20 Things I've Learnt In 20 Years

- Care less what other people think about you. You will find people who will accept your uniqueness and weird personality.

- Let people come to you. Don't waste time trying to attract other people it just doesn't work that way, you will meet someone amazing eventually. It's not worth putting in the effort for someone who isn't really interested.

- Work hard at what you're passionate about. I'm working hard at my fashion degree and trying my hand at blogging which I've always wanted to do. If you want to start a blog... go for it!

- Accept your body. You're not going to have the same figure you had when you were fifteen, and that's completely okay. Get rid of old smaller sized clothes, accept that your body has changed and you've moved to a different clothes size. Realise that being healthy, happy and having curves is really beautiful.

- If you want to dye your hair pink, do it. If you want to cut your hair, do it. Hair dye always washes out and hair grows back. For that matter, get that piercing, get that tattoo. Why not? Life is short.

- Sex is nothing to to be ashamed of, it's amazing and natural. Growing up sex related things were so taboo, but the older I get the more I realise that most people enjoy sex and talking about it (within an appropriate setting, obvs) is really good

- Create, create, create! Take pictures of all the beautiful things you see around you, sketch designs, write blog posts, learn new creative skills to expand your knowledge. I've found I'm happiest when I'm creating things.

- Always be kind and look out for people. Simply just texting someone asking how they are and saying your thinking of them can make a world of difference to their day as sometimes you have no idea what people are going through. If you would want people to check up on you, be sure to check up on them.

- Your family is so important, appreciate them and take time out of them as much as you can. Phone your Grandma and ask how she is.

- Seek help for your mental health issues. Honestly, there are people out there who will do anything to help you. You are not going through anything alone. Never feel like you are a burden on anyone because that is definitely not the case.

- Your queer as fuck, you like girls. Liking girls is 100% okay.

- As cheesy as it sounds, usually the best way to make a friend is to be a friend. Be nice to everyone. Smile-which is quite difficult because I generally smile as often as Victoria Beckham does.

- Wear whatever you want, growing I used to some really weird things, wearing a lot of vintage, clothes for charity shops. Now a lot of people dress like that, so don't be afraid to dress differently, you're probably starting a trend!

- Listen to your parents, they (often) know what they're talking about.

- Diets do not work in most circumstances and will just create a vicious cycle of restricting and bingeing. Lead a healthy lifestyle, eat veggies and exercise, but if you want that pizza- eat it.

- Be nice to your brother. He's quite nice really.

- Sexism is very much alive and well in 2018, there's people out there (men and women) who honestly believe that women are second class citizens and they are so wrong because this world would fall apart without women, and we have no where near equal rights!

- It's never too late to take up a sport, I joined a football team at 19 and it's the best thing that ever happened to me, both athletically and socially.

- Tampons > Sanitary pads. Pads are, in my opinion, horrid. It's fine if you prefer them though!

Thanks, for reading babes, I know it's a long post and I've definitely still got a lot to learn!

Lingerie and Bralet Wish List Summer 2018

Hi babes, as a huge fan of pretty lingerie I can never seem to get enough in my wardrobe! There are so many gorgeous pieces around right now. Lingerie is not just for hiding under clothes, either, wearing sequinned bralets and lace bodysuits with denim shorts is an amazing way to step up your summer night out dressing! Huge trends right now are harnesses, strappy tops and chokers with bralets. Check out some of the pieces I'm dreaming about right now...

Missguided Satin Half Cup Bra
Missguided Pink Plunge Bodysuit
Pretty Little Thing Black Triangle Bralet
Pretty Little Thing Hot Pink Daisy Lace Harness bra
Pretty Little Thing Silver Sequin bralet
Boohoo Strap Detail Pretty Lace set
New Look Strappy Lace Brazilian briefs

Summer Beauty Essentials On A Budget

Hi babes, I don't know about everyone else, but I always get so excited during the summer months about new makeup and beauty products. (and er, in the winter months.) However, this can get very expensive, so I'm going to be showing you some amazing value products to update your look. Superdrug and Primark are my new best friends, and they actually have some very high quality products! This weather has been forcing me out of the house more so I've been trying more creative makeup looks.

Faking it

Recently I've been wanting up my tanning game, and I'm not saying it's because of Love Island, but it probably is. Don't really This medium tan lotion from Superdrug is honestly the best fake tan I have ever used, and it is a bargain priced at £3.29. Plus, all Superdrug's own brand products are cruelty free and vegan! Nothing's better than a tan with a bikini, especially a white and turquoise bikini like this one from New Look.

Eye roll

I really rate Collection as a budget beauty brand, the majority of their products do exactly what they say on the tin and are excellent value. My current go to mascara is Collection's Lash Surge, it is highly volumising so you can go and bat your eyes at someone! It is priced at £4.99 from Superdrug. For eyeliner, I go for Soap and Glory's Supercat mascara, which is a bit pricer at £6.50. However it is well worth investing in as your eyes are usually the first thing someone notices about you, so it's good if your eyeliner makes an impact!

To add a bit of sparkle to your eyes, definitely use one of Barry M's holographic eyeshadow to a base of light pink of nude eyeshadow. They are £4.99 from Superdrug or Barry M's website.

Shimmer and Shine

Glitter is the perfect way to update your makeup look and make you stand out. I tend to go for the brightest colours of glitter that I can find, usually pink, blue and purple. It also looks cute to coordinate your glitter with eyeshadow looks, or have a complete contrast! Whichever way you wear your glitter, you will look amazing. Barry M do pots of glitter for £4.99 each.

