What Elles Did Next...

Why is it so hard to talk about yourself? It's like sometimes we feel embarrassed to admit what we are actually like and what are interests are. Why do we feel like that? It's such a strange feeling. I have no idea why I thought writing this blog post would so easy to write, because as I've just explained, it's bloody difficult to talk about myself! BUT! I'm going to give it a go. A challenge for me, and for you reading, an insight into who I am and what I'm like...

1. I can be really indecisive when it comes to making group decisions. "What do you want to do?" My classic response is "I'm not fussy AT ALL, I'll do whatever you guys decide to do"...I just can't help myself.

2. I have a real passion for all things creative. I truly believe that I was meant to be working in a creative industry. I'm crap with numbers, I hate sitting in an office all day doing administrative tasks and just hope that one day I'll have a career that I can enjoy.

3. I'm obsessed with both documentaries and reality TV. Documentaries about crime & conspiracy theories fascinate me, but on the flip side I love reality TV like Love Island and Made in Chelsea. I enjoy TV that is different from what I consider "the norm" as I love to see how other people live their lives. 

4. I love to visit new places. I would hate to stay in one place my whole life knowing the world is so big, why would you want to not explore it?!

5. I'm very independent. I like doing things for myself. I think it's important for a woman to be able to say "Yeah, I can do this, I don't need someone by my side telling me how to do this." #IndependentWomenSayWhaaaaat

6. I can be really goofy and get carried away with a joke. In my friendship group I would be classed as the "funny one". I'm happy go lucky and love making people laugh, but I'll be the first to admit I sometimes take the joke too far...oops.

7. Autumn/Fall is my favourite season of the year. I love blue skies and cold mornings. I love the colour change of the leaves and how they fall off the trees. Some of my earliest memories are of me in a massive puffer jacket running through crisp leaves, collecting conkers in the park, how cute haha!

8. I care about what people think, but only to a certain extent. I don't care if people don't like the clothes that I wear or don't like my general appearance. But I do care if people have an opinion on me as a person. I care about first impressions so I don't like to disappoint.

9. I love shopping by myself. As much as I do enjoy shopping with my friends, sometimes if I'm not in the mood I just prefer to wake up early, head out, spend all my money in ZARA and call it a day.

10. As much as I've always said I want to move out of London, I think I'll always call it home. I love London and maybe having my own place here will be what I need...even though I probably won't be able to afford it...(cries).

Love Elle 

x

I love taking photos. I whip my iphone out at any opportunity. On a night out, at a gig or festival, seeing something pretty walking down the street. I can't help it, I've been told I have an eye for it. And that truly is a big compliment to me. I think my love of photography really blossomed when I made a Tumblr account when I was 15...so 5 years ago. To this day I found an amazing creative platform for freelance photographers to share their work and inspire others. 

I'm also really obsessed with editing. I'm no professional, I edit all of my photos on my iphone 6s. But it's therapeutic. I could sit there for hours testing out different way to edit the contrast and brightness of a photo. That might sound really weird to some people, which I get, but it's something I really enjoy doing.

I would like to start taking more photos of people, that's my own personal photography goal. I follow a lot of people on Instagram and Tumblr who are incredibly talented and it inspires me further. 

Check these people out:

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@bambaswim - They are a swimwear brand based in Australia, but I love their brand, their Instagram is really cool and full of beautiful women with an 80's feel to the photo's which I LOVE.

@pureheartss - This Instagram account is basically a collection of photo's which have been founded from Tumblr. It's a really fun account that incorporates everything I find interesting about photography.

@35mmmagazine - This account is really cool. They don't alter their models faces or bodies. It's raw and fresh. "Nothing has been retouched no body altered, no scar removed, we photographed what we saw. Don't edit me."

@calcuim.needles - My friend Alicja or Allie has I've always called her has a really cool instagram feed. I think she has talent. Her photos have an edge to them, yet they seem very carefree and not fussed about with. I think that's what I love most about them they're very natural shots.

@erikabowes - A girl I have been following on social media for years! I found her blog and thought she was so cool. She's edgy, has her own unique style and seems to have really taken off and seems to be doing amazing things. She is strikingly beautiful and now is a photographer and stylist travelling the world. It just shows what a blog can do for your career!

However as of right now, I have a small collection of photos that I'm really proud of. A collection from my travels over the past two years. They are all landscape shots, (apart from one). I hope to make another post like this in the near future with more people in them. But please see below for the first part of my photography journey. 

