A Weekend at Hoar Cross Hall!

This blog post is slightly overdue, but we had that much of a good time that I couldn’t just not post about.

So, not that long ago, myself and 7 other lovely ladies headed over to Hoar Cross Hall for a hen weekend. We stayed over on the Friday night, and came back Saturday evening. Our package included a three-course evening meal on the Friday, breakfast, and we had an upgrade to Champagne Afternoon Tea on the Saturday.

When we arrived on the Saturday, at about 2pm, we got ourselves checked in and shown to our rooms. We had a look around and were super impressed with the rooms and the bathrooms were filled with miniature Elemis products, which were gorgeous to use! All of our rooms were relatively close to one another, which was really handy.

We then decided to get our bikinis on and head down to the spa for a bit. We went for a swim, made use of the saunas and steam-rooms and had a bit of a natter in the Jacuzzi.

Because it was such a beautiful day, we then went out to the back gardens of the building and had a couple of cocktails. It was too nice to be sat indoors, so we sat outside, sipping cocktails, admiring the gorgeous view of the gardens.

Our evening meal was booked for 7:30pm, so at about 6pm, we headed back up to the rooms to get showered and ready for dinner. The food was absolutely beautiful, and the service was great! I had paté on toasted ciabatta with a red onion chutney for starters, steak and chips with salad and garlic bread for mains, and cheese and biscuits for dessert (excuse the iPhone quality on these images, I left my camera in the room!). After dinner, we had a couple of drinks and went back up to our rooms where we gave the bride-to-be the gifts and surprises we had got for her.

Breakfast was just as good the following morning. It was a help yourself kinda thing, with the most amazing cooked breakfast, and alllll of the beautiful pastries.

After breakfast, we headed straight to the spa, where we made use of all the facilities. It was SO nice to just completely chill, wind-down and relax. We made our way to the product shop, which was filled with allllll of the Clarins and Elemis products you could ever want! I of course, didn’t go away empty handed and bought quite a few things, as did a few of the other girls. The member of staff in the shop, Claire, was super helpful, recommended specific products to us, matched us up to the products we were interested in, and really looked after us! She made sure we had everything we wanted and needed and was so lovely.

At 2pm, we had our Champagne Afternoon Tea. We were supposed to eat this in the Library of the building, however because the weather was too good, we very cheekily asked if we could enjoy it outside instead (which we did!). The bartender at Sally Bee’s (the upstairs café), Sam, was absolutely incredible at looking after us and making that we had everything we needed. He invented us our own cocktails if we didn’t like what was on the list, he was so, so friendly and this really made such a difference to our day! Sam only had a few weeks left at Hoar Cross Hall at this point, but he was such an amazing member of staff and the way he treated each guest was just fantastic! The afternoon tea itself was to die for. There was a variety of different foods; sandwiches, wraps, cake, scones.. you name it. I think I speak for most of the girls when I say this was one of the highlights of the weekend as we had such a lovely time sat outside, eating, drinking and being treated incredibly well by the members of staff!

We all had the best weekend here at Hoar Cross Hall, and the staff here definitely contributed to how memorable this weekend was. Myself and several of the others visited here not too long ago, which I did a post on here, so we were so excited to be coming back for a second time and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last either! We all came home feeling relaxed and refreshed, which is exactly how you’re supposed to feel after a spa weekend! I’ve been to a couple of different spas, and spa breaks and so far, this is by far the best. I’ve raved about this place and recommended it to multiple people, which have then visited here themselves and have had the best time.

I have a few more visits to here lined up throughout the year, so, Hoar Cross Hall, I’ll see you again soon!

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Hoar Cross Hall

Camera used: Canon EOS 700D

 

How To: Messy, Beachy Waves!

Hello everybody!

Recently, I have had my hair chopped. It isn’t massively short, but compared to what it was, and what I’m used to, it was a huge deal for me. I have never really had short hair, but I’ve always wanted longer hair, and as soon as it actually started growing and got to a certain length, I decided it wasn’t really for me. So, I got the chop. And honestly, I do not regret it in the slightest and I even want to go just a teeeeny bit shorter! Whilst I was having my hair cut, I did have the initial thought of, “sh*t, what am I doing?!”. But I could not have been happier with going through with it, and I now wish I had done it sooner! My hair feels much thicker, and in a much better condition. I find my hair much easier to style, and it looks a heck of a lot better too!

