REN ATLANTIC KELP & MAGNESIUM MINI GIFT SET {AD}

We’re coming up to my absolute FAVOURITE time of the year: Christmas!! Cue all the Christmas movies, tree decorating, yummy treats and, of course, shopping for Christmas presents. With Christmas shopping in mind, I have one of REN’s new Skincare Gift Sets to share with you from their holiday offering for this year.

For years now, REN has been one of my go to brands for skincare. I have very, very sensitive skin. I’m talking allergic reactions to the sun and vitamin injections kind of sensitivity (yes, seriously). It’s something that developed from having Fibromyalgia and it’s made looking after my skin that much more difficult. After doing my research I came across REN and their range designed specifically for sensitive skin. I use a few of their products now as part of my everyday routine, and they’ve truly made a big difference. So I’m always interested in trying more from them.

A few weeks ago I was very kindly sent their Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Mini Gift Set to try. Featuring mini versions of some of their best-selling Atlantic Kelp range, this Christmas gift set includes their Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Body Wash, Body Lotion and Bath Oil. Formulated to ‘lift your senses while cleansing and nourishing your skin’, with ‘a blend of anti-fatigue oils that’s perfect for men and women’, I was excited to try everything.

I’ve been using all three of the products for a few weeks now in order to really test them out and I’ve loved each of them. They have a nice, uplifting scent to them, nothing too strong or offensive. I’m 100% the wrong person to try and describe a smell, but it’s very pleasant, and it’s neutral enough to make this appealing to both men and women as described. The Body Wash is lovely to use, creating a good lather and leaving just a slight lingering scent afterwards. A little goes a long way, and despite constant use I’ve still got a good amount left in the bottle which is great from mini sizes like this. The Body Lotion is similar, you don’t need much. It sinks into the skin well and provides moisture and nourishment. I actually used more than usual on my legs after shaving and coming up in a bad rash and this lotion really helped to soothe it. The Bath Oil just requires a small amount poured into your bath water to create a nice, relaxing scent. It made my skin silky and soft afterwards and the scent remained lightly through the day which was nice.

The anti-fatigue aim through the use of magnesium oil was especially intriguing to me. I suffer from quite severe fatigue and exhaustion through my illness and it’s difficult to deal with. In the past I’ve tried magnesium oil to try and help combat it, but with having such sensitive skin I couldn’t continue as it caused a lot of itchiness and irritation. With these products my skin reacted perfectly fine with no irritation at all. I can’t say whether it helped my fatigue or not, it’s far too bad and up and down to tell whether these helped, but they did help me relax, and that’s always a win for me.

I tend to love gift sets like this for Christmas presents, both to buy for others and to receive for myself. The packaging for this year’s collection of REN gift sets was designed by renowned Swedish stationery designer, kikki.K. I’m a bit of a sucker for designer gift boxes and I love the design for the gift set I received, it definitely makes for a stylish present.

I suppose what’s considered the most important part of any review is would I recommend this product? The answer for me is yes, I definitely would. However, I think the better question to ask is would I buy it? Yep, I really would. I’ve loved each of the products included in this gift set. As much as I wanted to look for a negative to include as a downside to give a fair review, I just couldn’t find one. It’s a lovely gift set with great products inside. What’s not to love? Now bring on Christmas!

Katie xx

REN Atlantic Kelp & Magnesium Gift Set, £25

This gift set was kindly gifted, however this review is my own honest opinion. 

NEW SEASON, NEW STYLE

One of the best things about a new season for me personally is the opportunity it gives me to reinvent my style. There’s no better time to try something new, embrace a new trend, step outside of your comfort zone. The beginning of a new season brings with it new colours and prints, new shapes, and new styling ideas you may never have thought of. It’s hard not to get motivated and inspired to try something different.

For me, no season brings about this spark more than autumn. I’ve said it time and time again that it’s by far my favourite season for fashion. Summer style for me is always a bit meh. I just don’t really have much of an idea of what I want to wear or how to make the trends work for me and my personal style. Autumn, however, I come into my element. There’s nothing I love more than playing with layers and textures, wrapped up in knitwear and big faux fur coats. But still, I always want to change up my usual autumn style to suit the season’s trends and fresh approaches.

