Today is my birthday. I’m 29. I’m not where I thought I would be when I got to this point, but as my mum likes to remind me
make God laugh, tell Him your
plans.
Now I’m just trying to stay well, to look after my fragile mental health, find a job that doesn’t make me cry and work towards paying off all my debts (financial and otherwise).
Today I’m going out for Sunday lunch with my parents, sister and partner. I decided to have a quiet birthday, no crazy up late party, no huge blowout.
Once again Latest in Beauty has teamed up with Glamour magazine for a beauty box featuring a selection of great skincare and beauty items. And this box is enormous.
Curated by Glamour’s Beauty Director, Alessandra Steinherr, this box combines a selection of this year’s hottest brands and products.
Garnier Miracle Sleeping Cream – I had this in another beauty box earlier this year and it’s rich, smells nice and leaves skin soft and hydrated.
Nails Inc Nailkale Super food Base Coat – I have incredibly brittle finger nails, they crack and peel all the time, meaning despite my love of nail polish I am reluctant to paint them too often. Hopefully this new strengthener from one of my favourite brands should help.
Rimmel London 60 Seconds Super Shine Nail Polish – you get 1 of 3 colours, which annoyingly, you can’t choose yourself. I got a pinky-red called Glaston-berry from the Rita Ora range.
Philip Kingsley Geranium & Neroli Elasticizer – I’ve used the original, which is unperfumed, this one smells yum. This pre-shampoo mask was originally created for Audrey Hepburn and leaves your hair soft and shiny.
Kiko Velvet Touch Creamy Stick Blush – I like Kiko’s eye pencils, and while I usually use powder blush, this is very light and soft. Again you can’t select the shade you’re sent, and I have a peachy tone, which I quite like as anything too pink doesn’t suit me.
Top - Revlon lipstick. Bottom - Kiko blush
Eyeko Mascara – I’m really fussy about mascara and haven’t tried this one before. It’s in a squeezy tube, which is a bit different, and comes in two shades (you can’t select!)
Vita Liberata Self Tanning Moisture Mask – as summer draws to a soggy close the pale and interesting among us (including me) heave a sigh of relief at the end of the golden bronzed tanned Instagram snaps. This facial tanner could help you extend the glow you picked up on your summer hols or in the park, but probably won’t make a difference for me.
Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick – I’m not a massive lipstick fan, the colours never quite look the same on, or last long, but this is a very red shade, (one of three you could receive) which I quite like. Might hold onto it for party season.
A few months ago I lost some weight, and as always it went first in my hands. I already have weird fingers, long and bony with the protruding knuckles all women on my mum’s side have (and one day the joy of arthritis). So the lost weight created a conundrum in my jewellery armoury, my rings were too big.
I have worn the same rings on my fingers on and off for years – including my great-great-aunt Bess’ ring, which only ever fitted on my thumb.
I like to dress up and the rings I wear are part of my defense against the world.
So now I’m looking for rings that fit my new, scrawnier fingers. And a trend that caught my eye was the recent one for midi rings, that sit between your fingers joints. EBay and Etsy are excellent places to hunt for things like that. Ring size matters less as these rings are often adjustable or can be moved to a different finger if they aren’t quite right (that and they’re cheap and cheerful).
This month is the skincare edition and all of the items are skin friendly.
As always you can select two items for your box and this month they’re full size.
I picked AA Skincare Professionals Seaweed & Aloe Refreshing Eye Gel. This multi use product is suitable for all skin types, removes make up, soothes and cools tired eyes. I rarely buy eye cream or gel as I’ve had some bad reactions but my recent bout of insomnia has left me looking like a sad panda so hopefully this will help make me look less like I have black eyes.
The other item I picked is Urban Veda Sandalwood + Botanics Soothing Day Cream. I’ve been trying different moisturisers on the days when I’m going make up free – my favourites are still currently Lush’s Celestial and Garnier’s Rose Water day cream, but I like the sound of this one and it smells nice.
Also included in the box is a sample of Linwoods Milled Chia Seed, a soft make up sponge and a sample of Body Shop’s new Oils of Life facial oil. There is also a Body Shop Love Your Body Club membership card and as always discounts on all the brands available to select from. All this for £6.95.
This is a better box than some have been in the last few months so I’m quite impressed. It’s nice to see full size items and a focus on a particular theme.
This week is Suicide Prevention Week, today is World Suicide Prevention Day and as a supporter of non-profit organisation To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) which supports people dealing with addiction, self-harm, depression, other mental health issues and suicide ideation, I’ve got involved.
This year’s message is “We’ll see you tomorrow” – a pretty powerful statement. TWLOHA is asking people to post on social media in support. Life is worth living. Hope is real. #stayalive
This month’s Libbie Club offers are a mix of skincare and a make up item.
Caudalie is a French brand that seems to be everywhere this year, they make masks, moisturizers and other things to make your skin glow. This month Libbie Club is offering the Instant Detox Mask.
The packaging is nice, and looks good on the shelf and the product is super easy to use. It also doesn’t smell too terrible. Which matters to me.
Also in the box is Mio’s The Activist body oil. Again this smells good, is easy to use and absorbs without leaving a greasy mess.
