02.07

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Being in the midst of a wedding countdown has been just the excuse I needed to test out a whole host of new products. I’m never normally very adventurous when it comes to beauty (or…anything, really), but in the interest of ‘being my best self’ and all those other schmaltzy terms churned out by bridal magazines, I’ve been branching out! And since I’ve discovered some stellar new products this month (well, new to me at least), I’d say branching out has paid off!

Outside of the beauty department, we’re talking jewellery, summer tops, and hair tongs. Oh so very girly this month. Let’s do this!

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Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate – £36 for 30ml.

The fact that this beautiful blue bottle of oil is now sitting in pride of place on the shelf in my bathroom is all thanks to Kiehl’s clever marketing tactics. I was handed a sample whilst walking past the Kiehl’s Covent Garden store a few weeks ago by an assistant, tried it, promptly fell in love, and bought a bottle first chance I got! Smart move Kiehl’s, smart move ;)

I use it in place of my evening moisturiser- you simply press a few drops between your palms and then onto your face, then follow up with a little facial massage to help the oil sink in. It leaves my skin so smooth and evened out, and isn’t greasy or heavy in the slightest. Total miracle product. *hands up emoji*

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A&F camisole – £16

Up until this month, I’d not given Abercrombie a second glance since leaving my teenage years behind. When I was about 17, the *height* of cool was to wear a pair of A&F trackies with a super low cut baby doll top, and then team it with mega backcombed hair and a side parting so low you essentially looked as though you were wearing a very hairy helmet. I remember rocking that exact look to college, and feeling like I’d peaked in life.

Now though, A&F is pretty grown up! I popped in a couple of weeks ago whilst shopping for my honeymoon wardrobe (sounds fancier than it is, mainly consists of good ol’ Monsoon bikinis!), and came away with this steal of a summer top. It’s light as a feather and has the prettiest back detailing (I bought it mainly because it reminds me of my favourite leotard from back in my dancing days- is that bad?), and goes with literally everything under the sun. I’m tempted now to pop back in and pick it up in a rainbow of colours…

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Florence + the Machine ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’

Oh, how do I love thee Florence? Let me count the ways.

I pounced on this album the very second it landed on Spotify, and it’s totally killer. Amazing to blast out whilst driving, and just as uplifting and soulful as you’d expect from a Florence album. ‘Delilah’ is especially lush…but to be honest, it’s impossible to pick out a bad song on the album. Also, can we take a moment to admire the fringe the lady herself is rocking on the album artwork? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect fringe in all my life. Kind of makes me want to have one cut in myself…

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Astrid & Miyu New Tricks Star bracelet – £39

Isn’t this little bracelet a beauty? I got to take it away from an event I went to with Bailey Nelson and Astrid & Miyu during the month, and have so loved wearing it. I’ve always admired those women who can stack up delicate jewellery like this and have it come together looking effortlessly chic, so maybe this’ll be step one on that journey? ;)

Also, and kind of a sidenote- peonies! They’re amongst my ‘most loved’ things in June for sure! I picked up a bunch from Waitrose the other day, and they’re just now beginning to bloom. Aren’t they just the best flowers? So blousy and extravagant!

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Babyliss Pro Curl 210 curling tong – £18

This hair tong has been something of a revelation for me. You see, my hair doesn’t take well to being forced into a style. Straightening it takes an age (and the waves have come back by the time I’ve worked from one side of my head to the other), curling with GHDs works okay but never seems to hold in my hair as long as I’d like, and that combined with my very limited amount of patience with hair styling leads to me having pretty fuzzy, unruly hair most of the time.

ENTER THE BABYLISS 210!

Not only is it a snip at £18 (18 pounds! Can you even believe it?!), but it works *so well*! It takes 20 minutes tops to curl my hair from start to finish (I have it on the hottest setting, 210 degrees), and the curls soften out to the most effortless romantic waves. The first time I used it was in the evening right after I bought it, and the second day results can be seen in this post here. Not bad, huh?

