Thursday 31 March 2016

March incoming and outgoing

I don't have a lot of empties this month, but I do have a lot of culled products. I'm still on a huge decluttering kick, I'm decluttering everything in sight, nothing in the house is safe. Last week I gave ten pairs of shoes to the Salvo's. I've been carting them around for years knowing that it's highly unlikely I'll wear them again. What a waste of time, better for someone else to get use out of them.
Energise Body Scrub - This was $3 from Kmart. It smells nice but was totally ineffective as a scrub. Not surprising given the price.
Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Eye Mask - These were lovely to use but didn't instantly energise.
Boots Serum 7 Lift Day and Night Creams - I really enjoyed this range, I have a full review coming soon. If you're in the market for good, reasonably priced skin care the Serum 7 Lift range is worth checking out. 
Avon Naturals Hand Wash.
The Body Shop Fijian Water Lotus Shower Gel
Living Proof No Frizz Styling Spray - Totally ineffective, it makes no difference to my frizz.
Dove Deodorant.
L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Shower Gel.
Weleda Calendula Shower Gel.
Rodial Super Food Day Cream.
Ole Hendricksen Truth is in the Eyes Serum.
These are all tosses or giveaways. Most of the products are expired or old, a few of them I just don't like. Lately I've been wondering why I bother holding on to and trying to use up products I don't love, I've decided if I don't love something it's going. When I think about it, it's foolish to neglect products that I love because I'm trying to use up something that I don't love.

Incoming:
My nails have been awful lately so I'm hoping that the new Sally Hansen Complete Care nail treatment works miracles.
 Isn't the new Lanolips packaging gorgeous?
Crop was on clearance at Coles, everything was under $4.00!

Monday 28 March 2016

March Favourites


Philosophy Falling in Love perfume - I've been trying to reduce the size of my perfume stash which means my favourites have been sitting around neglected. Falling in Love is one of my all time favourite scents, it'll always be in my collection.

The Body Shop Moringa Body Sorbet - Moringa Body Sorbet is going to be my winter go to body lotion because it absorbs so quickly. It's light, smells gorgeous and gives medium hydration. If my skin was really dry I'd need something richer, but for every day this is perfect. The texture feels strange, it really is like a sorbet. As I rub it in it feels like it's going to ball up but it doesn't, it rubs in and is instantly absorbed. Mango is next on my list.

Egg light - This is nothing at all to do with beauty, but how cute is my egg light! It's touch activated and only cost $5 from Bunnings. Bargain. 


Clarins Crayon Kohl in Intense Blue - At the moment I'm all about taupe eye shadow and smudged navy eye liner. It's one of my favourite looks, I love navy and taupe together. Clarins Crayon Kohl is perfect for creating a lived in, smudged look, it has a brush on the end that I use to work the eye liner in, it's quick, easy and foolproof.

Lanolips Banana Balm - Now that Lanolips have gorgeous new packaging I'm determined to use my current stash so that I have a good excuse to buy more. I'd forgotten how much I love my banana balm, I've been using it on top of matte lipsticks to give them a bit of shimmer. 

ECO. Skin Rescue Serum - Thanks to the change of seasons my skin has gotten sensitive and very irritated. ECO. SRS is one of the few products I can use that doesn't cause me any irritation, it's been my lifesaver the last few weeks.

Bare Minerals 5 in 1 BB Cream Eyeshadow in Elegant Taupe - I'm on a cream eye shadow kick at the moment. I've been testing out all my cream eye shadows and tossing the ones that crease. My Bare Minerals never creases, even without a primer underneath. It lasts all day, doesn't fade and doesn't crease. Perfect.

Shiseido Perfect Rouge in PK307 - I've been going through my lipstick stash recently, trying to downsize. Whilst I've been at it I've pulled out a few long neglected lipsticks, of which this was one. I have no idea why it's been unloved for so long because it's gorgeous. It feels like a lip balm, the colour is beautiful and it's a dream to use. I bought a Shiseido gloss at the same time I bought the lipstick, I'll have to dig it out.

