april favourites

IMG_3529

 Monthly Favourites are back! Sorry it's been such a long time since the last one. If you're new round these parts, this is where I pull together my favourites in fashion, food, beauty and anything else that's been tickling my fancy in the month of April. F A S H I O N :Cos A-Line Dress with Concave Hem - Like many of you I'm sure, I've been having a real COS moment this month. So many great dresses. Always a little unusual, yet sort of timeless. Whenever I buy something at COS I get that, 'I could wear this through to my 60s and 70s' feeling. Cool, 'special' but oh so effortless. This little number took me to Milan and back for Design Week and was the perfect outfit for running around the city come rain and  shine.adidas Rod Lavers Remastered - Rod Lavers are one of my favourite trainer styles of all time. My very clever husband bought these for me for Christmas. They go with everything and 'chic up' whatever you put them with. I spent January, February and March too scared to wear them but April's distinctly less rainy weather has had me in them most days.Selected Femme Suede Shirt - I've been looking for the right suede jacket for a long time. This one is super soft and easy. Structured but a little slouchy even. I throw mine over jeans and a t-shirt or layer it over a dress or jumpsuit. Lovely with a big scarf too. It works pretty much any which way.Embroidered Pineapple Pin - Seen here on my new YMC Paisley Jacket which I picked up earlier this month in Glasgow and am getting tonnes of use out of. The Pineapple Pin is by Macon et Lesquoy and makes me smile every time I look at it. As you know, I love pineapples, and pins for that matter, and this is the absolute prefect combo of those two wonderful things. F O O D :Kricket at Le Coq - For one night only, Brixton's beloved Kricket came to Islington and took over Le Coq on St Paul's Road. When JD and KT got in touch to invite us to join them, we jumped at the chance to enjoy the rotisserie kid goat raan with wild garlic chutney, saffron and pomegranate pilaf and pickled heritage carrots. Dessert was rotisserie pineapple with coconut sorbet, chilli and star anise. Some of the best food I've had in a long time. Sort of like an Indian Berber&Q, which I raved about in my May monthly favourites last year.Honourable mention has to go to Ben & Knomes who cooked us the most splendid Italian feast last week. Ben made beetroot ravioli from scratch which was cooked in rosemary and butter. For mains he made the best meatballs I've ever eaten and Knomes topped the whole thing off with utterly delicious custard-filled doughnuts. All homemade (or Knomesmade as we like to call it). We were well impressed and our tastebuds and tummies very happy too. B E A U T Y :Living Proof Healthy Hair Shampoo and Conditioner - At last! The Living Proof 'Perfect Hair Day' range has arrived on our blighty shores, just under a different name - Healthy Hair. I've been waiting for SpaceNKs in the UK to stock the range since I picked up the 5 in 1 Styling Treatment which I bang on about in my What's on my Bathroom Shelf? post. The whole range is perfection. It leaves your hair soft, full, shiny and smelling devine.Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation - This is magical stuff. Creamy, glowy and lightweight but pigmented enough to essentially airbrush your face. It comes in a really wide range of colours and covers up everything you want it to, keeping your skin looking like skin, just better. I'm thinking I've stumbled upon a holy grail item with this one.Nars Roman Holiday Lipstick - An oldie but a goodie. I was lucky enough for this product to be one of my first every foire into lipstick. I have a much larger lippy collection these days but feel head over heals back in love with this gem this month. It's the perfect pink. Bright enough to make a bit of a statement but super flattering in tone. Creamy and moisturising in texture and sort of goes with everything. Going to need to make a repurchase soon as I've not much left in the bullet. O T H E R :The Jungle Book - I haven't loved a film so much in a long time (with the exception of Star Wars: The Force Awakens of course, which was a life changing experience, seriously). But back to TJB, In case you can't remember the cartoon - Mowgli (Neel Sethi) has been raised by a family of wolves since birth, but now must leave the jungle as big old scary tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) threatens to kill him. He's guided on his journey by the regal black panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and a free-spirited and pretty lazy sloth bear Baloo (Bill Murray). Go see it! The bear necessities of life will come to you.Holistic Silk Eye Mask - A super big thank you to Holistic Silk who kindly gifted me this eye mask, along with the most relaxing candle I have ever smelt, the aptly named Deeply Relaxing Scented Candle. The eye mask is filled with real lavender, lined with super soft cotton velvet and is a limited edition short run, made with this rather pleasing pineapple patterned fabric. I've been wearing mine for Sunday afternoon naps and will certainly be taking it on all long haul flights for the foreseeable future (and maybe some short haul ones too).Herbivore Botanicals Calm Bath Salts - I had the most satisfying bath a few of weeks ago. It was so good that since then have had at least another three. I'm a shower girl when it comes to getting clean but this month I've loved a nice hot bath as a proper pampering relaxation treat. After getting home from a long day at SMUG, I've taken to turning on the taps, popping in a handful of this lovely stuff, lighting a scented candle, turning off the bathroom lights and sinking into the soft, warm, perfumed water. I soak for a good long while and come out feeling like I've had a full body massage at a terribly glamorous spa. It's a rather wonderful feeling and I'd highly recommend it. Do you have any home pampering/relaxation tips or film/food recommendations? If so, pop them down in the comments below. I'd love to hear them. Maybe I'll they'll make it into next months favourites :)