The Perfect Boots to dress up and down!

It's London Fashion Week and whilst I might not be there in person, I am in spirit and their webpage is fantastic, brimming with ideas and an ever growing list of clothes, bags and shoes I would love to own.

With party season on the horizon, I have at least managed to find one pair of Boots from Ladies Designer Wear that I can team up with a variety of outfits be that a dress, skirt, trouser or even leggings.  The Lunar Boot is described as being a boot with a mixture of textile and crocodile texture.

As you can see from the picture above, I think these boots are quite amazing and and very stylish.  They have a crocodile texture as the main part of the boots and then to the side of each boot below the zip is a faux buckle in silver, which I really like as it adds another dimension to the boot.  Lastly the top of and part of the side of the boot is made of material which allows for a more comfortable fit.

So what type of outfit would I wear with my boots?  Below are actual items of clothing that I own and would wear these boots with all four items

What do you think to these Boots?  

Do you ever team up an outfit with one pair of shoes/boots?

Winter Clothing Essentials for Men and Women

There’s definitely a chill in the air at the moment, isn’t there? And with the cold front set to stay for the next few months at least, it’s time to rummage through your wardrobe and check that you have everything you’re going to need to keep yourself warm and toasty throughout the cold spell. If you need to top up your winter clothing, now is the time to do it so that you can be sure that you’ll be snug through Christmas and beyond.

For the Girls

You’re bound to need some knitwear. Whether it’s a couple of chunky cardigans or a lovely thick jumper that you can snuggle up in when it’s nippy, you can find some superb knitwear from George at ASDA that will leave you toasty without breaking the bank.

Make sure you have a good pair of winter boots, too. While it’s tempting to pick up a cheaper pair, it may be worth investing in some that will last. Boots with a good grip will ensure that even in ice and snow, you won’t come a cropper, while fur-lined boots can help to keep the little piggies warm. Invest in a good quality pair that will suit all outfits (think blacks, greys or browns) and you won’t have to replace them next year!

Some of my recent purchases

Warm and woolly accessories will help to keep extremities toasty – a nice chunky hat, gloves and scarf or snood will help to keep the chilly bite at bay. Ear muffs are also super cute and handy to have! A thick winter coat is also an essential piece of clothing that everyone should invest in – don’t worry about replacing this every year, a good coat can last for ages!

For the Guys

A decent selection of jumpers and hoodies would be perfect – ones that you can throw on over a t-shirt underneath your winter jacket as an extra layer. Christmas prints are all the rage at the moment, with festive jumpers making their way into plenty of wardrobes already.

Fancy jumping on the bandwagon? Onesies aren’t just for the ladies, you know! Take a look at some of the superb onesies available at ASDA for the guys too – you’ll be amazed at how snug and warm they are; perfect for a Sunday on the sofa.

Similarly to the girls, hats, gloves and scarves are essential if you’re planning on going outside (which, inevitably, you’ll have to!) – simple colours would do the trick because they go with anything. A decent coat would also be ideal – if you’d prefer to have one coat that’s multipurpose, take a look at the ones found at in ski shops and outdoor pursuit stores. Many of these have zip up fleeces on the inside that can be used separately, while the waterproof outer would be perfect on a dull, rainy day.

My scarves and gloves and from Asda

Wrap up warm and keep the cold at bay with a capsule winter wardrobe to be proud of – you don’t have to spend a fortune to update your clothing essentials, either!

Do you ever buy anything from Asda?  

Do you like the selection of clothes from George?

Ted Baker Stocking Fillers

I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with the Ted Baker range* which is currently in Boots.  I have already introduced you to the 'Putting on the Glitz' gift set HERE and today I have two more products from the range.

The Ted Baker Eyelash Curler and Nail Buffer are naturally a must have for any beauty lover and infact both are staples within my own make-up bag.  Each item within the Accessory range is of a purse friendly friend and all under £10, so if you are looking for a stocking filler or three, then I would highly recommend the Ted Baker Range.

Encased inside this beautiful Pea Green Box with a cute little ribbon (hello Christmas Treet ornament) are the Eyelash Curlers which cost just £8. Inside the box the packaging gets even more beautiful with the flowery background.

As you can see the eyelash curlers, which are a sort of Rose Gold Colour, have the Ted Baker logo on them clearly for all to see and they are actually really sturdy, much better than the flimsy pair I got in a Glossybox which cost more than double the price of these should I want to purchase them.  They also do the job of curling my eyelashes really well.

Then we have the Emery board which costs around £6 and it comes in the same style packaging as the eyelash curlers.  The nail buffer has four different sides to it to really make your nails look fantastic with the option to file, smooth, buff and shine.  In keeping with the beautiful packaging the file side has the foxglove picture which you have on the inside of the box, clearly shown and it I have found it does a fantastic job at filing my nails.  The second side is the Smooth option and the purpose of smooth is to sort out any little ridges that might be present, this I learnt from having a manicure recently and then you work your way round sides 3 and 4 to buff and shine your nails.  The part I have been most impressed with is the shine side of the buffer because it really does help to bring about a shine to your nails.

