Chanel Riviera is summer in a bottle

The summer sunshine at the weekend made me crave lollipop shades on my fingers and toes, and when I spied Chanel's Riviera nail polish on the counter I knew it was the one for me. I also fully expected it to be sold out - this is Chanel we're talking about, where shades like Black Satin, Vendetta and Particuliere have sold out before even hitting the shelves in recent seasons. The gods were smiling on me, however, and I scored the very last bottle they had - "I'll be murdered when all the women who looked for this during the week come back in! I told them we were getting an order in and we only got two bottles" breathed the sales assistant, her eyes wide at the drama of it all.

Caught up in the excitement, I gave in to her suggestion that I absolutely needed a base coat to use with it. And although I rarely bother with basecoats or topcoats, I have to admit that this one seemed to do a good job - despite my recent manic hand washing habit and a less than careful job applying the polish, I got a full 5 days out of the manicure before a chip appeared.

Riviera is a delicious Legally Blonde pink - depending on the light it varies between a bright raspberry and a neon pink and yet somehow manages not to look garish against my paleness. Perfect for fingers and toes - now if only we could get last weekend's temperatures back so I could break out the sandals and some perfectly pink toes...

APC Madras

I took a look at the APC website the other day and happily discovered the new Madras collection is up. The Madras collections are always lovely and summery and happily more affordable than the main line.

I fell in love with this blouse, but it was sadly sold out:



(the print looks much better in this close-up:)



Luckily they still had this t-shirt in stock:



and I couldn't say no to yet another summer scarf:



Finally, since the lovely April weather has given way to a much cooler May, leading me to wonder whether there's any chance of a warm summer this year, I had to pick up this sailor pullover:



Loving the button detail on the hip!

Mmm, macaroons

Happy birthday to me!
The H scored major points by bringing home red roses and these...



My actual birthday present came from my beloved Orla Kiely and will be the subject of a future post :)

My latest accessory...

... and the reason for my blogging silence lately:



Zoë arrived on March 1st, a whole week early. Which surprised me, as I was convinced she'd be late. Maybe it was something to do with the full moon the previous night. Either way, she was in quite a hurry to make her way into the world.

We love her to bits (even when she insists on staying awake crying until 5am) and when things settle down a bit (I'm assured they will at some stage), I'll be back to the world of blogging again.

Bye bye Cara

Deviating a bit from the usual, but our family dog Cara passed away in her sleep last night and a tribute was needed. Known as the Red Sister or the Mad Sister (depending on the extent of her adventures that day), she was a 12 year old Irish Setter who still looked like a puppy (she wasn't a full-sized Setter).

She liked to stand and lean against your leg when you sat on the sofa and sometimes she'd rest her head on your knee while leaning. Or she'd lie down on the floor and use your foot for a pillow. She liked to drink rainwater out of plant pots rather than clean water from her bowl and if she caught you looking she'd go all mad guard dog on the magpies in the garden.

From time to time she'd be brave enough to climb the stairs in the house (varnished wood and slippery under doggie paws) and then she'd sit stubbornly at the top looking down, too afraid to make her own way back downstairs. And when you'd lift her to carry her back down, her paws would stick straight out in front of her, she'd be so tense (although she'd turn her head and look nonchalantly in the other direction as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening).

She will be missed a lot. Here she is, caught in the middle of offering her paw to the photographer.

Shopping online at lookfantastic.com

I needed to replace my REN cleanser recently and lookfantastic.com were having a 20% off sale on many of their lines, so it was the perfect excuse to add a few more things to my basket.

REN Calendula and Arctic Berry Ultracalm Cleansing Milk - I think this is my third or fourth bottle of this, so it's safe to say it's a favourite. Removes makeup perfectly, leaves my skin smooth, soft and perfectly calm.

Philip B pH Restorative Detangling Toning Mist - I'm almost finished my MOP Pear Detangler, which I use on my hair when I don't bother with conditioner, so I thought I'd try something new for a change. Haven't used this yet, but will report back when I do.

Philip B GWP - this came free with the Detangling Mist and includes Light-Weight Deep Conditioning Crème Rinse, Scent of Santa Fe Balancing Shampoo and Drop Dead Straightening Baume. I haven't used any Philip B haircare before, so I'm looking forward to trying these out.

Guinot Hydra Tendre Soft Wash-Off Cleansing Cream
- I used this years ago and really liked it then, so thought I'd try it again. Unfortunately it's not just the packaging that has changed - they've also added a horribly strong fragrance too it, which I hate in facial washes. The hazards of shopping online without trying something first...

RMK Creamy Foundation and Super Basic Liquid Concealer - The Creamy Foundation has been a favourite for a few years and is a replacement buy - this is gorgeous on and very comfortable for winter skin. The concealer is a new one - I've tried it out once so far and like it a lot. Very pigmented, but still creamy and easy to blend and lasts all day.

Wrap yourself up in Isabella Oliver

After I posted about Isabella Oliver maternity wear in December, Lucy at Isabella Oliver very kindly offered to send me their Wrap Around Top to try out. I received the top in Plum, which is a very pretty colour and I also love the Sea shade, pictured above (it would be great to see the Scoop Tops also available in these lovely jewel shades).

When I first took this out of the package, I wondered if I'd need a kitsuke, or kimono dresser, as the top looks something like this before you put it on:



However, once you get down to it, it's not too difficult to learn how to wrap the long strips of fabric around your bump and then tie at the waist. You can tie at the side, front or back, according to your preference and while it's easy to wear, it's also a nice option when you want something a little dressier than the Scoop Top. I've been wearing mine with a cami underneath, as it is fairly low cut and I need an extra layer in the current weather. This is also helpful if the wrap around strips separate a little while you're wearing the top and you don't want to risk displaying your bump to the world.

Normally priced at €85, the Wrap Around Top is currently 15% off in the Isabella Oliver sale.