Travel Day

When I was a child, getting up early to go on holiday was exciting. I'd set my alarm before snuggling down for an early night, knowing full well that it'd take me ages to get to sleep, and that I'd get a few hours at most. I found driving to the airport exciting, being the only people on the road in the dark was inexplicably wildly exciting. And then we'd get to the airport and have breakfast before I'd normally be up and the whole thing was just EXCITING, okay.

Not so much anymore though. Now I get into bed thinking 'what's the point', already feeling the effects of a bad nights sleep. My alarm goes off and I have to suffocate the urge to throw my phone out the window because SLEEP. So when I knew I needed to be at the airport for 5.30am, staying at an airport hotel was a much more appealing option than leaving the flat at four.

We stumbled into Gatwick South Terminal just before six and after a very painless bag drop (for the first time ever my checked bag was underweight, whoop whoop!), we made our way through security and into the departures lounge.

I MUCH prefer the South terminal at Gatwick to the north, not only are the shops better (and the world duty free shop bigger), but everything is closer together too. Everything at the North terminal is spread out across one long narrow area, whereas the South terminal is more like a hub, with all the shops circling you. If I've got to walk 5 miles to the gate, I don't want to walk another three to Pret, you know?

After a fairly restrained trip through the World Duty Free shop, breakfast was the first order of the day. We ended up in Wonder Tree, a concept restaurant from the makers of Giraffe (and we all know how much I love Giraffe). A welcome change from the usual airport breakfast fare of McMuffins or Weatherspoons fry ups, the Wonder Tree menu not only has a ton of options, it has a lot of different dishes too. The service was a little slow (we'll let them off since the place was heaving), the food was infallible. I opted for Avocado and Scrambled Eggs on Sourdough toast with fresh mint tea, whilst The Boy had Pancakes, with a side of Scrambled Eggs and a mocha. The eggs were some of the best I've had, soft and fluffy, just how I like them, and the vine tomatoes cooked to perfection! I hope they expand outside of the airport (I believe this is currently the only location), because there's about five other things on the menu I'd love to try!

After a quick trip to Boots for last minute essentials, we were ready to go! This was the first time I had used the EasyJet app and it made life so much easier. No need to faff around looking for boarding cards for one thing (how does it always end up at the bottom of the bag?!), but also the notifications were so useful. We got an alert with our gate details as soon as they were announced, complete with a map that took us straight there. If you load your boarding card into passbook, it'll stay on your iPhone home screen, no need to unlock, just swipe left and your full boarding card is displayed! It made the whole process so much easier!

Our flight was a little delayed in leaving, we sat on the Tarmac for a good 30 minutes before we could take off, but once we were in the air the pilot made up the time. Two hours later we arrived in Venice. Totally torturous for me, since Venice is number one on my travel bucket list, but we got straight on our coach transfer and headed to the port in Trieste to meet the ship.

We met the ship with time for a quick cocktail out on deck (I opted for some delicious peachy thing, whilst everyone else went for Mojito's!), before getting ready for dinner. We caught the sunset out on deck as we left the port, and it made me a little sad we didn't have time to explore Trieste, it looked so beautiful in the disappearing sunshine!

Pre Holiday Excitement

When booking our holiday we were faced with something of a travel dilemma. We booked fairly last minute and the only flights we could get meant flying out of Gatwick, and back into Heathrow. This meant that driving to the airport was pointless, because I would mean my car was at the wrong airport when we came to leave. Add that to the fact our flight out left first thing on Saturday morning, meaning the tubes wouldn't be running to get us there. Basically, a nightmare. 

In the end, instead of shelling out a small fortune in taxi fees, we decided to check into the London Gatwick Hilton Hotel the day before our flight. That way we could get the tube & Gatwick Express down the night before, have dinner and a good nights sleep, and be right next to the terminal for our 6am check in. 

Since we were paying for the room anyway, we decided to head down to the hotel early on the Friday, and make the most of it! We checked in just after four and after a few issues with our room (broken air conditioning and a complete lack of phone signal, + a £15 internet charge), we decided to pay the £15 upgrade fee to a bigger, newer room, which came with free wifi and drinks. 

