December Glossybox Opening

Hey,

So, it's time again for beauty boxes and I thought that this month I would make a real effort to take some pictures before I get too excited and mess up all the pretty wrapping so I could blog about it! Also, since I only received my box today, this post is more of a first impressions of the products more than a full review! 

If you haven't heard about Glossybox before, it's basically a subscriptions service which every month sends out five sample sizes of beauty products for you to try and then buy full sizes if you really like it. I think it's a really good way to try out more products for cheaper- usually the cost of the items in the box adds up to much more than the £12.95 it costs. The only thing is you don't know what items are going to be in the box before it arrives so there's always a risk that you won't find anything in the box that you're interested in, but I think that this years December box is one of their best ever! 

 This month's box was a really pretty silver colour with a silver ribbon and black tissue with tiny silver stars. Usually the boxes are a pale pink with a pink ribbon and plain black tissue so I thought this was a really nice change for the Christmas box. Also included is the little note which explains the theme of the box (this one is the 'Festive Celebrations' to treat people for Christmas gifts or yourself for parties) and instead of the usual card it unfolds into a big sheet detailing the products and their full size costs. Also, we recieved some discount codes for other brands which have been featured previously as a little Christmas treat which I thought was really nice! 

The products inside when I opened the box 

 The first product I spotted in the box this month was the Anatomicals What A Complete And Utter Glosser Fruity Lip Gloss Tube because of the bright pink packaging. I really love the cool names that Anatomicals come up with for their products as it makes it a bit more fun and the packaging is always really bright and colourful too. I got the colour/flavour 'I Never Fake Strawberry Milkshake' It comes out as a very pale pink, if not clear and it reminds me of the smell of Strawberry Calpol medicine, but I'm not really a fan of strawberry scented things so I'm not sure about this at the moment! However I think someone who loves strawberry would love it. 

 Next up is the Rituals Magic Touch which is a whipped body cream, with cherry blossom and rice milk. This is a really generous sample size I thought, at 70ml (£5) and a full size is 200ml (£15). It's quite a thick white cream which sinks into the skin really well and doesn't leave any residue but makes your skin feel really soft and moisturized. I think my favourite thing about this product is the scent- it's quite floral but not overpowering. 

 As I mentioned before, sometimes you get a product in your box that you really just don't like or won't use and I think this MILK_SHAKE Conditioning Whipped Cream will fall into that category, for me at least. It's a leave in conditioner for your hair and is like a mouse, but the nozzle is designed to make it look like whipped cream from a can, and it's supposed to smell like that too. It smells, to me, like natural yougurt and it's actually made me feel quite sick just from spraying it onto my hand for a quick test. Now that might just be because I don't like the smell of dairy products to begin with, so I feel like I'm not giving it a fair chance but I can't help it! I'm not entirely sure I can bring myself to put it into my hair even! But that is totally down to my own preferences and not because of the actual quality of the product itself. 

This Seche Nail Lacquer is the thing that I got most excited about when I first saw it in the box as I'd heard that Seche were bringing out a coloured nail polish range as well as their famous top coats and I was dying to get some! This is a grey colour called ''Nouveau' and I really love it. It's a mid-dark toned grey and would be really nice if you wanted to wear a dark colour but didn't want to go all the way to black. I quickly applied it to one nail just to try it out and was amazed that it only took one coat for it to be almost fully opaque when most nail polishes would take at least two, if not three coats to get the same effect. Having said that I think I would apply two coats, just to be sure as I noticed that the tip of my nail seemed to have less colour but that isn't a big deal. I'm not sure what the staying power of the polish is, as I haven't had time to apply it properly but I'm hoping it chips less than my Seche Vite top coat, which as I've said doesn't seem to last a whole day with me! Also it comes in a range of 33 colours so there is bound to be a colour to suit everyone! 

The last product in the box was this Sleek i-Divine Palette in the Ultra Matte V2 colours. I'd heard of Sleek Make Up before but had never tried any of their products and I have to say this palette has left me pretty impressed. The packaging is really nice and all black, with a big mirror and a double ended applicator. At first I thought it was just the usual sponge applicators you get with most eyeshadows but I've just realised it's more rubberised, so I'm not sure what sort of effect that would give, if it's better than the sponge or anything. The pigmentation is excellent in this palette and there's a wide range of colours to create a variety of looks. Also it's only £7.99 for the 12 colours which I thought was a bargain especially since they're such high quality. 

Now for the maths before I move onto the last little bonus item in the box this month-

Cost of Glossybox (inc. P&P) = £12.95

Cost of the Items in Glossybox this month = Rituals Magic Touch (Sample) = £5
                                                                                    Sleek Palette (Full Size) = £7.99
                                                                                    Seche Nail Lacquer (Full Size) = £9.95
                                                                                    Anatomicals Lip Gloss (Full Size) = £3.49
                                                                                    MILK_SHAKE (Half Size Sample) = £7.40
                                                                     TOTAL = £33.83
                                GlossyBox Sample Saving = £20.88

The cost if I'd of bought all full sizes seperately = £36.22
                                             Saving with Glossybox = £23.27

Finally also included in this months box since it was the Christmas Edition was a bonus product of the Glossybox Blusher by Kryolan in the shade 'Glossybox Rosewood'. 

