July on my mind

Some months are like a whirlwind; you just get swept away with the energy and activity of it and just hope that your feet will touch the ground at some point - that's what July's been like, both for good and for bad. I've been very busy focusing a lot on my training, to the extent that I even forgot to celebrate the 1 year birthday of Makeup by Candlelight on July 8 - so I'll just have to say thank you so much to everyone for all your support now instead, and wish for another amazing year!!! Lately I spend more and more time away in London and other places which is so exciting, but my body has definitely taken a beating from it, so I've really had to be nice to myself. Not in the superficial way I would usually be nice to myself before, e.g. by buying something new that I wanted, but in the "real" sense of looking after myself properly through healthy eating (but still with the occasional treat of course), mindfulness and maintaining a healthy balance of things. Since Him Indoors already spends most of the week traveling somewhere, this month has meant that we've not had that much every day life together but when we've finally managed to be in the same place at the same time, we've certainly made up for it by painting London red or enjoying some quiet time in the garden, playing silly games and BBQing while relaxing over a glass or two of bubbly - it's been like a mini holiday. More than anything though July has really been a month of family time since we first had my parents over from Sweden for a while, and then it was time for the Scottish clan to descend on us for a few days and our visitors have taken us all over the South & South East of England on different adventures, which has been so much fun. While it's always nice to get back into the routine again, it's a bitter sweetness since the house all of a sudden is so quiet as soon as the family leaves and it takes a few days to adjust, which I think only the cat enjoys. Last but not least we have finally booked a holiday for the end of August, to keep us going for another month which I think we're going to need since I don't see this whirlwind slowing down any time soon, in fact it'll be quite the opposite. I know this vortex is going to pick up speed even more in a few days time, so I just need to hold on to my hat, let myself be swept away and relax knowing that we have some sunny and adventurous days to look forward to - 29 in fact, but who's counting...

July favourites

Since I had to cut down on my blogging in June and earlier this month I haven't actually done a monthly favourites for a little while although except for the EdT I have a feeling that they would have been pretty much the same in June too. My routines have changed quite a lot over the past few months, partly because of the weather and partly because I'm on the road a lot more than I used to. Because of the sunny weather and since I love to be outdoors as much as possible to catch some rays, my main concern has been to make sure that I've been wearing some great sun lotion, and the product I've used the most is the lovely Hawaiian Tropic Sensitive Face Sun Lotion SPF30 (£12.60). It has just the right consistency for the face; light, silky and sheer without clogging up the pores and since it's for sensitive skin it's also free of oils and fragrance that could potentially cause irritation in the sun. The lotion absorbs quickly into the skin making it feel not only protected from those pesky UVA and UVB, but also moisturised and smooth. The only thing is that I don't think it's water resistant, at least it doesn't feel that way so I would definitely recommend that you re-apply several times a day, especially if you've gone for a cooling dip in the pool.

After a post sun shower to freshen up I've loved to use the Avon Shea Butter and Chocolate Truffle Body Soufflé, First of all it smells absolutely divine of chocolate mousse and even if like me you're not a chocolate lover you might find that you have to really stop yourself from testing it to check if it's as yummy as it smells.... hrmm - did I reveal too much there...? Anyway, this body product has a wonderful whipped, light and creamy texture that feels amazing on the skin, and it absorbs quickly without leaving any sensation of tackiness. What I like most about the soufflé, except for the chocolate scent is that it makes the skin ever so slightly radiant with a rose gold shine, which makes it perfect for summer use to emphasise tanned skin. As far as I know it's not available in the current Avon campaigns, but you can easily find it on eBay (£6.75), and I'll definitely stock up on it when I've finished up this one.

So the skin's looking radiant and bronzed, and since I've been on the go so much these past few months I haven't bothered with foundation or tinted moisturiser - all I've done is sweep my very used MUA Bronzer (£1) in shade 1 over my face for a natural, healthy looking glow. I know I've raved about this ridiculously affordable bronzer before - I need to start testing another brands... but for me it's just brilliant. The product is light and finely milled so it's easy to work with and to build up a stronger bronzed tone if you wish, the shade is sunny and natural without too much orange and it lasts fairly well throughout the day. I would say that you probably do need to buff up the colour after about 5 hrs, but then again considering the price, it's not the end of the world. If you haven't tried any MUA products before, this is the one to get and don't be surprised if you find yourself repurchasing it over and over again - I have, about 4 times...

