A Little Foot Love

Now, I know a LOT of people are freaked out by feet. I'm not. I'm one of those weird people who actually LIKE feet. If  you hate those hand like things at the bottom of our legs, then turn away now!

When it comes to caring for my body, I always seem to forget about my feet. I will moisturies my whole body to high heavens, but when it comes to my feet-nothing. Nada. Nilch.

After seeing a woman who performs massages with her feet on This Morning, I decided that I should pay a bit more attention to my feet. Because she didn't have arms, her she focused on what she could do with her feet, and they looked really 'pretty' too, as far as feet can. They had a pink polish on them and looked really soft.  I realised that I should give my feet a little more love. After all, they do so much for me...

 

 Here's my little foot 'care package', which I quickly cobbled together from products lying around in my bathroom. 

It consists of: 

*a foot file from the Body Shop (euw, but dry feet need to be scrubbed!) 

*toe separaters (which never seem to fit my toes properly)

*Johnson's Baby Lotion- I love this stuff. It absorbs really well and leaves my skin (almost) baby bottom soft. 

*And finally an unbranded nail polish in a dusty pink colour.

For some reason I tend to think that I should wear more conservative colours on my toe nails. I usually go for more 'out there' colours on my nails- I'd pretty much try anything. But not on my feet. You'd think it'd be the other way round really, considering that my feet are hidden most of the time. I only 'wear' bare feet at home (I like to air them) and the only people who see them are my partner/the postman (my partner is not the postman, but I am sometimes caught unawares by posties delivering packages...er, yeah). But there you go. My feet must remain conservative and proper. Feet. It feels really weird to be talking about feet. Or rather writing about feet.

Anyway, my feet now feel more loved and looked after now, which is always a good thing. 

Jack Wills

I know that people have mixed opinions about Jack Wills, the 'fabulously British' company.  I know I do. I see girls in my area who dress top to toe in the brand, with their Jack Wills hoodies and slouchy pants, ugg boots and cool messy top knot. I hear people complaining about how 'ra' they are. But here's the thing- and I hate to admit it- I think they look all right. Even-dare I say it-pretty cool! (though I could never pull off the look myself.)

I quite like JW, bar the really expensive prices; for what you get it is staggeringly pricey.

I have a few JW items- some pjs, 2 hoodies, a pair of shorts and a tee. That's more than I thought. I actually got a JW hoody for Christmas and my grandma wasn't impressed. She's not a fan of hoodies and when she saw me with it on she exclaimed 'who is this Jack Wills you're seeing then?' That made me chuckle. But I am essentially walking around with a man's name on my back, yes!

As I've purchased a few things from them before, they send me this catalogue, which they've called 'Spring Term Handbook'. Another reminder that I am no longer a university student, sobsob.

One thing about the models who pose in this- they are so achingly cool. The first twenty or so (it seems) pages in this book are devoted to glossy pictures of beautiful people having fun in Jack Wills clothes. Buy into the image? Yes please....;)

Look at them just frolicking around, all cool and pretty. My spongebob blanket (which seems to be in all my pics at the moment-sorry!) and S's grandad slippers in the background show how not cool I am, ha!

I have had my eye on something slightly unusual for me:

This yellow mac. I can imagine wearing it with welly boots on a camping trip. Or at the seaside on a typical British rainy day.

(Sorry for the shadows in these pics by the way). These dresses are gorgeous, but will set you back £98.  I have a dress like the one on the far left. I got it from Topshop for £25 or something in the sale. I'm looking forward to wearing colourful little dresses again *bring on summer*

And I am still in love with the Jack Wills blazers, especially the tweed one-the 'Best of British' look. I would wear it with a pair of jeans and a basic plain tee. If I had the fricking confidence to wear jeans! Soon, people, soon...

So what do you think of Jack Wills? Rip off or the seller of 'fabulously British' clothes?

I'll announce the winner of my giveaway at the end of this week. 

 http://weareunderthewillowtrees.blogspot.com/2012/02/ootd-leather-and-giveaway.html

Mini MAC haul

So recently I ventured into the MAC shop on one of my Friday evening shopping sprees.

 I primarily went to repurchase my trusty studio fix foundation. This time I decided to get studio sculpt and I got a tube rather than a compact. More product for your money (at least in my head anyway).

I also realised *shockhorror* that I only own 1 MAC lipstick, which I never use as a) it is a vibrant red colour (Ruby Woo) which I would not really wear on a daily basis and am still unsure of and b) it has a matte finish which is really drying on my lips.

