Bardot Stripe Top / Organza Panel Midi Skirt

Top: River Island (old - similar here). Skirt: Topshop (old - similar-ish here, could be worn with the same top) Bag: c/o Davidoff. Shoes: Kurt Geiger (super old - similar here). Sunglasses: Miu Miu.
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Hello internet friends.
Scrolling back through my last few posts, it's occurred to me that I've been wearing a hell of a lot of black and white recently. It's not even a decision that I've been actively making. I think when I consider whether or not to purchase an item, I ask myself 'how useful will this be?' and 'how many things can this be paired with?' - I suppose with more colourful pieces, the answer is usually; no, it isn't really that versatile. I find in the winter it's a lot easier to just throw a red coat, for example, over a monochrome outfit, whereas in the summer months I'll look at a bright red skirt and see it as too much of a risky commitment. How often would I wear a bright red skirt in comparison to how often I'd wear a black skirt, which'll go with everything. Do you get what I'm saying? I'm rambling on a bit I know. Perhaps I'm becoming boring and predictable. Maybe I should make a resolution to add more colour to my summer wardrobe! 
I'm a big fan of mixing prints in subtle ways, so I really liked the contrast of the vertical stripes with the criss-cross pattern on the skirt's organza panelling. I just think it makes what would've been a rather simple outfit more unique. A few people even told me they liked my dress - I then had to point out they were two separate pieces, and felt ever so slightly smug that I'd sort of 'fooled' people into thinking my two-piece looked so 'meant to be' that it got away with being a dress. The room I was having drinks in was quite dark when people made this observation though... I'll still take the compliment. 
Do you find yourself consistently wearing a certain style because it feels 'safe'? As always, I'd love to hear!

Boucle Harrington Jacket / Belted Ivory Trousers

 Jacket: c/o Topshop. Trousers: c/o Topshop. Shoes: c/o Topshop. Top: River Island (old.) Earrings: Vintage c/o Topshop (from the vintage jewellery section!) Sunglasses: Miu Miu.

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I have a purely monochrome, entirely Topshop ensemble to share with you today. I acquired the 'Ghillie' shoes (we've discussed these in previous posts), ivory belted trousers and boucle 'Harrington' jacket all at the same time, but with no intention of wearing them together. Upon my arrival home I immediately hung my new pieces on the front of my wardrobe and realised that they'd actually go rather nicely together (in my humble opinion). So, it was quite the happy accident. Not only that, what with the ivory trousers being, well, ivory... they go with several different pieces; colourful, patterned, almost anything - a truly versatile piece. Obviously the only downside of white clothing is that it shows every mark. Although I did get a good three or four wears out of these before I spilled a big splodge of coffee on the thigh. Such is life. 

Do you wear white clothing, or can you not trust yourself with the monumental responsibility? I'd love to know!

(Sorry for wearing my jacket like an arse. It just photographs well. Please forgive me.)

Lancôme Advanced Génifique - My New Skin Saviour

Lancôme Advanced Génifique: c/o Lancôme

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What Lancôme say; 'At Lancôme, every skincare routine starts with Advanced Génifique Serum. Applied before your moisturiser, this skin saviour reduces fine lines and gives you a radiant glow – no matter your age, ethnicity or skintype.'

What I say; When I opened the parcel containing this product, I was instantly intrigued. Not just because it comes in a bottle with a pipette style dropper that makes me feel like a scientist, but also because of the rather grand claims it makes in it's advertising material. Lancôme's Advanced Genefique promises to give its user 'softer, glowing, younger-looking skin.' Personally, I feel almost numb to these kind of proclamations. So many products claim to work miracles that it makes me disbelieve them all. 

So, feeling sceptical, I did a bit of googling and found countless raving reviews about Génifique and that evening, I tentatively applied a small amount of the serum all over my face after cleansing and toning, but before I applied my usual night-time moisturiser. The next morning, I awoke to what I can only describe as a weirdly smooth face, in a totally positive way. Without wanting to be too explicitly gross, but also wanting to be entirely honest with you guys, I'd been having persistent trouble with what I can only describe as a 'flaky patch' on my cheek. That morning, the 'flaky patch' was gone. My foundation looked noticeably smoother and more natural on my face, and after a couple more days of continual use, my mother complimented me on how 'fresh and smooth' my skin looked. It's been about a week now and I've been applying this every morning and every night before my usual moisturiser, and I already see this as one of my forever-products. Unless it loses it's effect, I can't see myself discontinuing with this. I'm honestly quite shocked at the difference this made to my skin - I feel as if it's suspending it in it's 'best condition'. 

