FabFitFun is the American import that has hit our shores with a splash recently.

Beauty junkies and fans of unboxing videos on this side of the Atlantic will have enviously watched as subscribers in the states revealed their hauls of lifestyle goodies from the company for a while now - and at last, we can get in on the act as the box now ships to Europe as well.

There's no denying that, when it comes to travel, Instagram is the king of all platforms. The image driven nature of the site is perfect for showcasing those gorgeous destination shots, from jaw-dropping scenery, to flat lays of beach bags and swimsuits, and even the obligatory hot dog legs by the pool.

But have you ever tapped into the feed of an influencer or even someone you know and wondered just how they got that perfect shot? What do they do? How do they find those gorgeous locations?

It turns out the key to having extremely Instagrammable travels is quite simple - it all boils down to the research that you do beforehand. Find your inspiration, plan your sessions and you'll soon have a feed that could be the envy of all of your friends…

Weddings make even my cynical heart beat a little faster, because they truly are a celebration of love.

My usual style is far from romantic and frilly, but if you can't switch up your look for a wedding when can you? I took ‘love’ as my theme when I was finding the ideal wedding guest outfit to wear to the celebration of our family friends Kate and Jon.

What's the best thing you get through the post? It certainly isn't bank statements and takeaway pizza menus, but a little box of beauty treats curated by you might just hit the spot.

I'm back on the Latest In Beauty bandwagon, after they overhauled their offering and started bringing in some big hitters.

They still operate the same model - you pay monthly for three, six or nine items, which you select yourself to create a custom box.

Only now, the brands they are offering have dramatically improved to include a lot more high-end and niche brand items, which they package into a monthly hot list  - like a menu for you to choose from. It's all a lot more exciting than the last time I was signed up, and I found a huge amount to choose from this time.

Here's what made the cut…

There’s something about summer that makes me want my beauty essentials to work even harder.

Perhaps it’s the feeling of being more on show or even the boosted social life that lighter evenings bring, but it’s a time where new product launches always seem especially attractive, in the hope of these hazy warm days that we’ve been sadly missing so far this season.

I demand a lot more of the products I choose to use at the moment, and there’s a mix of new discoveries and old favourites which come into play.

From anti-aging toners to multi-tasking hero creams, gradual tanners and terrific tools, here’s a little round up of the items I’m having a summer beauty fling with...

When you have a special occasion to go to, isn't it lovely to be able to dress in something light, feminine and pretty?

While wedding guest outfits for day to night and -  even worse - pregnant wedding guest outfits are a notorious summer minefield, christenings have a lot of the same problems.

There can be quite a bit of uncertainty about how to balance your own style with feeling appropriate for church - never more so than when the child who is getting christened is your own!

The day is about the little one and welcoming them into the world but it's also about celebrating family and the journey you've taken with motherhood.

It’s something that every working mother faces, but none of us can prepare for – the return to work after maternity leave can be quite a rocky road.

You certainly aren’t alone in finding it a struggle to navigate a changed work place, trying to think professionally for the first time in a year or more and also coping with leaving your child. There’s a whole cocktail of emotions – intimidation, detachment, excitement, heartbreak – which you’re facing all at the same time.


I should know. I’m facing them too.

I returned to work in my marketing job at a university a couple of weeks ago, after a year away with my lovely daughter, Romilly Hero. It’s my second return to work experience (I also took a year out after having my son, Theo) and I like to think I’ve learned a few things the second time around.

Beauty Pie is one of those brands that are low-key changing the world -  and certainly my makeup and skincare regimes. If you’ve been living on Mars for the past couple of years and haven’t come across the brand, it’s the product of famed beauty guru Marcia Kilgore, the woman behind Bliss Spa, FitFlop, Soap & Glory and Soaper Duper.

It operates a subscription model – you pay a monthly fee and in return get access to top formulation luxury products for the price of a Starbucks order. If you’re not a member, you can still order the products, but at very over-the-top prices.

