The Monthly Round-Up: JULY

Everything I've been buying, reading, eating, watching, putting on my face, bookmarking, wearing, sharing, listening to, wish-listing, and just plain loving this month, that I think you'll love too...

Jul 26, 2025

Welcome to the July Round-Up! How are you? Can you believe we’re almost in August?! Perhaps you’re reading this whilst on holiday? Lucky you! I am still in London, but will be heading to Tuscany soon.
So let’s get going with this month’s favourites…

Wish Listing…

This is what my current shopping/wish/lust list (mostly links on my iPhone notes) looks like right now. The Chloé wedges have just landed and I am completely OBSESSED (guys, they also come in black patent!!). Also, the Dôen dress has been on my Wish List for months now, that then went on sale (on Dôen’s site), but I didn’t move fast enough. So now Liberty is stocking Dôen, which is very good news indeed.
Anyway, I love/want every single thing in this edit! The end.

July Home Edit…

A few things have caught my eye for the home…

Brand I’m Loving Right Now…

St. Clair

I discovered this beautiful brand last summer, and am lucky enough to own two dresses (we’ll get on to them in a second…).

The brand was created by the loveliest woman, Blair, who’s spend nearly 20 years in the fashion industry, specialising in luxury womenswear. She wanted to focus on the concept of the prettiest dresses to wear every day. Made from GOTS certified organic cotton, produced in small quantities with a minimum waste policy, the pieces are made by hand to treasure, for modern women with a romantic aesthetic (that will be me!!).

I love how easy the pieces are to wear (not that dresses are necessarily hard to wear, but some are just so easy somehow - just effortless (that’s the vibe I’m always chasing/coveting). I think it’s the combination of the prettiness with the ease that I particularly love - a bit like Dôen (another of my favourites). I never feel overdressed or ‘done up’ when I’m wearing a St. Clair dress. This one (Veryan) is honestly one of my most-worn summer dresses ever I think - it’s as light as a feather, so really cool to wear in the heat (hello, London heatwave, I was ready for you!), but with the maxi length, so you don’t feel too ‘exposed’. Then it’s the delicate shoulder frills and the perfect shade of (dark) chocolate that seal the deal. I literally wore it on repeat last summer, and this summer is going the exact same way. So perfect with the simplest of tan/black flat sandals. Just as perfect for everyday as for night time - just add a gold flat sandal and some jewellery. My other one is this one (Alicia) - a vintage-inspired dream of a dress that you can just chuck on, but feels and looks so special. It has the prettiest bow embroidery and again, feels so gorgeous next to your skin. My favourite way to wear it - with the simplest of flip-flops. It also comes in the chocolate brown.

Discover the full collection here.

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18 SUPER-CHIC PIECES WE’RE LOVING AT H&M HOME

15 THINGS WE’RE LOVING AT BODEN (THAT YOU CAN WEAR NOW AND LATER)

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Reading…

I have bought this for my holiday, so am saving it. I’ve heard good things - let’s see.

I read D.H. Lawrence’s Sons & Lovers at school, and loved it so much. We all know about the scandal surrounding Lawrence’s final novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover (if you don’t, you can catch up here), but I’d never actually read it (I also have a vague recollection of a TV adaptation starring Sean Bean at the gamekeeper - anyone else? Did I make this up??). Of course, by today’s standards it’s not remotely racey. But it’s beautifully written and I am really enjoying it. In fact, I had a long hospital appointment (I was told to allow a max of 3 x hours, urgh) last week (all’s fine), and instead of bringing my laptop, I decided to take my book instead. Honestly, it felt to good to just sit and immerse myself in a beautiful book (I found my copy in a Penguin Classics section of a second-hand book shop in Chiswick), particularly one set in a different era. I can highly recommend (less scrolling, more page turning - well we can but try right?).

Watching (on the small screen)…

Mix Tape
If you follow me on Insta, you may have already seen me sharing this last week on Stories. I had zero expectations as I knew barely anything about it, so (annoyingly in retrospect) I casually binge-watched it. Which I now really regret as it’s only four parts. If you know what a mix tape is, or ever made/received one, you’re probably going to love it. If you grew up in the eighties and loved/love Indie music, you’re going to LOVE it. Romantic (but not cheesy), nostalgic, beautiful, poignant… Have your tissues handy. Enjoy (I’m genuinely jealous).

Find it it on iPlayer

Sex & The City Season 1

So I’m still watching (hate-watching) And Just Like That… (mostly through my fingers), but on a whim (or perhaps out of sheer desperation?) I decided to go back to the very beginning (not for the first time I might add - I have watched every episode of every season, more times than I can remember), for a much-needed reminder of just how bloody BRILLIANT it really was. How well written, funny, and of-the-moment it was. I was OBSESSED by this show. Obsessed. So if you’re struggling with And Just Like That… (and frankly, who isn’t? I SO want to love it and root for it, I really do - I don’t want to be a hater, but even die-hard fans like me are struggling to find any positives at all now), I would thoroughly recommend going aaaaaaaalllllllll the way back. To when Miranda was actually REALLY funny (she always had the best lines)!! Go!! Go now!
The content might seem tame now (in much the same way that Lady Chatterley’s Lover does - it’s simply a time thing…), but at the time it first aired, it was covering subjects I had never seen on mainstream TV before.
Also, I do have A LOT of thoughts about And Just Like That… (and where it’s going SO wrong, particularly with the styling). The question is, does anyone really want to hear them? Only you can answer that, so let me know…

Watch it it on Now TV.

