The Pinterest Diaries #5 FASHION: Backless Loafers

Come on Emily, keep up, It's been ages since I have mentioned my P I N T E R E S T page but I must say it is something that I have been working on for a few months now and absolutely love the growth it is making. Not only is it a one stop shop for all my images, my blog posts all go up there too and of course everything I love. I think what always excites me most about my P I N T E R E S T is that I love creating a board pre-trying something out and finding inspiration from everyone else. Especially in the fashion world and just getting ideas as to how people wear certain things. A few months ago I made a board dedicated to styling V A N S shoes and then got myself a pair and have found that I really love them. They are a regular feature in my life but it was Pinterest that helped me have the confidence to buy and truly enjoy wearing them {see my post here}.

After a recent family wedding and seeing my Aunt in a pair of the most gorgeous Gucci Princetown backless loafers, a shoe I have actually been dreaming about, I thought it was about time I looked into this shoe which is taking the fashion world by storm. Like with most recurring trends, I remember my mum having quite a few backless loafers and always thinking they were totally uncool (sorry mum) but I think sometimes you are left with that thought in your head so you kind of stay clear of certain things due to your natural thoughts about them. Backless loafers or mules were that kind of thing for me until I was introduced to the new wave of them. Now I am addicted to seeing how they are being styled. My Aunt is like the most fashionable person I know and having not been able to even dream about buying a pair of Gucci shoes I have been looking elsewhere and trying my hand at a few pairs. My P I N T E R E S T   F A S H I O N  Board on backless loafers is full of the Gucci Princetown but to be honest it's the outfits I always look for and how to wear them. Luckily for me, mainly cropped trousers or jeans in a slightly more straight leg rather than skinny seems to be the ultimate pairing. With blouses, jumpers and striped tees making an appearance I am thinking that these shoes would fit into my wardrobe perfectly.

So perfectly that I did buy myself a pair which I love, but I feel they are a bit small as my heel sits right on the edge. They are from MANGO via ASOS and unfortunately are one of the most popular shoes of the season so have sold out everywhere and I can see why, Just look at their beauty:

And if that wasn't enough for you to drool over, my P I N T E R E S T has loads of pictures and it is growing all the time!!

What do you think about them?

I love that my pins give me a push to try something and see what it might be like with the rest of my wardrobe before I officially commit. I have a feeling though that these style of shoes are going to make a huge appearance in my life though!

Come hook up with me on P I N T E R E S T and send me your thoughts. I would love to see them!!

Matadore Style, white jeans and cashmere #Stealmystyle

I love nothing more than a bit of a statement and when it comes to slipping bold shapes into my wardrobe. I love mixing them with relatively normal items that my wardrobe is already full of! Recently I have seriously been a green eyed monster over an Aunt of mine. Her fashion sense is well and truly inspiring and she just always looks amazing, but one of her most favoured items is by far a cashmere jumper. I mean, I have seen her in loads of different coloured ones wore simply with jeans and very fashion forward shoes and it always looks so effortlessly cool. No fuss cashmere is where I am learning it is at and it is a perfect piece for layering. In fact in this outfit it is all it is. I have no vest on just this navy cashmere jumper and teamed with the denim jacket it is a perfect match. Simple, comfortable and coordinates perfectly with white and blue denim. I didn't really need any kind of statement top with this jacket anyway as the frills speak for themselves. As soon as I put it on my Spanish alter ego came out and I seemed to be waving towels around like I was some kind of skilled Matador! And I have been dancing round all day with a slight Hispanic air, a Pasadoble perhaps?

The frills certainly bring a brilliant statement to the very simply styled outfit, that's for sure. With these white, wide legged ankle skimmer jeans and some silver shoes; today's outfit has sure got me flitting round and feeling like the sun should be out!

I have been finding recently that I am really drawn to basic colours. Navy blue, actually, blue in a few shades, white, caramel, grey, all the good basics that give you a great range of colour combining across your wardrobe. With the odd soft pink thrown in and an odd day of bold colour I once again am changing my summer wardrobe of pretty much, denim and white everything into these cooler months with a few layering pieces to keep me warm. In fact swap the cashmere jumper in this outfit for a chambray cami and I am sorted for the middle of august!

Fancy a try of some of the items?

J A C K E T {F R O M  P R I M A R K & £18, GO BUY NOW} / J E A N S {NEXT} / J U M P E R {M&S} / S H O E S {OLD} 

Happy Monday All!

