A Postcard from Paris...

I'm catching up, with some photos of my one day stop in Paris last week!

If you've ever been able to visit Paris, you'll know it really is a beautiful city. There's just so many places on the 'to see' list, that it's impossible to fit even a fraction of what the city has to offer in one day. With the little time we had,  myself and my family decided to walk what we could, and take in the ambiance along the way... and what we couldn't walk we'd bus, taxi or hit the underground...However, the First rule on a visit to Paris - do not try to walk!

One of my favourite parts of visiting France is seeing historic locations (sad I know) and as France has been a popular topic in my A Levels this year, I spent a lot of the time when we were on the road in France telling my parents (or boring them) with a historic story about nearly every town we passed. As Paris is always the centre of European history, I found it was not only the shops which excited me, but the museum's and history of famous locations themselves!



That's enough of me rambling, here's some photos I thought I'd share..

Equipped for a days tourism, with my converse and rucksack, we took the 42 bus, to Eiffel tower, and I mentally prepared myself for the climb (674 steps to be precise). Although, my parents didn't make it past the first level, the view was worth the effort and luckily my own fear of heights didn't stop me. 

Even though the Eiffel Tower looks like a giant when your standing underneath, there was never a moment where I genuinely felt insecure about climbing it. There was even a cafe on the first floor - though the window seat didn't appeal to me (what with a view of the 190 feet below).

 Next it was a long walk along the river Sane, and on the way we enjoyed watching artists painting, people attaching 'love' locks to bridges and obviously eating yummy ice cream! It was worth the walk, as the bank was filled with cafes and quirky activities like a giant chalk board!

We then stopped for a picnic in one of the many beautiful parks in Paris, which admiring the views of the Art galleries and Palace. We then dashed over to Notre Dame Cathedral - which was HUMONGOUS! If you didn't know I sing in lots of Cathedrals around the UK with my little choir during the summer months so I'm quite used to the style of the buildings, but I was baffled by the scale and beauty of the Notre Dame. After we took the tube for a last minute shop (okay...window shop) down the Champs-Elysées before heading back home on the train! It was quite literally 'Paris in a day', but worth every penny to finally see the beautiful city!

As always, I've got a few TIPS FOR A DAY TRIP IN PARIS (from the blonde, who found out the hard way)...
 
1. Plan ahead - it's a big city, and you need a realistic idea of what you want to see before you step onto the caos' that is the Paris streets!
2. If you want a cheap coffee... your not going to find it anywhere near the Eiffel Tower - Paris isn't cheap so if you can take a flask/picnic, there are lots of lovely places by the river or parks to choose from. Just remember the location before you start ordering your drinks! 
3. Learn your French - In Paris, lots of people speak fluent English, but it goes along way to add a 'merci' here and there!
4. If you go by train - Keep your valuables close by, as the train station is somewhat on the outskirts of town and I had the unfortunate scenario of jitzu combating a few locals with an interest in my rucksack! 
5. Make sure you come back with your own Eiffel Tower figurine - they sell them everywhere, and although they might look slightly tacky on your bedroom shelf, it's a must have!

Just in case you were judging my interesting combination of denim for my outfit choice in Paris, I'll tell you know, it was 6:00 am in the morning when I was pulled from my bed, to catch the train into Paris. Therefore, I dressed in what I thought was sensible for a day on foot in Paris. Oh and the moustache necklace was a little extra touch, just to make me feel a little more french ;)

What I'm Wearing: Dungarees - New Look, Tie-Dye Top - Matalan, Sun Glasses/Belt/Denim Shirt - Primark, Shoes - Bank, Necklace - River Island.

Well that's all from me. For the next month I'll be up and down the country visiting lots of University open days! This time last year I didn't realise how complicated it could all be, but it's all so exciting to be given the chance to go off an study whatever you want (In my case HISTORY, as I've loved the subject since I can remember). However, the long train journeys aren't always fun, especially when your trying to do homework!

Have a lovely week! 

Lots of Love,

Guest Post: DollySnowFlake is taking over Blondie's Style Fix...

Hey Grace's viewers!

