Maybelline Color Show: Brocades

Good morning to you all!

These polishes were snapped up by myself on a shopping trip over Christmas and although they've been worn lots I just haven't had chance to post about them yet!

I'm a fan of the Color Show range from Maybelline, the bottles aren't huge but for £3/4 you can try out some new colours that you weren't sure you'd like etc and its a great way to build up a collection with a great quality product.

The Brocades were brought out in time for the festive period; you can NEVER go wrong with a glitter at Christmas time and Maybelline brought out the brocades in a gold, black, pink and a silver.
I'm not a big silver wearer so decided to pick up the other three in a 3 for 2 deal at my beloved Boots.

I swear almost all my wages get spent there!

You can see in the pictures above the colours; the Knitted Gold is very much a rose gold colour, Woven Skyline is exactly how you'd expect New York to look at night if it was a nail varnish and Rosy Rosettes is a gorgeous shimmery pink.

So how did they fare on the nails?

I decided to do an accent nail over the past few weeks so here are my shots with the pink and gold colours doing just that.

These were taken with and without flash after 2 coats. Some nails as I;m sure you can see could do with another coat....but 3 layers of a glitter polish is nightmare number 1 when it comes to removal so I had to stop myself knowing how fickle I am with changing them.

The colours are great and the gold was a nice addition to my collection as I don't have any rose gold colours.



I have to say though, however much i love the pink and gold the black didn't fare as well. The photos below show 2 coats again and it just wasn't enough.






You can still see a lot of my nails through the polish as it wasn't dense enough. This was a beautiful polish but would definitely require another polish underneath as a base colour before application otherwise who knows how many layers you'll end up with and that many hours of removal would drive anyone insane!



I really love the effects though, I'm a sucker for a glitter and these jelly types ones were really good and the range of colours means that anyone will want one.

Being glitters they also lasted really well on my nails even through working in the lab and i did get some compliments of how lovely and sparkly they were!

Have you tried the Maybelline Brocades? Which colour is your favourite?

L xxx

Origins Merry Moisturisers Set

Hi all!

One of my favourite presents to myself this year was my huge haul of Origins gift sets.
Not only are all products that I've used from them completely amazing, but the gift sets can be quite a bargain if you're lucky!

This one, Merry Moisturisers, was originally priced around £50 but Boots discounted it for a few weeks before Christmas and so I snapped it up for £28. This was a bargain because the moisturiser in this set costs £34 on its own!

Loved the packaging of these, very simple, Christmassy and the different designs for each set are really cute. The polka dot is also a classic!
As with all other Origins products the ingredients are fully listed on the back of the box.

I've kept these boxes as I like them so much, boxes like these are always useful for storing things and putting presents in. I've got plenty of boxes like these stacked up and storing all my eyeshadows, lipsticks etc in.

Merry Moisturisers gift set contains a number of products from the Make A Difference range which is one of my favourites from Origins. This set contains the Rejuvenating Treatment Lotion, Hand Treatment and Moisturiser as well as a Drink Up Intensive Face Mask.

This moisturiser is one of my all time favourites. I've previously tried the gel version of the treatment which is for oily skin and therefore is lighter. There's actually four different types available for different skin types so I was interested to try another type now that my skin isn't as oily and requires more hydration.

This was as expected; lovely to apply, smells divine and my skin feels like its had a really big treat when I've used it. Love it love it love it, I'll be repurchasing this for a while (as long as I can afford it that is!).

As someone that doesn't really get the whole toner thing, this was a massive revelation to me. I loved the smell, the effects and just everything about it. You can see my original post on it here but needless to say it has completely won me over to the toner argument...though I'm still skeptical of others.

This is again another gorgeous product and the size is perfect for a handbag. It sinks into skin really nicely which is something that is a must have for me as I cannot stand greasy hand creams and having slimy hands that stay like it for ages!

