Just A Quick Update!

I did promise you a You Tube ELF review, I have done this, but I seem to have trouble uploading it! I've tried twice, and both have failed! I will get that sorted as soon as I can!!

I'm off to Centre parcs with my girlfriends tomorrow for the weekend, I'll post a couple of photos from that too!! It should be a giggle!

Have a great weekend!!

Bronze Ambition!!

I was in town yesterday and I popped into Poundland, I saw these two products, Bronze Ambition  Fake Don’t Bake which is a self tanner and Glow n Go, an instant tanner.  At such a bargain of £1 each, I thought I’d give it a go, if it’s rubbish, it doesn’t matter too much, it hardly broke the bank!

I’ve not tried the self tan yet as I’m having a spray tan done on Thurs, but the instant tanner is fantastic!!!! It is so much better than other similar products I’ve just such as the Rimmel one.

In the tube it looks ridiculously dark, like Marmite. When it’s applied it is so sheer, matte and shimmer free so just looks so natural. I love it! It smells delicious too, tropical like Pina Colada! I used it on my legs, arms and chest. It’s also suitable for the face, I’ve not tried that yet.

I love the colour. I will be buying lots more tubes!!

I have done my left leg here, you can only just see, this pic doesn't really do it justice.

I’m going to give the self tan a go in a week or so, I’ll let you know how to get on!

www.bronze-ambition.com

My first You Tube Video!!

Morning all, so last night I uploaded my first video. It is just an introduction, me saying hi etc. Take a look. I've not yet worked out how to edit etc yet, so you'll have to bare with me. If anyone has any advice, tip etc, it'd be a great help!!



 I'm going to try to do my next later today which will be an ELF review!

Let me know what you think!

x x

Blogging Hell!!.......

I've been having a play around with the look of my blog tonight, so that's why it's looking a bit odd and different! I am no techie at all, so I'm having trouble!! If there are any bloggers/techies reading this please help me out!!

• I can't work out how to get my background to follow through all the way to the top of the page.
• I can't work out how to enlarge the cute header I have, fit my blog title and a couple of photos in!!

Do you like the way it's looking or did you prefer the pink strips??

Any help would be super appreciated!

x  x

Michelle Heaton & Hugh Hanley Fitness and Nutrition Facebook Page!

You guys may or may not have noticed that I’ve been a bit rubbish with the whole diet post!! Whoops!! My friends have noticed so I’m sure some of you have. I wasn’t really following the Weight Watchers plan too well,  I was doing it online I found it harder as it was a pain to log on, check point values, log what I’d eaten each day, etc, etc. Then I went on holiday to Cornwall and ate my weight in Cornish pasties, cream teas, Fish n chips.......Excuses excuses!!

Anyway, I’ve found this fab new diet introduced by the gorgeous Michelle Heaton (formally of Liberty X) and her hunky husband Hugh Hanley!! Lol!

Michelle recently qualified as a FETAC level 5 personal trainer and recently lost 2 stone with Hugh’s help! Hugh has over 10 years experience in fitness & nutrition. He is ACE (AMERICAN COUNCIL of EXERCISE) certified, and also FETEC level 5 in personal training and nutrition & TITLEIST TPI qualified. So they are both very qualified to share this with us!

They have very kindly set up a free Facebook page with a diet plan, tips and tricks for us to achieve our goals!! They daily give us little tips to help with the plan, recipes, fitness and motivational tips also great little nuggets of really useful info such as “You can’t out train your Diet !!”. This may sounds obvious to some of you gym bunnies out there, however, I’m one of these people that think ‘I just worked really hard in the gym, so I can have that bar of chocolate’, which is just completely undone any hard work I’ve just done!! What is the point????

And... “‎10 mins skipping burns the same amount of calories as 30 mins steady jog ... Quality not quantity !!!” That’s a great bit of advice I didn’t know!!

I think this is a fantastic idea, people including myself have written on the wall, giving each other ideas and share our food intake of the day. So you get inspiration from others trying to lose weight!!

The basis is to be sure to have your 3 meals in the day, snack on healthy yet filling foods and avoid carbs for dinner. Ok I know that sounds simple but, they example they give for the snacks are lovely. The recipes look good too, I’ve not tried them but I’m gonna give the ham pots a go tomorrow night!! I’ll put the link on here so you can find that recipe!  

They also start discussions

Here is an example for a day on the diet......

BREAKFAST - bran flakes or oats or weetabix or brown toast (2 slices) and scrambled eggs (1 yolk 3 egg whites) skimmed milk/almond milk

SNACK - handful almonds and a small piece of fruit

LUNCH - Sweet potato with tuna+sweetcorn/low fat cheese/chicken salad (tea spoon light mayo)

SNACK - 170g - 200g zero fat greek yogurt with some sugar free jam or hand full blueberries

DINNER - Omelette 4 eggs, one yolk 4 whites. add in half fist full meat, spinach, or some other veg i.e onions/mushrooms/peppers.

