Weekend Wishlist

1. Petite Lace Peplum Top, £28, Topshop

2. Shopper, £39.99, Zara

3. Petite Mink Peplum Top, £26, Miss Selfridge

4.  Applique Messenger Bag, £79.99, Zara

5. Striped Leigh Jeans, £40, Topshop

6. Studded Leopard Vectras, £28, Topshop

7. Nails in Pinch Punch by Louise Gray, £6.50, Topshop

8. Studded Ankle Boots, £89.99, Zara

(Click on the linked shop names and you will go directly to the page for each specific item)

I'm all about the accessories this week, and after a mini-spree in Zara yesterday, there are several beautiful items I couldn't help but add to my Wishlist. I find Zara to be a bit hit and miss in terms of clothes - sometimes they have some amazing iconic pieces in, and other times there is nothing much that catches my eye, but the sections that always reel me in without fail are the shoes and accessories. I can't say I am overly thrilled by their prices in these areas though - at £79.99 for the Applique Messenger bag, this is one item that'll be staying firmly on my wishlist. My favourite find of the week though, is undoubtedly the gorgeous studded ankle boots, and I am going to struggle not to treat myself to those.
I'm really excited about the Louise Gray/Topshop collaboration, and would happily go home with all the nail polishes in the range. She has also done some other lovely cosmetic bits and bobs and several statement items of clothing, so if you haven't checked those out yet then get on over to the Topshop site and have a little look before they sell out.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend so far!

xx

Desire of the Day #7: Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector

My regular readers will know that for the past couple of months, I have been suffering from frustrating dark circles under my eyes (if you don't then you can read about my struggle and my quest for a solution here and here). I don't know what's causing them, as I eat very healthily (other than when tempted by cake), drink absolute gallons of green tea and water, and get some exercise several times a week. I am also being sure to get enough sleep, and haven't  been going out or drinking either, as I am at a point where I fancy a break - you do eventually get a bit fed up with hangovers after many years of them! I now haven't had one since the end of March, and I must admit, it feels pretty good, although that's not to say I have become permanently teetotal - I'll still enjoy a good girls' night out from time to time.

Anyway, went off on a bit of a tangent there, but never mind - I do enjoy a bit of mindless chitchat about irrelevant things at times!

The point is, nothing I have endeavoured to find myself an amazing product that would combat my dark circles and mild morning puffiness, and I have to say, I've failed miserably. Or rather, the products I've tried have. Concealer doesn't cover them, and eye creams don't cut it.

Enter, Clinique Even Better Eyes Dark Circle Corrector.

" NEW Even Better Eyes has the power to brighten the appearance of the entire eye area. Plumping hydration makes thin eye-area skin appear less transparent, and the cooling massage tip refreshes tired looking eyes. Optics instantly brighten all skins, fair to deep".

Now, I am not expecting miracles. I have tried a little sample pot of the Clinique Even Better Eyes cream, and I'm not sure that it had much of an effect. It's hard to tell really, as I find that the darkness and puffiness I experience beneath my eyes does tend to subside a little bit after a couple of hours of being awake awake anyway. However, I do really enjoy Clinique as a brand, and I am intrigued by the cooling massage tip. Add that to my desperation to find a solution that works for me, and I am all over this product.

Clinique Even Better Eyes is available for £28 (eeeek - bit off-putting!) from the Clinique website, which you can find here.

Do you have any fail-safe dark circle solutions? If so, PLEASE let me know in the comments below! I will be eternally grateful.

xx

Thank you...

I have been nominated for this award by three lovely bloggers in the past couple of weeks, so I thought it was about time I popped up a post and said a great big thank you to Jen over at It's a Blonde's Life, Clare from A Bit of This and That and Zoe of My Wondrous Marvellous Obsession, who are all lovely, lovely ladies. I very much enjoy reading all three of their blogs, so do pop over and have a nose as soon as you get the chance.

Thank you very much for the nominations, my lovelies.

The Rules

1. Tell everyone 11 facts about you

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the person who nominated you

3. Tag 11 blogs that you love

4. Write 11 questions for your nominees

Now, as I have been nominated by three people, I'm going to bend the rules a bit and not write my 11 facts, as I think it's more important that I answer the 11 questions each of the girls have taken the time to write. Actually, Clare didn't ask any questions, so it'll just be 22.

Jen's Questions

1. What is your favourite makeup brand?

Loads, but I'm currently loving Revlon, as they have been coming up trumps on everything lately.