What were your favourite products in March?

Sunday 27 March 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. Summer is over and I couldn't be happier. The nights are getting colder and I can feel a chill in the air. It'll be soup weather soon, yay!

2. Does anyone have a good dahl recipe? I used one from Taste and it was a bit bland. The boys and I need more protein in our diet and we all love dahl, so I need to find a good recipe.

3. I've started playing Clash Royale, it's so much fun, much better than Clash of Clans imo. The last update ruined Clash of Clans for me.

4. I've been thinking about switching from Samsung Galaxy to the iPhone. Thoughts? 

Saturday 26 March 2016

For all the wild women

Here’s to the gritty, truth-seeking goddesses who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
Here’s to the brave, badass females who have blasted through a nightmare of shit to be standing here today.
The luscious ladies who love feeling the raw earth beneath their bare feet, and bow down proudly to the supple, winding curves of their thick, fleshy hips.
Here’s to the creative vixens who breathe their sun-soaked, moonlit, windswept, star-dusted dreams to life, every damn day—rain or shine.
Here’s to the wise women who, time and time again, have chosen their own hearts.
I applaud you, with every fibre of my being. I honour you.
I am you.
We are strong and confusing, complicated and powerful, magical and maddening—we are meant for so much more.
We will never be happy stuffed in a sparkling white kitchen with a floral apron, a sleek bun, and carefully applied pink liquid lipstick to complete the wax mask of our fake smiles, playing the role of perfect wife or perfect girlfriend or perfect mother.
Our hearts will choke. Our spirits will scream.
We will never be happy sitting in a grey office working 9 to 5, watching the clock tick slowly, while our souls shrivel to the buzzing sound of fluorescent lights, unable to breathe in the fresh, muddy scent of gusty winds and the frantic, jewelled sweetness of budding cherry blossoms.
We will never be okay sipping champagne, trying on haute couture, and talking about ways to make our asses skinny and recipes for dinner parties and how to get a man to love us.
We don’t really give a damn about any of that—
We want to talk about soul. About dripping truth. About magic. About death. About struggle. About the world’s heart-breaking pain.
We wanna stand in the billowing breeze and decipher wise whispers of the wind as it roars through each singing strand of our thirsty, messy hair.
Yes.
But, for a painfully long time, we have denied who we really are.
We have tried and tried and tried to squeeze our wild wings and paint-splattered hearts into the cramped plastic moulds of what we “should” be.
How miraculously we have failed.
Why do we rip ourselves up into sad, feathery pieces, trying so hard to slide into pretty little lives that, quite frankly, don’t even appeal to us?
Normal won’t cut it—extraordinary is what we’re here for.
We are meant to merge with the moon, cry with the rain, rise with the tides, and shine with every goddamn slice of shimmering yellow sun.
We are meant to run through crowded streets, with love in our hearts and tangerine scarves streaming through our fingertips as we dance to the sobbing drum of the world’s crying tears.
We are meant to make art that grows gritty wings and inspires sad, closed hearts to break the fuck open.
We are meant to stick out our tongues in a fierce lion’s breath in the most unexpected moments—
Rawwwr!
Our dreams and visions and destinies must come first.
Always.
Because we aren’t here to play small; to be polite, people-pleasing pretty plastic barbie dolls with empty, lifeless hearts—we are here to make waves, to chase dreams, to stand in the blazing fires of truth—and we know it.
We are here to live from the harrowing depths of our souls.
Why deny it anymore?
Let’s reach inside our supple skin and taste the thick river of bubbling magic that pulses through our veins like rubies.
Let’s shed the suffocating lives that were never meant to be ours—the lives we’ve brainwashed ourselves into tolerating, but are slowing killing our souls.
It’s time to burn, baby, burn!
Let’s make a pact with our hearts—a vow to listen that inner spark of magic, of truth, of delicious fire that cannot be denied for a minute more.
Let us promise now—
To honour who we really are.
To be forces of light, of love, of sacred power.
To let our star-dust spirits rise—and soar and soar and soar!
Extraordinary flows through our veins. Normal won’t cut it.
We are meant for so much more.
Badass, truth-lovin’, dream-weaving sisters, let’s stop smacking our spirits down and squeezing ourselves into suffocating roles that will never satisfy our thirsty, roaring souls—
We won’t fit.
We aren’t meant to.
Our wings won’t slide through small doors. We are meant for so much more—
Our dreams and visions and destinies must come first.
Always.
Please, answer the rain-drenched, whispering wolf calls of your wild soul.
Do not let your wings lie sticky and suffocated, in a sad clump on the floor.
Do not let your vibrant spirit wither into a colourless grey existence.
Do not let your jewelled destiny lie dormant and dead.
Do not live the life you think you “should.”
Fuck should—
Live the life that makes your heart beat louder, the life that sets your bones sweetly on fire, the life you can’t stand not living—
Answer the blossoming calls of your wild soul!
Go, now—
Into the lush, emerald forest of who you really are.
Find yourself.
Discover your gifts.
Share your gritty magic with the world.
Follow the promising path of your courageous destiny.
Go—
Now.
Do not settle for an empty half-life.
Do not settle for good enough.
Do not settle for anything less than exquisite or extraordinary.
Oh, sweet wise, wild woman—do not settle—
At all.
~ Sarah Harvey ~
www.barefootfive.com

