May Favourites

You know what was great about May? Summer rolled around and it was warm and sunny and my arms were out and I started using moisturiser with SPF in it, and then, kapow, we were back in Autumn. So I hope everyone took the opportunity to enjoy the summer while it lasted because I feel like that may be all we get. Has anyone else noticed how difficult life is when the weather is going through some kind of midlife crisis? Do I short sleeve, do I long sleeve, do I ankle boot, do I pump? THE STRESS!

Anyway, here's what I totally digged during Mayo:

1. Twinings Earl Grey Tea
   Yes hello, is that MI5? Yes, I need to speak to someone about what I think is the apocalypse. Why? Well because I've taken a distinct liking to a daily cup of Earl Grey Tea. Errr.... Hello... Hello? Whatevs. The apocalypse has well and truly fallen, maybe not in the cataclysmic way we all anticipated, but all I know is this: one day I woke up with a cough/cold/illness thing (as is so often the case) and wham, I got to work, not fancying my usual Nespresso, but a cup of tea! Tea!? Of all the illness cravings in the world, mine is tea. And since then, I've been having a cup each afternoon. The whole 'lemon and bergamot' thing just really does it for me, ya know?


2. Let the Road, Rixton
   A music favourite to spice things up a bit! So I heard 'Hotel Ceiling' from this album yonks ago when those Spotify Discover playlists first came about and totally digged it, but I never really thought about trying out the whole album. Well, let me tell you a thing. That was a huge mistake. This album is ahhhmazing. I played nothing but this one album on repeat for about a week (and this may seem like no big deal but I spend about two and a bit hours in my car each day so that is a lot of playing). These guys are so awesome and every song hits the spot. My personal fave is Speakerphone because it's perfecto to belt out while zooming through the classy as heck streets of Ascot.


3. Jo Malone, Amber & Lavender Bath oil
   What is it with Jo Malone and her just knowing what works? I have yet to find a product from JML that I don't love with a passion. The bath oils are such amazing quality; you need only the teeny tiniest amount in your bath and you smell of the floral scents FOR DAYS (or until you next wash), they're so soothing and relaxing and don't irritate my skin in any way (which has been known to happen in the past with other brands). I feel like with every product I try, I love Jo Malone even more... which understandably makes my bank card shiver in its boots.


4. Showfield Street, Nails Inc London
   I plough through nail polish like it's nobodies business, and I rarely find a shade that I love so completely that I want to repaint it over and over again (unless it's L'Oreal), but this colour is just doing it for me right now. Nails Inc polishes are a great quality; I wore this for an entire week with the most minimal of chips appearing. It's not the easiest to paint on because the round lids can be kind of tricky to manoeuvre (or is that just me), but it's all worth it in the end, even if you do look like you've painted your nails with your eyes closed...


5. Light Wash Gap Jeans
   It's no secret that I L.O.V.E Gap in general, but fun fact, the first thing I ever bought from Gap was a pair of denim jeans (and an even more fun fact, that was about 8 years ago and I still have that pair, very much in working order). Gap jeans are an amazing quality and their new resolution range makes them so comfortable to wear because they fit to your body shape. Meaning all of the 'skin tight' and none of the 'stiff as a board'. And as the weather is, theoretically heating up and the sun is beginning to shine, this light wash pair are beyond perfect! I've been living in these the past few weeks and picking them up for £20 instead of £49.95, makes it an even sweeter victory.

~ Eleanor xo

Link Love #22

1. This spoof of MTV Cribs by Hostelworld (featuring 50 Cent) is an amazing piece of advertising {via Campaign}


2. The Boden A/W 2016 press day in numbers {via Boden}


3. What happened when American Eagle stopped photoshopping its Aerie models {via Us Weekly}


4. Three ways to use honey in your skincare routine {via Darling Magazine}


5. This amazing bathroom {via Architectural Digest}


6. Are you living for the weekend? {via Free People}


7. These brilliant wallpapers for your phone to remind you to unplug {via Innocent}


8. Five ways to improve your skin using food {via Food and Wine}


9. The most colourful moments from this year's Chelsea Flower Show {via TIME}


10. All the juicy secrets from 'The Hills', shared by the people who know it best {via InStyle}

Until next time,

~ Eleanor xo

Five Things

1. CORRESPONDENCE VIA THE UK POSTAL SERVICE
Not sure why I made that sound like I'm a member of Downton Abbey, but, you know, keeping things fresh. In the age of social media, emailing, texting, iMessaging and whatsapping, nobody ever seems to put pen to paper, which I genuinely feel is a real shame. So imagine my surprise and sheer joy when I found a hand-written card waiting on my doormat from none other than one of my university gal pals, sent all the way for the subcontinent of Devon. I mean, obvs we all keep up with each other via our phones and the internet, but there's something extra special and personal about someone taking the time to sit down and write something to you. Needless to say, I ran out the next day and purchased this '#Bestie' card from Marks and Spencer to send as a reply. Seriously, greetings card shopping is one of my favourite kinds of shopping.

2. NEW SUMMER APPROPRIATE JIM-JAMS FROM LE FAT FACE
Fat Face pajamas are the one. The real life, one-hundred percent one. I just love them. They're made of the softest cotton, they're so comfortable to snuggle up in and they generally have the cutest prints on them. As the warm weather's rolling around, spotting these ultra thin cotton bottoms couldn't have come at a better time. I know, it's like fate. The print made me dance a little inside (because middle aged Eleanor was wide awake) and even though they're £30, I couldn't muster the courage to put them back on the rack. I know I'll get so much wear out of them and I'm just very excited.

3. A SONG FROM A SINGING GAZELLE
I won't lie, I have mixed feelings about the film 'Zootopia'. I watched it about three weeks ago, and even now, I find myself taking time to really think about my differing viewpoints. I mean, the premise and 'underlying theme', if you will, are great; super love all that 'fall down seven times, stand up eight stuff' Disney, really I do. But there are points in the film where you're like, wait, is this really child friendly? At present, I'm still undecided, but what I'm not undecided about is how banging the theme song is. Nothing can ever beat a Shakira song, especially when she's included in the film as a swinging, sassy, singing gazelle.

4. AN UPDATED SKINCARE REGIME
I feel like these products kind of scream "Summer is coming and old age is approaching!". And that's probably not a bad thing because that's why I've started using them. My skincare regime consists of two things: cleansing gel and moisturiser. I like to have sparklingly clean skin that's thoroughly hydrated. NBD. This Clarins Daily Energizer cleansing gel is so refreshing and so easy on the skin (plus it smells divine) and when paired with this Olay Total Effects day moisturiser (with added SPF, muchas important at this time of year), my skin is all like "yasssssssss".

5. GIFTS FROM YONDER
So my parents had a fun old Staycation last week and travelled somewhere south-easternwards. They probably told me where it was they stayed but I actually can't remember. It was somewhere near the Eden Project though. Maybe. I mean, they may've driven hours to see it. Who knows. Still, they returned from what I can only describe as a thoroughly British getaway, and by that I mean, it rained almost constantly and I received a lot of text messages telling me so. As is expected of loving parents, they returned laden with gifts! For the other members of our family! Just kidding, while they did splash out on Christmas gifts for people (nothing like being prepared...) they did buy me an adorable flamingo key-ring from Paignton Zoo (flamingos are my FAVE) and some tasty looking ground coffee (with chocolate in it, my favourite kind!) from the Eden Project. It's the small things.

~ Eleanor xo