M&S Gift Ideas....for Mother's Day and just because | AD

[paid collaboration/gifts/affiliate links]

As part of my regular collaboration with M&S, I was invited to pick some items that I think would make great Mother's Day gifts. Now I love Mother's Day as much as the next mum (I mean, breakfast in bed?) but every year when I'm asked to do a post like this I'm conscious of friends who have lost their mums or who have complicated relationships with them, friends who would have made amazing mothers but for whom life didn't work out that way. All told, it feels like a difficult one to blog about without making some people I know (and many more I don't) feel sad. 

What I've been Wearing 6 | Style

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The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind - we've definitely reached that stage in the year when the weeks start to fly in. I didn't get a photo every day but I did on the days worth sharing....starting with the loveliest trip to Newcastle to the Slieve Donard Hotel for the Walk in Wardrobe SS19 Brunch, an event I was kindly invited to by the owner, Laura.

Rocking the Nana Pants | Style

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The background to this post is that as part of my regular M&S collaboration, I was challenged to style up something from the Classic range. Now before you brace yourself, I'm using the pants term in a US context - it just sounded better to say Nana Pants than Nana Trousers. 

What I've been Wearing 5 | Style

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Back with an outfit update and it co-incided with some of the lovely weather we had recently. Bare legs all round - definitely not the case this weekend!

The first outfit was a work outfit that I turned to a casual one with the addition of trainers. The orange blouse is from Warehouse and I bought it after my recent personal shopping session with Katherin in Victoria Square. Just adore the colour...

Biker Jacket - Topshop via eBay

Blouse - Warehouse (current)

Culottes - Warehouse (past season)

Trainers - Nike (current) - wearing a men's size 6

Bag - Hush (AW18 sample sale)

More culottes and more trainers...this time slip on ones that I snapped up in the Honey Lisburn Road sale. They're from the Kendall & Kylie range that despite the connection (I'm not a big Karsashian fan, can you tell?!), are actually super stylish and really well made. They retail at the higher end of the price point so it was a bonus to find them on the sale rail for less than £50.

The t-shirt and scarf are from River Island but the menswear section! I was hanging around while the teenager tried on some hoodies and came across both. It's hard to find a gorgeous scarf with khaki in it but this is it - and a bargain to boot!

T-shirt & Scarf - River Island

Culottes - preloved Part Two

Shoes - Honey Lisburn Road

Handbag - hush as before

Another casual outfit using the Kendall & Kylie trainers from above and a pleather skirt from M&S that I found in DejaVu recently.

Skirt & jacket - preloved

Shoes - as before

Scarf - hush (AW18 sale)

Cashmere Jumper - John Lewis

Back to workwear and this dress is from a couple of seasons ago at H&M. It's got a heron print all over with yellow detail so my Marc O'Polo scarf works well with it.

Dress - H&M

Biker - Topshop via eBay

Boots - Seven Boot Lane (AW17) GIFT

Scarf - Marc O'Polo (AW18)

Night out now with the girls and it was a casual and walkable one so I wore my new Holly trainers from M&S along with some wardrobe favourites.

Jacket - Bottom Drawer Portadown

Jeans - MiH (preloved)

Trainers - M&S GIFT

Top - Hot Squash GIFT

Bag - Boden

In a dress next and this was the day the weather turned...I was freezing in this outfit and it quickly escalated to soaked and freezing. But I loved it and I'll always happily suffer for my style!

Jacket, Bag & Trainers - as before

Dress - M&S (AW18) GIFT

Back to work now and I went for classic stripes with some gorgeous navy trousers I got in the Harrison sale the other week. I'd tried them on in black a few months ago in Jude Law Boutique in Magherafelt and regretted not buying them but I think I prefer them in navy. Navy trousers can look a bit frumpy sometimes but not these - they have a cute frill running down the side and are cut in an on-trend jogging trouser style. 

Breton Top - M&S (affiliate link)

Trousers - Great Plains

Boots - as before

Handbag - Zohara GIFT - 

15% with DOWNAK15 until 10th March

Finishing with a final work look - it looks casual but once I've the biker jacket off, the fine knit is very much work appropriate (I work in a business casual environment which works out quite flexible for women, I'm finding). I adore this skirt - a complete find in DejaVu on the Lisburn Road a few weeks ago. I seem to be unable to go in there without buying...

Skirt - M&S from DejaVu

Jacket, Scarf, Boots - all as before.

And there's my fortnightly update done for another fortnight. It's kind of scary how quickly these posts come around. Where are the weeks going?

I've not much to share in terms of a life lately piece. Work has been much busier as the project I'm working on has lots of deadlines and decisions coming up so I've been working 4 days instead of my usual 3. That leaves less time for my other bits and pieces I do from home (social media for a couple of other small businesses/blog projects) and I'm not exaggerating when I say my house is a tip. I'm going to dedicate some time to getting it back in order this Saturday, motivated by the fact that I'm away on Sunday morning to an event and an overnight stay in a hotel. I'm really looking forward to some downtime with one of my friends but as you all know, this comes at a price for a mum....cue much cooking and laundry right up until I leave on Sunday! 

You can see the action as it happens (from the event, not my house cleaning!) over on Instagram, including the wearing of my new Phase Eight dress!

Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back soon!

Ax

The Perfect Foundation for Older Skin | Beauty

As you get older, like your skincare, you need to change your foundation. Heavier, oil free brands make way for more luminous, moisturising formulations, better suited to mature skin. And I've been trying to find that magic new foundation for quite a while. It's a saga - grab a coffee - but it does have an outcome and a few suggestions along the way that you might find useful.. Because what didn't work for me might work great for you - foundation is so skin specific which is why there are a gazillion brands and formulations in the market.

The main frustration for me in my search though hasn't just been finding a product I like, it's been finding one that then doesn't get discontinued. Three times I've found one that works for me...and three times the product has been discontinued.

SS19 Occasion Wear at Phase Eight | Style

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You might remember that I went into Phase Eight last summer to use the complimentary personal styling service and tried on lots of lovely occasion wear. There was such a great reaction to that post that the team in the Victoria Square store invited me in again this season to do another try on and it suited well as I have a lovely event coming up next week that I was struggling to dress for.

Up front, I'm not expected to blog about this try on but I am asked so often about occasion wear so I thought it would be good to have the photos saved onto the blog for future reference - many of these dresses will be available to buy for the next 2-3 months. You can also see the video of the try on over on my Instagram highlights - really helps to get a feel for the movement of the dresses.