Chlobo's Closet Beauty:Christmas Skincare buys

Christmas is almost here and whilst it should be a time for focusing on what really matters instead of material objects, we do still enjoy giving the odd indulging treat to someone we care about.

As a twenty something year old (a lady never gives away her age) taking pride and care with my skin, is an absolute must. I have always suffered with troublesome skin since my teenage years and as I am slowly getting older, I think it terribly important to protect my skin and to prolong that Botox even more.

Take a peek at some of my must have products, and perhaps treat someone you know for Christmas. Please be aware that my skin is a combination of dry and oily, not all products will suit all.

Rodial Glamtox Cleansing Balm £50.00

My favourite cleanser I think I have ever used! It is along the lines of a cold cleanser and is a balm/paste formula, which smells really good. It certainly does what it says on the tin and has controlled my breakouts, leaving a healthy looking glow to my face. This is a heavenly make up remover at the end of the day, helping make up glide off, whilst nourishing your skin with vitamins and natural oils. This product may seem a costly package but it lasts a very long time and is a worthy investment. The bottle is very classy too, in a very modern, suave silver bottle.

Origins Zero Oil Toner £18.50

I am in love with this toner and it's cute packaging in a chic dumpy bottle. I have been using it for just over a month now and I have no idea how I have coped without it. I gently wipe this over my face with a cotton pad, having just used my cleanser. It leaves a refreshing feel to the skin and the scent is heavenly with a combination of mint and saw palmetto. It is perfect for tired mornings and perks me up a treat. My pores have shrunk a huge deal, which means I do not have to rely so heavily on my primer before applying make-up. It also leaves me with a matt face with no oily or shiny residue. 

Cane and Austin retexturizing treatment wipes £48.00

My favourite wipes for prolonging Botox and fast ageing. These pads, pack a punch. Containing 10% glycolic acid, it improves skin texture and boosts skins collagen production. They may sound a bit daunting, in terms of the acid part but it is taken from sugar cane and helps remove dead skin cells and gently exfoliates the facial area. I don't think I will ever stop buying these, as they really help eliminate my fine lines, so please don't ever stop making them!

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum £50.00

A top one in my book, this silky smooth serum glides easily onto skin and helps prevent ageing, boasting youthful skin. It maximises your skins natural renewal, making lines and wrinkles less visible. The winning part for this is, it is for all skin types - yay! Even though it says oil free, don't plaster it onto your face. You should apply three small dots to your fingers, two or three times and gently apply to the face, neck and décolletage area. Do not build up too much product, as this can lead to blocking the pores and pesky breakouts.

 

Creme De La Mere Moisturising Soft Cream £108.00

Everyone knows this a favourite amongst hundreds of celebrities and there is a certain reason why. This is worth every penny and within two weeks my skin was glowing, with lines visibly reduced. I really love the smell of it too, it reminds me of my grandmother's Ponds cold cleansing cream - which may or may not be a good thing to anyone else but it brings back sweet nostalgia to me. A costly splurge but how else does Kate Moss looks like she does!? I do not think I will be able to stop buying this now I have tried it, my bank account won't thank me but my face will! 

Chlobo's Closet Crafts: Teacup Candle

As Christmas is drawing ever nearer (dare we say it) it is that time of year where I feel so excited to be thinking of what gifts I am going to be arranging for all my loved ones. The giving is my favourite part of the season and I enjoy it even more when I get the the gift right. That is why at the moment I am super excited with this gift idea of producing teacup candles. I really love vintage pieces whether that be clothes or interior pieces and I also love a good scented candle. The two together are a great idea and incredibly easy and quick to make, not to mention fun. I got quite carried away making these and decided to give everyone one for a birthday and Christmas gift. See my step by step guide on how to make your own below.

What you will need:

An old saucepan

Wax chips 

Wax colouring 

Candle scent

Kebab sticks 

Sticky tape

Wicks

Glue/round sticky pads 

Tea cups 

Step one:

Firstly begin by buying a teacup of your choice. You can purchase them from a thrift shop/charity shop or a flea market. You would be surprised how easy and inexpensive they are to buy. Once you have your cup, take a wick, which will have a circular metal disk attached to the bottom and your round sticky pads or glue. I brought the wicks and pads from Amazon but you can also find them available on eBay or craft shops. You need to place the sticky pad or glue on the disk and firmly press on to the bottom centre of the cup. 

