Summer Coats | Summer | Fashion

Hey! So this is another post about coats for summer but given the UK climate, it's always essential to have a light feel but rain and cold proof coat and so that's what I'm recommending today! A lot of these are quite similar but it's always good to have choices and I just love these styles so I couldn't resist!

# 1 - From New Look, this first one is a gorgeous stone colour and priced at £49.99. Quite simply, I just love the light, fresh colour of this coat which will protect you from freezing to death but isn't a winter coat that you'll have to wear just because it's raining. The belted aspect of this means that it can adjust at the waist and is a really current look. The buttons are a lovely brown colour which compliments the stone well and the pixie collared neck gives a smart, sharp look overall.

# 2 - This one is a lot more expensive than the last but I have completely fallen for it! This gorgeous navy trench coat comes from River Island and is priced at £85 but is sure to keep you looking stylish and dry, especially as it is knee length! Like the last one, it's belted and so adjustable to your waist size too. Plus it has really nice shiny buttons that I love.

# 3 - I do have to apologize for the quality of the picture on this next one unfortunately. However, the link is right here so please do check it out. It's priced at £40 from Missguided and is a really light grey checked colour. I think this is just perfect for a drizzly day as the colour isn't too dark that you think you're in the middle of winter but will also keep you warm and dry. The colours, as well, are really good for an office environment which can often be tricky to dress for in the summer so this coat matches this really well. Deliberately oversized, this coat is right on trend and reduced in price at the moment!

# 4 - This coat has a slightly different feel from the rest of the coats I picked out but I thought it was great for a more casual, shabby chic look. It's priced at £30 from Forever 21 and promises a snug and warm fitting coat, massive pockets for all your bits and bobs and a drawstring around the waist to tighten as you wish!

# 5 -  Anyone who knows me well knows that I just love the range from George at Asda and so I couldn't do a post without featuring a coat that's fairly priced and ideal for British Summertime! Here, we have a light coloured mac coat with a light feel fabric and sharp edged look. This kind of look will ensure that you look fresh and current in any weather without looking like you just wandered out of December. The belt and fabric ensure a comfortable fit which will suit your needs while keeping you a little warmer when needed!

# 6 - I am cheating slightly with this next one as it is technically classed as a blazer on the River Island website but I think it would be great for most weathers so long as you remember your umbrella! The light pink shade gives a fresh, spring/summer feel and will compliment most summer outfits this season. The fabric should also keep you cool as well as ensuring you don't feel an over enthusiastic breeze. It boasts a textured feel which adds something different and dimensional which is great at only £42.

# 7 - And last but not least it's this beauty from New Look! Now, if you're thinking you like some of these coats but you wish you could merge some of them then this is the coat for you! If you look closely at #1 and #5, this coat is essentially the love child of them, bringing a very light, summery colour with a longer length to make sure the cold is kept out but the warmer climate is not getting the better of you. It's priced at £44.99 which isn't one of the cheaper coats in this post but is likely to last right through until it starts snowing this year so is definitely something which you could invest in!

And that's my summary on some of the coats I have to choose between this summer! I cannot wait to actually invest in one of these and hope that my choices have inspired some of you guys!

Have you bought any of the coats featured in my post or have other recommendations? Let me know and I'll definitely check them out! 

 

Summer Jackets | Summer | Fashion

Hey guys! This post features some great jackets I found for this season which should be perfect for summer weather in the UK. As most of these are actually leather or fake leather jackets, wearing them abroad isn't recommended but for a day when the sun is out and there's a breeze in the air, these would be perfect with a pair of sunglasses and an ice cream!

# 1 - The first one on my list is unfortunately only available in petite at Dorothy Perkins but I completely fell in love with this gorgeous baby blue colour! That colour alone gives such a light, summery feel, you can't help but picture yourself wearing it on a sunny day, having a picnic on some fresh green grass in the park! And after months of hard work studying, I could really do with a day like that very soon! Anyway, this is priced at a decent £41.60 and is on sale at this price at the moment so if you're petite or think you could squeeze into a smaller jacket, run and get it now! If I wasn't 5ft 7", I can guarantee I would be!

