Porcelain Dress

4:49 PM Imke 42 Comments



Welcome to the Dollhouse! This Dresslink dress reminded me immideately of a doll's dress, and dolls immediately made me think of Pretty Little Liars. Yes, I admit it, I'm a PLL addict, from the realease of book 3 onwards, even before the release of the series. Any other PLL fans out here?

Ciaté London - Daily Mini Set

9:46 PM Imke 30 Comments

 

A couple of few weeks ago I won a give-away on the blog of beautiful Hayley from www.mydebeauvoirdiaries.com. Ciaté London is a brand I only know from their signature caviar nail style, so I was quite excited to receive this amazing set of colours. As you know, I'm still new to the whole beauty blogging world, but here's my review of the Daily Mini Set.


The packaging is really nice, as the lacquers are carefully put in a sturdy beauty bag with a great print. I actually read the "newspaper article" after the box fell on my doormat. Also I love the fact that this set contains a different colour for every day of the week (Sunday is the topcoat, as Ciaté London guessed right that on Sunday I usually don't feel like doing my make-up nor my nails or hair, haha).


But about the polish: straight-out amazing! I love all the colours in this set, and my favourites are... Well, all of them, honestly. I tried the nude colour first, as I reckoned this is the most difficult colour in the world of nail varnish, and after only two super quick drying layers of peachy nude my nails looked flawless. Now, four days later, there's minor chipping, but in general my polish is doing really well. 

I can't believe I never tried Ciaté London before, as I'm very happy with the quality of the polish and how beautiful the colours are. Thanks again Hayley!


(PS: I still have to figure out how to take photos of my nails while capturing the colour properly, for which I beg you my pardon, this beauty blogger is still in training.)

A-line + Loubies

4:05 PM Imke 26 Comments


And then finally here it is, my first post featuring my beautiful Louboutin babies! I find nude shoes to go so well with romantic pink looks, so the pairing of this ballerina style A-line dress with my Loubs came naturally. The scarf was thrown in to cover the fact that I have very broad shoulders (see back picture, I blame it on the many years of volleyball) and also the fact that I don't wear a bra. Because bras are just too much during summer, so I try to avoid them as soon as the tempereatures rise too high for me to bear, as happened this week only once in rainy Belgium. These pictures were taken this week before going for dinner with my family, before my beautiful country decided to bring back autumn. Hopefully the weather will get better after this rainy weekend!

Cropped Coral

1:38 PM Imke 43 Comments


Those who follow me on Instagram probably saw that I spent a week in beautiful Nice early July, and had an amazing time there. Next to Paris, Nice is my favourite city in la douce France, and I enjoyed our stay so much. We also went to Ventimiglia in Italy and gorgeous Monaco as well, of which other blogposts will follow. I got burned (as usual, pale girl 4evah) but got a nice tan as well, and was happy to finally be able to put on my summer wardrobe again! It's been a while, but welcome back, crop tops/tees, shorts, frilly dresses and summer skirts! 

All photos were taken in Nice, of which the garden pictures were taken on top of MAMAC, the museum of modern art there (which is defenitely worth a visit by the way, and free if you're a student), and there's a photo of the amazing view as well. Other were on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice's famous boulevard, with the beautiful sea in the background. 

The cropped tee is from Dresslink, as you might remember from my summer wishlist a few weeks ago, and I found it perfect to combine this tee with my laid-back coral shorts from H&M. A great outfit for a holiday: cropped to make it less hot and sweaty, coral for a good contrast with a tanned skin, and short sleeves to avoid shoulders getting burnt too badly. Click here for the top - I assure you it's a staple piece for the summer, especially if you know it's only $2.75.


How to combine pink

2:50 PM Imke 28 Comments


One of my new favourite combinations: black & white stripes with a pop of pink. I've had this candy-pink Asos skirt for about half a year now, but never wore it before in lack of how-to-combine inspiration. But now it seems like I found the perfect way to pull off this midi skirt: a striped crop top. I got this top for about £2 at Forever 21, and it goes with so many of my skirts that it's not only a bargain but a true staple piece.

These photos were taken in beautiful Regent's Park while having a stroll through my favourite London park with my flatmate during  my last weekend in the city, which brings up good memories while writing this blogpost. Happy to be back home, but missing the beautiful city. 


What to do in London? Best neighbourhoods.

6:21 PM Imke 20 Comments

What I love doing in London is just going to a nice neighbourhood and just wander around, get lost in the streets of the capital, and discover new places to go. I won't recommend this tactique in every London neighbourhood (don't go wandering around Elephant & Castle at night please), but here's the neighbourhoods that are a perfect fit for this discover-the-city-technique!

Shoreditch

Hipster paradise and home to the famous Brick Lane is Shoreditch, in the north of London, and very close to where my internship's offices are. With all the typical pubs, coffee places, vintage shops, grafitti walls, high buildings and cool vibe, Shoreditch is a must-visit when you're in the city. 

Make sure to go to Spitalfields Market and get yourself a £1 flowercrown - the owner is so nice and sweet and will help you pick the perfect flower crown and show you the beautiful hairdo's you can do with it. Also cross the road and go to UpMarket, which is fashion paradise for vintage lovers, and also offers quirky crafts by up-and-coming designers, all accompanied by good food! 

But not only during the day I recommend you to go there, because when night falls, Shoreditch becomes even more interesting, with its vibrant nightlife, hip clubs and alternative pubs. Make sure to have a drink or two at the Queen of Hoxton, which has a cool rooftop terrace which gives you a pretty nice view over London.

