Monthly Favourites: January 2014

1) Yes Nurse! Hand cream

There's not much to say about this hand cream that I haven't said before (check out my full review of this one here), but it's quite possibly the best hand cream I've ever used. No faffing about with greasy, slimy hands that won't let you touch anything without leaving a snail trail. This sinks in pretty much instantly and protects my hands from the harsh environment. Every winter my hands would get so dry that the skin would crack at the knuckles - now that's a thing of the past. The tube in the picture has been in my handbag for a while, so it's gone a bit manky and it's starting to run low as well, but I can definitely see myself repurchasing this.

2) MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush

I've had this product for ages and it's only recently, when rummaging through my stash, that I rediscovered it. I've not put it down ever since! It's got quite a hard, waxy cream texture, but I find that that makes it perfect for placing a strategic highlight on top of the cheekbones as well as above the lip on the cupid's bow. It works best when blended in with fingers, as I find that brushes struggle to pick up the pigment. I actually reviewed this product on my blog in May two years ago, back when I lived in Germany for a bit and wrote my posts in two languages! Click here for a blast from the past.

3) Bumble and Bumble Thickening Spray

This mini thickening spray came as a freebie with a magazine sometime last autumn I think. The first time I used it I was a tad overzealous and as a result my hair went literally horizontal after blow drying. There's volume and there's too much volume. After that incident I've banished the spray to the back of my unwanted drawer, but something made me dig it out again at the start of the month and give it another go. Turns out, if you're not overgenerous with your application, this is actually a brilliant product that gives me just that little bit of lift to my hair without being at all sticky or drying on the hair. 

4) Maybelline Color Tattoo in Permanent Taupe

Right before Christmas there was a 3 for 2 deal on all Rimmel products on at Boots, and as I was in the market for a new foundation and mascara anyway, I popped this into my basket as well, seeing as I'd heard so many good things about the Color Tattoos from various blogs. Turns out, I can completely understand the hype. The formula is simply brilliant. Nice and creamy and blendable to begin with, it eventually settles into a powder finish that does not budge all day. Permanent Taupe is a little less pigmented and more muted compared to the other shades on offer, but it works amazing with a winged eye liner. I can't wait to get my hands on some of the other colours, including On and On Bronze!

Review: Boots Natural Collection Wild Strawberry Bath Cream

In this horrible grey weather there are few things more comforting than soaking in a warm bath filled with scented bubbles. I was a little lost for inspiration of what to put in my bath when I stumbled across this bottle of bubble bath in Boots.

What made me take it to the till immediately was the amazing smell. Nothing at all like artificial bubble gum like strawberry, but instead a really fruity, slightly zingy scent.

While it created a nice amount of foam in my bath, the scent wasn't quite as intense as I'd hoped. It would be great for someone who prefers subtle smells, but I for one like to be literally cocooned in a scent. Lush bath bombs tend to just hit the spot for me, but this one is a lot more subtle in comparison.

All in all, this is more of a cheap and cheerful product - it's certainly nowhere near as luxurious when it comes to moisturising the skin or being strong on scent as its more high end counterparts, but sometimes just a little bit of fruity foam will do just fine.

Boots Natural Collection Wild Strawberry Bath Cream retails at £2 per bottle and can be found in Boots stores as well as on their website here.

Face of the Day #01

I think I've done this type of post once in the 2 and a bit years (Jeeeeeeshhh, has it really been that long??) that I've had this blog, so it's time to overcome my fears and show you guys what I'm actually wearing on my face! This time I went for a soft, smokey eye look which was understated enough to be worn during the daytime.

