Heaven in a Handbag #1 - Mulberry Bayswater

I decided to start a mini series about handbags. Most, if not all women adore them. Whether they be expensive or affordable, there’s nothing better than a new bag. (except maybe equally a new pair of shoes!) I am lucky enough to have a few amazing ones which I love, adore, (maybe) worship, etcetera. These happen to be quite expensive brands (no, I am not trying to brag – please don’t think that) and I thought doing reviews of each might be helpful in case anyone was considering purchasing any of them or just a more expensive branded bag in general. I know it is sometimes difficult to go into higher end boutiques and ask for a look at items as it can be intimidating, so I really hope this will give you a better idea if your thinking of investing! I will run through the features of each, what I love, what I don’t like and will honestly tell you if I think they are worth the money.


First up is the classic Mulberry Bayswater.




I have the Bayswater in Black Natural Leather and it retails for £695. What can I say about this bag? I absolutely love it and have used it constantly since I got it almost three years ago now. It is a great bag for
everything; shopping, work, uni, going out casually.. it is brilliant.





This classic black Bayswater only comes with gold hardware, however if you are looking for something similar with silver hardware, seasonally Mulberry do several different styles of Bayswater in different finishes and with silver hardware. I happen to love the gold hardware with the black leather, however I love their coloured leather and patent leather with silver hardware!! The bag has a postman style catch with the Mulberry emblem, has four gold feet on the bottom to protect the leather when you sit it down and has the
cute addition of a little postman lock which you can attach to the catch of the bag.




Close up of the feet to protect the leather on the bottom of the bag.






The little lock and the covering for it, so cute! (Although I have never used it…)





The inside of this bag is really spacious, (for reference a full 2 litre bottle of water fits inside it pretty easily) and is adjustable too. Straps and buckles are on the inside front of the bag, which you can loosen or tighten in order to make the width of the bag greater or smaller. I quite like the structured look of the Bayswater so I have never loosened the straps on mine, and honestly have never needed to as I’ve always found that there is plenty of space!





Inside the bag, there is a large pocketed area, which has a zippered section and two small pockets on the front of it.




The zippered section. Size shown below.




This is the pocket with an iPhone in a cover inside it, just to show you the kind of size that it is. There’s definitely enough room for an iPhone, lipgloss, keys etc. in this pocket!


The front pockets are much smaller, again shown below with an iPhone to give you a rough idea of size. (I would say credit card sized)






Above is the bag stretched out as much as possible without the straps being loosened, as you can see it is huge!




Here’s a picture of me holding it so you can get an idea of what it looks like on my arm and gives you a chance to see the size of it versus the size of me!


So, honestly, do I think it is worth the money? Yes.

The way I see it, is that I will use this bag forever. I’ve had it three years already and it is still in great condition. The way these bags are made is to change and get better with age, which they definitely do. Keeping any bag (not just good ones) in nice condition is about the way you look after them and store them, so that definitely does play a big part. The quality is so amazing in this bag that even as little bits get some wear and tear, give it more character. I’ve seen older Bayswaters and they look so charming, all soft and lovely! The fact that it is classic black means that it goes with lots of things and for many occasions.

It also comes down to cost per wear. Over the past (almost) three years I must have worn this bag about 400-500 times. That takes cost per wear (I averaged at 450) down to about £1.50 per wear. This is the argument I use all the time. (helps to justify it a wee bit) Considering that I plan to use it forever, I truly believe that it is worth the investment.


I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, do you think that expensive bags are worth the investment?

xoxo

Almost Just Married: Wedding Flowers

I asked on Twitter if people would like to see more wedding related posts and an overwhelming majority said yes! So I decided I will do a wee post every so often with my inspirations. They’ll obviously increase in frequency the sooner we get to the wedding! I’ve been going mad thinking about flowers this week, if I had a completely unlimited budget I would fill the whole venue with flowers!

Beautiful Bouquets..








Can you tell that I like peonies? Okay, I love peonies! They are singularly the prettiest and most romantic flower imaginable. I will definitely be having a posy, based on the pictures shown above and the main flower will definitely be peonies (really, Samantha!?) but I’m not too sure about colours yet! My bridesmaids will either be in a teal/green or an emerald colour, so I think my bouquets will be a combination of white, pale pink and bright pink. Don’t hold me to that though!


Charming Centrepieces..








Our venue has really high ceilings and is a big room. I want to go for an understated sort of elegance and really want high centrepieces as not to disturb the flow of conversation across the table. I’m not completely set on what centrepieces we’ll have yet, but I’ve put some inspiration above. I really love the idea of having a large messy posy type arrangement in a tall vase, and I want lots of candles on the table too!

Other beautiful bits and pieces...

That's just some little bits of inspiration! I’ve got lots more on Pinterest if you want to follow me over on there! You can go to my boards by clicking here.

I’d love to know if you’ve been married, what you had for flowers. Or just what you think in general of what I’ve posted on here! I love when people share ideas with me!