2. Boots or Superdrug?

Boots

3. What is your dream job?

Fashion and beauty or travel journalist.

4. River Island or New Look?

I can't choose. New Look for a bargain, River Island for more of a treat.

5. What's your favourite animal?

Probably a horse.

6. Who is your favourite singer/band at the moment?

So tough. MGMT and the Strokes. And Calvin Harris' stuff.

7. What has been your favourite holiday location so far?

Arraial d'ajuda in Brazil.

8. Mascara or eyeliner?

Sorry, can't live without either.

9. What kind of car do you have or which one would you like to have?

The hubby and I have a Mitsubishi Pajero but I hate it as it keeps costing us lots of money! Dream car is a vintage Porsche.

10. Which country would you most like to visit?

So many. Cuba, Belize, Malaysia....basically everywhere.

11. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I would love to be working as a journalist and travelling at every opportunity. And I would really like to be living close to my family and friends again! I think where I see myself just comes down to however I am happy.

Zoe's Questions:

1. What phone do you currently have?

Samsung Galaxy

2. Why did you start your blog?

I have always loved writing, fashion and beauty, so it made sense really. Plus I am currently living a long way away from my family and friends, so it helps to fill that void.

3. Do you have any pets?

Yes.

4. If so, what are they?

A dog called Scout and a cat called Tosh. They are best friends and do everything together, so funny.

5. Favourite nail polish colour for the summer:

It changes on a daily basis, but I'm currently lusting after Nails Inc Sweets Way.

6. Are you a texter or a caller?

Both!

7. What did you last see at the cinema?

Haven't been for ages! Think it was Black Swan.

8. What is your favourite thing to cook?

I love baking, and I make a pretty good Chilli, but to be honest what I most enjoy is creating new dishes. I like almost every food out there, so I love trying new things.

9. Favourite TV show to watch?

Difficult. Skins, The Apprentice, Made in Chelsea and Waterloo Road.

10. Skirt or shorts in summer?

Shorts, I think. I own loads, but I do love a good maxi skirt too.

11. What do you think of blog awards?

I think they're a lovely way to share the blogger love! :)

I nominate all of my beautiful readers for this award, particularly those who have not yet received one, so if you want to take it for yourselves then do go ahead!

My Questions:

1. What is your biggest fear?

2. What is your favourite high street store?

3. Your favourite little-known fashion/beauty website (not counting blogs)

4. The blog you have most enjoyed reading this week?

5.  An embarrassing moment you've had?

6. Your favourite skincare product(s)?

7. Something that really annoys you?

8. Your favourite food?

9. The country you most want to visit?

10. Your current favourite item of clothing?

11. Your biggest current beauty saviour.

Do leave me a comment in the box below if you decide to  do this post, as I would very much enjoy having a read of it!

xx

What I wore Today: Printed Jeans

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned how very much in love I was with my Topshop Baroque print jeans. I had originally missed out on them in store, as they never had them in in my size, but I was lucky enough to pick up these babies off Ebay and was pleased to bits. I wear Petite jeans, so it can be a bit of a pickle trying to find ones to fit me, and most shops only usually bother doing the plain, basic jeans in shorter lengths, so these really were an exciting find for me.

I actually took this photograph for the lovely Lisa over at Topaz and May, to appear in her 'Any Size' post, which you can find here (I'm looking a bit squinty because of the sun in my eyes, but go and check out Lisa's post to see how lovely everyone looks in their prints). I wore this outfit on Friday for a bit of a chilled day with the hubby (I don't work on Fridays!), so I wasn't going anywhere special, but I was pretty happy with it, as it can be a bit of a mission to find things which look good with printed jeans, and until then I had been teaming them with a white lace top and a bleached denim jacket, which I also really like, but I wanted a new way to wear them.

Jeans: Topshop

Belt: Topshop (free with a skirt)

Jumper: Ebay

Spike Necklace: Ebay

Bracelet: Miss Selfridge

Headband: Primark

Sandals: Bought in Brazil

Do you have any printed or bright-coloured jeans?

How do you wear them?

xx

Mini Skincare Haul: Herbalife/Nourifusion

Just a quick post to show you the new Skincare bits I've picked up this week. I will be writing full reviews of them in due course, but for now just a sneak peek for you.