Finally, a mascara. I am really, really fussy about mascara. I like the packaging on this but am not so sure what exactly makes this a must have. Teeez Desert Metals Mascara – no animal derivatives and claims to be smudge proof and long lasting.
I have 5 free samples of the Caudalie mask – if you’d like one, let me know.
Otherwise log on to Libbie Club and treat yourself to this month’s goodies.
Netflix has a terrible hold on my ability to get anything done. “Just one more episode” which of course means entire days can go by before things (like the hoovering) gets done.
I have watched some great films and TV shows – like Orphan Black, Orange is the new Black, Wet Hot American Summer and my current binge watching obsession – The Good Wife.
Starring the luminous and doe eyed Julianna Marguiles as Alicia Florrick, who goes back to work as a lawyer after her husband goes to prison. She chooses to stand by her man, but as the show evolves her confidence grows and she learns how to stand on her own two feet. The title is a bit annoying as the whole show is about the things she is, lawyer, mother, sister, employee, mentor, and woman as well as being a wife.
Alicia has a great jacket wardrobe
The cast is fantastic – featuring actors like Christine Baranski, Alan Cumming and Michael J. Fox. The writing is great, and while it’s a legal battle per episode, much like most police procedural shows, the overriding storylines keep it together and allow the characters to grow with the show.
My dad wanted me to be a lawyer (he still does) but shows like this are the closest I think I’ll ever get somehow.
So soggy season has started, it’s rained pretty much every day and I am seriously thinking about cranking up the heating. Good thing out boiler was serviced last week.
One of my favourite things about the days getting shorter is being able to light candles and use my wax melter (a birthday present from last year) to fill the flat with warmth and delicious smells.
As you all know I’m a fan of subscription boxes (mostly because I’m lazy) and Waxbox is perfect for those long winter nights heading our way in the Northern hemisphere.
For £15 a month a box of specially selected candles and wax tarts arrives at your door. You can pay monthly or 3 months in advance.
This was my first box and it’s been packed with care. There’s even a card addressed to me welcoming me to their service.
Inside is a lovely smell, made up of different fragrances.
Pomegranate natural wax melts
Soy wax melt in Raisin Bread
Baked Apple wax melt
Angel Whisper wax melt
Frosted Forest candle tin
The products come from different brands, most of which have their websites printed on the packaging so you can check them out and try other scents.
In terms of scent – the baked apple smells like Christmas and will most likely be used to perfume the depths of a wet English winter. The pomegranate one isn’t particularly strong but I think it’s one that deepens as it melts.
Angel Whisper is a subtle smell, I think I can detect jasmine in there, it’s quite a clean smell too.
I don’t like raisins very much and I don’t like the scent of raisin bread much either.
The frosted forest candle is a lovely green colour but not as strong a scent as I thought it would be once I got the lid off.
I look forward to seeing what other scents Waxbox sends out in the next few months.
Remember to never leave lit flames unattended and never let children play with fire.
I don’t really buy magazines, I resent spending my money on adverts and pictures of hungry women in over-priced, ugly clothes.
I do buy Glamour, which in the UK often covers issues that affect women, like politics and women in sports, not just celebrities and clothes I would never be able to afford.
Via @GlamourUK on Twitter
And I do read Sali Hughes’ beauty column in The Guardian’s Weekend magazine on Saturdays. I like Sali, she’s no-nonsense, writes about products that she’s tried and that work from a variety of brands and prices.
Via @salihughes on twitter
Last year she published a book Pretty Honest, which expanded on her columns and explored issues around the cosmetics industry and skincare.
Via google
Her website features fun interviews with women like Caitlin Moran and Marian Keyes, who I admire as writers and women. I follow Sali on Twitter and Instagram too, where she talks about more than just make up.
In fact it’s one of the two books hanging out in my wardrobe/lady space/hoard. The other is The Goddess Guide, which is purely aspirational.
I also quite like the weekly free magazine The Stylist, and in terms of their beauty advice – the column Trend on Trial is probably the most interesting. Three of their beauty staffers test out the new catwalk make up trends to see how wearable they are in real life. Often to hilarious effect. Worth reading online if you don’t live in the UK (or if you do but don’t see the vendors on your travels).
I also stalk nail trends on instagram, as well as people I admire and want to copy their style. There’s also twitter, pinterest, tumblr and facebook, and I do spend a bit of time ogling pretty things when I should be doing more active or important stuff.
So where do you get your inspiration from? Is there a blogger, instagram account or beauty writer you refer to?
LiB has teamed up with the Perfume Society to bring you three curated boxes of scent. I picked the Little Treasures box but you can also get Florals and Florientals and Designer Discoveries, depending on your preferences. The boxes are £12.95 each.
The scent that caught my eye and swayed me to pick this one was L’Occitane’s new The Vert Bigarade, which I tested in their store. The full size bottle is £45 and as it’s my birthday next month, is on my splurge list.
There are some scents I’ve never heard of tucked in here as well as brands like Yardley and Liz Earle.
The Perfume Society has included postcard guides to the included scents, of which there are ten.
This is a really good way to sample new scents and there’s also a discount voucher to join the Perfume Society.
