At the start of July, Adam and I flew to Greece for 7 Nights to stay at Alexander The Great Hotel in Halkidiki. If you know me at all you'll know a holiday is all I look forward to all year round. If I'm not looking to book one, I'm talking about booking one or preparing for the next one coming up. When it came to booking this year's trip we wanted something that'll be just as amazing and magical as Sardinia last year (post linked here).  Although it took a good few weeks to find this gem, I'm glad we waited to find something we both loved the look of.

Before booking this trip, neither of us had heard of Halkidiki before. It's located in the northern part of Greece and consists of three strips that stretch out onto the water. We stayed in Kassandra which is the first of the strips and most westernized, but from what I've heard/seebin both of the others are just as pretty.

Our hotel was amazing and the beach was one of the nicest beaches in the area, with long stretches of white sands, to the crystal water and beach bar. We ended up spending quite a lot of our time there and on one of our last days we both got a full body massage there too (painful yet relaxing).

Whenever I go abroad, there's nothing I love more than exploring little local towns and we were lucky enough to have one just a 5-minute drive from the hotel. Kallithea has lots of touristy shops, so many restaurants and an amazing bar (BLU Seaside Bar) with very impressive cocktails and a balcony terrace with a view looking down on the beach. It was also located right by the beach with clear shallow water and a variety of watersport activities. We ended up going jet skiing on our first full day there and it was one of my favorite experiences that week.

On one of the days, we ended up getting a taxi to another local town that was recommended to us and eating at Bistro Kropigi which was a restaurant with another amazing view and the most impressive Cesar salad you'll ever see. After food, we took a walk down to the beach in Kropigi which consisted of us walking along the sand to try find a good spot and somehow ended in us walking all along the sea for well over an hour, all the way back to our hotel beach where we ended up spending the rest of the day. Although as exhausting as walking back along scorching sand in 36-degree heat sounds, we got to see so many amazing beaches on the way, collecting the prettiest stones and saved some money not having to get another taxi back.

We had a sailboat trip booked on Saturday which left at 10 that morning and sailed for 6 hours around the coast of Halkidiki, stopping off at 3 lagoons for a swim and a beach bar. It was by far my favourite day there - we got to see places we wouldn't have been able to get to on land and had the most relaxing day enjoying the sun and amazing views (and getting an impressive tan). The Capitan was one of the funniest people we met that week and owned the small boat trip and beach safari business also offering such good value for money!

Over the colder months my skin always seems to get worse, so now that Spring has started and my skin is beginning to clear up again, I've loved doing lighter and more 'fresh-faced' looking makeup. I live for a dewy look and recently I've been trying to find a few new products for a makeup refresh. After testing out a few different brands, I've found my new favourites for a dewy and fresh makeup look.

MARIO BADESCU FACIAL SPRAY (ALOE, HERBS AND ROSEWATER)
Starting off with something I've been meaning to try for a while.  I've tested out a couple of Mario Baadescu's products in the past and loved them but I wasn't sure if the spray would be worth the money; until I bit the bullet and gave it a go - and I'm so happy I did! It's said to hydrate and soothe your skin while giving it a boost and setting your makeup and that's exactly what it does. It makes your skin feel and appear a lot fresher and definitely makes a difference when It comes to longer lasting makeup.
BUY HERE £7-11: https://www.beautybay.com/p/mario-badescu/facial-spray-with-aloe-herbs-and-rosewater/

BODYSHOP'S INSTAGLOW CC CREAM (LIGHT)
This is something I use when I feel like my skin needs a bit more life or is looking slightly dull or on a makeup free day to brighten and moisturise. As it's a CC cream, it doesn't really give any coverage but it definitely makes you skin appear healthier. The one thing I would say it it can leave it looking quite shiny after a few hours so it might be worth just going over with a powder brush if that's something you want to avoid.
BUY HERE £15: https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/make-up/bb-creams/instaglow-cc-cream-spf-20/p/p001050

BOURJOIS HEALTHY MIX (N54 AND N56).
When I started looking for a dewy foundation again, I remembered loving Healthy Mix last summer so I picked up a couple shades and remembered why it was my go-to. It has such a fresh and lightweight feel to it and still gives some coverage while making your skin look SO dewy and healthy all day. I find shade N54 perfect when I'm not fake tanned and N56 bette for fake tan and also in the summer! I would 100% recommend this to anyone will dull looking or dry skin - it's so hydrating and doesn't cling to any dry patches. I couldn't recommend it more!!
BUY HERE £9.99: https://www.boots.com/bourjois-healthy-mix-foundation-10226173

