My Travel Essentials

Hello!

Ok, so today I'm VERY excited so I thought I would show my travel essentials to try and relieve some of this enthusiasm. My family and I travel to Ibiza next week and I think I'm the only one excited about it at all. Although, that may be because this year we are being joined by one of my bestest friends! 

I am beyond looking forward to it...

So, here we have my travel essentials. These aren't necessarily tailored to any specific type of holiday or travel experience, so these are just the general things that I take for any trip.  

I usually like to take quite a big bag as a carry-on or whatever, so I've used my satchel for this. It's a leather square-ish bag from Scaramanga and its pretty much perfect. You could probably use it for anything: I used it as a schoolbag for the past two years, but it could easily be used as a handbag or carry-on bag, or maybe even a briefcase type thing, as it's definitely big enough to fit a laptop.

BZRK - Michael Grant

I always bring a book (more like four) with me when I travel, especially on long car or plane journeys because I find that theres something about holidays that just make me want to read loads. I do usually read at home, but not much and not very often, unless I find a REALLY good book and I read it in a matter of hours. Anyway, this is the book that I will be bringing next week in my hand luggage. I'm already halfway through it and so far I really like it. It's one of those darker, creepy books (I know, I'm rubbish at describing things...) and its still sort of all a mystery to me, but it's got to one of those bits where it starts to get soooo good and you think it'll end too soon and theres still loads of the book left and you have no idea where its all gonna end up. Yeah. It's one of those.

Another essential, probably not just for me, is my purse, or some kind of money-storing-device. My purse is from Fossil and I love it to pieces! It's very handy, with a slot compartment to hold your phone on the inside, which makes it perfect for travelling. Its one of those great purses with so many slots and compartments for cards and money and coins and it basically caters for everything you may need in a purse.  It also has a detachable wrist strap, which is also very handy, but I've found that when you take the strap off, theres no zip bit to hold to make it easy to open, it just leaves a little loop, which is quite tiny if you have big fingers like me. However, thats the only flaw that I have found with the purse, its just so pretty to stare at, even the inside is a fab purple colour.

The next things that I always like to travel with are my beautiful notebooks. I think they are Paperblanks, but I bought them both in a local gift shop. I bought the smaller one first and I spent quite a while trying to talk myself out of wanting it, because if I'm honest, they're not cheap notebooks and I have limited notebook funds. Anyway, I ignored my senses and bought it anyway. The second one was slightly easier to reason myself into buying. I mean, its called 'Black Moroccan' and I was going to Morocco at the time so I simply couldn't resist...

 Anyway, they are incredibly good quality, and they have that lovely thick paper that just feels really good to turn. You can get them lined or unlined, but I bought both of these unlined because I like to draw and stuff and lines get in the way. The big book has a funky fold over magnetic flap to keep it shut, and protects the pages from dust and crumbs when its shoved to the bottom of my bag.

And finally, we have some general travel bits and bobs...

Phone and Headphones: a true essential for me. I hate not having my phone accessible at all times. Its not that I'm always using it, but I like to know that its there so that if I need it, I've got it. I always pack loads of stuff to do in hand luggage, but I usually end up listening to music and staring out the window the whole way, and I end up pointlessly carting around loads of heavy, and wholly unnecessary books and pencil cases and all sorts. 

Hand cream: This hand cream is the coconut Body Shop one, but it comes in a diddy squeezy tube, which makes it fab for flying because of the restrictions with the amount of liquid you can travel with. I always like to have hand cream on me,  although I don't usually use it, my mum and brother get really dry hands and always need it, so its always useful to have.

Sunglasses: Of course, this depends on where you are travelling to, but if you are going to a nice sunny place, they're probs quite important to protect your lil eyes from the sun. I like to keep sunglasses in hand luggage instead of in a suitcase because I get really worried that they'll get crushed and I'll unpack to find smashed up glass in with all of my clothes and stuff. (I don't know whether this is a completely irrational fear or not???) These groovy green frames are also from Fossil.

Lipbalm: I ALWAYS have lip balm on me because I'm one of those people who can't stand dry and chapped lips. Always gotta be prepared! This Eos Tangerine lip balm is currently, and will probably forever be, my favourite lip balm. It doesn't really smell orangey, or like anything recognisable, but I quite like the smell, and its great for hydrating the kissers.

Water: Water is very important to have wherever you are, and I have recently discovered Voss water. I had always thought that this was incredibly expensive and not readily available in the UK, but I spotted it in Tesco and had to get it. I got it for £1.30, which is expensive for a water bottle, but much cheaper than I was expecting, and its a glass bottle, so I have been reusing it over and over. I don't know what it is about drinking water from a bottle, but sometimes I hate it and sometimes I love it. This happens to be one of the bottles that I love and I end up refilling it like 20 times a day.