My go-to style for this length hair is loose, beachy, textured waves. When my hair was longer, I achieved this look with my GHD Platinum Copper Luxe straighteners. However, since cutting my hair, I found it more difficult trying to wave my hair with straighteners. I also think that messy, beachy waves look a lot better on shorter hair. I found that when it was longer it still looked very neat, which wasn’t really what I was going for. So, I decided to get a curling wand to make it a bit easier and to get the look that I really wanted to achieve. It took me a while and I did try about 3 different stylers before I bought the GHD Curve Creative Wand. I have only ever used GHD’s, so I don’t know why I didn’t buy these straight away. These curlers are perfect for all hair types and lengths, but I find it to suit the length of my hair perfectly. Once I’ve created this look, it lasts me around 2 or 3 days with the odd touch-up.

Step 1:

The first thing I do when I want to create this look is wash my hair. Recently, I have been using the L’Oreal Professional Mythic Oil shampoo and conditioner. This makes hair feel incredibly soft, and makes it look super healthy and shiny. I love these products and they have made such a difference to the quality of my hair and I can’t wait to try out more from the range!

Step 2:

Next, I towel-dry my hair and spray it with the Lee Stafford Coco Loco Heat Protection spray. I have used Lee Stafford for years and they do some amazing products and I can really tell the difference when I don’t use this! I then partly dry my hair with my Lee Stafford hair dryer. Although, I have had this FOREVER and I am about due for a new one! While my hair is still a bit damp, I spray on some sea salt spray. My favourite is the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray which is incredible, and doesn’t leave any residue or leave my hair feeling all crunchy and stiff, like some others do. This helps give my hair that beachy, fresh out of the sea kinda vibe, which I am totally digging right now. It also makes it a lot easier to curl and helps it to stay in for longer. I find curls never seem to stay in when my hair is freshly washed as it is too soft and silky and the curls just seem to drop out, so this is a life saver!

Step 3:

Now that my hair is dry, I clip up the top section of my hair. Focusing on the bottom half, I take large sections of hair and wrap it around the curling wand, holding it for 5-8 seconds, leaving out a little bit at the ends to give it a messy, tousled look. Each time I take a section of hair, I wrap it around the wand in different directions. This avoids the hair gathering together in one big curl. When I get to the top section of my hair, I do the same and for the pieces at the front, I curl these away from the face as I feel it gives a bit more structure and frames the face a lot more.

Step 4:

The last thing I do is run my fingers roughly through my hair. This helps to loosen the curls. I then apply a small amount of the OUAI Wave Spray through the mid-lengths and ends of my hair and this just gives my hair a bit more hold and volume and gives more of a messy, edgy feel to it, which I LOVE. I bought the travel-size bottle of this spray and it has become an absolute staple to my hair routine, so I will definitely be picking up the full-sized bottle!

And that is how I create loose, beachy waves for shorter hair!

I hope you enjoyed this post. It is my first ‘How To’ post, so let me know what you think and if you would like to see more! I may also do a YouTube video to accompany this post, so again, let me know if this is something you would like to see!

ALSO, thanks to Jake for taking the photos for this blog post even thought it is his least favourite thing to do!

Don’t forget to like this post and follow my blog!

Links below;

L’Oreal Professional Mythic Oil Shampoo £11.34

L’Oreal Professional Mythic Oil Conditioning Masque £15.15

GHD Curve Creative Wand £120

Lee Stafford Coco Loco Heat Protection Spray £5.99

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray £23

OUAI Wave Spray £22

 

A trip to Brighton, and 5 year anniversary!

Last week, myself and my boyfriend, Jake went to Brighton for a couple of days for our 5^th anniversary. FIVE YEARS. That is crayyyy. It has absolutely flown by but I have had the best five years with Jake and wouldn’t change a thing. *Soppiness over with.. moving on*.

I’m not quite sure what made us want to go to Brighton. We didn’t really fancy going to London, or a big city like that, because we’ve already done that, so we wanted somewhere a bit more chill and a bit more relaxed. We’d heard so many good things about Brighton, and I’m not sure why, but it’s somewhere I have always wanted to visit, so we just kinda decided on that. We stayed for two nights, and three days.

The train journey was about three and a half hours long, with a change and a tube journey in London – which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and it went so quick. We arrived in Brighton at around 2pm, and checked into our hotel. We stayed in the Drakes Hotel, which was stunning! The staff were so lovely and super helpful in giving us recommendations and ordering us taxi’s when we needed, etc. When we were shown to our room, there was a card on the bed wishing myself and Jake a happy anniversary. HOW CUTE. This was such a lovely touch and extremely thoughtful of the staff. The room was insane. It was small, but had everything you needed, including a free-standing bath tub over-looking the beach, a robe and slippers along with The White Company toiletries – lush.

We put our bags in the room, freshened up and headed for the beach. Our hotel was so close to the beach, you literally crossed the road, and there it was. We walked along the beach, and grabbed a burger and some chips from the burger bar on the beach. It was so nice to walk across a pebbled beach for a change, too! We then made our way to the lanes – which again was so close to us, it was about a five-minute walk. Also, the weather was incredible – it was so warm and sunny!

