I hit the shops in York this weekend,

I hit the shops in York this weekend,

This weekend I went on a girly day to the local city of York, this was me and a few members of the family on the train for a shopping trip.

Where to start but lush,

As I live out of town lush is a few and far between treat, I think the last lush haul I had was in around February / March and I had well and truly run out.

I treated myself to a favourite of the comforter and, the butterbear bath bomb. The ventures to a few new treats, the stardust bath bomb, mint julips lip scrub and oatifix face mask.

I cannot wait to get chance this week for a proper lush bath / pamper night to try all of the new products.

Then I popped into boots, I have been using a hairspray from my local aldi and it really was not suiting my hair and it made it all sticky. I have missed my natural hold boots own hairspray. Therefore I had to pop by to get more. I have been loving my new unique lip stain, therefore I bought a new one at £4.95 from Seventeen in berry crush. I do like the colour however all of the options were very dark, I wanted to find a coral / pink tone however so far I have not come across an option. (Suggestions welcome) I like the stains in autumn as there is a good colour payoff, and you are not constantly reapplying like a lipstick.

I decided to invest in some new winter boots, I have x2 pairs of black boots and had no brown, I looked in a number of shops then found some really comfy boots in Dorothy Perkins, I was looking at the black boots and nearly bought my third pair of black, until a friend advised me to get the brown. I really like how comfy they are. I now need a matching bag and jacket, I am on the lookout. Again suggestions welcomed.

I am fully into xmas shopping mode, and I keep seeing products I would love myself when out and making not so subtle hints. Hopefully Santa will think I have been a good girl this year.

Nic

December Favs -- & What have I been up to?

Hello everyone.

Sorry that I have been long time no speak. Quite a lot has gone on over the last few months and I have not wanted to share this on here. And as a result I have had a lot less time than usual.

I have moved house, Set up a flat from scratch, I work in a Online Retail store so Christmas is mental. Started a candle business, and if thats not enough generally been quite stressed and busy.

Product wise I am loving the xmas season colours from Sensationail. Loving Going for the Rose Gold. 

This is a quite neutral colour but has a lovely pink undertone and shimmer. (im not going to say glitter) Great for the festive season, but I shall be using this all year round I think.

I am loving my Iced Snowberries Partylite Candles still. I got an advent calendar this year with 24 taillights in. And I love when it is an iced snowberries day. It makes me feel all wintery.

I have added to my Body Shop Pink Grapefruit collection. I now have the big pump top shower gel, the body sorbet, and finally got my hands on the body mist. I do recommend however if you can get to the outlet stores version, I bought 3 products for £16 instead of the body mist for £8 shower gel for £8 and sorbet for £8.

I my loving my Tassimo machine, As well as wanting to be able to offer any guests a coffee I am loving the speed of using this to make hot water for tea, and experimenting with the variations of Hot chocolate available. I received 2x £10 voucher which bought a lot of pods. I have seen since the purchase of mine lots are on sale, I would suggest maybe getting one ordered in the post xmas sales.

Speak Soon

Nicola

Autumn - Winter 2014 Home Comforts:

As the nights draw in an the weather starts to change this is when I find a change in the weather really changes my mood. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I will share to try and help the transition from summer to Autumn / Winter.

Clothes: I am always cold! even in the summer I am reaching for jumpers and cardigans, which means that I will have plenty of supplies around. But this also means If I'm cold in the summer how cold do I feel in the winter. This year when I bought some new clothes I also purchased long sleeve jersey T-shirts. They are ideal for layering up under blouses and jumpers to take away the chill. Also I love my boots, so simple to pair up with jeans and more stylish than pulling on my trainers.

Bedding: So far this year I am holding off turning the heating on. I have however found that swapping out the cotton bedding, and swapping for a jersey material really does help keep me warm. Even with the same tog duvet it does take away the chill. The only problem is trying to get up and out of bed is even harder as its snuggly and warm.

Food: This is when the slow cooker appears out of the cupboard and the stews, casseroles and other yummies start to be eaten. I am trying at present to be very conscious about the amount of wheat and flour I am having in my diet. Putting lots of meat and vegetables with a controlled mix of herbs and spices is a good way for this. All of the contents are known, and it makes it a lot cheaper making them at home. I make too much and batch it up and freeze for lunches and teas another day. I have asked for a certain chefs cook book for xmas about comfort food :-)

Relaxing: You all know I love my candles, but this is when I love to light one and sit by the soft glow. It helps me to feel relaxed and at ease. I have recently been loving my unscented candles. Or one particular candle that I purchased at my place of work. However I have just taken on a new part time role that I am going to love, which will involve selling candles!! ideal job for me I think :-)

There are 2 bad things about this time of the year and I am really not looking forwards to them over the next few weeks. I don't like the dark at the best of time however right now is worse. Due to the fact of I don't like people coming to my door when they are unexpected, and I am scared of masks and items that cover the face such as face paint and prosthetics. Therefore Halloween is not a good time at all for me. Therefore this year will as per every year involve, being home on the top floor, with the curtains closed and TV and music on so loud that I cannot hear the door. Im not a scrooge, I usually leave a sign out and a bag of sweets for people to take.

My other worse fear are fireworks, I hate the loud noises, and how you do not know when you expect them to go off. I jump out of my skin, and I hate the noise. Again this is a night where there curtains are closed and the TV is on. One thing with fireworks are they don't just go off on 5th of November, sometimes the weekend before, or after, and then random nights between then and new year.

What helps you to feel better at this time of the year? I would love to know as I may try them.

Speak soon

Nic

Autumn Clothes Time from Matalan

Autumn clothes :

This week I was lucky to receive in the post a 20% off voucher for Matalan. The weather is starting to turn and the warmer clothes were ready to come out of storage. As recently I have dropped 2 clothes sizes, therefore many of my clothes from last year no longer fit.

Therefore it was time to get some wardrobe staples.

Long sleeved t-shirts in red and wine. I love to put on my jeggings and comfy top. White goes with everything but then I love the red wine colour ideal for the changes in the season.

Chunky knit light blue jumper, Great for layering up to keep warm on a weekend.

Soft comfy pink jumper, I bought this one for work ideal for going with my plain black trousers. Not to thin, I just wonder with the nature of where I work how long a light colour pink top will stay pink.

Onesy and fluffy socks: I have a fleecy xmas design onesy that I feel is too warm for right now. Therefore the jersey design was something I wanted to try. I am loving at the minute getting in from work, taking a shower and putting this on while chilling on the sofa with tv shows.

Electric blue dress. I loved the cut of this dress with its floaty swing design and cerise pink skinny belt. I had been looking at this dress earlier in the season and now it was in the sale. I then got my further discount.

What are you loving this autumn/ winter?

Speak soon

Nicola