In hindsight, I probably should've taken a before and after shot to demonstrate what I'm trying to explain, but really I'm not even sure if  the 'softness' would show up on camera. To understand, you'd all have to line up and stroke my face, and that might be a bit time consuming and weird for all of us. 

I've linked the smallest (and thus, cheapest) bottle of the product below & here for anyone who'd like to give it a go, as I think we'll all agree that when testing a new product it's best to pick up the smaller amount in case it doesn't suit. 

*This post is not sponsored by Lancôme, although they did kindly send me the product to try free of charge. I'm sharing it with you because I genuinely think it's great.*

Nautical (bargain) Dress and *The* Shoes of the Moment

Dress (only £27!): Wal G c/o Topshop. Shoes: c/o Topshop. Earrings: Dior. Sunglasses: Prada.

Alright, so I'll admit that the word 'bargain' doesn't always have terribly pleasant connotations. I certainly don't mean it in the 'bargain bin' sense. What I mean is, this dress was an absolute steal. I picked it up on my recent spree c/o Topshop, and whilst totting up the total of the things I'd chosen I was astonished to find that this dress was £27. TWENTY SEVEN POUNDS. Sure, it's not actually Topshop, it's Wal G - a concession sold in Topshop, and sure, it's also possible that I have a totally unrealistic idea of what a bargain actually is, but this is without a doubt my favourite piece I picked up on that day, so I'd have been willing (and was expecting) to pay more. It fits perfectly, the material is light enough to keep me cool on a warm day, but not flimsy enough to see through in the light or to blow up and flash everyone in the slightest breeze - I tested this theory by taking it for a spin (quite literally) around the rose garden in Hyde Park. So, thank you Topshop and Wal G for making it possible for me to meet my favourite new summer dress! (Oh and thank you to Becca for being my photographer!)
If you like this dress, you can take a look at it here, or click on the image below. (Oh as the dress comes in S/M/L rather than regular sizes, it might be helpful for me to tell you that I'm a UK size 10 and I'm wearing it in a size M!)

Monochrome Florals - A Tropical Day in Kensington (...and vast use of the word sausage)

Top: River Island (old - similar here). Shoes: c/o Topshop. (yes I forgot to take the label off the bottoms for these photos) Skirt: Zara. Sunglasses: Prada. Earrings: Dior. 

Yesterday, it was practically tropical in London and today, I'm genuinely sunburned. I kind of feel like I want to post a photo of my sunburn just to prove my twitter moaning (hashtag melting *insert fire emoji*) was justified, but I won't. Sunburn is hardly what you'd call 'instagrammable'. Despite that unfortunate side effect, I was overjoyed to hop back into my twirly midi skirts and get out into the sun - after all, I'd already done the whole spring/summer wardrobe swap over a month ago to no avail. 

I should also address the shoes - my new favourites. Last week, Topshop invited myself and and few other bloggers/YouTubers down to the Oxford Circus store to take part in their 'Playtime' activities. Essentially they sort of turned the store into a fun-house for a few days, complete with candy floss and arcade games. They also gave each of us a generously filled Topshop gift card to have a Topshop spree with. I'd seen this 'Ghillie' style of shoe spamming my instagram feed for a while and thought to myself 'best steer clear, they'll make your feet look like sausages wrapped in string' - so I wrote that particular trend off. (Interestingly, when I googled them I found that they're inspired by tongueless, lace-up, Scottish 'gillie' dancing shoes!) But - delirious with shopping spree euphoria I grabbed a pair and tried them on, preparing myself for a good old lol. As you can see, said lolling did not occur, and I didn't look too reminiscent of a stringed up sausage (in my humble opinion). In fact, I liked them a lot, AND they were incredibly comfortable. So from my sausage-themed paranoia I think we can all learn something; don't immediately write something off because of your own worries - if you like it, give it a go! Try it on. (Worst case scenario... you momentarily look like a sausage.)