Love

A Quick Facial For Me FT. L'Oreal

I always wish and will myself to be more proactive in my beauty health. I NEED to be better with giving my skin some much valued TLC and more than just my everyday wash and cleanse. I recently bought myself some of the L'Oreal pure clay masks to try and entice me into giving myself a few evenings where I could potentially scare the kids when I go and check on them in bed. It's true, I have given them warning a few times, "Mum's got a face mask on so she looks strange" just to give them a heads up! But that aside, as all of us should, I wanted to just try and regularly give my skin a deeper cleanse and try and kick out some dirt from the pores. I got these back in February but have only really used them twice a week in the last month. I picked up the Detox Charcoal mask, Purity Clay face mask and the Glow mask. Using L'Oreal's own online guide, these masks are made so that you can use them to target specific areas. Want your cheeks to glow then specifically target it with the glow mask. Try using the purity mask on your T-zone and why not tackle blackheads with the charcoal mask on nuisance areas like you chin? For me I like to stick to using one for all over and have found that I like how the charcoal works best on my mildly dry/mildly oily skin. I love that it really makes me feel clean. Once it is washed off with warm water you get that lovely super clean shine, almost like if you rubbed your skin it would squeak! Also with this mask in particular you can see it working in the pores. The purity mask is a much lighter feel, and much cooler, almost something for a bit more of a revitalise. The glow mask is my least favourite as I don't feel it does much for me. It is one I wouldn't look to buy again but the other two I most certainly will be.

For me, giving myself those five minutes is proving very important. I am enjoying doing after I have been out for a long day or even if I have done a gym or swim session to almost hydrate my skin again. I have really noticed that my monthly blemishes are a lot less but I also think L'Oreal's Age Perfect extraordinary facial oil is really helping my skin out and allowing spots to heal quicker and disappear.

All I hope with little beauty blog posts is to share knowledge of an item. I often get to the beauty counter and just have no idea what to buy and find myself checking what everyone else is saying before I try.

My favourite items are the oil and detox mask and find these are what I will be replacing as they work for my skin type.

What works for you?

Meetings, Mark Warner and a wonderful afternoon tea.

This week for me has been mentally hectic. I can't say I have done lots, well, bar a trip to London, but as far as business goes it has been fine. The London trip was something special though so the build up and come down have been quite colossal in my mind. Not only was the trip very much work oriented but the idea of meeting up with people who I don't really know is always intimidating regardless of how well you think you know people. Meeting other bloggers is also always totally mind baffling in itself because their 2D life that you are so comfortable interacting with suddenly confronts you in such a strange way and as much as you want to squeal "you're famous!", in my mind anyway, it is also strange being classed as one of them. 

Earlier in the year I applied and won a role as ambassador with Mark Warner, an extremely reputable holiday company who I will be holidaying with later in the year. So that in itself was exciting and the point of this meet up was, yes, work related but in a wonderfully social way.

What was also equally exciting was that we were heading to The Townhouse at The Kensington Hotel who offer a Tale As Old As Time (Beauty and The Beast themed) afternoon tea which kinda excited our childhood dreams of eating at that infamous dinner table with Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts!!

Having got stuck on the tube I was already all flustered as I was late and I hate that more than anything, and having had no time before to take some fancy photos of the Hotel and Restaurant I feel what I have to share doesn't do this beautiful building and interiors justice. However, the whole experience was so surreal and amazing that is why I think my mind is having trouble keeping up with it all. 

The meeting with everyone itself was great and in between all the chatter and cups of tea we were truly dined to perfection with the afternoon tea experience. With starters all relating to song words from the original score, "Beef ragout, Cheese souffle.....''. We were all well and truly loving the experience. Then came the more traditional tea stand with fresh bread and classic finger sandwiches followed by a chocolate Cogsworth and some "Grey stuff, It's delicious". Don't believe me? Honestly ask the other girls!!

All in all it was a wonderful experience to have and share as I know The Townhouse is actually fully booked for this until November this year so that made it an extra special experience for us.

As far as planning our Mark Warner Holiday goes, it looks like we are off Skiing!!!!!! Hopefully to Tignes in France and the week before Christmas which should be Magical!

SO for me, I have a good few months of reading up on some other bloggers' experiences with Mark Warner and taking a look at their own BLOG.

Thanks MW for the lovely experience. Hers to meeting up again and an enjoyable year of planning and travelling for us all!

Something Blue {Wedding} #Stealmystyle

Can you believe it? We are just a stone's throw away from wedding season and actually, for me, it's starting early. This weekend we head to Cardiff to celebrate my eldest brother's wedding. It is always a bit different attending a wedding of a sibling. Obviously there is a greater importance surrounding it for us as a family and a lot more thought goes into the prep work than a friends. For us, a wedding is always a big occasion as there are just so many of us, and P&M have done really well in arranging everything themselves so actually, for Rob and I especially who have not had any involvement we are really travelling to it like proper guests. I can't wait though and the 4 hour journey across country seems somewhat bearable knowing the huge party that is at the end of it will be just completely awesome. 

