bloomzy /

Photo Diary: ASOS & Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks UK Tour – The Waterfront, Norwich

You probably remember the ASOS giveaway I hosted recently, right?
Well the prize was 2 pairs of tickets to see Azealia Banks on her UK tour in Norwich.
ASOS were very kind and even gave me and a friend a pair of tickets also, so of course we went!
I decided to get out one of my newest shirts from Oasap and paired it with some high waisted shorts.
As Azealia herself is one classy lady, everyone was equally as fashion fabulous, although no one could have topped the outfits Azealia wore on stage – my favourite being a ‘space-age’ number with an LED bra-let that lit up.
Zebra Katz & REDDD FOXXX were the perfect choice for the support act, and got the crowd in the mood.
As for Azealia, well she knows how to work a crowd and everyone knew the songs so it was a great atmosphere.
I had a great time, and it was made even better by my bestie coming along. I’d definitely do it again.
You can buy Azealia’s ‘1991 EP’ here.
You can also view some of the videos I took here.

bloomzy /

Tutorial: Studded Nail Art Design

How to create a simple studded nail art design

I love nail art but my patience is as long as my skills are good.
Therefore I tend to stick to simple, but effective designs and my favourite way to do this is with an ‘accent nail’.
An accent nail can be one or more nails that stand out from the rest to give your nails that extra bit of glam.
I tend to do one or two, but with this design I felt that less was more. 
So here is a simple & easy tutorial for a studded nail design:
What you will need:
1 x Base & Top Coat
1 x Nail Polish (in your choice of colour)
1 x Container of Micro-beads (in your choice of colour)

How to create the look:
1. Paint your nails with a base coat, your chosen colour and a top coat.
2. Pick your colour of Micro-beads and take a few out of the container.
3. Use the brush of your ‘top coat’ to pick up one of the Micro-beads. 
4. Place the beads on your finger nail in a random design.
5. Once the beads have been put in place, place a top coat over the nail.
And that’s it!
Of course you can use a separate tool for placing the beads on but I was trying to keep the tutorial simple, with items that most people have or are easily accessible. You could also do it on all of the nails, which I think looks great. 
An edgy design that doesn’t take long to create and still looks chic, and as if you spent a lot of time on your nails.
The nail polish I am wearing is Essie in Stone, and the Micro-beads were provided by Born Pretty Store*.
You can buy the nail polish here and the Micro-beads here (use code: BLOOMZYK31 for 10% discount).
bloomzy /

OOTD: Denim Lady

(Denim Shirt: Primark, Dress: Topshop, Shoes: Urban Outfitters, Accessories: Topshop & Urban Outfitters)

On Saturday I went for coffee and brunch with my younger sister, and then to a surprise party.
Since one of the events was casual, and the other a bit more dressy, I decided to put together an outfit that would fit both occassions but not look odd at either. Well, I think I accomplished that – I wore my tiered lace dress (dressy) and paired it with a denim shirt (casual), and some hipster-esque accessories. 
I hope you’re enjoying the more ‘commercial’ photo on the left.
I picked up some delicious special bread from the deli (thanks Toni & Gaby) and had to pose with it.
I know, I know, don’t give up the day job – the bread may outshine me but it had to be done.
Also, as a bonus – a make-up shot!
 I don’t often include them but I also wanted to show off the earrings a bit more.
A few people on Instagram shared their love for them – they’re from Urban Outfitters.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Holiday in Provence 1

 
Photos around Provence, South of France

Here is the first of my photo diaries from my recent holiday in Provence, in the South of France.
I love France and Provence is somewhere I have visited a couple of times for it’s weather, scenery and good food.
So I wanted to show a little bit of Provence in the few photos I included this time.
We have; cakes, animals, coffee, architecture and…a pink bike, of course.
The cakes just looked so inviting, and I’m a big fan of French decaffeinated espressos because I can’t have caffeine and they’re still rich with flavour, compared to British decafe coffee anyway. The cute kitty was the ‘village cat’ that wandered around – I took that photo when we were sat having dinner. As for the dog, I don’t know who it belonged to as it was in a different town but he was really friendly – I was taking an outfit photo when he came over and photobombed me. It’s safe to say I forgave him. Hmm…I think the rest is self explanatory, except for the pink bicycle, which was just a prop to advertise for a nearby Pizzeria.
I haven’t done a photo diary for a little while, so I hope you still enjoy them!
bloomzy /

OOTD: Holiday in Provence, France 2

(T-shirt, Shorts & Sandals: Topshop, Bag: Primark, Necklace: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Sunglasses: New Look)

Here is the second helping of my outfit shots from my recent holiday.
This time taken in a wonderful small village in the mountains, outside a lovely restaurant we actually ended up going to a few days later. I loved the look of the place so I wanted to do a quick outfit shot in front of it.
Obviously this was a casual outfit, just something comfortable for a day of walking, browsing markets and sipping on decafe espressos. I wore my favourite grey t-shirt…ok I only have one, but if I did have more this would be my favourite because the material is wonderfully comfortable, soft and light. I also paired it with my Marc by Marc Jacobs wishbone necklace, which is just the right amount of ‘rock’ without taking too much from the outfit.
I look so teeny-tiny on these photos, and as much as I would like to think it’s a combination of the slope I’m standing on and the fiance’s height, lets just face it, I’m a shorty.

Apologies for the quality of the above photos, these were taken on my iPhone not camera.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea at Penmaenuchaf Hall – Dolgellau, Wales
A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of having afternoon tea at Penmaenuchaf Hall.
As some of you may know I am a big foodie, and I adore tea so you can probably guess how much I enjoyed it there.
If the grounds and hotel weren’t stunning enough, the food was even better! We were served a large selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones – with cream and jam, of course. I definitely ate my fill, which was accompanied by a ton of Earl Grey…I’d like to say literally but I don’t think that’s possible, even for me.
It’s funny because when I was living in Tokyo one of the main questions I was asked by the Japanese people I met was “When do you have afternoon tea?”. It always made me laugh and I would tell them that ‘afternoon tea’ wasn’t really practised now as often as it was in the past, nor was there a specific time for it. Yet after having this I felt a little sad that ‘afternoon tea’ was now kind of in the background of British culture. However I have noticed a variety of tea rooms opening recently in lots of cities (Norwich has plenty), all which seem to offer ‘afternoon tea’. 
I hope the practise won’t die out just yet, because it’s so much fun, and incredibly tasty.
…not to mention, very British!
bloomzy /

Giveaway: DropGifts & Illustrated People

Tie-dye Illustrated People Crop Top* and the Giveaway Prize

DropGifts is a new online service (& mobile app) which allows you to send gift cards (vouchers) to friends & family.

They offer a variety of vouchers from well known stores such as Illustrated People, Urban Outfitters, John Lewis, Various cinemas and more. Some of these are free to send to friends, whilst you have to pay for others. Once you have chosen your voucher and sent it, it will appear on your friend’s Facebook wall. By clicking through the link they will be taken to the DropGifts site where they can find all the details they need in order to receive/use their gift!
What can you win?
The white Illustrated People t-shirt pictured above on the right hand side (seen here).

How to enter:
1. Follow ‘Bloomzy’ via GFC/Bloglovin
2. Send a free Illustrated People giftcard via DropGifts (here) or via the app (here).
3. Earn extra entries by liking Facebook pages/tweeting about the giveaway.

This giveaway has now ended!
Congratulations to Katrina, I have sent you an email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway