Biotherm Sun Protection

I think a few weeks ago when I tweeted that I don't normally use an SPF on my face, there was gasps across the beauty community. The only thing worse than that, was if I'd announced that I don't take my make-up off before bed every night. Ahem...

Anyhoo, Biotherm quickly gave me a virtual ticking off and whisked some of their deliciously fabulous SPFs for me to try. So, what we have is 2 products that I have been using the past 2 or 3 days. Normally I wouldn't report back so quickly, but the results with an SPF are instant, so why wait!

First up is the Sensitive Skin Sun-Fluid. For someone with both variably oily skin and very prone to freckles, the fact that this protects against brown spots and is non-greasy makes it very attractive to me. The consistency of the fluid is very runny, but it dries in a satiny kind of finish that reminds me of a primer, such as the GOSH one, or Dr Feelgood by Benefit. This has an SPF of 50, which is suitably high for delicate faces. It is also suitable for sensitive skins.

It doesn't leave any visible residue on the skin - you know, like you might get that whitish residue with some body SPFs? Well, there's nothing like that. It sinks in, leaving your skin ready for whatever other products you might want to use.

Next, is the Anti Wrinkle Eye Care.

This has an SPF of 30, slightly less than the face fluid, but still good for delicate eye areas. Again, like the face fluid, it dries to a lovely finish and doesn't flake, peel or leave a residue.

As I eek ever closer to 30, taking better care of my skin now, but also investing in it for the future is becoming more important. Hopefully adding this small step into my routine will help limit any future damage and also protecting my skin from serious problems such as skin cancer. We all know we should be protecting our skin more than we do and I put my hands up to admit I am one of the worst offenders. So, if you are starting to think, like I am, that it's time to start putting in that bit more effort, get your self over to Biotherm UK and check out their range! I'm sure there will be something there for you.

A xx

*Products sent at no cost to myself.

Twelve things from Sky blue sea

My first lovely reader to take part in twelve things is Suze from www.skybluesea.co.uk

Suze says "They sum me up now, and contain things that are family heirlooms, things that remind me of friends, family, things that I wear, and use on a day to day basis. Things that I just can't imagine being without. I have also added my tailors dummy, my husband bought it as a surprise for me over 20 years ago now, and I love her, she is like part of the family!

Thanks so much to Suze for sharing such a beautiful collection.

There is no strict time scale on this, so feel free to mail me any pictures if you have the inclination.

Twelve things

I took these photos over a year ago, for a post that never got written. A post about how we surround ourselves with too many possessions, so many things we don't need, so many things that hold us in one place. Cupboards and boxes full of things I love but have no immediate use for. I was carefully considering, if I could only keep twelve items from my home to start over again, which twelve would I take? I'm talking personal possessions not clothes people pets (they are a given) just the extras.

What do we really need, some good memories, light, a pastime, heirlooms. Things that mean something, things with a past life and a secret story. I think if I chose again this year I would pick the same, with one addition my Moroccan tea pot, because you need a soothing cup of tea wherever you are, no?

Would you be able to narrow it down to just twelve? Take a picture of your 12 most treasured possessions and email it to me, I will post the best ones and send out a pretty parcel to my favourite. Happy Sunday everyone.

Obsession-vintage pink

Always find myself inspired by wedding styling and these shots from a pink vintage wedding over at Once Wed are just so pretty and summery.

All images Juliet Elizabeth.

Hoardings

As you will know I am a great lover of Style.com. All those wonderful fashion collections under one roof. I trawl through images full of colour and dream fabrics, and I save them for future posts. These however got filed without labels or words and I am not 100% on all the designers. So I have gathered them all together for this post. Some coral a little sparkle, some that swish and others that float, nipped in waists, delicate layering. Some subtle and a lot of brights. All my favourite things.

It is another perfect day out but I need to list my life on Ebay to make some much needed space for when we (hopefully) eventually put our house on the market later this year. I will try to make a break and retreat out in to the sunshine for an iced coffee later, I wonder who I can find to join me?


All images style.com.

My Hen Weekend in London Baby!!

