Ray Ban Wayfarers*  |  Pull & Bear top

It's rare, but something I really love during Autumn is a sunny day. There's something about a cold, crisp, sunny day that makes me really happy. Amazingly, yesterday was one of those days so I made the most of it and went outside. 

I've been using the Lucas Paw Paw Ointment since I asked my friend Keisha to bring it back for me from Australia a few weeks ago. I'd heard loads about it as it's one of those cult products that you can't get here. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It does moisturise your lips really well and any other dry patches, but it's not that pleasant to use on your lips as it's made from fermented papaya and personally all I can smell is rotten fruit. I'm still using it though in hope that I'll get used to the smell. 

I've been reaching for my warmer, richer eyeshadow and lip colours and I love the combo of Burberry 'Mulberry' and Illamasqua 'Magnetism'*. Mulberry is mix between a taupe, plum and brown and suits my brunette complexion really well. Magnetism, which I spoke about here is a deep raspberry pink and as it's quite dark it's the perfect Autumn lipstick. 

Sunnies are a must and of course, don't we all love Ray-Bans sunglasses? These one's are from Sunglasses Shop who are known for stocking pretty much every sunglasses brand out there including Chanel, Miu Miu and Tom Ford. Wayfarers are probably the most popular out of all the Ray Bans and the Ray-Ban 2140 wayfarers are my absolute fave. Who says sunnies need to be put away in Winter? 

So all that, my Stella perfume and my Monki gloves and I'm ready for a Sunny Autumn day. Lovely! 

Happy Halloween by the way! If you're out tonight and need some inspiration, check out the video I did with Gemma here. 

Lily xx

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GLOSSYBOX Think Pink Exclusive Edition £20*

GLOSSYBOX has just launched a brand new concept to compliment their existing monthly box and their occasional 'Flash Boxes'. It's called the Exclusive Edition and the idea of it is to delve into a beauty topic/problem even more and offer up the 5 products they recommend to help. Unlike the normal GLOSSYBOX, this one isn't a surprise and you can see what's in the box before you order it. It's only available to active subscribers, so it will be an extra box for that person that month. 

This Exclusive Edition box is themed 'Think Pink' and it's not about anti-ageing but rather about encouraging ageing beautifully. Make the most of what you've been given and use the right products to suit you. 

The five products in this box are Morrocan Oil Treatment, Mama Mio Clean Slate cleanser, Kosmea Youth Boost, REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and Ole Kenriksen truth serum. As you've probably noticed, the products are a lot more high end than they usually are in the standard GLOSSYBOX. This is probably because they are going to a more specific group of people who have opted for these kind of products. The box itself is more expensive than the normal one priced at £20 and again this is because of the higher end products and extras in the box. 

Talking about extras, this box also comes with a magazine. The magazine, written by Pia the creative director of GLOSSYBOX, goes through each product in the box in detail guiding you on the application process. It also offers interesting topical articles as well as some well-being tips from a celebrity nutritionist. The magazine definitely adds to the box and guides you through the whole GLOSSYBOX experience, making it a much more pleasant one. 

Overall, I'm impressed. I'm looking forward to trying the products and 3 out of 5 of them I've never tried before which is exciting! 

If you are a GLOSSYBOX subscriber and you want to order the box, you can do so through the email that was sent to you last week. Alternatively you can go straight to this page to order. If you are not a subscriber and you would like this box, you can subscribe now to GLOSSYBOX and then order the box once you are a subscriber. 

So what do you think about this new concept for GLOSSYBOX? Will you be ordering an Exclusive Edition when the theme fits you? 

Lily xx

 Disclaimer: I do not work for GLOSSYBOX. I am however a GLOSSYBOX Ambassador which means I get sent the boxes early to try the products out.  My opinions in this post are 100% honest as always. 

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On Sunday Rich and I went to Westfield, mainly just to get out the house, but of course I ended up doing a bit of shopping too! It's that time of year when all the Christmas bits arrive in stores and I love it. I popped into LUSH, Urban Outfitters and Pull & Bear and then drove back via Primark. 

Enjoy the video! Please subscribe to my channel here. 

Lily xx 

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Panda Days

I just couldn't resist this panda hoodie* from Romwe. The body and hood is grey, the sleeves are black and it has ears!! Pandas seem to be everywhere at the moment, I'm not sure why but I'm not complaining. The lipstick was a gift and I absolutely love it. I've wanted a Tom Ford lipstick for ages, especially since trying Ree's Wild Ginger lipstick. 

