Sorry Batiste...I prefer another dry shampoo

This is just a quick post before I go to work.

When you haven't got time to wash your hair in the mornings before work because you have a little one to get ready too, like me some of you may have to use a dry shampoo.

Recently I've been using Batiste Original but I just can't get on with it so I feel the need to recommend my favourite which is made by Tresemme. They have a few in the range and are probably more expensive but I think it's worth it. 

Tresemme dry shampoo has a better texture, works really well without leaving that white powdery residue and it also has a much nicer fragrance.

Just thought I'd let you know especially all you busy mums!

New fitness leggings!!

I'm loving my new fitness leggings. I bought them from H&M, they were £14.99. 

They are very comfortable especially around the waistband which makes them a pleasure to wear. Oh and yes they do their job of soaking up the sweat very well!

I would definitely recommend these leggings! H&M have a great range of fitness clothing so have a look :0) 

I love H&M! Lol! 

Yay! My first Love Me Beauty box has arrived!!

I was very happy with what the postman brought me this morning! My first box from the Love Me Beauty boutique! 

The contents are:

Model Co eye define eye pencil in black. Apparently the must have tool for intense long lasting colour. I've tried it on and it's good so far, although I wouldn't say no-smudge as the description claims!!!!

NYX cosmetics nail polish. I am very disappointed that they sent me purple glitter as the picture on the website showed a lovely pastel blue/green, however they do state that colours vary! There couldn't really have been a worse colour choice to send me! I tried this on too. It's really not for me, it's basically just glitter and also it takes a while to dry and even though it feels dry now it's still soft enough to smudge. Sorry NYX cosmetics.

Montagne Jeunesse hot spring sauna masque. I love these masques they've been around for years! Haven't tried this yet but can't wait to do so!

Urban Veda purifying daily facial wash. Lovely packaging, I would be attracted to this in a shop! This is a 20ml tube not sure what the size is on the shelf but it's £7.99 rrp. Looking forward to using this too so watch out for future posts with reviews on the products I haven't tried yet.

Beauty UK high brow kit. I'm not usually one for making up my eyebrows, I never owned any brow products until recently. I'm willing to give this a go though. the colourless wax should be useful for keeping my brows in place. This cute kit also comes with tweezers :0) rrp only £3.99.

What a lovely treat to get in the post! Can't wait to choose the next box now!

My 5 favourite lip colours

I would just like to share my favourite lipsticks with you all. These are colours that I have read about online and in magazine articles and they were recommended for pale skin. These are not in order of preference I'd like to add!

First up we have the oldest lipstick in my bag:

Chanel 'Escapade'. this was always the ultimate best colour for my skin tone. The lipstick has a lovely creamy texture, feels good. Nice colour for everyday or for going out. The colour is a beautiful rosy colour but I won't show you the contents as it melted once! I've kept it because I love the colour so much, I must have had this lipstick at least 10 years! Oops!

Next is Collection Cream Puff moisturising lip cream. The colour is called Fairy Cake and it's a really pretty vibrant rosy pink and it smells like marshmallows and candy floss! The texture is velvety and the colour is cute! Good colour for day.

Next is the amazing Becca sheer lip tint in 'Alina'. This colour is amazing! So dramatic and I think it looks stunning on pale skin. A little bit dry in texture but I can live with that! A colour for going out.

Then we have Laura Mercier lip stain in English Rose. I love this colour, I wore it on my wedding day. So fresh and pretty nice for daytime. It's a good texture the only thing I'd say is it doesn't really stain which is a shame but it comes in quite a large pot which will probably last me forever!

Finally, I like Cheekmate cheek & lip stain by Soap & Glory. I wear this for work and most other days because it's so natural. I was surprised by it's moisturising texture and the colour is great. Excellent for the cheeks too and it lasts all day. Great product.

This photo (not good quality I'm afraid, sorry) shows the colours from left to right in the order I have written:

Macadamia healing oil treatment

I put this on my hair last night and I swear my hair has grown an inch overnight! Amazing product & smells gorgeous! Try it! 

OMG! I want this camera!!

I have just discovered this very clever little camera and I want it! It's everything I need and want in a camera so it's definitely going on my wishlist ;0) It's even on offer so even better!

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/galaxy-camera/galaxy-camera/EK-GC100ZWABTU

My diet & exercise routine is working!!!

I'm so pleased, I'm actually seeing results!! I have been working on it really hard though, I've not eaten bread for over a week and I've been having lots of healthy but very tasty food. For example today I have had:

Fruit & Fibre for breakfast with whole milk, cup of tea with sugar.

For lunch it was butternut squash & red pepper soup (no bread)

I've just done an hours legs, bums & tums workout and now eating watermelon & almonds

I will be having fresh fish for dinner with salad, lentils, falafels and salad potatoes.

I've been doing stomach exercises everyday, just my own little routine of about 120 moves.

I've also found a new drink which is green tea flavoured with raspberry & pomegranate. I steep the bag in hot water then add loads of ice cubes to make it a nice cool drink! 

I'm really proud of myself for sticking to it :0)

Me?! Reviewing beauty products?!

Don't mind if I do! 