Watching (on the big screen)…

Ok, so I may be a Brad Pitt fan (if you know, you know), but putting that aside for a moment, this is a bloody great film. And trust me, I have precisely zero interest in Formula 1. Literally none. Until now that is. Now I’m obsessed. Honestly, I loved every single second of this film. I was literally on the edge of my seat, (with my hands over my mouth) for most of it. It’s nail-biting stuff. The acting is great, the music, the tension - this is one super-slick production.
I went to see it at the cinema with my son, Marlow (he’s 15, but it’s a 12A) - there’s nothing remotely spicy about it (even the sex scene was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it one). But it’s a non-stop addrelin rush from the get-go. And I don’t even like action movies! Go!

ps: Brad in this movie though…

Listening To…

I’m now on a 40 day streak with my 10k steps (yep, I’m totally addicted), and sometimes I like silence, sometimes a podcast, and sometimes music. As you know, I love my Desert Island Discs, and these are three (Romesh Ranganathan, Lindsey Hilsum, and Sir Jony Ive) that I have really enjoyed recently. All very different, but all so interesting.

Desert Island Discs

My Summer Beauty Go-Tos…

Top row:
Gatineau Golden Glow Gradual Tan Cream (the best self-tan I have ever tried. Fact. It’s idiot-proof. I put it on my face at bedtime) | Beauty Pie Traceless Mineral Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen + Primer (this is honesty, the only SPF I have ever used on my face that I have liked. It’s SO light, and leaves zero residue/stickiness) | Benefit Hoola Bronzer Mini (I have been using this for longer than I care to admit - probably as long as I’ve been watching S&TC! Literally decades! This cute mini size is perfect for holiday)
Second row:
Merit Clean Lash Lengthening Mascara (I’m super-picky about mascaras, and I tried this one recently and loved it. It gives a really natural look, and doesn’t irritate) | Merit Bronze Balm Sheer Bronzer (so easy to use, and I love that you can ‘build’ the colour gradually as you want) |
Lancaster Tan Maximizer After Sun Lotion (I first used this when I went on holiday to the South of France with a friend and her family when I was 15. It helps intensify your tan, and the smell is pure nostalgia/gorgeous)
Third row:
Elemis Pro-collagen Cleansing Balm (the only cleanser I ever buy/use now. Nothing else compares) | Elemis Superfood Glow Priming Moisturiser (I wear this pretty much every day, over my SPF. It gives the best dewy glow, and it’s so light) | Merit Flush Balm Cheek Colour (for that perfect summer flush on your cheeks)

A little rundown of my ride-or-dies for the summer. I don’t like a lot of ‘stuff’ (products or makeup) on my face, and even less so in the heat, so I choose my products carefully, and I am really loyal to the ones I love. This is mix of old favourites and some new discoveries.

And Last, But Not Least…

One of my most surprising summer 'reach-fors’ is this. I got it a while ago, as part of a campaign I did with Free People (you can see it on, with the matching bloomers, here), and I loved it. But I didn’t expect to wear it quite as much as I have - I’m actually wearing it right now. Don’t be thrown by the ‘bed jacket’ title. Yes, it’s technically ‘sleepwear’, but I wear a little back camisole under mine, and it’s so perfect. It’s super-pretty, and the peplum moves so beautifully when you move. I wear mine mostly with jeans (high-waisted flares, scruffy barrel leg - any kind)/khaki trousers, and I honestly couldn’t love it more. It also comes in a bunch of other colours. It’s definitely giving Chloé (yep, still obsessed). Oh, and trust me, it looks WAY more expensive than it is.

And that’s a wrap for July. Thanks, as always, for reading. If you’re enjoying these posts and fancy getting them more often, you might want to consider upgrading to a paid subscription (literally for the price of a coffee). You will also get full access to the complete archive of posts (over a year’s worth now!). I am still loving putting these (free) monthly edits together, but it’s the other posts where I sometimes like to ‘go deeper’ and get more personal (also with smaller edits of things I’m loving in all areas of my life - fashion, home, beauty style…). Anyway, something to consider - zero pressure obviously.
See you next time! In the meantime, thank you for all your continued support. It means the world. Have a gorgeous weekend ahead!

ps: if you enjoyed this post, please do ‘like’ with a heart, comment or share - it’s hugely appreciated and really does help with my posts being seen on Substack. Plus I always love reading your comments! xx