Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Today I came across an intriguing, advert whilst browsing youtube - from Dove. I'm sure everyone is aware of Dove's real beauty campaign, trying to promote that women aren't perfect, and that ,well, everyone is beautiful really.

© Dove

And today I found their new advert:

In the  advert, an FBI trained forensic artist sits behind a curtain and draws a portrait from the subject’s self-description, then he  draws a second portrait of the same women using only the descriptions of strangers, which results in a much softer and dramatically different more realistic picture.

The advert has actually come under fire and caused a lot of controversy in the media, critics have said it simply encourages women to care about what other people think about them. Really it is doing nothing different than its predecessors in the capacity that it is still objectifying women. Similarly, we have to remember that this is an advert, and Dove are still trying to sell us some soap or deodorant. When it comes down to it we can't simply take this message at face value.

All this being said, I must admit I still do love the ad. I think it really rings true with how we see ourselves overly critically and will often blow our perceived flaws way out of proportion in our self deprecation. Advert or not, the message is a powerful one, and it is undeniable that we are our own worst critics. 

Prague

So as you may or may not know, I very recently went to Prague (or Praha as the Czech say) with three of my friends. It was one of the best holidays I have taken and is such a beautiful and amazing city. I can honestly say it wasn't what I was expecting at all - drunken stag do's and a soviet union grey vibe - it was quite the opposite!

This is kind of just a general post with some pics, I think I'll do some more specific ones on where we ate, drank and all the touristy things we did because otherwise this post will be ridiculously long!

We stayed in an amazing hotel, that I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of making a trip to Prague any time soon called Fusion. It was extremely cool and all the rooms have different themed artwork on the wall. Our room was the Dog Room, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that!

The hotel was right in the centre of the Stare Mesto or the old town, meaning it was really close to loads of the major tourist attractions like the astronomical clock and Wenceslas Square, the only downfall of staying in this area is the lack of tram stops but to be honest everywhere you would want to go is within walking distance as the city centre it pretty compact, and its nice to have a wander around anyway to see all the sights and hidden gems!

The hotel is also a hostel and was very reasonably priced, we got a Jet2 deal in January where they had £50 off holidays so it was a bit of a bargain. I don't have any pictures, because I'm an idiot and forgot to take any but I did find some rather nice ones on the fusion website.

© Fusion Hotels

The reception area was the coolest place ever, and really gives you a feel of what Fusion is like. There were hanging lightbulbs, multicoloured drawers and leather seats covered in cushions.

© Fusion Hotels

This room is similar to what ours was like, it was simple and basic but had everything you could want, including an Apple TV which had loads of films on it to watch, including finding Nemo, which is clearly worth watching 24/7.


The hotel also had a really unique bar that rotated 360 degrees (unsurpisingly called the 360 bar), they had a great selection of drinks and although it was quiet, I imagine it is bustling on the weekends. You could enjoy a shisha by the bar or there was also the 'playroom' which had sofas giant beanbags and a kinect! (Apparently volleyball isn't a hidden talent of mine, who would have guessed). I had high expectations for Fusion but it definitely surpassed them and I would definitely suggest it to anyone visiting.

We got to our hotel by metro which was so cheap (about £1 including a bus), especially compared to the Taxi we got back  (around £6 ea.) but it did take quite a long time as you have to go around the whole airport on a bus before getting to the station, so bear that in mind with time constraints etc. It's also probably a lot safer than a taxi as our driver was pretty crazy and I did feel like we were going to crash many a time!

This post has kind of turned into a hotel review, which wasn't my aim but never mind! Here's some photos  of my trip in general:

The Charles Bridge

View of Prague from the castle

View from the Bridge

Padlocks on a Bridge a la Paris :)

Colourful Houses

Cheeky photo of me, Maria & Naomi after walking up a huge hill! 

Hope you enjoyed this post, Prague really is a beautiful city and its a great place to visit for a short break :)

xoxo Tamsin

Nasty Gal Wishlist

So I've had my eye on a few things from Nasty Gal recently, I absolutely love the stuff on their website but as its based in the US I find it hard to justify buying anything from ther e with the shipping costs! I currently only have one item from them, a gold shiny backless dress, but I can see myself making a purchase very soon, maybe when my student loan comes in....

1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6.

Looking at the pictures there are a lot of black items, letting out my inner goth! Although monochrome is in at the moment so we'll just say I picked them because of that... I can see myself getting some of these but obviously I can't afford them all! I just don't know which ones to choose...

 xoxo Tamsin 

Tonight, the foxes hunt the hounds.

