Yankee Candles *Online Exclusive* - April Showers!

Yankee Candle 'April Showers' swirl candle,

Tulips & Meadow Showers - £16.99 online exclusive!

I know, I know, not another candle post BUT how gorgeous is this beautifully scented NEW candle jar from Yankee Candles springtime range? I couldn't resist ordering this from their website when I received an email the other day, it's soooo pretty. I haven't seen the swirl effect jars before, a great way of combining two fresh scents in one. Here you have the combination of spring flowers with the Tulip added to the refreshing scent of Meadow Showers, who doesn't love the smell of grass after a bit of rain. The result is a subtly fresh scent which fills the house with an aroma similar to fresh cut flowers, lovely!

The colours do tend to blend as the wax melts but this also serves to combine the tulips and the meadow showers fragrance. This is such a pretty looking candle, it would look great just about anywhere in your home, it would also make an ideal gift for a candle loving addict like myself, I know I'm not the only one out there am I??? These medium sized jars are only available online, you can check them out here from the Yankee Candle website, so hurry up before April is over. Hopefully this will be the only April Showers we will be experiencing this spring, bring on the sun!

Have you tried any of the Yankee Candle swirl candles yet and what would be your favourite Springtime scent?

Deborah

xxx

CLARINS Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector - A touch of luxury on the lips!

CLARINS Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, Rose Shimmer - £18

The hype - 'A soft, gel formula that nourishes, repairs and protects Day after day, lips are visibly more beautiful.'

As I've probably told you many times, I have a real problem with dry cracked lips, so I am always on the lookout for a product that will help minimse the effects of weathering, central heating and daily wear and tear! I've tried many products but I usually come back to my faithful Nivea Lip Care Essential which I carry with me at all times. However, I have recently discovered this little beauty from the Clarins and I have to say, after a couple of weeks of use, I've been impressed!

I've been applying the Lip Perfector before my daily dog walk and last thing at night to fully test the benefits and it's certainly performed well. My lips have retained the moisture more efficiently than previous products that I've tried and they even feel a little firmer and plumped. When I wake up in the morning it feels almost as if I have just applied the balm and my lips do feel in better condition. 

The packaging is really simple and stylish, I certainly won't mind carrying it in my handbag. It is also very easy to apply, just a gentle squeeze dispenses some of the balm on the spongy tip, reducing wastage and even eliminating the need for a mirror. I chose the Rose Shimmer colour to try as you can just add a touch of pretty pink shimmer to your lips as a glossy balm or as a topcoat to a more vibrant lip colour, it also has a subtle hint of vanilla flavouring which I had to stop myself from licking and removing. The product comes in 6 beautiful shades designed to give a subtle hint of colour, you can check them out here on the Clarins website, I may well be investing in Candy Shimmer next as one of my holiday make up essentials. At £18 it is a little expensive until you take into account the benefits of having both a protecting balm and gloss in a single product.

Overall, I guess you could say that I would definitely recommend this product, my lips certainly feel in far better condition and my faithful Nivea has now been consigned to the bottom of my bag!

What lip care products would you recommend?

Deborah

xxx

Dont forget!!! My *GIVEAWAY* finishes on Sunday so not long to win Yankee Candles, Revlon and Accessorize goodies, to enter click on the link here, good luck!!! xxx

Nails Inc Spring/Summer Collection - Happy Mother's Day!!!

Nails Inc Spring Summer Collection

I had a really lovely Mother's Day this year, after being thoroughly spoilt in London the day before (see post here) we returned home for a family meal at our favourite local. Before going to the pub I had some really beautiful presents and cards to open from my babies, these included some gorgeous smelling candles and a scarf from my boys, they know me so well! Lisa gave me this amazing set of nail varnishes from Nails Inc containing six beautiful Spring/Summer inspired colours, I am such a lucky mummy!!!

The bottles themselves are smaller than the full size ones which makes them great for travelling, I think I want to take them all on holiday with me. They are easy to apply, two good coats should do it and they last really well, the photo above was taken after 3 days and there was little if no signs of chipping, even without a topcoat. I can't really provide a link or pricing for these beauties as they were a gift and I don't like to look but I'm pretty sure you can find them online fairly easily, Amazon is always a good place to start. I would suggest though that you look soon if interested as Lisa reckons they are selling out fast.

