Favourite Things

Favourite lip products

- I am cursed with chapped lips, this coupled with my anxious lip biting leads to some pretty unattractive lips. I have however, found a mix of products that I love and have really worked for me and my desert lips.  Nuxe Rêve de Mie is a perfect nighttime savior. It is heavy, so it really isn't the best for day to day wear unless you are conservative with the application. Homeoplasmine is a french product I picked up in Paris after some blog searching. It doubles as a talking point as it is also nipple cream (apparently). It is the best nipple cream I have ever had on my face. I have no idea how it works but it is the quickest and most effective fix I have found for my lips. Finally Smith's Rosebud Salve is the perfect every day one. Lightweight, pretty smell and a slight hint of colour. Just make sure it doesn't melt in your bag, but if it did I could relate to you.

My favourite guy graduated in July on the only day in Glasgow to not rain and be above 20 degrees. In a 100% wool kilt and robe he was a happy-hot bunny. I am very proud of this little hard worker who graduated with a distinction in Chemical Engineering. I am slightly bitter knowing his first wage though.

Bag- & Other Stories

I am into mini bags. I have always been a big bag kinda girl- just in case I saw an abandoned puppy and needed to carry it to the vet (my house), but there is something intensively satisfying about not having to sift through a sea of receipts and bobby pins to find my phone. With a mini bag you have to rationalise the junk you carry around on a daily basis. I attribute my new better posture to mini bags- no longer am I dragged down by a bag full of every lipstick I own.

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

1. New, to me shoes. Behold my new Miu Miu bb's. Miu Miu SS2010 is one of my favourite designer collections ever. I crushed over each and every shoe that was from this collection. Seriously.  My sister managed to track down a pair of the satin Mary Janes. Merry Christmas to me. Thank you for the best sister in the world.

2. Pretty undies. Mimi Holliday make the best underwear ever. Without a doubt. Their prices could be considered high but in comparison to many other underwear designers I think the prices are fair.  Especially considering any Topshop bra I buy starts squeaking after a few weeks of wear. A ladies chest should never squeak. 

3. Contributing to Atlas Addict. As I said in my guide to Russia, I like to get all my travel information from blogs. You know who fills this void in the internet? Shannon Broderick of Atlas Addict does. Together we wrote up posts for Moscow and St Petersburg which are now published and can be found if you follow the links above. She has posts for all over Europe, the U.S and Asia. Her photography is beautiful and is very candid, even for the photography alone her website is worth a look at. You won't regret it. It is so fun to get involved with something I think is missing from the internet, after we finished the Russia posts I desperately searched through my holiday photos looking for other guides I could write. Find Shannon at Atlas Addict or on her personal blog here. 

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

1. Giant cloche. I thought a cloche was a hat, I was mistaken. I have always loved cloches, I have uhum, two others but they are so small I can't really fit much in them, I actually thought I would be able to fit some shoes in them, but then I remembered I had giant feet. Bubble burst. For this picture I nicked some flowers from downstairs, yes, pastel purple roses. Nice. Now I have a single "forever" rose from a past fling in it. It looks very Beauty and the Beast. I wonder what will happen when the rose dies? Will I become beautiful again?!

2. multi tonal metal hair slides (New Look). I find mixing metals kind of difficult, if you are wearing silver jewellery I never really enjoy it with gold, just think it looks a bit weird. But then, I saw these super cute hair slides with a rose gold, a yellow gold and a silver. I am now sold on this mixing of metals, it looks rad. P.S. Thanks for head modeling Kate., the back of your head is truly glorious.

3. Graduation shopping. I know, it's been ages since I graduated. However, I am the pickiest person alive and my taste is not predictable so my parents gave the responsibility of buying my own present back to myself. Que ring shopping! I have narrowed it down to these four. All preowned which I love. I am just one owner of the many these beauties will have. Now I just have to pick one. Help a girl out, what one is your favourite?

Happy Sunday y'all,

I'm traveling again this week, I will try to update or at least schedule.