Taking this picture was actually pretty tricky. I'd just had my roots done that morning and the artificial light indoors made them disappear on camera, so it looked like my hair only started halfway down my face. It was scary, let me tell you.
But on to the products used:

FACE/BASE

I started out with the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser all over the face as I didn't need a lot of coverage that day. I then applied my MUA Cover and Conceal wand under my eyes and tapped it in with my fingers to cover any dark circles. On my cheeks I applied my Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 90 on my cheeks and topped it off with a touch of MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush. I really love using it as a liquid highlighter at the moment, as it just adds a lovely, subtle hint of glow to otherwise slightly dull winter skin. I set my make-up with my Rimmel Stay Matte powder, which as you can see in the first picture has been almost used to death. Nothing to worry about, though, as I've already purchased a back up of the exact same powder.

EYES

I started by outlining my brows with my HD Brows palette. I received it in a Glossybox over two years ago and despite being used pretty much every day it's still going strong! I set it all with the Artdeco Clear Lash & Brow gel, which works really well on keeping brows in place throughout the day, although it does make them a bit crispy if you're not extremely careful while applying it.
To prime my lids I used my MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - nothing works better at keeping eyeshadow exactly where you put it during the day. Mine is starting to get a little bit low, so a purchase is on the cards soon. I then used the NYX Mono Shadow in Sahara all over the lid. I got this product in my latest Love Me Beauty box, so I wanted to try it out as soon as possible! I applied a bit of MAC Knight Divine in the outer corner and blended it towards the middle. This is another product that's been getting much love, as I've hit pan on it a while ago. I then tightlined the lash line with the Lancome Le Crayon Khol eye liner - I'm yet to find a black liner that is creamier and more pigmented than this one. I used a small flat brush to pick up a bit of colour from the pencil and used it to line the upper lash line as well.
To finish off I curled my lashes and applied a coat of the Maybelline Rocket mascara. Even though it seems to be a blogger high street favourite, I'm not a particular fan of this mascara, as I find the wand too bulky, while the formula bleeds on my lashes after less than an hour.

LIPS

I like the eyes to be the centre of attention when it comes to my make-up, so I tend to wear mostly nude and creamy pink shades on my lips. In the picture above I slicked on a coat of MAC Creme Cup and was ready to go!

Sample Summary #11

I've been rubbing, spreading and smothering my way through an array of samples again, so it's about time I gave you another run down of mini sample summaries to see what's gone straight on the wish list (or straight in the bin).

1) Kerastase | Elixir Ultime

Full size: £34.50

Rating: 4.5/5

The Kerastase Elixir Ultime is hailed as the mother of all hair oils, so I was expecting nothing short of miracles for my hair. After the first application, I have to admit that I do see where the hype is coming from. Despite being an oil, this doesn't really feel oily - it's more sticky in texture and my hair literally drank it up like there was no tomorrow. It did everything I look for in a good hair oil: It gave my hair a little extra kick of moisture, smoothed away flyaways, added a bit of shine, but without making the hair seem greasy and limp. It wasn't quite mindblowing enough for me to rush out and spend £30 on a full sized bottle, but if you're in the market for a hair oil and don't mind spending a bit extra, then you really can't go wrong with this.

2) Clarins | Hand and Nail Treatment Cream

Full size: £20

Rating: 4/5

I remember getting my Mum one of these as a present, as it was highly recommended to me by the shop assistant for somebody who uses their hands a lot. It's hailed to be a fast-acting hand cream that takes no time at all to sink into the skin, but at the same time repair some serious damage both from ageing and harsh environments. As far as sinking in goes, this is right up there with my favourites and one of the few hand creams I could apply during the day. As far as damage control goes, it did leave my hands nice and soft, but it didn't work quite as well as my beloved Yes! Nurse hand cream (which is also a lot cheaper). I don't think it's quite heavy duty enough for what my poor hands have to withstand in the winter.

3) Clinique | 7 Day Scrub

Full size: £18.50

Rating: 3/5

I'm a bit lost here with the 7 day claim on this scrub. What is it supposed to mean? Are you meant to use it every day for 7 days? Does it take 7 days to see results? Does an application last for 7 days? I don't know!! What I do know is that this performed like a pretty average facial exfoliator. The grains were a good size, the texture firm enough not to end up down the sink, but soft enough to not tug skin when you spread it. A decent product, but at that price point I would expect something to really wow me to justify spending that extra bit of money. As it stands, you can find pretty good drugstore alternatives at no more than half the price.