The room was super spacious, clean and well equipped, if a teeny bit dated. I'm pleased to report that this room had fully functioning A/C, a welcome reprieve after the hot humid train journey. The bathroom was huge, with a bath and separate shower, toiletry goodies from Peter Thomas Roth (I did an excited squeal when I spotted those!) and even a set of scales!

The hotel had plenty of options for dining (including a Costa Coffee) but they were all pretty expensive, and the menus weren't quite tickling our fancy, so we crossed the walkway into Gatwick South Terminal, and had dinner!

I'm something of a Giraffe regular these days, but I just freaking love it. There really is something for everyone on their menu, and I've never had anything less than tasty! We shared a bowl of edamame to start (if you're an edamame fan, you need to try Giraffe's take, it's my favourite!), then Con had the Chicken, Prawn & Chorizo Jambalaya, whilst I had the naughty nachos. The staff at Giraffe were totally faultless, there was a mix up with Con's dish and not only did they fix it, they bought me a fresh meal too so that it wouldn't get cold (even though I'd already eaten a bit!) and bought Con a free Corona too to apologise. You don't mind when things go wrong, when the staff are so good about fixing it! 

We returned to the hotel room, showered (good powerful showers, I appreciate that, and I loved the hotel toiletries!), and snuggled up in bed with a few treats from M&S and some trashy TV, before having an early night before our early flight! 

We checked out at 5.30am (surprisingly Costa was already open!) after a beautiful night's sleep. Despite being practically in the airport we couldn't hear a thing, the rooms are so well soundproofed! 

If you're ever in need of a bed near the airport, I'd totally recommend the Hilton at Gatwick! It's stumbling distance from the terminal, and the rooms are spacious, clean and comfy! 

Next up, holiday snaps! 

30/52 - A Week at Sea

As I write this I'm snuggled up in bed, feeling the effects of 12 hours travelling, a nasty cold and the post-holiday blues, so it felt extra good to sit and recap the happy things of the week! I can't wait to share some holiday snaps with you throughout the next week, I took some beautiful photos if I do say so myself! 

I spent this week onboard the Queen Victoria ship, a beautiful ship that visited some equally beautiful destinations! We were lucky enough to have amazing weather, with temperatures around the 36 degree mark, so coming back to drizzly old England was a bit of a shock to the system last night!

Happy things time!

1. I started my week in Dubrovnik, where I basically felt like I was in Game of Thrones all day. It was so strange to turn corners and see scenes I recognised from Kings Landing. It was blisteringly hot, so we found a little hole in the castle wall, and snuck out onto the rocks, to take a dip in the beautiful clear Croatian seas.

2. Watching the water curl around the edges of the ship as we sailed. The water around Croatia and Greece is breathtakingly clear, and it was mesmerising to watch it swirl around the ship.

3. Watching couples dancing in the evenings on board the ship. It made me want to learn ballroom dancing so badly! You don't see traditional dancing so much anymore, but it's so beautiful!

4. Stepping into a Starbucks in Rhodes for a bottle of water and a moment of free wifi and discovering they sell Berry Hibiscus Refreshas. I miss them so much, can we start a petition to bring them back to the UK?

5. Finding a Sephora on the same day! I nearly cried with happiness! I picked up a couple of bits that have been on my wishlist for a while (and you know, a few spur of the moment purchases too).

6. Sitting out on our balcony on the last night with my parents and The Boy, drinking a bottle (or two) of champagne, and watching the sea roll by! The perfect way to round off the trip!

7. The awesome flight attendant on our BA flight home, who arranged for Con and I to move to different seats on the plane so we could sit together, after a screw up meant we were sat apart. Good customer service always makes travelling less stressful! 

8. The reaction of my dogs when I got home! Finn got so excited he was squealing with happiness, whilst Teaser just wanted to cuddle. There's nothing better than coming home to dogs I'm sure.

