Lauren Goodger Dancing on Ice Inspired Hairstyle

When I was watching Lauren in Dancing on Ice (what a shame she went out on the first week), the first thing I noticed was how amazing her hair looked. I had a thought to try and recreate the look on my blog. Then I went on twitter and noticed that Immediate PR were looking for bloggers to recreate Lauren's hairstyle using OSIS+ products, which are actually the products that were used on Lauren's hair on the night. Of course I jumped at the chance and put myself forward, and luckily I was chosen to take part!

Now what I managed to create isn't exactly the same as Laurens, but it is close. Read on to see my version of the look.

Sunday Bloggers Interview #3

This week I am lucky to have Bex from Futures take part in the interview. I love Bex's blog and have been a follower for quite a while. I love the fact that she seems so down to earth, and also that she is a fellow Mummy. 

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1. I started blogging because I had seen a couple of girls I know (mainly Rachel from Life Of A Sweetaholic) start theirs and really enjoy it. I'd also created various blogs over the years and never kept them up so I wanted to see if I could do it. Here we are, 2 years later.

2. Definitely meeting new people - I've made some amazing friends through blogging and I hope to make some more in 2013.

3. My favourite makeup brands have to be MUA and Rimmel - love the high street!

4. Top 5 beauty products of all time? Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream lip protectant stick, MUA Heaven and Earth palette, Lancome Hypnose mascara, MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick, Ponds Cold Cream

5. I'm not too good with beauty tips so I'll just reiterate the one I always use: drink plenty of water and moisturise!

You can find me at http://ialwaysbelievedinfutures.blogspot.co.uk 

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Thank you so much to Bex for taking part. If you would like to take part, please visit this page, and all the information is on there. 

Gem x 

Clynol Glow Precious Oil Review

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation Review : Ecru

This post turned out to be a little long and rambling, so if you want to skip the blurb, head for the writing in bold where I have summarised my thoughts on Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation :) 

I have wanted to try this foundation for a while now. I had a bottle of it a couple of years ago and I wasn't all that impressed but I thought I should give it another chance. Boy am I glad I did... I think I have found my HG foundation.

Small Yankee Candle Haul

Sunday Bloggers Interview #2

The second lovely blogger featured is Rachel from www.sweetpealondon.co.uk. Rachel has a great blog, and blogs about everything from travel, photography and lifestyle. 

Makeup Storage Haul

I was in Wilkinsons the other day and spotted these in the stationary isle. They are meant for pens and paper, but I have seen other bloggers use these for makeup storage and loved the design, so had to get them.

They look great on my dressing table and really help to organise my makeup. They are so inexpensive, the pot was £2.50 and the letter rack was £3.50.

Gem x

Liz Earle Haul & First Impressions

I took advantage of the New Years Sale that Liz Earle were holding. I ordered the Daily Skincare Duo for £16, or so I thought. When it arrived I ended up with two sets and a charge of £35 odd including P&P. I decided to keep them though, as if my skin agreed to them I would always use them and still had them at a great price. If I bought them all separately they would have cost a heck of a lot more. Heres what I got.. I didn't include the muslin cloths in the picture but I got 5 of them in total haha.

I was sent great extras with my order, as everyone is when you order directly from Liz Earle. I got a 30ml cleanse and polish plus muslin cloth, which is great to take travelling. I also got a sample of the Signature Skin foundation and since seeing it popping up on other blogs I have been wanting to try this for a while. The sample is too dark for me unfortunately but it will give me a good idea of whether I like the formula or not.

Along with the samples I was sent lots of information on Liz Earles products, and a cute little colour chart showing what is available in the cosmetics line.

I have been using the cleanser and toner every day since I got it, about a week now, and I love them so far. My skin seems to love them too. Its looking much more radiant, and hasnt broken out one little bit. I wil be writing a full review of these two products once I have been using them for at least two months.

Gem x

Lush Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon Review

Its not very attractive to look at but you should get the idea...

I made my first visit to Lush since I was 15 the other day. Me and my friends used to go shopping every Saturday and always called into Lush. We never used to buy anything, just go round the whole shop smelling all the soaps and bath bombs. Oh we were so cool.

So this is my first ever Lush purchase. I spent a while in the shop trying to decide what I wanted, I nearly went for the Comforter, a classic, but opted for the Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon. I loved the smell and the fact that it would leave my skin feeling really soft and smooth, hopefully.

I live in South Wales where our water is extremely soft, meaning that soaps and shampoos or bubble bath lather up really well. If you live in an area with hard water, you will find that products do not foam up as well as it would in soft water. I used a quarter of the bubbleroon and it created loads of bubbles. Here is a picture of them :)

It did turn the water a muddy colour, the sort of colour it would turn if you were wearing wash off fake tan. This didn't bother me too much though.

