11/29/2011

Body battles

I am currently sat in my living room watching  TV and the rain is hitting the roof pretty hard and it got me thinking that so many of you love my weight/body issues related videos but those are unfortunately  the  kind of videos I have to be really feeling in the mood for, so I felt maybe a little blog post would do......


I don't love my body. there I said it. I read so many books and see so many experts (Gok Wan anyone?) talking about how we should love and appreciate what we have but seriously, how any women do you really know who really, TRULY love their body and treat it with love and respect? you here sayings like " if you don't love you no one will" and yet I always end up thinking you are missing the point! in my opinion, you are not meant to LOVE your body, you are meant to learn to respect it but that need to improve it , that need never truly goes away. I don't love my body and there are around 10000 things I would like to change about it but if I really wanted to change it that badly, surely I would starve myself  and be down the gym 24/7  but i'm not. And why is that you wonder? because I have come to realize that no matter what I do i'm never, ever going to look like Elle Macpherson, but that does not mean I stopped caring....I think I will always want to better myself in some way or another but the difference now is unlike  5 years ago, I have learned to (semi, still a long way to go!) respect my body.


What do you think?    

11/28/2011

The secrets of a perfect pampering bath

I am 100% a bath person. Give me a bath over a hot steaming shower any day and i'm a happy bunny but, during these bitterly cold winter months (it's 1 degree today.....seriously?)  I need a little bit of special pampering time and there is nothing I love more then having a long,bubbly soak in the bath.


I love bath products, I love how they have that magical ability to make you feel wonderfully papmerd and cared for. I start off by running a very hot bath (Which by the way, is not very good for your skin especially if it's dry) while the bath is running I give my body a brush using my Boots botanics detox brush to help tone up my body and detoxify my skin. What I put in my bath depends on my mood but I'm not a fan of your stranded bubble bath because I find them very drying. A few of my favorite things to put in my bath are the dead sea bath salts,these help detoxify your skin and are good if you suffer from any dry skin conditions such as eczema. An all time bath love of mine is the  Neutrogena body oil. A few splashes on this in your bath water will make your skin feel amazing! The next step is lighting a few candles (I love YANKEE candles at the moment, and ocean breeze is a bath time favorite) and get in the bath.


I have always been jealous of those of you who can read in the bath...i'm a big reader but for some reason I can not do it in the bath! So instead, I scrub! The body scrub i'm loving at the moment is the SOAP& GLORY breakfast scrub. Once i'm done in the bath, I get out a apply some body oil to damp skin..........A good body oil should feel light and silky, sink in to the skin and leave a beautiful sheen on the skin. My favorite body oil is the NO7 pampering dry oily body spray  And last but not least, you may thing it's a little much but remember it's all about pampering me time but I love to let the body oil sink in to my damp skin and them apply a rich, moisturizing  body butter. My all time favorite is THE BODY SHOP almond body butter because nothing makes your skin feel as soft and sexy as this! 






So there you go, that is my favorite pampering recipe and I hope you all remember to take some time out, especially around this hectic time of year  and treat your self to a pampering body beautiful bathing session!

I'm addicted!

This is just a little post to show you the Constance of my over crowded bathroom.



It is bad. I know.

11/27/2011

OOTD

Another outfit of the day for you all....is it not nice weather today? I'm loving it! I love this time of year when you get those crisp, clear fresh days and all the leaves are golden.....you can feel Xmas coming!  I went out to get a few things I needed and am now sat watching F1 (not my first choice but I do love Lewis Hamilton) so this is what I wore:


(Yea I am aware both photos are pretty similar, but wanted to make sure you got the idea!)




Jumper- MATALAN I got this the other day because it was so cold and I love it! it has a tweed pattern on it but because it's slouchy (I did get it in a big size so it would be baggy) it looks grate and is very warm.


Top- RIVER ISLAND 


Jeans- ASDA (love them to death!) I did fold them up for a more modern feel, I love that casual look.