9. A little graduation present from my sister, accompanied by the sweetest note in the world, that made me tear up. She drives me insane a lot of the time, but she's the best really. 

10. Spending Sunday snuggled up in bed with a good book! It's been such a busy week, I need a little R&R!

Hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday! x

Inside My Travel Beauty Bag

Another day, another beauty bag to rummage through! This time I'm giving you the lowdown on the beauty bits that made the cut!

Skincare

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - I don't love this as much as Bioderma, but it does a good job of removing makeup pre-cleanse.

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter - My favourite cleansing balm and waterproof eye makeup wizard. Removes all scraps of makeup and sunscreen gently.

Pai Camomile and Rosehip Day Cream - Selected for it's natural ingredients, dinky size and lightweight formula.

Ole Henrikson Truth Serum - For the evenings. Lightweight and nourishing, an all round good'un.

Soap and Glory Sunshield Superfluid - My facial SPF of choice. Smells bad but is lightweight, non greasy and doesn't disrupt your makeup.

Piz Buin SPF 30 Lip Balm - Because I burnt my lips once and never again.

Cotton Rounds - To use with the Micellar water. This is just half a packet, I wasn't sure how many I'd need.

Body Bits

Korres Guava Body Wash - Gorgeous fruity smell, and super clarifying, really gets rid of any chlorine and salt!

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub - For using before shaving my legs. Otherwise I get shaving rash.

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Butter - I always get super dry skin on holiday.

Venus Snap Embrace Razor - The cutest travel razor you ever did see.

P20 Once A Day SPF30 Sun Protection - Pretty self explanatory?

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration SPF 15  - Ditto.

Dove Go Fresh Cucumber and Green Tea Anti Perspirant - It's pushing 40 degrees where I am right now.

Bio Freeze - For my dodgy hips and knees.

Lush Gymslip Dusting Powder - Handy for so many different things.

Banana Boat Aloe Vera After Sun - Just in case of burning.

Haircare

Herbal Essences Tea Tree Fresh Balances Clarifying Shampoo - Decanted into a mini bottle because nowhere had a small bottle in stock. This gets all the chlorine, salt water and product out of your hair, without leaving it feeling stripped.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner - To keep my locks silky smooth.

Charles Worthington Sun Protection Spray - To protect my locks from sun damage.

Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion Spray - For perfectly tousled beachy waves.

Percy and Reed No Oil Oil - A post-shower treatment and flyaway tamer.

CoLab Dry Shampoo - A fringe must have.

Random Other Things

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray - To help me sleep.

This Works Stress Less Rollerball - To ease anxiety.

Oral B Satin Tape - To, err, floss.

Phew, that was a long one! What are your must have travel beauty essentials?

Instagram - For Sharing Your Life, or Your Inspiration?

I'll be honest, when Instagram first launched, I just couldn't see the point. I had a Twitter account, a Facebook account, and I could share photos on both of those, so why would I want another account, another app, with features I could already find in other apps. I thought it'd be a fab, and it was a good six months until I gave into peer pressure and signed up. Even then, I didn't really get into Instagram until last year, it took a long time for me to get my head around.

Since it's inception five years ago (can you believe it's been five years?!), Instagram has changed a vast amount. It's gone from a platform where people shared blurry, out of focus, badly lit photos of their lives, to a hub of inspiration and beautiful content.

And now we are being saturated with content instructing us how to create the illusive 'perfect Instagram account', with colour themes, appropriate hashtags, and even content ideas. There are apps and sites where you can track your followers activity, and there are even people who make their living off of beautiful accounts.

There's a lot of debate over what you should be posting to your account, people seem to be firmly on the 'aspirational content' side, beautifully shot and lit imagery of pinterest-worthy homes, perfectly planned flatlays and outfit of the days, whilst others take Instagram a lot less seriously, and just share their life, as it happens, unfiltered.

