September Favourites 2016

It's been a while since my last monthly favourites post because I'm just that useless, so I've combined my favourite things from over the last few months for today's post.

These are some of the things I've been enjoying lately...

I have a real weakness for fun novelty brooches, so I couldn't resist treating myself to this cute resin owl brooch from Cath Kidston a month or two back. In fact, I had to buy it the moment I first saw it. In all honesty, I got bored of the owl trend a few years ago, but I think this little guy is adorable, and it's the perfect finishing touch for Autumn outfits. He's really study and well made, and the best part is he was only £8! (Psst! I blogged about him in more detail here).

I know I've not blogged any outfit photos in forever (sadly, I've not been physically up to it in forever), but that doesn't mean I haven't acquired a new dress or two lately. One of my favourite new additions has to be the Brittany blue lipstick and lips print swing dress from Lindy Bop; it's one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen or owned. Along with that amazing print it has the sweetest little love heart pockets (yes, it has pockets!), short sleeves, a heart cut-out to the back, and a big flared skirt. Every last detail is perfect. The fit is quite generous, so I'd recommend sizing down if you choose to buy one, but I can promise you, it's well worth a purchase.

Being unable to leave the house much this year, I haven't had much opportunity to wear make up (it seems pointless putting on my face for bed rest), so I've only recently started trying out the Urban Decay Vice 4 eyeshadow palette I got last Christmas... and I adore it! I'm not sure why I'm including this set since it was a limited edition set and it's no longer available to buy, but the colours are so pretty and the shadows so high-quality that I felt it deserved a quick mention. It has an amazing variety of colours, and I love that it has a mixture of brights and neutrals. Of course, the bright shadows are my favourites- especially that amazing emerald green shade 'grasshopper', which I'm rather obsessed with. (Green eye make up is my favourite). I personally think these are some of the best colourful eyeshadows out there. The colour pay off is incredible, they're long lasting, blendable, and feel velvety-soft on my skin. They're perfect in my eyes. Step aside from the Naked range, and try some of Urban Decay's colourful make up, too- I promise you won't regret it!

I've been working my way through the new nail polishes I gained over the Summer, and I've already managed to wear each polish more than once. I have to say, I bloody love all of them! Both brands of nail polish are fast-drying, glide on wonderfully, and remain chip-free for at least a couple of days. The Mavala nail colours tend to be chip-resistant for a little longer than the Sally Hansen polishes, but they're both great quality formulas. Every shade is beautiful, too. The Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polishes featured above are Frutti Petutie, Aria Red-y?, and New Flame, and the Mavala polishes were all from the Shades Of Summer set, which includes Madrid, Sunset Orange, Nice, Osaka, and Bangkok. As I'm sure you can tell, I love wearing reds, oranges, corals, and dark pinks on my nails! 

As usual, I've been busy cross-stitching away, and after finishing my Home Sweet Home sampler in August, I began working on this very colourful patchwork Christmas kit from Riverdrift House. It's been really fun to work on so far, and it's so easy to follow as the entire design is colour-blocked in simple patterns. It's bigger than it looks, though, and the largest I've attempted, but I'm hoping I'll manage to get it finished in time for Christmas. Fingers crossed! 5/8ths down, 3/8ths to go!

I haven't watched a huge amount of new films or TV shows lately, but I've been enjoying Containment, and loved watching The 5th Wave, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Giver, and The Longest Ride for the first time. All such great films. I was most surprised by 10 Cloverfield Lane; it was so different to what I was expecting, and nothing like the first film at all, but I loved it. Although I'll never look at John Goodman in the same way again; dear God, he's terrifying in that movie!

I've read several books over the last month or so, although I'm ashamed to admit that three of them were Nicholas Sparks novels. I'm not usually one for soppy romance / chick-lit novels, and would generally rather stick pins in my eyes, but for some reason during an August heatwave, I had an urge to read something easy I could read in a day without thinking... and ended up reading three. I must have had heatstroke. Ahem. As romance novels go, The Lucky One, and The Rescue weren't too bad, but The Choice read like a sloppy teenage fan fic. Not necessarily a bad thing if you like that sort of thing, but his books really aren't for me. I did however thoroughly enjoy The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, and The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton- both great books I would highly recommend. I'm hoping to review them properly as soon as I get a spare second.

I'm now reading Wool by Hugh Howey, which has been on my to be read pile for years, and although I'm only a couple of chapters in, I'm loving it so far.