However, a water bottle like this may not be allowed on flights, because of the restrictions, but its definitely good for car journeys.

So there you have it! All of my travel essentials!

M

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A Week in Hair Styles...

Hello!

Now, I'm probably the worst person to post about hair and how to style it, because I literally repeat the same two hairstyles every day and hope that nobody notices.  However, in an attempt to broaden my hairy horizons, I've decided to document how I've done my hair every day for a week. 

Wish me luck...

WEDNESDAY:

This really was a quick do today - simply parting my hair and plaiting very loosely, securing with a transparent elastic hairband. I then sort of just ran my fingers through it to rough it up and loosen the plaits even more. 

It felt especially good to have loose-goosy hair today, on the HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR!!! In England, we're lucky to even see the sun most days, so the ultimate heat was very well received!

THURSDAY:

I've always known that messy hair is my thang, so this hairdo was way up there with my favourites. Again, its totally simple. All I did (which you can't really see anyway!) was take small pieces of hair and plait them so that I was left with teensy cute braids. I also took small chunks of hair and backcombed them a little bit,  just to make it look super messy. 

Finishing off a diddly plait is a tricky business - I never know whether to use a tiny clear elastic band or whether its just too big for plaits so small? I've resorted to ever so slightly back combing them so that they don't come undone and aren't bulky, which works quite well. Although, it does make them a pain to brush out...

I also quite like to have one larger plait positioned sort of behind my ear, which I do use a hairband to fasten, and pull the strands out with my fingers to make it looser.

I know that you can't really see any of the plaits in these pictures, but my hair is veeery thin and lanky, so I like to position the plaits on the underneath of my hair as I find that it helps to make my hair look thicker and more healthy :) 

FRIDAY:

I've only recently learned how to french plait, so you could say that I've been wearing the life out of them recently. I feel like this half-plaited 'do is great for keeping hair out of your face and doesn't really take long to do, perfect for school!

All I did to achieve this was french plait the top section of my hair, down to about half way down the back of my head, before I stopped adding in more bits of hair and plaited the hair to the end, holding it in place with a clear hairband. 
Easy stuff.

SATURDAY:

Once again, not a particularly adventurous style, but a kind of classic. Everybody loves a bun; even my brother says its his favourite hairstyle for a girl to wear.
A loose and bobbly bun is my go-to 'do for days when my hair just won't do what I want it to!



I reckon most people know how to do a bun, but if you don't, all I do is gather my hair into a ponytail, usually keeping it loose and I tie it with a hairband. Next, I twist the ponytail until it naturally begins to curl and it wrap it around the band, either tying it with another band or slotting in bobby pins.

SUNDAY:

 

I can't stand a flat ponytail, so I like to seriously backcomb mine... I also like a really high ponytail, so I tend to put my hair up by flinging my hair upside down to get it as high up on my head and physically possible (or at least as high as I can get away with...)

MONDAY:

Here we go, something slightly different!
I'm not really sure what this would be called, or even how to describe it, but basically, 
its a twist at the back of my head. (Sounds attractive, I know...)

Looks pretty cool, huh?

Even better, its so easy! 

To make your hair do this wonderful thing, collect all of your hair at the back of your head in a low ponytail and tie loosely with a hairband. Next, make a gap in the hair, above the band, so that you can fit your fingers through. Flip the ponytail through the hole so that it creates a twisty loop and pull the band tighter if needed!

TUESDAY:

I looove having curly hair, but I hate having to curl my hair all the time, so I don't often do it, but what better way to end a blog post dedicated to hair?
 I don't know what it is about the process that makes me hate it so much, but I always find myself getting very hot and stressed and everything curls the wrong way and I usually end up rushing the last few sections, resulting in wonky, and wholly unattractive half waves. 
It's a nightmare, I tell ya.

  
However, I reckon I've found a solution to the pain, red facedness and overall uncomfortably long process. I separate my hair into four chunks and wrap them around the curling iron for about a minute each. Thats it. Crazy. I know it might only work for me because my hair is quite thin, but I really like the loose wave look that it gives. To hold the curls throughout the day, I simply spray it with a bit of hairspray and brush through it with my fingers to make it look a bit more natural, and less on the crispy side.

 So, theres my week in hairstyles! I really hope you like it! (I know I did! It was fab posing for my brother with the camera. Not sure he enjoyed it as much as me though...) 
Until next time,

M
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