Category: reviews

beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Discovery Box – July

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As always the USP is a chance to select two of the items for your box.

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I picked Lola Ultra Shine Nail Polish in Stone Grey and Hairy Jayne Hair Perfume in Citrus.

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Also in my box was a sachet of Emma Hardie primer SPF 30, Nairns Muesli Break oatcake snack pack and St Tropez Gradual Tan in Shower – a current bestseller.

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As always there are discounts on the brands included and a competition to win a goodie bag of products.

I’m quite impressed with this box, for £6.95 they send a nice selection of things and the option to select some of the items is always good, although you have to be quick, as some items are limited and go fast.

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beauty boxes, birchbox, make up, reviews, skincare

Birchbox – July Birchbag

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This month Birchbox has dispensed with boxes and has instead sent out clear plastic bags in a selection of colours.

To be honest they look cheap. Mine is pink (not my favourite colour) and I don’t see it getting used at all.

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However the items inside make up for it somewhat.

Benefit Dream Screen SPF 45 – sample sized. Benefit is one of my favourite cosmetic companies, I love their quirky packaging and product names. This sunscreen is formulated to absorb quickly, leaving your skin hydrated and protected.

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Balance Me Congested Skin Serum – a targeted spot shrinker and break out preventer. It contains chamomile, lavender and aloe.

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Unani Aloe Vera gel – useful as after sun or just to soothe irritated skin (from bites or the heat).

Pop Beauty eye shadow trio in Peach Parfait – summer smoky eyes, here we come. Instead of dark greys and blacks, it’s peaches and creams.

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Jelly Pong Pong – Glow Getter Luminizer Gel – a full size facial illuminator for a subtle glow – perfect for fresh summer skin.

Pure Vida lace headband in Aqua – a bit like pop bands, this is a stretchy lacy band, to be honest I only use these to keep my hair off my face when applying a face mask.

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A nice selection of summer themed products in a slightly disappointing package. 

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exercise, lifestyle boxes, reviews, yoga

Yogi Surprise – first box

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I have been trying to get back into yoga, it’s good for your body and also your mind, so I was delighted when Yogi Surprise started shipping internationally.

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A box of treats and yoga tools – hopefully this will inspire me to practise more.

Mind Over Lather – mat cleaning spray in lavender mint – this smells heavenly and will hopefully prevent that sweaty rubber smell yoga mats give off after a while.

Natural Fitness hemp yoga strap – yoga straps help you get into some of the asanas or poses that are a little trickier if you’re not super flexible. Unfortunately they can also be expensive, so getting one in this box is great.

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Bearded Brothers Fabulous Ginger Peach Energy Bar – the first ingredient is dates, which unfortunately means I will be passing on this – I find they overwhelm all other flavours and if I want to live on dates, I’ll buy Medjool ones from the little grocers on the corner.

Yoga Gangsters essential oils energy mist – I spritzed this on for the all important sniff test – it smells good but I didn’t feel instantly more energetic. Though apparently you should spray into the air and inhale deeply – I don’t think my asthmatic lungs will be too keen.

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Gaiam Yoga Gloves – these grippy gloves help you keep yourself from slipping on sweaty palms and can be used without a mat. Great for practicing on the go.

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Finally a beautiful bonus treat – a jade tree of life bracelet

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This was in a little cloth bag, and is worth more than the box cost.

Jade encourages love, inner peace, balance and harmony, while the tree of life represents knowledge and wisdom. All things I could do with.

If you want to win a yoga retreat, they host a monthly prize draw on their social media pages, all you have to do is take a selfie of you and your box that’s fun. I guess a yoga pose with box is what they’re after.

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beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, nail polish, nails inc, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – Capital Beauty Box

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This is absolutely jam packed with goodies, seriously, look at it!

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There are 10 items in the box, full and sample sized.

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Dr Organic Dead Sea Mineral Mask – this has popped up in several different boxes over the last few months, and according to my guinea pig/mother (she loves getting freebies from me) it’s lovely stuff. Will have to give this a go myself.

Colab dry shampoo in Paris – beauty writer and my guru in all things skin, Sali Hughes (buy her book – it’s fab) recommended the Colab dry shampoo ages ago and I picked up London in Superdrug, which is practically scent-free. Paris has a floral fragrance that reminds me of those So… and Impulse body sprays that were all the rage as teenagers. Still I’m sure my perfume will mask it.

