Travelling has been a passion of mine since I could remember, most three-year-olds would be afraid of getting on a plane but not me. My family constantly remind me of how excited I was to get on my first ever plane at the age of 3 and surprisingly 14 years later nothing has changed. I still love that feeling of getting on a plane and knowing that there’s a whole other world out there that’s just waiting for me to discover, a new culture for me to experience and new memories for me to create.
Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to travel to amazing places around the world such as Amsterdam, Spain, the south of France, Qatar and South Africa but there’s still so much that I have left to see and experience. In my opinion, travelling not only educates you as a human being but it also challenges you by teaching you new skills you never thought you could do and it helps you to get in touch with yourself, grow as a person and helps you to figure out what it is that you exactly want from life. It gives you a whole new perspective. But most importantly travelling makes history come alive. You get the chance to see and experience everything that you have ever read and heard about.
People always say that in life you only ever regret the things that you didn’t do and I completely agree with this, in my eyes, everything happens for a reason and our actions reflect how we felt at that moment in time, therefore, we can never regret the things we did, instead we should see them as life lessons. 10 years from now I don’t ever want to regret the decisions that I made. Sometimes I feel that as people we over think everything and although taking responsibility for our lives is important our happiness should come first, above everything and anything else, sometimes you just need to be spontaneous and do whatever it is to make sure that you’re living the best life possible. Men are so much better at putting themselves first than we are as women, this is something that we need to learn from them because life is meant to be a joyous thing.
As soon as I turn 18 I am grabbing my passport and I plan on going EVERYWHERE, however, I will not be backpacking, staying in hostels or hitting the interrail. As much as I want the full experience I am way too high maintenance for that – I have extremely high standards. If I’m travelling I plan on spending my time in the most luxurious hotels and resorts. I Can’t have it any other way, after all, I want to document it all for you guys!
I’d love to know your Top 10 places to visit in the comments! Mine are
Vogue is the holy grail when it comes to fashion magazines, it is known as the bible of fashion, it is every fashion lovers go to and I guarantee you for a fact that there is no one in this world that has never heard of vogue. I remember buying my first ever issue at the age of 12 and this was when I first discovered my passion – I literally remember skipping lunch at school one day just to pay for it and it was the best decision I ever made! From then onwards I have been addicted, my collection of Vogue magazines got so big to the point that my mother threw most of them away because she thinks I’m a hoarder (I’m not btw). However little does she know Vogue is the main source of my inspiration when it comes to writing blog posts. So my question to you guys is, should there be a Vogue Africa? When it comes to this debate I am so conflicted, if you asked me the same question a few days ago I would have said YES, Most definitely but now after reading up on it I really don’t know.
If you didn’t know this already, Vogue started off in America as a weekly newspaper in 1892 and then later became a monthly publication. It is known as the worlds biggest fashion and lifestyle magazine covering every single topic you can think of. Topics of which can all be covered from the African perspective. It’s first international edition, British Vogue, was launched in 1916 and it has since expanded to include 23 more international editions, among which are Vogue China, Arabia and India and recently Vogue Poland. Vogue launched 125 years ago and it’s only now that they are considering a Vogue Africa? Why now? Is it too little too late?
Speaking to Reuters, Campbell said “We just had Vogue Arabia – it is the next progression… Africa has never had the opportunity to be out there and their fabrics and their materials and their designs be accepted on the global platform… it shouldn’t be that way, people have come to realise it is not about the colour of your skin to define if you can do the job or not.”
I agree with this 110% there are so many talented Visual creators in Africa and the continent has so much history and culture to share with the rest of the world, people have their own perspectives of Africa and they are so incredibly outdated – there are people that still think we live in huts? How ignorant can one be? The world deserves to get to know just how wonderful my continent is, it deserves to see the beautiful people that belong to it, the fact that we don’t place negative stereotypes upon each other instead we celebrate each other and they deserve to see what true diversity it!
