Life Update

Hey all!

It's been a busy couple of weeks but I'm planning a comeback - blogging has been the last thing on my mind whilst I've been decorating, moving and working like crazy! But I miss it and I still end up taking photos of everything anyway.

So what have I been up to?

I've been away with work again, this time to the Cotswolds - it's a beautiful place and the people were all so friendly and overly welcoming!
On arrival at my simple B&B I was asked if I wanted tea, the answer was obviously yes.....and then tea arrived in a teapot with cups and saucers and homemade flapjack. How cute!

It instantly made me feel welcomed and I loved it, staying in different places can sometimes be daunting on your own.



I even managed a walk which was great, lovely to get some fresh air after work and seeing places like the canal above. The boats were beautiful.

I've also managed to make it out with some work friends which was lovely as I've not been out for drinks for a while. I piled on my make up and went for pinks and loads of liner, not something I would do every day.

I even got to wear a new dress out, this was from Want That Trend and cost £21.95. It's perfect for nights out, the skater style is really flattering and I love the flowers too.

With all of the decorating, moving, eating and drinking it has been a bit of a task to keep up my healthy regime and exercise.
I have a lot of routes around my new house and I've been taking my dog for a few walks and have even been for a run or two. I definitely need to up my game though, sitting at a desk all day isn't doing me any favours!

I've been trying to keep the majority of my meals on track, and have been eating good breakfasts and taking lunch to work every day.
My downfall at the moment is the evenings, I normally manage to eat a fairly healthy evening meal but afterwards I always crave something sweet!



Chia seed pudding is my latest fave - it can't be as unhealthy as all of the other desserts and treats that are on offer can it??

Admittedly I made the mistake of mixing chia seeds, almond milk and chocolate peanut butter together and that's not quite as healthy! It was actually divine though, and I know that when I really really deserve a treat it's exactly what I will be whipping up!

I've started getting bored with my meals now that I've been moved back out for 2 months and cooking the same kind of things. I need to broaden my horizons!

If you have any new recipes you've tried lately and have found to be amazing please send them my way - I was even tempted to make soup this weekend because of the horrible weather!

What have you been up to recently? Have you travelled anywhere new?
What's your favourite variation of chia seed pudding?

L xxx

Lush Cardiff Event

Hey all!

I hope you're ready for a fun filled photo post! We were lucky enough to attend the latest blog event in Lush Cardiff last Thursday to show case the new products for summer and see some of the products that were initially exclusive to Lush Oxford Street that are now available in more Lush stores. Boy oh boy have we got some awesome pictures and products to share with you.

Without further ado let's get stuck in!

We were firstly shown some of the new bath bombs, which are amazing!!!! For bath bombs I tend to look for amazing colours over smells and none of these disappointed.  First up is Frozen... instant winner with me due to the name. This is such a pretty bath bomb, it gives the water the most amazing blue colour and a sparkle of silver glitter. 

Frozen Bath Bomb Lush

Frozen Bath Bomb Lush in action

The second newbie we saw was Yoga Bomb. Designed to be a slow fizzer to keep you in the bath longer this bad boy can take upto 8 minutes to fully fizz. From the start it looks like it'll just be orange but after a while when yoga bomb gets to the middle and releases some blues and purple to add some colour. It's definitely a great one for after a tough day at work!

Yoga Bomb bath bomb lush

Yoga Bomb bath bomb lush in  bath

Next up is the experiment, guaranteed to catch your eye. I was straight away drawn to it, the bright colours and the amazing shape. This one is such a fun one and smells good to. In the bath it gives and explosion of colour and a few slight bubbles!

The experimenter bath bomb lush

The experimenter bath bomb lush in action

Last but by no means least is Interalactic. This gives another colourful bath but with more of a blue base. I do love a blue base so I can pretend I'm in some lush warm holiday sea!! This one packs a slight shimmer but doesn't leave you feeling like a Cullen when you step out of the bath!