Shoes- PRIMARK


Sunglasses- GUCCI


Bag- focco 


What was your weather like? what do you normally do on a sunday?



11/26/2011

OOTD

This is just a very little outfit of the day post, nothing extraordinary as I spend my after none in B&Q shopping for paint. Yep that is my glamorous life!




First things first, my thighs look huge! I blame the judgement on my behalf, leggings need a longer top to hide my massive thighs.


Jacket- MANGO (Love it to bits! I got it 2 years ago and it is perfect)
Top- ZARA
Vest under the top- GAP
Leggins- PRIMARK
Shoes- PRIMARK again and I love them! £4 and so dainty and very comfortable.


Now there is something I must point out....I love reading fashion blogs and seeing how people style their outfits and I know that my outfits are not the most existing thing is the world, or the most fashionable shall we say. My style is pretty simple and sadly does not take amazing photos like some other bloggers I know who have model like physics (Yes buynowbloglater I mean you) but you seem to like these posts so I will keep doing as you ask.....I am indeed, a very obedient blogger.

11/20/2011

Review time-LA ROCHE-POSAY EFFACLAR Clarifying Lotion

I will be the first to admit that my attraction to this product was probably down to that fact I have a bit of a thing for french skin care products (and shoes, and chocolate and Ben& Gerry's, but that's a hole other issue) I love how scientific yet mild they seem, and I love how they tend to address more specific skin issues like large pores, uneven texture and so on, and not just go by your skin type. I have used so many of them over time and have pretty much loved them all. All but one....




Enter the La roch-posay effaclar  clarifying lotion. I am always looking for mild yet effective way to exfoliate my skin on a daily basis to make it look and feel its best. This is essentially a toner that is meant to  cleanse and exfoliate to help unblock and reduce the appearance of your pores. This may sound extremely self-indulgent but I have an unresolved issue with my pores. Big time! It seems they are always slightly more viable than I would like them to be  (of course, this could just be in my head as no one else seems to see what I am talking about, but nonetheless, it bothers me.) La roch-posay claim  the effeclar range is meant for people with less than perfect skin, who suffer from blocked pores, oiliness and imperfections . One of the most interesting things about this toner is it uses very few ingredients but one of the key ingredients is salicylic acid, which is an extract of  the bark of a willow tree as is a very common used ingredient in skincare products for oily skin as it helps to clean deeper down in to the pores and is not as harsh as things like  benzoyl peroxide. I have been using this toner for about 3 months now and and I can sadly but safely report that I have seen no significant  change in my pores. The few good things I can say about this is it's mild for a product of this nature and it's easily accessible at your local boots (unlike other french skin care lines like bioderma  for example). It is also pretty pricey for a toner at £11 per 200 ml but I will say it does last a fair amount of time as you only need a small amount on a cotton pad.


So sadly this was not the ultimate pore solution, i'm not a fan of pore strips and things like that so I feel I may just need to stick to my 5 min detox mask to unblock the little suckers!


Have you used this? did it work for you? and what products by La roch-posay do you really rate?

Update!

Hello my lovelies, long time no blog!


As you know (or some to think of it, may not know depends how interested you are in my boring life) I have moved house, hence been super busy and not had any internet access so that should explain the lack of posts and videos. I will not bore you with the moving details, or go off on a rant about how naughty SKY are for not sorting out my internet situation when they were meant too, because we do have internet now (thanks of the pub next door). Unfortunately, the speed is very slow and i'm still not too sure how ill be able to upload videos but I will find a way!


Just wanted to keep you up to date really, and hope you are all well and keeping warm!
xxx

11/08/2011

My super healthy eating plan

As many of you will know, i'm on a health kick at the moment trying to be healthier and lose a few pounds in time for party season. So I am doing something I have NEVER  done before and i'v gone on a mini detox cutting out dairy,any packaged foods,unrefined carbs (as in potato's, pasta, rice bread and that but also i'm cutting out the wholegrain type, just for the time being to speed up the weight loss) Junk food of any kind and meat because i'm a veggie, so that's always been the way.


