A mini Henry Hoover? Who'd have thought!

We all recognise his cheeky little face as soon as the cleaning cupboard door is opened. Henry Hoover may even temporarily assuage the gloomy feeling that accompanies the prospect of vacuuming an entire house (and when you've got three large malting Labradors, it's quite a chore!)

But this little desktop companion is probably one of the most adorable gadgets I've ever seen...some clever chap has designed the mini Henry Hoover, to scarf any paper balls or biscuit crumbs lying on the average student's desk with a smile (more likely the latter...it's common knowledge the average student desk is more frequently put to use as a dining table/TV stand than as a workplace). I almost can't wait for second year to begin, just so I can go and snap up mini Henry and place him on my desk in all his red, cheeky glory.

Buy online for £7.99 here.

Shaken, not stirred...

I often wonder who I was in life before I discovered the perfection that is the chocolate martini.

Working at a gastropub over the summer has enlightened me to more upscale cocktails compared to the more reckless concoctions from university piss ups (combining week-old Fanta with any last dregs of spirits of wines from the booze cabinet). This particular drink, for me, is the cocktail du jour, du mois, or even perhaps de l'annee...it simply encompasses elegance, romance, and insouciant indulgence.

Okay, perhaps that's a little over glorifying for a mere mixture of vodka, chocolate liqueur and creme de cacao but when lightly dusted with cocoa powder, garnished with a strawberry and sipped on a sun drenched terrace on a warm summer evening, the result is pure heaven.

A simple recipe can be found here, but there are many variations...get a-googling!

Curls really do rock...really.

I know this summer unfortunately isn't as balmy as us Brits would have liked, but this gorgeous little pot of squirt-on-surfer hair will hopefully keep your summery spirits high. It's a leave-in hair moisturiser from the Catwalk brand of Tigi, named in line with their facetious marketing campaign, 'Curls Rock'. And after observing the results, I have to agree.

I discovered this little gem while frantically looking through my mother's bathroom cabinet in search of something, anything, to tame the wild wisps of my unruly, frizzy hair. It's usually straightened to perfection, but sometimes a busy girl just doesn't have the time prior to an important engagement (going shopping). My mother, elegant and beautiful as she is, hordes beauty products, and so in a crisis I'll usually come across something in that treasure trove that solves, even if only temporarily, my trifling catastrophe.

(This is how I acquire most of my beauty products, incidentally. Having a mother with style and elegance is a perk - you can sample and roadtest expensive brands before having to fork out a fortune for an entire bottle).

And after scrunching a bit of this stuff onto my haystack, I was amazed to find it settled beautifully into placid waves. Most of us blessed with the kinky hair gene often lament our despair at futile attempts to control our locks, and for a long time I wouldn't be seen dead without a good old straightening session. But this product has made me fall in love with my waves again...after all, aren't they more interesting and playful than their straightened, boring counterpart? After I went and got some for myself, I realised that when run through towel dried hair the magic takes place even as it dries. Perfect for the low maintenance summer look. Added bonus: it protects the hair from sun, sand and sea by conditioning all day, if you're among the lucky ones who actually made it out of this country to sunnier skies this summer!

It's not exactly cheap, but trust me, it's worth it.

Find your local Tigi salon here to purchase (although most good hairdressers should stock it).