Triangulation

Todays outfit post is a casual little number I picked up from River Island last year and one I still love now. This will have actually been my first embrace of the midi dress (I didn't really acknowledge this at the time), and has clearly paved the way for a little obsession.

I love this dress as it's  a really laid back, festival ready dress, but still wearable for a casual day to day look too (e.g. not so festival esque that you could never actually wear it). The aztec print and cut of the midi are   my favourite things about this dress.  I don't have many clothes with this neckline but I really love it and it gives the dress a little something extra over a standard midi or maxi number.

. River Island Aztec Midi Dress . Topshop Sandals £50 . Urban Outfitters Triangle Necklace .

I wore this dress at the weekend whilst visiting friends and going out for dinner for my sisters birthday. I styled the dress with my cream leather jacket too, which went pretty well. My Topshop sandals were a nice addition giving the dress a little more of an evening twist and my new triangle necklace went perfectly.

I'm finally getting my hair coloured this week, so my accidental ombre (terrible roots) will soon be sorted. Hopefully just in time for some summer sunshine at the bank holiday. Which also happens to be my 5 year anniversary with Jase ... crazy eh. We're planning a weekend in London doing lots of exciting 'treat' trips out - mostly food orientated I must admit.

What do you you think of this golden oldie number? Are you a fan of the aztec and midi trends?

I'd love it if you'd vote for MEDIAMARMALADE as BEST NEW FASHION BLOG in the Cosmo Blog awards HERE if you haven't already done it. I'd be absolutely over the moon to be nominated :)

Water For Elephants

Todays outfit post is rather exciting as it features a brand new dress of mine from Sugarhill Boutique. I've been a huge fan of Sugarhill for years and one of the main reasons is because of the gorgeous prints they use across all their collection and second of all is because the cuts are perfect for my shape. This elephant print dress is a real favourite of mine from the new SS13 collection and in my opinion shows Sugarhill off in all it's glory.

I absolutely love the colour of this dress, it's a gorgeous burnt coral / orange colour and makes for a perfect spring addition to your wardrobe. The elephant print is so cute, but subtle, which is another reason I love Sugarhills designs - they always incorporate beautiful prints but they're never OTT or garish. This elephant print is really simple but gives the dress a really unique twist from anything else you'd find on the high street.

. Sugarhill Boutique Ellie Dress £50 c/o . Topshop Sandals £50 .

The other lovely thing I love about this dress, besides the colour, fit and print, is the cut of it. It's the little touches like an open back which makes Surgahill Boutiques dresses that little bit more special. I love the subtle open back on this dress and makes the dress for a perfect strolling around on a summer city break or evening out on holiday.

I styled the dress super simply this weekend, after all I didn't want to take any of the oomph away from the dress itself. I added my favourite Topshop heeled sandals and my staple every day jewellery and the job was done. I can't wait to wear it again already, and as soon as the sun starts shining I'd definitely wear this to work too.

What do you think of my new Ellie dress? Are you a fan of Sugarhill Boutique and prints?

Vote for MEDIAMARMALADE as BEST NEW FASHION BLOG in the Cosmo Blog awards HERE if you haven't already (i'd be forever grateful)

Pamper Me Rotten

This week, well the last couple in fact, have been extremely busy and stressful, so taking a moment to unwind hasn't been more welcomed. I was lucky enough to receive a little pamper hamper recently  filled with lots of amazing products for me to try and some lovely aromatherapy products which are just what the Dr ordered.

The package featured two brands Colour Wow & Aromatherapy Associations.

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First up Colour Wow, a brand I'd actually not heard of before but one I wish I had. Colour Wow is a brand which focuses on keeping hair looking they way it does when you first have it coloured. As a bleach blondie myself, these sorts of products are key as keeping your hair bright and in a good condition is quite hard. There's lots of technical benefits to the Colour WOW products, but I won't go into the details as it doesn't really mean much to me ... all that really means anything is the results. These products are fab at giving your hair colour and condition a real boost and would recommend trying them for coloured hair - they have products for every colour type too.

