Tag: reviews

beauty, beauty boxes, fashion, lifestyle boxes, reviews

My Little Box – Wild Summer

ramblingmads

August’s box popped through my door (sort of) and it’s a bright one.

Decorated in a fabulous floral design, reminiscent of the wonderful fabrics worn by the women I see going to the African church on a Sunday. Which certainly seems to be the inspiration. 

West African inspired designs decorate everything inside the box as well as out. The designs are known as Wax and the patterns mean something. 

There’s a clever little pattern flipper which explains these designs. It’s a bit addictive to fiddle with. 

The art print features the title of one of The Beach Boys most famous songs. 

The lifestyle items are all jewellery related. A Nana Benz necklace and a gem catcher  (jewellery rack). 

There are three beauty products inside the printed bag; 

Batiste Hold Me Hairspray (travel size) 

Bare Minerals Skinsorials skin longevity (sample size)

My Little Beauty Blush Me Tender cream brush 

These are a bit disappointing as the bareminerals is so teeny and I feel like there’s a Batiste product in every other box. 

The blusher is a really pale pink and I’m not a huge fan of cream blushers. 

I like the necklace, although it’s not something I would probably wear but it certainly will look nice displayed with my other necklaces. Same with the necklace hanger. 

This was a bit of a mixed box, and since MLB is still hanging on by a thread with me, that’s not great news. I have decided to give them one more month (as it’s my birthday in September) and then it’s crunch time. 

 

beauty, beauty boxes, cruelty free, nail polish, reviews, skincare

#WBBSummer Edit

ramblingmads

When the Queen of beauty boxes, Jaina from Which Beauty Box UK, releases a beauty box of her own, it’s a must buy. 

This summer edit is gorgeous. The box itself is good quality, with a magnetic strip and a ribbon, gold embossing. Just lovely. 

Inside is a beautifully scented tissue paper wrapped bundle of gorgeous items from indie brands, most of which are vegan and cruelty free. 

Alphabet Bags Stay Wonderful Ombre Make Up Bag – RRP  £22. This make up bag is really pretty and a great size for all your holiday bits and bobs. 

Danglefoot Nail Polish in Atlantis (exclusive to the box) – RRP  £6.50. I love the polishes I already have from Danglefoot, so this gorgeous, sparkly teal polish is perfect. 

Saturated Colour Make Me Matte Lipstick Mattifier – RRP  £8. I am super intrigued by this nifty little tube. Applied over any lipstick it instantly mattifies it for a completely different look. 

Bloomtown Botanicals The Hedgerow Organic Hand & Body Wash – RRP £12. I love Bloomtown’s products and this smells heavenly as will I after using it. Blackberry and honeysuckle – almost good enough to eat. 

Make Feet Revive Lime and Lavender Foot Cream – RRP  £12. My feet ache after walking all day so this is actually making me super happy. With lots of essential oils and refreshing ingredients, I now have happy feet.

AA Skincare Green Tea and Aloe Vera Cleansing Wipes – RRP £3.30. I’ve used these wipes before, they’re super gentle on skin and lift grease, make up, grime with ease. 

PHB Ethical Beauty Refresh Gel with Seaweed & Mint – RRP £13.75. This is really nice, perfect for use on sunburn and bug bites, or just irritated skin. Cools and soothes and smells really good too. 

PHB Ethical Beauty Brightening Body Lotion – RRP £3.50. My sensitive skin prefers natural ingredients and this is packed full of them.

Gifts by Little Miss Popsicle Bath Fizzy – RRP  £3.25. I was disappointed this wasn’t edible, it looks so delicious. I don’t have a bathtub but will be taking this away with me hopefully to somewhere with one! 

Raspberry Sangria Candle Jar by Flamingo Candles – RRP £3.50. This is so yummy, I need to go make a jug of sangria and add raspberries to imitate this. 

So it’s pretty safe to say I love this box. Jaina has done a fab job, she really knows her stuff. I think the price (£37) is pretty fair for all the stuff packed into this box. I really hope there’s another. You can buy yours here and get 15% off with the code WBB15.  

food, reviews

Foodie Post: Yum Yum Tree Fudge

ramblingmads

Time to shine a spotlight on another foodie fave of mine. Made in the UK in a range of delicious flavours, Yum Yum Tree Fudge is made with more dairy than most fudge – except for their dairy free fudge that is! 
I took advantage of a recent offer and made an order of a bunch of flavours, they have an extensive list of choices, offering not only dairy free but also diabetic friendly fudge. 

Flavours I picked; Double Ginger, Rum & Raisin, Strawberries and Cream, Chocolate Mint, Salted Caramel, Madagascan Vanilla, Dairy Free Coconut. 

The dairy free one is made with coconut milk – my only complaint is that it’s not quite coconutty enough – some desiccated coconut in there would boost the flavour. 

The fudge can be stored in the fridge or even frozen – if you can resist that long. 

To order visit their website, my delivery was super quick and totally satisfying. 

beauty, beauty boxes, lifestyle boxes, make up, reviews, skincare

Hello Summer! Pink Parcel Summer Edit 

ramblingmads

I had a very brief subscription from Pink Parcel a while ago but I am still on their mailing list so when the Summer Edit popped into my inbox I decided to place an order. 

A huge box arrived, carried to my door by the invisible postman (I never see him but parcels arrive and someone rings the doorbell and I once heard a man whistling). Inside was a flamingo print canvas bag full of goodies. 

I love flamingos – this bag is very me 

Scrub Love Coconut Affair Coffee Scrub – I’m not personally a fan of coffee scrubs probably because I don’t like coffee, but my fiance loves coffee in all forms so this will be his to use. 

Barnaby Cross Gemmotherapy Face Mask – not exactly sure what gems have to do with face masks but this seems to be a plant based sheet mask. 

Figs & Rouge Combat Cream- this is designed to eradicate blemishes, which is handy as my skin can be a bit reactive. 

Malibu SPF 30 Lotion – sun cream is an essential in my skincare arsenal. 

Spa To You Konjac Sponge – I am really not that keen on these sponges but some people love them. 

Your Tea Face Scrub – this has tea in it which is new, and claims to be gentle enough for sensitive skin. 

Colorsport 30 Day Brow Tint – dark brown shade so not for me. 

Pink Parcel For Now Tampons 

Beauty Papier Green Tea Blotting Paper – shiny t-zones be gone with soothing green tea extract. 

Stylondon Henna Tattoos – just no. 

Bic Soleil Razor 

Elegant Touch Nails (Colours vary)

Sass Intimate Purifying Cleanser – there’s a whole rant I could do about this. 

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner

Burt’s Bees Deep Cleansing Cream 

Jelly Pong Pong Eye Shadow Duo

Sportfx Sport Stamina Mascara

Amie Deep Pore Exfoliating Polish 

Bonnie XO Lipstick 

Pink Parcel make up bag 

Dr Paw Paw Original Balm (not pictured as it rolled under the bag!) 

Candy Kittens sweets – 2 sweets! 2 sweets! 

Estella Bartlett bracelet – this is pretty. 

Joe & Seph’s Coconut & Chia Popcorn (which was supposed to be Not.Corn made with sorghum) – leave out the chia seeds and this is s nice coconut popcorn. 

Yuyo Mint Tea

Yuyo Zing Tea

We Are Tea Soothe for tummy relief

Make up close ups 

Bit of a mixed bag (quite literally). Some of these things I will definitely use but others will be going to new homes. 

beauty, cruelty free, make up, reviews, skincare

Review: Arbonne Cosmetics 

ramblingmads

As you may be mildly sick of me mentioning, I went to the Allergy & Free From Show recently. 

One of the brands I discovered there is Arbonne – a Swiss beauty company that makes cruelty free, vegan friendly make up and skincare. 

After a little test session with friendly make up artist and rep Sarah my lovely mum bought me a foundation and a blush. Sarah kindly threw in a primer for me too.

