10 HANDBAG ESSENTIALS

There are loads of things that a girl can accomodate in her handbag and the items would vary from person to person. Someone who likes reading would always carry a book, who loves music will have an i-Pod or MP3 player, someone who loves taking pictures might want to carry her camera, girls with dry skin would keep their lotion or moisturiser handy, almost every girl would want makeup items (lipstick, mascara, compact, blusher). But despite everyone's individuals needs, the following are the 10 must-have items, the essentials, that every girl should carry in her handbag:



1. Wallet

Best Buy: Nine West (1&2), Matt and Nat (3) and Stella McCartney Wallets

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2. Lip Gloss or Lip Balm and/or lipstick

Best Buy: Lancome Juicy Tube (lip gloss and colour)

. . Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream (lip balm)

Lancome's Juicy Tubes smell good, makes your lips soft and supple and keep them hydrated and make them look delectable. For more information on Juicy Tubes click here.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream is the best lip balm ever. it as an ultra-intensive lip balm and gloss. It's very soothing indeed and needs only occasional re-application when compared with similar products. It works well even on the most dry and cracked lips and makes your lip soft and supple. Read more on The Encyclopedia of Lip Balms.

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3. Hairbrush or Comb

Best Buy: Denman Comb



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4. Pen

Best Buys: Mont Blanc, Parker, Cross

Pens are one of the most importnt handbag essentials which many girls neglect. They come in useful at the most unusual times. Mont Blanc, Cartier, Parker or Cross, whichever suits your budget, style and need, you must have one.

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5. Small Tissue Pack

Best Buy: Paseo Small Tissue Pack

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6. Miniature Perfume

Best Buy: Estee Lauder Miniature Perfume Gift Set, Harajuku Lovers miniature perfume bottles



The delicate look of the miniature perfume is beguiling and its portability and obvious convenience makes it a handbag essential. You can instantly smell delicious in your fav perfume's miniature version just about anywhere. I have loads of them (miniature bottles). In case you don't want to spend on them then perfume samples are a great option. Ask the person at the store to give you some perfume samples whenever you buy a bottle, and stash them in your bag. Its free and handy.

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1. Estee Lauder Miniature Perfume Gift Set for £24 (US click here $67)

2. Harajuku Lovers Miniature Perfume Bottles for £12 each

3. Miniature Perfume Vivabox by The Perfume Shop for £29.35 and £49



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7. Mirror

Best Buy: Chanel's Mirror Duo

Chanel's Double Facette Duo Mirror, normal and magnifying, is the indispensable handbag mirror for precise makeup application and re-touching throughout the day. The normal side for discreet retouching and the magnifying fo precision application. And it looks great too with its black case having Chanel logo on the front and ultra slim shape. Totally worth it at $40 (USA), 20 GBP (UK) and Rs 1,650 (India).

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8. Sanitary Napkin

Goes without saying. This must be there in your bag at all times. Best Buy? Well depends which suits you and your needs but I think P&G's sanitary napkins are best, their brands include Whisper and Always.





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9. Hair Ties or Hair Pins

You never know when it comes handy. And they are life savers that moment.





10. SOS items - nail filer, bandaid, painkiller, safety pins





With these Ten Handbag Essentials you are ready for every situation. Girls, what are the must-have items in your handbag? Leave your comments.

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Wardrobe Must Haves - all time classics

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Deadly Nightshade in Your Cup of Tea

I'm on a day trip {shopping + more!} today so I just want to share these beautiful photos with you before I go off for some lovely food, enjoy dears! xx

(photos from i put deadly nightshade in your cup of tea)

Reebok EasyTone Shoes

Take your gym with you this season. Reebok's EasyTone is the latest innovation in the sports footwear range. These new line of sneakers tone your legs as you walk around in them.

EasyTone is a cushioning concept designed to help you burn more calories and tone core leg muscles. They have “balance pods” built in under the heel and forefoot of the shoes, which are designed to create natural instability with every step. This instability forces your leg and glute muscles to work harder, increasing muscle tone and giving you a workout when you’re just walking around the house or doing everyday activities.

Now by just running for your daily errands, shopping, picking your groceries you can keep yourself fit. At Reebok they say 'you're always toning with EasyTone - even when you're standing still'. At $109, these shoes are worth a try, and they do look good. They come in five colours black, blue, green, golden and purple.


Related Posts:
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Look slimmer with smart dressing
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ode to spring

Inspired by all the fallen petals from blooming trees, I have been working away on a petals series. Here they all are glazed, fresh out of the kiln.

Below are the process images:


1. bisque stage


2. wax resist applied to the bottoms, preventing glaze from absorbing into that area


3. glazed and drying, waiting to be loaded into the kiln

Modern with an Edge

I love this modern home, it's clean, fresh, modern but not boring. Touches of colour here and there gives life to these white rooms, while the owner's fun collection of prints and art addes an edge, a personality.

What makes it even better is that it wouldn't cost a fortune to creat the look, it is the result of some Ikea furniture mixed along with flea market finds, topped with some lovely prints from say Etsy, and C'est fait!

Isn't that workspace just wonderful? Ok, I'm off to pack for a little day trip tomorrow ;) The secret will be revealed soon! xx

(images via Angie Cao)

a bowl without a spoon is like...