If these are the type of products you really like, also within the range you will find some Tweezers, Emery Boards, Nail Scissors and Nail Clippers which comes with a case, again all reasonably priced between £5-£8 each.

As you can tell I am a huge fan of the Ted Baker gift section in Boots and love the everything about the products I have, in particular the lovely packaging which is not only eye-catching but really well designed.

What do you think to the Ted Baker products this Christmas?

Soap and Glory Foot Buffer

Well given the weather it looks like it is going to be quite a while before I can wear my beloved Fit Flops, there might have been a bit of sunshine today, but the wind was blooming cold. Anyway, spring and summer are on their way, so in the meantime it does give me time to sort my feet out and make sure they are not a total embarrassment to put on show when the time does eventually arrive. 

I hate feet! I make no secret of that fact and it is one thing most people know about me. I cannot stand them especially my own and to make matters worse I cant even stand to let anyone else touch them, it makes me feel queasy, I don't know why I feel this way about feet, I just do. But... if I just left them alone and ignored them as I wished I could do, then I would eventually have to go and see some professional type to sort them out, faced with that dilemma I tend to take quite good care of my feet, gagging in the process. 

Over the years I have used and reviewed quite a lot of products for the feet that deal with pretty much everything from dry skin to dead skin. The one product on the market which I cannot bring myself to purchase is the Ped Egg, it is to all intents and purposes a cheese grater for your feet and the less said about it better. So far I have tended to stick to traditional methods of removing dry skin from the heels of my feet in the shape of a pumice stone and it isn't the perfect solution but I have just made do. Then whilst I was on Boots buying some deodorant when I came across the 'Soap and Glory Foot buffer' which intrigued me to the point of buying it and better still on the beloved 3 for 2 offer it meant I could also buy some bubble bath and lip balm. Thankfully this item is sold in protective packaging so no one can have a go of your product and then put it back on the shelf! Just think about it! 

The Foot Buffer retails at £8.75 in Boots and size wise it looks like a Loofah crossed with a golf club and is white in colour. It is sold with the following marketing blurb "Give yourself a 5 star pedicure treatment in the comfort of your home with our utterly fantastic Soap & GloryTM Foot Buffer" which isn't what sold it to me it was the fact I was told it came with 3 different filing heads which are described as being: 

1. The ruff side - for getting rid of the ruff stuff 

2. The smoother side - for a final buff 

3. The toe piece - for filing in between the toes 

Now naturally number three isn't for the faint hearted or someone like me who hates feet but given the 'head' of this device is golf club shaped with two sides I was intrigued to find the 'third' filing head and in all honesty it took me quite a while to work it out. Located at the bottom of the 'club' is the third and final filing head, hidden away from sight, you simply tug at the bottom and it appears looking slightly fatter but shorter than your average nail file. 

So once you have your foot buffer home attached to it is a set of instructions which you really should read before you get home because you need a lemon! Once you have your lemon the instructions tell you to 'rub rough heels with lemon juice first, to dissolve the glue that gives dead skin cells their grippiness. Wait ten minutes before you buff, and they wont be as tough' so having cut a lemon in half and rubbed it into the heels of my feet (obviously if you have any sort of open wound this is not advised) which was slightly weird, thankfully I did it in the comfort of my own home, alone and felt daft enough. I had at least thought to put a towel on the floor under my feet to catch bits of juice that went everywhere and as instructed allowed the lemon juice to sink into my skin. Then picking up my buffer I used the first side and gently rubbed it along my heels to attack the dead skin moving from one side of the heel to the other backwards and forwards, as you use the tool you can feel it being scraped across your skin, something I had to not think about at the time and instead just get on with the job of removing the dead skin. Then I wiped my feet to remove anything that might be left there and flipped the buffer over to use side number two defined as being 'The smoother side' and repeated action number one and was surprised to see that all of the dead skin had been removed and having once again towelled my feet to remove anything left sticking to them, my feet were lovely and soft. So I covered them with some Soap and Glory Heel Genius and slipped my feet into the accompanying socks to give the cream time to sink into my skin. 

To date I haven't felt the need to use the in-between the toe file as this is not a problem area for me, but it is there should that change. For me this was the first time that I had ever used a metal buffer on my feet, I have always stuck to using a pumice stone or a foot scrub of sorts from places like Lush, so I was a bit apprehensive as to how effective it would be. To my surprise using this 'Foot buffer' was not only easy it was much quicker and produced much better results than a pumice stone because it is much easier to hold on to and it is also much sturdier in your hands than a pumice stone which at times can be like trying to hold a bar of soap with wet hands. 

