Last Minute Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Mother's day is almost here! I've already put together a Mother's Day gift guide for all budgets which you can check out, here and I have reviewed a gorgeous necklace from Nude Jewellery that I think would make a lovely gift, here. Todays' post features some gifts that I think would be perfect for mother's day or birthdays!
*Joules Womens Umbrella (£19.95, Red Peony): which has to be the cutest umbrella I've ever seen! I love the wooden handle and it has a little rabbit cut out on the end. The design is great and I love the colours/print! Although if you don't like this design, there are more to choose from; Joules make lovely accessories and clothing pieces.
Rodial Dragons Blood Eye Gel (£45): I received this full size, luxe eye gel as a free gift with purchase from Debenhams a while ago and I have been using it on and off since. I love the packaging and the eye gel itself is hydrating, soothing and it doesn't irritate my skin at all. I think an eye cream or gel would make a nice mothers day gift as skincare is so important and it's something that not everyone will invest in themselves.
Lancôme Magnifique EDP (£35, 30ml): Perfume is one of my favourite gifts to receive and I know my mum loves fragrance too so it's a pretty safe gift to give, in my opinion. My mum personally loves musky scents so this perfume would be perfect as it is a musky, evening scent although it is quite floral and sweet too. Also the bottle is beautiful and fancy!
Boux Avenue Room Spray: I bought this home fragrance/room spray in the Boux Avenue January sale and it is the winter scent but we have been loving it. The packaging is so pretty and the room spray is wintery, spicy and great for this time of the year when it is still winter and cold outside but it's almost spring. This scent isn't available anymore but they have a White Chiffon room spray which sounds gorgeous.
*Yes! Nurse Hand Cream (£5.49): Hand cream is another safe gift to give, in my opinion; myself and my mum love hand cream and use it all the time. My current favourite hand cream is the award winning Yes! Nurse hand cream - I have reviewed it fully, here.
*Magnitone Lucid (£49.99): Another skincare product, it's like a electric toothbrush for your face...it does sound unusual but on the whole the Magnitone one is fantastic. I have also the amazing Clarisonic Mia which I do like more than the Magnitone Lucid but I paid £120 for my Clarisonic (yes, it's super expensive). I have mentioned my Clarisonic Mia on my blog (here) but if you want a comparison post let me know.
Michael Kors iPad Mini Case (£59.95): I received this case from my parents at christmas and they bought it from TKMaxx so if you are looking for designer iPad Mini cases then check out your local TKMaxx store. I love mine and it would be a gorgeous luxe gift.
What do you think of the gifts I have featured? Do you have any of these products?
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London Fashion Week Inspired Wish List
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
London Fashion Week has now passed but one of the main trends from the catwalk that I loved was the 'romantic' and 'feminine' trend which features floaty fabrics, floral prints and pastel shades which are typical for spring/summer. A street style trend that has been in full force throughout fashion week is suede - from bloggers to celebrities such as Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo, everyone has been sporting suede pieces. Today's post is all about the pieces I'm lusting after that would fit perfectly with the suede and romantic, floral trends. This blog post is sponsored.
Cedric Charlier Nude Faux Leather Pleated Skirt (£570): now this is not something I would ever look for and to be honest the photo above doesn't do it justice. The skirt on the model looks incredible, it was styled with a ivory coloured, textured top. I adore the colour and the pleats make it looks much more flowing and feminine.
Paul Andrew Dusky Rose Fatales Sandals (£595): Another item in the gorgeous muted rosy shade which I love for spring. I think they would be perfect for a spring/summer wedding and paired with either dresses in this wish list, they would look so beautiful. The bow on the back compliments the feminine, romantic trend.
Shrimps Burnt Orange Faux Fur Agnes Jacket (£495): Bloggers such as Kim from Kim Loves Cloth and the gorgeous Megan from Pages By Megan both wore gorgeous suede pieces during LFW and I'm now on the hunt for some of my own suede goodies! I love the burnt orange colour of this jacket as well as the contrast with the feminine bubblegum pink collar.
Phillip Lim 3.1 Raspberry Pashli Satchel (£700): I need a moment of silence for this beaut of a bag *heart eye emoji*. Since buying my Michael Kors bag last year I have been looking at more designer bags and the Phillip Lim Pashli bags are definitely on my radar; I love the boxy structured shape and gunmetal hardware combined with a bright feminine colour - it just screams summer! This bag also comes in a gorgeous light pink shade too.
Carven Beige Cotton Floral Pinnie Dress (£159, sale): Sticking with the gorgeous bold florals and pastel trend, this dress definitely fits the bill. It is more structured, rather than being floaty but the print is just beautiful and feminine.