If you fancy something sweet after dinner, they suggest a sugar free jelly!

As you can see you still eat quite a bit in the day, you just need to be sensible. I’m going to stick to this particular menu for today! I’ve stuck to it as much as I could for the last 2 days but we had bits in the fridge which needed to be eaten, so I did end up having fish cakes in the evening which isn’t great due to the carbs in the breadcrumbs! I tried the Greek yogurt with sugar free jam and that is really yummy and filling!! You can get a 200ml tub for 50p in Tescos!! 200ml is actually quite a lot!

What they want to point out is that this is a lifestyle diet that they have created, it is not a fad diet so you will not lose a lot of weight fast but it will come off gradually and healthily. You could follow this 7 days a week but we all like a treat now and again so Michelle has said that she sticks to this diet Mon – Fri afternoon then treats herself a little at the weekend with ONE treat meal!  She recommends that you weigh yourself on a Friday morning rather than Monday when you have been a little naughty over the weekend. So that’s what I intend on doing, I’ll weigh myself on Friday and try to update here every week from then and keep track! I have the added pressure of Michelle Heaton possibly watching my progress! Eeekk!!

Wish me luck!!

Make sure you check out and ‘Like’ their Facebook page ‘Michelle Heaton / Hugh Hanley Fitness and Nutrition.

Also follow Michelle on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/wonderwomanshel

E.L.F Cosmetics Review

I’m sure most of you have heard of E.L.F cosmetics already, but for those of you who haven’t, keep reading!! You’ll love it!

E.L.F which stands for Eyes, Lips, Face was launched in new York in 2004 and was introduced to the UK in 2007. When you take a look at the website you won’t believe the prices. Everything in the regular range is £1.50......YES £1.50!! This ranges from eyeshadows, mascaras, lipgloss, bronzers, everything!! In the Studio line, everything bar the makeup kits are £3.50, the Mineral range is also £3.50. What a complete bargain eh??

You can also customise kits, you can get a compact with 4 spaces for £1.50 to fill with eyeshadow, lip colour, blusher and bronzer all £1.50

I have always been a fan of more premium brands when it comes to makeup and always believed you get what you pay for, so when I heard of this stuff I was sceptical. However reading up on other beauty blogs and reviews who raved about it, I thought I’ve gotta give it a go!

So I bought 4 products.......

Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Warm Tan - £1.50
I love this, it’s such a gorgeous colour for me. It does have quite a shimmer to it, it looks gorgeous on your cheeks and on the bridge of the nose but on the forehead which is suggested on the website, is a little much I think. It gives a lovely healthy glow to the skin! Love it!!

Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15 in Goddess - £1.50

Although the colour isn’t quite what it looks on the site, it is still a beautiful one. It was probably a good thing really as I ordered it thinking it was pinky brown, but in reality it’s more of a peachy pink. I have so many pink glosses, so it’s a nice change. It’s quite a thick consistency, helping it to last one the lips. Another winner!!

Complete Coverage Concealer  in Medium - £3.50

This product is part of the Studio line, which is why is slightly more expensive. However, £3.50 is hardly expensive. Anyway, unfortunately I should have ordered the Light as the medium is way too dark for me, so I’ve not had the chance to try this one.  Apparently it’d cost more than the actual product in P+P to send it back and exchange! Bummer!!

Cream Eyeliner in Black - £3.50 (brush included)

I have never mastered the art of using liquid eyeliner but I love the look. So I thought I’d give this a go. The product itself is fantastic, it is so creamy. You lightly dab the brush in the tub and swipe across the base of your eyelashes. It is so pigmented and very black so you need the tiniest amount. I’m really impressed with this. However, I can do my right eye perfectly but I always manage to make my left wobbly! Ha, but that’s my problem, not the product!!

There are so many more bits I want so I’m going to be ordering soon!! The High Definition Powder is meant to be amazing and the Therapeutic Conditioning Lip Balm delicious!! I’m so addicted!

Also if you ‘Like’ their Facebook page there are often offers such as Free Delivery with a minimum spend of £10! I managed to get this offer when I ordered, and i still got the goodies 2 days later!!
You can only get this online, so make sure you check out www.eyeslipsface.co.uk

Max Factor False Lash Effect Fusion

I’ve been using this mascara for a couple of weeks now and.......I LOVE IT!!!!!  It  is actually very volumising!! So many mascaras claim to add volume but fail dismally, No7 Intense Volume for instance!!  This one however is fab, I only need one coat for daytime, I’d add another for a night out!!  It separates my lashes beautifully, lengthens and creates volume without clumping!

Max Factor say they have combined their biggest ever volumising brush with their latest lengthening formula, to create thicker and longer lashes!!

I think they have achieved what they set out to do as it ticks both the volume and length boxes for me. I’d say its up there with L’Oreal Million Lashes and YSL Faux Cils!

The formulation is nice, it glides on the easily but it’s not so thick that the brush is caked, creating clumpy lashes.