L'OREAL TRUE MATCH 1.D/1.W IVOIRE DORE & GOLDEN IVORY.
True Match is one we've all heard of and theres a reason for it. It gives such a flawless finish and a more matte look, as well as lasting all day. If I find myself needing extra coverage but still wanting a slight dewy finish, I often mix this with Healthy Mix and it gives such a pretty finish!
BUY HERE £9.99: https://www.superdrug.com/L%27Oreal-Paris/L%27Oreal-Paris-True-Match-Foundation-1-N-Ivory-30ml/p/546207?

COLOURPOP PLUMPING GLOSS (ROUNDABOUT) AND LIPPIE PENCIL (ANOTHER ROUND)
This combination of liner and gloss have been my go to almost everyday (I've even been trying to limit myself because if you've ever ordered form Colourpop to the UK you will know how expensive shipping can get). You can't have a complete fresh faced look without some kind of gloss. This shade has the perfect mix of nude and pink and if actually lasts so long it's sometimes a mission to get off at the end of the day. The pencil also looks amazing just on it's own as a matte finish.
BUY GLOSS HERE $7 : https://colourpop.com/products/round-about
BUY LIPPIE PENCIL HERE $5: https://colourpop.com/products/another-round-pencil

BENEFIT PRECISELY MY BROW SHADE 3.5
This was more of a spontaneous buy but also woks wonders. The tip of the pencil is very fine and thin and lets you draw thin hairs, giving the look more of a natural feel, which I think is ideal for a dewy look. It's smudge proof an water resistant which was something I've been on the hunt for for holiday however the now thing I'm lightly disappointed with is how little product you get, this is definitely one to be used more sparingly!
BUY HERE £21.50: https://www.lookfantastic.com/benefit-precisely-my-brow-pencil-various-shades/11277199.html
- Alexandra x 

It may be half way through January and everyone is most likely sick of the 2018 throwbacks and new year's resolution posts, but I couldn't give this one a miss. 2018 has been one of the best years to date and I'd kick myself if I didn't write a roundup of it - and what better way than through photos. These all come from my Instagram as they best represent the year I've had (but I haven't included every single post from the year but you can see all the in-betweens on Instagram).

2018 started of full of cold walks and trying pass time, as we all know - January drags! The month was pretty much filled with bowling, cinema and slush puppies with friends and a LOT of food. Adam and I took out a friends dog's for a walk, somewhere below is a snap of  Bruce looking very unimpressed and being carried as he refused to walk 5 minutes in...

February didn't pass any quicker than the previous month, from what I remember there was a lot of assignment deadline stress, deciding which uni to choose and of course Valentines day.

March and April consisted of more cold walks, a to of snow, climbing trees and cat sitting. April is also my birthday month so a lot of celebrating and finally passing my driving test!

My summer starts in May where it's warm enough to sunbathe, leave the house without a coat and not freeze to death. It was also the time of year where all the college work caught up with me and stress really kicked in. I spent a lot of the time trying to multitask and get a little browner in the sun while trying to keep to deadlines and not drop out last minute.

In June I was finally finished with college so most of the month I spent with Adam. There was many barbecues in the sun, driving to different beaches, sunbathing and attending a family party. We also went to the spa for a weekend which he booked for my birthday back in April and we had the most relaxing time.

July was one of my favourite months of the year. Adam and I went to Sardinia for a week and had the most incredible time. You can read all about it here, as there was a whole post dedicated to our week away and I could talk about it for hours! There's also way too many photos to post on here but a few are over on Instagram. Overall, July was the happiest month. What more could you want than a good tan, beach hopping, clear skin and feeling more content than ever before.
Now on to September. I done a quick trip to Brighton, had a Tarot card reading (which strangely helped a lot with stress), again ate  A LOT of food and wandered around the lanes. It was also Adam's birthday and I surprised him with a couple nights away at a quirky lodge (wrote a post all about it), and explored a  little town, spending the evenings outside by a fire with a glass of Rosé.