Current Reads

At the weekend I was travelling back from my parents and decided I treat myself to some new books. When I was in WH Smiths I couldn't decide so I thought I'd share the books I've recently been reading. I was really surprised how cheap the books were on the kindle app on my phone. Books that were £7.99 were around £3-£4 on the kindle. I'd definitely recommend downloading the app.

James Patterson is easily my favourite books. I love his writing style. It's easy to read and always grips me straight away. I love that his books are in short chapters meaning it's easy to pick up for the commute. This book is a relatively new release and was only £3 on the kindle. I've already read 50% since Sunday! I love that you can pick up any of his books and understand what's going on but if you are a crime thiller fan I'd definitely suggest some of his books for an easy read.

I've seen this book everywhere and after reading Mission Me's review I'd been wanting to pick it up. For years I literally only read James Patterson so part of my 101 things in 1001 days was to expand my literature. I've only heard good things about this but I've heard it's a tear jerker so I'm waiting till I have time at home to start this one.

As part of my list I set myself to read 5 classics. I loved the sound of this and had been recommended to read it. Although it was hard to adjust to the language I was hooked for the first 50% of the book but have since struggled with it. I really need to get myself back into it. I find the trouble with classics are you need to have a free hour to really get into it each time to read it. I will stick it out and get to the end though.

What are you currently reading? Any recommendations?

Love M

xxx

Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Deep Pore Detox Mask

Evening all

Another late post from me. Time seems to be escaping me at the moment. Life is definitely getting in the way. When I was at home over Christmas I ran out of cleanser so decided to pick up a favourite of mine the Peaches and Clean Soap & Glory one. When I was in boots the Soap & Glory skincare was on 3 for 2 and I couldn't resist trying a few new products.

My skin has been bad lately. My own fault as I keep breaking the all important rule and end up sleeping in my make up at least once a week! I've been using Lush facemasks but had run out and this seemed like a great pick me up for my blocked pores.

I love that it's a self heating mask. Not only does it make my face toasty while it's cold outside I feel like the heat is great for blocked pores as it helps to open them to draw out all the gunk. 

I did make the mistake of not shaking this the first time and it can be a little watery if you don't. I can see this lasting really well as all you need is a grape sized blob to cover your whole face. 

I love that it doesn't feel tight on the skin. It has the texture of a mud mask but as you rub it in when applied you end up with a thin layer and don't feel the uncomfortable tightness or cracking. The tube makes it easy to get out just the right amount of product and I think it'll be good to minimise waste.

The mask is meant to turn blue when rubbed in. Personally it looks the same colour to me. I'm really enjoying using this at the moment. I think it's helping to control my spots and my face feels clearer and cleaner afterwards. It's definitely a good one for pores and breakouts. I love the warmth for winter!

It's currently on offer in boots for £7.67

Love M

xxx

Fitness Update

Evening All

L has recently done a fitness post and a few healthy eating ones and I thought I'd do a general update on my fitness. Both of us are doing tough mudder this August so we really need to get in shape and improve our strength. I need a massive increase in upper body strength!

You can read most of the posts from my previous weight loss here. I managed to lose over a stone but slowly it's gone back on. It's taken a lot to get the motivation to lose it again and tough mudder is the motivation I need. I've also signed myself up to Cardiff Half.

I was doing really well running for Jan but easily lost the motivation trying to fit in 2 runs a week. I've now joined a local gym and I'm loving trying out all the classes. I find classes best for me as I push myself harder as I don't like people to see me quit.

So far I'm loving

 Kickboxing Fitness

I had expected this to be like combat aerobics but it's taught by a taekwondo and kickboxing instructor. The first half an hour is spent doing kicking and punching drills and working on a target group like abs or legs and doing things like squats, leg raises, planks or sit ups at intervals. For the second half of the class it's spent doing pad work wear we pair or group up and kicks and punches onto pads. I love this as it really gives you a chance to push yourself and the instructor corrects your technique. It's a really good workout and the hour goes quickly.

Pilates

I love the focus on relax and breathing, this is a great class to follow an energetic class and really stretch you out. It focus's on your centre point and the abs stay engaged through a lot of the class. I'm really hoping this will help tighten and flatten my stomach.