There is my wish list inspired by the LFW trend of romantic, floral, feminine fabrics and styles as well as the LFW street style trend of gorgeous suede pieces!
What do you think of the items I have chosen? What LFW trends have you been loving?
The Body Shop Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Monday, March 09, 2015
The Body Shop are always on top of their game when it comes to gifts! They have launched a new limited edition range of one of their best selling skincare ranges which I think would make a gorgeous gift for mothers day!
The best selling Vitamin E range has been given a majestic, regal makeover for mothers day; also a new product to the original range has been added which is one of the most exciting skincare products that I have seen so far this year. I have the *Limited Edition Vitamin E Moisture Cream (£17, 100ml), *Limited Edition Overnight Serum In Oil (£13, 28ml) and the brand new *Limited Edition Vitamin E Eye Cube (£8, 4g) - I am particularly excited about trying the 'eye cube' and the serum in oil.
Firstly, the packaging redesign is gorgeous! I love The Body Shop's take on the Union Flag and regal inspired design. I have tried the vitamin E night cream before which my skin didn't really get on with although I tried it when my eczema was very bad but I have been using the serum in oil and eye cube for the past few days and so far so good! I'm going to give the moisture cream to my mum to see how she gets on with it. The eye cube is such a unique product, it is a silky smooth, cooling eye cream in stick form so it is great for travelling, fuss free hydration and instant illumination.
Overall, I think this range would make a lovely gift for Mother's Day, especially of those mums who don't spend time on themselves. The products seem so nourishing and the vitamin E range is one of the best selling skincare ranges from The Body Shop. The limited edition packaging, in my opinion, makes it a bit more special.
The Body Shop have so many gifts to choose from so I have picked out some of my favourites - I would love the try the Wild Argan Oil and new Smoky Poppy ranges!
The Body Shop have so many gifts to choose from so I have picked out some of my favourites - I would love the try the Wild Argan Oil and new Smoky Poppy ranges!
Have you tried any products from The Body Shop's Vitamin E range? Will you be buying your mum a gift from The Body Shop?
Mother's Day Gifts Ft. Joshua James Jewellery
Sunday, March 08, 2015
Mother's Day in the UK is just around the corner (15th March) so I have some lovely gift ideas to help you pick a gift that mothers, guardians and grandmothers will love! Jewellery is a special gift and Pandora is one of the brands that everyone seems to love. Everything from Pandora looks so beautiful; not just the bracelets, charms, earrings and necklaces but the packaging/presentation is going to cause some serious swooning!
The lovely people at Joshua James Jewellery very kindly allowed me to pick a few products to review and obviously I decided to pick products from the much coveted Pandora! I chose the *Pandora Silver Bracelet (£55, 17cm), *Pandora Silver Clip (£25) and the *Pandora Openwork Silver Stars Charm (£20) all of which I adore. The packaging is just gorgeous, each item comes in its own Pandora branded box and my order came with a Pandora bag so the products come with everything you need to package up the gift. Also if you spend over £125 on Pandora at Joshua James Jewellery, you will received a pretty Pandora heart gift box.
Before choosing my items, I had to decide which size bracelet would fit my tiny wrists and thankfully Pandora has an online size guide which was so helpful. It suggests to measure your wrists tightly and then add on 2cm to get your Pandora bracelet size. My wrists are only 15cm so I chose the 17cm bracelet and I am so glad I followed the Pandora guidelines as the bracelet size is perfect even with my charm and clip on the bracelet.
The bracelet I have is silver with the original Pandora locking clasp; it is a little stiff but it's not too difficult to put on even by myself. The next decision is clips or no clips; Pandora suggest you buy the clips as they section the bracelet into three parts so the charms can be separated and the bracelet is evenly balanced and symmetrical. I chose the plain sliver clip which I love and the clip is sterling sliver as is the bracelet and charm.
Now onto the charm, I chose the openwork silver stars charm which looks even more beautiful on my bracelet than it did online and even in the pretty packaging. I love the openwork cut outs and I definitely want to get another openwork charm! The clip and charm were both very quick and easy to attach onto the bracelet and I love the way they look together.
Overall, since receiving the bracelet I haven't taken it off! The bracelet is so beautiful and it is so comfortable to wear - this is coming from someone who never wears bracelets. I know my mum would love the Pandora pieces I have as she has her own Pandora bracelet which has a lot of charms on it already! I am definitely looking at more charms and clips for my bracelet, here's my Joshua James Jewellery wish list of just some of the Pandora pieces I'm lusting after:
Joshua James Jewellery also have beautiful Pandora gift sets, necklaces and rings as well as gorgeous gifts from other brands such as Links of London, Thomas Sabo, Lovelinks, Swarovski and more! They also offer free UK delivery on all orders and free next day delivery on orders over £100.
