Jo Malone, The Pure Indulgence

There was always something very enchanting about high end perfume shops or high end shops as a whole. I always found it so magical wondering around narrow cobble streets, with the sweet sweet aroma swirling in the air as you place one step in front of another. Eyes open wide taking every last detail of the exquisite exteriors around you.

Moving into adult life this is till very much the same, I love nothing more than spending a late summers afternoon lazily wandering into one shop after another following the gorgeous aroma. (this will be one thing i am really looking forward to doing once the world goes a little bit back to normal) As you can imagine I can never leave a shop without being sucked into a new scent, one of my favourite places for this is of course Jo Malone.

Jo Malone for me is one of these shops that is just pure indulgence. It is always such a treat for me to purchase anything from here. Over the last couple of year I have started to grow my collection and also branch out into a few of their body products.

Two of my absolutely gorgeous scents for Summer is the Nectarine Blossom & Honey and Peony & Blush Suede. For me these are perfect for Summer as they are both sweet, girlie scents both of these have memories behind them so for me they are extra special.

I can not wait to get back to wandering down cobbled streets in the most gorgeous towns, drifting from one very pretty shop to other and who knows it may end in a Jo Malone splurge.

Much love, Alice xx

Weekly Wants: Summer Dresses

Bright blue skies, long sunny days with a Dalgona coffee in hand dreaming of yachts along the sea front.

The gorgeous weather over the last few days has got me dreaming thats for sure, with this of course I have been scrolling the internet for lovely floaty summer dresses. Even if it does just been wearing them in the back garden I may as well look amazing while doing so!

There does seem to be a lot out there on the site with a lot of discounts too. I am not too sure whether they are still trying to get through there spring/summer collections like planned or if this is older stock?! Either way all the marketing is working for me and I have accumulated a long wish list. Which I thought I would share with you.

Starting with H&M. H&M is my go to place every year for gorgeous, floaty dresses with stunning prints and colours at such an affordable price. Below are a few I am loving and are on the wish list.

Topshop Topshop Topshop. I was so surprised at how many gorgeous items they had and a very good size range considering they currently have 30% off summer styles. I am not too sure whether they are not getting through there stock as much or if they have added more sizes to items. As nearly all the items I looked at had a full size range.

As you can see I am really enjoying all the prints!! Quite a few of theres dresses were also under £30!!! I am so impressed with Topshop so a there may be a few items that have creeped onto the wish list for sure.

I haven’t shopped on River Island in forever, it wasn’t until I saw Kate Murane (@katebowbow on instagram) show a stunning dress on her instagram, which I have put below in the first picture, I had to see what other gems where on the site. To be honest with you I found everything quite expensive for what they were, this may be due to how many sales everywhere seems to be doing, if you are looking for something little more structured or for a treat than there are some gorgeous items on there but for me I think I prefer dresses from other sites.

I could go on and on forever as there are some gorgeous items on Asos, Urban Outfitters, Pretty Little Thing, Never Fully Dressed and the list goes on!!! There is defiantly a lot more summer dresses on my list after having a scroll through the internet in search for the back garden summer dream.

Are you being drawn in with all the marketing lately or are you just rediscovering some favourite from your wardrobe, I am defiantly doing a little bit of both and spending a lot of time scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration. I hope this gives you a little escape and also a little inspiration for some stunning floaty summer dresses.

Much love Alice xx

Guest Room Styling Inspiration

If you follow my home account on Instagram (@thehomeedition) you will know that we finally had our wardrobes delivered at the start of May. We had been waiting for these since March, with them arriving it means we can get a started on the second bedroom. As our currant wardrobes were in this room, so we had space in our room to put them up straight away. We have transferred everything across to our gorgeous new wardrobes in our room. Now we can get started on the second bedroom!!

The plan for this room is for it to be a multi functional room. The most important aspect of the room is we needed somewhere for guest to stay however we didn’t want there to be a bed in this room all year around as like I said we wanted to be able to use this room on a daily basic and be multi functional.

As well as somewhere for guests to sleep, this room also holds all my beauty products and also my dressing table. It needs to be a room where I can easily use on an everyday bases and also house storage for all my beauty products. We had agreed on this being a lovely way to use the second room until lockdown happened and Colin started working from home. We then realised that he does need a small work place just incase he ends up working from home more, as I would love the dinning room table back, plus it means there is somewhere we can put laptops and paper work.