4) Weleda | Millet Nourishing Shampoo

Full size: £8.95

Rating: 1/5

Oh my.... is it possible for a shampoo to leave your hair even dirtier than it was before the wash? This is an all natural product free from SLS and other foaming agents, so I wasn't expecting a rich lather anyway, but this just left my hair heavy, tangled and slightly on the oily side. Such a shame, as it has a zesty scent that is simply to die for under the shower.

5) Shiseido | Ibuki Refining Moisturizer Enriched

Full size: £42

Rating: 4.5/5

Eugh, how I miss this little pot. This was pretty much the perfect moisturiser for me. It was rich, yet lightweight and an absolute pleasure to apply. Even from this little sample size I could tell the difference it was making to my skin, which seemed clearer and just a little bit more alive. Good enough, in fact, to run errands and go shopping completely make-up free. The only downside is the price. At £42 a pop, it really ain't cheap, but I'm still hovering over the buy button, as this might just be worth a little extra splurge.

6) Louis Widmer | Skin Appeal Peeling

Full size: £11.20

Rating: 4/5

I can't say I've ever heard of a brand called Louis Widmer, but judging from the writing on the sample it seems to be a Dutch brand. The Skin Appeal series in particular is targeted at young, breakout-prone skin and while that's not exactly me (my skin is more on the combination side and my teenage years are well and truly a thing of the past), I really enjoyed using this product. It's definitely one of the harsher products I've ever had the pleasure of using, so not one for those with sensitive skin. But on the plus side, it left my skin feeling really squeaky clean, as if it literally got into every single pore to get rid of all of the rubbish that has accumulated there over time.

7) Eucerin | Dermo Densifyer Day

Full size: £24.42

Rating: 3/5

Another name that leaves me a bit baffled. I've heard of many different skin concerns, but does anyone really want their skin to be... denser...? Opening this sample I didn't think I'd get on with it at all, as it's just the type of heavy, thick cream that usually leaves me looking like I've been in an oil wrestling match, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. Turns out it wasn't quite as bad. As it's so thick a little goes a long way on my skin type and you can definitely feel that there's something on your skin, but it's been working pretty well in the cold winter months at creating a barrier on my skin that has kept the occasional redness or dry patches completely at bay. As far as samples go it's huge and even though I've been using it for 3 months I've only just started getting to the bottom of it. I feel that while it's good on my skin, it would perform absolutely exceptional on dry to very dry skin types.

8) Rodial | 5 Minute Facial

Full size: £35

Rating: 5/5

This stuff is flippin amazing! I'd never tried anything from Rodial before and I'd highly questioned their approach to beauty with names such as "Size Zero" cream and rather dodgy looking meal replacement sticks. But, I've got to give it to them, as far as face masks go, this might just be the best that I've ever tried. It applies as a smooth cream, then dries and hardens, just like a mud mask would. You're then meant to rub off the hardened product, but I found that only about half of it came off by rubbing and I had to rinse the remainder off with water. (It also made a right mess of my bathroom sink, let me tell you that!) What I was left with was skin that was (sorry, there is no other word for it) radiant and just... just, wow. Absolutely worth the £35 - although I found it £10 cheaper on Allbeauty (see link above) and will be purchasing a full sized tube soon!

Sunday Catch-Up #16

Love my monthly Love Me Beauty box // Keys for our new car // Birthday gift from Mum & Dad

Drinking my butterbeer // Magic printing press // Sooooo much cheeeeeese sauce

This week's been a pretty good one for me, but boy can I tell you... I'm knackered! Work's been mad and not having two days off one after another is starting to take its toll on my energy levels. Thank god I have a nice relaxing Monday and Tuesday ahead of me!

At the beginning of the week me and Joe finally bought another car. You don't technically need one in London and it's only a small little Peugeot, but it's so nice to be able to drive again... I really missed it. Ironically, I haven't even seen it yet, as we can't park it in front of our current flat, so it's staying in front of a relative's house.

