“You can get married three or four times but prom is a once in a lifetime experience”- Anon

Choosing a prom dress is not unlike what I imagine choosing a wedding dress is like. It’s one day that is documented for life and one that everyone want’s to look their best. Coming from someone who went to their prom reluctantly and didn’t have a special dress or anything,  here are some things I would consider if I had the chance to do it over.

Get some inspiration

Between magazines, Google image searches and social media, there is an endless supply of resources that will provide inspiration when you don’t know where to start. Not only from looking at prom dresses but anything , even red carpet events, the options are endless.

Budget

Beautiful prom dresses are available in every price range, style and colour you can imagine so even with a budget on the smaller side there are still amazing dresses to be had. There are places that rent out dresses for proms so this is always worth considering if dresses to buy are proving too expensive. The prom dress market is highly lucrative, especially in the States and there is often a lot of pressure to spend a small fortune on a dress. It needs to be remembered though, that this dress is for one occasion. Sit down with your budget well in advance and decide how much you are willing to spend on a prom dress.

Style and comfort

Websites love to tell people to look for a dress that flatters your shape when looking for a prom dress. I say pick something that you like and makes you feel confident. When looking for inspiration there may be styles of dresses that jump out at you, if these are the dresses that you love then these are the dresses you should be trying on and seeing what you think instead of being told what kind of dress is best suited to your body. At the end of the day, you will be the one wearing the dress so only you have to love it.

Most importantly you want a prom dresses that suit you and your personal style. The last thing you want is to spend the evening and look back on photos for years to come and not feel like yourself. I know comfort doesn’t often come into it when people think about a prom dress but it’s meant to be an enjoyable occasion, not just an evening of adjusting straps, pulling and tugging on a bodice or struggling to breathe. Its a right of passage that you only get once so pick and dress you love and have the best time!

3 health checks you can do from home

Your wellbeing is extremely important, so it’s vital that you do what you can to keep your health in tiptop condition. With this in mind, there are a number of checks you can do from the comfort of your own home, and here are three of them.

1. STI test

Unless you’re being careful between the sheets, you could be put be putting yourself at risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection (STI). These infections can be passed between partners during unprotected sex. Unfortunately, not all STIs have symptoms, so you may not even be aware that you have one. If they’re left untreated, they can lead to major health and fertility problems, so if you’ve had unprotected sex and you’re worried you may have an STI, it’s important to get tested.

Getting tested for an STI is quick and easy – and you don’t have to visit your doctor for some of these checks. Instead you can purchase a home testing kit from an online pharmacy, such as Online Doctor LloydsPharmacy. This is especially useful if you’re too embarrassed to speak to someone face-to-face. Simply order your kit, and send it back once you’ve done your sample. You will then be told if you require treatment. You can find out more online about treatment for genital herpes and other STIs. In most cases, STIs can be treated with a short course of antibiotics.

2. Blood pressure check

According to the NHS, more than one in four adults in the UK have high blood pressure. However, due to the fact that there are hardly any symptoms, many won’t realise they have it. High blood pressure can put strain on your blood vessels and organs and if it’s left untreated, it can lead to a number of serious health conditions such as heart attacks, heart disease and strokes.

Even if you feel healthy, it’s important to get your blood pressure checked. A blood pressure test enables you to see if your blood pressure is too low or too high. You can get this done by your GP or at your local pharmacy – and it can even be done from the comfort of your own home.

To carry out your own blood pressure test at home, you’ll need to invest in a blood pressure monitor. You can purchase one of these machines from various online retailers and shops. Doing this check at home can give you a better reflection of your blood pressure than if you were to have the test at somewhere like a GP surgery, especially if this type of environment makes you feel nervous. Carrying out your blood pressure checks at home also means you can monitor it easily in the long term.

3. Breast examination

In the UK, one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetimes. The likelihood of developing this condition increases with age, and women aged between 50 and 70 are invited for a breast cancer screening every three years. However, regardless of how old you are, it’s crucial that you’re aware of this condition and, even though you may not be asked to attend a screening for a few years yet, there’s no reason why you can’t examine yourself at home.

Carrying out a self-examination is quick and easy. Look at your breasts in the mirror and check for anything unusual, such as changes in skin texture and swelling around your armpits and collarbone. Also, inspect your nipples for discharge or changes in direction. You should feel your breasts too. With the palm of your hand, use gentle yet firm circular motions to check for lumps and thickening. You can find more tips on how to check your breasts online through charities such as Cancer Research UK and CoppaFeel.

If you’re worried about anything in regards to your breasts, it’s important that you see your doctor as soon as possible. They will be able to carry out a more accurate screening.

If you’re concerned about your wellbeing in any way, don’t hesitate to speak to a medical professional for further help and advice.