Also if there is anything wedding related in particular you’d like to see, be sure to let me know!

xoxo

Spot Fighting Scrubs

I’ve been having a lot of problems with my skin lately, with plenty of spots popping up around my chin! Normally I have pretty clear skin, but it’s going a bit crazy at the moment. This all started after I was using Simple Spotless Skin line (which incidentally is to help get rid of spots) which broke me out terribly.





I've been trying lots of different scrubs and washes, and I thought I would review these three for you all!





I picked up this Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control daily scrub after my spots really started flaring up. You can get this pretty much everywhere and it retails at £4.79. This formula is enriched with green tea and cucumber and helps to unclog pores and remove dead skin cells. It claims to be gentle enough for everyday use without over-drying.

The formula itself is a gel/cream consistency and feels really light when you put it onto your face. It has small blue coloured micro beads which help to remove the impurities. When rubbing this into your face, it has a cool, slight tingling feeling and a hint of a minty fragrance. When you rinse it, it really does leave your skin feeling smooth and squeaky clean. I’ve noticed a big difference in my spots since I started using this, and when I stopped using it to try out the DHC cleansing oil I got in my August Glossybox, (review here) I broke out! So it seems to be working! I’d definitely recommend it.





St Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub is an old favourite. I used to love it when I was about 14/15 and it really helped my skin back then. When I found it in Asda on sale for £2 I thought I would give it a try again. It claims to be the UK’s number one scrub brand, and this specific product has 100% natural exfoliants (including walnuts and corn kernel) and 100% natural extracts. It also has salicylic acid to help clear and prevent spots. Like I mentioned, I got this on offer for around £2 at Asda, and it is currently half price in Superdrug just now for £1.99!

The one thing I will say about this scrub is that my skin feels so soft after using it, its pretty unbelievable! It has a slight apricot but also woody scent. (I’m guessing that’s the walnuts..) The exfoliator particles are much more visible in this scrub and it really does clean the skin very well, whilst still feeling gentle and moisturising. The only thing I would say is that I think that the Neutrogena one has cleared up my spots a lot more. This one didn’t really seem to do much in terms of spots, but when my skin problem has shifted I would definitely use this as an everyday scrub!





I’ve had this product for a while now. It is the Clearasil Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts Wash and Mask. Even before my skin started flaring up, I would use this mask once a week to avoid the exact problem that I now have! I stopped using it to use the Simple line which eventually caused the problems I now have. It contains a high level of moisturisers and a low level of salicylic acid so your skin looks clear  and smooth, and has avocado/ pomegranate extracts and Vitamin E to protect and nourish the skin. It retails for £4.99.

Like I said, I’ve been using this mask once a week on and off for about 3 months now and I really do like it. I tended not to use it as a daily face wash but you definitely could as it feels really gentle on the skin. It doesn’t have a particular scent and is a really thick creamy consistency. You leave the mask on for 3-5 minutes and it dries, which I love. (For some reason I really like face masks that dry in? – weird, I am aware!) It leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean and since I’ve started using it again I can see my spots and scarring fading, which I’m really happy with.


I’d love to hear any recommendations you have in terms of skincare that helps to fight spots! If you have a favourite, please let me know!!

xoxo

Currently Coveting #2

1. China Glaze Ruby Pumps//£6.49//Salon Services 2. Chunky Knit Oversize Sweater//£34.99//Mango 3. Collar Necklace//£7.99//H&M 4. Mink Snaffle Ankle Boots//£75//Next 5. Supernatural Season 1-6//£43.97//Amazon 6. Alicia Flare Lace Dress//£77//French Connection

I was reading the lovely Amy’s blog over at PaintPotted about her new China Glaze nail polish and it made me realise I have to get this one in Ruby Pumps. It’s my absolute favourite nail polish (maybe ever) and is great for Winter! It is a deep red with a beautiful metallic shimmer with red and gold micro glitter. It is great all through Autumn and is lovely at Christmas too. I completely scraped the bottle of my old one so I have to repurchase. I buy most of my China Glaze nail polishes from Salon Services as I have a trade card, it is definitely one of my favourite nail polish brands in term of formula and consistency. Will be sure to do a post on it when I get it!

I am in love with sweaters, and the colour grey, so this one is perfect for me. Will be great for lazy weekends with a pair of skinnies in the Autumn! Bib necklaces are still really on trend for this A/W season and I think this one is so cute. I really love classic, simple style and this fits in perfectly with that.
These boots are gorgeous! My mum already has them and I can fit into them (they may go missing from her wardrobe… haha) but I really want a pair of my own! They are so soft and really comfortable, plus they look amazing on.

For those who don’t know, I am a total TV geek, especially American TV. My fiancé and I have recently started watching Supernatural. It’s really good and I wouldn’t mind the full box set! We’re almost at the end of season 2, and if you like TV programmes like True Blood, Fringe or Bones then you’ll definitely love Supernatural too!

Finally, I love this LBD! It is a really classic shape and I think it would flatter my figure beautifully. Would be great dressed down or dressed up and I love the lace detailing on the back.

What’s on your lust list?

xoxo