And last but by no means least, I've been enjoying working my way through the latest book in the Listography series; Spirit Listography: My Inner Self In Lists. Like the other Listography books, it's a fun creative writing book, packed full of listing prompts, with a full page beneath each one for compiling the list, and a pretty watercolour illustration on the adjacent page. As the name of the book suggests, the lists focus on topics about our inner selves; our minds, bodies, and souls; our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, and what have you. The lists featured include: 'little things I love in life' to 'what I've learned from my mistakes', 'values that are most important to me' to 'what I would tell my teenage self'' and so many more. It has a really interesting range of prompts, that help to get you thinking about topics that are important to you, and ones you may never have given much thought to, and if you enjoy writing lists as much as I do, I think you'll love this book. I personally think it's fantastic. It's actually the seventh Listography book in my collection, but it's definitely one of my favourites, and I'll be reviewing it in more detail with plenty of photos really soon.

What have you been loving lately?

Favourites | February 2016

Here are some of my favourite things from the past month...

I recently blogged about how I'd found myself the perfect green polka dot dress after years of searching. Well, less than two months after finding the first, I found a second green polka dot dress that I'm also crazy about- the Lindy Bop Kody tea dress. I think it might just be even more perfect than my Lola swing dress from Dolly and Dotty. It's a beautiful chiffon tea dress with an elasticated waist and capped sleeves, and it's perfect for every day wear- unlike many of my swing dresses that can look so out of place here in The Cotswolds. I really hope that Lindy Bop bring it out in more colours and patterns, because I'd happily buy one of each! I love this dress!

I added the Accessorize rocket bag to my novelty bag collection a couple of weeks ago, and even though it's not the most practical of bags, it's been really fun to use so far. The best part is that it only cost me £4.50!! It was originally £35, reduced down to £5, and with a 10% discount code I snagged myself the best bargain ever. All I need now is a dress with an awesome space-themed print to go with it, so I can create the perfect outfit for it.

My favourite ever Lush product has to be Happy Soap- or it was until some wise-guy at Lush HQ decided to discontinue it, maybe five or six years ago. I was absolutely gutted when it was retired (yes, I know it's only soap!) because it was the best soap ever. It had the most amazing orange, citrus fragrance, and left my skin soft instead of dried out, like some soaps do. Plus it was usually shaped like a smiley face in gift sets, which made it the cutest soap ever.

Well, you can imagine how excited I was when I found out it was available in the Lush Kitchen last month, which is where Lush make up small batches of discontinued or exclusive products for a very limited time. The menu in the Lush Kitchen changes regularly, so I didn't waste any time in snapping a few Happy Soaps up before they could get away. With delivery I spent about £20 on three soaps (I must be mad!), but it's still as gorgeous as I remember, so I think it was worth it. I only wish they'd bring it back permanently. 

Reading: I haven't found a lot of time to read lately, except for reading up on puppy care, so I'm still reading The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton. I'm hoping to do better this month.

Watching: The Martian, About Time, Shutter Island, The Impossible, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland (Disney cartoon version), Dumbo, Finding Nemo, This Boy's Life, The Fault In Our Stars, Mrs Doubtfire.

Listening: I'm still playing a lot of Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco, mixed in with Ronan Keating's latest album Time Of My Life. I'm not really a fan of pop music, but my exception is Ronan / Boyzone, who I've been a big fan of them since I was nine. (Make of that what you will). I'm really enjoying his new album at the mo, although I personally don't think it's his best. My heart still belongs to Fires.

And finally, I spent a fair few hours colouring away in the adult colouring book My Mystical Wonderland, pretending to be artistic even though I'm definitely not! The pictures have been really fun to work on, especially the lion above with his heavily-decorated, voluminous mane.

And those are some of my February favourites.

What have you been loving lately?

Fashion and Beauty Favourites | August and September 2015

I can't believe I'm putting my August and September favourites together today. How is it already October?? I've got no idea where the last couple of months have gone, and something tells me the next two are going to go really fast, too. It'll be Christmas before we know it, which is insane!

Before I start looking ahead, I'd better look back and share some of my fashion and beauty favourites from August and September. I usually share other things I've been loving in these favourite posts, like books and crafty things, but this month I'm going to blog about them separately, because I fancy a change.

I didn't buy many clothes during the Summer because I spent 99% of it living in my pyjamas, not feeling up to dressing like a proper human being. but I did treat myself to a gorgeous blue and red lip print swing dress from Lady Vintage in August. I had coveted the dress for months, and when I saw it on sale for about £25, I just couldn't resist. It's an absolute beauty! The print is gorgeous, the fabric is fantastic quality, and it fits like a glove. It's sadly no longer available to buy, but the dress comes in loads of other patterns, and there are a couple of other dresses in this fabric that are still available on sale.