I love make up but the combination of sensitive skin, eczema and rosacea means I have to be super careful with what I use on my face to avoid breakouts and flare ups. 

Sarah explained the ingredients and ethos used by Arbonne – from their website; 

Ingredient Policy

Transparency and honesty. For over 35 years, this has been the hallmark of our product integrity. From the beginning, Arbonne has developed products by combining the best of nature with leading science. Our mission is to always improve and evaluate our ingredient policy as an ever-evolving standard of excellence. This means we continuously challenge ourselves to do better and better.

We formulate without

animal products or by-products | artificial flavors | artificial sweeteners | benzene | bisphenol-a | carbon black | formaldehyde-donating preservatives | hydroquinone | mineral oil | parabens | petrolatum | phthalates | sodium laureth sulfates (SLES) | sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) | synthetic dyes | talc | triclosan | triethanolamine (TEA) And so much more …

A lot of the things I avoid are absent from these products which is great for me. 

The foundation I chose is in the lightest shade of the range, quelle surprise, Alabaster, a gentle medium coverage liquid foundation that sinks in without looking chalky or leaving a residue. 

The blusher is in a light shade called Ballet – it seems a little pale in the pot but once on its peach undertones appear, making my skin look warm. 

The primer is quite gel like but blends down smoothly leaving my skin even and ready to apply my make up. 

I am definitely going to keep using these products and potentially re-purchase, although I also have my eye on some of the skincare Arbonne produces. 

If anything catches your eye – do contact Sarah and check out her Instagram too for some amazing make up looks. 

beauty, reviews, skincare

Review: Bloomtown Botanicals Sampler Set

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Bloomtown Botanicals is a small firm making beauty products from natural ingredients, 100% palm oil and cruelty free. 

I picked up the sampler set as a little treat, but totally forgot to pick my fragrances at the checkout so the team at Bloomtown did it for me! 

The sampler set has four products from across the Bloomtown range to give you a good feel for the things they produce. 

The box smells amazing. 

The Woods Sweet Almond & Shea Sugar Scrub

This scrub smells delicious – but do not eat it! A mix of soothing, skin loving ingredients that didn’t only leave my legs smooth but also feeling soft. 

The Hedgerow Pink Himalayan Salt Soak 

I don’t have a bath tub unfortunately but I do enjoy a good foot soak of an evening in my DIY foot spa (it’s a bowl) and this made my feet soft and smell delicious, like blackberries and honey (it contains huneysuckle). You only need a little. 

The Grove Shea & Coconut Soap Bar

I don’t normally get on with soap as lanolin makes my hands dry and scratchy. But this little beauty contains Shea butter and not lanolin. So it left my hands clean and happy. 

The Meadow Infused Oil

With lavender, rose geranium and chamomile this roll on is relaxing and light. I’m using it on pulse points before bed to help calm me and help me sleep. 

Now I have a little treat for you all. How do you fancy getting 20% off across Bloomtown’s products? Well here you go! Enter the code RAMBLING20 at checkout and tah-dah!

This is an affiliate program and I will get a tiny something if you use the code while making a purchase. 

books, reviews

Book Review: Final Girls – Riley Sager

ramblingmads

Firstly we need to talk about this cover – I know it’s not supposed to be important but I love the pink and black aesthetic. That tiny girl fleeing at the bottom is really striking contrasted against the bold white type. It’s very satisfying. 

Quincy is a Final Girl – the lone survivor of a massacre during what should have been a fun weekend in the woods with her friends. 

Sam and Lisa are also Final Girls – a name given to them by the media after surviving brutal killing sprees by dangerous men. All three have taken very different paths to recovery. 

But after Lisa is killed, is Quincy safe? Is she ready to be more than a Final Girl? 

I loved this book, knotty, twisty thriller with flashbacks and a main character whose memory can’t be trusted, who needs to remember to save herself. 

