When Nick and I started dating, we never would have thought we’d be where we are right now. We took our relationship very light headed and went with the flow the entire time… probably why it works so well. So when it came to move […]
Have you ever been frustrated looking at old travel pictures wishing you had dressed better? Well I have, a lot… and whether or not you’re a fashionista let’s face it, packing is a nightmare. ‘What do I take? Do I really need that?’ You name it…. Especially when you’re heading to a tropical destination, you are sure to be sweating after 5 minutes of being outside.
As I became more confident with my style, I learned to pack less and less and how to mix and match the same clothing items making outfits look completely different. This resulted in me taking my first trip to Cuba for 6 days with only a CARRY ON! Yes ladies, it is possible!
You’re gonna say Mel ‘dah!’ but what I mean by that is, choose clothes with a really light and loose material. The best tip I can give you is to take way more tops than shorts. First of all they are way lighter in your luggage aka you can fit more, secondly tops are more obvious in pictures than shorts so by doing so it’ll look like you’re wearing so many different outfits during your trip when really you’re not. It’s all about the perception!
My night owl gals who wanna dress up when going out I say stay away from that red tight dress. Yes it is a killer, but it won’t be with sweat stains all over it and believe me, I know first hand because I sweat buckets… Instead pick a loose summery dress that looks both cute and stylish.
If you’re used to wear makeup you know that doing so when it starts getting hot is a bloody mission, unless… you have the right makeup that will last you for hours! Being an oily mess myself it took me years to find the right products but here are my top 5.
Prime prime prime, this is key to have a layer between your skin and the foundation to make it last all day! I have yet to find a primer being perfect at both mattifying and blurring pores so I used the combo ‘Cover FX & Milk‘.
Foundation is key! The BEST foundation you can ever find to last all day is the ‘Estee Lauder Double Wear‘. And finally we’re fixing all that to make sure that nothing moves with the ‘Makeup Forever HD Loose powder‘ and the setting spray from ‘Milk‘.
If you’re a lazy gal like me and don’t wanna waste time doing your makeup while on a vacay I’ll recommend you to get lash extensions. You won’t even have to put any eye makeup, just your face routine and boom you’re out the door.
We’re talking tropical destination and ladies it is time to show off that summer body we’ve been working on. I took about 5 different ones to go to Cuba but you’ll have to be smart with what you’re wearing. One pieces are super chic but I got caught playing volleyball on the beach for 3 hours in Miami once and the tan line I got was, how to put this… less than pretty.
Pick them for quick activities in the water or pair them with a short when exploring if there is a chance you might end up by the water and use your 2 pieces one for lazying by the pool instead.
No need to spend money to have a killer bikini, Ardene and Wish online store are a great option for broke babes like us.
Sunnies are a must have, first off, if you don’t wanna go blind in the sun but also by switching them up, you can change an outfit completely. The beauty of is that they are plenty of 20$ ones looking extra stylish and trendy. North American babes, definitely check out ‘Call it spring‘ you are sure to find your style!
A girl’s best friend, Jewelry. They take no room in your bag and make such a statement. If you’re getting tan, opt for the golden colour ones as they will compliment it so well. Check my ‘Shop the feed‘ section to get discount codes!
Chances are in a new country we’re out and about exploring. We’ll need water, our camera, phone, travel guide (at least if you’re in Cuba with no internet) and all the chabam girls have in their purses. But a classic backpack ain’t cute or stylish, instead pick a city backpack. They are as big and do the exact same, with style.
To get the details on what I’m wearing, head over my Instagram page @Melodyvalene. I hope you enjoyed this blog post and happy exploring ladies, stay stylish!
Xo Mel
It’s so easy to get caught up in the winter routine. Stay home and netflix, eat crap, you name it… So when a girlfriend and I had the same days off we jumped on the opportunity to go away for the weekend. Canada is big […]
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Ho Ho Ho, it’s that time of the year again and who doesn’t like the holidays? Christmas shopping, eating too much good food, opening gifts and of course the parties! That means we get to dress up and holidays are the moment where you can be extra AF and it’ll never be too much. The black dress is always a classic and you should have it in your closet but don’t feel like it’s your only option. I’ve put up a list of trendy and must have outfits to rock the holiday parties in style.