Step two:

Take two kebab sticks or something similar and stick the top and bottom ends together. Try to leave some room for the wick to slot between the middle but they are quite flexible.

You also want it to be tight because this will hold you wick in the middle and support it when you pour you wax in. This will stop the wick falling over.

Step three:

With your wick in place, take your old saucepan. I measure about two mugs of wax chips/flakes to add to the pan, which usually seems to be enough. This of course, depends on the size of the teacup but you can always add more to the pan as you go. On a low heat, slowly add your wax chips to the pan and wait for them to melt.

Step four:

Now add the wax colouring, should you chose to want coloured candles. I chose a pale pink for mine. The more colouring you add, the more intense the colour. Stir in with an old spoon or another kebab stick, to save ruining anything precious.

Step five: 

With your wax melted, add a couple of drops of scented candle oil to your pan and stir in. This can be brought from Amazon, Ebay or a craft shop. 

Step six:

With your sticks in place, supporting your candle wick in the cup. Very slowly pour the melted wax mixture into the cup and leave an inch gap from the top of the cup.

Step seven:

Leave your candle to set for one hour. After this time you will notice that around the wick will be a dip. This is because the wick has expanded in the heat. You will need to melt and make up some more wax chips, with the same amount of wax colouring and candle scent as before. With this done, slowly pour this into the teacup and leave a centre metre and a half or up until you want your candle to go in the cup.

Step Eight:

Leave you candle to set for twenty four hours.

Step nine:

With your candle set, you can now take off the supporting kebab sticks and cut down the wick to your desired height. Make sure you leave enough length for it to burn down properly.

Now you can enjoy your candle or gift it to someone you love. They are very easy, incredibly pretty and original. I hope you like making these as much as I do!! 

Chlobo's Closet Food: Italian Noodle Pots

At the moment there is quite a little bit of an obsession over these fantastic noodle pots. Great for a snack or for lunch and they are healthy for you too! There is so much to love about these, not only are they full of goodness but they are really quick and easy to prepare and fantastic to take to work. The useful part of making these tasty noodle pots, is that a lot of the ingredients are using left overs from your previous meals. Plus in a mason jar, they also look pretty fancy as well.

So let's get started....

What you will need:

1/2 a courgette to spiralize into noodles

Left over pasta sauce

4 tbsp quinoa (super rich in amino acids)

Basil leaves 

1 small garlic clove minced

1 tbsp of finely diced onion

1/4 tsp oregano 

Pinch of cayenne 

Tbsp of parmesan

Pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning

Heatproof jam jar or mason jar with lid

Method:

Firstly spiralize your courgette into noodles. You can put them straight into your jar or quickly boil them partially, depending on your preferences.

Heat your pasta sauce through and add with the other ingredients to your jar and keep refrigerated until morning.

When you are ready to enjoy your delicious luncheon, top with boiled water and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes. Allow a  1 inch of a gap with the water in the jar.

Stir, cover and let to sit for five more minutes before adding your basil leaves for additional flavour.

Voila, you are now able to enjoy your delectable, Italian quinoa noodle pot, without any guilt and no trouble caused making it. You can add other ingredients to compliment this, for example fresh olives or sun dried tomatoes.

I am now thinking of what other lovely noodle pots to can conjure up to get excited for lunch again.

Chlobo's Closet Cotswold Life: The Halfway House

We are still reminiscing of our delicious weekend supper at one of our local public houses; The Halfway House.

Tucked away in the delightful, picture prefect village of Kineton, The Halfway House is a beautiful,  country classic eatery and place to visit for a drink.

We were welcomed with its charming, cosy essence as always, with its tasteful warming décor. The Christmas decorations definitely topped off the ambience, with glistening decorations adorning the tree, pretty lights around the fire place and subtle glows of candles, it would have been rude not to enjoy all of this quality scenery without a glass of prosecco or two.

The seasonal menu has plenty to offer for all tastes and requirements, accompanied with their large specials menu. Spoilt for choice I eventually decided to throw the diet out of the window and opt for a baked Camembert starter to share, followed by one of their favourite dishes, which is the burger.