What I have come to understand is that the apparent hesitation with launching vogue in Africa is the idea that Africa lacks an adequate luxury market which is a very big misconception, according to a 2015 report by Bloomberg, at the time, Africa’s luxury retail sales represented the second fastest growth rate globally. This can largely be attributed to the presence of new luxury retail locations in South Africa, as well as Nigeria’s increased craving for luxury goods. I feel like in a way Vogue Africa will help to shut down all the misconceptions people have when it comes to Africa but if it does happen I want it to represent every single country on the continent. It needs to be inclusive and I want it to showcase AFRICAN BRANDS because there are so many incredibly talented African designers that just don’t have the funds or the means to become ‘mainstream’ and it is so frustrating when the western world try and essentially copy from us and take credit, for example, earlier this year when Maxhosa by Laduma sued Zara for copying their sock design. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the magazine needs to be 100% authentically African.
Nigerian-born fashion designer Ikire Jones tweeted, “We gotta stop asking folks to let us into their parties when we can throw better ones.
And then there’s this statement! I feel like the world is so focused on becoming westernised that in the process we are forgetting who we really are to the point that we’re constantly looking for approval from these countries. Instead of living up to our own standards we try to live up to theirs – especially when it comes to beauty. It’s so sad seeing African girls lose self-confidence because they don’t fit the norms of western society! We don’t need Vogue, It’s time for us to claim our rightful place as innovators! Why should we wait to be accepted by these institutions? Why should we allow someone else to represent Africa when we ourselves know it best? No one else is going to put in the same passion and love like us. It’s time for us to take charge and create something AMAZING to showcase to the rest of society because Africa is most definitely a force be reckoned with! One day it is going to take over the world and I cannot wait!
So what is your opnion? Should Vogue have the blessing of branching out into Africa?
I literally feel like crying, summer is sadly over and soon we’ll be going back to our cosy knitwear and huge winter jackets. I feel like 2018 is going by way too fast, before I know it I’ll be going to university! Like WTAF!!!!! That’s so crazy to me. People are not lying when they say that time flies!
Anyways as my last goodbye/ tribute to the summer of 2018, I thought why not reminisce on the hottest trends of the season. In all honesty, I don’t know how I felt about the trends that dominated summer, I feel like I wasn’t really surprised because most of the trends we saw this summer had been on the rise for the last couple of years, they just weren’t mainstream yet. It was just an “Oh people are now wearing this?” type of moment.
In this new generation and era of social media it’s so easy to follow trends, it has never been easier than it is now for people to be inspired especially by “influencers” who are giving us none stop fashion inspo all day every day. We have everything right at the tip of our fingertips – there is no need for us to buy magazines anymore because all the inspiration we could ever need is online in so many different styles on so many different types of people. And that’s what I love most about social media – It’s diverse and no matter what you look like you can find the perfect person to inspire you!
CO- ORDS
Topshop was ahead of the game when it came to co-ords! They sold the best denim co-ords and my biggest regret this summer was not getting my hands on one ;(
Bum Bags
What many people need to learn for future reference is that as fashionable as they are bum bags DO NOT go with EVERYTHING. In all honesty, people really overdid it this year with the bum bags to the point that I got sick of seeing them however if it’s designer I’m not hating x
Sliders
who would have ever thought that there would come a day where it was acceptable to wear house shoes outside of the house? Certainly, not me but I mean sliders go with literally anything and everything and they are comfy af so why tf not!
Bandeau Tops
This was my obsession this summer! God only knows how many bandeaus I bought this summer, they’re just so freaking cute and it was free the nipple season so …….
Cropped Jackets
I have loved cropped jackets for the longest time! I don’t know why it has taken this long for people to realise how great they are, they are so flattering for my curvy ladies!
Layered Necklaces
I mean do I really need to comment on this trend, it speaks for itself
Cycling Shorts
I think we have to thank Kanye for the rise of this trend with everyone wanting to cop the yeezy style. Cycling shorts are one of the best things to happen to fashion to be honest, they are perfect for t-shirt dresses that are a little too short and they loook great with everything from bandeaus, crop tops to my personal favourites – mens jumpers
I feel like I start almost every single one of my blog posts by saying how much I used to hate the trend that I’m writing about but then how over time I learned to love it blah blah blah but that’s the reality that is my life – I feel like little me would always proclaim how much I loved fashion but I never really appreciated it as much as I do now! Getting older, reading more on fashion and having my blog has taught me so many things, the most important thing for me was learning to accept that fashion is an art and certain trends are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but we have to look at the bigger picture and how we can make those trends fit our personal ‘style’.
