NIKE

 

For any of you who have followed my blog for a number of years, this post will come as a surprise I should imagine! Yep, Eleanor's wearing sportswear... is that even what you call it? Ok, so on Monday I agreed to go to 'trampoline fit'- an evening work out class, with my dads girlfriend, and as you can imagine, I had literally NOTHING I could wear for the occasion.

 

The trampoline class is held at 'infinite air', the UK's largest indoor trampoline park, which I am lucky enough to live just down the road from! I tend to go there a lot as trampolining is probably my favourite sport and the only exercise I will willingly take part in. I tend to just wear jeans and a tee when I usually visit, but as I had heard bad things about the class I knew I needed to find something more appropriate.

 

All hail the Nike factory outlets. Does anybody else share my opinion that sportswear is very expensive? Of course I looked at Beyoncé's new Ivy Park line in Topshop, but as this was going to be a one time thing I headed to Nike. I picked up this coral pink vest for just £21 reduced from £28 in the outlet, and I must admit that wearing it gave me a new lease of life!... it was such a comfy material, looked great and was perfect as I have literally never sweated so much in my life! 

 

I will definitely be investing in some Ivy Park pieces in the near future... well pay day, but in the meantime if you guys know of any sporty bits and pieces leave me a comment below!

 

*THE BALM BOUTIQUE

 

*A couple of weeks ago, I received an absolutely wonderful package from the lovely Carmelina, founder of The Balm Boutique.

 

The balm boutique offers products which are made with 100% natural ingredients, lets be honest, nobody knows what actually goes into some of our favourite high street beauty products, which can be quite scary. I was incredibly humbled to speak to Carmelina, and enjoyed learning more about this lovely company, despite her background in Law, Carmelina became a mother, and grew more concerned about the products she was using on her children. She then started to make her own alternatives using wholly natural ingredients before eventually developing more products, and the rest is history!

 

Carmelina was kind enough to send me a selection of her homemade products; a Berry Bliss Body Spa Gift Set worth £20, along with her flagship product called the Green Healing Cream worth £10, and her Strawberry, Chocolate Mint and Citrus lip glosses worth £5 each. I was advised that the balm is one of her most versatile products, due to its healing attributes it can be used for almost anything... bites, stings, dry chapped skin, burns, scars and even cuts and grazes. 

 

Berry Bliss Body Spa Gift Set-

 

Includes a berry butter bar, berry body polish, strawberry lip tint.

One of my absolute favourites from this set was the strawberry lip tint which left my lips wonderfully smooth. I had been suffering with dry lips at the time and this really helped, along with the citrus and chocolate mint glosses.

 

As for the body polish exfoliator, I did find this to be a little abrasive, however used in small amounts works really well... and to make it even better, it smells delicious... honestly good enough to eat! Finally, the berry butter bar, which is  naturally coloured Alkanet infused Sweet Almond Oil and Beetroot extract, produced such soothing effects when used in combination with the exfoliator.

 

Green Healing Cream-

 

This is literally the best thing you will ever smell, with ingredients such as Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Black Cumin seed, Aloe Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil and Avocado Butter, i'm really not lying when I say its good enough to eat, but please don't! Although I was surprised by how green and vibrant the product was at first I decided to use it on my shoulders, damaged by sun burn last summer, which has caused me to now be left with dry skin. I used it every evening for around 2 weeks and found it not only left my skin less dry and full of moisture, but it also has began to repair some of the damage and has soothed any itching.

 

If you would like to try any of The Balm Boutiques products you can visit their website- https://www.thebalmboutique.co.uk/ , definitely worth a look if you want to try a product which you 100% know what's inside!... 

FOTD

 

Okay so Saturday I got a hair cut, and of course like anyone else I took a selfie to mark the occasion. Now, I'm going to put it to good use for my face of the day post. I don't really know why these posts exist "face of the day"... like what, you're going to change your entire makeup look every day? I don't this so. But as I cant think of another name for this post, i'll go with it.

  So firstly, which products am I using?   Rimmel London lasting finish foundation- 201 classic beige   Rimmel London Kate Moss mascara- 004 Eye Rock Jet Black   Rimmel London (are you spotting a trend here) Stay matte pressed powder- 002 Pink Blossom   Rimmel London lasting finish mono blush- Live Pink   Benefit Brow Zings eyebrow shaping kit- Medium   Benefit bronzer- Dallas   MAC lipstick- Velvet Teddy  

As you probably spotted, Rimmel London products make up the majority of my makeup bag. In my opinion, why spend double if not triple the amount of money on a high end product, when you can get the same result for less? My makeup routine has basically stayed the same since I started properly wearing makeup at the age of 15, with the addition of a MAC lipstick or two along the way. This tends to be my day time look, so I like to keep it quick and simple, always adding a dash of lipstick to mix my look up from time to time...

 

I would love for you to tell me all about your favourite products and makeup routines, so leave me a comment below! :)

 

MITCHELL AND PEACH

 English leaf luxury body cream, £17, Mitchell And Peach

 

Have you ever heard of Mitchell And Peach? I hadn't, until I received a glossybox last year and it included several products from brands I had never even heard of, one of which being Mitchell And Peach. Now as I have been having  a massive clear out, I came across this body cream and decided to finally give it a go!

