Tag: Style

3 Things I’ve Stopped Doing

Small Changes

Now that we are into the second month of 2018, I’ve started to see myself form new habits over the past several weeks, or to put it more accurately, I’ve actually seen myself change old ones. There’s often that widespread ‘new year, new me’ mentality at the start of January that slowly seems to disperse as the weeks roll on, and I like many, can often see myself slipping back into old habits as the enthusiasm for change slowly wears off. However, each year I find myself implementing small changes that are often more of the smaller things that initially seem less life changing but in the long run actually make a bit of difference to the way I do things. Not everything has to be deep and meaningful but sometimes something as simple as saving yourself a couple of minutes when getting ready each day can actually end up having a bigger imapct than you realise. So without further ado, here are a few things that I’ve stopped doing…

Contouring

The makeup technique once reserved for stage makeup and drag queens, is now an integral part of many women’s (and some men’s) makeup routines. What started out as a faddish trend, quickly got its foot firmly in the door and decided it was here to stay, changing the face of makeup worldwide and creating a new area for beauty brands to cash in on. I like many, soon fell in line and before I knew it, I too was on the hunt for the perfect contouring kit to define my features and give me cheekbones like Naomi Campbell.

For years thereafter I tried a countless number of contouring products and techniques, and yet I’ve still never quite fathomed what I’m actually meant to be doing. Whilst I have found contouring (or at least attempting to contour) a fun part of makeup to play around with, I must admit that trying to incorporate the technique into my day to day makeup routine has been a time consuming activity that I mostly fail at. With that in mind, I decided to put down the contouring products and ditch the sculpting attempts, and if I’m quite honest my makeup has been much better for it…not to mention more time efficient.

I won’t say goodbye to contouring for good, let’s just say that it’s complicated and we’re on a break. It’s likely something I’ll save for evenings out or occasions when I have more time to faff with my makeup but for now I’m keeping it simple.

Watching Too Much Netflix

It was only last year that Damien and I succumbed to lure of Netflix. Looking back, I’m not quite sure what we did before it. Maybe we read books, or talked, who knows. All I know is last year, the most recurrent way to spend our downtime was to simply ‘Netflix and chill’, to quote the popular phrase.

It got to the end of last year and we’d watched so many films and web TV series, that we couldn’t even remember half of what we’d watched. It was at this point that I decided to make a concious effort to consume less web-televised content and be more concious of what I chose to watch. One month and a bit into the new year and so far so good. Of course I love watching some of the amazing shows on Netflix in my downtime but I also love other things too and now I’ve got back into reading again and Damien and I also love a good podcast of an evening too.

Making Excuses & Procrastinating

I feel like I could jinx myself with this one but one of the biggest things I’ve stopped doing is making excuses, procrastinating (as much) and instead I’ve just been getting on with things and getting things done. Now I’ve mentioned my struggle with procrastination time and time again here on my blog and it’s something I bring up a lot because it’s something I’ve found myself to struggle with a lot. One of the simplest ways I’ve eased out of my bad habit is by regularly reminding myself of one of my mottos (which I also wrote about in a recent post here) and that is – Your dreams don’t work unless you do. It’s cheesy but it’s also true and I feel this past month I’ve formed a habit of working extra hard and making it my priority to get stuff done. There’s no more making excuses of why I can’t do something and instead I’m telling myself that I can and then getting on with it.

Skirt – French Connection | Top – Similar here | Watch – Cluse

So those are just a few things that I’ve stopped doing so far this year. Hopefully these are some habits that are here to stay. They say it takes anywhere between 21 days to two months to form a new habit, so I guess so far, so good but maybe I’ll have to share a little update in a couple of months to see how I’m getting on.

Is there anything that you’ve stopped doing this year? Are you forming any new habits or changing any old ones?

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February 8, 2018
How I’m Incorporating Spring Pieces Into My Wardrobe Early

Oh winter weather how I am so over you. I think it’s nice before Christmas and all, you get a bit of snow and everyone is off their heads with excitement ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ and all that…Then January comes along, it seems to get even colder and I am well and truly, completely, over it. Such a positive note to start a blog post on, but who is with me here?