Today I’m not really talking about a certain trend because tracksuits have been around for TIME, instead, I’m talking about my new found love for them and how in recent years through the ‘streetwear’ hype they have become more and more popular and no longer just something that you wear to the track or to workout but almost a must-have in your wardrobe.
Not even going to lie when I say baby Ivis was way ahead of her time when it came to fashion (with the help of my mother of course aka the woman who bought all my clothes), I had so many tracksuits that I NEVER wore because I thought that they were “chavy” and disgusting because at this point in time I was a girls girl and tracksuits were most definitely not my thing but my mother kept buying them regardless. What was going through my head? Tracksuits are warm, comfy af, effortless and not to forget stylish!
Over the last couple of months, I have been saving tracksuit after tracksuit to my wishlist getting ready for this coming season and considering how cold the UK is going to be this year I need at least 5 to help me through the winter! I’m not over exaggerating here. Here are some of my favourites;
Can I please just have Kylie Jenner’s life already, she’s really out here living the AMERICAN DREAM that most of us could only ever dream of! She’s the ultimate Bad Bitch! She has a whole closet just for her purses which can I add are worth more than a $1 million – that’s an entire mortgage and more! Does it really get more Bad Ass than that? I don’t think so!
I never thought I needed a purse closet until I saw Kylies, I literally used to think all I needed in life was a walk in wardrobe and I’d be complete but no now I need the whole trio – a shoe closet, a purse closet AND a walk-in wardrobe, especially considering my obsession with fashion, it’s a must.
The Classics every girl needs in their Purse Closet
I couldn’t do this blog post without giving you a little inspiration to kick off your purse closet mood board, that would just be cruel.
So every fashion lover knows that every season and every year there are new trends and this is with everything – bags, shoes and of course clothing but what we also know is that there are the timeless classics that will never go out of style. I mean if you ever decide to build your very own purse closet and don’t include these classical bags then we will need to have a serious talk and reevaluate your life because these are the bags that every woman needs to own before their 50th Birthday!
After the longest winter EVER summer is finally here and I couldn’t be happier! I am loving these longer, warmer and brighter days! Can you actually believe that the UK has been warm for 4 consecutive weeks in a row? That is so unusual for this country but I’m not complaining, I missed the sun!
So summer is all about living your best life and making the most of every day – so why not spice things up by trying at least one of my favourite beauty trends this season! We’re always going out of our comfort zones with fashion but why not with beauty? My challenge for you guys this summer is to try new things with beauty; experiment, do the most with your makeup – don’t be afraid to go crazy – think of it as a form of art but on your face!
I personally don’t like wearing tons of makeup in the summer or ever to be completely honest with you (besides special occasions), it just feels so nasty and sticky and like my face is constantly melting which is why I tend to focus more on my skincare and why these are my favourite trends for the season- they are so minimalistic and so light – It’s the no makeup makeup kinda looks i love, you have to leave people thinking that you naturally glow like that!
Golden Goddess
The glow is EVERYTHING! Who doesn’t love to glow? For me summer is all about glistening and looking super glowy and healthy, I put glow lotion and highlighter EVERYWHERE, on my cheeks, chest, legs, literally everywhere – you know when the sun just hits you and you’re like “shit is that really me? I’m glowing!”
Fresh Face
This is my favourite makeup trend for summer, the key to creating a fresh face is literally just putting concealer to brighten certain areas of your face or using cc cream then adding a little blush and highlight. A little goes a long way – the key to this is, less is more!
