Gossiping Over Rose Lemonade

It's only so long best friends can go without seeing each for a good gossip and catch up and because we'd both been at work so much it felt like ages since we had saw each other last so my best friend, Laura and I decided to go to Preston Park Museum and Gardens. It was a lovely sunny day so we spent most of it laying in the park catching the sun and having a good catch up about friends, boys and clothes (of course!) we then decided to try and be a bit cultural and go in the museum and to cool down from the sun. When we had a look around they had converted a street into a Victorian street with open shops, filled with original artefacts and a sweet little cafe.

We stopped off for sponge cake (which was delicious compliments to the baker) and rose lemonade I'm a sucker for any pink coloured drink so of course I had to try it, an acquired taste but I enjoyed it and I even kept the bottle to use again, it was too cute not too!

I love these Rose Water Bottles I think they make great decorations.

As much as I loved these bottles I couldn't justify paying £4 for water so instead I just kept my Rose Lemonade bottle.

I have no idea what was in this but it looks as though it would make the most fantastic cocktail, such a vibrant colour!

I wish I could have taken this umbrella home with me it would have been perfect for the scorching weather and went great with my outfit!

I am Wearing:

Dress - Jack Wills

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Bag - Primark

Sandals - Primark (both last year)

I love this navy dress I bought a couple months ago in the Jack Wills sale it's a completely different style to what I'd normally wear, I paired it with rose gold accessories and my Ray Ban's for an effortless summer look.

I love walking around gardens, me and my friends are wanting to plan a trip to Alnwick Gardens I love it there!

This was inside the old fashioned conservatory normally it would be packed but it was like an oven inside so people preferred to be outside in the park but have you seen this traditional ice cream van I love it especially surrounded by all the exotic plants.

Have you been anywhere this summer that you've enjoyed with friends?

Summer Writing

This is going to be a bit different to my normal content but see if you like it here's some writing that I did about summer, if you like this sort of thing I can post some of my other writing on here that I normally just keep hidden in a sketchbook. 

(Photo Credit: Tumblr)

Summer comes with a promise, it provides hope and happiness you try to fool yourself that it will last forever, the sky turns into a paradise cocktail with black silhouettes that look like a Hollywood backdrop we play like children and fall in love under the sun and stars. The colours of the sea blend into the sky though the motion of the clock handles as we watch the sun kiss the horizon goodnight until dawn. Souls dance upon the sand as the wind glides around sun-kissed bodies, harmonies blend into the atmosphere as minds become lost then found again. The blazing summer days catch all the pixies of youth in bottles as folks sip them away rapidly in fear of losing time from their future years, pleasant pills with fruit flavoured liquors are harboured nightly as satin soft hair flows past fingertips, cotton that drifts past legs hold a physical reminiscence when memory wakes. Broken hearts are banished to winter as the rainbow sky fools cynics and lovers alike to falling under it's spell and dreams live on past waking eyes as loved ones reunite to share beautiful times that will live on past polaroid pictures. The warm golden glow hangs around you like an aura until the sky disappears beneath a midnight blanket and you're left wishing on stars again. 

Sun-kissed fools who sway in the heat, tripping in the sand, falling into arms and catching hearts in the whimsical sunset of summer.

Steph Greenwood

Soap & Glory's Scrubatomic Review

Are you looking for the perfect daily face scrub? Well have a read of my review and see if this one is something what you're looking for!

After trying the St Ives Apricot Face Scrub and hating it I picked up the Soap & Glory Scrubatomic in Boots as I have really enjoyed most of S&G's products they have a pleasant smell and don't break my skin out. This scrub has a thin consistency which is great for the face as it isn't as harsh on the skin and has small micropeel beads so that you can really scrub your face to clean it but it won't scratch the skin. I have been using this scrub three times a week in the shower I wash my face with water then squeeze a grape-sized amount of scrub onto my fingers then gently rub in circular motions around my face, wash my hands then using water wipe the scrub off. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin along with generally feeling that my skin is cleansed more thoroughly also the scrub has a lovely peach scent that isn't too overpowering that's my favourite thing about it. You can read about my review of the St Ives scrub here but the smell of that was too overwhelming whereas this scrub smells of peach scented sun cream and is really light and fresh.