There are various pros and cons to this approach, but I was intrigued enough to give it a go, and over time I’ve been impressed enough with a critical mass of their products – most especially the skincare – that my subscription was one I couldn’t consider cancelling, even during the lean months of unpaid maternity leave!

There's a very fine line between knowing your personal style, and getting stuck in a rut.

And when it comes to jeans, I've begun to start fearing I'm trapped in a time warp. I'm old enough to remember when skinny jeans became a 'thing' (if that doesn't carbon date me, I'm not sure what does). I thought they looked weird and there was no way I was swapping my trusty bootcut denims out for those drainpipe legs.

Until I did, of course, not least because that was all you could actually buy in the shops. The last few years have seen the 'mom jean' become the more on-point option - but only on people who aren't actually moms.

It's the kind of style that looks amazing on some people, but with my childbearing hips… Not so much.

So I've always swerved the style until now.

OK, so I WAS supposed to be on a bit of a break from beauty boxes. After all, I have more mini body lotions and eyeliner pencils than I know what to do with. And while I have in subscribed from a regular one, Tili came along and caught me off guard.

Launching at random times through the year, Try It Love It is a selection of products curated by the UK's biggest beauty retailer, QVC. Like any edit, it can be a hit and miss affair, but on the most part it's more hit.

You can see what you're getting before you buy, and I've found it to be a great box for trying out brands with lots of buzz. I was sort of on the fence with this 'Abstract' box, but in the end it was just too good to miss out on.

The selection of products here is loosely themed around helping you to mix up your makeup bag and rewrite your own beauty rules. Containing £89.77 worth of products for just £20, it was a must try.

When it comes to your look, you want to combine comfort and practicality with expressing your personal style.

Clothes are a way to express ourselves to the world and shape how it sees us. Many of us covet the latest designer fashions, but affording them is a different matter. You may follow the catwalk reports and flip wistfully through the pages of Vogue for inspiration, but can you actually afford any of those items for your own wardrobe?

Even if you could, there are other priorities in life and other bills to pay. Not many of us would feel comfortable buying a top that cost the same as our mortgage payment!

Designer fashion is nothing if not pricey, especially when it comes to those key items like shoes, handbags and coats. Saving up for a designer piece is an investment for many and a lifetime dream for others.

But there are still ways to get what you want without going into debt - either by finding ways to purchase designer items for less or by getting an expensive look without the matching price tag!

With a few tricks and tips and a little resourcefulness, you can get the look you want. I'm going to share how I find designer items for less.

Have you ever crowdsourced an outfit?

Most of us have moments where, if we're honest, we suffer a little bit of a style wobble. We doubt ourselves and our taste and suddenly every single thing we try on somehow just looks…wrong.

At times like that, it's great to get a second opinion, but what if you took that further and let other people decide on your look?

 The giant of the high street is not a place I get the chance to visit often anymore, but if I do happen to be in the city centre it's hard to resist having a look.

There aren't many shops with such a vast range of products - from staple basics like tights and vest tops to on-trend childrenswear, a revamped beauty offering that's been garnering praise from professionals and high fashion pieces at super accessible prices. 

And of course we all know it's scientifically impossible to emerge empty-handed once you've gone past those shiny glass doors. My mum was up visiting from Cornwall recently and she wanted to pop in and stock up on a few things because they don't have one where she lives.

I'd almost forgotten how much of a thrill it is chasing down the gems in there, and I found quite a few this time - I had to do a serious basket edit before checking out.

Here's what made the cut...

Seeing the world is an adventure that is high on most people's bucket list.

And whether it's spending months trekking around South East Asia living out of your backpack or flying to the top VIP suite in Las Vegas on your Cessna Citation X+, everyone wants to feel good when they travel.

But if you don't have the champagne budget, is it all out of the question? Can you have the trip of a lifetime without unlimited funds?

It turns out that travelling in style is just as much of an attitude as a credit card limit. You can have the A-list experience without living on beans on toast for months to fund it. Here's how…

Some women may be born with naturally long, thick, curly, Disney Princess lashes but alas, that hasn't been my fate.

