It's the little things....

....that make me smile. Like finding things I love in unexpected places. I've been on the hunt for a teapot recently! I saw a few nice ones in Cath Kidston which I thought were quite fitting, I wanted one that's kinda retro and old fashioned since really who uses a teapot under the age of 80 these days?! I love my tea, and drink so much of it, it made sense for me to own one, there's something quite satisfying about using one, I feel like a Desperate Housewife. I found this in Matalan of all the places I could've found one. I wouldn't have bought it if it was a regular Union Jack print, but I loved the checked and floral design that really made it appealing. I couldn't resist it at £10. I also found these wonderful sandals for £5. I needed a new pair after an embarrassing scenario which involved them breaking. Imagine the toe post snapping when you're walking through town! So freaking annoying, luckily though they had support at the back so at least I had something to hold my foot in. I had to walk very slowly and carefully to the nearest shoe shop, which with nothing to support the front of my foot was a bit of a quest. I had to buy literally the closest pair I could find, and they just happened to be god awful patent blue ones, just disgusting really. So anyway, they needed replacing with sandals I actually like, and I found these, I love the fact they're not toe post sandals because they're more comfortable, but still look modern. On the same spree I visited New Look, a shop that goes up and down in my expectations, I used to hate it, but just recently have been finding some real gems in there. The only thing I find consistent about that place is the shoes, they always have something I like, and are so affordable. I found this top, which when I describe as cropped and tie-dyed sounds like an 80s throwback and bloody awful, but for some reason I love it. It looks nothing on the hanger, so I will have to post a picture of an OOTD to convince you otherwise. It's slightly slanted so is slightly shorter on one side than the other and is tied in a knot on one side.
I also found this t-shirt dress with ruched flower detailing on the sleeves. It's available in a few colours, but it's very slim fitting, so not very forgiving I'm afraid, black is the only colour I thought I could pull it off in, the nude pink was gorgeous, but a bit on the revealing side.
It looks kind of boring as it is, but teamed with a contrasting belt and shoes looks pretty nice. The detailing on the sleeves just gives it that delicate edge. I left my umbrella at work and since I've now left for the summer and will be starting somewhere new soon, I won't really be able to go back for it, so I bought a new one. It's a similar style to my old one, except my old had white detailing, so a white frill at the bottom and a white handle and stitching. It was also plain and transparent, whereas this one has a cherry print all over it, it's very cute. I have a feeling it might actually have been from the 915 range as it was all on it's own with more grown up looking ones! Oh well, I like it. The top was £14, the dress £20, and the umbrella £8. Bargainous! So I was very content with my shopping experience, I spent quite little for what I bought which is always a good thing, especially when you get just what you want.

It's not only material things I buy that put a smile on my face, but even smaller things like coming home and making my own capuccino. Yum! A bit of effort but worth it, and tastes great. Another thing that I've come to realise made me happy was my garden at my parent's house. I took it for granted when I lived there because everyone had a garden where I grew up. Living in London, I have a balcony, which I realise even that it somewhat of a luxury in my area. It's not huge but we are making the most of it. I will have to tidy it up a little better and show you pictures. But here is the sunflower I planted a few weeks ago. I can't believe how quick it's grown and it seems like it's reached it's peak now and is ready to flower soon. I was quite surprised how easy it was to grow, I thought I would kill it as I'm not reknown for keeping plantlife alive, but it's thriving really well, and I'm actually quite proud of it!
Anyway, I realise I've gone off at a complete tangent on this post. Well done if you read this far! So I guess I'd like to know...what are the little things that make you smile? They might be beauty related or otherwise, write a comment or your own blog post! xXx

Beauty Product of the Month: May - Simple Sun Sensitive Protecting Facial Hydrolotion

The name of this product is a little bit of a mouthful, but all you need to know is this is a sun protection cream effectively. On Simple's website you can sign up to be a VIP member, which allows you to post on the website's blog, answer surveys to gain points which you can eventually turn into free products, and occasionally, get sent samples. This was actually the only product I have received for free from Simple and although I wasn't expecting great things, I hardly ever repurchase anything I've gotten as a trial size, whether it be from a counter, a magazine or wherever, I actually want to go and purchase the full size of this product.

So it came in a 10ml tube, and a little too early in the year for me to use. I put it away, forgot about it, then rediscovered it just before my holiday. It turned out to come in great use and was a staple item in my beach bag. Now I am careful when it comes to sun protection and pretty rigourous applying it, there's nothing worse than having a patchy tan, or any burnt parts when the rest of you is tanning safely and evenly. Having said that, I really don't like applying most sun lotions to my face; they're greasy, make my skin far too shiny and I can't apply anything over it. Until now, that's something I settled for, after all, your face is probably the most important part to protect when you go abroad as it's always exposed so is going to face the most damage. However, this facial hydrolotion offers SPF 25 without the greasy face! It's just like an ordinary moisturiser. This is exactly what I want from my sun protection on my face. If you're anything like me and like to put a little make-up on for the beach, (I'm not talking a full face here, just a touch of bronzer and the like) then this is perfect, it settles in to your skin like any other moisturiser and leaves a matte finish on your face so you can go ahead and apply anything over the top of it. I was sort of expecting my face to still tan because I didn't have that heavy, greasy feeling that all other sun lotions seem to leave me with, but it does work.

The nice thing is knowing this product is by Simple which means few chemicals that are going to irritate your skin. I think this is targeting the natural product lovers as it contains "sunflower goodness" to "naturally fight premature ageing". I don't really expect a sun protection cream to be too natural, and it really doesn't bother me that much, as long as it protects my skin. I think this product is suitable for people with sensitive skin and might be worth trying if you've been irritated by other brands of suncream. I personally love it purely for the non-grease factor and that's persuaded me to go and repurchase. I haven't actually seen it in the shops but I did check the website a while ago and I think this is available in various SPFs.

The only thing I will miss is the size, as this was a handy little product to pop in my bag alongside my regular suncream for the rest of my body. I don't overly want to be lugging around two sun protection products...I'm sure I'll get past that though.