Anyway, for a morning in the salon and afternoon in the park I’m wearing a very easy outfit. Marks & Spencer’s beach trousers, M&S black leather sandals, navy H&M vest, navy Zara biker jacket.

On a different note, I’m on the look out for two scarves. One gold and black, and a plain(ish) navy one I can wear with patterned navy things. Have you seen anything?

I adore sunglasses and wear them all year round.

Here are a few I like (I had written a paragraph about each but am going to let the photos do the work – I love sunglasses but I know nothing about what suits what face shape etc. I just buy what I like and be damned)

I have never really looked at Victoria Beckham’s eyewear collections before but there are a few gems on the Outnet.

If you have grey, green or hazel eyes, give grey sunnies a try. I am a major convert. they’re less harsh than black and so flattering on the eyes.

Classic, Chloe, 60% off.

I have these and love them. I tend to wear one of my many pairs of Raybans more in the City but these feature every day on sunny holidays.

Linda Farrow makes lovely shades. These are from her for Matthew Williamson range with 55% off and something about them has had be reclicking on the all evening. (The photo is huge – maybe it is a sign??)

And one or two that maybe on their way to me….
I had a pair of Raybans two decades ago with a full gold swoosh at the top and beautiful black droplet glasses. People used to laugh at the 16 year old me in a pair of such blingy, grown up sunnies but I adored them. I lent them to a mate to wear to a wedding and never got them back. I have been looking for similar for years and these may just fill some of the gap.

Please do let me know if you get some.

Airport outfit

I wore my gorgeous new Sam Edelman Adena smoking slippers (sold by Van Mildert for £81 – great price!).  Smoking hot shoes for sure, I really love them and have worn them a few times each week since I bought them.  I also wore skinny jeans, a black wool biker jacket and white w black (or dark navy?  Never been able to tell) stars.  Unfortunately I had to wear similar outfits for the next 2 days as the weather was dreary.  Let’s talk about other things, then.

Our accommodation

After much research, we booked a lovely apartment from Rome Loft, who were very helpful.  Its worth calling to find out what’s available, rather than just relying on the online selection, as their apartments seem to book out quickly.  The apartment was called the Trevi Charming, which was just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain.  Its quite handy staying near a major landmark as you never really get lost.  And the fountain is lovely lit up at night.

Anyway, the apartment was perfect for us and we really enjoyed staying there.  Especially as it was only €460 for 3 nights.

Our favourite place to eat

We ate so well in Rome.  Too well.  The gelato shop outside the Trevi Fountain actually sells really nice gelato, if you happen to be wandering past some time.

But where we ate 3 times (uncharacteristically for us – we usually make a point to experience as many places as possible) was Baccano.  Its stylish and modern, but somehow reminiscent of how I imagine some cafes were in the 1920′s, and reminded me of Pastis in New York and also Cafe St Regis in Ille St Louis in Paris (oh, aren’t I jet set – ha ha ha!  Hmm, somehow I doubt an annual trip anywhere makes you jet set, girlfriend!), which I mentioned when I blogged about our weekend in Paris.  Indeed, the website says “Baccano combines an intriguing allure reminiscent of Parisian atmosphere of early 20th century, with a metropolitan contemporary style of a New York restaurant”.  It wasn’t just the restaurant looked that appealed, either. The food was excellent: delicious and beautifully presented.

I  can’t go past a cocktail, either.

The sublime Creme Brulee

The sights

We were only in Rome for 3 days, so we wanted to visit St Peters and the Vatican, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  You can walk from where were staying to all these places, quite easily.

For St Peters and the Vatican, I recommend taking a tour as you can avoid the very long queues.  We took a tour with When in Rome, but there are probably plenty of other companies.  They all seemed to use a headset that you could hear on headphones – MUCH better than the days of yore with shouting tour guides.

St Peters – magnificent, but full of tourists.  Like us!

I must say, I won’t visit the Sistine Chapel again.  Its my second visit, and I still think that Michelangelo was a sculptor, not a painter.  Funny how its one of the great man made wonders of the world, and I felt quite unimpressed.  Poor man, he didn’t even want to do it!

