Get your coat on

It does seem a little out of place to be talking about winter coats whilst we are currently bathed in brilliant sunshine and proper heat radiating out to warm the bones.

But when has fashion been practical?

Here are my picks from Mango

Contrast sleeve Masculine coat £99.99 - looks much better in real life than this photo. If you wanted to channel a Military look without looking like you've stepped out of the TA

Masculine Cut coast £79.99 - this looked so similar to another coat I saw in Kooples but for a fraction of the price

Perfecto Effect Coat £129.99 I really like the biker jacket styling with the winter practicalities of covering you up and keeping you warm.

Hopefully retailers will keep the coats in stock past October - by then they traditionally start piling in the festive party wear and you just can't buy a decent warm coat in November when you really need it.

Don't get me started on trying to buy a swimsuit in summer.....in the run up to the August Bank holiday I hit every single store in Covent Garden and only one place Aubin and Willis  had them in stock. I know retailers have struggled and started the summer sale very early this year but seriously it was not much to ask for a swimming cossie for August!

Colour me Happy

Finally I got round to colouring my hair after my previous hair disasters I have had to leave it to 'rest' for ages. I wasn't tempted to go back into the salon so I popped into my local supermarket and spent £6 on packet by Nice N Easy non drip foam  a permeant dye to cover all the the bad post-40 Salon dip dye end bleach job (that got re-covered in violet toner twice), the red streaks that faded to orange and the 'sparkels' as one hair stylist called my wiry white hairs - biiiiitttttttcccchhhhhh.

It was pretty simple to use and took approx an hour for me to colour my very long hair; as the dye took ages to rinse out properly. But it did just the job , no black splashes to ruin the bath tub, the white bath mat survived intact (it really was a non drip foam) and there was no real strong ammonia smell so all in all a great result.

The conditioner that came with the packet had a light coconut fragrance and sorted out the tangles and helped smooth the cuticles for a very smooth finish. An extra conditioner was included to use a week later. If like me you are using a dark hair colour (black in my case) I would add to your shopping basket some hair dye remover wipes - these little sachets are handy for cleaning up the bits of colour around ears, neck and hair line.

NB: This was not a sponsored post I paid for the goods with my own money.

Somerset by Alice Temperley

I checked out the new Somerset by Alice Temperley at John Lewis today and I have to say each piece beared the hallmark of Alice's signature style. There wasn't anything I wouldn't snap up and I had to really refrain from purchasing and wait for next pay day to get kitted out for A/W season. Bit ironic really since today is warm, sunny and blue skied - the Summer we should have had back in June/July/August.....

Wool and cashmere coat £299

The dresses are in pure silk and actually look much better than these photos. With sizing going up to Size 16

I must be turning middle-aged as whilst I was in John Lewis I checked out the rest of the fashion collection and really liked the edit in there. Farhi, Lauren, Whistles, Hobbs etc. were all laid out in spacious surrounding (Oxford Street branch). I even had a browse in the Lingerie department and spotted some Elle MacPherson undies marked down to £18 and in my size (bargain bonus). All in all well done John Lewis for getting your market right; everything a department store should be. As for Marks and Spencers - oh dear oh dear but I will save that for another blog post! 

New Face

White Rabbit! Pinch punch first day of the month and no returns....have no idea why I say all that but it's the 1st of September. How did that happen? We never did have much actual Summer weather this year and its felt very Autumnal since March. But here we are and the evenings are getting darker and the next Bank Holiday is on Boxing day!!!

Anyhow I thought I would update you on my current beauty routine and a recent discovery of mine. Immortelle Divine Cream by l'Occitane, what a name and what a product. During our holiday break I managed to fit a visit to Cheshire Oaks (the only highlight of my stay with the in-laws). I swooped onto a lot of the retail outlets and in under 3 hours managed to get 2 dresses, Bobbi Brown make up palatte, school shoes for The Curly Haired Beauty and this amazing face cream which was part of a starter set. The difference it has made to my complexion is incredible. My skin feels so soft and velvety after a week of using it. I think it's suppose to be used by more (ahem) mature ladies but since I will be joining the next age bracket in a few months there's no harm starting to use this now. It's a very lightweight cream that's easily absorbed leaving no greasy feeling on the skin surface. The name comes from the Immortelle essential oil used to stimulate collagens and improve the skins microcirculation. I have combination skin but my forehead is starting to show stubborn horizontal frown lines despite still remaining oily. I'm against having botox and having grown out my fringe; this cream looks like a viable option to reduce the lines. I'm not against looking my age but want to help preserve what I have for a little bit longer ;-)