As soon as we got into the lanes, we spotted Boho Gelato, and we couldn’t not get an ice cream. I’m not joking when I say this was the best ice cream I’ve ever had – it was incredible! Although there were SO many flavours to choose from, I played it safe and went for mint. We had a wander around the lanes and the shops and took a slow walk back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

Everywhere was SO busy and we hadn’t booked a seat beforehand, so we ended up in Bella Italia. I know – wild. Jake and I, (more so Jake) are fussy eaters so we don’t really tend to venture out in terms of food. But, I was more than happy with Bruschetta and Spag Bol and Jake with his Pizza and Fries. I also had a few cheeky cocktails which were super tasty! We had another walk around the lanes, and worked out where we wanted to go for breakfast the next day, and headed back to the hotel.

The next day, we got ready and headed straight to The Breakfast Club in the lanes for breakfast. Again, we’d heard so many good things about this place so we just had to try it out! I had scrambled eggs on toast, and Jake had poached eggs. The portion sizes were absolutely huge, I only just managed to eat half!

We decided that we wanted to do a bit of shopping, so Jake spent most of the time in the VANS and DC stores. I picked up a few bits from Space NK, but I’m going to save what I bought for another post. We headed back towards the beach and went to the Pier. We grabbed a hotdog and some chips and had a walk down, and then it started to rain like crazy!

We ran to the inside parts of the pier to keep dry, and soon realised it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, so decided to walk back to the hotel. And, I don’t know why but when I looked down and saw the sea beneath us, I completely freaked out and literally ran off the pier! When I got off the Pier, I could just see Jake crying with laughter at the other end! When we got back to hotel, I began to feel quite ill. For those of you that don’t know, I suffer quite badly with Arthritis, so I was beginning to really ache and I think all the travelling and walking we had done was beginning to take its toll. So, we decided to take a couple of hours to just chill in the room, and I had the most amazing bubble bath which over-looked the beach and the sea – amazing.

We went for a walk around, and looked for places to go for dinner that night, but I still wasn’t feeling great at all, and we realised that we could actually order from Deliveroo to the hotel! How cool is that?! So, we decided to do that instead which was so lovely to just relax in our comfies, watch TV and spend time together.

The next day, our train home wasn’t until 2pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill so we went for breakfast in the lanes and headed to Churchill Square Shopping Centre to do a bit of last minute shopping.

We bought a few bits and I bumped into Poppy Deyes which was so cool! She was so lovely and very kindly stopped for a quick chat and a photo! I also took another quick trip into Space NK to buy a few Kiehl’s products I’d had my eye on for ages. I won’t say what I got because I will be doing a separate post for that! Whilst in Space NK, I saw Anna Gardner (The Anna Edit), which was amazing! She was so nice, and stopped to talk about my purchases, and had a few photos with me! It was so amazing to meet two people that influence my blog so much and that I aspire and look up to!

The train home wasn’t as easy going as the train there, as there were no seats so we had to stand and it was so busy that nobody could even move! But, we had the most amazing time in Brighton and it was such a lovely way to celebrate our five-year anniversary. We are already thinking about planning our next trip here!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don’t forget to like and follow my blog! Follow my Twitter and Instagram to see even more photos from our trip!

Keep your eyes peeled for a haul post on what I bought whilst in Brighton!

Love, Meg x

Beauty Haul!

I have missed a good ol’ haul!

I have taken some much needed time away from blogging, for the simple reason that life just got in the way. I had so much going on, mixed with uni deadlines, that unfortunately blogging just had to take a bit of a backseat. But I am back and I am so ready to get back into the blogging game, cos boy have I missed it!

Recently, I made a couple of online orders so I thought I would share with you, the bits and pieces that I got.

Firstly, I visited feelunique.com, which is a very dangerous place for my bank account… They do absolutely EVERYTHING! I go on there to make a repurchase and end up filling my online basket to the brim!

I am really into sheet masks at the minute, so when I saw that Origins had released a wide range of Flower Fusion sheet masks, I had to get some! I love Origins as a brand as they are so organic and natural in terms of the ingredients they use in their products and everything I’ve tried works incredibly! I got four of the sheet masks; the Jasmine, that targets softening, Lavender for soothing, Violet for nourishing and Rose for hydrating. I haven’t tried these out yet, but I am so excited to use them and will no doubt order the rest of the range!

