Sleek trio of blushers: review

I am currently in Sharm el Shiek in Egypt and as always I have taken too much luggage. But not with my make up and toiletries. 

I always struggle in my attempt to not overload the make up bag when I go on holiday, so I have now started looking for handy make up sets and palettes. 

This blusher set from 'sleek' has done the trick for me in sorting out what blushers to take, offering three very pink but very different shades. 

a trio of pinks to add a flush of colour to your cheeks

The Body Shop vitamin C skin reviver: review

At this time of year it is vital you get your vitamin C but how about some for your face too!

Couple of weeks ago my lovely friend Natalie introduced me to “Vitamin C Skin Reviver” from the BodyShop.

A serum oozing with vitamin c and Brazil nut oil,  this helps perk up dull skin. And I got to say, I genuinely think that this has worked for my usually sad winter skin.   

Lush cream cleanser: review - au naturel and handmade

I seem to be a bit obsessive on facial products at the moment, doing my best to try what’s out there to get my face sparkly clean. Lately I have been sampling a natural cleanser from Lush – Ultrabland facial cleanser.

ultrabland facial cleanser...
said to be the Lush founder's fav product! 

It’s marketed as a beeswax and rose cream cleanser, homemade with fresh ingredients, with ingredients such as almond oil, honey and rose water. Sounds tasty and perhaps the ingredients for a dessert (I am thinking Turkish delight perhaps?!) but being au naturel, I was a bit sceptical about it working.

What’s more, the lady in the shop said that as my face is used to the usual chemical stuff, it may take a while for my skin to get used to it. Hmmm.

Turns out however, that this stuff actually is pretty good and does a thorough and proper job of cleansing my skin. It is quite thick and a touch oily in texture so is probably best for dry skin.

skin care: how to make your skin smooth and glow – part 2

I am on a quest to rid blast my black heads and whittle away the wrinkles! I blogged a load of tips back at the end of November  but there are heaps more out there so this is part two of skin care: how to make your skin smooth and glow!

Exfoliate

Generally my skin, although very dry, does ok but one thing that constantly bugs me, is my large pores and black heads. Pores appear larger when they're filled with dirt, oil, and dead skin cells, so removing this and the pores will be clearer and smaller. To clear out the gunk, start exfoliating regularly! I do it every other day otherwise it dries out my skin too much. Look for products with salicylic and glycolic acid. I am currently using Neutogena deep clean invigorating scrub for an everyday use and a microdermabrasion one from No7 that I use twice a week which I blogged about back in April. 

exfoliating is key to glowing skin! 

Drink lots of water

It is amazing how something so simple is so effective. It’s your cheapest beauty trick by far! Why? Water helps clear out toxins that cause inflammation and blemishes, as well as keeping you hydrated AND it assists in transporting nutrients and oxygen to skin cells.

skin care: how to make your skin smooth and glow

Last month I vowed to start taking good care of myself again and was on the quest for vitality – I want glowing skin, luscious locks and strong nails. Back in October I blogged about the nails and earlier this month about hair. Today I am sharing with you what I have been doing to achieve fresh, winter happy skin.  Apart from too much mulled wine and cocktails at the weekend resulting in a huge spot on my chin, it’s actually doing ok this winter!

So here are my facial skin care tips:

Be clean

I feel the most important tip is to always thoroughly clean your face at the end of the day!

Simple enough but so many of us skip it!

Going to bed with makeup or the day’s grime on will lead to a block up in your pores which can result in bacteria build up which equals spots and worse. Not convinced? Check this article out.

from the daily mail

Invest in a few more minutes

Face wipes just don’t cut the mustard. Sure they are handy for festivals and late nights out but on your average day spend a few more minutes when cleaning your face! I wash with a face wash (not soap as this dried skin out) and then cleanse after. After washing your face, it may look clean, but run some cleanser over your skin and you’ll be shocked at how much more grime comes off! Why do this? Because the cleaner the skin, the better the creams sink in. Think about it, it is like sticking a lick of paint over the top of a dirty wall.