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Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protection SPF 30 – I am a sunscreen obsessive, I have Northern European ancestry which means I am so white I’m practically translucent, and slather myself in sunscreen daily. I’ve used this one before and find it works quite well.

Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm in Berry. This has SPF 15, vitamin E and aloe vera. Carmex do make good products, so I reckon this will do the job.

Malin + Goetz trio – a travel sized cleanser, moisturizer and lip moisturizer, all in a handy travel bag. This brand is new to me, but the lip moisturizer in particular attracts me. I have very dry, prone to cracking lips and hopefully this will do the trick.

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I love perfectly peachy bath & shower gel – possibly the most disappointing item – a sachet of shower gel from a brand that I’ve seen for sale in Poundland –  not exactly too pricey to be more generous. It’s a special packet with advice from Coppafeel about breast cancer awareness – something I doubt most people would read as they shower.

Fudge Urban Hair Art Sprays – spray in hair colour that washes out. I remember having something similar in the 90s. I got Violet Haze, which I don’t see myself using (not exactly office appropriate) but it could be fun for a party.

MUA Mega Volume Mascara – I like MUA but I am very fussy about mascaras so this probably won’t get used by me (my mum hasn’t bought one in years, I keep her supplied).

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Nails Inc Gel Effect Nail Polish in Soho Place – a turquoise polish from my favourite nail brand, named after one of my favourite areas of London – it’s a win!

And finally, possibly the box’s star item.

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MUA Eyeshadow Palette in Poptastic – 12 different coloured shadows, which considering I promised to stop wearing the same colour every day is going to come in handy (I am that lazy, making complex make up decisions first thing is too much).

What did you think? Have you bought this box? Do you think you will? Comments please.

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lifestyle boxes, reviews

Happy Mail box

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A box full of adorable goodies was waiting for me in the letterbox today. It comes from I Heart Homes, a shop I discovered on Facebook.

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The items in the box are lovely and worth a lot more than the £10 the box cost.

I got a sweet butterfly bookmark, Sass & Belle bird brooch, a poster, bird pegs, a keyring, flower pen and a little plaque with a bee on it.

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books, reviews

Book Review: Navel Gazing by Anne H. Putnam

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This is subtitled ‘One Woman’s Quest for Size Normal’. That alone annoyed me before I’d even begun reading this book.

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What is size normal?

Anne Putnam had a gastric bypass at 17, in a quest to reduce her body weight of almost 300 pounds.

This book is full of so much self loathing, whinging and misery, it’s a miracle I made it through
As someone who’s struggled with her weight since my teens, I know what a nightmare it can be, but I’ve never thought of resorting to something so drastic.

In today’s world, of body positivism, plus size bloggers, #effyourbeautystandards and more clothes available, the focus is less on weight than on health. You can be healthy at any size, BMI is no indication of that, it wasn’t designed to do so.

In the end, like the majority of rom coms, it is the love of a good man that stops the self hatred and allows her to see her body in a new light. What a cliché.

I don’t recommend you read this book unless you enjoy a good eye roll and some tutting. I really wanted to track the author down, grab her by the shoulders and give her a good talking to. 

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reviews, theatre

Easily Offended?

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Took my boyfriend to the theatre tonight for his birthday. We went to see The Book of Mormon.

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We saw Avenue Q a few years ago, and this is by the same team (who also wrote South Park – which I can’t stand).

BoM is very, very funny but not for anyone who doesn’t like swearing, or sexual references. Basically, if you’re easily offended, skip this and see something else (Les Mis, Cats, Phantom, all good).

The story is that of two Mormon missionaries from Utah who are dispatched to northern Uganda for their two year mission – to convert and baptize the natives.

A lot of the jokes revolve around the fish out of water scenario these 19 year olds find themselves in. However, others are very crude and based on American stereotypes of Africans. There are jokes about Aids, poverty, FGM (I didn’t find these funny), warlords, rape (again, not so funny) and dysentery.

Fans of South Park will know this crudity, and find it amusing, and while I laughed at some of the jokes, others really grated. South Park has never been something I would choose to watch, I really don’t think it’s funny or clever.

I think it depends on your comedic taste and level of sensitivity to near-knuckle humour, as to whether this show would be for you.

