Spring/summer capsule wardrobe for boys

Alfie is getting to that age now where he's starting to enjoy picking out his own clothes & when he chooses an outfit, it doesn't look like a complete mish-mash of things anymore!!  There are some great items in the shops right now so I thought I'd do something a little different & do an outfit post for little dudes, with my own special dude modelling!

I made a set on Polyvore of the sort of basic items I keep in his wardrobe & just add new t-shirts or jeans as & when he needs them.  I tend to stick to shopping in Next, H&M, George at Asda & Fat Face (sale!) as I find the clothes reasonable & they wash really well because let's face it, that matters!   I think he's gone past the dungaree wearing stage now though *sob* but trust me, if I could get him to wear them again, I would as I love seeing kids in dungies!!

The shops are filled with fab destination t-shirts at the moment, which we both love & he's very keen on Hawaiian shirts too (he wants to match his dad!!)  The converse-lookalike hi-tops from H&M are fantastic as not only are they a bargainous £6 a pair, the laces are elastic too as he is waaaaay off being able to do his own laces yet.  He's been wearing these for a couple of years now & I've converted quite a few friends into buying these rather than the real thing!  But the fact I've chosen skinny fit trousers for him is not a 'fashion' thing, it's because he's such a skinnymalink that normal trews just drown him, bless him!!

If you click on the Polyvore link above or on the right, you'll get links to all the pieces on the board but I have to say, George at Asda has some particularly great bits in at the moment for boys, absolutely tons of choice, as does Next.  

Here's the wee man showing off some of his new threads!!

Set Sail t-shirt

Cargo check shorts 

Blue hi-top sneakers

Shirt Sainsbury's A/W 14, similar here

Denim shorts Sainsburys S/S 14, similar here

Blue hi-top sneakers, as before

Rust hoodie, Sainsburys current, similar here

Las Vegas t-shirt

Skinny jeans

Navy hi-tops, Next A/W 14, similar here

Lightweight bomber jacket

Stripe t-shirt, Primark current, similar here

Skinny jeans, as before

Hi-tops, as before

(Excuse the unfinished porch tiling!!)

I think I have a future Zoolander in the making!!! And do you see what I mean about his super-skinny sparrow legs, bless him!

I hope you've enjoyed this slightly different post, I know Alfie loved posing ;)

Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara

So it's no secret that I like a bit of oomph from my mascaras & I loved the sample of Roller Lash by Benefit that I had in last month's Elle magazine (reviewed here.) but I'll be honest, I don't like forking out nearly £20 on one!  I kept reading online that the new-ish Maybelline Lash Sensational was a very good dupe for the Roller Lash, I though I'd give it a shot for £7.99.

It's the familiar Maybelline bullet shaped packaging, which I'm not that fond of as I find them too bulky & has a similar curved wand with much shorter plastic bristles on the inner curve.  Whilst I find the wand grips the lashes really well, it's probably not quite as good as the Roller Lash wand but it still does a fantastic job!  It just takes a bit of practise to learn which side of the brush is best for what.

This is a side-by-side comparison to the roller Lash wand.  Maybelline is on the left & as you can see, is quite a bit fatter so there is a tendancy for a bit of smudging on the lids - nothing a cotton bud can't sort out though!  You can see the results below.....

This was just with one coat so it's pretty impressive & is my mascara of the moment I think - well, until I crack open my Lancôme Hypnôse that I have stashed away for my holiday!  My daughter loves this mascara too & it's getting great reviews online.  It doesn't smudge during the day & removes easily without next-day-panda-eyes *punches the air!*

Have you tried Lash Sensational yet?

NOTD Barry M ~ Rosehip

As a nod to all things pastel at the moment, I thought I'd show you this gelly polish I picked up last year, Rosehip by Barry M.  It had mysteriously disappeared into my daughter's nail polish stash which is why I'd forgotten I had it but it has the usual fab coverage & longevity that all the gelly polishes have.

I still prefer the brighter shades on me but this is great for a change!  Are you favouring brights or pastels at the moment?

NOTD Essie ~ Chubby Cheeks

I haven't bought an Essie polish for ages but if you follow me on Instagram, you'll have noticed that one 'fell' into my basket in Boots the other day *ahem*!!  This is 'Chubby Cheeks', a beautiful soft yet bright coral & I love it!  (It's currently on 3 for 2 so is the perfect time to try them!)

Admittedly, the finished photo is dreadful - I'm not quite sure what happened there - but I've remembered why I used to love Essie polishes so much.  The brush is a great fit on the nail making application simple & very quick & the finish is great.

I used my usual Strong Adhesion base coat by China Glaze & Seche Vite top coat & I'm currently 5 days in & just starting to get tip wear.

Do you like Essie polishes?  What's your favourite shade?

Marrakech 2015

Apologies for the delay in getting round to writing this post, life & a knackered pc got in the way!!  Anyway, Marrakech was absolutely fantastic - utterly mental - but fantastic!  We left a grey, rainy, freezing cold Glasgow & landed in bright sunshine & 26 degrees heat, fabulous.  The riad had sent a driver to pick us up at the airport so in we jumped & experienced the madness that is driving in Marrakech!  I think know we all had our eyes shut for much of the journey!

The drive only took about 15 minutes & we were dropped off at a taxi rank where a couple of staff from the riad were waiting for us to take our luggage.  From here it was only a 2 minute walk to the beautiful, calm haven of Riad Houma.  As we checked in, we were brought mint tea & Moroccan pastries & then talked through a map & shown the easiest way to walk to the main square, the Place Jemaa el Fna.

