Trashgate, wider implications and brands who fail

Hiya lovelies.

I write this with a heavy heart, because I have resigned (if that's the right word) my Scarlett and Jo ambassador role. Why am I writing this post? Because I've spent more than half of the last day on Twitter talking to people about it (among wider issues) and I've run out of energy to tell people on other social media channels why I will no longer be a Scarlett and Jo ambassador.

I was thrilled to be chosen as an ambassador, and I cried with joy when owner Gifi Fields asked me. I wrote here exactly why it meant so much to me.

So why have I resigned? Where to begin?! My thoughts are so scrambled and I'm exhausted trying to unravel them and make any sense. I'm going to try to unpack why I'm so angry, and it's not all because of what happened yesterday. This has been building in me for YEARS.

Last night on Facebook a customer of Scarlett and Jo and a woman known to many on the plus size blogging scene asked a polite question of S&J head Gifi and got the answer below.



What transpired afterwards in the comments was utterly bizarre. Since then Gifi has said he did make the reply above to Janie, but alleges there were a couple of fake accounts pretending to be him trolling people later down the thread with sarcastic responses to their comments. When I was watching it unfold (after a couple of people alerted me to it in PMs) I was thinking to myself 'If that's really Gifi he's got to be pissed as a fart.'

Things kicked off on social media as you would expect, because (I think) plus size bloggers and every day plus size people are sick to the back teeth of fuckery from brands. It's bigger than Scarlett and Jo. It goes back months, even years. It's Pink Clove's hideous social media feed, who are repeat offenders of crap like this.




So you can't be the whole package when you're fat? Piss off Pink Clove. Your dresses are so short they barely cover my juicy fat arse and your social media team are deluded. Get a fat girl on it, stat.

It's Taking Shape's Skinny Bird Watching at LFW. It's all the built up resentment that the people who are supposed to be here for us don't get us at all, and worse, many of them are only in plus size clothing as a cynical money maker. They think 'Ooh, untapped market! Let's throw some half-arsed body positivity quotes at them alongside our barely-thought-through butterfly hanky hem designs and we'll be millionaires!'

NO.

It's shit like I'm No Angel, designed by Lane Bryant to stand against the homogeny of Victoria's Secret models, except they used models of exactly the same kind of proportions as VS in plus size form. Still hourglass, still no double chins, still negligible rolls, still hawking this elusive 'perfection' they want us all to aspire to.

It's Style Has No Size by Evans who used models of size 16 or less and told us it was diversity. O RLY? It was that other crap from an American plus size company who did a campaign to highlight women of up to a size 34 and then only did t-shirts to publicise it up to a size 28. I can't even remember which company it was or what their half arsed body positive slogan was. These things happen so often it kinda washes over me. One giant eye roll merges into another with little time to recover.

It's all these companies tell us 'WE VALUE DIVERSITY!' then showing us they don't. At all. Where are the size 32 models in plus size fashion campaigns (other than Scarlett and Jo - whatever you think of them they were groundbreakers in that respect). Come on Evans, Simply Be, Yours Clothing. Where are your size 32 models? Where are the visibly disabled people, the people of colour, the gender variant people? The apple shaped, in fact where is ANYONE who doesn't look like a model? This is not diversity. This is bullshit.

Do me a favour. Look at this.

THIS IS DIVERSITY FROM READY TO STARE.


THIS IS DIVERSITY FROM CHUBBY CARTWHEELS.


Indie sellers get diversity, and I hope there are many more out there (than even I'm aware of) who champion the people big brand plus size retailers don't want to exist - you know, the super fat people, those with double chins, those with big drooping bellies, those who are hairy, who are gender variant, who are visibly disabled or otherwise 'not model material.' You know, MOST OF US.

I was expecting to wake up this morning and have a very contrite Gifi apologise unreservedly, swear off social media forever and apologise to Janie and anyone else upset by the comments he made. I believe he made an attempt at an apology but it's not enough. Actually, it's too much. Because all he had to say was 'I'm really sorry. I screwed up. I didn't mean Janie wants trashy fashion. I spoke in haste and I regret my actions.' (He meant something else entirely - fast fashion - but that's besides the point - the words came out of his keyboard and need to be truly apologised for). He could've left it at 'I know I've let down a community of amazing women and I'm sorry. I'm going to take some time away to consider my mistakes.'