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

Goodness, it's been a while since I've had one of these posts, feel like it's a bit of a cheat to give one "Favourite Things" to one outfit post a week. Must try balancing my life a bit better. I did work out that working takes up at least 10 hours of my day including travel and the over time I end up putting in. That leaves me the maximum of 6 hours in the morning and the evening to have a life. Struggling. Work has been exciting though, and I have been enjoying it even though it is tiring. It still hasn't registered that I am not going back to University yet. Anyway, here are the things I have been enjoying this week.

Above is my kitty vanity case. I have been spending very few nights at home, due to a mixture of traveling and staying over elsewhere that having something to keep all my cosmetics and skin care in has been a savior. Now, I in no way think this case is tasteful, the cats are super naff, but I don't care. It's from Forever21 if anyone is also into the Aristocats Marie reincarnated into a wash bag. 

 

How sweet is this nail polish packaging? My sister found them for me from Etude House which is a Korean website. I mean, it looks like an ice cream?!

My necklace splurges as of recent. Top left: New look, as previously stated, I love anything Egyptian influenced in a piece of jewellery so when I saw it pop up on ASOS I bought it. Top Right: H&M, might be coral, I think it is at least, if not it is a very convincing copy. Bottom Left: Primark, a good size as it sits nicely on the neck and can just get tossed out when it starts to look a bit passed it. Bottom Right John Lewis. It is lovely, very much like a Chanel one that I have numerous pictures saved of. It is so heavy though. It pulls on my neck and by the end of the day I can start to feel my head hit the desk due to the weight of the thing. 

Hopefully I will post on Tuesday but I will be flying back from Manchester that night and have no idea what time I will get in. Hopefully it won't be like last time and I will get my luggage before the next Manchester flight gets in... Maybe I should go pack now...

What are your favourite things this week?

With love from,

Emma

Favourite Things

1. A real BB cream. My sister bought this for me from Korea, be careful if you order from Korea as a lot of the creams contain bleach which isn't great for skin. BB cream was originally used for people post surgery as such the Korean brands are actually better than our British replicas which are more often than not just tinted moisturizer. I really like using this product, it's very light, not sticky or claggy. It also has a decent SPF to not bother with sun cream on a general day to day basis. 

 

 

2. Just popped into Miss Selfridge after a tip off from a friend to look at their jewellery and came out with this, added bonus? It was a measly £5. It is actually pretty fancy, lots of detail and thought obviously went into it. And I am a sucker for any jewellery that looks a bit Egyptian.

Iphone case: I was starting to feel a little foolish going to a grown up job with a phone that only had a variety of animal cases to chose from- all with ears might I add. So when I saw this cutie-patootie come online on ASOS, it ended up in my bag. It has the queens guards on it. Pretty cute. Very British. I can only find the ipad case now, see it there, but Beta have other sweet ones online.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

1. Sandal Weather. Cracking out the gold Swedish Hasbeens for a day Natural Trust garden tours. Sincerely, these shoes are the comfiest things in existence, the leather is so soft it is like not even wearing shoes. They also make your feet look small which is a blessing for my less than feminine giant, skinny feet. These are all very positive points without even considering the fact they are gold.

2. My sisters hair. Well, she has had purple hair for maybe a year now but it looked very pretty today and with a purple field full of foxgloves I kind of had to take a picture of it. She is ridiculously good at predicting, whether accidentally or intentionally, things that will become a new trend before they actually become one.

3. My mum's super cute outfit for our day out! She looks amazing in a dress and hopefully acknowledging how great she looks will mean she will wear them more. You look great Mama.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend full of sun and family time!

With love from,

Emma

Favourite Things

 My all time favourite perfume. I was a lucky girl my boyfriend bought me this which was rather charming as I am too cheap to buy this most of the time.. Reason being, I am a serial-sprayer, it's like an OCD for smell. So excited to have this perfume back in my life, when I could smell this on other ladies I would be very jealous. I am sure everyone has smelt this though and knows how delightful it is!

Leather boots: Topshop Premium. Had my eyes on these for a while, when they dropped down in sale I was there and ready. I was originally disappointed when I got them as I thought the leather was a black and ox-blood mix, it is just black, but I guess that makes them more versatile! I didn't have any boots for winter so these will be waiting for me. She says while it is 20 degrees outside.

