Author Archives: marc

Another box from Naturisimo, you know how much I love these. Being able to see the contents fully before you buy is a big win for me, and not having to actually subscribe, so you can choose a box as and when you please is another. This month Naturisimo have released their Brilliant Body Discovery Box, just in time for the warmer weather and holiday season. The box costs £12.95 but is worth £37 and features 9 items. They are:

The Hydrea London Exfoliating Bamboo Mitt – This soft mitt costs £7.50 and is made with eco-friendly bamboo. It’s gentle but still extremely efficient and can be used on both face and body.

Dr Bronners Rose Soap Bar – Who doesn’t love Dr. Bronners? This smaller sized soap bar is perfect for travel, or just cleaning your makeup brushes. If you haven’t experienced a Dr. Bronners clean makeup brush, you’re missing out.

Lola’s Apothecary Sweet Lullaby Bath & Shower Oil – My first time trying this brand, finally! This oil is beyond lush and smells divine. I love the little touch of some real lavender in there too.

Green & Spring Relaxing Bath & Shower Foam – This pairs with the Lola’s Apothecary oil incredibly well, they have similar lavender scents and I can’t wait to use them together in a bath for the ultimate lavender relax sesh.

This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle – Another product I’ve wanted to try for quite some time without having to splurge on the pricey full size. This tinted lotion gives a little colour to legs and helps even the skin tone (great for hiding any bruises apparently) for summer ready pins.

Pai Comfrey & Calendula Calming Body Cream – This huge sachet contains a generous amount of product, at least two uses I would say. Perfect for travel and especially good for emergency sunburn situations.

Inlight Food & Leg Balm – 100% Organic and extremely luxurious, this balm will turn even the ugliest of duckling feet into swans ready for sandals.

Jurlique Rose Hand Cream – One of Jurlique’s best selling products, this light cream sinks in quickly without any residue but leaves hands feeling quenched and soft.

Balance Me Rose Otto Body Cream – And finally, this rose scented cream is rich and hydrating, perfect for dry patches and keeping skin soft and smooth after sun, sea and sand.

All in all a great box for trying lots of new products before deciding on full sizes. I especially love the mitt, bath oil and soap and am really pleased I get to try the This Works product! What do you think of the contents? Would you rather have just 2-3 full sizes or lots of minis in a beauty box?

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Momentous moment: we are back in our house. It’s still not done, but we are camping out upstairs and surviving on bananas and crisps and cereal bars and it’s not too shoddy. Not too shoddy at all. Especially as Mr AMR had ordered a telly bed (where the TV rises up out of the foot of the bedframe) and the TV has Netflix already installed on it – hello middle-of-the-night breastfeeding sessions! I need a new box set to devour if anyone has any recommendations…

I can honestly say that the last six months have been the most stressful of my life. Having a baby was kind of a doddle in comparison to having a house renovated – I’m not sure I could do it all again. I love watching house programmes (Grand Designs, Location Location Location, Restoration Man) but whereas before I used to sit there with a longing to get started on my own little project, I now have a chuckle at all of the bits that they’ve smoothed over for the camera – obvious relationship breakdowns and so on. I want to record my house renovating experience here on the website so that I can look back on it when all of the dust has settled, so expect a post soon. The interiors features will swiftly follow!

I can’t stop touching the doors and carpets and walls – I’ve never chosen anything new like this on such a big scale before. Never bought a new kitchen (our last place had a decent one, we never saw reason to change it) never built a new room or knocked down a wall… When I sit in the living room it’s almost as though nothing has changed, because I still have the same views and the same old De Sede sofa, but then I realise that everything around me is completely new. It’s very odd.

Right – must go. The thermostat has been put in the wrong place and the radiators keep coming on full-blast, so it’s like the Sahara in here. We’re just about to order Dominos (Saturday night, it’s allowed) and work out how to operate the central heating. Ah, domestic bliss. How I’ve missed you…

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It seems that nothing can cure my online shopping addiction and I have been whiling away spare, quiet moments organising my summer wardrobe. Because by the end of this week I will have a brand new figure to clothe, which is rather exciting, after months of wearing exactly the same rota of outfits day in, day out! I can wear jumpers! Shirts! Trousers that aren’t leggings! I’ll do a lookbook video if time permits over the next couple of months, but here’s what I have in my basket from the Very Exclusive Sale* – mostly summer treats, but a couple of great autumn/winter investments, including a faux-fur gilet that I’ve had my eye on for ages and a chic evening dress. Loads of items now have up to a whopping 60% off and the sale runs until the 30th June.

To browse the designer sale click here.

First buy – very important – denim shorts. I need separates at the moment rather than dresses and denim shorts are always handy to chuck on with vest tops and jumpers. But so many of them are cut like hot-pants! I can’t do hot-pants! No way, José. These Boyfriend Shorts from Rag & Bone are just the right length and I like that they are pre-distressed and a bit battered up. £160 down to £64 here.

