Wednesday 31 July 2013

Neals Yard Remedies Baby Balm

Now, do you ever wonder why you always seems to get the typical 'Johnsons' lotions when you have a Baby?! It's as if no one knows of any other baby friendly brand. Well... time for that to change!
Neals Yard Remedies are an Organic company that make lotions and potions for pretty much everyone, including babies. Baby Balm is "an organic blend of Shea butter, coconut oils and olive oils to nourish, nurture and sooth dry and sensitive skin" perfect for your little one once they've had a bath. 
I was kindly sent Baby balm* to try out on Millie and it's absolutely fab! Its a silky smooth formula, not like the Johnsons balm and less oily that Baby Oil and sinks into her skin nicely. We apply it just after her bath at night to relax her and get her ready for bedtime. It isn't in anyway greasy and it eases the dry patches she has on her head and feet too!

If you are looking to try out a new range of skincare and moisturisers for your little one, then I highly recommend Neals Yard Remedies. You can buy Baby Balm here for £11.00 and a little goes a long way so you won't need to repurchase for a good few months, unlike Johnsons lotions. 

Have you got a favourite product you like to use on your little one's skin? I'd love to know!

Sunday 28 July 2013

#EastMidsMeetUp

Yes, another meet up... 




If you follow me on Twitter, you will have seen a few tweets about a Meet Up I am organising for East Midlands based Bloggers. Now, the reason for this is that I feel Midland Bloggers, especially East Midland based Bloggers, miss out on events due to people that don't actually live in the Midlands, travelling to attend them. I have no problem with that but if it means that we miss out on places at events because of it, then it's not fair. So, with this Meet up, there are requirements that you need to meet. 

You need to live in a 30 (35 pushing it) mile radius of Derby City Centre (this is where the Meet Up will take place). If you don't know whether that's you, I have popped a map/list below of all the places that would count:



 Buxton, Great Britain is 30 miles away 

 Great Glen, Great Britain is 30 miles away 

Stafford, Great Britain is 30 miles away 

 Stoke On Trent, Great Britain is 30 miles away 
Stoke-on-trent, Great Britain is 30 miles away 
 Worksop, Great Britain is 30 miles away 
 Stone, Great Britain is 29 miles away 
 Sutton Coldfield, Great Britain is 29 miles away 
 New Ollerton, Great Britain is 28 miles away 
 Wishaw, Great Britain is 28 miles away 
 Hinckley, Great Britain is 27 miles away 
 Melton Mowbray, Great Britain is 27 miles away 
 Leicester, Great Britain is 24 miles away 
 Lichfield, Great Britain is 24 miles away 
Southwell, Great Britain is 24 miles away 
Atherstone, Great Britain is 23 miles away 
 Chesterfield, Great Britain is 22 miles away 
 Near Tamworth, Great Britain is 22 miles away 
Nuneaton, Great Britain is 22 miles away 
 Tamworth, Great Britain is 21 miles away 
 Market Bosworth, Great Britain is 20 miles away 
 Leicecster, Great Britain is 19 miles away 
 Mansfield, Great Britain is 19 miles away 
 Markfield, Great Britain is 17 miles away 
 Appleby Magna, Great Britain is 16 miles away 
 Matlock, Great Britain is 16 miles away 
 Arnold, Great Britain is 14 miles away 
Coalville, Great Britain is 14 miles away 
Loughborough, Great Britain is 14 miles away 
 Ashbourne, Great Britain is 13 miles away 
 Nottingham, Great Britain is 12 miles away 
Ruddington, Great Britain is 12 miles away 
 Ashby-de-la-zouch, Great Britain is 11 miles away 
Burton-on-trent, Great Britain is 9 miles away 
 Burton On Trent, Great Britain is 8 miles away 
Belper, Great Britain is 7 miles away 
Castle Donington, Great Britain is 7 miles away 
 Derby Nottingham, Great Britain is 5 miles away 

Below are the places just over 30 miles that will get 2nd priority over places:

 Albrighton, Great Britain is 40 miles away 
 Kenilworth, Great Britain is 40 miles away 
 Rugby, Great Britain is 40 miles away 
 Sandbach, Great Britain is 40 miles away 
 Glaston, Uppingham, Great Britain is 39 miles away 
 Disley, Great Britain is 38 miles away 
Macclesfield, Great Britain is 38 miles away 
Tettenhall Wood, Great Britain is 38 miles away 
 Uppingham, Great Britain is 38 miles away 
 Market Harborough, Great Britain is 37 miles away
 Retford, Great Britain is 35 miles away 
 Coventry, Great Britain is 34 miles away 

 Oakham, Great Britain is 34 miles away 

Rotherham, Great Britain is 34 miles away 

 Birmingham, Great Britain is 33 miles away 
 Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Great Britain is 33 miles away 
Sheffield, Great Britain is 32 miles away 
 Walsall, Great Britain is 32 miles away


Overall, I think (to be confirmed) there will be 30 available places so priority will firstly go to those who live within the proximity, then to those who live over 30 miles and then to anyone else, providing there are spaces left of course. 