On Friday I turned 25 (euuuurrrghhhh) and as a "surprise" (I knew about it ages ago) he took me to The Making of Harry Potter. It was an amazing day out and I felt like I was a little girl again, reading the Harry Potter books for the first time. We finished the day with an incredibly cheesy hot dog at Ed's Diner - nothing fancy, but I didn't particularly feel like going to a big posh restaurant anyway.

Now, time to soak in a big foamy bubble bath.

How's your week been?

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Drop Dead birthday haul

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Drop Dead Clothing. Their items feature on pretty much every month's wish list and every time I'm in Central I just find myself magically drawn to their Soho store. So imagine my face when my boyfriend decided to treat me to a big bag of Drop Dead goodies for my birthday! Technically, my birthday isn't till tomorrow, but Joe is possibly one of the worst people at keeping secrets that I've ever come across, so I got all of these a bit early.

Drop Dead Tasty Treat Pendant

I don't usually wear gold jewellery (though I'm quite partial to rose gold), but I'll happily make an exception for this brightly coloured necklace - a cheeky take on the classic Rolling Stones' symbol with a gold tooth. (... And yes, that's an acid tab on its tongue)

Drop Dead Knuckleduster Rings

Boy oh boy do I love these. Admittedly, knuckleduster type rings aren't the most practical to wear when you're doing stuff with your hands, so I won't be wearing these to work, but just how awesome are they?? You can't really see them that well in the black box, so here's a picture of what they look like on:

Excuse the elephant skin, my hands really don't like this harsh winter weather, haha! On a side note, I also love the boxes that all of this jewellery is housed in. Definitely keeping them for display!

Drop Dead Boner Snapback Cap

I do love me a good snapback. It adds instant edge to any outfits and hides a multitude of sins when I can't be bothered to do my hair or if my next root touch up is still a while away! I think Joe was getting fed up of my always stealing his caps, so he bought me one for myself, haha.

Drop Dead Scarf Guy

A nice black scarf is always appreciated as it goes with pretty much anything and this one in particular is so warm and soft! As its a neverending loop shape you also don't have to fiddle about with loose scarf ends dangling around. I particularly love the diamond symbol on it, it matches one of my tattoos on my left arm!

Drop Dead Tripster Sweater

When I saw this I literally ran around in circles across the room. I found a picture of this sweater ages ago and fell in love with it instantly, only to find out that it had been discontinued. You literally couldn't find it anywhere and it had become something of a collectors' item with prices on eBay hitting around £100. Somehow Joe managed to find me the last one on Impericon and I couldn't be happier!
The mouth is actually a little belly pouch which you can pull out to reveal this:

Drop Dead Tripster Sweater

So much fun to be had with a flappy tongue hanging out of your belly! (That sounds a lot weirder written down than it did in my head.) The huge button between the eyes is actually a huge giant button as well. If you ever had a jumper on which you could press a part to make a sound as a kid, you can imagine how I feel wearing this. (...And yes, that's another acid tab on its tongue)

I'm so chuffed with my Drop Dead goodies - I literally love every single item and can't wait to wear it all!
You can find everything bar the Tripster Sweater on the Drop Dead website here.

Review: Fudge Urban Colour Hair Chalk

My Tumblr is overflowing with pictures of girls with amazing colourful hair: pastels, neon brights, mermaid-like ombre effects, you name it. However, I've never quite plucked up the courage to go colourful on my own hair. What if I didn't like it? What if I messed up the colour? With the arrival of hair chalks I finally had the perfect opportunity to try a bright shade on my hair for one night only just to test out the waters.

The Urban Colour hair chalk by fudge comes in a little domed pot that you're meant to rub over your strands, then seal in with some hair spray and enjoy until it's time to wash your hair, which is when it washes off without leaving a trace.
I'll admit that the application process was a lot more difficult than I envisaged. For a start you can't just rub it over your hair, you need something to hold it in place and really, really work it into the strands. Cue bright pink messy hands and clouds of pink chalk everywhere. Make sure you've got a towel spread around your shoulders for this if you don't want to ruin all your clothes!