As everyone needs a good MAC lipstick in their life, I decided to buy one. I kept picking up the 'velvet teddy' (or something like that!) shade, but my friend advised that it didn't suit my skin colour. It was a kind of nude colour with brown undertones, which I've been drawn too recently.

Instead, I got this one:

It's in shade faux and it's such a lovely creamy pink with purple undertones. It's doesn't have a matte finish so it's not drying for my lips, which is great, though I do find that lipstick sits a little weirdly on my lips.

Here's the rest of my haul :

*Faux lipstick £13.50
*Studio sculpt foundation in NC15 £23.00
*Brush cleanser- £8

So the foundation is pretty close to my 'perfect' foundation (though I'm still on the lookout for any other goodies...I'm considering trying Nars Sheer Glow next). I get it in NC15, which is almost perfect for my skin tone. It is quite thick and heavy (for me) and gives a good coverage. I can't help thinking that it is maybe more of a 'night out' foundation due to the coverage, but I still like it! My skin doesn't seem to be complaining too much, but that may be down to Liz Earle. Since I've been using the hot cloth cleanser, my ever present skin spots have diminished and my dry skin is feeling more hydrated! Definitely repurchasing.

Last MAC thing, the brush cleanser. Does what it says on the box really. I found it a bit fiddly and I found that I needed quite a lot of fluid to cleanse one brush, but it did the job and left my brushes feeling nice and soft and clean. All you can ask for really!

What's your favourite MAC lipstick shade? Any recommendations for a pale skin tone? (I'm loving lipsticks at the moment!) xx

PS Don't forget to enter my giveaway! 

http://weareunderthewillowtrees.blogspot.com/2012/02/ootd-leather-and-giveaway.html

Sorry for the long link, I have a lot to learn!

OOTD leather and giveaway

I love my little Topshop flippy dresses, but I usually tend to wear them in the same way-with a little cardigan and flats. I do like this and feel really comfortable in it, but I thought I'd mix things up today. So I went into my packed wardrobe (really do need to stop hoarding) and pulled out a few things:

I have a beautiful leather jacket (well, I think so) that I got in the sale at Warehouse a few years ago. I hardly ever wear it, but I should, especially whilst it's still in between winter and spring and so cold enough for a coat. I quite like the biker chick(ish) look.

I also hardly every wear these shoes. I bought them from Office a few years ago for a whopping £90. I would never spend that much on shoes nowadays! I wore them out on the way to Paris once, where I had to run to catch the train whilst hauling a min elephant of a suitcase behind me. Not a clever move kids. Don't wear heels when you have to walk miles and carry lots. Which I did again the other day. Ever learn? But they are so pretty....

*Topshop flippy dress

*Office boots

*Warehouse leather jacket

*Forever 21 patterned tights.

I also wore one of my new favourite lipsticks, faux by MAC

In other news, as I have reached 100 followers (yay!) I am doing a little giveaway. I really am grateful to anyone who reads my ramblings and little comments always make me smile, as does reading some of your posts. 

So, here is the giveaway loot: 

 

 A pair of exfoliating gloves (let's start with the exciting thing, right ;) 

A necklace with circular ceramic things on it.

A headband with a little bow on it

No7 Nail and Cuticle cream

A rainbow beanie (why not?)

Rimmel Match Perfection foundation in Ivory (equivalent to MAC NC20 I'd say)

* 2 nail polishes- 1 Natural Collection in Praline 

1 Stargazer in a dark purple colur

* B never too busy to be beautiful glitter dust

It comes all wrapped up and in this beautiful packaging

 (eek, chipped nail polish...ignore!)

It's a pot of lovely pink glittery glitter. Pop it over eyeshadow or over your body on a night out. I used to swipe glitter all over my face on a night out when I was younger! 

All packed away in a biscuit tin I got from Paris (sans biscuits now, sorry!) Feel a bit mean packing rainbow beanie away, so I have left him some 'breathing space' haha.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of willing this lot is:

-Follow my blog on google friend
-Comment and say which types of posts you enjoying reading. 

No following bloglovin' or twitter or anything, because I don't have any of those things!

xxxx 

OsOTD

So, I have just been on a lovely walk to Hampstead Heath on this gloriously sunny day.

But first, here's the dress I bought from Forever 21.

*Mustard dress (comes with belt) £12 Forever 21
*patterned tights  £4 ish-Forever 21
*Black oversized cardigan (this is my comfort blanket cardi) £12 F&F at Tesco.

I also wore my 'charmed' Topshop lipstick today and I have to say, even though it is different and daring for me, I love it! My b/f wasn't so impressed, claiming that painted lips remind him of clowns.