The next thing is also from Origins and this is the Ginzing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser. I have been using this product for well over a year now, and it is something I will continue to buy and buy again. It is incredible. I have such sensitive skin and this seems to be the only exfoliator than doesn’t react badly with my skin. It leaves my skin feeling so smooth and refreshed, and I can really tell the difference when I haven’t used it for a day or two! This is a must-have for my daily skincare routine and I am never without a back-up in my skincare stash!

Recently, I have been ditching the foundation and have found myself opting for tinted moisturisers, and BB creams instead. I’m not entirely sure why, but my skin just seems to be working a lot better with a more lightweight base and I am loving it. There are two that I picked up. The first is the NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in the shade Alaska. After hearing and reading many mixed reviews on this product, I decided to just give it a try as I have really enjoyed every other NARS product that I own.

The second BB cream is the Clarins Skin Perfecting Cream in the shade 00 Fair. It has an SPF of 25, which is super useful now that we are well into Spring and fast approaching Summer. I have used this a few times and so far, I am absolutely loving it. It gives just enough coverage, it isn’t too sheer, and gives a light and even base and is definitely buildable. Perfect for this time of year.

Something else I picked up from Clarins was the Tonic Body Treatment Oil. After spending a weekend at Hoar Cross Hall, I decided that I needed to invest in a body oil, (or two)… My skin tends to really dry up during the summer and sometimes, moisturising just isn’t enough for me. So, I thought a body oil that I can apply after bathing/showering, or that I can apply to my bath water would do just the trick. And, so far, so good. Plus, it leaves my skin smelling insane!

The second body oil I picked up (because one clearly just wasn’t enough) was also from Hoar Cross Hall. We went to Hoar Cross Hall for a hen-weekend, and my aunt, and a few other the other girls had told me about this and after smelling it in the product shop, I couldn’t not buy it. This is the Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil. This has quite a sweet scent and I absolutely love it. It is the perfect scent for this time of year and leaves my skin feeling incredible. I think it is safe to say that I am now well and truly obsessed with body oils. They just work wonders! Next on my list is the Elemis Fortitude Bath and Shower Elixir *swoons*.

The final few products I picked up from Debenhams. I picked up a couple of things that I had been eyeing up for a while. The first thing was the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. I have only heard positive things about this mascara and was actually surprised that I hadn’t bought it before now. I haven’t tried this out yet, but I am super excited to use it!

The next thing is the Too Faced Sweet Peach Eyeshadow palette. I have been lusting over this palette for so long now that I just couldn’t resist it any longer. Too Faced are quite possibly my favourite brand when it comes to eyeshadows so I knew that this wouldn’t disappoint. I have been using this every day since I got it. The colours are gorgeous and are prefect for the transition into Spring and Summer. As with all Too Faced eyeshadows, all the shades are crazy pigmented and blend soooo easily! LOVE.

The final product is again, from Too Faced and this is the Sweet Peach Glow palette. I am ALLLL about that glowy, dewy skin at the minute so when I saw this, I immediately knew that I needed it and it was just what I needed to last me through the warmer months. I have recently gotten a lot more into blush and the blush shade in this palette is stunning and gives that perfect pop of colour. I have been using this palette every day and I am sure I will continue to do so throughout the rest of Spring and Summer!

That is all for this blog post! I hope you enjoyed it, don’t forget to like and follow! I am off to Brighton for a few days this week for mine and Jake’s 5-year anniversary so I will be taking lots of photos and writing a few posts on my trip so keep your eyes peeled for those!

I am also using Instagram Stories a lot more, and will be using is whilst in Brighton so be sure to follow me!

Love, Meg x

PS. It is SOOOO good to be back blogging again, eeeeeek.

Links and prices below;

Origins Flower Fusion Sheet Masks £5

Origins GinZing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser £15.50

NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint £30

Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream £30

Clarins Tonic Body Treatment Oil £40

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil £35

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara £19

Too Faced Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette £39

Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow Palette £34

Haircare Haul & First Impressions!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the second part of my haul/first impressions series where I will be talking all about haircare! It isn’t very often that I talk about haircare, however I have collated enough products to dedicate a whole blog post to it!

The first thing that I am completely and utterly head over heels in love with, are my GHD Platinum Copper Luxe straighteners. I put these on my Christmas Wish list that I gave to my boyfriend and he very generously bought them for me. SERIOUSLY, how goddam gorgeous are they?! GHD’s are by far the best hair straighteners and the only ones I will use – any others just don’t do the job even half as well. I wasn’t actually in need of a new pair of straighteners, but when I saw that GHD had released the Copper Luxe range that would be limited edition, I knew that I needed them! Not only are GHD’s incredible straighteners, they also curl hair amazingly too! They are pricey, but I see them as more of an investment as they last for such a long time!