It’s not often I feel obliged to focus an entire blog post solely on the subject of clothes these days (as we know I like to chat about other things on my brain and rather share my outfits in the photos) but it’s actually something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

I really do think the way you dress can affect your mood and whilst I’m mostly a happy person, I’ve began to feel a bit ‘meh’ about my current outfits of late. Whilst a winter wardrobe can be exciting, there’s only so many times I can go out in the same roll neck and jeans combination before I become utterly unenthused about it. Now this of course is partially my own fault. Whilst the winter wardrobe can become repetitive due to having to opt for those ‘go to’ layers, I also don’t think I’ve helped myself by mostly opting for a selection of muted tones and very safe pieces. Don’t get me wrong, I like my muted tones and easy re-stylers, those are my staples which I will of course pull out year after year but I am now feeling more than ready to inject some colour back into my wardrobe.

Not only am I looking to bring more colour back into my wardrobe but I also want to mix things up with my style a little bit too. I recently did a video all about this, where I planned my style for spring/summer and it actually got me excited about my outfits once again. I however am impatient. I want to wear my spring pieces and I want to wear them now. So that’s exactly what I am going to do.

I got this fabulous polka dot skirt from Finery in the sale recently and as soon as I saw it I fell in love with it. It adds a little bit more fun to my look whilst still being a very ‘me’ piece. I’ve always had a thing for polka dots and it’s a pattern that my wardrobe has seen plenty of throughout the years. I feel a print like this is so versatile and will easily see you right through from winter to spring.

I’ve missed wearing skirts and dresses and I love how a midi skirt like this is actually a great alternative to jeans when you’ve started to feel a bit ‘same-y’ and want to mix things up a bit. From the biker jacket to the boots, these are the usual pieces that I’d wear day to day with jeans, but by swapping out the jeans for a flowing skirt, it gives the outfit a completely different look.

But what about the cold? I hear you say. Well don’t worry, your girl has got you covered, quite literally, because I am all about the layering. You probably already spotted the leggings here in this outfit combo, although I think if you have some knee or thigh high boots, this could also work fabulously, as I’m just sort of faking that look here. And what if one layer of leggings isn’t enough to keep you toasty? Then add a pair of tights underneath those, heck, add a pair of jeans whilst you’re at it too. Who knows what else is underneath there, that’s the beauty of a skirt…and on that note, let’s end this here.

That’s a lot of outfit talk from me for one post but if you couldn’t tell I am very excited for spring/summer and all of the fabulous outfit combinations it will bring with it. Until then, plan ahead, have fun and remember, layering is your best friend! Have you started thinking about your spring/summer outfits yet? Are you impatient like me?

Samio x

Boots – M&S (similar here) | Leggings – M&S | Skirt – Finery (same style here in pink) | Roll Neck – similar here | Biker Jacket – Topshop | Bag – Pinko (similar style here)

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January 24, 2018
3 Mottos To Live By In 2018

We each have our own individual things that we want to achieve and focus on this year, be it wanting to save, reaching those work goals, or working on our own happiness. Whatever your focus, it’s always good to have a little reminder or prompt to go to in order to help keep you on track. That’s where mottos come in handy, you know, those cheesy little lines that we tell ourselves to give ourselves a boost of motivation.

Maybe you don’t have a motto, maybe you already have several that you like to remind yourself of frequently. I myself have drifted in and out of having my own mottos over the years but more recently, I’ve found myself thinking of certain mottos in my head and often they have given me that little motivational push when I’ve needed it most. So in this post I’m sharing three mottos that I intend to live by this year…

It’s okay to think it over but don’t overthink it

This is one of my own quotes that I actually came up with last year, or the year before (I can’t quite remember when). Whilst I agree it’s wise to think something over before going ahead with it, there’s a point when you need to draw a line and make a clear decision, to avoid overthinking it.