In August, I also added a new novelty bag to my ever-growing collection- a studded cat-ears cross body bag by Yoki Fashion. I'd wanted a cat ears bag for years, so when I found this one on sale for £15, I had to snap it up. I love the studded ears and the fact it has a polka dot lining; my only bug-bear is that it's a little shorter than I'd like. The bag is no longer available in black, but a pink version is available here for just £12, down from £30!

I've been loving all the new season Cath Kidston things and made a few cheeky purchases over the last couple of months. I adore my new resin sausage dog and squirrel brooches. Aren't they adorable? They remind me of the Erstwilder designs, but they're far more purse friendly at just £6 each. I also picked up the resin rose bracelet in a gorgeous raspberry colour. I already had the bracelet in red and cream, but I couldn't resist buying it in another colour because I wear them to death. And they're just so pretty!

Another new addition to my CK collection is a pink and blue Provence rose print camera case. I've been searching high and low for a new camera case since I got my camera for Christmas last year; finding one to fit it has been a nightmare. It's taken me nine months, but I've finally found the one! It's a brand new design for AW, and a little wider than their old ones. so it even fits chunky little compact cameras like my little Canon. Now I can actually take the camera out of the house without worrying about breaking it. Yay!

My current beauty favourites have to be my new Inglot eyeshadows. I added a four pan palette and four shadows to my existing collection of twenty-two back in August, and I'm completely smitten with them. The shades are all so beautiful, and I've had so much fun wearing them, and combining them with some of my other Inglot shadows to create lots of different looks. What I love about these eyeshadows is that they're highly pigmented, blendable, and long-lasting, and very reasonably priced, too. The single eyeshadows are just £5.00, the rainbow trios are £6.50, and the palettes, which are sold separately, start from around £5.00. The four-pan is £7.00. Since each shadow and palette is sold separately, you have the freedom to create your own perfect palettes with the shades you love best, which is a brilliant concept. There are dozens if not hundreds of colours to choose from, and something for every taste. I'm going to dedicate a whole post to my Inglot eyeshadow palettes very soon, so if you'd like to know more about them and see swatches, keep an eye on Polka Spots over the next couple of weeks.

So, those were my fashion and beauty favourites from August and September. What were yours? Tell me in the comments below!

Favourites | June and July 2015

I'm a little late with my July Favourites post, but better late than never, right? Considering I skipped my June Favourites altogether, I can at least say this is an improvement! Ha ha!

I didn't have enough to feature for June, so I'll be combining my favourites from June and July for today's post.

June may have been uneventful, but July was a good month for lovely things. It was my birthday at the beginning of the month, which brought presents and a little extra cash to spend how I wanted. Let's just say, it didn't stay in my purse for long!

Wearing / wardrobe newbies:

Evans Flamingo PJ Set: I got myself the cutest flamingo-print PJs from Evans during the heat wave at the end of June. I needed some nightwear I could wear around my family in the 30'C+ heat without melting, and this set has more than paid for itself. It's so comfy, too!

Scarlett & Jo Dress: My parents gave ms some money for my birthday, which I spent on the gorgeous red and black Scarlett & Jo prom dress I'd been eyeing up for months. It's so beautiful! It has a plain black top with a mesh insert and capped sleeves, and a floral polka dot skirt with a light tulle petticoat underneath. I haven't actually worn it properly yet as I've been living in my PJs a lot lately, but I feel like a million bucks in it!

Dorothy Perkins Dress: The floral-print denim dress is from Dorothy Perkins, and was another piece I bought during the heat wave. I needed something light and comfortable to wear on a day trip to London in the sweltering heat, something with sleeves so I wouldn't have to wear a cardigan to cover my arms, nor roast to death wearing one. (I'm still self-conscious of my upper arms, and hate baring them in public). Thankfully, I found this short-sleeved denim smock dress in time, and it just so happened to be on sale for the bargain price of £12! The denim is light and airy, and the dress loose without looking too over-sized, so it's comfortable to wear in the heat, and it looks cute, too. It was perfect for my trip to London last month, and I've worn it several times since.

Accessorising:

Sass and Belle brooch: I treated myself to the cutest wooden swallow brooch from Sass and Belle last month. I still can't believe it was only £1.50! I think the quality is excellent, especially for the price, and it looks awesome with so many of my swing dresses.