I don’t think anything screams holidays like Sequins or sparkles… This is an all black outfit but the skirt is the statement piece. It’s a great option if you’re tired of that classic black dress. This one is definitely not boring. I paired it with thick black nylons. They’re always in style, will show and elongate your legs and will keep you warm. You also don’t have to worry about not being tan… The shoes are my favourite piece. They are suede but the see through heel does it all. If you want to get your hands on them, they’re on sale for 37$ at ‘Call it Spring’ .
I told you you can’t do too much during the holidays. This dress is a hard one to pull off for any other occasions but it’s perfect for the Christmas parties. On top of being very sexy it’s also very classy. It will give you that ‘i’m a princess going to a ball‘ look right away. It’s actually the dress I’m gonna wear to my work Christmas party, the theme is ‘Arabic Night‘ so couldn’t have worked perfectly. Jasmine was a princess after all… Because of the cut out it’s a good way to showcase your feet and the ‘stacked heels‘ are the best for that.
Suede is often found on shoes but rarely on clothes. It’s a very elegant material and gives you a sexy but classy look right away. I love this dress because the cut blends in with your curves like a second skin. It’s a long one but with the cut out you can wear higher on the ankle shoes. They are comfortable and cover a little more of your feet, so warmer. If you want to impress your co-workers or your crush this is the one for you.
We like to think that Christmas is home to winter and snow but for some parts of the world Christmas is summer or a warm climate and I ain’t forgetting about you. Red is of course THE holiday colour and that red dress is your best friend. The colour and the cut is classy but the material gives it a more approchable feel. You can fancy it up with black heels or keep it caj‘ barefoot on the beach.
I really hope you enjoyed this article! I’d love to see your holiday outfits and don’t hesitate to tell me which one was your faourite
Xo Mel
Ah the holidays and Christmas shopping… or also birthday if you’re ‘lucky’ enough to be a December 21st baby like me… Point is, no matter how close you are to your friends and significant other, it’s a struggle to buy them a present and be […]
Ah, the beautiful snow flakes, hot chocolate by the fire and the holidays… What’s not to love about the cold season? Maybe the fact that we’re gonna freeze our butts off for the next 4 months…Trying to survive by -30 degrees is hard, doing it […]
Iceland. Probably the trendiest destination amongst travellers. Of course I wanted to go but coming from France and being used to see those green landscapes around, I wasn’t prepared to be blown away and let me tell you how wrong I was. This is the most beautiful, breath taking country I’ve ever been to. My boyfriend and I could only get 4 days off from work but that didn’t stop us and we saw the best Iceland had to offer in the very best way possible.
Here’s how we did it…
I don’t have to tell you that Iceland is expensive, you’ve probably heard it from every single person, even the ones who haven’t been there and yes it’s true so I’d forget about excursions and busses. Instead, we rented a camping van for 3 days.
We chose Camp Easy which was about 300$ each. They provided a voucher for the bus and taxi from the airport and you’ll have everything you need. Bed, duvet cover, a heater and even a little kitchen with a sink and water! Lemme tell you that this was the best idea we had because we got soaked a few times so being able to dry our clothes with the heater was a life saver. You can’t just park anywhere over night though so you’ll have to find a camp but it’ll only cost between 10 to 20$ a night and they all have kitchens. No more cold sandwiches here comes the grilled cheese! Grabbing groceries and making sandwiches is the best way to go in order to save time and money.
For our last night we decided to stay in Reykjavik and party. We chose KEX hostel, which is 5 minutes away from the main street where everything is happening and cost us 66$ each. It’s not just a hostel, they also have a bar, open to the public so you’ll be able to hang out with locals along amazing travellers. If you’re into 80s music, check out Pablo Discobar, for EDM definitely Paloma and for my hip hop/top 40 peeps, Prikið. Remember it’s Europe and we’ll party til’ 6 in the morning so expect a line up even after 2am..
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed this post and lemme know what was your favourite part about Iceland in the comment section down below!! Xo
Toronto is indeed a beautiful city but if you are visiting for the first time it can be quite hard to know exactly what to do, especially if you don’t wanna stick to the touristy places. On the other hand, if you’re a local […]