I even think it goes well with the yellow dress. Will be wearing this lipstick a lot during the summer, methinks.

I decided to change into some jeans *shockhorror* and a hoodie for the walk, as I didn't want to get my tights muddy (need to get me some wellies). The rest of this post is going to be a little photo diary of my walk to Hampstead Heath. I will probably waffle too.

When we got to the heath we saw lots of coaches and found out that the national championship for cross country racing was happening, and we got to see the winner of the U17 race pass the finish line, which was amazing. Seeing the pain and happiness of these girls' faces almost made me cry, especially when the coach congratulated the winner right next to me.

Standing behind a mayorey person or something. She gave a rose to the winner and was dressed in this rather fetching red gown, so I'm guessing she was someone important. 

Watching the race, apart from making me feel tired, made me think that I should get back into running. I do enjoy it once I have been doing it regularly and my fitness levels increase. I just struggle to find the time and energy after work, but I should still try, especially as it's starting to get warmer out.

 

I got changed into my comfy Jack Wills hoodie before the walk. That's all there is to say about that really! 

Me and the b/f playing around on fallen trees. I still love doing this. All in all, a perfectly lovely morning!

Guess I better get on with some work now...sigh.

*nearly at 100 followers now! This makes me happy. When I do reach this number I will be doing a little giveaway which I am already gathering little things for. Thanks to all who read my ramblings*

Haul- Topshop and Forever 21

So I went on one of my Friday evening shopping sprees again (it's getting bad! Shopping cheers me up, so it's ok, right?) I could feel the week slide away from me as I roamed around in Topshop, though I didn't buy any jeans like I had planned to, as it made me look like sausage leg lady. No, I'll leave the jeans for a slimmer time!

I did, however, purchase this lovely little slouchy jumper.

I am the queen of slouchy jumpers. I adore them. I practically live in them. It's not just the way they look, though I love that too (you can team with jeans, skirts, shorts, basically anything) but the way it makes me feel, which is, in a word, comfortable. Me. I feel like I can relax when I'm in them and still feel a little bit stylish.

I also got rather excited as I approached the makeup section in Topshop. I am having a love affair with nail polish and lipstick at the moment, it seems, and so I headed straight for those. As usual, Topshop have a great and rather vast selection of both.

My loot:

*Enchanted lipstick in 'charmed'
*Lips-shade Nevada
*Lips-shade Innocent
*Nails-shade Peaches and Cream
*Nails-shade Bees Knees

This is the first time that I have tried the Enchanted range. The colour charmed is an orangey shade, and I must admit I was partly tempted to buy this because next to the counter was a photo of a gorgeous blonde, pale model wearing the shade and looking great. Made me think it would look similar on me (due to the tones, not looks!) and I hope it is.

It's a great colour for summer, and I think it'd look good with either basics (a plain white tee and denim shorts) or a cute summery dress.

The first swatch is in shade 'innocent' which is a nice pinky colour, the Nevada is second, which is a more nude colour and the Enchanted shade is third, though it is a lot more orange than it appears in this photo. All in all, pretty excited to try out all of these.

I also ventured into Forever 21 (which was BOILING, even the sales assistants were complaining). But that didn't stop me from buying 2 brightly coloured jersey dresses (blue and yellow-I will do an outfit post tomorrow) and these funky patterned tights. I love me some patterned tights!

O.k, I've waffled on a bit here! If you read this far, you have the patience of a saint and I thank you :)

Outfit of the Day- Colour

For a girl with a tendency to dress as though expecting a funeral, this is one of the most colourful outfits I have worn in a long time.

Yeah, sorry about the light. I kinda like the ghostly effect it has given me though. And I have my red Tesco shoooes on.

I'm wearing:

-Blue Topshop skater style dress- NOW ON SALE FOR £15
-Bottle Green Primark cardigan- £6
-Red shoes- as I've already mentioned- Tesco £10


I love the dress. I have one with a polka dot print too. They come in a few different colours, though the only 'colour' one I liked was the blue. The others were dull pinks and reds. The only gripe I have, which is more about me than the dresses themselves, is that they are clingy, clingy, clingy. They contain lycra, so I should have expected it, but I find myself pulling the dress here and there to hide any lumps and bumps. Minus that, they are great and go with so many things. I can see this becoming one of my 'go to' dresses.

A less ghostly image.

And finally...because I can't resist pulling a silly face.

