10 Last Minute Stocking Fillers

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I had good intentions this year to start my Christmas shopping early, but like every year it got forgotten about until now. If, like me, you are frantically buying online, here’s some great independent British brands to support.

Stocking fillers

Heather Evelyn – Heather is based in South London, an artist who creates charming and beautiful stationery and gifts. Buy someone you love a set of personalised cards for letter writing or up your gift wrapping game with the brilliant ‘fa la la la la la la’ gift tags.

Stocking fillers

Tortware – The ultimate hair accessories, ideal for adding a touch of luxury to a stocking. The brand was founded in 2019 in London by Mona Ghafoori, and the clip collection are named after powerful women in the Mona’s life. Use ‘welcometorty’ for 10% off your first order.

Stocking fillers

Novel Mart – Food and drink lovers will delight in the fun Novel Mart range. Pick up a Dim Sum t-shirt or a Negroni Cap, depending on your favourite dish or drink. I’m a massive fan of the croissant tops.

Stocking fillers

Superga – I live in Supergas and with an ever-expanding range of stylish and comfy shoes this Italian shoe brand has a pair to suit every member of the family. I’m lusting after their new Organic Collection. Find great deals on their website now.

Stocking fillers

Summer Fridays – A great addition to a Sunday night pampering routine, the Summer Fridays mask with exfoliate, moisturise and hydrate tired winter worn skin. One use of this Overtime mask will get you looking and feeling festive ready.

stocking filler

Volcano Coffee – This award-winning small batch coffee company has been a lifesaver for me during lock down, when it hasn’t been so easy to visit my favourite coffee shops. Bringing the best speciality coffee to your home, available as whole beans or ground and ready to use. Find a range of beans and coffee inspired presents on their website here.

stocking filler

Nolii – Simple, stylish technology products to ensure you always have a full battery at home and on the move. Nolii products all work together and are available in a range of eye-catching colours.

stocking filler

Wes Anderson Book – A beautiful book to add colour and interest to your coffee table or book shelf. The recently released Wes Anderson book by Wally Koval features stylish photographs of some of the world’s most wonderfully designed buildings and destinations.

White Mausu

White Mausu – I’ve fallen in love with these condiments. Started up by Katie and Jasper in Ireland White Mausu sauces are a brilliant addition to the larder and add flavour and excitement to even the most bland of home cooked dishes! Buy a pack of six from their website here, or for individual jars find a list of 90+ stockists here.

Stocking filler

Stalf – For something more substantial head to the Stalf website, this small independent brand designs and sews colourful comfort wear, perfect for lounging around at home during lock down.

Blog post contains some gifted items.

Winter Beauty Essentials

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As the skies darken and the rain falls incessantly, I look to beauty products to bring me some comfort and luxury, especially while we are all spending much more time at home. Here are my favourite skincare and haircare pick-me-ups to make you feel sparkly and healthy this season.

Beauty essentials

Honest Beauty – This 100% cruelty-free beauty brand was launched by Jessica Alba, a ‘green beauty’ concept that aims to deliver easy to use skincare that promises a natural glow. I’ve been trying the matte primer and everyday radiance moisturiser, quick and simple products that give my face a fresh appearance each morning. You only need a small pump of the moisturiser to give a luminous glow that lasts throughout the day.

Beauty essentials

typology – The minimalist branding of the Parisian typology won me over instantly. Their cleansing oil is a perfect fragrance-free formula for even the most sensitive skin. Follow it with the 9-ingredient moisturiser with a light, non-greasy texture that makes it a great option year round. I love the silver tube of the moisturiser too, and have found it to be the ideal handbag companion.

Beauty essentials

Beauty Pie – My hair despairs when the weather gets bad, drying out and getting tangled every morning. Beauty Pie’s super healthy hair repair treatment is best used after conditioner, left in for 3-5 minutes and then rinsed out. It smoothed my split ends and added shine to my dulled colour. After the success of this product I’m now desperate to try the rest of the Beauty Pie range!

