OOTW: Lindy Bop Lois Dress

Yet another lovely dress from my favourite budget dress company... I couldn't help to not buy this dress in Lindy Bop's 25% off sale at the end of January and I had been eyeing up the Lois dress for quite a while now!

Lois Secretary 40's dress, Lindy Bop - £29.99

Leopard Print Headband, New Look - £5

T-Bar Heels, eBay - £15

Recently I've really been getting into the whole 1940's style and preppy sort of style. Just feels so natural and lovely, and this dress is the for-front of my outfit list at the moment! 

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxoxox

My Private Secondary School Hell

Okay, so on Monday my friend Steff (check out her post and give her some well deserved love!) she posted her hellish story of secondary school - and I have so much respect and credit for her and for getting the guts to share her story; so much so, I thought I'd share mine with you. 

I started at a private secondary school in September 2006, I previously joined the junior school back in 2004 and then moved up to the secondary part of the whole school. I was fine in junior school, until around the end of year 6, just before moving up to secondary. I started off okay in secondary school, but I knew my experience wouldn't be plain sailing, and I was totally right.

I began to realise throughout year 7 that I definitely was not the most liked person in my year, probably safe to say I was in the top 5 of the most hated in my year. I felt pretty alone a lot of the time; I didn't fit in, and I felt hated. I even forced myself to be physically sick just so I didn't have to go in; this was a common occurrence throughout my whole time at school.

In late May 2007, I broke both of my arms, I fell after athletics and snapped both of my wrists. I had one arm in plaster cast and the other in a metal splint, I was in a lot of pain, I couldn't even feed myself without having someone to help me. And guess what the people in my year thought? That I was pretending that I broke my arms, like it was a joke. I couldn't carry my ruck sack round school, and a so-called friend was mean't to help me. I ended up having to carry my bag on my foot, while painfully holding it there with one of my fingers on the arm that was not as badly broken. This is when I realised, I just wanted to die. I became very depressed and upset, most mornings before leaving the car I would cry and beg not to go in. 

In year 8, things got worse. I had to get braces for my teeth - now lets just have a moment to imagine. I was the fat girl, who had glasses and spots and now I had braces. Things just got worse and worse. I was bullied throughout my whole time of being at secondary school. I even had a period where I wanted to kill myself, because I hated everything about my life and being at that school. At the end of every school day my friend would call me, and I could confide in him. He would comfort me and tell me I'd be out of that school and I'd prove them all wrong - I never believed him until I left school (in year 11) that it would really happen. But even for him being there for me, it still didn't make school any easier.

Midway through year 9, a girl came into my biology class, I always sat on my own so my teacher sat her next to me. And now to this day, we are really close friends. She was one of the few people who made school a little bit more bearable. Also at the beginning of year 9, another girl came into our year. She kind of got the same treatment as me - so I befriended her. None of us where liked that much, and in fact, people would often be bitchy about us behind our backs 99% of the time but we learn't not to care. 

This is when my friend Steff started hanging out a lot more, she started getting a bit of a tough time - so she joined us. (Read her post to find out why). 

The last 2 years where when I started to work hard, but still had a lot of issues. I had a lot of problems with my Art GCSE teachers - they lost my work. TWICE. This angered me so much, I'd worked so hard and they lost it. I had to give up my lunch times to re-do my work. I never got on with them, and me and one of the teachers would often have arguments nearly every lesson. Oh god she was a bitch.

My tutor who was also my drama teacher, she hated my guts. And the feeling was mutual. I genuinely hated my GCSE years the most. There was only one teacher I felt I could really trust in year 10, and that was my English teacher. She did annoy me, frankly quite a lot. But one day, I got so angry in my English class at this boy who was a complete prick. At the end of the lesson, most teachers would tell you off for storming out mid lesson. But she talked to me, like a human being, not like an idiot like the rest of my teachers often did. She made me feel like I could talk to someone. It was at this point, I did finally go to the doctor... I was diagnosed with a form of severe depression. 