In case I hadn't mentioned it (!), I'm getting married in a few weeks and last weekend was my hen do! My girls and I had a fabulous weekend in London; my bridesmaids organised the whole thing and I had no idea what we were up to. Here's just a few snaps of what we got up to!

Friday lunch: ritual humiliation started in Aberdeen airport

Surprise number 1 was a trip to the Absolut Ice Bar in Soho. It was as cold as it looks, I had bare legs and the 'glasses' were actually ice cubes. Fab though!

The bar next to the Ice Bar served some amazing cocktails and patches of lawn before we headed on down to the Living Rooms in Soho where we got to see a breakdance battle

Saturday morning was spent being beautified by Make Up by Katy, looking for greasy food to nurse our hangovers, checking out the elephants and hitting the shops!

Saturday afternoon was a burlesque dance lesson! I was kitted out and we had so much fun! There is a video somewhere of us 'performing' but I wont be putting that up!
Saturday night I was absolutely delighted to find out we were going to Madame JoJo's to see the drag cabaret! We had too many bottles of champagne and I ended up both holding a live snake and singing a bit Valerie with one of the gorgeous queens!

We moved onto a club and the night just got messier from there. We started at 7pm and got back to the hotel at 4.30am after a questionable ride home on a rickshaw bike

Whilst some of the hens recovered on the Sunday in bed, Claire and I hit Carnaby Street and Bond Street and I actually squealed when I realised I'd stumbled upon the Mac Pro store and the Pixi shop! I also made a couple of purchases in Vivienne Westwood.

Sunday afternoon and whilst we tried to hide our eye bags and stale beer breath, we reinvented ourselves as ladies and hit the Dorchester on Park Lane for High Tea! OMG it was amazing! I am 'gluten free' so didn't expect to be able to have much, but they had such a fab selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones that were suitable! The strong tea, plush surroundings and amazing service restored us back to our normal selves!

Dinner on Sunday evening at The Criterion at Picadilly Circus topped off a brilliant weekend, listening to live jazz and eating some gorgeous food.

Monday morning before our flight at 2pm, we took a trip to the London Eye which was awesome and had a dawdle back up through central London, taking in the sights. As we rushed back to our hotel for checkout, we took one last trip down past the lane where Pineapple Dance Studios is located, just round the corner from our hotel and look who we bumped in to!!

Loooooeeeeeee!!

I had the best time and couldn't have asked for more. Can't wait to come back in July!

Blink+Go Lashes and Pure Spa

If you read regularly, you've probably noticed that I rarely feature negative stories. If I don't like something, I 't write about it. But I was so unhappy last week, I felt I had no choice but I'm not quite sure if I'm unhappy with the lashes, the service or both. Let me explain...

My hen weekend was 11th-14th June and on the Saturday morning I was also going to have my bridal make up trial with the lovely Make Up by Katy. As I knew eyelash extensions were likely to be going down on my spreadsheet as a 'miscellaneous wedding essential', I figured I would have a trial run in time for my makeup trial, also meaning I could enjoy not having to worry about mascara all weekend and having fabulous, long lovely lashes whilst I was living it up in London.

Pure Spa opened a salon in Aberdeen a couple of months ago and as the city is hardly awash with masses of quality salons, I decided to give it a go. Checking out their website, I phoned and made a 90 minute appointment for their 8 week lashes, costing £80. So on the Wednesday, I trotted down at 4pm, giddy with excitement over how these lashes were going to transform me!

As I was taken in, the therapist actually advised that I take the 'Blink+Go' 2 week lashes in case I didn't like them. They are apparently a new style of semi-permanent lash and they had an offer meaning I could try them for £30. Considering I had my credit card at the ready to hand over £80 and hadn't asked about other options, I thought this was a bit odd, but happy to save £50 I agreed.

25 minutes later they were done. Unfortunately I can't show you any pictures of how fabulous they looked because by 4 hours later, almost all of the ones on my left eye had fallen off. By 6am the next morning, my left eye was completely devoid of any enhancement. Bah. I am really annoyed by this point as I had taken Thursday off work to get ready for London on the Friday and didn't really have time to go back to the salon. But I gave them a call and they asked for me to go back in and get the left eye sorted. Once again, I set off for the salon, but this time the therapist didn't even turn up! They had someone else eventually take me through, 25 minutes later who had clearly just been for a cigarette. For as nice as she was, I was gagging at the smell coming off her fingers as they fluttered precariously above my delicate eyes. Urgh.

