December Favourites: What's In My Bag.

It's winter time! And I thought I'd share with you lovely people a few items in my tiny little bag.
Enjoy!

1. Chunky Accessorize scarf.

I bought this chunky piece of knitted goodness last year as a Christmas present to myself, it was a premeditate buy and one that I am so glad I went for! The scarf is a big snood and is 100% wool- I cannot express to you how warm it keeps me. I have to wear it as one big loop when it's even mildly sunny because the thing keeps my neck a little too well insulated at times. I am DEFINITELY the sort of person who feels the cold (I blame my mother for giving me her incredibly poor circulation) and this buy is one of the best I've ever made.

2. Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lip Balm.

Palmer's- I don't know what it is, but they just get it right for me. Being a huge advocate of all their moisturising products, be it butters, oils or any other chocolatey products of joy- their lip products is what got me hooked. I usually go for a tube of their glossy moisturisers but when I grabbed this little gem off the shelf in a Tesco express all in a faff (as per usual) I figured I'd have a regular chap-stick type balm, for ease of access. This one is the chocolate and mint, and lord the smell is honestly gorgeous, but not too overwhelming either.

My lips have been so completely chapped and sore lately (my lip struggles never cease, I won't bore you with the details) and this little lip balm is an absolute saviour. Usually I put some on in the morning as I do my makeup to keep them soft, top up before I rush out into the cold and then also a little at night before I go to sleep so I don't wake up with that awful chapped and mildly pissed off look. (Instead I just stick with the mildly pissed off look.)
Palmer's you're just doing it right. Thank you for gorgeous smelling, beautiful effective products.

3. Sony earphones.

Earphones. Essential for travelling around Kent on poor public transport, especially in the dark and cold, by myself.

My current companions are little pink Sony buds, and I love them very much.

4. Lena Dunham's: Not That Kind Of Girl.

Okay, so this could turn into an entire post fangirling over Lena Dunham: her amazingly successful shows, her acting or writing, her wit, her honesty, her incredible sense of humour, fabulous levels of realism, how she is flawed in such a human way that everyone can relate to the broken pieces of her, her approaches to her own hair (currently luminous and amazing), her outlook on body image- Lena Dunham is someone who has completely enticed me into the arts world she emerged from.

Her book is hilarious and heartbreaking, realistic and outrageous, sincere and obscenely sarcastic- the storiess you will hear will each have an impact on the reader: making them stop to think and consider something: their own outlook on the world, their parents, their childhood fears, a string of ex-boyfriends, being in love, being heartbroken. Lena Dunham is incredible- I bought the book the second it hit the shelves in Waterstones and I keep it in my bag for free periods or coffee's alone, even the bus (despite the fact reading whilst travelling makes me feel gross- that's how much I was committed to reading this book.).

5. Kleenex. (I'm not going to photograph it because y'all know what Kleenex is, don't play.)

It's cold season, embrace the granny attitude of keeping tissues on you. You will thank yourself, I promise.

6. Body Shop Hand Sanitizer.

Again, it's cold season and after feeling like my insides hated me for about 4 days, I am OVER being ill. I am by no means a germ freak BUT I am sick of being ill, painkillers and laying in bed not being able to sleep. So I invested in hand sanitiser- which usually I have issues with because the smell makes me feel like hospitals and waiting rooms (and I don't know about you, but it's not a smell that hugely appeals to me). My personal favourite is Mango Hand Cleanse- but I'm just a mango obsessive so.

7. To Do Book.

I am a very disorganised and easily panicked individual, so I have a to do book. I picked up this teenie little black book for my notes and lists etc from Sainsbury's for literally 99p, and I feel like everyone needs a light little list book full of their to do lists. My essential.

Hope you enjoyed this little insight into what's in my bag! Please feel free to comment below anything you have to say- I'd love to hear from you!

X

The Bug Autumn Haul.

So this one has been a long time coming, and I've been promising it for a while to the real life people who read my blog that I would do this soon and I've just been putting it off and putting it off.

BUT here we are lovelies- IT'S AUTUMN! I'm sitting here at my desk listening to the rain with the 'Stuck in Love' soundtrack playing to my left, and a hot chocolate to my right- and let me tell you, it is ideal. So, possibly my favourite season of the whole year and it is here, so I though I'd do a post with all my Autumn essentials in one big haul.
Hope you enjoy it!

The Winter Warmth Essentials.

