Coast A/W14 Lookbook

THE COLLECTION

WINTER PASTELS

Full of florals, pastels and cosy knits; I feel this collection of clothing is for those of us who want to inject at little bit of spring and summer into our winter wardrobe. As we all get bundled up in layers for winter, some people lean towards the darker colours in their wardrobe. However this collection shows off a light and feminine style to winter clothing. Key pieces in this romantic wardrobe include pastel lace, metallic day jacquards and printed separates. 

NEW ORDER 

The 60's are back in style! That includes mono and graphic prints such as spots, checks and oversized hounds tooth. For this collection you should be styling chiffon shirt dresses, batwing sleeve tunics, bold separates and statement knit dresses. 

DAY TO NIGHT

From workwear to evening wear; Coast plays with burgundy, teal, navy and a touch of bronze, to create a polished and sophisticated collection. Layering is key in styling; Think feather trimmed knits, co-ordinate sets, statement coats and tailored to fit dresses. Layer with thick faux fur to add insta-glam.

GLAMOUR FOREVER

My favourite part of the collection! Combining both glamorous and cosy, I love how items that are typical evening wear are slowly becoming more casual and everyday. Who's stopping you from wearing red carpet looks to the supermarket?

Styling playful jumpsuits, crop layered dresses and lace co-ordinate sets in a those typical autumn-esque colours,

magenta and petrol with winter sparkle. Romantic sequin maxis and voluminous organza high-low skirts are styled with chunky knits, sparkling cropped tops and statement sweatshirt styles. Also Coast mixes it up with stand-out galactic digital prints and fanciful feather trims.

I hope you enjoyed this little look inside the Coast winter wardrobe! Please do tell me if you like this sort of post in the comments!

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award!

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Hey Gurl. As of late i've been stuck with a bit of writers block so this is a welcomed break!

THE RULES
1. Post the award on your blog
2. Thank the blogger who presented you with the award and link back to their blog
3. Write 11 facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 500 followers.
5. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 11 questions.


THE FACTS
1. I am adopted.

2. I am a Ravenclaw on Pottermore (House Pride!)

3. I am about to study Fine Art at Norwich University of the Arts.

4.I have an eclectic music taste which means I like every type of music (apart from screamo...that scares me) but my favourite type of music is film soundtracks, musicals and classical.

5. I am deadly afraid of wasps and spiders, they just seem to have a personal grudge on me and seek me out.

6. I am an anime obsessor. From Sword Art Online to Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, I have watched them all about 60 times over.

7. I am constantly attached to my Macbook and Samsung Galaxy S4, and I check social media about 20 times in about 5 minutes.

8. My favourite feel good film is Legally Blonde. 

9. I have an unhealthy obsession with cats and scream whenever I see one (that includes in the middle of the street or in people's houses).

10.For Primary School and High School I went to an all-girls private school.

11.In about 2 weeks I am going to be celebrating Ben and I's first year anniversary and his 19th birthday (He's my first boyfriend too!)


Frae's Questions
1.What inspires you to blog?
I would say other bloggers? Sounds quite odd but it will make sense in a moment. Before I started blogging I wasnt really enjoying life, I didn't really have any interests and I found myself rather bored everyday. Then I came across bloggers/youtubers such as Sprinkle of Glitter and Zoella; I really admired them and how they really took on life and it inspired me to start blogging. Nowadays I would still say other bloggers inspire me, including the ones I mentioned above but for different reasons. I see peoples dedication towards their blog and it motivates me to become the best blogger I can be.

2.How important is “original content” to you?
As an artist i'm well versed in answering this question as at college (and soon university) I had to keep coming up with creative and new ideas everyday. Personally I think coming up with something new is near impossible however "putting your own stamp" on something or making your content individual is not. No-one wants to hear something generic; they want to hear your view in particular. This is probably the difference between a blogger that succeeds and a blogger who fails.

3.Do you write regular features to keep yourself motivated?
 this is probably my most annoying trait; that im not consistent in anything I do. However I do feel when I write more posts in a rown on-time I feel more motivated, so maybe organising regular features might be a life saver for my blog stats!

