What’s in my handbag?

We often see headlines shouting facts & figures at us about how carrying too much in our bags is detrimental to our health and specifically to our backs. This is one of the reasons why I started carrying a smaller handbag many years ago & started carrying a LOT less stuff. The other reason was that after my accident I physically couldn’t carry a big heavy handbag anymore. So here’s what’s inside my handbag…

One of the most important things is my purse. The purse is from Radley & I’ve had it for over 5 years now. I love it so much and I’ll be really sad to see it go when it does eventually give up. The purse has lots of card slots and I’ve managed to use all of them up thanks to my many loyalty cards! Obviously I also keep cash and my debit card in here, which both probably get used more than they should! I always have loads of discount vouchers stuffed in too. It’s safe to say that I’m a sucker for a bargain.

One of my beauty essentials is my Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream lip balm. I carry it with me everywhere as it’s one of the best lip balms I’ve ever tried. I discovered it after winning one in a competition & I’ve gone on to buy several after that. It has such a moisturising formulation but doesn’t feel sticky plus it’s long lasting too. It’s one of the few lip balms that actually makes a real difference to my lips. The packaging is simple but sleek and it’s really lightweight. The only down side is the price. Unfortunately it is quite expensive but I stock up when it’s on offer.

As well as lip balm I usually carry a lipstick and lipgloss with me too. The shades change depending on my mood and look that day but one of my favourite lipsticks is the Clinique Pop lip colour and primer in 04 Beige Pop. It’s a beautiful pinky nude shade & feels nice on the lips too. The lipgloss in the photo is the Sexy Mother Pucker lipgloss in Rose & Shine by Soap & Glory. The lipgloss is a bit more pink than the lipstick but the two shades go well together. I love the minty fresh scent & tingling feeling you get when you apply this lipgloss.

Tissues are always useful but never more so than during hayfever season! If like me you find yourself endlessly sneezing then tissues are extremely handy. I picked up a multi pack from Poundland a while ago & they had pictures of Disney Princesses on them; I was thrilled as they satisfied my practical side as well as my childish side that still adores anything Disney!

The little purse with beach huts on is my pain purse. I use it to hold my painkillers & medication. If you live with a chronic illness you’ll know how important it is to have painkillers to hand at all times. Unbearable pain can strike at any time so it’s important to be prepared! I choose this pretty purse for my pills as it reminds me of happy memories & it’s important to remember the good times when you’re feeling rubbish.

To my partner & family this isn’t news but I am a little bit OCD about germs & bacteria so I take antibacterial everywhere I go. I know to some this might seem a bit weird but I feel so much more comfortable after I’ve used this gel. This one smells of strawberry laces, so that makes it even more appealing to me.

Now that I’ve started using Invisibobble hair bands I can never go back to using those horrible scratchy things I used to use. Invisibobble hair bands not only look cool & come in a wide range of colours but most importantly they don’t hurt or damage your hair when you take them out.

As with most millennials I love my phone & I carry this in either my bag or a pocket if I have one. I have the Samsung Galaxy A3 & I love it. It may not be the most hyped up phone but personally I think the camera on it is really good (I take all my blog photos with my phone) plus everything is easy to use. I always carry a pen too as it has proved very useful on many occasions & you never know when you might need it. Keys are also a handbag essential buy there’s not much to say about them!

Finally, I’d love to talk to you about the actual handbag. It’s so beautiful yet practical at the same time. The bag has 3 different compartments plus smaller zipped compartments too for your phone & keys. The straps are perfect for wearing on your shoulder or carrying in your hand. I don’t currently use this bag everyday as I like to keep it for special occasions. I tend to use it for evening wear & meals out. This bag looks so similar to the Chanel 2.55 yet is just a fraction of the price. I was amazed at the quality of the bag & it has proved to be durable so far. This bag is also available in nude & white and is called Marsaille. To get yours visit http://www.boutiqueofmolly.co.uk and use code KATEISCOVETING20 to get 20% off the entire site!

