Life Lately....

The best yummy homemade hot chocolate ever! Complete with salted caramel & mallows, A healthy yummy breakfast, Cute little fox jumper for Alffie from Boots, Mega curly hair with Mac's Relentlessly Red Lipstick, Valentines day gifts! Some little treats from Debenhams, A messy Gertie before she was groomed & a naught Gertie after!

I thought it had been a while since I had posted a little life update, I haven't been up to all that much lately, mainly thinking about Alffie & getting lots of bits ready for when he's here & packing my hospital bag...what a palava that is turning in to! I think if I took a whole suitcase of stuff with me I'd still manage to forget something! I'm thinking of doing a blog post on what I'm actually taking maybe it will help other soon to be Mums because I know I've struggled terribly. The due date is looming every closer though, D Day is May 12th (fingers crossed he is born on that day or maybe before?!) I know I'm getting more & more anxious as it approaches. 

Moving on from all things preggo related, My beautiful little Gertie had her first grooming session last week, she looks so beautiful but even more gangerly & tiny than before! I miss her messy fluffy mane! If your in South Wales I'd defiantly check out Doggy Do's in Port Talbot not only is it one of the most affordable groomers that I've found but the groomer Simone is so friendly & really has a passion for what she does, she really put my nervous little fluff ball at ease & has done an excellent job. 

I forgot to mention that this valentines I was extremely spoil! Not only did Martyn buy me a gorgeous River Island handbag I'd had my eye on for a while but also he gave me a gorgeous little hamper filled with lots of goodies like chocolates, a mug, Yankee tarts, bucks fizz & more! We had a fantastic meal & snuggled on the sofa all night after a lush bubble bath complete with face masks, we sat & laughed the whole time, it's little moments like that, that make me so happy & really cherish & appreciate how amazing he really is! 

I'll be sure to do one of these updates each month, especially when my phone is groaning at the amount of photos I take! I do love photo diary style blog posts. 

Save or Splurge?

Florence Anne Blackcurrant & Fig Eau De Toilette 

Florence Anne Blackcurrant & Fig Candle 

Now we all love a bit of luxury & we all love a splurge, but when I find a dupe that not only packs a punch but has a great price I can't help but to get excited. So at Christmas time whilst browsing the various scents & candles that Jo Malone has to offer I fell in love with the Blackberry & Bay Cologne, but I didn't fall in love with the £82 - per 100ml price tag. But hay it's Christmas right? We all love something special at Christmas time. Before deciding if I wanted to buy the fragrance I decided to pop to Boots & have a look around at all the gift sets when I happened to stumble upon the Florence Anne Fragrance section, now I'd never heard of this brand within Boots before but I couldn't help but to notice how the style of the range was slightly similar to Jo Malone. I went on smelling the candles & spraying away at the perfumes. That's when I found the Blackcurrant & Fig perfume & boy was I blown away! The scent is gorgeous & starts of smelling quite fresh but gets fruitier as it matures. It's priced at £10 per 45ml they also have candles in the range that start at £12. Which obviously is quite a difference in comparison to the Jo Malone range. 

Now by no means am I saying that this little brand beats Jo Malone because it quite obviously doesn't but it does slightly rival it, it has the look & most certainly has the scent. I think it would make a lovely gift especially package wise, it's really pretty. So maybe before jumping in & splashing out on Jo Malone on a perfume you might only wear once or twice, or purchasing a candle you'll be crying every time you light. I urge you to pop to Boots & give this range a try, because I can guarantee you'll certainly be as surprised as much as I was. 

My No7 Match Made Service Experience....

So on a dark gloomy morning fresh from work I decided to pop in to my local Boots and have a peak at the new No7 Foundations. After having a play around with the Foundations I decided the Instant Radiance line was the one that I was after, it deliver a radiance boost, thing along the lines of Rimmel Wake Me Up and YSL Touche Eclat Foundation whist calming stressed and tried skin, is also has an SPF 15 which really drew me to the foundation since I have sensitive and dry skin. It's also a Hypo-Allergenic foundation which would be well suited so someone with similar skin to me. It comes in at £12.50 which I think is a good average price for not a basic foundation but yet not quite high end, I also really like the packaging and think this also makes it look sleek and more high end. I especially like the shiny silver box, and the simple clean packaging, it's also a plastic bottle which is a lot better than a glass bottle.

Now for the colour match service, I did have to wait 15 minuets for someone from the No7 counter who was able to actually provide the service as there didn't seem to be anyone who knew how to do it. After playing around with the foundation in the time I was waiting I had already figured out that shade 43 Calico was my shade (for reference I'm in between NC15 TO NC20 when it comes to Mac foundation). So when the No7 Lady came to provide the colour match service which was quick and simple, the Lady simply placed the small device on my cheek (or neck depending if you are currently wearing foundation) and then told me my colour was 43 Calico (I was right!). The service was extremely fast and would of obviously been a lot quicker had there been someone available straight away.

On to the foundation, I actually was really surprised by this foundation, it applies very much like Mac's Studio Fix Fluid and sits really nice on your skin. It isn't heavy at all and does give you a radiant glow. I'd say the coverage is medium but is defiantly buildable and is best applied with a brush. Over all is a really nice foundation and one I would certainly reach for on a daily basis, I would certainly try out other foundations from the No7 range.