Liz Earle 'Care Package'

Today I received an exciting package from Liz Earle. I have been feeling more than a bit peeved with my stubborn dry skin which no cream or potion has been able to soothe as of yet. I have heard good things about the Liz Earle collection and so I decided to give it a whirl.

I ordered a few sample sized products from the website. I was pleased to see that you can shop by skin type, so I clicked straight on the 'dry' button. Great- no need to spend ages searching for the right product. I ordered two of the products recommended for dry skin, the skin repair moisturiser and the intensive nourishment treatment mask. 

The products came swiftly and neatly packaged, (although naughty Mr. Postman left the package on my step, leaving it available to any opportunist thief who may walk past!) I received a lovely little 'personalised' letter and a catalogue of products, as this is my first time shopping with Liz Earle.

All in all, a happy shopping process. I feel cared for by them, let's see if my skin does.

Sorry for the Spongebob blanket background! Hot cloth cleanser *free gift*

The product that I tried tonight wasn't even one I ordered. It was a free gift, and who doesn't love a free gift?

This was the cleanse and polish hot cloth cleanser. It came with a clear set of instructions, which I love. I, of course, promptly followed it step-by-step.

It is perfectly easy to use. The cream glided on really well. For some reason I expected it to have a face mask consistency, but it was pretty light.

I used the cloth to rub away my makeupdirt and then, as instructed, 'carefully' patted my face with a towel. I love that use of 'carefully'-it highlights that the skin is fragile and important and so should be looked after.

My skin definitely felt 'looked after' after I used the cleanser. My skin was silkly soft, even more so when I applied the skin repair moisturiser after, again as instructred, which luckily I had ordered!

 

So I'm sitting here now with pretty smooth, hydrated and happy skin. I didn't use much of the moisturiser and my cheeks and chin are lovely and smooth, but to be honest I think I'll need to add a little more to my most stubborn area, my forehead, to make sure that I don't get that tight/flaky look overnight. Nice. 

I'm happy with my shopping experience and products from Liz Earle, and if my skin continues to respond to the products as it is now, then I will be purchasing full sized items pretty soon! 

I'm looking forward to using the face mask now (whilst indulging in a hot bath with a girly magazine...oh yes). 

Glossybox February

My lovely boyfriend bought me a Glossybox subscription (without really knowing what he was letting himself in for I think!) in Novemeber. Apart from being rather underwhelmed with the first one (bath salts, unsuitable cream) I have loved every other one.

And I'm a little bit excited about this one, even if I don't quite know what to do with some of the products :D

Here it is in all its glory:

Excuse the ever-present slipper or blanket in the background!

The first item I will speak about is the one I have upon my lips right now- the Duwop Venom Gloss. A minute a go I thought Jebus, my lips are burning! They still are in fact. I didn't see this in the info leaflet that comes with the box at first, but my friend, there is an asterix leading to some small print. And the small print asks me to kindly 'note that the lip venom may cause a light tingling sensation'. So there we go. I have to admit I rather like the tingle!

The gloss is a glittery nudey/browny (so eloquent!) colour in the tube, but I don't think this really translated to the lips. It does give a highly shiny finish though.

Er, again sorry for the oh so exciting background of my laptop. It's difficult (for me) to take photos in this light. I love the look of it in the tube.

Here's how it looks on the lips: glossy and shiny!

*pause in post-2 hours later*

The lip gloss has just had a bit of a test! I ran to Nando's (not because I love it that much, though it is good; S had been waiting for a while, and sometimes walking is just too slow.) with the wind blowing in my face. And my hair, which promptly stuck to my lips. That's the only real downside to this; it's a bit sticky and so if you run or the wind blows you may suddenly get a mouthful of hair.

The second product that I tried was the BM Beauty pigment in a glittery, lilac colour:

I hope I've managed to capture how glittery and lovely it is! Actually, it is a very similar colour to my laptop. So the background is helpful for something at least ;)

The other products that I haven't yet used include:

Paul Mitchell Super Shiny Relaxing Balm

This is described as 'intense hydrating treatment for your hair' but if I'm honest I had to look up exactly what to do with it. When do you use it? Is it like a face mask for the hair? etc. Well, it says that you should plaster it on to damp hair and style. So, leave it on the hair when you go out? Er, anyone care to enlighten me *bitdense* Anyway, I look forward to using it!

Dr Bronner Magic Liquid Soap

A soap that you can use for many, many things apparently. Want to wash your face? Use this. Your hands? This will do. Your elbows? You get the idea. That's why it's called magic. It sounds super moisturising, containing extra virgin coconut, olive and hemp oils.

