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....!!!

Marrakech ~ travel outift

I find choosing outfits to travel in so difficult when you're going from the cold to the (hopefully!) heat.  I'm getting picked up by my friend at 7.15am & judging by the current temperatures, it's going to be baltic again so I've got to be warm this end but not so much that I'm going to swelter within 3 minutes of getting off the plane because let's face it, with 25°c plus temperatures & menopausal hot flushes, this is very possible!

So I had a trial run & this is what I decided on in the end.  The jeans are the relaxed skinny by Next which I love the look of but I'm having a wee problem with them.  When I tried them on instore, they fitted perfectly so I bought them & put them on the next day.  By the end of the day though they had really stretched & I mean really - I could pull them down without having to undo the zip or button, surely not right after one wear?!!  So I'll have to pop back to town & either get a smaller size or swap for a different style.

The navy longline tee shirt was bought in Gap last year but this is similar & let's face it, anything that covers the arse is a good thing in my book!  The open jacket I bought in Next a few weeks back but I can't find it online so it must be last season stock - this is a great alternative.

You may have seen my coral Freckle Ice shoes from Clarks on Instagram the other day.  This is my fourth pair of these now, they're so comfortable - please don't ever discontinue them Clarks!!  And the saddle bag is also from Clarks but is now sold out - this one is similar.

Accessories wise, there's no point wearing loads of things that'll have to be removed at security so I'm just sticking to my gorgeous burnt orange leopard scarf from Alice's Wonders, handy for chilly mornings & planes, and my turquoise stretchy bead bracelets from Accessorize.  I can't find these online but layer up a few of these & you get the idea!

This is a close-up of the jacket, which I'm really pleased with.  I can wear it over any of my holiday outfits, it's especially handy for night time & I'll also be taking it to New York next month.

So there we have it, nothing exceptional or fancy but it's comfortable & practical - oh god, I sound like my mum.....!!! ;)

What's your favourite thing to wear when travelling?

Marrakech packing ~ toiletries

The days are finally into single figures before we leave for Marrakech & today, as I look outside my window at the snow falling, I could not be more excited to be heading for the sun & warmth!!

My many, many lists are now coming into their own as I know exactly what to pack, what to wear & what's left to buy & the case is out of the cupboard waiting to be filled!

I picked up the last of my toiletries last week so I though I'd share what I'll be taking.  Warning - there may be a few of these 'packing' posts coming up in the next few days - sorry!! ;) 

I'm not overly fond of sun creams as I always find them a bit too gunky, I prefer sprays & have used the Ambre Solaire spray for a few years now.  I picked this up in Asda at the start of the year for about £3 when they were having a clearance, it's currently £12.99 in Superdrug but there's a BOGOF deal.

I bought an SPF30 Solait face cream (£3.99) which I haven't used before but it says it's non-greasy so here's hoping it'll be fine & doesn't break me out!  As it was BOGOF, I also picked up the Solait aftersun (£4.99) with tan prolonger, which sounds like it works in the same way as a gradual tanning cream.  I'll take the whole bottle as the 4 of us can all share this.

My other toiletries are mini versions, which I don't usually buy as I have empty bottles which I decant products into but a lot of these were bought at Christmas when they were on clearance shelves!  The only product I'll decant into a pot is my Curl Cream by Trevor Sorbie but the mini bottle of Frizz Ease I picked up for 99p is ideal! 

In the end I decided to get new contact lenses rather than take prescription sunglasses so I don't have to carry my normal glasses around with me all day to use when we're inside.  I can just stick on a pair of sunnies & be done with it!  These lenses (in the black box, top right) are the new Vitrea range by Specsavers & offer a slow-release moisturiser so are very comfortable to wear & I'd imagine will be much better in the heat.  I'll just need to take 4 or 5 pairs with me rather than the whole box.

So these are my toiletries sorted, I now have to whittle down my makeup & choose my nail colours!

Marrakech clothes

So with only 3 weeks to go until our trip to Marrakech, I decided I had to go through my wardrobe & choose my final picks to take with me.