For months, I have been searching for the perfect curling wand to create beachy waves. The problem I found with curling wands, was that some barrels were too big, or too small, but I finally found the right one! Don’t get me wrong, I love the affect my GHD’s give when I curl my hair with them, but sometimes I fancy something a bit different. The Mark Hill Pick & Mix Curling Wand is amazing… you buy the handle, and then buy the barrels you want separately, so you don’t have to buy a whole new curling wand every time you fancy a change! I picked up the medium sized barrel which is perfect for my hair, and in my opinion, would be ideal for all hair lengths. These are super affordable too, and such good quality! I can’t believe I have never tried Mark Hill products before, and I can’t wait to try out some of the other barrels too! I would most definitely recommend! I may also do a blog post/YouTube video, showing how I do my hair with these!

The most important thing to remember when using heat, is to use a heat defence spray. The one I have been using lately is the Lee Stafford Heat Protection Shine Mist. I absolutely love Lee Stafford products, and this one is no different! This gives hair a really lovely shine, as well as protects against heat damage. It doesn’t leave hair feeling sticky, or crunchy, or greasy like some other heat defence sprays I have tried. And like all Lee Stafford products, it smells in-cred-ible!

For Christmas, my Auntie bought me the L’Oréal Professional Mythic Oil Shampoo for normal to fine hair, Mythic Oil Masque for fine hair, and the Mythic Oil, Oil. I was stuck in a bit of a hair rut; the ends of my hair were dry and my hair just looked dull and lifeless and nothing seemed to be helping – until I tried these. My hair has never looked so smooth and shiny and has completely restored the condition of my hair. The shampoo isn’t at all drying and the masque is super nourishing (a little really does go a long way!). I apply the oil once I have towel-dried my hair, before I blow dry and it leaves it feeling super soft and silky and not at all greasy! I will 100000% repurchase these products when I have run out, and now I want to try out more from the L’Oréal Professional ranges. I cannot praise these products enough!

The final thing, is possibly slightly boring, but is something I couldn’t live without nonetheless. For those of you that have never tried a Tangle Teezer, you are seriously missing out! They are expensive when you think it is just a hairbrush, but I have never known a brush to get through knots and tangles so easily and pain-free! If you have naturally straight hair, or hair that doesn’t get that tangled, you may not see the full benefits of one of these. But, as someone with naturally wavy, and slightly frizzy hair, a Tangle Teezer works absolute wonders! I also have the larger one, but the smaller, handbag sized one is brand new and perfect for when I’m on the go. I would not be without them!

That is all for my Haircare Haul and First Impressions and I hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to like and follow for more!

Next up: Make Up!

Love,

Meg x

Hoar Cross Hall | Spa Day

Hello everyone!

I have been thinking for a while about including more lifestyle based content onto my blog, and recently I took a trip to Hoar Cross Hall so I thought I would blog about my experience whilst there!

For my birthday present, my Dad and his fiancée paid for me to go to Hoar Cross Hall for the day along with herself, my Aunt and Nan. It was so nice to spend the day completely chilled out, and to spend a bit of time to wind down and de-stress. We checked in at 9:30am, where we were greeted with complimentary drinks, were given an itinerary and were shown to the changing rooms. The staff were super helpful and lovely.

As usual, the first thing on our minds, was food! So we went up to the cafe/restaurant area to have some breakfast. The decor of this area was absolutely incredible, it had such a cool and quirky vibe to it, yet the atmosphere was also very relaxed!

After breakfast, we had a bit of a wander around and made our way to the hydrotherapy swimming pool as the water was a MUCH warmer temperature and we all wimped out when it came to the colder pool! We then moved on to the Steam Room, Sauna, Salt Room and Aromatherapy Room. All of them, were phenomenal, super relaxing, and had the nicest scents to them! The Aromatherapy Room was my favourite as the temperature of the room wasn’t too hot, was filled with a gorgeous, therapeutic scent, and the aroma and oils that filled the room left my skin feeling incredible!

We headed to the bar for some cocktails, before going for some lunch!

As part of our spa day package, we had a three course lunch, which was amazing! I had a cold meat buffet to start, followed by Mushroom Cream and Herb Linguine with Chicken Breast, and Toffee Cheesecake for dessert. Oh. My. Goodness. The food was insane! I’m quite a fussy eater and was slightly worried that the food would be a bit too ‘posh’ for me, so I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

After lunch, we had a bit of a mooch around the beauty products and despite the endless supply of Elemis and Clarins products they had on sale, I managed to resist temptation.. don’t ask how, but I did it! There were a couple of products I had my eye on so will more than likely pick them up in the near future, knowing me! We then went over to the swimming pool and braved it in the colder end, but not for long as we soon made our way back to the hydrotherapy pool and jacuzzi where it was nice and warm!

