Beauty // Baby Put On Heart Shaped Sunglasses.

You could be fooled into thinking that this was supposed to be a Valentines day post that I forgot to share with you because I'm a slightly very inconsistent blogger, but I can assure it's not! Just because theres photos of pretty rose's in it, that doesn't mean I was supposed to write this weeks ago ... although admittedly I can see why you may think that! Truth be told I'm not actually a massive fan of Valentines Day, and that's not because I'm forever destined to be alone ... It's just not really my thing. However there is is one thing about the occasion that I adore, and that my friends is the abundance of pinks and reds everywhere. Yes I'm yet again declaring my love for all things pink, and yes you got me I'm using this post as an excuse to do so.

It's perfectly normal to match your nails to a bunch of flowers, right? ... errr no? OK only me then. It seems I have a persistent need to be "matchy matchy" all the time. In other words my colour matching apparently has no boundaries. I know, I'm beyond weird. But I think we can all agree in my defence however, that pink and red are an irresistible colour combination. So it was somewhat obvious that as soon as I feasted my eyes upon this delectable bouquet I was going to instantly fall in love with these colours again, and in true Aimee style I would paint my nails accordingly. Because of course that's a perfectly normal thing to do! (errrr...)

Lately I've been noticing a lot of variations of "Heart-esque-style nails" (Yeah, I have no idea what to call them) all over the Internet, so I thought I would "attempt" something similar myself. Admittedly mine don't exactly look that heart shaped, however I weirdly prefer the way mine turned out. I feel it just suits my nail shape a lot more, although I guess its just personal preference! If however you do want a more "hearty" look you could simply just take the polish further up the nail, or paint the edges more rounded.

I don't really feel that these nails even need explaining, because believe me they are so incredibly simple. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it. Fact. However for the sake of this blog post I'll briefly explain what I used and how I used it ...

1 // Firstly I selected my desired nail polishes, which also just so happen to be my current favourites. Since I'm obsessed with both these colours, It was really the obvious choice. Alternatively though, you could use any shades you fancy for this ... I'm already imagining it in a rainbow of pastels. (I wrote a post on L'oreal Colour Riche "Marie Antoinette" here, and Maybelline Color Show "Downtown Red" here too, If you want a little review!)

2 // Then I proceeded to paint my nails in the shade "Marie Antoinette" (Oh how I adore this colour!), which was shortly followed by a second coat. I find most pastel polishes need two coats (sometimes three!) to avoid streaking.

3 // Once dry, I then reached for "Downtown Red" and carefully swiped a small semi-circle (ish!) shape at the corner of the nail. I then repeated that on the opposite corner. TIP: Be careful but fast at the same time ... trust me, It just works!

4 // .... AND VOLIA!!! ... Yes It's that simple. See I told you it needs no explaining!

... And yes my hand looks strange. Why is it so impossible to take a decent photo of my hand? It was either this or the dreaded "dinosaur claw" hand pose ... and I just can't bear that!

So there you have it, a simple and easy (annnd quick might I add!) way to paint your nails, If of course you fancy it! This post has turned out incredibly longer than I anticipated, so I think I'll just go now before I write an essay ...

... Hope your all having a lovely weekend!

Fashion // Orla Kiely SS/14

// Original Images found here on the Orla Kiely Pinterest page //

I think we all know by now that I adore anything and everything designed by Orla Kiely, so I thought it was only natural to share with you some of my favourite pieces from the new collection ... which I believe is now available online and in stores as of today! Sadly most of these beautiful items are unattainable to me at the moment (Yes I'm looking at you Raccoon bag!), but hey a girl can dream right? So dream we shall ...

In my opinion Orla Kiely never fails to disappoint and this season was certainly no different. Inspired by Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" (*I know, I'm squealing inside too!*) and girl scouts, it was obvious that I was going to fall head over heels in love with this collection right from the get go! As always each piece has a modern yet retro feel to it, which I believe is something that no other designer can do as well as Orla. To me this collection has a very strong feel of the late 60's /early 70's to it, which as you can imagine being a vintage geek myself I adore this immensely. Every piece just so happens to be incredibly feminine and playful and ALSO I think there's an interesting contrast of texture and embellishment throughout. I know, I know, can it sound even more perfect than it already does? ... well yes my friends, yes It can! There's animal motif embroidery too ... annnnnd animal shaped bags, I repeat animal shaped bags! Yes you heard me animal shaped bags! Can you tell I'm obsessed with the animal shaped bags? (OK I'll stop its becoming annoying now!) 

Also I should mention that if like me your swooning over those delectable shoes that the model is wearing above, I can happily tell you that they are part of a collaboration with Clarks (I know, who would of thought it!) and are available here along with the rest of the collection. 

... Now that I've declared my love and admiration for Orla Kiely, I'm off to pretend I'm Suzy Bishop!

What are your thoughts on the collection though? Is there a particular piece your swooning over? ... and are you a fan of the animal shaped bags too? hehe!

Hope you've all had a lovely Valentines Day!

P.s.  ... Also who's excited to see what other magical creations are at the at the Orla Kiely AW 14/15 presentation tomorrow? I know I certainly am!  

Blogspired // What Olivia Did.