My biggest worry was that the colour might rub off onto my clothes leaving me with telltale pink smudges all over the back of my top! Fortunately, that didn't happen and there were no suspicious stains giving away that my new hair colour was anything but permanent. Unfortunately the bright fuchsia I started out with faded very quickly and left me with just a baby pink after just a few hours. It helps a little bit if you use a texturising / salt spray beforehand to make the chalk grip the hair strand just a little better.

One hair chalk was enough for two applications from about halfway down my shoulder-length hair. I did really like the effect, even though I really wish the colour would stay bright for a bit longer without fading. I'm still not sure if I'd take the plunge and permanently dye my hair pink (maybe just a light dip dye?), but for just one night, this lets you have a great bit of fun experimenting with colour.

Love Me Beauty Box January 14

After last month's slight disappointment with my Love Me Beauty box and the options they had on offer, the first box of this year got me excited again with some lovely menus to choose from. Four out of five items are full sized products and there's a nice mix of make-up, haircare and skincare. All the menus featured the Anatomicals shower gel, the Pureology styling mousse, the Cosmetics a la Carte mascara and the NYX eye shadow, albeit in different shades depending on the menu. Lastly, you got to choose between a Weleda body oil sample, a Weleda hand cream sample or a full sized Arran Aromatics soap. The menu I went for was Menu 3, as I liked the eye shadow shade the most out of all of the options.

1) NYX Cosmetics | Single Eyeshadow in "Sahara"

Full size: £5.00

NYX Cosmetics Single Eyeshadow in Sahara swatch in day light

The first item in the box was a full sized eye shadow by NYX - a brand I used to see quite a lot of when I lived in Germany, but that's not overly prevalent over here in the UK. This eyeshadow is the only reason I chose this particular menu, as the other shades on offer were a bright orange which I wouldn't really know how to wear and a dark smoky grey which I have enough of in my collection already. Sahara translates as a light sparkly champagne onto the skin and admittedly I'm not overly impressed with the pigmentation. It might work quite well as a base colour, however, or for adding a bit of sparkle to an everyday make-up look.

2) Arran Aromatics | Apothecary Wheatgerm & Vitamin E Soap

Full size: £2.75

As I chose my box by eye shadow colour this is a product that I was sort of forced to pick. I would have preferred the Weleda body oil sample to be completely honest, as it's difficult to get excited over soap. However, it's something we all need and I have no doubt that I'll use it. I haven't unwrapped it yet, as I want to leave it fresh for when we move into our new home, so I can't really comment on the scent of this product.

3) Anatomicals | Rose & Jasmine Body Cleanser

Full size: £3.00

I know there's quite a few people who don't like getting body wash in their beauty boxes and while I understand completely where they're coming from, I personally don't mind at all, as long as it's not too frequent. Shower gel is something everyone needs, but I usually get mine from the Pound shop or on special offer from the supermarket, so it's nice to have something a tad more special from time to time. Having said that, this one only comes in at £3 anyway, so it's certainly not a splurge product anyway! I really like the smell of roses, so to me this scent is pure bliss. Not to mention I'm a huge fan of Anatomicals' packaging design and cheeky slogans!

4) Pureology | Colour Stylist Silk Bodifier

Full size: £15.00 for 250ml / Sample value: £4.88

Well, admittedly it's been quite a while since I've used mousse on my hair and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this sample. Memories of sticky, crispy hair come to mind, but perhaps mousse formulas have improved over the years and I'll fall in love with this product. I've heard a lot of beauty bloggers rave about Pureology and their sulfate-free products, so it's nice to try something from the brand for myself. This mousse in particular is also made for colour-treated hair, so should be perfect for my bleached tresses.