I often had run ins with my teachers. My head of year and me never got on either. She always said to me I had to try and work 'harder'... I was pushing myself to the point of destruction to get my work done. But that never really mattered. In year 11, I got a new physics teacher - he was probably the nicest teacher in the world. He made me LOVE going to physics, I loved Thursday afternoons in year 11, because he was the only other teacher apart from my English teacher who I felt I could talk to. 

My school strived for being a non-bullying school, and frankly they were the opposite. If someone was to ask me to recommend a good school, I wouldn't even hesitate to tell them to avoid it. 

The day I left that school after my last exam - I felt amazing. On results day, I had to go to work, so I turned up in my work kit (which was for a football club). I was as nervous as hell, but somehow I managed to get 4 B's and 4 C's (how the hell did that happen!!).

I went back in November 2011, 5 months after I had left. The people who I didn't get on with, acted nice. I'm sure they were just being nosy as to what I was doing after I left. I went back to collect my final art pieces and guess what... THEY LOST THEM AGAIN. Again, I had another argument with my teachers. But I saw my physics teacher just before I was about to leave, and he gave me a hug and wished me the best of luck now I had left. I won't ever forget that moment, that someone believed in me. The first time, someone really had believed in me at that school was the last time I stepped foot there.

So what about now? Now I wish I could see them all again, and stick it to them. All the people that bullied me, or were nasty to me. Dressing in the way I do, has made me such a confident person compared to secondary school Emma. I now do modelling... If someone had said to me back in year 8, that I would be doing modelling, I would have laughed at the idea of it. 

I want to thank the three people who really got me through that school. I can't thank them enough for even just being there.

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxoxoxox

OOTW: 40's Glamour

Super quick post today (sorry!) I'm a little snowed under with work and college work. I've kind of got a go to skirt at the moment, I have 2 of these stretchy skirts, one in black, one in brown and one in sand! They are so comfortable too and perfect for that 1940's style look!

White Scarf, Peacocks - £5

Freddie Knitted Top (Antique Green), Collectif - £34.50

Stretchy Sand Skirt, Mums Wardrobe - £?

Black Belt, New Look - £5

Black Ballerina Pumps, Next - £28

My make-up is the same as always, with black eye-liner and signature red lips. Also make sure you go and check out my tutorial on how to do my perfect red lips (click here!). 

Lots of Love & Kisses

Emma Victoria

xoxox

Perfect Red Lips Turtorial!

Yet another tutorial, this one I feel more confident doing as I do this near on every blooming day! I love red lips and this is how I get my perfect red lips. I kind of base mine off how Marilyn Monroe did hers, I've become slightly more infatuated with Marilyn over the past few weeks and just kind of wish to replicate her a little more in my style as of recently.

What You'll Need

Red lip liner (Mine is Rimmel 021 Red Dynamite)
2 red lipsticks (I have the Barry M one in shade 121 and the Seventeen in Red Hot Chilli they are also blue undertone lipsticks)
Clear Lipgloss
Tissue

Step 1 Moisturise and Prepare To prepare my lips before being covered in my red goodness, I use a clean toothbrush over my lips to just remove the dead skin and make them super smooth, I then use my babylips lip balm and wait till this kind of dries a little.

Step 2 Line it Up Now you want to take your lip liner and start drawing round the outline of your lips. I like to make my cupids bow super obvious and to stand out more so I tend to draw these a little more exaggerated and above my natural lip line ever so slightly. I tend to be quite strict on my lips and only really want the cupids bow exaggerated and the rest is uniform. 

Step 3 Lipstick No.1 Now I use my Seventeen lipstick, just simply going round my lips and not going outside the lip liner. This lipstick is super vibrant and bright and I love it! Once rubbing your lips together to make sure your lips are covered you then need a bit of tissue to then blot your lips to take off the extra bit of lipstick.

Step 4 Lipstick No.2 Again this time using your other lipstick, mine is the Barry M lipstick, and again going over your lips, rubbing them together and then blotting to take off the excess.

