Fall back

Autumn has to be my favourite season, and so naturally my autumn outfits are my favourites too! Here are a few ootds that I will definitely be recycling for school this autumn.

Top: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Boots: Dune

Opaque black tights (not shown)

Headband: New Look or Primark

Jumper: Jack Wills

Top (collar showing): H&M

Skirt: Jack Wills

Tights: H&M

Boots: as before

Headband: as before

Jumper: Lauren by Ralph Lauren

Shirt: Polo by Ralph Lauren

Necklace: H&M

Big Love,

A x

July beauty favourites

I'm definitely one to stick to products once I know I love them, especially beauty products. I mean, why fix something that isn't broken? (amirite ladies?)

But this month, with some help from a brilliant summer Glossybox, I've found some new products that'll be in my artillery for a long time.

(Clockwise: all the favourites together, Mavala nail polishes in Candy Floss, Pistachio and White, Bamboo Style Boho Waves tousled texture mist, Dermalogica Clean Start welcome matte spf15 moisturiser, Jelly Pong Pong Fairy lashes mascara)

Mavala Nail Polishes - while I will always be a die hard essie fan, it's not that easy to get hold of in the UK, however these nail polishes are a good second option. I love their pastels (don't always come out as planned, especially drugstore nail polishes) and the pigmentation is great. The white colour is really great for nail art too! 8/10

Bamboo Style Boho Waves - I have naturally very curly (read: frizzy) hair, so I'm definitely not a girl who curls her hair very regularly (straightening, yes. curling, hardly ever) but lately I've been wanting to leave my hair naturally but having the definition that curling gives the hair. Enter this little beauty. It arrived in my July summer Glossybox and I fell in love instantly. I got the 25ml bottle in the box and it's almost finished! (cry cry) But I definitely plan on repurchasing a large one. It's done wonders for my hair, style wise and giving a break from the heat of blow dryers/straighteners (it's applied directly to wet hair, but funnily it's made my hair air dry quicker!). I have literally no problems with this product 10/10

Clean Start Moisturiser - I use the clean start products for all my skincare but I strayed away from the moisturiser when I started using a bb cream instead of foundation. However, in the recent heat, I've basically given up on fully covering my skin and now just use concealer, moisturiser and powder, and it's really helped to clear my skin up. Also I have combination skin, so I really like having a matte moisturiser so I don't feel dry and oily all day. 9/10

Jelly Pong Pong fairy lashes mascara - This was also in a Glossybox but not the July one. I used it when I first got it and was amazed by how long and defined my lashes became! I was using another mascara at the time, so I decided to finish with that one, so as soon as that one went in the bin, I couldn't wait to use the Jelly Pong Pong one. I can't stress how much I love this mascara, it's revolutionary and so different to drugstore mascaras. I don't think I'll go back to drugstore mascaras after this! 9/10

What are your July beauty favourites?

A x

Merrily baking-along

I love music, especially when I'm baking. There's nothing better than singing your heart out to cheesy pop music while whisking meringues, right? 

Here's my (very pop-y) baking playlist, as sugary sweet as whatever you're baking!

Hope this satisfies your sweet tooth (and ear),

 A x

p.s This is what the playlist helped me to create, Hummingbird bakery's banana bread (it got rave reviews from the family)

Ootd: J Crew-sing

(via my Instagram)

Top: J Crew (currently on sale!)

Shorts: J Crew (last season unfortunately)

Necklace: Topshop

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Nails: Rimmel I Heart Lasting Finish in 045 Misty Jade with Rimmel 60 seconds nail polish in 730 Silver Bullet as a top coat

And the living is easy...

So summertime is finally here! Boy, it was a long winter but thankfully the past few weeks have made up for that; plus 25°C everyday.

As I have officially 'left school' (until I go back to sixth form in September; eek!), I've been able to soak up the sun every day, however not being able to drive myself anywhere has meant I haven't had as many 'adventures' as I would have liked.

But this evening, the fam (Mum, Dad and Caits) and I decided to try and find the canal pub that we'd heard so much about. After getting a little lost (read: 30 minutes late), we finally managed to find this place and it was like we'd gone back to the industrial era, canals carry coal and workers sipping cider. Unfortunately, the canal is disused but it did make for a very nice walk and even standing in the canal! 