# 2 - This one is roughly the same priced at £39.99 but is from New Look this time! It's available in both black (as in the picture above) and mink with a great suede lining. New Look actually brought out a similar jacket last year in tan which I bought and still wear - it's super comfortable and is perfect with almost any outfit! This season, both the black and mink colours will suit most occasions right through to autumn when it turns colder. I also love the cross stitching on the

# 3 - From Forever 21, this jacket is dark brown faux leather and priced at £28. It's pretty much your standard leather jacket but the colour makes it perfect for both summer and autumn and the quilted aspect of it just makes it that bit different which I love.

# 4 - Going back to New Look, I'm cheating a little here with a leather-look blazer which costs £34.99. The sharp edges of this jacket are sure to give any outfit a smart/casual look, especially with the open front. Only thing is, make sure you have an umbrella in case it rains because this jacket does not come with a hood or zip up so depending on your climate, this could be disastrous if you haven't read the weather forecast! As well as being available in tan, this blazer/jacket also comes in pink which is really fresh and great for summer!

# 5 - I've left the most expensive jacket on my list til last but at £60, this jacket from River Island is too stunning to say no to! I'm absolutely loving the peplum part of this jacket which always gives a flattering look to the waistline. The straight, sharp edges of the colour in this jacket are sure to make you stand out anywhere. It does remind me slightly of the 80's but I'm not entirely sure why yet but I love the boldness of it and the fact the River Island website has advertised it as being able to hold me in shape all day long! It has also stated that this item is hand wash only though so be careful and don't ruin it in the washing machine!

So that's my favourite summer jackets at the moment! I hope you've enjoyed this post and maybe even go out and take some of my recommendations on board. Please let me know what you thought and if you have any of your own recommendations for me, let me know and I'll be sure to check them out!

Have you bought any of the summer jackets I've featured in this post?
What did you think of them? Do you have any other summer jackets that you love?

Let me know!

Blazers | Summer | Fashion

Hi again! So today I figured I would try and make up for a long regrettable absence from blogging by bringing you some of my favourite blazers from the high street! I've tried to include a variety so some are better suited for formal occasions but others are just perfect to complete a summery outfit.

# 1 - This is clearly one of those blazers which are great for a workplace environment or any other formal occasion really. Perhaps surprisingly for many of you it's from George at Asda which is one of my go-to places for a cheap outfit for every occasion (almost!). It's priced at £20 on their website and is described as being "textured" - I'm assuming that the pockets, however, are fake as so many are these days! The colours in this are so light and gives a really summery, breezy look to it but the shortness and tailored nature gives such a sophisticated edge. Hopefully this kind of blazer should make you feel both comfortable and stylish for any formal occasion, even if just for a nice dinner with friends!

# 2 - Slightly more expensive than the last is this beauty from Monsoon! At £49 it is a bit of an investment but given the smooth finished lines on this piece coupled with a lovely shade of navy, this blazer suits pretty much every occasion! A slightly more casual feel is given to this blazer through the rolled up sleeves and and open front. A satin lining inside the blazer is not only sure to keep you cool on a hot summers day (if we ever get any of those in the UK!) but will ensure that this is a piece that will last for a while!

# 3 - I love the mint green colour of this blazer as I think it would give any outfit a fresh, summery look. It's from New Look and is only £19.99 as well as being available in blue and coral which are also perfect for a summers day. Again, the front on this is open giving it a casual feel but does contain pockets which is also a plus!

# 4 - This is another one from New Look but is more expensive than the last at £27.99. This one does have fake pockets and that great open front to give a casual yet stylish and sophisticated look. You can just picture this blazer being used to complete a simple jeans and tee look or on top of a mid-length dress for a great professional look around the office! It's also available in navy or pink.

# 5 -  You can tell I was a big fan of New Look for this blog post because here's yet another choice from there! Here we have a bolder look than anything else I'm showing you today with a bright red waterfall blazer, perfect for any occasion and is sure to make any outfit stand out! It's priced at £24.99 and has a lightweight feel with a casual open front. This is perfect for any summers day, especially in any hot weather or any time when it's not cold or raining, really! There's plenty of other colours to choose from as well - it's available in black for when you might not want to grab all the attention as well as coral, pink and yellow.

# 6 - Since we started with a formal look by Asda, I figured we would finish with that too. This is a really simple navy blazer which is pretty formal but only priced at £20 which is a great bargain. It does have the fake pocket thing again and a slightly heavier material so for summer in the UK, it's pretty much spot on unfortunately. You may need an umbrella to complete the look though! A button to fasten the blazer at the front gives a really sophisticated look overall and has the potential to hide any lumps and bumps around the stomach area - perfect for me then!

