Matte Lips & Ombre Shadows from Clarins for Autumn 2020

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Ah Autumn... It's my favourite time for new beauty releases and as always Clarins have nailed it. I've been a long time lover of the brand and a lot of my makeup is from Clarins so there are an abundance of reviews on Alice Anne if you hit the search bar on the right but today we'll be talking matte lips and ombre eyeshadows thanks to their latest product drop. 

NEW in my Beauty Stash

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Do you know what lockdown was good for? Testing beauty products.

Apart from a few pesky monthly spots, my skin has never looked so good and it's been so nice - I've really been able to test some fab new products as well as some makeup products and so I'm going to show you exactly what's landed in my hands recently! 

Featuring products from Pixi, Sanctuary Spa, Upcircle and SKN-RG - there's a little bit of everything.

Bringing your Routine back to life comfortably

*This is a paid partnership with TEMPUR®, all thoughts are my own - see disclaimer*

The last few months have been such a strange time for so many - lives have changed, we've all spent a lot more time at home and routine has well and truly gone out the window but as things start to go back to normal albeit a new normal, many of us are trying to win back our routine again. 

As someone who works from home anyway, things haven't been too different for me but with Arran working from home and our son not going to pre-school - it has definitely added a new element to our daily lives. Come September for us things will be changing as Joshua heads back to pre-school and the possibility of Arran being called back into office at any moment means we need to take back routine now so it's not too big a shock for us all when the time comes. 

It all seems a little daunting though, doesn't it? 

Charcuterie Heaven at Porters Southampton

If there's one thing I love, it's a charcuterie board. My dream evening includes good wine with friends while we pick over a board of succulent meats and cheeses so when Porters opened - I was booked in quicker than you can say charcuterie. ​Tucked away from Oxford Street, Porters offers a place to unwind, eat and drink in the company of friends and family. 

Situated on Queen's Terrace, Southampton and overlooking the historic Queen's Park, Porters name originates from the history of its surroundings 'Porters Meadow' where licensed porters would frequent. The park didn't become a formal park until 1885 when it was taken over from Queens College by the Borough Council where it was then renamed, Queen's Park. 

Porters has been designed to create a welcoming environment to relax and socialise in the heart of Southampton. Similar to the well-loved enotecas of Italy, it's has a Mediterranean feel right on our doorstep.

Latest in Beauty X Hello! Celebrity Glow Getters

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And... I'm back with another fabulous Latest in Beauty Collection and this one is going to make you G L O W! 

The HELLO! Celebrity Glow Getters Edit is Latest in Beauty's second limited edition beauty box and features 15 incredible products worth a huge £177! The hand-picked edit includes everything you need to get the perfect summer glow despite the rain clouds. 

With brands such as Lancaster, Bumble & Bumble and Murad - it's worth every penny of its £40 retail price especially when the Swisse Beauty Glowing Skin Supplements are worth £35 on their own!

Shall we have a look inside?

The Too Faced Born This Way Natural Nudes Palette

It's pretty common knowledge that I can't resist an eyeshadow palette, let alone one from Too Faced so as soon as I spied the Too Faced Born This Way Natural Nudes Palette I snapped it up straight away via Cult Beauty. 

The eyeshadow palette was inspired by their Born This Way foundation range and for once, it's a neutral eyeshadow palette that is genuinely neutral, it's not too warm or too cool - it's just the perfect dose of neutral for all skin tones with a gorgeous variety to create the perfect neutral eye. 

I know Too Faced can sometimes draw some criticism due to the formula but it's actually one of my favourites to use and this is no different. I've had this since March and it has been my go-to throughout the last few months. I just can't get enough of the shades Seashell and Petal!

Four Hobbies I started in Lockdown that I'm going to continue

Lockdown... It's all but ended, right? To be honest I'm kinda sad to see it go because the time really helped me to take a moment to stop, look at my life and decide what was important and worth my time. Having to slow down and only go out for our daily walk meant things were realigned at home, in my work life and everyday life - I've mentioned before how it was the reality check I needed and I imagine this was the same for many others. 

Having all this extra time at home meant there was more time to do other things, hobbies I'd said I wanted to try or recipes I wanted to master and so four months later I've come to enjoy four things that I'm going to take with me in our new normal and continue them. 

I suppose it's a little self-growth, either way, it was needed! 

What I've Been Reading Through July

We're another month down - how did that happen? I honestly cannot believe we're going into August and we're just a hop, skip and a jump away from Autumn! With lockdown up in the air, we're very much sticking with lockdown rules only venturing out when necessary or the odd trip into the city centre to test the ground a bit but that has meant I have been speeding through my TBR pile. 

I'm just two books off my 2020 target which was 75, the number I read last year - I'm so pleased because I've read some brilliant books so far this year. 

I've picked out six from the fourteen that I've read this month to include in this post - one, in particular, is The Book of Echoes which I really urge you to read, it's so touching and I haven't stopped thinking about it.