An all-out game changer! (And did I mention how cheap it is yet?)

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Diptyque ‘Philosykos‘ – £58/50ml.

Have I told you before that I don’t like perfume? Yep. I’ve just never got on with it at all! Fragrances never last and always smell strange on me (I’ve had an obsession with Chanel No.5 for years but it smells SO terrible on my skin) and I usually find them to be too sweet. To be honest, men’s cologne is usually more my cup of tea than women’s perfume!

That’s all changed this month though, thanks to Diptyque! Their fragrances are more complex and layered than any I’ve smelt before (with the exception of one from Penhaligon’s I’m lining up to be my wedding day fragrance…) and Philosykos is pretty much everything I look for in a perfume. Fresh at the start, woody and vaguely masculine after half an hour or so of softening on the skin, and so long lasting. I’ve been putting it on even during days spent at home, just for the pleasure of smelling it all day long! The perfect summer scent, if you ask me.

Tell me, what’ve you loved most during June? :)

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02.06

Cider-with-Rosie-May-Most-Loved-cover

And so arrives June, bringing with her endless blue skies, balmy afternoons, and all the other delights of summer. HA. Not quite June, not June.

I thought we’d kick off what’s turning out to be unpleasantly grey month so far with a round up of the few bits I loved most during May. We’ve got foodie things, a couple of beauty products (I’m upping my game in advance of the wedding!), and um…colouring pencils. Let’s do this!

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Meridian smooth almond butter.

Yep, I’m finally on the almond butter train. I’d bought a jar of the crunchy stuff a few months ago and was pretty ‘meh’ about it, but decided to give the smooth version a go whilst virtually browsing the nut butter aisle of Ocado over the weekend. And I’m HOOKED. To me it weirdly tastes and smells like crisps- anyone else? Nope? Righto then. I’ve been eating it with banana mainly (half-spoonfuls of almond butter squided onto the banana between bites- it’s a real classy affair), and also whizzing it up into smoothies and shakes. I love that this brand has no added oil or sugar, just almonds and a tiny pinch of salt! It’s good stuff!

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The Creative Colouring Book for Grown Ups + Staedtler pencils.

I know I’ve mentioned colouring approximately three hundred times over the past few weeks, but I’ve had so many questions about which book I bought that I though it was probably best to link it here, finally! A month or so ago I’d worked myself into a bit of a tizzy (for no good reason whatsover, though isn’t that always the way?!), and was finding it hard to switch my mind off and keep it from buzzing 24/7. So, I took a couple of days out, switched off all things electronic, picked up a colouring book and pencils, and just got cracking. It was wonderfully absorbing, and just what I needed to gain a little headspace. Apparently, colouring books for grown ups is the fastest growing book sector at the moment! I can see why… (p.s. those pencils are the bomb too. They NEVER break. And you can sharpen them super pointy, which pleases my inner 7 year old and her sharp colouring pencil obsession.)

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Benefit Roller Lash mascara.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best mascara I’ve ever used. EVER. I know Benefit products can sometimes be a bit divisive, and they definitely can be a bit hit or miss for me, but this one’s 100% a hit in my book! It’s got this amazingly delicate comb wand that creates super defined lashes (the outwardly curved side is incredible on your bottom lash line), and the mascara itself lasts right through the day without going crumbly (the WORST!) or smudging. I’m almost through this mini version but will be buying a full size tube ASAP, and it’s absolutely definitely going to be my mascara of choice on my wedding day! Praise indeed…

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Canon Powershot G7X.

Since all things photography come with a pretty hefty price tag (oh 5D mk. III, one day you will be mine), I find it pretty daunting to commit to investing in a new piece of kit. I very nearly got a new lens around Christmas time, but in the end chickened out about buying it because I was so anxious that I’d make a bad decision, and end up regretting the choice I’d made! It’s silly, I know.

