The Daily Essentials I'm Obsessed With Right Now
As my life ebbs and flows, I depend on different things to get me through the day seamlessly. And finding those daily essentials that make your day either easier or a whole lot more enjoyable is such a wonderful feeling and these are my daily essentials right now.
RIFLE PAPER CO 2020 DIARY (gifted)
For years I’ve been a journal and an iCal type of girl for keeping my life in order. But since the beginning of August, I’ve been using the 2020 18 month diary from Rifle Paper Co daily and I adore it. Typically I only go for yearly diaries but as I find September much more of a fresh start than January this made much more sense and there is truly is no better feeling than having a fresh diary to fill. There are so many sections from general notes, important dates, weekly layout and then a traditional calendar section so you can quite easily plan out your entire year as well as the adorable stickers that I’ve not dared to use yet. What I’ve enjoyed about this diary the most is that it's kept my daily to-do lists at a reasonable length meaning that I can never write down too many things to do which is something I’m pretty guilty of. And even as a left-hander I still find this comfortable to write in which isn’t usually the case when something is ring bound and it’s usually something I avoid in stationery.
BLACK CAMERA style BAG
Now I’ve changed my camera it means that I’m taking it on the go with me so much more. Sometimes I don’t want to take my backpack out with me so I wanted a shoulder bag that could comfortably fit my camera in as well as any other little bits that I might need like my phone or my car keys. I looked high and low online to find a ‘camera style’ bag, honestly, I’m not sure how they’ve got this name as any pro photographer would only fit a lens in this bag if that but that's beside the point. I wanted something simple and preferably not real leather and there were a few options but none that ticked all the boxes. Until my best friend sent me a photograph of this number in Sainsbury’s of all places. And it’s perfect, it’s been my go-to bag lately and the adjustable strap means that I can carry it quite high up on the hip which I prefer these days especially when walking the dogs as it makes it easy to fish anything out at a moments notice.
FUJIFILM XT2
I don’t typically talk about tech very often on my blog as I don’t have anywhere near enough knowledge on the subject but I thought I’d give a quick rundown on how I’m finding my new camera. In May I got rid of my DSLR and swapped it out for the Fujifilm XT2, a swap I’d been contemplating for a long time and I’m so glad that I did. It’s a brilliant camera and trumps my SLR in every way possible whilst being lightweight and easy to take on the go. It’s made me enjoy taking photographs so much more again as this camera is opening up my possibilities so much more with how well it performs in different situations. The menu is a little more complex to use and that's something Fujifilm is known for but otherwise, it's fantastic.
L’OCCITANE HAND CREAM (GIFTED)
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so passionately about a hand cream as I have this one, I think it’s because there is so much that can go wrong with the formula of hand cream and it can make a product unusable. My two biggest gripes usually are that they either don’t sink in or they make the hands greasy which is an absolute no-no especially when you’re using it on the go or at your desk, before bed, you can somewhat forgive slightly greasy mitts but otherwise, it’s not great. This cream not only sinks quickly but it doesn’t make my hands feel greasy or sticky at all which is why it lives on my desk as it's perfect throughout the day. Whenever I’m feeling anxious or worried about something I have rather a horrible habit of ripping the skin around my nails and it can leave my hands in a rather sorry state. But this helps to nourish and repair the skin so quickly that they’re thankfully not looking so awful for that long. The L’occitane Almond range has been one of my favourites for a long time, their shower oil, in particular, is another beautiful product that I’d recommend anyone giving a try.
CLINIQUE CITY BLOCK SHEER SPF 25 (GIFTED from a paid campaign last october)
Finding a good facial SPF isn’t easy and I hate to admit how lax I’ve been with SPF in the past, especially during my teenage years and the damage I have undoubtedly done to my skin. But I’m trying to make up for it and for the past eighteen months I’ve been pretty strict with wearing SPF and my absolute favourite has been this cult classic from Clinique. It’s from the City Block range which is designed for city dwellers in mind as it’s brilliant at dealing with pollution and everything that a busy environment can throw at your skin. Now, I’m not a city dweller but having that little bit of extra skincare benefits in a product is not something to be sniffed at. This SPF has been formulated with a tint and it somehow manages to match my skin tone perfectly and thanks to that tint it means that it makes going makeup-free so much easier as it creates a nice blur over any imperfections I might have. Despite being oil-free I can’t say that I’ve noticed it being at all drying and my skin is left with a nice juicy glow too. You could easily replace your AM moisturiser with this as a two in one if you are a little more oily but I like as much moisture as I can get and this doesn’t pill up when used in conjunction with something else.