Case in point, this outfit. There is so much about this that makes it completely different to anything I’ve worn before. I’m not really one to opt for formal pieces, but there was something about these navy tie-waist culottes from Asos that caught my eye. In the spirit of trying a new style, I decided to order them and just give them a try, and boy am I glad I did. They’re super high-waisted, which is exactly my style, and the loose shape makes them comfortable as well.

I’d normally pair this kind of outfit with some trusty block heel ankle boots. In March I really injured my back and I’m still having a nightmare with it (hence the lack of posting), so trainers have been my go to all summer long, and I’ve ended up actually liking the juxtaposition of their casualness against my usual style. Add in a colourful, patterned knit (Primark, by the way, who are killing it for knitwear at the moment) and a contrasting bag and I’m set.

This outfit is exactly why I love embracing new trends. I never would have thought I’d wear this mix of pieces together, but yet here we are and I loved the unexpectedness of the look. I always look for new pieces I can style, something that makes me step away from my style rut. There’s nothing like a new season to inspire me when it comes to fashion.

Katie xx

Tie Waist Culottes, Asos

Patterned Jumper, Primark

Checked Bag, Asos

Trainers, Adidas

THE POWER OF THE BLAZER

Blazers have never really been my thing. I tried them when I was younger but I guess I always felt too young, like the style was too rigid and mature for me back then. But in the past few months, they’ve slowly worked their way back into my wardrobe. It started for work, having a blazer to throw on over a dress was a great way to smarten up the look and make it more formal, plus having that added layer kept me warm throughout the cold autumn and winter. Since then blazers have become somewhat of a hero piece for me. And not just for work, I find myself reaching for them more and more for my everyday outfits as well.

I can’t quite explain the feeling I get when I slip a blazer on, other than saying it gives me confidence. I think it’s that typical idea of the suit and the power that can often represent. I for one can in no way pull off a full suit, but a blazer is such an easy piece to have, you can add it to any outfit and it just adds that formal touch. They can look just as amazing with a pair of cigarette trousers and shirt, a colourful dress, or a simple plain tee and blue jeans.

TALKING MONEY AND GIFFGAFF GAMEPLAN EVENT

Confession time; I am terrible with money. It’s probably no surprise given how much I love to shop, but I have to start being responsible. I’m going to get really personal with you all and give you a bit of background into the state of my personal finances. As many of you know, I spent quite a few years bed ridden from Fibromyalgia, and then a couple more years getting better at a tediously slow pace, but getting better nonetheless. It took a long time for me to learn to live with the pain and start working again.

Obviously, I had to start by just working part time a few hours each week, and as I continued to make progress I was ultimately able to increase how many hours I worked. After so many years of struggling and basically going through hell, once I started working and had an income again the last thing I wanted to do was worry about being careful with money. In other words, I treated myself. The thing I wanted more than anything was a holiday. I had 7 years without one, and all I wanted was to go back to Disney World once I knew I could handle it physically. This is where I was very naughty money wise. Yes, I got my dream holiday which I feel was highly deserved to Disney World in December 2016, and had the absolute best time. But then 2017 started, I had a really bad flare up of my pain (which is why I had to take a long break from blogging), I worked extremely hard to get better again, got a new job, and then thought I deserved to go back to Disney World AGAIN in November 2017, because if I haven’t said it enough in every other post, it’s my favourite place in the world and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I worked my butt off doing overtime at work to pay for it, and I was extremely careful with my money because I had something to save for, something I desperately wanted. And that was all fine. But then when I got there this time, I went a little bit crazier than usual, bought wayyyyy too much stuff, had to take out a 0% credit card and I’m now stuck with paying it off. And to worsen things, we’ve had to buy some big homeware purchases in the last few weeks such as a new bed, which was not cheap. So to sum up, we have debt.