It's Been An Fun Filled Month

This month has had it's ups and downs and as promise I shall be giving you a little lifestyle post just to update you and to help you get to know me better, so here goes my second ever lifestyle post!

At the start of the month I handed in my notice and said goodbye to an awful company, I only lasted 3 months in which I broke down a handful of times and dreaded going into work. I can't name names and they will more then likely see this and try to sue me but it's a well known travel bureau, oh and writing this reminds me they still have my passport and I still need to visit the police!
But after all the drama I have started to work for a lovely company and already feel like a part of the team, they have welcomed me nicely and have been ever so supported over my recent dramas and I couldn't be happier so it's all looking up!

I visited my sister for the week and had a great time, we went back and visited Birdworld which is a fantastic place to go to if you like wildlife and farms. I have been twice now and have enjoyed it both times, I could easily go back and visit again. They have a mixture of birds as well as penguins, they have a farm with free running animals and they also have an underwater world if you like fish!

I've been doing loads of work on my scrapbook and I'm loving getting creative with it using quotes and photos as well as sticking in the odd postcard. I can see why this would get addictive and why people start them as they are really relaxing and fun to do. I use a website to print off some Instagram photo's which have come out well so I'm pleased to be filling the pages off my scrapbook quickly.

I re watched the Fault In Our Stars the other day as I brought it on dvd, the first time I watched it was in the cinema where I broke down and cried like a baby so it was nice to re watch it at home where I wasn't anxious as to who was watching. But I shall be re reading the book soon as it's so beautifully written and told as it must of been hard to write about such a difficult subject, if you haven't read or seen it yet I would highly recommended it but you have been warned take some tissues!

So that's it for this week I shall speak to you soon but do enjoy the next few reviews, if you have done a post like this then please leave it below in the comment's  I would love to read it.

Weight Loss Wednesday - January Update

This month has been a bit of a fail month as I went off the dieting bandwagon and almost failed all the little tasks and achievements I wanted to achieve. So it's not really a month to be proud of if I'm 100% honest but I shall fill you in on all the details!

I started the month off by finishing all the Christmas chocolate and treats off which meant my diet didn't start until two weeks into January and instead of going onto Slimfast I went onto a normal diet instead. Meaning my body never really had a detox and it was easy to slip up and snack on unhealthy food, but last minute on around the 17th I started Slimfast and saw a great change straight away with my bloating going down and my face looking slimmer at the end of the month.

I was meant to be working out but I did purchase a new exercise dvd meaning I know have two Davina dvds instead of one but I haven't used them yet! Which is really bad I know but I have been doing some toning exercises so hopefully it won't effect me to much by not working out.

Now for the dreaded weigh in, I was expecting to much of a loss this month as hadn't really tried but here you go:

Weight 28.01.15 - 14 Stone

Dress Size - 18

Weight Loss of 5 pounds

For February I shall be continuing the Slimfast shakes and I shall be attempting my Davina workout dvds and shall hopefully see a change pretty soon!

Starting A Scrapbook

Not a beauty post for you today but something I would like to share with you, I have started a scrapbook. It's no secret that the currant top beauty bloggers have all started to created scrapbook's and I thought it would be a brilliant idea and couldn't wait to begin. On a recent shopping trip I picked up all the basic pieces in order to create a scrapbook and love all the items I have purchase.

The book itself is a simple brown paper paged book with a lovely hot pink flower and bird design on the front and the back off the book. It fastens on the side with a hot pink ribbon and is quite a large book with around 200 pages in. It cost only £10 which I think is a great price to pay and it's available from Paperchase in store or online.

Also from Paperchase I picked up some washi tapes which I shall be using to tape in pictures and quotes and I shall also be writing little messages on the paper in order to store the memory. I picked up two grey flower design tapes which I shall be using to line my pictures and hold them in place and then I also picked up a pale pink design with a very faint flower design on which I shall use to write the messages on. These were all £3 each which is a little pricey to pay but they are lovely designs. I have also seen some lovely washi tape in Waterstones for around £3.99 for a pack off six.

While in Primark I came across some sticky notes which I thought would look great to add little notes throughout to book, I shall be using them to add quotes or to talk about a particular memory that won't fit on the washi tape. The set was only 50p in the sale and comes with a great range of all different sized paper notes, which are extremely handed when it comes to adding messages!

To add a little bit of a cute factor to the book I shall be adding stickers to odd pages and at the moment I have some from Paperchase which were in the sale at 75p. I picked up some lovely cat ones which are in the gel texture so are a little thicker then most stickers but I just thought it would be nice to throughout the book add different stickers so I shall be picking some more up when I get a chance.

