We took these photos on a recent trip to Normandy, France.  At the time I had no intention in using them for a blog post but I just loved seeing Mickey's smiley face I couldn't resist sharing them!  Please do ignore my moody face though, I actually wasn't feeling very well!

This beach at Barneville-Carteret has featured on my blog a few times (check out these posts for past outfits captured here).  This time we visited at the end of September, on the whole the weather was still lovely and sunny, but a hint of Autumn was starting to come through in the chilly coastal breeze.  Jeans, this light weight Mickey Mouse jumper from Primark and my trusty Zara coat from a few seasons ago were all I needed to keep warm!  I love how light -hearted this jumper is, I think I like wearing it so much as it's the only 'novalty' item of clothing I have in my wardrobe!

... Welcome 2013!

I hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas!  December has been a busy month for me.  There has hardly been a weekend where I've been home.  Also, with family visiting from Malta, various illnesses (I don't think there's been a cold or a virus that I haven't caught), a new additions to the family (congratulations Cath and Gary!), work, holidays, Christmas and family gatherings - I've hardly had time to blog!  As I'm sure you've noticed!  So here's a little catch up of my month via instagram pictures.  Don't forget to follow me: @charlcollection

Cocktails at The Elk in the Woods, Angel  |  An espresso at the Everyman Cinema, Islington - love this cinema!  |  Ring of fire!  |  Weekend away with the girls  |  The start of the Christmas decorations - I love these bells!  |  Our Christmas Tree!  |  My favourite decoration on the tree!  |  Poor little lobsters and crabs in a French supermarket :(  |  Going out for a bike ride, on holiday in France  |  Relaxing with my mum and baby niece!  |  Waiting for The Hobbit to start!  What did you guys think of it, if you've seen it?  |  Hanging with the family  |  On the York Wheel!  |  My sister in York  |  Sophia hiding in her toy box!  |  Wagamama's!  |  Cliff - The perfect gift this Christmas?!  :-S  |  The most amazing Christmas ice cream pudding - with popping candy!!

What did you get up to this December?  Link me up in the comments below i you blogged about it!

One of the top products on my 'to purchase' list during my recent trip to France was the Avène Skin Recovery Cream.  I first picked this up in Boots, about a year ago, when my skin became quite sensitive from over cleansing and toning - I now make sure to stay away from any nasty toners containing alcohol!  Usually my skin is quite oily, so at first it felt a little strange to be using such a thick rich moisturiser, and I was concerned that it could cause some me to break out.  However I had only being using this about two days before it had calmed my irritated skin right down and fully rehydrated it.

The product worked so amazingly well in such a short space of time, but other than to use it on the odd occasion as an all over moisturiser to rehydrate my skin, I'd pretty much forgotten about the product.  That was until round about last November when I started to suffer with really dry, sensitive skin around my eyes.  Everything I tried to soothe it was just excruciatingly painful on application and seemed way too harsh to use around that area.  It was really starting to get me down.  It just wasn't worth using any kind of cosmetics or eye cream on the area, as for a start I wasn't sure what was causing the irritation but I also didn't want to have to use any more products than necessary due to the pain!

It took me a while to think about trying the Avène Skin Recovery Cream, but yet again it delivered.  I persevered at first mainly because it was the only product that didn't sting on application, however in just over a week the dry skin had drastically reduced, and it wasn't long after that that the area was totally back to normal!

I still get the dry skin from time to time, but if I'm quick Avène literally clears it up straight away!  I don't ever want to be without a tube of the Recovery Cream now, so I'm going to be sure to stock up whenever I visit France, ya know, to save the pennies!  This tube, that I picked up in a pharmacy in Normandy, uses the Avène's D.E.F.I system.  A really great cap system that, once the product has been squeezed out, prevents any bacteria getting inside the packaging and contaminating the formula.  This really appeals to me, as I do get concerned about my skincare staying sterile, so there's one less worry there!

Let me know if you've tried any thing from the Avène range, I'm looking for ideas of other products to stock up on when I got back to France in July, so all suggestions are welcome!

I wanted to wait until June 6th, D-Day, to post these pictures.  They were taken last Friday on Omaha Beach, one of the most important of the Normandy Landings of WWII.  Visiting this, and all the other beaches, along this magnificent coastline conjures up so many emotions for me, if you pause for a minute you can imagine all the incredible events of 68 years ago.  All the people that gave their lives, the scale and their sacrifice is inconceivable. 

When I put this simple yet classic outfit together, I actually had the Queens Jubilee in mind.  I wanted to give the British colours a French twist with a 'coco before chanel' style striped top.  I'm really pleased that the British and French colours are the same though, I felt like I was able to represent both the Jubilee and D-Day at the same time!

Topshop Jamie Jeans  |  H&M Top  |  Scarf - Gift From Chris' Mum, bought in France  |  Ebay Tan Focco

Here I am in Chris' parents front garden.  The old outbuildings are traditional in rural Normandy, and so very pretty that I thought why not take a few outfit pictures there!  The weather is still boiling in France so I thought I'd get the old legs out for a trip the beach and the local town.  Because I wasn't spending the full day at the beach, I wanted to cover a up a little bit.  This lightweight sleeveless jumper (thingy) from Miss Selfridge, years ago, was perfect.  With holes down the front it still kept me cool in the 25 degree heat!

Miss Selfridge Top (Old)  |  Primark Shorts  |  H&M Bracelet and Rose Gold Necklace

I wanted to write a review on a product I don't think any of you guys would have heard of before, let me know if I'm mistaken!  No seriously though, I'm currently in France and what's the first thing you do when spot a French pharmacy?  Pop in to check out the cult beauty products roaming the internet of course!

I picked up the Très Sèches version, to be honest without even noticing there was anything different about this version compared to the standard version I'd predominately been reading about online.  After spotting the 'TS' and wondering what on earth it meant, a tiny bit of research revealed that this was simply for sensitive skin.  I saw this as a massive bonus because I regularly get very dry irritable skin around my eyes, which was one of the reasons for me taking so much notice of this product in the first place!  I paid €13 (£10.85 at the current exchange) for the 500ml bottle, I could have picked up a double pack which worked out cheaper but I wanted to give it more of a trial go first before I committed to two bottle of the product, I visit France a lot so have plenty of opportunity to pick up more if I want - I know availability is one of the main downers for people in the UK.

I've used this a handful of times and I have to say, for glorified water, this is a great product.  I know it's gonna be a lifesaver on those extra tired/ drunken nights when make-up removal just seems like the biggest chore ever!  I have been getting through 5- 6 cotton wool pads soaked with the product to remove all my make-up, including mascara, from my face and neck.  I followed most times with Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish for a deeper cleanse and light exfoliation, but I'd happily skip that part without worrying about my skin.   Bioderma Créaline TS H20 really feels as gentle as water - no stingy eyes after use! - but leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean without that horrible dry tight feeling water can leave.

I would definitely buy Bioderma Créaline TS H20 again, I much prefer it to other water/ oil based cleanse toner products I've tried, which can leave skin with a funny residue or feeling stripped of all natural oils.

Have you tried this cult beauty product, or any other products in the Bioderma range?  I'm in france till Tuesday so have plenty of time to pick up any of your recommendations to try!