Essie 'Lady Like'

I refer to this shade as the perfect fall purple, with spring and summer being lilac and winter as burgundy. If you like neutrals you will also probably be as in love with this shade as I am. And the name? Well the name really does match the shade. It oozes sophisticated lady in a bottle, but with a slight colour twist compared to the usual sheer pinks and nudes. The formula flaunts the usual Essie way- a non gloopy one, full of colour, with a thin brush for great application.

If you do fancy stepping up your 'Lady Like' side a notch this fall, you can pick up this beauty here in Boots for £7.99.

Three Books You Should Read

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

If you like the Mindy Project then you will like this, if you have never watched or heard of the Mindy Project but like an autobiography, with a bit of humour and wit thrown in- you will also like this. Mindy Kailing shares her experiences and life lessons but with a personal twist, showing that life is not what you see in the movies it's full of humour, less than ideal situations and a little embarrassing.

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Women Tells You What She's Learned by Lena Dunham

Also an autobiography with both wit and honesty, you learn exactly how Lena Dunham got to where she is now. I am a big fan of her show Girls because of its truthful experiences never shown through rose coloured glasses. This is very much reflected in this book which is why I love it so much. If you are a girl in your twenties this is perfect for some life advice and reassurance that even if everything does not go to plan, doesn't mean you will fail.

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
I have always been a lover of Nicholas Sparks, he writes the perfect love story that will definitely need a box of tissues along with it. This book is perfect read when you just want to relax (preferably with a glass of wine). This book writes the dramas of falling in love from a story of a past love and a current one. I won't give anything away, but when the two stories meet the twist will leave your heart melting.

Five Apps You Should Have For Blogging

Notes...
This app is great to jot down any ideas you have throughout the day. As I mentioned in my previous post 'Tips for Blogging in Full Time Education/Work' I might get ideas when I'm walking around in the day, from seeing outfit ideas or a nail polish colour someone is wearing.

Bloglovin'...
I use this app for a lot of things, to get ideas for blog posts from other bloggers, interact with bloggers and save tips to improve my blogging or a product I might want to try out. The app gives you notifications when someone you are following publishes a new post, so at a lunch break or throughout the day, this is great to give you something to read and interact with the bloggers by commenting. In this app you can also create Collections these are groups of saved blog posts from the bloggers, for example, I have a group called 'Blogging Tips' which consist of blog posts that have tips on how to improve my blog or blogging process.

Canva...
If you are creating an image for your blog post but feel like it's a bit sparse and needs a little something extra this app is the one. Canva has creative fonts and shapes to add to your images so it looks like graphic designer might have gotten their hands on it. I used this app for 'The Vitamin C Booster Smoothie' post, this made the perfect image to advertise my blog post on Pinterest and other social media.

Pinterest...

This is my place of inspiration if I am stuck in a blogging 'rut'. With all of the beautiful fashion, DIY, food and beauty photography you are bound to get an idea of what to write about. This is an app that I tend to scroll through in my spare time or when I'm commuting. Pinterest is also a place to promote your blog, I recommend adding the Pinterest botton to your blog pictures (go here for how to add this) so either your readers can pin your images or you can to advertise your posts to other 'pinners'.

Instagram...

This is another place of inspiration and a great way to promote your blog. Set up an account for your blog to show up and coming blog posts and interact with other bloggers. If you have written a blog post on the perfect slutty brownie recipe- show other bloggers and food lovers #foodporn. 

The Secret To Healthy Nails

This is an image of my nails completely natural, with no polish on!

My nails used to be in horrible condition- flaky, always broke and were never the same length. I have used a lot of products to try and find something that can help with them- O.P.I Nail envy, Dr. LeWinn's Nail Strengthener and home remedies such as olive oil with lemon. None of these really worked any wonders and the nail strengtheners were around £20 a bottle which just burnt a hole in my purse repurchasing them. 

That's until I found Rimmel Nail Rescue- it is bad but sometimes I do judge a book by it's cover or rather a nail polish my it's brand. This is not to say I don't love Rimmel products but I didn't think they would be any better than O.P.I so I never bothered trying them. Big mistake.

One of my friends introduced me to this and said she uses it as a base coat under her nail polish as well as on it's own. I noticed after a couple uses how much better my nails were looking, after purchasing a bottle and few more times of using it my nails weren't flaky anymore and thicker which meant less breakage. 

I 100% recommend this, at only £4.49 from Boots you can't really go wrong!

Get Rimmel Nail Rescue here at Boots!

Tips for Blogging in Full Time Education/Work

Schedule which days you will be posting...

This is simply to make a schedule, you can then plan when to write your blog posts around your week and other deadlines you will have. I have a schedule of posting 2 times a week, on Monday's and Thursday's. In my opinion this amount is manageable with other full time commitments. 

However saying that, some weeks differ- you can have a quiet week and you could manage to post 4-5 times a week, but then you could have a very busy week with only enough time to post 1-2 times a week. I tend to stick to the schedule and save blog posts for those busier weeks. Then, if you feel like you can handle more posts each week, increase it by another day and so on. 

Take as many photos as possible in your free time...

Taking pictures for you blog can be tricky sometimes, if you are just starting out blogging then you may not have the equipment such as light boxes, forcing you to rely on natural light. 

If you are working or studying full time, then chances are you will be doing that in the prime time to take pictures. Therefore, the weekend is the best time to utilise the natural light and take as many pictures as possible to plan for the week of posts ahead. 