So i'm going to blog about my last couple of weeks at some point but I thought I'd do a post with some of my recent Instagram pictures before I do some more detailed posts!    
It took me a ridiculous amount of time to work out how to get this to all fit, and ended up using an application called 'PicFrame' on my Mac that was only 69p - bargain!

The lyrics from the title are from a song on the new Fall Out Boy album  - Save Rock & Roll - called 'Young Volcanoes' which is possibly my favourite so far (I only downloaded the album yesterday!) It's a really good album and I would definitely recommend you purchase it if you're into that kind of thing!

1. Free prosecco in our hotel room in london!  2. Laduree Macarooms - yum  3. Shakespeares Globe Theatre  4. St Pauls Cathedral from the Tate Modern  5. 'Silence Violence and Violins' @ the Tate Modern 6. My new UO watch  7. Doors in the restaurant at our Prague hotel  8. Cheeky restaurant selfie with my new bright blue Topshop jumper  9. Hard Rock cafe Prague with Justine, my nose seems to have disappeared!

These are just a taste of my last fortnight! Unfortunately I feel my next weeks pictures will be much less interesting!

xoxo Tamsin

Review // Earthy Edinburgh

So this post is a little overdue, but I've been pretty busy lately (my later posts will explain!) However, a couple of weeks ago I visited earthy, a cute little restaurant / deli / store close to my accommodation in Edinburgh.

It's literally 5 minutes from my flat and I pass it whenever I come back from my bus ride to uni, so this visit was well overdue!

I went for lunch so only got a main, but I had the most lovely soup; mushroom courgette and chilli! It was delicious and only £6 - a bargain! It was served on the most lovely wooden board with some artisan bread and butter, my crappy phone picture really doesn't do it justice!

They had loads of other great things on the menu, my flatmate got a sweet potato stuffed with chilli and a rocket salad (amongst other things) that donated £1 to charity for every sale. They also had a great selection of salads that could be combined to make a platter which looked delicious!

All the food is organic, locally sourced and/or seasonal, adding to the great experience.

As well as the food, there was also a great selection of drinks and I opted for a good old Fentimans Rose Lemonade (love their drinks mmm)

The restaurant was decorated beautifully and with a rustic charm, think light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, bird cages, plant pots on the tables and unique vintage candlesticks.

As well as the great restaurant there was also a shop selling locally grown produce as well as other organic and unusual delights, although the prices are quite expensive, alike other health food type stores, some of the fresh ingredients and produce is very reasonable and would be fine for a treat!

I would definitely recommend a trip to earthy if you're about, I visited the canonmills restaurant but they also have a cafe in causewayside and a shop in portobello, you can check them out and find out any more info here. Unfortunately they don't have that much info on their website, but take it from me they are well worth a visit!

xoxo Tamsin 

Worldwide Wardrobe 2013

Today I found a brilliant competition hosted by Travel Supermarket and it is offering some amazing prizes!
All you have to do is create an outfit within the budget of £200 for one or more of the following places and occasions;
- Sightseeing in Paris
- Clubbing in Ibiza
- Shopping in London
- Cocktails in New York
- Partying at a Full Moon Party in Thailand

You can just style up one outfit, or do them all it's completely up to you, so I went for 2, Thailand and New York.

This is my Thailand outfit, what I think would be perfect for hitting up a full moon beach party. I tried to keep the look casual and went for a bright tie dye bikini as the thai heat would call for little else, especially as party goers will be covered in neon paint before the night is over. I teamed this with some Levi's shorts that add a casual vibe, look great with everything and involve minimal effort (and ironing)! I chose the bum bag because although it isn't usually considered the 'coolest' of things, this one is bang on trend and would be really handy for dancing as it wouldn't get in the way but would keep everything safe, nothing worse than a massive bag getting in the way when you're trying to do your thing! I added some statement jewellery, with a hair feather adding a sort of 'bohemian' vibe. Paired with some sunglasses (ray ban copies, but wouldn't want to take real ones!) and finally some gladiator sandals that are both stylish and practical for avoiding broken glass.

This is my New York look, very different to the last! New Yorkers are both stylish and classy so I tried to keep this look both. I originally wanted to find an LBD but I stumbled upon this scarf print mini and thought it would be a perfect statement piece that would fit right in. Although it is reasonably cheap I think it looks way more expensive and could easily be mistaken as designer! As the dress is quite busy I went for some simple black accessories with a pair of heels definitely a must have to keep it as dressy as New York, very SATC. I also went simple with jewellery so as not to overcomplicate the outfit, just some dangly earrings to add a touch of class and bring everything together.

So there you go, hope you like my entries! Some of my favourite bloggers are judging so fingers crossed, if you want to enter you can find details of the competition at travelsupermarket.com Good luck!

xoxo Tamsin