Beauty: Cath Kidston Body Products

I noticed that the majority of products I use on my skin are from Cath Kidston and wanted to share my thoughts with you because i'm so impressed. The packaging is beautiful and the lotions and gels feel luxurious and smell amazing. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Cath Kidston but I’m guessing these aren't the first beauty products that you would reach for if you had the choice. If you haven’t already tried any then I recommend you do because there really is something special about them.

Cherry Blossom Hand Lotion

 The bottle is huge!! But you can never have enough hand cream, especially if you live in the UK where it’s always an essential because of the awful weather. The pump is a great feature and an easy and mess free way of getting the lotion out of the bottle. The lotion itself has quite a thin consistency but when rubbed in absorbs into your hands instantly leaving them smooth and soft. The fragrance isn’t particularly strong but smells fresh and clean which is good enough for me. 

Bluebell Body Cream

 This is another fairly large bottle, which has taken me quite a while to get through as not much is needed because it is so moiturising and thick. A massive strength of every product is that one of them are greasy. Just like the hand lotion, this body cream blends really well into the skin straight away leaving a subtle fragrance. This is probably my favourite scent out of the bunch.

Rose Shower Gel

 This shower gel contains Provitamin B5, which apparently means that it can reach deeper layers of the skin, retaining the natural moisture balance. It therefore claims to leave skin ‘feeling soft and delicately fragranced’. It certainly leaves you smelling great but I wouldn’t say it noticeably makes your skin any softer. However, when teamed up with the rose body cream they make a great duo. This shower gel seems to have quite a thick consistency, which gives it a luxurious feel on your skin.   

Wild Rose Body Cream

 It does the same job as the Bluebell body cream but the fragrance is a lot stronger so would be a great alternative for someone who prefers a less subtle scent. 

 They are all free from parabens and sulphates.

I've noticed that you can now find a lot of Cath Kidston products in TK Maxx for reduced prices so it may be worth taking a look. Have you used any Cath Kidston body products? What are your thoughts on them? 

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience. 

Fortnight In Photos #1

Flying back from the Alps after skiing

Filming a documentary in London

Two day trip to Alton Towers

Shopping with my mum

Attempt at making Sprite lollies

Biggie is gradually becoming more of a lap cat

Burrito at a friend's birthday meal

Curls made with straighteners that kind of stayed in overnight

Follow me on instagram @hannahcelder to see more photos 

Spring Things: Trifle

 It was my Mum’s birthday a couple of weeks ago so I bought her this trifle bowl. She immediately wanted to use it so we dug out Lorraine Pascale’s Home Cooking Made Easy and got whisking. The recipes in this book are delicious and she really does make it seem easy!

Glass trifle bowl- Next Home, £14

I love how you can see the pattern that we made with the strawberries through the side of the bowl and the layers of sponge, cream and custard. It shows off all the hard work that went into making it look pretty as well as taste amazing.

This would be such a lovely pudding to make for summer parties and you could try any variation by adding different types of fruit or even a layer of jelly at the bottom. It's a great pudding all round because there is no cooking required so anyone could make it...give it a try! 

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience. 

Decor Ideas: Colourful Towels and Storage Jars

It's surprisingly easy to change up a room in your house without completely redecorating and very true when it comes to bathrooms. 

1. Colourful Towels

I had been meaning to get some new towels for a while but never saw any that I thought were particularly nice...until I came across these in Marks and Spencer. As you can see, my bathroom walls are painted bright turquoise and this is why I went for bright towels. Although they are multi coloured they do have some turquoise on them which ties in nicely and the other colours can then also be incorporated into the room if I want them to be. 

This is a pretty inexpensive way of sprucing up your bathroom. One day i'd love to get some Cath Kidston towels but I guess those will have to wait until I get my own place and can justify the price tag!

Guest Towel- £5.00, Bath Towel- £16.00

2. Interesting Storage

A great way of keeping your bathroom essentials together is by putting them in storage jars. I really like how whatever is being stored is visible! They come in all different sizes and the tall ones would be great for stacking things like bath bombs. 

IKEA- £1 each 

3. Picture Frames

Picture frames are always a great way to add to a room. A bathroom is probably a bit of a strange place to have one but it's always nice to be reminded of one of my favourite places. 

What's in your bathroom? 

I'd love to hear if you have any other storage ideas! 

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience. 

Decor Ideas: White Furniture & Plant pots

I could spend all day in IKEA. I love their quirky furniture, beautiful bedding and the fact that there is now one less than an hour’s drive from my house.

I like to re arrange my bedroom sometimes and decided to buy some furniture from Ikea to make a little reading/chill out area. To make a partition, I used two of the Expedit shelving units in white and filled them with pretty things that I like to keep on display.

Expedit shelving Units- £20.00

Inside the little area is an old sofa and another piece of Ikea furniture. This is the Lack side table, also in white to match the shelving units. The table is actually much bigger than I was expecting it to be so it is perfect as a small coffee table in front of the sofa.

Left to right: Chevron tea light holder- Wilkinson £2.50, Blue Fig candle- IKEA (set of three) £2.95, White plant pot- Ikea £2.00, Tilly Parker candle- TK Maxx £5.00, 3 wick candle in black and white tin- Primark £3.00

On the table I went with a mostly white theme as well and added some blue and black details to mix things up a bit. I am a big fan of chevron print at the moment so I was thrilled to find this tea light holder in Wilkinson for only £2.50! They have a matching vase, which I am very tempted to go back for and place on top of the shelving unit.

Instead of putting a plant in the plant pot I decided to hide a small vase at the bottom of it and place flowers in so that I can change them regularly. I may also try out some artificial flowers and see how that looks as a more permanent feature.

The white flower pot and bin are also from IKEA.

Plant pot used as bin- IKEA £5.00

The bin is a larger version of the small plant pot but is the perfect size to use as a waste paper bin for my bedroom.

My Cat, Biggie approves. He often likes to use this corner of my room as a cat napping area. 

I hope you enjoyed these ideas and that they maybe give you some inspiration for your own bedroom…or even your lounge or study. 

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience. 

Recent Buys: April 2013

Left to right: Primark PJ bottoms £6.00, Topshop necklace £5.00, No7 Lip Crayon £9.00, Topshop shoes £18.00

I bought these pyjama bottoms in Primark the other day after instantly falling in love with them. They are just really pretty and lightweight making them perfect for summer nights...and lazy days.  

It's usually worth having a look at the sale jewellery in Topshop and I'm glad I did. I love the bright colours and will probably wear this with a plain grey or white T-shirt. However, I don't think I would have paid the full price for it which was £10 but that's because I have enough necklaces that I hardly wear! 

I picked up a No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in the shade Delicate Pink because I was expecting it to be like a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain which I love! (Or a Clinique Chubby Stick, which I haven't tried...yet).

 I've used it a couple of times and have found that it is much more moisturising than the balm stains. It doesn't have the same staying power and is more of a cross between the balm stains and lip butters but overall I think it's a lovely product and I know I will get a lot of use out of it. 

I have wanted to buy a pair of flatforms for a while and found these Marley pumps on the Topshop website. As soon as I saw that they had been reduced to £18 from £30 in the sale I quickly snapped them up. I originally ordered them in Yellow but they ended up not having them in stock and I decided to get the coral pair to give them a try. I'm so glad I did because they are such a lovely colour and are actually really comfortable shoes. I'm pretty average height but it's nice to get some height without having to wear heels (which I don't get on with). 

There are some pretty good bargains out there in the mid season sales. Have you found any?

Disclosure: The views expressed are based on my own experience.