Recently loving...

Here are a few little bits and bobs that I've been loving recently!

Rediscovering my love of ghd - before Christmas Ia was sent the gorgeous ghd Scarlet collection* and I've been using them almost daily to either smooth my hair down or add a bit of a curl to it (if I've had time in the morning that its). The ghd Scarlet collection include special edition red plated straightening irons all in a gift set that included a red satin clutch, plus a travel hair dryer and some clips. The red style design does look really slick and somehow feels more expensive?!

The latest feature on the ghd's that I'm really excited about is the addition of the plastic heat cover that goes over the plates. So I can put them away without needing them to cool down first.

Other than that the ghd's are the same high quality that they always have been - gliding through hair, allowing it to be smoothed to as straight as you like or used for more clever styling. I'm aiming to do a tutorial type blog post for how to use them to create curls very soon!

The gorgeous Scarlett Collection ghd irons

I picked up this little room spray at Sainsbury's - I've tried a couple of things from the Mandara Spa range and they always smell good enough to eat. So decided a room spray would be a nice addition. I chose Amber Heaven as it was a rich, relaxing scent rather than fresh and awakening since I wanted to use it for the bedroom.

Early Valentines day -thanks to the lovelies at Glossy Box, this gorgeous set of roses arrived at work this week. First I wondered if the boyfriend was having a lovely moment, but when I read the card from the Glossy Girls I was very happy - and the girls in the office where a tad jealous. All to celebrate the imminent arrived of the LE Valentines Glossy Box. It's a good one... I'll be writing about two of the products as part of my NY posts that are coming soon as I already know they are coming with me.

I went along to a blogger event to preview the Spring collection for very.co.uk - fell in love with these floor cushions and want a couple of the blue ones for my flat. I also spotted a couple of other items that are now on my lust list - will do a separate blog post about them shortly. It was really good to see the stuff in person, as with any mail order type of service you don't 100% know what it will be like and I think seeing the items in person showed me that they are much better quality than I expected.

Last but not least - little Chip, he's been loving my ghd box. It's become his new favourite hangout. In other random news, when we took Chip to the vet we were told that he is in fact a she - so technically Chip is a girl. But I am so used to calling her a him now!

What have you been loving this week?


Items marked with a * are PR samples.

Friday Treat: Leather Leggings

Another week, another Friday Treat time!

I'm really enjoying this whole Friday Treat thing (everyone should have one - the little reward to yourself for making it through the working week). This week's treat is another clothing item - I'm working up to being able to do semi-ok outfit of the day type posts at some point, I need to find a decent height tripod that works with my camera as I tried getting the boyfriend to take photos and I just feel like a bit of an idiot and can't help but giggle. So that's why these aren't outfit shots and focus on the detail...

Anyway, my lame attempts at OOTD posts, here's this week's Friday Treat.

Leather pancel leggings from H&M

The panel details.

Close up of the leather-like part

This is a pair of leggings from H&M (£14.99) with leather panel inserts down the side. I plan to gradually work my way up to full on leather leggings (once I have done a few more spinning classed to get my legs etc in a bit better shape that is). Ideally I wanted to find leggings that were leather all over then with a little jersey insert down the side for extra give, with the theory that the leather-like part would hold in any thigh wobble (attractive, I know).

But these were the ones I found - but if you know where I can find leggings like that, let me know in the comments.


Bought by me.

What Sundays are about: Comfort and indulge

This is the lovely Neom candle I was recently sent. I only started burning it a few minutes ago and already the room smells of orange blossom.

What's better than a lazy Sunday reading blogs in a cosy room with a gorgeous scented candle making it smell yummy?

Happy Sunday everyone!


PR sample.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre 'Emerveille'

I feel like I'm on a bit of a designer make-up kick at the moment, I spent a silly amount of time loitering around the Dior and Lancome counter in Boots and recently picked up this little beauty from Chanel. This is one of their new-ish Illusion D'Ombre eye shadows in 'Emerveille' (number 82).

Shade wise, Emerveille is very me - nice and neutral. I would describe it as a peachy/rose gold sort of shade - in the pan in looks more peachy/pink than it does when applied. The shimmer shows through more when on the eye.

Texture wise, these are really hard to describe - they feel sort of mousse-like, somewhere between a powder and a cream. But somehow a bit heavier than a mousse. Perhaps a bit like lightly pressed loose pigment... with a hint of liquid to hold together. Does that make sense at all?!

I find there really is something unbeatable about Chanel packaging - the glossy black with the interlinking 'Cs' just feels like the ultimate in luxury make-up. The little glass pot also comes with a brush to apply the shadow, which has bristles similar in texture to a foundation brush but obviously smaller and with an angled head. I didn't get on very well with trying to use this to apply the shadow, I tried an alternative eyeshadow brush too and that just seemed to push the product around rather than pick it up... so I mainly use my fingers to apply this.

