Rise n Rave!!


I am NOT a Morning Person. I'm not even a 10am person. I'd be quite happy if we all started our working days with a massive brunch at noon, followed by a quick nap and eventually starting work at 2pm... (ahhh!)


So you might be surprised to hear that yesterday morning I headed into Piccadilly Gardens at 6.30 AM (yep) for a quick workout session, healthy breakfast and invigorating massage! It was all in aid of Reon's Early Morning Rave (held in partnership with Key 103).


And it was sooo cool! It was literally Glow Sticks at dawn, with pumping tunes, energetic dancercise and even some fancy dress... I turned up yawning away, but was soon enjoying some super healthy brekky from the guys at Soulmate Food followed by a yoga sesh!




The event was all about getting people up and ready to face the day by getting active; as well as celebrating the launch of Reon's on-the-go caffeine strips. FYI, If anyone is intrigued by these tiny caffeine strips, then head over to the Arndale this week and you should be able to get free samples from Reon's Super Booth. Buzzin'! ;-)

Obviously I needed the perfect gym wear for such an energetic morning, so I picked some of my fave items from our Rock On Ruby #ROCKTHEGYM range...




Cropped Sweater - Rock On Ruby, Tee - Rock On Ruby, Leggings - Primark

The event has totally inspired me to get up on time (no more snooze button!!) and face the day! As well as get back into Yoga :-)

What are your tips for waking up in the morning?!



Hey, Rae...



I "Shazam-ed" this tune the other day and discovered this amazing artist - Rae Morris. Not only is this song pretty cool, but I then found out that Rae has also collaborated with my fave, Tom Odell on another single (Grow). Like, OMG. I would totally marry Tom's voice, so this is some kind of dream team in my eyes.

With a slightly London Grammar / Ellie Goulding-esque vibe, Rae's new album is out this month (26th Jan) and I think I might have to get my hands on it...

What do you think of this song? How do you discover new music?!



OOTD: Niagara Falls


If you follow me on instagram (Rock On Holly) you will have seen that this Christmas I jetted off to Toronto in Canada for New Years Eve. My boyfriend has family living over there so what better excuse to go?! We decided to be proper tourists and head over to Niagara falls, and I couldn't miss the opportunity to take some outfit shots in such a beautiful location...



Trapper Hat: Asos (similar) Sweater: Rock On Ruby, Shirt: Pull & Bear, Jeans: ASOS, Boots and Bag: Zara Boxing Day Sale! 



My coat was also a bargain that I picked up in the River Island sale - the quilted padding and jersey cuffs kept me lovely and warm. I loved the fur trim (removable FYI!) and the belt really gave this shape - despite all my many layers!


I actually wanted to take a few outfit posts whilst I was away, but it was sooooo cold (-20 degrees!!) that nearly every photo is of me looking like I do above!! :-S If you are planning to go to Canada or somewhere similar soon, then here's a run down on what I wore on a typical day:

Bottom Half: Thermal tights, Jeans, Thick socks
Top Half: Thermal Vest, Long sleeved top, Jumper, Cardigan, Coat
Accessories: Fur Trapper Hat (essential) Ugg Gloves (the best) Snood thing? (from a previous Ski Holiday) Scarf


No joke.

Have you ever been any where as cold as Toronto in Winter? What were your essentials?!


Imagine you had £200 to spend on Make Up...


Imagine you had £200 to spend on make up.... What would you get?
Well, thanks to the lovely people at Fashion Chick and Feel Unique, THIS HAPPENED TO ME!!!!

I was introduced to Fashion Chick at their Fashionably Festive Bloggers event in Manchester before Christmas. Since then I have followed the brand on Facebook / Instagram etc and love their site! Before Christmas, Fashion Chick ran 12 days of AMAZING competitions; including money to spend at Boohoo, Topshop, House of Fraser and many more awesome brands. (I have to admit, I entered pretty much every one as they were ridiculously good). And just when I was about to lose all hope, I received an email from Rebecca at Fashion Chick saying that I had only gone and won!! Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Yes, £200 to spend on www.feelunique.com. After a lot of browsing around the site, this is what I got...

 Naked Pallet Original by Urban Decay - £37

YES. I finally got one!! I have been eyeing up these pallets for ages, but at £37 a pop, it does seem a bit of a splurge! These pallets seem to be a bit of a #Bblogger sensation, so it was the first thing to go in my basket!