But once again plus size women are left wanting more.

So yes Gifi, I'm angry and upset and I really pinned my hopes on Scarlett and Jo as the ONE big UK plus size retailer worthy of my support. I clung to you like a life raft because everyone else was a disappointment. The rest have lousy body-shaming social media, or are obsessed with diets, or who only value pretty young under-size-24 women, or who only deal with award winners or bloggers with 50k followers, or who fake body positivity to boost their sales. You were the one hope to wash away all that other shit and make it all OK. And now I find you're just as flawed as everyone else, and myself and so many other women who loved your company find ourselves adrift. You were the one shining star in UK fashion, you were the future. And for our own reasons, we all find your apology lacking. Do the right thing please Gifi. Give us someone to believe in again. This comes from a place of love as I still have so much respect for the one company to make me feel like FINALLY I was enough, just as I am. I want that for everyone and you were so, so brilliant at it. Please make a simple apology, from the heart. No ifs, no buts. And if you were genuinely trolled people will come around, they will. I didn't want to leave the ambassador program, but I had to because this is so much more than me and my feelings.

Give me someone to believe in. Plus size women SO need someone to believe in. We are so, so tired of coming last all the time.

Leah xoxo

OOTD - Scarlett and Jo fishtail velvet maxi dress in Midnight

Hello!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas? I did. Here's what I wore on Christmas Day - the Scarlett and Jo fishtail velvet maxi dress in Midnight.

*This post was put up before I became aware of a controversy on the Scarlett and Jo Facebook page. I've voiced some thoughts about this issue (and the bigger picture it plays into with regards to UK plus size brands cocking up on social media) on Twitter. I'm considering my position re: my Scarlett and Jo ambassador role.*

Scarlett and Jo Fishtail Velvet Maxi Dress in Midnight, deep navy plus size dress occasion dress Christmas dress


A sweet Christmas & decorating my winter wonderland*

Hiya lovelies,

This year has found me rather devoid of the Christmas spirit, but yesterday I finally got around to finishing off my Christmas display and gift bagging all of the Christmas gifts. I decided on a winter wonderland theme for my Christmas display, which is on a table in the living room. I decided not to put baubles on the trees this year and instead decorated with pearl jewellery, iridescent threads, Crown and Glory glitter hair accessories, mini bird cages, a sprinkle of iridescent glitter and some fake diamond gems. I have to say although it's a small display, I love it. I've got it on top of a fake snow tablecloth from Poundland.

I've wrapped as little presents as possible this year, using gift bags instead except for the heaviest presents. I put iridescent threads in with the gift bags, as well as some sweet treats I received from Tangerine Confectionery a week ago. Here's what they sent me. I'm a big fan of retro sweeties. When we got married in 2011 our favour bags were full of Black Jack and Fruit Salad sweets.

The Butterkist gingerbread popcorn was delicious, and very sweet. Some of the pieces were flavoured so strongly with ginger that it made my eyes water, but at least they taste of real ginger! Definitely best shared with someone to halve the sugar coma. :)

Here's my trees partway through decorating. I thought to myself 'I have all these pretty glitter hair bows, why not use them on the tree?!' To be honest putting baubles on a tree really hurts my arms as they're so weak from Fibromyalgia. Draping a few bits of faux pearl jewellery and clipping on some bows was very quick and easy.


The glittery Prancer is a hair piece as well, but made for someone with a pea head as I can barely get it on. It looks better on the tree than on me anyway. :) I used 2 mini trees this year - a white one and a pink one - both from Tesco a few years ago. I actually have a few more - a black mini tree, and a silver tinsel one which is midi sized - but I decided not to use them as space is at a premium (and of course the more I decorate the more work there is to undo).


Here's a section of the finished article.

I got the mini bird cage tealight holders, stags, tinsel, bead garland and iridescent threads from Poundland. They've really upped their game this year.