Lastly I shall be adding pictures and postcards to the book which I find nice and that make me happy, as the main reason behind the book for me is to be able to pick it up and flick through when I feel low or upset and to be able to use my past experiences and happy memories in order to get me through my present worries and woes.

If you have begun a scrapbook let me know what you shall be including in yours and also let me know if you think it is a good idea or not!

The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash

As many of you know by now I really suffer with breakouts and have been suffering since my teens, trying to find the right product has been so difficult but I recently tried a new facial wash and have seen a great change in my skin. The Body Shop is a lovely cruelty free shop which do some fab products for skin care, baths and also do make up.

Tea Tree is a great product to use on the skin to clear breakouts and to get a healthy look to the skin so the label really drew me in and I couldn't wait to give it a whirl. I use it daily in the shower and have been using it for around six months now, I've just started my second bottle before realising I still hadn't done a review!

I brought it in the summer when I had an awful breakout but my skin has been manageable while using the product over the last few months. I now only get a few small breakouts and the odd one or two odd spot here and there but nothing to major.

The product at first appears quite strong and almost to much for the skin but after you get used to the scent the product is quite nice and refreshing. It's a normal gel like liquid which is easy to rub onto the face, I find it easier to just use my hands instead of a cloth or sponge as it goes on easier and feels nicer on the skin.

The facial wash is only £5 which is a great price to pay for a 250ml bottle as it lasts for ages a good 5 months when using it daily as you only need a small amount, you can't really go wrong if you have blemished skin!

My Three Favorite Beauty Brands

Today post is going to be a look at my three favorite beauty brands and a lot at my favorite products and why I love them, I'm going to get started with Lush!

Lush
It's no secret I'm a massive fan of Lush and the fact there a vegan company is just brill, I love how they are so positive and always look out the product animals. I wear my little Lush badge with pride and will always sign a petition they have on the go as it's such a respectable brand you can't go wrong to support them. They are always creating new products and coming out with more to make me go wow, and some of there classics are adored by me. I especially love Bright Side and Fizzbanger and will always reach for these two when I'm out and about shopping. The brand is perfect for any bath lover and they will always have a product in mind if you have no idea off what you are looking for.

The Body Shop
I will always be found mooching through the stock at The Body Shop as it's my go to place to visit if I am in need of a pamper or some advise on how to deal with a new breakout or problem I have with my skin. Again another vegan friendly brand they have a great reputation in being animal friendly and providing great products. My favorite products to pick up here are there face masks as they always have ones to suit any problem I have with my skin and they always have a new one out that I can't wait to try.

MAC
I have tried in the past to not fall in love with MAC as a brand as I don't really agree with there price tags or the fact there not animal friendly but I always find myself going back there. The make up is great from MAC and there foundation is the perfect match for me so I find myself in there every few months picking up my foundation. But the most talked about products from the store has to be there lipsticks and I have an ever growing range of there lipsticks and will always find one to go with my outfit or look there rather fab!

So those are my top three make up brand that I love and adore, please let me know in the comments what brands you love and adore!

Lush Butterbear Review

In this year's Lush Christmas range they had included a rather adorable little polar bear under the name of Butterbear which was around the £2 mark. This rather cute little bath bomb has any just been used by me and has been a little bit of a meh product if I'm 100% honest, but I thought I would do a review just in case he appeals to anyone else!

The scent is a very mild vanilla and doesn't really leave a lasting impression on the skin but it sweet and subtle enough to be used for kids which is good. The bear is a very face fizzer and takes around a minute to fully dissolve in the water leaving behind a murky clear water and a few small oil spots behind, again this product would be pretty for kids as it's a fun fast fizzer. The product is meant to be a soothing and moisturiser to the skin but I didn't really feel any effect to my skin and was a little disappointed as it hadn't really wowed me with anything else I was hoping it would leave my skin feeling soft and nourished.

Overall I feel this product was aimed at kids and babies and they would get the most use and joy out of the product, it was however a lovely little design and would look great on display!

Colab Dry Shampoo - New York

My hair drawer at the moment seems to be overflowing with products that I used and love daily but one in particular has been catching my eye all week and I've been loving it, that product has been the Ruth Crilly from A Model Recommends Dry Shampoo. A while ago I picked up the mini version in the scent New York and as I'm about the run out of the product I thought I would give it a review.

The design of the bottle is rather fashionable with a bright coloured lid and simple black writing it's a minimal yet eye catching product. It comes in a tinned compressed bottle and has an easy to use spray nozzle, coming in two sizes a dinky 50 ml and a giant 200 ml bottle you can't go wrong.