Beauty essentials

Organic Apoteke – Organic Apoteke prides itself on producing high quality, organic products, that have a strong basis of scientific research behind them. Their buttermilk cleanser and rejuvenating face cream are a luxurious duo that will add a touch of indulgence to your winter morning routine. This face cream is great for any skin type; toning and firming your winter-worn skin.

Beauty essentials

Mádara – Mádara is the name of a flowering green plant found in Latvia, which symbolises the naturally curated ingredients that goes into each product this brand carefully produces. In winter I like to add a serum or oil to my daily skincare routine… the Mádara range is perfect for adding some extra hydration to a cold weather skincare ritual. Try the deep moisture vitamin oil, a lovely citrusy scented oil that will make your skin extra supple and soft. I also loved the rich hydra-barrier SOS cream, perfect for stressed and dehydrated skin, I find it is particularly nice on my cheeks, which get extra dry in winter.

Beauty essentials

Nimue – These everyday products from Nimue are multi-functional… after using the gentle cleanser, massage the day cream generously onto your face and neck, helping to restore and protect your skin for the whole day.

Beauty essentials

SachaJuan – The SachaJuan overnight hair repair is a magical product… leave the product in overnight and there’s no need to wash out in the morning. My hair was glossier and strengthened after just one use of this product, especially when accompanied by the Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner.

Beauty essentials

Drunk Elephant – Drunk Elephant is my new favourite beauty brand… the eye-catching neon branding won me over before I even tried the products! The Beste No.9 Jelly Cleanser has become my go to cleanser, so easy to use and gentle on the skin, I now use it religiously day and night. I’m also getting to know the Micellar water, a cleansing water made with wild melon seed oil and marula oil, which gently removes makeup and leaves skin looking and feeling fresh.

Beauty essentials

ila apothecary – I think of ila apothecary as a spa brand, but you can also buy the products for home use and they will make your daily routine feel extra special and indulgent. The SOS body balm has been the ultimate treat for my skin after soothing winter baths. For an extra pick-me-up use the Feminine Happy Oil, a nourishing product made with a mood-balancing blend of fragrant essential oils to lift stress and fatigue.

Beauty essentials

MZ Skin – MZ Skin is a doctor-led brand made by women for women. Their Hydrate and Nourish range is perfect for winter skincare nourishment. The Age Defence Retinol Day Moisturiser is rich in vitamins (crucial in gloomy winter months) but also has 30 SPF to protect your skin whatever the weather. For an extra moisture boost, use the moisturiser with the vitamin C corrective serum.

Beauty essentials

Summer Fridays – I have added the Summer Fridays overtime mask to my Sunday evening routine. This vitamin rich mask will gently exfoliate the skin, while also brightening and hydrating the skin. After using the mask I immediately noticed my skin feeling softer, with a more even skin tone. The perfect product to add to a stocking this Christmas.

Beauty essentials

AHC – When I visited South Korea last year I loved discovering some of their best beauty brands. AHC is just one of the many brilliant South Korean skincare brands worth getting to know. Their products are unfussy but effective, particularly lovely on the skin in winter. Try the Aqualuronic cleanser which works wonders on dehydrated skin. The AHC natural essential masks are also a treat for neglected winter skin.

Note: This beauty round-up includes some gifted products.

A Weekend in Herefordshire

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Travel right now is not easy, I am craving it desperately, but for the foreseeable future will be concentrating on exploring the best of Britain. Herefordshire is a county that I knew very little about, sandwiched between Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and Wales to the west. So when I was invited to explore its burgeoning independent food and drink scene I was intrigued and excited.

Herefordshire

Despite the relentless rain we trundled down the motorway, just 4 hours even in rush hour Friday traffic. Visit Herefordshire arranged a great itinerary for me, ticking off key restaurants, pubs and artisan makers across the county.