I have been over indulging big time lately so I felt my diet could do with a good kick up the arse! I decided the best idea would be to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and beans for protein so I'm going to share with you what I have been eating because it's so easy, healthy filling and yummy.


In the morning I have a glass of  Innocent fruit smoothie (Make sure you read the back to see what a serving size really is) because they are natural, easy and provide 2 of your 5 a day. Then for the rest of the day all I eat are fresh, homemade soup. A few favorites are pea soup, lentil soup, butter bean soup, fresh tomato soup and anything you like really!  Soup is such a grate option because they are healthy and very filling. I eat 3 bowls of soup a day so one for lunch, one mid after none and one for my dinner. I love eating soup now it's cold and i'm eating so much vegetables!  Now I will say this is not the most flexible eating plane and is only good for a short amount of time, so if I go out for a meal I can eat what I want and then go back to eating my healthy fruit and soups and hopefully this  will also make me feel light, energetic and with glowing skin.


I will let you know how I'm getting on soon:) xxx 

11/04/2011

Weight loss update/ Detox!

So many of you have been asking me about my weight loss progress and I know i'v been a naughty girl and not been updating my blog with my daily menu, but the truth is I have been so busy the past few months as we are in the middle of moving to a new house, lots of traveling and long train rides that lead me to not eat anything and then realize at the end of the day that I have not eaten all day (not good) or just end up munching junk on long train rides (HARIBO tangfastics anyone?) and eating out a lot due to lack of time and just being busy. (even more not good)


Also, being this close to my favorite time of the year, yep you guessed right Christmas, I know closer to the time it will be full of unhealthy eating like my mum's amazing dinner, chocolate and yummy snacks and i'm not going to pretend I am going to be good over xmas as I know that for me, it's not doable. So I have decided  to go on a "mini" pre-Christmas healthy eating-detox plane. I will be stick to plenty of fruit, veg and beans. This is not a crash diet, it's more about me cleaning out the junk and sugar from my body (not literally I know!)  and help me feel lighter, fresher and hopefully lose a few pounds so I look hot in the annual Christmas photos!







I will update you how it goes but basically my plan is to have fruit smoothie for breakfast, fresh salad for lunch and homemade soup for tea and try and cut out sugar and dairy and too many carbs like pizza, pasta and normal potato's. This will also be amazing to help get back on track after over indulging over xmas time.


Let me know your thoughts on the matter!

11/02/2011

Why did you let me down the sanctuary?

I have been meaning to do this post for a while and just didn't seem to be getting round to it, but because this is sat on the edge of my bath it's a constant reminder that I need to write about this because it is a strange product.....


We are talking about the sanctuary skin warming micrbrasion polish. I love these types of  at-home treatment because they are easy to use, inexpensive and tend to make your skin feel amazing. The sanctuary claim this is a " A unique, deep exfoliating treatment scrub that helps to refine the skin and minimise an uneven skin texture. The thermal action, combined with the microbrasion effect of the natural Marine Earth and detoxifying Kaolin helps to open pores, exfoliate and draw out toxins. Bamboo, Jojoba and Beeswax help to smooth and soften the skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines."


The things I like about this are:


1)Nice packaging, it looks very sleek and elegant

2) Reasonably priced at £12.25
3)Easily available, you can just walk into your local boots and pick it up.




Things I dislike about it:
1)The scent- I'm not one who minds the smell of things, but this is really not my cup of tea....it has a very strange,old-lady skincare scent.
2) The warming effect? not very warming and does not last very long on the skin.
3) The grains in it that are meant to polish your skin are very small and fine, but my skin is pretty hardy so this may be ok for you.


This gets a huge thumbs down from me as it has an unpleasant scent and I hate how the heat does not last.


Have any one you used it? did you like it?