Como Shambhala

 A body lotion containing oil too, so again a very moisturising cream, perfect for the cold weather which tends to dry the skin out. It claims to put you in a 'perfectly uplifting mood' too, which I will be testing out!


So that's it for now. Have you got this month's Glossybox? What do you think of it? And do you know how the cotton socks to use the hair lotion?

Thanks for everyone who comments and joins, you put a little smile on my face :)

Philosophy

'frosy air ignites the spirit with joy. Icicles dangling from crisp evergreens, a whirling snowfall inviting you to dance in delight...'

This christmas I was given the Philosophy christmas special gift set, which contained 3 beautifully smelling shower gel/bubble baths. The deliciously florid description above is (the start of) the 'philosophy' that came on the side of my vanilla frost bottle. I love this little airy-fairy touch. Now I've grown rather cynical over the years, but I can still read the above and think 'hmm, yeah...I want my bath to feel like that'.

I was first introduced to the brand Philosophy when I stayed at my aunt's house when I was little. Using her shower was an experience, as she had a fantastic power shower and the most delicious smelling shower gel, which sadly I can't remember the name of! It was some sort of chocolately/cakey smell which was good enough to eat. And again, I was drawn in by the airy-fairy text on the side, inviting me to relax into my shower and dream away.

I've been using the Sugar Plum Frost. I've been using it throughout January, and I am only half way through the bottle! It either lasts well, or I don't shower enough.

Like all of the christmas specials, it has a metallic glittery colour (theme!) and is silky soft. It smells ok (plumy, sugary as its name says!) but not as good as the foodie philosophies of my childhood. I would still purchase one of the foodie ones actually. They retail at around £16 for 500ml, which isn't too bad. I used to get them from John Lewis, but I'm sure you can get them from other department stores too.

Anyway, back to the plum. I don't think I would repurchase. Although it is smooth and leaves your skin feeling silky soft, it doesn't really feel as though it is doing anything but making me smell nicer for a bit. It doesn't feel cleansing. Maybe that isn't really its job, but I expect it to at least be uber moisturising if not cleansing. I now use it as a bubble bath.

In conclusion, they smell nice and are soft on the skin, but if you do buy a philosophy product, I recommend one of the full size foodie versions as they smell divine and are extremely moisturising. Which is just as well really, as I don't think the christmas special set is available at the moment!

Outfit of the Day-Guards

Whilst on my usual Friday jaunt to Westfield (my treat for getting through the week) I picked up this cute little tee from Primark. It probably looks like bowling pins on the shirt or something from a distance (or at least in this photo) but maybe you can guess what they are from my oh so cool pose...

Yes, it's little guards! Like the ones you'd find guarding the queen outside Buckingham Palace. Cute.

It cost a meagre £4 and I can imagine wearing it with lots of things in my wardrobe (especially when I dare to wear jeans again!)

It's a little flimsy-well, the material is REALLY thin, but you can layer it in winter and wear bare with a little pair of shorts in summer. It's a crop style as well I think, but if you're a bit short like me, it will just be normal tee length!

 

And finally pulling a face pose, cos that's the way I roll :/ 

Please May I...

I am currently resisting the urge to have an online binge at Topshop.

I love putting whatever I want in my basket and then expunging it when reality hits. There are still a few items that remain in my basket though, and these I really would like want. I'm telling myself that if I get through the next 2 weeks then I can buy one of the items...all of the items? Hmm, will have to decide how I can justify that. Anyway, here they are:

Turquoise jeans from Topshop- £38

I haven't even been daring enough to wear jeans this year (or in fact last year...short story, I hate the size of my legs. I did just type 'I hate my legs' but then got a bit superstitious 'what if the universe sees that as a sign and I have an accident and...' crazy thoughts. So it's just the size I hate universe, not them. I'm actually very happy that they function well. Right.) Anyway, lovely jeans!

Coral jeans- £22. Again, another weird purchase for me because of the whole leg issue (SIZE issue) but I love these. I want to be daring enough to wear them and this is a good thing, no? As long as I DO wear them. I have a pair of these in bottle green, that I plan to wear when it's a teensy bit warmer.

I love Topshop nail varnish- it lasts so long and they have so many pretty colours. Not that summery, but I love this colour- Butterscotch. 

 I love this one in Peachy Nude too. Gorgeous.

Ooh, I almost fotgot this one, a sheer stripy top- £30. This would look great with the jeans and coral shorts. Stripes go with loads of things, so I think this would be a good investment.

To be honest, there are a few more nail polishes and lipsticks in my bag, but yes, we won't go there now.