I would definitely recommend this scrub if you're looking for a new face scrub, let me know what your favourite Soap & Glory products!

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award! Thanks to Danielle at www.polishedrose.blogspot.co.uk for the nomination, you should all go check her blog out!

The rules are:

1) You must link back to the person who nominated you.
2) You must answer 11 questions given to you by the person who nominated you.
3) After completing these questions you must nominate 11 bloggers with under 200 followers and give them 11 questions of your choice.
4) You can't nominate the person who nominated you.
5) You must let your nominees know that you have nominated them and provide a link to your post so they can learn about it.

1) Why did you start blogging?

I have wanted to do this for a while but it was only when I mentioned it to my friends about how I was thinking of starting a beauty/fashion blog and they all immediately encouraged me along with the question of 'I want to know how you do your make up?!' Their positive encouragement pushed me to do it and I have enjoyed it so much, I love planning new OOTD posts, creating make up tutorials and reviewing beauty products so thank you to all of you who read my blog I appreciate every single one of you! 

2) Is there a meaning or story behind your blog name?

Well I originally just started this as a reviewing blog if you've seen my very first posts so I thought 'Steph She Loves' but now I include fashion, beauty, food and lifestyle but I actually like my blog name, I'm sure like most people I just kept checking what name wasn't taken! 

3) What is your favourite high street shop and why?

My new favourite high street store is & Other Stories it was only when I moved to London in September last year that my friend showed me the store (the only one in the uk) and I fell in love with the style of clothes, layout of the store and I instantly felt relaxed when I walked in. The price range is a bit above Topshop but is definitely worth it as the pieces are made well to last and have a more interesting spin on design also their sales are really good! 

4) What is your favourite thing about blogging?

I love that I have my own clear space to put down anything I'm feeling, it's great to have this online diary that I can look back on and see what things I was loving in summer, what I was wearing and being able to look back on how to do a certain make up look. It's also great to show my friends from uni what I've been up to over summer!

5) 3 things you can't leave the house without?

My phone, purse and keys although I am notorious for losing my keys I honestly lose them nearly everyday, I think they like to play a game with me to try and get me in a frenzy before I leave the house! My purse has my bank card, ID, cards, money in everything so I never leave without it and my phone keeps me on track so I know what I'm doing, if i'm going to town to get things I always make a list on my phone otherwise I'll definitely forget something.

6) What are your go-to products for a pamper evening?

I love having pamper evenings especially if I've been at work all day the first thing is to remove all my make up and I love using a good scrub for my face and body I've been using Soap & Glorys Scrubatomic for my face and their Scrub of Your Life for my body. I use Soap & Glory's Foot Cream to pamper my feet and a nourishing body moisturiser to keep my skin soft then I hit Netflix for a night of relaxing.

7) Shoe person or bag person?

Shoe, without a doubt I would never carry a bag if I didn't have to I find bags such an annoyance I usually just end up trying to fit everything in my purse so I only have to take that (fashion bloggers are gasping in horror). Shoes on the other hand are my guilty pleasure if I'm feeling sad new shoes make up for that, great achievement let's celebrate with some new heels, I'm going on a day trip somewhere well I must simply buy some shoes to go with that new outfit it's only fair. (My bank balance hates me.)

8) Do you prefer lipstick or lipgloss?

Six months ago I would have said lipstick without a doubt but the past 5 months I have been loving wearing lipgloss (when it's not windy) I just feel that it's much lighter and allows me to try out bolder eyeshadow looks which I prefer then pair with a simple gloss. I'd definitely recommend Tanya Burr's lip glosses they have amazing colour payoff and are smooth and silky on the lips also Revlon have good glosses I love 'Kiss Me Coral' it's my go-to summer favourite.

