A cosy combo for cold days

ow where did I put those gloves?

Winter for the Met Office starts on 1 December. Ahead: chapped lips, travel plans occasionally ruined by the wrong type of snow; the festival of over-consumption that now starts on the US import Black Friday and runs to the New Year; howling winds, darkness when setting off for work (allowing extra time to scrape ice off the car) and darkness when returning.

Pinterest for Bloggers

What I like about Pinterest is that unlike the other social media channels, it isn't all about big numbers. It doesn't matter how many people follow your boards. What matters is that people like your pins, and that your pins are correctly labelled so that Google and Pinterest can index them properly and they appear in searches. Here are my tips for bloggers on how to grow your traffic with Pinterest.

Supermarket Chic

My recent post about vintage and thrifted chic was very popular so it got me thinking: how about looking at clothes you can buy in a supermarket?

Beauty Haul

For my birthday recently I was very lucky to get several new beauty products, as well as reacquainting myself with some old favourites.

Liquid Eye shadows from Stila and Urban Decay

The usual advice to older ladies is not to use sparkly eye shadows in any shape or form, but I think that's rubbish. Flat, matte eye shadows can actually make our eyes look older. The trick is to keep the glitter and glimmer on the lids, close to the lashes, and not to use over the crow's feet unless you're keen to highlight them (!).

Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter and Glow in Gold is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. It's a mixture of pearl and glitter and  has a high percentage of gold in a fluid base. I applied a pale green eye shadow on my lids first (over primer) and then applied the Stila glitter product along the upper lash line. The glitter particles capture the light very well and it creates a more youthful eye.

Urban Decay's Liquid Moondust eye shadow in Magnetic is a cream that goes on like a powder, creating a dense, high-sheen effect with tiny particles of glitter. It gives a lovely iridescence to the eye lids. With hindsight this is not the best shade for my lids - I tend to use this dark aubergine / purple colour to highlight the socket line. But they have 23 fabulous shades so really we are spoilt for choice.

Aveda Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner for colour treated hair 

I  was interested to try a different brand for my colour treated hair. For some reason the Pureology products which I have used for the last two years had started making my scalp itch. I don't have blonde highlights at present and the organic Davines colours which were used instead have left my hair in better condition, albeit a little harder to handle now  (it's finer in texture without the bleach!). The Aveda products have a distinctive smell unlike any others - a pleasant, clean smell - and leave my hair shiny.

Product Renewals

In addition to the new products above, I also had some old favourites including Apothaka's lovely Rejuvenating Face Oil for normal-dry skin and their remarkable SOS Nail Recovery Oil. Read my review of the face and nail oils here. I was also given Apothaka's Rebalancing Cleansing Oil, which is new, but I've been determined to use up my existing cleansing balm before I try it - so stay tooned for the review later.

Finally, I last bought Nars' The Multiple about 10 years ago. It lasts a long time. So I treated myself to a new one in the usual shade Portofino. Cream blushers are far more flattering to the older complexion and this one has high colour density and lasts all day. Its creamy formula and sheer colour blends effortlessly to create shimmering accents; contours or dynamic highlights on all skin tones. I only use it as a blusher, although its name confirms that it's supposed to have other uses.

Sharing this post with Weekend Blog Hop at Claire Justine and Saturday Share at Not Dressed as Lamb.

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