Lake Garda

This weekend was very special.. it was my mama's Birthday! To celebrate we went on a little trip to Italy and stayed near Lake Garda, in a lovely little village called Salo. I had been to that area before (around Milan) when I was about 14, but had never visited the lakes. The countryside was absolutely breathtaking, so I thought I would share a few photos with you :). Keep in mind we had torrential rain for three days so the sky looks very gloomy in most of these.

Our hotel (just as we leave the sun came out, typical).

This is the view from the top of a castle on a peninsula.

We also spent a day in Verona and saw the opera Turandot. 

About an hour before we had to get back the clouds disappeared and we were able to sneak in a little bit of lunch by the water. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend my lovelies! xxx

Work It Out: Installment Quinze

Just a quickie today as I am feeling very much under the weather. On certain days I have to be a little more smart, but who really wants to wear a stuffy suit and white shirt combo? Instead, I decided to spice up a pretty boring grey suit with a mint blouse to add some texture and feminine colour.

Blouse: Dorothy Perkins. Suit Jacket and pleated skirt: Austin Reed. Black suede ballet pumps: Zara.

What's your favourite way of customising a tired suit? I usually add a coloured, floaty blouse or go for killer heels ;). xxx

London Zoo Lates

Throughout August London Zoo is open late (until 10pm) every Friday. Luckily, my lovely bf booked tickets weeks ago, as they sold out quickly. I love animals, and we all know I love cocktails (hehe) so there was no better way to start the weekend than with a few glasses of Pimms while ambling around London Zoo after work.

I would highly recommend it to everyone as a fun evening out. Just make sure to eat beforehand or arrive early with lots of cash as the queues for food/ drinks get very long and only cash is accepted at the tills. We managed to circumvent the queues by eating at the seafood/ oyster bar, which was predictably empty compared to the BBQ/ burger stands, but I know seafood isn't for everyone ;).

 The rain-forest enclosure is definitely a must-see. These little monkeys were too adorable for words!!

If you haven't noticed yet, my favourite animals are giraffes. Who are your favourites lovelies? xxx

Formal Evening

I haven't been very diligent this week in my outfit posts, but I have the photos stored up so this should be rectified soon :).

This is a dress from Hobbs I wore for a formal evening out recently. During the day I wore it with a navy cardigan, to hide the keyhole in the front, which is a little too revealing for work purposes ;).

Dress and belt: Hobbs. Shoes: KG by Kurt Geiger.

Hobbs release a version of this dress every year. I have resisted for the past 3 summers, but this year I loved the shape, their use of a silky material for the top and a flowing silk for the skirt, and the contrasting lime belt too much, so had to give in. It is far more unique than the previous designs they have had, yet still quite formal due to the length.

For makeup, I have been wearing my trusty YSL Teint Resist foundation. Because it is a very dry (sometimes a little too dry and can show any uneven patches on the skin) and matte formulation it stays put pretty well on my oily skin. Here I am also wearing the Beaute Liqui-Gel stain in Fever (dark red) applied very lightly. It gives a beautiful colour, which lasts for most of the day and looks absolutely natural.

What do we think of contrasting belts? 
I hope you are all having a good week my lovelies :). xxx

Freebie alert!

You all know I adore The Body Shop so I was very excited to hear that this month's edition of InStyle magazine comes with a free TBS lip and cheek stain.

There are two colours to chose from - rose pink or bronze glimmer. I actually own the pink one (or a very similar colour) and it is perfect for a natural flush and stain on 'no makeup days' or even as a basecoat to a bright red or pink lip to ensure your lip colour is locked in place all day.

I will therefore be popping out this week in search of the bronze glimmer in the hope that it will give tanned skin a lovely natural highlight. If you want to know more you are welcome to check out the InStyle site here.

Hope you are all having a good week! Are there any other freebies out there I should be hunting for? xxx