So whilst I still hate feet, I do like this Foot Buffer and it has now replaced my pumice stone which I hated having to use and because this product lives in the bathroom in its own little storage pot (which I bought myself) I use it once a week when I am in the shower just to ensure that my feet are kept in good condition until the sun finally decides it is time to make an appearance for summertime to finally begin. So I feel this is a brilliant product which is worthy of its price. Having said I use this once a week, the filing heads are still as good now as they were a few weeks ago when I bought it, but I would guess over time they will become blunt and the way this product is designed means you cannot buy replacement heads which is a bit of a shame. I however will simply purchase another one the next time I need to stock up on products.

Getting a bit Lippy!

When I was sorting through all of my make-up the other day to see what needed to be renewed and… well to be honest, see what I could justify buying, I was intrigued to see just how many Lip Balms I had, especially as I had bought a few new ones lately.

I confess to being addicted to lip balms, I have loads of them and they all come in different shapes and sizes, some are tubes, some are pots, some are slimy, some are gloopy, some you don't even know you are wearing and some you wonder why you bought them, the answer usually being - on a whim.

 

Shown above is almost all of the Lip Balms, Glosses, Scrubs and creams that I could find in my bag, make-up bag, make-up case and sample boxes

And this is what they are:

1. Nspa Pick me – is a pack of 3 lip balms which come in Mango, Raspberry and Shea Butter flavours.  The pack cost £5 from Asda.
2. Anatomicals What a complete and utter glosser Strawberry Milkshake  - not one I did purchase, well I kind of did, it was part of my February Glossybox and I love everything about it.  If purchased it would cost between £2.20 and £3.49.
3. Lush Bubblegum – okay not quite a Lip Balm, but it was in with the rest of them, it is great for buffing the lips and removing dry and dead skin cells.  To purchase it costs £5.25.
4. Vaseline – Now this tin is looking old and battered and even though I haven’t used it in a long time, it still works totally fine, though I am not a fan of Vaseline on my lips.  A tin of this will cost £1.99 in Boots
5. Figs and Rouge sweet geranium lip balm – Again comes from Glossybox and I absolutely love the packaging.  To purchase it will cost between £2-£5 and is available right across the internet.
6. Vaseline Limited Edition Pink Bubbly Lip Therapy - Okay so I am not a fan of Vaseline on my lips and I bought this, well it said limited edition and it looks nice.  It retails for £3.49 in Boots
7. I love Raspberry and Blackberry glossy lip Balm - super juicy and bursting with life is what sold it to me, that and I had gone to meets friends and had no lip balm with me.  It costs just £99p from Superdrug and I really like it.
8. Clinique Happy Lip Gloss with perfume roller - this came as part of a gift set and whilst the perfume is lovely, I really don't like the Lip Balm, it is really sticky and gloopy and clings to your lips like copydex glue sticks to your hands. 
9. Nivea Caramel Cream Lip Butter - Again another impulse purchase from Superdrug and it smells absolutely wonderful when you first open the tin and it does glide onto your lips - bargain for £1.99
10. Jason Bee Lip Care - Came as part of a Glossybox package but can be found online from places like Amazon where it retails for £3.99 and I really like it because it is enriched with Aloe Vera Gel , Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Sweet Almond Oil and it smells really lovely
11. Carmex Moisture Plus Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm Clear Satin Gloss Finish SPF15 - I am a fan of Carmex lip balms and I bought this because it was 'new' and I was intrigued by the design of it. It works really well on your lips and is definitely hydrating.  Retails for £4.49 and I bought mine from Boots
12. Carmex Mint Moisturising Lip Balm - I really love the design of this lip balm, makes life much easier with the design of the tube and the applicator and it is minty and makes your lips tingle when applied.  It retails for £2.69 and again from Boots
13. Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker  - A broze coloured lip gloss which came as part of a gift set. These glosses can be bought seperately and retail at around £9
14. Sweet Revenge Lip Balm - Smells of cherries and was sent to me by a friend in America in a package a few years ago
15. Too Faced Diamond Gloss Super Shine Ultra Glam Gloss Pink Diamond - This was a gift a few years ago and it is brilliant for adding shine to your lips and it tastes quite nice too.  These Lip glosses retail for around £6-£14 but if you go to Fragrane Direct you can often get them for £1.99 
16. Palmers Dark Chocolate and Cherry – This I bought because I knew I would love the smell, never mind what it did for my lips and it was on offer in Superdrug for £1.99 when I bought it

And last but not least, the final lip balm to show is the one I bought last night (Friday) when out and about because I swapped bags and forgot to take my Lip Balm with me, oops, so I bought this:

Vaseline Intensive Rescue Lip Therapy Repair Balm SPF 20 which costs £2.89 in Asda and it Soothes and protects very dry and chapped lips.  

Is anyone else as Lip Balm mad as I am? What is your favourite Lip Balm? Lip Gloss? Lip Butter?