The Women's Room | Daily Life and Style Inspiration

Fashion & Beauty, Health & HappinessMarch 21, 2016

Jo Fairley, Beauty Guru and The Perfume Society Founder, Tells Us How She Stays On Top Form

By Amanda

It’s National Fragrance Day today, so make sure you spritz a good dose of your favourite fragrance to celebrate. I recently interviewed Josephine Fairley, founder of Green & Black’s, award winning beauty writer and speaker and co founder of The… Read More

Food, We Are ReadingMarch 18, 2016

Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman

By Amanda

I’m mostly ignoring the current food fad for ‘eating clean’, because I’m not really sure what the ‘clean’ means, but one thing I am very consciously doing is reducing the sugar in my diet. However, I am a cake lover,… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 18, 2016

A new Brand to love: NAPEANSEA

By Jane

I’m so lucky to be surrounded by people who inspire me with their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Tired of the relentlessness of the corporate world they are striking out on their own, keen to make their mark and create a… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 17, 2016

Posh Plimsoles: finally, I buy my summer trainers

By Amanda

So, finally, I’ve selected my summer trainers. After dicking about on the internet considerable research I’ve gone for a Mother black suede Eytys, with chunky off white wedges and no branding anywhere. They have cork inners, tough vulconised rubber flatform… Read More

Art & CultureMarch 16, 2016

Why there is a little bit of Catherine Cawood in all of us

By Jane

Just what is about female TV cops that’s so damn fascinating – Angie Dickinson as Leanne ‘Pepper’ Anderson in Police Woman, Cagney & Lacey, Juliet Bravo, Jane Tennison, Scott & Bailey, Sarah Lund, Saga Noren etc etc – these strong … Read More

Out & AboutMarch 15, 2016

Is SheBu the New Hackney? Our Shepherd’s Bush Safari

By Amanda

With all this talk of exciting East London, poor old West London can sometimes feel like a dull, country-living cousin always wearing the wrong clothes….Of course anyone who actually LIVES in West London knows better, I sometimes wonder if we… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 14, 2016

Amande Supple Skin Oil by L’Occitane

By Amanda

If you are a fan of almond smells, then this might be right up your street. L’Occitane’s Supple Skin Oil in almond is a deliciously light body oil made up of 50% almond oil, which absorbs fast and… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 14, 2016

Dries Van Noten and all you need to know about A/W 16/17

By Jane

So fashion month is over and we can all breathe a sigh of relief and get on with our lives (what do you mean you were anyway?). Here are the things you need to know about Autumn/Winter 16/17 – velvet,… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 11, 2016

Romance And Air Miles: Mid-Life Love

By Amanda

One of our guest bloggers, cultural writer Elena Bowes, is doing a series of posts on New York stores, since although being based in London, she’s frequently in New York. When I asked why she was lucky enough to pop… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 10, 2016

Helping Women through baking

By Jane

Luminary Bakery is a social enterprise that was set up as way of helping vulnerable women who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Designed to offer opportunities for women to build a future for themselves and their families. they provide a… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 9, 2016

Slouch-appeal: the Tilda Swinton Shirt

By Amanda

I had a double whammy of Tilda over the weekend, I saw both A Bigger Splash and Hail Caesar! She is marvellous in both and her wardrobe (by Dior) in the former is extremely covetable, I shall never dress-down… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 8, 2016

Genderless Fashion

By Jane

The idea of genderless clothing is something we have talked about a lot of the last couple of years in the trends world and we are finally starting to see some brands get on board with the idea. Zara tapped… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 7, 2016

Kate Phelan Talks Sense On High Street Shopping, in The Guardian

By Amanda

Just in case you missed it, there was an excellent feature in The Guardian’s The Fashion (issue 6) this weekend, where Kate Phelan, as Topshop’s creative director, explained how she gets dressed, now she’s 50. Turns out, it’s pretty much… Read More

Out & AboutMarch 4, 2016

Iris Apfel does a car advert

By Amanda

Iris Apfel goes from strength to strength as a 90 plus style icon, fronting the new Citroen DS 3 car advert. I hate car adverts, particularly the ones you see at the cinema, which are either weird (looking at you… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 3, 2016

The New Normal For 50 Plus Fashion

By Amanda

As regular readers know, we attended the first Fifty Plus fashion show held at London Fashion Week recently. What ever we feel about the ageist labels we’re still subjected too or the narrative that puts the focus on age rather… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 2, 2016

Some Beauty Buys for March

By Jane

Our thoughts are finally turning to Spring – giving our skin an overhaul and perhaps getting our legs out sometime soon. Here are a few products that have come to our attention over the last few weeks that are definitely… Read More

Health & Happiness, Out & AboutMarch 1, 2016

See This (quickly): The Timeless Shop

By Amanda

Over in the depths of Old Street Tube station, for just one week, is Timeless, a brilliant pop-up store which discusses female fertility, specifically egg freezing, via the medium of a beauty and fragrance brand. Anyone who has yet to… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 29, 2016

Some things to binge watch….

