My Lush haul

Hello,

It was a bit late for me to blog yesterday. A friend and I went to Zizzis for tea and then went and saw Hitchcock. It was amazing, creepy but never-the-less amazing. Anthony Hopkins was perfect to play the part of Hitch and Helen Mirren... Well she's just fanstastic!

Our food at Zizzis: (l-r) Sophie's calamari rings, my goats cheese bruschetta and our rustica pizzas

Anyway, my skin is having a bit of a bad breakout at the moment so when I was in town yesterday I decided to have a little splurge in Lush hoping that if I treated my skin to some lovely, all natural products it would be nice back to me (for a change!).

The people at Lush were lovely as usual and helped suggest some products which would help clear up the breakouts without irritating them. As you know, using harsh cleansers on oily skin will simply make it worse, definitely not what I need right now. I decided to pick a range of products which I could add to my night time regime - I'll do a post about that soon - and here's what I got.

1. Herbalism, 100g - £6.95: don't be put off by the vivid green colour, mixing a pea sized amount of this solid cleanser with some water will create a light paste which is effective at removing all traces of make up (well apart from eye make up). It's unlike any cleanser I've ever used before and at the moment I'm not really sure what I think about it but it was really refreshing and incredibly gentle on my skin.

2. Tea tree water, 100g - £3.95: I love toners and after seeing Sophie Says raving about Eau Roma water on her blog I decided to take the plunge and buy one too. I decided on the smaller version so I could test out how it would react with my skin. Unlike other tea tree products I've used in the past it's not particularly strong and when you spray it straight onto your face it seems like just a normal water spray.

3. Mask of magnaminty, 125g - £4.95 : this. this has been my favourite product so far. I know I've only used it once but it was amazing. As you may have noticed from my previous Lush post I love mint so when I picked up the tester in store and realised it was made with peppermint oil itwent straight into my shopping basket there and then. It is a really invigorating mask and you can feel it working deep down into your skin as soon as you put it on. I expect further great things the more I use this product and once I've used up this small pot I'll probably invest in a full size tub.

 Wishing you all a very happy valentines day - whether you're single or not!

Beth xx

Pancake day!

Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a delicious pancake day. 

(l-r) 1. Sophie S, Jasmine and Sophie T ready for tea, 2. Sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice, 3. dinner date, 4. making a mess cooking!

1. getting the ingredients ready for pancakes, 2. our choice of toppings, 3. my golden syrup and blueberry pancake (delicious) 4. the pancake stack

We've been celebrating Chinese New Year, Pancake Day and Valentines Day here and it's been a fun filled evening. My housemate and I had 2 of our close friends from our course round for dinner - sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice obviously - and then I cooked us all pancakes. It took me an hour but it was definitely worth it. It was nice to have a night off to relax and chat, plus we got to stuff ourselves silly with lovely food.

I hope you've all been cooking up a storm! What are your favourite pancake toppings? As you can see we went a bit crazy with ours.

Beth xx

Save the nail - toughen up base coat

Hello everyone, I hope you're well.

It's been absolutely freezing today, we've even had some snow but unfortunately it wasn't heavy enough to settle so looks like we won't be having a snow day tomorrow!

Anyway as you've probably all noticed nude and natural nails are going to be huge this Spring/Summer and I noticed mine were in need of a bit of TLC. Working it a kitchen is definitely puts a strain on your hands and mine are always looking damaged. The hot water dries out your hands and leaves you nails looked tired and ragged. I've lost count of the number of times I've bent my nail back or ripped it halfway down the bed (ouch!). 

This base coat was a bit of an impulse purchase, I was browsing in Boots with a good friend and this cheeky little product caught my eye. The packaging is so cute - covered in hearts (perfect for Valentines Day) and seeing as it was on offer how could I refuse? 

 

Like all other products by Nails Inc., gets a lovely (and very appropriate) name "Save the nail". It contains silk powder to add instant strength and mineral complex with added protein to helps nails grow stronger and longer. The idea is that you apply a coat every 7 days and then on the 8th day you clean your nails and start again. I've only been using it for a few days but I can already see difference in my nails. They look smoother and healthier, and the whites are much lighter.I definitely think I will keep using this base coat, and I'll report back as to whether it's made them any better to deal with the strains and stresses of a working kitchen!

 

 

Apologies for the bad pictures of my hands, the camera isn't the greatest. Also if my nails look slightly blue it's because the house is so cold!

Save the nail toughen up base coat is available from Boots and online here for £7.50

Have you used any other products from Nails Inc.? What did you think?

Beth xx

Lush "mint julips" lip scrub

Tis the season for cracked, dry lips! The bitter cold weather mixed with indoor heating is a recipe for disaster where you lips are concerned and I don't know about you but mine have definitely been suffering lately.
I picked up this cute little pot when I was browsing in Lush a couple of weeks ago, my lips were feeling red raw and one sniff of the gorgeous minty chocolate scent was all I needed to convince me to purchase it.

