Hello Again

In the words of Adele (and Lionel) Hello,

Who hasn't went crazy over Adele's new song - I have been listening to it non-stop! But Anyway, Hello Again, Oh I haven't typed that in a while! I have been missing in action for a little bit, I've just had a couple of things that have been keeping me busy, and I actually considered calling it a day on BlogsVlogsEtc (should probably change my name though as I don't really vlog anymore) but I have been missing it - so I'm Back!! And I'm so glad to be back.

So for my first post back I thought I'd catch you up on all that's been happening! Let's get the boring bit out of the way - Work. Work has been the usual stuff (meh) but a girl did start in my department and honestly now it's like we've known each other for years! I actually can't get rid of her (HELP). April turned 3 on October 24th, she was spoilt rotten and I was super duper emotional! We organised her a party - with a lot of help from my Mum -  a Mermaid Pirate Party and thankfully it all turned out brilliantly. All her little friends came from her nursery and the whole family was there, plenty of food, plenty of fun and even a cheeky bouncy castle (which I wasn't allowed on because it was just for kids - sad face).

What else has been happening? Oh, Halloween how could I forget?? First things first (I'm a realist - never gets old) I won Party Lite UK's Halloween collection on HannahHeartss giveaway (if you don't read Hannah's blog then you need to stop right now and click here! hannahheartss) When the box arrived I was so excited to see so much candles! There was a box of tea lights coloured bright green and purple and they smelled of the collections scent which was called Hocus Pocus Abracadabra, a Box of candles which was the Autumn Glow scent which smells a little like Christmas (eek 7 weeks and counting), two little votive's with colourful sugar skulls on them and the big beauty of them all, the Ginormous double wicked Hocus Pocus Abracadabra - this is honestly one of the best smelling candles I've ever smelled in my life. It's very fresh with coconut and citrus scents - but I'm going to do a full review on them so keep your peepers peeped! We took April out Trick or treating, she got all dressed up as a cat with a lovely sparkly dress with a cat on it and she sat and let me do some (squiggly) eyeliner and some little whiskers. All in all we had a great Halloween.

Also on Thursday we took April down to Aberdeen Beach with my Dad to see the fireworks, Aberdeen's display was really good again, we've went for the past few years and it never disappoints (even when it's raining which in Aberdeen is pretty much every time) April loved the sparklers and we actually have some left so we might let her do some more in our garden, she also loved jumping in the puddles while the fireworks were going off! It was also actually Sam's first time going down to the beach for the display so he thoroughly enjoyed it too!

So that is pretty much all that has been happening since I've been gone (who sung Kelly Clarkson's song there?! You know you did). So I am going to keep up my Blog as I did truly miss it and I actually enjoy doing it! I have also got a good few things I want to blog about including lots and lots of Christmas posts!! I'll pop a few photos from the past few weeks down below and I will be back on Tuesday with my October Favourites!

So 'Till next time ...

October's Blogger Beauty Box

Hello again everyone,

As you may (or may not) know that last month I managed to get my hands on my first Blogger beauty box - I'll leave a link to that post if you would like to have a read http://blogsvlogsetc.blogspot.co.uk/
So today's post is about what I got in my October Box! So grab a cuppa and a biscuit (or a packet - no judgement here) and enjoy!

So here it is - the contents of this box come to over £100 (that's insane) and again the box is only £10.00 (for bloggers only). I was very excited to see so many skincare products in this months box as I didn't have a wide range but now I do! If you are a blogger and would like to get your hands on a Blogger Beauty Box then you can register here http://www.bloggerbeautybox.com

 
The first thing I picked up was this little tub from John Gosnell, it's their Original Vitamin E Cream. This is a sample size but I have been using it for the past week and there's just under half left so I am getting plenty of time to try it out. I really like the smell of this and after applying it to my face it leaves it feeling so fresh and plump. If you would like to see more from John Gosnell then you can find that here http://johngosnell.com

Next up is the only make up product (which doesn't bother me as the majority of beauty boxes are stuffed with make up and it's nice to have a change every now and then) is a Blush from Xenca in the shade Rose. Thankfully this is the perfect shade for me and I have been trying it out for the past few days and it just gives me a nice natural colour to my cheeks. When using it there's not a lot of fallout which you can get with blushes so I really liked that (plus the size of the blush - there's so much product). I actually really like the packaging of this too - it's in a durable cardboard like box thing - it's a nice change from plastic! You can get this on their website for £17.95 and if you'd like to find out more about Xenca and their range you can find that here https://www.xenca.com

