Hands, Eyes and Hair - Oh my!

This winter I have tried to find things to help the usual signs of wear and tear these cold months can bring. Hands, eyes and hair have been my main port of call, and the various trips to Boots have resulted in me finding the below:

Hands: Crabtree & Evelyn, Rosewater Therapy Hand Cream

The picture makes this tube look bigger than it actually is, but it is tiny! It’s slightly longer than my middle finger and not much wider (I have very dinky fingers). I’d heard good things about Crabtree & Evelyn, so thought I’d give this hand cream a go. It has yummy shea butter and macadamia nut oil to keep hands looking smooth and silky. I've been using it for just over a week and my hands do feel a lot softer, almost creamy; I wouldn't implore you to run out and get this if you're happy with the hand cream you're currently using, but if you are looking for something new, this is pretty good.

Eyes: Estée Lauder, Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II

This was an expensive item, £48 for a 30ml bottle! I know most of you beauty buffs will roll your eyes at my naivety, but I nearly fell over when I took this to the counter to find out the price. I don’t usually spend that kind of money on anything other than clothes, but I read a really good review of this on the Guardian website so thought I’d try it. Although the product itself claims to tackle aging, aging is not something I’m overly concerned about still being in my 20’s, but the review said it was excellent for dark circles and would be great for those with a darker skin tone. I sucked it up and paid the £48 and looked forward to seeing some results. Now in truth, I don't really suffer from having really dark circles, so maybe this isn't the right product for me, but I have been using it for about two weeks now and haven’t seen a hint of change; again, maybe this serum is for those who suffer badly with dark circles which is why I've seen little or no difference, but I will persist and let you know if there are any changes.

Hair: Toni&Guy, Glamour Serum Drops

This is brilliant! The ends of my hair have taken a beating during these winter months and I have used product after product to try and manage the frizz throughout the day. I had found various products that worked well for a few hours, but when you’re working a full day and then maybe off out in the evening, you don’t want to continuously reapply. This serum works wonders and I’m so pleased with it (as you can see from the picture, I’ve used it quite a bit) and it keeps not only my ends frizz free, but also keeps my hair glossy without looking greasy. This will be my regular product from now on and it lasts long as you only have to use a few drops per application.

There are so many products out there and it can be incredibly daunting knowing where to go or what to buy. That’s why I love blogs and reviews. It can be extremely expensive trying things out in order to find something that works for you, but it’s great when you actually strike gold with a recommendation.

‘til next time.

Love and hugs,

Isha

xxx

Easy does it

Beautiful and bright swing dresses are 90% of my wardrobe, but sometimes I wake up and think 'I just want something easy, comfortable, but still fab' - enter Pink Clove. I adore this forest green colour and the fabric is so stretchy and comfy. I'm not usually one for wrap dresses but being a 'wrap bust' dress with the bottom half skater, makes this dress so easy to wear.

Upon further inspection this dress could easily be dressed up. The wrap at the top is adjustable, so you could have a little fun with it if you were to have a date ;) *Ahem*, moving on....I really like Pink Clove and their designs and range is ever growing. I also bought a über sexy dress from them and will be sure to blog about that when I wear it.

I paired the dress with my 'snow boots'. I had only bought one other pair of snow boots before but they were so ugly I never wore them; so last year I decided I would buy cute ones I could actually wear all day without having to carry around a different pair to change into. I got these beauts from Dorothy Perkins ready for the snow to fall, and of course we didn't even get a hint of snow! Oh the irony.

Dress: Pink Clove

Cardigan & Leggings: South (via Very)

Boots & Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Also, I recently found out that due to changing my blog name, my Bloglovin' content, followers and stats, etc disappeared (Grrrr). So last week I had to delete my old profile and setup a new one. Sorry to my followers, but you can find my new profile here - look forward to seeing you over there :)


‘til next time you lovely lot!

Love and hugs,

Isha

xxx

Starting over with Bloglovin'

Hi guys,

So due to changing my blog name, I've also had to delete my previous Bloglovin' profile. I'm starting over so come and join me!

Red? What Red?!

I received an email from one of my lovely readers after a post late last year called ‘The six shades of Christmas’. She really loved the post, but as it was pretty red heavy, wanted me to do one with alternative shades for darker skin. I am prone to red, but I thought it was a really good idea and used this as an opportunity to explore new shades.

I found more shades than I thought I would, but below are my favourite five:

Bourjois, Rouge Edition Shade: Brun Bohème

On my skin tone, this comes out as a glossy reddy-brown and is a tamer alternative to red if you don’t wish to venture too far out of your comfort zone. The Rouge Edition range has eighteen lovely colours to suit all, from striking reds to nudes, you’ll really struggle not to find a shade that you love.

