Forever You Beauty launch

Hello again! Here's a bit of a departure for me here on the blog - a beauty collaboration! I was approached last month by the team from Forever You Beauty asking if I'd try out their new products, made especially for the mature woman. To be perfectly honest, I don't see myself as a poster girl for any beauty product, what with my large nose, thin lips and wrinkled skin (especially on my neck). As ever, I'm the first to put myself down and did respond with a scarily honest snap to rebuff them. To my utter surprise they persisted. The brand is keen to promote each and every woman as an individual - No one is you and that is your power is their tag line. This does chime with me as, despite my lack of conventional beauty, I'm still very happy in my own skin and with having my own particular style.

The sheer sticks are made to act as multi-taskers for delivering moisture, glow and colour to cheeks, eyes, lips and body in whatever way you choose. So far I've only used them in my daily (face)make-up routine and can report that they live up to the fresh natural glow as promised. 

I use the tint as blush on the apple of the cheeks, blended into my base. The pink hue gives a natural colour and then I've topped it with a sweep of the glow as highlighter to give a lovely healthy sheen. What I love about this combination is that the stick formula is really long lasting and doesn't sink into the skin over the course of the day. Over the years I tried powder (dulls the skin and is quite aging) and cream blushes (disappears after a couple of hours), but none have had the staying power of these glossy sticks. 

Check out the Forever You website for full details of ingredients used as well as how to order. The bonus of this new brand is that they're offering a full 30 day refund if you don't like the products - even if you've used it all! With a pledge like that you really can't lose can you?

This last photo shows me after a day out with the family, where we sat outside in the sunshine for a couple of hours having a long Sunday lunch. My normal cream blush would have sunk into my skin under these conditions, but the stick blend seems to sit on top of the skin rather than disappearing. There are lots of lovely oils plus shea butter in the sticks which deliver this long lasting blend. No melting away means my fresh glow stays all day long!

Disclosure: I was gifted the set of Forever You trio. The review is my honest opinion and all words are mine.

                                                                             Anna x

Animal print jumpsuit

Hello again my lovelies! Today sees the start of my transitional dressing - that tricky time when the weather fluctuates during summer and autumn or winter and spring causing havoc with one's outfit choices. Last weekend I had big plans to do my seasonal wardrobe changeover, but life as they say, rarely goes to plan. It was our Ruby anniversary (yes, 40 amazing years of marriage) and although the celebrations were decidedly low-key, I still couldn't find time to do the deed that needed to be done. One thing of note from the weekend was the arrival of my long-lost friend Caroline who was my accomplice on our Thelma and Louise adventure which brought us to Tresco 43 years ago. We had a few catch up sessions together, visiting the site of the Island Hotel where we spent our summer working together and we also had a lovely sea swim at Cradle Porth followed by tea and lots of reminiscing. Happy days!

Anyway, on to the outfit of the day. This animal print jumpsuit is on sale on the ASOS website currently (see here). I've had a small trickle of new purchases recently for which I'll make no apologies. Each new item has been actioned by a moving out of something old to free up space in my closet. If I had time to spare I'd be selling these things on eBay, but for the moment I have no such luxury. 

As you can see, the main feature of the jumpsuit is the wonderfully wide legs. It looks like a maxi dress unless you make exaggerated poses like this. The fit is relaxed with a v neck and button front. The loose fit is perfect for layering a thin thermal top underneath for this time of year, easily whipped off if the temperatures suddenly rise during the day.

Made from 100% viscose, the fabric is drapey and elegant. 

For those of you who have been following the pink trouser suit saga - well the suit arrived, but turned out to just be a jacket in one material and trousers in another meaning that the colours and fabrics were too different to say trouser suit in my book. And so the search continues. I fear it may be next summer before another rash of pink suits hit the market.

Rings in neutral tones were both charity shop finds from a long time ago.

Retro sunglasses are a few years old, from River Island and the necklace is positively ancient, from goodness knows where!

Very soon I'll be packing my Puma white trainers away in favour of white patent boots, although my black patent boots will work fine with this ensemble too.

I'll finish with a couple of anniversary shots from my Instagram page. This was Steve and I in the pony and trap on our way to the wedding reception at the Island Hotel in 1981. We were married on St Mary's and our guests had endured a rather bumpy boat trip after the ceremony, some of them loosing their breakfast along the way. 

And this is the painting I bought for our Ruby anniversary. It's by Lizzie Black, one of our popular artists at Gallery Tresco. See more examples of her work here. These are the Blockhouse Cottages at Green Porth. Steve spent most of his childhood living here and we also had our first year of marriage at Blockhouse no.3 while we waited for work to be completed on our home at Cliff Cottage over at New Grimsby. The row of cottages is due to be rebuilt over the next 12 months, so it's good to have this as a reminder before construction begins.