Step 5 Gloss To make my lips that extra bit more glamorous I like to use gloss on top, I just have a cheap one from Superdrug and its so good. I have a seperate gloss from the rest of my other ones as I have one for specifically applying onto red lipstick, as the wand does normally pick up the red lipstick on your lips. It doesn't matter if your gloss does go a red tint though as it's going on top of your red lips anyway! Just apply the gloss all the way around your lips, rub together and et voila your DONE! 

I super love red lips, and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxox

OOTW: Death by Love... (Valentines Day)

Today's post is an outfit I'd possibly wear on a date for Valentines Day - even though I don't have a date I will just be wearing this on Friday because well, I'm single and just screw what the world thinks.

This outfit is a little more edgy (I'm feeling a little bit Psychobilly this week and will probably have my hair in a pomp too for a more hyperbolic look). I really kind of like the subliminal meaning in this outfit, for me it says "Love till the Death" seeing with the black and white roses and skulls on my skirt, I'm trying to be somewhat romantic... And failing?

Black Dolores Top, Collectif - £25

Skull & Rose Skirt, Lush Clothing (on eBay), - £5.99

Ivory Pearls, Collectif - £15

Black T-Bar Heels, eBay - £15

I just really like the fact that this outfit is not too girly and stereotypical, but also that it has that edgy feel. Love is made out to be something easy and you just 'know' and yes that's somewhat true, but love can be painful and it can ruin you (I found that out the hard way), and for me personally that reflects how love has effected me. For my make-up I have done simple make-up, with my normal winged eye-liner and my dark berry Rimmel lipstick; my eye-shadow is just a pale pink as this just makes my eyes pop a little more instead of having a really bold colour, I just chose to have my eye-liner thicker for a stronger look. For my hair in this picture I just have it tied up in a ponytail and rolled in on itself with a leopard print headband. But I may also just do a large pomp with my fringe for a more 'psychobilly' look.

Happy Valentines Day for Friday to you Singletons and those in a relationship!

(JUST BE HAPPY!)

Love

Emma Victoria

xoxox

Lifestyle: Valentines Day...

'Singletons'

I know, its getting to that time of year again, where all the couples will be on overload with PDA (public display of affection) - and yes, I respect that they love each other, but what about us poor singletons left on our own... Well here is my plan!

Even though I've recently started dating guys again, (after FINALLY getting enough confidence to do so now!), I'm still going to be single on Valentines Day. So what do I plan on doing?! NOTHING!

Yup, that's right, nothing. I'm going to ignore all the lovey dovey stuff, and just carry on with my life! 

My advice to you would be to do the same, round this particular day of the year, all the people who are single seem to become super observant of all the people in relationships, and really, you are only going to make it a million times worse for yourself! 

Maybe get a DVD, make a milkshake, get your pyjamas on and relax - or go down the gym, have a really good workout and feel proud of yourself! (PSST - THE NEW LEGO MOVIE COMES OUT ON THE 14TH GO FIND A FRIEND TO SEE IT WITH YOU!!) Its all about self evaluation - and if you want to find a date for Valentines day this year or next year, then remember this "For other people to love me, I have to love myself" - men and women love people who can be confident! (If you struggle with body confidence in particular don't forget to check out my body confidence post!).

People with a Valentines

I thought it'd be nice to include both sides of the story! I've also come to realise that even the people in relationships, seem to come under a lot of discrimination for valentines day. If you do have a boyfriend/date then maybe try and do something a little different, maybe something sentimental. This year my friend has made a photo album of all the memories she has had with her boyfriend, she's handwritten them all and made it like a huge collage in a book and its absolutely beautiful. 

Instead of buying a card and flowers, why don't you make something for your loved one? It will honestly mean more then a piece of card from a shop! 

But my biggest piece of advice for you would be... be spontaneous, and no not just on valentines day - all year round. Why should it take for one day for you to show your love? Do something special every once in a while, go for a walk at midnight. 

So one thing I want to know from you guys is...

What is the cheesiest chat up line that someone has said to you? 
Mine has to be "If you stood in front of a mirror and held up 11 roses, you would see 12 of the most beautiful things in the world."

Lots of Love

Emma Victoria 

xoxox

OOTW: Darling Dots!