Sticking with the quick and easy makeup theme, let's have a look at the the products that I have worn every single day without fail in July. I've been on a bad mascara streak, having tested several budget friendly products and not  been impressed with a single one of them, but finally there was a glimmer in the mascara dark with the  Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara (£9.99). It has just the right texture that I like and that usually doesn't come until the mascara is near it's end, i.e. it's liquid enough but a tiny bit sticky, which makes it easy to build up volume and length if you apply several coats. As with every other mascara these days it comes with a special "unique brush with spherical (and straight) bristles to wrap every lash in a 360° motion", I guess that means that the brush is supposed to make sure that you get colour on all sides of your lashes. Even though I'm not too sure about that statement, I do know that the brush is quite wide, firm and great to work with to shape the lashes for a wonderful volumised effect with luscious separated lashes. This was a complete impulse purchase, but I'm so glad that I decided to take a chance on it since it's the best mascara I've tried since I fell in love with L'Oréal's False Lash Flutter Mascara (the butterfly one). Thank you Bourjois for restoring my faith in affordable mascaras!

 

My preferred daily lippy has been Revlon's ColorBurst Matte Balm (£7.99) in Unapologetic which I recently did a review on that you can read here, so I won't go into more details about it except to say that the colour is the most perfect vibrant coral pink, perfect for a one-product look lounging by the pool. As you probably know I tend to wear different perfumes every single day to suit my mood, outfit etc so although I haven't exactly worn this gem every day, it's still a definite favourite this month. Ever since I first stumbled across Thierry Mugler's Alien EdT, I have looked forward to every new edition, and I have never been disappointed, they have all been outstanding! This season's newcomer - Alien Eau Extraordinaire EdT (£68) is no exception. As usual the bottle is very interesting with its beautifully cut angles and pale gold details for a glamorous outer space look and feel. It's a fresh, sparkling, sunny and harmonious fragrance mixing sweet Tunisian neroli, citrusy bergamot, elegant white tiare flower and warm amber. It's a very confident, poised and delightful scent and I always feel happy and pampered wearing it, and for warm sunny days - what could be more fitting than a warm sunny scent? That's the end to almost two month's of favourites... as much as I love them now I have a feeling that they won't be the same in August, but as I always say - it's a girl's prerogative to change her mind!

Manic.Monday: A glitter girl's little helper - IsaDora Peel Off base

For nail polish lovers and magpies alike there are a lot of amazing sparkling, glittering gem like effects to create these days, all equally eye catching in their own ways. Every time I show a glitter or shimmer polish on the blog, I often hear: "Looks great but is probably really difficult to remove", and it's a very fair and expected comment since a lot of these types of nail polishes often are a complete nightmare to remove, and it'll take nothing less than industrial strength poison to make your nails nice and clean of them. At least that is up until now, Glitter lovers over the world rejoice - we now have peel off base coats to the rescue! The idea behind these base coats which are specifically intended for textured and glitter looks, although you could of course use it for standard nail polishes too, is that when the time comes to change your color you simply lift up the polish along the edge and then peel it off in one go. The first peel off base I heard off was IsaDora's Peel Off Base and since the concept seemed far too good to be true, I obviously had to see for myself if it really could be as easy as this.

In the bottle the formula looks milky white and thick, actually almost gloopy as if you were going to paint your nails with glue, however as you apply it you'll find that the consistency is actually quite thin and easy to spread over the nail. Because of the thin consistency and the wonderful wide brush, you only need a tiny drop for each nail, otherwise you'll notice white build ups along the cuticles as it dries. After about 30 secs the peel off base sets into a finish that is silky smooth to the touch and the fairly opaque white color dries into a much more transparent shade on the nail, which works even under sheer pastel colors. Now your nails are prepped and ready for whichever bejewelled, glittery polish you have in store, and as I tested this base I chose one of my most glittery holographic polishes (that I'll review separately in a few weeks) that looked as if it could be a real challenge to remove.

Since I wanted to see if the peel off element would impact the wear, I didn't use a top coat and on me the holographic effect lasted about 3 days which is pretty normal wear, however I must say that it did feel as if the finish was a little bit more sensitive to everyday wear, and it probably could start to come loose at the edges even sooner than that. When the edges start to come off a little from the nail, you can without any effort at all, simply peel the polish off using your fingers and it'll release from the nail in one big flake, without leaving anything at all on the nail.

