The little things #1

I've had one of those completely crappy days- you know the ones, where things start off badly and get slowly worse as the day goes on, and you end up wishing you'd never bothered to get out of bed in the first place?
Well when I have days like this, I have a remedy. I retreat back to bed (work allowing!), mug of tea in hand and try to think of all the little things that have made me smile recently instead.
Well, it's better than flouncing off in a huff and ruining the whole day, isn't it?
I've been doing quite a bit of naughty shopping recently on my trips abroad, so that's what has made me smile through the pain today (call me superficial!) but of course the little things like making my favourite meal and watching entire seasons of Dexter on the couch with my husband generally rank much higher than makeup and sweets on my smile-ometer!

 I bought this beautiful, delicate rose gold bangle from Etsy (direct link). I absolutely adore it and have worn it every single day since it arrived.

 On my last trip to the US, I did a wee bit of drugstore makeup shopping and picked up this Hard Candy blusher for $6. It's really lovely and I'll definitely be buying more when I'm next over there. The Soap & Glory gloss stick (in Plum Jam) is the first item of S&G makeup I've tried and I'm impressed. It's a lovely colour and gives the shininess of a lipgloss without the horrible stickiness.

Mint M&Ms are the absolute best. Just like tiny after eights! As we've been having more and more sunny days interspersed with the grey skies and drizzle, I've broken out the Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia perfume in celebration- it's simply springtime in a bottle!


So there you go, now I'm well and truly out of my snit and smiling again! An evening of aforementioned cooking and Dexter marathon beckons just to finish my day of on the right note.

What's been making you smile recently?

My Dressing Table

A little while ago,my husband had a moan to me about the state of my dressing table. I'm not a naturally tidy person, and seeing as my dressing table is (obviously) the place I put on my makeup before hurrying out of the door each day, it was a bit of a sight for sore eyes.

I'm not tidy, but I do like things to be pretty, so what better excuse did I need to make  a couple of orders for a few beautiful but practical things to help me tidy up and redesign the space I had? Any excuse for some shopping!

I wanted to complement the beachy, whitewashed unit that we'd recently bought from Ikea so went with a shabby chic look.

 Heart hooks, eBay. 

Cotton wool jar, DotCom Gift shop

My necklaces used to hang over a candle lamp left over from our wedding, but they frequently got tangled, I couldn't see what was there and frankly it looked a total mess. I found this lovely heart shaped set of hooks on eBay and thought it fit the bill perfectly.
To house cotton wool, I found this ever so cute jar via Dot Com Gift Shop

 I'm a bit of a Royalist, and collect vintage tins and trinkets from antiques stalls, markets and auctions. The tea caddy has my hair bobbles and kirby grips in it, the smaller tin (an old Oxo container!) has earrings in it.

 As I said in a previous post, every Christmas I'm a sucker for the Space NK sale and stock up on my favourite Laura Mercier body butters at a fraction of the usual price. the bonus is that they all come in different candy colours and look so pretty lined up together!

My ever-growing collection of perfumes sit on a glass tray I found in a homeware shop in Sheffield.

 Home garland, Dot Com Gift Shop

I wanted a large mirror, but something a bit different. I hit on the idea of a vintage pub mirror, and just as I was about to buy one, my Mum said she had this little beauty hidden away in the attic.
The "home" sign is another DotCom gift shop bargain at just £1!

Bunny Light- Dot Com Gift Shop

Wicker Baskets- eBay (mine are no longer in stock but similar here and I've also seen some pretty ones in Tesco!)

I'm slightly obsessed with my new bunny light- Matt hates it and I'm sure it isn't to everyone's taste but he certainly adds a smile to my face and a little bit more kitch to my dressing table!

 I bought two white wicker baskets with Cath- Kidston esque lining from eBay to house my makeup more neatly:

The bonus of this is I can see everything at a glance, and there's no chance of forgetting about an old favourite lipstick ever again!

SO there we have it- one redesigned dressing table and a happy husband! I must admit I love it and I'm very proud of myself for keeping it so tidy (so  far!)

I'm always curious to see other people's homes- if you've done or seen a similar post please leave me a link!

Beauty buys- January

Just a few beauty bits and peices that I've picked up along the way throughout January, I thought I'd share them with you as I love reading what things other people have bought!

As I'm lucky enough to go to the US usually a couple of times a month, it will come as no surprise to learn that one of the first places I head for as soon as the jet lag wears off, is Sephora. You cannot keep me out if the place, seriously. I'm considering having my wages paid directly to them each month to cut out the middle man!

I usually buy one or two things each trip, but I was particularly pleased with what I bought this time.

1. Origins Clear Improvement mask
I do love a good clay based mask, and this one is soothing to irritated, blemish prone skin as soon as you put it on.

2. Urban Decay De Slick setting spray
I used to own the All Nighter spray which was really good, but this is specifically for oily skin so I had to try it. It's SERIOUSLY GOOD. It gets me through a twelve hour flight still looking fresh at the other end. This is a purse sized spray (for those infuriating liquids bags at airport security) but I will definitely be buying a full sized version too.

3. Tarte Amazonian clay blusher in Doll Face
I originally wanted the cheek tint version of this (think NARS multiples) having seen it on Cupcakes and Cashmere many moons ago, but this particular shade seems to have been discontinued. This is a really pale but bright dolly pink colour, and the clay formula means it lasts forever on the cheeks. I think this will look much better with a tab in the summer though.

4. Clinique Chubby Stick in Mega Melon
This was a freebie for cashing in some of my Sephora points, but I'd been wanting to try them for a while. So far I much prefer the formula to the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, I think I'd prefer a stronger colour though so Ill maybe fork out for one next trip!

I also bought these Laura Mercier body cremes in the Space NK sale- every year at Christmas I log on as they slash the prices so much, it's worth putting the tin of quality streets down for two minutes to check it out as inevitably they will be gone by Boxing Day.
These are in the scents Creme Brûlée, Ambre Vanille, Fresh Fig and Almond Coconut Milk. All as delicious as they sound!

Finally after a horrific week at the airport with way too many delays and disruption, I decided to treat myself to a bottle of my favourite perfume ever, Flowerbomb.
I have so many perfumes already but this is one that I always come back to time and again. It's just so unashamedly girly and unique.

Have any of you bought any new beauty bits I should keep my eye out for?