5) Cosmetics a la Carte | Divine Lash Mascara in "Black"

Full size: £23.00

Even after browsing their website, I can't quite fathom where I've heard of this brand before, but the name does certainly ring a bell. Hailed as this month's star product, I'm certainly excited to try this mascara. Which girl doesn't love mascara after all? This one has quite spiky looking long synthetic bristles - a bit like a hybrid between a traditional mascara wand and a lash comb. I can't wait to give this a trial run on my lashes and see how it performs!

Total value: £38.63

It feels like Love Me Beauty have certainly kicked off the New Year by returning back to form. Out of the five products I received this month, I can say with certainty that I will use each and every single one. I like the nice mix of product types and high-end vs. budget brands featured. Even though two brands have been in boxes before (Arran Aromatics and Anatomicals), they're completely different types of products, so I don't mind like I did with last month's Lord & Berry scenario. Now I can't wait to see what's going to be in next month's box!

Are you subscribed to Love Me Beauty? If so, what did you think of this month's boxes?

Sunday Catch-up #15

Balsamic mushrooms on toast for breakfast // Making cake always gets me excited // Can't wait to see these live in March

Lemony mint toothpaste - Eww! // Creating a memory board for this year

Not a lot of pictures from me this week, which doesn't mean it wasn't busy - on the contrary! As well as working 6 days this week, we started hunting for a new flat which took up a huge chunk of my time. Not to mention that moving house turned out to be a lot more stressful than anticipated.

The last picture shows a new project me and Joe have started. As we never take pictures when we do something fun (mainly cause we're too busy, ya know... having fun) we never have anything to just hold and look at and remember the happy times. So this year we want to make an effort and keep tickets and passes and pictures and memorabilia on a cork board hanging in the bedroom. There's still a lot of space at the moment, as it's only January, but there's already a few tickets for upcoming gigs and a visit to Harry Potter studios waiting there!

How's your week been?

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Review: MUA Lipstick in Shade 15 "Juicy"

Everyone loves a good bargain and when it comes to budget prices, MUA are hard to beat. With a price of £1 per lipstick it was hard not to buy the entire range at once, but I thought I'd ease myself in with this peachy apricot shade called "Juicy".

While it doesn't look like it from afar, the packaging certainly reflects the price point. It's a bit flimsy and the twist up mechanism broke after two uses. Having said that, it would be unfair to judge a product this cheap on the packaging would be pretty unfair.

On the upside, the lid stays firmly shut even when the lipstick's being bashed about in a handbag. I also really like the detachable plastic container on the end which houses a little bit of extra product. This makes it very easy to find the shade you're looking for when digging around in your make-up stash and it's something I've not seen from any other brands.

The texture is extremely smooth and creamy and is an absolute pleasure to wear on the lips. Unfortunately, it also applies a bit streaky, but that could be down to this particular shade. I was more than a little surprised to see how the shade translates from bullet to the lips. What looked like a soft apricot in the tube applies as an almost neon orange with cool pink undertones.

In practice, that sort of bright, in-your-face colour just doesn't suit me at all. Add to that the streaky application and I just haven't got much use out of this at all.

MUA lipstick in Juicy, in natural light (left) and with flash (right)

Even though I didn't get on with this particular colour, the soft and creamy texture as well as the heavy pigmentation means I'll certainly be trying a few other MUA lipsticks in future.

Review: Yes! Nurse Hand Cream

Me and hand cream have a very difficult relationship. While my hands definitely need a good cream as they're in and out of water quite a bit and always get really dry and cracked in winter, I don't use it anywhere near as much as I should. To me there is nothing worse in the world than that feeling of greasy hands when you can't touch anything because it slips through your fingers and leaves a greasy film on all your possessions. Eurgh!

But how could I resist this little box of prettiness? They say you shouldn't be swayed by packaging, but this adorable box with its gorgeous illustrations totally stole my heart. Just look at it!

But let's get to the actual product at hand (see what I did there? Har har!). It was originally designed for nurses, whose hands suffer a lot from constant washing and disinfecting, but who can't afford to stand around and wave their hands about in the air, waiting for a cream to sink in. Sounds familiar somehow!

