Dressing fit for Friday

Picture this. It's Friday morning, you overslept and have little less than half an hour to have breakfast, feed the cat, do something with your hair, brush your teeth and get out of that front door. Sound familiar?

So where does fashion come in to any of this? It's that reoccurring dream where you turn up at work in your pajamas, underwear or worst of all, crocs! Sometimes I actually consider crawling back into bed and living in my pajamas all week as the thought of  turning my wardrobe upside own for something to wear haunts me. 

So when T.M.Lewin contacted me asking to take part in their his & hers style challenge I jumped at the opportunity. It's all about dressing fit for Friday and styling outfits that can go from work presentations to the pub. Having a translatable style can help you stay as chic and classy as you are all day long. T.M.Lewin host the most lavish variety of classic pieces, fabrics, to accessories that are fashionably interchangeable as well as an impressive selection of suits.

So, considering the vast majority of my page views come from a female audience, I have decided to begin with the woman's outfit. I wanted to create something that was universal and would compliment any skin tone, size and figure. I also wanted it to be very feminine yet not something that would become hard to maintain or touch up later in the day. I have included both flat shoes and heeled depending on your place of work and how much you are on your feet. I also think the necklace would spice the outfit up for a night out perfectly.

T.M.Lewin Fitted White Piqué Shirt

T.M.Lewin Albany Black Tri-Acetate Skirt

New Look Black Knotted Front Ankle Strap Pumps or

 New Look Black 'Wiggle' Court Shoes

House of Fraser Izzy Flower Statement Necklace

And now moving on the more male dominated outfit, I have selected one of T.M.Lewin's trademark suits to accompany sleek, black shoes. Being able to dress well and have your own style will put you far ahead of other colleagues on the employment side of things. I also think that navy is a very slimming and alluring colour for workwear.

T.M.Lewin Jackman Suit Jacket

T.M.Lewin Jackman Navy Skinny Suit Trousers

T.M.Lewin White Twill Double Cuff Fitted Shirt

T.M.Lewin Navy Skinny Silk Tie

Samuel Windsor Classic Oxford Shoe - Black

Have a wedding or formal meeting planned and have no idea what to wear? Look no further than T.M.Lewin for fabulous value yet astonishing quality suit bundles that can suit any occasion.

http://www.tmlewin.co.uk/

Winter favourites

For me, winter is my least favourite season. I hate the way that the cold weather seeps into your bones and makes getting up in the morning that bit harder. I hate the fact that it's now impossible for my hair to dry naturally and requires me standing with my head upside down, blow drying my hair until my back forces me to stop. I also hate the fact that my skin is so dry which makes applying makeup that bit more hellish. But enough of all this negativity (that was one of my resolutions, right?). That feeling when you can finally slink into bed after a hot bath with a book to read is one of the most amazing feelings on earth in my opinion which has been something I've found myself doing most nights. Here are some of the things I've loved most this month.

Candles

The reason I love candles so much is simple: they make a room so much more cozy and warm. I'm not sure if this is actually true or whether it's some sort of placebo effect but when I light a candle, I instantly feel more relaxed and calm.  I've always loved Yankee Candles but lately I've stepped out of my Yankee comfort zone (that's definitely not already a thing, but I've made it one) and have been using all sorts of different brands we received for Christmas. A few I  have been using recently are Viking Candle (definitely a knock off but actually really strong smelling), Flamingo Candle and Jamei  Candle (I'd never heard of this one either).

It's Potent eye cream

Like I said earlier, my skin starts to get really dry at this time of year which is why I find using an eye cream necessary. The one I've been using most recently is It's Potent! eye cream by Benefit. As well as giving my skin more radiance and less dryness, it's also managed to tone down the dark circles under my eyes. 

Burt's Been lip salve

I'm not going to lie, there's not really much special about this lip balm other than the fact that I'm not allergic to it. Burt's Bees also donate loads of money towards protecting honeybees and do not test on animals.

LUSH Hot toddy shower jel

My bathroom is full of shower gels and bubble bath at the moment but this one clearly stood out among the crowd. It leaves your skin feeling so soft and smelling great. It's one of those smells that fills the whole bathroom with a cinnamony spice scent whenever you use it.

Lipsticks

I've never really been much of a lipstick person before as I found them too drying and never really found one that suited me. When I received a Revlon lipstick from Rosie in the post, I absolutely fell in love with the colour and texture and decided to try more from the range. This month I've been loving the shades Pink in the Afternoon, Pink Cognito and Peach Parfait. 

