The Purchases; Jack Wills, The Kooples & Topshop

I promised on my last blog to share my latest purchases so here goes.  First up, the gorgeous belt I found in the Mary Portas Living & Giving shop.  It is by Comptoir Des Cotonniers and was £15, brand new still with the tags on!  The leather is gorgeous and so soft.  I would probably wear it more with a dress or a shorter jumper but you get the idea below.

Now my extravagant purchase.  I sacrificed the 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' DVD's for this (I love that my husband thought I'd like the complete series as a present but it's on repeat so much and for re-runs, Sex & The City wins hands down).  Lace is one of my favourites and have a few very old tops  that are now showing signs of wear.  The silk on this was amazing and the lace seemed so well made.  I have never purchased from The Kooples before so it's a tad risky to spend this amount but I don't believe it should let me down.  £135 down to £65 in Selfridges.  

Back to my kind of price range, I am loving wearing sweaters at the moment and this was a steal for £17.10.  It was originally £49 by Jack Wills.  It's a great navy colour and the stars just give it some more character.

I've fallen back in love with Topshop this last 12 months.  I felt they went a little high fashion and forgot about us novices but they seem to be getting the balance back.  I have a black blazer which is more 'office' and a very very old navy New Look one which credit where it's due, has worn so well.  When I saw this I loved that it was slightly longer and has a flick of sparkle through it.  £100 down to £30, 70% off - wow!

(not worn yet, nor would I wear with what I had on, but you get the idea of the great cut of it)

Also in the Topshop online sale was this top.  Pre Christmas I had a massive wardrobe clear out, a lot went and there are now gaps galore.  I thought that this simple shaped black tee could work in my wardrobe really well.  The beading detail is fantastic and as with the The Kooples top above, I wear my detail up high on my body, where I need to add some bulk so to speak!  £36 down to £20.

I saw this 100% wool hat in H&M.  I thought it didn't look to bad considering it's not my normal style of hats.  However my 7 year old told me I look like a cowboy/girl and my husband called it ridiculous.  Mmmmmm does it really look that daft?  (I was feeling brave in putting it out there for you all to comment, go easy!).

PS probably very slow to the table but who knew Essie was now in Boots??!!  Excellent for the spare advantage card points!

Who else has been picking up some great end of sale bargains?  I am glad the sales are coming to an end, there is to much temptation for me and holiday savings need topping up.  I am still contemplating joining Avril over at School Gate Style for her Frugal February month.  No shopping for February, mmmmmmmm.

Some New Brands (To Me!) To Share

One of the things I love about PR company press days is discovering new brands and being able to see them in the flesh, especially brands that are only based online.  The lovely ladies at Bright Light PR are always a pleasure to see, thank you to them for allowing me to come along and browse.  Here are my two favourites.  Now this first brand was on to a winner as 1. it has part of my name in (Nat) and 2. they are leather handbags, not a lot can go wrong from here on in.  Introducing 'nat & nin'.  The leather was amazing.  It's not often I really get excited by new leather bag brands, it takes a lot.  However the colour palettes were just perfect, think taupes, neutrals and the quality of the finish was immaculate.  Here is what's coming from their Spring/Summer 2014 collection next year.

This is a man's bag, but could easily double for a woman.  Ideal for travel.

My favourite by far.  The strap can be tucked in turning a day bag to an evening clutch.  The magnetic clasp under the flap made the closure fuss free and secure.

Larger day style bags.

Another brand that grabbed me was Annie Haak Designs and namely her unique yard of gold bracelet.  I mainly wear white gold and silver but I would like to wear a bit of rose gold for some reason.  Maybe as it's Winter I feel the need for a bit more warmth in the colour of my jewellery.  I loved the idea of this piece, it's literally a continuous yard of gold beads that slip on over the hand and are loosely held together with a ring of gold.  Available in silver (£128) and yellow gold (£148) as well.  It is currently on sale from £210 down to £155.  I am seriously tempted as I've been looking for a special piece of jewellery to remember someone by and this really grabbed me.  It's also really rare I find a bracelet that fits me so well, they are usually so large on me.

I had a great day in London that day, also meeting up with Avril from School Gate Style.  Here she is trying on some funky glasses at another press day and still looking fabulous.

And what I wore.  Thank you Avril for taking some photos as I always forget to.