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Younique 3D Fiber Lashes

If you're a blogger or have a beauty related Instagram account you probably hate Younique thanks to all the spam from consultants. When they first launched in Australia I was getting at least 10 contacts every day, it drove me crazy. Don't get me started on the Instagram spamming, they were following and unfollowing me multiple times a day and writing silly comments on my pictures to get attention. Here's a tip, spamming people is not a good way to get attention, it only gets you negative attention!
After the constant spam and emails I was determined never to touch Younique products, then my friend Anna started selling them and told me how amazing they are. She's someone who's opinion I trust, so I had to give them a go. I'd previously had a sample of the an eye shadow and really like it. It was long lasting, didn't fade or crease and the colour was beautiful. Hmmm.

Anna sent me their hero product, the 3D Fiber Lash mascara to try. It took me a bit of practise to figure out how to use it properly, but once I had that sorted it was love. 

Transplanting Gel
3D Fiber Lashes isn't a product I use every day, it's one that I use when I have the time and want a dramatic lash look. It takes time to apply it, more time than I have when I'm hastily slapping products on and refereeing fights before doing the school run. Having said that, once you've got the hang of it, application is really straight forward. You apply the transplanting gel, then the 3D fibers then another layer of the transplanting gel to seal it. If you want bigger lashes you can keep on layering, but I found that when I did a second layer I had fibers falling off. I think this was caused by the mascara setting so it's difficult to get the transplanting gel on properly. 

For me one layer is more than enough, it gives me huge, long, dramatic lashes.One trick that Anna taught me is to concentrate the fibers on the middle to ends of your lashes. I'll do one coat of fibers to my whole lashes then do another coat on the middle to ends for extra oomph.

3D Fibers

All photos show one layer of the 3d fibers. You can see how long and full my lashes look. It also gives a good curl. My lashes are quite straight, in the photos I haven't used a lash curler, it's purely the Younique mascara.

I'm always hesitant when buying products sight unseen but Younique has a money back guarantee, if you get something and you don't like it you can return it, even if it's been used. 

 
If you'd like to try Younique, get it touch with Anna. She doesn't do the hard sell and will post products out to you.

Have you used Younique 3d Fiber lashes? What did you think of them? What Younique products should I try next?

Monday 21 March 2016

Lipstick musing


I've been thinking about lipstick lately. Sounds strange, I know. That's what happens when you are a stay at home mum, you think about all sorts of bizarre, random things. I could write a whole post about the crazy things I think about, but I won't.

Anyhow, I was wondering how other people use their lipsticks. I use a different one every day, usually several different ones each day. I'll put one on in the morning before the school run, usually a matte or long lasting formula. I retouch around morning tea time, normally with a cream formula. Lunchtime I'll put on another matte lipstick and then I touch up with a cream formula before the afternoon school run. 