It smells divine, I cant really describe it. The scent lasted a while on my skin after the bath and my skin was left feeling noticeably smoother and softer.

I would definitely recommend this bubbleroon, I got four uses out of it so it is also great value for money.

What product do you recommend I try from Lush next?

Gem x

Sunday Bloggers Interview #1

I have decided to start a new interview series on my blog. I love reading these types of posts myself, and thought it would be a great way to discover new bloggers and to get to know them a little better.

The first lovely blogger featured is Jane from Northern Beauty Blogs.

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1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging as I have watched beauty videos on YouTube & read beauty Blogs for years, but never had the courage to start one. I'm just Me, A wife & a mother, but after a while i started to think i could do this, My Makeup Collection is rather big & i know what i liked & didn't, so thought it wouldn't kill me to put my opinion out there.

Then in December 2011, I lost my 28 Yr old cousin suddenly in a freak accident & decided life was too short to worry about what people thought, i finally plucked up the courage in September 2012 & haven't looked back since. I am a Secret Blogger though as only my Husband & one other person knows!

2. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

 I most enjoy interacting with like minded people, who talk about & share my love for Makeup as my Husband definitely doesn't understand how i can pay £20+ for a blusher! My blog is my little haven, i can go & lose myself in it. I love finding new Blogs & products i NEED to try :). I get so excited when i get a new follower or comment on my blog as it makes me so happy people are actually reading & enjoying my rambling!

3. What are your favourite makeup brands?

 Favourite Makeup brands have got to be

Chanel - I love everything about it - Except the price :(

Nars - Has to be for their great blushes.

Sleek Makeup - for their Eye palettes.

Rimmel, Maybelline, L'Oreal, Bourjois,- Great drugstore brands!

This is so hard i have so many products i love from different brands.

4. What are your top 5 all time favourite beauty products?

 Five All time favourites.

This is so hard!! 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation.

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara.

Chanel Soleil tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base.

Bobbi Brown Corrector.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm.

5. Do you have any beauty tips to share?

 Makeup Tips-The usual always take your Makeup off before bed, Always use SPF in your face cream & If you have a fake Tan mishap, make a solution of freshly squeezed lemon juice & Sugar and rub area to remove the mistake!

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Thank you so much to Jane for taking part in the interview. You can visit her blog here. If you would like to take part, go to this page, and all the information you need is there.

Gem x

How I'm Planning to "Get Fit and Feel Epic" ** My entry to The Black Pearl Blog Giveaway

This post is my entry to The Black Pearl Blog and MoneySupermarket.Com "Get Fit Feel Epic" competition.  You can find all the details here. To enter all you have to do is write a post on how you are, or are planning to "Get Fit and Feel Epic". I am going to be writing about the latter, as I am not at my goal weight or fitness yet.

Hopefully 2013 is going to be the year where I get where I want to be, no 2013 is going to be the year where I get where I want to be!

Lets start off with an overview of my weight & fitness history...
I have always been overweight. As a child I was always aware that I was bigger than all of my friends, and it really used to bother me. I used to enjoy going to Ballet and Tap lessons however at the age of 13 I gave it all up because I felt that I was too overweight. My teacher tried to help me and persuade me to stay but I was so unhappy with the way I looked I just didn't want to continue. Even though I was overweight as a child, I would have classed myself as active. Like I said I went to dancing and also swimming and was always out on my bike. That all stopped at age 13 and from there my weight just increased even more.

At the age of 16 I managed to get down to a size 12. I was eating much more healthily and running, I was always late walking to college every day, so the weight basically just dropped off me. I was starting to become more confident in the way I looked and was so happy to be able to fit into size 12 in Topshop! I wasn't completely happy with myself though as most of my friends were size 8, oh how I would love to go back in time and give myself a good talking too. Looking back, I looked great.

By the time I was 18 I was size 16 and doing no activity at all. I had met my first boyfriend just before my 17th birthday and the walking to college became catching a lift with him. We also had endless takeaways, my diet was terrible. I then started Uni and again, no activity, endless takeaways plus lots of alcohol resulted in me becoming a size 20 and finding it difficult to walk up the 8 flights of stairs to my uni halls.

Fast forward to the present, I am nearly 25 and a size 16. The most exercise I get at the moment is walking my little boy from the car to his classroom in school. But all that is going to change. I need to do this, not just for me, but for my little boys. Being active and eating healthily will set a good example for them, one which they will hopefully follow.