We had another wander around and found some pods that hung from the ceiling that you could sit and just relax in! These were suuuuper cosy, as were the heated water beds in the ‘snooze room’. As we were only there for 6 hours or so, we didn’t use the snooze room, but it was very tempting!

Before heading back to get changed, we spent the last hour or so in the Steam Room, Sauna, Salt Room and Aromatherapy Room. I think we all found these rooms the most relaxing and therapeutic.

Once we’d got changed and collected our belongings from our lockers, we checked out at 3pm and headed over to the main building to have some drinks. And, we enjoyed our day visit that much, that we ended up booking to go back in April for an overnight stay! I am so excited to be spending two days at the spa; as much as I enjoyed the day spa, it just wasn’t long enough for us! The main building looks absolutely stunning, and the blogger in me cannot wait to see the rest of the building and take some photographs!

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope you enjoyed the slight change in content as I really enjoyed writing it! I may also do another blog post after our overnight stay and to talk about my experience and the differences between the day spa and the overnight stay!

Don’t forget to like this post and follow my blog! And if you have any other Spa recommendations then please let me know!

Love,

Meg x

Skincare Haul & First Impressions!

Hello everyone!

So, today I am going to be doing a skincare haul/first impressions post, based on the things I have bought myself over recent months, or things that I received for Christmas and my birthday!

The first thing, is something that I had wanted to try out for ages, but I was so comfortable with the things already in my skincare routine, that I didn’t! This is the Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Oil. I was so used to using my Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, that I wasn’t sure how I would feel using an oil as opposed to a balm. It took me a little while to get used to using an oil, but it is incredible! It removes makeup so easily, and doesn’t leave my skin feel dry or dehydrated like a few other oils have in the past. It is so easy to use and a little goes a long way! This is something I will definitely repurchase, and has really made me want to try out more products from Clinique!

The next thing is nothing new, and I have spoken about it so many times that I won’t bore you all! But, the Pixi Glow Tonic is absolutely phenomenal. I can’t not use this product. I can’t even explain what it does to my skin, but oh my goodness, can I tell the difference if I don’t use it! I could not be without this and will continue to repurchase over and over again!

L’Oréal have recently released their Pure Clay Face Masks, which I love and have been a huge hit with everybody else! And now, they have released Pure Clay Foam Wash face washes. I couldn’t resist and ended up buying all three; purity wash, glow scrub and detox wash. I am yet to try the purity one, and have only tried the glow scrub and detox wash once or twice, but they seemed to work really well and left my skin feeling so healthy and smooth afterwards. Once I have tried all three of them out properly, I will do a more thorough review!

When it comes to skincare, I love using products that contain charcoal. Charcoal is something that just works so well for me and always leaves my skin feeling amazing. So, chances are, if I see a product containing charcoal, I’m gonna buy it! The Bioré Charcoal Pore Minimiser another new addition to my skincare routine. It just seems to make such a difference to my skin. I haven’t been using it long enough to notice whether it has minimised my pores, but it gently exfoliates and leaves my skin feeling soft, healthy and super clean!

Liz Earle is a brand I am a huge fan of! I swear by the Cleanse and Polish for my second, and morning cleanse and I continue to repurchase her products. The Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser, is another repurchase and is quite possibly my all-time favourite moisturiser (yes, a pretty bold statement to make). My skin is so temperamental, and even though I have the odd oily patch, I have come to the conclusion that my skin is dehydrated. A lot of moisturisers just sink straight into my skin and do absolutely nothing. But this product gives my skin the moisture it needs helps keep it nourished and hydrated.

The Body Shop is a brand that never fails to fulfil my skincare needs. I have a few new products from here that I have fallen in love with. The first is the Tee Tree Anti-Imperfection Daily Solution. I am always slightly dubious when trying out Tee Tree as my skin is quite sensitive, however this works so well with my skin! This has helped to control oil, makes my skin look clearer and smoother and has evened out my skin. I love the packaging of the product, and how you use a pipette to distribute it.

The final skincare product, again from The Body Shop is the Oils of Life Skincare Collection. I bagged this beauty in the January sales and I am OBSESSED. It contains two full sized products; the Revitalising Facial Oil 30ml, and the Intensely Revitalising Cream 50ml. These two products are insane. They give the skin a really natural, healthy looking glow, helps to soften and smooth the skin and leaves it feeling incredibly healthy and nourished! I was slightly apprehensive, as I thought it may just contribute to my oiliness and shine, but it really doesn’t and has helped my skin massively! I would most definitely recommend and I can not wait to try out more from the Oils of Life range.

That is all for my Skincare Haul and First Impressions! I hope you enjoyed this post, and it feels SO good to be back blogging! Next on the blog will be something I don’t talk that much about… Haircare!