Pump

Image credit

I'm really enjoying pump. It's a really hard workout with weights and works the whole of the body. After this I really ache. When I do kickboxing on Sun and Pump on Mon I really ache. It's a great one to build strength. The classes I'm struggling to fit in so I think I'll do the routine myself. Here's one that I can remember

Squats, Straight leg dead lift, standing row, side lunges, lunges, overhead abs, and some I can't remember the names of. You do each of these 20 times, 15 times then 10 times in sequence. For ones with a weight bar I do 7.5kg (this was my first class and I don't normally lift) then I use 3kg free weights and a 2.5 kg plate for the over head abs. After this sequence it's time for tricep dips, chest press and chest flies. These were all done 15 times 3 times. Lastly 5 minutes of abs. 1 of each of these. Frog abs (don't know the real name but you sit with your knees near to the floor and feet touching and you touch your hands over the toes, lie back and touch your hands over the head and repeat this move), normal crunches, reverse crunches, bicycle crunches and lastly plank. It's a great work out and I'm doing to try and do this in the gym.

Lastly I'm trying cycling. My bum gets really achey on my tail bone so I've now invested in padded shorts and I'm hoping they will help. I want to vary my cardio but really have to get back out to road running too.

As for food I'm trying what I did before. For me it works best to eat healthy 5 days a week and relax more at weekends food wise. I struggle to maintain 7 days a week as I usually end up doing stuff at the weekends. 

For meals I love overnight oats and porridge for breakfast, soup, salads and stews for lunch, poached eggs, Danish toast and plum tomatoes, low fat bolognese, fish and veg for dinners. I try and snack on fruit and nuts, nakd bars, protein shakes and crudites and hummus. 

How do you exercise? What's your motivation?

Love M

xxx

NSpa Hot Cloth Polish Cleanser

Hey All

Hope you are having a great Sunday. Mine has been super busy. I spent the weekend with my family and got the first train back this morning to go to a new gym class I'm really liking. Now I've quickly rushed home to shower and wash my hair before watching the ice hockey tonight.

Today we are sharing our thoughts on a Hot Cloth Polish we were lucky enough to have in our goody bags from the Bristol blogger meet last year.

We've both been huge fans of hot cloth polish cleansers since we first tried the legendary Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser. Since falling in love with it I have been hunting down a cheaper alternative as it is a little pricey. I have done a save, spend, splurge on hot cloth cleansers you can see here.

I was excited to try the NSpa offering as it's available easily in stores such as Asda and very reasonably priced.

The cleanser has a similar consistency to the others I've tried and sinks into the face well when applied. It melts away my foundation and eye make up easily without irritating my eyes or leaving them sore. The cloth that comes with the set is a reasonable one. I have noticed the muslim cloths that come with the cheaper alternatives to Liz Earle aren't quite as good. 

It has a really neutral scent which I love as it's not overpowering or anything I dislike. I really can't find anything I dislike about it. It comes with a pump so is easily dispensed. It comes with a cloth so if you are new to hot cloth polishes it's a great one to try. My make up melts away and my skin is left feeling soft and clean without feeling tight. It doesn't irritate my eyes and smells good.

All round it's a great cleanser and since discovering this and the along came betty one mentioned in the link above I've not felt the need to repurchase Liz Earle. For me which I buy depends on the supermarket I'm in!

I do love finding a great cheaper alternative!

Love M

xxx

I feel exactly the same as M, since trying Liz Earle I've been a convert to a proper cleanse with a cleanse and polish type cleanser that melts make up and cleanses and exfoliates your skin.

This cleanser is exactly the same as Liz Earle, a thick white cream dispensed out of a pump and applied straight to a dry face and washed off with a muslin cloth.

The cloth provided with this cleanser is fine, but I do prefer the Liz Earle ones as they feel thicker and I think they will last longer but nevertheless its a great starting point to try them out.

This melted my make up just as easily as Liz Earle has done and my skin felt clean and make up free after use. The cloth didn't feel as exfoliating as the Liz Earle ones but thats easily rectified as I have so many of them already.

At the moment I tend to use proper eye make up remover anyway to remove all traces of mascara etc as my eyes are sensitive and I don't want to spend ages rubbing away at them. This does remove it very well but there's always some left which isn't surprising to me as my lashes as really close together and hold make up for ages!

I'd definitely repurchase this especially as its so easy to get hold of during your weekly shop and much cheaper than the original. I'd recommend it if you've never tried a hot cloth cleanser before and wanted to give one a whirl and it really is just as good as the more expensive Liz Earle.

Have you tried this cleanser? Which other NSpa products have you tried?

L xxx