CLAUDIA LOVES CATS



To kick off my Christmassy crafts me and my friend Louise went to a Christmas handwriting workshop at the North Star Coffee Shop in Leeds. The class was taught by Phylecia Sutherland (check out her website here) and we learnt faux calligraphy and brush lettering (which I was dying to learn) and had lovely baked treats from Noisette Bakehouse. We decorated baubles and gift tags (see below) which was great as they are things we can actually use! 
I found the faux calligraphy hard to keep consistent, so it ended up looking a bit like a 5 year old had done it, but I found the brush lettering much easier, so I will definitely be doing this more in future! 
The coffee shop was gorgeous and the table settings for the event were gorgeous and such lifestyle goals! 

I would really recommend anyone that wants to try a new craft to do a class like this - it's great as no one is a professional so you don't need to worry about it looking amateurish. It's also a lovely cosy night out (and very Christmassy around this time of year!). 






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As this year me and Jonny have bought a house, buying our first Christmas tree for the living room was mega important to me. We wanted to source one locally, preferably from a local family business. We stumbled across a lovely little garden centre not that far away from home, and I had been driving past it every day on my way to work! The wreaths were amazing, I got the one above and my mum got the big one further down this post, I could have decked out my entire house with them! 

We ended up getting a 6 foot tree for a really reasonable price. The garden centre was lovely and can be found just outside Leek on the Ashbourne road. I will be posting pics of my Christmassy house now I have finally decorated (both finishing painting the living room and decorating for the festive season!).. stay tuned! 





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Sooooo it's blogmas time of the year again!! For my first post of the festive season (and for a while) I have decided to talk about the amazingness that is Glossier!!

Incase you have been living under a rock, Glossier is not just the best friend of beauty bloggers in the US but is available to order in the UK. 

For my Glossier purchases I wanted to focus on their stand-out pieces, the ones that are most highly recommended and are really the cult products. Spoiler alert - I loved them all so much that I have made a Glossier gift guide, so that you can see what I thought of all of them and why they make such lovely gifts! 

So from left to right I bought the Milky Jelly Cleanser, the Haloscope highlighter, the Generation G lipstick, the Boy Brow and the stretch concealer. Not only is the packaging amazing, and certainly gift-worthy but the products are all amazing. The milky jelly cleanser is great for morning use and the haloscope brings a really dewy effect to your skin. I had my reservations about the Generation G lipstick but it ended up lasting for ages on my lips and the colour really suited me (Colour Zip). I got the boy brow in blond which is great for my ashy toned eyebrows and lasts all day giving a really polished but natural brow look. The stretch concealer is also fabby, lasting most of the day and blending with my make up really well.

All in all I am super impressed with all the Glossier products I have bought and I would really recommend them to anyone looking to buy someone a gorgeous beauty present for Christmas!!  
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Hey everyone, I have been wanting to do this post for a long time, as anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I have super oily skin/prone to acne and I wanted to show some of the products that have really helped my skin. Some of these products are quite expensive and some aren't, but I have found that sometimes spending a little more money to really get what you want is best. 


1. Body Shop Tea Tree 3-in-1 Wash, Scrub, Mask (£8.50)
I originally got this as an alternative to the Garnier 3in1 mask, as I found out that that one had micro beads in it - a big no go! I tried this one as I wanted a replacement that would be good for skin with acne on it - I didn't want it to completely shred my skin. I've found that this one is great, I use it in the shower in the mornings and sometimes I put it on my face and then massage it off with a flannel or sometimes I use it as a scrub on the bits of my skin with lots of blackheads, like my t-zone (my chin!!). It's also a really good price. 

2. Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream (£13)
I use this as my go-to daily moisturiser, and I find it fantastic! Instead of being a cream, it's more like a watery gel, which absorbs into my oily skin instead of sitting on the top of it, which I've had other products do and with those I find my makeup slowly slides off during the day. This cream is great for winter or summer, really easy to build up and recently my skin has been a lot better, so I've been mixing it with my Kat Von D makeup in order to make a daily tinted moisturiser, which I have found works really well. 

