Come With Me To Northern Italy

Italy has always been my number one destination in Europe that I have wanted to visit. Full of beautiful cities, towns and lakes, it's an endless journey of beauty, exploration and carbs.

This getaway, we wanted more than just a city centre and a metro line, we wanted to experience Italian life, the people and the culture, so we chose to visit Lake Garda. Nestled beneath the mountains of northern Italy, it might not have had the heat we had hoped for but it didn't disappoint on the sunshine or views.

We stayed in a cute little apartment on the southern side of the lake, on the outskirts of Peschiera Del Garda. With the lake shore as our back garden, the views of the mountains from across the water were incredible, with the most beautifully clear mornings and vibrant sunsets, the clouds rolled off the mountains at night, just as the lights along the hills opposite started to light up like fairy lights, it's a view I could have sat and stared at for hours. The town itself was small in centre, a place you could stroll for an hour or stop for some food, equally as beautiful as all the places we went, just without the activity needed to lose a day there.

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Further along the lakes shore rises a spit, mounted high at the end is a castle and the walled town of Sirmione. Although we had intended to drive here, bank holiday traffic had other plans, so instead we had a very long but scenic coastal walk to this beautiful view point. There's a very rich stall holder at the castle gates, his table overflowing with fresh lemonade and multicoloured fruit pots (why do these things always taste so much more incredible when abroad??). I wouldn't advise visiting the castle hoping for a history lesson of this little town or monument as the Italians don't seem to like their information unlike us Brits, but one thing it can promise is wonderful views across the lake and the area! Crammed full of incredible ice cream parlours and pizzerias, the town is a maze of good food.

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When we decided we were going to Italy, travelling up a mountain wasn't what I first had in mind but after a few days of staring at our spectacular view across the lake, curiosity got the better of us and we had to see what it was like from the top. A trip in two cable cars later and we were in the midst of a freezing wind stood atop Monte Baldo. The view was incredible, with visibility for miles, no picture does the sights justice, it was spectacular. Snow capped peaks just metres above lush greenery and calm waters, it was a little spot of peace above a bustling, lively town.

  

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We finished our trip with a nod towards a city break, a day trip into Verona. My first stop had to be Juliet's balcony. As a romantic, I love the stories of people flocking there to leave love letters hoping their wishes will come true, although the notes are no longer allowed to be stuck on the heritage site, the bronze Juliet statue is still something to be seen. Polished gold by the hands of people rubbing the lady in hope her energy will rub off on to them. True story or not, its still a magical one!
Verona has a main square 'Piazza Bra' with it's magnificent amphitheatre, park area, shops, restaurants and endless side streets. It's a vast space that feels brimming with energy and life. If you wandered for hours in this city I feel you would never be done, just continuously discovering more..

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Five days was no where  near enough for discovering all the parts of the region we had hoped to visit, safe to say I already have a substantial list ready for our next trip to Italy!

Have you been anywhere new recently?

Being Bold With Fashion

I've always felt that I've played things pretty safe throughout my life, I haven't pushed myself when I should have and I've often found fear stopping me and holding me back from the version of me I believe I can be and that I want others to see.

Even with fashion, which I've had a love for since I can remember, I've often seen styles and pieces that I would love to have and wear but I get put off by worrying about others opinions of me, the fact I live in a town, not the big city or that we mostly hang out in a pub full of older locals rather than a happening bar with a crowd more my age, I would stand out like a sore thumb, but I'm starting to realise that isn't such a bad thing.

For me, I took a step on the wild side buying this dress. I got so swept up in the beauty of its print and colour and the romance within the movement of the material, that my usual air of caution got swept away with the wind. I feel like a real life sassy dancing lady emoji!

So this is my year of being bold, as uncomfortable as I may feel to begin with I'm going to embrace the stares and smile at the onlookers as I'm buying the tops with the flared sleeves and the trousers with the bright colours. For me, a love of fashion is something to be shared, I no longer want to simply look at pieces through a computer screen but swish and swirl down South Road whilst Beyoncé plays in my head..

Hanky Hem Floral Dress - Topshop
Oversized Denim Jacket - Topshop
Lattice Sandals - Matalan


Do you step outside your comfort zone with fashion?

Vichy Aqualia Thermal Moisturiser

Sunburn, mountain top winds and dehydration, are just a few of the things that I've put my skin through recently, and sadly my face has taken the full force of it. Safe to say they've left my skin extremely dry, rough and feeling pretty sorry for itself!

To try and make up for my sins I've been prioritising my skin care routine, but try as I might, my flaky dry skin just wouldn't budge, my usual moisturiser wasn't up to the job and I had to step it up..
Queue lots of hunting in stores and a tweet or two later, and I've seemed to have stumbled upon the only moisturising product that actually stops my dry patches from reappearing - it's even doing wonders for my boyfriend's skin too!