Jason was the one who ended up helping me take the plunge last month, by treating me to a new camera for film work as a belated birthday present (there wasn’t a single thing I wanted for my birthday back in December!). I spent a good long while researching it, and have been so thrilled with the quality. For shooting stills I’d still reach for my DSLR every time (the 600d with a 50mm 1.8 lens), but the film quality on the G7X, which is why we bought it, is *amazing*. The autofocus is brilliant (it’s continuous, so moves with the subject during filming), it’s easy to switch between manual and automatic exposure control (auto is good, manual is great), and the film quality is beautifully crisp. It’s totally stolen my heart!

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Argan+ Skin Renewal Body Scrub.

It’s amazing what the prospect of an upcoming wedding will do to a woman with even the most low-maintenance of beauty regimes. All of a sudden I’m thinking about body scrubbing and brushing, and deep conditioning treatments, and facial peels, and hair masks, and treatments I don’t even really understand the names of but that sound like they might be something I should consider. I’m starting small though. With a body scrub that I bought on a whim, but that’s turned out to be pretty fantastic! It leaves my skin (my upper arms especially, which get pretty dry and bumpy) so smooth and moisturised, and the smell is *phenomenal*. It’s nutty and spicy- kind of reminds me of what I remember The Body Shop smelling of when I was about 15! It’s on sale right now too (*cough* which is why I bought this one over all the others on the shelf…), but even at full price (£7.99), it’s pretty reasonable!

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The Girl on the Train.

This is the book Jason and I are reading together right now! Confession: I gave up on The Goldfinch. It just made me sad, the plot was so miserable! Maybe I’ll pick it up again another time…

The Girl on the Train though, we’re loving! It’s written through the eyes of three different female characters, with one main protagonist- an alcoholic divorcee called Rachel. Rachel’s stuck on an endless cycle of train journeys, drunken phone calls to her ex-husband, regret, and a spiralling infatuation with a couple she observes on her daily commute.

It’s definitely a thriller but is a pretty slow-builder- we’re about two thirds of the way through and I’d say it’s only now just got to a stage where I’m wanting to power through tiredness in the evenings to keep reading! If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll love it! My sister-in-law-to-be Clare has just finished it, and the temptation to have her tell me what happens is killing me! We need to get reading, stat!

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Monica Vinader Ziggy Mini Petal Pendant + fine 17″ chain. (c/o)

This beautiful necklace arrived on my front doorstep midway through last month as a gift from the sweet folks over at Monica Vinader, and I can’t tell you how much I adore it. It’s reversible (I had my initial engraved on one side only, so I can wear it plain if I’d rather), and just eye-catching enough that it can add a finishing touch to a simple outfit, but still small and delicate enough to be subtle when needs be. I’ve bought a few bits from Monica Vinader as gifts for family and friends over the past year or so since I first was introduced to the brand, and am always so impressed with the quality of their pieces. The gift wrapping too is second to none! Prettier than Tiffany’s if you ask me, and that really is saying something… (p.s. I’ve not been asked to share the necklace on my blog, or write nice things about it. I just love it so much I wanted to share!)

And that’s a wrap! What’ve you loved most, during the past month? :)

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16.02

Cider-with-Rosie-on-the-bathroom-shelf

It’s not often that beauty products get any coverage here on Cider with Rosie, mainly because I suppose up until about about two years ago, I’d never really taken all that much interest in the beauty world at all. Beyond buying the odd lipstick on an impulse every once in a while, the only time I ever really dabbled in the world of cosmetics and skincare was picking out whatever crazy-looking cleanser or facemask caught my eye in Lush whenever I stopped by my local store, without paying the slightest bit of notice to whether or not it even would suit my skin type at all. And, if I’m being totally and completely honest with you- it was pretty rare I’d ever actually bother with moisturer at all! A quick once-over with a face wipe or two each evening to remove my makeup, and if I managed to not pull out half my eyelashes scrubbing away at mascara residue, I’d consider it a job well done!