It’s funny, I can decide to book a trip, with not much thought or planning, yet I can find myself overthinking something as simple as what I write in an email. This year I aim to put a cap on my overthinking. I’m going to give things a second thought where a second thought is due but I’m going to try and worry less and not overthink things that really don’t need overthinking…So if you’re like me, then this might be a good one to add to your mottos too!

Your dreams don’t work unless you do

I couldn’t do this post without having a really cheesy one in there and admittedly this is one of the most overused, cliché quotes out there. But when it comes down to it, it’s actually a pretty good motto to live by.

Now in terms of dreams I’m talking about things that are existent or within our own realms of possibility. No matter how hard you work, it’s unlikely you’ll end up living on the moon, not in this lifetime at least (if that’s your bag anyway). But the realistic goals we want to achieve and the things we want to do in life, are things that we can work at/or towards, a little bit each day.

I like this motto because it’s simple, to the point and it’s great for someone like me who is a self confessed procrastinator. I almost picture me giving myself a lecture as I’m saying it, ‘girl, stop wasting time, come on, you’re dreams don’t work unless you do’. So maybe this cheesy motto isn’t such a bad one after all.

Jeans – River Island | Jumper – Warehouse (similar here) | Coat – Asos | Scarf – Mint Velvet

Do not strive for perfection. Strive for consistency

This next motto in some ways flows on from the last, in the way that it once again relates to working towards goals. This is another one of my own motto creations and if you watched my most recent YouTube video about how to achieve your 2018 goals, you will have already heard me mention this one.

Firstly, as we all know, perfection is something impossible to strive for, because in reality it doesn’t exist. The problem however, is that many of us quite frequently dismiss this, myself included. For example, if your aim for this year is to eat healthily, by putting pressure on yourself to constantly eat a restrictive ‘ideal’ diet, it’s more likely that you’ll eventually fall off the bandwagon and slip back into old habits. Whereas if you plan to consistently eat well and make better choices but with less pressure to ‘be perfect’ all the time, then it’s something that you’ll likely find easier to maintain and in the long run you’ll actually see the difference and feel the results from.

For me striving for consistency over perfection is something I need to apply more with my work. As a creative (and I’m sure many will be able to relate), it’s easy to have thoughts that our work or what we produce isn’t good enough at times, or that it needs to be better and the reality is that the more we create and share, the more we are able to improve and grow. Improvement comes with practice and time. Whilst things may not be how you want them to be right away, keep at it and in the long run you’ll develop and growth.

So those are three mottos that I’ll be trying to live by this year. They are just friendly reminders to myself to worry less, work hard and be consistent. Maybe some of these were relevant to you, or maybe it even inspired you to think of some mottos of your own. Are you into mottos? If so what’s a motto that you like to try and live by?

Samio x

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January 10, 2018
Back Into Work Mode

Slowly Rebooting Into 2018

When my alarm went off at 6:45 this morning, I wasn’t ready for it. I rolled over and reset it for 7:30am…I just needed 45 more minutes. Then 7:30 came around and I still needed a little bit longer in bed and so this routine continued until I eventually forced myself out of bed at around 9:20am. Being able to ‘sleep in’ is what you might class as a perk of working for yourself but it can also be a pitfall. Being your own boss you really do have to manage yourself and your time.

For someone who is mostly an early riser, 9am is a late get up for me and usually only a luxury I reserve for lazy weekends, or hangovers. It’s safe to say that these holidays have well and truly exhausted me and now I feel like I’m on a slow reboot getting into 2018.

Although it’s the second day of the new year, it actually feels like the first for me today because I’ll be honest, after one very boozy, yet fun NYE, yesterday was a write off for me – as I’m sure it probably was for many others. Today however, is the day that I get back to work after two weeks off and having taken a break from uploading to my social media platforms during that time.

I’d had hopes to get ahead of myself during the holidays but aside from planning content for a brand I’m working with this month, I didn’t get much else done in regards to work throughout the end of December. Sometimes it’s good to completely take time off but when you work for yourself it can often be hard to reboot again, get back to managing tasks, time and working to a schedule.