4.What would be your last meal?
Pasta. Im obsessed with the food and have it for lunch and dinner almost every day (if i can get away with it). Also I make a mean tomato sauce...just saying.

5.What’s your most prized possession?
Instead of having a teddy bear to get to sleep with as a child, I had a cushion. I still need it to go to sleep and when I feel stressed or upset; I dont think I could honestly live without it, so I would save my cushion (p.s. there is nothing wrong with sleeping with a special item whether it may be a teddybear or a cushion, even when your nearly 20. Ignore the haters.)

6.What was the last book you couldn’t finish and why?
I am still reading Mockingjay even though Ben (my boyfriend) bought it for me at Christmas...oops! I find it quite hard to get into books and then once I put them down I dont really bother reading them back again as Ive left it too long to get back into the middle of the story. Maybe if there was a blogger bible?

7.Worst pet peeve?
I absolutely hate silence. I find it the most awkward thing in the world, even a few seconds of it makes me want to bash my head into a wall. Most conversations I end up looking like a chatterbox just because I want to fill that silent space up!

8.Where do you see yourself in a year?
Hopefully on a Holiday, maybe Italy? I want to be enjoying university and to have finished my first year with a first (I should be so lucky).

9.Where do you see yourself in five?
I find looking forward a hard thing to do as I like to live in the moment, but i'll give it a go! I'd either like to be primary school teacher, have a job in Fashion/Beauty Pr or be an Artist...bit of a variety there. I'd also like to be moved in with my boyfriend and have our first house or apartment by then...fingers crossed!

10.What do you want most right now?
Right now what I want most is to stay in my bed at my Mum's house forever as tomorrow I am moving to my university apartment and I can't sleep because I am so nervous and stressed..isn't student life meant to be carefree and fun?

11.Favourite baby names?
My favourite baby names at the moment are Charlie, Summer, Alfie and Belle. Although I overall I prefer Charlie Andrew and Summer Maisie.


I Nominate...
Adel from PalettePale
Alex from AlexEmilyBlog
Jo from IncorrectCoffee
Pippi from PippiBee
Harri from Happinesshitherlikeatrain


MY QUESTIONS
1. Whats your best piece of blogging advice?
2. Who inspires you?
3.Whats your favourite feel good film?
4.What are your 5 essential beauty products of the moment?
5. Whats your favourite memory?
6.Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter?
7. Do you have any pets?
8.What did you want to be when you were younger and has that changed?
9. Why did you get into blogging?
10.If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
11.What is your biggest accomplishment so far?

So thats it! I hope you enjoyed this post I certainly did and I look forward to seeing everyones answers!

Anna xox

Clueless Inspired || Back to School

Summer is ending and school is starting again - a horrible thought to most. I finished compulsory education in 2011 and in less than a month I'll be starting Freshers at university, so I shall be doing all the typical uni posts very soon (look forward to room tours, tips and wish-lists). Whilst i've been waiting i've really been getting into good old style related girly movies like Legally Blonde and Clueless. So when looking for inspiration on Back to School style, I thought what could be better than these classics (whilst keeping on top of current trends as-well)! 

My first "Style Inspiration" is Cher from the movie Clueless, who's iconic look is a yellow plaid ensemble (see here).

Top / Coral jacket / Print skirt / Over knee socks

Cut out flats / Silver backpack

Hope you enjoyed this type of post; please tell me if you do.

Which of you are going back to School? and what are most excited about or dreading?

Tell me below in the comments!

Anna xox

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The Body Shop Event

Recently I was lucky enough to be invited to The Body Shop event in partnership with Rakuten Marketing, this was one event is really hoping to be invited to as I am in love with The Body Shop! As per usual I arrived an hour early (as they say the early bird catches the worm) to the Grace Bar just off of Piccadilly Circus, thankfully there were some other early birds out there as I sat and exchanged blog urls with Abbigayle and Pippi. As the event began we were handed our exciting goodie bags and let wild on all the new releases.

First up were the Body Sorbets which have been released already this summer in Body Shop stores. They boast a new lightweight texture experience with 24 hour moisture, so perfect for summer when you don't want to feel sticky all day in the sun. They come in 5 different scents (Mango, Satsuma, Moringa, Strawberry and Pink Grapefruit) that will make you want to eat it right off your own body. My own favourite is pink grapefruit.

