Blogger of the Month July - Mode of Style

As we welcome in another beautiful new month, we're also excited to welcome a new Bella&Bear Blogger of the month! We love featuring a new blogger here each month as it gives us (and you!) a chance to discover new blogs and get to know what makes the bloggers behind them tick!
This month we're saying hello to the darling Kristina from Mode Of Style blog - she's run her successful blog for a number of years! She's an all round sweetheart with a contagious passion for life! We love her 'go-get-them' attitude and we've certainly caught the travel bug from browsing her posts! Lets get to know the influencer behind the blog a little better...

1. Hey Kristina! Tell us a little about yourself and your blog!
I’m originally from Sweden and live in West Sussex and work in London. I moved to the UK back in 2011 to study at Leeds University, I then started working in marketing and realised that blogging was a thing and wanted to get in on the fun! My blog is now over 6 years old and I’ve been blogging alongside my day job in digital marketing and never looked back… 

2. We love all of your gorgeous travel pics, your Insta is serious goals, but we know that keeping up with beauty and skincare routines isn't always easy when you're on-the-go. Which is one beauty product you just couldn't be without when you're on your travels?
I travel a lot, both abroad and in the UK for work, so I always have a bag of my little travel essential ready to go. The most important thing for me is my hydration serum (I use the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster), especially if I’m flying somewhere as the skin lose a lot of moisture on a plane. I’ve got combination skin so I make sure I hydrate my skin as much as possible, so it doesn’t have to overcompensate with sebum production.

3. We absolutely love your blog.You are an established blogger with a good number of years blogging experience under your belt. How has your blog developed over those years and what would be your top tips to someone wanting to start their own blog?
I actually started my blog just as a fashion blog but I quickly realised that I only had so much to say about fashion and that I had a stronger interest in style: be that personal style, home styling, as well as lifestyle. And as I started getting involved in the blogger sphere in Leeds and all the events, I expanded my blog to encompass travel, home décor, lifestyle, food & drink, and beauty (as I’m a former dermatologist!). My top tip for other bloggers would be not to worry too much –
there’s a big sense of insecurity in the blogger community due to lack of regulation and guidelines. I always tell people to just do what feels right for you as there is no right and wrong, and don’t be afraid to change and evolve with your blog!

4. You grew up in Sweden and made the move to the UK later in your life, is this a decision you always knew you wanted to make? Is there a big difference in the two ways of life?
I’ve always gravitated towards the UK and visited a lot growing up as my sister lived most of her life in the UK. After school I went over to Cornwall to try and live for a few months, but after failing to get a job I went over to Dublin and stayed there for 3 months. Then later in life I had the opportunity to go to university in Leeds and I was quick to jump at the opportunity as I knew I could be happy over here. The first year or so was difficult and I experienced the full culture shock circle – from rejection, to acceptance, to then loving it. There are still things I prefer with Sweden and miss about it, but my life is so established in the UK now and I absolutely love where I live and what I do so I’m not going back to Sweden (anytime soon anyway!)

5 What advice would you give to your teen self, beauty or otherwise?
Not to sweat the small stuff. I’ve always been a perfectionist, especially with my appearance. Make-up always had to be on-point and clothes had to fit and match perfectly. I’m still a bit this way but I’ve come to learn that it’s not as important as other things. We’re all human at the end of the day and we’re all fighting our own battles – we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves and others!

6. Home decor is a big passion of ours, we've even designed our pieces so that they look good on display! So, we of course love your home decor and inspiration posts. Where do you get your decor inspiration from and what are your next home improvement plans?
My biggest home décor inspiration comes from my sister! She’s got a beautiful 1960’s house in Sweden, complete with original teak wall panels and all. She’s always been a keen home decorator with an impeccable sense of taste and she’s the handiest person I know (maybe apart from my dad). I make sure to discuss any home improvement decisions with her before I do anything! She’s just recently been visiting us to help us with our home décor plans. We’ve painted and decorated almost all rooms in our house now, all we’ve got left are the bigger bits: the kitchen and bathroom.

7. What is your favourite Bella&Bear piece?
My favourite Bella&Bear piece is going to have to be the The Kitten Makeup Brush Set. I used to work as a beautician/makeup artist and I have to say that proper storage for your brushes are essential! Having a set in a bag that is made for them makes it so much easier to keep track of all your brushes.

We had such a lovely time interviewing Kristina, we think she is an ideal role model for the women and men of today; she works hard, has an adventurous spirit, treasures her family and knows that its what's on the inside that counts. *Swoon*
If you want to get to know her and her work some more then check out her blog, Facebook and her insta (which is serious goals!).

We want to say a big thank you to Kristina for sharing her thoughts and time with us and as a special treat we are offering Kristina's readers - new and returning - a 15% off discount for any Bella&Bear order placed throughout the month of July, so you can try out her fave piece - or anything else that takes your fancy! Simply enter code '15OFFMOS' at the checkout when you shop our online store!