The good and bad by my bath...

There are two products currently at the side of my bath which couldn't be more opposite! The first which I love is REN Seaweed and Sage body wash. The second is L'Oreal Perfect Clean foaming cream wash which I really dont.

 



REN Seaweed and Sage body wash:

I started using this last night as a bubble bath. I used around four 'squirts' which I found to be a bit too much, this info cheered me up as it means it will last longer than expected. The bathroom was filled with a lovely relaxing fragrance which made me feel very chilled out. The water felt softer and there was a nice amount of bubbles to soak in. Definitely a winner :)

L'Oreal Perfect Clean foaming cream wash:

It's always seems easier to talk about things you don't like rather than those you do. And this is rubbish! I don't really like L'Oreal normally but I was tempted to buy this as I had a voucher which made it extremely cheap. I've been using it after taking off my make up in the bath and its so drying. Despite the fact it markets itself as a 'cream' wash it definitely isn't. It comes out of the bottle looking like hand soap you would get in a toilets. There isn't much of a smell and leaves my skin feeling dry and wrinkled.

It also comes with a ridiculous contraption called a 'scrublet' which sounds much too similar to a 'scrubber' for my liking. I used it a couple of times when I first started using the wash and found it make no difference whatsoever.

I'm not one to give up when I start something so I'll probably use it until the end of the bottle (daft I know) but I'm really looking forward to using a nicer less abrasive facial wash/cleanser soon.

Why Do You Wear Makeup? | TAG

I'm a bit unsure how these TAG things work but I've just seen one come up on Wonderful You blog which I thought I'd get involved with. I've been meaning to do a blog post on my journey through make up so this seems to ask all the right questions! Here goes:

1. When did you begin to love makeup?

I can remember desperately wanting to wear make up from being about age 12-13, both my older sister and Mum wore make up so I couldn't wait to get my own collection of lotions and potions to wear like they did.

I don't think I was allowed to wear make up properly until I was about 14 . I have a memory of hiding a Collection 2000 red lipstick and black mascara that I'd got free in Shout magazine (showing my age there!) which I'd look at longingly on a regular basis until I was allowed to start using them. Of course when I could finally use them they both looked terrible on me!

2. How do you feel without makeup?

The honest answer is terrible! I really do. I was actually late for a meeting on Tuesday and didn't have time to put any make up on and I felt half asleep and half finished all day! My eyes don't feel awake until I put all my eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara on. Plus they look red and ill! Putting make up on makes me feel more colourful, more human and I really enjoy the 5-10minutes I spend getting creative with eyeshadow each morning!

I've always been a 'blusher' (I feel this deserves a blog post on its own!) so when I put my foundation on in a morning I know that the inevitable facial flushes won't be so noticeable!

3. What do you like about makeup?

My main passion is eyeshadow. I can take or leave foundation, powders, lipsticks etc. I like the hundreds of colours in different palettes and the shimmer, colour and difference they can make to my eyes. I like mixing and matching them and then adding in coloured mascara and eyeliner. Basically whenever I see an eyeshadow palette I have to have a second look and then usually make the purchase!

My favourites are the cheap and colourful - I'm not really fussed by expensive classy palettes that most people seem to favour. I need people to know I'm wearing eyeshadow if I'm going to make the effort putting it on!

4. Three 'Holy Grail' Items:

I hear a lot about Holy Grail items on blogs but I have to say I don't really have anything in particular! I like to keep changing what I'm using on an almost weekly basis. At the moment I like Liz Earle and REN for skincare and my make up is a selection of MUA, H&M, Boots, M&S and various other odds and sods.

  

Deliveries x 4

So even though I was off work and away from blogging for a good few weeks I still managed to flex my ordering skills and had these four boxes arrive:

 

So what did I receive?

 

The first box was something of a surprise from What's In My Handbag? I have to say I really didn't think I'd receive anything from them. I'd seen the website mentioned on other blogs and when I filled out the online form to try a sample it asked if you had a blog, so I was expecting them to only send out the samples to people with big blogs.

 

In case you haven't heard of the website - their main purpose is to find out what beauty products people (mainly fashionista types) carry around in their handbags and to spread the word about must have items. I have to say I've never been very fussed by looking through the actual site - I prefer people on their blogs doing features of what's in their handbags rather than celebrities.

 

So here's the sample I received:

 

 

I found it impossible to take a good picture of this particular box but inside is a sample tub of OSKIA renaissance mask. It seems very swish in its own glass jar and fabric bag. I'm looking forward to giving it a try soon.

Next up is my usual monthly 'Latest in Beauty' sample box (£1.50 text for three samples) in fact its taken me so long to do this post I'm due to get my next one this week!

 

The box contains: 5 x Lavera organic wild rose intensive face cream samples (which I've had before and liked), 2 x Boo Boo Mummy body smoother samples (these might be sent to a friend who recently had a baby) and finally the product I'm really excited to try: Sanctuary Spa 30 Day Thermal Tranformation mini kit. I'm a sucker for self heating products!

 

Onto the next box:

 

 

 

It's another one from Latest in Beauty! They ran a free postage offer if you ordered five products, so as I'd always wanted to try Weleda I decided to order some of their samples. I got 2 x pomegranate firming night creams, 2 x pomegranate firming serums and 1 x pomegranate firming day cream. The Weleda items came in their own boxes with metal tubes which I think looks lovely!

 

To make up numbers I also purchased a Melvita youthful skin cream and fresh micellar water. These look okay but it's mainly the Weleda items I was after! 

 

The final sample pack is again from Latest in Beauty (I'm all over their website!) and was a one off sample pack of Aveda thickening hair conditioner and exfoliating shampoo:

 





I've just ran out of conditioner so these will getting used in the next couple of days. The pack arrived in a funky shiny silver envelope which will be getting re-used on someone else near Christmas time I'm sure!

I'm very chuffed with my latest selection of products but I'm sure there will still be more to follow as always! x

Rosehip Jam (and a return to blogging)

So I think its safe to say at this point that I'm never going to be the world's most frequent blogger. I'm always impressed by my favourite bloggers who can post several times a week. But I find that having a full time job doesn't lend itself to having a full time blog, so my loyalty has to lie with what pays the bills! However that's not to say I'm giving up the blogging, so I'm back with a recipe for rosehip jam I made this morning.

 

This jam came about after find a bag of rosehips at the bottom of the fridge. My boyfriend had collected them last week but he's off in Kosovo at the moment (on a holiday with his friends). So I was left sans boyfriend but with a rapidly 'getting funky' bag of rosehips!

I did a bit of research and found a recipe on the Guardian website which I felt I could tailor to my rather small bag of rosehips. Here's the low down:

1. Wash the rosehips, cut in half and scoop out the middles:

2. Put in a pan with a small amount of water, bring to the boil, then let them bubble for around 20 minutes. During this time I kept mashing them with the back of a spoon and adding extra water. They will turn to a pulp eventually:

 

3. Once you've got the pulp, take off the heat, strain through a sieve and put back in the pan with an equal amount of jam making sugar:

4. Let this bubble for a few more minutes until it is all dissolved and thickens. I had a small sterilised honey jar to hand and then poured the mixture in:

 

As you can see the jam didn't quite make the top of the jar but it's a nice amount for us to use next week on toast. The label was from Ikea and was mainly stuck on to cover the old label which I'd not bothered to take off!

 

I've not put exact measures or timings down as when picking items such as rosehips or berries its hard to be accurate so I find it easier to improvise! Do be careful to scoop out all the seeds though as they are an irritant.

 

Leanne x