The scent for New York is fruity with hints of Apple and Melon this is a rather uplifting and fresh scented dry shampoo with an even better effect on the hair. It sprays out a light spritz of product which doesn't leave the chalky white effect like most dry shampoos and goes on to the hair with a sheer invisible effect making it easy to style and fun to use. The dry shampoo is there to absorb the oils in the hair and leave your hair looking fresh and clean.

I found it lifted my hair and made it look fresh and washed after a hard day which impressed me a lot, it went onto my thick hair in a soft and easy to manage way making it easy for me to style and made it easy to use. The scent was lovely and uplifting and lasted all day which was great and it makes it nicer to use if you fancy just adding a nice scent to the hair you can!

To pick up the product it's only £1.99 in Superdrug and is available in 5 different scents.

January Haul 2015

Today I visited Oxford and did quite a big shop so I decided to post a haul for you! I visited Paperchase, Lush, Waterstones, HMV and Primark and got a few goodies so enjoy!

Lush
Lush have just brought out there Valentines range and I purchase 4 of the items from the range, firstly I picked up one called Floating Flower for £3.50 this is a very retro looking bath bomb with some really nice wild flower scent to it which fills the room, next up I picked up Lonely Heart for £3.50 which is a lovely little heart covered in thick glitter which is a lovely added effect, Heart Throb comes next at £3.65 which is two heart shaped bubbleroon pieces sandwiched together with some glitter, Lastly there's Unicorn for £3.25 the best bubble bar I have seen in Lush as it reminds me of My Little Pony with some lovely added stars!

Paperchase
I thought I would jump on the scrapbook making bandwagon and went into Paperchase to see what I could find, I came out with some lovely bits that I adore quite a lot. My scrapbook is a simply brown page design with a lovely purple floral design and at only £10 it's quite a bargain, To sellotape the pictures and memories to the book I brought two rolls of tape to add a nice effect to the book and to add some words I brought some washi tape as it easy to write on all three tapes cost £3 each. Lastly I picked up some amazing cat stickers for only 75p in the sale and can't wait to add them to a few pages!

Waterstones
As you know by now I'm off to New York this year so I stopped by the pick up some pop out maps and came away with two designs the one has added pages on what to do in New York and has some great tips for when your out and about that one is £6.99 and the other smaller and more compact one is just a simply map of New York cost only £3.99, I also picked up a new crime book which was recommended to me called 'The Accident' by Chris Pavone I've already began reading the book and already love it as it's so gripping and such a good read.

HMV
At the moment I can't get enough of American Tv Shows so I've added a new one to my collection in the form of 'Bates Motel' based on the film Psycho which is one of my favorites. I thought I would enjoy the series as I loved the film a lot so I can't wait to watch it and at only £19.99 it was a great bargain!

Primark
I picked up some basic t-shirt this week as I needed some for work and lounging about the house so I went for a long sleeved stripey top £3.50 and a simple black t-shirt £2.80. I also picked up some cute magnets in the sale at only 50p i'm not sure what I will do with them but there are pretty cute, I also got a travel adapter for New York at only £1.50 which is a great bargain as in most stores they charge quite a lot for a simply plug, to go with my scrapbook I picked up some sticky notes again in the sale at 50p as I thought they would look nice with little quotes and sayings on them. Lastly I picked up a lovely PJ set for £8.50 with a simple cream top but lovely bottoms I couldn't say no!

I hope you enjoyed this haul, if you have a new haul post please leave it below in the comments I would love to take a look!

Nutriganics Smoothing Mask Review

I'm still yet to find the right face mask for me so I went on the hunt just before I started Christmas shopping and came across one from The Body Shop Nutriganics range. It's a simple smoothing face mask made for people who are showing the first signs of ageing, which I know I'm only 23 and i'm not showing any signs of ageing yer but I thought it was a great mask to go for after taking a small sample and testing it out it seems to work well for my skin type.

It has a nice simple plain scent almost quite Earthy with small hints of herbs which I liked a lot as I'm not a fan of strong scented products. As it has a nice relaxing plain scent it makes it quite relaxing to use and almost soothed me into a nice relaxing pampered mood, it also helped to clear my head and as it's quite a cold soothing texture my skin felt amazing.

To use the product it was nice and simple, you just apply it to clean skin and leave on for 10 minutes before cleansing off. I find it goes on quite thick and paste like and it means it sinks in a little bit and add's a lovely moistured feel to the skin but means it stays working throughout the full 10 minutes and doesn't sink it all the way.

My skin after felt and looked glowing, the product has worked wonders on making my skin look fresher. I doesn't say how often you should use the product but I use it twice a week and find it works well at keeping my skin looking fresher and brighter.

