Emma Holmes

Festival Hair Accessories

Festival fashion is my absolute favourite. It's all about trying new things, going a bit crazy and wearing things that you wouldn't usually wear. My style is very often inspired by festival fashion, in fact I would say it something that influences my style more than anything else. I like to experiment and be creative with my style. (And I also just really love glitter!) For this look I wanted to try to incorporate hair rings and hair jewels, just to add a little sparkle and edge.

I opted for silver because I wanted to match the grey smokey eye I already had on, (but they're also available in gold and, specifically for the rings, rose gold). Before putting these in I styled my hair in a fairly simplistic way. Firstly, I used straighteners to add waves to sections of my hair, I did this quite randomly to give it a more messy look. I then plaited a section towards the top of head and pulled at it a little, again to give a messier look. Next I twisted my fringe and pinned it in place using bobby pins. I then applied the jewels to the plait, to do this you cut them from the pack and place them where ever you would like them and use straighteners to press the jewels for a few seconds. Finally, I put the rings in the plait and the twisted section of hair. To do this you just pull them open slightly, put them in place, then just push them shut again. Try to do this as securely as possible because I did lose a couple at Wireless Festival. Also, if you want to add a little something more, spray in hair glitter also looks amazing with this, I recommend the ones from Pixie Lott's Paint range.

This is obviously a look that you can really play around with and style in your own way. It is a really fun way of styling your hair and I love the way it looks! It just adds a little something to make you look glam and festival ready. I will for sure be using these as much as I possible can.

What do you think of this style?

Emma xox

Hair Jewels: Topshop £2, Currently buy 1 get 1 free in store. (Unavailable online)

Hair Rings: Primark (Unavailable online)

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, by Emma Holmes

In Life, University

5 Things I've Learnt From Doing an Art Foundation Year

1. You don't have to be traditionally good at art to do well - When I say 'traditionally' I mean being amazing at realistic drawing and painting. While having these skills are great they are not necessary, it is more about having creativity and individuality. I remember at the beginning of the year I felt very intimidated by the people around me who were amazing at these things, but I soon realised that it didn't matter because we all have different skills and areas of specialism. Art is all about creating something person and interesting, whether that's a beautiful drawing or abstract films. I am rubbish at that area of art but finished the year with a distinction, so just trust your abilities.

2. Freedom and independence are very important in order for you to create your best work - My foundation year was much freer than my A-Levels and GCSE's had been. The college environment was just generally much less strict than being in school, which is great when in a creative subject (and I expect any type of subject, but I'm just talking personally here). Having the freedom to use my time as I want and work on developing my own ideas has made my work and my confidence much stronger. It really helps to get the creative juices flowing,

3. You may not want to do what you originally thought you wanted to do - During my A-Levels I was sure I wanted to study Fashion Design at uni and later become a designer. I even applied, looked around unis and went to interviews, but something didn't feel right. I didn't feel comfortable or excited about it and just felt like that wasn't what I wanted to with my life. So I withdrew my application, applied for the foundation year and went in with an open mind. I still incorporated fashion into a great deal of my work, including my final project, because I was good at it and still enjoyed it, but I discovered that I had a passion I didn't even realise I had before because I had never really considered it an option. Now I'm going to a university to study film and I am so excited about it!

4. An extra year of education (as daunting as it may seem) can be very beneficial - The thought of doing yet another year of education between A-Level and university wasn't something I was very excited about. However, in retrospect, it was another year to make choices about my future and to discover who I am and what I am passionate about. I wouldn't be going to study film next month if it wasn't for that extra year and honestly I probably wouldn't be going to uni at all if I hadn't done the extra year. I've discovered a lot about myself and my passions throughout the last year, as well as becoming more confident and independent. An extra year for all that is completely worth it.

5. You're own ideas are actually great - In the past year I have learnt that your own ideas, regardless of how crazy or different they may seem, are all great and can be developed into some incredible art. It is also important to remember that a final idea isn't just going to come to you straight away, its a process. Work on smaller ideas, develop, change things, try things out, and eventually you'll get there. My final project was pretty wacky, and definitely something I never thought I would create, even at the beginning of the project. But I love it, I'm proud of it and I got a distinction from it. Trust your instincts and try news things. Being different is great and will make your work stand out more.

If you're thinking of doing a foundation year I would say it is definitely worth it. Overall I wasn't impressed with the college and how they dealt with everything but it was still greatly beneficial to me. You just have to make it work for yourself and figure out you're own ways of working. I did this and discovered that I only want to work within a creative industry and specifically that I want that to be Film.

Emma xox

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, by Emma Holmes

In Travel,

Camping Adventure Pt. 2

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, by Emma Holmes

In Style,

Wild Flowers

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, by Emma Holmes

In Travel,

Camping Adventure Pt.1

Sun. 24th July: Arrive and Explore

The first day of the trip began with a three hour long drive with three cars filled to the brim with ourselves and our extensive amount of stuff. We were camping in the midlands, not too far from the peak district in a little campsite on the edge of a small town. As I was driving I got out of tent duty when we arrived (and let's be honest, I wouldn't really have been much help anyway) so myself and my fellow drivers sat around the camp and enjoyed a beer.

Once everything was set up we explored the campsite and played on the park (because we're all kids at heart) before sitting around the campfire to enjoy an evening of drinking, talking and laughing. We did get a noise complaint and threatened to be kicked off in the morning but it was all good in the end. Our meals and our camp set up was amazing because (thankfully) one of my friends thrives in this kind of thing - shout out to Alex!

Mon. 25th July: Bakewell and Beers

Our campsite was a short drive from the town of Bakewell (the home of the Bakewell Tart) so we decided to explore. We had a stroll around the market, ate delicious desserts and found a pub with a beautiful beer garden to have a drink. Bakewell is one of the cutest towns I've ever visited, and there are cakes everywhere which is a huge bonus. There is also a lock bridge which is so beautiful and kind of magical when you think of how much love is just on this little bridge. I've always wanted to see one of these.

Once we had finished there we found a little forrest area surrounded with fields to collect some fire wood. It turned out to be a lovely walk and the perfect place for us girls to have a little photo shoot. We finished posing and headed back to the campsite for another evening around the campfire.

Tue. 26th July: Bike Rides and Rain

On Tuesday we hired bikes and cycled the Monsal trail. I hadn't ridden a bike in over a year at this point and I forgot how amazing it felt. Although, that had a great deal to do with this route. Honestly it was incredible. They have basically turned old train tunnels into a cycling route by resurfacing it and putting strips of light throughout them. You go through tunnels, over bridges and into these beautiful landscape areas. We stopped many times on the way there to take photos and to eat ice cream, then on the way back we all just biked as fast as we could without stopping. It was very tiring but felt amazing. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend you have ago cycling here.

We then stopped at the cute cafe by the bike hire shop before going back to the campsite for some much needed food and rest.

I've written this in two parts because I wanted to share quite a few photos and didn't want this to be too full. I took nearly a thousand photos on this five day trip so its been quite difficult to narrow down. I'll link part 2 here when it is up, but for now thank you for reading!

Emma xox