No matter how many years go past, I still get as excited about birthdays as I did when I was little. We've got such a cute home video of me coming down the stairs in pink pyjamas on my third birthday exclaiming, "Daddy, I am fee!", which led to lots of "Meg, you're twenty fee!" messages from family when I turned another year older recently.
Celebrations this year consisted of being whisked away by my boyfriend to a gorgeous countryside retreat called The Norfolk Mead on Friday - which meant waking up on my birthday in a huge marshmallow hotel bed, absolute dream - followed by driving home for a chilled afternoon before a night of laughs and drinks in a cosy pub with my closest friends. The following day, Sunday, was my older brother's turn (yep, he got a little sister for his second birthday!) and we had a really lovely time as all our family came over for the day then we headed into Norwich for a meal at Prime.
As you can tell it was rather jam-packed and on your birthday you want to feel extra special, so here are my birthday weekend essentials that saw me through non-stop hugging, present opening, cake eating and Prosecco drinking!
First things first, when it's your special day you want to feel comfortable, relaxed and protected. Feeling unable to throw your arms in the air and wave 'em about like you just don't care when Little Mix's latest track comes on because you're worried about sweat patches? It's a thing of the past with Perspirex and their range of highly effective perfume-free antiperspirants, designed to offer extra protection against sweat and body odour. Aside from it actually working and the Comfort version being the only antiperspirant on the market to actively minimise potential skin irritation, my favourite thing is how long it lasts, as one application sees you through 3-5 days and you can even shower and apply regular deodorant on top without minimising its efficiency at keeping you dry and fresh. With a busy weekend of non-stop birthday plans, it was definitely a product I couldn't have gone without!
Whenever I get a skincare sample in a beauty box or magazine I pop it in a little drawer which comes in so handy for travelling and overnight stays, so before Will and I drove to our hotel I made sure I packed some essentials. I cleansed with the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm, toned with the Aromatherapy Associates Hydrating Rose Skin Tonic, applied the Clinique All About Eyes De-Puffing Serum and the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Age Support Treatment Cream - then I was good to go!
An everyday essential for me is fragrance, and as it was my birthday and my best friend Tom very kindly gave me the Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne, I decided to pair it with my favourite Peony & Blush Suede Cologne as part of their Fragrance Combining art. It gave an extra special twist to my usual go-to scent and I totally fell in love with the floral, woody combination. Another go-to for me is a nude lipstick, but recently I've discovered a colour that's unlike anything else I've got in my collection which is why I opted for it throughout my 23rd. It's part of the new Tanya Burr Cosmetics Autumn Collection and is the shade 'Pink Cocoa', a warm 90s brown-toned nude with just enough mauve pink to make it super wearable and a really flattering slightly sheeny satin finish. I found it went with every look over my birthday weekend from a natural daytime makeup to a heavy bronze smokey eye, and I just had to have it in my handbag at all times!
Speaking of handbags, my bag of choice was my beautiful Charlotte Elizabeth The Grey Bloomsbury that I simply adore for so many reasons! It's incredibly well-made, has an unbelievable amount of room inside (I even took my birthday presents from my friends on Saturday night home in it!) and I'm yet to find an outfit that it doesn't perfectly complement which makes it the perfect accessory all year round.
Inside my The Grey Bloomsbury - aside from a large handful of receipts, mints and way more lip balms than one person could ever need, of course - was my trusty vlogging camera, the Canon S120. I recently started a brand new vlog channel and wanted to capture some moments from the weekend, so I couldn't possibly have left that behind and I loved committing memories to film so we can watch them back in years to come, just like "I am fee!" home video that always brings a smile to my face.
All in all, it was a weekend that had everything I love about birthdays in it; family, friends, quality time and lots of smiles. It was great to feel so protected and confident in myself thanks to Perspirex, and I'm so lucky to have such awesome, thoughtful people around me as well as the cutest viewers who all sent well wishes!
This post is sponsored by Perspirex. All opinions are 100% my own and honest. Affiliate links have been used. For more information, please see my disclaimer here.
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