Lisa and I sharing some Prosecco, Happy Mother's Day!

A reluctant Will posing with his mum and sister, soooo embarassing!!!

What did you do to celebrate Mother's Day?

Don't forget there's only a few more days left to enter my 300 bloglovin followers *GIVEAWAY* Yankee Candles, Revlon and Accessorize goodies to be won, to enter click here, best of luck!!!

Deborah

xxx

Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

I was recently lucky enough to be nominated by the lovely Katie from Blonde Ambition for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award, thanks Katie! This award means a lot to me as one of the things I love most about blogging is the social interaction between bloggers, it's such a friendly community to belong to.

Anyway, here's how it works:

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you.

2. List the rules and display the award.

3. Share 7 facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 10 other amazing blogs and comment on their blogs to let them know you have nominated them     and provide a link to your post.

Seven facts about myself:

1. I am a real History geek, especially the Tudors, and last year passed my A-Level History exam as a   mature student.

2. I have a real passion for musicals.

3. I love accessories and recently took a City and Guilds course in silver jewellery making in order to indulge said passion.

4. Although I love girly fashion, accessories and make up, I'm not a typical girly girl, I love watching sport, action films and historical crime novels.

5. My favourite city in the world is New York, especially after a brilliant trip with my daughter Lisa.

6. My feet are a size 3 so I find it really frustrating trying to find shoes to fit, especially Jimmy Choos!!!

7. Although I appear to come across as confident I suffer from Panic and Anxiety and work daily to control this.

Nominations:

1. Topaz & May
2. G is for Gingers
3. Rachel Coco
4. Leah Paige
5. Moonlight Mouse
6. Face Up Beauty
7. Bright & Shiny
8. Amy Elizabeth
9. Sincerely, Hollie
10. Cliona Hill

This is the first time I've done one of these tags so I hope you don't mind too much if I've nominated you!

Deborah
xxx

'Blythe Spirit' by Noel Coward - A wonderful weekend in the city!

Last weekend Mr Moonstone and I set off for the capitol, theatre tickets in hand, to see Angela Lansbury (a living legend!!!!) in the latest production of Noel Coward's 'Blythe Spirit'. This has always been one of my favourite plays, I was introduced to this play while doing Drama at school way to many years ago to mention. It was a perfect day in the city, London really comes into it's own when the sun is shining, ideal for a bite of lunch before the matinee began.

Cheers!!!

We took a side street off Shaftesbury Avenue towards Soho and stumbled across this charming little tapas bar, result! You could help yourself to whatever took your fancy from the vast array of tapas on show and if that wasn't enough the choices were continually replenished tempting us to eat even more. After a tasty lunch and a couple of glasses of something chilled, it would have been rude not to, we set off to the theatre.

A photo opportunity not to be missed.

Dress Circle in the Gielgud Theatre, amazing seats!!!

We all settled in our seats ready for the performance to begin. I had to convince Mr Moonstone that there would be NO bedknobs, broomsticks or football playing jungle animals in this particular performance and despite this he still seemed happy to be there, theatre isn't normally his kind of thing but I really appreciate him coming with me. I will be more than happy to accompany him to a Moto GP race in return if he wants to take me, preferably somewhere hot!!!

What can I say about the performance except that it was AMAZING! The comic timing of Mr Coward's witty one liners was spot on, all the actors gave a great performance. A special mention to Patsy Ferran who played the part of Edith the maid, this was her professional stage debut and there was certainly no sign of any nerves. As for Angela Lansbury, what can I say, she was outstanding as Madame Arcati, an eccentic medium, a role she was born to play. The audience were completely mesmerised whenever she was on stage, her mystic trances a sight to behold, totally enthralling. I think it would be fair to say that I was not disappointed in any way. The play bought back happy memories and will remain a favourite of mine always. 

When the curtain finally came down after a very well deserved standing ovation we set off to find a taxi back to our hotel, the Plaza on the River. Mr Moonstone spoilt us by upgrading our room to a suite overlooking the Thames with a balcony, a great place to enjoy a cuppa while enjoying the amazing view!!!