Many thanks for joining me again. I'll be back after the big clothes changeover and hope to have found all sorts of inspiring clothes to share with you. 

                                                                    Anna x

Saying goodbye to summer

Hello lovelies and thanks for dropping by! Yes, I'm admitting defeat. Today is the first of October and here I am showcasing my final summer outfit with more than a touch of sadness. My favourite time of year, not just fashion-wise, is summer and I'm always sorry to see the season change into autumn. I know I'm not alone in my thoughts.

My monochrome look offers nothing new, merely a mix of things you'll have seen before. The Zara "It" dress from a couple of summers ago has been a mainstay during the final burst of Indian summer we've experienced here on the islands. I love the long, loose fit which has been the perfect ploy for keeping cool. 

The two tone flatties are by Nine West and are suprisingly comfortable, indeed all-day-long comfy. The leather and cow hide bag is a recycled piece made by Claudine Sear of Bags of Time. 

Sunglasses are by Quay Australia, rings are pre-loved and the silver and gold coloured linked chain was a boutique find from a few years ago. 

A gentle walk to New Grimsby quay was a lovely start to the day. The sea was flat as mill-pond, looking more like a lake rather than the sea. A moment to stop and take it all in before the working day began.

So from here on I'll be searching through my wardrobe for those elusive items of transitional dressing. Not my easiest of looks - in fact I think I've maybe said previously that my outfits fall into two simple categories - summer or winter. Anyway, the weekend is almost here and I think that by Sunday I'll be dragging suitcases out from under the bed in the hope of finding some autumn inspired outfits. Wish me luck on this (dreaded) mission!

                                                                                         Anna x

Pretty in Pink, our Style Challenge for September

Hello and welcome to our monthly Style Not Age Challenge! We're back again and this month my style sisters and I are all Pretty in Pink, thanks to the theme choice from yours truly. I've recently purchased this glorious pink frock from Hush - it's called Kloe and is still in the sale here. I've been having a pink moment, searching for the perfect pink trouser suit which then led me to find this loose and airy summer dress which is an absolute joy to wear. More of that later, but first, let's catch up with the others shall we?

Jacqui from Mummbstylish has been shopping recently too, buying these fab pink trousers and animal print shirt, both from M&S. Such a cool look! 

Gail from Is This Mutton has embraced the pink theme completely. It turns out that pink is her favourite colour and therefore wasn't too hard for her to find in her wardrobe. Those metallic pink boots are right up my street! 

And here's Style Splash's Emma sporting the most fabulous dose of pink! The trousers and jacket pulled together make the most pretty trouser suit indeed leaving me green with envy.

Hilda has brought out an old faithful pink coat for this month's challenge. The maroon handbag and pale pink are a very pretty pairing aren't they? See more on her blog Over The Hilda. 

This was me, last Monday on the beach just below The Old Blockhouse Castle on Tresco. We'd had a lovely run of Indian Summer weather making my day off perfect for this photo shoot. I've been wearing this lovely pink dress to work at least once a week since I bought it about a month ago. I'm smitten with the bright fuchsia colour as well as the flounced shape. The fabric is Hemp, making it cool and yet not flimsy; I usually wear an underskirt if the fabric is very see-through, but that's not necessary with this dress. 

I love the self-coloured spots too.

Colour therapy at its best is how I see this kind of dressing. It gets me lots of compliments, but more importantly it makes me feel happy and self-confident. As you know I primarily dress for myself and it's a bonus if that earns approval from friends or family. As I said I've been searching for the ultimate pink trouser suit ever since I saw the gorgeous Louise Minchin on Breakfast TV wearing a rather fabulous version. I've found a similar suit on the ME+EM website - see it here. Stocks of this are low due to it being in the sale and I've ended up ordering the jacket and trousers in different sizes which may be a stupid idea. I'll let you know how that pans out...

Lots of lovely pink accessories here today. The pink Candy Bag gets aired whenever I can justify it and this was the perfect excuse! Pink pre-loved rings and a pink and silver bangle from a girlfriend all add to the pink lusciousness of the look. My silver hooped necklace was from Melissa James at Gallery Tresco and sits perfectly in this neckline, don't you think? And last, but my no means least, are my long-term favourite Quay Australia sunglasses.

 

Another joyful purchase from this summer has been these floral Converse boots. They're super comfy thanks to a cushioned insole, and of course they're just the most pretty pair of shoes I have at the moment. Paired with this flamboyant frock the whole effect is pure fun.

As usual, you'll find me hanging on to summer here on the blog. I've got another lovely summer frock to share with you next time taken during the recent balmy golden weather, so please do drop by again soon.

I hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and that you'll find time to check out the blogs of my fashionable friends too.

                                                                    Anna x