1. The Cardigan.

Okay so this cardigan was my absolute MUST HAVE this season, I was sitting around on blogs and Pintrest and I was seeing these gorgeous tall models kicking it in long lines cardigans, rushing to castings and around big cities- and I thought to myself: I haven't got the big city, or the long legs, or the cheekbones, but I can sure as hell have one of those hella comfy looking cardigans.
So I looked around for a while before I found this one here (available from New Look, about £20). I actually gave back 3 caridgans, 2 from H&M and 1 from Zara before I settled on this one. It's not actually wool, it's acrylic but it is so so much softer than the others I tried.

I'm not usually fussy about material and textures but this knit was just so cosy without being all baggy and hobo-ish. (Some girls can pull those off, I cannot because I don't have the figure...)
It's been absolutely gorgeous for those crisp autumn mornings waiting around for obnoxiously late public transport. I usually wear it with plain black jeans and a tea, or blue denim- I seem to have quite a thing for monochrome at the moment and I think I may need to branch out a little... Regardless though, this is one of my all time favourite winter essentials, so cosy and warm, so soft, and so easy to chuck on with a chunky scarf and leggings or jeans.

2. The Boots.

So my search for boots is never ending.
I was bought a gorgeous pair of tan leather Chelsea boots last year from Red Herring, and I can tell you now that they are the single greatest purchase I have ever made. Beautiful, comfortable and easy to pair with ANYTHING. Jeans, skirt, dress, leggings- the whole deal. I was in love with them.
So, this year when I came into a bit of money, naturally the first thing I spent it on was black versions. (yeah, I am seeing why people are telling me I have a bit of a monochrome obsession). I was initially going to buy a fancy expensive pair for myself, but somehow I managed to sign myself up to help out at a school event where we had to dress fancy and put together an outfit that required black boots- so of course I rushed out before the evening, dropped into Cafe Nero for about 3 hours with a couple of my favourite human beings, and made a quick purchase when I realised I needed black boots.

These little beauties were only about £25 and are so comfortable- they were an absolute steal.
Recommend so much.

3. The Scarf.

I bought this scarf last year from Accesorize, and I cannot stress to you enough how completely essential woollen scarves are. I have a little beanie hat to match, and it is so warm and cosy I have actually had to take it off mid-walk on a couple of occasions for fear of overheating and passing out. So there's a little story for you.

The Cold Weather Health and Beauty.

1. The Handbag Must Haves.

• Tissues- it's cold season.
• Strepsils- it's cold season.
• Hand sanitiser- it's cold season.
• A scarf- you may need it, don't be a muppet and stand around all cold.
• Headphones- always, not because you're an antisocial muppet, but because music on a cold night waiting around for public transport is often beyond a jokes. therefore, even if you have frostbite hands and blue toes- at least you'll be mildly entertained.

2. The Lush Products.

So I was treated to a mini Lush haul this half term, and lord did I take advantage.
I picked my top 5 products- and yes, they are all seasonal.

Melting Snowman

This little munchkin was perfect for kicking off my Christmas spirit this year, making my bath water soft and bubbly and oh so sweet smelling- the perfect stocking filler.








Brightside

This bath bomb was obsolutely gorgeous, and made me feel very exotic and warm. The orange and the yellows were beautiful in the bath water.






Dashing Santa

It's that time of the year, and I refuse to be calm about it- I am excited, because cold weather means santa... in Lush bath bomb form.





Cinders

Although this little gem only turns bathwater a yellowy apricot colour and not much else, the smell is absolutely lovely and fruity- and the water was so soft it left my skin feeling the same.
Love it.



Big Blue

Self explanatory really- pacific ocean blue water and a fresh and sharp smell, a little different from my usually fruity tendencies but a lovely addition to my favourites.











3. The Lip Product.

So I am definitely a big investor when it comes to lip products, and in winter time- this really needs to pay off. Being one of large lips is difficult when all the icy winter winds and cold weather does is chap them- but fear not, I have a solution.
What I've been doing as the weather gets colder I've been carrying around a little pot of aloe vera Vaseline, but also just before I go to bed, and as I start my makeup in the morning I apply a little Blistex Intensive Lip Moisturizer and I've been good to go.

4. The Nail Varnishes.

Barry M is forever my go to for nail varnishes, and I thought as the cold weather has arrived I could get away with some switching up of colours. So I purchased a little everyday wear 'Peach Melba'.




Then I also found myself being roped into some 2 for 1 deal- so I grabbed this little berry coloured beauty in 'Red Wine'...

5. The Christmas Smells.

As can quite easily be guessed from this post- I am a very pro-Christmas person. I love the holiday season and the corny TV, the crackers, the presents and the smells. My favourite little christmassy body product is Body Shops gingerbread flavoured body butter. Soft, awesome smelling skin? Yes please.