3. Kat Von D Liquid Lock It Foundation (£27)
This is without a doubt my favourite makeup product EVER. It is absolutely fantastic for oily skin and I honestly cannot recommend it enough. It's pricey, yes, but as I only use one or two pumps of the product a day (it's that good at staying on and coverage!!!!) I can make one 30ml bottle last about 6 MONTHS!!! I would highly recommend using it with a beauty blender so it doesn't get cakey - very high coverage - or if you are finding it a little heavy it is really easy to mix with primer or moisturiser for a little lighter coverage. This foundation is amazing!

4. Ultrasun Face Factor 30 (£18.99)
I had heard great things about this sun cream but I was still dubious about it before I used it as I automatically assume that sun creams have to be greasy to work. This Ultrasun face suncream is honestly more like a primer in its consistency and application! It could be used underneath makeup or on its own. I think it is the one product I won't be going on holiday without. Its gel-type texture means it mattifies my face and sits under my makeup really well, and it is the furthest away from greasy I think a suncream could get!

5. Sunday Riley UFO Face Oil (£68)
Lastly, the Sunday Riley UFO face oil, that I use every night before bed. This product is honestly fantastic. I've never been one for moisturising before bed, as I've always been worried that it would over-moisturise my skin and I would rather my spot treatment could get to my skin. This does both - I have actually noticed a massive difference on my skin since I started using it, my skin seems dewier in the mornings as it hasn't been completely stripped by a spot treatment and I know the salicylic acid will take care of my blemishes. So here are my 5 oily/acne prone skin lifesavers! Let me know if you have any other tips, Claudia x 
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Hi everyone, this month instead of doing a June favourites I decided I would talk about some of my favourite things we did in Berlin while we were staying there in mid-June. 

Where we stayed: The Circus Hotel
The Circus Hotel was amazing! Such a great location for all the museums we went to and was super close to loads of different types of food and drink. I would highly recommend it! The decor was also really cool, so unusual and the bathroom was super clean. There was also the Commonground cafe underneath it which was really good for brunch!
Find it here: Rosenthaler Str. 1, 10119 Berlin, Germany




Where we visited: DDR Museum 
This has to be one of my favourite museums EVER. I first went when I was interrailing in 2011, and I couldn't wait to go back!! There is loads of information on the GDR, which I am now writing (or meant to be writing) my dissertation about so it was really amazing to see some extra information about it! It is a super hands-on type of museum where you can drive an East German car (see below) and go into bedrooms and offices of leading GDR functionaries, Stasi operatives and even into an allotment! I would highly recommend this if you are going to Berlin, as it is a great museum even for people who aren't that into history because there is loads of really interesting info up for grabs & something for everyone! It was also seventies-tastic so anyone that is into clothes or music would find something to look at! 
You can find the DDR museum here: Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1 10178 Berlin






Where we ate: Fam Dang 
Fam Dang was an amazing Vietnamese restaurant just across the road from our hotel and it was recommended to us by the hotel themselves as a good place for Vietnamese food (we found out that Berlin has a large Vietnamese culture!). We tried some summer rolls and a kind of Vietnamese pizza to start, and I had the duck for my main and a gorgeous gin cocktail! (I have been trying to get into gin for this summer) I would highly recommend it, especially on a hot summer's day. 
You can find Fam Dang here: Torstraße 125 10119 Berlin






Thanks for reading everyone, I have also done a post about my fave brunches in Berlin which you can find here! Claudia x
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I'M CLAUDIA AND I LOVE CATS

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Claudia Loves Cats
I am a 25 year old Masters student, blogger, campaigner, history geek and full-time cat owner. I love Christmas, farms and vintage clothes. Peggy the cat is 1 year old and likes washing herself in the sink, watching the birds out of the window and sleeping in the sun.
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