These are just some of the gift bags and presents ready to be delivered! I got most of the gift bags from Poundland too. It's handy that they deliver now because the shops at this time of year are an assault course!



I put a handful of sweet treats into each gift bag, most of which fell straight to the bottom, but at least it'll give the recipients something to munch on whilst they open their presents from other people. I do feel bad that people won't have the pleasure of ripping wrapping paper off my gifts this year, but I'm so stressed about Christmas this year I can't stomach to wrap them all!

I usually buy a box or two of Lindor to split among the presents as a little extra but I had no need this year with this sweet delivery!

And of course I left some over for me and James to chomp while I finished up my last few gifts. Those Wham bars are delicious! James has told me the Fruit Salads are his or else. ;)

Do you pop sweeties into your Christmas gifts? If you decorate, what kind of Christmas theme did you go for this year?

This may be my last post for several days, but if I have enough time on Christmas Eve I'll document the velvet maxi dress I bought from Scarlett and Jo a few days ago. I think they're going to have to replenish stock after Christmas (I can't see it on the website at the moment) but this is it.


I went for midnight blue (2nd left) after much deliberation and it is GORGEOUS. A life changing dress, and I don't say that lightly. I purr when I wear it, like I'm possessed by the spirit of Eartha Kitt.

Have a wonderful Christmas, and I'll see you soon!

Leah xoxo

*Sweet treats sent for review. Opinions are my own.

Link to poor sleep and acne?

Hello loves,

When I was in my 20s and even into my 30s, I could get away without a decent night's sleep without it showing in my face. I was so fresh-faced and chirpy that no one would guess I'd been up all night dancing and had about 3 hours sleep, as I was fond of doing in my pre-Fibro/ME days. Now if I sleep badly my eye bags take over my face, I look dry and pinched, and have the colour of death.

I'm interested in all things sleep since I rarely get any of the good stuff. Fibromyalgia is essentially a sleep disorder which causes much fuckery throughout the whole body as you don't get that restorative and repairing sleep that other people do. Our stage 4 or deep sleep is constantly interrupted. Imagine not getting a great night's sleep for years and then you'll know why Fibromyalgia is so debilitating. Not getting that deep sleep means that aches and pains don't magically heal overnight as the body's good fairies get to work, like in normal people. It means that you become more and more run down until you barely exist. You're the epitome of the walking dead, and no Rick Grimes in sight.

When I was asked to talk about the link between poor sleep and acne (this is NOT a sponsored post) I was intrigued as I know what it's like to sleep like crap and have the effects loud and proud on my face the next day. I'd never considered that poor sleep could be linked to spots. I knew that hormones and stress contribute towards spots, but had never considered that not getting enough sleep is a form of stress. Even though it's been affecting me for 8 years! D'oh.

This video was made by a bed company to explore the link between poor sleep and spots.



The video has obviously been crafted to drive an agenda, but regardless, it's food for thought. Is getting a good night's sleep the best thing you can do for your face? What do you think?

Can you get away with poor sleep without it showing on your face? Let me know so I can hate you. Just kidding. ;)

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

6 outfits that didn't make it into a blog post - photo heavy

Hello lovelies!

One of my biggest problems is self-criticism and I put pressure on myself to be perfect (whatever that is) then beat myself up for not achieving it. A few months ago I went through my blog searching for outfit posts I hated so I could delete them. I was putting ridiculous pressure on myself to blog every day, even if it wasn't my best effort. God knows why I did this to myself for so long. 

I have scrapped so many outfit photos for lots of different reasons. They have been rushed because the light was low and I needed to take shots ASAP. They might have been crap because I had very little time for make up or they might have had cluttered backgrounds. I might have been pulling really stupid faces in them (this happens a lot!) They may have been grainy. I may have had the camera on the wrong setting (too light/too dark) and they looked hideous after editing. They may have been ill-conceived outfits, or I may have been having a bad body image day/week/month and didn't want to show them to anyone. Deleting so many previous posts made me realise the only person putting pressure on myself to blog every day was me. Now I will wait for the perfect lighting (or use my soft box lights). I'll make sure my hair, make up and nails are OK. I don't put pressure on myself to put crap work out for the sake of it, and it's such a relief! I seem to be doing outfit posts at the rate of about 2 a week and that suits me a lot better.