Boyfriend got me peonies. I guess the lurking next to the flower stands paid off. He found these in his garden and proudly presented them with other wild flowers. Romantic. I went with him to a boot sale on Sunday- got a whole load of crap, including but not exclusive to: 3 picture frames, 3 vases, a wooden box, a sweetie box, a table and a rocking chair. Now we have to learn how to reupholster and maybe buy a house sharpish.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend in the summer sun!

With love from,

Emma

Favourite Things: Graduation Edition

Well, on Friday I graduated. I know can be one of those people who add their degree titles at the end of their email signature. I could be, but I won't. Although I didn't and I don't have that many feelings about graduation (it just kind of crept up on me!) I felt I should still share some pictures. All that I was grateful for was that I did not fall over, my shoes were not the most sensible, but they were a compromise, I was considering wearing these babies.

Although I wasn't that psyched about my own graduation I was so happy to see my best friend graduate. She deserves everything and more and looked beautiful like always! So, to my wifie, congratulations, but sorry your present is late.

Finally, My university- thank you for being such a beautiful place to study and pose in front of on Friday.  However, Glasgow weather, seriously, you suck- rain on graduation??? These pictures were not taken on the day of Graduation as it resembled a drunk ant hill.

Congratualtions to anyone else who has graduated recently! 

With love from,

Emma (MA) x

Favourite Things

1. Make-up Brush lovin'. I am not a make-up girl and I never will be but when you get a tool that makes your easy make-up look just that bit better with minimal effort I am there. I love brushes, excluding the odd feeling that I am in fact, painting my face. Seen above is a mix of the Body Shop, Forever21 and the infamous Real Techniques core collection. I find the face brushes my biggest savior, it really makes my foundation last longer and saves that streaky tide mark, which, I ashamedly have had more than once. I actually love the Forever21 ones, they were awfully cheap and it gives me the tools to mess around with eye make-up- aka practice my panda/ Taylor momsen black eyes.

 2. Casual bird watching. My garden, it is bird free. Full of 5 killer cats though. However, Stuart lives with two pups that the birds seem indifferent about so I actually get to see wildlife. Here's a blue tit... ahhh, tit... funny.

3. Made some twee cupcakes. I love my new piping nozzle that makes this grass effect, it was originally purchased to make a cake for my granddad's birthday- he likes bowls, grass piping nozzle seemed logical. Anyway, before I ruined an 80th birthday cake figured I should try it out. Made chocolate cake soil too- commitment to twee! Also, surprise:

Tony couldn't leave me alone for a minute. Creeper going to creep! (And kill birds)

 Happy Sunday everyone!

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things- PUPPY EDIT

If you don't like dogs, and puppies then you should look away now, but know that you are crazy and also wrong. Boyfriend/ Stuart got a new puppy and I am dying on the inside. I would confidently define myself as a cat lady but... but... I think I am broken. So much so that this little guy is taking on cyber space by dominating this weeks "Favourite Things"- also, I am weak and couldn't pick just one picture...

 Lots of love,

Emma and Frank xx

Favourite Things

Oh Peonies! These are my ultimate favourite flowers, this time of year is the best as they are actually available for purchase, now I have a steady income I think this may be dangerous as I may spend a bit too much time in the florists buying them. Also forward warning that I may plague you all with pictures of them... I like single ones and having them in plain glassware like this vintage milk bottle!

New Handbag. It is basically a leather version of that Zara "city bag" everyone has. I am very snooty about non-leather handbags though, so when I saw this come online it went in my bag and after waiting, an actual month to get it, H&M? Really guys? I am so glad I got it. The leather is so soft and smells nice which is odd for me to say because as a child I hated the smell of leather, shoe fittings at Clarks caused me to spiral into a dramatic tear stained mess. I guess I have grown up?

This plate and cup was a gift from Stuart's mum, the idea being that he could make me the routine "Saturday baked-goods morning" breakfast and put my hot chocolate on the side. Thank you. Also, how nice is it that it is possible to have breakfast in the garden at the moment?

Oh, also sorry for the lack of posting last week, I am still breaking myself into working 5 days a week, and on Thursday I was clearly sleep deprived, thinking I pressed "Publish" on a post and didn't. I will try harder this week.

I hope you had a nice week and weekend!