However, as the sun was still shining brightly and well, you know, we live in Scotland, we all dumped the bags & headed for the roof terrace to catch a couple of hours rays before heading out for our first exploration of the medina.

Wow, we knew it was going to be busy but Oh. My. God!!  We were prepared for the hustle & bustle of many people & stall holders trying to entice you into their shops in the tiny narrow alleyways but we were not expecting to dodge mopeds bombing down there too, it was mental! We were all walking about with huge grins on our faces at just the whole experience, the sights, the sounds, the smells (which alternated between the sweet smell of orange blossom, the earthy scent of spices, the delicious waft of bbq & the sudden onset of erm, sewerage!)

We headed off into the souks & got totally lost for the next couple of hours so by the time we ended back at the riad, it was gone 8pm & we were all starving.  We'd arranged to eat there on the first night & sat down to a delicious 3 course meal, discussed what to do the next day & then headed off for an early night.

The next morning we ate breakfast on the terrace in the already very warm sunshine & then again headed off towards the main square where we hopped on the open top bus to take us on a tour.  This was a really great way to see everything & note down where we wanted to do.  It headed through Guéliz, a newer part where you found shopping & familiar sights (Maccy D's , Pizza Hut or Starbucks anyone?!) then on to Palmeraie where there are huge golfing resorts & I spotted a Nikki Beach.  From there it stopped at Le Jardin Majorelle, which is where we jumped off.  After a quick bite to eat, we enjoyed a peaceful hour wandering round the gardens before jumping back on the bus & heading back for some sunbathing.

That night we ate at Kosybar, which Nikki at Midlife Chic had recommended. It was fabulous & we had a great table that overlooked the Koutoubia Mosque & the storks nesting on the walls of the  Palace.  We finished the night with wine on the terrace of riad & thanks to wifi & Spotify, a hilarious 80s pop quiz!

The next day was spent generally mooching around exploring & then more sunbathing in the afternoon.  We ate that night at Le Salama where we all shared a huge tasting menu with many, many dishes - Morrocan tapas if you like!  Just as we were leaving, the gorgeous belly dancers arrived, much to the pleasure of all the remaining diners.  Again, we finished the night with drinks & pop quizzes on the roof terrace but man, it was cold that night!

Our last morning we went exploring again round the Kasbah, which was a fabulous area that I wish we'd found sooner.  After a visit to the Saadian Tombs to see where all the past royalty are buried, we found a fabulous café (where we realised that we'd been paying way over the odds for food & drinks in the main square!) & then did some last minute shopping of argan oil & orange blossom goodies.  Shockingly though, this was the only shopping I did - I KNOW!!  I had planned to do a last minute whizz round the medina to buy bags & babouches (leather slippers) but the sodding cash machine was broken & the next one was too far away to go as we were running out of time :(

So there we have Marrakech in 3 days - not nearly enough time so we'd like to go back next year but stay for a week.  We wouldn't hesitate to return to Riad Houma, the staff were amazing, so polite & attentive (if a little too relaxed at times!!), it was beautiful inside & in comparison to a lot of riads, was really easy to find.  I'll now stop blethering on & start preparing for our trip to New York in 3 weeks, eeeek!!
 

Marrakech packing ~ makeup & skincare

I've had the morning to myself today as Hubble has taken Alfie out to a rugby tournament so I thought I'd get a head start on my pre-holiday beauty prep!  So far I've tinted my eyelashes (not the easiest thing to do yourself!), waxed my 'tache(ahem!), applied lashings of gradual tan lotion, coloured my roots & given myself a pedicure.  My hair is getting cut & blow dried on Tuesday morning so I can get up & go on Wednesday - one less thing for me to do!  I'm doing my friends' nails for them on Tuesday so I won't do my own nails until Tuesday night after I've packed the last couple of bits & bobs so I don't ruin them.

I've also sorted out & packed my makeup & skincare to take with me as I won't need these before we go - another tick off my packing list!  Seeing as we booked cases on in the end, I'm taking more than is probably necessary but a couple of bits I'll finish off whilst I'm there so they won't be coming home with me.  So here's what I'm taking -

My makeup bag from Muji is fantastic.  It's double sided with plenty of pockets & spaces to keep things neat & tidy!  They don't have this exact model anymore but they have this one which is very similar.  There's tons of room left in it so I might just put all my skincare in there too, one bag less to take!

Makeup wise, I'm going to decant into the teeny tiny posts my Boujois Bronzing BB & Revlon Photoready BB & that's my face sorted - nothing heavy & definitely no powder.  I will, however, take this dinky tube of Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer to cover up my persistant scars on my face.  To add a healthy flush in the evenings I'm taking my Bourjois Cream Blush & a tiny pot of mineral powder bronzer by Bare Minerals that I picked up in TK Maxx.   

For my eyes, I just have 2 eyeshadow pencils in charcoal & bronze by Barry M & a mini Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara that was part of a special offer gift set (reviewed here.)

And the last of the makeup are 3 of my favourite lip colours, Bourjois Peach Club  (review here), Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple (review here) & No 7 BB Lips in Blush Pink.

Now moving on to the skincare.  I bought this Rosehip trial size gift set by Trilogy a couple of weeks ago so this is the base of my skincare.  It contains a cream cleanser, hydrating mist toner, facial oil & day cream.  Next, I've got a miniature of Bi-facil eye makeup remover by Lancôme, a mini micellar water by B Pure, mini Hydraluron that came in a gift set & my Botanics All Bright eye roll-on to help tired eyes.

So although there looks like quite a lot, because they're all minis they take up no room at all!

I need to take a quick trip to town in the morning to get the last couple of bits that I need & then I'll get my case packed.  3 days to go....!!!