Next was the New Wild Argan Oils Collection, which has only just been released in stores. Argan Oil has become increasingly popular recently in the beauty industry however I've never really gotten into the fad, mainly because my skin type is oily and my common-sense says oily skin + oil is never a good idea. The collection includes Body Butter, The Radiant Oil, Bubbling Bath, Rough Scrub, Body Lotion, Shower Gel, Miracle Solid Oil and Solid Oil Balm. After trying out their Radiant Oil Spray it felt initially oily however after a few minutes my skin felt moisturised, soft and I was glowing like Beyonce! FleurdeForce recently went to Morocco to see the development and beginnings of the new collection; check out her video here. 

At the start I didn't believe the Drops of Youth collection was made for my age group, mainly because products with the word "youth" in their name automatically make me think of anti-ageing and wrinkles. However I was pleasantly surprised by the Drops of Youth eye concentrate that I found in my goodie bag. Using Edelweiss stem cells it refreshes your under eyes, making you look and feel more awake. I also find it hard to get up in the morning (normally taking well over an hour to get ready due to feeling sluggish) but adding this into my daily morning routine cuts that in half, just because I feel more awake! P.S. If you have sensitive or irritated skin around your eyes(due to scratching or rubbing) this product is brilliant for soothing and calming those areas.

Finally The Body Shop Colour Crush Nails have arrived! They've started off strong by coming out with 24 gorgeous shades and they only cost £5...bargain. Body Shop claims that their polishes "don't yellow nails" and that they're "chip-resistant", but I wanted to test these out for myself so whilst I was at the event I gave myself one coat of a pastel pink colour (still hating myself for not catching the name). Now I know because I did not apply a base coat, a top coat and a few more coats of the actual nail varnish, I wouldn't of seen the best of the varnish however with only one coat it managed to stay pretty on my nails for a week! (virtually impossible for an artist)

Thank you to The Body Shop and Rakuten Marketing for putting on such a fabulous event! I met lots of new bloggers as-well so go check out their blogs below:

Tricia from ThreadandMirror.com

Abbigayle from StealStylist

Lynne from Populairelife

Yolanda from YolandaasY

Freya from Freydefleur

Angelique from Angelique-ald

Dovile from Diaryofamodernsocialite

The Team from Studentmoneysaver.co.uk

Whats your favourite product from the new collections?

Tell me down in the comments below!

Anna

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Easy Cooking: Healthy Kebabs

DISCLAIMER: This is a different kind of post from me today as I don't normally go into food blogging, however I thought if I am learning new things for university I should blog about it so others can use these easy ideas as-well.

As I am Pescetarian , at home I live quite a healthy lifestyle (thanks to my mother) however as soon as I leave the house I normally end up binging on McDonalds, Crepes and Belgian Waffles...

Soon I will be heading off to university and my mother wanted to give me some quick easy cooking lessons to make sure I eat a healthy variety of food when she's not there. 

So here was my first cooking lesson: Healthy Kebabs!

You will need : Fresh Fish (salmon, tuna, non-cooked prawns), Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Oil (Olive or Vegetable) and Kebab Sticks

If you want to add any other ingredients or get rid of some thats fine, just remember to keep it healthy! 

First get a bowl and mix crushed garlic and oil together (this helps  the food to cook faster and gives it a little bit of extra flavour),  then cut up vegetables and fish into small chunks (Tip: keep the sizes big enough to they won't fall off during cooking).

Arrange the food onto your kebab sticks (Tip: Place harder foods like onion and peppers on the end of the sticks so your food stays on the sticks)

Then its time to cook!

For cooking I used a disposable barbecue which can cost as little as 1.79! Just leave it on an overturned plant pot a distance away from your table for safety. To start a disposable barbecue just remove the cardboard top, light up the paper inside with a match and voila!  Tip: Leave the barbecue for a while until the coal goes a white colour then it's at its hottest.

I hope you enjoyed this different post today and I hope it is as helpful to you as to was to me. Have you got an easy recipe's you swear by? Tell me in the comments below.

Anna xox