Fitness Friday: Tone It Up 28 Days to Fit, Fierce and Fabulous

Good morning!

Today I have a Fitness Friday post ( a week later than planned...) on the wonderful 28 Days to Fit Fierce and Fabulous from Tone It Up!

If you haven't heard of Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn, also known as the Tone It Up Girls, then you have been truly living under a rock.
They have an absolutely massive following in America and now worldwide and its easy to see why. They are absolutely beautiful with toned abs and winning smiles - I'd like to find any individual who doesn't want to look like them!
Not only that but they are truly genuinely THAT nice - you just need to add them on snapchat to see how happy and fun they are.

They have therefore brought out a book, full of recipes, tips, tricks, workout ideas and general life advice. It's a bible of sorts - I have loved reading it from start to finish and can't wait until all of my house moving stuff has finished so I can get on with my 28 day challenge!

I was gutted to weigh myself the other day and find that I have put on 'more than a few pounds' so I'm planning on stepping it up a gear at the gym and reigning in my eating. It is so hard when trying to be sociable but keeping your diet in check, even at work there is a constant supply of cake and 'Friday treats' that I am sometimes force fed!

With recipes and images that look like this how can you possibly not want to eat and drink healthy things like this?!
I love the recipes and cannot wait to try them all out, what I really liked most was that most days there are suggestions rather than a super strict menu plan that you have to follow - it's great to have that flexibility in your life.

Each day has a particular food and recipe to try (only if you want to) and also a mantra and fitness challenge. This doesn't only feed your body and challenge your muscles but also addresses any self esteem issues by getting you to build up your confidence.

I always think you should treat the body as a whole package and balance mind body and soul so this book is perfect for that.
There's also a HUGE section at the back with seemingly endless workouts that I cannot wait to try out, they all have pictures and guides for doing it properly so you know you are in safe hands.

This book is currently £14.88 for the paperback version that I have above, but it also comes in the kindle version for £9.49

What do you think of the Tone It Up 28 Days to Fit, Fierce and Fabulous book?

Do you love fitness plans like this? Do you need a plan to follow and tips and tricks to guide you?

I definitely need to put some structure back into my fitness regime and come up with some new diet ideas to keep me on the right track. These girls always look happy so it would be rude not to be infected by their happiness and zest for life wouldn't it??/

Hopefully in a few weeks I can get started and I'll come back with a full on review and progress report!

L xxx

MAC Toledo Blush Ombre in Ripe Peach

Good morning!

I recently wrote a post on the beautiful Cinderella Fluidline Eyeliner Gel from MAC (post here), and mentioned that I was lucky to enough to also receive the Toledo Ombre Blush from my friends too.

The Toledo collection comes from Isabel and Ruben Toledo, it consisted of so many products it would be crazy to name them all! There was lipsticks, glosses, nail polishes, mascaras, eye liners not to mention brushes and make up bags. It's a really amazing collection and the colours are so pretty, if you get chance check out this post from Temptalia (click here) which shows some of the products, make sure you look at the stunning eyeshadow palettes!

The design is totally different from the normal MAC range and I love the way it stands out. The red is so eye catching and the faces are cute and slightly creepy, meaning I mostly can't stop looking at them.

What I also can't take my eyes off is the ombre effect of the blush itself.

JUST FEAST YOUR EYES ON IT




It's just beautiful and every kind of coral that I could ever want in one blush! Swirling my blush brush over this every morning is one sure way to get me happy, it's such a lovely colour and it complements my skin tone.

Ripe Peach is the perfect name for this blush.



So how does it look on? Peachy would definitely be the right term!

This is a great colour for every day wear, but you can also layer it up a little and get the colour to be stronger and more powerful looking.

I have often thought that some MAC collections can be a little hit and miss, they can be cheap looking or the products aren't as pigmented as the ones from the normal range.
This collection however has been really worth every penny, I've heard lots of others rave about the range too.

Do you like MAC collections like Toledo? Have you tried any of the products from this collection?