I rarely change the lip products in my handbag, so if I'm out and I need to touch up I'll just put on whatever I have in my bag. Back when I was working I'd use the same lipstick all day, I'd put it on in the morning and take it to work so that I could touch up during the day.

I had a friend who only had one lipstick, she'd use it constantly until it was finished and repurchase the same colour. If that colour had been discontinued she'd go on a hunt for a similar colour. I used to be like that too, I had two lipsticks and two glosses that I'd use until I'd finished them. Those were the days I used to finish my lipsticks and glosses. Sometimes I'd like to go back to those days but I doubt it'll ever happen. 

How do you use lipstick? Do you use the same colour all day or switch it around? How many lipsticks do you own?

Friday 18 March 2016

FFS Friday - It's a dogs life

I have no idea what I'm going to complain about this week. WTF is going on? I'm sure I have plenty to complain about, I just need to think what it is. Unfortunately my brain is not playing along this week, it decided to take a holiday without me. I've been doing all sorts of absent minded things. Yesterday I couldn't work out why the EFTPOS machine wasn't letting me enter my PIN, until the chemist pointed out that I hadn't swiped my card. Doh.

Okay, I've got it. I'll complain about the dog. 

When we got our dog it was a struggle between Tiger and I. Tiger won. FFS.

I wanted a small, poodle blend that could live inside, wasn't too big and had wool not fur. Tiger wanted a guard dog. That's how we ended up with Bella. FFS.

She's a beautiful girl but she's too big to live inside, I'm allergic to her and she leaves hair all over the place when she comes inside. FFS.

Thanks to her being a Shar-Pei mix she's inherited the skin issues that come with her breed. FFS.

I had a pure bred Shar-Pei and wasn't allergic to her, so I'm not sure why I'm allergic to Bella, but I am. 

Ever since we got her she's had skin issues on and off. We were taking her to one vet but weren't very happy with him. Her skin would get better for a month or so then get bad again. FFS.

When it gets bad her fur falls off and she gets sores in the bald patches, poor girl. Last time it happened we took her to a different vet and got a totally different treatment regime. FFS.

She got steroids, antibiotics and a special shampoo that we wash her with twice a week. She also has to have weekly injections for six weeks. Once that's all done we have to test her again to make sure the infection is all gone. FFS.

If the first vet had treated her properly we could have saved her a lot of pain. FFS.

After she's better they want to do allergy testing to see what she's allergic to. I can only imagine how much that will cost. Knew we should have got pet insurance. FFS.

Thanks to her skin condition she can't wear a collar (she's got sores all around her neck), so she's confined to the back yard. That is a very bad thing. FFS.

She's a lively dog and needs exercise. No matter how much I play with her it's not enough, she needs to run. FFS.

Wednesday night as I was about to go to bed I heard her chewing on something. I couldn't figure out what it was so went outside to check. I found her standing on the trampoline looking guilty. FFS.

She'd chewed off the label on the outside of the net and gone around chewing the padding off all of the bars. FFS.

When I went out there she was so pleased with herself. She had a huge grin on her face and was jumping around wanting me to play with her. FFS.

As if that wasn't enough, she spent the rest of the evening digging holes in the lawn. FFS.

She has plenty of toys to play with, but clearly destroying the trampoline and the yard is a lot more fun. FFS.

Meanwhile I'm still picking up foam, it's everywhere. FFS.
 

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Rimmel The Only 1 Lipstick review

Rimmel's new lipsticks are all over the internet at the moment. Rimmel claims their new lipstick is the only one you'll need as they provide long lasting colour, comfort, moisture and wear. Big claims, but are they justified? Overall I'd have to say yes. They're very hydrating, I feel like I'm wearing a balm. The pigmentation is brilliant, however their wear time isn't amazing. I get anywhere from two to six hours. The brighter colours last longer, the mlbb shades wear off within a few hours.

There are twelve shades available, I have six of them to show you today. 