I absolutely love this room in the house, it is at the front on the house and gets so much light and sunshine throughout the day. With this in mind I wanted to keep the room having that airy feel, with the mix of natural wood, white and vintage pinks with the added texture thrown in there. I defiantly have a vision of how I would love this room so fingers crossed it will all come into place.

Starting with the walls, I have changed my thoughts on this so many times. It started with a dark pink feature wall using paint, to maybe not and now I have settled on a floral wallpaper wall as a feature. This will be on the back wall behind the day bed. We decided on a day bed as this can be used as a sofa, a place where we can sit and work on our laptops or a place to enjoy a good book but it transforms into a king sized bed which makes it perfect for guests!

As the day bed and all the furniture in this room will be white, I am thinking of going for more of a vintage floral thats looks a little worn. I think it will create a statement but also keeping inline with the room being as airy and ‘pretty’ as possible.

As you can see I am really indecisive on what colour I would like to paint the walls, I have put just a few of the ones I currently like above. Top colour is Dorchester Pink from Little Greene, middle colour is Soft Taupe from Wilko and the bottom colour is Soft Truffle from Dulux.

Moving onto furniture of the room, I have found the perfect desk/dressing table from Ikea. This is big enough for a computer to sit on it but also gives me enough room to use it as a dressing table too. It also has drawers each side which is perfect storage for paper work. My plan is for this to go on the opposite wall to the day bed. I also plan on putting a mirror up on the wall above the desk. I may also place some prints onto the wall as well but that I am still deciding on and I won’t purchase anything until the room is near enough complete.

I really want to add in some natural wood elements into the room and also some green in the way of plants! I plan on doing this through the ceiling lights, shelves and of course a basket. I am still very unsure on soft furnishing (I am thinking the colours white, pinks) but again this is something I will have a better idea once the walls are painted and the room is complete in regards to furniture.

I am so excited to get going with this room, as this room has a completely different feel to the rest of the house but still has similar elements running throughout. I will be doing updates over on my house Instagram account so please be sure you are following. I also have a Facebook page which is just a good place to find any updates!

Much love Alice xx

Date Night | Lockdown Edition

Something that Colin and myself really enjoy doing is date night. This is something we have done throughout our relationship, it give us a chance to actually be present with each other as, specially, since moving in together I think you can get really carried away just living. We love going out to a nice restaurant having a few cocktail and a lovely dinner prior to lockdown, over the weekend we decided to bring the restaurant to our home.

Since being in lockdown we have had to get very creative with date night and yes we are still having one night a week to be present with each other! While doing our food shop we picked up one of the Tesco Dine In for £10 and a few tapas items.

As the weather was amazing over the bank holiday weekend we thought Friday night would make the perfect night date. After spending all afternoon dozing in the sun, I brought out a little tapas starter for us to graze over and of course an Aperol Spritz and Colin a beer.

A little while later as it started to get darker outside, we came inside and started our main. In Tesco’s we picked up two steaks, chunky chips and a bottle of rose also came with a dessert too all for £10! The steaks are some of the best and honestly just as good as some of the restaurants !!

Cheesecake is my far our favourite dessert, Colin pretty much always has it when we eat out, I am more of a cheeseboard kinda gal but I can defiantly appreciate a good cheesecake! Honestly, was too good!!

We have taken advantage of the Dine In for £10 a good number of times and it has always been so lovely. The value for money you get compared to the food is just incredible, the food is just as good as going out to eat. We will be doing more of these over the next couple of weeks too as it is just super easy to pick up when we go out and do the food shop.

Since being in lockdown we have been getting very creative with date night, I may do a few more posts with ideas and suggestions. As this is something that we have really enjoyed doing and gives us that little bit of normality within all the crazy that is currently going on!!

Have you been doing date night or have any suggestions of what you have been doing?

Much love Alice xx

Everyday at Home Makeup

I have really started to enjoy make up and discovered some new products since lockdown begin. Prior to this I was stuck in my routine of putting the same make up on my face day in and day out, not really enjoying it or even taking the time for it. It was something that just needed to be done, the same as getting up.