We're only there for 4 days but as you may have seen on my Instagram yesterday, the predicted forecast is (fingers crossed!!) due to be around the 20-25°c mark, in which case we'll need cooler - but still conservative - clothes for the day with something warmer for the evenings.  Everything I've chosen can be mixed & matched with each other so although there's not a great deal, I can make quite a few different outfits in total!  I'll run through the list quickly but you can get all the details from my Polyvore if you click on the picture.

For the bottoms, I've chosen a pair of relaxed skinny jeans (I'll wear these to travel in), black jersey wide leg trousers, a navy maxi skirt & a plain black maxi dress, ideal to wear with one of the lightweight kimonos thrown on top of it.

The tops I've chosen are 2 longline vests in burnt orange & navy (I may take a white one too), a navy v-neck t-shirt (for travelling in), a mustard top & my new striped boat neck top.

I bought 2 kimonos at the end of last summer to wear as lightweight jackets, ideal for covering my shoulders should be enter somewhere where bare shoulders are frowned upon.  Either can be folded up small & put in my bag.  I will also pack my denim jacket & new navy jacket I bought in Next last week (again, I'll travel in this), but it isn't online so it must be one of last season's.

Shoe-wise, I decided to forego any sort of heels & take only 2 pairs of flats.  I wanted a closed-in pair as it'll still be cold here when we leave so the Freckle Ice from Clarks are perfect.  I have 3 pairs of these now & they are honestly the best ballet pumps for me as they support my arches & are ridiculously padded!  Then I'll take my pewter sandals from M&S, which granted, look minging on the photo but look great on, honestly!!  Again, they're really padded & comfortable for walking in.

I'll only take a couple of pieces of jewellery as I'd like to buy some whilst we're there but I do need a scarf or two, & these from Alice's Wonders are lovely.  I'll take my Clarks tan saddle bag for the day & a beaded clutch for evening.

And not forgetting a swimsuit, sarong & sunglasses!  I'm just taking a plain, boring black swimsuit because I like to wear my leopard print sarong & I don't want to clash!!  I also need to get to the opticians to have new prescription lenses put in my sunglasses but I'll not be going back to Vision Express after the chronically slow service I'm experiencing at the moment with my new glasses, grrrr........

As a lot of things I'm taking I bought at the end of last year & they're no longer in the shops, I've had to choose similar pieces on my Polyvore set but you get the jist!!  I will do another post with photos of the actual clothes I'm taking....I might just do a wee packing video too, we'll see!! ;)

Totally going off track here but does anyone have difficulties with their posts when they add a Polyvore set?  It either totally changes my font & I can't adjust it or like today, my type width will only go to the width of the photo, not across the full page????  It drives me bonkers, does anyone know how to remedy this?

Anyhoo, that was a very rambly post, sorry but I'm getting a tad excited now, hee hee!!!

Is there anything I'm missing?

Wide leg trousers

Wide leg trousers by fortytherapy 

I was reading one of Kat's posts over on www.doesmybumlook40.blogspot.com the other day & she was talking about wide leg trousers & how they're going to be all around this season *punches the air in happiness!!*  I really do love WLT, I find them so comfortable & if the cut is right, very flattering on my shape.  She had listed a jersey pair from ASOS which I knew would be perfect for my upcoming trips to Marrakech & New York as they'd be comfortable enough to travel in but could be dressed up when needed.

However, I was having a mooch round town yesterday whilst my car was being MOTed (it passed, phew!) & popped in to Next where low & behold, they had a perfect pair of jersey WLT just in.  They're lovely soft, but thick jersey fabric with a tie belt over an elasticated waist & pockets & they fit like a glove.

So this afternoon I had a wee trying on session to see how I would wear them for travelling & then for going out in the evening thinking about the fact I've got to keep my packing to a minimum.  I kept my Converse on for both outfits as we'll more than likely still be out & about walking in the evenings but you could also swap them for dressier flat sandals for the evening.  I wouldn't personally wear them with heels as I think they look better with flats & also, I'd need another pair in a longer length for heels!