2pm on Thursday, all lashes reinstated at no cost to myself. By 5pm, the left eye was once again bald. Deciding not to let it piss me off too much before the big weekend, I dug out my own Eyelure 4 week individual lashes and did the left eye myself. Et Voila. By the Sunday morning, the Eyelure lashes were still stuck fast and all my 'salon' ones on the right eye had made their inevitable bid for freedom.

I am so so disappointed with both the quality of the product and the service I received. I can't say I'd be willing to pay for Blink+Go elsewhere and risk the same thing happening and I certainly wont be returning to Pure Spa for a fag smoke facial.

I shall be getting extensions done for the wedding, but will elsewhere in the city for them. What a disaster!!

The Homemade Home.

The Homemade Home by Sania Pell. I love this book, bursting with gorgeous pictures, styling and fifty pretty projects that add a bit of extra flair to everyday life. Most of which can be made with things you would find laying about the house like fabric scraps, broken jewellery, tired furniture or old jam jars. A perfect way to brighten up a dull corner and make the most of rainy weekend mornings.

I have been saving some liberty lawn cotton for ages and decided to finally tear it up. The first project from the book that I tried was these fabric covered coat hangers, I have loads of plain old hangers from my high street shopping addiction that are looking rather sad, so now all of my dresses are going to get the royal treatment. I didn't have wire hangers but these ones ended up showing more of the fabric and I am super pleased with them, I will post a photo of them all together next time.

All watermarked images by photographer Penny Wincer for The Homemade Home available from publisher CICO Books

If the good weather fails to last and you get driven back indoors what will you be making this week? I would love it if you were to post some links and share. Happy midweek.

Lisa Stickley's tea time crockery

Happy weekend to you, I have had a lovely day out with my sister. Eaten way too much, spent a little too much. But I arrived home to find my inbox full of fun things. Some just for me and some to share, like this.

I have been a fan of Lisa Stickley for years now, I love her nostalgic memory inducing designs, I once got a cushion cover from her stand at one of the home shows when she was just starting out, and seeing the photos now I realise that is was Lisa herself who helped me choose a design that day.

Her newest collaboration is with Debenhams and Lisa is launching a beautiful collection that will include printed bed linen, kitchen storage, tea time crockery, table linen and kitchen textiles as well as decorative accessories. If only my buckling kitchen shelves could take another cake stand.
Recently I was lucky enough to steal some of her time and Lisa answered these questions for me. I hope you find her answers inspiring.


Who or what are you creative influences?

I am very much a magpie and constantly collect bit and pieces from all over the place. I have always been drawn to the more utilitarian times of the 1940’s and the colour and way of life from the 50’s. I have always been a passionate admirer of the artist cy twombly and the wonderfully poetic nature of his paintings. also I am an avid collector of david shrigley. I love the way that he sees the world and his topsy turvy, idiosyncratically intellectual work.

What has been one of your favourite collaborations or design opportunities?

I have particularly enjoyed my collections for the last 10 seasons for Ships in Japan. this is an ongoing collaboration and is great especially when we get to go and visit Tokyo and enjoy the karaoke culture!

Across the pond (and in their new stores in London town) I have embraced the concept of the frilly pinny, and along side other kitchen product I have pulled together a kitchen collection for Anthropolgie.

Was it difficult to manage your own range whilst working with such a big high street department store such as Debenhams?

It is always a good test to manage time well and even harder to switch off at the end of each day. I often have as many projects on the go at any one time along side working on my own ranges and of late working hard on the PR side of things. I seem to have interviews coming in from all directions at the moment, which is fantastic if not a little exhausting! I very much enjoy being busy though and have a great team working with me who all help in keeping things running smoothly and look after me very well.

It seems as though a good dose of nostaligia goes into the mix when you are designing your collections, would you share one of your fondest childhood memories?