Once I did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning, after cleaning the house and about a thousand glasses that had still been left over from the New Year’s Eve celebrations (I told you yesterday was a write off), I pushed myself back into work mode.

The lighting has been pretty horrendous today plus it poured it down for a time. Luckily, as I’ve mentioned, lately I’ve gotten into the habit of shooting from home – because honestly if I waited for good weather I’d likely be seriously lacking content. Anyway, I managed to get a decent bit of lighting to capture these self portraits this afternoon. My outfit pretty much reflects my mood today, smart casual but still a bit undone…and as for my shoes I didn’t bother to try and get these in the shot as I’m wearing slippers, as I have been doing for the most part recently.

So here we are, getting back into it, getting into 2018 and getting back into work mode. I hope you’ve had a good start to the year so far. I’m looking forward to having a continued productive week and I hope the very same for you too!

Samio x

Shirt – System of Motion | Jeans – Weekday

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January 2, 2018
Shooting In An Ugly Space & The Golden Hour

Making The Most Out Of A Space

I remember before Damien and I moved into our house, I used to get frustrated with the space I had to work in. When it came to shooting content for my blog, I would often have ideas in mind of the images I wanted to create and that didn’t quite seem to fit with my surroundings. Obviously doing street style shots has always been an option and something that I still love to do today, but when the weather doesn’t permit (which can be more often than not here in England), shooting indoors becomes the only option.

In my last blog post I talked about how I’ve been getting back into shooting self portraits, in order to improve my photography and editing skills and it’s something that I have been well and truly getting stuck into. I’ve been shooting almost daily in fact, when I can fit in the time and it’s true what they say, that practice makes perfect. I’m seeing my skills improving with each shoot and edit.

The problem with constantly using my space to shoot in however, is the fact that I’m running out of it. The idea of this ‘accidental project’, let’s call it, is that I want to push myself creatively and improve my skills when it comes to shooting and editing images for my blog and so I don’t want to repeat the same type of image over and over.

Whilst our living room and kitchen space have been come together quite nicely, as we near the end of our house renovation, the rest of our house is still somewhat more of a work in progress. That being said, it actually occurred to me that it’s still possible to make the most out of any space. With this also being about me getting creating, working with the unfinished, or ‘ugly spaces’, pushes me to do just that.

I guess it’s easy to capture pretty or aesthetically pleasing shots, when the location does most of the hard work for you but when working in a space that is a down right shambles (like my current hallway situation for example), it forces you to get a bit more creative.

I really managed to utilise the golden hour for these shots and as the sun shone through into my hallway, the lighting was just beautiful. As I’m someone who is still very much practicing here, I’m not a pro when it comes to lighting and how best to capture it, but I know that as a simple rule, natural lighting is great and during the golden hour (just before the sun sets). It’s a prime time for that gorgeous golden lighting.

Tripod to the ready and I quickly set myself up ready to capture my shots in the brief window I had before the perfect sunlight finally set. Whilst capturing my outfit and working with the stairs, I also had to capture a few close up beauty shots because the lighting was just too juicy not to take advantage of. The way the lighting and shadows fell, it really framed the shots nicely and considering this is an ugly space, I’m really happy with how these shots turned out.

As for my outfit, because it would be rude not to talk a bit about it whilst I’m here (this is primarily a style blog after all), I’ve pretty much been living in the same old favourites recently. I guess that’s why they call them staple pieces, because they are the items in your wardrobe that bring all the pieces together and that you wear the most. Well this is an entire outfit of staple pieces right here. The roll neck I purchased last winter from Tesco. I was doing a food shop when I spotted it and it’s been a go to item in my winter wardrobe ever since. The jeans need no introduction because they are a pair of my most loved and most worn (frequently featured here on the blog), from & Other Stories…and Converse, well they need no explanation really do they.