This is the product that I was actually pleased to see, it's from Puriskin and it's their resurfacing formula for face and body. This helps the appearance of so many things - age spots, blemishes, burns, stretch marks and the list continues! I actually have a scar on my hand from a couple of years ago, I was making a batch of toffee late one night and in the crucial beating process a large amount came up and over the pan and went on my hand - ouch! It ended up with me being treated for third degree burns - the toffee was still the best batch I'd ever made- anyway (blether blether blether). I am now left with a scar across my hand which in the colder months stands out a lot so I'm excited to use this on it to see if it reduces the appearance of it. This tube is £13.99 and you can find out more about it here https://puriskinbyvb.com

Next up is a very luxurious product from Elizabeth grant, it's her Supreme Essence of Torricelumn. This is well fancy! I've been applying a few precious drops onto my hands then into my face, day and night before moisturising and it's been making my skin feel amazing. On the website it states that it "designed to transform skin so it looks younger, more radiant, more luminous, and more beautiful.  It helps to dramatically reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles, even out skin imperfections with remarkable speed, make skin feel silky smooth and more resilient. Ultra-light, fast absorbing with incomparable anti-ageing properties" now that claims to do a lot of things but so far so good! You can get this for $99.60 here https://www.elizabethgrant.com

Last but not least is a Organic Facial Cleansing oil by Pink and Green Cosmetics. Now i have never used an oil before but I have been using this when my face has been feeling a bit rubbish and when it looks like it needs a pick me up. I take a couple of drops and gently massage it into my face and neck then wash it off with a face cloth and it just leaves my face feeling very clean! This is a sample size but there is still a lot of product so I can't complain! You can get two different sizes of bottles here http://www.pinkandgreenskincare.co.uk and you can also get a muslin cloth too which I'd quite like to try out - I think it would be a lot more gentle on my skin over a face cloth.

 So that is October's Blogger Beauty Box - again - I'm exceptionally pleased with my box. There's a lot of brands that I was unaware of but now I'm a fan, Hopefully I can get a November box.

Have you used any of these products before?

'Till next time ...

My Review on September's Blogger Beauty Box

Hello Again,

It's time for me to do my review on the products that were inside my September Blogger Beauty Box, Overall I really liked this box and I have already got my October Box so hopefully this will become a monthly occurrence, So lets begin ...

1. Yes to - Age Refresh cleansing facial wipes.

I used these for a couple of days in a row but I wasn't a huge fan as they did seem to irritate my skin, I do think it's because I have super sensitive skin but I will happily try out more products by them. They smelled amazing though and they were really handy to have in my hand bag.

     2. Sniffy Wiffy Raspberry Hand cream.

This is one of my favourite products out of this box. It's a very natural hand cream that has left my hands feeling silky smooth and smelling great. Again, I also love the message that they are bringing awareness to, I have used this so much that my little pot is almost finished so I will have to get my hands on another. I've been carrying it around with me and especially now because we're getting into the cold weather it's been great to keep my hands moisturised when I'm out and about. Love this!

     3. Make Up Revolution lipstick in the shade luscious. 

I really really like this lipstick, I'm a big fan of make up revolution as they're super affordable and the pigmentation of this lipstick is perfect for me (It's not too much but it's enough). It's very moisturising and a little feature that I love is the little amount of product at the end, you can actually unscrew that once you've finished your stick and use it from there - I have actually bought more lipsticks from Make Up revolution since receiving this in Septembers box as I really like it (I actually wore this on a night out I had recently and got so many compliments). I do have to say that it doesn't last for very long on your lips but it was only £1 so it didn't bother me very much.

     4. Your's Truly organics serum.

I have to honestly say that this was the only product from September's box that disappointed me. The reason being was because I opened it and used it once but and with it being a sample pouch I tried to keep it sealed but it went all gloopy and kind of dried out. So I didn't get the chance to properly try this to build an opinion on it. So I can't really say much else but that hasn't put me off - if I do see more products from this brand then I will 

     5. Beautiful movements cosmetics lip Gloss.

I really liked this lip gloss, more so because it went perfectly with the Make Up Revolution lipstick. I got this in the shade Gypsy Spirit which is a lovely warm terracotta colour. It's very pigmented and very glossy (definitely a glossy gloss). It's not really a colour that I would wear on a day to day basis but if I have a night out or an occasion that I'm getting dressed up for this would be perfect!

