2016 is well & truly here

Well I'm very late with this but Happy New Year! 

I had an amazing 2 whole weeks off work over Christmas and really switched off. I went back home to Manchester and spent quality time with my friends and family and had so.much.fun. I'm starting to really miss home, what an almost 2yr old nephew and 3 pregnant friends it's been a tug on the heart strings to come back to London but more about that in another blog post! 

I didn't check the blogging world at all but it's been REALLY hard to get back into my usual work routine but now I've made a list of blog posts for the next month I'm ready to start enjoying my blog again and have some goals for 2016. 

So New Year, it's a funny old time. I've always liked NYE, you get to get dressed up, party with friends or family, toast to a new year and make lots of resolutions you probably won't keep. But, as I've got older, it's not the big deal I thought it once was. London is expensive, the fireworks are amazing but once you've been stuck in the middle of crowds at 2am trying to get on a tube/train you'll never want to attempt it again. Everyone lives so far away - gone are the days of a house party unless you fancy a jaunt to zone 6 where your friend lives and maybe/definitely sleeping on the floor. 

Since I've moved to London with Adam, we've never had NYE together as he used to work in a pub and always ended up working  (all about the dollar), so this year we decided to keep it casual and go to the local pub. Only I hadn't thought ahead, even 3 weeks before the night everywhere was booked up. Thankfully we managed to get one of the last tables at a nice pub in Blackheath, we'd eat, drink and get home in time for the fireworks. 

But....I ended up winning tickets to the Sky Garden thanks to View London! Thank goodness I checked my work emails from home, there was the email saying I'd won a competition and to just rock up at 9.30pm. A live band, free champagne and view of the fireworks, YES PLEASE! I rarely win things but have had a lucky streak recently (shame I didn't win that huge lotto jackpot this weekend!).Huge huge thank you to View London for this amazing NYE and also ASOS for the most gorgeous dress I've ever worn!  

It was so beautiful, the cocktails were incredible, staff were lovely, the view amazing, and the band really made the night. At £150 a ticket I'd never splash out for New Years Eve but it was really special and something I won't forget. If you're in London I'd recommend a visit, they are open all day so you can grab a bite to eat and see London in style. 

Hope you had a fabulous new year whatever you got up to! 

Winter Skin Saviour

You wouldn't know it was December today with the spring-like temperatures but boy does the up and down of hot to cold play havoc with my skin this time of year. Thankfully the lovely people at Nutricentre got in touch to ask if I'd like to review one of their beauty items. Nutiricentre specialise in American imports of health items you can't always get elsewhere in the UK alongside staples for a healthier lifestyle and practitioner advice. I plucked for their Jason Natural Vitamin E Oil from Nutricentre.com £9.89

 I won't lie, I don't really know what the numbers and letters stand for but I presume it's the concentration of the oil in the same way you can get stronger vitamin tablets! Vitamin E is well known to help combat anything from sun damage to dryness and the great thing with this oil is it can be mixed into your daily moisturiser and used on your body & face.

I've been using this for a good two weeks now mixed into my usual body lotion and face moisturiser and it's so lovely and light but I've really noticed my skin has felt moisturised for longer. I'm prone to small patches of eczema in the winter and popping on some concentrated oil and massaging in has really helped to ease it.

If you have any magic winter skin tips let me know as it can't be 15 degrees in December forever!

Product of the Month - This Works Sleep Range

Sleep is a big deal for me. I've been working 7 days a week at the moment so getting a rested nights sleep has never been more important! In London, living on a busy road I have no trouble drifting off but waking up numerous times in the night is a problem. Heading home to Manchester I sleep through the night as I have lovely quiet dark room so any help to get close to this blissful nights sleep is always welcome!

Cue This Works and their absolutely amazing Sleep range. The aim of their range is promote a good nights sleep and with lavender, eucalyptus and a hole host of other natural oils, I'm already addicted.  I've tried their This Works Sleep Stress Less £12 and Sleep Plus Pillow Spray £16. Stress Less is a roller-ball of oils you can pop onto pulse points, the spray is exactly what it says, a pillow spray. The strap was a samples size but I'll definitely be investing in a full size (even Adam loved it's soothing scent). It really helped me and Adam dift off quicker and although I still wake up in the night, I'm finding it easier to drift back off to sleep. I have the bath and show products on my wishlist for the perfect relaxing end to the night. 

I'm pretty strict with my bedtime routine (because I know how crabby I am if I don't have enough and 6am starts are no fun on a few measly hours!)

My tips for a good night's sleep

1. Don't eat or drink too late. I try to eat before 7.30 if possible so I give my body time to digest and relax.

2. Before bed, set some time aside to organise anything you might need for the next day. I set up my workout gear for the morning (I can hardly function at 6am so this helps a lot!), decide on my clothes for the next day and write any 'to do' lists for the next day. This way you won't have any small jobs niggling on your mind. 