It's definitely one of those evenings where I feel very lucky to live where I do, and hopefully they'll be some more adventures to come

A x

Fashion dupes

I like J Crew a lot. No, scrap that, I LOVE J CREW.

Every since I started reading the College Prepster's blog and familiarising myself with more Stateside brands, I've fallen head over heals for J Crew. Classic styles, good quality, and often with a novelty twist that get quite a few compliments! It's a win-win-win. That is, until you look at the prices. And that's not even including tax. So, unfortunately, I'm limited to what I can buy (unless it's Mum buying ;)) and how often I can insist I NEED that shirt.

So, I've been taking inspiration from J Crew and transferring that style to the high street shops; here are some high street 'J Crew inspired' pieces

New Look - now £7 - I adore this top (in fact, I'm wearing it right now), and even though it's not a smart shirt, it goes nicely with short and the print reminds me of J Crew's Bali Collection from last year

Topshop - £30 for full set - Scalloped hems have been a signature of J Crew throughout this spring and summer, and it was obviously trickled down to the high street. This bikini will certainly be on my holiday shopping list

Topshop - £30 - This spot denim skater skirt is lovely and light weight, ideal for summer. The idea of pattern on denim is very similar to the highly converted (by me, anyway) J Crew matchstick jeans

What are your favourite high street dupes for higher end brands?

A x

New York, New York

After years and years of dreaming, at Easter I finally went to New York! It was an absolute fairytale and I never wanted to leave. Here are a few highlights of my trip:

Our first night was incredibly jetlagged, so we just found the closest place, which turned out to be one of the best burger places in New York! I'd highly recommend Five Boro Burger on West 36 street and 6th ave.

The Rockefeller centre was so ornate and exquisite, inside and out

It took us a couple of days to realise that the Empire State building was right next to our hotel, whoops

Time Square was just like the films (yes I did run up the steps and do the spinning around!)

I am a massive Doctor Who so one of the things on my New York to do list was to find the rock that Amy, Rory and the Doctor sat on in The Angels Take Manhattan, and I found it

Central Park was bare, but still beautiful. It's so rare to find that much green space in a city, and as a country girl, I love that

Lombardi's pizzeria in Little Italy is THE place to go for proper New York pizza. One pizza there fed all four of us (it was 18" and our eyes were bigger than our stomachs!)

My heart is torn between the Upper East Side and Little Italy, I would love to live in both places

My friend Hannah and I decided that we're going to live in this flat when we're older ;)

We went on the Circle Line boat tour to get a good view of the island as a whole and it was uh-maz-ing! Even though the statue of liberty was still closed from Hurricane Sandy, we managed to get close enough for some good shots

Downton, minus two very important towers

The Brooklyn Bridge

The view over Central Park from the first viewing part on the Top of the Rock

The chapel downtown that helped people during 9/11 and was a respite place for the emergency services. The chapel was tiny in the metropolis of skyscrapers but still as significant as any of them

Llamas in Grand Central Station? okay, why not! #IHeardNY

Grand Central Station is beautiful at dusk

The tree were all lit up outside the Rockefeller after we came out of the NBC studio tour

The window at Tiffany's on 5th Ave

The Empire State Building was magical at night

The Flat Iron building really hammered home that I was actually in New York

The Jackie O reservoir in Central Park, looking over to the Upper East Side

I also sat on the Met Steps (a la Blair Waldorf) but unfortunately I can't find the photo :(

For me, New York was a fairytale and I feel almost homesick looking over these photos!

Keep Dorking On,

A x

I'M FREEEEEE

As I live in the UK, I've been taking exams for most of May and June so the months preceding were a haze of information overload, cramming and crying at 2am. But today was my last exam and life can finally resume as intended! 

Keep Dorking On,

Ax

Keep Dorking On

Wow, okay that 'little break' was a lot longer than intended! School has really kicked it up this term but I'll try and keep blogging away. Finally getting a new iPhone will definitely help with that (thanks Mum and Dad)!

Keep Dorking On,
A x

P.S how cute is my new phone case? I love (read: am addicted to) Etsy!

Alternative, Altern, Alt, Alt-J

'Proper' music. Headphones on, lights off, proper music.