And so that concludes some of my favourite blazers this season - let me know what you think. As usual, feel free to share some of the looks you've put together for this summer and I'll check them out.

Have you bought any of the blazers I've featured in this post! Let me know what you thought of them and any others you'd recommend!

Review | Rimmel London BB Cream | Beauty Brags

Rimmel London BB Cream 9-in-1
£6.99 from ASOS

I accidentally ordered this product online as a present for my mum before realizing that she had actually asked for the No.7 BB Cream, not Rimmel London. Oops. So naturally, I took it for myself! Luckily we're more or less the same skin tone and so not much damage was done, thankfully.

The product promises quite a lot, the packaging boasting "skin perfecting super makeup" and I can't exactly say it lives up to that...it's really not much more than another marketing hype. However, that doesn't mean that the product itself is bad or average. In fact, I would rate this product at just above average, although nothing spectacular.

The shade I bought was light - there was only two you could choose from; light or medium. Usually I would have went for medium, but given the lack of other alternative and the fact I am Scottish (with pale white skin in comparison to the rest of the world, unfortunately!), I went for the light shade, figuring that the medium tone would be more suited to people with tanned skin. I wasn't impressed with the lack of option!

The product itself has an SPF 25 which is normal for a BB cream, but impressive and incredibly useful. The texture feels like a normal liquid foundation would do, but slightly creamier and not as runny. It was slightly disappointing that you would need a fair bit of the product to have completely even coverage of the facial area as it didn't seem too willing to spread far when applied. The coverage was decent, but not flawless. Pimples, spots and red blotches were still visible on the skin after application, even if slightly covered up, reducing the redness of all, but still making it seen to the naked eye. I also felt my pores were slightly blocked with it, but then perhaps I was applying a bit too much in desperation to cover all my flaws (which are fairly extensive, hence the foundation/bb cream search!). It did, however, feel light and natural on my skin.

Overall, it's not perfect and definitely not "skin perfecting", but it is ideal for a sunny day when you don't want to be covered in foundation and concealer, but don't exactly want to let the world see the full extent of your dark circles!

Have you tried Rimmel London's BB Cream? What did you think of it?

Review | A Tap On The Window by Linwood Barclay | Brilliant Books

A Tap On The Window - Linwood Barclay
RRP - £7.99

I bought this book as part of Waterstones' "buy one get one half price" offer to read whilst I was on holiday in Mallorca this summer. It was the last book I read there as I was a tad reluctant to read it because of how disappointing the last Linwood Barclay book I read was for me. I first stumbled across Barclay's works in high school, reading No Time For Goodbye and  was eager to read Too Close To Home upon finishing it. However, the latter was slightly disappointing and to say I was put off Barclay afterwards is a bit of an understatement. But I thought I'd give this one a go! And I was not disappointed this time...

The synopsis details a man approached by a young girl who asks for a lift home one rainy night. He accepts and finds out the next day that she's disappeared. Although it sounds like a generic thriller plot line, it turns out to be much more complex than the synopsis gives it credit for; in fact, I'd go as far to say that it could actually be off-putting to some people. Just a chapter or two in, the novel becomes a lot more interesting when the girl gets out of the car and her friend, dressed as her, replaces her. Bewildered, the man confronts her and she runs out of his car. Now, the synopsis wrongly says that only one girl goes missing the next day, but in fact both the first girl and her friend turn out to be missing and so it becomes essential that the main character prove his innocence by finding them. I've included a photo of the synopsis that you can read for yourself here.

That's all I'll give away about the storyline but that one crucial twist which is so unlike the original impression of the book you receive turns out to be paramount to the investigation into the disappearance of the girls and the novel is full of twists and turns, corrupt police and a breaking marriage. In parts, I'll admit it can be a bit slow, the main character constantly going from pillar to post attempting to extract information from everyone and anyone. The travelling of the character, I'll admit, made even me feel tired from each journey so a little less of that might have been desirable. It's not exactly No Time For Goodbye - I think Barclay will always find it hard to live up to that - but it'll do for a damn good summer read.

Have you read 'A Tap on the Window'? Is it one of your favourite Barlcay books or has he not lived up to expectations with this novel? Let me know!