Every good bowl needs a good spoon, though the ones designed by Kirsten Hecktermann and hand carved in her father's workshop in Kilifi, Kenya put many a good bowl to shame. They are such gorgeous sculptural creations.

The spoons are carved out of managed local hard woods and marine bone. Some styles are available at Horne.

Kirsten's textiles are also spectacular.

This and That

{via Oh Joy!}

This is going to be a tag & awards post, but I promise to keep you entertained with some pretty picutes ;) Thanks for the lovely Sarah for this tag, ok here goes:

What’s your current obsession?
The new china collection by Studio Violet - I only saw it yesterday!!

What’s your weirdest obsession?
Seagulls - a family of seagulls live on our roof and I've seen them at least once everyday since we moved in, like 18 months ago, I'll really miss them when I move

What are you wearing today?
A oversized floral tee with DIY pins added to reshape it, skinny jeans & equestrian style boots - it was raining like crazy this morning

What would you like to learn to do?
Take good photos! Think I need a DSLR as my diginal camera is just not doing the job, I would also like to finally read those two photography books I bought last summer!

What’s for dinner today?
Maybe a takeaway, I'm thinking lamb madras curry... just wondering is curry popular elsewhere?

What’s the last thing you bought?
How I love internet shopping & the sale, hoping to get these tomorrow! :D

{Ring - Outnet.com, Boots - Fly London, rest - Topshop}

What’s your most challenging goal right now?
I really want to open an online clothing store, I've seen these really pretty floral dresses & cute tees made by small manufacturers in Japan, Korean & China, and just don't understand why they have to be so expensive over here. A floral dress on topshop.com is rare & when they do have one it's at least £50, it's not like the quality is so much better.

So a busy summer for me researching and trying to figure out about international shipping + tax etc. it's going to be so fun! - the clothes buying part :D

Favorite vacation place?
Either paris or venice, I can't choose!

What would you like to have in your hands right now?
This Fendi bag!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Relaxing while listening to the sea

What super power would you like to possess?
Magical powers or teleport, I'd be happy with either :)

What’s your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?
My huge floral print tee with DIY pins added on of course ;) the original tee looks like this

What’s your dream job?
To be a business woman in fashion/design, say online boutique owner? :D

If you had $150 now what would you spend it on?
These pretty blue & white things from aviewto

Describe your personal style
Feminine mixed with an edgy, currently trying to perfect that edgy!

What fashion show would you want tickets to?
I've dreamed about this since I was a little girl - Chanel

Who’s closet would you want to raid?
Alexa Chung, although her clothes will never fit me, I'm like half as tall!!

the 2nd tag is from the sweet surimay:

{Original photo by Melissa Lund }

Also, I'd like to thank the lovely Little Miss Tiara for the Lemonade Award & Diana for the cutest "deer" award, I'd like to pass the love onto:

A View To ; Blog Goggles ; Lenorenevermore ; The English Muse ; The Princess Portal ; Denoto & WISH WISH WISH

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone! Since it's that time of year - Exams!! I'll be taking a break from {Beauty Tuesday} as it usually take a while to pull together a post, but I will be posting normally, think I'll be needing quite a few revision breaks :)

(all images linked to sources)

transferware

I saw the above transferware plate at the Brooklyn Flea the other weekend, and decided to do some investigating into this particular style of decorative ceramics.




Transferware is created by transferring a printed image onto the surface either under or over a glaze. This transfer technique, the predecessor to decals, was developed in England in the mid-18th century, particularly around the Staffordshire region.

The process starts with an engraved copper plate similar to those used for making paper engravings. The plate is used to print the pattern on tissue paper, then the tissue paper transfers the wet ink to the ceramic surface. The ceramic is then fired in a low temperature kiln to fix the pattern. This can be done over or under the glaze, but the underprinting method is more durable. The process produces fine lines similar to the engraved prints in old books. Before transfer printing ceramics were hand painted, a laborious and costly process. You can find more information, and sample patterns, on the Transferware Collector's Club website.

I love the backs of the plates, shown below with the mark of the maker, just as much as the fronts, if not more. This is where graphic design has met ceramics over the centuries.

bodo sperlein

I found Bodo Sperlein through Horne, a thoughtfully curated online boutique that carries beautiful objects from around world. Lovely, delicate work.

Country Chic

Hello everyone, hope you all had a good weekend? The paella was quite successful but we were too hungry to take photos first ;) Also watched Bring It On for some silly afternoon humour :D

While I don't consider myself as a country girl at all (I spend most of my life living in flats! With four homes all on the 4th floor? Totally by chance!), but I do love these country chic styling, do you have a bit of a country girl in you?

Put a bit of country in your daily outfits? Work, Casual and Dressy.

{Outfit from left to right: Nathan Jenden Shirt, Roberto Cavalli Belt, Chloé Skirt, Oscar de la Renta Shoes; Steven Alan Shirt, Bottega Veneta Belt, Citizens of Humanity Shorts, Marc Shoes; Vera Wang Necklace, Luella Dress, Sergio Rossi Shoes, all from Net-a-porter.com}

(images from Swedish Elle)