I must say say over the last few weeks, I have been dabbling a little more into my make up drawers and having a play around with some new products! My make up look is still very much the same – dewy bronzed glow – but I am really enjoying using different products.

Products I have been using recently and loving!

  • Cover Fx Gripping Primer
  • Laura Mercier Silk Creme Moisturising Photo Edition Foundation in shade 1C1 Rose Ivory
  • Nars Radiant Creamy concealer in shade Light 2 Vanilla
  • Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand in Fair- Medium
  • Estee Lauder Perfecting Loose Powder in Translucent
  • Windy Lux Uni – Brow
  • Estee Lauder Aerin Illuminating Bronzer in shade 1
  • Sleek Highlight Pallet called Copperplate
  • Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
  • Clarins Supra Volume Mascara in 01 Intense Black
  • Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

I am going to make it at least a weekly task to mix up my make up and rediscover some oldies but also some new products. If you have any recommenation of your favaouite products I would love to know!!

Be sure to following me on Instagram, Twitter for all the fashion, beauty and lifestyle in between these posts. I have also set up a Facebook page too, this is a great place to stay up to date for when I upload a new post as it will appear on there too.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and our saying safe.

Much Love Alice xx

Elemis Peptide 24/7

A couple of weeks ago I posted on my Instagram about how much I am really enjoy the two new products from the Elemis Peptide 24/7 range. I thought I would put togther a post with a break down of why I am enjoying, what benifits they have for the skin and also how I have been finding them.

A little background on the Peptide range. The range is inspired by the body’s natual inner clock and formulated to support tired skins, the Peptide 24/7 range is all about targeting the look of tired skin and help achieve a well-rested glow.

They have a mask, day cream, eye cream, night cream oil and also a plumping pillow faical in the range currently. The overnight peel and the serum where realsed a couples of months ago. I have been using them since they were relased and I am hoocked. The peptide range is one of my favouaites that Elemis do, it is such a good range to dabble in and out of too.

Let’s start off in the AM with the Peptide4 Antioxidant Hydra-Serum. I have use this after my eye cream before moistiriser.

This gorgeous serums delivers a boost of anti-oxidents and hydration to the skin, while keeping in sync with the skin’s own natural defence against the negative effects from everyday pollutions, leaving the skin looking replenished and refereshed. There is a blend of Lotus Flower Milk, Saffron Flower and Indian Gooseberry, rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, these all leave the skin looking smooth & bright with a flawless look.

This ultra-light formula is also fully packed with Hyaluronic Acid and Honesty Seed Oil to deeply hydrate while the silky serum helps to soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles, leaving the skin feeling soft and smooth and plumped with moisture.

I love this and already I can see such an improvements within my skin! This products retails at £53.00

Moving on to the PM, Peptide4 Overnight Radiance Peel. I use this every evening just before I put on my eye cream & face cream.

This gentle milky peel works throughout the night to leave skin looking and feeling silky smooth. Brilliantly bright by morning. AHA night time peel gently exfoliates while replenishing the skin for a brighter, flawless-looking complexion. There is a blend of Hibiscus Acids and Oligopeptides which help support the skins natural renewal process for smoother and radiant looking skin, helps to refine skin texture and reduce the look of pores therefore over time will improve the look of the clarity over the skin.

This overnight peel combines Lactic Acid with AHAs from Hibiscus Flower to support cell renewal and rehydrate the skin,c reducing dullness and promoting radiant complexion.

This product is gentle enough for daily use or is perfect to use as a treatment for the skin when and if the skin needs that little extra something, as this peel helps to brighten the complexion! This product retails at £56.00

These two have been a life saver for me at the moment, for me they do everything and more for my skin and would recommend these products to everyone and anyone. In my eyes the perfect products to pop in and out on a routine for these times you need a little extra!

Have you tried them?

Much love Alice xx

Bedside Table Styling / Inspiration

Styling bedside tables…where to start…this sounds like It should be quite a straight forward task, to just arrange a few bits on a bedside table, doesn’t sound to hard right?

How wrong I was, this task is a never ending list of inspiration and items that can look lovely on a bedside table but also not to make it look clutter but you also need to add some of the rooms style and lastly your style too….like I said where to start!!!