Here are some outfits which weren't good enough to post on their own merits, but are worth showing combined.

One. I call this Gothic Cheerleader. I think I didn't post this outfit as I considered it a bit too VBO-y.

Jacket and necklace, blog sale.
Playsuit, past season New Look Inspire
Boots, Brantano



Two. Mookie picked this Scarlett and Jo dress up at their sample sale a few months back. I wore it to James's cousin's wedding and haven't worn it since as it needs ironing and I hate ironing. It is a lovely dress though! I didn't post these shots because it's a toilet selfie. :) I don't think this dress is available any more.



Three. There's no way this can be even classed as an outfit, but it was the only photo I kept from a whole set as I hated them. It was an ill advised outfit that looked good in my head but revolting on camera. But my boobs look good! Bra by Evans (the underwire has since broke, bah humbug!) and the top is a couple of years old by One One Three, who I don't think even exist any more.


Four. I bought this ASOS dress in a blog sale, and Rach took my photos but it was such a horrible, grey day the light was terrible so I edited them. The dress was a bit too tight and short at the back, although it does look OK in the photos. I'll probably sell this on.



Five. This is one of the dresses I modelled for Scarlett and Jo. I wore it on a freezing cold day to visit my family and these photos were super hurried so I didn't post them in their own right, but I will take better photos in it. You can buy it here. Hairband Crown & Glory, scarf past season Very, Coat past season New Look Inspire, shoes New Look.


Six. I wore this outfit out Wednesday just gone to a Christmas meal. Dress, by Lady V (given to me by Mookie), cardi from another friend, necklace/hair flower/bracelets all old. I didn't post this one because my washing is drying behind me, and besides they're phone photos/they aren't full length.




Would you be interested in seeing posts like these with outfit rejects in future?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

Corrie style steal with JD Williams - 4 ways to wear*

Hello lovelies,

It's the most wonderful time of the year (ding dong, ding dong) and I'm not really a Christmas party person. I'm more a Christmas meal down the pub kind of girl. When JD Williams asked me if I'd take a leaf out of a tv character's book for styling a Christmas eve outfit at the pub, the choice was easy.

Michelle from Corrie is my kinda girl when it comes to style because I love her edgy outfits. I thought the Lorraine Kelly glitter side ruched dress would be very her, which is handy as Michelle's glam style is a lot like mine. I'm wearing it in the black/bronze colourway and it looks a little red in certain lights. You can also get it in black/silver, but warm tones suit me better than cool tones.

I did have a fear that as this dress is so glitzy that it'd feel scratchy on, like lurex used to years ago, but it's a totally soft material with lots of glitter thread running through it. I love the sleeve length and the split detailing on the cuffs is a really nice feature, and useful if you move your arms around a lot - no pinched skin! I'm wearing a size 28 and it's true to size and does have stretch. It will mould itself to all your contours, and that's a very Michelle thing! If you're not at one with your body in tight fitting clothing you could wear shapewear underneath, but I'm not wearing any in these photos. It's machine washable - I really have no truck with hand washing or dry cleaning! The bust can be worn pulled down slightly to show off your cleavage (as I did) or left alone higher as a more modest v neck. I'm wearing thick tights and flats for comfort on a cold day. I can't wear high heels comfortably because of a 20 year old knee injury, and the tights are necessary to try to keep the chill out as my Fibromyalgia is really bothersome in the cold weather. I didn't style it with a coat as I wanted to show off the full splendour of the dress. The length is perfect on me, and one I feel comfortable wearing. I would absolutely wear this dress down the pub. I don't think I've ever felt overdressed, but I have felt under-dressed a lot in the past and it feels terrible so now it's my mission to glam it up as often as possible.

Still not bought your Christmas day dress? JD Williams are taking next day delivery orders up to Dec 23rd! Get in. 