The Colosseum doesn’t disappoint, and it has many helpful, interesting signs with information relevant to what you are looking at.  I would say you don’t need a guide for this sight.  Mighty, mighty structure – what it must have been like to see a spectacle there!

The Roman Forum is so important, historically, but its so confusing trying to navigate your way around and work out which building was most significant eg where the Senate actually met and made decisions.  And its a vast area with lots of windy paths between it and Palatine Hill (where the Roman Emporers lived).  Learn from my mistake – get a tour guid.

I know I am a bit of a grumpy old woman, but, seriously, I am sure Rome wasn’t as full of street stall sellers, selling utter crap, as it is now.  Its to the point where its detracting from the city.  We went to Piazza Navona, sat at an outside cafe, and our view of the water fountains became totally obscured by stands of fake / DIY art.  Really disappointing.  I cheered myself up by eating even more gelato.  Oink, oink,

And the sun came out, so I have an outfit shot.  Outfit is New Look blue and white striped shirt (its so flattering, that I would have bought the pink version, too, except that I would have looked too Barbie for words), TopShop Baxter jeans in white and Aldo Sprouls sandals in gold.

Shopping

Dear me, I sound so negative, but the I didn’t see many Italian clothing shops that appealed to me.  BUT, I did find this divine stationer, Pineider, where I bought something sweet.  The shop is near the Spanish Steps and is so luxe that shopping there is a treat.

And where would we be without Zara?  I can’t imagine!  As many items had a € prefix, rather than a £, it only made sense to have a look.  Here I am, trying on a blazer,  Its nice, but I think its too bright for me, so I didn’t buy anything.  My husband, on the other hand, went a bit mad and bought lots of things.  He never shops, so I had to have another gelato to get over the shock of it.  Oink, oink.

Ciao!

After using for two weeks I can confirm this stuff is magic.  Obviously I’ve not done a test in lab conditions, but I’ve not done anything differently apart from cleanse properly at night and use Effaclar Duo morning and evening.  Blemish marks have gone and my skin looks more radiant.

Whilst my skin was healing, I wanted a foundation to cover the blemishes. An accidental find in Space NK was this Hourglass foundation in Walnut. It’s £50 for the bottle, but you only need a small amount.

This is fantastic,  gives a flawless finish and has SPF.  You can build the colour so it can act more like a tinted moisturiser or a heavier foundation. Judging by the compliments on how ‘well’ I look, I have to say to say this was a good buy.

Top – Zara, Jeans – Topshop Baxters, Shoes – Sweedish Hasbeens, Necklace – Stella & Dot

With only a couple of days to go I think I have my outfit sorted.

I always start my outfit thinking about the shoes.

These Bionda Castana heels have been on my wishlist for ages.  I hesitated and they sold out on My-Wardrobe.  When something sells out it almost becomes a challenge to find them, and I discovered them on Young British Designers.  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk in them, so I called them.  Customer service was fantastic and they even arrived with a personal note.  They are the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned (and I have a lot of shoes)  Whether I manage to last a day in them only time will tell.  Any tips gratefully received.

Next the dress.  I’m planning to wear Goat Serena.  I’m a big fan of Goat Fashion.  I find their dresses really well made and luxe fabric.  I used to buy a lot from LK Bennett for work, but the price vs quality hasn’t been there for me in recent years.  Goat is quite expensive, but the sales are very good (and on now).

I still have to confirm the bag which needs to be big enough for spare shoes.  The  lovely Mon WornOut has offered to lend me one of her collection, or I may take the Anya Hindmarch Huxley

Finally, the hat – I don’t do hats as I don’t think they suit me.  The lovely Rachel Wornout suggested I go to Fenwick where they have a Pop up Hat store just for Ascot.  A very patient and knowledgeable sales assistant immediately found a hat that a) suited me and b) I liked.  It’s by Marzi She even suggested I go upstairs to the Goat concession and try on with the dress.   I wish I’d taken her name, so I could send a note to the store manager.   I can’t find the hat online, but promise to take a photo of me wearing it.

I’m just hoping the weather stays dry as I have no wet weather contingency.