Seventeen, Supreme Shine Lipstick Shade: Bon Bon

This is my nude colour. I’ve been looking for a nude for darker skin for a while and from the blogs I have read, many ladies have resorted to using anything from eye shadow to foundation! I’m a very persistent person so wanted to see if there was an actual lipstick that could do the job; I found this un-expectantly in the Seventeen range. It has a slight sheen to it so it’s not completely mute, but for a natural look with minimal effort, this is the way to go.

Soap & Glory, Super-Colour Fabulipstick Powercoat Matte Lipstick Shade: Pom Pom

The title of this 3-colour range is a little ridiculous, but at least they have the goods to back it up! I love this shade and comes out as a pinky-rose on my skin tone. It is a shade I wouldn’t normally go for, but I think this will look gorgeous in the summer with a flowery dress (I think I have a few of those ;p). I did find this dried my lips out more than any other Matte lipsticks I have, so I’d advise to put on a thin layer of vaseline before applying.

M.A.C, Shade: Flat out Fabulous

You can’t do a lipstick review without mentioning M.A.C. This shade is the most recent purchase and bought with my amazing friend, Shel. She has a tendency to bring out the braver version of me and I would never have picked this up normally. She has a really good eye and knows a lot more than I do about makeup and what would look good on me, and I’m happy to say that I love this! This is also a Matte finish and comes out as a pinky-purple. It’s the most “out there” shade out of the five and another I’ll use more in the summer.

No7, Moisture Drench Lipstick Shade: Sugar Plum

This is my favourite new shade! It comes out as a light creamy plum and is an instant classic. I must admit I did a bit of pouting after trying this on, it compliments my skin tone so well and is probably the one colour that would suit most skin types. There’s very little smudge throughout the day and keeps my lips happily hydrated. I have since bought 2 more of this lovely colour, as we all know how brands love to discontinue things!

So I hope I’ve given you a few new ideas if you’re looking to be a little more experimental, rather than sticking to red all the time. I love my reds, so will of course continue to use them myself, but finding an array of beautiful colours for my skin tone has been a fun adventure.

‘til next time.

Love and hugs,

Isha

xxx

Sheer Loving & Polka Dots

One of the great things about working in Central London for the psblogger, is having so many interesting backdrops to take pictures. These were taken outside a garage door, but look how gorgeous the wood and carvings are! Another great thing is having friends who can come and meet you for lunch – enter Hanna :D

My lovely friend Hanna came to meet me for lunch and we headed to Patisserie Valerie for foody goodness, but we also took the opportunity between bouts of rain to take some outfit photos. I wore my newish dress by Cutie for Simply Be for the first time, and you may wonder whether or not you’ve seen me wear this before. I can assure you I haven’t, I just literally have that many polka dot dresses! This dress has a lovely sheer neckline, is the perfect length and well fitted across the waist (a constant bane in my life). I really love the Cutie range and look forward to some new items in Spring/Summer:

Dress: Cutie for Simply Be

Cardigan & Leggings: South (via Very)

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Boots: Boohoo

Bag: ASOS

Sheer neckline <3

I hope you're all well and not getting too down with this rather annoying weather.

'til next time!

Love and hugs,

Isha

xxx

Where the wind blows

There are many reasons why I choose to take pictures outside rather than inside. I love the natural elements and love to see the changing seasons throughout the year in my pictures; I also love natural lighting, and taking pictures outside a cool building or near greenery. But sometimes the weather can be tricky to navigate.

I wisely decided to wear one of the most lightweight dresses on one of the windiest days, last week, and it was a struggle to keep my dignity while trying to take pictures. My photographer of the day, Soph, and I persisted none the less and managed to get some pretty nice pictures. The most fun was trying to fight the wind, and below is the tale of bloggers weather woes:

Dress: ASOS Curve (sale item)

Cardigan: South (via Very)

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Tights: Boots

Boots: Boohoo

The tale of bloggers weather woes

Chapter One: Well, this was not part of the plan at all – try again!

Chapter Two: Hmmm, slightly better but the wind is still an issue and the shadows aren’t helping…..

Chapter Three: Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and move to another spot.

Chapter Four: Much better! The End.

It was also the first day back to work for most, and I definitely needed a milkshake to treat myself. After work I headed to The Diner with the lovely Hanna, for milkshake fun times. I had my beloved Banana milkshake:

So the moral of the story is to pay attention to the weather forecast rather than make a judgment based upon seeing a ray of sunlight! Ooops :/

‘til next time.

Love and hugs,

Isha

xxx