The ultimate contouring kit. I have already tried this and LOVE it! The colours are quite pigmented so you only need a light dusting. I can see this being a permanent feature in my make up kit now... There are several shades for different effects.
Stila All Day 10-In-1 Beauty Balm - £23.40

Ok, so I kind of just threw this one in there to give it a try... I have never used Stila before, but I can never resist the allure of a good primer, and this one sounds sooo good. I'll let you know what I think of this!



I love, love LOVE the Estee Lauder Night Repair serum, so it only seems fitting that I have the eye serum too! :-)
 

I was recommended this by a friend when I was in New York and I am so, sooo glad that I picked it up. I am just coming to the end of my pot, so I was really glad that I could get another from Feel Unique. At £34, it is quite pricey for a moisturiser, but my last pot took me around 9 months to use up. The cream is lovely and lightweight plus will banish any dry skin!


 Ok, pressie time! There's a lot of girls in my family so I couldn't very well spend £200 all on myself... So, my mum chose these two styling products by GHD. She has already used these (and quote from mummy Debs) said that this would now be her "go to hairspray"!! :-O High praise indeed! So well done, GHD for converting Mrs O'B from a lifetime of Pantene and Silvikrin.



And finally, for the girls at work (my cousins!) They all chose these Garnier Roll on Concealers (£7.65 each) after being recommended the product by a friend! This tinted roll on is supposed to be very good at giving flawless looking skin and doesn't block pores. 
My sister also chose a Garnier BB cream set (shown in the main image above) as she was looking for some lighter products to use for every day.

PHEW!! So that's that! I would definitely recommend checking out Feel Unique, as they always have on amazing offers and they have a huge range of well known brands (as you can see above!)

What do you think of the items I have picked?! What would you have chosen?




South Beach Swim? Whatever!


So a few weeks ago (like, quite a few weeks ago!) I got invited to South Beach Swim's movie day to watch CLUELESS the movie!! How awesome? Like, totally. The screening took place at the super cool Corner House on Manchester's Oxford Road and afterwards we were taken upstairs for a sneak peek at South Beach Swim's HOT new stuff...


FYI: For some reason, it appears to have become law that every good Blogger event must have delicious cupcakes - I am more than happy about this.


OOTD: I HAD to wear this slogan vest from Rock On Ruby for the event - totes appropes right? You can see my full outfit details here.





The great thing about Blogger events is meeting new people and hanging out with girls that have the same interests as you! My blogger buddies above are: Molly from Pearls Of Beauty By Molly, Stephi from Stephi La Reine and Gail from The Equinox Fashion.




My hot pick from the range had to be this bright kimono - I think it would look fab with ripped jeans and a vest in Summer, but also gorgeous just over a bikini on the beach!



These are the goodies that we got to take home with us! WOWEE! Tan by Naked Skin, New hair products from Lee Stafford, super cosy ear muffs from SB Swim (as seen on my instagram here!) and yummy treats!

Have you heard of South Beach Swim before? (How much you want to get a new bikini and go on holiday now?!)


Tune! Apparently...



So, I was driving along today and this tune really caught my ear on Greg Jame's show. Don't know about you guys, but I'm not really familiar with J.Cole's stuff? Apparently he's been around since 2011 and this tune off his latest album just came out in December. (He must have a few fans as it's had a whopping 9 million views on Youtube already!!

Anyway, I wanted to share it as my "Tune of the week" as surprisingly, I actually quite like it. On a first listen, there's a bit of a "John Legend" tone to his voice, but then there's a slightly unexpected rap in the middle.... LOVE.

Have you heard this before?!


OOTD: Rollin' With The Homies


So, this #OOTD post is well overdue! It was taken from the South Beach Swim movie day before Christmas (which I'll be blogging about soon!) but I have only just got round to going through aaaaall the pics from the day! I loved this outfit though! I had been invited to a screening of Clueless, so what better top to wear than this slogan vest from Rock On Ruby?!

This top was designed as a result of a competition that we ran after Sarah Ashcroft (blogger of That Pommie Girl) designed a top with us that said "I'd rather be Shopping". We asked the Rockonrubyxx instagram followers to state what they'd rather be doing and this was our fave quote! The top was added to our shop www.girlynightsout.com and I knew it would be perfect for the blogger meet up!


I teamed my slogan vest with my ASOS Ridley jeans and ASOS coat, and this faux fur stole from Dorothy Perkins*. This was gifted to me at the Fashion Chick event and it has really seen me through Winter - I absolutely LOVE it!

Do you like me slogan vest? What would you rather be doing?!