Grey cashmere jumper; H&M
Chino's; Ralph Lauren (TK Maxx)
Blet; Topshop
Blazer; New Look

Necklace; Primark

Handbag; Prada
Shoes' French Sole (Atterley Road)

Boden's Breton Tee And A Zara Tip Off

Happy Halloween from my girls! (for yesterday)

Well hello!  My, what a busy week.  I've been planning (not just in my head you'll be pleased to know!) all my next few blog posts as I have so much to share.

Today I fancied some casual colour.  I am a huge lover of the breton stripe and have 'tried and tested' many high street versions.  My latest find is the Boden one though.  It's £15 with 96% cotton (I do like my natural fibres) and 4% elastane for that all important stretch and longevity wash after wash.  I opted for some pink with my favourite colour as the base, grey.  Several washes and wears already and I can report that I would recommend.  I tried to get my eldest (6 years old) to take a photo outdoors but at least 30 blurred shots later, I gave up so no smiled, 'posed' shots from me today.

Top; Boden
Scarf; School Gate Style Shop
Jeans; Gap
Boots, Topshop

I've teamed it with my gorgeous scarf from the School Gate Style shop (£15) as felt like being bold with some clashing prints. I always try to keep my bottom half pattern free as I am better balanced with the prints being up top.

Boden's Crew Neck Tee is available in a variety of colours 

A quick tip off for today, check out Zara's 'Special Prices' (if you don't follow me on Facebook, you may have missed this).  They are selling wool coats (57%) for £29.99.  They seem to be adding a few new bits every day so keep checking back.  I've had reports it's short lived so don't procrastinate.  Free delivery over £50 and free returns, what are you waiting for?  A few of my favourites below.

£29.99, other colours available

£25.99

£29.99

PS 20% off toys at ELC and 20% off shoes at Marks & Spencer until Sunday, just in case you wanted to get some kid's Christmas presents! x

Press Day Round Up's

I've been so fortunate of late to go to some fantastic press days (and many owing to my great blogger buddies passing on details - thank you!).  I went to some PR ones which was great as not only did they give me an insight to what was ahead for brands I already know, but they also introduced me to some brands I'd not heard about before.

I discovered My Beauty Emporium from the Modus PR agency press day, a wonderful on line beauty website who gave me some samples of Katima'A to try.  I've used the scrub and serum and so far I'm  impressed.  They contain Argan Oil (in my ignorance I thought this was for hair!) and what stood out straight away for me was the scent.  They don't claim to have any particular smell, so whether it's the argan oil I am attracted to I don't know, but it's like a rich buttery chocolate smell and I loved it.  The scrub felt like it did the job but didn't rip my face off.  I used the serum before bed under my night cream and although it was oily at first, my skin lapped it up and it felt like I was giving it a real treat for the night.

Serum £49.96, scrub £26

Next up I had a blast with fellow bloggers Kat and Avril last month at the Fenn Wright Manson press day.  We had a very privileged sneaky peak at their AW13 (sorry, not allowed to share any piccies but needless to say they had some fantastic key pieces and prints) but also got to play dress up with their SS13 collection.  Being such a petite one I struggled with the sizes they had so didn't manage a full outfit but I did love their silky top that Avril was actually wearing on the day and Kat looked great in the bold blue.   

My favourite look of their collection and also my favourite colour pallet 

Avril, Kat and myself all in FWM's Bella top (now £45)

My lush smelling Moroccan Blush Rose candle, thank you FWN!

And lastly a brand I had heard of but not paid a lot of attention to before, Kat & Bee jewellery.  Thanks to Emslie Creative I got to have a closer look at the amazing pieces of jewellery this brand has to offer in the coming months.  The rings stood out immediately but even more so when it was pointed out they all had tiny little skulls hidden within them.  Wow!

Stunning selection of their necklaces 

How different is this!  

Apologies to all my regular readers for the lack of posts this week.  Whilst I have this short term contract in London, my days are very long and I have little time left between getting home and hitting the sack.  I have so much still to share (I've been shopping - woohoo!) so bare with me, it's not for long and soon I will be back to more regular posts which I am missing writing.  

PS none of this is a sponsored post, just my favourites from what I've seen and wanted to share.