By Jane

So now that none of us are watching live tv – apart from Happy Valley of course, oh and the OJ Simpson thing which is so bad its good and The Night Manager is shaping up to be quite promising… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 29, 2016

Mother’s Day Inspiration: Jo Malone London’s Herb Garden Collection

By Amanda

If you are looking for inspiration for Mother’s Day, either to drop hints for yourself or for your own mum, then the new Herb Garden Cologne Collection is worth considering. Personally, the collection had me at the fantastic imagery, using… Read More

Home & GardenFebruary 26, 2016

Wafting, Filling and Spilling: Indoor Gardening with Nicola Sweeting

By Amanda

In the last of her excellent gardening posts, Nicola Sweeting tackles the type of botanics anyone can grow, indoor plants. And don’t forget, the Royal Academy has Painting The Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse for further inspiration, for those visiting… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 25, 2016

50+ Fashion Week

By Jane

We have been banging on for years (for over eight years actually – since we started this blog) about how the media and the the fashion industry in particular ignore the older female demographic. There have been lots of changes… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 24, 2016

Two Piece Suede Dressing in Topshop

By Amanda

Back in the heady days of Fast Fashion, the approach of Fashion Week triggered my seasonal visit to Topshop. As a fashion insider, we got to know exactly when to rock up to the Oxford Street store to grab the… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 23, 2016

Modern Craft and Contemporary Ceramics

By Jane

Craft, in particular pottery, is having moment. Maybe it’s the popularity of The Great Pottery Throw Down, or a desire to switch off from technology and use ones hands, but there is definitely a contemporary ceramic revival happening. Cast aside… Read More

Health & HappinessFebruary 21, 2016

A Word From Jo Orr on Postpartum Psychosis

By Amanda

You may remember food blogger Jo Orr from her lovely Friday food guest-posts last year. She contacted us last week – Mental Health Week -on a subject she feels very strongly about, Postpartum Psychosis. Jo’s dad’s production company, Matchlight, made… Read More

Home & GardenFebruary 19, 2016

Gardening in Small Spaces with Nicola Sweeting

By Amanda

In the third of garden designer Nicola Sweeting’s guest blogs, she’s looking at gardening in small spaces….For more inspiration check out Nicola’s Pinterest boards. When most of us think of gardens we think of lawns, shrubs and herbaceous borders, trees,… Read More

Health & HappinessFebruary 18, 2016

The Future of aging?

By Jane

Take a look at this fascinating but scary view of the future and how we strive to be connected. In the trends world we talk a lot about ‘being connected’ and how our idea of perfection is changing to include… Read More

Food, We Are ReadingFebruary 17, 2016

Grow Your Own Cake by Holly Farrell

By Amanda

This book had me at the cover really, as a keen gardener and cook, the idea of being able to combine the two in one read was appealing. Our favourite Reader’s Digest cookery books from years ago did this brilliantly,… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 17, 2016

adidas Originals Tubular, a clean looking trainer for spring.

By Amanda

Since I can’t have a pair of those lovely, men only Grenson New Balance trainers, I’ve been searching out another style to fill the space. The enthusiasm for trendy trainers worn with smart daywear shows no signs of abating, although… Read More

Out & AboutFebruary 16, 2016

A weekend in Prague

By Jane

Today Joyce Thornton (old work colleague and friend) is our guest blogger. She takes us on a tour of Prague, a city I have been meaning to visit for ages. After reading Joyce’s post, I am now determined to make… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 15, 2016

Another look at the Spring Bomber Jacket

By Amanda

What I’m looking for with my fantasy spring bomber jacket is exactly this look above, on Ana Gimeno Brugada, my current style crush and a woman whose wardrobe I would happily sell my soul for. I’m looking for an oversized… Read More