I’ve had so much fun over the last month. Jesse’s birthday party on the 13th was fabulous and the beautiful weather we’ve been experiencing down here in Devon these past few weeks has been wonderful. I love wearing sandals and summer dresses, spending hours in the park with the children after school, eating ice creams and sipping chilled rose in the evenings. I just adore summer, I wish it could be like this all the time!

I’ve got plenty to look forward to in July (jetting off to Bali in 9 days for example!) but here are a handful of things that have been making me smile in Jun….

• Summer jewellery. Jesse appears to have finally moved on from the ‘grab mummy’s earlobes and yank ’em’ stage which means I can once again fully embrace my earring collection. None of these pictured here are new (all Accessorize though I believe) but I love them and I’ve been wearing them plenty. While we’re on the subject, I’ll urge you to check out the jewellery sale in Warehouse if you get the chance. Today I picked up a pair of gorgeous bronze embellished hoops for 8op… YES, 80p! Reduced from £6! I also scored a gorgeous bronze cuff for £1.60. It was originally £12! Is it just me or does jewellery look even better when it’s a bargain?!
• Watching Jesse take his first steps. I’m going to have to accept that he’s less baby, more toddler now. He still seems to favour crawling (it’s still faster, he’s got some serious speed behind him) but I have a feeling we’ll come back from our holiday with a fully fledged walker.

• No. 7 Dual Protection Tinted Moisturiser. This stuff is amazing! I’ve been wearing it solidly for the last fortnight and I’m hooked, it’s all I’ll be packing base wise for my holiday. I’ll leave it to the likes of Laura to review this properly (she’s much better at it than me), but I will say that this inexpensive (I paid £11) product gives my skin a fabulous glow. It also seems to provide an extra layer of hydration that leaves my skin feeling incredibly soft, but it doesn’t make my combination skin any oilier, no shiny t-zone here. I love the level of coverage it gives too. I’ve been applying this with clean fingers, adding a little concealer where I need it and buffing a touch of MAC MSF Natural over the top. For me, this is the perfect base for summer time, it even holds up really well in the heat.
• MAC Ever Hip and Chanel Genial. Hmmmm…. like you didn’t see this one coming? OK, OK, I promise I’ll stop going on about how much I love these lipsticks. But would you just look at them ladies. They’re so pretty! Read more about them here, here, here and here.
• Cream Blush, particularly Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pink Raspberry (sadly discontinued I believe). This obsession really goes hand in hand with wearing the No. 7 TM. The dewiness of cream blush just looks so fresh and healthy, perfect in the sunshine. I’ve had a few compliments from friends recently saying how healthy I look and I’m sure it’s all down to the (fake) inner glow that this combination of products is giving me. The Pot Rouge is beautiful applied with a duo-fibre brush (something like the MAC 187, but I have a cheap Jodie Kidd dupe that I picked up in Boots) and I’m planning on picking up another shade of this product when I hit Duty Free next week. I’ve also been loving the Topshop cream blush in Neon Rose, particularly when blended out with a little of Benefit’s Highbeam. Sometimes I dust a little powder blush over the top (MAC Pink Swoon over the BB or NARS Orgasm over the Topshop) which looks lovely and helps my blush last all day in the heat.
• Strawberry Cornettos and Twister ice-lollies. The great thing about having children is that you have an excuse to pass by the freezer cabinet everyday on the way home from school. I cheekily pass off my own ice-cream obsession as theirs, convincingly rolling my eyes and mumbling ‘kids, hey’ to the cashier as I hand over my money.
• Revlon Tropical Temptation nail polish. The perfect summer pedicure colour. Still going strong after 2 1/2 weeks on my tootsies. No picture because nobody likes a toe-of-the-day, do they?!
• Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Exotic Bronzing Blush. I never thought I could truly love bronzer until I tried this product. It’s amazing, I mean it’s a bronzer and it does give you that sunkissed glow but it’s also a blush that imparts a beautiful pink sheen to your cheeks. I love this, it warms my pale complexion perfectly, it has an amazingly smooth texture and the pigmentation is spot on. It’s become a summer essential for me and will definitely be joining me on my trip to Bali.

Loveaudrey xxx