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team lem july 2021 favourites

30th July 2021
Another exciting edition of the LEM Favourites! Find out what the team are loving this month.

Hi everyone! Welcome to our second takeover introducing our monthly round up of things that have impressed Team LEM this month!

After a great reaction to last month’s round-up, we felt it would be a fun segment to recur at the end of every month! If your skin/ hair/ interests may align with some of ours, then perhaps we can help you find some new favourites too. Each month, we will aim to bring you our favourite item in a variety of categories, from new dining experiences to ‘game changing’ purchases, you’ll have each of our heroes right here, so be sure to check back next month too! So, without further ado, here’s a little more about us!

Carrie – The Bossy but Brilliant One

Official best friend and Chief Operating Officer at LEM. I like to think that I’m the glue that keeps this business together, but I’m also quite an expert at drinking alcoholic grape juice and herding small, energetic dogs.

The Basics

SKIN TYPE – Normal to dry, prone to sensitivity with weather changes or hormonal fluctuations.

HAIR TYPE – Half wavy, half curly, fine but lots and lots of it.

MAINTENANCE LEVEL – Minimal effort always!

INTERESTS – Food and wine, cooking, my little Bolly Moo, running, hiking, travelling (soon please, Boris!), date days with my friends, staycations.

BEAUTY – Babyliss Big Hair 50. I am notoriously s*#t at doing my own hair, but this nimble thing gives me a salon blow dry in 15/ 20 mins and I can actually do it myself painlessly – WIN!

BOOK – Just my Luck by Adele Parks. I’ve been on holiday this month and this book I could NOT put down. My boyfriend was basically dragging me away from it at times as the plot twisted more and more! If you like an easy thriller, this is great. Perfect holiday read!

RESTAURANT – I have got to give a few mentions here… heads up that they are all Devon-based and all impressed me no end!

Charlie Fridays in Lynton: unbelieveably great coffee and breakfasts in a relaxed and warm and fun setting with one of the best playlists I’ve heard in a while! 

Hippy Happy Hoppers – Sri Lankan street food that does a pop up at Croyde Beach cafe and my WORD, it’s worth a pick up for! We picked this up after a whole afternoon coasteering and it was exactly what we needed!

Lastly, a random stop on the drive home to break up the journey, I booked in at the White Hart in Wroughton, a brewery-owned chain pub but the service, food and hotel were all exceptional. Literally faultless, we were SO impressed!

FOOD OR DRINK ITEM – Extract Coffee Roasters espresso beans have tickled the caffeine habit this month, seriously delicious. Not for the faint of heart though!

NEW PURCHASE – Can’t say I’ve bought anything fun this month! I’m starting the renovations on my home so money has been poured into boring things there annoyingly…

GAME CHANGING FIND – This is going to sound like such an old lady issue but I bought some orthotic insoles to help alleviate knee pain when walking so regularly with the dog and they have made such a difference instantly- the relief is off the charts.

PODCAST EPISODE – Reggie Yates on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO. Insightful about learning ways to become familiar with your ‘shadow’ and tools with which to manage your own triggers. Particularly valuable around the power in silence and listening- something I need to be better at!

MONTHLY MANTRA –  I love the phrase: “Nothing in nature blooms all year round”. Secondly: “In order to discover new oceans, you must first lose sight of the shore”. These embody my personal philosophy on the importance of taking some time out but also being brave with new opportunities. Sometimes it helps to remind ourselves of these things!

RECIPE – As an insomniac, I often use my stupidly early starts to bake bread. I find it so therapeutic and having the smell of fresh bread wafting round the house is just bliss. The multigrain sandwich loaf on Sally Bakes Blog is fantastic apparently (I bake it but can’t eat it!) But I regularly adapt her recipes to be gluten free 🙂

Dee – The Lovely Organised One

I am the Personal Assistant to Lydia Millen herself, and if something needs to get done, I’m your girl! Always in CC, I am the eyes and ears of the LEM team – nothing gets by me.

The Basics

SKIN TYPE – Healthy/Fair but tans easily.

HAIR TYPE – Long, thin and fine hair, can be fly-away depending on the weather. Easy to maintain and grows really quickly.

MAINTENANCE LEVEL – Weekdays/basic, Weekends/I go all out!

INTERESTS – Renovating my Victorian home, going to the coast whenever possible, up-cycling furniture, dinners with friends, lots and lots of family time.

BEAUTY – My brows are a work in progress and I’m trying to naturally thicken them out from over plucking years ago. (I was a teenager in the 90s). A friend introduced me to the Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift and I’m so glad she did as it’s my new go-to. The Brow Lift fills my brows in and makes them bigger, more voluminous and it’s really easy to apply. 

BOOK – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (I’m sure there aren’t many people who are yet to discover this book but if you haven’t read it, you must).

My favourite place to start a new book is in the bath and that’s exactly where I read the whole of this book. It’s been one of those books that has been on mind for weeks and weeks later. Kya, the protagonist, is one of the most memorable characters I have come across in a long while. Every time you think the plot is going down a certain route, it surprises you! You really start to imagine where the book is set as the extraordinary detail of the marshland and the description of the wildlife is so real. The book isn’t a fast-paced read, it flicks back and forth in time telling the story in detail. There were honestly moments in the book where I was literally holding my breath in anticipation. It will have you in tears as it’s a heartbreaking raw tale about sorrow, abandonment and survival against all odds. 