I have just discovered the best thing ever.........

http://lovemebeauty.com/boutique/

You can subscribe from £10 a month and get a box of goodies to review for a fraction of the price you would pay on the high street. I've subscribed and cannot wait to try some new products! How exciting!

I'll be waiting for you Mr. Postman!

The best stain remover EVER!!!!!!

Ladies, I have found the best stain remover I have ever used! It's Ariel Stain Remover and it's in a spray form. It's brilliant! It actually got rid of a beetroot stain completely! I used it on one of my favourite tops this morning and the beetroot stain has gone and I got the stain on Tuesday so it was pretty ground in! 

 

I shall definitely be using it on my sons clothes, especially the white ones ;0) and shall ensure I have a bottle in the cupboard at all times. By the way, I got it on offer at Sainsbury's, not sure if it's still on offer though.

Banishing the jelly-belly!

I have always been lucky enough not to have to diet but since I had my little boy and because I'm reaching middle age (!) I now feel the need to start on my first diet. We are going on a family holiday at the end of August so I want to be a bit trimmer by then.

So from now on, until I can no longer take it, I will be having salads for lunch everyday, cutting down on sugar in my tea and coffee, eating healthier meals at dinner time and trying to avoid cakes/biscuits/desserts :0( oh and cutting out alcohol. I also go to a Legs, Bums and Tums class once a week and have an LBT DVD at home which I have also started doing. I aim to do the DVD twice a week until we go away but as well as this I am doing 60 sit-ups each day too; it's my jelly-belly I'm trying to work on! I just hope 60 is enough.

Oh my god, how boring are the next few weeks going to be?! I hope it's going to be worth it!

Sunbeds should be banned!

Why is it so important to have a tan? Can anyone answer that for me? For a while now I have been against the use of sunbeds and believe they should be completely banned, all tanning salons closed down and the sale of sunbeds banned too. Skin cancer is on the rise with the majority of cases being caused by sunbed use. I ruined my skin using them when I was younger and without a doubt it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. I wish I'd never ever used one. Obviously I can only blame myself however I do have to say that there was a lot of peer pressure to look brown in the town where I grew up and I wish I had never given in to it.

From about the age of 20 up until the age of approximately 30 I would use a sunbed regularly. I went through a period of very regular use of at least 3 times a week. I thought it was a good idea to purchase an intensive sunbed offer from a salon that provided intensive vertical sunbeds on which you only needed 3 minutes at a time to get a strong full on blast of UV rays. I would burn and come out as red as a beetroot thinking I looked good! Let me just add here that I have very fair skin prone to freckles (I am half Irish) and I never tan in the sun no matter how hard I try, so why I thought it would be any different on a sunbed I don't know.

Now my skin is dry and coarse and since turning 30 it has developed many more freckles, moles and other little lumps and bumps that can only be described as warts! Nice! Attractive! I hear you say to yourselves! Well no not really. I put all that down to using sunbeds when I was younger; also from getting deliberately burnt in the sun. I'm now 37 and I think I have aged much sooner than I should have done. I've certainly got more wrinkles than I should have at my age and don't get me started on age spots! I never expected to get those on my face and hands yet! I have tried and am currently trying different products to fade my age spots but none have worked thus far.

So I am now on a mission to try and restore the goodness back into my skin and try to make up for the trauma I have put it through. For example I wear at least SPF30 on my face EVERY day whether it's sunny or not. My intention was to wear SPF30 on exposed parts of my body every day too but that doesn't happen unless it's sunny. I never ever use a sunbed anymore and haven't done for at least 7 years. I stay in the shade as much as possible and I wear sunglasses all the time to prevent my eye area getting any more wrinkled and more importantly to protect my eyesight; the eyes too are very prone to damage from tanning equipment, especially the cornea.

I have a son who is 22 months old and you can imagine how anal I am about making sure he has SPF50 on every day. He also wears a legionnaire style sunhat outside whenever it's sunny and I keep him in the shade as much as possible too. I do let him wear shorts and t-shirts, I'm not that bad, his skin would never get used to the sun otherwise. 

People use sunbeds because they think they will look better and yet they will probably end up looking old prematurely and possibly getting skin cancer. Sunbeds are linked to two types of skin cancer, called Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma. There is also sufficient evidence to show that using sunbeds causes the most serious form of skin cancer, Malignant Melanoma. If you spot any moles, freckles or patches of skin that change it's worth making a visit to your doctor before it's too late. Last year I had a lump removed from the skin on my shoulder, luckily it was benign. I did get my shoulders extremely badly burnt when I was about 13 so I'm not surprised.

I cannot believe that tanning salons and the Sunbed Association advertise the use of sunbeds as having 'health benefits'! They ARE NOT a controlled way to get a tan, it's no safer than exposing yourself to full on sun on the beach or wherever.

You can tell those who use sunbeds. To me a tan just says 'damaged skin'. It just makes me think they are sunning themselves into an early grave. 