The baked Camembert was delicious and came with tasty, textured bread. The Camembert was garnished with garlic, which was a really beautiful contrast with the cheese. I will now be bearing that in mind for when I shall bake my own at home. The dish was very beautifully presented and kept to the country chic theme.

For mains came the ever so glorious burger. Thinking of it now, makes my mouth water it was that good! The gorgeously, melt in the mouth beef burger, with salad and smoked bacconaise sauce was divine!! It was possibly the nicest burger I have had in a very long time and didn't scrimp on size. The burger also came with a side of delicious thrice cooked chips, presented in a tremendously cute paper cone, snugly inside a small pottery watering can. There was not one thing I could have possibly faulted on this dish. 

I wish I could only tell you about the tempting desserts but very sadly I was passed full up. All in all a marvellous place with full marks all around. Beautiful ambience and interior, friendly staff and above all delightful food and drinks. We cannot wait to come back to eat some more!!

For further information on The Halfway House please see link below.

http://www.thehalfwayhousekineton.co.uk/index.asp

Chlobo's Closet Fashion: Autumn Picks

Autumn, a favourite time of year for me. The change of the seasons that bring warm, glowing colours of reds, golds and browns. The darker evenings in which to snuggle up with a good book and of course the fashion! Change of seasons brings Autumn/Winter fashions that we saw months ago at a warmer time, with graceful, gliding models, wearing the latest sweaters and cosy accessories. I love going into a cooler period, as I am addicted to woolly jumpers and anything that looks/feels like it could hug me. I get terribly excited that I can rotate my wardrobe and visualise all the things that have been packed away for six months, to make room in my closet. By the way that is a good tip, if you want to make storage space and get good wear out of all of your items. So to celebrate Autumn, I thought I would share with you some of my favourite outfits I have conjured up thus far.

The 70s Mod

On a sunny, crisp autumnal day it was difficult to decide on which clothes to put on to keep me warm/cool. It is definitely a season to embrace layers for those in between temperatures. I am really loving some of the upcoming brand, ForverModo's clothes and have done quite a shopping haul with them of late. One of my favourite items is the long polo neck/turtle-neck ribbed long top. I also purchased this in an amazing vibrant yellow for the summer (the insects seemed to definitely love it too). This top is perfect for dressing up and down and I really love the colour. I am really embracing quite a neutral pallet at the moment, I just feel that more things work together that way and I can enjoy longer use out of all of my things. 

I teamed this up with some very aged American Apparel, leather look leggings and my slightly new H&M chunky block heels. I am always a big hippy at heart and love a 70's feel to any outfit. Therefore I threw on one of my big floppy fedora hats, along with some super oversized Gucci sunnies. Less seems definitely more with this choice and I adore this look, it was chic and comfy.    

Top £17.99 Forver Modo

Leggings American Apparel

Heels H&M

Sunglasses Gucci

Fedora Hat H&M

The French Mime Bohemian

I adore a quality polo neck/turtle-neck top. They are incredibly transitional and can be teamed with so many garments, from skirts/shorts to jeans or trousers. They can look super chic and stylish and they are perfect for work, casual or night wear. I hold a large collection of these for the Autumn/Winter period, in lots of bold colours and patterns. For this look, I opted for a classic black and white stripe, which is retro and very classic. 

This was paired with a black long button down skirt. The skirt is a huge favourite of mine, as I had it tailored made when I was travelling in Vietnam at the beginning of the year. I found this skirt on American Apparel whilst away and really wanted it but for £80.00, I thought that was pretty costly, considering I wasn't at home to enjoy it. I was desperate to get something made though, as I heard that the tailors in Vietnam are tremendously talented. Hoi An in Vietnam is the hub for tailor made clothing and you are spoilt for choice on where to go. Having found a brilliant one close to where I was staying, I discussed what options I had, to which they informed me that I could bring in an image of what I wanted and they would replicate it. So viola, here is my American Apparel skirt, made with the correct dimensions and fabrics. It's beautifully fitted and the material is very comfortable. Plus the pockets are a cute addition and quite useful. I am lucky I thought of having this made, as they sadly no longer stock this item.

