Monthly Love List

Do you remember I used to do Link Love as a Seven on Sunday? Well I loved writing those posts but just couldn't commit to it every week as sometimes my weeks bleed in to the next and I have the same favourite things. BUT monthly I think I could totally bring some link love of my favourite things through the month.
I also loved these posts as you, dear reader, would get involved and leave me a lovely comment below on your favourite things too and it was a great way for us to connect and have a lovely little natter.

So without further ado..

Here are my Monthly Favourites:

1, 2 & 3
This Star Print Dress, with this PERFECT Red lipstick that is just the most amazing flattering shade (and also vegan and cruelty free)
And also my beautiful Silver Moon Necklace which I have not stopped wearing since it arrived. Its from a mum boss gorgeous lady from Scotland, who hand-makes each piece.. Keep your eyes peeled as we shall be working on a little giveaway very soon!

4.
Anyone who knows me well knows i am a big doctor who fan.. 11th in particular (Matt smith is just so damn good!) So when i saw This Print I thought it would look perfect in my newly decorated bedroom.. (which incidentally.. would anyone like to see a post on?) As an eternal optimist I absolutely love this quote, plus its a nod to my geeky ways.

 5.
I've been looking to book our short break for Jan/Feb ( as i mentioned, the husband and I aren't buying each other presents, but we shall be booking a mini break for just us two instead) and Urban Apartments was recently recommended to me on twitter by some rather fab city bloggers.
As a countryside dweller I love to dip in to city life occasionally. I love the vibrancy and tenacity the city brings, and these apartments look perfect for a short stay.

6. 
Obsessed with my New Mug. I managed to smash my old R mug and R glass in the space of 3 days.. I was gutted. But a swift trip to Matalan and there it was one 'R' mug left on the shelf!
They look so much more expensive than the small £5.00 price tag and could make such a wonderful present too.. I just happen to be a narcissist and like my initials on all my stuff (Lol)

7.
Finally a restaurant recommendation.
Myself and the husband find eating out quite difficult; from getting a child minder to actually finding somewhere that will accommodate Gluten free and Vegans. SO when my step kids mum told me about her friends restaurant Milgi that is GF and plant based we knew we had to check this out.
It was fantastic. The range, the taste, the atmosphere were all absolutely spot on and we had the best time. Its so nice to just be husband and wife for a few hours and not be parents for a wee while, to talk and laugh and not have to cut up small peoples food and then argue with them to eat it.
We've decided to make more effort in having date nights and we will definitely be returning to Milgi's ( I want to try their Sunday 'Roast'). If you're in the south wales area I highly recommend!

There i am in the star print dress.. again.. Might i mention here it also hides a food baby REALLY well!

Yay for monthly favourites! I absolutely love compiling these and will endeavour to continue through 2017 (2017.. how scary!)

What have you been loving this month? Do share! I love to hear your thoughts and any recommendations!

Dressing for Christmas Day

Do you dress up on Christmas day? I know this question completely divides; some are all about the comfort, opting for Pj's or a onesie all day and stretchy waistbands are key. Then there are the Christmas jumper wearers and then finally, there are those who choose to dress up, sparkles, fancy pieces and prettiness. 

I am the latter. 

I love dressing up on Christmas day, we always have in fact. My mum, sister and I would always wear something fancy, usually one of our Christmas presents, and use the day to go all out, 'Cos when else can you walk around your house in your fanciest finery (but still potentially with slippers!)

What camp do you fall in?

I've started to plan my Christmas day outfit. We have my in-laws coming to stay which is always lovely as Christmas is all about family. We may go out or we may stay in, I'm not sure yet, but either way I'm using this jolly holiday to wear something pretty fabulous..

Shall we take a look at some of my favourite options so far?

DRESSES are usually what i go for on Christmas day. Love a good dress. This sparkly Dolly Sequin Dress is perfection. I think this would be so wonderful for Christmas and New Year. The flattering cut means it skims beautifully (which lets face it, hiding a multitude of sins is very advantageous with all the feasting!) and the sleeves allow some coverage and doesn't leave you feeling bare.

I think this is my most favourite dress I've seen this festive season. Elegant, detailed and flattering, what a wonderful outfit to wear for the festivities.

I actually really like the idea of a JUMPSUIT for Christmas for practicality reasons. I don't know what it's like in your house, but its usually quite a busy day with the kids in ours. Whether that be taking them out for a quick spin on that new bike that Santa left, or rolling on the floor building lego pieces and playing pie face. It can be quite demanding as a mum. I love the freeing feeling a jumpsuit brings that you just don't get from a dress. Dashing around the house becomes easy in a jumpsuit as you feel less restricted. But, a jumpsuit still holds that dressed up feeling. 

I adore the luxe feeling of the Velvet Moon Jumpsuit, and is bang on trend for both the culotte cut and the velvet fabric. 

The Tuxedo Junction Jumpsuit is a neo-classical piece. A modern item that will work for SO many events, I would lay money on this being an absolute work horse of a piece in your wardrobe. The tailoring is just divine with its cuffed hem and key hole split to the chest. How simple yet beautiful.

TOP and SKIRT options are of course the most versatile. Take a Sparkly Top and a Leather Skirt and you have instant glamour. change the top for a knitted sweater and you have cosy chic. Change the shirt for jeans or trousers and you have smart-casual. Easily done, you could in-fact change through the day.

Start the day in the skirt with a chunky cosy knit for when jack frosts nipping away, then as the day warms up, change to the sparkly top for a special Christmas lunch, and after the feast of the year change the skirt to relaxed black trousers . Beyonce and your multiple outfit changes, eat your heart out.

Choices choices. But all fabulous choices to have.