The packaging is fab, lovely and chunky and a gorgeous colour!! I’m such a sucker for pretty packaging!

This is with one coat



It’s RRP is £11.99 but I managed to get it on offer on Boots for £8.99!

Everything Balm by Trilogy

I was a very lucky girl and got sent this last week.  I was excited to use it as I hadn’t heard of the brand before and love the sound of it. It’s called Everything Balm, and it pretty much does exactly what it says on the......tub!!

You can use it as a moisturiser for your face, chapped, rough skin on elbows, knees and feet, a hand cream, a massage oil (once warmed up between your palms), a lip conditioner, a cuticle conditioner and it can be used to tame fly away hair. Due to it’s all natural ingredients it’s gentle enough to use on babies.

I have very dry cuticles, so it’s brilliant for that, I’m a lip balm addict and this rivals my all time favourite Carmex! I have also applied it to my knees and ankles as a barrier before self tanning!

The balm is solid, although once you warm it up between your fingers it becomes a gorgeous , silky, light oil. It has a very delicate scent to it, not overpowering at all.

Trilogy is a company founded by two sisters from New Zealand, who have made it their mission to produce an all natural and pure line of products.

The packaging is 100% recyclable and gorgeous. You open up the card box, to find the tub wrapped in an embroidered canvas bag, it looks natural and kind to the environment, yet luxurious!

Trilogy says that it’s a multi-tasker, cutting your beauty kit in half. I am going camping next weekend and I will definitely be taking this with me!!

It comes in two sizes 45ml £12.50 and 95ml £20.50. Available at John Lewis.

Products That Didn't Do It For Me!!

When I first started blogging in April I said I was going to do a post on products that didn’t work for me. So here it is!!.....

L’Oreal Studio Secrets Smoothing resurfacing Primer -  £12.99

I got this a few months back, I’d been looking at it for a while, testing it on the back of my hand each time, and being amazed at the results. I’d put a tiny amount on and it filled in the fine lines on my hand and the skin looks flawless and felt like velvet, so I thought I’ve gotta have it!
I’d been Umming and Ahhing about this for a while for two reasons; The price and I remember Lollipop26 saying that she wasn’t that impressed. But I thought it might work for me and I’ll judge for myself. Should have listened to the wise one.....

.....Oh well, it wasn’t what I’d hoped. Yes my skin feels nice after applying it, but that’s about all the pros for it. It doesn’t make my make up last longer, actually when I put my foundation over the top it seems to curdle slightly, mixes with it and becomes a little grainy!

Every now and then I’ll apply it if I’m going to the gym and don’t want to wear makeup, but it’s a white/pink colour and it’s not totally transparent so I look slightly paler. So all in all, I’m really not happy with it. It was £12.99 for 15ml, which I think in anyones books is pretty hefty!
I’m sure you could find a better product at a better price. Let me know what you think. Have you guys tried it, did you get on with it and have you found any good primers?

L’Oreal Quad Pro for Blue Eyes , (303 Beige Taupe, Doutzen Kroes) - £7.50

A good friend of mine recommended this eye shadow palette, she got the one for hazel eyes and loves it, however I wasn’t as impressed! The powder isn’t strongly pigmented, so you really have to work at it with your brush to pick up the colour, and didn’t last all day.

There are 4 colours, which I actually really love, they are numbered and on the back of the packaging it guides you on how and where to apply each colour. However, I don’t  agree with where it tells you to put them (lol sorry L’Oreal). The colours go in this order 1. A soft taupe, 2.Beige/ivory, 3.A soft gold and 4 is a creamy pearlised white to go in the inner corners of your eyes. It suggests you to apply 1. To the base of the lashes (Ok), 2. Across the lid (Mmmmmm), 3. Apply to the brow arch (What?!). So it’s suggesting you apply the lightest colour to the lid and the medium gold colour to the arch, erm.......No!! I’d go 1. Apply to the socket and outer corner, 2. Highlight the arch, 3. All over lid! Let me know your thoughts on that!!

My other issue with it, it that colours 1,2 and 3 aren’t divided.  It’s one block of 3 colours and they are not that big so unless you use the tiny sponge applicator which comes with it, and you use an eyeshadow brush, which I do, the colours will mix together. Mmmmmm so no i’m not a fan!!

Nivea Daily Essentials, Regenerating Night Cream  -  Around £4.

I bought this as it was on offer, I’ve tried Nivea products in the past and had no problems so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Although I’m really not keen, it has quite a strong fragrance to it, which I’m not keen on. However the reason I really can’t bring myself to using it again is that after using it for 2 night, my skin really broke out. I get the odd spot, but I seemed to get quite a few. It may have been a coincidence, but I’m just not going to take the risk!!

So there you have it, there’s a few bits I’m not keen on. I’m sure there’s been lots more in the past, but these are the things that I’ve tried recently and I’m not overly keen on!!

Let me know your thoughts and if you’ve had bad experiences!