Oh and if you’re interested, this is a hair and makeup look I’ve been wearing a lot recently (mainly to protect my hair during the Winter months) and I’ve just done a get ready with me video on it, which you can watch here. Anyway, that’s all for today. Ciao for now!

Samio x

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Check out the hashtag #SamiosSelfPortraits on Instagram to see more of my recent self portraits. 🙂

December 13, 2017
Things That Scared Me That I’m Glad I Did

It’s funny how some of the best things in life can come from taking a leap, diving into the unknown and doing something that ultimately scares the crap out of you. I’ve had my fair share of these moments in my life and I’m pretty sure there’ll be many more to come but for today’s post I’ve whittled it down to a few…

That First Date That Turned Out To Be The One

I still remember walking up to Damien’s car when he came to pick me up on our first date. The reflection on the windscreen obstructed my view and oh my was I nervous – would I still fancy the guy I was about to get into the car with? Having only met the evening before on a night out, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been more than a bit tipsy that evening. Sure I’d fancied him then but did my drinking goggles elude me? I had no way to be sure, this was before the days of easily accessible social media profiles, no prior stalking had been done. I didn’t really know much about him and so of course my mind raced a little…what would we talk about? Would we have stuff in common? Would we enjoy each other’s company? Would we still fancy each other? Would there be a spark?

I got into the car and it was instantly clarified that yes, I definitely did fancy him and once we got chatting I found we did have things to talk about and that yes, there was a spark. Now don’t worry, I’m not about to make you do a mini sick and tell you that it was love at second (sober) sight and that we lived happily ever after…but we did pretty much hit it off right away. Once we started dating, that was more or less it and then the rest (as they say) was history. So don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the full soppy love story today but that’s how things started and how basically something that initially had me shit scared, turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life and I’m so glad I went on that first date (n’aaaaawww). Okay enough of that.

Boots – Asos (similar here) | Skirt – Topshop (similar here) | Jumper – Asos (similar here) | Coat – Mint Velvet (similar here) | Bag – All Saints

Going To Live In Barcelona For A Month

‘Wait, what!? How is getting to spend a month in one of the coolest European cities, scary?’ I hear you say…Well, let me divulge…I remember being on a modelling job in Majorca when I got an email from my agency manager saying that an agency in Barcelona was interested in me and if I’d like to go over and model there for the summer, once I returned from my shoot in Majorca.

I’d been to Barcelona before, so I already knew I loved the city, however I’d be lying if I said going there for an indefinite amount of time and living in a model apartment with people I’d never met, didn’t leave me feeling a little aprehensive. I love to travel but I also like my home comforts and some of the stories I’d heard about model apartments in the past had been a little more than off putting. I also thought about missing Damien but luckily we’ve never been the type of couple who need to be attached at the hip 24/7 (and I always think it’s important to also do your own thing, even when in a relationship). In the end I decided to just go for it, because if you don’t try something, you never know right?

It turned out to be one of the best times of my life. Initially I was going for two weeks but as I started to get optioned for jobs, my stay extended. I’m not going to lie, on my first day I thought I’d made the wrong decision and this was the real moment of ‘fear’ for me. Attempting to navigate the city whilst trying to make it to a load of castings, whilst also being put in a room with a girl who couldn’t speak English, all on the first day, was a little overwhelming. But quickly after, myself and the girls in my apartment all settled in together. My room mate and I soon learnt to communicate in our own way and she was actually the best roomie I could of asked for, not only that but the girls we shared the flat with were great too.

It was so much fun getting to know and spending time with people from different parts of the world with completely different backgrounds to my own and we quickly developed friendships that made it feel like we’d been friends for years. I also got booked on two really fun commercials whilst I was there, one of which took me to Madrid to shoot. So all round it was a pretty incredible experience, it took me out of my comfort zone, I had so much fun and I made some great friendships in the process.

Buying A House

I’ve always enjoyed my freedom and for a long time I saw buying a house as something that epitomised the opposite to that. I enjoy to travel, I enjoy going out (quite a lot) and I enjoy being able to do as I please to put it quite simply. In my head buying a house threatened to put an end to all of that because it just sounded so…grown up!

