• Review: Molton Brown Vetiver & Grapefruit

    Vetiver & Grapefruit - 1

    Anyone who knows me, or my content on this blog, knows that I have a love/hate relationship with Molton Brown. As a beauty brand, they constantly meander between masterpieces and flops with every Russian Leather followed by a reformulated Black Pepper. It’s not that I think they’re bad at what they do, it just means I’m often cautious of new ranges when they come out.

    Last year, I was happily surprised when I reviewed their Cypress & Sea Fennel and so this year I was hoping they’d buck the trend of releasing a dud after a success. So, when I was sent out a set of products from their new Vetiver & Grapefruit collection I was keen to get stuck in. Today I cover off my thoughts on the new range, reviewing the balance of the fragrance and whether it can slotted in Molton Brown’s timeless classics… View Post

    What A Gent’s Wearing: The Kingsman Suit

    Kingsman Suit

    “The suit is the modern gentleman’s armour. The Kingsmen are the new knights.” – Harry Hart

    I’ve been obsessed with the Kingsman suit styles ever since the first movie launched in 2014. One of the main things I loved about both films was how they brought traditional tailoring onto the modern cinema screen with style and panache, with subtle nods to established style elements intertwined with contemporary designs. I was a huge fan of Eggsy’s suit, the crisp cut and suave details meant it stood head and shoulders above any other movie suit in recent years.

    Having said that, I’d never really been brave enough to try and style a double-breasted suit and felt the look might end up feeling a bit dated when I wore it. However, thanks to the gentlemen at Scotch & Rich, who gifted me one of their suits, I was able to style the look out and took a wander around London to see how it feels and wears in the heat of the city.

    Photography by: Fordtography View Post

    My Fitness Journey – Part 1: Decisions & Mentality

    Fitness Part 1

    In June last year I was becoming a bit deflated with my gym routine. I felt like I needed a new structure and approach to my workouts and my results had stagnated in recent months. I spent the next few days reaching out across Twitter, trying to get advice and recommendations on personal trainers/workout plans to start incorporating into my weekly routine. One of the most interesting and constructive responses came from a man called Chris (@LiftingToLive) on Twitter, who asked me a great deal of questions about what I was doing, what I really wanted out of this and what my diet looked like on a weekly basis.

    He asked me to be as honest as I could be, both with myself and with him, as the only way for him to get an idea of where I was struggling was to talk about what I was having issues with and where I felt I was lacking. Within a week, he had delivered a full workout plan, alongside a basic diet spec and some key elements to focus on. He even came down to London for a workout session to give me some tips on technique and advice on what I should be focusing on with each workout. However, the main thing he told me to do was to start getting my mind in the right place for this new structure and it’s only now that I look back, I can see what he was talking about. Today, I wanted to share with you my tips on what I did to adjust to my new lifestyle and how I changed my mindset to more positively focus on my fitness goals. View Post

    4 Things Bloggers Need To Learn/Know For The Industry To Survive

    5 Things For Bloggers To Survive

    Blogging (in it’s current form) is reaching its early teens, with many of the biggest having been around for nearly 15 years. It’s an industry that has seen very low barriers to entry and increasingly higher returns, resulting in an explosive growth of online bloggers, vloggers, social media influencers, internet personalities and digital trendmakers. It’s contributed to the popularity of social media and drawn many benefits from it, become a key part of the fashion, beauty and tech industries and is currently seen as a legitimate career by many children/teens despite the cynicism of older generations.

    However, the blogging/influencer industry is in danger of crashing and doing so in spectacular fashion. Every single market goes through boom and bust periods and ours is no different. The question is, are we willing to evolve, adapt, learn and change to survive? Are we willing to accept some truths and learn the risks? Or will we struggle and fragment, leaving the blogging industry to fade into history as another trend that didn’t go the distance?

    View Post

    How Do You Feel About Your Own Body Image?

    Body Image - How Do You Feel

    It’s been a while since I’ve posted about body image and, during that time, the conversation has only grown in mainstream media and blogging. The movement has helped many friends of mine come to grips with their own insecurities and perceptions of the way they look as well as helped educate people on where to go and who to talk to if you are struggling. However, much of this information relies on the idea that you are aware of your own body image issues and then want to address them.

    So, what about those people who are struggling with the way they look but don’t recognise this behaviour as irregular? What if you’re subconsciously putting yourself down without understanding that that is what you’re doing? What if you’ve been living like this for you’re whole life and without ever being aware that you might be hurting your own confidence? Today, I wanted to talk through some common behaviours I’ve seen/heard about when discussing negative body image to help you identify the actions that lead to low body confidence. View Post