DIY: Coffee Scrub

Hey All

Coffee scrubs seem to be everywhere at the moment, a great natural exfoliator that not only helps soften skin but also helps with cellulite. With summer now hear the coffee scrub trend was something I wanted to try out but to be honest didn't want to pay the price for. They seem really expensive for something which is basically oil and coffee so I decided to make me own.

To make your own coffee scrub you'll need

• Ground Coffee (ps poundlound sell!)
• Sugar or salt
• Oil (I used coconut oil but sweet almond or anything would work too, ps if you're using coconut oil you can get cheaper one's that aren't suitable for cooking but I already has this one in the cupboard)
• Bowl
• Tablespoon and cup
• A jar to store it in
• Essential Oil (optional!)

It really is amazingly simple you mix the dry ingredients depending on how much you want to make, I did 1 cup of ground coffee to 3 tablespoons of sugar.

 I then added sweet orange essential oil, though I'm not sure I'd bother next time as you can smell it slightly (I added loads!!) but I think the coffee is so strong it's not worth it. Peppermint or tea tree may work well though.

Next up melt some coconut oil and mix it all together. I used 5 tablespoons of coconut oil but it may take more less so add it one tablespoon at a time and mix. 

Lastly add to pretty container or old jar! Much cheaper than buying it and makes a great gift for friends!!

So far I'm really enjoying using it. It leave my skin so soft and the coconut oil adds moisture! It does get messy in the shower but it's worth it!

Have you made your own coffee scrub or tried coffee scrubs?

Love M

xxx

Marula Oil Rare Oil Replenishing Range: Shampoo and Conditioner

Hey All

A few weeks ago L and I headed to an event with Salon Success and were given some products to test out.

One of these is the Marula Oil Range. Marula oil is harvested in Africe and cold-pressed to help maintain the nutrients of the oil. The Marula Oil used has up to 50% more protective antioxidants than Argan Oil. It helps to hydrate, repair and moisturise the hair.

We both dye our hair so anything that helps improve the condition and hydrate it is always a win for us!

The packaging is simple but works, white and black with gold accents. I also love that it's a pump top as it just makes it easier to use in the shower.

The shampoo really lathers up well which is great as it's also sulphate free. Some sulphate free shampoos just don't have the same lather. It leaves the hair clean but what impressed me the most is how soft my hair felt after just the shampoo. My hair is bleached and regularly dyed and not in the best condition. It usually feels horrible without conditioner but after using this I was impressed how untangled my hair felt with the shampoo alone. The conditioner really added to it and just left my hair feeling so soft and more manageable. It's also surprisingly lightweight. I always expect a moisturising conditioner to be thicker but this is lovely.

Overall I'm totally impressed, my hair feels softer and in better conditioner since I've started using it.

The Marula Oil range is available from Paul Mitchell Salons, you can find your nearest salon here.

Love L and M

xxx

Miss Patisserie's Dotty Box

Happy Sunday evening!

What a beautiful weekend it has been, I'm sporting some pink shoulders and sore muscles after finally getting around to sorting out some of my garden - 9 bags later and it's still not finished, eek!

Anyway, back to business....we went to Miss Patisserie for a blogger event (you can read the post here)

One of the items I picked up was the Dotty Box, a gift box with four items in all of which looked and smelled so good I couldn't resist it.

In total it contains the Mineral Mud Face Mask, Coral Bay Dry Body Oil, Coco Body Butter and the Coral Bay Bath Ball.
All of these smell so amazing, I couldn't wait to try them.

They come in the same boxes as when you can select four bath balls of your own choice, and the boxes are gorgeous. I'm planning on decorating my bathroom with the same colour as the blue on the box, so it will conveniently match...right?

The boxes are so well thought out and I love the note on the inside of it too. I wish I'd known about Miss Patisserie sooner, especially as it's been around since 2009!

