Author: ramblingmads

I am a thirtysomething from London, with a cat, a husband, bookshelves which keep threatening to crush me under their load and chronic health conditions. Basically your average over stressed millennial. Welcome.
adventures, blogging, life, upcoming

Ch-ch-changes…

ramblingmads

As David Bowie and Freddie Mercury sang changes are heading to ramblingmads. I’ll still be posting beauty box reviews and other bits and bobs but I wanted to change some of the things about the blog and write more broadly on things I care about and am passionate about that might be more serious in tone.

I will mix it up with book and product reviews, recipes and handy hints but there will be more activism, feminism, rats and potentially grumpy rants.

Hope you all stick around for the changes and as always, join in the conversation in the comments. I love hearing what you think. I’ll also be on Twitter and Instagram as always, so come say hi. 🙂

Thanks,

Mads.

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A little giggle

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Uncategorized

National Poetry Day

ramblingmads
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Cherry blossoms - via Twitter

Here’s one of my favourite poems for National Poetry Day.

The Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heaven’s embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths 
Of night and light and the half-light;
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W. B. Yeats

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#paperhaul, lifestyle boxes, reviews, stationery

#PaperHaul March

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I’m a stationery nerd, I love pens, notecards, notebooks, washi tape, stickers, post-it notes, the whole lot.

This is where Paper Haul comes in. A subscription box for stationery junkies.

Each month features a different illustrator – this month it’s Jodie Goolding, whose cute animals adorn the contents of the box.

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Note cards & envelopes
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Be Positive
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Love Hope
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Love Who You Are plus Bears!
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Stickers!!
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A little something for someone else

Any other stationery lovers out there? Want to wander round the pen aisle with me. 📏📐📎📌📍✂✏✒📝✉📑📓📔 – all the emojis!

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beauty, beauty boxes, haircare, love me beauty, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty – March

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This month’s Love Me Beauty ‘box’ arrived – it’s not a box as such. But here’s what I picked from the Boutique.

For £13.95 a month you get 60 credits, which you can top up if you want more products.

🍓Tangle Teezer Blow-Styling Full Paddle Brush (20 credits)

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🍓Caudalie Make-Up Removing Cleansing Oil (15 credits)
🍓Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips (20 credits)
🍓Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream (5 credits)

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I needed a new hairbrush and this was an excellent way to get one without breaking the bank.

The Dr Lipp balm is an essential item, use it on dry lips, dry corners of your nose, elbows, hands, and anywhere else that needs some TLC.

Do you subscribe to Love Me Beauty? Thoughts? Drop me a note in the comments.

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beauty, beauty boxes, make up, my little box, reviews

My Little Bubble Box

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This month’s My Little Box has arrived and it’s already causing a stir online – some subscribers aren’t very impressed.

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The problem with theming every box you send out is that sometimes the contents only seem related very tenuously. And that seems to be the crux of the complaints I’ve spotted on social media.

For a box themed around bubbles this is curiously lacking in them. There’s a rather sad looking deflated balloon – think ‘Eeyore has a birthday’ where a mini bottle of bubbles would have made more sense.

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Anyway, on to the box contents we’re really interested in – the beauty bits.

Firstly there’s a mini make up sponge and a little blue hairbrush.

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Always nice to have some tools, I use a very similar sponge daily so spares are more than welcome and with my mind-of-its-own hair I can never have too many hair brushes.

Inside the little cloth bag are three beauty products designed to help you glow.

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🎈Givenchy Noir Couture Volume Mascara – hand bag sized, perfect for touch ups on the go.

🎈My Little Beauty Bubble Blush Lips and Cheek stain – I thought this was nail polish at first but it’s a lip and cheek stain in a matt pink.

🎈Huygens Paris Body Scrub – citrus scented mini tube of scrub to help ready your skin for the post-tights spring we keep hearing rumours about.

As always there’s the in-house magazine My Little World, which not only profiles the box contents but also features articles on Creme Eggs, emojis, Pop Art and a cute fashion spread.

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Did you get a Little Bubble Box? What did you think? Let me know in the comments. 🎈🎈

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beauty, beauty boxes, reviews, you beauty

March You Beauty Box

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If you’re thinking of subscribing to a beauty box, this is one of the cheaper options and you can pick two of the items in the box too.

March’s shortlist was quite varied and one of the items I wanted to try was sold out in record time.

The theme this month is ‘Best of British’ and all the items are from British beauty brands (try saying that ten times fast).

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From the shortlist I selected The Body Shop’s British Rose Instant Glow Body Butter and Amie Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash & Morning Dew Matte Finish Moisturiser Duo.

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Also included in the box were Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Hair Healer Leave-In Conditioner and two facemasks from Ooharr – Rosy Glow & Dead Sea Cooler.

