Pen Y Fan

Happy Sunday all

Hope it's been a great weekend. I've had a quiet one catching up with friends and chilling out.

On or 101 things lists L and I wanted to make and effort to do more outdoor things.

A few weeks ago we had a free Saturday and it wasn't raining so we decided to go up Pen Y Fan a local mountain to us within the Breacon Beacons. Apart from Caerphilly Mountain (which is actually a hill) I've never climbed up anything. Snowdon is definitely on my list.

Some of the sheer rock faces are just terrifying!

We decided to pack lunch so we could chill at the top and take in the views. I really do think I need to make more of an effort to make the most of all the beautiful surroundings so near to me.

The climb up is a pretty easy one. It gets you a little out of breath but it's worth it. It's quite a popular route and lots of people were making there way up including families.

We also took up L's lush dog! He's amazing and loved running on ahead up there, but as soon as he'd sniffed out L's bag and knew his treat was in there he wasn't so keen to keep going ha!

I loved my first time up Pen Y Fan. Thanks for taking me L. I can't wait to do more. We also spied the beautiful Nant Ddu lodge and are already planning a spa day there.

He was so sleepy on the way back!

Do you explore your local areas?

Love M xxx

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

There's not a lot to say in this post because to be perfectly honest, just look at these bad boys.

LOOK AT THEM

The packaging itself is amazing as it is and when I randomly went to buy something from the Urban Decay counter and was shown these I promptly put my name down for them when they were allowed to sell them.
How on earth had this amazing collaboration escaped my notice??

I'm a huge Tarantino fan, its something that me and my brother actually agree on and having bought him the box set many years ago i still steal them now. 

The orange and red writing stands out on the black box and it all looks so striking I'm surprised I didn't snap up the entire collection. But having put my name down for the palette, the only product they were allowed to reserve and the others being sold on a first come first serve basis I legged it into Cardiff on the morning and snapped up the lipstick and liner to match. Oops!

Here's a sneak peek of what's to come, I do love it when they show a swatch of the colours inside and give their names. Names always make things better don't they??

Here's a close up of the text:

Inside is the card I always look forward to reading when purchasing a limited edition palette from UD. The tips and tricks are always good to follow and give you an idea what they colours were there for; if only for you to totally break the rules and do your own thing anyway/

Be Cool Honey Bunny.

The attention to detail, as always, with these collaboration products always astounds me but this time I've been completely blown away.
My brother loves the quote below and even he was slightly impressed with how cool it all was (and as a mixed martial arts fan make up REALLY isn't his thing).

I really did just marvel at it for a while before even opening it, the packaging was just too special. I'm not sure I could have designed it better myself, although the paper packaging does worry me for long term usage but only time will tell what that will be like.

I always love the inclusion of a mirror with these products, it's a lovely touch and means it's a lot easier to use them on the go and travel with them.

Here are the four shades with accompanying names and brush. I'm not sure what I think about the brush to be honest, the quality was better than i thought it would be from first glance but I still find them too small to be of any use. I'm sure I'll be grateful for it when using the palette on the go though and for touch ups it should come in handy.

Righteous was the main reason for me buying this palette. As a firm Theodora palette fan ( I use it EVERY DAY without fail) which was also limited edition I was beginning to get worried after hitting pan on the lightest colour called Broken. It's the perfect colour for me and after telling the lovely Haddie on the counter in the Cardiff store she showed me these.

It's not a perfect match but it will certainly fill the gap in the 'limited edition' section of my collection. Or something like that.

Righteous can be described as a light cream colour and is matte.

In fact all of these colours are quite similar to the Theodora palette and so that was how I justified it to myself really, as I know that I should use all of the colours in it almost every day.

Tyranny is a lovely warm brown and is very pigmented and also matte. I didn't think I'd like this one on me but again I was surprised and it blends with so much so easily.

Vengeance is a colour I love, described by Temptalia as a deep taupe brown matte satin, which is quite a mouthful really. The colour is amazing and similar to Theodora's Bewitch, though you need so little I'd be surprised if this ever runs out!

Furious and Anger is the only duo colour. Furious is similar to Venus from the Naked Basics palette and Anger is similar to Crave but has a slight shimmer added as they are both satin shades. 

I've been using Furious on the inner corner of my eye and Anger to line the outer corners and they've both worked really well.

Here are swatches:

You can see Righteous is a little less pigmented than the others, this was a little disappointing as it was the colour I was most excited about but nevertheless I'll just have to use more!

Furious can be seen below, a lovely white satin colour:

Swatched on the back of my hand you can see the colours a little better, But how does it look on the eye itself??

Below shows Righteous and Tyranny on the eye (left) and Vengeance in the right picture.

Above shows Furious and Anger applied also. Its extremely wearable for a limited edition palette and this surprises me as well as lots of other reviews I've read online.


I can see me wearing this a lot and I've already been wearing it to many outings; see below for a recent picture with the Mia Wallace liner and lipstick on also:

The longevity of the lipstick is phenomenal, but that's for another post.

What do you think of limited edition collaborations? Are you a Pulp Fiction fan?

Would you snap up the eyeshadow palette or another product in the range?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Long Term Progress

Hi there! 

I've been a bit relaxed about writing my Fitness Friday posts recently, life has been so busy and with quitting my job, my mum being in hospital and really trying hard to train for Tough Mudder 

But my mum is doing really well, Tough Mudder is completed and I started my new job this week so fingers crossed things are all on the up!

