London in Winter

Living in London can be lots of fun.  There is always something to do, something to see, places to go and things to do, particularly in winter when the city transforms itself from being hot, muggy and smog ridden, to a much more relaxed, serene and beautiful place to be. Links of London asked some bloggers to write about their favourite things to do here in London and these are my thoughts.

As soon as winter arrives and Christmas is on the horizon, everywhere you look, there are bright twinkling lights, Christmas displays in shops and in streets and lots of shopping to be done amongst the hustle and bustle of tourists who are all hunting for that final bargain for the big day.

Some of the things I love to do during this time is to meet with friends and go ice-skating, this can be at Somerset House where the ice-rink is open from November to the end of January with the grand courtyard is transformed into a beautiful ice-rink and you find yourself surrounded by lots of squeals and laughter as being skate around merrily chatting away.

Source

Then from Ice-skating a trip to Hyde Park to Winter Wonderland is a definite must.  It starts towards the end of November and it has something for all the family.  Whether you like to sample the delights of German Bratwurst Hotdogs, Donuts, Belgian Fries with Mayonnaise or simply enjoy a few drinks whilst sampling beers and mulled wines from around the world, you will find something you enjoy.  I have been going to Winter Wonderland for the last few years and always have lots of fun, there is the funfair element of trying to win teddies and bits of tat from stalls such as the rifle range or hook a duck, there are fairground rides for all the family from the big wheel, teacups and saucers to the rides for the more adventurous that chuck you around in the air and spin you upside down.  If that isn’t enough there are hundreds of stalls which sell all kinds of things from world cheeses, Zebra burgers, candles and beautiful lanterns and lights.

If you want something less busy but as equally beautiful, some of the more famous streets of London, such as Carnaby Street have beautiful Christmas displays which make wonderful photos and as well known as they are, I have never found them to be overcrowded, but naturally if the crowds don’t bother you too much, then Oxford Street and Regent Street is the place to be.

Covent Garden is also a great destination for a bit of shopping, followed by lunch and maybe a bit more shopping and it is here you will also find some of the big named store such as Links of London, MAC and Apple to name just a few.  What's more, if you are in need of a bit of entertainment, there is always one of the street entertainers on hand to put on a show and grab your attention for a few minutes.

What is your favourite thing to do in London?

Wherefore Art thou?

One question a lot of people ask me is "what is there to do in London"  the answer which offers endless possibilities, even for those on a budget.  Living in London there are no end to things that you can do, visit and see and most of them are free.  One thing I love to do is to visit art galleries, a simple search on Google will tell you that there are over 1000 art galleries in London, some more well known than others and some specialising in certain collections and not as well known.

I am by no means an art expert and I don’t have a particular something that I like, though my favourite painting is Sunflowers by Van Gogh.  My own walls at home are a mish-mash of things I have liked, for example:

I have the bright coloured paint splatter which is actually an original painting done by The Blueman Group when I went to see them at the Theatre and I loved it so much my Husband bought it for me and it sits in my hallway on a white wall.  The next one, is a set of three photos of Manchester, my Husbands home and the final one is in my bedroom and is from Habitat and I simply liked the design.  The big space below represents a bare wall in my lounge, for which I am yet to find something to fill it and wondering around art galleries, always gives me ideas.  If there was one talent I wish I could have, it would be to be able to draw, I struggle when it comes to stickmen and at school art was never my strong point.

One of my favourite places to visit is The Saatchi Gallery on one of my favourite roads in London – The Kings Road and I have visited it many times and best of all admission is free.  Whether you love still life, abstract, surrealism or photography to name but a few different types, for me the Saatchi gallery has it all. I have spent many hours simply wandering around just looking and it is such a great way to escape the reality of life for a few hours and sit and wonder at some of the pieces on display. 

Source - A6 Wandering Line 1 by Tom Hendo

Source - painting by Paola Bazz titled Faces 5

Source - Find Out by Claire Desjardins

Source - Meridians by Lori Dell

Even if you cannot get to the actual gallery, all is not lost because you can also checkout new artists at saatchionline.com, see what events are on, have a preview of some of the artwork on show, and there is also a shop which enables you to buy paintings and prints online.

Do you have a lot of art, photographs and pictures on your walls at home? 

 My aim has always been to fill the big empty space on my wall in the lounge, something I am yet to do.

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?

