Heat has descended on London and propelled me into a little buying splurge on the loose and floaty front. Cue many, many off-the-shoulder tops (their time is NOW), replacement sunnies and sun cream…
The sunnies are such a bargain (maybe don’t try and look straight into the sun with them!) at 8 euros from Monki. I bought a pair almost a year ago in Stockholm and they lasted me up until last week, which tbh is not bad going. I did that thing and bought exactly the same pair. Again. I am nothing if not faithful (and obsessive!). I also couldn’t ignore all the fab new summer pieces in at Monki and swiftly added this lovely loose-shaped black dress to my basket. Perfect, perfect summer wear. All you need is a pair of sandals to go with.
Off the shoulder Bardot tops. What can I say. So deeply obsessed. I’ve been trawling ASOS for their take on it (after snapping up the crinkled ones at Topshop). I’m not mad about the patterned ones, but love the monochrome and the stripes – the blue striped one shown is here and I also got my mitts on this vertical striped one too. There was a dress version too, I think. Sadly now gone. I’ve also been eyeing the Tibi tops, but the white in my size is sold out everywhere. But then I found this deep blue one with long sleeves in the Matches sale – winging its way to me as we speak. Bit of a spend, but there’s a good reason why.
Which leads me onto the cuttings and the Canon photo printer. I’m putting together a moodboard. For something really exciting. Can’t quite believe it’s happening. A forthcoming collaboration and well, the pieces are arriving this week and we’ll be doing a little photoshoot in preparation for the launch. So, hence the moodboard. And the printer. Which I’ve kind of wanted for a while now. I never get my photos printed out – do you? – and I really want to start. Just need to find a nice photo album. Any suggestions?
The other thing I wanted to draw your attention to is the Olympus 75mm lens standing amidst the pile, proud and tall. Not because it’s a bargain buy (trust me, it’s not!) but because I wanted to make a stand (as I often do) for the micro four thirds cameras and convince you that the image quality you can get is outstanding and absolutely a rival to the DSLRs of this world and their 50mm portrait lenses. The 75mm gives them a run for their money and if you were wondering whether you can get the same image quality with a micro four thirds camera, let me say it once again, you can! One of my favourite shots with this lens was taken on our trip to Greece, of Carly and Leon – scroll down Carly’s blog post on our trip and you will find it; her and Leon laughing with the mountain behind them. Exquisite!
And the beauty. Brilliant sunscreens, one with cucumber flavour and a lipbalm, from new organic brand Coola* on A Beautiful World (10% off now!); my on-going love affair with Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess perfume and Rodial, a brand I haven’t had on my shelf for yonks now, presenting a most enticing array of cleverly titled products. Last night, for a bit of extra oomph, I tried out – ready yourself! – Dragon’s Blood Sculpting Serum for skin plumping, Hyaluronic Cheek Sculpt (a tinted gel), the Snake Serum and the Instaglam Glow, (quite light and absorbent for anywhere on the face to bring some illumination, I did under eye) and down to £10! Well, I wasn’t expecting that much, but it was the best made-up face I’ve had in a while. I don’t use a lot of make-up (just some translucent makeup by Dr Hauschka – down to £14 here – and concealer below the eyes) but there was definitely a tighter, fresher looking (dare I say, younger!) face looking back at me in the mirror. So much so, even my husband commented how nice I was looking. So, take from that what you will…
Next up, oldies that are goodies. I’ve had my M.Hulot Howie bag for months now – its slightly worn exterior testament to how much I’ve used it – and it’s suddenly back with me, the perfect grey companion for my many denim days. Perfect for slipping in the basics and nipping out… Check it out, as now on sale!
And finally, something of interest to those of you who rent office space – I have to admit, I’m a committed home bunny – US company WeWork has launched here in the UK, with some really quite lovely looking desk spaces for creatives in Soho, South Bank, Moorgate and the City. One to check out…
