Autumn Essentials...

It's officially Autumn people! The leaves are turning red and falling from the trees, and even though the sun is still mostly shining there's a definite chill in the air. Which means one thing...updating your A/W wardrobe and beauty bag!!

Take a look at some of my autumn essentials:

The hat.

Hats are so on trend right now, pretty much any hat will do. I don't think it's quite cold enough to pull off a woolly hat though so I've gone for the sophisticated look in a rust colour. I'm not sure if this classes as a Fedora or not, I just call it my floppy hat. It was £20 from H&M and really takes an outfit to the next level in my opinion.

(Yes that is an amazing Slattery's chocolate cake!)

The skincare.

With the weather turning colder, it's more important than ever to look after your skin. The cold outside and the central heating inside can leave skin dull and devoid of moisture. I was lucky enough to be treated to an Elemis set for my birthday - it's expensive but highly recommended!

Pictured: Pro-radiance cream cleanser, pro-collagen marine cream and don't forget your hand cream too.

The boots.

Ankle boots are DEFINITELY an essential this season, and as I'm quite bored of black I decided to go for brown, which I think is the perfect autumnal colour. This lovely pair was a bargain from Dorothy Perkins and I think I'm going to have them on my feet 90% of the time until Christmas as they're a perfect fit with jeans, leggings and tights.

 The ripped jeans.

So everytime I need new jeans I head to Topshop, because they have the biggest variety in styles and sizes so I'm always spoilt for choice. I thought it's about time I bought some ripped jeans and I decided on my favourite fit, Joni. This is my 3rd pair, they look and feel so good!!

[Entire outfit from Topshop]

The smock dress.

While in Topshop I couldn't help picking up this little number. It's available in loads of colours and I just thought it's great for layering and would suit a lot of different casual occasions.

What have you invested in this season? Let me know! J x

March Buys...

Well, April is here already! Where is this year going?!

I thought I'd share with you some of the stuff I bought last month, as I bought quite a lot (whoops) and I love it all. I've put it into two categories - beauty and home.

So I definitely had a splurge on home interior things this month, but it's about time really! As you can see a few things are travel related too, I can't help but love everything with a map. I've always wanted a vintage globe, and I found this one on sale in Laura Ashley. However I was rather disappointed with the size, as I ordered it online and picked it up in store expecting it to be a lot bigger! Oh well, what was I expecting for twenty quid  from Laura Ashley really?!

I'd spotted a print on Etsy a few months back which I really liked, and finally got round to buying it. It says 'Home is wherever I'm with you' and I thought it would look nice in our bedroom, which at the moment has very bare walls indeed.

Then the cushions were a spontaneous buy from one trip to the Trafford Centre. We'd already bought new cushions for the sofa that day when I spotted them as we were walking through Marks and Spencers at 9.30pm heading back to the car. (Yes, I wasn't even browsing but saw them from the escalator!) I knew they would look really cute if we could find a J and a R, but after searching the stock it looked like we were out of luck. Until I looked underneath a cushion and there my initial was! So I decided it was fate and had to buy them there and then. £10 each from M&S, but apparently Next are also selling something similar.

So this month I've had hair troubles. It was so long and knotty all the time, just getting completely unmanageable. Even with conditioning and deep intense conditioning treatments, I couldn't get a brush through it after washing. So I decided to buy this Aussie conditioning spray for 'Luscious Long' hair to detangle. It made it a bit easier, but didn't exactly detangle my thick mane of hair at first. However, now I have had my hair cut - mainly layered - and it is much better now and I can notice the effects of this leave-in conditioner more.

At the same time I invested in a blow drying spray, which has a number of benefits but the one which I was most bothered about was it cutting the drying time. As noted above, I have stupidly thick long hair and it takes me FOREVER to blow dry. Seriously, I can wash it in the morning and it will still be damp when I go to sleep at night. Again, I have noticed the effectiveness of this spray more after my recent hair cut, and I think it really does dry faster now.

On the left there is my new moisturiser which is part of my Aesop skincare regime. I've already written about this once so click here for my Aesop review. I love how the jar looks rather old fashioned, like something my Nana would have in her medicine cabinet. This is the Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream, and it smells absolutely divine - really fresh and perfect for the morning. It's specially designed as a lightweight moisturiser so it's good for people like me with an oily complexion or combination skin.

I also picked up these little beauties from a shopping trip while I was in Lisbon. How adorably cute are these toiletry bags? They came together as a set with the words 'Your summer, your dreams, your holidays' printed at the top. So simple, but so effective, they are a holiday essential and I knew I needed them as soon as I saw them. They are also really thin and light, made from a cotton material or something similar so are perfect for travelling light. I picked them up from Zara in Portugal, but I'm sure they'll have them in the UK too.

So those are my favourite purchases from this month. Now I can't wait to get shopping for clothes next month as my wardrobe didn't get much attention in March! What are you planning on buying this month?

J x