Couch to 10k

A non beauty post for you today. I just wanted to share this as I've been doing it and actually find myself sticking to it. A miracle in itself (I'm starting week 5 runs on Wed).

I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to tone up and feel fitter and generally better. I envy seeing those girls in there little leggings and tops and just breeze past me in a jog. I want to be fit enough to do that and enjoy running.

I'm definitely not a runner!! I've done two half marathons and failed to train for both. Even though the second time I promised myself I would after the pain endured from power walking the first one. (I can't believe my friend talked me into a second, she's in the process of talking me into a third, I'm almost persuaded) I found the prospect of going for a run very daunting at first and think that's why I probably I just kept putting it off.

When I decided to start this I had a different aim for the end of it. Though I think I'm likely to be persuaded to sign up to cardiff half again. I like the challenge I feel to make it round the 13.1 miles and the sheer relief and joy when it's finished is amazing. I like the feeling of pushing myself hard and succeeding.

So onto where I am now. After chatting to a lady in work we decided we'd start couch to 10k, it eases you in gently and gradually builds you up. I found an app on my phone called 10k which is amazing.

So this is what the app looks like. It takes 14 weeks running 3 times a week and starts off with half hour workouts with the longest being around the 70 mins. Each work out has a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down, and as you can see the first week breaks you in slowly so is great for those starting out running.

This is the next run I have to do. I will probably do it on Wednesday but maybe tomorrow if I feel up to it. The app is really handy. If you plugged in your headphones it beeps when you need to switch from running to walking which I like as it makes doing this easy as I don't have to keep time myself.

As you can see it also imports all the music in your phone to your app, so click on playlists select the song and go. It's that easy, it'll beep when you need to switch and I have no trouble hearing this over music. All I would say is it doesn't work well when I put my phone on my hip in trousers I didn't have a pocket on.

As a normally non runner I'm actually enjoying this at the moment and I'm hoping it'll be more than a fad and hopefully become a fitness change and something I keep up. Running 20-30k a week is what I aim for towards the end of this and what I'd like to keep up.

Have you done couch to 5 or 10k, do you enjoy or struggle with running?

Do you enjoy posts like these? Would a week 10 update be a post you'd read?

Love M

xxx

sorry for the ramble but this app is amazing and has changed my attitude to running. Today was a big struggle of a run but I didn't give up!!

Review: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains

A new thing to the UK this week, I managed to pick up a few of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains whilst in the US. 

I got a pink and an orange colour (Sweetheart Valentine and Rendezvous) for myself and also one for M as part of her birthday box of goodies which was called Smitten.

First up here's mine:

I absolutely love the packaging, the pencils are pretty chunky which means they're easy to hold and use and the simple twist up mechanism that most products have means you can twist up more or less of the product really easily.

I chose without testing them as in America there aren't many places where they have testers.

This is both a good and bad thing, as everything is sealed you know it hasn't been touched by somebody elses grubby hands, but then how on earth do you know which colour you want?!

I've swatched both pencils on my hand to show you the pink and the orange colours, they're a smooth consistency, go on really easily without pulling at all and although the pencils are quite thick you can easily get a smooth line.

The above picture is Sweetheart Valentine, I'm not exactly sure which name it's supposed to be as it must be called Sweetheart in some countries and Valentine in others but it's number 025.

I hate doing swatches on my actual lips as I hate them...but I'm getting over it for this post as I feel you need to see the beautiful colours that they produce!

Here's 025 on my lips and it's a beautiful red pink:

The colour takes a few seconds to fully come out, I applied it and at first didn't see much colour pay off so was a little disappointed when suddenly it was like BAM it had appeared on my lips!

Me and M went out for her birthday last night and I wore this out then, I woke up this morning with my lips still stained pink which is pretty impressive!

I think they last a pretty decent amount of time but I always reapply them to make sure the colour is at it's brightest.

I do find however that for all day I still need to use Vaseline to keep my lips in good condition as it wasn't as moisturising.

Next up is shade Rendezvous or 040 which is a gorgeous orange.

I have never really liked orange shades before, but nowadays I'm genuinely obsessed. 

I'm sat here wearing an orange tshirt, with orangey pink nails and most things I'm lusting after right now are in a coral/orange hue.

Anyways, this is the balm stain on your lips:

I think both of these are amazing colours perfect for ANY occasion. 

You do need to reapply throughout the day but these are definitely going to feature in my handbag for a long time!

In fact, I'm debating going back into the shops today to pick up some more colours as they're just so easy to use.

I can't comment on how they compare to the Clinique Chubby Sticks as I've never seen those, but as the Revlon ones are currently £5.99 (£2 off in Boots and Superdrug at the moment!) these are far more affordable.

What do you think of these 2 colours? Do you like the pencil type lip products?

L xxx

I was so excited when I opened up my presents from L (blog post coming soon) it was like I had my own little American Haul.

L picked me up the shade smitten which unfortunately isn't one that's been released in the UK. L knows me so well. It's a gorgeous bright pink.