And I'm glad to report that this lovely product has almost completely cured my hand cream aversion. I apply this every time I go outside and before the end of the first song on my iPhone, it's already completely sunk in and I can touch anything I want without leaving a slimy snail trail.

At this time of the year my hands are usually so dry that the skin around my knuckles cracks and starts to bleed. Not only doesn't that look particularly pretty, it's also rather painful. But this time I've not only completely dodged that problem, but the skin on my hands actually feels rather soft and lovely. It's only fair to say I'm in love!

Aside from individual tubes of hand cream, Yes! Nurse also offer a subscription service which gets you two tubes of their lovely cream as well as a little extra each month. While that's not something I'd get for myself, I think it's a great gift idea for anyone in your life whose hands might need a little extra TLC.

You can find Yes! Nurse hand cream at £5.49 per tube here. Or click here to sign up to their subscription service.

Sunday Catch-up #14

Christmas decorations packed away for next year // Very late Christmas gift // Work cocktails at Powder Keg

Amazing Drop Dead rings // Snazzy takeaway box // Wearing my lucky Saints socks still didn't help us win

Planning my posts in my gorgeous new diary // Cosy log fire // First Sunday roast I've had in ages!

Motorway Starbucks is a must // It's stretch time!

As if the second week of January has already come to a close... Time really flies!

This Tuesday we had our late Christmas staff party during which I got disgustingly drunk and subsequently had to nurse an out-of-this-world hangover the next day. I also finally received one of my Christmas gifts from Joe - the lovely Marc Jacobs Honey perfume. It was originally delivered to the wrong address several miles away, so by the time we got it it was over two weeks past Christmas.

For the weekend we went to visit Joe's parents in Tenbury. As much as I love London, it was really great to get out into the countryside, let the dogs run around as much as they want, go for long walks and then cosy up in front of the fireplace. I even had my first roast dinner in months (didn't even have one on Christmas Day) - please disregard the ketchup on the table, there was one person at the dinner table who eats ketchup with literally everything, ha!

Back home I had a parcel waiting for me with two sets of ear stretchers which I ordered a few days ago. I've decided I'm going to stretch my ear lobes for a bit, but only up to a size where they fully heal again once you take the plugs out - nobody wants saggy ears for the rest of their life!

How's your week been?

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Fashion: Glasses by Osiris for Specsavers

I've always been a bit of a fan of Osiris and their laid-back, relaxed skater style - particularly their shoes! So when I found out they were expanding into designing glasses for Specsavers, just as I was in the market for a new pair, I jumped at the chance to bag myself a pair!

The range was actually launched last year in autumn and this blog post has been in the making for ages. It's taken me quite some time to pluck up the courage to post pictures of myself in glasses, as I've always felt pretty self-conscious about having to wear them, but at least I've now had the chance to wear them for a bit and put them through their paces before publishing this blog post!

As you'd expect from Osiris if you've ever had a look at their clothes and footwear, the range is a mix of dark and bright colours along with bold shapes. The model I went for is called B42 - a dark purple plastic frame with big, cat-eye like lenses and a pretty leather trim on the side. My last pair was a very thick frame with in-your-face Prada branding, so I like that the brand name is discreetly printed on the inside for a change.

When I first got them, they were a tad tight around my ears, but after about a week of wear the frame set itself comfortably around my ears and they're now sitting nice and snug, but feel almost weightless on. They've survived general wear and tear pretty well so far with no loose screws or wobbly bits and only a couple of minor scratches on the case from banging about in my handbag all day long.

Admittedly, I was a bit unsure at first, as the big, bold lens area is really out of my comfort zone, but I've come to love my new glasses and I'm quite happy to wear them out and about these days, rather than reserving glasses for at-home wear only like I always used to.

You can find the frame I chose on the Specsavers website here.

Do you have to wear glasses? How do you feel about wearing them?