What do you have in your handbag? I’d love to know what you buy from Boutique of Molly! Thanks for reading x

Occasion Wear Shopping

I absolutely adore going shopping and if you’re anything like me then you do too. I enjoy browsing & love picking up new pieces if I find something I love. However I always find shopping can be stressful when you’re looking for something specific like jeans or a dress for a wedding. Occasion wear shopping can be extremely tricky for us ladies as most of us have body hang ups and it can be very hard to find an outfit that highlights the good bits but also conceals the bits we aren’t so comfortable with.

My boyfriend’s cousin is getting married in June and as my bust & hips have grown the dress I planned on wearing is no longer an option. We needed to go shopping for a dress for me & a shirt and shoes for him. I’d been browsing online  Going shopping on this particular day wasn’t really the best for me as I was feeling a bit down about my body. I’m tall and fairly busty with big hips and a big bum so clothes aren’t really designed for my shape at all. I find dresses are generally too short plus too small on the bust & hip area. I always end up having to buy a bigger size because of my bust and hips but then it’s too big in other places. I’m sure I’m not the only person to have this problem, surely? Clothing in the large majority of high street shops seems to be designed for short & very skinny people which really frustrates me as we come in all shapes and sizes. I know there are some online fashion retailers that cater to curvier shapes but I’d love to be able to get a good fit in all my favourite high street shops too. Sorry for having a little rant!

We went to an outlet shopping centre called Clarks Village in my home county Somerset. Clarks Village has a good range of shops including: Hobbs, Coast, Phase Eight, Joules, Sugarhill Boutique, Molton Brown, Marks & Spencer, Next, Crew, The Body Shop, Osprey, Radley, Thorntons, Jeff Banks, Yumi and of course Clarks among others. We browsed around a few shops and Jon found a perfect shirt & shoes very quickly. I found lots of dresses I liked but nothing had the wow factor when it was on me. I was feeling frustrated at the lack of suitable dresses found and very self concious because those huge mirrors in changing rooms with their harsh lighting just seem to magnify every little flaw. We decided to try Phase Eight as I know they specialise in occasion wear. I was thrilled to find a beautiful midi length dress in there that fitted well & looked nice on. I feel a bit like a Disney Princess in this dress so that’s a very good sign! I’ve learnt that the key to feeling good in any outfit is to wear clothes that flatter your shape & work with your curves rather than battling against them. Don’t be afraid to buy a bigger size if it looks better on you and I’ll be honest I have been guilty of worrying too much about what size the label says but nobody else sees the label or what size it is. I’m not going to post a photo of this dress until I actually wear it to the wedding in June but these pictures in this post are of the outfit I wore to the last wedding I attended (excuse my pale legs, they don’t get out much!) My dress in the pictures is from Coast, my cardi & black wedges are both from Primark and the mint green clutch bag is from Accessorize.

As well as sorting out an outfit there’s also hair, makeup, bodycare and accessories that we need to consider. As you can see in the pictures I had my hair up for the last wedding and I left it curly as this is my natural style. My hair will be curly again for the wedding in June because my hair takes hours to straighten plus I don’t even own any hair straighteners anymore. I’ll decide on the day if I have it up or down as it depends on if my hair decides to behave. I always tend to keep my makeup very natural apart from the odd occasion when I really go to town on the eye shadow & I’ll keep my makeup fairly low key again for the next wedding. I’ll most probably be wearing a light/medium coverage foundation with contoured cheeks & highlighted cheek bones plus lashings of black mascara with a nude daytime smoky eye. I will need to get my eyebrows in order too as they’re quite thick and a bit unruly. A few days before the wedding I will exfoliate my body with a scrub and body brush. I’ll need to pay special attention to my legs and arms as these will be on show. I will probably also use a bit of tan on those milky white legs and arms of mine. I’ll use fake tan a few days before the wedding so that if it goes wrong or looks streaky then I’ve got time to redo it.

I’m a bit nervous about going to this wedding as I will most likely be the only disabled person there & some people can be unkind/judgemental. I also worry about having to stand for a long time as my back and legs are very weak & painful. I always get worried about most social situations & I won’t know most of the people there. I’m trying not to think about it too much as I’ll only make myself worry more. I worry about far too much already & I have much bigger problems to worry about. I’m sure I’ll be fine on the day & have a good time just as I did last time.

Are you off to a wedding or special occasion this year? Let me know in the comments 🙂 Thanks for reading!

Kate x