I couldn't wait to open it up and try it. I'd seen so much about these lipstains on blogs and knew I'd love them.  The packaging is compact and easy to use. I can apply this without a mirror which I like as well.

If you've seen shades you prefer that are only in America this eBay seller sells them all. They are £7 with free postage!! Bargain. I haven't bought from this seller myself but they are sat in my wishlist and the seller has 99.9% positive feedback so shouldn't be a problem.

When swatched on the hand the colour appears quite pale. But don't be fooled. It's a very instense pink that can easily be built up or left with just one swipe for a paler effect on the lips.

There is a slight minty tingle when you first apply it. Which I love, I love the gently balmy finish to it so it feels light on the lips but has an impressive colour pay of. I think the photo shows it slightly more reddy. In reality it's a fuchsia pink.

Once the balm wears of you are left with the stain from the colour. It's impressive how long the stain lasts on the lips, but it does tend to fade to a liner effect so you do need to re apply.

I'm definitely popping into boots tomorrow to get more of the shades. Rendezvous is on the top of my wishlist at the moment. I'm lacking an Orange in my lipstick collection.

Are you rushing out to get them? Which shades are on your wishlist? The swatches on the boots website make it hard to see the colour in my opinion so I'm not sure how many I'll be picking up. For £5.99 I'll be stocking up.

Love M

xxx

Review: Tigi Bed Head Some Like it Hot and Control Freak Conditioner

Whilst in America (I know I keep banging on about it but it really is relevant!) the humidity was an absolute nightmare for my hair!

As we all know, the natural look on holiday is 100% acceptable.....but frizz can always be combated by a little serum to help you stop looking like you've touched an electric socket. 

I couldn't use my hair dryer as it was no more use than a small warm breeze because of the electric converters, so I was left to let it dry naturally.

For the most part it was fine, but on the days it was slightly colder (7 weeks is a long time for naturally drying your hair!) it went flat at the roots and frizzed out at the ends........not so hot!

I invested in some Tigi products whilst I was out there to help with this and these were what I got:

Tigi Bed Head - Some Like It Hot Heat and Humidity Resistant Serum

Tigi Bed Head - Control Conditioner for Frizz Control and Straightening

Some Like It Hot is a serum to help with humidity and heat issues. 

The heat wasn't so much a problem for me as I wasn't styling my hair but the humidity certainly was!

I applied this as directed on the back of the bottle, one pump into towel dried hair before styling.

The serum is just like any other, clear and quite a bit runny, it also smells pretty good as expected from Tigi.

The pump for this was pretty sturdy too and I was impressed as some can be SO flimsy!

The serum did its job pretty well, and although on some days where the humidity was RIDICULOUS it held up pretty good and I had noticeably less frizz coming out when my hair was finally dry.

The second product I bought was the Control Freak conditioner that I added into my shower routine as soon as I bought it....and I have to say it smells GORGEOUS!!

As soon as I poured it onto my hand I could smell the sweets like aroma and knew I was going to love it.

I hate overpowering floral smells as they give me an instant headache, but this was a light smell just like sweets and I loved it.

There's a whole range of Control Freak products but I only managed to pick up the conditioner which was a shame because I loved this conditioner and would definitely pick up some more next time I run out.

My hair is very frizz resistant after investing in these two products, it's sleek and smooth and hopefully getting into a much better condition than it was before after my lack of heat styling.

Do you enjoy going on holiday and not using any heat styling products? 

Have you used these Tigi products before?

L xxx

Review: Almay Smart Shade Primer

I recently posted about my buys from America where I bought a little more than planned...haha

One of my buys was the Almay Smart Shade Colour Correction Primer:

I saw it whilst on a trip to Walmart and couldn't help myself.

I've always wanted to try the Stila one and this one was only $10, I couldn't refuse!

Besides, the colours look so pretty in the bottle!

The purple is apparently to help with skin brightness, and the green is to calm redness.

I was hoping that whilst I was in America this would help even my skin tone when I wasn't wearing make up.

You can see on my hand where the pump dispenses and even amount of the clear gel, purple gel and green gel. 

As you can see I've called it a gel as it's definitely more like a gel consistency than a lotion, paste or cream, which is what I'm used to with primers.

It mixes in pretty well, as soon as you start rubbing it in, it seems to melt and feels quite watery but it sinks in quite quickly.

After it's rubbed in you can see that my skin is a bit shiny but it does sink in after a few minutes.

In terms of colour correction it really does work, it calms the redness and gives my skin a brighter tone.

I'm not sure how it would fair at keeping my make up on my face all day as it isn't designed to absorb oil etc that I definitely need in a primer for a full day.

But as my skin has improved quite a bit over the time I was away due to not wearing make up and getting some sun I think it's pretty good for me!

If you don't have too many blemishes and aren't worried about oily skin then I would definitely recommend you try this.

I'm not sure if you can buy this primer in the UK yet as it was new out in America and I can't find it online with other Almay products on Amazon, but I'm sure it will be soon.

What do you think of Colour Correction products? Do you have anything from Almay?

L xxx