This has been my main eyeshadow of choice all week, paired with some fairly thick black liquid liner. Simple, but effective. I haven't had any problems with wear at all - it is designed as a long-wear shadow, but I still use a lid primer just to be sure (currently using Two-Faced Shadow insurance).

Here are the swatches, first in natural light and then with a flash. Obviously, under the flash the cool shimmer tones seem to show up far stronger and make it look quite frosty,

Natural Light

With Flash

I paid around £23 for this eyeshadow, which isn't exactly cheap. Somehow I often feel it's worth splashing out on a bit of Chanel - I can imagine it will last a while and it does come with a brush... yes, these are all my little justifications for spending silly money on a single eyeshadow. I can't say it's a must have that you can't find anywhere else, but I can say it's lovely and I'm happy I bought it.

On my little designer make-up kick I have also got a little goody from Lancome to show you. And considering getting either... a Dior foundation (forever or nude, not sure) or a Lancome (teint idole).. if you have tried either, let me know what you think!


Bought by me.

I heart Mulberry

I can't believe I didn't blog about this sooner... back in November/December time I went along for the 'experience' that is the Mulberry Sample Sale. As a pretty devoted Mulberry fan, this is the sort of experience that's on a par with the excitement you see on those kids faces in the 'We're going to Disney World' adverts, but for girls with a bit of a shallow, fashion obsessed side (that would be me).

The line ahead of me...

The line behind me.... yep, snaking around the corner...

So along I went, first thing in the morning (yes, I took the morning off work so I could go) thinking I'd get these just before the opening time of 10, wander in, pick up what I wanted, pay (suffer from a dose of buyers remorse) and head back to the office.

But in reality, I arrived half an hour before opening to be greeted by a line that was already snaking around the block and continued to grow behind me... word of advice, if you go to the sample sale, and want to brave the first day - get there early.

Mulberry East-West Bayswater in 'Olive'

I made it inside after not too long a wait, and was greeted by the sort of chaotic shopping scene that I expect to see in a rom com or something. It was madness. So I surveyed the room, and established that the general approach was to grab anything you see that you remotely like and lug it around with you until you decide what to purchase. This caused a bit of an adrenaline rush whenever you saw someone put something down that you liked the look of - the sort of scene you expect to see go into slow motion with women dramatically reaching out shouting 'Nooooo!'

Anyway, my overactive imagination aside - it was pretty mad. I'm glad I took the morning off work, as the line to pay was long and took around 40mins to work my way through.

Describing the morning aside, what did I buy - I went in there with a budget in my head, and came home with two bags that I love very much. One was the sensible bag - the East-West Bayswater in 'Olive' (above) a nice neutral shade that looks smart and classic.

The other bag is not quite as sensible, but that's why I love it. This is the Sparkle Tweed Tillie with Rose Gold hardware. This is the bag that caused such a frenzy in the sample sale at one point that a woman was carted out by security.

Yes, really.

As much as I love Mulberry, I would not get hysterical or physical with other shoppers over a handbag.

Mulberry Tillie in 'Sparkle Tweed' with Rose Gold hard wear 

Tillie in Sparkle Tweed

I was actually lucky enough that one of the lovely sales assistants (bless their patience with slightly crazed women going mad for reduced priced handbags for three days straight) was kind enough to sneak this and another sparkle tweed (the Tillie Hobo) my way.

Moral of the story - have manners and be patient.

Mulberry Tillie in Sparkle Tweed

Once I had the bags in my hand the other women were like vultures - asking if I was keeping them both (I wasn't, I can't live off fresh air) and asking if they could have them when I decided - then loitering around me until I decided.

I decided on the Tillie satchel rather than the hobo as it was a little less expensive and I like the long strap.

I do love both of these bags - I have a Mulberry problem!

What did I think of the sample sale overall? Madness. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat (I'm already saving for next year to soften the blow).

Bought by me. My credit card is still smouldering from the damage.

Charles Worthington Straight and Smooth Hair Straightening Kit: Guest Review

In Autumn last year, Charles Worthington launched an at-home straightening kit, promising results comparable to the in-salon Brazilian blow dry. I went along to the launch to find out more about it, but when it came to testing the product, as someone with flat, straight hair...it wasn't really for me. So I passed my sample of to my lovely friend LW to test for me - and here are her thoughts.... (I should probably add here that LW has hair I'm very jealous of - I want volume and those beachy waves when my hair dries naturally!)

When my all time favourite beauty junkie, Jen, asked me to try out the ‘Charles Worthington Straight and Smooth Hair Straightening Kit’, I jumped at the chance. It is my lifelong quest to achieve straighter, healthier looking hair without having to spend hours blow drying and straightening.  