I've worn Barry M (hmm, think there might be a theme to this post) nail paint for years, but recently the limited edition collection has really caught my attention. Iridescent shades of nail polish is just my favourite thing, ever.  The limited edition Nail Paints are priced at £3.99 each.





What makeup and beauty products are you loving for summer? Let me know!

What You Should Know About Sexuality | Sexuality Series

Hi babes, welcome back to The Fashion Femme, Welcome to a new series on this blog, #SexualitySeries! In this series I will be discussing topics such as LGBTQ issues, coming out, online dating, relationships, orgasms, toys, safe sex and contraception and more. I really wanted to write a really inclusive series on this blog talking about taboo but important topics. This is based on my own experiences and opinions and also a lot of research I've done. I'm so excited for this series! So to start off,  here is everything you should know about sexuality...

- How someone dresses doesn't define their sexuality.
Obviously this is the whole title of this blog, there are plenty of femme lesbians/queer and bi women, and absolutely everything in between. And of course, straight women can rock the fuck out of a suit, (let's seriously talk about Scarlett Johansson in a suit.) So it is important to remember to express yourself however you want, the world is full of so many diverse types of people. Don't ever think that you're not queer enough because you're feminine.

- Labels aren't always important
I think this is a lot easier said than done, a lot of people, both gay and straight, say labels aren't important, but don't really practice what they preach. Personally, I've kind of given up labelling myself, although I'm attracted to women like 85% of the time, I've had crushes on all genders and think I could fall for anyone. If you find labels such as 'Gay' 'Straight' 'Bisexual' and even 'Pansexual' restricting, you really don't need to use any of them! Just be you, you are amazing.

- Sexuality is SO fluid

This isn't the case for everyone, of course there people who are exclusively hetrosexual and exclusively homosexual, however! For many people, things can change. 

- Girls can hurt you just as much as boys, and domestic violence can affect anyone
Ever seen that post, 'if your boyfriend doesn't treat you right, there's a gay girl that will?' Well that is seriously untrue. Queer women definitely can experience hurt and abuse and it's important to not erase that. According to charity Stonewall, one in four lesbian and bi women have experienced domestic violence in a relationship or by a family member, this rises to almost half (49%) or gay and bi men. You should definitely be aware of the fact that girls can play you about, girls can be fuckboys, girls can break your heart.

- Gender and Sexuality are two different things.

So there's a lot of people that don't really understand. So if someone is a transgender woman, they are a woman, plain and simple. So they may be straight, gay, bisexual, or anything in between, not necessarily attracted to women just because they are trans. If cisgender* men and women can be attracted can be either men or women or both, it's the same for trans and non-binary people. Cause that's just how it is.

- Go to pride, it's an amazing experience.

As you tell by reading this blog, I may be a little bit excited for pride. Just a little bit, I think. If you've never experienced Pride, it's like gay disneyland/ gay christmas/ all my personal christmases come at once. Especially in a big city. In the parades, you see so many different types of people celebrating who they are. Honestly makes me a bit emotional, but I am a big flannel and you're probably not as bad as me. I disagree with people saying it's just a political protest, it's also a big party that brings the community and beyond together. There's nothing wrong with that. Who doesn't love drinking dark fruits at 3pm and dancing to Abba? Not many people, is my answer to that.

*Cisgender= Someone who identifies with their gender at birth. So, the opposite of transgender.

Hope you enjoyed the start of this series. Please let me know what you thought and if you have any ideas of topics you'd like me to cover! This blog is my little child and I love to watch it grow. 

SkinnyDip London Bag Collection

Hi babes, welcome back to The Fashion Femme. So, pretty much everyone who knows me, knows how much I love the brand SkinnyDip London and their bags. So much so, I've started collecting them and I just keep buying them! They are seriously my babies and the cutest things I own. Here is my collection (so far, there's so many more I want to buy!) and why I love my favourite ones.

- Talk to the palm bag (£15)

This bag was on sale and I thought it would make the perfect addition to my summer wardrobe. The palm tree embroidery on the bag is so delicate and beautiful and I'm a sucker for anything with shimmery iridescent material! 

- Mermaid shell cross body bag (£28)

Mermaids are basically my style icons, I wear a lot of mermaid style outfits comprised of sequins, holographics and crop tops. It's a real statement piece and one of the pieces I get the most complements on. However I sadly can't wear this out any more as the zip inside the bag is broken. Hopefully I will manage to fix it so I can start wearing it again!

- Holo bum bag (£18)

I bought this as a holiday bag right before I went on tour (read all about that in my previous post!) and it's definitely a must have for a holiday or a festival. You can easily store your phone, keys, money and ID without worrying losing or more likely, getting stolen, or more likely, drunkenly dropping them. Plus, it's the most gorgeous material, and your friends aren't gonna lose you!

- Rainbow cross body bag (£32)

If you've read this blog you'll probably know that I am obsessed with rainbows, not only because they are the symbol of lgbt pride, I just love bright colours, the more colours the better! This goes well with so many different outfits because it is multi-coloured. 

The SkinnyDip logo printed on many of their products.

I can't wait to expand my collection (Maybe have a wishlist post on the way soon?!) Do you collect anything? Do you own anything from skinnydip? Tell me all about it! 

Melissa xxx