Category Archives: brands I love

Gift Inspiration: Hello Harriet

26th November 2016
Today’s gifting inspiration post is one that combines some of my very favourite things- accessories, supporting a small business and CATS! I you’ve all been wondering when a purely cat themed gift guide would crop up…well, it’s here and it’s a good one!
Hello Harriet belongs to artist Harriet Gray and was set up in 2012 mainly as an excuse to create cute accessories for herself! Harriet’s products are inspired by the internet, half hearted feelings and all things cute- something I can really get behind! I first found Hello Harriet via Instagram, wonderful platform that it is for enabling endless wish lists and my interest peaked further when I found out it was also a fairly local brand to me (all of Harriet’s work comes direct from her home studio in Bath). Actually, after writing this post I’ve since popped along to a Bristol Etsy sellers pop-up shop where Hello Harriet products were for sale. I can confirm they are every bit as covetable in real life and I couldn’t resist a cheeky purchase of a rather sweet cat pin.

I’ve popped together just a small selection of some of my favourite wares in the image above (and they all feature cats, of course) but even if felines aren’t your thing then be sure to check out her shop for cuteness and sass galore!

A couple of my favourite products from Hello Harriet have to be the advent calendar (although you must order it this weekend to get it in time for December 1st) and the super quirky cat collar tags and matching necklaces. I’ve asked Santa for a necklace for myself and I did briefly consider getting a tag for Mae until she lost her second collar in the space of a fortnight, complete with tags and I realised she just couldn’t be trusted with something so cool!

Price wise you’ll find everything very purse friendly and the temporary tattoos and nail decals especially would make amazing stocking fillers for any cat lady (dog ladies too for that matter).

I strongly suggest dropping some serious hints by leaving laptop screens open on the Hello Harriet shop, I don’t think there’s anything on the site that I wouldn’t be delighted to receive and I know I won’t be the only one who feels that way…

Which items have caught your eye?

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Posted in brands I love, cats, christmas, gifts, inspiration, shopping

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Sparkle Season with Rare Pink*

23rd November 2016
One of my favourite things about the festive season is that it becomes universally acceptable to wear a serious amount of sparkle from dawn to dusk. From glittery eyeliner and sequin skirts right through to upping your bling game and sporting some serious stones, people everywhere suddenly start to embrace their inner magpies determined to have some fun before the doom and gloom of January envelops us.

Today I’m bringing you a wish list from Rare Pink a London based jewellers that specialises in bespoke rings and wedding bands. In 2014 they were awarded “Best New Jeweller of the Year” by the British Jewellers Association so whether you are planning to pop the question over the festive period, hope to land a ring on your finger, or like me just fancy a browse (and dream) of something utterly gorgeous then rest assured you’re in safe hands.

This collage is just a teeny tiny selection of some of my favourite pieces by Rare Pink, the website provides some serious jewellery porn! You can browse through a range of classic rings or go down the bespoke route where the team will work with you to create your perfect piece.

What I really like about Rare Pink is their ethics. They operate a zero tolerance policy towards conflict diamonds and all of their stones and metals come only from sources that meet strict human rights, social and environmental criteria.

Obviously I’m now further away than ever from settling down to plan a wedding but should someone ever decide they’d like to make a wife of me I know I’ll be leaving this website open, dropping some not so subtle hints!

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Posted in brands I love, fashion, gifts, inspiration, jewellery, wish list

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Ground Control to Major Dave- grab 15% off of your Wedgie order now!

17th November 2016
It’s the season of giving and this evening I’m re-visiting one of my first gift guides of the year and reminding you all how awesome Meet the Wedgies are.

I was beyond excited when I saw the news of a new character launching on the Wedgie site…yep, my musical hero David Bowie has inspired a door stop (didn’t see that one coming eh?!)

Introducing Major Dave! I cannot wait for him to come and live with me! I can’t get over the little biographies that come with each Wedgie character, Major Dave is described as follows…

“Meet Major Dave (seen here wearing his 1st outfit): Recently picked for the preliminary stages of a T.V talent contest, Dave has decided to take his cover act career full time. With a pocket full of protein pills and his helmet on, he’s hitting the road. Oh, but hang on a minute, what about his doorstop duties, errm … “ground control to Major Dave?” #ziggystardust.”