It would have to be repeatedly watching the sound of music with my best friend Jo often dressed up as rabbits with tights on our heads!


I fondly remember a notes and doodles page like a mini blog that was sent out via e-mail will you continue to write this.

Yes! we send out regular updates of the goings on at lisa stickley hq to everyone who is on our mailing list and notes and doodles is a favourite page of mine, although we are moving more hi tec (!) too, and will be blogging more and more often in the near future.

What is you favourite sunday outfit?

If I am lucky my pyjamas with a cup of tea and the sunday papers. if I am very lucky and the weather is good a bikini and beach towel on the common or on the beach in kent! sunday should be time to relax.

Tell me more about the most treasured item in your house.

This is tricky as most of the items/ pieces in my home are important to me one way or another as I do tend to surround myself with things I love. people always come before objects though so a big Sunday roast with friends and family around the table makes me very happy. my goldfish Ingrid and Marmaduke sit quite high on the treasured list!

I dream of running my own business, what are the key elements to managing your own time? do you let work and social time overlap?

Hmm, social life is very rare at the moment and I am working hard to find a good balance (its difficult to stop when you love what you do). running a business does take an enormous amount of energy, focus and determination and I am very lucky to have extremely supportive friends and family around me. time off is very important but often very much a luxury, although fully taken advantage of when it happens!



Thank you Lisa.

All images from the Lisa Stickley range for Debenhams.

Bed time stories

Delicate frothy pieces of barely there Christian Dior fabric, just right for layering up with heavy knits. No need to leave the house just grab a favourite old book, a champagne saucer full of milk and take yourself off to a cosy corner.

All images Style.com

Happy Father's Day!

How many of you have remembered Father's Day? 20th June?

Well, worry not as there are still a few days left to get yourself to the shops and pick up something special for your dad.

Mine will be receiving a bottle of Boss Bottled* at the weekend**, along with the usual box of Thorntons Special Toffee. He hasn't tried this one yet, but I hope he likes it! A classic warm fruity scent, it should be perfect for my laid-back Pop.
Boss Bottled (and other Boss scents) is widely available from around £23 for 30mls.

* I received my bottle free of charge.

** When I say weekend, I mean next time I see him... He's very understanding!

Cutting and sticking

How is everyone? I had a lovely weekend, managed to resist the call of the bottle as all my friends went out to watch the first England game at a bar, I stayed in and watched silly movies and ate fish and chips with a fellow world cup disowner. Sunday was spent drinking homemade smoothies, eating peanut butter smothered muffins, and adding a few items to my clothes line of inspiration in the kitchen. A little too much TV, but with no garden or the will to attempt the short walk to the beach, home we stayed. More football ensued.

The world cup is taking over here indoors too so I have been using the time to form orderly volumes of beauty, cutting and sticking all the recipes and interior image scraps the are in piles all over the house, driving my husband up the wall. But disaster has struck and I have run out of double sided tape. This would never have happened on Blue Peter. Maybe I can get some delivered with my groceries?

I hope this weekend saw you pick up where you left off on creative projects and you didn't waste too many hours with television like me, we need to make the most of balmy light evenings and early sunrise wake up calls, don't you think?

Dashing home

Vases, jars and bottles filled with jolly flowers. My colourful table top garden including the last of the lilacs. We had beautiful weather this weekend, I hope you did too.
I went to see SATC with two of my friends and then to a bar for a couple of drinks. With the backdrop of cloud splitting lightening flashes and distant rumbling thunder I dashed home trying to stay under cover from the torrential rain. I have to admit I'm an admirer of dramatic weather.
Sunday was unexpectedly sunny so I dragged the husband out of bed and for a walk (he had a few more drinks than me), gathering local cheeses and fresh bread for lunch and a stack of vintage tea plates for my next tea party.

BBB is AWOL!

Hi peeps

Just to say I haven't fallen off the earth or anything, just had a busy week! On Friday I am off on my Hen Do and lots of weddingy things have all come at once, so just haven't had time to write any posts.

But lots are waiting in the wings so normal service should be resuming soon!!

A xx

Pictures and pastimes

Things to look at, things to send and things to get you started on a new project.

Shop update.