Do you like the look of this Ripe Peach ombre blush?

L xxx

Life Lately

Hey All

I've had a few busy weekends lately so thought I'd share some of the things I've been up to. We've had a lot or weddings lately the latest one we went to was in Cornwall so we made the most of it and spent a long weekend there. We found falmouth to be quite expensive so I managed to find a pod just outside for £40 for two nights. Basically a glorified shed but it did look cute, saved pitching a tent and had a light and electricity. Not only that we opened our door to see right across the bay each morning. I did make a rookie error and let my hair dry naturally the day before the wedding not thinking about the fact my hair is a lions mane and no hairdryer meant no taming it pre wedding! A quick trip for a wash and blow dry in falmouth sorted it out. Toni and Guy there offer an express blowdry for £20 which takes 20 mins as two stylists do it. Perfect for if you're in a rush.

The wedding itself was amazing. It was a lush sunny day and it was held in a barn with lawn area so pre dinner was spent playing lawn games with Pimms. How perfect. There were little sparklers on the table for dinner.

The second wedding we've been too was down in Somerset. The bride actually asked me to do the hair and make up for her and the bridesmaids. That was terrifying but it got done and she was only 5 minutes late. After that I could enjoy the day. It was held on her parents farm where there was bunting, candles hanging from trees, fires and tankards for everyone to personalise to help themselves to drink for the day. My lovely other half got attacked by the brides niece and said pens hence the laughing photo above (I definitely didn't encourage or lift her up to do it!)

As always there's food. L and I went to science cream which we posted about last week and also visited some of Cardiffs street food venues. Above is an amazing creme brulee from Wild Fig Artisan Ice Cream company. Freshly topped creme brulee with marshmallow, cookie, whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Below is one of the many hello fresh meals we've been enjoying. I'll be sharing more about them next week!

Me and the other half are currently trying to avoid going to wonder round town and for tea every time we have free time as it means we spend money so a few Sundays ago we popped down to Roath Park in Cardiff to wonder around the pleasure gardens and the lake. There were a few chicks and birds nesting. It was so cute seeing some of the smaller birds taken twigs across the lake to build the nests! We even resisted ice cream. I do love going for walks like this and need to make the effort more!

I've also made the decision to chop off a significant amount of hair. It's been really dry on the ends lately due to lots of dye. It feels in such better condition now. I'm so glad I did it.

There's also been lots of dinner, rum evenings and cinema trips. Busy times but definitely good ones! I'm ready for summer!

Love M

xxx

MAC Mineralize Multi Effect Mascara

Well hey there!

Today's review is of another MAC mascara - I've certainly been raiding their shelves recently and this one in particular was from the Cosmetics Company Outlet in Swindon on a recent trip there. I already need another  trip now that my favourite face wash and foundation are both running low, but still can't get there for another few months!

This mascara is the Multi Effect Lash mascara from their Mineralize range. It costs £21 at full price and I picked it up for £14.75 at the outlet.

I chose Charged Black, I always choose a black mascara as my lashes are already black as they are but it surprised me that they didn't have a brown option too.

The packaging was pretty standard for MAC, black and sleek.

This Mineralize mascara contains a unique combination of 77 Mineral Complex including shea butter, emollients and conditioning extracts to help keep your eyelashes soft and flexible. 

The brush looks pretty standard, there's nothing about it that screams out that it is anything different from any other mascara. 

So what does it look like on the lashes?



I'd say it works pretty well at lengthening my lashes, they look longer and blacker without being clumpy.
I do normally like a bit more volume in my look but for day time it's perfectly fine. I bought this on the horrifying occasion that I went out without mascara on, it wasn't a planned purchase but nevertheless it has been a good addition to my make up bag.

What do you think of MAC mascaras? Do you think they are worth the extra money?

If I'm honest I don't normally think that spending more on mascara is worth it, but that's because my lashes don't seem to respond to curling or any kind of taming, so lengthening and volumising is my only option!

L xxx