All that began to change a couple of years ago, largely because that was when I first stumbled across the plethora of amazing beauty blogs that exist and suddenly product recommendations became oh so very easy to come by, and also because, strangely, though I’d had almost totally blemish-free skin throughout my teenage years, my skin went on the blink in a big way when I reach my early twenties. Almost overnight I was dealing with regular hormonal breakouts, blocked pores, and crazy combination skin that seemed to flip from oily to dry as the Sahara on an hourly basis. I tried an endless stream of different cleansers and moisturisers, until finally settling upon the holy trinity of products that’ve settled my skin right back down to a happy and (blessedly!) calm state.

I’ve had a few requests recently to talk a little about what my skincare routine looks like, and since I’m newly fascinated by all things beauty, I thought it’d be fun!
  Cider-with-Rosie-No-Makeup-skincare-evening-routine

Cleanse :: L’Oreal Paris Skin Perfection Micellar Solution – £4.99

From everything I’ve heard about Bioderma, L’Oreal’s ‘micellar water’ is about as close as it gets to that most famous of cleansers. It’s totally fragrance-free and for me, strikes that perfect balance between being cleansing enough that it feels satisfyingly purifying (now try saying that ten times fast), and not so strong it’s like taking off your make up with nail varnish remover (looking at you, Clinique). I find it does a great job on eye make up too, and at controlling any T-zone ‘glow’ that might want to make its presence known in the mid-afternoon hours!

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Blemish control serum :: La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo – £15.50 {on sale at the moment in Boots, 25% off! I’ll be stocking up!}

This serum was the best product I discovered in 2014, hands down. I’ve used it religiously for months now, and aside from the very occasional spot, it’s cleared up all the problems I had with blocked pores and blemishes, and even scarring left by old blemishes too! It sinks in so quickly and is such a lovely lightweight texture, I never feel like my skin’s being overloaded with product. I use it each evening after cleansing and before moisturising, and seriously can’t recommend it highly enough. Total miracle product, for me!

La-Roche-Posay

Moisturise :: La Roche Posay Rosaliac cream – £16

Both my cleanser and serum leave my skin feeling clean and even a little tight, which balances out the richness of the LRP moisturiser like a total dream. I’ve struggled with redness in my skin for as long as I can remember, and have never, *ever!* found a product that solves the issue in the way the Rosaliac cream does! It’s got the most beautiful soothing feel, and makes my skin feel so balanced and smooth. Major bonus points for the factor 15 SPF too! I always to use it in combination with the serum and cleanser in the evening, but usually just on its own in the morning before applying whatever makeup I happen to be wearing that day.

Oh, and whilst we’re on the subject of evening moisturising and skincare- the final step for me is always a coat of Lush’s Honeytrap lip balm. It’s been my favourite for ever and ever- I’m yet to find another balm that knocks it off its 1st place podium!

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And that’s a wrap! Next thing I’m after is a really lovely- but not too heavy- eyecream! And since I’m almost out of moisturiser and there’s a sale on La Roche Posay in Boots right now, I think the shops might just be calling my name…

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15.12

Cider-with-Rosie-five-winter-nail-varnishes-essie-tanya-burr

I like to think that nail varnish is one of the few things we can legitimately treat ourselves to during December, a month in which buying for oneself is unoffically prohibited. Within my family anyway, we try to hold off buying ourselves the things we want most during the weeks leading up to Christmas, so as not to spoil any surprises that might be coming our way on the 25th. Not that we always manage to stick to that rule…but we try! And that rule is especially important since both my sister and I are December babies, so we’re double trouble to buy for!