Week Round Up

Following on from my 'orange' post I thought I'd start off with the Benefit Fine One One.  Thank you to the fabulous Avril at School Gate Style.  When she saw my post on it she promptly posted me hers as had tried it but had not got on with it.  Well I love it!  I have found it a lot more 'dewy' looking on my skin than my normal powder blusher.  I actually applied it several times throughout the day to freshen up my make-up as had a busy day and it built up nicely without it looking too much.  I have yet to try it on my lips as it can be used there as well but so far I am really enjoying using it. 

The lovely Marlene from Chocolate, Cookies & Candies managed to get this shot of me from last week-end all wrapped up warm!  I have had so much wear out of my French Connection coat from Bicester Village, definitely the best spent £60 of last year.  My favourite look at the moment is my jeans turned up with my Topshop boots (seen originally in this post).  I ummed and arred about them for a few weeks first but now you can't get me out of them.  A great boot as not too high for every day wear but give me some much needed height, which I always find helps my posture as well.    I've even been wearing them on the school run!  

Cashmere Hat - TK Maxx
Scarf - Alice Temperley
Coat - French Connection
Glove, Jeans & Boots - Topshop
Bag - Balenciaga

Another favourite of mine this week is the below New Look Limited Edition necklace.  It was buy one get one free so at £12.99 was hard to say no.  I've worn with a simple v-neck tee (previously in this post) but this week I've been wearing it over tops instead.  The below ensemble was for the 6 year old's school disco.  I had to bling up the simple breton in some way as she was making me feel very under dressed!

The other necklace I purchased, which was £14.99, meaning the Limited one was free!

I was London bound again last night for a friends surprise party at a central bar (thanks Jewel Bar Piccadilly - great venue!).  My silk Whistles dress finally got an outing, yay!  I bought and blogged about this in January, it was a bargain £29.99 from TK Maxx.  Yes I was cold but needs must, it was temporary, a moment in time (sorry to the husband for moaning about the 5 minute walk from the car but you did make me walk through the very wet Regent Street in open toe shoes - burst water pipe!).  It was so comfortable to wear and didn't crease as much as I thought it would after sitting in the car for over an hour.  My only grumble is that the pockets kept slipping to the back and so I did fidget and move them a lot, need to maybe pop a stitch in to keep them in place.  But overall I was very pleased with my cheerful dress!

Dress - Whistles (TK Maxx)
Shoes - All Saints (Bicester Village)

And my wish list item this week, predictable some may say but I've never shied from the fact I am a handbag addict/freak; Whistles clutches.  Simple, chic and sophisticated, well made, timeless classics, when your bored of it use it as a make-up bag!  Apologies, I have completely forgotten the price, slack I know but I'm past my 'close down & switch off Natalie' self imposed curfew and need to wrap the hubby's birthday present pronto before I hit the sack.  Night all, hope you've had a good week-end! 

New Years Resolutions Update

I am going to keep on at myself as no one else will, they are my resolutions to fulfill so if I write about them more frequently, hopefully I will succeed more!

1.  Getting measured, well I did.  And to my amazement I wasn't wearing the wrong size just it was far to loose!  After being strapped in properly, my current bra's didn't feel so bad but they are old and pretty much at the end of their life.  I was given a different style to try which fitted so well, but didn't give me the cleavage I was after.  A week later and they went down to £6, so I have purchased but they are currently still sat on the hangers.  I know at 32 I really do need to realise my petite frame up top isn't going to magically grow over night but no one is happy with what they've got, so a push up bra has always been a must for me.  I will let you know if the 'good fit' style ever leave their hangers!

2. Reading my magazines on time.  Well I have a huge back log.  Who throws out old magazines without reading them?  I just can't!  Even a year old big fat glossy mag deserves a quick scan through, you never know what you might find.  I am trawling quite quickly through my 'Style' magazines so I'm hoping in the next month.......

3. Manicures.  I have semi booked one!  Provisionally booked 2 dates whilst I get my head around the child care.  Over a month in advance, how organised!  Next is a free facial voucher I received after buying my Clarins hand cream months ago.  I need to book that one in pronto, my skin needs seeing to.

4. Water (pinched from fellow blogger Avril).  I think this one needs post-it's stuck around the house to remind me.  Is it only me or does anyone else just forget to drink?  Food I never seem to forget, drink, I could go hours upon hours.