Tom Ford Wild Ginger is an orange lipstick but it has enough red in it to be wearable. The formula is really creamy and comfortable to wear. I like applying the outline with a brush  and then filling out the middle using the bullet. It's such a pretty colour and seems to work for a day look and a night look. Tom Ford lipstick's are really expensive, but the packaging and the quality make it worth it - kind of. 

What do you think? Like?

Lily xx

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Sick bed  |  Exclusive Edition GLOSSYBOX  |  Chicken Soup

Cosy socks  |  Hot Ribena  |  Bed

Cheese Toastie  |  HATE the new Dairy Milk  |  Fake flowers

Singin' in the Rain  |  Amazing Palace Theatre  |  Sushi lunch

OOTD  |  Alternative Fresh lip scrub  |  Shooting in a studio

Scary face mask  |  Makeup  |  Winter outfit

Burberry 'Mulberry' eyeshadow  |  Mickey the cat just chillin'  |  Dach & Sons

Bone marrow popcorn  |  Found one!  |  Funny :-) 

Bought this  |  Jonathan Ross Halloween decorations  |  Cosy Primark legs and feet

Follow me on Instagram: @lilypebbles

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If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then you'd know that this week has been a bit of a write-off for me because I spent the first 3 days really sick in bed. The photo above is evidence! It's that time of year when everyone gets a cold or if you're really lucky the flu. It seems impossible to avoid and I know so many people who have it at the moment! 

Personally, the ONLY thing that makes me better is chicken soup. And I'm not talking ready-made, or canned or any kinda 'fake' chicken soup... I'm talking about real Jewish penicillin. Now this is a big deal here guys, but today I'm going to share with you my family chicken soup recipe that goes back generations. So if you're not feeling great then give this a go and I PROMISE you'll feel better! Everyone has their own way of making it, but this is ours and I think it's the best (everyone says that too!).

Ingredients you'll need:

6 Chicken Thighs

2 Carrots (peeled and chopped)

1 Onion (peeled and left whole)

1 Stick of Celery (chopped)

1 Parsnip (chopped)

1 Small Turnip (chopped)

Half a Small Swede (peeled and chopped)

1 Chicken Stock Cube (we use Telma)

Salt and Pepper

Small Tomato (optional)

Stellette pasta (optional)

How To:

Fill a large saucepan with cold water and add the chicken thighs whole. 

Bring the water to the boil and skim off all the yucky stuff on the top. 

Then add all the vegetables, the stock cube, salt and pepper and a small tomato (optional).

Bring to the boil again and then cover with a lid. 

Turn down the heat and let it simmer for about an hour (or more).  

Taste and check for seasoning. At this point the chicken should be falling off the bone. 

Boil the pasta separately (as much as you like) and add it to the soup. 

I love the baby pasta if I'm having the soup as a main meal because it bulks it up a bit!

Matzo Balls (for cheaters)

Matzo balls are the fluffy balls you get in chicken soup and I LOVE them. They're kinda like dumplings (but not slimy) and they soak up all the nice taste of the soup so they're like little balls of chicken soup yumminess. We buy the Telmers packets, which you can get from some supermarkets depending on the area, because they are genuinely really nice and really quick to make. You just need one large egg and the packet of mix and you're literally ready to roll! 

So that's it. Our secret to curing everything - ok, well let's not go that far, but it definitely made me feel better! So if you're feeling a bit rough this weekend and want a cosy warm hug, make yourself some real chicken soup and let me know if you do - my mum will be so proud! 

Enjoy! 

Lily xx

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NARS Multi-Protect Primer SPF 30/PA +++ £24*  |  NARS Pore Refining Primer £24*

I'm Lily and I'm a primerholic. It's a step in my routine that I will never miss out. I think most people think primers are only for those with oily skin but that's so not the case.

The first reason why I wear primer is to keep my makeup on all day. Although I don't have oily skin, in fact it's quite dry, my base makeup seems to vanish by the end of the day. My theory is that my skin is so dehydrated it soaks in all the moisture from my makeup leaving me with a barely there, patchy makeup look by the end of the day. The second reason is to protect my skin. As you're all aware, I'm a Londoner which means, tubes, buses, pollution, cold weather etc so I also use a primer to create a barrier between my makeup and my skincare. 