I have been looking for a good new anti-aging day cream, as well as a night one. I am not exactly drawing my pension just yet, but as they say, prevention is better than cure, and I am starting to worry that I really should have started this a bit earlier! Anyway, I decided to try out the Skin Activator from Herbalife, which is a brand I have never tried skincare from before, but have read great reviews about. The Skin Activator is a daily replenishing cream, so since I got it, I have been applying it in the mornings before my makeup.

The second thing I purchased was, surprise surprise, a face mask. Most  of you will have noticed that I have been going a bit mad for facemasks recently, and I have been trying out countless homemade versions over the past few weeks. But what I really wanted was a clay mask, as my T-zone has become a little bit oily and I've suddenly started getting the odd blemish. In the end, I decided to go for the Nourifusion Multivitamin Clarifying Mask, which contains orange and eucalyptus oil and witch hazel. It claims to deep-cleanse the pores, removing impurities and excess oil, which sounded like just what I need. I have already used this mask once, but I want to try it out a few more times before I spill the beans and share my thoughts.

Have you bought any new skincare products recently?

xx

Baking: Banana Bread

source

At the weekend, I finally got round to doing some baking, so I thought I'd share this simple recipe for Banana Bread with you. It's a great way to use up any left over or over-ripe bananas that you might have hanging around your kitchen, is super fast and easy, and it is literally the perfect partner for a nice cup of tea.

For those of you who are not familiar with banana bread, in spite of the name, it's really more of a cake.

The recipe I used was not one which uses traditional British measures, quite simply because I didn't have any scales or a measuring jug to hand, so I just measured out my ingredients using a tea mug. Usually, you would use a smaller cup, but I wanted to make a slightly bigger cake, and I've always had great success making 'guesstimate' cakes before!

Ingredients:

4 small ripe bananas

1/3 cup of unsalted butter (I used margarine)

3/4 cup of demerara sugar

1 1/2 cups of self raising flour

1 egg, beaten

Method:

1. Pop your butter into a pan to melt, and while you're waiting, peel and mash the bananas using a fork.

2. Pour the melted butter and bananas into a large mixing bowl and combine until smooth.

3. Stir in your beaten egg and your sugar.

4. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, sift in the flour and then fold it in using a metal spoon. Remember, you want to put air into the mixture, so don't stir it around and around - this will have the opposite effect.

5. Grease the baking tray with a little margerine or butter, pour in your mixture and pop it in the oven for 15-20mins at 180.

6. Remove from the oven, cut into slices and settle down on the sofa with a large chunk and a big cup of tea.        Enjoy!

Not the best photos as I took them on my phone in artificial light, but hopefully you can get the idea of how scrummy this was anyway!

This was a bit of a different post from me, so I hope you enjoyed it. Let's face it, we all love cake, so I'm assuming it'll be most people's cup of tea.....oh dear, do excuse the pun!

Have you done any baking recently? What did you make?

xx

Week in Pictures

Custard Apple - Outfit - Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies - New necklace - My dog wearing a hoodie - Nails - Baking Banana Bread - Stirfry for dinner last night - Being an organised blogger

I've had a pretty good this week. Of course, I have mostly been at work, but I have been going running in the park every morning, and am actually really enjoying it. I am finding that it really makes a difference if I just get up and go straight away, as I seem to be much more motivated to do it. Until now, I have always left exercise to the afternoons, and more often than not, after lunch I can't be bothered! I'm definitely going to stick to the new routine, as getting it out of the way first thing means I am free to relax for the rest of the day at the weekends.

I FINALLY got round to doing some baking. After putting it on my 'To Do' list two months in a row and failing to get around to it, I didn't bother planning to do it in August, and typically, this is the time I actually do it! We had a few bananas that needed using up, so I decided to bake some banana bread, and it was delicious - the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea. My hubby had never tried it before, and he loved it, so I am inspired to get back into baking more regularly now - maybe a couple of times per month, as I don't want to go overboard!

On Thursday, we felt like treating ourselves, as I had had a busy day at work and it's one off the only two evenings we get to spend together each week, so we popped to Subway after I finished work for some Subs and some Raspberry Cheesecake cookies - the best flavour ever created, in my opinion. Yum. After that, we just chilled out at home and watched some films. I honestly cannot understand why 'Winter's Bones' was nominated for so many Oscars - it was rubbish!

Today is going to consist of yet more chilling - maybe some sunbathing in the garden, a nice lunch and coffee out and, of course, some blogging.

Hope you've all enjoyed your weekend.

xx