Pepperberry & Bravissimo S/S '14

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Pepperberry & Bravissimo.  In theory, these companies should be perfect for me, a one-stop shop with clothing that will actually fit over my boobs & bras that go up to & beyond my size.  But my 3 closest stores are equally a 3 hour round trip for me to get there & I always seem slightly disappointed with the stores when I get there.

I usually use the Edinburgh store but I've found that since they merged the Pepperberry & Bravissimo stores, they don't have a great deal of stock - or maybe I've always been unlucky when I've visited?!  The catalogue holds many styles of bras in my size but I'd be lucky if they have one or two in stock, likewise with the items of clothing I always want to try.  Also, the last 2 Bravissimo brand bras I bought fitted me perfectly the day I purchased them but after only 2 handwashes, they'd stretched out of shape that much that the cups looked many sizes too big for me, so disappointing.

However, I bought my first item of clothing from Pepperberry a couple of years ago & I loved everything about it.  It was a gorgeous tea-dress in the thickest jersey fabric I've known & it fitted like a glove.  I still wear it now regularly & it still looks like new - all good - but last year I felt most of the styles were really old-fashioned & frumpy.  The sizing can also be a tad strange on me too.  Anything in a stretch fabric fits perfectly but if it's non-stretch, forget it.  Even sizing up won't make it fit over my boobs, meh!

Hmmm, I didn't & don't intend this post to be bashing these shops, far from it as when they do get it right, they get it really right!  Which leads me to say that when the new spring/summer catalogue dropped through my door the other day, they had some great dresses back in again, yay!

Here's what I'm hoping to get for summer & I pray that the sizing hasn't changed at all & they fit as well as my other dress!

Red stripe dress

Navy stripe maxi dress

Cross front dress

Hmmm, just from a few days of writing this post & saving it in draft form to actually finishing it for publishing, I've noticed that 2 of these are now out of stock & one is low stock, arrrghhhhh!!!!  Maybe it just wasn't meant to be Pepperberry.........yet again :-(

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet ~ Frambourjoise

I've really not had much luck with matte lipsticks/colours in the past, even when taking into account all the lip scrub & balm prep beforehand.....until this wee gem from Bourjois.

I bought this as soon as it was released in March-ish (sorry, I can't remember exactly when!) & it's a matte finish liquid lipstick with a doe-foot applicator.  And it's amazing, it really is!

I picked up the colour 'Frambourjoise' as an everyday shade to take me through spring & summer & it's as pretty near to perfect as you'd want & expect from a liquid lip colour.  It applies like a dream with the most bizarre silky, velvetty (hence the name!) texture & is so comfortable to wear, it's like you have nothing on your lips!  It's not drying at all, unlike every other matte lip colour I've tried & lasts for a phenomenally long time - two coffees, a croissant & lunch & it still hadn't shifted or faded!!

I'm ridiculously impressed with this latest offering from Bourjois & will be buying other colours really soon!!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet £8.99 from Superdrug, currently on 3 for 2.  Fabulous!!

Crail Food Festival 2014 part1

I wrote a post last year about our visit to the 3rd annual Crail Food Festival - you read it here if you missed it - so I was really happy to be asked by the organisers if this year, I would be one of their 'official' bloggers!  Ermmm, yes please!!

I was asked to write my post about Sucre Coeur, a confectionery company based in the East Neuk of Fife, about their work & what they have in store for this year's event.  Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Karen, one of the owners of Sucre Coeur & after finding out what they'll be delighting the public with next month, she showed me photos of some of their incredible work. 

Amazing huh?

You can read my full blog post here & if you want any more info on the Crail Food Festival, check out their website here, it really is worth going to if you're in the area!

NOTD Nails Inc ~ Copacabana Coral

Whenever I spot a magazine offering a freebie, I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame, especially when it's a Nails Inc. nail polish!

Out of the three colours on offer with this months InStyle (a bright coral, a pink & a greige nude) the coral was just calling me & I also had a £2 off voucher for the mag so it was bargain of the day!

Copacabana Coral is just my sort of colour & it offers the fabulous application & longevity that normally comes with Nails Inc. polishes.  As always, I start with my China Glaze Strong Adhesion base coat, followed by two coats of colour & a final coat of Seche Vite top coat.

As you can see, it's the perfect colour for summer & would look amazing with a tan (wishful thinking!)  I'm now into day 5 of my manicure with no chipping or tip wear, pretty darned good considering I've been painting furniture (sans CSI gloves!) but this explains the dry, gnarly skin & cuticles - whoops, sorry!!

Have you snapped one of these freebies up yet?

Sleek blush ~ Sahara

Although I own a couple of Sleek eye palettes & pout polishes, this is my first foray into their blushes & it certainly will not be my last!

As with the eyeshadows, this matte blush in shade Sahara is seriously pigmented & is a beautiful warm shade of coral.  It adds enough colour to offer that healthy, flushed look without looking like Coco the clown - always a bonus - and is perfect for the sunny weather that WILL hit us soon!

It has the standard matte black packaging with a handy mirror enclosed in it & retails at just £4.49 at Superdrug, a bargain for such a great product.