3. Leave your phone in another room. I turn my phone off and leave it in the living room so I'm not tempted to sit and scroll through Instagram or check emails etc. 

4. Treat bedtime prep as a bit of you time. I like to moisturise my hands and feet, pop some cuticle oil on, add a slick of Elizabeth Arden 8hr cream to my lips and roll on my This Works oil. I know, glam it is not but you'll feel so much better for it in the morning! 

5. Read - I'm guilty of not giving myself time to do this. I love reading but most of time time I'll get trough a couple of pages and already be nodding off. 

6. If you're anything like me and need a nice dark room to be able to drift off in, invest in some blackout curtains or even a eye mask. 

Marble Mac Cover & Clock

Marble Mac laptop cover from the wonderful eBay! 

Marble is everywhere. Pop over to Pinterest and you’ll see what I mean, I’ve well and truly immersed myself in this trend (along with everything copper).

Adam isn't so keen on the copper theme – especially my tray from h&m which he thinks looks like small baking tray. Yep.

I've seen this Macbook cover over on so many blogs from the US or Etsy but the shopping was £££. Knowing me I needed to find a cheaper alternative! Step in eBay and a few week wait for delivery from China and boom. Mac transformed!

Also whilst we’re talking marble I've actually just ordered this gorgeous solid marble clock from Next at a bargain busting £12!! I've seen similar clocks on Made.com and it's a great copy for this Amara clock at over £200! 

Happy shopping! 

Jo Malone

Jo Malone to me just screams sophistication. Everything from the elegant stores, the stunning scents, to the way they box every item with such care, it's pure luxury to me. I've never had a perfume before however I did get a candle for Christmas a few years ago which was so beautiful I didn't want to light it! 

I had a mini break in Bath recently and popped into Jo Malone to test some scents to pop on my Christmas wish list. The staff were so attentive but not overbearing, after explaining what I liked and testing a few samples I decided I was in love with Peony & Suede Blush. This is a romantic floral scent. which is strong (as you'd expect from Jo Malone), but not overpowering. The assistant asked if I had 15 minutes for a complimentary hand massage and as we weren't rushing anywhere I said a big fat yes. 

Adam reclined in the man chair and I was poured flavoured water, my jewellery was placed in a little black fabric pouch and I had an amazing massage. I was told that the Earl Grey scent really compliments the Peony so I had my hands are arms washed in the Peony Shower oil which was so silky soft and had  scent that really stuck which I'm not used to with shower or body oils. I was then moisturised with the Peony & Blush body crème and spritzed with the Earl Grey perfume. The layering created something I've never experienced before, I couldn't stop smelling my arms and hands for hours afterwards!   

Jo Malone has a large range covering all types of scent from floral to citrus to woody so there's really something for everyone, Yes it's expensive but the quality you're getting is worth every penny. If you pass by a Jo Malone and haven't been in, I'd suggest popping in and trying out some scents (and getting a mini massage too!), you won't leave empty handed! 

Stylist Live Event

Stylist Magazine has made many a commute more manageable and I was lucky enough to get free tickets to their recent Stylist Live event in London last weekend! The event promised champagne, stalls galore with discounts, tasters, free styling, fashion shows, inspirational talks and just a whole load of fun and I wasn't disappointed.

Accompanied by my gorgeous friend Ruthie, we headed to Angel on Sunday ready to experience some serious style. We were greeted with branded tote bags and a glass of fizz which went down surprisingly well for 11am! After a quick photo or two we went to check out the catwalk presented by Edith Bowman.  It had a handy info card with all of the labels included in each segment of the show which contained a great mix of brands set to some kick ass tunes meant we had a fun 45 minutes and drooled over a lot of items.  

12pm and the main space was super busy but we managed a cheeky photbooth snap, picked up some great samples from Lindt and Green and Blacks and found our other favourite stands. Aveda, GHD and Rush were offering hair styling for free along with Nars and Clarins offering make up help and discounted treatments. Unfortunately for us the queues were over an hour or waiting lists were fully booked but who was I kidding - my hair is so short there's next to nothing can be done with it!  

We still managed to do some of our own testing on the Nars counter where I fell in love with this bright pink lipstick named Fanny £24 and Ruthie was coveting their perfect nude Brigitte lipstick. Both have now gone onto my Christmas wish list.

We dined on a healthy lunch of salad and smoothies (only because the Mac & Cheese stand was heaving), listened to the fantastic Katie Piper give a talk on inspirational woman, purchased a couple of presents from the This Works sleep range, which is amazing by the way, and headed on home.

It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday and hopefully there'll be many more of these types of event in the future!