That it all.

My beef with Haylor, the media and everything else inbetween

I'm sorry, but I have a beef with the Press at the moment. 

Firstly let me say, I am in NO WAY A HAYLOR SHIPPER. Ew. But, I do like Harry Styles and Taylor Swift individually. So when they broke up, I was all like "THANK FUCK FOR THAT" but after reading a few articles on (supposedly) why they broke up, I am very much on Taylor's side. (If you haven't read said articles then I'll give you a basic run down. So apparently Harry dumped Taylor because she didn't put out). 

So does this automatically give the Press the right to call her a prude? I don't think so. It's her body. Do I need to repeat myself? HER body. She shouldn't be pushed into doing anything she doesn't want to, not by a boyfriend, not by fans and certainly not by the media. 

ALSO, for those people that are all like 'sooo, I wonder when the next album's coming out', just stop. Please. As someone who also writes songs, I can empathise because sometimes writing a song about it can allow you to express yourself and give you the closure that you need. You liked Taylor for singing about boys nobody knows, so don't hate her for writing songs about boys who are famous.

Rant over.

What do you think of the whole Haylor situation? Ship it or hate it? Tell us in comments below!

Keep Dorking On,

A x

Fangirling, A history

This may seem like a very long-winded explanation of how I got onto this topic but, please, bear with me.

I was reading this Rookie article yesterday and I watched the video attached. It's a fan-video of most Brat Pack movies to the song Lisztomania by Phoenix. I personally love Phoenix (they wrote 1901and Long Distance Call), so I naturally bought the song on iTunes. After listening to it a couple more times, I started to wonder what 'Lisztomania' actually was. But with trusty Google at my side, I searched Lisztomania and it turned out to be right in my area of expertise; fangirling.

Franz Liszt was a piano virtuoso in the 19th century and 'Lisztomania' as it was officially coined by Heinrich Heine in 1844. Characterised by a hysterical reaction to Liszt and his concerts (standard practice for many fangirls these days), admirers would 'swarm over him, fighting over his gloves and handkerchiefs', wear brooches of his portrait and try to get locks of his hair. I believe this to be the first mass amounts of fangirling.  

After this, there was nothing that cause as much of a fan frenzy until Beatlemania in the 1960s. Paul, John, George and Ringo caused mass hysteria all over the world during the early years of their success. Their gaining of "Superstar" status came in 1963 with the release of 'She Loves You'. Beatlemania is still felt in the music industry today as the transatlantic journey of Beatles fangirling started a phenomenon known as the 'British Invasion' that was a major change in US attitudes to pop music.

And now, we fangirl on all types of things. SPN, Sherlock, Harry Potter and Doctor Who, just to name a few. Books, TV shows, films, bands, everything. 

What ever your chosen medium, let your fangirl flag fly!

Keep Dorking On,
A x

Indie movies, yes please!

I love a rom-com just as much as the next girl, the up beat music, the infectious 'go get-um' attitude and the angelic faced cast. But indie movies are where it's at. I'm not trying to go all hipster, 'I liked that before you did', but indie movie do have that slight underground way about them. Life is always slightly better with a pink or blue tint filter.

So here's my recommendations:

Submarine 

Set in Swansea in the 80s, this is centred around two misfits navigating teenagerdom, school and family life. Oh, and it's directed by Richard Ayoade, need I say more?

Moonrise Kingdom

Two wayward pre-teens run away together in the 60s (read:best costumes ever) on an island on the East Coast. Also, Bruce Willis.

Cemetery Junction

Reading in the 70s. Hideously sexist and copious amounts of snobbery (both up and down). Tom Hughes, Christian Cooke, Ricky Gervais and Felicity Jones, an all-(indie)star cast (in my eyes). Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. 'Nuff said.

Any more suggestions? Leave them in the comments below.

Keep Dorking On,

A x

OKAY HERE'S THE PLAN

Hi all, I'm afraid the blog has been pushed back a couple of days as my best friend/side-kick/better half is currently still in New York and I really need her so the next post can be as KICK ASS as I'd like. I'll be writing, photographing, modelling and editing it into awesomeness as soon as she gets home tomorrow!

PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER

I hope you understand. Big love.

Keep Dorking On,

A xx