I really love these lipsticks, they're beautiful. I've been wearing them non stop since I got them. Usually I'll change my lipstick every day (sometimes I even change in the middle of the day), however I've been alternating between Naughty Nude and You're All Mine for the last few weeks, they're such beautiful colours and lovely to wear. 

Most of the time I either wear lip balm under my lipstick or switch to balm half way through the day (thanks to my very dry lips), however I don't find I need to do that with The Only 1 lipsticks, they keep my lips feeling soft and hydrated so I'm not reaching for my balm by lunch time. My poor lip balms must be feeling very neglected. 

Pink a Punch, You're All Mine, It's a Keeper, Best of the Best, Peachy-Beachy, Naughty Nude.
 


Naughty Nude, Peachy-Beachy, Best of the Best, It's a Keeper, You're All Mine, Pink a Punch. 

The Only 1 lipsticks cost $15.95 and are available at Priceline, Woolworths, Big W, Coles, Chemist Warehouse and Target. 

Have you tried The Only 1 lipsticks? What did you think of them?

*Note - These products were provided for review.

Monday 14 March 2016

My most worn lipsticks




I'm fairly predictable when it comes to my lipstick choices. Whilst I'll happily rock a bright lip every now and again, I'm usually all about the pinky mauve, mlbb shades. I like easy, low maintenance lip colours that I can put on in the morning and forget about. Today I'm sharing with you the ones that I've currently got in rotation.
NYX Pops, MAC Bare Venus, Bourjois Beige Shooting, Rimmel Naughty Nude, Maybelline Perpetual Peony
Caramel Gospel Juicy Tube -  I don't think they make this anymore, the Juicy Tube range isn't what it used to be. I remember buying my first Juicy Tube, it was the first expensive lip gloss I'd bought and cost me $20. I bought two, a light blue one and a deep mauve called Prune. Ah the memories. 

Revlon Honey Balm Stain - You're probably sick of hearing about Honey. If you don't have it, you need it.

Bourjois Rouge Edition 12 hours Beige Shooting - A rather strange name for a lovely product. I like that this lasts at least six hours before I need to reapply.

Stila Stay All Day liquid lipstick in Patina - I've always wanted to try the Stila liquid lipsticks so was delighted when my beautiful friend Christina sent me one. Patina is exactly what I would have chosen for myself.

Rimmel The Only 1 Naughty Nude - This is the newest addition to my collection, I love the balm like formula and the colour is heavenly.

Maybelline Super Stay lipstick in Perpetual Peony - Why do they always discontinue the best products? If you find this, grab two, cause it appears to be discontinued.

MAC Bare Venus lipstick - This is another one that you can't buy. It was a limited edition release. I so wish they'd bring it back because it's the perfect nude for me.

NYX Butter lipstick in Pops - I'll often use this in place of balm, it's not very long lasting but it feels lovely on and the colour is beautiful.

Me trying and failing to be creative


What are your favourite lipsticks?

Friday 11 March 2016

FFS Friday - Mattress

We've had a bit of a bed saga going on in our house for the last few years. FFS.

When we moved to Bunbury Tiger decided we needed a king sized bed. FFS.

That meant we had two spare queen beds. FFS.

We sold one of the queen bed bases, so we were left with two queen mattresses and one base.

When we moved we shifted Chai from the cot to his own bed. We put him into the queen sized bed however Tiger decided that we'd get Chai a new bed. FFS.

Instead of buying Chai a queen bed base and using the mattress that we already had (like I wanted him to), he bought a double bed. FFS.

I already had a whole pile of linen for the queen bed and refused to buy new linen for the double bed, so used the queen linen instead. 

Chai still won't sleep on his own so when Tiger is away I sleep in Chai's bed. At first that worked okay, but I found that when Eljay came in to the bed too it was too small. FFS.

We swapped the queen bed from the spare room for Chai's bed and put the double bed in the spare room. 

We still had the queen mattress laying around. FFS.

Somewhere along the way Tiger bought a king single base, I have no idea why. FFS.