As you can see in the photos, the polish has come clean off so need to go back in with another remover to do any corrections and it really couldn't be any easier than this. I am so impressed with how well this works, and even though the peel off base might make the polish a little bit less long wearing - a reason perhaps for not using it under normal nail polishes, it's definitely not a concern for me since it makes removing effect polishes a 1 second job. It can unfortunately be very difficult to get hold of IsaDora in the UK (please, please, PLEASE IsaDora, come to the UK market soon!!!), but there are other brands that do a similar peel off base, e.g. OPI (£11.95), although I personally haven't tried that one yet. If you have tried the OPI version, please let me know what you think about it and if it's as incredible as the one from IsaDora, which should be every glitter girl's little helper. 

Out and about: Dipley Mill, a garden lover's dream

Last week we had a royal visit from Sweden, well almost.. - my parents came to visit for a few days which was so lovely since I unfortunately don't get to see them more than a few times a year so I like to treat them as royalty when they are here. We were extremely lucky with the weather, basking in almost 30C and since we wanted to do as much as possible outdoors we ended up going on a few mini trips to see our surroundings, and on one of the days we went to the incredible Dipley Mills, to have a look at the famous gardens. I come from a long line of gardeners with fingers greener than that of the Green Giant and my family can look at a plant and all of a sudden it bursts into bloom. Somehow mysteriously I have none of those genes and with me it's quite the opposite - I can merely glance at a plastic flower and it withers and dies...  but I still certainly appreciate beautiful gardens and it's always an opportunity for Happy Snapper, so I hope you'll enjoy these pictures from our visit.

Dipley Mills is one of the beautiful places that you can visit as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) and I would recommend that you keep an eye out for the next open day, since it's a stunning and inspiring place even for those of us that don't exactly have green fingers.  

On Cloud Nine with fabulous looking hair

I am the first to admit that I have spent a LOT of money on beauty products throughout the years, and most of it quite happily, but there are things that I probably shouldn't have bought and the biggest black hole for me is definitely the one for hair styling tools - if you've read any of my previous hair styling posts you may remember that I refer to my pile of tools as Mount Remington, the place where all my unused styling gizmos go to die. I have forever been pursuing the dream of the perfect curl, but after meeting Gladys the BaByliss Pro Perfect Curl that hunt is well and truly over, so instead I turned my hair obsessive eye onto the search for the one and only hair straightener... I know I've gone from curls to straight - it is a contradiction, but a girl is allowed to change her mind, in fact it's all part of the allure - at least that's what I keep telling Him Indoors! For years I've had a bog standard straightener that I have made work very hard to get poker straight glossy locks, and to be more than fair - it's certainly done what I asked of it, but like most of us I'm a busy girl and definitely don't have time to spend 30 mins in the morning straightening my fairly long hair. So after a few seconds of deliberation I decided to invest in a quality award winning wide straightener, and now I'm very happy to introduce to you to my latest hair styling friend, perfect for long and thick hair - Cloud Nine's The Wide Iron (£101.36), affectionately known in our household these days as Nino.

Nino has lots of excellent qualities that I think would make him endearing to most of us; first of all unlike many styling products he has an on/off button and then a separate temperature gauge so you can easily set and control the temperature as you wish in a range from under 100 to over 250, and with the clear LED display it's easy to read which heat setting you're using. The iron heats up to the desired temperature faster than you can say hair straighteners and it also switches itself off if you haven't used it for 30 mins, a nice safety feature for the forgetful among us. The main thing that attracted me to this straightener in the first place is that the plates are extra wide, smooth and glossy which means that it's quicker and easier to either straighten or curl my mane of hair. What would usually take me 30-40 mins mins, now only takes 10 mins which is a massive time saver for me and let's face it, who doesn't want to sleep an extra half hour in the morning? As an extra bonus the plates contain a "mysterious ingredient" (according to Cloud Nine) that adds shine to your hair as you it, but if I'm completely honest I can't say that I've noticed any extra shine although the smoothness of the plates do mean that that I've noticed very few frizzy or broken strands of hair after I've used it and the overall finish is very sleek and silky soft.

When I bought Nino from my local salon (the amazing Guillaume Vappereau Salon) I also got a complimentary Cloud 9 Magical Potion (£16.16) a great heat protectant spray which contains UV filter and a nourishing leave-in conditioner element. Not only does the spray protect and soften your hair, it also contains quick dry properties that will reduce the drying time with as much as up to 50%, which if you have long hair like me is quite a lot. Before you spray it all over your hair, shake the bottle properly to mix the ingredients and you'll find that the clear liquid that you can see in the photo will turn milky looking. The consistency is lovely and soft, a bit like a dry oil - silky on the surface but without any greasiness and it'll absorb into your hair very quickly without leaving any residue. It has a very subtle scent that reminds me of warm clean cotton but it's so faint that it's barely noticeable and it doesn't linger on your hair either. After you've combed the potion through your hair, style as usual and personally I also find that it somehow helps to keep my hair straight longer, which is always great when you've spent time on straightening it in the first place and on me the finish lasts about 3 days (without having to use John Frieda's Frizz Ease 3 Day Straight Spray £6.99), even after working out which is AMAZING! So what does the end result look like I hear you say? - well, since you ask let me show you...