My hair has seen its fair share of colour treatments (from blonde to brown to red and anywhere in between) and the fact that the kit is ‘for coloured hair’ was particularly appealing to me (I knew there would be no hair ‘side effects’ like turning green or falling out). This is my hair before the treatment, dried naturally:

The kit is available at boots only, for £19.99. It comes with the straightening treatment, a conditioner which activates the treatment, an after care conditioner, gloves and a comb. The instructions are so straightforward it would be impossible not to understand how to do this.

The most difficult part of the process was actually the fact that the product has to be applied to wet, shampooed but not conditioned hair. Using the comb I eventually worked out the tangles from my unconditioned hair (which, trust me, is not an easy task) and was ready to apply the treatment.

The treatment is easy to apply (from the roots to the ends of the hair) but is probably best done in the bathroom if you aren’t the most careful of people (like me), as it can be a bit drippy.

The instructions warn that the product will have a ‘particular’ smell which indicates that it is working. This concerned me somewhat. The ‘particular’ smell seemed familiar to me but took me a while to identify. 

Eventually, I realised it reminded me of the smell of wee after eating lots of asparagus ...  I then understood the use of the euphemism ‘particular’ on the box. The smell is fairly mild and wouldn’t put me off using the product again, but it’s definitely there.

After leaving the treatment on for 20 minutes (and removing the peg from my nose) I rinsed and applied the conditioner for 5 minutes. Couldn’t be easier!

As instructed, I  blow dried my hair after using the treatment (I just used a large paddle brush) and it looked like this:

It didn't look particularly different from when I would blow dry it before the treatment (I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting?!) but I stuck to the instructions and used the aftercare conditioner for the next 2-3 washes. The next time I washed my hair I left it to dry naturally (on a nice warm day) and it dried much straighter than it would have done prior to the treatment. Check it out:

A month after using the treatment my hair, dried naturally, looked like this:

Since using the treatment (now 3 months ago), I have rarely felt the need to get the hair straighteners out for more than a quick finishing job and I have often let me hair dry naturally and been very happy with the result.  

I'm now starting to feel like it may be worth repeating the treatment, but overall I’m really impressed with how long the effects have lasted (almost as well as the Brazilian blow dry - which I have tried before).

This treatment has saved me so much time on blow drying and straightening my hair and I would definitely go out and buy it again, especially as, compared to a salon Brazilian blow dry treatment, it’s an absolute bargain.

Thanks Jen for introducing me to this great product!

Product was a PR sample.

I need your ideas!

If you follow me on twitter, then you probably already know this... but it's not long until I go away to New York. The trip was a bit of a spark of extreme generosity (not that I'm not generous normally... but this was a whole another level of generous) for my boyfriend as a Christmas/birthday present. Of course, whilst it's a present for him, it's still something I'm going to enjoy and I might even be lucky enough to hit the shops once or twice...

Image source

So that's where I need your ideas! What brands/products do you have on your America wish list? I need more inspiration... I have some Sephora OPI colours and some Maybelline products that aren't currently available in the UK - but I want more ideas! Any ideas are welcome, small or large!

Comment on this blog to let me know what you think I should check out over there (if you have other NYC related ideas too then let me know!) and I might just bear them in mind for an upcoming readers giveaway I'm planning...

Nip + Fab Clean Fix Cleansing Oil

I love a cleansing oil, I used to be a die-hard foam cleanser fan. Nothing else felt like it made my skin clean enough, but then I tried my first oil cleanser (the one from DHC) and it changed it all. Since then I've tried a few different ones, including Shu Uemura, MAC and Dermalogica and now this one from NIP and FAB.

The first thing I noticed about the oil is that the scent is really lovely - it's light and a little bit citrussy. Feels really refreshing but I haven't found that it irritates my skin at all.  When I say it feels light, it's a bit hard to describe - but I feel like it has a lighter texture than the other brands I have tried.

I also find that it rinses of really easily - it emulsifies in both cool and warm water and does a decent job of  easing off eye make-up, although I usually add some eye make-up remover too get the rest of it off.

Packaging wise, I love the look of it and the style but my major bug bear that really, really annoys me is that this bottle leaks - and when I say leaks, I mean really bad. If you look at the close up of the pump shot above all that glossiness? That's not just shiny plastic, that's oil that comes out whenever I use the pump. 

There's a chance that this is just a one of fault of course, and I really hope it is as the leaking issue really spoils an otherwise lovely product. I'd love to take this away when I travel, but I can't because of the leaking situation! But fingers crossed it's just a one off fault...

Final thing I wanted to say is if you haven't tried an oil cleanser, I really suggest you do - whatever your skin type is, I really haven't found a faster way to thoroughly remove a face of make-up (and London grime).

Nip+Fab is available from Boots and the cleansing oil (£10.16)

PR sample.