6. The Perfume.

Hugo Boss, woman. In love,

7. Concealer.

Cold weather is back, and my skin has gone into freak out mode. In the winter time I tend to wear a lot of foundation, a little bronzer and of course some blusher. My make-up is brighter in the winter time, a lot more shaping and bright, bold colours- and of course my skin suffers because rather than look after it, I just cover it up really.

So I've made myself a deal in order to keep my skin somewhat alive I'm going to have cheat days, where all I wear is a little moisturiser and concealer- this little Rimmel London Wake Me Up is my perfect little make-up bag essential. Light, decent coverage, and I found a colour that matches. ideal.

... 

So there we have it, my absolute FAVOURITE items for this season, and my essentials in one big Autumn/Winter haul. I hope you liked it, if you have any comments or questions feel free to drop one in the comment boxes I'd love to hear from you! There's a Winter Term Back To School Haul coming really soon too- because I went a little stationary crazy and feel like I could share that too!

But for now, have a fabulous day lovelies!

10 Reasons Why Autumn is Awesome.

1. Hot drinks.

Lo and behold children for it is the season of the pumpkin spice and gingerbread latte. Starbucks will be filled with us "white girls" kitted out in our oversized knits and Instagramming our little mugs and cups of joy. If nothing else, these gorgeous smelling, heart-warming treats are just some of the beautiful winter drinks we can start drinking now that autumn is in full swing.

So if you're feeling a little chilly, a little sad or low- get your ass into your kitchen and makes up some hot chocolate! Sugar boost, warm up and general joy will ensue. Make it as basic or fancy as you want- add that whipped cream, those flavour shots (my personal favourite is hazelnut- lord knows hazelnut hot chocolate is a whole new hot drinks ball game), shake on some sprinkles and shake of your chilly winter blues!


2. Leaves.

This is a simple little joy that not everyone will get, but is in my humble opinion, one of the best things about the seasons changing. The leaves go from a deep green to crispy reds and browns and golds. I live out in the countryside so I get to witness this all on a pretty big scale, driving down badly laid roads and avoiding tractors and their hay bales- some of you may live in cities. But here's the thing, you can still enjoy this little phenomenon in parks or on the street. It's simple, it's silly but I think it's beautiful.

3. Movies.

Cold weather = movie day excuse.

Get your besties, popcorn and duvets- Netflix it out or whack on a DVD (or VCR, it's your life) and enjoy a day of relaxation.


4. Candles.

My personal favourites at the moment are my classic Yankee Candle, and a brand call Lily-Flame that do the most delicious and unusual scented candles ever.

Really, look into them, they make me look forward to my evenings.


5. Fall fashion.


Cool bright mornings that give you an excuse to wrap up warm are my favourite.
The boots come out and you feel sassy and sophisticated, the big chunky cardigans,and ugly sweaters from the 80s, the big cosy snoods...

and the boys start wearing their beanies and THAT IS ALWAYS A GOOD THING.
And they wear long sleeve t shirts and then have to roll their sleeves when they get warm and forearms and.... IT'S JUST A GOOD SEASON FOR MENSWEAR. OKAY?







6. Halloween.

Nothing more to be said.

7. Fireworks.

Hot foot, cold feet, lights and colours in the sky that little kids stare at like it's magic. The bonfires and the friends, the slightly damp socks and misty breath.
It's like magic.

8. Christmas party dresses and general increase in sparkles.

Everything is in sequins, and metallic prints, and its bright and bold and theres jewellery and big earring everywhere. So have a look about at this seasons party frocks, H&M ad New Look have a whole range of cute little numbers to suit everyone's needs. It's brilliant.
It sparkles.



9. Christmas build up.

• Present displays.
• Christmas foods.
• Fairy lights.
• Trees.
• The Coke advert.
• The Christmas movies.

10. Reminiscing.

• It's getting to the end of the year.
• Get those bucket list things done.
• Kiss that boy. (Or girl)
• Get those last few pounds off.
• Think about the good.
• Think about the bad.
• Start making those New Years plans!

New Years is my favourite night, it's magic, it's fun and drunken, and it's always got it's ups and downs.

Winter Skin Worries

Summer is coming to an end, the bronzers, fake tans and bikinis are being hidden away again and the cool weather is coming!
If you're anything like me the cold weather means my skin will decide to play up and fuss. It's understandable, it comes as a nasty shock to many when the cold weather comes around. But never fear, this is my cold weather products for skin!

1. Washes and Cleansers!

Okay, so teenage years are infamous for being the ones spent desperately trying to sort out various issues with appearance, one that affects us the most? Your skin. The only way I've been able to battle my skin over the last couple of years has been trying a variety of different face washes and finding ones that work for me. My skin is fairly average, although it gets oily around my nose and T zone in the summer, and dries right out in the cold weather! (Basically my skin just hates me...)