Our bedroom has been the room we have really left since we moved in, for us there was really no rush. We had other priorties but since being in lockdown and spending a lot more time at home, we have come to the conculsion that the bedroom needs a little attention.

We have ordered PAX wardrobes from Ikea which should be delivered over the next couple of weeks but what I really wanted to get my teeth into was the bed side of the room, for the last 7 months we have just had a very lonely bed in the room. Obviously my first thought was bedside tables, we have gone for dark black wood effect wardrobes so I knew I wanted a slighter dark wooden bedside table with black accents. Once we had decided on this I thought it wouldn’t be hard but I hadn’t even considered the style of bedside table!!

After finally narrowing it down we decided to go for the Norman One Draw Bedside Table from Argos. I am so happy with how they look even empty they completely change the room and start to make the bed side of the room a lot more complete, it is crazy how a piece of furniture can do this.

For the last week I have been gathering inspiration on how to style them for myself and Colin and also stay within theme for the whole room!! One thing that I was sure on was lighting, I had seen a gorgeous gold lamp from Next. I had first seen this lamp on @laurabryonshome (photo below) and just knew it would look stunning with the wood on the bedside tables but also with the dark teal head board we have. Colin needed a little persuading but soon came round to the idea. I have been really indecisive whether to add a print behind the lamp, I do think the lamp will do enough but I may change my mind when it does come.

From this point onwards I am a little stuck what to add as the little touches, I want to do Colin’s and my side slightly differently but still too look in keeping with the rest of the room.

For my side I have been looking at adding stacks of books, photo frame, a natural element which I think will be either a green plant or faux flowers I am yet to decided and a little trinket box.

For Colins’ side I would like to keep it as similar as possible but also letting him have a his style placed into it as well and for him to actually use rather than it being just for show! For him I am thinking a print (small scale more of a A4 size) diffuser, sack of book with his Alexa Dot sitting on top.

Below is a few inspirations I have seen on Pinterest.

Overall I am thinking of having the accents pieces in black, grey and gold, also add in green earthy element. Once the lamps arrive I think it will give me a good base to start have a play around with the items.

Be sure to follow my home instagram account @thehomeedition as well as my instagram @alicevictoriari for updates on both this little project and other things going on in the house and also life!! Once this room is pretty much complete I am thinking of doing a full room tour.

I would love to hear if you have any suggestions or home accounts or blog that you think I would be intertested in!

Much love Alice xx

Perfect Base for Everyday

When it comes to make up lasting all day, having the flawless ‘instagram’ look and a base that is going to stand the time is key. For me I do believe a good base does come from good skincare products and also keeping on top of your skin routine, once you have found the perfect products with a routine that works with you are on the right track.

Today I am going to talk about my perfect base when it comes to make-up. I have found all the products and steps really do help my make up not only to last all day but also to keep the ‘just’ applied fresh look all day long no matter what I am doing or how long it is on my face for!!

Starting from the beginning I am a big fan of a primer. I know a lot of people think this is a waste of a step and it doesn’t have that much of an impact in the finished look I would sort of agree, which is why I don’t use a primer all over my face. I use it in the certain areas that I need blurring out. For me this is checks and nose. This primer from Cover Fx works really well for me it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin but it is what i would call a ‘tacky’ primer. The best way I have found apply this is in a tapping movement with my fingers over the desired area.

A good foundation is very hard to come by as the beauty market is saturated with such good ones whether you are looking in high street or high end. Once I had found a foundation I adore, I don’t tend to stray too far from it. Foundation I love are: Estee Lauder Double Wear, Nars Sheer Glow and a new discovery for me is Laura Mercier Silk Creme Moisturising Photo Edition Foundation. With all of these they last incredible, feel super light on the skin but they are all very build able.

I tend to just use an concealer to brighten up under my eyes and any other areas on the face that need it. Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer is just incredible for this. It is super creamy stays so well but also does’t move or crease throughout the day. I do powder under my eyes before I go ahead and do the rest of the face. I love a loose fine powder to set my make up, I will only tend to set my face in certain parts I won’t do the whole face as for me I just don’t need to. I adore the Laura Mercier & Estee Lauder loose powder for me I stick to translucent as I do not want to add any more colour to the face, I just want to set.