I hadn’t ever imagined buying a house in my early 20’s and I’ll be honest, it was Damien’s idea before it was mine. Initially to me the idea was scary, it was adulating on a whole other level and I was just about getting my head around how to do my tax returns (seriously that is the biggest bane of my adult life).

It wasn’t until the apartment we were going to rent fell through (due to the landlord deciding to sell it instead), that I started to think about things differently. Although we continued to look for somewhere else to rent, the seed had already been planted and the idea of owning our own place had began to grow in my mind. Suddenly something that had initially scared me, quickly became something that filled me with excitement, not only that but it started to make far more sense too.

Don’t get me wrong, buying a house isn’t easy. Finding a house in the location you want, within your budget is a hard enough task alone, and then we decided to add to that stress by buying a house that needed completely refurbishing (biggest project of our lives). But I honestly couldn’t be happier with our decision. It’s certainly not stopped us living life and I travel more now than I ever did before, so if my past self could have seen into the future it would have definitely made her change her mind sooner.

So that’s it, that’s just a little bit of insight into a few moments in my life that scared me but then turned out to be things I’m really glad I did. On reflection, I realise that many of these moments have shaped my relationships, who I am and where I am today. Further still, I’ve come to realise that what’s actually scarier than when I took on these experiences in the first place, is the thought of what things would be like now if I’d never had them at all…

What’s something that initially scared you but in the end you were really glad you did?

Samio x

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November 30, 2017
Moments From The Weekend

Boots – M&S | Jeans – Asos | Roll Neck – Asos (similar here) | Faux Fur Coat – Storm & Marie | Bag – Kate Spade (similar here) | Watch – Thomas Sabo | Bee Necklace – French Connection | Belt – Dr Martens

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A Saturday Vibe

At the moment I’m enjoying my weekends more than ever. Being self employed it’s sometimes hard to strike balance between when the working week starts and ends because let’s face it, for a lot of self employed folk, it never really does. When modelling was solely my full time job, I found it easier to get to Friday and go into full weekend mode but now that blogging and creating content is a job for me too, I constantly find myself thinking about ideas and what my next piece of content will be.

A good thing about what I do in the realm of blogging, is that all aspects of life can inspire me and sometimes I do love utilising my weekends to think up ideas and create new content.

At the moment I’m really enjoying capturing my shots more candidly. Most of the outfits I share here on my blog are things that I was actually wearing on that particular day, however I often tend to shoot quite statically, which doesn’t give as much of a vibe of my overall day. Obviously depending on who I’m with or what I’m doing, it’s not always possible to shoot this way but I really like this style of capturing different moments from my day to not only show what I was wearing but what I got up to whilst wearing that outfit too.

Last Saturday was one of those really good, not overly planned days. I headed out with Damien and other than having a meal booked in for the afternoon, we didn’t have any particular plans and so we decided to wonder around town and go for a few drinks.

For our meal we went to Mr Cooper’s in The Midland Hotel and had a delicious three course meal. I had the calamari to start and it was some of the best calamari I’ve had in Manchester for a while. Damien went for chicken wings and then for our mains, I went for the snapper and Damien went for the steak. We both really enjoyed our mains and then for our desserts we shared chocolate salted caramel slice and elderberry pavlova. All three courses were really good.

After our meal we met up with our friend Cameron and after a few drinks a couple more friends joined us and before we knew it we were dancing the night away. Impromptu nights out like that are my favourite and all in all, it was a pretty perfect Saturday, creating content, spending time with Damien, catching up with friends and having fun.