Jeans Revival

11:44 PM Imke 19 Comments


Those who know me well, know I've refused to wear jeans for the past ten years, simply because I always thought I looked fat in them, and didn't feel comfortable at all - they just didn't seem to fit properly and made me feel bad. So for ten years, I only ever wore dresses and skirts and sometimes leggings, and once, a pair of jeggings made it to my closet. But jeans? Never.


What to do in London? Eat!

12:00 AM Imke 25 Comments

My wonderful adventure in London has come to its end, and even though I had the most amazing time here, and learned so much interning at Mary Katrantzou, I look forward spending the summer back in Belgium with my family and friends whom I've all missed so much, as I've been living abroad for a year and a half now. My internship was so interesting, and learned me so much about so many things, and I couldn't be more lucky and grateful to have been able to do this. It also allowed me to spend 6 months in a city I literally dreamed of when I was younger. I could never have imagined actually living and working here, but still, this dream came true, and it's something I will carry with me forever. 

After living in the UK's capital for six months, here's my to-go spots in London. Some you might already know, some you might never have heard of. If you're going to London anytime soon, I hope this post will help you, and feel free to send me some tips too, as I'm not planning on turning my back on this city completely. London, you've been wonderful, and remember, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life".

To make this post not endlessly long, I'm going to split this up in different categories and spread the posts a bit - even though London is amazing, overload is too much, so here we go for category one: FOOD. Because you literally can't go without, so why not go to a nice place instead of quick bite at McDonald's or Prêt-A-Manger? Here's my food recommandations! Let me know if you have more!

Camden Lock Market

For a quick bite in dodgy, yet trendy Camden, go to the food part of the famous Camden Lock Market. I promise you you won't be dissappointed for the massive range of food offered there, literally from all over the world. Name it, they have it. It tends to get massively crowded, so I recommend you to take your food with you to Regent's Canal and have an improvised pick-nick by the water. And do go for lunch to avoid dissappointment because the nice food part closes around five. There's always another food court, but it's only not-so-amazing Asian food and one pizza place, so try going there around lunchtime.


Meat Mission

They have several locations throughout London, with different names, but meat is the keyword here. be prepared for one of the biggest and best burgers of your life in a very cool atmosphere. And share a side of fries, because honestly, they're amazing - and being Belgian, I can know! I had the bacon & cheese meat burger (it was 4 o'clock, hadn't had lunch and breakfast was a yoghurt, so you can guess I was up for a big fat burger), and my friend went for chicken & cheese. Honestly one of the best burger's I've had, at a very fair price! Must-go if you're on a meat mission and craving something good, big and heavy!


Franco Manca

When your Italian flatmate says "This place has the best pizza in town!", you believe him, because Italians know best when it comes to pizza. The staff is Italian too, and so are their espressos and amazing sourdough pizza. Trust me, you can't go wrong with this one - the queue is totally worth it! With different locations throughout London, this is my favourite place for a good, big, fresh and tasty pizza at a very good price! Pretend to be Italian, and have an espresso after - they're very strong but very good! I let my Italian friend order my pizza when going there for lunch, most of the time I didn't have a clue what was going on with all the Italian chattering between my friend and the staff, but I've never been disappointed. Close your eyes and it's almost like you're in Italy.

Honest Burgers

No-one loves queuing as much as the English. Any trendy place you go in Soho, no matter whether it's a working day or the weekend, there will be a queue. Some places aren't worth the wait, but Honest Burgers is. Honestly. Amazing burgers, served with rosemary chips, which on its own are worth a trip down Soho/Portobello/Camden/Brixton/many more. You see, they're spread across London, so no excuses for not going down there for an amazing burger experience. Whereas famous burger joint Byron is spread across London too (they seem to be popping up everywhere), this one doesn't have that we're-a-chain-so-hurry-up-we-need-your-table vibe Byron has. Defenitely one of my favourite places for a filling dinner before going to the pub!


The Breakfast Club

For those who love breakfast as much as I do, this is the place to go - they serve breakfast all day every day, and offer a wide range, for those who can't digest full English in the morning. If you can, go during the week, and don't go to late, otherwise you'll find yourself in a huge queue which takes about 2 hours, and you could faint by the time you can finally have your amazing brunch. And remember, if Russell Brand can go there to cure his hang-over, so can you.

picture: not mine

Tonkotsu

Let's end with a healthy one. If you're up for amazing ramen (which is Japanese noodles soup) at a fair price, go to Tonkotsu. I went to the one on Dean Street (click here for other locations), and I really enjoyed it. My Asian friend recommended the traditional Tonkotsu Ramen, with a side of  Edamame beans. Honestly, it's delicious - filling, healthy and simply yummy.


So, you hungry yet? Please let me know if you have any other recommendations! 

Wednesday Wardrobe

11:00 AM Imke 40 Comments


I especially waited for a Wednesday to put this post online, hehe. Because all of us who've seen Mean Girls (and I bet that's 90% of the female population) know that on Wednesdays, we wear pink. And yes, as I'm publishing this post, I'm wearing a pink skirt. Pink is my favourite colour, no matter what the season, weather or trend colours are, and especially during summer I love to pull out different shades of pink from my closet and go full-on Mean Girls (wardrobe-wise, that is). 

What do you think about a full-on pink look? A bit too much or just the right Mean Girls vibe?