Just to let you know, our giveaway is still open until 12/02/16. Good luck!

Valentines giveaway

I can't believe it's been a whole year since one rainy day in January, I was sat with my laptop (probably eating Smarties) and decided to write a blog. It just seems so obscure to me. I remember my first comment was from Hannah  and I couldn't actually believe that anyone read my blog let alone wanted to comment on it.

Since then, I have met so many people from all over the world who share the same passion as me and even inspired others to write! Creating this blog was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I can't believe how much of a difference it has made in my life. To say thank you to all my readers and followers, whether you started reading my blog yesterday or the day I started, I've decided to team up with one of my friends and fellow blogger StormySkypie to host a giveaway. If I could, I'd love to give you all a prize because you all deserve it but I thought this was the next best thing.

Information on the giveaway

1. The giveaway includes Lush's new, limited edition soap: Roses all the Way and a Fat Face gift set which includes a body lotion, body spray and phone case.
2. The Giveaway is International
3.  You must be over 18 or have consent from parent/carer to enter this giveaway as we will need to ask for your address to send the prize 
4. Entries close on 12/02/15 at 6 pm UK time and an announcement date will be confirmed later and picked from a hat.
5. To enter all you have to do is comment on this post why you read my blog as well as making sure you're following us both on either  Instagram @pink_smarties_ @stormy_skypie or Google+ +Abbie Mclaughlin +Marti Stelling. 

Good luck!

Driftwood by Cathy Cassidy

Driftwood is a story about Hannah and Joey who have been best friends for ever. Joey  is quirky and preaches individuality while her parents love rescuing things other people would class as rubbish and making them into unique creations. This means their house is full of things made from driftwood, old glass and shells from the beach. They are the type of family who love to find beauty in everything. This is probably why when the girls find abandoned, flea bitten kittens in the bin at school, they end up living in their home. When Joey's parents foster an unlikely boy called Paul, everybody thinks he needs rescuing too. But nobody looks deep enough to see quite how badly. Hannah's brother and Paul quickly become friends and the four of them are inseparable. This is where things start to go wrong. Paul is beginning to get bullied and things quickly become dangerous. People aren't like driftwood or beach shells, a life is something much more precious and hard to rescue on your own.

I first read this book in my last year of Primary school and instantly fell in love with Cathy Cassidy's writing style. Being about 11, my knowledge on depression and suicide was mainly learnt from reality TV like Casualty and misinterpreted rumors about psychiatric wards. Cathy Cassidy always finds a way to make her characters relate-able (even if sometimes in very obscure ways) and make such a beautiful book out of harsh reality and somewhat scary subjects. Another reason I love this book is because of the point of view it is written in.  Rather than being from an adults point of view such as Joey's parents or perhaps Paul's social worker or teacher it's written in Hannah's perspective. What I mean by this is that her opinions are slightly more naive and child like which I found easy to relate to. I also found my self lost in the story. When I started reading it I couldn't stop which is something I really value in a story. Overall I really loved this book and it'll probably be one I find myself re-reading over and over again.

The big taboo about periods

Period.

Seems a weird thing for someone to say in public right? Wrong. I find it fascinating how so much embarrassment, awkwardness, and shame is associated with this one subject when it's something half of the population will learn to live with for the majority of their lives. Even among women, it's something we've been taught since primary school to talk about in a hushed voice and not tell the boys about. I find this absolutely disgraceful. I hate that if a girl asked me if she could borrow a pad in a public place like in school, I would be expected to somehow sneakily pass the pad from my hand to hers without anyone seeing. To any girls reading this, next time this happens to you don't even bother trying to hide the fact that woman have periods. Hand the pad directly to the other woman and see how many people even bat an eyelid. The truth is that everybody is too busy going about their own lives to take any notice about what's happening in yours. 

In LEDC countries like India and rural Africa, periods are  often a subject never spoken of. Sometimes girls know nothing because their mothers, grandmothers and sisters have told them nothing. Some girls started their periods and thought they were dying of cancer.  For many young girls in Africa, menstruation hinders education. They are often taunted by male classmates or don't have the right protection. If woman can’t afford pads or cloths, they use straw, sand, or newspaper, often resulting in infections. (Only 12% of Indian women use pads). Some cultures still believe that when a woman is on her period she should be isolated and treated as an untouchable. This means she's banned from praying, cooking and even fasting.

This isn't a tag, but I think it's something we need to write about more. To anyone brave reading this, male or female, write up a post about periods and share it with as many people as possible. Let's #BreakThatTaboo