H&M Home Haul.

H&M Home is just one of those stores I can't resist; I probably check it for new stock every few days, and I'm willing to overlook it's normally pretty awful delivery service in favour of it's beautiful, on trend homewares. I've had my eye on a few pieces for a while now and decided to treat myself to some items.

I love the designs of most of their bedding, but pretty much every time I go to buy, doubles are always sold out! So I settled on a couple of new cushion covers and a new throw for the sofa. I'm going a lot more monochrome for the house I'm (hopefully!) moving into shortly, and I decided on a simple throw with a couple of patterned cushions. I got the Textured Blanket (£24.99) which I actually had a discount code for, making it about £18 instead. I thought the Dotted Cushion Cover (£6.99) was a little pricey, but it is a nice big one, and it matches the Striped Cushion Cover (£3.99) pretty well.

I've spoken of my love for all things copper quite a bit recently, so I finally picked up a couple little things for around the home. Of course, it had to tie in with my love of candles so I bought the Metal Candle Holder (£2.99) and the Metal Tealight Holder (£1.50) which are both cosying up my house like nobodies business in the evenings. I went for the whole hog too and got a couple of the little pillar candles. I spotted a couple of the Mini Vases (£1.50) which are cute for dotting a couple of flowers around the house too, they'd be perfect for little spray carnations.

What do you think of my buys? Have you bought anything from H&M Home recently?

A New Home : Bedroom Wishlist.

Even though this whole 'buying a house' thing seems to be taking forever, the one positive I'm taking from it is that I can really brainstorm and use the time to work out exactly how I'd like each room to be and start to put more money aside for any renovation or decorating work that may need to be done. Getting older you'd think that the bedroom would be less important, but to me it's still my sanctuary, and somewhere I can come and relax with a face mask and a few blogs to read (usually if I've been booted out of the living room by boys playing Xbox) so it's really important it's somewhere comfortable and cosy.

Already having rented unfurnished properties for a few years now, I already have the majority of the furniture items I need, there's just a couple of pieces that need updating, so most of what I'm going for is furnishings. I'm obsessed with copper accents at the moment, and this copper lampshade (£14.99) from Dunelm is an absolute bargain, definitely one of the cheapest I've seen on the market. I'd add a few other little extras to tie it all together, and as always H&M Home is just killing it. The little metal candle holders (£2.99) are so cute, and I love how snuggly and soft the moss knit blanket (£34.99) looks too.

I'd love a rug that's large enough for just a bit to go under the bed and for it to be seen at the end and sides, and the IKEA RYSSBY (£55) has a really lovely monochrome, geometric design. IKEA are amazing for cushions too, although I don't understand how some can be £4 and others £15! I'm also pretty set on getting the IKEA BRUSALI (£140) wardrobe (I swear this post isn't sponsored by IKEA!). In the house I'm currently renting there's fitted wardrobes, so at first I was browsing Urban Wardrdrobes fitted wardrobe range, but unfortunately I just don't think there's enough room in the bedroom. I used to be so against fitted wardrobes, but they're so handy for organizing clothes, bags and accessories well. I've been browsing Society6 recently too which have such a gorgeous selection of prints, I'd love to get a couple big ones to add to the white walls.

Origins GinZing Refreshing Face Mask.

Origins are a brand I've admired from afar for quite some time, but really the amount of products they have is just a little intimidating to me. Add that with the amount of rave reviews online, I've been incredibly close to indulging in a range a few times, only to spot something else someone loves and just ending up feeling torn again. The GinZing range is one of those I'd always been quietly interested in, and with the itch for a new face mask growing, the GinZing Refreshing Face Mask ended up in my shopping basket.

I'm a huge fan of moisturising and deep cleansing masks, but 'refreshing' is just something I've never tried. That said, my skin does look a lot duller in Winter so I was immediately attracted. It's a very light gel with coffee beans to energize and cucumber to refresh the skin, with a lovely light, fresh scent. When I say it's cooling, I mean you might have to put on another jumper if you're using it on a November evening like I did, my face ended up seriously chilly. It tingled away a little whilst applied, and although it recommended to dab off excess with a tissue, I used a damp facecloth.

The shivering was so worth it though, as I noticed pretty immediate effects. My skin felt so refreshed, and it felt really bright and calmed. After travelling I think my skin always end up a little worse for wear, so this definitely gave it the pick me up it needed. I actually think this will be perfect in the mornings if you've woken up looking like you need a few more hours, and any signs of puffiness or dull skin will be revitalized.

Have you tried this? What's your favourite Origins product?

Autumn Home Updates.

I'm usually always a homebody, but that is even more so in the colder Autumn and Winter months; this results in mass cleaning sessions, and being on a mission to keep my home looking as comfortable and cosy as possible. I feel like I'm always making little changes and I've added a few new pieces to my home recently which I'm really loving.

First up, is of course the bedding, oh the bedding.. It is the softest, snuggliest thing ever, as if it wasn't hard enough to tear yourself out of bed at 7am when it's still dark outside. Both the bedding set and the blanket are from Sainsburys, and I think were around £20 and £30 each, so not too shabby! The blanket is a little molty though, I keep having to pick bits out of Kane's beard every morning. I've also gone a little candle crazy, although I know I'm definitely not alone in this.. Although it has been about 4 new candles in the matter of two weeks. I was treated to a mini Diptyque Figuier for my birthday along with a little faux cactus from John Lewis - am I the only one who cannot keep plants alive in my bathroom?!

Have you made any Autumn updates to your home?

Paris Trip: The Haul.