From reading the title you may be slightly confused of who/what dollysnowflake is. Well firstly let us just say hi, we're dollysnowflake (Olivia and Poppy) and we write our own fashion and beauty blog just like Graces! We are writing a post on Graces blog as she on holiday but wanted her lovely viewers to still have a post to read, so that is where we come in. If you would like to check out our blog click here and to read more about dollysnowflake go on the 'about us' section of our blog.

 So after that slightly rambly start we are going to write about back to school survival kit. I'm sure some of you have just gone back to school or some of you are going back some time soon (boo!) so we thought this would be the perfect post to write for you. For you who don't know what a survival kit is its basically items that you keep in your bag to keep you prepared for all possible situations. So to find out whats in our back to school survival kit stay tuned.

 

1. My first tip for what to put in your survival kit would be a hand sanitiser. You can get these for as cheap as £1 which would be £1 very well spend as hand sanitisers can come in handy a lot at school. Think about how many germs there is on school keyboards, or the banisters on the stairs? Its always good to be the friend who everyone asks to borrow their hand sanitiser!

2. The next thing I would recommend is gum/mints. Some of my favourites would be Polos or Wrigleys which you can get basically anywhere. A lot of teachers won't let you eat/chew in class but it is always good to have in your school bag for in-between classes. You never know when the school cafeteria could be serving garlic bread and you don't want your breath to be smelling horrid. Also I think that gum and mints wake me up on a morning but I don't know about you!?

3.The next essential is a lip balm or some sort of lip product that we keep your lips looking nice and feeling hydrated through out the day. Two of our personal favourite lip products for school are the 'Revlon lip butters' we think these lipsticks are so nice and glossy but have just the right amount of colour for school, although some are a lot more pigmented than the others; Our other favourite lip product for school are the 'Maybelline baby lips' we adore these products as they are better for your lips than any lipstick and make them feel silky smooth too! They come in a range of sheer colours like pink, cherry and peach or you could choose one with no colour at all.

4. The last essential we are going to talk about today is for us the most important, its a snack of some
sort. Having something to eat at school is vital as it's very unhealthy to go 5-6 hours without anything to munch on. So we think having a cereal bar in your packed lunch box is key because they are healthy as well as filling and they will also give you lots of energy ( which everyone needs at school! ) We love nutri-grain bars because they are so tasty and come in a range of different flavors.

So, that was our top 4 things to keep in your survival kit! Here is a list of other things you could keep in your survival kit-

• plasters/bandaids
• bobbles and clips
• face wipes
• spare essential makeup
• spare pen/stationary for if you leave your pencil case at home
• tweezers
• compact mirror
• tissues
• paracetamol (check if your school allows it first though)

So that was our back to school survival kit essentials, we hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to click here to check out more of our posts on dollysnowflake. We'd also like to say thanks to Grace for letting us take over blondiestylefix!

Drop a comment to tell us whats in your survival kit, as we'd love to know!

Lots of love,

Poppy and Olivia x

dollysnowflake.blogspot.com

how to turn pale skin - tanned (without being a tangerine...)

In case the title didn't give you a big enough hint, today's post is quite simply my attempts to turn my pale skin to a moderate tan (well for me anyway...).

If your pale skinned, you'll know most fake tans (etc) have a probability of making you go a lovely orange colour - and personally that's not my ideal look. After years, and I mean years, of caking myself in the wrong colours, I've finally found the first signs of hope - thanks to Dove.

Dove's tinted moisturiser is a real gem, you can apply it gradually over a few days, just like moisturiser and it gives you a fresh and smooth covering of gradual tan. It's my secret weapon during summer months, and stays on in water - so no horror swimming pool moments! I also use mine with a Vaseline essential moisturiser, which is great to keep your skin soft and silky!

Dove tinted moisturiser, is currently around £4.99 in most stores, but you can get a bottle from Boots for half price at £2.50, so its not a major problem if you decide it's not for your skin!

A few Tips when buying fake tan for Pale Skin:

1. Always make sure you check the colour range (e.g. don't get a product that says it's for dark skin).
2. Test it first on a small section of your skin, to see if your happy with the colour, before you cover yourself in it!
3. Don't just stick to one style of fake tan. It's good to use other methods of applying a tan, like spray bottles!
4. ENJOY FINALLY HAVING A TAN!

Well that's all from me, I've got lots of school work (boring) to get on with...

Lots of Love,