Herefordshire

First stop was Hereford, a cathedral town in the heart of the region. We were staying at the Green Dragon Hotel, charming accommodation that was a quiet and comfortable place to spend the night. Breakfast next morning was served downstairs in the light and airy dining room, a range of fresh seasonal dishes, including delicious mushrooms on toast, and granola with homemade berry compote.

Herefordshire

There are quite a few eateries in Hereford worth trying, The Bookshop was one which everyone raved about, thanks to their great steaks and lively atmosphere. We had a great dinner here, the service was super friendly and the meat was noticeably of a high quality (you must try Hereford beef while visiting Herefordshire). We stopped by The Bookshop the next morning too for a coffee (they use the superior beans from local roastery, Method) and the brunch looked very tempting too.

Herefordshire

After a brief walk around town, seeing the iconic cathedral and stopping by a couple of foodie shops (I recommend Fodder for bread & pastries, Mousetrap for local cheeses, and Sensory & Rye for coffee or brunch), we were on our way to our next destination…

Pensons is the only restaurant in Herefordshire to hold a Michelin star, which it was proudly awarded last year, less than a year after opening. Head chef Chris Simpson previously worked for Nathan Outlaw, and brings skill and a lightness of touch to the dishes at Pensons. The restaurant benefits from being located on the Netherwood Estate, which is surrounded by green pastures. There is also a bountiful kitchen garden which grows many of the vegetables and fruit you’ll find on your plate at Pensons! We devoured the three course lunch menu, memorable dishes included perfectly cooked Plaice with cauliflower, watercress and crab sauce, and Duck with beetroot and blackcurrant.

Herefordshire

At Pensons we tried a delicious apple mocktail, and learnt a little about the incredible apples of the area. So it seemed fitting to visit Little Pomona next, craft cider makers who are producing some wonderfully refined drinks with the famous Herefordshire apples. Autumn is apple picking season and to celebrate Visit Herefordshire have created two great cider trails (The Cider Circuits) as part of their #madforapples initiative. The self-guided routes, both around 50 miles long, can be followed by bike or car and are named after two of the county’s apple varieties: The Newton Wonder heads north from Hereford, while The Redstreak heads south. Glorious Little Pomona features on the southern route.

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is known for its striking black and white architecture which we were lucky to spy in many of the towns we drove through… Bromyard was a great place to admire the monochrome houses, and whilst in the area Bringsty Vintage shop is worth a visit for retro homeware and trinkets.

Herefordshire

As the rain worsened we headed to Crumplebury, a lovely luxurious event space, with restaurant and rooms, surrounded by woodland, fields and animals.

Crumplebury has just reopened for the season and we were delighted to be one of the first to be back at this idyllic place. At the heart of the property is Green Cow Kitchens, the on site fine dining restaurant. We enjoyed a lavish dinner here before a very restful night’s sleep in The Oakley Suite, the most spacious and decadent suite Crumplebury offer. The room was decorated to a very high specification with modern amenities, a giant bed and a copper bathtub to ensure the most relaxing of stays.

Herefordshire

We also had a chance to see some of the beautiful event spaces and wholesome wildlife, which is used seasonally in the restaurant. Crumplebury is a brilliant option for weddings and work functions, an isolated countryside escape with a five star feel.

Herefordshire

Next morning we woke refreshed and revitalised, and after a quick but very tasty Crumplebury breakfast we headed off for a final morning of exploring.

We drove South towards Ross on Wye, for a hearty Sunday lunch at The Greenman, the celebrated pub in Fownhope. A generous roast awaited, with all the trimmings, the perfect sustenance before a local walk and the drive back home to London.

Herefordshire is the ideal weekend escape from London… an array of foodie spots are dotted amongst the verdant and gloriously green countryside, so you can both eat handsomely and get a breath of fresh air before returning to busy city life.

In collaboration with Visit Herefordshire.