happy mail, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Ihearthomes #happymail Beach box 

ramblingmads

My bathroom has benefited a lot from this box. I have a sort of theme going on, with a blue floor, green and white tiles (nother my choice as we rent) but I have tried to make it a nice place to be. 

There is a huge seascape on the wall outside, a canvas selected by the Mr who grew up by the sea and I’ve decorated the bathroom with shells and little wooden boats, much like these. 

Those pink shrimps (a pick’n’mix fave) lasted about two seconds. 

I’m very into colour schemes (blame it on the wedding planning) and my dream bathroom would be nautical blue and white, like this box. 

If you’re looking for cute ways to liven up your home, join me browsing ihearthomes for ideas and homeward treats. 

crafty stuff, lifestyle boxes, reviews, stationery

Boxcitement ‘Under the Sea’ 

ramblingmads

Because it’s summer all the lifestyle/stationery boxes seem to be off to the beach. 

Boxcitement has gone a little further and is exploring what’s beneath the waves. 

🐋fluro coral pendant 

🐳anchor notebook with pen

🐬photographic print in mount 

🐟note cards and envelopes 

🐠Dead Sea salt pamper kit

🐡nautical badges 

🐙mylar stencil to decorate with 

🐚starfish confetti 

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

the box’s contents are rather lovely and I can definitely see them getting some use. Here’s some close ups. 

I’ve already put the shell print up on the wall and the notebook has slipped into my bag for notes on the go. The badges will go on one of my bags, perhaps the beach bag that never gets a day out. 

beauty, blogging, make up, tag posts

Seven Deadly Sins Tag 

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The lovely Karen of Confetti and Curls shared this tag post and I thought ‘why not’. Feel free to join in on your blog too.

GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

Cheapest – my MUA blusher in Cupcake – it’s only a squid! 

Most expensive – my current Lush moisturiser – over thirty quid but it is gorgeous. 

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WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?

Eye liner – it never looks even, just utterly awful. 

I have pale, fussy skin and getting the right foundation is hard, too many are orange or too dark. I found a perfect one, it’s no longer produced. 

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GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?

Lush Cupcake facemask or Bubblegum lip scrub. 

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SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?

Toner – I can’t work out if it’s still a thing or if I need it. 

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PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?

A good highlighter that makes me look all glowy and healthy. 

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LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?

Relevance to make up? Anyway, humour, a good smile and excellent personal hygiene. 

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ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift?

One of those slightly too pricey Urban Decay palettes – I won’t buy them for myself. 

books, reviews

Book Review – The Graces by Laure Eve

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This was one of the books in my recent Illumicrate and the first one I read. 

Laure Eve wrote a letter included in each box that explained some of her influences – including the film The Craft (so good) but I also get a sense of The Heathers (also very good – I like my teen movies dark). 

The Graces seem to lead a charmed life and attract many devoted followers, but rumours still dog the family. Rumours about curses and terrible events. 

New girl in town, and our narrator, who calls herself River but never reveals her real name, is drawn to the three Graces – Summer and her older siblings’ twins Thalia and Fenrin. But she has secrets too and hers could ruin everything.

I really liked the writing and the clever narrative structure, hinting at things but keeping the big reveal till the end.  

I often say that YA writing is some of the most interesting, freer than adult literature to explore ideas and stories. And this is a great example of that. 

A sequel will be released in 2017, and I will be looking out for it.

beauty boxes, look fantastic, reviews, skincare

#LFBestofBritish

ramblingmads

This month’s Look Fantastic box is all about celebrating British brands, pretty timely with the Olympics going on. 

There are samples from a range of brands, all for face and hair. 

Ren Flash Defence Anti-Pollution Mist – formulated with zinc and amino acids to protect skin from the stress caused by pollution in cities. Chucking this in my bag for commuting – it’s definitely starting to wear my skin out. 
Renu Lip and Eye Active Lift – the thin skin around your eyes and lips can be the first places to show signs of aging. It also apprently helps get rid of dark circles – which sometimes resemble black eyes if you’re me. 

Bloom and Blossom Rejuvenating Facial Spritz – I don’t know why they went with two facial sprays but there you go. This one is designed to refresh tired skin. So pretty much the same as the other one.

 
Percy & Reed Wonder Balm – I’ve tried this before, it’s essentially a flyaway tamer and product primer. 

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum – with various natural ingredients to target pesky spots without harsh chemicals. Non-greasy and suitable for all skin types – hope it’s tough on hormonal lumps and bumps. 

Bee Good Vanilla and Honey Lip Balm – with beeswax from British bees, this rather yummy lip balm softens and moisturises dry and damaged lips. 
Also included is a copy of September’s Elle magazine and the box booklet which has a recipe for strawberry and rose creme fraiche ice cream and recommendations for afternoon tea. 

beauty boxes, glossybox, make up, reviews, skincare

Glossybox Fifth Birthday Box 

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This month Glossybox turns five and they pushed the boat out…actually no they didn’t. 

 

This box is a pretty mixed bag, with some impressive items and one particularly shit item. 

MUA Eyeshadow Palette Starry Night – this is quite nice but at only £4 in the shops it’s not exactly a luxury brand item. 

 
Mudmasky Facial Detox Purifying Recovery Mask – face masks are nice but this stingy sample won’t get the most use – it also smells a bit funny to me. 

Wild Cow Invigorating Body Lotion – this is possibly the smallest bottle of body lotion ever. But at least it smells nice. 

Finally, this should have been a bonus item not one of the five – a Rae Feather make up pouch (which they have irritatingly called a pochette – pretentious much). Apparently this brand is huge with bloggers, but not only have I never heard of it but neither have many of the bloggers I follow – some of whom are quite well known. 