So that gave us two queen mattresses, a king single base, a queen base, a double base and mattress. FFS.

Tiger went out and bought a king single mattress. FFS.

The king single went into the junk room, then he decided to sell the double bed and mattress. FFS.

That meant we had the queen bed in Chai's room, the king single in the junk room and the queen mattress on the floor in the spare room. FFS.

Tiger's parents come to stay every month. His dad is disabled and can't get onto the floor, so he sleeps in the king single and his mum sleeps on the mattress on the floor. FFS.

Last weekend Tiger's parents were staying and he had a friend coming to stay on the Saturday night as well. We didn't have enough beds for everyone. FFS.

Tiger had know about this for days and done nothing. I kept on asking him where everyone was going to sleep and he'd just say that he didn't know. FFS.

Saturday afternoon he decided to go bed shopping. At 4pm and with no trailer. FFS.

His friend was due to arrive at 5pm. FFS.

He decided on the bed that he wanted to buy at 4.45pm. The shop shut at 5pm. We were in his 4wd so I assumed he'd planned on putting the bed in the back. Nope. FFS.

Silly me had assumed that he'd already thought about how we'd get the bed home but he hadn't. Seriously. Who goes furniture shopping at 4pm on a Saturday, for something you need that night, without any way of getting the item home? Tiger, that's who. FFS.

He pays for the bed then has to arrange a trailer to get it home. FFS.

Not very easy at 4.45pm on a Saturday in the country. FFS.

He had to leave me standing outside the furniture shop, with the bed next to me, whilst he went and found a trailer. FFS.

I was there for 45 minutes. FFS.

Thankfully it wasn't hot and I had my water bottle with me. Not FFS.

 

Wednesday 9 March 2016

Dear Chai

My precious boy, you are five! 

This year you've grown in leaps and bounds. You've lost all traces of toddlerhood and are a true little boy. At the moment you're a delightful mix of innocent little boy with a few traces of the big boy that you'll grow into. You're starting to get your own life, it feels strange knowing there are parts of your life that I don't know about.

A few weeks ago you had your first proper big boy play. K2 picked you up from school and you went home with M for a play. You were so excited, you'd been looking forward to it all week and couldn't wait for Friday to arrive. When I got there you were happily playing away without a care in the world. Last year you would have been anxious and asking constantly when I would pick you up, this year you didn't give it a second though, you knew I'd come to pick you up and you were thrilled to be playing with your friend.

You've really taken to school this year. Last year you'd get upset when we dropped you off, this year you happily say goodbye then sit on the mat waiting for class to begin. On the weekends you complain because it's not a school day. I'm so happy that you love school, I was really worried that it'd be too much for you, but you've taken it all in your stride.

You are such a beautiful soul. You're kind and considerate, a wonderful big brother to Eljay. I love to watch the two of you laughing and playing together. Whilst you fight, you're always the first to stick up for and protect Eljay. You are a real protector, always watching out for your friends and making sure they're okay. You have no fear when you're protecting a friend, you don't hesitate to tell someone off, even when they are a lot bigger than you. 

My darling boy, you are the most wonderful, delightful, difficult and rewarding part of my life. I am so, so grateful that you chose me to be your mother. I love you with everything I have and I always will. Happy birthday baby.

Natralus PawPaw lip butter review and giveaway

It's a little known fact that I am a paw paw balm connoisseur. I've been using paw paw balms since I was in high school. Back then the only paw paw balm available was the notorious red tube that we now know contains petrolatum. Thankfully for those of us who prefer to use products without petrolatum, there are now a lot of paw paw balms formulated without petrolatum. Natralus happens to be one of those brands. I've been using the regular tube of Natralus paw paw balm as a night balm for ages, it's a wonderful, hydrating overnight treatment. You can imagine my delight when I learned they had new flavoured lip butters available.
Flavoured lip products are my favourite, if I had my way all my lip products would be flavoured (get onto that lipstick companies!) 
Natralus lip butters come in a squeeze tube with a slanted lip applicator. The tubes are colour coded according to their flavour and they all taste as good as they smell. The flavours are natural and don't have that horrible artificial smell. Honey and vanilla has manuka honey and vanilla fruit extract in it and the strawberry has strawberry fruit extract, hence the natural, non artificial flavour.