It might be quite obvious but I love polka dot's! Back in December, Collectif had a 50% boxing day sale and I got 3 new items (the other 2 previously shown in my OOTW back on the 8th January!) and the other skirt I got was the navy blue polka dot liesel skirt! This is a simple little look and super cutesy - I've been so busy this week that my effort in my fashion has slightly slipped, so this was an easy outfit to just throw together quickly early in the morning! 

White Long Sleeved Top, Nouvelle - £12

Navy Polka Dot Liesel Skirt, Collectif - £46.50

T-Bar Heels, eBay - £15

Chiffon Polka Dot Print Bandana, Collectif - £5

I just love the simplicity of this look! Its adorable and preppy! I think the little bandana makes it that little bit extra cute! My make-up is just my normal winged eyeliner and I'm just wearing a plain lip gloss for a little shine! I do have a lot of comments about the expense of Collectif clothes - however I am paying for the quality of the product! (P.S Sorry my hair is a little greasy, I was just about to wash it and curl it!)

Lots of Love

Emma Victoria

xoxox

V is for Victory Rolls! - Tutorial

Okay so this is something I've only really just started doing myself, I've always been kind of 'scared' of doing victory rolls, just because they looked super complicated and I'm absolutely useless with my hair (and my hair never wants to do anything I want it to do!). You'll have to excuse how messy they are, I did kind of do them really quickly as I've had a tonne of English assignment work to do for college and its important that I got that done first!

 However, I've been asked by a few people on how I do my victory rolls... Please bare in mind I've watched a tonne of YouTube videos, read many blog posts and even asked someone who does them everyday for tips on how to do mine simply and perfectly.

What You'll Need!
Hairbrush
Hairspray
Rat tail comb
Lots of Bobby Pins/Grips
Bows (optional)

Step 1 Section your Hair Using your thumbeand first finger you want to section off the hair you want to put into a roll. Put your thumb by the top of your ear, your finger at the top centre of your forehead and scoop the hair into your hands. The picture on the right demonstrates what I mean if it sounded super complicated!

Step 2 Back comb This step is super important and you MUST do this properly, for a neat and tidy roll. Using your rat tail comb, back comb the back of the hair, but back comb to the point the hair stands up on its own, back-combing gives the roll its thickness and the sturdiness for it to stay standing - just like mine on the left. This step is crucial!! 

Step 3 Time to Roll Now you are going to roll the hair, take the ends of your hair and make sure they all come together nicely. Now if you struggle with putting your hair into a roll then you can use curlers/straighteners to just curl the ends of your hair. Now you have to decide whether your rolls will be in the centre or just off to the side, and then roll your hair into place. Take a pin and secure it down (don't worry if hairs are sticking out a little and the hole in the roll isn't there, we will fix this in a few steps!). I normally use two pins and make sure they cross over each other, one being put in from the front the other from the back and make sure its super secure. 


Step 4 Secure Adjust & Spray Now you want to hairspray your roll, I normally spray mine from the back so the front stays nice and polished and neat. Now is when you can sort out the problems, using a rat rail just go round in a circular motion in the middle of your roll, this will help make the hole visible and will push your hair up into the rest of the roll, using hair spray to make it damp inside so that the hair will lay amongst the roll. 


Step 5 The Sides The sides of my hair normally like to be naughty and poof out, so I normally use either spray or wax just to flatten them down and make sure they don't move, if using wax make sure you warm it up a lot in your hands and then going from the bottom (near your ears) pushing up towards the roll to make it stay. 

Step 6 Repeat the steps on the other side. Once you have done this hair style a couple of times you get better and quicker at it. Maybe try doing it a few times when staying in the house just so you can practice!

Step 7 Final spray of hairspray from a distance and you are done. If you want you can add a bow in the middle like I do, just for that little cute effect!

I know mine don't look fantastic in this picture but check out first OOTW of 2014 (here) and you can see them done properly and neatly! 

Well I hope this was helpful for you! I tried my best at making it as simple as possible!

Lots of Hugs

Emma Victoria

xoxox