9) If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

I have been dreaming of living in Los Angeles for so long to me it's the ideal place, summer all year round beautiful beaches to go to, a chilled out lifestyle and lots of healthy food places. I always feel most like myself in summer, I feel calm, happy and free so to live in a place that would provide all that would be perfect. I may be the city girl now and I have to be for my line of work (fashion) but I suffer with anxiety and panic attacks and living in the city can sometimes get a bit too much.

10) Who are your favourite bloggers?

I love Niomi Smart's blog she really inspired me to want to start my own blog especially her outfit of the day posts, she has amazing style. I recently discovered Tasha Meline's Blog and love her beauty reviews I just keep adding more to my list of make up to buy because of her great reviews! I was so happy when I saw my friend Danielle of Polished Rose started her blog she has such a chic style that always looks effortless and on trend plus she always picks the best pieces out of Zara first.

11) What is your favourite item of clothing and why?

I love a white shirt especially as a fashion designer I love nothing more than reinventing a white shirt the possibilities are endless it almost becomes too exciting but I think a white shirt provides a clean slate to your wardrobe and adds a fresh new take perfect to bring into every season and timeless. A wardrobe is not complete until you have one (or ten).

My Nominations

Tasha Meline

The Average Fruit

Thirteen Thoughts

Sweet Bounty

Miss Blondie

Lucy Impey

Deliciously Floral

My Questions to the Nominees are:

Why did you decide to start to blogging?

What is your dream designer piece? (Shoes, Bags, Clothes etc.)

What is your favourite season?

What is the one product you can't live without?

Choose between good hair day everyday or flawless make up?

If you could only pick one product to save from your make up bag what would it be?

Heels or flats?

What song has been in your head all week?

Tell me your dream holiday?

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

Your favourite place to shop?

Let me know if you complete the questions I'd love to read your answers!

Pink Lady

Dress - & Other Stories (£13 in the sale!)

Sunglasses - Zara 

Clutch - Topshop

Shoes - Nine West

I bought this dress for a friends birthday night out last month as I felt no inspiration from my wardrobe so when I saw this dress on the Other Stories website instead of picking black which is natural instinct for me I decided to go for pink, surprising myself. When it arrived I was a little surprised to see how bright it was and worried incase it clashed against my skin tone but paired with nude accessories I found it was a welcome change to my wardrobe. I have received many compliments when wearing this dress although it does't photograph as well as in real life while it looks simple I think the fabric folding on the front add something special to it and the fabric is gorgeous and lightweight perfect for a summer evening. This has been my go-to dress for nights out and drink meet ups I feel that it's classy but a modern pop of colour adds youth, I'm a whole new woman this summer adding green, blue AND pink to my wardrobe oh my I feel dizzy! 

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

The Realities of a Festival

I went to T in the Park this weekend and when I was there I thought it would be interesting to make a blog post about the actual happenings of a festival and what does it actually take to get that perfect instagram worthy festival pic where the sun is setting, your decked out in UV paint enjoying the music and atmosphere? 

The band was a black, red star design it's a shame that they fastened it so tight that it hurt my wrist and had to cut it off when I got home, I'm the person who tries to keep festival bands on for as long as possible so this was quite upsetting. 

This is my sister Katie who thought her hat was the best thing ever (follow her on Instagram @katieegreenwood)

When I thought of Scotland I thought rain, cold weather i didn't plan my wardrobe for boiling sunny days so I ended up sweltering in shirts on the last day I gave up the 'fashion student status' and opted for an Alex Turner t-shirt, PJ shorts and wellies.

Ellie Goulding (pictured above) was insanely good she had the whole crowd going singing along to all her songs.