Lush intergalatic bath bomb

Lush Intergalactic bath bomb in action

After the colourful bath bombs we went to see the new bubble bar products. I love that some old favourites have been reformulated to brighter colours these include Rose Jam which is now one of the bubbleroons. As a massive macaroon fan anything that looks like one wins me over! 

Newly formulated Karma Bubble Bar

Above is the Newly formulated Karma. If the amazing colour doesn't get you on this it includes great fragrances such as orange and patchouli and if remembered correctly the gold a the top is like a bath melt so as well as providing amazing bubbles it's also moisturising due to the cocoa butter!

The pink flamingo was one of our favourites. He's so cute and produces great bubbles, he's a harder texture so doesn't crumble straight into the bath, but is swirled under the tap. This is perfect for summer with a sweet fresh fragrance!

We both loved the fragrance of this one, coconut and white chocolate eqsue. I couldn't resist picking one up!

Sunyside has also been reformulated. Look at those amazing swirls of gold bubbles!! One of our favourite things was seeing how the girls had mix the bath bombs and bubbles bars!

One of those mixes is above! Meet mermaid water. This is big blue with sunnyside! I want all my baths to be this pretty. I love how they don't mix but sit along side each other so you can see the golden swirls. (review of big blue here)

Above are Serendipity and Respect your elders. These are two beautiful new soaps. The colours are gorgeous and I love the lavender scents in serendipity especially.

Lush soaps are always beautiful. M has been a fan of the Honey I washed the kids for what seems like forever. It was the first product she bought in lush. She's now moved onto porridge and L couldn't resist picking up a piece of it to try this time (porridge is one that's been reformulated but still smells as good!). We both loved the new Maypole soap. It's got a minty sweet scent which reminds us of Rock from holidays as kids. 

Other new products we got to try were the exfoliators, it's safe to say these are amazing!! After using the different products neither of us could stop touching our skin. The rub rub rub bar pictured above is almost to pretty to use with the cherry blossom on top. This has the same scent as the orginal rub rub rub but is now in a bar version. This is great as you can get either a softer or harder exfoliation depending on whether it is applied to dry or wet skin. 

Life's a beach was one of the stand out new products for me. Let's start with the packaging, it's so cute and I love the little pour application. Life's a beach is a mixture of  acutal sand (I don't know why I was so surprised by this!) and salt as well as vanilla absolute and some other ingredients. Due to this it gives such a great exfoliation (I couldn't stop stroking my arm!!) and even better than the exfoliation was the amazing smell! I love vanillary solid perfume and loved that my arm smelt like that!

Some more exfoliators next but this is a face mask. I've been wanting to try a coffee exfoliator for months, especially after seeing Frank's scrub all over my instagram (thanks lush for bringing one out!) I love this and need to get my hands on it at some point. It smells amazing (if you like coffee, L can't stand the smell so had to skip this one but did agree my hand felt amazing!). This would be the perfect for the mornings to help wake you up and as it's a big pot it can be used on the body too! We are both fans of Mask of Magmaminty (review here) and this reminds me of that texture wise but coffee scented.

There were some amazing new hand and feet products a few we will be doing reviews of soon include hand melts and pumice bars (the green foot has been replaced with a better longer lasting version!!)

Above is foot soak and fancy free, a great product to soak your feet in after a long day. It crumbles into a bowl and contains irish moss pieces so rub between your feet to help soften them as well as epsom salts to salt relieve swelling. 

Lastly I have to mention volcano. If you'd try to sell me a foot mask I'd have a run a mile, but after trying this bad boy I'm in love! It heats and cools the feet (imagine deep heat feeling) and leaves them feeling so fot (I'm imaging this was tested on my hands but I'm going back to purchase it now pay day has been!)

Thanks Barbs and all the other ladies for showing us the new products. We'll be sharing them soon as we couldn't resist a few purchases and were given some treats too!

Have you checked out any of the new products yet?

Volcano and salted coconut are currently top of the wish list!