There's no denying that professional styling tools like my little Nino from Cloud Nine are expensive and perhaps not something you would splurge out on every day, but before you go for 2nd or even 3rd best keep in mind that that these irons can be used not only for straightening, but curling and waving too, the smoothness of the quality plates makes a difference to the finish and the health of our hair as we're torturing our locks with heat styling, and the results last a long time. I am extremely happy with the Cloud Nine Wide Iron and would thoroughly recommend it for a quick and sleek trip to hair heaven.    

Fave 5 Clarins products

I still remember the first time I tried a Clarins product many moons ago; ahhhhh, it was in the infancy of my beauty addiction and I still get nostalgic thinking about it, because it wasn't only the first time I tried Clarins, it was also my very first premium beauty product EVER - a momentous occasion! After a scare with an eye infection potentially caused by a cheapy mascara I decided to invest in a mascara that was both dermatologically and ophthamologically tested and that was the beginning of my wonderful friendship with Clarins. The brand was founded in 1954 and has ever since the start had a very clear emphasis on pure and clean plant based products, many of them traditional medicinal plants combined with a strong eco- and fair trade responsible ethics, which you today can enjoy in local spas all over the world, a real treat! I haven't yet been so lucky to go to one of the spas but today I've got 5 of my favorite Clarins products that I simply can't be without to recreate that spa feeling at home.

First up among my Clarins favorites is the Liquid Bronze Self Tanning (£19) that I also reviewed in another post in mid April but this product is so excellent that it definitely deserves another mention. I'm far from an expert at self tanning so any products that I go for and even end up using repeatedly, simply has to be fool proof and the Liquid Bronze is just that. The consistency is a colorless, thin lotion that you apply by wiping a cotton pad with the product over your face as many times as you like to get the shade you're after. When it comes to self tan products for me this is a one of a kind - it dries very quickly on the skin, it has a soft and subtle scent - far from the burned biscuit smell that we all know, and it doesn't transfer onto clothes, another one of my pet peeves. It feels cooling and light on the skin and after you've applied it, the skin feels moisturised and nourished and a few hrs later you'll have a gorgeous bronzed glow and most importantly the color is perfectly EVEN and streak free. The shade will last 3-4 days before you need to top it up, which I think is fairly good but even if it had been less than that I wouldn't have mind since it's so easy to apply and get a great results - a real gem of sun in a bottle!

In this world, there are hand creams and then there are HAND CREAMS - the princess products that make you feel invincible and gorgeous, and the Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment (£18.90) definitely falls into that category. Let me just acknowledge straight away that there are fore sure more budget friendly and perfectly good hand creams out there, but this pampering moisturising cream with extracts of Sesame, Japanese Mulberry and Myrrh which all soften and protect the skin is worth every single tiny penny. The formula is luxurious and creamy without being oily and it absorbs straight into the skin without leaving any greasiness, making even very rough areas of your hands as soft as a peach, at the same time as it nourishes and strengthens the nails and cuticles. It has an addictive invigorating and subtle whipped citrus scent that lingers for a while which always lifts my mood and makes me feel refreshed. Ever since I first tried this amazing treatment a few years ago, it's been a staple item in my overstocked bathroom cabinet, and I still keep buying it in great value duo packs at the duty free, a testament to how good the cream is from someone who can't even commit to the same color of nail polish for a whole week!

One thing that Clarins does REALLY well is facial oils. Regardless of what your individual needs are, Clarins has a wonderful, luxurious oil to meet them and at one point or another I have been lucky enough to try them all. As my skin tends to be dehydrated or dry, the oil that suits me the best is the incredible Santal Face Treatment Oil (£32). It comes in a lovely glass bottle with a pipette, which is so handy to make it easier to get just the right amount of oil that you need. The Santal Oil is very rich and heavy and as much as I love it I wouldn't wear it during the way since it definitely leaves a bit of a shine on the skin, but for night time it's a wonderful treatment either replacing a serum or mixing a couple of drops with a mask for a really intense over night hydration boost, and in the morning your skin is plump and smooth. It's a very luxurious oil with an amazing warm and slightly oriental scent of aromatic cardamom, and it has such a soothing effect on me that I always bring it with me when I fly, to make me feel relaxed and settled. I adore this oil and since you only need so little of it, it'll last you a very long time so look at it as a long term investment.