The security pissed me off so much during the festival they had no idea what was happening and didn't want to help you at all when I was in the crowd waiting for Ed Sheeran to come on my sister had a sun stroke and needed to be pulled out of the crowd just when Ed came on stage. This would have been prevented if the security at the front of the barrier were passing cups of water out to the crowd constantly but they only passed 3 cups every hour or so which obviously wasn't going to help anyone, they had barrels of water and cups they were just too lazy to hand any out. 

The atmosphere at Steve Angello was so good the crowd were up for it and with it being the first night of the acts starting everyone just wanted to party.

This was the Palm stage which played chilled house music where everyone went to after the acts finished on the night, I wish you could have seen how cringey the DJ's were they were in their 30's and taking selfies with the crowd and doing weird dance moves then one of them tried to crowd surf but the crowd wasn't having any of that.

Yes I wore completely sequinned shorts I wanted to be a shining disco queen for Calvin Harris who was brilliant although the rain absolutely soaked us it felt like someone was just chucking buckets of water at me.

I'm in love with this palm tree print shirt I got from New Look it's a soft cotton and is so comfy I think I'll do an OOTD post on it soon so look out for that...

I took these next few photos to show you the aftermath of a festival, rubbish thrown everywhere, empty cans littering the place for me, a neat freak this was really pushing my boundaries!

It's safe to say I don't want to taste cider in a very long time as that was all I drank for 3 days straight I'm sick of the sight of those cans!

When I went food and drink shopping with my friends prior to T we decided to get 8 cans of these different cocktails for a £1 each we thought it would be great but when I tasted them (cocktails being my speciality drink) it was like drinking flavoured mouthwash. This certainly isn't comparable to my favourite Peach Bellini at Dirty Martini!

A tent for £17 from Argos for a 3 day festival seemed a bargain until it was Saturday night and the torrential rain had soaked through my tent leaving puddles everywhere and soaking my clothes. I legit had a breakdown as this was my worse nightmare but I decided to go sleep in my friends tent as their's was bigger and most importantly dry. This meant for the next day and a half I only had sequinned shorts to wear (which were too big for me and kept falling down) so I opted for PJ shorts, not quite fashion icon but at least I was dry and comfortable! I think I'll try and get PJ's into wearable fashion that way everyone will be happy.

This is the guys smiling after the most stressful morning of my two friends on the left having their bag stolen in the night with their travel tickets, ID, iPhone, money etc. in for hours they done everything they could to solve the issue but 3 hours later a kind girl handed it into lost property finding it near her tent. Thankfully everything was still there except the cash so it was a HUGE relief to us all we could now manage to enjoy the last day of the festival!

Before Bastille came on stage Radio 1 DJ Greg James came on stage to get everyone to shout 'Bye Bye Balado' as it was the last year the site would be used for T in the Park and I love Greg's show so it was so exciting to see him in person (also a slight crush on him but shhhh).

Okay I'll say it, I'm in love with Alex Turner I can't help it even with his slightly ridiculous American-twinged accent and slicked back hair it makes me love him more, I normally hate arrogance in people but with him I think it works towards his charm. Arctic Monkeys were my absolute favourite act that I saw I love this band so much they were one of the main reasons I went to T in the Park so I could see them again. 

Getting back to the point of this post what you don't see in the instagram picture of festival go-ers is the hours in the burning sun, getting sun stroke and sun burn, leaking tents, littered mess, poor hygiene, vile toilets that you could smell a mile off and creepy guys going inside your tent at 5am to steal your belongings while your asleep.

After all this is it worth it to see your favourite bands, join in the festival atmosphere with a group of people who share the same love for music and escape from reality for a few days to a place where anything is accepted and youth is lived endlessly through the night?

Yes, absolutely yes.

Instagram - @stephgreenwoodx

Twitter - @stephgreenwoodx

Click here for Part One of my Festival Trilogy and here for Part Two or click the 'Festival Trilogy' tag below!