For someone who loves primers I think it's pretty strange that I've only used one for the past few years. I've stuck to my Laura Mercier primer and re-purchased it many times - why change something that's not broken eh? But I'm a beauty blogger so trying new products is what I do. I was excited to try out these NARS primers, in fact I was genuinely intrigued to find out if anything lived up to my all-time favourite. 

There are two NARS primers available, the Multi-Protect and the Pore Refining. Let's start with the Pore Refining one as I think this will suit most skin types. It's oil-free which is great and it applies like a dream. It comes out as a white creamy liquid and sinks into the skin very easily, leaving a soft and even base. This one doesn't have SPF so if that's something you look for in a primer then this one isn't for you, although you should be using a moisturiser with SPF in, so it isn't a big deal. The Pore Refining primer feels like a traditional primer does and is quite comparable to my Laura Mercier one (even though the LM one isn't oil-free). 

The Multi-Protect primer has an SPF of 30 and PA+++ which is really good, obviously wearing an SPF is really important. This one is quite different to other primers I've tried. It's like a cream texture and feels pretty similar to a moisturiser. This one would be great for drier skin types. It takes a bit longer to dry because of the thicker texture but once it has it leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated. 

To be honest, I think both work equally well at keeping makeup on all day. I can imagine the Pore Refining one being the most popular as it's more like a traditional primer, quick to use and will keep shine at bay. But if you're looking for extra moisture and feel like primers can dry you out, then the Multi-Protect is perfect! It's really just preference. But if you're looking for a new primer I recommend you try these out, as just like most NARS products, they didn't disappoint! 

Have you tried either of these NARS primers? 

Lily xx

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Evening Skincare Routine

Just a little update of the skincare products I'm using at the moment. Most of my skincare routine takes place in the evening as I'm really not a morning person and in this video I talk through my favourite products I'm using at the moment!

Have a little watch and let me know if you too are using any of these? Click the video to watch on YouTube and see all the product details in the description box.

Enjoy!

Lily xx

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Topshop 'Panther' Nail Polish £6.50*  |  Topshop 'Prism' eyeshadow trio £16*

These just landed on my desk and I had to show them to you guys straight away! Dark Side of Nude is Topshop's new capsule beauty collection and it's all about 'Gothic goes Glamorous'. There are 9 products in the collection, including two eyeshadow trios, four nail polishes, two lipsticks and one mascara. 

I've been playing with Panther and Prism which are both gorgeous products. Panther is a pretty black and silver glitter that can be worn on it's own or over another polish. The glitter is quite sparse so I'd recommend wearing it over another colour like black or burgundy. It's dark and edgy but pretty and Christmassy at the same time! 

Prism comes in a really nice matte black packaging with a big mirror perfect for your handbag. The eyeshadows are buildable metallic colours and are very pigmented. There is a black, a champagne/gold and  a silver. Again, very Christmassy colours but with a gothic edge. 

I love these and can't wait to play with them a bit more. I'm really impressed with the eyeshadows! I also spotted an amazing dark red lipstick in this collection called 'Wicked' which I'm sure will be a sell-out.

Have you seen this collection yet? What do you think about Gothic meets Glamorous? 

Lily xx

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For those of you who haven't yet seen this video, I wanted to get it up before Halloween in case you wanted to give it a go! 

Gemma and I went to a Halloween party last week and decided to go as corpse brides. We had no idea what we were doing and kind of made it up as we went along. If you're patient though and have the right makeup and tools, it's pretty easy. All you need is a grey cream base (we bought a black and white from Claire's) some black and dark blue eyeshadows (maybe a bit of purple too) and lots of makeup brushes! 

Hope you like watching us get ready and please send me a photo if you try it yourself! Happy Halloween!! 

~Side Note~

If you read my blog and have seen my videos on here but haven't really got into YouTube yet then I really recommend you create a YouTube account and subscribe to the channels you like. For those of you who know what 'subscribing' means, stop reading now and sorry if you think this is patronising, but I know that a year ago I had no idea what everyone was talking about when they were saying 'subscribe to my channel'. All you have to do is find the people you like to watch on YouTube and click on the 'Subscribe' button on their YouTube page. This just means that when you log into your YouTube account and go to 'subscriptions' you will get updated when any of those channels have uploaded a new video. I became obsessed with watching beauty videos about a year ago and there are so many great ones out there. If you want to be updated when I upload a new video then please subscribe here. If you don't want to, then just keep an eye on the videos in the column on the right of my blog for new videos! 

