Category Archives: inspiration

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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Gift Inspiration: Garden Collage

20th November 2016

Ok, so I feel I need to preface this post by saying I know that the company I’m featuring today are based in the USA and the majority of my readers are based in the UK but a) they ship internationally and b) the products that they sell are just too gorgeous and wish list worthy not to post about!

Allow me to introduce you to Garden Collage– a shop jam packed full of hand picked, beautiful and environmentally minded products. My first destination was of course the homewares department…this is how I know I’m getting old- I often bypass fashion and beauty and head straight for accessories for the home!

Once I pulled myself away from pages and pages of beautiful items I delved a little further in to the online store and had a good rummage around the gifts for the garden (another strange love of mine given that I have no garden) and have popped together a little gift guide/wish list to suit all tastes and budgets.

Is there anything on this list that has caught your eye? I’m really, REALLY taken with the copper tea infuser and the moroccan style basket- oh and the gnome crayons as well, too cute!

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Posted in christmas, gifts, inspiration, shopping, wish list

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Gift Inspiration: Makeup gifts with Beautyspin and Frugaa.com*

16th November 2016
Beauty gifts and gift sets are my favourite stocking filler to browse at this time of year. Being a bit of a makeup addict myself, and knowing several more people who also warrant the title this is THE perfect time of year to stock up on favourite brands or try new products- often in adorable packaging or extra value sets too.

Today I bring you some gift inspiration (or just one giant wish list) from Beautyspin an online retailer who stock a whole host of goodies from well known and loved brands at excellent prices. There is a plethora of beauty gifting inspiration on the site and to sweeten the deal you can score some extra savings by shopping through Frugaa.com

I won’t link to all of the products individually as there is such a huge selection on the site that really the best way to get a feel for it is to visit yourself…this is drop in the ocean of what I’m actually coveting and what I think would make perfect presents for beauty lovers everywhere.

Oddly my most coveted item is the metallic (and somewhat space-age) lipsticks by Freedom. I’m having serious lip product addiction problems at the moment which is leading me to crave all kinds of crazy shades and finishes and my latest object desire is everything metallic.

Santa, if you’re reading this post then please do feel free to slip a set in my stocking- and the NYX lip product set wouldn’t go amiss either. Thanks, I promise to be good!

How are you getting on with your Christmas shopping? I’ll admit I’m way ahead of myself this year and I’m pretty much done- this brings me in to the danger zone of buyers remorse and spending way over my budget on additional gifts for my nearest and dearest as well as a few for myself along the way…

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Posted in beauty, gifts, inspiration, make up, shopping, wish list

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Self.Styled- the book that dares to be different

08th November 2016
I’ve been really lucky lately when it comes to books and have been sent some rather excellent ones to review. The one I am featuring on the blog today is no exception, as soon as the email about “Self.Styled” landed in my inbox I was intrigued and eagerly anticipating the arrival of a copy through my letterbox.

The book is a celebration of freedom of expression, diversity and individuality shown through personal style. Each person featured in the book was asked to select two outfits- one to represent their take on day wear and the other for night wear and this is shown by author Anthony Lycett through dual portrait photographs and well written content that makes for a thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring read. I really liked how all of the photographs have been taken against a neutral background so the individual style does all of the talking.

I didn’t want to give too much away by photographing the book, it’s one of those that you really can’t fully appreciate unless you read it yourself. I highly recommend getting hold of a copy for yourself if you enjoy fashion and expressing yourself through how you dress. It’s the culmination of a project that started back in 2008 and features people from all backgrounds and walks of life- it covers such a wide range of themes such as gender and body shape as well as personal taste and it really does have to be seen to believed.

Self.Styled will be on sale from November the 17th with an RRP of £20. Let me know if you get hold of a copy and what you think!

Posted in books, inspiration, review

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Handmade Gift Guide: Clorty Cat Crafts

06th November 2016
My list of favourite sellers on Etsy grows larger quite literally by the hour at the moment and for the next installment of my handmade gift guides I am showing off yet another of my fabulous finds. Actually when I made a purchase from this particular shop- Clorty Cat Crafts it was for something entirely different (and something I can’t show on the blog this side of Christmas). I was so delighted with it that I decided there and then that I wanted to contact shop owner Shannon about featuring her on the blog and it was then I discovered the exciting news that she was releasing a line of enamel pins- a.k.a. my new obsession and THE perfect stocking filler gift.
I was so taken with the pins (current range of six designs shown, but watch this space as there are more on the horizon which I’m super excited for- my bank account less so!). I’ve had the David Bowie pin and the Purple Rain cloud on pre-order since they were first announced and can’t wait for their arrival which should be any day now.

Incase it had somehow escaped your notice enamel pins are big news right now and the ones on Clorty Cat Crafts are definitely on the reasonable end of the pricing spectrum. I’ve seen them go elsewhere for £10+ or have extortionate p&p (Shannon charges a very fair £1.50). I’ve pretty much finished with my Christmas shopping now but I am kind of wishing I had held back a little bit as I know I’m going to want to buy any new designs from the shop as soon as they arrive. This could work to my advantage though, surely if I don’t need to buy anything else for anyone else I can justify a gift or two for me?

Have you caught on to the pin craze? What designs would you like to see next from Clorty Cat Crafts?

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Posted in christmas, etsy, gifts, inspiration, shopping, wish list

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