The Drink Up mask is another product I've used before and loved. It was the first hydrating mask I'd ever used and it was amazing even for my oily skin. It didn't overload it and was perfectly hydrating without affecting my skin in a negative way at all. Perfection!

This would have been a gorgeous set for anyone, I'm a hug fan or Origins as I've probably mentioned many times and genuinely love it! There's never been a product I didn't like and all of them have worked beautifully on my skin.

I always look for bargains such as these sets at Christmas time to save me a bit of money and also try out new products that I might not have tried otherwise.
I also take regular trips to Cosmetics Company Outlets (CCO) where items can be discounted greatly, I'm talking £25 instead of £34 and you can save some money there too, as long as the products are available.

Do you like Origins? Did you pick up anything from their Christmas sets?

L xxx

 

Bourjois Fan-tastic Volume Mascara

I'm a huge mascara junkie! I have ridiculous amounts and it's the one thing I can't resist getting especially when something looks a bit different. I'd only tried one Bourjois mascara before this one and absolutely loved it so I was hoping it wasn't a fluke.

Today I thought I'd share my thoughts on Bourjois' Fan-Tastic Volume Mascara. I like the purple packaging, it's easy to spot in my make up bag and it's much flatter in shape than most mascaras.

Here is where it gets different. The brush only has bristles on one side. At first I wasn't convinced. I was sure it would be hard to apply and surely I couldn't coat all of my lashes with only half of a brush.

It's also quite a wet formula and a plastic brush which I don't normally prefer. The bristles do have good separation between them though and a fan shape which claims to grab the lashes and provide volume.

Here you can see the before and afters. It really lengthens my lashes and gives good volume through the bas of my lashes. This is after a few coats. I love that it really doesn't clump and gives a good black colour pay off. 

Even though the formula is wet I don't find it transfers to my upper brow or under my eyes which mascaras have been lately. I also find the brush surprisingly easy to use. I was worried it would only give good results on one side as I wasn't sure I'd get the angle right on the other eye but it really is a great everyday mascara.

I find myself reaching for this on a daily basis but for a night out I do prefer a bit more volume.

Have you tried fan-tastic volume?

Love M

xxx

Tough Training: Healthy Snacks

Morning everyone!

Having written about my fitness plan for the year in a post last week (see here) I thought I'd start sharing some of my meals and snacks that I have in order to give you some ideas and suggestions in case you're lacking in inspiration as sometimes it can be so hard. I'm no expert in this whatsoever but I've lost around 2 stone and got myself to a size 10 and even though I do have my binge moments I don't often put on weight so thought maybe this could help!

First off, my number one tip is to make sure that you always have some food on you. This will mean that you are never tempted to buy anything from a shop like chocolate, crisps, cake etc that are just far too easy to pick up. I've got a range of stuff in my handbag and there's always something there whenever I need it which has stopped me many times from legging it to the corner shop. I also ALWAYS have water on me too, I get my 2L a day ever since buying myself a proper plastic bottle and swigging it when I'm 'hungry', but that's for another day.

Here's a few of my favourite snacks!


I don't think anyone will argue with me when i say fruit can be a perfect snack....its low calorie (around 50 per portion aside from a banana at 100), contains vitamin and mineral goodness and also water to add to your bodies hydration. It can be boring trying to get your 5 a day, but now I regularly get 7/8 a day without even trying as I put fruit on my breakfast, have some as my mid morning snack, a piece at lunch and maybe on the way home if I'm hungry to stop me eating something else before my tea.

I tend to eat a banana mid morning to give me a boost and also give my body the chance to burn off the extra calories, though lets be honest at 100 it's not a big deal!




Sometimes I really want crisps. I'm mostly a fan of savoury foods so sometimes I need the salt and the crunch and fruit just isn't good enough!

Nairns oat cakes are what I turn to when this happens. There are a variety of flavours but I find the plain ones (rough, organic etc) are perfect for me. When I'm in need of a boost pre/post workout and am not near a meal time I eat 3 of these with some nut butter on to keep me going; then I get the crunch and the salty taste guilt free!