Excellent writing. Just could not put it down. Go and get yourself a copy. Go now, read my blog later. Or you could go follow me on Twitter and win this copy….

books, reviews

Book Review: Good Me Bad Me – Ali Land 

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Written by a former Mental Health nurse, this psychological thriller is vivid and arresting. Milly is almost 16 and has lived a terrible life with her mother, a serial killer. Milly was also the one who turned her in. 
Documenting the lead up to her mother’s trial for 9 child murders, we see the world through Milly’s eyes as she tries to adjust to ‘normal’ life with her foster family. 

Her foster father is also her psychotherapist, preparing her for trial, going through the harrowing childhood she endured and the nightmares that haunt her, but is Milly telling him everything, and does the daughter take after the mother? 

Tightly written and with a nice little twist at the end, I really enjoyed this. I think I prefer more knotty thrillers like this, than the straightforward procedural ones. I want unreliable narrators and secrets, I want to never quite know for sure. 

I found this very satisfying a read. 

beauty, lifestyle, make up, reviews, skincare

Lately I’m Loving…Skin Special

ramblingmads

I’ve not done a post like this before but I see a few on blogs I read so I thought I’d share my favourite products of the moment. 

Superdrug Vitamin E Spray On Body Lotion – I am really lazy, and hate mornings, so any shortcut that does the same trick is fine by me. This moisturiser in a can is great – especially for doing the backs of my legs as it sprays upside down too. 

Superdrug Vitamin E All Over Body Cream – in the evenings this is perfect for smoothing over tired, dry skin. It’s also really good at soothing my eczema after being irritated all day by clothes. 

Soap & Glory Rushover Dry Shampoo – I try not to rely on dry shampoo too much but I’m still lazy so… this was a total bargain at the time, and there’s always offers on S&G. This is also a great dry shampoo, slightly fragranced with the signature scent, no dandruff-like residue, no sticky roots. 

Ladival Sun Protection Factor 30 – this is my current go to sunscreen, as a very pale blonde my skin needs all the protection. This spray is super easy to apply, doesn’t smell funny, absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave a tacky residue. 

Superdrug Simply Pure Micellar Water – Micellar Water is something I use daily to lift the top layer of grime and make up before a thorough cleanse. This one is inexpensive and doesn’t smell weird or contain alcohol. Plus it’s cruelty free and hypoallergenic. 

Bio Oil – my mum swears by this and I’ve started using it on some of the odd scars and marks. It takes a while but it seems to help them fade. 

Nip+Fab Kale Fix Make Up Removing Pads – I use these when I’ve got slightly heavier make up on that the Micellar Water alone won’t start to budge. 

L’Occitane Vervaine Agrumes Eau de Toilette – this is my favourite summer perfume, a mixture of verbena, orange and lemon essential oils and grapefruit extract. It’s light and fresh, and the essential oils mean it stays on the skin for longer. 

So those are my current favourites – any that you love too? 

Let me know what you’re loving below. 

books, reviews

Book Preview: Love and Other Consolation Prizes – Jamie Ford

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If you’ve read Ford’s previous works – The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet or The Song of Willow Frost, you’ll know his milieu is the Chinese and Japanese diaspora on the West Coast of America – chiefly Seattle and San Francisco. 
Ernest Young is sold by his starving, heartbroken mother and sent by ship as a small boy from China to Seattle in the early years of the twentieth century. There, after a tough few years, he is sold again, given as a raffle prize at the World Fair in 1909. 

His winners are the owner and manager of a notorious brothel where he falls in love, twice. 

Looking back from 1962, when the World Fair rolls round again, Ernest charts his life and loves for his daughter, a reporter, keen to learn about the boy won at a raffle. 

Ford’s writing is beautiful, you are totally transported into Ernest’s life as a young man, the sights, sounds and smells of the world he inhabits is vividly brought to life. 

I’m a bit biased because Hotel is one of my favourite reads of the last few years, but this is a strong contender to pip it. 

The book will be published on the 12th of September, which seems apt for a book about recollections of summers past.