Lush 9 To 5 Cleanser

Lush 9 To 5 can be found amongst the cleansers within your local Lush store. I love the cleansers from Lush and have probably tried most of the items on sale. This product is sold in a black bottle and comes in two different sizes, you can either opt for a 95g bottle which will set you back £4.75 or you can buy the bigger bottle which costs £9.25 for 240g and naturally I opted for the bigger bottle and duly took my goods home. The bottle itself for interest is pure black plastic and has a black flip top lid which is easy to open and close and around its middle is a label which details the name and size of the product and obviously the Lush logo. It is quite blandly presented but it's what's inside that counts! 

When it comes to cleansers there is a reason that I particularly like to use them. So why cleanse? Well living in London it's a polluter haven, lots of cars, buses, trains and tubes all equalling lots of pollution which in turn leads to dirt and grime on the skin. Since living in London, having moved down Sarf from oop North, I have noticed a change in my skin, it is now much dryer and oily in parts, so this has lead to my using more products to try and combat all of this. So Cleansing the skin, which should be part of everyone's daily routine, is done to remove sweat, air pollution, excess oil, grime, cosmetics and bacteria, all of which lead to skin problems and sometimes infection. Cleansing your skin isn't an arduous task, infact it takes me less than an extra five minutes a day to complete this routine, which isn't a lot really. 

Lush 9to5 is marketed as being a 'liquid cleanser' and usually with a cleanser it would involve using it in a similar way you use soap and that is by wetting your face and then lathering the cleanser in the palms of your hand and then massaging over your face for a few minutes before rinsing it off and this is certainly what I had been doing with the Wash Away Clinique Cleanser.

However, with 9to5 you don't need to do any of that, after washing and drying your face as you would normally do in a morning and an evening, all you will then need is a cotton wool pad or ball (I use a pad because the balls make me feel queasy when touching them, even now I've gone cold all over thinking about them) and you simply squeeze a small walnut sized blob onto the cotton wool pad and you simply wipe it over your face, paying attention to your problem areas, which in my case is my cheeks and t-zone where I have dry and oily skin and once you have completed this task, look at the cotton wool pad and despite washing your face thoroughly you will probably notice that this lotion has managed to remove even further excess dirt, grime, oil, make-up etc... without fail every time I use this cleanser on my face after washing, it will remove excess dirt and grime - Yuck! After using it on your face it doesn't leave behind any greasiness or slimy feel on the skin, just soft smooth and moisturised feeling skin. There is also a lovely fragrance of honeysuckle and ylang-ylang left on your skin.

The cream itself is really smooth to the touch, as soon as it touches your skin you can feel its smoothness and it is such a gentle cream which sinks into your skin without a problem. For anyone who hasn't tried it, I would suggest going into a Lush store and asking them if you can try it, they will use the back of your hand as a tester area. So after it is applied to your skin, using the cotton wool pad your skin should feel silky soft and smooth to the touch, which mine always does without fail and your skin should no longer feel dry instead completely moisturised and this is down to the ingredients. 

As ever with Lush you can expect to see a long list of ingredients which the shop assistant went through with me at the time of testing this product. Starting with:

• Almond oil which you can smell slightly when using, it is easily absorbed into the skin to help with moisturising and is suitable for use on all skin types, especially for someone like me with sensitive skin, it causes no irritations. 
• Ylang Ylang oil and this helps to balance the sebum in your skin which can create that over oily look especially around your T-zone (nose, chine and forehead) and in controlling and balances the sebum it also helps deal with overly dry and oily skin. Ylang Ylang also helps soften and smooth the skin. Next is the main ingredient and the one which gives the most noticeable aroma and that is 
• Fresh Dove Orchid Extract which are used to calm and soothe irritated skin and by irritated skin they mean dry problematic skin which is need of a little extra TLC and moisturising. For me, the Dove Orchid Extract is the most noticeable fragrance because it reminds me of the Orchid that I was given for my birthday last year and the aroma is just really lovely.  
• Everlasting Flower Absolute, again not something I have come across before and I was told that it acts as an antiseptic on the skin to ward off infection whilst at the same time it helps to rehydrate the skin. 

And it is suitable for Vegans!

So with all of that knowledge and those ingredients it isn't hard to see why this cleanser comes highly recommended not only from Lush but from me. Having used it since the beginning of November, every day in a morning and in an evening before going to bed I am still amazed at how soft my skin feels after using this cleanser and still shocked that it manages to find dirt and grime on a daily basis, even after I have washed my face. 

At the minute I alternate between using this and another Lush product and having purchased this one just over 2 and a half months I am surprised to say that I have got just over half the bottle left to use and that is with using it on a daily basis and the reason for this is that you don't need to use that much at any time yet it is simple, easy and effective and it ranks highly up on my list of my favourite Lush products and it is something that I am going to continue to use long after it has run out.