And my favourite colour to throw on with distressed denim? Navy. Or grey. So I can’t go far wrong with navy and grey, especially in a heart print! I’ve actually already ordered and received this and it’s beautiful – the quality from Cocoa Cashmere is brilliant. A bit of a long-term investment, but when it’s reduced down to £62, it’s not that far off a high-street price. You can find it here.

A simple but flattering t-shirt (sorry if these choices aren’t the most daring or fashion-forward; there are loads of amazing and directional pieces in the sale so just keep browsing!) and I’m still liking the Zoe Karssen vibe. Soft fabric, nice drape (flattering on the boobs) and simple prints and logos. I have three bat t-shirts now so thought I’d swap to stars for a change! Find this pink version here, £30.

Investment dress choice: beautifully-cut black number from By Malene Birger. I have another black dress from the same designer and it’s one of the most versatile things in my wardrobe. Though I’m still very sorely tempted by this McQ one I think that maybe the Malene Birger will be more useful for smart, chic functions. It also looks as though it might be a bit forgiving in the tum-tum area! The price is down to a very pleasing £107 from £215 – you can find it here.

Investment jacket/outdoor garment choice? This little faux-fur gilet from Unreal Fur. Unreal make brilliant fake furs and I have wanted a nice gilet for years but have never taken the plunge. I’d pop this on over a black jumper (I’m not into gilets with bare arms!) to bridge that summer-into-autumn weather transition. Find it online here – it’s £70 down from £140.

 I love this Missoni bag. Lurex. Chain strap. So seventies, and a refreshing change from leather, especially for the summer months. I’m not overly keen on the logo tag, but I’m sure I can get that off with a bolt-cutter! It’s £170 down from £340 (hurrah!) here. There’s also a smaller clutch version, that has 60% off and is down to £84 here.

Finally: I may succumb to this leopard t-shirt from Joseph now that the price, after a 60% reduction, has just tipped below the £100 mark! I wouldn’t usually spend so much on a t-shirt but I seem to have mislaid my favourite Maje one and have been struggling to find a replacement that is beautifully cut and has a good, non-tarty leopard print. This could be the one! Made from 100% cashmere it’s a bit of a posh piece rather than “just a tee” and would look great tucked into a pencil skirt as well as with jeans. There. I’ve pretty much convinced myself! It’s £98 here.

*UPDATE: I’ve just noticed that the best maternity jeans in the world, Paige’s specially-adapted Verdugo, are in the sale. I mentioned these in a fashion post a while back, rather apologetically I think because they were a whopping £210. Not any more – try £84 on for size! You can get them here.

*this is a sponsored post.

The post Very Exclusive Sale: Further Reductions appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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My designated body parts for testing out dry skin creams are my shins. Without proper care, they go scaly and shiny and weird, and if I wear tights or jeans then the problem escalates and I might even get some itchiness. The latest thick, balm-like body creams for dry skin that meet my approval are below – if you like the butteryness and deep moisturising effect of a balm but the convenience of a tube, then keep reading…

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Body Treatment: £26 or £18.99 at Amazon. Worked a treat on flaky left leg (I was testing Clinique out on the right one!) and didn’t smell of Eight Hour Cream, not like the hand cream does. I have no problem with the smell of Eight Hour, because it makes me very nostalgic (see this vintage post here) but some people find it a little medicinal. Whatever, this smells fine and dandy and does a great job of intensely moisturising the skin.

Clinique Deep Comfort Body Moisture: £20 at Boots. No fragrance at all in this one, just a bouncy, sumptuous cream that melts into the skin but leaves it feeling nourished with a nice protective residue. Not a greasy residue, but that lovely sheeny kind.

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP: £12.50 at Escentual.com. Possibly my all-time favourite body balm, this one has the sub-title “anti-irritation anti-scratching” which I find very reassuring. And it is brilliant if you are itching and scratching away in the shin region, as I so often am. Contains Niacinamide, which if you read this you will know is a good think, and also a whopping 20% shea butter. So truly restoring and moisturising. I’ve recommended this to so many people and the feedback is always brilliant…

Loving Care Body Balm from Le Couvent des Minimes: £13 for 200ml or £16 for 400ml (no brainer!) here. Great for delicate skin (as are all of the above, really) and with 15% shea, Calendula extract to help soothe and “Galen’s Wax” to protect and repair. The Couvent formulas have been based on very old, traditional recipes that were used by the monks who inhabited the convent that this brand is named after. (It’s now a very lovely luxury hotel, South of France, surrounded by fields of flowers. Take a look here.)

If it’s a body oil you prefer, then please do take a look at some recent reviews – you can always layer them up with a cream for twice the effect. I do oil first, wait a few minutes and then in with the cream…

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