RESTAURANT – I went on a staycation to Norfolk this month, and I had the most spectacular breakfast! If you are heading to Norfolk this summer I can definitely recommend Bang in Wells Next to the sea.  

FOOD OR DRINK ITEM – Homegrown strawberries. We have loads so I’ve been cooking up a strawberry storm. Strawberry pavlova, strawberry tart, Eton Mess and even homemade strawberry ice cream.

NEW PURCHASE – I’m pregnant and it has come to the point where I need to invest in a pregnancy pillow. I have gone for the bbhugme® Pregnancy pillow which I’ve heard amazing things about. It’s expensive so I’m hoping it’s worth all of the hype. I will report back!

GAME CHANGING FIND – This will change your lives… After seeing a recommendation from @thehomethatmademe I invested in a Lint Remover for your furniture. I have used it everywhere- on my sofas, my rugs, my staircase carpets and it really is magic. It removes fluff and hair that my hoover just didn’t pick up. It’s made my pillows look brand new again.

PODCAST EPISODE – Can you believe a whole month has gone by and I still haven’t listened to my first podcast? Going to be looking at Carrie and Lydia’s recommendations this weekend!

MONTHLY MANTRA – “Don’t forget to drink lots of water and get plenty of sunlight”. You are basically a house plant with more complicated emotions. 

RECIPE – BBQ season is upon us and the boys in my family love nothing more than Pulled Pork. I have found the easiest recipe which only takes 15 minutes to prep and tastes amazing.

Erika – The Financially Savvy Queen

Show me the money, honey! Well actually, show me the spreadsheet with your revenue and expenses, because I’m the finance whizz at LEM and I like to make sure we are on track in terms of numbers. I’m more fun than I sound, I swear.

The Basics

SKIN TYPE – Very fair (reflective), burns easily but can get a light tan.

HAIR TYPE – Long, thick, frizzy and wavy (Irish heritage). Naturally light brown/dark blonde but dyed fiery copper red. Not always brushed.

MAINTENANCE LEVEL – Usually very low maintenance, no makeup and jeans kind of girl. But I love to bust out the gold sparkles and a bright red lip for a night out.

INTERESTS – I’m learning to cook and absolutely loving it; painting is something I’ve enjoyed for several years and don’t do nearly enough of. I’ve loved reading since I was three years old and this year I’m planning to learn photography.

BEAUTY – Calling all SPF lovers! My pick this month is another SPF face cream. It’s summer afterall and you can never be too careful when it comes to skincare. For me, it’s the CeraVe AM Facial Moisturising Lotion SPF 25. CeraVe, developed with dermatologists, uses ceramides and hyaluronic acid (hallelujah!) across their range of products, and the added SPF in this mosturiser means I don’t need to add another step to my morning skincare routine (which suits my low maintenance approach). Win win, right?

BOOK – The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain. A charming story, set in the beautiful city of Paris, about nostalgia, hope, love and also what our possessions tell others about our personality. Fantastic summer read!

RESTAURANT – Spitting Pig in Derbyshire. Not exactly a restaurant but they were the caterers for my friends’ wedding earlier this month. After a nerve-wracking morning where I had married the bride and groom myself, I was understandably famished and actually sprinted to the buffet for this hog roast. I wasn’t disappointed. They had the biggest plates I’d ever seen at a buffet and the piles of pork with all the trimmings were heavenly, eaten al fresco in the sunshine with loved ones. Perfection.

NEW PURCHASE – Moleskine Classic Ruled Paper Notebook (Red). For someone who works a lot in digital, I have always been a huge stationery nut and this month I finished my current journal/diary/all-purpose notebook and needed to replace it. Taking inspiration from my book recommendation above I purchased the red.

GAME CHANGING FIND(S) – Citronella Candles (recommended by Ali) & Portable Handsfree Bladeless Neck Fan (recommended by my mum). I love the smell of the candles and they are meant to be great for repelling insects. I have high hopes for them during the next heatwave in August as I’ve been eaten-alive this summer. Also good for the coming heatwave, the bladeless fan feels like you’re sitting in the car with the aircon on your face (a favourite summer pastime of mine) and it also has three speed settings.

PODCAST EPISODE – Happy Place > Caitlin Moran. Having been an admirer of both Fearne Cotton and Caitlin Moran for a number of years, this conversation was brilliant to listen to. It is a wonderful and honest discussion covering the evolution of feminism and also some harder-hitting topics (trigger warning – eating disorders and sexual assault).

MONTHLY MANTRA – “If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it”.

RECIPE – Cantonese Sesame Beef, from SarahLou’s cookbook. This is my takeaway cheat meal. The smell of this feels like I’m indulging in a naughty midweek Chinese, but it’s healthy and so much more delicious.

What products do you swear by that you think the LEM girls need to try? Let me know in the comments! And come back next month for more team favourites.

 

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