          

Tower Bridge 2016

"Three words, eight letters, say it and I'm yours..." Oh please Chuck just save us all the heartache and tell her you love her!

Gossip Girl has been a part of my life on and off since I was 12. I remember watching it for the first time and being transfixed by the glitz and the glamour of Manhattan's elite, the high fashion and how the show was basically a love letter to New York City. I think that's why I've always wanted to visit NYC, Gossip Girl made the appeal to travel there stronger. 

Here are my top favourite things about Gossip Girl:

The Characters;

I loved how complex the characters were. How everyone had their own story and how we as viewers were able to relate to them. I could see myself in Blair, a girl who everyone believed had her life together but had her own personal insecurities. Jenny, who tried so desperately to fit in but ended up being way cooler just being herself, (even though that was a journey that lasted a life time!) And even Serena, who was so complicated but had her friends around her to keep her grounded.

I have to say it, Chuck Bass is one of the best characters in TV ever. That tone of voice, his fashion sense, his confidence and of course his unconditional love for Blair. No matter how many times I watch the show I'm in awe of his character. Every time he says "I'm Chuck Bass..." I cannot help but swooooooon! I feel like I'm 15 again! Why didn't any boys I go to school with have that Chuck Bass charm? I'm still gutted...

The Fashion;

From cocktail parties, brunches and birthday's Gossip Girl made everyone look glamorous! Everyone just looked so good always! I watched a behind the scenes episode about the fashion on the show a while back, (superfan status!) and it was so interesting to hear about how designers were cuing at the door wanting to dress the characters. I mean even Vera Wang herself made an appearance in the show! That's a huge deal! She even designed Blair's wedding dress in the 100th Episode of the show.

Every outfit that Blake Lively (Serena) wore on the show was amazing. She quickly became a style icon for me and I'm a genuine fan of her outside of the show now. Her KILLER figure makes everything she wears look stunning and effortless. I think any girl who watched the show wanted to be her just a little bit...I know I did, and still kind of do...damn her girl beach waves and long legs!

Late last year I decided I wanted to take a trip to LA when I turned 21. Until about 5 months ago I assumed that trip would last a maximum of 2 weeks and that I would have beg some of my friends to come with me.

Source: Pinterest

I finally found the courage to press send...weeks of internal debate, weighing up the pros and cons. I have just handed in my resignation. No future job in place, no source of steady income, yet I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

This is going to sound really strange, but I was leaving V Festival two weekends ago and passed the stage Kaiser Chiefs were performing on. Ricky, the lead singer, was in the middle of a speech and said "If you're not happy, GET HAPPY!" It's almost as if that statement validated my decision to just get out of my funk I've been in for the past 6 months....It sounds so silly, of course you can't just trick your brain into "being happy", but you certainly can take small steps to happiness.

I've decided to pursue a career, start from the bottom and work my way up. The job I was doing was convenient at the time, it gave me the freedom to go places, experience the world and what it has to offer. I would go on mini trips and return to a dead end. Quite honestly, it was depressing coming back to work and living in the "real world"...Then I thought, "fuck it!". I'm twenty, why the hell am I settling for this?! I want to travel, I want a career, I want to LIVE! I don't want to be having "serious" meetings about Stationery usage...yes, really...

So that's what I've decided to do. Not everyone around me is supportive of this decision and I understand that, but if I carried on doing that same crap job I'm pretty convinced I was one breakdown away to a complete melt down! 

This change in my life seems perfectly timed. Summer is over, (did it really begin?), Autumn is approaching which is the epitome of new beginnings. I feel happiest in the autumnal months, in the words of Fitzgerald: "Life starts all over when the leaves get crisp in the fall..."

I feel optimistic, if all fails I'll know that my decision felt right at the time and that it's only up from here.

Elle x

Being a self-confessed bargain queen, I hit the high street to find reasonable priced products that look and feel amazing.

The makeup brand "Sleek" have the most amazing matte lipstick collection and I stumbled upon these by accident. They are super affordable and look pretty good! Sleek is a brand that isn't that well known, in comparison to high street brands like L'Oreal or Rimmel, however is doesn't mean they're not as good. I swatched a lot of different mattes in Superdrug and Sleek impressed me the most. The product is really pigmented and drys super quick, which I really appreciated!

I thought it would be an idea to swatch each product that I have bought on my hand and then show you what they look like on my lips;