Things to do in Hay-on-Wye

Hey All

A few weeks ago I wrote about C and I's stay at Cosy under Canvas, this week I thought I'd share what we got up to in Hay-On-Wye and what there is to do and explore in the surrounding area if you take a trip and fancy some adventures.

Explore Hay-On-Wye

Hay-on-Wye is a little market town which is great for a explore around. It's got lots of shop to pop in to especially book shops. We enjoyed browsing around the shop and popping in to cafes for a cup of tea here! I don't have photos of Hay-On-Wye as it absolutely tipped it down as we were here!

Canoeing 

I was sceptical about going canoeing as I'd gone once when I was in school and was awful but this was really good! We opted for the short route which I think is a five mile trip. You canoe down, call the company and they come and pick you up. It was great to be out on the river and nice to relax. It's a really easy canoe ride too so great if you're a beginner! We went with Wye Valley Canoes and couldn't fault them. As it was October when we went we didn't need to book but if there are large groups or it's peak seasons I'd recommend booking. At Wye Valley Canoes there is also an amazing accommodation including a slide to get down stairs! C and I loved it and would love to go back with a big group of friends or on stag/hen dos!

Cafes

Next to Wye Valley Canoes is the River Cafe. We visited this cafe three times and we were only there 5 days! We loved it, amazing cakes, great coffee and really nice surroundings. We only samples a variety of cakes and didn't try the food but that looked great too!

Clay pigeon shooting and archery

Lastly we decided to go and do something we wouldn't normally do. After a quick google and emailing various companies Black Mountain Adventures got back to me. We weren't sure what we wanted to do and they offered loads of different activites we could do and in the end we decided on Clay pigeon shooting and archery. Both of which are half day activities so we combined them to have a full day. Black mountain offer lots from high ropes courses, bike riding and canoeing. 

We loved doing this day as it wasn't something we'd have booked to do if we weren't away for a break. These would be great for team bonding or trips with friends too!

Walking

One thing we didn't get to do when we were there was walks or hikes. Hay-On-Wye is a great base for some great hikes and walks but at the time I was still recovering from a badly sprain ankle so we thought we'd give it a miss. It's perfectly situated to take the Offa's Dyke path and this is something we want to go back to do.

So that was our whirlwind little trip. We spent all of our evenings in our dome and cooked all of our meals. We had planned to eat out but decided we preferred to relax on the site as it meant we could both enjoy a drink and then go in our hot tub!

Have you been to the Hay-On-Wye area? Do you enjoy a few adventure activities?

Love M

xxx

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant Review

Hey All

I'm a big skin care fan and until recently Dermalogica wasn't a brand I had used much except for the odd facial I've had done. After seeing the Daily Microfoliant for sale in a blogsale I couldn't resist. I have oily combination skin that is playing up at the moment and I'm still missing the Murad AHA/BHA exfoliating cleaner (review here) as it was a gentle exfoliator but my bank account says no to that atm! I'm aware that over exfoliation can worsen oil skin so I wanted someone less abrasive than a normal exfoliator and this sounded perfect.

I immediately loved this and I can see me using it all the time. It's a really fine powder that you shake out into the hands and then add water to make a paste before putting onto the skin. It dissolves into the skin so it's not overly abrasive making it suitable for most skin types.
It's formulated from a rise based powder which also has salicylic acid in it. The combination of this and the rice enzymes work together to exfoliate dead skin cells. I love that this doesn't really have a scent as I know it's not packed with perfumes that may irritate my skin. 
This is a great product that I'll definitely be repurchasing for my go to exfoliant (you can find it here). I love that it's gentle enough to use daily and it's really been helping my skin break outs and overall condition.
What's your current favourite exfoliator? Have you used dermalogica?
Love M
xxx

Birthday Time!

Hi all!

It was my birthday last weekend so posts the last week have been a little thin on the ground...it was lovely to have a long weekend for it and I had something planned every day which was really nice.

It was overall quite a quiet weekend but to be honest I'm getting to the age where using a long weekend to see friends and catch up on sleep and good food is the best kind of weekend!

First me and M had an afternoon tea session at Celtic Manor which was amazing as you would expect. It was the Chocolate Afternoon Tea which is available until the 19th of June - we will definitely be writing a full post on this as it is beautiful! Here's a few snaps to show you how amazing:

After that we just about made it through the front door, and had a girly evening in with face masks, tan and some prosecco to celebrate! It was a lovely evening, and M even made some Captain America cookies for me, how cute and clever are these??

After this we had a very civilised night out with yummy cocktails and a cheeky McDonalds which was really nice as we haven't been out for a while.

I also had a lovely meal with my family at Wahaca, me and my dad shared the Wahaca Selection which was lush to try so many different things and I washed it down with a Mexican hot chocolate which is dairy free. It was an interesting taste and I'd order it again but it's quite bitter so hard to finish the whole thing.

I had some amazing gifts from friends and family. My brother bought me a sushi making kit which I can't wait to try out and also a selection box from T2 tea who have some crazy loose leaf tea flavours such as Caramel Brownie and Choc Chip Chai.

M got me a lush Origins set with my favourite products in and a pre order of the Harry Potter and the Cursed child - who isn't excited for that!!
I also had another Barnes and Noble classic book to add to my book shelf. I'm getting quite a collection together now and can't wait to get as many as I can!

I also had some vouchers so I went shopping on the weekend and bought the Naked 2 palette which I have wanted for ages and also some stuff from Lush too!

It was a really nice weekend and it was a shock to go back to work last week!

I've been struggling ever since and now I'm away with work so am feeling all over the place, looking forward to getting back to normality and joining my new gym permanently when I get back.

What have you been up to lately? I have so many posts to catch up on and so much to share with you!

L xxx

MAC Pro longwear Foundation Review

Hey All

Long time no post from me it feels. Life has just been getting in the way lately but today I wanted to share a product I loved a while ago but recently repurchased and have fell in love with again, it's MAC Pro Longwear. We've reviewed it a long time ago on the blog but I've now gone for a different shade and thought I'd show you it on.

This was a total whirlwind purchase at the airport when we went to Copenhagan. You can see what else I picked up here and here. I am really pale lately and I find my foundations are all quite dark so I got colour matched at the airport to NW15. Previously I was NW20 but I definitely think that would be too dark for me.

The bottle and packaging are the same as they were before. Classic MAC black and white. I really like the pump on this, I like that it twists to close so it's secure in my bag as regularly I do my make up on the bus so I need something secure.

NW15 is for pink undertones. I have naturally rose pale skin I think I probably could have gotten away with NW12 but at least with this I can wear it all year.

Bare Skin

1 Layer

2 Layers

Full Face

I love this foundation. I'd forgotten how much I loved it until I had it back in my life. It builds up on the skin and blends so easily. I find my skin looks natural as it sets to a semi matte finish and doesn't leave me shiny and as you can see above photographs really well. I do find MAC colour options great for most skin tones.

Since purchasing it I have decided to go cruelty free so this will be my last bottle of it which does honestly leave me gutted so any recommendations for an alternative let me know.

Love M

xxx