So that is my review of September's Blogger Beauty Box, as I've said before I really like this subscription box - it's definitely one of my favourites!

Are you a blogger? If so try and get your hands on one of these beauties - and remember there's only a small amount available each month, so be quick!

You can register for one via their website bloggerbeautybox.com (again, it's only available to bloggers).

'Till next time ...

My Body Shop Favourites

Hello Again,

Apologies for this post being late (I was dreadfully hangover on Saturday when I was supposed to be doing the finishing touches to it and since then I have been full of the cold - but I'm back to normal so the post's will be too). Today's post is going to be all about the 5 Body Shop Products that I have been using non stop recently. Now I used to always be in the body shop (especially for the body butters, they just smell amazing) but for some reason I had stopped going in. So when I was walking past about 2 months ago I thought I'd pop in and pick up a few little things to see if I still love them as much as I used to.

The first thing I wanted to pick up was the Vitamin E Eyes Cube (get it ice cube, eyes cube). I had actually seen this on an advert on Youtube and I liked the look of it so when I saw it I just had to buy it. It's a dinky little roll on for under your eyes (not sure if you can use it on your eye lids - but I have and it's never caused me any issues). This is super hydrating and nourishing for my under eyes, I tend to get a little bit of dry skin there so this is a god send! It's also the perfect size to take with you out and about which is always a good thing for a girl on the go! This is from there Vitamin E range and is £9.00 - definitely worth it!

Next up is the Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream in the shade 01. I have been hunting high and low for a really good BB cream as especially for work I sometimes just don't feel like wearing a heavy foundation so when I saw this I thought I'd give it a bash and low and behold, I love it! It smells very strongly of Tea Tree, which I wasn't so keen on to begin with but it doesn't bother me anymore. The coverage of this is really good, it's definitely light coverage but it hides all the dullness and blemishes on my skin. This comes in three different shades but if you can't find on that suits you exactly i've found that this shade anyway, is quite build able which does darken it a little. This is also quite affordable for a BB creme at £8.00 - so I will be repurchasing this when mine runs out!

Next is something that I have repurchased already (in different scents) is the Mango Hand Cream. Now this smells like your cutting up a fresh mango! It is so nice (I use this at my desk at work and people coming into the office are always saying it smells great) it's lovely! I have really bad dry skin on my hands like I've said before so I have to be careful what I put on them but this is so gentle and so moisturising. I have now bought the Coconut and Satsuma scents and they smells just as good as my Mango one! So if you have dry skin, try this! It's super affordable for such a great hand cream at only £4.00!

Next up is the Hydrating toner from the Vitamin E Range, this is really nice on my skin. It's suitable for all skin types and is alcohol free. I like to use this after I have cleansed and it just leave my face feeling so clean and fresh. I don't actually remember the price of this but it was super affordable (I think it's from their miniature range) I also hope that they sell it in bigger bottles as this has almost ran out. It's a lot thicker than other toners I have used which I actually prefer as I feel like it soaks into my skin - love this!

Last up, but my favourite is the Coconut Body Butter! Again - this smells amazing (I really wish the Internet had the capability of scratch and sniff - because everyone should smell this). This is a product that I used years ago and I'm so glad i picked it up - I just wish I picked up the bigger tub - but I will be next time. This is such a thick luxurious butter, I use it on my arms, elbows, knees and my face actually! I just really like the thickness of it and I find after using this on my face it leave it feeling super soft and looking so healthy!! I apply it first things in the morning to give my skin a boost and before I go to bed. The tub I bought was the 50ml and that is £5.00 but you can get it in 200ml tubs and 400ml (I'll be buying a 400ml tub next time, that's for sure).

So the result of whether I love the Body Shop as much as I did way back when is:

I do - their products are just as good as I remember them being and they have so much more choices now (even make up - eek) so I will be becoming a regular in my local store!

So that's my Body Shop Favourites at the moment - what's your favourite products from The Body Shop?

'Till next time ...