Here's how I styled it, and below my shots are 3 different ways to wear it to give you some inspiration.

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter

When I first saw this photo below my knee-jerk response was 'Ugh!' because I'm pooching out my tum. But then I thought 'So what?!' You can see the rounded fullness of my bum and boobs as well as my tum. Now I love this photo!

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous

I'm wearing:

Dress, as linked above in the intro
Hair flower & earrings, Peacocks
180 denier tights, Big Bloomers
Gold shoes, New Look

Here are some different ways you could style this dress.

Look 1 - Xmas Rocks
Joanna Hope PU biker jacket
Sole Diva fringe ankle boots
Set of 3 animal print earrings

I would wear this outfit everywhere and anywhere. The biker and boots bring the dress down to a more casual vibe.
   
JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous how to wear rocking style
Look 2 - Girly Christmas
Faux fur stole
Sole Diva jewelled platform shoes
Sole Diva jewelled bag

This would be a great outfit if you were moving onto a club after the pub, but remember your foldable flats for when your feet have had enough.

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous how to wear girlie OOTD
Look 3 - Christmas Glitz
Faux fur coat
Three buckle patent boots
Coast ombre necklace

This is another cosy winter outfit, but the glitz of the necklace combined with the sparkle in the dress is just perfect.

JD Williams Lorraine Kelly plus size glitter side ruched dress Christmas party Christmas meal Christmas day dress bronze glitter sparkles glamourous cosy outfit

How would you wear this dress? Would you like more suggestions of how to style things in different ways in future posts?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

*Dress provided by JD Williams. Opinions are honest and my own.

It's OK not to be OK at Christmas

This is a repost from this time last year, but it's something I think is worth a repeat. 


I see bloggers being super-organised, doing gift guides and Christmas outfit posts and in contrast I barely have the mojo to get up each day. Rather than beating myself up about my lack of productivity I'm being kind to myself. This time of year is difficult for me and I know I'm not alone.

Before I was ill I LOVED Christmas. I loved buying gifts, wrapping them nicely and writing out my cards. Now every year Christmas rolls around I have less and less fortitude to deal with it. My Christmas trees aren't up, I haven't wrapped a single thing and I'm more stressed about Christmas than I am excited. My husband is a Christmas day baby and that ruined Christmas and his birthday for him so he's a total grump about the whole thing. I have to pull money out of my arse to pay for Christmas. From next year I'm only buying for the kids and instead of spending money on the adults, I'm hoping we'll go for a nice meal together and make memories instead of landfill. My shopping is almost done, I'm just waiting for some of it to arrive, and then I can relax. I look forward to that.

So here's last years' post.

It's totally OK to be not ready for the 'season of goodwill'. It's totally fine to be 'Oh hell no' rather than 'Ho ho ho!' It's perfectly acceptable to see Christmas day out under a haze of G&T if that's what it takes for you to survive. It's all OK. It's OK to be you, to be fragile and complicated and to not be able to turn on the happiness like a tap when the time of year demands it.

I think a lot of the sadness that comes about at Christmas time is because we beat ourselves up for not being as happy as everyone else, but you know what? A lot of people are faking it. There are more people out there struggling than you might realise, so please don't beat yourself up if you're immune to the charms of Elf and Love Actually and Christmas carols make you want to punch someone in the face.

I'm always open about my feelings (I have emotional diarrhoea) and since I've been sharing how NOT ready I am for Christmas, a lot of other people have too. So please, if you're feeling overwhelmed, tell someone, or lots of people, and I bet at least one person will say 'Thank God it's not just me!' If you're not feeling the joy of Christmas you're not alone, so please don't feel like you are.

If there are feelings which don't get better after sharing with someone, or if there's no one to talk to, please don't suffer alone. Here's a list of UK helplines, thoughtfully compiled by Sian and posted here with permission.

