New House

Happy Saturday!

I've mentioned a few times on the blog how I am in the process of buying a house (eek!). It's really exciting but also kind of dragging now as it's been 2 months without much happening and I just can't wait to get my date and move in!

Moans aside, I've been picking up some bits and pieces to put into my new house and I wanted to share them with you. My first shop to get to? Obviously Home Sense!

I have always loved reading and have a massive collection of books. Some I've never even read because they are super old and leather bound and I just love the look of them.
But when I do get the chance I'd love to have an armchair to read them in.......and there it was in the middle of the store.
Some of you might hate it, but I absolutely love green and with the living area currently a black and cream colour palette I'm really looking forward to having some colour in it, so a brightly coloured armchair like this is perfect. It's also REALLY comfy so I can't wait to snuggle up in it.

My mum is also making me a quilt/throw for the living area that matches the colours of the chair. I didn't realise how much I like green but it just makes me feel really calm.
I've no idea what it's going to look like yet but I love the thought of having personal things in my house that nobody else will have.

I've also got a load of old wooden furniture that I can't wait to do up. Above is a super old writing desk that I'm planning on turning into a dressing table. I can't afford to buy lots of new furniture and with pieces like this that are solid and have lasted such a long time it would be pointless to throw them out for no reason.

I will be getting well acquainted with some sandpaper and chalk paints over the next few months I'm sure!

I also have a huge chest of drawers - the bottom one is so big that my dad used to climb in it and sleep in it when he was younger!

Then I have an ottoman and a table with a compartment inside. All of it has been stored away for a few years so it needs a good clean.

To bring in some bright colours to the kitchen I'm also planning on buying a lot of aqua coloured accessories like the kettle below, and hopefully a matching toaster. I think it's a great colour and as the kitchen has a lot of cream and beige tones in it, it will hopefully brighten it up!

I am also hoping that I might be getting hold of the chair below from some family friends, according to a Facebook post that I've seen (copied below) you can use chalk paints and paint straight onto the fabric to change the colour! How amazing!!

Spooky coincidence that the chairs are almost the same colour!

I really cannot wait to get the keys and start making some changes to the place, fingers crossed everything keeps going through and I get a date soon!

Have you bought your own place recently? Or have you moved?

If you have any DIY tips or favourite blogs for this kind of topic then please send them to me!

I'd love to see more ideas that I can incorporate into my house, especially storage...

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Spitfire Athlete App

Hello!

I've been trying to branch out and vary my routine as much as possible recently - it's hard enough getting to the gym and working it in around your life let alone now that wedding season seems to be in full swing along with trips for work and basically it's endless!

The other day I found this amazing app on the iTunes app store. Now I will straight away tell you that I've seen a number of complaints because the app is only available on iPhones and therefore not Android - so if you like the look of it feel free to make complaints as I'm sure they will have to create an Android one soon with demand!

The Spitfire Athlete app is an app that teaches you how to train to reach your goals. They follow these basic principles:

• The training plans are created by certified coaches
• Guides on training, nutrition and recovery
• Detailed exercise instruction

The most important factor? They built up Spitfire Athlete for women to show them how strong and powerful they can be.

They'd like to promote the 'athlete's mentality' to help you set and achieve your goals whether they are strength, power, flexibility or physique.

You can check out their website here, and see a quick bio of each of the two female founders Erin and Nidhi showen below, respectively.

The plans are separated into Gym workouts and Bodyweight workouts. They all have epic names that motivate you and make you strive for more: The Fighter, The Warrior, The Heroine. 

Some look totally out of my fitness range if I'm honest but working towards them is something I can definitely do. 

I would love to complete The Dauntless, a 12 week training plan to build serious muscle with each and every day with set exercise routines and rest days. Each day is dedicated to a different muscle group and contains a warm up and cool down. More impressively they include a timer for those exercises that require you to complete it in a set time - this is something that always makes me so annoyed with running apps that suggest you run for 1 minute and walk for 1 minute, they don't make it easier!

Personally I will be trying The Heroine, a HIIT based plan whereby you will build muscle, lose fat and increase metabolism, most ideal for me. It's only a 4 week plan so will give me a good feel for the exercises and hopefully some new challenges!

More importantly than anything else the app is totally free and they also have a facebook group to join (Spitfire Athlete) for you to join others and socialise.

What do you think of the Spitfire Athlete app? Do you think it sounds like something you would like to try?

I think it's a great idea and I love that the whole idea is created by 2 women, I will certainly be promoting this app and I hope more people try it out and come up with ideas like this!

It's so motivating and inspiring to know that there are other women doing the same exercises.

L xxx

MAC Cinderella Fluidline Eyeliner Gel: Little Black Bow

Morning!

A few weeks ago my amazing friends got me some lovely gifts for my birthday - MAC is always a lush present to receive right??
They got me both of the items below, the limited edition Cinderella Fluidline Eyeliner and the Toledo Ombre Blush. I will come to the blush in a separate post so this one is for the Cinderella liner.