ASOS Curve harness: Speaking of awesome jewellery, I finally got my hands on the mood-stone body harness from ASOS Curve, which I'd been coveting for months. It was so worth the wait! I wasn't sure what the sizing would be like, so I ordered the biggest size (M/L), to be safe, but it's generously sized so I think the S/M would've been better. It can be adjusted a little around the neck and back, though, and I think it looks amazing on. I'll admit that I'm ever so slightly obsessed with it.

Beauty Loves:

♥ I started using Garnier Start Afresh Cleanser and Toner in June, which I've been really impressed with so far. My skin is already softer, cleaner, and clearer, and those are results I like- especially since both products are so affordable. Expect a review soon!

♥ I've been keeping The Body Shop's peppermint cooling foot-spray close by during the muggy summer days, and it's been a God-send on my hot, tired feet. It's easily one of my favourite Summer staples.

♥ Lush Emotional Brilliance liquid eyeliners are among my favourite eye make up products, and I'm particularly addicted to my newest colours, Healthy, a vibrant apple green, and Motivation a striking light teal.

♥ I know I've already mentioned my Lush eye jewels a million times but I adore them! The colours are gorgeous, they're long-lasting, and my little palette reminds me of Trivial Pursuit. I'll be reviewing them in the next week or two, and I promise I'll stop talking about them after that!

♥ I treated myself to a new bottle of my favourite nail polish of all time- a Barry M classic nail paint in bright red. It's been my favourite for well over a decade, and I never get bored of wearing it.

♥ And I also tried some Mavala nail polishes for the first time in July, after my parents gave me a set for my birthday. I'm particularly loving 'Milky', a coral-orange, and 'Vegas Pink', a deep magenta.

Watching: About a month ago, I saw the film 'Little Women' for the very first time, and instantly fell in love with it. It has to be one of the loveliest films I've ever seen. I'm not sure how I'd never seen it before but I now count it as one of my all time faves. If you love period dramas, Christmas, general loveliness, and your sisters, I think you'll love it, too. After watching Little Women, I had an urge to rewatch 'Mermaids' (another film starring Winona). It's a classic and worth watching for Cher's wardrobe alone!

Reading: I've been too stressed to concentrate on reading much, lately, but I'm making slow progress with 'Little Women'. I've only read about 100 pages so far, but I'm really enjoying it. And not just because the copy my sister gave me for my birthday is gorgeous.

Listening: There hasn't been a lot of music blasting out from my speakers this Summer, since I managed to break my iPod last month. It slipped out of my hand, bounced off the glass bathroom scales, and shattered. I'm so gutted! I feel like I'm missing a limb!

Colouring: You'll probably have noticed that I'm hooked on adult colouring books at the moment, and in June and July I did a little colouring-in almost every day. I spent hours colouring away at My Magical Oasis, which is one of my current faves. (Should I admit to owning five adult colouring books now? Probably not, but who cares?!) Colouring-in has been distracting me from my physical pain, and also from the stress of other health issues and medical appointments, so it's been a welcome outlet for me lately. It helps that it's full of pretty pictures to work on. (Review here). Plus using Crayola colouring pencils is strangely enjoyable; it reminds me of childhood!

Creative writing: I've also been working my way through a creative writing book called 642 Tiny Things To Write About. It's filled with creative writing prompts that can be completed in a couple of paragraphs or less, and I can never just complete one at a time. I've lost many happy hours filling out page after page after page. (Review here).

There are many other things I could add to this post, but I think I've rambled on enough already, so let's stop here. If you've made it to the end, thanks for sticking with me!

What are your favourite things right now?

Currently | April 2015

I was intending to have this post up on Thursday, but I've been hit with a nasty cold and chest infection (or quite possibly, the plague), and I've been too poorly to blog. I still am, really. The worst part is the relentless chesty cough; I'm coughing so hard I keep tasting blood, and it's not doing my back any favours, either. My eye balls are aching like crazy, too, making it painful to look at my laptop screen, so it's taken me four days to put this post together! I'm fed up of working on it now, so I'm doing my best to power through and get it done.

So... starting today, I'm going to write a monthly favourites post, where I will be writing about my favourite things of the month just past. These posts will give me the opportunity to share the new or current faves in my wardrobe, the beauty products I've been using, entertainment I've been enjoying, creative hobbies I've been working on, and anything else I might be enjoying, or just want to mention. I think this will be a great way to  share all those little things that often don't make it on to the blog, but should! I honestly don't know why I didn't start this feature sooner, but I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes!