The scrub is incredinly gentle, as it's made from castor sugar, but still effective at stopping your lips from being dry and flaky. The jojoba oil will then keep your lips moisturised and prevent them from immediately drying out again. It's great value for money as well, because you hardly need any scrub to get your lips in tip top condition, I've been using mine everyday and hardly made a dent in tub.

One of the best things about this scrub is the fact that it's made from all natural ingredients - you can actually recognise most of the ones on the label. I know people always wonder when they wear lipgloss or lipstick, "what am I putting into my body everytime I lick my lips" but with Mint Julips there's no need worry. Infact the instructions even say on the back that you can lick off the excess. I've tried it, it's good but I wouldn't recommend eating the entire pot.

You can pick up a lip scrub in store or buy it online here for just £5.25 - also available in Bubblegum and Popcorn scents

Have you tried any other lip scrubs?

Beth xx

Benefit's brow bar

Now waxing and tweezing aren't exactly the most thrilling of subjects but never-the-less they're part of every girl's life. So after work today I decided to stop by the Benefit Boutique, in Bournemouth's Debenhams store and get one of their signature Brow Arch Treatments.

This was the first time I have had my brows waxed but the service I recieved at Benefit was second to none. All the girls working on the counter were really friendly and helpful. My therapist, Sophie, took the time to explain what shape had been chosen for my brow and how this would be achieved. Every brow shape is individual and tailored to suit your face shape and feature, no stencils used here!

While I was there, several other women came in to have their brows shaped and/or tinted, which shows what a popular service this is.

I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I saw the outcome, but only because the waxing and tweezing had made the skin around my brows go bright red! But Sophie soon cleaned it up by applying a calming balm and some super-strong concealer, anyway all the redness and swelling has completely disapearing now (a couple of hours after the treatment). Having the treatment regularly will help your skin get used to the waxing and reduce the amount of redness and/or tenderness you have during and after.

Afterwards the girls at the Benefit counter were happy to show me the range of gorgeous products they have on offer, showing me ones which were perfect for my oily skin and they even gave me makeover using some of the recommended ones.

what a difference!

Now I've had a Signature Brow Arch it's safe to say I'll be another regular customer at the boutique!

What to expect at the Brow Bar

Before

• your therapist will check that you're not using any medication or have any conditions that may (potentially) react badly with wax and you'll be asked to sign a waiver
• then your therapist will talk you through what brow shape they have chosen for you and how they will achieve this

During

•  First your therapist will trim your brows 
• After testing the temperature of the wax on the back of your hand, they will apply the wax between your brows, above and underneath them to achieve the brow shape that will suit you best
• Any stray or loose hairs will then be tweezed to stop them ruining your look

After

• Your therapist will clean any excess wax will be cleaned from around your brow, then they will apply a cooling balm to help reduce any redness. If this is your first wax then the skin will look quite inflamed
• Another balm will be applied to close your pores so the therapist can then apply Boing! - a concealer - to help cover the redness.
• Your brows will be finished and defined with the use of Brow zings 

The signature Brow Arch treatment starts at £11.50, to find your nearest Benefit Boutique or Bar click here. There was no appointment necessary, although waiting time may vary from boutique to boutique depending how busy they are.

Have you had any treatments at a Benefit Boutique? What did you think?

Beth xx

What's in my make up bag?

 

I personally love seeing what other people have stashed away in their make up bags so I thought I would share with you my everyday products I can't leave the house without. I tend not to wear a lot of make up during the day, as I try to give my skin a bit of a breather but if I'm going out for the evening, I'll reapply my make-up and add liquid eyeliner, eye shadow and lipstick.

buy me here..

A good primer is essential for dealing with the perils and pitfalls of oily skin. This one is light and easy to apply, and keeps my make up in place throughout the day.

buy me here..

I was (and still am) a big fan of Maybelline foundations, but this one was recommended to me when I got colour matched at my local No. 7 counter. It provides medium coverage which is just the right amount for university or work and is actually pretty good at staying put. 

buy me here..

Apologies for the bad picture but if can't leave the house without concealer then you need to invest in this one! I was browsing in Superdrug, killing time before my shift started and I picked up the PhotoReady concealer by Revlon and a whim and it's the best one I've used so far. The creamy stick gives excellent coverage without looking hideously obvious that you're trying to hide a spot or dark circles.

buy me here..

This powder has been a staple in my make-up bag for I don't know how long.

buy me here..

 Despite being a lover of all things Soap & Glory I never actually tried out any of their make-up range until I was given this mascara as part of a set for Christmas and I can tell you I'm never looking back! The brush is excellent at seperating and coating each individual lash which is perfect for creating a wide-eyed fanned out look.

What are you "must-have" everyday products?

Beth xx