Mental Health:

MIND
www.mind.org.uk
0300 123 3393

Samaritans
www.samaritans.org
08457 90 90 90
Email: jo@samaritans.org

Hearing Voices Network
www.hearing-voices.org
0114 271 8210

SANELine
www.sane.org.uk
0845 767 8000

Papyrus: Preventing young suicide
www.papyrus-uk.org
0800 068 4141

Depression alliance
www.depressionalliance.org

National Self Harm Network
www.nshn.co.uk
0800 622 6000

SupportLine
http://www.supportline.org.uk/
01708 765200
info@supportline.org.uk
(Confidential emotional support for Children, Young People and Adults. Also keeps details of agencies, support groups and counsellors throughout the UK)

Addiction:

National Alcohol Hotline
http://www.drinksmarter.org/drinkline
0800 917 8282

NACOA (National Association for Children of Alcoholics)
http://www.nacoa.org.uk/
0800 358 3456

Talk To Frank (Drug information & advice) (ENGLAND)
http://www.talktofrank.com/
0800 77 66 00

Know The Score (Drug information & advice) (SCOTLAND)
http://knowthescore.info/
0800 587 587 9

Dan 24/7 (Drug information & advice) (WALES)
http://www.dan247.org.uk/
0808 808 2234
Or text DAN to: 81066

Addiction NI (Drug information & advice) (Northern Ireland)
http://addictionni.com/
02890 664434

LGBTQIA:

Stonewall
www.stonewall.org.uk
08000 50 20 20

London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard
https://helplines.org/helplines/london-lesbian-and-gay-switchboard-llgs/
0207 837 7324

Age:

Childline
www.childline.org.uk
0800 1111

Age UK Advice Line
www.ageuk.org.uk
0800 169 6565

The Silver Line (Free information, friendship and advice to older people.)
http://www.thesilverline.org.uk/
0800 4 70 80 90

Abuse:

Refuge
www.refuge.org.uk
0808 2000 247

Eating Disorders:

Beat Eating Disorders
http://www.b-eat.co.uk/
Helpline: 0845 634 1414
Youthline: 0845 634 7650

Housing and Homelessness:

Shelter
www.shelter.org.uk
0808 800 4444

Crisis
http://www.crisis.org.uk/

Bereavement:

Cruse Bereavement Care
www.cruse.org.uk/

Child Death Helpline
http://www.childdeathhelpline.org.uk
0800 282 986

Miscarriage Association
http://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/

Ectopic Pregnancy Trust
http://www.ectopic.org.uk/

Thanks for reading, and hugs from me to you if you're feeling crappy in the run up to Christmas. If you know of any more helplines or want to add helplines for your country in the comments, please do. And know you're not alone.

Hugs,
Leah xoxo

Superdrug PhytoDeluxe indulgent day and night cream*

Hiya!

I've been trialling some skincare from Superdrug which was created specially with the needs of 40+ skin in mind. It has ingredients which can be found in skincare products which cost more than £200. And even better - at the time of writing these products are 50% off at Superdrug and come in at £7.45 each!


At just £14.99 (at regular price) each these creams are cruelty free, have handy pump dispensers, and the day cream has SPF15 which is the minimum we should all use on our faces all year round to help avoid sun damage. These creams are a multi-pronged attack on the signs of facial ageing. Let's face it, we will ALL age eventually and we will all wrinkle but there are lots of things we can do to address other issues like dryness and lack of glow. I'll be the first person to say I don't understand the science behind a lot of skin care ingredients, but I do understand results. I've been using both creams for a month to get a feel for what they can do. The claims for these creams are visibly smoother, firmer and more luminous skin.

These PhytoDeluxe products contain platinum and black diamond truffle. Within the platinum is something called a terapeptide, which is an amino acid which basically tells the skin how to act, particularly with regards to the way it heals and rejuvenates itself. Black Diamond Truffle pampers mature skin while effectively counteracting the visible signs of ageing such as fine lines and lack of luminosity.


Indulgent day cream

The day cream absorbs quickly and isn't greasy, but your skin will feel moisturised to the touch when using this hard-working cream. I have no issues whatsoever applying makeup a few seconds after using it.