If you've used Natralus paw paw balm in the past, you'll love the lip butters, because they're even better. They're smooth, buttery, the perfect texture (heavy enough to feel them on my lips but not at all waxy), hydrating and long lasting. Lip balm lovers, you need these in your life.  

There are currently three flavours available, Coconut, Honey and Vanilla and Strawberry. I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite flavour, they are all lovely. There will be a Cocoa Butter flavour available soon too, I can't wait to try it.

You can purchase Natralus lip butters from Woolworths for $5.75.

Honey and Vanilla ingredients:

Coconut ingredients:

Strawberry ingredients:

Want to win a set of three lip butters? Enter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Note - These products were provided for review.  

Monday 7 March 2016

February Favourites

Rimmel Naughty Nude The Only 1 lipstick - If you have yet to try Rimmel's new lipsticks, what are you waiting for? They're amazing. They feel like I'm wearing a balm and the colours are beautiful. I've worn Naughty Nude constantly since I received it, it's the perfect everyday colour.

Natralus Paw Paw lip butters - These are heavenly, I'm obsessed! I have one in my bag, one in the car and one at home. I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite flavour, they're all amazing. I can't wait till the Cocoa Butter flavour is available.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream - I forgot all about this, which is a shame because it's a lovely product. I use it under my tinted moisturiser or foundation to even out my skin and hide imperfections. It makes my skin look smooth and flawless.

EOS Vanilla Mint lip balm -  I wasn't convinced about EOS balms for ages, I found that they weren't very hydrating. Funnily enough, since I've been using mine regularly it's been great, so I wonder if it just had a coating over the top of it. Whilst the ball shape is cute, it's not good for carting around in my bag, so I only use this at home.

Boots Serum 7 Lift range - I was sent the Serum 7 Lift range for review and I've really been enjoying it. It reminds me a lot of Estee Lauder skincare, however it's a lot cheaper! 

Red Earth Sheer Cover Moisturising BB Cream - This is another product I bought and then forgot about. I dug it out when I finished my beloved Klara Cosmetics CC cream.

Estee Lauder Reviatlizing Supreme CC - When I saw this on Caroline Hirons blog I knew I had to have it. The first few times I used it I didn't like it at all, but once I realised that I was using way too much, it worked a lot better. It's a magical type product that brightens up my skin and makes it look healthier, like I've had a good nights sleep.

Alpha-H Age Delay Intensive Eye and Lip Treatment Cream - One of my resolutions this year was to take better care of my skin and part of that was using an eye cream every day. I have trouble finding an anti aging eye cream that doesn't irritate my eyes, however the Alpha-H cream has been working really well for me. I use it on my marionette lines and around my lips too.

Naughty Nude
Rimmel The Only 1 lipstick Naughty Nude
What were your favourite products this month?

Sunday 6 March 2016

Thoughts of the week

1. Chai is five on Wednesday. He's having his first ever birthday party, it won't be until the start of next month though. He's growing into an amazing boy, I'm so proud of him.

2. Last month we bought a pair of shoes from Catch of the Day. They didn't fit so we arranged to swap them and got an email telling us that a new pair of shoes had been sent but that we didn't need to return the shoes, we could either give them away or give them to charity. How amazing is that? We've decided that we'll find a worthy recipient to give them to, if we can't we'll sell them and donate the money to charity. Good on you Catch of the Day!

3. I seem to have lost my desire to shop. It's been four weeks now and I just don't feel like shopping. Clearly I'm gravely ill. Jokes aside, I'm pretty pleased about this. I have way too much so there's no need for me to shop. I use shopping as a stress relief, I've been trying to come up with other coping strategies and they must be working. Yay!

4. One of my strategies has been to start reading again. I've always loved losing myself in a good book, which is exactly what I've been doing lately. Eljay isn't patient enough for me to browse the library so I've been looking up authors I like and reserving their books from the library. I browse the library catalogue when the boys are asleep, reserve the books I want and pick them up a few days later. Simple.
 