To be very honest this doesn’t feel like a special birthday edition box, it’s rather mixed in terms of brands and quality. 

beauty, beauty boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

Powder Beauty Drawer Season Three

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When you order this box (£29.99 with free P&P) you fill out a questionnaire so the 13 products are tailored to your colouring, skin type and hair colour. This means every box is slightly different – as a blonde with pale, sensitive skin, this is what the Powder team selected for me. 

💄Gold Collagen Pure Gold Collagen Mini – this supplement is designed to boost collagen levels – plumping out skin and strengthening nails. 

💄Nude Skincare Rescue Oil – packed with antioxidants, this oil soothes and perfects skin, blurring imperfections, plumping and purifying, ridding you of toxins. (Too good to be true??)

💄Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser – lathers into a foam, removes impurities without stripping skin of the good stuff. 

💄Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure (fullsize) – with built in base coat this polish is apparently almost impossible to chip – if only it wasn’t such a baby pink shade I’d put it to the test. 

💄Mii Cosmetics Heavenly Bronzing Gel – with SPF15, this gel bronzer blends easily onto skin for a summery glow. 

💄Marc Jacobs Divine Decadence Eau de Parfum – this contains champagne as an ingredient – making quite (to my nose) an alcohol strong smell. 

💄MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder in Iredescent Gold (fullsize) – I keep meaning to pick one of these up, so thanks Powder. 

💄Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin (fullsize) – with SPF and hylauronic acid to replenish moisture and protect skin. 

💄Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum – oil-free and non-greasy, this brightens skin while soothing and blurring imperfections. 

💄bareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion – made with superfood ingredients to improve skin’s elasticity and bounce.

💄Moroccanoil Treatment Light – formulated for blondes the argan oil nourishes hair and makes it easier to brush (oh and from personal experience means no more split ends) 

💄Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Mirrorsmooth High Gloss Primer – controls flyaways, protects from heat styling and strengthens hair to prevent breakage. For greasy hair – just apply to the ends.

💄Schwarzkopf Live Colour Refresh (fullsize) – apply like a conditioner, let it soak in for a few minutes then rinse to revive coloured hair or boost your natural colour. 

There are discounts and offers included for every brand included in the box  and beauty tips in the booklet. 
Quite a good selection of products – for me the best is the MUA highlighter and the worst the pink nail polish. If the last beauty drawers are anything to go by everything in this box will get used. 

Bring on season 4 in October. 

beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, my little box, reviews

My Little Friends Box 

ramblingmads

This month’s My Little Box is all about hanging with your pals. 

Inside the box is a copy of the My Little World magazine and a packet of Sweet & Salty Propercorn popcorn, so that’s tomorrow’s commute sorted. 

Lifestyle items in this month’s box are pretty random – there’s a manicure kit, which seems a bit odd and unconnected to the clip-on fish eye lens – attach to your phone for a different way to see things. 

Beauty-wise, inside the cute printed bag are three treats. Caudalie Banana and Mango moisturiser, My Little Beauty Summer Lips balm with SPF 15, Batiste Hold Me Hairspray. 

Although I don’t really get how all these things fit in a ‘Friends are the best’ box, they’re quite nice. None of this is stuff you might share with a pal – maybe the hairspray and lens for selfies, but even the popcorn’s too small to share. 

Thoughts? Got something wildly different? Let me know below. 

life, ramblings, thoughts

Sinister stuff

ramblingmads

The Latin for ‘left’ is ‘sinistere’ making us lefties sound a little more terrifying than we are. 

10% of the global population are lefties – despite attempts to stamp it out over the years. Some cultures still have specific beliefs and attitudes towards left-handedness. 
My Dad is probably a leftie – but at school he was forced to use his right hand and now has the most appalling handwriting. My Nan used to try and make me use my left hand like a right hand, so I wouldn’t smudge the page – however I would have ended up with a deformed wrist if she’d had her way. 

Learning to knit was something I gave up on as a kid, having to reverse what everyone else does is hard, I hate sewing machines for the same reason. My brain wants me to use my dominant hand – just like right-handers always do. 
Tin openers, scissors, vegetable peelers, bread knives, fountain pens, notebooks, doors – all designed to ease the life of a righty. 

When I was about 10, my Mum found out about Anything Left-Handed, which at that time had a physical shop in Brewer Street in Soho – they’re now online only. 

It was a revelation- everything was designed for me to use. While some things, like the left-handed clock, seem a little excessive, essentials like scissors, are available to me as long as they stay in business. 
I have several pairs dotted around thw house, from nail scissors to fabric scissors, about three pairs of all-purpose ones, a tin opener, vegetable peeler, even secateurs for the garden. 

Saturday was International Left-Handers Day – so I celebrated by cutting some things with my scissors! 

A few famous lefties include; Barack Obama, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and David Bowie. We get around. 

Are you a lefty? Let me know in the comments below. 🖒

fun stuff, happy mail, lifestyle boxes, mental health, reviews

Buddy Box – Let’s go to the Beach

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This month’s Buddy Box from The Blurt Foundation is beach themed. To be completely honest I wasn’t thrilled on first look. It felt a bit stingy and childish with a pencil, tin cup and stickers. 

But I do like the coconut water face mask and DIY pom pom garland Crafternoon kit. 

There’s also a lovely postcard message from the Blurt team and one to pass on to another person. 

I’ll be adding the postcard to my wall of positvity by my bed, I designed it to bring me cheer every morning and help me manage my bad days better.