Simply Bare

Hey All

Last Thursday I was invited to Simply Bare to look around which is a new waxing boutique in Cardiff owned by the lovely Leah. Leah is good friends with one of my housemates so I've met her before and had seen all the plans for the new boutique so I was excited to get to see it in person!

photo from simply bare facebook

It certainly didn't disappoint, it's a beautiful sleek environment decorated in neutral colours so suited for both female and male clients. Simply bare uses Lycon wax which come in variety of different flavours. Simply bare stock a few including chocolate, strawberry, lavender and some more manly scents as well as some that are more suited to sensitive skin. All the waxes smelt amazing not too sickly or overpowering.

The flavoured waxes are all hot waxes which give a much butter result on intimate skin or delicate areas. The hot wax forms a seal type around the hair so it's pulling out the hair. Before any wax the area is cleansed and pre treatments are put on including and oil which protects the skin from the wax and helps the wax just stick to the hair!

Post wax the skin is treated to soothing creams and oils to help prevent redness and treat the skin post wax. I love that the oils in the rooms are set up to match the fragrance of the wax you are having and provide the skin with protection as well as moisturising it.

Simply bare has also started offering massages and facials. I love that they do late night evenings to suit people that work 9-5 hours. It's great to be able to pop in after work and get waxes etc done so you don't have to waste your Saturday!

I tried out the chocolate hot wax on my arm. It doesn't use a strip the wax itself sets and this is peeled off. It honestly didn't hurt my arm. I have had bikini waxes done before using the hot wax and found it gave a much better result!

Simply bare is situated in high street arcade and also sell the Lycon products so after your wax if you find yourself loving the oils and lotions you can purchase them there! With over 35 years of waxing experience between the 3 ladies you know your in safe hands!

Congrations Leah on a fab salon! I'll be popping in soon. You can check out their facebook page here.

Love M

xxx

Review: Bleach London Bruised Violet and Washed Up Mermaid

Hey All

I'm a massive fan of coloured hair. I love to have my hair different colours and Bleach London are colours I've been aware of over the past year but never tried till now. (I love there white toner but that's a whole other blog post!)

My hair is currently pretty white blonde and has had all the colour lifted on it various times at Kamigata and had the amazing Aveda colours in (you can see a post on it here). Matthew who works his colour magic on my hair is leaving soon so I decided to grab my housemate and try colouring my own hair again. 

I actually did a strand test. Usually I don't bother but as I couldn't decide which colour to do (I also bought blullinni.

After the strand test I decided I loved bruised violet and washed up mermaid so after watching Matthew do a colour melt technique on my hair last time I decided to try doing that. Basically you need three tint brushes. One for each colour and a blending one. You add the top colour at the roots and the bottom colour to the tips leave about and inch in the middle and use the spare brush to mix excess colour from the two to blend in the middle. This helps avoid as harsh lines.

I did like that they were premixed as it makes application easier and means if you want to experiment with colour you don't have to use the whole bottle in one go!

As I can't see the back of my hair I explained to my housemate what I wanted and she kindly did it for me. After applying it to freshly washed damp hair I waited 20 minutes and rinsed. First thing I noticed were on a full head of colour both were darker than the stand tests.

Secondly it hasn't taken brilliantly in some places which is a bit disappointing. I had expected better results. But saying that I do love the shades and I can't wait to see how it fades. I'm hoping it's as pretty and even as Aveda colours!

But I do have to say my hair is feeling very soft and not at all dry!

Have you tried bleach london colours? Any tips or colour suggestions?

Love M

xxx

Review: Laura Mercier Honey Bath Creme Brulee

Morning All

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. Where is this week going! It's been a busy few days for me and after doing the half marathon on Sunday I feel exhausted already.

After not really training as much as I should have (having not run more than 6 miles/not at all the month before) I finished the race in a lot of pain and after 10 miles some injuries.

I'm still aching now but on Monday nught decided I deserved a proper treat bath.

When the Space NK offer was on I decided to pick up the Laura Mercier Honey Bath as it's not a luxury I'd normally spend on.





I went for Creme Brulee as I'm a fan of sweet vanilla type smells. This actually really reminds me of Lush's honey I washed the kids soap.

Honey baths come with a cute little wooden stick which you use to dip in the produxt and then swirl that under the tap to create bubbles. I wasn't really sure what to expect with this product and whether or not I'd get a bubbly bath or more of a sweet smelling relaxing one.



When run under the tap honey bath creates nice thick bubbles. I tend to use two-three sticks of it for a bath. So far I am loving it. It smells amazing and gives a lush bath. The downside is definitely the price tag. I do think as a present I'd love It.


Are you a bath person? Would you consider splashing out a little? I'm hoping it'll last a while.

Love M

xxx

101 Things in 1001 Days

Hello there! Just a quick extra post from me today after I realised that me and M both have only ONE more month to complete as many things as we can off our 101 things in 1001 days lists....eek!

What an absolute panic that was! Especially as being realistic I have no money and something planned on almost every weekend between now and the 21st of October.

You can see my full list on this link, 101 things in 1001 days.

Here's some things that I still have to complete and hope to in the next month:

1. Read. Dear Lord I have been quite shocking at reading books. I have one more left in a trilogy series I'm reading then it really is time to get started on the classics. My aim was 20 and I've so far read 1, what a poor effort!
2. Watch. I've almost finished my 60 films target, I only have 5 more to go so I can definitely complete this over the next couple of weeks.
3. Antiques. Next weekend is the Vintage Fair in Cardiff and I'm supposed to be going with my mum which would be lovely after she's been in hospital.
4. Cook. I need to learn to cook one more new thing to complete my target of five items, I'm sure I can find one more thing to cook or bake.
5. Debt. This week I am due to be paid for the first time in a few weeks, my plan is to pay my parents back as much as I can between now and the 21st and almost clear my debt.
6. Stash. Work my way through my stash as much as possible. I have a pile of sample sachets that need to be used and anything that's half empty it is time for it to go!
7. Decluttering. In life. It's time to get rid of the people that no longer support me or provide any kind of encouragement. I also need to declutter generally and I really quite enjoy getting rid of the excess crap that I don't need or use any more.
8. Creative. I'd love to do something creative, a painting or a scrapbook or something. I have a scrapbook at the ready, so maybe that should be  where I start though I have no idea when!
9. Pilates. Completing a pilates or yoga class should be easy, I will have to find out when they are on at my gym and get to one asap!
10. Complete my original list of questions from this site (link here) and compare the answers.

Hopefully I can complete 5 of them and get a few more crossed off. It's disappointing that I haven't completed them all but a lot of it has been down to lack of money and not going travelling like I'd planned.

Shows how much life can change from what you think it might!

Do you have any challenges lined up for the next few weeks? Any tips to help with completing them?

L xxx