Time to do my nails before dinner

We had a table booked at the Skylon restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall where they do the most amazing cocktails. I had my usual Margarita while Mr Moonstone, having been inspired by Noel Coward, decided to try the Dry Martini, this turned out to be a lethal choice but he seemed to enjoy it. The food was amazing, I had possibly one of the best fillet steaks I've ever tasted while Mr Moonstone went for the fish. All this was helped along with a lovely bottle of Sancerre then back to the hotel for a nightcap. Sorry there's no photos to show you but this was private romantic time just for Mr Moonstone and myself!

We headed back to our suite feeling tired, well fed and a little tipsy, hence the attempt at the 'selfie' on the balcony. We couldn't work out why the phone wouldn't flash but Lisa (Topaz & May) explained to us the next day when we got home, the perfect example of why some people (especially us oldies) shouldn't be allowed near any technology after a few drinks. The trip to London was great, it was so lovely to spend some time with Mr Moonstone away from the hectic surroundings at home, the perfect day!

What would you love to do for your perfect day?

Deborah

xxx

DON'T FORGET!!!! I have a 'giveaway' running at the moment to celebrate reaching 300 bloglovin followers, you can enter here to win Yankee Candles, Revlon and Accessorize goodies, good luck!!!

XXX

Models Own - Lovely in Lilac!

Models Own Speckled Eggs nail polish, Swan and

Models Own Hyper Gel, Lilac Sheen

both £5

With pastels being so so big this season you can't go wrong with a lovely nail shade like these beautiful lilac ones above. Of all the pastels I think lilac is one of my favourites, a little different from the pinks and greens that have already proved so popular. I'm also a big fan of blues, but then I guess you already knew that from reading some of my previous posts.

These polishes are not only a really pretty colour but they also incorporate two of this seasons other trends, namely gel polish and the speckled egg effect, named because of it's similarity to a birds egg. I've already reviewed the Models Own Hyper Gel (see here) and was really impressed with the colours available and the quality of the product. However, the Speckled Eggs polish is new to me and having seen several favourable reviews I decided to give it a go for myself.

I was advised by the assistant in Boots, who is a big fan herself, that I would need a good couple of coats to achieve the effect I was after. She wasn't wrong, the colour proved to be quite opaque and although easy to apply did indeed need two coats, possibly even three. My advise would be to apply a plain lilac shade first as an undercoat and then two coats of the speckled egg effect to achieve a good even coverage. I was very impressed with the longevity of the polish, once applied it didn't appear to chip easily and after a couple of days still looked pretty much intact.

You can buy both these products in Boots for £5 each which I think is a very reasonable price, I've tried other gel products that have cost nearly three times as much but haven't necessarily been any better in quality. I will be heading back to the Models Own counter to pick up a couple more of the speckled egg effect polishes when next in town, I particularly like the Magpi and Goose shades, great with Easter just around the corner. You can view the full range on the Boots website here.

Don't forget to check out my 300 bloglovin followers *GIVEAWAY* while your here, Yankee Candles, Revlon and Accessorize goodies to be won, just click on the link here!!! 

What's your favourite pastel shade this Spring/Summer?

Deborah

xxx

***300 Bloglovin followers GIVEAWAY*** - A big big thank you!!!

Yankee Candles Votive Happiness box

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm, Coquette

Accessorize Daisy necklace

***GIVEAWAY***

Thanks to you guys I've just managed to reach an amazing 300 followers on bloglovin, yeah! I started my blog in September last year and although it's taken me a little while to get the hang of things I now absolutely love blogging, it's such a great community to belong to. I've had so many lovely comments and encouragement, it's so very much apprecited. As a BIG BIG THANK YOU I've decided to *GIVEAWAY* three of my favourites, reviewed earlier this year, I hope you like them as much as I do!

Firstly there's the Yankee Candles Votive Happiness box containing three new 'Fruit-i-licious' fragrances and a Margarita Time votive. You can see the full review here. These are only available online at the moment and should reach the shops at the beginning of April.

One of the best lip products I've reviewed so far this year is the Revlon Colorburst lacquer balm, it came top in my comparison with two other popular brands so I thought it would make a good pressie to you. To see the full review just look here.

Finally, I thought it would be a good idea to include this pretty Daisy necklace from Accessorize, it's just right with the summer fast approaching and you can check out the featured post here.

It would be so great to hear which are your favourite posts to date? 

Again, thank you so much for supporting my blog, it really really is appreciated 

BEST OF LUCK !!!

Deborah

xxx

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS to Jasmin from Very Tropical, your goodies are on their way!!! X