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

Evening re-reading of my favourite book by the sea.  This is my Granddad's copy of To Kill a Mockingbird that he gave me when I was reading it in school. It's a great book, and one I claim to be my favourite, in order to substantiate this claim I feel I need to have read the book more, so it seemed logical that as Stuart got out his bike that I would grab out this to read while serenaded with the sweet sound of his breaks screeching. He Trails bikes by the way. Jumps around on things on a bike with no seat. I know nothing more.

 

Holiday presents. The best friend skipped off to Poland for a post-university treat and returned with chocolate treats for me. Personally a nice fridge magnet would have gone down well, but edible gifts are great, especially when they are as pretty as these babies. There is an element of danger with these though, my Polish, not so good even, so each mouthful is remarkably similar to my imagined experience of Bertie-Botts Every Flavour Beans. Thankfully, the ones that particularly intimidate me like Italian coffee and whiskey were quickly identified and forced on to Stuart.

Locating the last of the Scottish snow for a snowball fight on the warmest day of the year so far. Ignore the bins, tactics in snowball fights do not allow for aesthetically pleasing snow pictures.

I hope you all had a glorious weekend, and a sunny one for those of you in the UK. I hope no-one got burnt and that no-one took their tops off because it was sunny and over 10 degrees- pet hate. It is not that warm. I have no desire to see pasty nipples in May. Anyway, that spiraled quickly.

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

 (Lipstick and Lipstick case: Paul and Joe Cosmetics available from ASOS)

Let's get real, Paul and Joe do the prettiest make up. Without a doubt. I mean, wrap your eyes around this beauty. Granted it would be a crime to use it and smoosh the cat face but it is pretty great regardless. Everything about their products are beautiful and kind of over the top, basically all of their products are in my ASOS wishlist. Oh, if you do buy a lipstick you have to buy the case separately, which may be a bit cheeky but there is a great cat one available too.

Finally sorting out my room at home. After moving back home after University for my job the only concern I really had was fitting all my stuff that had comfortably embellished a flat squeezing into my much smaller teenager room. I lived for two weeks in a Health and Safety man's nightmare, but I finally got round to sorting it out. I am terrible with any flat surface, it becomes covered in minutes. Here we have a forever rose from a former boyfriend which doggedly outlived mine and his relationship, a handmade teddy, an awkward photo booth strip taken with my sister in an Airport in Hawaii and swarovski crystal animals including a squirrel and dog. And look, there is a good three inches of space at the front which I could fill yet. God, I have a lot of stuff...

(Silk Shirt: H&M Trend/ Premium)

Oh look, work clothes, exciting. I thought this was pretty though, I was determined to buy stuff that was multi-use and could be worn casually as well as at work. This shirt is 100% silk and was a very reasonable £30 I think. It is very well made and I really enjoy it's minty goodness. 

Right, now I need to figure out my first day at work outfit!

With love from,

Emma x

Favourite Things

Dresses that remind me of good times. The beaded nude one is from ASOS Salon and I wore it on my 21st to Versailles, Paris. The dress was just so fitting for my surroundings. The Blue dress is a Marc by Marc Jacobs one and I wore it to my secondary school prom with a handmade, cherry blossom hairband. I am a classic prom dress snob, nothing shiny or something that would fit in on my gypsy weddings, no diamonds!! But hey, I debatably looked like a mummy with flowers in her hair for prom so maybe I am not one to judge!

Homemade churros. Seriously, never buy them from a stall, they must cost like 50p to make. They are really easy to make too and you can have cinnamon sugar and nutella without the vendor judging you and your eating habits.

Holly Golightly eye mask- from Fred Flare. As original as this is, I love Audrey Hepburn films, she was such a beauty and after forcing all my male friends into watching some of her films they actually enjoyed them. I hate cringey girl films with sad, needy women, the notebook and anything like Mama mia and Bridesmaids causes me to panic so now I never see them in cinema, fortunately most of my female friends are into "boy" films like me so it isn't much of a problem. I'd much rather watch Die Hard (the first one only) or a girl film with a less sappy female lead- Amelie for example. Second Hand embarrassment is the worst. 

What are your weekly favourites girls?

With love from,

Em x