I finished the look off with a couple of simple accessories; opaque tights, bowler hat and Vivienne Westwood heels. Some may say tights are a fashion faux par, but I really could not care. I would much rather be comfortable and warm. There is nothing more unattractive than a woman who is shivering and looking deathly cold. My very old bowler hat is from Topshop years ago, a small university purchase to extend my ever growing hat collection. I like to customise so I always pop in a queen of hearts playing card into the rim of the hat. Virtually my whole outfit is from the high street, mixed with a hint of designer. 

Bowler Hat Topshop

Turtle-neck top Primark

Skirt Custom Made

Heels Vivienne Westwood

Khaki crops

For a weekend away in Kent, we were particularly lucky with the weather. It was not cold and enjoyed probably the last of the warm sunshine rays for a while. For a Saturday evening I chose to wear my new purchase from Boohoo. I don't often shop with them any more and I don't know why. I just feel it isn't always so personal to me and think I am going to go out and see everyone else in the same thing. Anyway the cute two piece ensemble, with a very cute price caught my eye. 

I loved the khaki green, it seemed to suit the autumnal palette I seem to be currently embracing and I have to admit that the trousers are just the best thing about the whole ensemble and the top is just a bonus. They fit like a glove and make your bum look amazing! Also they are just the right length for me. I can't stand when you buy long flared trousers and pop some heels on to make your trousers look like they have shrunk. This is a good all rounder as the top and trousers make brilliant separates, which you can wear with lots of other things in your wardrobe. 

All in all a great buy, not quite sure if I am going to cope wearing this out in Winter but those trousers are good to go with a lot of tops.

Two piece set Boohoo £18.99

Thanks for reading, hope we have inspired some of your autumnal outfits before we go into Winter. Please leave any feedback, questions or requests in the comments box. 

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Chlobo's Closet Cotswold Life: Batsford Arboretum

Living in the heart of the Cotswolds, I am completely blessed to have such a variety of wonderfully gorgeous places to go and visit.  Henceforth with the swift arrival of autumn, I felt it was time for a fresh, sunny, walk around the beautiful Batsford Arboretum. In this seasonal change I feel we should not take for granted the picturesque moment’s life brings us of crisp, warm colours of autumnal leaves and settings.

Batsford Arboretum is set amongst fifty-six acres of land, with a stunning array of botanical gardens to accompany it. Endless romantic and fun walks can be enjoyed here, by taking in the vast views of Evenlode Valley, whilst witnessing the marvels of the seasonal plants and trees all year round, spring pops up snow drops, and continues through into spectacular colour come autumn to winter. It is certainly a good day out for exploring on endless occasions with friends and loved ones.

St Mary’s church is also worth a look at, which can be accessed via the Batsford Arboretum trail or through Batsford village. It really depicts the Cotswold image with its architecture and is extremely quaint and pretty inside.

Despite the beautiful grounds, there are plenty of vicinities to occupy all; with the grand gift shop with novelty gifts and home wears for all, or you can try and bring home some of the magic, with a plant from the plant shop, with an endless amount of variety to choose from. Take a rest at the café with al fresco dining with some of the home baked locally sourced produce, with a warm beverage on those chilly days. Plus no visit to Batsford would be complete without popping to peruse the Applestore; a huge favourite of mine, which is an interior shabby chic treasure trove. Chalk white interior furniture perfectly decorated with homewares and trinkets, alongside French grey and blues ─ all linked to the ever so trendy chalk paint by Annie Sloan (highly recommended.  Find a really old piece of furniture you fallen out of love with or buy a cheap piece and have a go with some of the great Annie Sloan chalk paint colours, to freshen it up and transform its look). My eyes are always so busy as soon as I step into the shop, looking at delicate tea lights, photo frames, gift wares and pretty much conjuring up a huge wish list in my head. Rest assured it is very difficult not to purchase anything and leave empty handed.

