Travel : Monterey!

The next stop on our California road trip was Monterey. I will be honest, before booking and planning this trip I didn't really know that this place existed. But it is now probably one of my favourite places I have ever visited, and I certainly want to go back. Going from the middle of nowhere in Yosemite to Monterey was wonderful! I particularly enjoyed having some fresh air and wind back in my life. Monterey is a picturesque little city commonly known for its cannery and fish district. It's also a very popular destination if you want to go whale watching and there is lots of cute little sea otters swimming around the harbour! 

Hotel

In Monterey we stayed in a gorgeous little boutique hotel called Hotel Pacific, 5 minutes from the sea front. This was probably one of my favourite hotels that we stayed at throughout our California trip. As you can tell from the photograph above, there was ALOT of space! We stayed in a Junior Suite which had breakfast included. We were here for two nights so only really took advantage of the breakfast for one of the nights. This is the only element that lets this hotel down. There wasn't really much of a choice of food to eat. Which is odd when they state a continental breakfast. Regardless the stay was enjoyable and I wish we had longer to stay to take advantage of the large suite we had!

What to do?

The two days that we had in Monterey were well planned out. On the day we arrived, we visited the Aquarium which was booked at the check in desk of our hotel to save waiting in queue times. The aquarium is certainly a must see for me, although I am very biased as its a family tradition to visit an aquarium whenever we are away! Next on our 'to do' list was a trip Whale Watching. Now, although this is a great experience and certainly something I am glad I can say I have done, I am not sure I would hurry back to do it again. To be blunt, the trip isn't great if you get sea sick. No matter how much they tell you that you will be fine, there was probably only a handful of people who were ok on our boat. My dad and I being two of them who managed to cope! I managed to get some really great pictures of the fin and humpback whales which was amazing! Another must see whilst staying in Monterey was the 11 mile drive. The drive basically takes you along the coastline ending at Pebble beach golf course. My dad was so excited about this as he is an avid golfer! There was so much more to see and walk around so was gutted that we didn't have a lot of time in Monterey. 

Tips & Tricks!

I loved taking photographs in Monterey, it was probably my favourite place we visited for photographs as I love the seaside. I wish I knew before we left how pretty it would be at nighttime. I would have brought a small tripod as it was hard to get a decent picture of the gorgeous fairy lights down the pier. One other thing I would have brought would be a thick coat. Don't be fooled, although its California in August, Monterey is a very windy place! Much like San Francisco, I should have checked the weather before leaving! 

I hope you enjoyed this post. I loved reliving my memories through some of the photographs! (Apologies for there being a lot of them, but wanted to be able to look back on this post!)

Love

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Beauty: My golden eye obsession

One of my favourite 'go to' looks at the moment is a gorgeous golden eye. It's such an easy effortless makeup look to create and one that I can do really quickly. Now the weather is finally becoming cooler, and the berry lipstick's are beginning to show their face, I know that I am going to be drawn to this eye look even more. Plus it only uses two eyeshadow shades which can only mean its easy to do right? 

The products that I have used on my face are a mixture of some of my old and new favourites. First I applied the Laura Mercier primer all over my face. I am really loving this product at the moment as it feels really smooth to apply and makes my foundation set really comfortably onto the skin. Next I use my classic Rimmel London Wake me up foundation. I have been using this foundation everyday for the past year or two now and love how it leaves my skin looking. To set my makeup I have used the bloggers classic Stay Matte powder. I particularly use this on the T-zone, as well as on the cheeks and under my eyes. Before doing anything with my eyes I curled my lashes as I hate doing this after applying my eyeshadow! First on the eyes, I used my Seventeen Gold Eye eye eyeshadow*. I still can't get over how amazing this product is to use. I am always a little bit sceptical with cheap eyeshadow products as I am a big fan of the buttery Urban Decay palettes. The pigmentation of the gold is gorgeous and applies really easy. In the crease I used the shade Heartbreaker in the Tartelette palette. Again, the shades in this palette are so easy to blend and are so pigmented. I love how these two shades look together. To finish the eye look I then went back in with my Gold shadow in the middle of the eye and underneath to make them glow a little bit. Finally I applied the Natural Collections waterproof mascara. This mascara is another new favourite of mine. It coats the lashes evenly and holds them in place ALL day long. You can also build up the layers with this mascara without them looking too clumpy which I love. For the brows I applied the Benefit Goof Proof brow pencil. This is such an easy product to apply as it comes out really light allowing you to build up the shape of your brow. Underneath my brows and on my cheekbones I used the Seventeen WOW concealer. This works perfectly as a highlighter and I love the brush applicator as it allows you to be precise! I then applied the Seventeen Instant Glow bronzing powder* in the contour of the cheeks. I have been looking for a bronzing palette to take the place of my Hoola and I think I have found it! They are so similar in colour and apply gorgeously on the cheeks. To finish I used my Charlotte Tilbury Super Cindy Hot Lips lipstick to match the eye look. 

(In this photograph I tried the eye look on with my Kylie Jenner Posie K Lip Kit) 

I really love creating this look on days when I want to look put together without putting in too much effort! I know that I am going to be recreating this most mornings before Uni! 

Are you loving a certain eye look at the moment? Let me know what products you have been loving! 

Love, 

*Products were sent to me to try out. All opinions and photographs are my own and as always are completely honest.

London Fashion Week : Han Wen SS17

One of my favourite shows to attend during London Fashion Week, is the Fashion Scout Merit Award winner. In previous years the winners have been Xiao Li and Eudon Choi, to name a few, so I was excited to see how Han Wen's show would compare.

I was absolutely blown away with the intricate and detailed designs that made up his collection. With a clear Chinese armour inspiration, the collection was full of stand out pieces. One of my favourites included a layered tulle skirt with a eyelet ringed white top. These eyelet's were used throughout the whole collection as a way to connect items. I loved the oversized silhouettes of the garments and the huge emphasis on different textiles. I also really liked the use of leather, and the juxtaposition of structured and loose fabrics. 

What is your favourite look from the show? Any trends you think will be taken from it?

Love,