Right, I'm off to see Singing in the Rain now with my mum - yay! 

Lily xx

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Tresemmé Texture Style

Devine Definition Spray £5.50* | Velvet Crème £5.50* | Tousled Wave Spray £5.50* | Backcomb Dust £5.50* 

A couple of weeks ago me and about 20 other bloggers were treated to a very special night out in London to celebrate the launch of Tresemmé's new Texture Style range. We were taken to the Heron Tower in London and treated to canapes and drinks in Sushi Samba before a 3 course (or more like 12 course) meal at Duck & Waffle. I spoke about the food in this post, so let's talk about Tresemmé!

One of my favourite looks I saw at London Fashion Week was at Topshop Unique and if you've always wanted to get that tousled, sexy hair look, then this is how! 

Tresemmé have launched four new products to help you get messy hair without the damage that comes with backcombing. The Divine Definition spray helps you create seperated 'airy' layers, give grit to your hair for up-do's and is ideal for short to medium hair. The Velvet Crème helps define your look and enhance choppy layers. It gives a medium hold and a matt finish to short to medium-length hair. The Tousled Wave Spray gives a soft touch to the hair for a beachy wave look. It adds bounce and body and is great for medium to long hair. Finally the Backcomb Dust works best worked into the roots to create instant root lift at the crown. This is backcombing without the damage and also works as a dry shampoo. 

The range is now available at Boots, what do you think of it? Are any of the products something you'd want to try?

Lily xx

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Leighton Denny As Good As New*  |  Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat*  |  Leighton Denny Crystal Finish Topcoat*

Dr Lewinn's Renunail Nail Strengthener*  |  Dr Lewinn's Renunail Nourishing Oil*

Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover

For someone who paints their nails every other day, I'm really awful at actually looking after my nails. I've slowly been forcing myself to take better care of my nails and although I'm still pretty lazy I am getting a bit better. I've also been testing out some new nail products recently so I thought I'd do a quick roundup. 

First up is the Dr Lewinn's nail strengthener and nourishing oil. I wanted to talk about these as I've had them for a while now, but in all honesty I haven't yet gotten round to testing out the nail strengthener. My nails are in desperate need for this product and I've heard great things about it (it also won a Cosmo beauty award two years in a row) but it's a two week treatment... which means no nail polish for two weeks. I have high hopes for this I will get round to trying it... I'm thinking when I'm on holiday and I'm happy to have bare nails - so I'll report back! The nourishing oil is a really good product that prevents any painful dry bits around the nails and softens cuticles. 

For my base coat and top coat I have been really enjoying using the Revlon Quick Dry base coat and the Leighton Denny Crystal Finish top coat. The base coat is nice and thick and is a murky white colour; it really creates a smooth base for the nail polish. I love the top coat and it's probably only the second polish I've tried from Leighton Denny. It glides on smoothly and leaves a really shiny finish that dries super quick. 

I recently picked up the Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover when I was with Anna in Boots (she is a manicure goddess!). Believe it or not this is the first time I've used a cuticle remover and I loved it! You simply squeeze a bit along your cuticles, wait a minute and then I used an orange stick to push the cuticles back and voila, I had about another third of nail space to paint on. My nails looked so healthy and clean and I'm sold. This one has kiwi, wheat protein and jojoba extracts in it for a fast acting formula. 

Finally, onto the most unique product of them all, Leighton Denny As Good As New. You know when you get to the end of your favourite nail polish and it goes all gloopy but you know there's still some polish in there? Well this is for that moment. You simple add a few drops into your old polish and it completely revives it, giving it a new lease of life so you can carry on using it. My Pixi polish was completely dying and turning into one big gloop and this thinned it out and made it so much easier to use. 

So have you tried any of these? Do you dedicate time for manicures or are you a bit lazy like me? 

Lily xx

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Escentric Molecules 'Molecule 01'  |  Stella McCartney 'Stella'

I've stuck to the same perfumes for most of my adult life... so having these two in my life is quite exciting for me. Although these are not marketed specifically as Autumn perfumes, they are to me so that's what I'm calling them! 