If I'm honest I can't say the packaging excited me that much. I loved the look of the eyeshadow palette but that's maybe because it has Cinderella plastered across the front!
I just didn't feel like it was as magical as it could have been - though it is a pretty blue and matches the dress that she wears in the film. It needed a little more sparkle in my opinion!





The MAC Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel is called 'Little Black Bow', and is classed as a grey liner with silver pearl.

It's quite a dark grey liner gel with silver glitter particles, though it isn't gritty. It's one of those shades that can be used as intended as an eyeliner, but also as a cream eyeshadow. The texture is very smooth and has a sheen finish, it's a thin gel so applies really easily regardless of your application.

So for application as a eyeliner gel, how does it look?

I applied this using the Real Techniques liner brush, it was super easy to get a perfect flick considering I haven't worn eyeliner for a good few months recently. It may need a few layers to get a decent uniform effect but I didn't find it was too much of an problem.
I normally love liner but it's too fiddly for work and I haven't had any occasions for anything different.

I liked this in the pot but I wasn't sure I'd get much wear out of it. Having used it a few times now I can say that I surprisingly love it and it's a beautiful alternative to a black. I could in theory wear this grey to work as its a great subtle alternative to black (though maybe the glitter wouldn't be ideal....)



I was also impressed with how well the liner lasted too, it didn't smudge or budge all day and I think that wearing it alone as I have above or with a subtle or full blown smokey eye would be a really nice alternative to a black, especially for summer nights out when minimal make up is the best option.

What do you think of Little Black Bow?

I love receiving limited edition products but they can be hard to write about especially as they sell out so fast! Allegedly this has been brought out before under a different collection but a dark grey liner is generally a good addition to any make up collection.

Do you wear dark grey instead of black liquid liner? Do you buy from MAC limited edition collections?

I normally lust after them as they sell out!

L xxx

Nip and Fab: No Needle Fix Serum

Hey All

Another joint post from us. After I found a great deal on Nip and Fab products in Debenhams last year L and I have been hooked and loved most of them. This is a product from the original haul but it's taken me a while to use it as I forgot about it in my stash.

We are both skincare fans and we're hoping that in the long run all the money we spend on skincare will be worth it and that ultimately prevention will be better than cure. As our skin at the moment is ok wrinkle wise (we're both starting to occasionally notice the fine lines on the forehead!) I find it hard in some ways to review skincare.

For me anything that leaves my skin feeling hydrated without greasy and sinks into the skin is usually a hit with me.

We got the No Needle Fix serum in a set as it was even cheaper that way. We'll be reviewing Frown Fix soon but it wasn't one we enjoyed so we wouldn't recommend the set. We love serums. At a Neal's Yard Remedy event we were told the importance of serum and it's stuck with me ever since. Moisturisers moisturise the layer of skin on the surface and serums work on skin cells below the surface.

As I have combination skin I love serums as they help replace some of the moisture my skin needs without making it greasy.

The Nip and Fab No Needle Fix serum has a light gel texture that easily sinks into the skin. I find I need more of this product than I normally need with a serum but my skin loves it and so far it's lasting well. Above you can see some of the key ingredients which help to improve the skins texture.

Since using this morning and night my skin has stayed clearer. It easily sinks into my skin and doesn't leave my skins feeling moisturised but not greasy. After a few weeks of using it my skin has been left feeling plump and healthy. It just looks better. One thing we love about Nip and Fab is the affordability. For this reason I think this will definitely be a repurchase and as L has tried other serums I'll be asking her recommendations and mixing it up. This has been a favourite serum so far.

M xxx

I have to agree with M that I love the serums that hydrate my skin without feeling heavy or greasy on my skin, the last thing I need is more grease!
Serums are really important to hydrate the skin at its lowest levels as moisturisers don't reach that far down. I've noticed a massive improvement in my skin since I've started using a serum and its my second most important product after a cleanser.

Using this serum both morning and night has hydrated my skin but not left a greasy layer on it, nor has it reacted and caused breakouts. For £14.95 this serum does a really good job, but I have found that the Dragon's Blood serum (review here) was better for my skin.

This product had a good effect on my skin but I just felt that the other serum was better. I'd repurchase this if the Dragon's Blood serum was sold out in shops, but if I had the choice of the two I'd pick the other.
This serum is quite thick, and sometimes it doesn't absorb as fast into my skin as some other thinner serums, and that's probably the only thing I can pinpoint that might be a downside to this product as it really does exactly what it should.

Have you tried many products from Nip and Fab?

I think between us we have tried almost everything! 

Do you have a favourite range or product from them?

I can recommend the Viper Venom, Glycolic and Dragon's Blood ranges, I've not met a product I didn't like from them!

L xxx