It has been over a year since I've written about my monthly favourites, which is why this has been cleverly named 'what I've been loving lately'. That way, I can pack in as many things as possible.

I am going to make sure I try and write one of these posts every few months or so because:

1. I actually enjoyed compiling (well dur, I'm a listmaker), all of the things I like.
2. I will forever have a log of the things I have been loving.
3. It gives me the opportunity to share with you, and inspire you to check out some new things.

The items listed below span across the entire summer, and I have also included a few things that I received for my birthday last week.

FASHION

My favourites from the fashion department is a little sparse. I recently had a clean out of my wardrobe of anything I don't wear anymore, or items I couldn't see myself wearing in the future - and let me tell you, it was a lot. I always restricted myself from buying anything new as I didn't have enough space, now that I do, that wardrobe is going to get a new lease of life. (Well, it's still going to be pastel colours and smock dresses). Ever since I was a child, I have been obsessed with Hello Kitty. My love for that cute yellow-nosed cat has gone up and down throughout the years, but since I started following her Instagram account, it has made my love pretty strong. I'm trying to limit myself to "only the essentials" when it comes to everything and anything in my life, so when I saw Hello Kitty was doing a collaboration with Converse, I knew this was essential. I'm not the ultimate trainer kinda gal, but when they're pink, and that cute, I knew I had to buy them. They released a whole range of styles, but I chose the One Star trainers. It's in a lovely muted pink suede and has the most adorable Hello Kitty details around the entire trainer. It's even got red and white polka-dot lining. Of course, these will be worn with socks for any occasion.

One thing I know I can never have too much of are bags. I recently went down to the Skinny Dip offices and took part in a focus group to discuss some of their new arrivals. As a thank you, we received a goodie bag, and a voucher to shop online. We were spoiled! I am a regular to their website, and always check when new and exciting products have landed, and I was slightly torn when I saw the eggy cross body bag. I love anything that is fluffy so that was a plus, but I don't eat eggs. I guess that was the ironic part which made me actually want to buy the bag. It's a lovely size to store my autumn essentials, just as long as I keep it away from the rain, and all the thing that will spoil the white exterior. I have a new accessory appreciation for earrings, so for my birthday, I got these glitter star hoop earrings. They are a gold coloured hoop with a pink glittery star attachment. I honestly fell in love with these when I first saw them, and Topshop have some beautiful earrings out at the moment if this is your style of accessory too.

BEAUTY

I didn't realise how many new beauty bits I've been trying recently until I had to compile this post. I have to start off by talking about my favourite product (maybe even of all time), my Frank Body scrub. I have already written a review so if you want all the amazing details, check out that post, but I had to feature it in my favourites because I honestly can't express how much good it's done to my skin. I have been using it once a week for the past few months and all the marks and problems I've had with my skin, (which I've been trying to get rid of, but nothing had seemed to work), are disappearing. I got the birthday cake scrub for my birthday so I can't wait to give that a try. I was recently sent a package from Bilou to test some of their products. I had seen them around and was super excited to be able to give my readers my input. I have been testing them for a few weeks now, and I love it so much, you're getting a dedicated post in the next few weeks. I do have to mention my favourite product, the fizzy berry* cream foam. I have been using a lot of shower foams recently, but I am completely new to cream foams. The scent is sweet, (which I love), and the foam comes out quite thick, but once you start rubbing it into your skin, it absorbs in so easily, and you're left soft and smelling so sweet for so long! A savour when it comes to haircare is the hair elixir from Bleach London. I use it for the ends of my hair when they're looking slightly dry, and it leaves it feeling soft and shiny, but not oily or greasy. It smells so nice too, plus it's vegan and cruelty-free.

Let's talk about creams; hand and face. I have been baking hard in the kitchen a lot recently (you can read more below), and the only downside to that is I'm quite a messy baker. I like to keep things slightly clean, so I am always washing my hands between stages, resulting in a tidy kitchen, but very dry hands. Knowing how much baking I'm going to be doing in the next few months, I was given the shea bliss hand treatment from Bomb Cosmetics. It's funny how this purchase was started from my baking because it actually looks like creamy frosting, and it smells like it too! It has a combination of passionfruit notes and vanilla base notes, and it's honestly so luscious on my hands, and using it every night has helped my hands so much. I have been on a mission to find a face cream best suited for my confused skin and popped in The Body Shop to see what they had. I talked about my skin and was recommended a few products, but the one I fell in love with was the Vitamin C face moisturiser, which obviously had to be the one sold out from 4 shops and even online. I finally managed to pick up a pot and I knew even after the first few uses, this is going to have to be re-purchase. I have written a post about all my new The Body Shop favourites, so I'm not going to go into too much detail right now, but it's suited for dull, tired skin and helps the skin to glow. It sinks into the skin and doesn't leave it feeling heavy or oily. It smells just like fresh oranges, and it honestly does wonders for my skin.

POP-CULTURE

I have been really into poetry lately. I even have an Instagram highlight folder for all of my favourites. A book that I was constantly picking up where ever I saw it was The Princess Saves Herself In This One by Amanda Lovelace. Even from just the title, I knew it was something that I had to read. The book is split up into four sections; the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. They are short poems full of emotional and powerful words, exploring the themes and stages of love, loss, grief, healing, and empowerment. I feel like this book is going to lead me to a new love and appreciation of poetry, which I am fully going to embrace.

SCENT

Another birthday treat from Bomb Cosmetics was a Starlight Diva candle. When asked what kind of scent I wanted, seeing as we were heading straight to autumn, I opted for something well I guess... autumnal? I said I wanted something woody so an ingredient like sandalwood, and also an overall scent like men's aftershave. I know that sounds strange, but that is the easiest way to describe it. Seeing as there is no local BC store, and only ingredients and a short description to go by, my sister did an amazing job. Starlight Diva is all of those things. If it came in a fragrance, I would be wearing it non-stop.

HOBBIES

It should come as no surprise that a hobby I've been loving is baking. Being somebody who appreciates all things creative, being let loose in the kitchen with a bunch of sweet ingredients, a piping bag, pink food dye and an endless amount of sprinkles and glitter can only be a plus in my books. If you didn't know, for blogmas I am doing 12 diy posts and 12 baking posts. Yes, it's going to be a hell of a lot of work, but as a test run, I set myself the task of producing three birthday inspired bakes in a very short amount of time. I also challenged myself in what I baked and the techniques I used. In case you missed it, I made galaxy blondies, strawberry party macarons, and mini cherry ombre cakes. All of which came out way better than I expected, and have been given a great amount of feedback too, which has made me even more excited for my December bakes. I think I'm finally feeling really comfortable in the kitchen.

MY BIRTHDAY

Last Saturday was my birthday so, obviously, that is something I was loving. It was extra special this year because my favourite artist, Halsey, was playing a concert in London. Out of all day days in a year, she decides to perform on my birthday in London... it's meant to be. I had such an amazing time, and I honestly can't wait until she plays again. I've spoken a little about the gifts I received, but one of my favourites and one that I won't ever be forgetting is that I have adopted a family of elephants in Kenya. I had mentioned to my sister a few times that I would love to adopt an animal, (it's been on my bucket list forever), and I guess she took great notice because she gifted it to me. For some reason, elephants have a special place in my heart, and I am so glad I get to be a part of their wellbeing.

Let me know in the comments below what you've been loving recently, and if you have tried or own any of the things I have mentioned. Let's inspire each other to try something new.

*This post contains an item from a PR package, but all opinions are 100% truthful and honest. You can read my full disclaimer policy here.