How to be ‘effortlessly stylish’ with knitwear this season
If you love knit fashion and want inspiration for making the look your own, why not try being ‘effortlessly stylish’? The ‘effortlessly stylish’ way of dressing basically means looking fantastic without spending hours choosing your outfit.
To help you embrace the ‘effortlessly stylish’ lifestyle, QUIZ — a leading retailer of party dresses — has put together an incredible style guide so you can quickly create an on-trend outfit that will look amazing this season.
What knitwear is in this season?
At this time of year, there is always a huge range of knitwear designs for us to choose from to help us customise our own knit outfits. Having plenty of stylish woollies is essential for keeping you looking incredible in the colder months — and top knit trends to keep an eye out for this year are: oversized, cable knit and striped jumpers.

Roll-neck and polo-neck sweaters
When it comes to be being ‘effortlessly stylish’, there’s nothing better than layering. As the name suggests, layering is achieved by wearing multiple clothing over/under each other — and the polo- or roll- neck sweater is ideal for this. To layer in style, simply pull on a polo neck underneath a square-necked top, then match with your favourite pair of jeans and ankle boots.
We all know how hard it can be to dress for work on a freezing morning. So, make it easy for yourself by embracing the ‘effortlessly stylish’ lifestyle. Try a blazer/turtle-neck combo to keep you smart and cosy, or keep hold of the summer vibe by matching a roll neck top with one of your summery pinafores or sleeveless sundresses.

Jumper dresses
There’s nothing that screams ‘effortlessly stylish’ like the iconic jumper dress. If you want an outfit that takes you from casual to dressy, team your jumper dress with over-the-knee boots. Or, if you’re in the mood to show off your curves, wrap a chunky belt around your waist. Being such a versatile fashion piece, the jumper dress looks great with anything. Plus, the long, knitted sleeves eliminate the need to search for a matching cardigan — unless you want to add another layer, of course.

Autumn/winter shoes
Everyone has their favourite pair of boots and this footwear style fits fantastically into the ‘effortlessly stylish’ way-of-life. Boots come in various styles, colours and materials, which is great for creating a truly individual outfit and staying true to the ‘effortlessly stylish’ trend.
Ankle boots dress up any outfit with minimal effort, but it’s actually the sock boot that is a key trend this autumn and winter. Featuring a pointed toe, high heel and textured fabric that fits to the ankle, they slip on easily and look great with jeans during the day and a skirt on a night out. Of course, if in doubt, you can always rely on the ankle boot. Extremely versatile when it comes to matching with an outfit, ankle boots are excellent at retaining their colour and form when you have to trek through snow and sludge! Choose a pair with a chunky heel so that they’re suitable for day and night.
Accessorising your ‘effortlessly stylish’ look
The best thing about knitwear is how easy it is to dress up and customise. Accessorising is key to taking knitwear to the next level this season and statement earrings are a great place to start. Find tassel, chunky metal and huge hoop designs and match them with almost any autumn winter outfit. To make things even easier, why not go for something neutral, like black or gold earrings, to make sure that they complement your ensemble and keep them in your bag for after-work drinks?
During the cold, rainy and snowy season; you need a bag that looks amazing, but is also functional. Put the perfect final twist on your knitwear outfit with trendy leather bags and backpacks. Black is an ideally effortless, everyday option. Buy the shade with a cute pattern to keep things interesting, or match it with jeans and red or gold shoes for a sophisticated autumn look.

Make the most of looking laidback and chic this season with the ‘effortlessly stylish’ trend. Follow all of the above fashion tips for the perfect seasonal look.

Two months ago I decided to cut off all of my chemically straightened hair, I was left with around 3 inches of curly hair. It was definitely the right decision for me so I can now grow my healthy natural curly hair.

Since cutting off all my hair eight weeks ago, hats and large earrings have been my go to accessories. I love hats so much, they save all the faff of playing about with wigs and its saves so much time getting ready not having to curl my hair.

These are my two favourite hats at the moment;

With the weather being what it is at the moment I have been reaching for these two hats all the time. One is a beanie and one is a beret and these are my favourite hat types for the aesthetic I go for.

Hats are such a nice way to accessorise and maybe add a pop of colour to your outfit if you choose.  I have been looking at some hats on Esprit and these four are my favourites.

 

I love warm hats over hats that just serve as fashion accessories even though I love the look of a knitted hat, as you can tell  by my choice of favourites. Esprit have a wide range of products in their Hats and Caps department.

Esprit have a number of ranges from womenswear, menswear, and a kids department to home wear which has a huge range of throws and cushions which i have been lusting over. All in all its a really great site with so much to offer.

Do you have short hair? how do you like to accessorise? or do you have a love of hats, I would love to hear about what hats you all like.