5. No experiments with make-up to report on, it's been a busy month so far!

Not make-up but this last week I have been trying Sudocrem on my breakout of blemishes (I would like to say hormonal but in reality, it's down to the chocolate, end of).  I have read about it several times but as I had a pot open for the baby's bum (!) I thought I would give it a go.  I wouldn't say it made them disappear over night like some reviews have suggested but it definitely dried them up quicker so I will be using this little trick again.  It doesn't rub in so well, so you only need a pin head amount but it sits there doing it's job overnight.  I love reading beauty tips like this that I can try without spending any extra pennies.

For My Fellow Bloggers!

I love to read other peoples blogs, it's an instant connection to 'real people' and it's great to see how other people work their wardrobes.  Whilst reading through some of my regular's I felt I wanted to share not only them but respond to some of their posts with one of my own.   So here goes.

Beth (Style Guile) had just invested in some products after being advised so at a beauty counter.  After being left with a rash (and returning the said products) she is left sceptical about the beauty business.  So I thought I would photograph some of my trusted favourites. I mostly go on recommendations and magazines reviews as I believe them to be un-bias.  'Look' magazine always do a review on products and use readers to test them.  Failing that some larger boots have sample sizes next to products or I just ask for the samples!  Here are some of my favourite facial products.

1. Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Face Wash - I always use in the morning,  not only is the scent amazing but it's under £5 and usually on offer.
2. Decleor cleanser and toner - I stumbled across this as it was reduced to £18 for the two on Amazon Black Friday deals last year.  I use at night and I would definitely buy again (but not full price of course!)
3. Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream - I use on my lips daily but pretty much on any other part of my body that needs hydrating or repairing.  That includes the kids and husband!
4. Clarins Eye Contour Gel - I use this in the mornings, it makes my eyes feel so fresh and wakes them up.  I initially had a tiny sample (which lasted ages) given to me by the sales assistant from their counter.
5. The Body Shop Camomile Eye Make-Up Remover - I spent years trying to find one that didn't smear across my eyes so my vision was hazy or so weak that it didn't do what it said on the tin.  This I am pleased to report works perfectly for me!
6. Garnier Wipes (dry skin) - I recently bought another brand due to price (why when these are such good value anyway is beside me) but I've gone back to these now.  I find that even though my skin isn't sensitive normally I tend to be a bit rougher when I use wipes so perhaps that's why these work well for me.  I alternate at night between these and cleansing and toning.
7. (Not pictured - sad face) my beloved Lancome Hydra Zen day and night creams - currently sat with a friend who sourced them half price in the sales for me!  I have broken out in those horrible lumpy under the skin spots and I know exactly why - I've been using a (much) cheaper night cream and samples of day creams.  Yes these are pricey (£40 ish each but I managed 2 for 1!) but I think if you find a product that suits your skin, then so be it.  I am not impartial to try different products - like I currently am, however after nearly 2 months of doing so, my skin has had enough! 

Sue (Susie So So) recently shared her day outfit, being jeans, jumper and scarf combo, she likes to keep it real!  So in a bid to be real back, here is my school run look from Friday.  My age old skinnies from Gap, I don't feel like they make them the same these days.  A Banana Republic jumper I found at a sample sale for £5.   As it is a v neck I put my Temperly Panther scarf around to keep out the cold.  Finished with my my old faithfuls, Timberland boots.  These have worn so well, they look better with age.  Had they been reduced sufficient enough in the black pair, I would have bought them again.  Looking back I think I definitely should have worn my darker jeans but needs must (as in 'clothes') when your rushing yourself and two kiddies out the house for school in the morning!

Avril (School Gate Style) has made a New Years Resolution to remember to put her eye cream on before bed.  I have my night creams right next to my bed ready to apply before I sleep.  I am religious with doing them, I like my skin to really hydrate at night as it's a great make-up free time for it to renew and replenish (I sound like a beauty ad!).  Here is my little display, yes it means more to dust around but it's a small sacrifice to pay to keep my skin in good condition!

1. Clarins Hand Cream
2. Boot rose cuticle oil (not every night!)
3. Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
4. Cyclax Eye Cream
5.Olay Night Cream
6. Bath and Body Works Pillow Mist

And just for you Avril - my 'pajama pants' as my husband called them!   M&S for anyone interested, they looked loads better on the model, but are now only £8 in their sale if your after an alternative to black to go out in.  Back to store tomorrow to return, but they were worth a go!

And finally a little shout out to my lovely friend who launched her fabulaous on line Homewares shop.  She has a wealth of background knowledge in interiors and I'm sure when you take a look, you will all agree the products she is selling are just beautiful.  Introducing The White House Interiors.