I was also lucky enough to not only try the shampoo and conditioners, but also the root cover up powder. This is quite a unique product, one I've not seen before but one that is revolutionary and totally insightful. I always leave my hair too long before I get it recoloured so covering my roots is always a mission. Having tried this product out, I do think it makes a bit of difference (although my roots are pretty hefty right now), definitely making the roots less noticeable. You can pick this up in Space NK from July which is handy and again it is available for all colour types.

. Color Wow Root cover-up in Blonde & travel-sized conditioner and shampoo for colour treated hair .

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Second up is my range of product from Aromatherapy Associates - I received the Cleansing Balm, Body Wash & Roland Mouret Body Moisturiser. A real girls heaven and pamper essentials. Aromatherapy Associates is quite a well know brand renowned for it's essential oils and spa like treatments. They have a huge product range (and tons of spa's too) and I was lucky enough to get to test out a few key home pamper essentials which combined create a real relaxation routine.

First up the body wash - i've been using this a lot recently as the smell really relaxes me and makes me feel like i'm truly in a spa (exactly what you want after a 13 hour day in the office). I've been lathering it up in the shower and wafting in the essential oils to de-stress and unwind. This would be lovely in the bath too. The next stage of the pamper routine has to be the cleansing balm to take all your makeup off and give your face a little luxury. I'm very new to cleansing balms as I tend to use my Clinique Makeup remover and then Dermilogica skincare to cleanse & treat on a daily basis, but this is another super relaxing product which combined with the other products is the perfect addition to an evening 'de-stress' routine. Finally is the Roland Mouret 'final finish body serum' ... essentially once the bathing is done you want to lather your body in this moisture serum and lay back and let the moisture soak in. Another gorgeous smelling product, finishing off the 'at home spa' routine off perfectly. This product is 'obviously' co-produced with the designer himself and is actually a nice product to cover your legs and arms in before an evening out too ... leaving them super soft and glowing.

. Aromatherapy Associates Relax Shower Gel . Roland Mouret Serum . Soothing Cleansing Balm .

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So there you go ... some bath time pampering and some new products to try out. I've really found the products help me unwind after work and the colour WoW range is great at keeping your hair looking healthy and fresh (again key when it's starting to fade and grow out).

Have you tried wither of these brands before? I'd love to know your thoughts or hear about your fave hair and pamper products? What's your de-stress routine?

When It All Goes Wrong ...

I've been struggling to blog this week as work has been extremely busy and demanding of my time ... 10pm finishes ahoy! But to make matters more difficult, my tripod AND remote both decided to pack up too. I nipped out at 730am this week pre work and tried to get some snaps of my outfit ... sadly it all fell apart so these pics are not my standard quality, as I was doing a camera balancing act, and quick 10 second sprint to try and get in the pic. The focus was way out of my hands haha.

. MeeMee.com Swing Dress (Glamorous) c/o . Zara Tweed Blazer . Marni Heels .

Despite the sterrible photography situation, you can still see my outfit which is a bonus. It's actually a new dress I'm wearing which I got from MeeMee.com (it's a glamorous number). It's a simple slip dress with spaghetti straps and a low cut back and I absolutely love it. As with all Glamorous's pieces it's bloomin short so I probably ended up flashing some butt throughout the day. But all in all I really love it. I'll feature it on my blog soon with the back on show, as it's really pretty.

This weekend is a fairly busy one, but I am desperate to replace my tripod and timer so I can get my outfit photos back on track again :) If anyone has any tips for good tripods do let me know?

What do you think of my work look and this floaty 60's swing style spaghetti dress?

Vote for MEDIAMARMALADE as BEST NEW FASHION BLOG in the Cosmo Blog awards HERE if you haven't already (i'd be forever grateful)