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to like and follow for more!

Love,

Meg x

I’M BACK!!!!

Hello everyone!

Over the past few months, I have had a lot going on with my family and university, so unfortunately, my blog has had to take a step back! BUT… things are a bit more back to normal and a lot less hectic, so I am officially back to blogging, and hopefully, making regular YouTube videos now that I have gone and bought myself a camera!

I know that it’s far too late to do a ‘What I Got for Christmas’ post, or a ‘What I Got for My Birthday’ which was at the beginning of January… So, I thought I would do a ‘Haul/First Impressions’ series, about the things I received for Christmas, my birthday and the things that I have bought myself over the last few months whilst I have been away from blogging.

As this would mount up to an extremely lengthy blog post, I thought I would do a blog post series of 4 parts; skincare, makeup, haircare and miscellaneous… Starting with skincare, which will be going up on my blog in the next couple of days so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that!

I am SO excited to be back blogging, I have missed it so much and can’t wait to get back into the swing of things!

Love,

Meg x

Winding Down & ‘Me’ Time..

Hey guys. Sorry I have been away for so long, but I have a CRAZY amount of things going on at the minute that just meant blogging took a bit of a step back. I will be back, hopefully very soon, but it may be more of a gradual process as things are still extremely hectic. I hope you understand! And, as soon as I am back, I am hoping to be posting weekly YouTube videos too!

Here is a blog post that I found in my drafts that I thought I would finish off and post!

Even though Autumn and Winter are my absolute FAVE times of year, they can be slightly stressful with deadlines, work and Christmas. There is just so much going on that sometimes, you forget to have a day, or even an evening to yourself, to just relax, de-stress and unwind.

Today’s post is going to talk you through all of the things I like to do if I want to relax, chill out or if I could just do with a bit of ‘me’ time. It’s very rare that I have a whole day to do this, so I tend to do it during an evening.

So, I start by taking off my makeup with my trusty Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm. I then gently exfoliate using the Origins Ginzing Refreshing Scrub Cleanser, followed by the Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser.

I then run myself a bath, of course using Lush products. Whilst my bath is running, I’ll put a face mask on, and the one I’m using is The Body Shop Chinese Ginseng and Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask. This has such a fresh scent, and is such a gentle exfoliator, it isn’t too harsh and is perfect for sensitive skin! I’ll then get in my bath, and this is where I will either read a book, catch up on some YouTube videos or read some blog posts. In the bath is where I feel completely relaxed, so I tend to have quite long baths and make the most of it.

I will then take off my face mask, finish off my evening skincare routine as usual and get into some super cosy pjs. I find one of my boyfriend’s baggy t-shirts, and some flannel (of course Tartan patterned) pj bottoms are the comfiest!

I like to make myself a hot chocolate with whipped cream, light a festive scented candle and get into bed and continue reading a book, reading, or writing blog posts or watching YouTube Videos. Even though I will most likely be on my laptop, I try not to go on my phone or any social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc in order to fully relax.

I also like to use the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. I have actually ran out of this, and need to get a new bottle (which is why there is no photo of this). But this actually works a treat! It is lavender scented, which is well-known for its calming and relaxing nature. This makes me feel super relaxed and cosy, and actually helps me fall to sleep a lot quicker. If I’m feeling particularly stressed or anxious about something, it also tends to calm me down and is extremely soothing. If you struggle with anxiety too, I would definitely recommend this! There are a few cheaper alternatives to the This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, and I have heard a lot of people say that they love the Avon version!

I then try to get an early night and try not use my phone/laptop/tv, etc for around half an hour before bed. I also recently discovered an app called Headspace, which includes sessions on a variety of things; sleeping, health, relationships, etc. It really helps to clear your mind and is a bit like meditation, I guess. There are several other apps like this too, that really help to calm you down and help you to relax and destress before bed. Some of them, I fall asleep listening to. Again, I would highly recommend these kind of apps to people that have anxiety, or are going through a bit of a stressful time.

That is all for this post, I hope you enjoyed it! It is slightly different to my usual posts, but I really enjoyed writing this one! As I said at the beginning of the post, things are pretty hectic at the minute so I am hoping to get back to blogging as regularly as possible but it may bea gradual process. I hope you understand!

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to like and follow for more posts!

Meg x

Autumn Lush Haul and Wishlist!

As I’m sure you all know, I am OBSESSED with Lush all year round, but even more so as it starts to get to Autumn and Winter. There is just something super cosy about having a hot bath with a Lush product thrown in, with candles and a book after a long day at uni or work, and I absolutely love it! This is one of the main reasons I love Autumn and Winter so much.