Batsford Arboretum is fortunately open every day of the year, bar Christmas, opening from 9.00am─5.00pm Monday─Saturday and Sunday/Bank holidays from 10.00am─5.00pm. Please take a visit there; it really will be worth your while. For further information please find website links below. 

www.batsarb.co.uk

www.batsarb.co.uk/shop-eat/applestore.asp

Love 

Chlobo’s Closet

P.S

Sorry this has been a very long over waited post xx

www.batsarb.co.uk

Chlobo's Closet Travel: Udaipur, India

Udaipur, India's Venice and known as the city of lakes. One of my favourite parts of India was Udiapur, for its pure serenity, beautiful landscape and the magnificent agriculture. Home to a floating Palace (among a few), situated on the lake which today functions as a luxurious hotel to the public.

On my few days here, I experienced a taste of luxury, which was a rare backpacker treat and experienced some of the traditional culture India has to offer.  The first on our to do list was to visit the City Palace, which was an enjoyable walk from our hotel. On the way we noticed a very small museum, which was the Bagore-ki museum, right on the waterfront of lake Pichola. The museum itself does not take long to get around and you can view displays of costumes and art, but the building itself was so beautiful, with mosaic glass and mirrors, which is known as Haveli work. The Queen's chamber in particular was breath taking, which has an example of Mewar painting on the walls. Mewar painting is a historical, traditional Indian art style. There are two peacocks made from small pieces of coloured glass and I was completely blown away. Imagine if this was in your house, I don't think I would ever be able to leave the room.

After taking in the decadent interior and stunning views out on to the lake Phichola, we walked to the city palace. The palace can take up to 4-5 hours to see properly and unfortunately we did not have too much time to see the whole of Udaipur, over the course of our few days. From the palace you can purchase a boat trip, which takes you around the lake, where you can see some of the islands and most famously the floating Palace, the Taj Lake Palace. As soon as you arrive and get off the boat, you a hit with five star luxury. Stone carved elephants surround the docking for the boats and it almost reminds me of the Von Trap Family's house in the film, just maybe a lot more luxurious and grand. We were given around an hour to take in the bright,colourful and large gardens in the palace or to enjoy a drink. Of course being in such a beautiful environment in the garden, feeling as if you have taken a journey to Italy instead of India, of course it only seems right to have champagne in the sun and take it all in.

A thoroughly, enjoyable glass of bubbly later and a relaxing walk around the gardens, it was time to board back on our little boat and head back to the palace.

We took a stroll through the city and Josh found a beautiful restaurant called Ambreu, situated on the lake, with stunning views of the whole city. The food was also fantastic and we took the opportunity of sipping on some very scrummy cocktails!

Come evening the excitement did not stop, as we headed back to the Bagore-kind museum for a traditional Indian show. I was incredibly excited to finally see some traditional Indian dancing and it certainly didn't disappoint! There were the most drop dead gorgeous women, in delicate, intricate and beautiful designed costumes, dancing with fire on there heads to live Indian music. To finish the show we had one woman dancing on broken glass, with ten pottery bowls on top of her head. It was an incredible show, full of colour and a buzzing atmosphere, which was so much fun. Throughout the show I could not believe what I was witnessing. To be certain, we would have none of this in the United Kingdom, due to very tight health and safety regulations.

Our last day in Udaipur started off with a relaxing stroll around the city, near our hotel, wandering down the small cobbled streets. Shortly after we walked passed a man with some intriguing silk paintings and got to talking. He owned the local art school, called the Lucky art school, which also offers henna tattoos and cooking classes. I was very keen to have some henna done at some point in the trip but had heard some horror stories in which some had gone terribly wrong. Thinking it was a large art school and seeing some of the comments left by other tourists, I decided to go ahead. The design and henna work carried out on my hand and arm, was magnificent. A young female student came to the school on her day off just to do it for me. It was very intricate and high in detail for the size it was, it only took her twenty minutes. In the mean time we chatted to the owners and perused some of the silk paintings we had seen earlier. They were very beautiful,

delicate, with a high quality and not very expensive, so we purchased one as a present for my parents and one for Josh and myself. Our painting is of two peacocks which is a significant animal in India and they stand for husband and wife and bring good luck.

This then brings us to early afternoon, just enough time for a quick beverage up on one of the many roof bars to soak up the warm sunshine rays, before embarking on a trip to the airport, for our flight to Goa.

I fell in love with Udaipur, just like many before me and I will always want to go back to see my Indian Venice and discover more.