As I mentioned in my original post about Wedgie these really do make for the most fantastic, and unique Christmas gifts for those hard to buy for people in your life and if you’re looking to make a purchase then now is the perfect time to do it! Between NOW and the end of this month you can get 15% off of your Wedgie purchase when you use my code DREAMWEDGIE at the checkout!

Are there any characters that you’d like to see captured in Wedgie form? Leave your ideas below and let me know who you’re bringing home for Christmas…

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Posted in brands I love, christmas, gifts, shopping

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The Only 1 Matte Lipstick from Rimmel

15th November 2016
Rimmel was one of the first makeup brands I ever used and one that I have remained faithful to over the years- I can’t get enough of their products, especially the foundation and mascaras so when a rather snazzy envelope full of lipsticks from them landed at my door I couldn’t contain my excitement!

Inside the package was all nine shades of their brand new “The Only 1 Matte” lipstick*

These are a new generation of matte lipsticks- a bold matte colour that slides on like a dream (it really does!) and has a non-drying formula (also a true claim). The colours are super high coverage with full on colour even in the nude shades, it lasts for hours and hours too which is perfect for someone like me who forgets to take her lipstick out with her on a regular basis.

In the name of blogging I decided to test out each lipstick and post a selfie on social media, partly to show just how awesome these are and partly to help myself decide on a favourite. I’ll say now that I really didn’t expect to love every single one of the shades, there are usually one or two in any given collection that just don’t work for me but as I worked my way through the nine shades here I realised that actually I was rather taken with them all! Hover over each image to find out the shade number and product name…and prepare for an overload of my face!

Shade 110- Leader of the Pink
Shade 610- High Flyer
Shade 700- Trendsetter
Shade 810- The Matte Factor
Shade 750- Look Who’s Talking
Shade 800- Run The Show
Shade 500- Take the Stage
Shade 200- Salute
Shade 120- Call the Shots
Honestly, I think it’s impossible to pick a favourite out of the nine but the one that really stands out to me has to be shade 800- run the show. I had no idea I could be brave enough, let alone suit a purple lip before but this has persuaded me it’s not a bad look at all!

Which shade is your favourite? You can pick up the lipsticks from Boots (£4.99) and Superdrug (£6.99). Let me know if you grab any and what you think.

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*Lipsticks gifted by Rimmel for blog and social media consideration*.

Posted in beauty, brands I love, make up, review

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The Dark Side with Essence

12th November 2016
If you follow me on social media, especially over on instagram you won’t fail to have noticed that I’m going through a bit of a lipstick phase right now. I’m on a real kick of trying out new shades and going bolder and brighter than I ever have before and loving every minute of it. I’ve also been dipping my toe in to the dark side too, a real step out of my comfort zone and recently my brand of the moment- essence sent over a selection* of vampy favourites to encourage me on my journey.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I love essence mascaras more than many a more expensive brand. Their “rock ‘n doll” mascara (£2.80) promises amazing volume with an eye-opening effect and it really doesn’t disappoint. I don’t know how they manage to make such good mascara for such a bargain price but I’m not complaining…this has become a part of my regular eye makeup army.

I’m not very experienced in the world of lip liner although given my recent lipstick lovin’ I probably do need to get better acquainted. At £1.50 for a long-lasting lipliner I really don’t think you can go wrong by picking up a few from essence and I found this really easy to reply, true to it’s word it didn’t budge all day.

The 2 in 1 matte lipstick and liner was the real star of this package for me, so much darker than anything I have ever worn before (shade 05 more is more) and I was a bit apprehensive before applying it but once on I loved it! This was slightly more drying than other matte products I’ve used but it was nothing a slick of lip balm couldn’t fix and at £2.50 I’m really not going to fall out with it. A great introduction in to the world of dark colours.

Finally another shade of my hands down favourite product from essence- their gel nail polish. This is a colour called “wild and free” and is a dark grey/black with a hint of green. I’m hopeless at painting my nails but couldn’t resist a somewhat shaky manicure with this as soon as it arrived. I got a good three days (minus a top coat) out of this with zero chips and at £1.60 per bottle you just can’t beat it.

How do you feel about a more vampy makeup look for day time? I did feel a bit dressed up rocking this to a blood test appointment, but at the same time it’s winter now, time to do away with the pretty pastels and embrace the berry tones for a few months at least!

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This post contains gifted items.

Posted in beauty, brands I love, make up, nails

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