So, I use Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit wash for my everyday in the morning. I had to try it because I used Neutrogena's regular orange coloured wash- and this one was pink. Pink. What can a girl do?!

I love this product because if your skin is feeling oily, not fresh and just a little bit meh, it's really great for getting rid of that without drying out your skin completely! I always find any facewash with microbeads in it make my skin finish up feeling really clean and scrubbed and soft afterwards, and this was no exception. The product smells great, looks very cute but most importantly works for me! The only thing I would say is I wouldn't use this product more than once a day on myself, simply because my skin would dry out so quickly! For removing impurities this product is my number one sking product, but I would say that the product claims to sort out your blemishes... it may do an extent but I havent found it to fix my blemishes completely! *Sigh*...
To conclude: great smelling, leaves my face feeling super soft, clears impurities super well, and doesn't dry out my skin! It's only about £3.00 at Boots, and such a bargain!

2. Moisturisers

This moisturiser was the easiest thing to pick, and yes- I am going to gush about it.
My mum has always been a great believer in the goodness of The Body Shop. I grew up on fruity soaps, sweet perfumes and am the proud owner of every lip balm flavour The Body Shop can offer. My mum left me the Vitamin E Moisture Lotion as a little pre exams present (because she knew I was stressed, and my skin was also in a sad state, and just also because my mum is a wonderful lady...) so I had no hype or expectation for it to be fabulous.

I fell in love with this moisturiser straight away. Why?
Well firstly, it smells subtly wonderful. The scent isn't super strong and overpowering, just slightly sweet and fresh enough for you to just appreciate it and think "ahh".
Secondly- it's light. Now i'm usually useless with moisturising- I hate it. It's tedious and boring and I forget to do it. Due to this product I now remember and (this will sound really very sad) look forward to using this product. It's very very light and has a kind of "whipped" quality to it, so it doesn't sit on your skin for hours and make it look oil.
Thirdly, you only need a tiny bit of the product and it goes a long way- I've had mine since April and it's still going strong with me now, and I use it every day! I absolutely love it, and even though it looks like a very small tube for a £7 product- it's 100% worth it.

Now I keep skin simple and with washes and moisturisers, so part 3 would be my regular foundation/ tinted moisturiser/ BB cream things- and as those change so regularly I won't put all the ones I use on here!
So that's it really, if your skin is getting a bit boring and sad, and just generally neglected- these are my little skin pick me ups for when the weather gets grey and you skin needs a little happiness!

If you have any suggestions about any  reasonably priced foundations that are good for every day please leave me any comments, or if you have anything to ask/ say about the products above I would love to see it so let me know!
That's all from me,
Love Matti X

Sweater Weather, Better Weather!

SO. Finally, it's happening- sweater weather has arrived!

Disclosure: living in England do not think that I don't treasure and wish for and love every tiny second of sunshine that we've had this summer, don't think that I don't totally and completely appreciate every ounce of vitamins and goodness from the sky, and the heat and the fluffy white clouds and days at the beach and generally soaking up those rays... I do. Trust me, I appreciate every bit of them.

But... it has been a long summer, and it began getting to the point a few days ago, where the mugginess was setting in. Where we were all packed off back to school and shoved into stuffy classrooms and overcrowded buses with the all too familiar and pungent odour of teenage boys after PE classes, and girls spraying an entire ozone layer of body spray. It was sticky and uncomfortable and no one was prepared. School

buildings in the UK aren't built for Indian summers, school uniforms are designed for the bitterly cold winter months, for icy winds and snow and sharp little droplets of rain. So needless to say everyone has been melting for about 4 days now. And for those who, like me, are lucky enough to be in a sixth form that allows home clothes, have nothing to wear. Because we all thought we were being incredibly sensible in shopping Autumn/ Winter for our back to school kit. Little did we know the weather had other plans...

But then- Plot Twist: I woke up this morning tucked right into the covers of my bed, not wanting to stretch out my limbs too far... and why? Because it was too cold. And in some insane way this pleased me. Why?

Because in my personal and humble opinion, sweater weather is better weather.

This first crispy fresh Autumn day is my favourite kind of day. Sweaters and leggings and boots and scarves are all things I love. Hot chocolates on cool Sunday's and walks all wrapped up in the crisp September air- what's not too love? Don't get me wrong, the summer was fabulous- bikini's,shorts, summer dresses and cute little tops is a season I love. But as much as I love soaking in the sun, I can't deny it- being tucked up in a baggy jumper or my favourite jumper of chunky scarf has been all I've wanted for the last week.

So bring on the cool days, the warm clothes and the hot chocolates!