visit one of the sacred temples and getting caught up in a storm along verrrrry bumpy, muddy roads. We had to chuckle at us bobbing along and weaving all over the roads with me hanging on for dear life!



The ride started out so well...

• Celebrating New Year crammed in the back of a big tuk tuk with a bunch of lovely new friends...since we didn't quite make it to the Full Moon Party in time!

• Canoeing the long-ish way over to the island opposite our resort only to get caught up in the biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen and having to take shelter on the edge of the uninhabited island. Genuinely thought we'd perish there. Thankfully, after a whole 10 long minutes, we didn't...obvs.

• Witnessing sunsets like this...(that's THE aforementioned island there by the way).

• Adopting elephants at Patara Elephant Farm for the day...feeding, cleaning them, brushing them, bathing them and riding them...

• Meeting wonderful people who really understand the true adventure Thailand can offer, because they were right there beside us...

I apologise for the picture-heavy post but I hope you are getting the idea that this really was one of the biggest, most memorable, happiest adventures ever, and it has only fuelled my passion for seeing more of the world and experiencing incredible adventures just as good as this one.

Here's some more of my favourite pictures...

Chiang Mai temples

One of the Night Bazaar markets in Chiang Mai

Meeting Santa in Ao Nang, Christmas Eve

Ao Nang on Christmas Eve

The famous Full Moon Party in Ko Pha Ngan, New Year's Eve 2013

Chilling in Beck's Resort, Ko Pha Ngan

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush

I know there has been quite a bit of hype regarding this blush but - on the off chance you haven't seen much about this - I couldn't resist sharing my thoughts since it's one of my favourite recent buys. 

I went for the Soft Pink shade, and - on first glance - you'll notice the size of it is pretty small. At £6.99, it could be considered quite pricey but a little goes a long way with this beauty. I expect to still be using it over the next few months - so it's not too shabby in terms of value.

Just to point out, apart from the top 'title' photo, these photos are unedited so you can clearly see the shade of the blush. Soz but anyone who puts a filter on swatch photos should probably be banished. 

Here's a swatch of it on my arm (pre-blended and post-blended). Such a pretty and feminine shade; you can obviously build it up or use just use a smidge for a more subtle 'just-pinched' blush. 

I used my middle finger to apply this (I'm not sure if there's a specific brush that could be used with it, so feel free to leave me suggestions if so!), and I find the texture of the blush to be really silky soft and creamy. It's not too firm at all and softens as you rub you rub your finger around it to gather the product.

On application, I found it left my skin dewy and beautifully highlighted. In fact, it reminds me ever so slightly of Benefit's High Beam (now that's a comparison I don't mind).

What do you think of the blush? Have you tried any other shades? I'm not so sure about the others in the range, so I'd love to hear what you think if you have!

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

WORK Outfit of the Day!

Another OOTD post from me (oh yes!). I'm on a bit of an OOTD roll after posting this bright bad boy the other day. Although the light isn't great in these pictures, I hope you can still appreciate this top I recently bought...again from Zara at another bargainous £9.99!

I thought it would top off a daytime work look perfectly, with its reserved cowl-neckline and sturdy crape-like material - not to mention the classy layydayy print adorning the front, even though she does look a little Cruella de Vil-ish...

Let's all appreciate the fact Zara have also managed to appeal to the tartan lovers out there (that would be me); personally, I think it would be just as nice without this back detail but it adds a bit of interest I guess (and matches with Cruella's outfit)!

I paired the top with my black H&M jeans and some New Look cut-out ankle boots.

What do you think of this outfit? How else would you wear this top? I'm looking for ideas so would love to hear yours...

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

Elizabeth Arden Holiday Lipgloss Set

My boyfriend's grandad is one of my favourite people right now. Believe it or not, I received this from him for Christmas. I know full well my lovely might-as-well-be-mum-in-law, Karen, would have picked this out for me on his behalf, but still - the idea of 70+ Jonboy strolling around the beauty counters and picking this up just melts my heart! What's more, a cheeky Accessorize gift card was slipped inside too. How did he come up with it? ;)

Here's a swatch of each colour to begin with. I genuinely love all of them! So priddy and a nice variety for different occasions (work, day, night, date etc!).

I had a scout online and you can get this set from a couple of different places, including Look Fantastic with free delivery or Debenhams. It's currently reduced girls so take advantage while you can if you're keen! If you're feeling giving, it would obviously make a lovely little gift. Who can't resist gloss, let alone a bright red croc pouch (proverbial thumb is half up), which could double up as some kind of phone case for, errr, fat phones? Failing that, you could use it for nights out for a couple of can't-go-out-without beauty products!



So, here are some uber-large pictures of me trying out the glosses. I really should have piled the glosses on more so you could get a better idea of them, so apologies for my stingyness. As it is - they look a bit lip balmy, but that they really ain't.

Just as an aside, these glosses smell gorgeous. All but the Royal Plum shade contain a little bit of a shimmer. Personally, I prefer less shimmer/sparkle but these aren't too OTT and still manage to pull off a good-looking gloss. I do think they're a bit on the icky sticky side but not so much that they put me off!

Coral Kiss

Precious Petal

Royal Plum

Passion Fruit

And a charming mid-application shot so you can see the doe-foot applicator...

 

Which is your favourite shade? Do you recommend any other Elizabeth Arden beauty products?

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!

BRIGHT Outfit of the Day!

I haven't done many of these OOTD posts since I'm not actually that fashionable, but it's nice to do something different and give things a go, so here we are!

I'm determined to make the most of the sun this summer and really get out of my comfort zone (a little bit!) clotheswise; I don't usually wear such bold colours, nor do I get my legs out that often, but that's all going to change I tell ya. The sun and I will become acquainted this year whether he (or she?) likes it or not.

I bought this top from Zara for a measly £9.99 in the January sales; chuffed was an understatement, because I love it. A big, bright, crazy Cath Kidson-esque flower print contrasted with a white-based floral sleeve print, and then further contrasted (wow) with a casual marl grey back - just bladdy splendid! It's quite short in length though, so it doesn't do wonders for my little muffin top, but it's ideal for tucking into skirts.

As if by some Blue Peter-like magic, here's a pic of me with the top tucked in from earlier ;)

I also tried untucking the top, which worked surprisingly nicely, maybe even nicer than tucking in?

The skirt is a H&M purchase from last summer, so hopefully they'll have some more bright ones in this season. It's got a lovely textured pattern on it, which you can just about see in these pictures above. I paired the outfit with some New Look wedges, though I'm not entirely sure they go very well?!

What do you think of this outfit? How would you style this top? I'd love to hear ideas!

Like this post? Come on over and follow! Bloglovin, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are just a few of the ways you can keep up to date!