It’s time for my monthly fashion and lifestyle favourites again, and in April I’ve been loving a real mixed bag of things. There are books and films, shoes, homeware, tech and tea; so lets get started…

I love my new Hotter Natasha shoes (£65 from Hotter) as they look both smart and casual, and are incredibly comfortable. They have so much padding inside that it’s like walking on clouds. They are leather and have a cute slightly shimmery sewn-on criss-cross design on the front.

Another wearable item I’ve been using constantly this month is my new Mi Band* (£29.99 from Mobile Fun). This nifty little gadget that you link up to an app on your phone does so many handy things. You can use it as a standard fitness tracker, but it also tracks your sleep and acts as smart alarm clock and call/text notifier. I don’t use it as a fitness tracker, but I have been tracking my sleep with it and have been using it to alert me to incoming calls by vibrating when I’m in a loud and busy area outside. I also love the smart alarm clock feature- it will start to gently wake you up through vibrations before your scheduled alarm time. It’s really comfortable to wear and works really well. There is an iPhone and an Android app and it connects via Bluetooth. I did have a hard time linking the band to the app, but there are lots of help forums online that I went to to find different ways of doing it.

In terms of books, I’ve really enjoyed L’art de la Simplicite: How To Live More With Less by Dominique Loreau* (£9.09 by Amazon). The author has lived in Japan for decades and has fully adopted the simple Japanese way of life. She uses her experience of this and oriental philosophy to share how to adopt a ‘less is more’ attitude to life and still live a beautiful one. It’s a really spiritual book that teaches you to stop being materialistic and to look after your body and simplify your home. I think fans of Marie Kondo will love this book.

Some fiction I have been loving in April is the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. I bought these second hand on Amazon and took them on my digital detox holiday. I haven’t been able to stop reading them since and have finished five of the books in a month. They are aimed at 11-14 year olds but I love them as they are so simple, innocent and funny. They are set in a girl’s boarding school in the early 1950s so they are a real escape from the complicated world we live in now.

A film I have loved in April is Focus with Margot Robbie and Will Smith. I picked this up in Home Bargains to take on my holiday and I loved it. It’s a Hustle-type con-centered film and it starts by showing Will Smith’s character training up Margot Robbie to join their con ring. They part ways and met again later when she threatens to ruin his latest scheme. It has some real human elements, action and a clever plot.

I’ve been sorting out all my makeup and beauty products this month as the situation is getting way out of hand- the perils of working as a blogger and journalist. I got some new storage for my bathroom from House of Fraser that I think look amazing. They are a set of three rope baskets- Gray & Willow Stripe Woven Baskets (£21 reduced from £30 from House of Fraser)- that look really chic and hold loads. I have the two smaller ones in my bathroom to keep my current skincare in and my Lush bath bomb stash in, and then the largest one in my bedroom to keep all my hair tools and styling products in.

Are you still with me? There are a lot of favourites this month! I have been obsessed with this T2 Melbourne Breakfast Tea* (£7.50 from T2 Tea) all month. It’s a loose leaf black tea that has vanilla in it so it’s such a nice sweet treat. I add milk to it and drink it at all times of the day!

Finally, I’ve been relying on the Thera Pearl Eye-ssential Mask (£7.99 from Superdrug) to combat my tension headaches and migraines. You can use it hot or cold, but I keep mine in the freezer to ease the pain of headaches and to reduce puffy eyes. It has pearl technology that delivers cold therapy slower and for longer than a conventional gel mask.

Do you like the look of any of my fashion and lifestyle favourites this month?

This post contains press samples, but all opinions are my own.

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