I guess my question to you is, which side do you sit on? I think I sit somewhere in the middle. I pick my Instagram content quite carefully, and I only share my favourite images, but it's not all flat lays and pugs, there's a few snippets of my life too, whether that's just a bottle of cider, or a giant to do list. I enjoy Instagram, I love looking through beautiful accounts, and I enjoy curating images for my feed. But you won't see me taking hashtagging seriously, or not posting an image I love just because it doesn't fit my colour scheme.

I'd love to know your thoughts!

Beauty Carry Ons

If you follow me on Instagram you'll know I'm off on my holidays right now, and whilst I only had a short flight (four and a half hours) I figured it was still worth showing you what made the carry-on-cut. We had an early morning flight out here so I took a few bits to freshen up, make me up, and a few essentials too.

First up, let's talk in-flight essentials. Whilst I enjoy flying, I get a little bit nervy before take off, so I packed my Rescue Remedy Drops & Pastilles, and they really helped take the edge off. I hate having my hair down on planes so I chucked in a stretchy hair tie (I get mine from here). I always get dry skin and itchy eyes on planes, so I packed a mini This Works In Transit Camera Close Up Moisturiser, and some Optrex Actimist* which I like because you can spray it on your closed eyes for instant relief.

Deodorant is a pretty obvious one, my favourite is the Dove Go Fresh Green Tea and Cucumber Roll on, it's super refreshing and long lasting too. I chucked in my toothpaste and toothbrush (which I forgot to photograph) so I could freshen up before we landed too! I also packed my favourite eye cream, the First Aid Beauty Tripe Duty Eye Remedy, which cools and depuffs whilst also neutralising under eye circles. I slathered this on before landing in an attempt to look human! Makeup-wise I kept it simple since we had a two hour transfer (and then plans to lay by the pool) and just opted for the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer on my undereyes and any areas of redness, lashings of the Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara, and a little of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal.

I also put a bottle of P20 Once a Day SPF20 Sunscreen* into my carry on too, since I wanted to lay out by the pool in the afternoon, and I wasn't going to be reunited with my checked luggage in the evening. I also had my travel sickness bands in there, because hot countrys + two hour road trips - travel sickness. If anyone has any natural remedies for travel sickness I'd be all ears, I'm so prone to it!

Nowhere near as much as I would take on a long haul flight, but a good amount of stuff I think!

What are your inflight essentials?

Afternoon Tea at the Norfolk Royale

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up on your average Monday morning, ready to consume my weight in coffee and crack on with some work, but things didn't quite work out like that! Con surprised me by whisking me into town for afternoon tea!

We had a table booked at the Norfolk Royale Hotel, which I had never been in before, just thought of as 'that big pink hotel in town'. We were seated on a sort of conservatory balcony (in the perfect spot to people watch) and served a glass of prosecco to kick things off!

When the platter of food came out I was pretty shocked, it was definitely one of the largest afternoon teas I've ever had! We had sandwiches (salmon and cream cheese, cucumber, egg mayo and ham and tomato), scones with clotted cream and jam and the largest array of cakes I've ever seen. There was fruit cake, strawberry tarts, rich chocolate brownies and my personal favourite, millionaire's shortbread! Everything was absolutely delicious, and so rich, I ended up taking a few bits home I was so stuffed.

All of this of course came with a bottomless supply of tea, The Boy opted for English Breakfast whilst I went for a less traditional (but just as delicious) lemon and ginger tea!

We spent a leisurely two hours nibbling and sipping tea, before walking off some of the calories! We walked the long way home through Bournemouth gardens and soaked up the sunshine (I definitely didn't need jeans and a cardigan that's for sure!).

The perfect Monday if you ask me!

Salon Hair At Home

There's nothing quite like the feeling after you return from the hairdressers. Swishy hair with the perfect amount of bounce and volume makes you feel awesome, it's just a fact! However, the comedown when you realise you're never going to recreate that look at home can hit hard, and I think I've found the solution.

A few months back I was invited down to the Richard Ward salon in Sloane Square for a blow out and man did my hair look good (you can see it here). They sent me home with their Keratin Sleek shampoo and conditioner. And it's love.