Besides fashionable hats something else I want at the moment is something standout for me and my blog. As I create more and more content I want to have a logo that represents me, something that instantly makes people think of me and my blog. Logojoy is a great site that allows you to be creative and design your own quality professional logo to represent you. The easy to use site is fun and creates mock ups so you are in total control of how the design goes so the finished product is exactly what you dreamed up in your mind. Just how it should be.

 

 

 

I know I mention this all the time but I’ve recently moved into a new house in Birmingham and I am currently decorating . I have chosen beautiful paint for my living room, its called Mocha, its a beautiful grey brown. I initially only wanted to paint the living room but now that is done we are moving onto other rooms in the house.

We have been storing things in the loft but its scary and dark up there so we have been talking about getting a new window put in up there so when I was approached about writing about Velux top hung roof windows I thought that was a sign and absolutely perfect .

Velux have a huge range of roof windows in a whole of finishes and types of glazing to suit your needs.

My preference is in a white finish to match my existing decor and definitely with noise reduction because I live near a school and kids are great but not at 8am lol.

These windows are truly beautiful and really do change the aesthetic of a room. They are very classy and allow for so much light to flood into a room. The windows obviously open as much or as little as you want to but when fully open it brings the outside in having such a large open space and is just stunning. A beautiful addition to any room and definitely a focal point of your home interior.

Spending a lot of my time indoors I would really love to have a large window , I love light and airy rooms and in the spring my windows are constantly open . The website is very easy to navigate so you can browse their huge array of window options for find the best option for you.  They also have online assistance that offers help should you need it.

 

This post is a little different for me but I think it’s really important to talk about. For the last year and  a half or so  I have been struggling with what I believe is acid reflux or possible GERD, I have found some ways to that really help me, like not eating right be before I go to sleep and making sure I am propped up slightly when I have eaten late. I have also increased the amount of water that I drink and these things really help me out.

Even though I have been doing these things and I gave googled to the ends of the earth and back to make sure as much as i can that it is hat i think it is, I still want to check in with my GP to see if there is anything else I can do or anything they can offer me.  I just come across a website called The Independent Pharmacy who have an online pharmacist and an online doctor and you have access to over 400 medications, you can get a consultation, order your medication and have it delivered to your door, all without having to leave your house. I think this is fantastic for people who are not physically able to get to the doctor for medical reasons and also for people who are unable to make it due to time constraints and those who work awkward hours.

They have a very easy to navigate website and you can check their list of medical conditions to have a look at what medications are used to treat the condition before going through to the actual consultation.

I genuinely think this is an amazing and very very useful resource, one that would come in very handy for my lifestyle.

For years the world of fashion has focused on very slim women because this is what we have been made to think is the ideal.

But this provided an unrealistic definition of beauty for millions of women whose fuller figures are more like curvy Coca-Cola bottles.

And thanks to the power and reach of social media, a new generation of confident women with curves are inspiring full-figure fashionistas across the globe.

With that in mind, here are five fierce fashion influencers with fabulous curves.

Nadia Aboulhosn

Nadia Aboulhosn is a legendary body-positive Lebanese-American fashion blogger, model and clothing designer.

She’s the second plus-size model to appear on the cover of Women’s Running magazine and has designed everything from lingerie to sportswear for a range of famous high street brands.

We hope that this terrific trailblazer keeps breaking barriers in the fashion industry for years to come.

Gabi Fresh

Gabi Fresh is another curvy beauty blogger who’s championing the cause of body confidence.

When she’s not designing swimsuits she’s spreading the word about healthy eating and generally being a kick-ass ambassador for larger women’s fashion.

She rejects the idea that plus-sized ladies should ‘dress for their body type’ and believes that every woman should be catered for when it comes to clothing choices.

Gabi has over half a million Instagram followers hanging on her every word when it comes to fashion, health and lifestyle advice.

Diana Sirokai

Diana Sirokai recently broke the internet when she went head to head in the same iconic swimsuit as Kim Kardashian and absolutely smashed it.

Her Instagram post was designed to inspire other fuller-figured women to love their shapes and be proud of their bodies.

And tens of thousands of social media fans responded overwhelmingly positively — proving that women can feel more empowered by realistic role-models.

Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham is one of the most successful plus-sized models in the US and has proudly taken a seat as a judge on America’s Top Model.

She’s modelled everything from swimwear to sexy lingerie and describes herself as a ‘body activist’.

Fashion will feel much more inclusive once more brands are bold enough to use more marvellous models like Ashley as advocates.

Iskra Lawrence

Iskra Lawrence is a beautiful New York-based British model who’s never afraid to flaunt her fuller figure.

She once stripped off in a New York subway car to spread the message on being positive about your body.

And she rails against negative comments in the male dominated mainstream media as well as negativity in the digital domain.

These five fierce fashion influencers with fabulous curves are blazing a brilliant trail in beauty and fashion — we hope you’ll follow their lead.

Which full-size model do you admire most? Share your views in the comments section.

*collaborative content*