Tuesday 31 December 2013

goodbye, twenty thirteen

black loose peplum top dorothy perkins / lilac cardigan primark / berry snood primark / petite 'ridley' skinny jeans asos / tall black boots new look / black texture and suede bag primark

Seriously though - where has this year gone?! When I think back on 2013 I see it as being a decent year - I travelled to Rome and Vatican City in July which was absolutely incredible - I wrote all about it here. I also went to Scotland and Wales twice each, which has become a sort of standard routine in my life now. As I finished my GCSE exams in June, I had an eleven-week summer which I definitely appreciated! Although I was disappointed with my exam results, I have 11 grades to my name and I'm proud of that. Since starting sixth form I've felt myself get back on track in a way - I now enjoy my classes more after dropping Maths and Triple Science and am feeling motivated to get into university in eighteen months time. Socially, although I am still my awkward introvert self I feel much happier - I've discovered a lovely bunch of people in the past few months and completely dropped those who made a negative impact on my life.

2013 was the year that anxiety entered my life, although at the moment I'm feeling chilled and calm. Since the first (and worst) panic attack in April things have gradually got better, albeit with a few tremors along the way. I've let my blog front slip a bit, which I'm disappointed about, however this motivates me to give it my all in the new year. I won't say too much more as I have a 2013 recap series beginning in January consisting of many highlights - including life, music, beauty, fashion and nails; and I don't want to give too much away.

Things I am looking forward to in 2014:
- Visiting my favourite place on the planet and the place I consider to be my second home, Perth in Western Australia. It's my Mum's home city as well as being the home to a majority of my family members and I am on the verge of squealing in excitement. Every day that passes is a day closer to being reunited with my favourite people and that makes me insanely happy.
- Knowing that it is the last full year of secondary education. I'm in my fourteenth year of school now so I am definitely ready to ease out of the school environment and into the wider world.
- Exploring London more. One of my favourite things to do is to hop on a train and into Central London, seeing how the different boroughs are individual and exploring through various exhibitions (and lets be real, have a fab excuse to scoff down ridiculous amounts of gorgeous food). I wrote about B-Soho in my post (here) about the London Blogger Meetup in January of this year and have since returned with my Dad to fall in love with their pesto pizza. I am definitely planning to head back there sometime soon in 2014.
- Trying to get some valuable work experience on my CV.
- Get into reading more. As an A-Level English student I read a lot in classes anyway, but I'm beginning to explore more with books of my choice and the thought of that excites me a bit.
- Seeing The 1975 live in April. Need I say more?
- Seeing my goddaughter grow up into a beautiful young girl and begin school.
- Meeting more bloggers and getting my feet in the door with industry events.

I hope you all have a fab NYE (and if you're like me and are staying in tonight, enjoy your heavy dose of TV and a meal full of carbohydrates. One Tree Hill and Spaghetti Bolognese sounds ultra appetising to me...) Needless to say, I hope that wherever you may be tonight and whatever you are doing, I hope you embrace the moments you have and start 2014 on a high note. I will see you then!

Thalia
xxx

P.S - fashion galaxies xo turns 2 tomorrow. Crazyyyy stuff!

P.P.S - I, despite not being American or having American heritage (that I know of, anyway) almost know their national anthem off by heart thanks to Carly Rose Sonenclar. I loved all of her performances when she was on The X Factor USA in 2012 but this in my opinion is in another league. She's incredible and I've watched it so many times over the past few days.


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Saturday 28 December 2013

you are the avalanche, one world away

~ photography credits to the awesome Sophie of Sophie Said ~
 biker jacket with the fur collar primark / a line denim skirt asos / grey tights tesco / monochrome knitted top new look / boots new look / leather satchel Camden market / watch casio via asos / nails: kate spade for nails inc 'big apple red'

Location: Sloane Square, London

Recently, the lovely ladies Perdi, Chloe and Ellie hosted a bloggers lunch in Central London and I grabbed the chance to go with both hands, meeting Sophie at Victoria beforehand. I think there's a buzz around SW London that I find so fascinating, a buzz that is unusually quiet during the day, yet serene and beautiful at the same time. The walk through Chelsea seemed effortless as you're surrounded by beautiful homes worth a greater sum of money than I could even possibly imagine, and the leaves on the ground lie in such an Autumnal way that they almost convince you that it isn't indeed the middle of Winter.

