This post is something a bit different. I will be doing regular Beauty Favourites next week, but today I have assembled the things I purchased this month that made my heart beat that little bit faster.
FASHION / ACCESSORIES
Primark, £10
For me, April has all been about Primark’s stellar run on handbags. I have found that Primark goes through stages: sometimes you go in, and there’s nothing that really catches your eye. Other times….it’s a thing of beauty.
I’ve always been a fan of Primark’s bags – if you keep an eye out, there are some real winners to be found. I have been loving this month their take on the ‘normcore’ trend. That is, bags that don’t make a big fuss: they’re subdued, but elegant. Adaptable, but never boring.
This tote with suede-texture side panels has been my weekend staple: big enough for a day’s essentials, but you don’t feel like you’re carting around your work bag. I’ve yet to find an outfit it won’t go with, and in short, just loving it. The £10 price tag is just the icing on the cake.
Primark, £8. Ted, Priceless.
For me, Primark’s real success story this month has been their bucket bags. Influenced by designers such as Sophie Hulme and Alexander Wang, the bucket bag has become the new easy-grab accessory that instantly updates your look.
This taupe-coloured bucket bag is a very new purchase, and I’m just in love with the gold hardware detail, making this look (and feel) far more expensive than its bargainous £8. Currently available instore, this also comes in a lighter neutral shade, white and black. I’m loving this bag so much I may well have to go back for seconds.
Primark, £4
You can also rely on Primark to think ahead. It may only be a few weeks after Easter, but their beachwear and accessories are already on display.
I love switching it up during the summer, and this embroidered canvas bag is a brilliant holiday must-have. Nice and roomy with a long strap so it can be slung across the shoulder, I think this is my favourite of what I’ve seen of Primark’s beach bag range. A little off the beaten track, I predict this will be a sell-out.
BEAUTY / SKINCARE
Glam Glow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment Masque (TK Maxx, £19.99)
This is exactly why I love TK Maxx. The Glam Glow ThirstyMud mask’s retail price is £49.99. And I got it for less than £20.
I am more than a little excited to finally get my hands on some Glam Glow, and I will be reviewing this in more detail very soon. Glam Glow have expanded on their original formula, and I must admit, the blue ‘hydrating’ version was the very one I wanted to try most. Easily the bargain of the month….maybe year…we’ll see.
Soap and Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash, £6; Body Sprays in Original Pink & Sugar Crush, £4 each
Soap and Glory are easily my favourite ‘budget’ beauty brand, although I sometimes think calling them ‘budget’ does detract from the quality of what they produce.
They have re-launched the Vitamin C Facial Wash in a new, bigger bottle, offering even better value. This face wash gently exfoliates and refreshes, a particularly great cleanser for the warmest weeks of the summer. I’m squirrelling this away until then.
The two bottles flanking either side are also a new, very hotly-anticipated launch. Soap and Glory have long offered a larger body spray, but they have now come up with 4 smaller, perfect for travel, sprays. There’s the classic ‘original pink’ S&G fragrance (think of their Righteous Body Butter); Mist you Madly and (finally) a spray version of the Fruitigo and Sugar Crush scents from their body products.
The Sugar Crush version was a no-brainer for me; its zesty, lime-infused fragrance is wonderfully uplifting and was crying out to be featured as a scent in its own right. These sprays are all £4 each and selling quickly.
BOOKS / EEYORE
This is frankly where the blog post gets a bit weird. I featured Ted with the Primark bucket bag, as he was the perfect propping-up assistant…and….this happened.
The Story of Alice, by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst (£17 at Amazon)
2015 marks 150 years since the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and the publishing world has gone a little Carroll-crazy. With a new biography from Morton N. Cohen released earlier this month, my eye was drawn to this literary gem from Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.
This book focuses on the pecuilar, complex and often controversial relationship between Alice author Lewis Carroll, and the inspiration for his literary heroine, Alice Liddell. Douglas-Fairhurst specialises in presenting a twist on the classic literary biography. If you love Victorian literature, if you love biography – if you love Alice, this is a book well worth seeking out.
Words Without Music: A Memoir, by Philip Glass (£15.30 at Amazon)
This purchase was a total shot in the dark. A composer of astonishing range and depth – Philip Glass has worked with everyone from Allen Ginsberg to Martin Scorsese – however, I know very little about the man himself.
Until now, Philip Glass has been content to let his work speak for itself, and to say this autobiography is eagerly awaited is an understatement. I am hoping that Words Without Music will provide a fascinating insight into the man behind the phenomenon.
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro (£9.00 at Amazon)
Another long-awaited release, a new Kazuo Ishiguro novel is genuine cause for celebration. The author of Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day and A Pale View of Hills is well known for keeping his reading audience on its toes.
No two Ishiguro books are truly alike; he flits between time, place and even genre. It’s what makes Ishiguro such a compelling author to follow. In The Buried Giant, Kazuo sets his narrative in Roman Britain. Described as a novel about ‘lost memories, love, revenge and war’, The Buried Giant has received some extraordinary reviews, with critic John Sutherland calling this the ‘most important work of fiction published this year’. If you can only make room in your reading stack for one more title, make it this one.
HELEN TOPE
designergirl77 