Love L and M

xxx

No Make Up Make Up FOTD

Hey All

As much as I love a full face of make up some days I prefer to go for a more natural look. I'm not the best at natural as if I'm wearing make up I tend to like to go all out. I've found one thing that helps is going for a brown/black mascara and one that's not what I'd normally like. I'm not one to step away from the mascara wand and think one more coat always helps (until it's one coat to many and you end up with 5 lashses!!)

The products I tend to reach for when wanting a more natural look are

• Urban Decay Naked 3 (review) especially shades strange, limit and nooner
• Bourjois Healthy Mix (review) 
• HD Brows foundation Powder (review)
• Benefit Fake Up (review)
• Benefit Gimme Brow (review)
• Makebelieve Enhance Sunbream Bronzer (review)
• Seventeen Cheek Stamp Blush in Blushin'
• George Volume Lash brown/black
• No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Daydream

Here are the swatches without flash above and with flash below. Lipstick, blush, bronzer, naked eyeshadows in strange, limit and nooner.

Annoyingly my phone seems to have a feature I can't figure out how to take off and blurs my selfies. I love a foundation like Bourjois healthy mix for looks like this as it has enough pigment to even out my skintone but is light enough to not leave the skin looking totally flawless. A little bit of Benefit fake up blends away the dark circles. I then lightly set it with the HD brows powder foundation. For brows I love using Gimme Brow. Using a coloured brow gel helps the brows stand out more without looking too defined and still leaves them looking like brows.

I'm someone who has to contour every day, but I do apply it very lightly just to the hollows of my cheek bones for this type of make up. For me I find my skin most compliments a baby pink blush for a softer look. Lately I've been trying to save my beloved Dandelion and the Seventeen Blush is being a good substitute although I found the application a little weird.

For eyes it's probably the hardest for me to keep natural. Where I have naturally fair eyelashes I'm used to applying lots to make my eyes stand out. I'm loving using the George Mascara as it gives my eyelashes a bit of colour and volume. The eye shadows in Naked 3 are great for adding a little bit of colour to the eyes without it looking too much. I strange all over, limit through the crease then a small amount of nooner. For lips a bit of lip balm would work but as I recently borrowed the No7 lip crayon from my mum I've been loving the slight wash of colour!

What products do you use for the more natural make up days?

Love M

xxx

Smashbox Photo Finish Blemish Control Primer

Hey there!

It has been a little while since I've written a beauty post so it's been lovely and self indulgent to get back to my make up stash.

Today's review is of the Smashbox Photo Finish Blemish Control Primer.

I bought this months ago, me and M both went to a Smashbox event which was really good fun - we made a few purchases and I've been slowly using them over the last couple of months.

The Blemish Control primer was surprisingly lovely - I've tried a sample size of the original primer previously and it felt like it had a lot of silicone in it which my skin doesn't really like.

However this primer was totally different, it was a white thin product almost like a lotion in texture. It applied really easily and created an even base to put make up on which is perfect.

The primer soaked up the oil on my face and kept my oily t-zone at bay during the day. I can't comment on whether the primer helps to control blemishes - I luckily don't get many spots nowadays (apart from the ones that only medication would help!) but my skin definitely felt pretty good whilst i was using this primer.

I'd say that it barely felt like i had anything on my skin but my make up stayed for a working day whenever i wore it which was great, I think i just needed to re-powder once or twice but that's to be expected.

I think that i would probably repurchase this in future, the primer comes to £28 which is on the expensive side but there are often deals in Boots to get a free gift or extra points which make it worthwhile. I would definitely recommend it if you are struggling to keep your make up on during the day over troublesome skin.

Have you tried the primers from Smashbox? Which one was your fave?

I really want to try the illuminating and hydrating ones!