I'm the first to admit that micellar solutions are so handy for cleansing your skin especially when you're in a hurry, or too tired to do a full cleansing routine but at the same time there are very few micellar solutions that will give me that incredibly clean sensation that you get from using a separate cleanser, followed up by a toner and my absolute favorite toner is the Clarins Toning Lotion for Dry/Normal Skin (£17.10) It's an alcohol free gentle lotion that is perfect for finishing of a deep cleanse, ensuring all cleanser is removed without leaving the skin feeling stripped of moisture or with dry patches. It contains ingredients that are all frequently used in products for sensitive skin since they eliminate itchiness and redness; camomille, linden and alpine herbs, and it has a wonderful ever so slightly green, peppery scent that feels very refreshing and luxurious on the skin. Using a toner might seem old fashioned to some, but for me it definitely works and you won't get a better or more comforting one than this!

As you may know I'm a big fan of using night creams and last among my fave 5 today is the Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Comfort Cream (£44) a great, intense cream for those who are not too keen on the very rich, thick consistency that a lot of night creams usually have. Although it is thicker than moisturisers for day wear, the formula is surprisingly light and it has an amazing fresh herbal scent to it. It's packed with ingredients to help the cells renew and repair over night - the best time for intense treatments, e.g. kiwi, Imudilin, carob extracts and shea butter, well known for it's softening qualities. Gently massage a pea sized drop of this night cream all over your face and in the morning you'll wake up to soft, radiant and restored skin. As I have dry skin I must admit that I feel as if I have to use quite a lot of product to get good coverage and a sense of deep hydration, however my beauty therapist keeps telling me that you can actually apply too much, and in doing so clog up the pores and a small amount of this contains enough nutrients to comfort and replenish the skin. That's my list of current Clarins favorites, and if you haven't tried any of the wonderful products from Clarins range yet I would highly recommend that you give at least one or two of these a go, and I'm sure that like me you'll form a very long lasting friendship with this fabulous brand!

Manic.Monday: She paints seashells on the seashore

Summer time is sunny time is beach time - warm golden soft sands, cooling turquoise blue waters, wispy palm trees swaying in the wind and beautiful unusual seashells waiting to be collected as a memento from the holiday. Somehow everything is better at the beach; even the most minimal tan looks gorgeously bronzed, wavy boho hair comes without having to use lots of hair products and bizarre looking styling tools and natural sunkissed skin smells lovelier than some of the most prestigious perfumes in the world. Now you can have that relaxed beach feeling everyday with the help of the latest of Ciaté's innovative textured manis; it's Ciaté's Shell Manicure (£20) so forget your pastels, forget your neons - this summer the coolest nails are covered with crushed seashells!

 

This latest ingenious look from Ciaté comes in sets of three different colors with one base shade and one bottle of shell fragments in a matching color; pink (She Sells Seashells), white (Wish Upon A Starfish) and this gorgeous muted lilac called Mermaid You Look. The base shade in this kit is Pillow Fight (£9), a lovely muted thistle color for a subtle and sophisticated look and although the formula is perhaps a tiny bit more fluid than your average nail polish, the consistency is still easy to work with for an even finish and it's also very quick drying, always a plus when you want to build a nice opaque finish. The pigmentation is nice and strong even with a softer shade like Pillow Fight, although for me personally one coat only is on the sheer side so as usual I prefer to apply two coats for some solid color blocking, especially to off set an effect finish like these seashells. On me two coats under a top coat lasts about four days, which is a bit longer than average in my opinion and it's still very easy to remove using a standard nail polish remover.

Now on to the fun bit - the seashells! As with all these manicure kits you can be as creative as you like and wear the textured effect on as many nails as you wish, but for me less is more and one or two nails creates just the right impact. I love the untamed, natural and ever so slightly rough look and feel of the crushed seashells. The color of the shells is a gorgeous pearlescent lilac and mauve with a silver shine to it, perfect with a tan for a mermaid inspired look. Pour a generous amount of the fragments over a nail that has just been painted, then tap the shards gently into place and repeat a few times until there's an even coarse and fairly dense coating of seashells. Once you've applied as much as you want, you could finish with a topcoat to seal in the fragments, and make the finish potentially last longer but personally I think it ruins the relaxed but interesting and eye catching effect. As unusual and unique as this look is, it does require some patience from the wearer since it's far from practical. Because of the rough edges and the different shaped fragments some of them will stick out more than others, resulting in a lot of things getting caught on them - hair, lace, linen anything really that has a slightly uneven surface, which also means that the look won't remain pristine and perfect for long.