You can read the ingredients and calorie values on these pictures, plus the qualities such as high fibre and no hydrogenated fat. I also sometimes eat these with a salad if I'm on a 'hungry' day.
I try not to have carbs with my salad as I have a decent helping at breakfast and try to burn those off throughout the day, but sometimes you just have to eat and these are perfect at 45 calories per oat cake.

(is it anything to do with them being called 'cake' as well? Hmm....)



I found Nakd bars just over a year ago and haven't looked back. At around 100 calories these are one of the few bars that are completely natural (all the contain is 100% fruit, nut, oat or soya crunchies), contains no added sugar, are wheat and dairy free and count as one of your 5 a day.



There are a variety of flavours and types; the apple pie bars are the original type of bars with raw fruit, oat and nuts 'smooshed' together to create a bar and the ingredients are listed on the packaging below. You can buy them individually, in boxes like in the pictures or on their website they have 'taster' boxes where you can buy a selection of bars together to try them all out.



The newer crunch range has soya crunchies added into them so that they contain more protein which is always a good thing. More protein means you are unlikely to lose muscle after burning off calories at the gym and it also fills you up for longer.

The good news is on their website (see here) you can get some great deals, currently you can get 20% off using the code NY14 but this only until the end of the month so hurry! Otherwise there are plenty of deals on their site so look out for them.
The Find Your Favourite box is £7.99 but they also sell boxes in Asda and Waitrose and probably more places too.



Sesame Snaps are my go-to snack when I've had a long day at work and know i have the gym to contend with on the way home. I often eat an apple on the way home to keep me going through my hour long drive home as its easy to get peckish around the 5/6 o clock mark.
I eat these snaps when I'm on the way to the gym so that I've got a bit of a sugar boost to fuel me through my workout. I know that once i'm in the gym I'll do it justice but sometimes it can be hard to make the decision to go!



These are quite simple; sesame seeds, glucose syrup and sugar. Normally I avoid sugar like the plague, unless its in fruit or honey I avoid it but these really do help and for days when I need something extra these 3 little snaps can make all the difference. That and there's THREE in a packet, so I feel like I'm having a big treat!
Plus its 157 calories for the packet and you can get these from Waitrose for 75p for a packet of four.....much cheaper than a chocolate bar! If you're lucky too they also do a coconut version with desiccated coconut and they taste GREAT.




Last but not least is my latest find; Bounce Balls.

I found them on a trip to Waitrose just before Christmas in the 'Free From' aisle. Being filled with protein and containing peanuts i snapped up my first one and haven't looked back since...
There are 5 in the range but I am yet to try the walnut version. The Almond, Peanut and Macadamia are all protein based and contains some whey powder to bind the ball. I find the almond and peanut ones are quite chewy but this takes me longer to eat and therefore I feel fuller quicker.



The coconut and macadamia one tastes more like a sweet that you'd have after a meal so I save this one for when I'm having a sweet tooth moment. The spirulina and ginseng ball was a newbie for me having never tried either and was very surprised to see it as a black/green colour in the package but it tastes AMAZING and I've been back many a time to get these.

My only qualm with these is that they retail for around £1.50/£1.70 which is expensive in comparison to everything else in this post. At the moment Waitrose have a deal on them where you can get 3 for £4 and I will certainly be stocking up as I do like them as an alternative especially as they contain a good dose of protein. They're also higher calories at 150-200 per ball but I'm not too bothered about counting my calories as long they all come from good sources.


So what do you think of my suggestions? Have you tried any of the bars before? Do you have an suggestions of your own?


I'm thinking of doing a Fitness Friday series so I can write about something different each week, whether it be a recipe, training plan, meal suggestions and other handy hints, would you be interested in reading them?

Let me know as I'm completely obsessed with it all and have been for a while but I don't feel like it comes across on here. I spend 5 days a week in the gym/exercising so would love write about it more!


L xxx