Whether it's trying out the latest faux mink flutter or learning how to do my own eyelash extensions, a bit of lash loving is always on the agenda here.

So when I spot some new lashes that look gorgeous, I can't resist giving them a go.

It was an unbelievable weekend of constant sunshine where we live, so it really felt like an actual holiday. It was the perfect blend of spending time as a family, hanging out in the garden using our pizza oven, meeting family and friends and doing Easter egg hunts with the kids, trips to the park and tackling a few outstanding jobs around the house.

Of course, all these quick-fire weather changes can be a little confusing when it comes to what to wear. At the start of last week, I was still in my thermal tights scraping frost off the car windshield in the morning, so to suddenly be in 24 degree heat was a little surreal - I had to hurriedly pull out a couple of the summer pieces I'd bought recently with holidays in mind!

Welcome to spring! With the beautifully sunny Easter holiday we've just had, it really feels as if the seasons have turned a corner.

I tend to go into serious hibernation mode post-Christmas, and as a family, we had a couple of setbacks at the start of the year - serious illness and bereavement in both sides of the family.

And so it has felt like 2019 got off to a very slow start. Finally, everything is feeling fresher and brighter.

Okay, so I did say I was through with beauty boxes for a while, but I also said I was easily tempted and here we are!

While I have cancelled my regular sub to LookFantastic due to being thoroughly backed up with items I haven't used, the Sunday Times Style edit with Latest In Beauty was being so buzzed about on some of the beauty groups I'm in on Facebook that I couldn't ignore it.

You can pick your own items from a selection of products shortlisted for the Sunday Times Style Awards, and there were several things I really wanted to try.

This is only a one off, once a year box but apparently last year's sold out super quickly, and although I saw quite a few people saying the options weren't neatly as good this year, I'm happy with what I picked.

Recently, I shared some of my hot new beauty discoveries here on the blog. And because the best movies always have a sequel, and there are a few more items I've been loving, here's part two.

Although fashion won't fix all your problems, it can put a little smile on your face and give your day a lift. I've never been one of those girls who just look cool in whatever they wear, and it feels like style is a secret language that I don't speak.

That's why it's quite important to me to share outfits on this blog, in a way. I want to fly the flag for those who struggle a bit with fashion but love it anyway.

Beauty boxes have long been a favourite indulgence of mine.

As a make-up junkie, the idea of a surprise box full of beauty treats popping through the letterbox each month is too good to resist. I love to make new discoveries and also to have and endless supply of minis to take on holiday with me!

Skin, hair and nails are all essential elements in making us look and feel good, but we face a daily battle from the outside environment, UV rays and pollutants when it comes to keeping them in good condition.

You may think that unless you have a hefty budget, great personal care routines are out of reach, but that couldn't be further from the truth. A few simple routines will keep your skin glowing and your hair well conditioned, and they don't have to cost the earth.

The changes below are easy to make - and they've all been scientifically proven to help you look your best.

So let's talk all things make-up.

It feels like quite a while since I did a post purely focused on the new products which are rocking my world, and there's a few things I've been trying lately that I've really enjoyed and come to rely on.

As a mum of two, I'm short on time but still quite fussy, so I tend to like products that offer multiple benefits in one hit.

Getting my glam on has always been a part of my identity and motherhood hasn't changed that. I still love to make new discoveries when it comes to skincare, hair and makeup but equally, I know what I like.

There's a word I learned recently that I love. I had never heard it until a couple of months ago, but instantly, instinctively, it made sense to me.

That word is ‘matrescence’, and what it refers to is the process of becoming a mother - like the birth equivalent of ‘adolescence’. There are a lot of parallels, really - both emotionally stormy times when your life (and your body) is transforming beyond recognition.

I believe this word should be more widely known, because it acknowledges the journey that you have to go through to earn your motherhood crown.