The Body Shop do a great range off Against Animal Cruelty products and this mask has no parabens or silicones which is great and it also has 98% of ingredients from a natural origin. The mask is £16 and comes in a 100ml plastic pot and lasts for 12 months, you can purchase it online or in stores!

Zoe Sugg - Girl Online Book Review

There has been a lot of drama surrounding this book and at first I wasn't going to review it but I enjoyed it so much I decided I shall. The book is based on the ideas and characters by Zoe Sugg but she had help writing it by Siobhan Curham, this came to light in a recent tweet before the news decided it should be posted in as many online stories as possibly. For me I feel the book deserve create for being such a great and helpful read that's why I have decided to review it.

From right at the start of the book you are introduce to likable characters all with great story lines and all of which have a purpose in the book. The writing is very basic so it is aimed at teens but some adults may get enjoyment out of reading it, I enjoyed it as it explained about stress and anxiety which made me see myself in the book. The plot thickens throughout the book almost forcing you to read on and see what happens next, it also stays strong throughout the book making it easy to not get distracted and also not having to many story lines which can get confusing.

As mentioned it's main focus is stress and anxiety focusing on school and on a trauma which most people can relate to. I love how it gave out tips and a detailed description on anxiety and I also love how it states it's normal and doesn't stress it to be odd, which I feel most people look at anxiety in that way when it actually fact it very common.

As the story line is base on Zoe's ideas it has a lot of local information in the book as well as some great hot spots in Brighton and New York which I liked a lot as you can visit the areas and the shops mentioned making the book seem more special in a way. It also gives some great travel advise as well for anyone who likes to travel!

Overall I loved the book and hopefully my review will get you to purchase it, not over who wrote it but because it's such a great read!

I'm Crazy For Blow Pro!

Blow Pro is a brand I discovered a while ago when I was given a sample of there shampoo and I must admit when I used it I loved it but sort of forgot about the product meaning I never really brought it again.Until I wondered through the Superdrug sale and came across the selection of Blow Pro products for just £1.99 which is a massive bargain as there normally £7.99!

I picked up Ready Set Blow which is a serum to help protect your hair when blow drying as well as taming frizz, static and flyaway hair it also plumps the hair to add volume. So it's an all round great product to use with a simple to use 118 ml tube and simple instructions you can't really go wrong. The scent is quite natural with a slight soap scent and the texture is an odd sticky liquid which you only need a small amount in order to protect the hair. The product works really well giving me great healthy looking hair which is fuller and looks shiny with no tangles or flyaway hair in sight.

Next up is Body By Blow which is a hair mouse to give you amazing body and volume to the hair, it's in a slick looking purple 142g can which looks good out on the shelf. It's extremely easy to use and also quite fun as you just need to shake the can hold it upside down and spray a small golf ball sized amount of product out. It went into my hair easily and didn't make a mess which I really liked, the scent is the same as the serum but a little sweeter which I found quite nice. It worked really well in achieving great thick fuller hair which lasted all day as well.

Last up is Textstyle a texturising dry spray which comes in a funky green can looking great next to the purple one. This product is to add texture and to hold hair styles, it has the same scent as the other products and again works really well. I used it to add some texture to my everyday hair and it worked nicely making me have styled bed hair, I also added a small spritz to hold a hair style and it worked really well as my hair didn't budge all night. Overall it's a great spray to own and works wonders on my thick and unmanageable hair.

I love this range of hair product and can't recommend them enough! If you are quick enough you can find them in Superdrug for just £1.99 still, well that's if I haven't brought them all yet!

Zoella - Creamy Madly Dreamy Body Lotion Review

One of the gift's I got this year for Christmas was the Zoella Body Lotion, it has been one of the first product I've used over the last week so I thought I would review it for you today. The Zoella beauty range has been a great hit since hitting the shops and I had to refrain myself from buying it so my mum had something to buy me for Christmas! She also picked me up a new candle and a beauty bag.

The packaging is quite British with lace and rose gold writing but then Zoe has added a bit of glam by using bright pink writing which makes it very girly and cute to own. The tube is 160ml so it's a great size meaning you get a lot of the product, it's a simple lid and is easy to hold making it easy to apply the lotion.

The scent is very much like the rest of the product a really light floral scent but this one seems to be a bit more softer and more heavenly compare to the rest of the range. It's a really light lotion which goes nicely over the skin to create a soft and luxurious texture to the skin, I found it soak in after around 10 minutes so it's not to fast soaking making it quite a nice pamper lotion.

It has added vitamin E, aloe and shea butter which means the skin get's a real pamper and it left feeling soft and nourished. It's a really nice girly and luxurious product to own as well as being great for the skin and affordable it's a perfect product to own.

The Zoella range is available in most Superdrug stores.