Indulgent night cream 

The night cream has the addition of shea butter to increase softness and suppleness. It's richer than the day cream, and as our skin does a lot of the work to renew itself at night a richer night cream is always warranted to help restore moisture. If you're a busy person with only time to take care of your skin once a day - make it the evening for the most effect.

So, what results did I see?

The biggest results I saw were in regards to evening out my skin tone. I've always been plagued by high red colour on my face and the most startling result (and one I didn't expect) was that my skintone became so much more even and I have less of a problem with redness now. My skin is also so luminous, slightly plumper and it has a little something I can't quantify - it just glows with health. I didn't really notice any major change to fine lines as I don't really have many - I seem to have gone straight into deep line territory! A question I always ask myself is when trialling new skin care is 'Does my skin look better after using this?' and yes it does. My skin was already in good condition when I started using these creams, and I still noticed a difference.

Glowing skin, no foundation


I've done nothing to my face other than my brows and eyes in the photo (my brows were recently plucked, hence the red marks). No foundation, no highlight, nada!

I would burn rubber getting to a Superdrug store or online to buy these at £7.45 each (as of 14/12/15) as they will give your skin a boost if you're 40 or older. Go, go, go!

Have you tried these creams?

Thanks for reading,
Leah xoxo

*Products supplied for review. Opinions are honest and my own.

Outfit | Oversized Witch Worldwide tee

Hello loves,

I saw Witch Worldwide on Instagram and fell in love with their spooky designs, and when they had money off over Black Friday I had to buy one of their oversized t-shirts. I went for this witch symbols one. Witch Worldwide are in the US, created by Alyssa Thralls and postage took about 2 weeks, which is pretty good since it takes into account the Black Friday rush/Christmas post. It came with a couple of stickers too. I love stickers. I've smothered the side of our fridge-freezer with stickers that came with purchases.

PLUS SIZE GOTHIC ALTERNATIVE WITCH SYMBOLS TEE WITCH WORLDWIDE

PLUS SIZE GOTHIC ALTERNATIVE PAGAN WICCA WITCH SYMBOLS TEE WITCH WORLDWIDE

PLUS SIZE GOTHIC ALTERNATIVE WITCH SYMBOLS TEE WITCH WORLDWIDE PAGAN WICCA TEE SHIRT

PLUS SIZE GOTHIC PAGAN WICCA ALTERNATIVE WITCH SYMBOLS OVERSIZED BLACK TEE WITCH WORLDWIDE

I'm wearing a 3x-6x and it's such a good size on me, lovely and baggy. The cotton is pre shrunk so you know it's going to stay baggy. Postage was about $18 to the UK and I was lucky not to be charged customs fees.

This is my favourite kind of wintry outfit - dark, oversized and cosy. The cardi is actually aubergine not black and it's so soft it's a pleasure to wear. I could wear a variation of this look all the time. It's so me!



PLUS SIZE GOTHIC ALTERNATIVE WITCH SYMBOLS TEE WITCH WORLDWIDE

I'm wearing:

Witch symbols t shirt, Witch Worldwide
Cardigan, New Look Inspire last year
Cropped leggings, Very (twin pack one short, one cropped pair)
Boots, New Look Inspire last year
Necklace, Hootie McBoutique (back to front in all shots, d'oh me)

We've had Mookie and Mike staying with us this weekend and it's been wonderful. We did lots of fun things. I hope you've had a good weekend too.

Leah xoxo

Plus size art by Murder of Goths

Hello lovelies!

I've been meaning to blog about Kathryn's art for a long time. She's captured many plus size blogger ladies gloriously and I thought I should introduce you to her work. Representation of fat bodies in art is so important, so this is the second in a series I'm doing of artists who draw fat-posi art. You can see my piece about Rachele Cateyes here.




And here you can see all the things I can buy with my face on. I was the last blogger to be added to the shop. I've been waiting to see my ickle face on there like a kid waits for Christmas, I tell ya! :)

I want everything! I'm definitely going to get a mug, some stickers and a notebook after Christmas when I have money again. And maybe a pouch.

You can also hire Kathryn for commission pieces. All her deets are on her blog.

Leah xoxo