Vichy's Aqualia Thermal range is enriched with Thermal Spa Water and Hyaluronic Acid, a winning combination to provide intense hydration for up to 48 hours, replenishing my skins natural moisturise levels. As my skin has been super sensitive recently I chose the lighter textured cream over the rich. Although the rich cream is recommended for drier skin, I wanted to avoid anything too heavy, and my face seems to agree.
The texture is as light as it says, a little goes a long way and for being the less concentrated of the two it has certainly made my aggressive dry patches vanish!

My skin is soft, smooth and my makeup is simply gliding on.

Aqualia Thermal Day Cream - Vichy


What's your favourite skin saviour?

Putting An End To My Jeans Obsession

I'm a jeans junkie. I'll be the first to admit it.

I don't have an endless supply, although I wish I did, but the ones I do have, I wear them to death.

Black, blue, white, the colour doesn't matter, but there's something about denim that has a fatal attraction to a girls wardrobe, and they just seem to multiply, but I think it's time for a mix up. This year, I'm determined to wear more trousers that aren't denim, than I wear my beloved jeans!

Until this point it's been a struggle, the main thing I love about jeans is you can get a perfect fit. For me it's high waisted skinny's, I have wide hips and long legs so they hug and flatter in all the right places and have the ability to make you resemble a six foot model that tiniest bit more (which I'll take). So the battle was on to find trousers that flattered my shape and that were just as comfy, but I seem to have nailed my first pair..

Pink Cat Eye Sunglasses - Asos
Striped Breton Top - H&M (similar here)
Tapered Peg Trousers - Topshop
Woven Sandals - Asos (similar here)


Is there a style of clothing you're obsessed with?

Putting Colour Back In My Cheeks

I stopped wearing blusher quite a number of years ago.. I have mild rosacea, leaving my cheeks red and pigmented which no matter how hard I tried, none of the regular foundations or concealers would fully cover. Back in the day, highlighter and bronzer weren't a very big thing, honestly, I don't think highlighter even existed in college so I always thought blusher was a must yet when I tried to add a splash of colour to the apples of my cheeks it always merged into two big unsightly patches, so from then on blusher was a no go, something to be avoided.

Colour wasn't something to be added to my skin, I was in a constant battle to take it away!

Over the last few weeks I've been making lots of makeup discoveries, including the wonderful world of colour correcting (which you can read here). It's been eye opening, and I'm thrilled with the results. Being able to do my makeup without layering on concealer like I used to and still having a better finish has been amazing. But then I started to look in the mirror and thought I looked a bit grey, a bit flat and basically colour less. I had avoided blusher for so longer, I had forgotten about the impact and the difference it can make to your whole face and how draining it can be on a complexion when you take all the colour away.

It turns out, once I had my base right, blusher was not something to be avoided, it puts life back in your cheeks, it's the difference between looking healthy and not. It boosts your complexion and gives you such a glow even without the highlighter!!

Of the trio, I find blusher much easier to apply than bronzer and highlighter, I start with a little and buff softly on the tops of the cheeks.

I get carried away with the other two and it always ends up a bit all or nothing..

Is blusher part of your makeup routine?

The Blushed Blush Palette (9B) - Morphe Brushes

Nip+Fab Glycolic Daily Cleansing Pads

Dry, flaky skin is just the worst, it's not pretty to look at and it doesn't feel too nice either! But it's a battle I fight everyday and having sensitive skin, I need to choose my weapons carefully!

I shudder at the thought of the days when I went to town on my face with an exfoliating glove, abrasive enough for my body, my poor skin turned red and sore to the touch, but I thought I had a solid plan in place, and I was going to end up on the other side with smooth glowing skin that you just wanted to stroke.

One too many hand gloves and some skincare knowledge later and I'm on a different routine, one of chemical exfoliateants that are much gentler on my skin but much mightier in power as these guys also work from within, tackling my issues dermis deep rather than solely from the surface!

I stumbled upon the Nib+Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads after watching one of InTheFrows skin care videos and she spoke about milia, stubborn little white bumps most commonly found towards the eye/cheek area, after shouting me too at my phone and screen grabbing the product, I purchased myself a tub, did some research on its ingredients and I haven't looked back since.

Glycolic Acid is the main ingredient in these little pads, to re texture and resurface, gently reacting with the top layer of skin and buildup, slowly breaking it down and sloughing off the dead skin cells to leave brighter, smoother skin and even helping to get rid of those pesky black heads! Pair this with Hyaluronic Acid, a hydrating wonder which has moisture-binding characteristics to enhance your skins moisture contents, leading to firm replenished skin and you have a winning product.

To top it all off, they also smell amazing and aren't drying, even for my sensitive features!

Have you got any skin troubles that you've found a solution for?