Inside My “Womanhood Survival Kit”

Despite the somewhat ridiculous nickname I've given it, the collection of items that I've nicknamed my "Womanhood Survival Kit" has come in handy on many occasions since it's birth and I can't believe I went so long without one. It's basically a little makeup bag that I can move from bag to bag that houses useful things, and here's what's inside mine:

I have my top three most-used medicinal products in there: pain killers, flu capsules and throat lozenges. My job involves a lot of talking so I've found carrying throat lozenges to be a good move, I find myself needing these every now and then and it's nice to have them when you need them. I've also started carrying around flu capsules recently since there seems to be a lot of bugs going around at the moment and these are great since they have paracetamol and caffine in them. I've also got standard painkillers since I'm prone to headaches and get stomach cramps, speaking of stomach cramps...

I don't know many girls who don't carry around supplies for when mother natures monthly gift arrives. Toilets everywhere have them but they're so expensive in the machines and they're never anything good. I always have a few on hand just in case of an emergency.

I've got a small Soap & Glory Hand Maid Hand Sanitiser in there, it's my sanitiser of choice since it has that classic Soap & Glory scent to it that I love. Another hygiene-related item is a deodorant or body spray - the amount of times I've been to the gym and forgot to pack one is ridiculous so I've started carrying one in my handbag to avoid disasters.

For miscellaneous items I have a black biro pen (I like the Bic ones) and a bobble (hair tie for you folks in the States). When I decided that I wanted to get dieting I added in a travel-friendly container of sweeteners - I've been finding this great as it's meant I can cut back on sugar wherever I am. A few weeks back I had a dry-skin issue that was super uncomfortable so I've added a mini tube of the Pommade Divine Nature's Remedy Balm to the bag and that's been working great - after just one day of continuous use it eased off my dry skin almost completely.

I've actually got quite a few beauty products in there: I always keep a mascara in there for emergency teary eyed moments. A pressed powder and a concealer are always nice to keep in there for general touch ups. At the moment I'm carrying the Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Perfect and cover Concealer which is nice if a little too dark for me (more shades please Maybelline!) and the Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder which I prefer for touch ups since it has a little coverage in there.

I always have at least one lip balm on hand, at the moment I have the Arrow Boost Color Enhancing Lip Balm which isn't the most hydrating lip balm out there but the hint of colour it gives the lips is nice. For actual hydration I've also got the Malin+Goetz Mojoito Lip Balm, can you tell I like my lip balms sweet?

The final thing I have in there is a couple of the Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths. These are so travel friendly since they take up no room at all and you just add water and all you need to wash your face is in there. I have a few friends that live a little further away than I'd like them too and these are useful for times when I'm planning to go for a day visit but end up staying the night.

So there we have it - does anyone else have something like this? I can't be the only one.

Spring and Summer Style Staples

I've recently been having one of those rare-but-real moments in life where I'm pretty set on the beauty front and was stuggling to come up with new ideas for beauty-blog posts. After sitting there for a good few days, racking my brain over what I could write about in a week's worth of posts I decided that enough was enough. I began the blog for fun and had to just go with what I fancied or it would lose it's joy factor.

With that in mind I thought I'd indulge myself today on a topic I'm constantly falling in and out of love with: Fashion. and I figured if I was going to bring a fashion element into the blog, then where better to start than with my seasonal must-haves? So here we go, Jodie May Fashion: Part 1.

Topshop Leigh Jeans are the foundation for a casual spring outfit for me. I hate trying on jeans and so Topshop's denim section is a blissful shopping experience, I can just buy the size I always get and I know they'll just fit. No changing room dramas necessary. I have them in the basic denim blue and a distressed black and I'm currently looking into picking up a pair of printed or white ones to amp up my spring/summer wardrobe.

The next style category that I feel I pretty much live in for work or play is what I call the Not-So-Basic Tee. They're a slight twist on a classic t-shirt, maybe a shoulder detail or an interesting hem-line or surprise in the back, just something with a bit of interest to it. My favourite one at the moment is a basic oversized black t-shirt with lace shoulder inserts that I picked up from H&M a while back.

The Comfortable All-Occasions Dress is my I-would-be-wearing-sweat-pants-but-I-have-to-leave-the-house-today clothing must have. I have a few of these dresses in my wardrobe at the moment and they're what I reach for most of the time for work because they're just easy. Dress, jacket, shoes, handbag, tights if it's cold and your done. The definitely save the 15-minutes of deciding on an outfit in the morning.

As a working girl who needs everything and the kitchen sink with her on the daily, Big Handbags are a must for me. I'm that girl that's off to the gym on the way home from work or who's off to a weekend trip straight from work on Friday's. Im never without an umbrella, my make-up bag and a near endless supply of snacks, you get the picture. I recently picked up a lovely pink one in the Accessorise sale and I'm obsessed with it.

Statement Jewellery is a nice way to either change-up a look with a mix of basics OR can be a nice way to pull accessories together. I recently picked up the gold chain in the picture (again) from Accessorise and when I wear the chain with coloured accessories (I.E a pop of colour in the handbag or the shoe maybe) I feel like it just pulls the outfit together that little bit more.