Here are the products:

How cute are they?!
The smell when you open the box is amazing, even with the contents out the box it still smells awesome and I have sniffed it a few times just to remind myself of the scent! It makes me feel so relaxed and content, I need to bottle it up and carry it around with me.

First up? The Coral Bay Bath Ball. Look at the pretty colours!

This was my first bath ball and I was really impressed. The pastel colours were so pretty, and the bath ball fizzed for so long I actually ended up breaking it up with my hands, I am very impatient! I'd like a perfume in this scent, it's just makes me so happy!

Next is the Mineral Mud mask.

I've already written a post about this separately, you can find it by clicking here.
Short review: I love it and fully recommend it!

The next product I tried was the Coral Bay Dry Body Oil. This is a game changer for me, I knew I loved the smell but a dry oil isn't something I had tried before and I really loved it!

I use this all the time now, straight out of the shower and it sinks in pretty fast. I love moisturisers and body butters but sometimes they take too long and I can't be bothered to wait for them to dry. This is the perfect alternative and I'm really impressed with it.

I'd definitely recommend it, just let me stock up on it first so I never run out!

Last but not least is the Coco Body butter, and it is certainly another favourite.

The smell of this is also out of this world and is such a summery scent, it's a lovely thick moisturiser and takes a little while to rub in but it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all.

Overall I am more than impressed with the collection and generally with everything I have bought from Miss Patisserie. This was the perfect box to try a range of products and I'd 100% recommend it for anyone who would like to try a few and can't choose.

The box costs £25 and is worth around £32 in product so it is worth buying if you want them all anyway. Individually they are priced at:

Mineral Mud Face Mask - £7.70
Coral Bay Dry Body oil - £14
Coral Bay Bath ball - £3.49
Coco Body Butter- £6

Have you tried any sets from Miss Patisserie? Do you love the Coral Bay scent?

L xxx

Madame Fromage

Hey All

When L and I went to the Miss Patisserie Spring Event (you can read about it here) and couldn't resist buying half the shop we decided lunch was needed (okay it was half 11 but we'd both drunk the night before and needed food!) and finally remembered we hadn't been to Madame Fromage - how we haven't been before is still a mystery to us.

Madame Fromage is in the Castle Arcade and is a deli and restaurant serving up a variety of food including cheese and tapas platters, fresh salads, tarts, welsh cawl etc. The whole menu looks amazing and is reasonably priced. The deli selection has a very impressive cheese and antipasti selection as well an amazing cake fridge that we were very dissapointed we couldn't fit in. We were very tempted to get cake to take away but as both of us our trying to loose weight we decided to skip it!

As you walk into the main restaurant you are straight away greeted with the amazing cheese selection - there is more seating across the road and outside. We both couldn't wait to get in and decide what we wanted. As standard we both had tea and water and decided on the cheese platter and mini meat selection (really just the cheese would have been enough to share) They suggest their cheese or tapas boards serve two and at £14.99 each are very reasonable. (I've taken my parents recently and sample the tapas and cheese boards with them. I don't think I could choose between them as the selection on the tapas was amazing but I do love the extra cheese on the cheese board!)

The bread selection that comes with the boards are amazing both times I've been I've had raison and walnut, one with sundried tomato, french stick type and others. The bread is all fresh and a generous portion.

Onto the star of the show!!!! Look at all that cheese. There was a great selection of soft cheese, mild, mature etc something for every taste and it was nice to try some I'd never tried before as well as seeing some classics. It also come with a lovely fresh salad! Something else I loved was that when I went back with my parents it was a different variety of cheeses so you always get to try something new. 

The mini meat was something we didn't need as we were totally stuffed but it was a delicous treat, nice chunky slices of ham, parma ham, chorizo and salami as well as more amazing bread. This was a nice addition to the cheese board and would be great if three of you were sharing it.

We can't recommend Madame Fromage enough, great service amazing food and I've already been back since L and I went together, definitely get there early we arrived at 11.30ish or late afternoon if you're visiting on a Saturday as it gets very busy!

Love L and M

xxx