 
I blame Coco Chanel! In the 1920's it was she who made being bronzed fashionable. In the past affluent women did everything they could to be as white as they could be from painting their faces with lead paint (also not very healthy!) to applying copious amounts of white powder to their faces. It was only the poor who worked in the fields who had tans back then. Apparently Coco Chanel went on holiday to the South of France and came back with a tan, suddenly that then became the 'must-have' of that time and ever since really.

My message to you is to think carefully before using a sunbed whether it's for the first time or for the millionth time. Is it really worth it?

I wish that I could have learned to be proud to be pale when I was younger, like I am proud now.

Please share this post with your friends and networks, it might help save someone.

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Friendly breastfeeding places in Norwich


Looking for friendly breastfeeding places in Norwich? Then click the link above!!!!!!!!

OMG Palmers Olive Oil Formula shampoo & conditioner

Ooooh this is a lovely shampoo and conditioner, very pleased with this and I've only used it once. It left my hair feeling and looking glossy, shiny and healthy. It has a nice fresh smell and it's a great price again on Amazon (£3.99 each). For my fine short hair I only used a little bit of conditioner. Apparently these products are excellent for naturally curly thick frizzy hair so I know what I'll be recommending to all my frizzy haired friends! My husband even passed a comment of "you look nice" and he wasn't aware of my new Palmers purchase so that's a bonus! Thanks Mr L!  Looking forward to seeing what Palmers can do for my growing locks.........

Palmers Olive Oil Formula Gro Therapy

I'm hoping this Palmers Gro Therapy is going to do wonders for my hair! I've tried it on my hair before going to work but it just made it look greasy so I don't think I'll do that again. I've got very fine wispy hair (lucky me) and even though I used the tiniest bit it was too much. Anyhoo I'm going to use it as a mask for my hair at night and see how it goes. Lovely product though and it should strengthen my hair and help it grow. It's not expensive either, I bought it on Amazon for £3.49 and because I will only use a teeny bit each time it's going to last me forever!

Argh! Prickly Heat or Scarlet Fever?

OMG my baby boy has developed a rash all over his body and face. At first we thought it was just Prickly Heat so I stripped him off, gave him a cool bath, put some emollient cream all over him and just put him to bed in a nappy as the nights are so humid. Then I find out that another child at the childminders has had the same thing! Apparently his mother took him to the doctors and they just said he's fine and it's not contagious! Well guess what doc it bloody well is! My bb isn't ill at all with it it's simply just a rash. It can't be Scarlet Fever because they get a sore throat with that and feel ill so I'm fairly confident it's not that. I do just think it's a heat rash because apparently that is common in little ones as their glands haven't developed properly. I tell you what though the doc will be getting a visit tomorrow if it hasn't gone, but will that be a waste of time?

More floristry from moi :0)

Primark nail polish

I am really pleased with the new range of Primark nail polish. It's only £1, it covers well and the colours are lovely. It does chip but lets face it they all do unless they cost a bomb!

Go on give them a try, I love them!

Day 1 of hair growth!

So, I begin today by cutting down on blow drying my hair. Apparently too much heat prevents growth so begrudgingly I will not be blow drying my hair every time I wash it like I usually do as I tend to look a bit Brian May-esque if I don't but I will learn to live with that by using lots of Kirby grips!

I also intend to purchase some cod liver oil tablets, oh and of course, the best method, massage my scalp, or better still get my husband to do it!

I have included two appalling photos of my hair on day one (they are the best I could do on my own with a selfie-only iPod camera) so you can follow it's progress. Aren't you the lucky one?! 

My floristry work so far

Morning!

I would like to share some photos of my floristry work with you all.

Here are a few photos of the flowers I did for my friends wedding last year. My friend wanted a wild flower look, nothing too prim and proper so that's what I did and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would appreciate any feedback :0)

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my new blog! 

I've just had the urge to start blogging about my hair growth but I think I will just go crazy and write about anything I feel like writing about! Afterall it will be a bit boring if it's just about my hair which grows at a rate of 1mm a year (that's a joke. Well at least I hope it is). 

I had it cut short in January and my hair must be the slowest of the slow at growing! It takes ages! So. To help me concentrate on getting it growing I thought writing a blog about it could be a good start and maybe help anyone else who is trying to grow their hair.

Having read a bit about what I can do to help it grow I have some ideas. 

*Massaging my scalp everyday
*Taking Cod Liver Oil tablets daily
*Sleeping in a hair mask (type to be decided)
*Giving FAST shampoo and conditioner a go
*Trying out Macadamia hair products, depending on the cost
*If trying something cheaper then going for Palmers shampoo and conditioner

These are just a few of the things I will start as of tomorrow and I will keep you all informed of my progress via this blog!

My toddler son swallowed a metal button!

I just wanted to tell you that my nearly 22 month old son swallowed a metal button last night! At first I panicked even though he seemed perfectly ok. I couldn't believe it though, he had the button one second and the next it had gone!

I googled this and read that the only thing we could do was to wait for him to poo it out! I still felt a bit worried obviously and fell asleep worrying that the button was going to rust inside his stomach and make him really ill etc.

He only did one poo today and the button was in it! Result! What a relief!

I can't believe how quick it went through his system. So if this happens to your toddler, just wait for them to poo out the foreign body! Unless of course they are choking then ring 999 ASAP.