Samio x

November 23, 2017
How To Stop Comparing Your Work To Other People’s

If you’re someone who works as a creative/in the creative industry, it’s normal to go through periods of self doubt when you feel like your work isn’t quite up to scratch or not yet to the level you’d like it to be. Those feelings are natural and quite frankly something we need to all feel at times in order to grow and push ourselves creatively. The problem comes however when we get too entwined in these thoughts and being to look to those around us for examples of how our work should be. Yes it can be good to seek inspiration from our peers but when we start to use other people’s work as a tool to decipher the level of our own, this is when it becomes problematic for our own thought process and in turn our work as a creative. Whichever field you’re in, I’m sure you’ve likely gone through moments of comparing your work to others at times, I know I have, and so in this post I’m going to take you through a list of things that helped stopped me from doing just that…

Understand That We Each Have a Different Purpose

Once you understand that your purpose is different to someone else’s then you’ll inevitably realise that comparison is in the end, pointless.

Two people can do something similar but their purpose can be entirely different and at the same time, two people can do two things completely different but their purpose can be similar.
I’ll give you an example here: Two musicians can create the same genre of music and even have a similar style and overall aesthetic, however I might listen to one for their out of this world vocals (and as a backing track to my shower singing) and then to the other when I want deep thinking and a real connection with their awe-inspiring lyrics. Both can be great in their own right but for each person interpreting their work (and maybe even for themselves), they have a different purpose.

Think about what the purpose of your work is. Is it to educate, to entertain, to inspire, to help people…It could be a combination of things but whatever it is, focus on it and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.

Realise There is Room For Everyone

Do you think the second ever author on the planet stopped themselves from writing a book just because one had already been written prior to theirs? (okay that example was a bit silly but it still makes a point) In clearer context, imagine if J. K. Rowling had never sat down to pen Harry Potter because she thought there were enough fantasy novels out there and that she wouldn’t be as good as other authors. The point is, there is always room for someone else to interpret an idea in a new way, however big or small.

Know That It’s Okay To Be In Your Own Lane

Sometimes looking for comparisons between your own work and other people’s whom you maybe admire, can actually be a way of seeking a form comfort. If you know Joe Bloggs has been just been booked to photograph a big campaign and you feel that your work is quite similar, you’re onto a winner right?…wrong. Okay, not to shoot you down before you’ve started here but sometimes what works for someone else may not necessarily work for you and it’s always important to remember circumstance and timing (which, hardwork aside, can often play a huge part to a persons success).

If you feel like you’re the black sheep in your line of work, that can actually work in your favour. If you’re different you’re more likely to stand out right? And sometimes it can be the things that set you apart that make what you do truly special.

As creatives we have to be just that – creative. If we constantly compare our work to other’s it can easily begin to manifest in our own work. It can feel scary to be different and make you feel vulnerable when you’re the odd one out trying something new but the word creative itself means ‘the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something’. So go, do it, be you and create.

Samio x

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November 8, 2017
A Minimal 70’s Vibe

Nothing New

I’ve been feeling rather uninspired by my wardrobe over the past week or so. I think it comes down to the swift change in seasons and me not being quite ready for this colder Autumnal weather. I often find myself getting into this little rut around this time of year, which in part I feel comes down to my outfit focus shifting mainly towards practicality (and more so than usual). I find myself wearing the same outer layers and opting for that one trusty roll neck (seriously I have one roll neck that is trusty as heck) that I know will keep me warm.

I hate being cold, so layering is a must but I will admit that when pulling out my autumn/winter staples from previous seasons I do easily fall into the habit of wearing the same go to combinations (queue the trusty roll neck).

The other day I pulled out some of my favourite pieces, both from this summer and last winter and decided to mix and match a few items to see how different combinations could work. I don’t always find something new to be the solution for how I’m feeling about my outfits but instead I often just need to try something different with what I already have.

The first look I threw on – and I literally mean, I didn’t give it much thought at all – was this combination. Initially I’d thrown the blazer over the shoulders and thought it looked cool and effortless but when walking around today I put it on properly because lets face it, this is real life and nobody actually walks around with a jacket on their shoulders (do they?). Styling alterations aside, I felt pretty happy throwing this outfit on again to head out today. There’s nothing new in this outfit combination but there is definitely a different vibe to my usual combinations. I’m not a huge trend follower but I must admit I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve been into the 70s vibes lately. These & Other Stories cropped flared jeans were a go to for a good part of the summer and it looks like that will continue into autumn and winter.