The man sat in front of me laughed so hard at times, I was a bit concerned as he was bright red.

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beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

You Beauty Burt’s Bees Limited Edition

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Came home from the office to find this beaut waiting for me. The You Beauty Burt’s Bees Limited Edition box and it’s a good ‘un.

Seven products and all but two are full size – only £19.95!

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Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub

Orange Essence Facial Cleanser

Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream

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Lip Crayon in Hawaiian Smolder

Hydrating Lip Balm with Coconut & Pear

The two sample size products are;

Facial Cleansing Towelettes

Intense Hydration Night Cream

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There’s also a £10 coupon for the Burt’s Bees website.

I’m a fan of the natural ingredients Burt’s uses, and have been eyeing up their website for a while. Looking forward to ordering some more goodies with my voucher and treating my skin with these lovely products.

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beauty boxes, latest in beauty, make up, nail polish, reviews, skincare

Latest in Beauty – The Glamour Summer Edit

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As you may have noticed I’m a LiB fan, and especially of their Glamour collaboration boxes. This took a while to get here, but it’s packed with great brands for the summer.

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Nails Inc is one of my absolute faves, and a full size gel effect polish is a huge yes, there are three shades and I got Kensington Passage – a vivid pink that’ll really pop on my toes in the sandals I haven’t bought yet!

Vita Liberata is a brand that seems to be everywhere this summer – I don’t normally bother with fake tan as I just go orange but this bronzer powder and brush set are a great idea and claims to leave you with a natural looking glow for up to a week.

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L’Occitane shampoo & conditioner with essential oils. I’ve had these before and they’re great travel size products. Lightly scented and leaves hair shiny.

Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayon in Fuchsia Libre (3 varieties available). Has SPF 15, says it’s waterproof and hydrating. Might be a dupe for my beloved, but pricey Clinique chubby sticks. I haven’t road tested it yet.

Balance Me Super Toning Body Polish – if I’m honest body polish sounds like a fancy way of saying body lotion that you wash off. My legs need a boost before I expose them so I’ll give this a go as other products from this range have been quite pleasant.

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Pixi Glow Tonic – I rarely use toner, still not entirely convinced it has a point. This is alcohol free and hypoallergenic, both are a bonus in my book.

Caudalie Divine Oil for body, face & hair. I’ve tried to like face oils but my skin breaks out, however my hair adores them (my hairdresser was impressed at how healthy my hair has become after using argan oil while it’s wet), so this will end up on my hair not my skin.

Eucerin SPF 50+ Sun Fluid Mattifying for face. Suitable for sensitive skin. I am very keen on good sunscreen, but apparently anything over SPF 30 is the same. Also most SPFs are tested on animals and until I can determine whether this was, I might just stick to the ones I know are not.

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Seekers of the Sun temporary tattoos – another box that thinks we’re all still six and want to adorn ourselves with these ridiculous things! They look good for about five seconds. However I did see on Instagram that someone has used some to make nail art and that sounds intriguing.

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All in all a good mix of full and sample sized items, they’re are also discounts available for all the brands included. Will definitely be having a play with most of this box.

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movie night, reviews

Movie night – The Book of Life

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Sunday night is movie night and last night we watched animated film The Book of Life (rated U).

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Technically it’s a kids’ film but there was plenty for us big kids to enjoy. The film didn’t perform well in US cinemas and I don’t remember much publicity for it here, which is a real shame as it’s a funny, sweet and clever film.

It centres on Manolo and Maria – love struck heroes in a tiny Mexican town under threat from bandits.

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They are the unwitting pawns in a bet between two supernatural beings who rule The Land of the Remembered and The Land of the Forgotten.

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Mexico’s Day of the Dead is a time when families gather to remember their loved ones and celebrate life, and it is on this day that our story is set.

With echoes of Romeo & Juliet as well as the Orpheus & Eurydice myth, this is a sweet story about love triumphing over all.

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It’s also incredibly funny, the Mariachi band and the ancestors are particularly giggle-worthy.

The animation is beautiful, colours burst off the screen and it’s voiced by some big names (Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum and many more).

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I highly recommend getting hold of a copy (amazon has it for about £5) for watching with the family or just when you need some levity. The soundtrack is pretty cracking too.

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