I have a funny traumatic story regarding this skirt, a recent sale purchase from ASOS (one of quite frankly, too many) that went on an unwanted international journey. Unnecessarily long story short: I sent it to the wrong capital city. 20% off on ASOS combined with a shopping basket nearing expiry led me to act quickly, as one does in these sort of circumstances, and select the first address that came up. My card details were then slotted into the boxes quicker than you could say "Thalia, chill" and voila, the order was made. A week or so passed and I was still longing for the skirt which sadly hadn't arrived, so I checked the confirmation email only for the penny to drop. 'Sent to: (address of my friend), Cardiff' it said in those small yet important evil letters. Ugh. The annoyance. How could I have sent it to the wrong city? The wrong country, even? But somehow I did. And I felt like a plonker because of it. A few days later, after contacting my friend, I finally got my hands on it after she kindly sent it in the post. Luckily, it was worth the wait. I don't even want to think about my reaction had it not fit!

If you, unlike me, are capable of purchasing clothing online sans embarrassment/shame/inability to read and are actually just hoping to see the skirt for yourself, you can do so here. Sale x student discount x saver delivery...ASOS have simply got it going on. 

I hope you all had a fab Christmas and like me, consumed way too much turkey and feel as if you could go without it until next Christmas. Who am I kidding? Pass over the turkey sandwiches please, I'll take the lot.

Thalia
xxx

now playing: salvation - gabrielle aplin

p.s - I realise that this post went from girl-wears-outfit-in-London to a declaration of my love for ASOS rather quickly. I'll try and contain myself next time.
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Thursday 19 December 2013

Christmas party prepped in five products

So it’s Christmas time and we’re all pining for gorgeous food, love and attention courtesy of our loved ones (and Santa, of course) but we’re stuck at work, college or school. The days feel like they’re going super slowly, and you know it is December when you’re dreaming of mulled wine at 10am. However, what is getting you through the days are the upcoming Christmas parties, a time to whip out shades of red, dark green and gold. Sometimes you may feel as if your days are too short, as dashing from work to another place will give you no time at all to re-jazz your look. Here are five products that will do the trick for you, à la festive vibes.
How it ends: put together and party-ready
How it began: with foundation, concealer, a small dash of mascara, a blob of powder and a sheer lip balm. 
 Cosmetic weaponry: Sleek Storm Palette and Contour Kit in ‘Light’ / Maybelline 24 hour colour tattoo in ‘Bad to the Bronze’ / Bourjois Sweet Kisses lipstick in Rouge Fashion / Soap and Glory Thick & Fast Mascara

Maybelline’s Bad to the Bronze colour tattoo is £5 of greatness in a small jar. When used on its own it looks great, but in my opinion works even better as a primer to intensify the eyes. The great thing about brown-based shadows is that it looks great on all eye colours, especially on grey, green and blue eyes as it adds a bit of contrast. There was no fancy technique I used with this, making it great and easy to use when on the go. I carefully dabbed this on with my fingers et voilà, I was ready to proceed with an all time favourite from Sleek.

Sleek’s Storm Palette is my absolute holy grail. My favourites are the 3 neutrals from the left on the top row and the shimmery brown in the bottom left corner, so this look incorporated a bit of that. After priming my lids with Maybelline’s colour tattoo, the top left shade was spread evenly over my lids, and then the creases dusted with the matte pale brown shade for a bit of depth. Then I whipped out the bottom left shade to spice things up and ensure if didn’t look too ‘everyday’.

I already had some mascara on begin with, but it was merely one that defined my lashes but not much else. To add a bit of volume, Soap and Glory’s Thick & Fast came to the rescue, and boy was I pleased. I think this mascara is great for a night out, has a fabulous brush and does a great job in general – it’s one of the best mascaras I’ve ever used, so seemed perfect for this simple and quick Christmassy look.

In order to add some definition to my cheekbones I went in with another favourite of mine from Sleek, their Face Form contour and highlight duo. I’ve had this for so long yet it still hasn’t hit pan, and I’m starting to think that it’s invincible. A subtle dash of contour works great for parties as it turns out great in photographs without looking too OTT (for the wrong reasons...) I couldn’t do a party make up look without a bit of shimmer, so a bit of highlight seemed necessary! This one in particular is great – a great shade and that isn’t too sparkly, it doesn’t leave your face in the I-battled-against-the-sequins-and-lost scenario but manages to give a healthy dose of radiance.

Nothing screams Christmas like a festive red lip. Bourjois’ Sweet Kisses lipstick in Rouge Fashion is my weapon of choice, providing both deep pigmentation and an injection of moisture. It’s my go-to red shade for whenever I’m feeling brave enough to whip out the bright and warm toned lips. This exact lipstick is no longer available to the best of my knowledge, but it’s not a rare shade – I know that they have newer versions that will do the job just as well, such as their Rouge Edition lipstick in the shade Rouge Jet Set.


So there you go – my 5 essentials for getting ready for a Christmas party in a rush. All of the products except for the Bourjois lipstick are available at drugstores for £10 or less, so when in cash-stripped December you can still pull out all of the stops.

Thalia
xxx 
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