Friday Favourites

Friday Favourites

Cheap as Chips - bargain beauty buys under £5

I've spent many an hour lusting over high-end beauty products. The number of MAC lipsticks I own is well into double figures. While I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing (MAC lipsticks are gorgeous, after all), there are loads of really great low-cost products out there. While they may not be as heart-poundingly, moan-inducingly beautiful, they get the job done without needing to survive on baked beans for a fortnight. 

Travel Part 3: clothes

Clothes packing is my least favourite, which is why I've left it til last. 

I try to pack comfortable, versatile separates that can be easily layered - skirts, cotton tops, jersey jumpers and leggings.

(As a rule I take a spare top or two and spare pants - they're useful for when I want a shower in the middle of the day and want clean clothes after.)


Writing this in November, anticipating the winter chill, would have made more sense - but this is basically what I took to York with me last weekend, and it was so, so cold there! I'd never appreciated my fleece-lined boots more. I am definitely a Southern Softie and was glad to get back to the warmth of London on Sunday.

Travel part 2: makeup

These clear bags from M&S are so useful for travelling. It's easy to see where everything is and they're easily wiped clean if anything leaks.

Muji travel bottles 

I discovered these the other day and they're brilliant. The flip tops make them much more shower-friendly (no trying in vain to open twist-off caps with slippery hands) and no separate cap means there's nothing to lose (literally).

Anything over 50ml I decant into the Muji bottles. I use one each for cleanser, shampoo, shower gel, and body lotion, plus a little pot filled with makeup remover-soaked cotton pads. 

Travel part 1: the essentials

Tom and I spent last weekend in beautiful York visiting his sister, who's at university there. I'd originally planned to publish this little three-part set of travel posts before I left, but things didn't go to plan (do they ever?) so I'm just getting round to posting them a week later.  

Part 1 is the essentials - the things I like to take with me regardless of where I'm going or how long I'm going for. Part 2 will be makeup and cosmetics (yay!) and part 3 will be clothes.

Tinted Lip Balms

Winter has wreaked havoc on my lips this year. The combination of the cold, the wind, hot showers and central heating has left them parched, flaky, and in need of some serious lip balm love.