Being a mama is more than just the biological accident of reproduction. It's a hard earned process of growth, a story of sacrifice, ingenuity and learning to love harder than you ever thought possible.

It's time for a little personal update, and I wanted to do a post about the milestones that my daughter, Romilly Hero, has reached.

I've never been good at filling out baby books, so it seems a nice way to record how she is now she's reached six months old.

The last six months have been the quickest of my life. Having two kids to take care of is a game changer because every minute of the day is pretty busy! So much has changed already and I'm actually now thinking about going back to work in a few months.

It's made me determined to really enjoy the rest of my maternity leave, and I've been lucky enough to make some really lovely mama friends along the way - people I know I would be friends with even if there weren't kids in common.

Couldn't we all use a little more kindness in our lives?

As kindness and self care seem to be growing themes within the world of beauty and all of our busy, frazzled lives, the latest Tili edit stepped into the trend with a collection of products called ‘Be Kind’.

This beautiful, watercolour box of treats are centred around giving your wellbeing a boost. After the slight disappointment of February's Look Fantastic box, I decided to treat myself to the Tili offering - you know exactly what's in the box ahead of time, so no chance of not enjoying the contents!

Ahh, the mama life. A land of cold cups of coffee, sticky fingers and never being able to go to the toilet on your own. I didn't choose the mama life, it chose me.

And while I'm very glad it did, it does mean that ‘dressing up’ now generally becomes ‘scooping the least soiled item out of the laundry basket’. And I'm okay with that a lot of the time, but other times I think that putting together an outfit just helps me to reclaim a little piece of me.

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Love travelling with toddlers? Relish a long-haul flight with small people? Unlikely! If you haven’t set foot on a plane since those school trips to Russia, then you should know that things have changed, a lot.

While it still isn’t the easiest thing travelling with small children it doesn’t have to be as traumatic as you might think.

We bring you the insider’s guide to air travel with tots, how to cope and what to expect.

Did you have your heart broken this Valentine's Day, or were you loved up?

It was the season of love for the beauty sub boxes, as they plied us with products to make us gorgeous and date night ready.

Only for me, it's the first month that Look Fantastic have really missed the mark (plus, I was the only sad person in a very empty gym on Valentine's night, as Sebastian had been struck down with man flu). I saw a spoiler thread in one of my beauty Facebook groups, and tried to cancel, but as you're tied in for a three month cycle, I got the February box anyway.

Read on to find out why I was disappointed….

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This is the question that every homeowner wants to answer. Obviously, if you live in a house for an extended period of time then you’re going to need to renovate.

However, we’re talking about things breaking down or wearing out. You shouldn’t have to renovate every few years because your home design starts to look outdated.

Still, how can you avoid that? Can you make your home look endlessly modern?

Here are a few solutions that might help you out.

How did January treat you? Are you still on track with your goals for the year, or have you given up and fallen face first into a pile of chocolate cake five minutes after you uttered the word diet?

Motivation and willpower are funny things. Most people aren't very good at them (my husband is, but I'm pretty certain that he's a robot).

I usually fluctuate pretty drastically - I'm an all-or-nothing kind of person. January actually went pretty well for me with some goals, but I still have a way to go and I've focused on some more than others…

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How much more Netflix can you take? Temple Run on your smartphone? Reading books on your Kindle?

These three hobbies are popular for a generation of techies who want to sink into their smart devices. The problem is, when you spend all day long in the office staring at a screen, the last thing you want to do is go home...and stare at a screen!

If you’ve ever found yourself wishing you can think about picking up a new hobby, now is the time. You can do any of the screen-related hobbies, of course, but that doesn't mean that you cannot do something new!

Above all, style should always be fun. So why does it sometimes feel like such a headache?

I feel like I've spent much of my adult life trying to work out what I like, but over the past few years I've begun to feel like I finally get it. It's probably an age thing, but I feel like I've gotten to know what suits me in terms of colours and shapes, and what I will actually wear as opposed to what's destined to hang unloved in the back of my wardrobe.

