Copper Garden

Life, Style and Travel

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Christmas

The Significance Of A Christmas Present.

Over time we’ve become a nation that associates Christmas with festive jumpers and roast dinners while forgetting the real meaning of the holiday – love.  Marks and Spencer recently invited me up to London to get in the festive spirit and wrap some gifts for the children, parents and staff at Great Ormond Street to help them have a Christmas to remember. It was a really emotional evening and with every gift that I wrapped, I was imagining that person unwrapping and enjoying that gift with the warm feeling of knowing that a complete stranger is thinking of them at a time which probably isn’t the happiest for them.To me, Christmas is a time for family as its one of the only times in the year that we all get together and share stories over mulled wine and festive foods, reconnecting and catching up on each others lives. I’m not…

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Christmas

The Blogger: Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide.

Us bloggers are pretty hard to buy for considering we work with brands all of the time and own far too much ‘stuff’. With blogger friends, I can completely understand the difficulties that other people might face when it comes to buying Christmas presents so I decided to make this guide of simple things for maximum smiles! The first items to buy are definitely fashion or beauty related books because these look great in flatlays. My personal favourites are #girlboss, Capture Your Style, Love Style Life and Pretty Honest but Urban Outfitters and ASOS have a ton that you could choose from. JavaScript is currently disabled in this browser. Reactivate it to view this content. If books aren’t the kind of thing they’d like then blog props definitely are. We love a flatlay so anything that would look great in one is a winner. I love browsing Urban Outfitters or other lifestyle brands for…

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Christmas

The Guy: Christmas Gift Guide

A really great gift in my opinion is always a watch because men can’t get enough of them. I find that they usually have one or two investment watches alongside more affordable ‘every day’ styles like the classic ones sold at Daniel Wellington. This face is actually unisex too so Adrian and I share it!  I personally love buying clothes for guys and depending on the budget, I go all out. I think studying menswear gave me quite a good eye when it comes to dressing men, but you can never go wrong with an investment jacket or even a quality shirt for work or formal occasions. Other easy options include toiletries and boxers/socks. Its like the one present that is useful and long lasting. Personally, I’d love tons of new lingerie every Christmas but I don’t think it works the same for girls!  If you’re dealing with a technology lover…

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Blogging

The Blogger Comparison & Why You Should Avoid It.

Theres an age old saying that “you shouldn’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter 20″ so why do we all forget so often?  Blogging is a tricky community with hundreds of new blogs appearing each day. Some of these grow quickly and capture large audiences while others like mine are slow burners, growing slow and steady. Its not a race to the top but I think sometimes we all get caught up in the numbers game, comparing ourselves to others and picking apart our hard work.. but that has to change. My biggest flaw is comparison. I compare myself to everyone whether its girls my age that are settling into marriages and mortgages or another blogger who is absolutely smashing photography and landing great collaborations. I’m sure you won’t be surprised that it gets me down and ends up destroying the confidence that I have in my blog. I stress and worry about my photography,…

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Uncategorized

The Beauty Lover: Christmas Gift Guide

Beauty for women is always a winner. I find that most of my expensive beauty bits are gained over the Christmas period as gifts and they usually last me for most of the year. My absolute favourite is always eau du perfume gift sets like this large one from Next (which happens to be my mums favourite scent). I love the full sized perfume alongside so many bath products with the same scent. Next actually do some of my favourite gift sets so its worth browsing their beauty gifts for relatives or friends!  If you’re looking for something more skincare related then The Body Shop is a firm winner, their new face mask range is incredible and the mask duo is perfect for any woman as the masks are for a range of skin types. Although, another product which stood out to me recently is the Jalue Ice Therapy which is a herbal inspired skincare treatment that is suitable for all skin…

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Uncategorized

Winter Warmers: Christmas Gift Guide.