White Eyeliner
Now there’s just something about white eyeliner that I love and it’s the fact that it brings out your eyes, no matter what colour they are- it’s such a vibe and to me, it’s so summery. Black eyeliner is officially dead to me, white eyeliner is the new thing and I can already see it being super popular in years to come
Glossy Lips
This will forever be my favourite beauty trend of all time. Glossy lips just complete everything regardless of whether or not you’re wearing makeup! For me, it is one of the few beauty trends that will never die out and a trend that I will be wearing for the rest of my life.
Flushed Cheeks
Has highlighter ever been so bold? This reminds me so much of the 80s when people just when crazy with makeup – when done the right way it looks amazing!
I have to admit that when Dad Sneakers first surfaced I HATED them with a passion, I just could not understand why anyone would ever think to design and then approve the production of such ugly trainers and think it was okay. Fashion is meant to be nice and these were ugly so I was confused af. Like literally, I thought all sorts of crimes of fashion were being committed and never did I ever think that I would wear them or be writing a blog post about how much I love them but here we are. Isn’t the world just full of surprises? I feel like they are the sort of thing that you have to see a million times, styled in a million different ways in order to learn to love them because for me the more I see something the more I learn to like it. There’s just something about ugly shoes that make you love them and I really wish I knew what it was because maybe It would help me come to my senses.
“I think these [luxury] houses took a long look in the mirror and realised that they were doing some things wrong and that culture was moving against them,” says Trunzo. “The tides were turning and they have to embrace what is going on, on a street level.”
This statement is so powerful in explaining how times are changing and how streetwear is taking over fashion and that if luxury brands aren’t up to date with this new generation they will eventually become irrelevant. This is why they are making these ‘ugly’ trainers – because they want to remain mainstream, trainers are no longer just sold by sports brands, anyone who is anyone sells sneakers in this era.
I personally think Dad Sneakers are fun, vibrant and so 90s. If you know me you know I am OBSESSED with 90s fashion! What is there not to love about the 90s? To me, it was the foundation of young peoples style and a turning point for fashion in so many ways, I could literally go on and on about it. The revival of this trend only goes to further prove my point that trends keep coming back better than ever and people are loving it, so forget the classic trainers, don’t be boring, go crazy with your style, be bold and get yourself a pair of ‘ugly’ trainers. Big soles, bright colours, bold logos and bulbous shapes are the only way to go this year when it comes to your sneaker choices!
Love them or hate them, we cannot deny the fact that the Kardashian/ Jenner family are incredible businesswomen. Whether or not you believe that they’re talented I have so much respect for them as a businesswoman myself. In my humble opinion, It takes a lot of intelligence and ambition to accomplish everything they have accomplished thus far in their careers – they have come beyond reality tv and managed to build a billion dollar empire! They have utilised their resources and have managed to become the most successful reality stars ever!
The fact that at just 21 years of age Kylie Jenner is set to be the youngest ever self- made billionaire is mind-blowing. I may not know her personally but I am so proud of her and this achievement, from watching her on my Tv screen since KUWTK started to seeing her grow up into this powerful businesswoman has been so inspiring. I am so proud of the woman she has become! Also, can we all just appreciate the fact that A WOMAN now graces the title of being US’ youngest ever self-made billionaire, I don’t know about you but the feminist inside me is screaming right now! I feel like as women we’re always in competition with each other because of the male-dominated world we live in when we really should be helping each other to grow, I hate people who hate on others – it’s a waste of energy and time – just be happy for people and know that through hard work success will come to you. Put that energy into your own projects and focus on yourself and only you!
Kylie launched her first ever lip kits in November 2015 which sold out in less than a minute, crashing the website. I remember when the products first launched everyone everywhere wanted a lip kit – they wanted to achieve the ultimate Kylie Jenner “pout”. 3 years on from the launch I still don’t know how I haven’t managed to get my hands on one! After the launch Ms Jenner relabelled her business Kylie Cosmetics and sales continue to make records, making a reported $19m in one day in late 2016. How incredible is that? How many teenagers could ever say that they have made $19m in a day? Three years later Kylie has reportedly made a total of $630m (£470m) in sales, evolving her brand from only selling lip kits to other products such as glosses, highlighters and eye-shadows. The brand has gone from strength to strength keeping people on their toes by maintaining the initial FOMO exclusivity – using countdowns to reveal products and selling them on limited edition releases, often in collaboration with her famous siblings and her mom.