I read a lot of blogs. And when I say a lot I mean A LOT. I feel like it’s become somewhat of a harmless addiction for me, over the last few years. I mean reading blogs never hurt anyone right? ... Well except my purse (Sorry Purse!  ... yes I just apologised to my purse, errr lets swiftly move on ...). So I was thinking that it only seemed fitting to share some of my absolute favourites with you in a series of posts, because I've got a feeling you too might share my addiction! After all I found out about all of my favourite blogs through other blogs, so it would be rude of me to deny you my knowledge! However there is a one little twist, which of course you've already noticed ... Yes I shall indeed create an illustration of each blogger! Partially because you know I can’t resist drawing a pretty girl in a pretty dress, but also because I wanted to make an effort. After all who knows what I’d be wearing today if I'd never discovered the amazing world of fashion blogs ... Honestly I dread to think!...

To begin with I thought I'd start with the ever so delightful Olivia from What Olivia did, whose blog I have adored for a very long time now ... in fact It was one of the first blogs I ever read (2010 anyone?), so I guess you could say that I really have watched it grow in to something truly inspiring over the years! I have a feeling that a lot of you reading this have probably already seen (or read even!) the lovely Miss Purvis's blog, but just in case you don't I'll  give you a little insight on what to expect when you go and check and it out in a moment! Yes that was an order ... honestly I promise you'll love it as much as me, so just go and take a look!

Lipstick, The sixties, and that oh-so perfect beehive (how does she do it so well?!) are just a few of the things that spring to mind when I think of Olivia. She's like a modern day Audrey Hepburn who oozes grace and elegance in every outfit she wears ... yes there's no denying I have wardrobe envy too! However her impeccable style isn't the only thing that entices me to her blog time after time ... she's actually an incredibly talented writer too! Lets just say it's refreshing to see a blog that has amazing photography AND amazing content. Don't get me wrong however her blog isn't just about her amazing hat collection (yes guys I can only dream of looking that good in a fedora!), it also has lots of lovely reviews of places to visit in London, scatterings of music, and more importantly scrumptious baking recipes to try! Yes Olivia, like me, shares a love for baking or should I say The Great British Bake Off. Oh Mary why can't I be as talented as you? Whyyy? ...

So there you have you have it, I can just tell your itching to click through and read more, that is of course if you haven't already left me! Hopefully you will all adore Olivia's blog as much as I do. I'm 100% positive you will however, after all she has won amazing awards for What Olivia Did ... I guess it just goes to prove that hard work and determination really do pay off when it comes to blogging!

Hope your all having a lovely Wednesday so far!

UPDATE: I've just noticed that I've stupidly misspelt Olivia's name on the actual illustration! Seriously I feel like a complete idiot ... honestly Olivia if your reading this then I want to apologise as I know how annoying having your name misspelt is! ... what was I thinking???!

Moodboard // Ooh La Flamingo.

*Images sources from left to right // 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 *

If you told me last week that I would dedicate a whole blog post to a pink bird, I wouldn't of believed you. In fact if you told me yesterday, I still won't of believed you. However here I am today sharing with you my current "unlikely" inspiration, and possibly my new style icon ... the flamingo, I mean come on guys lets face it this bird has style! It all started late last night when I was gathering images to use in my scrapbook (Yes Ella's amazing post on "Staying Creative" , completely inspired me!), when I suddenly realised that sub-consciously over the last month I had saved/pinned (Yes you're looking at a Pinterest addict here!) loads of photos that were very flamingo-esque. This led me to the conclusion that I must have a thing for elegant pink birds that can stand on one leg! I didn't realise it till last night, but thinking about it now all the signs were there. Lusting over anything and everything pink, wearing pastel pink nail polish non-stop, me having a dream about wearing the most amazing fuzzy pink coat, and standing on one leg ... OK so not the last one, but I thinks its pretty safe to say that I've been wanting to be a flamingo for awhile now. So without further ado I thought I'd share with you a few items that will get you on your way to becoming in my opinion "the prettiest bird in all the land" ...

Where to buy from left to right  // 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

OK OK OK! Yessssss I'll admit I've simply just selected all the beautiful pink things my heart desires ... And yes you're right I'm using flamingos as an excuse to obsess over pink yet again! I have a problem, I know! But honestly, you can't deny that there's something ridiculously flirtatious about wearing pink that's hard to resist! ... no? Only me? OK then! I should probably confess however that I actually don't wear much pink ... I know shock horror Aimee doesn't actually wear much pink, yet she declares her love for the colour ALL THE TIMEEEEE! Take a moment to let that sink in, because sadly it's true! (contrary to popular belief my wardrobe doesn't resemble Barbies! ... although my 5 year old self wishes it did) Perhaps that's the reason I decided to write this post ... to sub consciously inspire myself to "embrace the pink"! Well I can tell you girlie's (or guys?) its working. This time next week I'll be a walking talking flamingo ... either that or I'll look like Barbie's thrown up all over me (such a strange visual image for you there!), either way I'm definitely going to be investing in some pink for my wardrobe soon ...

... The question is will you? Have I tempted you to embrace your inner flamingo? ... or does the thought of wearing pink still make you shudder with horror?

... Hope you all had a lovely Tuesday! 

* For a lot of these images I was unable to find the exact original source (so annoying when that happens!), so instead I've linked you to the images on Pinterest account.