Brighton Pride | OOTD

As a non-native Brightonian, I had never experienced anything like Pride. The village I grew up in is a quintessential tiny English village - surrounded by greenery, with a small local primary school that you could walk to and only a corner shop for emergency supplies such as bread and milk; anything else and you'd have to venture into the local town which is at least a 10 minute drive away. If 180,000 people lined the streets in my home town it would be a riot, but in Brighton it's one of the best festivals celebrating diversity amongst us and encouraging pride (see what I did there!) in oneself no matter who they are.

This year's Pride Parade route went right us, and the entire house went above and beyond to celebrate - my flatmates painted their faces and their shirts, hung multi-coloured balloons outside the windows, I spent nearly an hour perfecting my eye makeup and even our downstairs neighbour set up a barbeque in the front garden, serving traditional Carribean food. Curried goat isn't really my kind of food but Dan said it was delicious! The nearby shops also decked their front windows out in colourful displays and it wasn't long before people began lining the streets or heading up towards Preston Park.

 For the actual parade, we decided to wander further down towards London Road in order to meet up with friends, and it was great to capture people's responses as the parade went past, as well as the parade itself.

I just loved this image of a woman peering out of her window as the trucks rolled past

George Montague and his partner Somchai Phukkhlai, who married a few days before Pride. George was once prosecuted under the UK's old anti-homosexuality law.

Despite the festival atmosphere, there were many subtle and not-so-subtle reminders of the discrimination and hardship the LGBT community suffered and continues to suffer. The police presence in the parade drew appreciative applause from the crowds, and one pastor who was walking in the parade was continuously mobbed by people wanting to thank him and shake his hand. There were also numerous people holding placards reminding the crowds of the number of places it's still a crime to be LGBT and it was surprising how many there are.

  It was great to see the lengths people went to to show their support through their colourful and flamboyant outfits. For me, I wanted something comfortable but that still showed my support through bright accessories. While wearing a comfortable New Look vest top and my trusty Dorothy Perkins jeans and keeping it neutral with my Zara bag (similar), big enough for my camera and sun essentials, I initially added a splash of colour with a Topshop floral crown (similar).

 To add a bit more colour to my outfit I recreated the Rainbow Flag as eyeliner, using some very well-placed cellotape and a £7.99 Sleek Ultra-Mattes palette. The colour pay-off on these palettes are just amazing, they're so pigmented, they blend easily and last all day. For what is essentially £0.65 per shadow, the Sleek palettes are great value for money and easily available. I kept the rest of my makeup neutral so that the eyes would stand out even more.

For me, this year's Brighton Pride came with an encompassing sense of belonging, no matter who you are, which is something that I think we need to keep in mind more often. It's so easy to tear each other down when we should be supporting each other, and it was so lovely to see so many smiling faces on the streets of Brighton. I cannot wait for next year.