I have been using this guide of a base routine for years, for me it works really well I only tend to mix up my foundation depending on what I fancy each day but apart from that it does stay very much the same. Once I have complete the rest of my face, I do go in and finish with a setting spray. This has been very new addition into my routine and again only really use it if I need to, so that may be if I am heading out for the day or have an event or occasion.

I would love to know of any products recommendations you love to use as your base.

Much love Alice xx

Skin Care | AM Routine Favourites

Skin care is just a big passion of mine. I love how products work, why they do what they do and how this then makes an impact with the skin.

With this comes having a cupboard full of open products, cupboard full of unopened products waiting to be discovered and a very long wish list!! I have been making an effort lately to start delving into my cupboard of undiscovered treasures and I have found some gems!!

Some of the brands I have heard of but there are a few new brands discoveries too! This post will share with you my new favourites that I have been really enjoying to use in my morning routine.

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

Cleasner for me is the first step that has to be the right step into a skin rountine, without a good cleanse all the other products to follow may not be asbosbed to the fullest. I have been using the Fresh Soy Face Cleasner as my main cleasner to clean my face (I was it as my second cleasne in the PM after removing my makeup)

This pH-balanced gel cleanser suitable for all skin types without drying leaving the skin soft and supple. It’s made with amino acid-rich soy proteins, calming cucumber extract, and balancing rosewater. For me this is a good soild does what it says cleanser. This cleasner retails at £30 for 150ml (they also offer an 50ml & 200ml)

Medik8 C-Tetra Lipid Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum.

Since the beginning of the year, I have felt like my skin has been lacking in something and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Since using a sample of this product I have already noticed that my skin is brighter and has that natural glow.

This product has the antioxidant provided through vitamin C and E. Together they help to protect against sun and pollution. The texture is so lightweight and absorbs into the skin super quick. The formula stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, balancing skin tone.

To me this product does what it says and after having tried a sample size I will be purchasing the full size and for £35 its a great step into the world of Vitamin C!

BYBI Strawberry Booster

Over the last couple of years skin booster have been popping up everywhere and to be honest I was a little confused as to why and where they would sit in a routine and if they really do have their own place in a routine.

I discovered the BYBI Strawberry Booster in a Glossybox and thought I may as well give it a try and see if I can find its places in my routine and wow after just a few days of use I am very impressed!!

Strawberry Booster is 100% cold-pressed strawberry seed oil that’s great for dry, flaky or irritated skin.  I started mixing this into my facial oil however since I have finished I now just use it alone under my serum and moisturiser. I use this Am & PM. This product retails for £12 which I think is such a good price.

I would love to know what some of your favourite skincare items are

Much love Alice xx

What I Eat In a Day | Lockdown Edition

Today I thought I would share with you what i have been eating. As we all know we things are a little different as we have only been going to the shop less than normal, I have been trying to use what we have and also use leftovers a lot more too.

BREAKFAST

Every morning i start the day with a black coffee. I will then do a workout, that may be a HIIT session or a run, get myself ready for the day and sort out breakfast. Most of the time at least through the week I will make myself a smoothie. Smoothie consested of frozen strawberries & banana ( I have been buying the forzen smoothie packs from Adil as they are just super easy) skimmed milk, oats & zero fat geek yogurt.

LUNCH

For lunch we tend to either have a wrap or a bagel all depends on what has defrozened. Today was a wrap filled with spinach, roasted pepper & halloumi. I also added left over goucolmole and sweet chilli sauce.

SNACK

I have never been a snacker but as i am now at home due to the lockdown. that has very much changed! Now you can find me with an apple & a babybel, I have been trying to keep my caking as healthy as i can and not snacking if i am bored.

I have been baking so much since lockdown and this week we have a gorgeous carrot cake to snack on!!

DINNER

This evening I made a Gnocchi & tomato bake, this is such an easy thing to make and tastes amazing. I put everything (onion, garlic, copped tomatoes , gnocchi, I also added in some spinach) into a frying pan mix together and was its simmered for 10/15 mins, i transfer it into a casserole dish sprinkle some cheese over the top and grill for 5 minutes. Super quick & easy and tasted incredible!

Much love Alice xx