Pandora charms may be my new obsession! Do you have a Pandora bracelet? What do you think of my Pandora mother's day gift ideas?
Interview with a PR: Bethanie Jane
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Todays post is a little different as the lovely Bethanie has answered my questions about blogging and PR/digital marketing. I was curious to get a PRs opinion and I thought my blog readers would be interested too! Check out Bethanie's Blog (here) and twitter (here).
I’m Bethanie, a 24 year old Digital Marketing Manager from Newcastle. With my job I work with a lot of bloggers, so I see things from both sides (if "sides" is the way you would put it)! As well as working in PR, I’m a fashion and lifestyle blogger at bethaniejane.co.uk.
1. From a PRs perspective, what do you look for in a blog/blogger?
When I’m looking for bloggers, it’s hard not to let personal tastes get in the way! I’m really a fan of clean and simple blogs, but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. As well as the usual domain authority, page rank and following, it’s important to look at the content. I usually avoid blogs that have a big list of adverts down the side as it looks messy. I also usually avoid blogs that are sponsored post after sponsored post - this tells us that a blog has no real passion for what they are doing, and just wants to make money!
2. What advice would you give to someone wanting to work in PR/digital marketing?
I would say get some experience! Volunteer for a charity, do some work experience with a company or an agency - that’s so valuable on your CV! A lot of charities welcome volunteers to take over their Twitter for a day or write a blog post for them. Volunteer work always looks great on a CV too, whatever your line of work is!
3. What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
The most challenging thing would be probably time. Working in an agency, we all have a list of clients with targets and deadlines which can be challenging sometimes. It’s no problem for me though as I love the business and the fast pace of it!
4. As a blogger yourself, what do you love/hate about blogging?
My moans would probably be about bloggers that give good ones a bad name. I read a blog post named “Dear PRs, sincerely bloggers” the other day and was a bit surprised at what I read! It was very matter of fact and even contained the phrase “deal with it”. It’s a shame that some of these blogs are around, but you’ll be pleased that PRs don’t tar all with the same brush! Another gripe is the #PRRequest hashtag that seems to have divided the community. As a PR I tend to avoid bloggers that are constantly asking for things on the hashtag, but I can’t say the same thing for everyone!
On a more positive note, I absolutely love the network we have - it’s a great environment. I love to try out new brands and share them with my readers now and again. I also like meeting new people at blogging events, people I would never ever bump into in a normal situations!
5. With big bloggers signing big book deals and taking the world by storm, what do you think of the rise of bloggers in the mainstream media?
It’s absolutely great, blogs like Zoella and Tanya Burr are doing really well! Same with a blog I've followed for a while, Deliciously Ella. Brands are now really seeing the value of blogs these days so it’s a really positive step.
Thanks to Bethanie for answering my questions!
What are your answers and opinions with regards to my questions?
Mother's Day Gifts Ft. Nude Jewellery
Friday, March 06, 2015
Jewellery, in my opinion, is a lovely gift to not only receive but to give as well. I personally love receiving jewellery and I know my mum does too. Nude Jewellery have very kindly sent me a lovely piece from their latest in house collection, Vanilla Links, that I think would be perfect gift for mothers day!
I have the *Nude Jewellery Vanilla Links Double Link Sterling Silver Pendant (£85) which is handmade in Mayfair, London by jewellery designer Nikki Galloway. Nude jewellery was a finalist in the UK jewellery awards in 2013. Firstly, the packaging, the necklace came so beautifully packaged *until I got my hands on it* with a silky grey fabric cover surrounding the jewellery box. The tie on the fabric has 'nude' printed on it; it looks like a wax stamp seal which makes it looks very luxurious and fancy!
The necklace itself is composed of gorgeous shining sterling silver which has been lightly hammered and to me this effect gives the metal a rustic, handcrafted appearance. I adore the design, it is simple but unique and beautiful. The silver snake chain is 16 inches long which is a fantastic length for me personally, as I hate longer length necklaces. I have worn the necklace a few times paired with chunky knits and it looks gorgeous but it would be equally as beautiful with a little black dress, in my opinion.
Overall, I adore the design of this necklace and the others in this latest in house collection; I love that their pieces are all contemporary and handmade in London! The necklace catches the light beautifully, it is comfortable to wear and it is easy to dress up or dress down. It is such a versatile, staple piece. I know my mum would love this necklace! Here are some of the other gorgeous pieces from the latest collection:
What do you think of this necklace? Have you bought anything from Nude Jewellery?