Friday 4 March 2016

FFS Friday - Wrestlemania

Eljay has been practising his tantrums lately, he's got them down to a fine art. He's perfected the method and has been working on the location. FFS.

Tuesday he decided it was time to up things a notch or two and have a long tantrum whilst we were out shopping, so that the whole shopping centre could admire his skills. FFS.

I was tired and lice infested so really not in the mood. FFS.

He started in the supermarket, because I dared to ask if he wanted something to eat. FFS.

After dramatically throwing himself on the floor and refusing to budge, he went limp so I had to carry him. FFS.

There were no checkout operators on so I held him screaming whilst attempting to scan the shopping. FFS.

He tricked me into thinking the tantrum was over after we left the supermarket and looked happily at the skateboards, then he restarted the tantrum when I told him we were going home to have lunch. FFS.

He did the limp trick again but when that didn't work he tried the screaming NO and punching me routine. FFS.

Since I didn't take too kindly to that he decided that was the one to go with so kept it up the whole way to the car. FFS.

Pretty sure that walk to the car took about five hours. FFS.

Mercifully the car spot next to me was empty, I needed the space to wrestle him in to the car and put his seatbelt on whilst he kept on slipping out of the straps, arching his back, kicking me and screaming his little lungs out. FFS.

Not long after I'd started the wrestling match a car decided it wanted to park in the empty bay next to me. FFS.

WTF is with that? You can see someone with the door wide open trying to get a child into their seat, why park next to them? There were empty spots all over the place, one two spots down from me, one directly opposite. WTF? FFS.

She didn't even bother waiting with her indicator on, she actually pulled as far as she could in to the bay and then sat there waiting for me. WTF? FFS.

By that time I was in a pretty foul mood so I totally ignored her. FFS.

Eventually I got the screaming wrestler into his seat then I took a bit longer just because of the stupid woman waiting. When I was ready (and still without looking at her) I then took my time getting into my seat. FFS.

I really don't understand what is wrong with some people. When there are plenty of car bays free why choose the one next to someone with their car door wide open? Why not leave that person to get into their car and park elsewhere?

Luckily for her she didn't say anything to me, if she did I would have got out and snotted her. FFS.

Thursday 3 March 2016

Februarys Outgoing and Incoming

February has been a pretty quiet month for me. I've been getting back into school mum mode and Eljay has well an truly entered the terrible twos, so we've spent a lot of time staying at home. I've done really well with my empties, I'm well and truly in clear out mode, I'm finishing or tossing whatever I can.
Colour Theory Plump mascara.
DKNY Be Delicious perfume sample.
Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh sample.
Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Enchanted sample.
Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant +.
Biyani Organics Lemon and Bergamot face cleanser.
Klara Cosmetics CC Cream.
Clarins Double Serum - I had high hopes for this as is get such rave reviews, but it did nothing for me.
ECO. Refresh cleanser.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL - I didn't like this for my face at all, it irritated my sensitive skin, but it worked well on my chest and arms.
L'Oreal Elnett hairspray. 
Planet Earth hand wash.
Shore Soap Company Mermaid Kisses liquid soap.
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer sunscreen.

Kiss My Face kids toothpaste.
Andrea Brazilian hard wax.
Jonathan shampoo and conditioner
Avado bath and body wash.

These are all tosses. They're either old or I don't like them. In the past I used to persist and finish products I don't like, I've decided not to do that anymore, anything I don't like will be given away.

Incoming:
Not much to show here. I was sent these gorgeous lip butters from Natralus, there is a review and giveaway coming soon.

From Pricline I stocked up on Cetaphil Suntivity sunscreen whilst it is on sale, got the 100 Hour Softsole Express Foot Peel to try and the Vidal Sasoon Pro Styling 100 brush. Now that I've got short hair I'm hoping the brush will make drying my hair quick and easy.
What did you buy this month? Anything exciting I should know about?