The Richard Ward haircare line is all Keratin based, and for good reason. Keratin is the hair's natural protein and is key in maintaining hair health, and products infused with Keratin help rebuild the hair's natural fibres, leaving your hair thicker and healthier. It also contains Lychee and Strigosa seed which together help add back that lustrous, silky texture to your hair. The sleek range is designed to smooth and de-frizz, giving your hair back much needed gloss and hydration.

I use this two out of three hair washes (when I'm not using clarifying products) and I'm pretty much in love. This stuff does exactly what it says on the tin, or bottle rather. My hair is thicker, healthier, smoother and glossier. And it looks, well, like salon styled hair.

And the best part? It's only £6 a bottle. Not salon prices at all.

What are your go tos for salon smooth hair?

Rediscovered

This week I went back to London for my graduation, and left the bulk of my makeup (the stuff I use most anyway) back in Bournemouth. So I ended up rooting around my stash of lesser used products, and rediscovered some gems!

Firstly, the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation. This would be my favourite drugstore foundation, if it wasn't for the smell! I love everything else about it though, the perfectly natural finish, the medium coverage that doesn't look cakey, and the longevity. This is a total keeper, but man it smells strong.

The MAC Archie's Girls Collection was a real Marmite collection, but I fell in love with the Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me and I've been using it sparingly ever since. It's a beautiful powder with just a hint of peachy pink pigment. Perfect for natural blush days. And I mean, just look at it! It's what heart eyed emojis were made for.

I got my brows redone this week (more on that soon) and since then I've been opting for a more natural brow look. I pulled the Revlon Brow Artist out of semi-retirement. It's perfect for holding hairs in place, and gives just the tiniest hint of colour to the sparser areas, leaving me with thick, perfectly groomed brows.

And lastly this beautiful individual shadow from Seventeen, in the shade Rose Quartz. A beautiful shimmering taupe with pink undertones, that's buttery soft and oh so pigmented. The only reason I don't reach for this so much is because I just don't tend to reach for single shadows, I'm a palette gal!

Have you rediscovered anything recently?

29/52 - Graduation, Celebration and Vacation!

My my what an exciting week! In fact, possibly the busiest, most exciting week of the year! I have a giant stash of photos that I can't wait to share with you, but for now, here's a round up of the happy things!

1. A happy Monday again this week, as my boyfriend graduated! I was so proud I actually felt a little teary! We has a wonderful day of celebrating, complete with good food and one too many glasses of prosecco! 

2. I graduated too! Two days later at the same venue (the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank), I walked the stage myself, in a silly hat and heels a little too high! After I got over the intense feeling that I was going to vomit over the chancellor, I had the best day! Good food, good friends, family time and finally becoming a graduate! My little sister even came along too, despite having only just gotten off a 17 hour flight!

3. Celebratory post-graduation cocktails! Strawberry mojitos are the best!

4. The Boy and I went for a couple of drinks and a catch up at a local bar with some friends we haven't seen in a while. We don't go out often, so it felt good to go out and drink a cocktail! 

5. I received the cutest package in the world from Soap and Glory this week, my very own personalised tub of The Righteous Butter moisturiser! As a girl with a not so normal name, I grew up desperate for something, a key ring, a mug, a moneybox, anything, with my name on. I finally got my wish and it's so super cool!

6. Being reunited with my desk. I freaking love my desk. It's my happy place. 

7. Miss Daphne! I haven't seen my best friend in weeks having been back in Bournemouth, so reuniting for burritos was a must! There's nothing better than catching up over food! 

 8. Spending a night in a hotel pre holiday! It felt so good to eat a big old dinner, snuggle up in a giant hotel bed, and get an early night before our flight. I love staying in hotels so much!

9. My sister bought me back this gorgeous Starbucks cold cup from Singapore, and I'm in love. I love the gorgeous floral design and the pretty colour, and the fact I can fit so much in it!

10. Going on holiday! We caught an early morning flight out to Italy, and I can't wait to share some snaps with you guys!

I hope you all have a great week! x