My goal is a fully integrated, well edited wardrobe that epitomises my style, covers everything I need and excites me. It's a dream closet based around neutral shades, gorgeous materials and beautifully made basics.

LookFantastic’s monthly beauty box subscription has always been a brilliant mix of up and coming brands and established favourites, and out of all the boxes I've tried it's never really put a foot wrong.

So when this gorgeous pale blue box of loveliness landed to brighten up my grey January, I was as excited as ever.

The contents of January's box were hand picked to tie in with the resolutions of having a fresh start and a cleaner life that most of us have at this time of year.

Are you loving all the leopard print this season?

People tend to love it or loathe it, but I must say it's something that's always in style with me. I just love the way it can inject some vibrancy into a look.

In my eyes, leopard is a neutral and I love to clash it with other prints, especially stripes. I've gone a little bit mad with the print this season as there are so many fabulous pieces around - I'm going to look like a brunette Bet Lynch at this rate!

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Once upon a time, we all started out in one job. And we then stayed in that one job until it was time to retire. But those days are long gone.

Joining one company at the age of sixteen and then retiring with a healthy pension at the age of sixty isn’t really the done thing. In some ways, that’s unfortunate, but in others, it’s a good thing.

Sure, working for a company that then gave you a good pension was smart, but what happens if you started out in a role or an industry that you’re really not all that keen on? Or maybe you were kind of pushed into one route when you really wanted to do something else? What could you do about it then? Well, not an awful lot.

These days, we all have more choice. WAY more choice. Because getting onto the right career path in the first place can take time. And sometimes, it may even be a good ten years into one career before you realize that it’s just not right for you. Because you change and companies change and what was once a great fit, might not be anymore.

Yet it’s easy to want to ignore that. When really, you need to be taking it in and then making sure that you do something about it.

So if you are thinking that you might like to make a career move, but you’re kind of ignoring it, let’s take a look at why it might be right for you.

It started with a Christmas jumper. A funny item to trigger a realisation.

I had ordered one I ‘had’ to have for Christmas day. It needed to be mine. I placed my order, but a couple of days later I got an email to say that the dispatch had been delayed. It wasn't going to arrive in time.

Immediately, I found another stockist and placed a duplicate order, chucking a handful of other items into my basket while I was at it. The next day, predictably, the first one turned up.

Why was I so desperate to get my hands on a novelty jumper that I would order two, plus a load of other stuff I didn't want or need?

I looked around me - a wardrobe overflowing with items I've never worn. A dressing table stuffed with untouched cosmetics. A bathroom packed with ‘spare’ toiletries.

What on earth was I thinking?

Suddenly, I began feel suffocated, oppressed by the sheer weight of my belongings. It was madness.

Beauty boxes are something of an addiction for me, as you can probably tell from the many times they crop up here on the blog.

But there's really nothing like a little piece of delight swooping it's way to you through the post.

One of the standouts for me in the past has been Tili. Curated by QVC, who are actually the Uk’s biggest beauty retailer, it's usually a clever mix of cult favourites and up and coming products.

It's not a monthly subscription and it just seems to come out as and when, but it's usually worth catching. I didn't order the last couple, but when I saw ‘Urban Jungle’, their latest offering, I knew I had to get on board!

This box is all about the rigours of city living, with pollutant-shielding formulas, skincare designed to detox and makeup to act as your urban camouflage.

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Buying a present is never an easy task. You want to purchase something that is going to stand out from all of the other gifts. You want to wow your friend/partner/family member with the thought you have put in and the innovative present you have selected. You don’t want to go for anything cliché.
However, you want to make sure they like it at the same time and that it is something they are going to get a lot of use out of. Finding this balance is not easy, especially when you have to buy a new gift year after year.

How did 2018 go for you?

Our year was steady and pleasant, with the one big change of our daughter being born. Last year, knowing the baby was on her way and all the chaos that happens when you have a newborn, I wasn't too strict with the goals I set for myself - deliberately going for the realistic approach.