Write lots of blog posts ready to publish...

As I mentioned before, some weeks will be busier than others and these very busy weeks can be stressful when you still need to write those blog posts. To put a stop to those rushed, stress filled posts  I write a collection of filler posts you could say. These tend to be posts like 'Links I've Been Loving' and 'Wishlists', I write these posts my spare time and only use them for those jam-packed weeks.

In addition to this, I will also write as many blog posts as possible in the weeks I'm not very busy so there is no worry about not having anything to publish.

Use a notes app on your phone to record new blog post ideas...

Sometimes bloggers can go through a bit of a bloggers block. To get as many ideas flowing as possible as soon as I think of one I write it down, otherwise I will probably forget it by the time I get home. I use the Notes app on my iPhone for this which works great because my phone is on me most of the time and I can quickly jot ideas down. An idea can come suddenly from anything from tasting something delicious to inspire a recipe to seeing how someone wore their kimono. 

Have posts ready for social media e.g. Instagram, twitter...

This is to keep up with social media, the more you are posting, the more people discover you and your blog. If you are a regular poster this will also help to maintain and raise your followers. However, in full time study or work there are some days where work is the only thing you have done and there is literally nothing exciting to report from your day. Try to refrain from not posting at all. Anything I see that I think would look great on my Instagram feed, I take a picture of it- but I limit my posts so I am not posting 5 times a day on the weekend and none at all in the weekdays. I try and stick to one a day or every other day- this all depends on the amount of images you tend to take per week.

I hope some of these tips help and I would love to hear any tips you have in the comments! 

Luxemme Delphine Eyelet Lace Up Two Piece

Luxemme was so kind for contacting me, giving me the opportunity to collaborate with their clothing brand. I was lucky enough to pick a bespoke designed piece from their Limited Edition collection.

Luxemme is a new clothing brand who describes their style as "Parisian chic with Manchester street". After getting sent this Delphine Eyelet Lace Up Two Piece I can say that their pieces are the hight of luxury, with a great quality feel and a true to size fit (I am wearing size 6). These types of clothing brands typically come with a costly price tag, but Luxemme gives you great quality with a price tag that doesn't put you in shock.

I picked the Delphine Eyelet Lace Up Two Piece because of it's uniqueness. The lace up sides on the top not only follows the Cut-Out trend that I am loving for the summer but also allows you to have the perfect fit by adjusting the ties. The shorts are also a piece that I will not only be wearing with this top but also pairing it with some others in my wardrobe. They are so versatile and the high waisted fit shows off those curves beautifully.

You get get this simple but stunning and chic two piece here, but they only have 4 left so I would hurry to get your hands on this beauty! In addition to these pieces, Luxemme also offers many other two pieces from their Limited Edition Collection ranging from a casual everyday feel to a more sophisticated look. 

Luxemme Delphine Eyelet Lace Up Two Piece, £35.00

New Look Stone Suede Ankle Strap Heels, £34.99

Visit the Luxemme website for more luxury, chic pieces like this one! 

9 Instagram Accounts I Love

(From left to right: @nataly0689, @alice_bitmead, @k_a_t_h_r_i_n, @ciderwithrosieblog, @ihavethisthingwithfloors, @linda_lomelino, @meghanrienks, @_ponykiss_, @alexcentomo) 

@nataly0689 This is an account including different foods, fashion and lifestyle posts but what I love about this one is the many flowers and foliage that she includes in her images. I find these to add so much life and colour to her posts that accompany the overall neutral tone of her images very nicely.

@alice_bitmead Alice's account is a blend of bright and lively colours in the food she makes and the  various places she photographs. With her witty captions to go with these images her account has you scrolling for hours and hours. 

@k_a_t_h_r_i_n If you are wanting some healthy food inspiration this is the account to visit. Kathrin creates beautiful smoothie bowls topped full with endless superfoods and fruits, with stunning presentation. Her account gives off the most vibrant, colourful look with the natural foods she uses.

@ciderwithrosieblog Cider with Rosie is a collection of images that ooze English countryside with an exception of the tropical Thailand images from her honeymoon. I always feel very cosy when browsing through her account, this is probably more than likely from the morning coffee and breakfast in bed posts. 

@ihavethisthingwithfloors If you also have a thing with floors, I would recommend this account. It is full of regramed images from various floors all over the world with the most beautiful and unique designs, you almost wish this was a flooring catalogue.

@linda_lomelino Linda is a very talented photographer which is shown by her gorgeous recipes decorated and photographed to perfection. She also includes pictures of lovely, colourful exteriors wherever she travels. If you are looking for an account to follow with a mixture of lifestyle and irresistible recipes, Linda Lomelino is one to follow. 

@meghanrienks I just really enjoy to look at the whole bright and airy design of Meghan's account. She has created a beautiful wash of white across her account filled with her day to day life from the food she eats to the outfits she puts together.  

@_ponykiss_ This account is a mixture of food, travel and general everyday life. She has created an account of perfectly composed images that always tend to make me a tad jealous of wherever she is photographing these places. 

@alexcentomo Everything on this account is Pinterest worthy you could say. I first found Alex's account from watching her YouTube videos which are full of fashion, workout and hair tutorials that is reflected in her Instagram feed. One thing I have learnt from flicking through her images, is that you will get serious hair envy.