I thought I'd break up the posts of architecture and food with my Paris haul. It was my birthday and I did have quite a bit of money with me, so I bought a few things on my birthday and spent a little bit more when I ended up with quite a lot of euros still in my purse on the last day. My first purchases came from the Pharmacie, and would have been a lot more if there wasn't such silly hand luggage rules. I picked up a little bottle of Bioderma with a travel size of the L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Shower Gel and a little soap that I couldn't resist. 

I took a couple trips to Sephora and stuck to the Champs Elysee store as I imagined that would be the largest! My first trip I headed straight to the Formula X stand but just picked up Ignite which is a gorgeous berry red shade. I also picked up one of their Cream Lip Stains in Always Red as well as a Rouge Cream Lipstick in Super Hot, which is a really pretty berry shade. I couldn't resist getting one of their hand creams too, the packaging is so cute! After much deliberation and sniffing I chose the Blueberry one. 

My second trip was a little bit more spendy, originally heading straight for the Sephora IT Palette which is a really cute little set of 10 eyeshadows, 2 eyeliners, a brush and a pencil. I think this only came up at just over 20 euros, so really great value. I also spotted the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret which went immediately into my basket - I missed out on the little lip pencil set last year so I knew I wasn't letting this one out of my sight, it's got a gorgeous range of colours and I love the little box it comes in too. I also finally treated myself to a MAC eyeshadow brush; the 217 was out of stock so I picked up the 286 Duo Fibre Tapered Blending Brush instead. I made my final little purchases in the airport, although I'm really regretting not picking up some of the L'Occitane Shower Almond oil now too. I've loved the Cherry Blossom scent for such a long time, so I finally treated myself to the Eau De Toilette and the Hand Cream from the range. 

I made a couple purchases from Zara on the first day as it's so much cheaper than in the UK and seemed to have a couple really lovely ranges I'd not seen before too. I absolutely love the Trafaluc green top, it's so floaty and I love the detailing on the sleeves too. I couldn't leave Paris without picking up a breton tee too; I had originally wanted one from Petit Bateau but their lack of sizes meant I had to stick to Zara. I also popped into the Zara Home on the Champs Elysee and could have taken home so much more if it weren't for a lack of space in my luggage. I eventually chose to just get one of their candles, which is the Dark Amber scent.

Have you tried any of these products?

Paris Trip: Day Two.

Day two was actually my birthday, although being away from home for the past two years it really hasn't felt like my birthday, I keep telling myself I'm actually still 22 rather than 24 now. We started it off hopping on the metro to Champs-Elysee Clemenceu and wandering up in the direction of Arc de Triomphe. It's a really lovely area, although it definitely is one of the busiest in Paris having a couple streets of some of the most iconic stores. Being my birthday I did want to spend a little bit of money, so after having the biggest Pain au Chocolat I'd ever seen, I headed straight to Sephora, Zara, Zara Home and Laduree (more on that tomorrow!)

After our shopping we wandered up to have a proper took at the Arc, although it did take us quite a while to actually figure out how to get to it! Somehow we managed to miss the underground entrance to it, I think the crowd of people watching men and kids dance to Gangnam Style may have distracted us a little. We didn't spend too long underneath it, but again it's such a gorgeous piece of Parisian architecture which is definitely one of the best things about the city. We stopped again for a coffee and crepe at the Tulieries and headed over to the Louvre, which again we didn't spend too long at. It was probably my biggest disappointment of the day as it was so incredibly busy, absolutely sweltering inside and full of people barging everyone around just to get a snap of the Mona Lisa or selfies in front of the Venus de Milo which was really irritating!

We decided to get out after seeing most of the rooms we wanted to, and took a walk over to the Eiffel Tower, which is absolutely beautiful at night, I love the light shows they put on. Kane had the idea of eating in one of their restaurants but at £180 a head it was a little out of our budget! We found a lovely place just down the road on the corner though which was much more reasonable and had a great view of the tower anyway. There isn't a great deal for vegetarians in little French bistros but I was quite happy with wine and ice cream anyway!

Paris Trip: Day One.

Well, it almost feels a little odd to be blogging again after another few week break! These pictures may explain a little bit of my absence, as well as that I've got a new job, and along with my other normal job and driving lessons in tow, the time for blogging just hasn't been there as much as I'd like. I've got a bit of a schedule sorted now though so I can keep up with it. But in the meantime, here's part one of my Parisian adventure!

We headed out to Paris on Monday evening and only got to our hotel at midnight after figuring out all the different RER and metro's we had to get on. After a good nights sleep we headed to Montmatre in the morning of our first real day, which was quite near to the area we were staying in. It's a very arty little village with lots of different artists sat in the main square wanting people to draw with little paintings to sell. It's a really lovely area, we also popped by Van Gogh's house and had lunch at an Italian opposite which was dreamy! I really wanted to visit the Sacre Couer as it's something I missed during a previous trip, and it was such a beautiful church, really awe inspiring to walk around. The views of Paris from up there are worth the trip alone too. I nipped into a few little shops, including the Pharmacies, and was all ready to stock up on Bioderma and Serozinc until I realised I wouldn't be able to take it back in my hand luggage, sob!

Tuesday was a bit of a quiet day in Paris as a lot of things were closed, so we headed to Concorde on the metro and had a wander around the Tullieries which are absolutely beautiful, such a lovely place to have a little stop for a crepe and coffee (which I did two days in a row, FYI). We walked up the gardens to the Louvre which wasn't open, so we just had a little wander around the area and down the Seine. There's lots of little stalls on either side selling old books and posters so there was a good amount of browsing before we took a little ride on a boat trip of the city. It's a very touristy thing to do, and the amount of people doing selfies infront of you does get a tad annoying, but it's a fantastic way to get some great views of the city as well as learning a bit of the history too.

Stay tuned for days two and three coming soon, as well as my Paris haul - you all knew this was coming!