Apologies in advance for the grainy phone photos, I think I need to re-jig the settings a bit as my photos keep coming out dreadful at the moment!!  I've also taken them in my daughter's room as I can't get far enough away from my mirror in my room to get a full-length shot!!

The second photo is my ideal sort of outfit for travelling in as it's just so slouchy & apart from the laces on the Converse, very easy to slip on & off through customs.  In fact, I may just swap the Converse for my slip-on Skechers, which sadly don't look as good but are so bloody comfortable, it's like walking on marshmallows!! 

 I always take a scarf on plane journeys because even if I'm not cold (highly unlikely at the moment - hot flushes are back with a vengeance, hence the pink-faced photos!!) I can use it as a pillow.  Also, no makeup, just a really good hydrating serum, moisturiser & lip balm to stop my skin from drying out too much during the flights.

For evening, I'd chuck on the trousers with a simple fitted black t-shirt & my favourite leopard blazer, minimal makeup, slick of hydrating Revlon Lip butter in Candy Apple & that's me done & ready to go in 5 minutes!!

When I was making the board on Polyvore, I noticed that Next also do them in navy which I know I'm going to have to get too.  Are you a fan of the wide leg trouser?

Wanderlust

Hi all, I'm back!  I've got a few 'catch-up' blog posts planned but first, I want to share my very exciting news!  As you may know, my 'big' birthday is fast approaching & I've said since I turned 30 that on my 40th, I would love to go back to New York so in June, we finally booked it!

This is an adult only trip & my dad, step-mum, sister & brother-in-law are coming along too. We'd short listed 3 hotels, all in a midtown location so we could be pretty central to everything & when we came to book, we got the best deal in the Sheraton Times Square.  I'm ridiculously excited to be seeing the city I fell in love with when I worked there as an 18 year old again & I've been making lists like a mad woman!! Yes, even more so than normal (Paperchase is getting a lot of business from me at the minute!!)  The Sheraton looks beautiful too & is ideally placed between Times Square & Central Park.

But, but, but......it doesn't end there! As I've mentioned before on a post, myself & a couple of great friends had decided we were going to have a trip to Marrakech.  For one reason or another, we didn't get round to booking it before & consequently, the flight prices shot up so we said we'd wait & try & get a last minute deal as we just wanted a cheap weekend away. 

However, last week I popped on to Easyjet.com just out of interest & joy of all joys, they were advertising that they're now flying to Marrakech from Glasgow! This means we would only have an hour & a half drive to the airport as opposed to 5 & a half hours to Manchester so much, much better for us. And even better, after playing around with some dates, I found return flights for £80, bargain!!  So, click......it was booked & another friend is now joining us too.

My ipad should have steam coming out of it from overuse at the moment as any spare minutes are spent googling restaurants & tourist attractions in NYC or perusing Tripadvisor looking for riads in Marrakech!  However, everytime I found a beautiful riad & thought "we won't find better than this", I'd find another one!  And then I stumbled across this little beauty, Riad Houma & just knew that this was 'the one'!  I quickly emailed the girls to tell them to look it up online & they all loved it so yet again, click......it was booked, we didn't want to risk the rooms all selling out!!  It just looks so luxurious, I cannot wait to be lying on that roof terrace with a glass of vino in one hand & a trashy holiday read in the other, nattering with great friends!  Have a quick look at their website, the whole place looks divine.

I'm aware it seems that I'm being a bit spoilt with 2 city breaks within a month of each other but it's all very exciting as I very rarely get to go away anywhere & I've never had a 'girls' weekend abroad! It also takes the edge off turning 40 too *said with tongue firmly in cheek!!*  I'll try not to be a bore about it but I can't promise anything as I have lots of blog posts planned!!  I also need to dash to the shops to see if they have any summer season clothes left at all......

Have you ever been to Marrakech or New York?  Let me know your recommendations on things to do, places to eat etc!