I had planned to wear something a bit different – maybe my green Zara coat for the first time, or the yellow blazer I am longing to wear (which I note TOWIE’s Chloe has). In the end the weather and fact I was getting dressed in the usual rush meant I opted for something easy.

Zara leather lapel black and gold jacket (which Sharon from Eastenders has too), old animal print scarf, Zara dark indigo cropped skinnies, very old New Look snake heels. I love these shoes and had totally forgotten them stashed away with all my old work heels. Little Legs appeared wearing them the other day having raided the box. I soon wiped away her guilty look with a big kiss!

I promised my lippy photos. Bad hair but it was a bad week! Nars Red Square matt crayon, Lipstick Queen Hot Rose Sinner (more pink than red), Mac Lady Bug, Chanel Coromandel.

Let’s see what this week holds and what other super stars I can style match!

It seems I have raided every hotel bathroom I’ve walked past over the past decade and forgotten my bounty in the bathroom cupboard as soon as I got home. I got rid of loads of things (all the new and barely used things I will be boxing up to give to Give and Makeup)

I have recently realised that at the ripe old age of 36 I have become a loyal customer to a handful brands. After years of chopping and changing, won over by glitzy adverts and pushy sales assistants, I’ve decided there are things I buy that work and I should just stick with them.

The top of my love list is Kiehls Creme de Corp. This isn’t cheap but it works. It is occasionally included in John Lewis Price Matches and I stock up. There are some good eBay sellers too. I had an exfoliation massage a few months ago. Except they couldn’t get their potion to exfoliate as my skin was so moisturised. Kiehls works.

This Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover is great. It’s essentially a pot filled with nail polish remover soaked foam. You pop your finger in for a second or two, squidge it from side to side and pull it out polish free. Despite extensive research I haven’t yet come up with a way of getting my toes in the pot. You can however moisten cotton wool with it. It’s good for holidays and has replaced all other nail polish removing products from my bathroom cabinet. It’s also acetone free so suitable for sensitive skin and acrylic nails.

I love By Terry. Of all the products I have tried over the years I have not found a brand as consistently excellent as By Terry.

This Mascara Terrybly is superb. I started using it again after a few months break and my partner thought I’d had eyelash extensions again. It really does lengthen and thicken lashes. I put one or two coats on for day and four or five for evening. It layers without flaking. It is the sole reason I can reisit the allure of the eyelash extension.

Earlier in the year I decided to give L’Occitane Divine cream range a try (thanks to Gina WornOut!) I liked it and bought it three times. This month I decided to go by back to this By Terry Creme de Rose face cream and in just over a week my skin is plumper, firmer and brighter.

I know several of my WornOut friends also swear by By Terry’s Baume de Rose. It is a lip balm with a very slight pinky sheen. I use it instead of lipstick for most days, as a cuticle cream, eyebrow tamer and occasionally as a magic balm for cuts and grazes. One pot lasts a year.

I think foundation is a really personal thing but will mention this magic in a bottle. Here again I benefitted from Gina’s love of trying new products and she gave me my first tube of this. I will never use another foundation (probably!)

Last one. I have recently started using a Bobbi Brown concealer which I love (thanks Gina and Ann) – it stays put all day and really does “lift” my skin. I still carry one of these Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark Circles pens with me when I go out though. It brightens my eyes in a flash and actually feels nice and cooling to use. My sister (who does not have two small sleepless children) uses it instead of a concealer.

I know lots of these things are pricey and I am sorry.

I haven’t blogged much this week as my mamma has been in hospital for her (successful) mastectomy and I’ve spent the week in loungewear. I have worn red lipstick every day though (see why here) and I will share my efforts and some new purchases and outfits in the next few days.

Have a good weekend.

EEK! I’ve been doing it, just not blogging it. So here goes, the last 3 days:

Day 4: CHANEL Pirate, a lovely deep crimson

Day 5: Revlon Kiss Me Coral, brightest orangey red

Day 6: CHANEL Coromandel, also on the orange end of the scale, as lots of my favourite reds are.

Last day tomorrow, and I promise to be a better blogger.

I need better light to get a decent photo of me in it. I will try over the weekend if the weather is kind enough to let me wear it without turning blue.

Have a happy Friday.