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.
beauty, challenges, exercise, refuge

I love a goodie bag

ramblingmads

I realise I never shared my 10k goodie bag with you. As well as a medal, everyone who completed the Walk4 Refuge 10k got a bag full of gifts from their sponsors and doners.

It came in a handy canvas bag – perfect now that shops are charging 5p a bag – save the planet people, reuse your bags.

I felt a bit sorry for the men and children who did the walk as these goodies were definitely for women.

As well as a Refuge keyring to match the bag, there’s a hot pink water bottle – which I am clipping to my bike, as I don’t have a cycling one.

Then there’s the beauty spoils – Benefit have a long running sponsor relationship with Refuge and there’s a little They’re Real! Push Up Liner from them in the bag.

Then there’s exciting corporate pens and mints from Shearman & Sterling – which I gather is a law firm.

Other brands that donated are John Freida (Style Creator Styling Spray), Avon (Magic Effects Mineral Crush nail polish in Diamond, a glittery polish), L’Oreal (super liner) and Max Factor (sheer gloss balm).

It’s great to see so many big name brands, brands we probably all own a fee bits and pieces from, contributing to a good cause.

image

Also featured, mini bubble mix, not featured – the Haribo we were given at the start, they didn’t make it to the finish!

ramblingmads

tv

Box set Binge: Bones

ramblingmads

You may have noticed that I like a binge – TV show binge that is!

The one the Mr and I are constantly returning to is Bones, starring David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel as FBI agent Seeley Booth and his forensic anthropologist partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.

image

I watched it years ago, when it first started airing in the UK, then lost track of it. I introduced the Mr to it a while ago and we are working our way through the series – currently on season six.

Based on Kathy Reichs’ books – although having read a few of them, completely different at the same time.

The characters grow on you, somebody was very upset when Booth and Brennan (aka Bones) didn’t get together at the end of season five, and it wasn’t me. And not just the central pair – the other members of the team (Hodgins, Angela, Cam, Sweets and even the squinterns).

We’ve got a way to go, season 11 has started in the States – no spoilers please.

image

If you like crime dramas with heart – this is definitely one for you.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, make up, nail polish, reviews, skincare

Love Me Beauty – are you alright?

ramblingmads

I don’t know what is going on at the LMB offices but I received a second box in as many weeks and it’s not October’s.

image

The items come from the September boutique and some of them I’ve received before. That’s not to say it isn’t a nice surprise.

Inside the far too big box are two Lottie London nail polishes, a Lord & Berry Twistick lipstick, MonuSpa facial primer and Reviving Mist.

image

I wonder why they sent me a second selection – maybe their new system is struggling a bit.

Anyone else had weird experiences with Love Me Beauty?

ramblingmads

lifestyle boxes, reviews, waxbox

Waxbox October – Halloween scents

ramblingmads

image

Waxbox doesn’t normally theme their boxes but according to the packing slip, they couldnt resist Halloween.

image

The scents are all autumnal and there’s a lot of pumpkin. Which sadly, I’m not keen on. The cinnamon chai smells warm and a little Christmassy, the pink in the middle is melting right now – it’s a marshmallow scent with a little glitter.

image

The two pumpkin scented ones made me gag when I stiffed them – I prefer to eat my squash instead of smelling it apparently.

image

The little black candle – which is labelled as scented but I can’t detect any is the most Halloween related item.

image

ramblingmads

happy mail, lifestyle boxes, paris, reviews

September Happy Mail – Paris

ramblingmads

Although this arrived as October started, September’s Happy Mail is all about one of my favourite places – Paris.

I am definitely a Francophile, a love spawned from childhood holidays in the sunny south, tales of my French ancestors (my great-great-grandmother was called Salome) and the food. I am also quite fond of French literature and of course, the capital.

From the Eiffel Tower to the Sacre Coeur, the patisseries and the madeleines (of which I, a Madeleine, am particularly fond), the metro and the tiny alleyways everywhere.

Katie of ihearthomes has assembled another great little box of goodies referencing the City of Lights.

image

There’s a notebook for all your Parisian dreaming, with a cute pencil to get them all down.

image

Stickers for the postcards ‘wish you were here’ that you’ll send, and gift tags for those all important holiday presents.

image

Eiffel’s tower is well represented, in a cute necklace and also a 3D model you assemble yourself, perfect for your office desk to keep you reminded of your trip!

image

There’s also a hanging heart, an iron on Bambi patch a lollipop (heart-shaped), a cute poster and a little sign that says ‘Salle de Bain’ (bathroom) to decorate yourself and your home. Except the lollipop, I recommend you eat that, not hang it up!

image

To subscribe to October’s box or buy other goodies, visit ihearthomes website or Facebook for photos.

ramblingmads

beauty

Lip balm – essentials

ramblingmads

An essential in my make up armoury and something I take everywhere with me is lipbalm. I get really dry, cracked lips, which drive me nuts.