I picked up some of these products a week or so ago, and my friend, Jess, kindly picked up some products from the Halloween and Autumn range for me yesterday. My local Lush didn’t have all of the new products in, so if I manage to get my hands on them, I will include them in my Winter/Christmas Lush Haul in a few weeks when I get the products from the Winter/Christmas range (which I can barely contain my excitement for!!!!). Also, I am dying to get my hands on the Northern Lights bath bomb, but it is ALWAYS out of stock!

So, lets get started, shall we?

I’ll start with the products that are from the permanent range first.

First, is one of my all time faves; Intergalactic. This has such a fresh, relaxing scent, consisting mainly of peppermint, but with hints of fruitiness and warmth which I think is the perfect balance! This is such a refreshing and energising scent, making the bath bomb perfect for any time of the day, not just at night. After the bath bomb has dissolved and the pink, purple, yellow and blue swirls fade away, it leaves the water a beautiful deep blue shade with lots of silver glitter running through it!

Karma is a bath bomb that I don’t think I have tried before, so I am super excited to try it out! This is a lovely deep purple colour with orange running through it and lots of gold shimmer at the top, and it is in the shape of a pyramid. This a bubble bar, as opposed to a bath bomb, meaning you crumble a bit of the product under running water and can get several uses out of it. I am already in love with the scent of this! This smells quite strongly of lavender (or something very, very similar) with hints of orange, making it smell a bit lighter and more refreshing. The fragrance is very relaxing, which is why I think this would be ideal to use just before bed, or if you need to wind down and de-stress.

Avobath is another one I haven’t tried before. This is slightly more subtle in terms of scent, with very fresh, citrus hues to it. It doesn’t smell much like Avocado , however the Avocado within the bath bomb will help to soften and moisturise skin and tackle dehydration. Even though he scent is slightly more Summer appropriate, my skin tends to dry out more during Autumn and Winter, so I thought this would be great for that!

Next, is the Milky Bath Bubble Bar. This a reasonably new addition to the permanent range and I am yet to try it, but I am so excited to see what it is like! This has a very soft, earthy tones to it with a hint of orange making it a little more refreshing. I love how subtle this fragrance is, I can imagine this to be super relaxing. This bubble bar has cocoa butter in it, so is perfect for softening and hydrating the skin!

Now, onto the festive stuff! All of these products are from the Autumn and Halloween range.

The first thing is the Autumn Leaf Bath Bomb. This actually smells like Autumn, seriously. It smells very fresh, and earthy and I can definitely smell fresh grass, yet has a slight citrus hue to it as well. This is the perfect transitional scent to go from Summer to Autumn, and I cannot wait to see how this makes my bath water look!

Next is the Lord of Misrule Bath Bomb. This has a slightly spicier, heavier scent to it, which are the types of scents I absolutely love! It smells very much like pepper and is very warming, yet isn’t too overpowering. The bath water starts off green, and slowly turns to a deep red/wine colour – how Autumnal, eh?! This is possibly one of my favourite Lush scents… Remind me to buy the shower gel!

The Monster’s Ball Bath Bomb is again, something I haven’t tried before. This product has a very clean and fresh, lime, citrusy fragrance which I love! It smells extremely refreshing and I also believe it has cocoa butter in it, which leaves your bath water and your skin, so silky and smooth!

Finally, is something I have never tried, however I think this will soon become a firm favourite of mine. This is the Sparkling Pumpkin Bubble Bar, I mean, how festive do you feel just looking at it?! Surely, this is the definition of Autumn, right? This has a very sweet, yet warming fragrance, perfect for a cosy night in! This a bubble bar, so again, you break some off and crumble it under running water where it creates lots and lots of bubbles. I am beyond excited to try this out! I know a lot of people don’t like the amount of glitter that comes with some of the Lush products, I personally, love it!!

Now, onto the things I am hoping to pick up over the next couple of weeks. I have seen and heard some rumours about what products are going to be released, so here is what I am hoping to get my hands on;

• Golden Wonder Bath Bomb
• The Magic of Christmas Bubble Bar/Wand
• Peeping Santa Bubble Bar
• Candy Mountain Bubble Bar
• Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar
• Luxury Lush Pud Bath Bomb
• Northern Lights Bath Bomb
• So White Bath Bomb
• Magic Wand Bubble Bar
• Red Ruby Slipper Bubble Bar
• Snowie Bubble Bar
• Father Christmas Bath Bomb
• Misletoe Bath Bomb
• Santasaurus Reusable Bubble Wand
• Satsuma Bath Bomb
• Beanie Bubble Bar
• Pumpkin

Check out the Lush website!

That is all for my Autumn Lush Haul and Lush Wishlist, I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your favourite Lush products in the comments section, and don’t forget to like and follow!

Thanks for reading!

Meg xo