Wearing / Latest Fashion Purchases

I bought the cutest scallop print dress from Dorothy Perkins last week. It's just a simple fit and flare jersey dress, but I have a feeling I'll be wearing it to death this Summer; it's so comfy! I finally bought a couple of cropped cardis from Peacocks last weekend, too, since most of mine are on their last legs. I obviously ordered the yellow and the green, which are two of the most vibrantly-coloured pieces of knitwear I've ever seen! They're so cheerful! The fabric is super soft and thick, and I'm so surprised by how great quality they are for just £12. 

Accessorising

April was a great month for accessories. I wore the funky little tulip brooch from Cath Kidston pretty much every time I was dressed (even if that was only a handful of times! Haha!). What can I say? It's cute! I also fell in love with the ice cream and strawberry clutch bags from New Look (though, I think I bought the ice cream in March). They're so much fun, and they look good worn with almost everything. They're definitely two of the best novelty bags around this season. I talked a little more about them here.

Beauty products I'm loving

♥ I bought my very first product from Bobbi Brown (on sale at Bicester Village); a gorgeous mint green eyeshadow called Sea Glass. It's so pretty.

♥ My old faithful Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is still one of my favourite beauty products. I'm impressed that it even removes Roller Lash with very little effort.

♥ I adore the smell of Original Source Skin Quench All-In-One Moisturising Shower Gel in pineapple and coconut oil. I wish more beauty products were pineapple-scented!

♥ Yes To Coconut Cleansing Wipes smell just like summer! They're brilliant at removing make up, too, and are even compostable.

♥ I can't stop wearing my violet Urban Decay eyeshadow 'Flash'. It feels like velvet, and the colour is so striking.

♥ One of my newest discoveries is Kiko, and I'm a little obsessed with their gorgeous £2.50 nail polishes. I especially love 530, which is a shimmering mix of ocean blue and green that looks like mermaid scales.

♥ I'm still addicted to Benefit's amazing Roller Lash mascara. It gives me incredible long, curled lashes.

♥ I've been using Rimmel Matte 9-in-1 BB Cream for over six months, and it's the best base I've found in years. The colour match is pretty spot on (I use very light), and it gives decent coverage without covering up my freckles.

♥ Barry M Speedy Quick Dry nail paints are the most perfect pastel polishes for Spring. My faves are 'In A Heart Beat', 'Pole Position', and 'Road Rage'.

(Reviews I've written of the products are linked in blue. Reviews for the others will be coming soon!)

Reading

Unusually for me, I've barely read (novels) all year. I've had difficulty concentrating, with so much going on in my head, and when I've been able to concentrate, I've been falling asleep before I've read three pages. However, I started reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey a few days ago, and I'm already half way through, so I may have finally made  a break through! I'm really enjoying it so far, so expect a review soon!

Watching

I'm just a little bit obsessed with Mockingjay right now, and I've also been enjoying Begin Again. (Well, hello, Mark Ruffalo!) I watched The Impossible on TV last weekend, too, which really caught my attention. Have you seen it yet? It's a film about the Boxing Day tsunami, based on the true story of one family who were engulfed in the wave, separated, but miraculously survived. It was heavy, heart-breaking, realistic, and a bit graphic in places, but I think it was really well done. 

Listening

I've been playing a lot of Fall Out Boy, and Linkin Park lately... but hey, what's new? I'm particularly loving Fall Out Boy's latest album 'American Beauty / American Psycho', especially 'Uma Thurman' and 'Favourite Record'- they're infectious!

Creative Writing

I've been picking up the 712 More Things To Write About book (review here) almost every day lately, doing my best to complete at least one new task each time. I know I'm not the best writer in the world, but I've always enjoyed creative writing in my spare time, and this book is basically a creative writers dream. Well, maybe second to the dream of being a published novelist!

Cross Stitching

I'm working on another Christmas cross stitch sampler from River Drift House, albeit rather slowly. Well, December is seven months away, so there's no rush! I know it'll be finished in time. Getting it framed in time for Christmas is a whole other story! Haha!

Journaling

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but a while back I started a creative-slash-inspiration journal. I use it to record moments from my health care journey, the moments and things that have made me smile in spite of the pain, and anything I find inspiring, like lyrics and quotes. I've spent quite a few hours creating pretty pages lately, using pretty paper, Smash Book pads, and Project Life cards. I'm not working on Project Life but the Project Life cards are one of my latest obsessions. They're double-sided cards which feature things like patterns, pictures, quotes, and space to write on, and they're so much fun to journal or scrapbook with. I have a few sets of them, but I think my current faves are the journal, travel, and summer cards. They're brilliant!

And... I think I'll leave the favourites here. I have more I could mention, but I think the post is long enough already.

What were your favourite things in April?