It will be a chance for local bloggers to meet up, shop, have a bite to eat and hopefully, learn some new things about companies in Derby! The day is 'under construction' at the moment but I have lots of ideas as to what to do. I am hoping it will be held on the weekend of 30th November/1st December so you could class it as a little Blogger Christmas Party! Timings again, are to be confirmed but i'm thinking about 12-7pm? including eating and shopping. 

If you are interested and would like to be involved, please email me with your postcode or area that you live so I can double check you meet the criteria and I will send you a confirmation email back! 

If you don't live in the designated area but would still like to come along, you can still email me and I will add you to a reserve list. This will be first come first serve so that if I have spaces left, the people that got in touch first will take priority over those spaces. 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me! 



Home Improvement Hero

I must admit, i'm not a very DIY type of person. I've only been living in the flat for 9 or 10 months since leaving university to have Millie and since then, I haven't really put my own stamp on it because we're hoping to move into a house soon and its too much effort to paint walls etc but when Moneysupermarket offered me the chance to take part in their 'Home Improvement Hero' I thought it'd be a good chance to spruce up the bathroom as we've wanted to tidy it up for a while now. 

Being a girl, I obviously have way too many shower gels, shampoos, face washes etc and to be honest, so does Adam! It just got to a point in our bathroom that we had no clear storage or organisation to it and just ended up chucking whatever was being used regularly in a box on the floor or stuck on the window! 
I didn't really think it would take much to tidy it up and improve it really so I scored the shops for a neat storage unit, some pieces to house bath bombs (we don't really use bubble bath that often as I like to keep stocked up on Lush products) and a new soap dish to stop the soaps disintegrating all over the bath and sink! 




 Shower curtain - £4.99 Argos
Mats - £2.99 Argos
Glass Jar - £5.75 Wilkos 
Soap dish - £1.50 Wilkos
Stack of drawers - £19.99 Argos
Hand towels - £1.00 Wilkos
 Bath bombs - £10.40 (already owned some) Lush 
Total spent £46.62

 It looks so much better less cluttered and more organised. It actually looks like a brand new bathroom again! This just proves that even if you aren't a DIY type of person, on a tight budget, you can still make over a room and give it a loving feeling again! 

Will you be taking part in #homeimprovementhero 


P.s. Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube here for more makeup tutorials and hair tutorials
*Sponsored post

Thursday 25 July 2013

Beauty Books from the 80's

My Mum had a clear out a few weeks back and as I was mooching through some of the stuff on her bed, I came across these little gems.

Beauty Books are something i've never really reached for but I do know a lot of beauty obsessed girls like to enduldge in them and give them a good once over before stacking them on their shelves in beauty rooms. Unfortunately for me, i'm a 'look at the pictures and flick through the pages' kinda girl when it comes to stuff like that. My Mum was the same. She loved wearing makeup when she was younger and she always used to put a bit of eyeshadow and lipstick on me when I went to the school discos. 

She had these books back in the 80's when she was at school and even swears by some of the techniques mentioned in them. It's funny to look through it and read some of the ways to apply makeup etc and compare it to how I do it as some of it is the same (the pat of tissue after applying lippy method is from my Mum but she got it from here!) Also, some of the hairstyles are terrible haha but who knew that they would be getting re-created 30 years on?! 

Take a look through and see what things they cover! 












Do you have anything like this? I'd love to see if you do! 


P.s. Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a Hair Piece of your Choice! 

Wednesday 24 July 2013

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation & Powder Review

You know when you keep meaning to write up a blog post... Well, this is one of those posts.


I bought this foundation and powder earlier in the year (around March I think!) but keep forgetting to 1: use it and 2: blog about it. So, I have recently been reaching for this duo and here's what I think so far... 

I have always liked No7 products, I find they aren't too pricey but really good quality, whether it's skincare or makeup that you're after, No7 will deliver the goods and be kind to your purse too! I wanted a new foundation at the time of trying this and I was tempted by Estee Lauders Double Wear but the price tag made me cringe a little, so I tried this one out and I really enjoyed it so went and grabbed the full sized version. When I did, it was buy one, get one half price on all No7 cosmetics so of course, I took advantage. 

Like I said, I got it a while back and when I did, I actually went for a shade darker than the tester that I was given and bought 'Warm Ivory' as I hoped that i'd develop a bit of a tan over the summer months. I'm glad that I did just that because of this gorgeous weather we've had, I have got a bit of a tan and the lighter shade would've looked odd! 

I find that you only need a teeny bit to blend onto your face as a little goes a really long way with the foundation. Its a medium type coverage, I find I still need to apply concealer afterwards but it covers up most of my red blemishes which is what I look for most in a foundation. It's definitely a matte finish too so if you're not a fan of matte, this isn't for you! Me, I love a good matte looking base, i'm scared of anything else! The powder sets the foundation nicely and again, is a matte finish but once you've dabbed on a touch of blush and highlighter, it looks perfect! 