“It’s naïve, and lazy, to think a white woman born into fame and the upper classes — a woman with a famous last name, brand cache, a seemingly infinite amount of investment capital to play with, safety nets, and access to a tapestry of resources — is a model for the “self-made” success story that, to many, represents the American Dream,” wrote Emerald Pellot in Cosmopolitan.
Forbes’s estimated that her cosmetic company, reality television show, various sponsorships and endorsements has a $900 million empire that will soon reach $1 billion. Her impending billionaire status isn’t in question it’s inevitable. However, people are mad at how Forbes labelled that status — saying that Kylie was self-made and including her in a group of “#SelfMadeWomen”. The definition of Self- made is having succeeded in life unaided. So I completely get why people are mad about Forbes saying Jenner is self- made. And this has kicked off a discussion about our perceptions of how people make money, how we value the Kardashians, and whether any of that is fair. If Kylie weren’t a Jenner and didn’t have Kim Kardashian as a half-sister would she still have had the same level of success? Would she still be set to be a billionaire at 21? I highly doubt it, her success would have been much harder to come by and that’s a fact. Critics’ main argument about the Forbes story was that it was irresponsible for that magazine not to address how Jenner’s family’s fame helped her amass her fortune.
However, we have to be open-minded and acknowledge that we live in a new generation run by celebrities of the likes of Kylie Jenner and influencers – they influence our buying habits, especially when it comes to beauty. So if you want to hate on Kylie for her success you’re also going to have to hate on the millions of followers and haters that got her to this point in her life.
Stephanie Saltzman, beauty editor at Fashionista, says it cannot be overstated how significant influencers and online marketing have been.
She describes the recent change as a “democratisation” within an industry that she believed had gone stale in its approach.
“Maybe historically consumers would use what their Mom used, or would go explore a beauty counter in a department store. Now it’s in the palm of their hands through social media,” she says.
“It feels more authentic coming from a person and Kylie Jenner is a person as opposed to a blanket, faceless corporation.”
“Social media and the success of influencers has proved that personality sells, and partnering with real people, rather than traditional media, offers brand the opportunity to show more personality.”
I don’t know what it is but this year I am freaking obsessed with camo! It has been EVERYWHERE recently, everyone is wearing it! And yet again it’s a trend that’s come back into the fashion scene – it’s another that was very popular in the 90s aka my favourite fashion era – like I keep saying trends are constantly evolving and coming back better than ever. Also thanks to this new wave of streetwear, trends like these are more popular than ever!
If you could see my Missguided and pretty little thing Wish List oh my gosh you would scream at how much camo there is on there. From dresses to skirts to tops to bodysuits to mesh tops to trousers and jackets! Every clothing item that you could ever possibly think of is on my Wish List and it’s in camo. When I tell you I’m obsessed with this trend, I’m not joking, I am OBSESSED on another level! If I could only choose one trend to wear this summer it would be this one without a doubt! It brings edge to every outfit and represents my style in so many ways. It is literally me in a trend! It is the trend that is here to stay, the trend that will never go out of fashion and one of the easiest trends to wear. It can be worn casually but once you add a pair of booties or strapy heels you instantly become a boss ass bitch! There are a million different ways to wear camo, it is so versatile and today I am going to select my favourite camo pieces and show you what I would pair them with! (click on the pictures for direct access to the products)
premium orange camo cargo chain trousers
What I would pair them with;
Khaki Camo Long Sleeve Shirt Dress
What I would pair it with;
CAMO SHEER TULLE OVERSIZED T-SHIRT
What I would pair it with;
MOTO Camouflage Denim Skirt
What I would pair it with;
PIA MIA NUDE CAMO LONG SLEEVE CROPPED JACKET
What I would pair it with;
Anything plain and simple, no crazy patterns!The statement piece is the jacket therefore everything else needs to be clean so that your outfit doesn’t clash.
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