Twelve princessy things you can do

In your pyjamas! As weird as it sounds, honestly there are so many little rituals that I love doing and give me princessy vibes. It means I have some control over my life even though I cannot

control the tiredness, I can still live in a beautiful way. One of my favourite parts of having Oscar has been being able to discover being a child again with him, making forts or castles out of cardboard boxes. I feel like we can strip back our adult persona and we are still children underneath, fashioned from those same basic emotions. I feel like we can connect with that side of us still, a side that is pleased by glitter and ice cream and the bones of skeleton leaves…

1. For a lovely bedtime ritual – purchase a sleep mask or a night cream for supple, soft skin, the Lush Sleepy body lotion is so lovely to apply before bed! Maybe try some fluffy, fleecy socks or a silk pillowcase and an extra poofy pillow my dream bedtime routine: face planting a cloud of loveliness

2. Organise, organise – arranging and sorting and storing all your favourite things can be therapeutic and so much fun. I really love giving everything its own little space and arranging everything to look all pretty together haha, I have a drawer purely for pretty packaging that I couldn’t throw away! It’s so nice going to reach for something and having everything all neat and nice, dusted and organised haha. It’s a lovely way to give your belongings some loving too.

3. Feed animals – put a little food out for the birds or any night time visitors like hedgehogs or badgers. Unlike the Disney princesses, we cannot invite our favourite neighbourhood creatures in to our homes but maybe we can still pamper them. Building little refuges is such a fun and satisfying idea, a pile of logs, a birdbox for our pretty feathered friends, or a hog home for a hedgehog.

4. Pop a little donation in to charity – knowing that I have made even a small difference to important issues in the world is important to me. Having the internet means it is easy to donate even just £1 or £2 to an amazing cause, especially if everyone did that, the results would be life changing and every little thing counts! That is one amazing bonus of having the internet, making a little donation to a favourite cause can be an amazing way to give back, to show how much we appreciate it.

5. Create a special space in your bathroom or bedroom that can be used as your vanity – even a small table with a chair or a little shelf on the wall, or a little chest of drawers. See if you can find or decorate an old mirror to hang above it, then festoon it with your favourite things and adorn it with your favourite colours, maybe some fresh flowers!

6. Matchy matchy – accord your socks with your underwear, match your pyjamas or even your outfit to feel cute and tie your whole look together! I like having a ton of cute socks that all look the same, so they all match together… instead of a pair it is more like an extensive sock family haha!

7. Eat beautiful desserts – inspired by Clara in ‘Ice Cream’, where the platter of sweetness and ice is all she can think about, centre yourself in the moment and take time to savour and think about every bite, notice all of the flavours. Take time choosing delicate, darling and aesthetically beautiful desserts to delight the senses. Maybe dainty pastries or french fancies, eating cake with a fork, a hot cocoa with melting marshmallows. Visiting cosy cafes – like Hotel Chocolat and M&S cafe where everything is sparkly and serene and the air filled with chatter and the clatter of teaspoons, is one of my favourite experiences in autumn and the winter, it makes me feel cosy, warm and content.

8. Declutter, declutter – keep a few precious things that mean so much, your most treasured possessions, or those that you find yourself reaching for the most. This will lead to appreciating and noticing your possessions even more, surrounding yourself with your favourite things. I always end up discovering well loved things I had completely forgotten about haha, I love rediscovering old favourites, you can find some real treasures where you don’t expect it haha!

9. Be mindful, make a plan of what you intend to purchase – or set out a little budget for yourself for the day. This can help you stay on track and not spend too much or end up hoarding things you never use me. A really good trick is to limit your spending to only things that you cannot stop thinking about. I always end up falling for a sale and having many clothing pieces I do not wear. By buying only what I truly love, I know I will love every outfit and feel comfortable in it. Fast fashion is so dangerous, especially to the planet, right now I am committing myself to making much more sensible decisions, for my wardrobe and the environment.

10. Wear a body butter, choose a signature scent – I’ve been besotted with Philosophy’s Fresh Cream range & The Body Shop’s winter Vanilla Marshmallow body butter, they smell like pure cosiness and Christmas morning. I love having my autumn fragrances sorted!

11. Make a profile silhouette – find a photo of you where you are facing sideways and trace the outline, you can even do this very gently on a laptop or computer screen. This will make a shadow like outline of your face and shoulders. Cut that out and then draw around the shape on black card. Then cut that out and paste it on some white paper or card, and place it in an oval frame to decorate.

12. Dressing up – try out your favourite outfits, watch youtube videos and tutorials. Try a look you always wanted to, no matter how big or how small, a beauty or fashion style. I like to try something small and subtle like a new eye shade or applying a nail laquer, and I love to pop on a bit of concealer for confidence. If I can’t manage to dress, I choose the cutest maybe matching pyjamas!

People might call it ‘lolita lifestyle’ in the adopted and subculture sense. We are made from the silk sweet innocence of 99p ice cream, the sleek soapy skin of foam from a bubble bath, the smell and fizz of snapped open lemonade, the names of nail lacquer, the velvet dress we loved so much, the lovely plastic smell of a product we spent hours choosing, the things that we always funnily remember ♡ let me know your favourite self care ideas in the comments below!