I have a ridiculous number of lip balms stashed in various places around my flat and at last count about four in my bag.

I tend to stick to the roll up/push up kind that don’t require dipping your finger into the pot to get the balm out. More hygienic. Apart from the obligatory tub of vaseline – useful for so many things.

Here’s a selection of my favourites –

Balmi – I have this in cherry and strawberry, I love the cube design, and they’re long lasting and full of goodness – vitamin E, Shea butter, jojoba oil and SPF 15.

image

Dr Organic – bit obsessed with the avocado and argan oil one but I can’t find it anywhere. The others are good too, quite like the coconut oil one too.

image

Nivea – repair and protect is my favourite one, loaded with SPF and nourishes deep, perfect for sealing up cracks from the cold.

Korres – this is a new lip butter in my arsenal, made with natural ingredients, free of nasty chemicals, it has kept my lips soft all day.

image

Burt’s Bees – the Coconut and Pear has been my go to this summer, hydrating and smells good too.

A product I have mad love for is Anatomicals Stop Cracking Up. This used to be available in Boots but now seems to be online only, I get mine from Amazon. This is magic stuff. My lower lip is prone to splitting in cold weather, leaving a painful crack in the skin, this gummy lip balm seals up the split and helps it heal up really fast – a must for winter’s bitter weather. I use it in conjunction with various other balms, keeping my lips soft and happy.

image

ramblingmads

netflix, reviews, tv

Orphan Black is Back

ramblingmads

This past weekend one of the cleverest shows on TV returned to British screens. Orphan Black starring the incredibly talented Tatiana Maslany as most of the characters (they’re clones, it’s pretty vital to the plot) and weaving a story of intrigue, science gone awry, conflict and family.

image

I caught up with the first two seasons on Netflix and season three was dumped almost whole on BBC Three, showing in blocks of episodes (catch up over on the iPlayer) over the week.

This show is not as well known or loved as it should be, it’s well written, the acting is fantastic, the storyline’s gripping and it is easy to devour in chunks.

image

Without giving away any spoilers, the third series is revealing itself to be even more brilliantly labyrinthine, as Sarah and her ‘sestras’ try to find out where they come from and what was set in motion before they were ever born.

Are you a fan? Or do you have recommendations for me?

ramblingmads

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

My Little Fashion Box

ramblingmads

You would think after the palaver this summer with boxes going awol, MLB would have switched back to Royal Mail, but no, so the boxes are still filtering out. September’s almost over, and fashion weeks have drawn to a close.

image

September’s box is themed around fashion week with the box illustration of the infamous Front Row (Frow in fashion speak according to the press).

image

Inside is another of in-house artist Kamako’s illustrations, the fold out magazine My Little World and a host of fashionable goodies.

image

Nail decals designed just for MLB, not something I would use, but I have a friend with a thing for nail art so she’ll probably love these.

image

A gorgeous patterned scarf. I love scarves, I own hundreds, they’re the best accessory. You can wear them so many ways, I got the blue one but there is also a black one in some boxes.

image

Then there’s the beauty products. As always there’s a French slant to them. 

La Roche-Posay Effacler K(+) – according to the beauty bloggers I follow, this stuff relieves greasy skin, clears up spots and leaves you less shiny. I have combination skin so hopefully it’ll leave me with an even skin tone during the shinier moments.

image

Kerastase Couture Styling Laque Noir – a water-free, fuzz busting, humidity preventer. Which would come in very handy for those mornings where you need less stresses in your tresses.

image

My Little Beauty Red Dingue de lui – lip stain, from their in-house brand. It’s a rich cherry red colour, with serious staying power (I can’t scrub it off my hand!).

All of this is wrapped in MLB’s swanky packaging, printed bag, ribbon, box.

Now if only they could sort out their deliveries.

ramblingmads

beauty, beauty boxes, love me beauty, make up, reviews

Love Me Beauty – bit of a wobble

ramblingmads

Love Me Beauty has revised its boutique again, the second time in as many months.

Now you get 60 credits and items are either 10 or 20 credits each – and apparently there is a way to add more.

image

I stuck with the 60 member credits. It doesn’t allow you to select much. Most of the 10 credit items are things like a LMB nailfile. However there are a few gems.

image

I got a Ciate mini nail polish and Lord & Berry crayon lipstick for 10 credits each and then Monuspa Rosewood Revitalizing Mist and a Lord & Berry Twistick lipstick for 20 credits each.

image

Bit disappointing when you used to be able to get more under the old system for the same money. There were lots of Lord & Berry lip items and nail polishes, hopefully next month will have more variety.

image

They’ve also dispensed with boxes and the items arrived in a little canvas bag inside a padded envelope, not as glam as some beauty subscriptions.

LMB has the possibility of being really fantastic, the ability to pick your products is great but a little more effort to make things seem special would be even better.

ramblingmads