L xxx

Elsie's Attic - Vintage Dresses

Hey All

Hope you've had a good weekend. I thought I'd share some dresses I've been loving lately especially for special occasions. Whilst browsing facebook one day I discovered a page called Elsie's Attic (facebook). I instantly fell in love with all of the dresses and as my niece is called Elsie took it as a sign I needed to order lots (who am I kidding I just liked the dresses and use anything as an excuse to shop!) I'm a pear shaped girl so anything that nips in at the waist and goes over the hip is a winner for me.

The first dress is a Lindy Bop dress. Elsie's Attic stock a lot of these. This was actually a birthday present from my other half's parents as his mum had spotted on facebook that I liked it and offered to get me one of my choice.

I instantly loved the neckline of this dress, the nipped in waste and the print. It's a little bit brighter than the image below shows. Once my other half gets back from his work trip I'll try and get some better one's of it. I love that the dresses can be worn with or without petticoats. I have a full petticoat I'd planned to wear with it but actually forgot to take it with me. This one feels great quality and is a lovely silky print dress! The back dips down lower than the front but not low enough to worry about bras showing. Also for me these dresses are great as I can order my normal size and not worry about it fitting over my hips. The dress is £36 but currently out of stock in the bird print. I really want it in the green and the burgundy. I love a good occasion dress! The waspie style belt comes with it too and really finishes off the dress!

The other dress I've got from the website isn't a branded one and one I picked up in the sale. I instantly loved the shirt style top half of this dress. This one comes with a small petticoat built in but for fullness I added my own full petticoat (these can be picked up cheaply on ebay!). I wore this to a friends recent wedding. Excuse the facial expression as I didn't know the photo was being taken (ever a lady with a pint in hand!) This dress also came with a belt made from the same fabric I love that so far all the dress I've ordered come with belts as I do think it really finishes the outfit off. I love the little details on it make the dress look great quality such as fabric covered buttons.

Wedding Guest Vintage Dress

I love dresses like this, they always make me feel glamorous and confident as they are cover parts of my body I don't like. Delivery from Elsie's Attic has always been efficient and it's definitely worth checking out the sale for more bargains.

I'll be ordering more dresses if more occasions pop up. I do have a third dress from the site but no great photos of it. I've worn them to weddings, gradations and dresses them down for dinners without the petticoat.

Would you go for this style dress?

Love M

xxx

here's some links to other wedding outfit posts :)
Asos
hybrid
Warehouse

Revolucion De Cuba Cardiff

Hey All

This weekend has been a busy one with a visit to Margam Park and Go Ape which was awesome! Last week I did a life lately post and mentioned I'd been to Brighton, when I got back from Brighton my parents were in Cardiff for the evening so we popped out for food. As it was raining and they were staying in the Hilton my dad suggested trying Revs de Cuba as he'd walked by earlier. For me I'd only been in there for nights out so wasn't sure what to expect but agreed! It was amazing so I decided it needed sharing. Not great food photos but we all just wanted to get stuck in.

Me and mum started on Pina Coladas! I love a Pina Colada and this didn't disappoint. It was a good mix of creamy and pineapple. I find sometimes in the UK they aren't very generous on the coconut cream and just shove in some Malibu! Even better they were two for one!

My lovely mum!

Revs De Cuba, Food, Tapas, Cardiff

On Sunday's all Tapas dishes are two for one. Revs de cuba do some great deals on the tapas dishes! We decided to opt for 6 dishes and sides of sweet potato fries and sourdough breads! The breads come with some tasty butters! For the food we opted for Calamari (forever a favourite of mine and this didn't disappoint!), Pork Belly Skewers (these were so tasty, and perfectly melt in the mouth.), Roasted Chorizo (this came in a wine and honey sauce, we all ended up dipping the breads in this too as it was too good to leave!), Serrano Ham Bruschetta, Cajun Cream Mushrooms and Patatas Bravas.

It was all really tasty tapas and we had full table service! I hadn't expected it to be so good and don't usually think of it as a restaurant.! I'll definitely be heading back and taking L with me!

Have you eaten in any Revs De Cuba?

Love M

xxx