Some Of My Favourite Things...

 My Chanel Chance.

  This is one of my favourite smells in the whole world. It's the kind of perfume that when you wear it complete strangers ask what perfume you're wearing. It's quite a young and summery smell but quite sexy too. Perfect for day or night and even the Eau de Toilette scent lasts for ages. I never go anywhere without it- I always have it in my cuuute little atomiser from The Perfume Shop in my handbag.
 You can get the Eau de Toilette for £50 from Boots or the Eau de Parfum for £61. But if you're going on your hols soon then pick it up from Duty Free- très bargainous!
  Also a great scent for the summer is Lacoste Touch of Pink which is a really fresh, girly and carefree perfume, cheaper than Chance at £38 for 50ml of the Eau De Toilette from Boots and right now Boots are giving away a free Lacoste laptop bag with Lacoste fragrance purchases.



My Tigi Bed Head Brunette Goddess Shine Spray.
  WARNING: this product will make you hungry! Apart from the divine smell of caramel and toffee this product makes my hair instantly glossy and healthy looking without the greasiness of some shine sprays. A little of this product goes a long way so use it sparingly.
  If I'm wearing my hair up I'll spritz it on the finished do but if I'm wearing my hair down I use it while blow drying. It ranges from about £6 to about £10 depending on where you buy it so shop around online, and look out for the combi box sets as these are usually pretty good value for money. You can get matching shampoo and conditioner in the Brunette Goddess range which are gawjusss but at the moment I am using;

Tigi Bed Head Urban Antidotes Resurrection shampoo and conditioner which is specifically for beaten up hair that needs a little TLC. There are three different shampoo/ conditioner variants in the Urban Antidote range; Re-energize for damage level 1, Recovery for damage level 2 and Resurrection which is for damage level 3, said to give "miracle-like" results. It hasn't enabled me to walk on water thus far but it does leave my hair shiny, healthy, rejuvenated  and smelling fab.

  If you fancy trying something different for washing your hair make sure you give Lush's Solid Shampoo  (£5 per 55g) a go. They come in handy little round bars so they're great for taking with you on holiday and saving some precious suitcase space. My personal fave is Seanik which is a really fresh smelling, turquoise bar with seaweed in it (like actual pieces of seaweed not invisible extracts) plus load of other yummy, natural ingredients and it gives your hair a real volume boost and is great for shine too. You literally just rub the bar on your wet hair and it lathers up like nobody's business!






 Next is my Urban Decay 'Naked' eye palette, winner of Best Eyeshadow in the Debenhams 2012 Beauty Club Awards. I love, love, love this! Never would I have spent that much on eyeshadow (retailing at about £36 available from Debenhams and other department stores) before but after borrowing my cousin's one day I doubt I'll ever buy another. There are enough shades to keep me satisfied and so far, it's lasted absolutely ages. There is not one single colour of the twelve that I don't use regularly, ranging from subtle neutrals to vibrant metallics, in varying shades of brown, gold, bronze, oyster, champagne down to charcoal and silver. If I had to choose one I think it would be 'Smog,' which contrary to it's name is a beautiful, shimmering burnished bronze....but I don't have to choose just one so I will continue to love them all equally if you please!
 Aside from the scrumptious shades, the cute case complete with mirror, and the fab applicator these eyeshadows have perfect staying power lasting from first thing in the morning until last thing at night (or, if I'm perfectly honest, first thing the next morning. Yes smack my hand for disobeying the eleventh commandment "thou shalt always remove thine make up before bed"). Anyhoo- buy this palette. It will change your life. Okay maybe not but it is a wise investment and worth every single penny!






 My Espa Hydrating Floral Spafresh Spritzer which is an "aromatic toner to hydrate, refresh and rejuvenate." It smells like a cross between a spa and a garden, not overly flowery as the name would suggest but really fresh and healthy smelling if you know what I mean.
  At £18.50 for 100ml I don't use it willy nilly but I do like a spritz of it when I (manage to) take my make-up off or when I'm feeling all flustered and hot and bothered! It's an instant freshen-up and makes my skin feel wonderfully dewey and revitalised.    

  St Tropez Body Polish (around £15 for 240ml) which is THE best exfoliator I've found. It's a gorgeously bright turquoise colour with very fine grains so it's very gentle but amazingly effective. Even though it's more for your body I use it on my face every few days and it works a treat, making my skin as soft as a baby's bum! So even if you don't wear tan you should still get this polish, you don't need to use much and you don't have to scrub with any force at all. 





 The Sanctuary Nourishing Bath Soak (£10.25 for 400ml) is a firm favourite of mine. A rich, luxurious concoction of milk, honey, sweet almond oil and lotus, this comforting soak smells sublime and is generously bubbly.
 It's great for when I'm feeling stressed out and run down and The Sanctuary Enriching Body Wash (£7.75 for 200ml) which compliments it perfectly, leaves my skin gorgeously scented and perfectly moisturised.
 Another bonus is that more often than not, The Sanctuary bath and body products are on a 3 for 2 promotion so you can pick up a third product for free whether direct from their site or from Boots. Bargain!





One of my must- haves for summer is always, always that old classic- The Body Shop Coconut Body Butter. You know it's summer when I whip this baby out! 
 The scruuuummy coconut scent is evocative of holidays, beaches, cocktails, bikinis, sun tan cream, sea, sunshine and all things tropical! Plus it's a pretty darn good twenty four hour moisturiser too!
 On it's own it's £12.50 but at the moment The Body Shop have a 2 for £15 promotion on their body butters so I'm going to pair up my next purchase of it with their new Chocomania butter which I haven't tried yet but it sounds a-may-zing!




So there are just a few of my favourite (beauty based) things. What are yours? x

50's Americana Trend For Summer

  Has anyone else noticed the 50's Americana inspired sub trend infiltrating the shops? It makes me think of cadillacs, huge sunglasses, Grease, a milkshake palette, capri pants and rockabilly tunes. I'm loving all the pretty florals and pastels. It's just a shame we haven't got the weather for them just yet but when it finally heats up I will be embracing this ultra-girly, daisy fresh and quite retro look.

  H&M and Marks & Spencers   have great ranges as does the ever reliable Primark at bargain prices.

 If you find the pastel look a tad wishy washy by itself  then try accessorising with a tan bag, belt and sandals for a more boho take on it or for a bolder look maybe team it with brighter flashes of colour like dayglo pink, fluoro yellow or turquoise.

  There are some fab sugar sweet pastel nail varnishes out to compliment the look. The Boots 17 Candy Collection nail colours are cute as a button and cheap as chips but my fave right now is O.P.I nail colour in Care To Danse?

  One word of advice though girlies, and I speak from (cringey) experience, please do not attempt to wear pastel eye shadow no matter how cute they look in the store- it is very tricky to pull off and rarely looks good...unless your style icon is Magda from Something About Mary :)

I would opt instead for a subtle sun kissed look with golden shades on the eyes, a hint of bronzer on cheeks, a slick of pink or coral lipgloss and you're good to go or if you're more into the retro look a dramatic sweeping flick of liquid eyeliner and a bold red or coral lipstick a la Imelda May or Dita Von Teese would do nicely. Roll on Summer!