Nail varnishes are just tiny enough to slip under the radar though, if you ask me. You can totally  sneak them into the house tucked away in the depths of your handbag after a Christmas gift-buying expedition, and your fiancé will never, ever realise that there’s another little bottle been added to your already somewhat silly collection. So I’ve heard, anyway…

I went through a funny phase of not wearing nail varnish for months and months (laziness got the better of me) but just recently I’ve been back on a major nail polish kick. Today, I’m sharing five of my absolute favourite nail varnish shades for wearing throughout winter, as well as the Christmas season. Oh! And whilst we’re talking of laziness- that Bourgeois 1-second nail varnish remover is witchcraft, I tell you! Honestly and truly, it removed two/three coats of even the darkest colours photographed here in a single swipe, without even a jot of staining! Well worth picking up.

Now, let’s talk colour… 

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T H E   E L E G A N T   G O L D ::

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Essie ‘Buy me a Cameo’ - £7.99

I love this polish for two reasons- 1. Because it’s easily the most wearable, elegant shade I’ve ever tried on. It finishes off just about any outfit imaginable (and I like to think makes you look like the sort of woman who only ever wears matching underwear, and never forgets to brush her hair), and 2. It dries quicker than a flash. On countless occasions I’ve thrown on a coat or two of this just before running out of the door in a mad panic, and found it’s dried even before I’ve reached my car. Truly the best thing to have on hand (Ha. On hand. D’ya get it?) for those ‘I can’t go to this wedding/meeting/fancy meal out with bare, unmanicured nails’ emergencies.

T H E   T R U E   R E D ::

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Tanya Burr cosmetics ‘Riding Hood’ – £4.99

It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable wearing red polish. I’d always felt that you could only pull off red if you had beautfifully long, almond shaped nails, and since I have just about the squarest nails you’ll ever come across and an extreme aversion to long nails, I thought it just wasn’t for me! But slowly slowly, as it’s become de rigueur to have shorter nails, I decided that maybe it was time to dip my toe into the scarlet-hued waters. This shade is a beauty. It applies smoothly, and is the most festive shade of red imaginable. Maybe the perfect Christmas day nail colour?

T H E   M U T E D   G R E Y ::

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Essie ‘Master Plan’ – £7.99

Even though Christmas and winter are traditionally a time for bright, jewel-toned shades, I just can’t help but go muted and minimal every now and again too. A grey-toned nail varnish is go-with-everything staple, and truly, you just can’t go wrong with Essie. This one dries quickly and applies smoothly, and is the beautiful elephant-grey shade I love so much. Wear with black skinnies, a Breton and a red lip, and do your best impression of a super-chic Parisian.

T H E   I R I D E S C E N T   M I D N I G H T   B L U E ::

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Max Factor Colour Effects ‘Cloudy Blue’ – £3.99

This one might just be my favourite from the whole selection. Navy nail varnish is always a winner in my book, and so one shot through with the most incredible iridescent, sky-at-night shimmer was bound to be a good’un. It sort of reminds me of those galaxy nails that were popular a couple of years ago, but without all the effort of having to mix colours! ;) Oh, and since it’s important to know these things, even though I didn’t use a top coat after applying this (I just bought a new one, and found it was smashed when I open up the packaging, sob!) it still lasted a good couple of days without chipping. With a decent top coat, I reckon it’d be a solid five day-er!

T H E   P E R F E C T   P L U M  ::

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Essie ‘Bahama Mama’ – £7.99

Bahama Mama has been my favourite autumn/winter nail varnish since time immemorial. I mean, just look at it! It’s just dark enough to be classed as ‘vampy’ (but not so dark you feel like you’ve journeyed back to your pre-teen goth phase- yep, I had one…) and makes a statement that says ‘I take the winter months seriously, don’t you know’. It’s my favourite shade to wear with a simple nude trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat, for days spent wandering through Christmas markets and  drinking mulled wine that matches the colour of your nails.

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What I wore :: Pyjamas by Yawn.

Which colour’s your favourite? Do you go bright and sparkly over the Christmas season, or stick to elegant, muted shades? :)

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Posted in BEAUTY, CHRISTMAS, HOW TO, TUTORIAL, WINTER

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