Winter warmers – the main thing that my money is spent on during the colder weather and the perfect gift idea. What could be better than receiving some cosy socks or a hot chocolate set to warm you up on a winter evening? I have a few family members who enjoy my ‘winter warmer’ style so shopping for them is fairly simple which resulted in this gift guide! Cosy presents are quite easy to think of with the obvious choices being accessories like slippers, gloves, bobble hats or scarves so these are usually my go-to. Jack Wills always do great accessories in the festive season and this season they’ve got the perfect shearling lined mittens and matching bobble hats. Alongside this, Next also have a great range of slippers like these moccasins which come in several different colours and styles.Another type of cosy present will always be candles because the burning flame and festive scent warms…

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Life

Its Okay To Be Selfish With Your Dreams.

I believe that everyone should be selfish with their dreams. Regardless of whether you dream about traveling the world, joining the army or becoming a world class opera singer – nothing should get in your way because its something that you always wanted. Now I know this sounds a little crazy as sometimes things do get in the way like money or being tone deaf but who should stop you from trying? Why should you feel guilty for trying to pursue something that you want more than anything in life? “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams  and live the life you have always imagined.” My dream is to explore the world, walk along every beach and indulge in every culture different to my own. My mind can’t fathom beginning life as an adult before experiencing what it means to truly be alive and I’ve vowed to travel after university since the minute I walked into my…

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Outfits

Layering Dresses For Winter.

Cami dresses are the perfect addition to a Summer wardrobe, but why can’t they be part of your Winter wardrobe too?All of us have plain t-shirts, long sleeve tops and knits that work perfectly with a pair of jeans but would also look great under a dress or cami top. The 90s style layering has had a bit of a revival recently and it makes the wardrobe transition into the colder months so much easier. I talked briefly about this in a recent post but its honestly one of the best ways to mix up your look without spending a fortune on new pieces to keep you warm (although we all do this anyway..).I brought this gorgeous lace cami dress for the winter from Stradivarius (my new favourite for affordable style), forgetting that I live in the UK and it hasn’t been warm enough to wear it so I grabbed this plain frill neck knit which kept me warm and added a new style to…

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Uncategorized

B’Tempted Lingerie.

Lingerie isn’t just to impress a guy, its there to make us girls feel good about ourselves.  I feel like underwear has a reputation as being purely to impress a guy but its much more about self love. What better way to appreciate yourself than to invest in some new lingerie to make you feel more confident?  Since coming back from South Africa last month I’ve gained a little happy weight and nothing aids body confidence better than some gorgeous underwear. In a bid to gain said confidence, I browsed the high street and various online locations to find something that I loved without breaking the bank. Then I found b’tempted. As women we tend to know our shape quite well and understand the styles that suit us so being fairly curve-less, I know that longline bras give the illusion of a waist. These two sets from B’tempted aren’t something I’d usually go…

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Uncategorized

Why Its Okay Not To Fit A Mould.

I’ve come to realise that I’m one of those girls without a ‘kind’. I can’t afford designer, I’m not minimalistic, the Kardashian style doesn’t suit me and I don’t wear vintage clothing. I pretty much wear whatever I feel suits my shape and makes me feel comfortable.  I’ve felt like there is a pressure to be known for a certain thing within blogging and for so long I couldn’t quite work out what my niche was. What makes me unique as a blogger? What makes me stand out in a saturated community? Its taken me months of feeling down and thinking my space was nothing special but I like to think that I pour my heart out in posts – so maybe thats what makes me different? I try and open up, share my thoughts and let you into every part of my life. I don’t just discuss the outfit or the…

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Uncategorized

The Body Shop Matte Lip Liquids.

As the weather cools down my makeup choices quickly turn to darker shades and warmer tones, ditching the brighter pinks and more summer worthy colours. The Body Shop recently launched their Lip Liquid range which features a range of 12 seasonably appropriate shades that cost only £6 and they’re currently part of a 3 for 2 offer (I own six, naturally). The formula is perfect for the season with the high pigmentation and creamy texture which applies easily and looks matte on the lips without drying them out. I’ve worn the lip liquids on a number of occasions and they always last as long as necessary but naturally with the darker shades, a little more maintenance is needed. Sicily Iris and Mauritius Dahlia are beautiful deep tones which happen to be the darkest of the collection and by far my favourite two. Mauritius Dahlia is a warm plum shade while Sicily Iris is a…

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