Before applying foundation and powder
 After                                                                                           Before                                  
              With                                                                                    Without                                                       

As you can see in the pictures, it covers up my red areas really well and leaves you with an even looking skin tone. I'd definitely recommend this foundation, it's becoming one of my favourites! You can buy No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation and Powder from Boots here

Have you tried this before? What were your thoughts? 


P.s. Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube here for more makeup tutorials and hair tutorials

Monday 22 July 2013

Makeup Tutorial: Sleek Dusty Eye

Makeup tutorials are definitely something I want to start doing more of, it just means that I need to find the right lighting and angle to film at or do it in a step by step photo method. For now though, I have managed to film a smokey eye sort of look using my Sleek Palette. A quick and easy way to get a smokey eye without using blacks. 


I find that the Sleek palettes have all the colours you need to create a smokey looking eye whether you want a contrast of colours, an ombre effect or the classic black smokey eye and at £7.99 you can't go wrong! The pigmentation of the eyeshadows is so good and with a good primer underneath, you'll be set for the night (or day)

Take a look at my video on how I create a dusty orangey - brown smokey eye and let me know what you think! 


This is one of my favourite looks to create as it's quick, simple and effective and can be worn day or night. 

Do you enjoy creating a Smokey eye? Let me know how you do yours! 


Friday 19 July 2013

Now that i'm a Mum...

I guess it's pretty obvious that things change once you become a parent but I think some things are a little harder to understand unless someone was to tell you about them beforehand. I imagine that all new Mom's have days or moments when they think 'Is this really happening!?' I know I do and I bet Adam feels the same. But I just want to share some of the things that I personally feel have changed or happen now that Millie is here.

Now that i'm a Mum, I...
- Have gained a huge amount of respect for single parents. Mums OR Dads... It's bloody hard work! 

- Appreciate the small things like soaks in the bath and lie ins!  

- Have learnt to catch sick as quick as it comes up! 

- No longer have time to straighten or curl my hair so top knots are the way forward! 

- Have got used to drinking cold tea and coffee. You CANNOT enjoy a hot drink when you have a baby! 

- Have adapted to sleeping no longer than 3/4 hours at a time without waking up wanting to check on Millie.

- Put Millie before everything I do!  

- Have learnt to multitask extraordinarily. I can feed Millie, check Twitter, eat a sandwich and watch TV... Kind of.

- Have developed a supersonic sense of hearing due to listening out for moans and groans in the night. White Noise app is now my best friend for blocking out background noises from neighbours! 

- Feel like I should dress more 'Mommy like' but fail to even GET dressed most mornings. 

- Have learnt to save money rather than spend it unnecessarily. I still treat myself every now and again though. 

- Now have the experience of true, unconditional love for my little family. 

There are some more things that i'd love to include but I feel that these are the ones that stand out amongst the rest. I may do a follow up post of random things that happen to me now i'm a Mum such a poo explosions and bath time experiences, aha... But i'll save that for another day! 


Have you noticed any of these things now that you're a Mum or when you became a Mum?! 


Wednesday 17 July 2013

Lush Birmingham Bloggers Event

The lovely lot at Lush (alot of L's there) invited a few Birmingham based Bloggers down to the their store to have an exclusive, first time bloggers event. This is my second event with the company, my first being with Nottingham Lush store but both very different from each other.

We were welcomed with open arms into the store to first try some of the delicious vegan and veggie friendly food that was put on by 'The Warehouse Cafe' including some amazing selections of humous and flatbreads and also a 'Space Girl' lemonade which was delish! We then heard a little about the company and why they thought that themselves and Lush went perfectly hand in hand due to the economical values they both stand for as companies. 
 
We then gathered round and had a little lesson in skincare. We were paired up and gave one another a mini Lush inspired Facial. Using a cleanser, toner and moisturisor, all suited to our skins needs, we tried out how to give the perfect facial using these 3 main products from the Lush skincare range. I hadn't actually tried any of the toners so I made sure I paid attention so that when I was next in, I can pick up another to try out. 
 
Jen then took us through the process of making 'Cosmetic Catastophe' fresh face mask using fresh blueberries! You can't say it gets fresher than that! It was such a nice way to spend the evening and the whole team definitely know what they are talking about. Each Lush store is completely different but the staff are always so friendly and helpful that you can never walk out empty handed. 











All the boards in Lush are also handwritten and even in the warehouses that the products are made in have the same writing too! How cool is that!? We were kindly given a few products to try out which included a face mask, cleanser, toner and moisturiser. Look out for reviews on them coming soon! 
 
Thank you to the guys over at Lush Birmingham for hosting such a fabulous event, I look forward to seeing you all soooon!