I always love Charlotte Tilbury’s new launches, so I was excited to hear about her Norman Parkinson collection as his work is so iconic. Charlotte Tilbury has admired Norman Parkinson’s work for years as it has always inspired her, so with the help of his grandson, she used his images on the packaging of her limited edition collection. Although we have to wait till July when it’s launched online and August for stores, let me show you my pick of the best products.

As a lover of cream blushes, I was bound to fall head over heels for the Colour of Youth Lip & Cheek Glow (£45). A long lasting hydrating balm which can be applied on both lips and cheeks for a dewy pop of colour. I found that applying it with fingers was the best as it gave the most natural flushed look to the cheeks, plus it can be applied as though it was a lip balm with the fingers. As with all the products, it contains an image from Norman Parkinson’s career, this time it’s an image of his wife, Wenda.

The famous Filmstar Bronze & Glow (£55) has been re-made into a cream version in the shade Sun Tan and Sun Light. Perfect for the warmer weather when products are usually swapped for creamier products. I always find that cream products are better for contour so I almost prefer the cream to the original powder product. The image on the packaging is from the Vogue issue in May 1975 with Jerry Hall on the cover, which is also featured on the make up bag.

In case you prefer a powder highlighter, the Dreamy Glow Highlighter (£45) is for you. Described as ‘peaches and cream skin’ by Charlotte Tilbury, it’s a very finely milled champagne highlighter which looks great dusted on top of the cheekbones. Again with an image on the front, this features Carmen Dell’Orefice from the cover of Vogue in 1959.

As well as a limited edition collection, Charlotte Tilbury is also adding to her permanent collection with two new lipsticks and a new cream eyeshadow line. The Matte Revolution Lipsticks are beautifully matte and come in a range of shades and now there will also be a warm nude shade, Miss Kensington. The lipsticks glide onto the lips without looking chalky and drying the lips. One standout product for me are the Eyes To Mesmerise, a cream mousse eyeshadow. I’ve been using the shade Mona Lisa, a beautiful brown with a gold metallic running through it. They don’t crease on the lids, last all day and also come in many more shades. I certainly have my eye on a light champagne shade for an everyday look.

This rather funky gift card from Mr & Mrs Smith came through my letterbox the other week – a “dummy” version, sadly, but it did whet my appetite for a spot of overseas travel. I’ve been a member of the Mr & Mrs Smith hotel website for years now – I book nearly all of my holidays through them and most of my business stays too. I’ve had each type of membership (the Gold one is great if you’re a very frequent traveller and can justify the cost) but my default is the entry-level Blacksmith, which is totally free, yet still – amazingly – gets you a free gift or perk at every hotel you book into as well as really nice discounts with lots of luxury brands like NEOM and Oskia.

My friends and family are sick to death of me banging on about the Blacksmith membership, but I can’t stand it when people miss out on perks – it’s like frequent flyers who don’t collect airmiles! What are you doing? Or when Mr AMR fills the car up with petrol at Tesco and doesn’t use the Clubcard! It all adds up – I paid for more than half of his iPad Pro using Clubcard points at Christmas. I’m also a voracious collector of Amex points, but that’s a whole other story and to tell it would reveal the extent of my enthusiastic “online retail adventures”, so we’ll move swiftly on…

If you want to look at the Smith memberships then they are here – I’ve completely gone off piste with this post  and I need to read it again from the start to try and remember what an earth I was going to talk about…

The new “Get a Room!” gift card. Yes. It’s had a complete makeover from womenswear designer Roksanda Ilincic, who has produced something that looks like a cross between a front row invitation for fashion week and a brightly coloured travel wallet. If you are looking for a stylish birthday/anniversary/wedding/engagement present for someone, something pre-loaded with a sense of adventure and opportunity, then this is it. The gift of travel beats a book voucher any day. You can find the revamped Roksanda Get a Room! card here – voucher amounts start at £50.

I very dangerously made the mistake of browsing hotels in Greece when I was looking up details about the Roksanda card and now I can’t stop thinking about holidays. We’re going to Cornwall for a few days this spring, but I’m starting to get itchy travel feet and am desperate for some heat. We haven’t been away on a proper holiday since September 2014 (Kinsterna, see here) and though I know that lounging on a beach isn’t going to be entirely an option with a baby in tow, it would be nice to just see some sunny weather and float about in a maxi-dress for a few days. Drink some local wine that’ll turn my face inside-out, that kind of thing..

I’m thinking Greece – perhaps Crete – in early or mid-May. What do you reckon? OK temperature-wise, or should I be looking more along the lines of Spain? I don’t want it to be too hot, because I’ll spend all of my time worrying that the baby is overheating, but I don’t want to risk rain. We get enough of that here. I’m usually Mrs Confident when it comes to holidays, because I’m pretty well-travelled, but feeling a bit nervous about the whole “abroad with baby” thing. Good advice readily accepted…

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