I feel I’ve found a combination that I love which is sort of minimal 70’s. I’m not sure if that’s a thing but that’s what I’m going with, so I guess it is now.

Speaking of changing things up, I’ve been doing so with some of my content too. As I mentioned I tried on a few different outfits the other day and after doing so I decided to style them up in a short lookbook video. Again I wanted the vibe to be different than my usual lookbooks and as I was at home alone at the time, I decided to do a self filmed lookbook which I then had a lot of fun getting creative with whilst editing. The video is at the bottom of the post if you’d like to check it out.

And last but not least, the shots. Onyi and I had a coffee shop working day today, which was great because I’m always left feeling super inspired when we hang out. She suggested that I take a more candid approach to today’s outfit pictures and I really loved the idea. Rather than standing in one spot and taking multiple images all at once, we causally just took a few shots here and there throughout the day and the results are something I really love. So I guess this post is a bit of a photo diary of my day as well as an outfit post and a waffling essay about clothes.

That’s my queue to wrap things up here. Thanks for stopping by. Ciao for now!

Samio x

Boots – Office (similar here) | Jeans – & Other Stories | Jumper – Samsøe & Samsøe (similar here) | Blazer – Topshop (similar here) | Backpack – River Island (similar here)

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November 1, 2017
The Party Wear Challenge

Prepping For The Season

The party season is definitely one of my favourite times of the year. Aside from the weather getting considerably colder and the urge to hibernate being somewhat tempting at times, I can say that the one thing that does get me in the mood to head out during the colder season is the excuse to get dressed up and get into party mode.

If you’re a regular to my blog you’ll know I love finding good quality pieces that I can get plenty of wear out of and the same goes when I’m shopping for party wear too. Right now there is an extra big delivery of party wear pieces in store and online at TK Maxx, so when TK Maxx set the challenge for myself and a friend to head in store to find party wear outfits for under £100 each, I was excited to see what we could find.

My friend L’Oréal and I always seem to have super busy social calendars at this time of year, which is great for us because it just means more excuses to go out and have fun together but it also means that there’s often a lot of ‘what to wear’ moments. Luckily TK Maxx has something for everyone and they also have an amazing range of designer party wear at up to 60% less than the RRP, so when we headed in store we were spoilt for choice.

We each picked our outfits from a variety of ranges in store. I love the Gold Label section for finding great value designer items but to be honest if you take the time to look around anywhere in store you’re bound to find something you love. Whilst browsing through the trouser section I came across these fabulous velvet trousers. I seem to have developed a thing for flares and velvet at the moment, so velvet flares obviously make the perfect combination for me. I absolutely love the fit and as they are stretchy, they are really comfortable too. No doubt these will be my go to trousers of the season.

The faux fur coat instantly caught my attention whilst browsing through the Gold Label section as it’s such a gorgeous yet practical piece for when heading on nights out. And I am in love with this beautiful silk collarless shirt that I got online from tkmaxx.com. It’s such an effortless yet chic item and of course it’s really versatile so I’ll be able to wear it with a number of different looks too.

My favourite piece in L’Oréal’s outfit is this gorgeous black black blazer with a navy collar (you know I love a good blazer). She also found some amazing thigh high boots whilst looking for shoes and I love how she’s mixed tailoring with this white tassel skirt to create a smart yet sassy look.

Between the two of us we found such a good mix of party wear both in store and online and I love how we both found some great quality pieces and for such great value too. You’ll no doubt be seeing me rocking these pieces a lot over the party season, especially that fab furry coat! I’m looking forward to creating lots more night out outfit combos with these party pieces and you’ll likely see more of those coming up over on my Instagram @samiorenelda. And if you don’t already, you can also follow TK Maxx on Instagram @TKMaxx or become a TK Maxx fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tkmaxx.

Samio x

*This post was sponsored by TK Maxx

October 26, 2017