Antipodes Spree

Hi!

If you're a regular reader of our blog or our tweets then you'll know that we are both big fans of skincare and particularly organic skincare. I've previously posted Antipodes Divine Oil after receiving it in the Selfridge's Beauty Box (review here)

After seeing an offer on Naturisimo where if you bought 2 Antipodes products you received a free Hand and Body cream I couldn't resist. I'd just almost finished the Divine Oil and knew I wanted to repurchase it so that was added to my basket straight away.

As for my other purchase...I was stumped because my initial choices were of either the Aura Manuka Honey mask which I'd heard SO MUCH about and wanted badly and the Reincarnation Facial Exfoliator. Unfortunately both of these were out of stock, at the time I'd just finished a cleanser so I snapped up the Juliet Brightening Cleanser to complete my order.




The Divine Oil is an absolute must have for me. After using it for the first time 18 months ago it has been a complete life changer and I wouldn't be without it now.

Even the week without it between it running out and the new one arriving was torture.
I increased my water levels to flush out toxins from my body and obviously this caused my skin to break out and nothing would help it at all.





I can't use this oil in the morning because it's too greasy to apply to skin before make up (I only get 10 mins to sort my face in the morning) but in the night its amazing and absorption doesn't take long at all. I'm just impatient in the mornings!

The Juliet Brightening Cleanser has been a great addition to my skincare wardrobe. It's a brown plastic bottle which allows the product to be dispensed easily. The cleanser is a brown gel which looks a little odd initially, I wasn't expecting it to be the same brown colour as the bottle!



You apply this to wet skin and it melts make up straight off your face. I was really surprised this was so easy and it even melted off my mascara which is pretty impressive.
Not only is it amazing at removing make up it also contains kiwi fruit and manuka honey which are both New Zealand.
Kiwi fruit contains Omega 3, Vitamins C and E and ALA - alpha-linolenic acid, which are all super products for skincare.
Manuka is anti-bacterial, anti-wrinkle and its also an astringent which means its another great ingredient in skincare products.



I've loved using this cleanser and would definitely buy it again.

The GWP was a Hand and Body cream called Joyful.



It's a 120ml cream that can be used at any time of the day on hands and body. It's suitable for most skin types and is fragrant with wild blackcurrant and also contains hibiscus flower and avocado oil.



This smells divine and doesn't leave an oily residue on your skin at all. It's great for rough elbows and knees and I find is best applied after a bath/shower on my limbs as it sinks in and smells lush!





I have to say I was a huge fan of Antipodes having only tried one of their products. It was only a matter of time before I picked up more of them and this order was just the start of a slippery slope.....having loved them so much and 'accidentally on purpose' noticing that the mask and exfoliator were back in stock i swiftly placed my next order....oops!

This time I gave the free Joyful hand and body cream to my mum who was very grateful for a present from me....shame it says free gift with purchase on the box eh?!

Have you tried Antipodes? What's your favourite product?

I would love the try the Kiwi Seed Eye Cream and either the Joyous or Apostle serums, they both sound amazing. In fact lets be honest at this rate I'm bound to be buying the entire range over the next ye


L xxx

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