Big Blonde Holiday Preparations

Hi everyone :)

So, I am lucky enough to be jetting off for a luxury week in Tenerife in a couple of days and I am currently frantically trying to sort my suitcase out and decide what I do and don't need to take with me. I always end up taking way too many clothes and most of them just end up living in the suitcase for the whole week, so I need to work on this! One of my good friends always writes out a detailed list of every outfit she will be wearing when going away (even if just for one weekend..!) so I thought maybe I should try this. Earlier I decided to ease myself into this whole "being organised" thing and started to list all of the holiday clothes that I thought I would need. One full notebook page later and I realised this wasn't quite going to plan...

So, instead of boring you all with the entire contents of my overflowing case, I thought I'd show you some of my favourite holiday pieces that I'm going to take with me. Admittedly some of these "favourites" are brand new and have not yet been away with me, but having tried them on I know I will be in my element lounging by the pool in them, glass of cava in one hand and my Kindle in the other! *Permission to be jealous*

I love how the plus size market is expanding in terms of pretty holiday and swimwear for us larger ladies; now we are seeing loads of different styles and shapes, not to mention gorgeous colours and prints. I have seen some friends rocking beautiful bikinis, and although I'm not quite brave enough to don one of those myself, I am a big fan of some of the one piece swimming costumes that I have.

My favourite has to be this one from ASOS, which I got a couple of years ago. The detail on the neck is so pretty, and makes a plain black cossie so much more exciting. Tip to anyone who owns a similar piece - especially if you're as pale as me - be liberal with the suncream underneath this! When I wore this on my last holiday I ended up with a sunburn that made me look like a human hashtag...(see evidence below, oops)!

My good friend Naomi over at diamondsnpearls sent me this lovely top from Yours Clothing to take away with me, which will be ideal for throwing on over my swimming costume. It's really lightweight and nice and loose fitting, so is sure to be a winner in the super hot sunshine. It is great having friends to be able to suggest (and even give) clothes to you, because this is probably not something that I would ever have chosen for myself, but as soon as I tried it on I loved it. Thanks Naomi!

Here is some more of my favourite holiday wear: most of it I have owned for a while, except for this beach dress from ASOS Curve that I bought a couple of weeks ago. At £22 was maybe a bit pricey given how much use I'll actually get out of it, but it was just way too pretty not to buy. I didn't think it would look that good on or fit particularly well (and was secretly hoping it wouldn't - sorry bank account!), but the material feels super silky and it is lovely and flowy and lightweight. The red floral and the black and white swimming costumes are ones I got last year from Yours Clothing, the blue kaftan is Joanna Hope and the grey sequin kimono style top is from Simply Be (sparkles, YAY!)

It goes to show that we plus sized chicks don't need to hide out in nothing but plain black, and there are loads of lovely, summery holiday options out there for us to wear. So embrace the colour and show off your shape! Or even find the middle ground with something like this gorgeous heart print swim dress from ASOS Curve. I treated myself to it a few weeks ago, and my only gripe is that they don't sell an actual dress in this print, as I absolutely LOVE it. If they came out with any clothes with this pattern I would be all over it like a rash! *pretty please ASOS make it happen*




I will no doubt update you all on my holiday and post more pictures when I return next weekend all sad and looking like a lobster!

Big love,

Em xxx

Curves & Sparkles: an introduction...

Hi everyone

My name is Emily and I'm a 20something year old from Edinburgh in the UK. I've been thinking about dabbling in a new blog for a while now, and with the encouragement from some of my fellow blogger buddies I decided to give it a go! As the name suggests, I’m a plus sized chick with a love of shiny things (it is a fairly regular occurrence for the bf to tease me about this and call me a magpie, but I’m okay with that).

I’m really into fashion, and I love seeing how the industry is (slowly but surely) changing to give us bigger girls more options when it comes to clothes.  I’m not really sure how I would describe my style; I don’t tend to follow any specific fashion rules, and I like putting things together just because I think they’re cute, not because they’re necessarily “on trend” at that time. I have some items of clothing I’ve had for 10+ years that I still wear, but I do love shopping for new clothes too! You will always see me sporting leggings, be it with a pretty dress or tube skirt and top, or just a couple of tops layered with a cardigan. I love getting dolled up for a night out as well, and have too many going out dresses hanging in my wardrobe...

As well as being keen on fashion, I have a major passion for makeup. I own far too much of the stuff, and can’t seem to stop buying it (you can never have enough, right?). Eye makeup in particular is what I really love, and I experiment a lot with my makeup looks. I didn’t learn how to apply makeup from anybody, and I haven’t followed any tutorials on it. I’ve always just experimented on myself and I believe that this is the best way to do it to learn what you like and what suits your face – plus it’s fun that way! I probably own just about every colour of eyeshadow under the sun, and it’s not uncommon for me to wear several different ones at a time. Pretty, dramatic eyes are my thing, but I’m also a major lippy fan. I can always be relied on to have at least 5 lip glosses in my handbag at any given time (my little sister can vouch for this as she has taken advantage on several occasions!).

I am also quite the jewellery addict, and have way too much for it to all fit in my many jewellery boxes and stands, which now take up a fair chunk of the space in my bedroom. You will pretty much never see me without a necklace and rings on (one time I forgot to put on a necklace and a colleague commented on how strange I looked and told me not to do it again, ha!) and I’ve lost count of how many ear piercings I have. I love pretty hair accessories as well and regularly adorn my blonde head with something flowery or sparkly.

Nail art is another thing I’m really keen on. I love experimenting with nail colours and nail art designs, and I own an obscene amount of nail varnishes.  I get my nails done fairly regularly – no fake nails or extensions, just a French manicure gel overlay – so they are always nice and even and in good nick.

Ok, that’s all the girly stuff out of the way... On top of all of that I am a major FOODIE! I love dining out and I really enjoy cooking too, especially baking. I am always the nominated cake maker for any birthdays within my group of friends, which I have no complaints about! As well as the outfit/makeup/nail posts, I will probably post some pictures of yums from when I dine out, or if I’ve made anything that I think is particularly tasty.

I will no doubt ramble on about what I get up to as well as I’m out and about gallivanting in Edinburgh and beyond! Hope you enjoy my musings.

Big love,

Em xxx