How to avoid a hangover this party season!

For a Monday morning I felt quite sprightly today. Surprising in itself but even more so because me and the girls drank a lot of wine and cocktails this weekend! Although a little tired Sunday morning (that will be the 4 hours sleep I got Saturday night) and my skin looking a tad duller, I felt fine – no headaches, nausea or that feeling that I wanted to curl up and die!

I will let you into a secret, please don't hate me – I have only ever had one hangover in the whole of my life. Yes, just the one. I always wake up feeling semi normal and totally functional.

My friend joked yesterday that this was my human “super power”

A bit of it may be luck but I also like to think I know the rules to avoiding a hangover as well as finding a few tricks that work for me. 

With the festive season nearly upon us, let me get you in on the secret...

Lush's lip scrub - buff away chapped lips: review

This weather is not kind to my lips. My lips are not friends with the bitter wind, the freezing cold, the office heating system or the drizzly air. I find that my lips are permanently chapped and dry, and that I grow a disgusting compulsion to pick the dry skin off my lips. (Don’t gimme that – we all do it secretly!)

tasty, handmade and preservative free! 

I had even given up the lipstick for a while as soon as I put it on, it just highlighted the dryness and the cracks. Not pretty.

But my friend Sophie introduced me to my knight in shining armour last week and this little pot of brilliantness has now reformed my lips to soft and kissing worthy once more!

"Burger and Lobster", London - simple concept, fun taste

I did it! I finally made it to “burger and lobster” (Mayfair)

Me and the Boy went the other day, after meaning to go there for months, since it came highly recommended from my housemate who went there for a first date. After months of not having the time to go (wedding, homelessness in between renting, new flat, manic work load etc) and a failed attempt with the girls one Saturday at 6pm (a 3 hour wait can go stuff itself thanks to the no booking under 6 persons policy), I went this Tuesday. 

I have had a few days off this week to spend some time with the Boy who has just come back from a three month deployment so we decided it was probably best to try and go midweek and for an early dinner to avoid the disappointment of a killer wait. And we were right. 4pm on a Tuesday and we walked right in and had our meal served to us in about 10 minutes.

Why the quick service?...

"Lush" spa, tailor made massage

My birthday may have been two months ago but I still haven’t cashed in the beauty treatments that the Boy bought me as a present. So this weekend I had the first of three treatments, my “tailor made massage” at the Lush Spa on Kings Road in London. 

I have always been bit of a fan of the Lush products but didn’t even realise that they had a few spas! They also have places in Kingston, Poole, Leeds, Edinburgh and Liverpool. They also have some in Japan, France and Korea in case you fancy popping there!

I am bit of a beauty treatment junkie and do like to indulge in one every couple of  months, so I like to think I know my stuff about what makes a good treatment.

lush spa treatment room

I can honestly say that this massage treatment was one of the best I have ever had, not just in terms of the massage itself but he experience as a whole – it was truly unique, relaxing and self-indulgent! This is the crème de la crème of pamperings!

Fresh cut flowers - care and tips for your bouquet

My cold, wet Friday afternoon was brightened today, not just because the weekend was nearing, but because a beautiful bunch of flowers from the Boy arrived! A melody of carnations, mixing pinks, creams and ones with a pink filly edging (which a quick google assures me is a “picotee”!!!).

Once the initial “ooh I feel so adult having flowers delivered to me” feeling wore off, I suddenly realised I had no idea what to do with them!

Flower bouquets always look so pretty when they are wrapped up in their packaging until you undo them to pop them in a vase. They go from being a sophisticated ensemble from a skilled horticulturist to basically a vase with loose flowers plonked in it with a bit of fancy green stuff around it, something that a kid could have put together.

But inside the box was a helpful guide on how to care for flowers. So here are some simple tips that you might find useful in arranging your flowers in the vase and looking after your beautiful bunch…