Escentric Molecules - Molecule 01

I mentioned this perfume in this video but I can't believe I haven't blogged about it yet. It was first brought to my attention by my number one enabler Anna when we went out for dinner. I was obsessed with her smell to the point of actually being weird and it wasn't until she explained it to me that I forgave myself for being so stalker-like. Ruth wrote a great blog post on it here, but I'll try give you a quick run down on it too. The perfume consists of one molecule (perfumes normally include thousands) and it claims to smell different on everyone. It's also common for you to not be able to smell it properly on yourself, but... here's the big but... other people are completely drawn to the smell. I thought this sounded a big gimmicky but it's not, it really does work! I've had people stop me on the street to write down the name of it, I've had people buy it on their phone whilst talking to me across the table and I've experienced it myself when Anna wore it. It works. It's a unisex fragrance so can smell quite masculine, but as a lover of fig perfumes it's right up my street! I bought the £27 version which is supposed to be a refill, but if you don't mind having no lid it's the cheaper option! 

Stella by Stella McCartney (limited edition bottle)

I'm not normally a fan of fragrances that everyone else seems to love. Stella is a fragrance so many people wear including Meg and Gemma. I was always really jealous of everyone who had the limited edition bottles from last year so when the new ones came out this year I had to go and check them out. There are 3 prints available in the very cute mini bottles and they are a reflection of her fashion line. So I was sold on the bottle and already wanted it, but I'm not one to buy things I wont use so I had to like the smell. I spritzed a bit on and walked around the Selfridges beauty hall. To my surprise it actually really suited me and after getting Rich and my mum's approval I bought it. Actually, Rich very kindly bought it for as a present. It's heavier and much more floral than perfumes I usually wear but I feel smart and important when I wear it and it makes me feel girly. 

Have you tried either of these? Have I made you intrigued by Molecule 01? 

Lily xx

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New IKEA stuff  |  NEOM love  |  Kleenex bits

Face  |  In-n-Out in London!  |  Exciting

Enjoying my In-n-Out drink  |  Burger  |  Mixing my own moisturiser

Essie 'Master Plan'  |  Upcoming nail post  |  LUSH Christmas

Apple store  |  Pumpkins in Whole Foods  |  Using nail dotting tools

Spooky Halloween eyes  |  Testing  |  Makeup for Halloween face

Barfly supports Movember  |  Fancy dress shop  |  Looking like surfs

Corpse Brides  |  Spoooooky  |  Final snap of the night

Liz Earle washed it away |  Morning after mess  |  Clearing out wardrobe

Lebonese for lunch  |  Lola's at Halloween  |  Chilli bites at the cinema

Follow me on Instagram: @lilypebbles

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The day that In-n-Out burgers came to London... well that was a special day. 

I was the Tuesday just gone and my boyfriend (despite being new to Twitter AND In-n-Out burgers) was the one to bring it to my attention. The power of Twitter meant news was quickly spreading about the pop-up In-n-Out burger that would be setting up shop for only 4 hours for one day only in London. 

For those of you who don't know, In-n-Out is a takeaway burger place that is only available on the West Coast of America. It's famous for it tasty burgers and is apparently Gordon Ramsey's favourite takeaway! It's just one of those things that people who have tried become obsessed with and people who haven't become obsessed with wanting to try. 

Apparently In-n-Out travel all over the world setting up pop-ups to 'test the water' and this team had come straight from Kiev. This time they took over a little Italian restaurant in Hendon (North London) right next to my all-time favourite Sushi restaurant, Atari Ya. It was an extremely basic cafe which meant there were restrictions with the kitchen. Only 10 people at a time were let in every 20 minutes and only a basic menu could be offered, meaning crisps instead of chips. 

The queue was crazy and they always are for these trendy pop-ups! Each person in the queue got a wristband and were only allowed one burger each. Once I got inside I saw the small cafe that had temporary In-n-Out signs all over the place. The staff took orders on a laptop and it was kind of the complete opposite to what a quick take-away is normally like. 

We finally got our food and went back home to eat it (sitting in the small cafe wasn't very appealing). I got the Double-Double burger meal, animal style. Double Double means two burgers and animal style means with onions, gherkins and some other bits. It was quite expensive but that's probably because of the situation and having to import the food etc. It was good... but it wasn't AMAZING! I don't really know what I was expecting, I was just so hungry that my judgement was impaired. It definitely didn't feel 'healthy' like the staff in the cafe told me it was, it was kind of like a much better McDonalds. If it were to open here (they told me it's very possible) then I'd probably only treat myself to it on hangover days. 

It was a pretty exciting day though and convincing my dad to queue for an hour for a burger and crisps was a challenge and a half. So I'm pretty sure we'll see In-n-Out opening here in the near future and then we can all scoff our faces with burgers - yay! 

Lily xx

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