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The booklet has a selection of discounts from the featured brands and the chance to win a goodie bag worth over £100.

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beauty, beauty boxes, look fantastic, make up, reviews, skincare

Look Fantastic – Destination Beauty #LFExplorer

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This month’s Look Fantastic box’s theme is Destination Beauty.

The box looks amazing with its world map in eyeshadow powder, well done to that artist.

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There are six products in the box –

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Lottie London Blend in Brush (from a selection – one per box). This super-soft brush makes blending a breeze.

Codage Masque Hydratant Moisturising Mask – French brand Codage formulated this revitalising mask without parabens, but with essential oils and is suitable for even the most sensitive skin (you may receive an alternative from the same brand.)

Revlon Colourburst Lip Balm – infused with mango, shea and coconut butter, this moisturising lip balm gives you a pop of colour and hydration – you can use it as a blush on your cheeks too.

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First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream – a head to toe moisturiser, packed full of goodness, including liquorice root, white tea and shea butter.

Nuxe Creme Prodigieuse – apply to your face and neck after cleansing in the morning, massaging to penetrate this lightweight moisturiser deep into your cells.

Caudalie Micellar Cleansing Water – gently cleanse and remove make up with this soap free and hypoallergenic cleanser.

Inside the mini magazine are the Look Fantastic team’s pick of Paris Fashion Week beauty faves, world beauty trends, recipes and other beauty insider news.

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There’s a few too many moisturisers in this box, a bit more variety would be nice but overall I quite like this month’s box.

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Are you a Look Fantastic subscriber? What are your thoughts on this month’s box?

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beauty boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Home Box

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February’s My Little Box arrived on the bonus day of the month.

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The box is all about home, cosying up in the warm, because, well, baby, it’s cold outside.

Inside the box are some sweet little touches for your home and some goodies for your face.

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There’s a sweet blue picture frame with this month’s illustrated card tucked inside, an excellent holding place while you find your own or not.

There’s also a patterned cushion case to jazz up your sofa, chair or bed. Just add cushion.

There’s also the regular My Little World magazine.

Then there’s the little bag of beauty goodies. This month three items to treat your skin.

My Little Beauty Easy Morning Skin Perfecting cream – apply on its own or under your make up to give skin a healthy glow.

Polaar Genuine Lapland Hand Cream – made with antioxidant rich berries from the Arctic this non-greasy cream soothes frozen fingers and dry winter skin.

Noxidoxi Mask & Peel Perfection Éclat – a skin mask to reveal fresh spring skin  and slough off dead and tired cells.

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beauty, beauty boxes, birchbox

Birchbox Bonus – spending my points

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With every Birchbox there’s the opportunity to accrue points to use in their shop. 100 points = £10 to spend.

But they only last six months and mine were stacking up. Time to hit the (virtual) shop!

As you know I love balmi’s lip balm blocks so I snapped one up pronto – running a bit low on my supplies.

Cowshed is another brand I quite like, although a little out of my budget. But this cracker, featuring the famous Cow Pat hand cream and a Lippy Cow lip balm, was in the sale and I snapped it up.

Finally I popped the Birchbox x Benefit box “Good Things Come in Small Packages” into my virtual basket. Featuring sample sized Benefit goodies including the new Dew the Hoola, it’s a great way to trial more products without breaking the bank. 

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If you want to join Birchbox and score some great beauty treats – click this link, get £5 of points to start yourself off.

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beauty boxes, latest in beauty, reviews

Glamour Spring Edit

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I think the Glamour collaborations with Latest in Beauty are among the best beauty boxes out there.

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This one is jammed full of great products to play with as it hopefully warms up outside.

MUA Luxe 10 shade palette (1 of 2 variations) – this palette is gorgeous and MUA is a brand I love.

Morocanoil Treatment Light – I love argan oil, it healed my split ends and adds shine to my hair post wash. So this bottle is a bonus.

Rosie for Autograph Nuit Parfum EDP – funnily enough I just bought this M&S exclusive perfume a week ago. This little bottle will be in my bag to refresh my scent on the go.

Bareminerals Bare skin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation SPF20 – I’ve been hearing good things about this product so I’m looking forward to testing this out.

Illamasqua Precision Ink Eyeliner – I can’t do a perfect cat’s eye flick to save my life but it doesn’t stop me trying and this liquid liner is supposed to be the bees knees.

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser – a 3-in-1 cleanser to leave skin hydrated and happy – will definitely try this out, my skin needs to glow in this gloom.

Malin+Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturiser – vitamin E is a skin friendly vitamin, and it boosts sensitive skin too.

There’s also discount vouchers in the box for some of the featured brands.

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