 

I have never been one for luxury lotions and potions, as I seem to run out of such products so quickly and then can't afford to replace them... therefore I think its just best not to get hooked in the first place! For the past couple of weeks I have been using this body cream as a hand cream, again, I  always struggle to find a suitable hand lotion as many products can be quite runny, sticky, and all in all just a bit too greasy. This one however I can honestly say is totally non sticky, the cream is instantly absorbed into your skin and leaves your hands soft, supple and full of moisture.

 

Fragranced with essential oils from the Mitchell's fifth- generation farm in Kent, the body cream contains honey, organic cocoa and shea butter, and so I  must mention the smell, it is absolutely wonderful. With other ingredients such as sweet almond oil, lavender oil, vanilla and sweet violet extract, the scent really does scream luxury.

 

Because this product came in a glossybox, the version I have is the sample 40ml body cream... however I have checked their website and they now seem to sell the body cream in a tub rather than a bottle, but you can get a similar product- the English leaf luxury hand cream, 60 ml for £17.

  If you have tried any other products from their collections, I would love for you to tell me your thoughts!

EASTER| FEATURING BARBOUR

Ladies utility wax jacket, £199, Barbour

 

HAPPY EASTER!

 

First and foremost, I hope you all had an absolutely wonderful Easter break, of course its not all about the chocolate and the bank holiday weekend, its about spending time and celebrating with your loved ones...

 

As some of you may know I am currently in the throws of moving house, which is an absolutely mammoth task to say the least, the amount of dust I have breathed in is mortifying, and some of the old bits and pieces I found tucked away under my bed were interesting to say the least. Believe me, I came across a pair of Nike Airs from 2006, an A4 sheet of paper with notes between me and my best friend from high school, and a lone flip flop which was two sizes too big, and that's not even the half of it!

 

Anyway, alongside the removals, I did manage to have some fun this weekend. On Saturday I visited Thorp Perrow, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, for a walk around their Arboretum and gardens. Despite the unpredictable weather, it turned out to be a lovely day Easter Egg hunting with my  younger sibling's. Easter really isn't complete without an egg hunt...

 

Following a Sunday carvery at Ramside Hall, Durham- absolutely delicious (if you live nearby you need to visit), we then visited the Durham Botanical gardens. Considering I literally live down the road from the gardens, this was my first visit. I must say I was overwhelmed by the vast gardens, beautiful flowers and plants, they also were holding an Easter egg hunt which proved extremely challenging!

 

Of course a Spring countryside walk is not complete without a trusty Barbour jacket, I am wearing their classic ladies utility wax jacket which not only is completely waterproof (was definitely essential at the weekend), but the fabric is lightweight enough to be worn in warmer months, but when zipped up really does shield you from the cold. I am also wearing a pair of Barbour Pantone welly boots.

 

What did you all get up too this weekend? :)

STATEMENT COLLARS

 

It's been a while since my last post, despite me hoping to post on a more regular basis, I'm actually in the process of moving house so unfortunately blogging has taken a bit of a back seat.

 

Any hoo, I wanted to share with you my favourite accessory at the moment; jewelled collars. I will admit that these past few months I have not been so fashion focussed, I didn't even participate in fashion week this season... I really should be sacked as a fashion blogger. So, I'm not totally up to speed on 'trends'... although who actually follows conventional trends now? The shirt featured in this post was bought around 6 months ago in the Miss Selfridge sale, and I have only just gotten round to wearing it- I was invited to a shopping event at the Fenwick Newcastle store with work this week so thought it was the perfect chance to test out the theory of dressing for both work and evening style.

 

This was the perfect piece, I wore it with my trusty black Joni jeans, and heeled boots. Although you can't see from the picture, this was a short sleeved shirt with beaded and jewel embellishment on the collar. Being the girly minimalist I am, I just love it and think the collar embellishment completed the look perfectly. Whether you buy an already embellished shirt or customize it with gems, jewels, sequins or broaches you can find your own way of jazzing up  a plain shirt. Top tip, why not experiment further and add your own earrings to your collar... 20 seconds will take you from daytime straight into evening.

  Anyone else think I might of been a magpie in a former life....  

PANDORA

Openwork linked love ring, £30 Delicate bow ring, £40
Pandora is without a doubt my most favourite jewellery store. I absolutely love how Pandora are constantly introducing new collections and unique products, yet still offering their most popular pieces. If i'm honest, my pandora collection is out of hand. I started out by collecting charms for my beloved pandora bracelet, I think these bracelets are truly beautiful with each charm holding some sort of sentimental value or memory.
I then moved on to rings, of which I now have 11... the two rings above are my most recent additions, the delicate bow ring being a 5 year anniversary present, and the openwork linked love ring being a Valentines day present. I'm wearing the love ring as a stacking ring,  I think it's great that Pandora have introduced these into their collection as stacking rings always look so lovely!
I find that Pandora has something for everyone, for every occasion. Whether you're splashing the cash on a gold ring, or an affordable charm its hard not to fall in love with their collections!
Yesterday I bought the same openwork love ring for my mam's mother's day gift- as soon as she saw mine she wanted it! So if you are struggling to find a gift for your mum I highly suggest you have a peek at their Mother's Day collection!.. here. :)