Makeup essentials for Marrakech

Makeup for Marrakech by fortytherapy 


So, as promised, here's what I intend to take in my (small!) makeup bag to Marrakech.  I'm only going for 4 days, it'll (hopefully) be hot & we intend to do lots of walking about & sightseeing so plastering my face in makeup will not be high on my agenda!  I'll only need the bare minimum of products & these few tried, tested & loved beauties will do the trick quite nicely thank you.

1. Cath Kidston cosmetic bag 
Pretty self-explanatory, a decent sized makeup bag in a wipeable oil-cloth.  Large enough to pack everything into but small enough to not take up too much room.

2.  Ambre Solaire Lip protector spf 20
I won't bother wearing coloured lipstick in the daytime but I know from past experience that sunburnt lips are not nice so I'll slick some of this on to protect them.

3.  Ambre solaire BB cream spf 30
Now this is the only thing on this list that I haven't tried yet so I'll get some & try it before I go to make sure my skin doesn't react to it.  This offers a good spf & being a BB cream aswell, it'll offer some colour to my face so as not to frighten the locals too much!!

4.  Bourjois BB bronzing cream
I bought this for the first time last year as soon as it was released & got through 2 bottles during summer alone! It's great on it's own to give a lovely sunkissed (not tangoed!) look but I also mix it with my foundation when my skin gets tanned so I don't have to buy darker ones!  I'll pop a few pumps of this into a little travel-sized pot so I don't have to take the whole bottle - a little goes a looong way!

5.  Sleek blusher in Sahara
I bought this beauty the other day & so far, am loving it.  It's so pigmented that a little goes a long way but offers a beautiful warm glow to your cheeks.  Ideal for when your face has a hint of a tan.  The only downside to taking this is that I'll have to also take a blusher brush.....

6.  Real Techniques blusher brush
Another fabulous offering from RT, the only blusher brush I use now.  I'm looking forward though to seeing what the new travel sized brushes are like when they get released as a smaller brush would be handier for travelling.

7.  L'Oréal False Lash Telescopic mascara
This, my friends, is my HG mascara & the one I go back time & time again.  L'Oréal have really nailed perfect mascaras & this is my favourite of the bunch.  I will tint my lashes before I go away though as I don't like wearing waterproof mascaras & don't want to resemble Alice Cooper when I use the pool!

8.  Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow pencil in Tempting Turquoise
I've blogged about this Rimmel eyeshadow pencil before here & although I don't often wear it, it'll be perfect for a splash of colour.  It's the perfect formula too being waterproof as it won't disappear in the heat.

9.  Rimmel Scandaleyes kohl in Bronze
Bronze colours really make my green eyes stand out so this'll also be a good addition for nighttime looks.  Again, it's waterproof formula means it won't slide down my face if it's hot!

10.  Revlon lip butter in Candy Apple
Yet another product I've already blogged about & although it was nearly a year ago, I'm still as in love with this lip butter as ever!  It's the perfect bright colour that'll go with the tiny amount of clothes I intend taking & the moisturising formula is spot on!

11.  Boots No7 BB lip balm
First off, why is in not possible to clip items to Polyvore from the Boots website, it drives me mental?!  It took me 15 minutes of faffing around online to manage to get it on there......I digress.....
I bought one of these when Boots were handing out their £3 off vouchers.  It's a great nude colour, lasts well, isn't at all sticky, is hydrating & offers spf 15 - a makeup essential for me from now on!

12.  Elizabeth Arden Eight-Hour cream
Most people I know have a tube of this & I've been using it for around 12 years now.  I tend to buy the smaller sized tubes & always keep one in my bag.  It's a fabulous intensive lip balm & hydrates cuticles like nothing else.  I also sometimes add the merest slick to the tops of my cheekbones for that glowy/healthy-skinned effect!  Again, I'll pop some into a wee pot to save on space.

So there we have it, my minimal makeup essentials I'll be taking away with me.  I will of course do another post with my essential toiletries too!  If you want to click on the picture, it should take you to my Polyvore page where you'll find the links for the products.

Now, is there anything I've missed?!