I've debated showing comparison photos before; I'm not one for taking underwear photos in the mirror anyway as I just don't want to see myself but i have forced myself to do it just to see how progress is being made. My weight has stayed the same (roughly) for a long time but I know my body has changed composition and shape slightly so I needed to do it to see results.

I highly doubt anyone will see those pictures but I do have a comparison photo wearing a dress of mine that is a huge favourite! It's a crepe shift dress with leather waistband and bottom from M&S Limited Collection. I love the style of it being so simple and it has been brought up to date with the addition of a leather waistband which is so simple but chic and it goes for many occasions - apart from maybe an all you can eat buffet, it definitely doesn't stretch!

Here's a picture from my phone from when I wore it out in March when me and M went out with some uni friends. It was a really good night out and I loved wearing the dress with a new found confidence.

Here's a comparison photo from when I first bought the dress to now:

Apart from my hair being longer I think there's such a big difference between the photos.

My waist is definitely smaller, my arms are smaller (might not show up as much but I know for sure they are!) and my lower stomach and hips are also smaller. most of this can be seen by looking at the latest picture and seeing that the dress actually fits me rather than being too tight in the first picture.

There's also much less of a double chin in the latest picture!

After all the recent set backs I've had in my fitness plans it has been really important to look back and see how far I've come. Whilst these changes have happened over the last 3 years and aren't that drastic, I know I haven't lost 5 stone or anything, but progress is progress and it has been such a lifestyle change.

I was a bit disheartened with my exercise leading up to Tough Mudder even though I'd been working so hard in the 8 months leading up to it, on the day I found it hard as some of my fitness had gone where I was so exhausted from all the mental and physical stress going on in my life.

But moving forward I KNOW that I can complete it again because I've already done it once.

I've also had a meet up with my trainer from my gym and after getting all my latest stats, I've put on 1lb since last time but have lost fat and gained muscle so it has actually, in the end, all worked in my favour and my composition has improved.

I've enjoyed a week or two break from exercise, only doing dog walking and some easy stuff in the gym but now my trainer has given me a new program to follow which involves so many squats, burpees, press ups and oblique crunches that I'm hoping it will boost my metabolism into burning more fat.

In a few weeks I will write an update on my progress with the new program, and how it feels getting back to classes now that my new job will allow me to make it there much more easily. I'm hoping the decreased stress levels and ease of getting to and from the gym around work will make me much happier!

Do you have a new fitness program to follow? Have you completed any Tough Mudder type courses?

I'd love to read more fitness blogs so if you have any links of your favourites or you write one yourself leave the link in the comments below!


L xxx

FOTD: Neutrals and Coral

Morning lovelies!

I've got a Face of the Day post today as I've had a bit of time to fuss around and take pictures in the morning recently. i always think it's nice to know what people REALLY use on their face despite reviews they've produced.

Here's my FOTD before I had my hair dyed back to its natural colour:

It's quite a simple every day look, there was minimal fuss and I kept with my neutral eye colours and used a few summery coral colours to keep in the with sun that had actually arrived in the sky!

The Benefit Groovy Kind of Love set was bought last Christmas in their seasonal collection. It had a bit of everything that I couldn't resist and contained a few neutral eyeshadows that I needed to test out! Plus it's a great travel kit as it has almost everything you need.

Everything else used is shown below; Beauty blender, Vichy Dermablend in Opal, Lasting Perfection concealer in 1, Bourjois Chocolate bronzer, Inika Mineral Blush in 04 Peachy Keen, MAC Studio Fix powder, UD 24/7 Liner in Smoke, They're Real mascara and Gimme Brow styling gel.

I've been using my beauty blender a lot recently, it's a new addition to my stash and it took some getting used to but now I'm hooked!
It gives such a perfect finish (after a bit of work) and I love how natural and even the coverage is from it. You can see below in the super close picture of my forehead how even and flawless this is.

After using the blender to apply Dermablend and the concealer i dusted on the Studio Fix. It's quite a heavy powder but I've been using it recently to use it up; it's looking a bit tired and I want to get my next Back to Mac lipstick asap!

Next I applied the bronzer and blush to my cheeks to attempt some mild sculpting of my face and then ran Gimme Brow through my unruly brows. I've found mine have got a lot more temperamental recently!

Then I used all 4 of the colours in the Benefit palette building up from the lightest all over the lid, the middle two colours blended into the crease with the gold shimmer in the centre of the lid. Then I used the darkest colour to line underneath the eye and the outer corner of the upper lid.

I love using the 24/7 liner in Smoke on my lower waterline as it is a perfect alternative to black for every day wear; I find it can be too heavy sometimes and I like to change it up. I bought Smoke as part of a set but I can honestly say I use it a lot more than I thought I would and I really love it.

Here I also applied two coats of They're Real mascara, I think it's one of the best out there but i do begrudge paying the £19.50 for it as I'm a mascara germ phobe and throw them out after 6-10 weeks. However you can often get them in deals or minis in magazines which I always pick up!

One thing that i seem to have completely forgotten to take a photo of is Cha Cha tint from Benefit. I used this on my lips for a natural looking stain which lasts a few hours. I never use these as much as I should and need to get into using the minis i have of them as the colours are lovely and can be built up from a wash to a strong coloured stain.

What do you think of my FOTD? 

It's a general every day look for me and I love switching between neutral palettes to mix things up. Which is your favourite palette of the moment? Do you use the stains from Benefit?

L xxx