I am going to do this, not by setting crazy targets that I could never keep up, like going to the gym 5 times a week and jogging 4 nights a week, no, I am going to do it by making a few changes.

left: Me at my heaviest. Right: Me at about 1.5stone from where I want to be in terms of weight.

I am going to....

1. Join Slimming World and stick to it. Its a great plan and I know it works as I have lost some weight on it in the past, but stopped going and put most of it back on. Eating healthily and exercise go hand in hand, when I eat junk I feel junk too. I need to eat healthily so I can increase my activity levels. 
2. Drink more water and try to drink at least 8 glasses a day.
3. Start walking to school with my little boy. We don't live that far from school at all, the reason I don't do it at the moment is it is far too easy to jump in the car and take him, but I know walking will be so much more beneficial to us both.
4. Go for a long walk with my children at least once a week. I live in an area where there are so many lovely places we could go, the beach, the park, the woods. I really don't have an excuse not to.
5. Start going to Zumba and swimming again. These are about the only two forms of exercise I enjoy, I love Zumba its so fun, you don't even realise you are exercising. 
6. Don't stress about size and weight too much, just aim to be healthy and active.

I went onto the Money Saving Expert website here, and found that if I cut out the takeaways, I could save myself over £1000 a year! If that's not an excuse to cut out the takeaways I don't know what is.

Writing this post has really inspired me, I am feeling so positive and know I will achieve my goals this year. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, and hopefully I have inspired some of you to get more fit and healthy too.

Gem x

Primark Haul

I went to Primark the other day and got a few nice bits which I thought I would share with you. I usually go crazy in Primark and end up spending loads, but I was very restrained this time.

Clothes:

• Basic black long sleeved top for £3.50. These are a staple to have in any wardrobe and I currently have two.
• Scarf/snood for £4 which I thought was a bargain. 

Beauty Items:

• Lashes - they are great and only £1. I got more dramatic ones this time though, I think I will keep these for a special occasion.
• Nail art kit. It is only £2 and comes with two nail art pens and little rhinestones. I have tried these and think they are great, definitely worth a buy. 

Other:

• Strawberry scented candle - Smells amazing, I hope it still smells amazing when I burn it.
• Earrings - I loved these earrings, especially the crosses and the angel wings. 

Sales Haul

I went shopping the other day to have a little look if there was anything left in the sales.

My first stop was Boots and had loads of gift sets left over. I wanted this hand wash set so was glad when I saw they had loads left over, it smells gorgeous and was a bargain at £5.

Then I went to the Disney Store to see if they had anything for me my boys. I got them a lovely Jake and the Neverland Pirates hat and gloves set, and spotted these polishes reduced to £5.99 and I could not resist. I am a massive Disney fan, plus the colours are gorgeous and it was originally £20 so I had to get it.

I stopped by Lush and got the Yuzu and Cocoa Bubbleroon. This is my first Lush purchase and I cant wait to try it. (Wasn't in sale but thought id include it).

Finally I went to TKMaxx and was sad to see they had reduced the beauty section so much, there was hardly anything left at all. I was really lucky though and spotted these essie polishes for £5. There is a duplicate colour, but I will keep this for future giveaways.

Did you get any sales bargains?

Gem x

Favourites of 2012: Makeup pt 1: Face Products

So this post would usually be my monthly favourites, but seeing as it is the new year I thought I would do my favourites of 2012.

Foundation: My long term favourite has been Bourjois healthy mix, but recently I have discovered Rimmel 25 hour which gives more coverage. So the bourjois is great for a good skin day, and the Rimmel for a bad skin day.

Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte - Translucent. Just a great powder, keeps the oil at bay and gives a nice matte, but not cakey, finish.

Primer: Benefit That Gal - I love this primer, its great to perk up my skin when it is having a dull day. I also use this over my foundation under my eyes to disguise dark circles.

Blush: Vivo Baked Blush - Peaches and Cream - I really like this blush, its such a pretty colour. Maybe more coral than peach though.

Concealer - Revlon Photoready - A really creamy concealer that doesnt cake. Its not perfect for under eyes and when I do use it for that I make sure to powder like crazy or it will crease. But it is great for spots and discolouration.


 Gem x

My Hopes for 2013

Blog & Beauty Related
Comment more on other bloggers blogs
Try and use more of my makeup stash before buying new products
Post more FOTD and OOTD
Keep on posting NOTD and hopefully they will improve
Buy myself some proper nail art tools
Try and go foundation free for at least two days a week
Keep blogging as I am, when I feel like and keep enjoying it

Personal
Re-join Slimming world and stick to it this time
Loose 2 stone by the end of 2013
Have more belief in myself
Spend more quality time playing/baking/arts and crafts with my children





**Don't forget to enter my giveaway here**