Without a top coat the effect lasts about two days before the first flakes start to come off, although you'll still get at least two more days wear out of it, and it is very easy to cover up any areas with more seashells as needed. Not unsurprisingly this textured finish takes a bit of work to remove, but in my opinion it's well worth the effort for a one of a kind, remarkable finish. If the choice is between this and some of the other seasonal colors, I know which one I'd rather shell out on - bring on the seaside look, and embrace your inner mermaid.  

Unapologetically gorgeous

As much as I love scorching hot summer days, they do prove a challenge from a makeup point of view especially if you're very active, or have a long commute and lately I have literally stripped everything back and my makeup bag has never looked so empty. Not wearing foundation or concealer can seem daunting and bare summer skin can be very unforgiving, but luckily my skin has been well behaved lately and I have a bit of a tan that is quickly highlighted even more with a quick sweep of a bronzer. Apply a fabulous mascara for some long fluttering lashes and the last but most important touch is a punchy, colorful lippy and the past few weeks I've been using one of the amazing Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balms (£7.99). I've mentioned before how much I love this format of lip product and after my first encounter with the beautiful matte effects from Revlon a while back, I've added new colors regularly to my collection.

I love how fuss free and practical the chubbys are with their twist up function, and unlike a lot of lipsticks that have quite a flimsy packaging it's next to impossible to break the stick as it bumps around in the handbag throughout your every day adventures. It has a lovely minty fresh scent that lasts a little while after you've applied it and despite being a matte lip balm the formula is wonderfully creamy, smooth and pleasant to wear thanks to nourishing ingredients like mango, shea and coconut butter, which is perfect for hot summer days when your lips easily get dehydrated and chapped from the sun. With such a buttery consistency you might expect that the stick would melt or break in hot weather, however the balm seems to be very resilient and I haven't noticed any difference to it's consistency even after I'd accidentally left it out in the sun for a few hrs... phew... When you first apply the ColourBurst balm you get a lovely intense and silky but matte effect that fades evenly without those despicable dry patches or contours, however at least on me it doesn't last very long. In cooler temperatures an application lasts a little bit longer than 2 hrs and during these hot summer days it's unfortunately even shorter than that. Even though for me there are lip chubbys from other brands that last much longer, Revlon has the best and most varied range of colors (10 different matte shades) and the color Unapologetic is sheer (or rather matte) perfection! It's a glorious intense sunny coral pink that will make even the palest of skin tones look glowy and radiant - a gorgeous eye catching shade for every occasion, have a look here on my Instagram for a swatch, and I make no excuses for having used it constantly for the past few weeks. 

The InstaWeek that was #5

The name of this post should probably be The besquillion InstaWeeks that were, because unfortunately it has been THAT long since I published a new post. I've had so much going on the last few weeks and it's been a challenge to get even the every day stuff to come together that I was forced to take some BB time - Blogging Break time... Anyway I am now back again and as a nice gentle start I thought I would share some photos from my Instagram of things that have been going lately.

The InstaWeek that was: 

I've spent a lot of time in London the last months but with neighbors like Diptyque you won't hear me complain (and I haven't bought a single thing!) // Absolutely LOVE this latest Alien creation from Thierry Mugler, it's simply out of this world... // After long and intense days there's nothing like some pampering time at the spa // The latest stash from Ciaté  - got to love the mosaic or the crushed shell mani // Swedish Midsummer with traditional snaps, and yes we did finish them all // What to do on a scorching summer day? - Well ice climbing in Covent Garden of course... // Indulgent Sunday breakfast with raspberry croissants because raspberries are great for the skin // Loving London Summer evenings // Healthy tuna and salmon sashimi lunch to make up for the raspberry croissants

Highlights the past weeks:

- Ice climbing!!!!! Oh my goodness - such good fun and a great workout too, although I think I need a bit more training before I head to K2

- Beautiful balmy London evenings chilling out with Him Indoors

Hope you've also had a great few weeks! I'm so excited to be back in Blogiverse and don't forget to check out the new posts coming soon!