I just wanted to share my outfit before I wore it officially and risked ruin it or actually not really getting any photos of myself in it which often seems to happen at these events!

As it's Cardiff and April, there was a definite dress code in the sense of being realistic and expecting cooler, spring weather. With this in mind my original outfit, a gingham navy blue culotte jumpsuit (It's super cute) was changed to a Cashmere ballet wrap top and long pleated skirt.

I must say, I am glad I changed. As soon as I put it on I not only felt extremely pretty, but it's so incredibly comfortable. I am not worried about getting too warm or in fact too cold as I have a light beige cape jacket to wrap over my shoulders and I also have a little pink velvet vest top I am going to take in my bag in case the dancing session turns into a pure trance work out (not expected, but you never know). 

As I said, I just wanted to share the look with you as the chances of getting any nice pictures in the hotel and pretty low!

Enjoy

B A L L E T  C A R D I G A N / P L E A T  S K I R T / S H O E S / N E C K L A C E / B R A C E L E T / B R A C E L E T / B A G

What do you think?

A bit different for a wedding but the colours are so gorgeous together!!

P.S no face or hair shots as I was au naturale!!!

Love 

Denim For Me {Emily} #Stealmystyle FT. MosMosh

Finding good denim is somewhat of a life long investment I think. You really have to put in the time in your searching if you want a pair of jeans that are gonna last you through the years. And good demin should. Good denim should not need washing after every wear,should be a cut that flatters and keeps its shape and there is no way good denim should wear away quickly especially through the knees, unless bought that way!

I often hear that jeans buying brings lots of disapointment. It is a sore subject for a lot of women and in fact it is a task that many avoid, but for me, I simply adore wearing jeans and therefore it really has become something I enjoy doing. That doesn't mean I am also not one of these women. This year actually has brought a lot of disappointment and I have tried plenty of pairs in my usual style and have found high street shops quite simply don't fit. That's a blow. I mean, that's the kind of thing that really gets me especially when I wouldn't have noticed other things not fitting in the same size. I am usually a standard size 10 but some shops are just taking the piss with their sizing and it is so damaging to one's self confidence. 

When I received my first pair of M O S M O S H jeans I had an instant meltdown. Pulled them up over my hips and got them done up, but I had a bit of a crisis in thinking they were too tight. How embarrassing: a brand want to work with me and I will have to email them to say the clothes are too small. This is literally my worst nightmare. I decided however to keep them on. I felt they gave me a muffin top, but Rob severely disagreed. These I suppose are my own self doubts creeping in. What happened through the day with these jeans though is quite unbelievable. The cut I loved, super skinny in navy blue denim; my absolute fave. Long too, so for me at 5ft7 it's not often you get a standard size that sits exactly on your ankle (I still like a little turn up though!) and as I wore them they almost moulded too me. In fact by the end of the day it was like a different pair of jeans. My 'pinching' sensation had totally gone and the jeans felt like the most well fitting jeans I have ever owned. So good that I actually wore them for 4 days in a row before I opted for a change. And that wasn't even to wash them, I just thought that it was maybe enough wears for that week! They didn't get baggier, didn't misshape at the knees, in fact taking these jeans off on the 4th day could easily be pulling them on for the first time. I don't know what it was about this pair in particular but I honestly decided that if ever I needed to replace these (think they may last forever though) I would be buying the exact same pair.

Having emailed the company to tell them just how amazing I thought the jeans were they suggested I try a few other pairs that are their sell out options and see what I think. I had high hopes, but when the black and caramel skinny jeans arrived it was like a different experience. A good one though, again so surprising. 

Both pairs are perfect for mums, they are designed with a high back so you don't get that embarrassing panty show when you bend down. They also sit across the stomach and have the pockets put in slightly lower so you can sit a top nicely over and feel that as a woman with a less toned stomach than most superstars (it's true) they give you that comfort blanket feeling. The black and caramel jeans also are slightly bejeweled around the pockets and have more extravagant zips than the original pair. Cut slightly wider at the ankle, but the fit, I felt truly confident in these 10s and that they were the perfect size for me. 

I could go on and one about how great these jeans are but I know everyone's denim experience is personal. Here I am going to share some looks with links to the exact pairs and I hope that you might have found the information useful.

B L A C K   N A O M I   J E A N S  / J A C K E T  / B L O U S E / S H O E S

{Similar} N A O M I   J E A N S / B L O U S E / S H O E S

A T H E N A    S U P E R   S K I N N Y /  S H O E S  / B L O U S E

Hope this if food for inspiration and just remember, as long as you feel you look good in your jeans and they bring you confidence, it doesn't matter what size they are!

* Post in collaboration with MOSMOSH