I've collaborated with the wonderful Great Plains for these Christmas day outfit options and I absolutely love every one. I actually think I'm personally leaning towards the Jumpsuit idea, dressed up with some jewellery, a faux fur coat and some heels

Which one is your favourite here?

And what will you be wearing this Christmas?

An InLinkz Link-up

W7 Makeup Review (Cruelty Free & Vegan Beauty!)

 I love to play around with make-up, I'd actually go as far as to say putting on makeup, for me, is one of life's little pleasure. I just thoroughly enjoy the process. And even though I'm not overly adventurous with my daily face, I love to find great products that work well, sit well and feel good.
Since turning Vegan, my choices are more limiting as I've previously mentioned. But when you find cruelty free, Vegan products then it makes me love the company all the more.

W7 Cosmetics are a fully Cruelty Free company which also have many Vegan products.

I recently got to test run a whole load of their products, and man oh man are they good!

W7 may not be a brand you're familiar with. Funnily enough, the week that i received the products my step daughter also came home from a shopping trip with a few of their items. Possibly aimed at the younger market (ahem.. oldie alert here), but don't let the branding put you off as the products really are very good, plus those youngsters know a good product when they buy one!
Again the price point is also very low and extremely reasonable for the amount of product you get and also the quality.
The palette below is priced around £9.95, when you consider other palettes are triple that, it really does seem good value for money.

I thought i'd share a couple of my favourites today and I have to say their 'Prep Work Products' are some of the best I've used.
Below we have
The Cover It for dull eyes and Colour corrector anti redness
Lemon meringue Eye primer
The Porefection primer pore minimiser.

The fist product I used was the pink coloured stick which is the Cover It for dull eyes, I was so shocked at how good it was I ran and shoved it in my Step Daughters face and told her to tryitasitssoflippin'good. Of which she then agreed.
It brings the undereye colour back from a dull grey to a normal face colour and hides the tiredness of too many late nights. Its not a reflecting lightener, its not meant to be. Its a perfect base though and really works well with foundation to give you an even complexion-even under the eyes.

My other two favourites are the Eye Primer which I've been wearing non stop, even on its own as it gives the eye lids such a lovely natural colour, but also helps maintain eyeshadow through the day. I still had a bit of creasing later on in the day, but I have some oily eye lids so i've come to expect that anyway and am yet to find any product, regardless of cost, that counters this.
And also the Porefection primer, which works just as well for me as the Benefit Porefessional, but at a fraction of the price. I have quite obvious pores unfortunately and the cream silky substance adds a slight blur to them, making them less pronounced. I also find that when using this, my foundation lasts the majority of the day.

Next up I have a couple of face product favourites
The Candy Blush
 The Contour stick

 The pigment in the Candy Blush is incredible, a little really does go a long way and can be blended beautifully in to the cheeks. They are really true to form colours, in that they come out exactly like they look in the sweet and cute packaging.
Now the contour stick was something I was hesitant to try. Call me crazy but drawing lines on to my face with a giant crayon is really not my style.
BUT, I'll totally admit I was wrong. The crayon like format makes it extremely easy to use and apply. The butter like consistency makes it easy to blend and it dries quickly without feeling tacky or pulling on your foundation. I found it blended in a lot and I actually went in and applied a little more, which i was happy to do as I'd prefer to air on the side of caution with dark brown crayons😂
I loved that it warmed my face up a little also, so when I have my foundation in place this is perfect for adding some dimension.

And finally a few lip products to give a try

Full Time Lip Colour
 Magic Matt Lipstick
Nude Kiss Lipsticks

I tried the Full Time Lipstick first which is in a beautiul natural, but better lip colour, which is really flattering. The idea is you apply the colour, leave to dry, then apply the top coat gloss and it will alst all day. I've worn it a few times and it really does stick like nothing else. I once had a balm on as well and it ended up a tad crumbly, but other times I've worn it and it was great and when it did fade, ti faded naturally and gradually over a long period of time.

The Matt lips are my absolute Favorite. The pigmentation is phenomenal, giving a gorgeous red lip, that isn't drying or crumbly. It stays for hours too and feels great on the lip

I have to say I am SO impressed with the W7 cosmetics I've tried and will definitely look to purchase more from the brand when i'm in the market for new makeup.

Have you tried anything from W7?
(I think they would also make the perfect stocking fillers!)

Dressing up Knitwear ( & Passion4Fashion Linkup)

The cold spell has reached us here in the UK and it has been as low as -5 degrees Celsius. I'll be completely honest with you and say, when temperatures get this low all i want to do is wear my dressing gown all day, rap myself in my duvet and hibernate. But life demands that we dress each day and doesn't deem my dressing gown as getting dressed. To say I'm a wimp in cold weather would be an understatement, and skimpy clothes are pretty much retired until warmer weather returns (or for special events only, like the wedding I'll be attending tomorrow!). 

So it's knitwear all round for me. 

Knitwear can however still be dressed up just as much as a dress. I bought this cold shoulder knit for my Winter Capsule as i love how it adds just a little bit of 'fancy' to an other wise jumper and jeans outfit. A week in and i've already worn this jumper 3 times as its perfect for those occasions when you do want to make an effort, but still need something cosy( and no if you're wondering my shoulders didn't get cold.. surprisingly!)

I had lunch plans last Sunday so i threw on my jeans, the cold shoulder jumper and jazzed it up with some red heels. It was perfect for a casual but lovely lunch date. Later i switched back in to my cosy boots (I actually keep them in my car)for warmth and comfort, but it was nice to feel smart and still warm whilst I was out.

Cold Shoulder Sweater
Red Shoes (love all these)
Topshop Jamie jeans
Biker Jacket 

Come winter do you still dress fashionably or for warmth? 

An InLinkz Link-up