It's in a simple black compact with a clear lid featuring the famous GlossyBox crown logo and is a really pretty light dusky pink colour which I really like as it's quite an everyday blush colour and I think most people would like it. 

All in all I was really pleased with this months's box and think I'll use all the products except the Milk_Shake stuff, which I shall pass on to a friend who didn't receive it in her box to see if she likes it more than I do. That would have to be my least favourite product this month, with my favourite being either the Seche Nail lacquer or the Sleek Palette, but really they're joint first! 

If you received a Glossybox, what were your favourite products or did you get any different ones? Leave a comment below as I'd be really interested to hear some other opinions or other products! 

Lauren
xx                                                                              

November Favourites 2012

Hey,

So, we're back around to the time of the month where everyone starts to post their favorite products/things from the previous month. I really like these kinds of posts (and the similar videos on Youtube) because you can see what products people have been loving and it helps if you want to get a few opinions on a product before you buy it yourself. As always, links are included wherever possible!

First up, I've gone slightly nail polish mental this month and they are a large chunk of my favourites and this is why. I went through a very long period of time without wearing any nail polish at all, because of my emetophobia (I was worried I would associate which nail polish I was wearing with being ill, if it ever happened. Sounds crazy but it just shows, when I say it affects every aspect of my life, i really mean it!) and it's only been the last few months that I've been gradually starting to wear it as regularly as I used to. These are the ones I've been loving the most-

Models Own Nail Polishes in Snow White and Juicy Jules

(L-R: Juicy Jules & Snow White taken with flash)

(L-R: Juicy Jules & Snow White taken without flash)

 These colours are currently what I have on my nails at the moment and I really love the combination- it's very wintery looking, especially the Juicy Jules glitter polish which reminds me of frost. The Snow White polish is just a basic white polish that is pretty much opaque after two or three coats. You get 14ml of polish for just £5 which is a bargain really, especially compared to some other brands such as Nails Inc or Butter London. Also if you purchase them from the Models Own website if you buy 3 polishes you save £3 and if you buy 5 you save £7 and the packaging they are delivered in is really nice too!

The Juicy Jules polish is what I really want to talk about though! At first glance, and even in the picture on the Models Own website, it seems to be just a basic silvery glittery nail polish but it's so much prettier than that. The glitter particles are really fine and circular, but when the light hits it just the right way either in the bottle or on the nails it turns almost holographic and instead of plain, boring silver it becomes rainbow coloured. I really love the look of this polish as it can be quite subtle or you could apply more or even mix it with a different size or shape of glitter polish.

I also mentioned these polishes in my recent Movember Favourites post, with more pictures of them on my nails rather than in the bottle. 

E.L.F Nail Polishes in Mint Cream & Fire Coral 

(L-R: Mint Cream & Fire Coral)

 E.L.F is another brand that I've recently been using a lot and I particularly love the formulas of their nail polishes. These are only £2.50 a bottle for 10mls and E.L.F quite often have special deals and codes which mean you can pick them up for even cheaper than that!

Mint Cream was one I recently purchased after seeing quite a lot of people wearing minty coloured nail polishes and really liking it. Normally I steer very well away from anything with even the slightest tint of green, and although I am still on the lookout for a slightly bluer toned mint polish, I fell in love with this colour almost straight away. I think this is about as close to green nail polish I will ever get to! 

I received the Fire Coral polish in a goody bag that E.L.F were doing a while ago with every purchase (they do these occasionally so keep an eye out for that, as well as the codes!) and again, it's not normally a colour I would have chosen if I'd seen it on the website but I instantly fell in love. It's a mix of red and orange, verging more on the red side I would say so is perfect for people like me who aren't a fan of bright bright orange but don't want a bog standard red polish either. 

E.L.F are currently running a discount code to celebrate their 5th birthday but it only last until 10.30AM on Monday 3rd December 2012, as it is only a 24hour code. It's a 50% discount for purchses over £30 so I will definitely be making a little purchase and I would reccomend you do too!! 

Nails Inc Kensington Caviar 45 Second Top Coat

I promise this is the last nail polish related item in this favourites post! I hadn't realised how many I actually had until I started to write!! 

I received this in the November Glossybox in a 4ml sample size worth £5 and I was really pleased to see it in my box as I'd wanted to try it for a while but wasn't sure if I wanted to pay £12 for a full 10ml bottle. After trying it a few times this month I will absaloutely be reurchasing it in a full size. I was using Seche Vite previously and I don't know if I was applying it wrong or something but I could paint my nails in the morning and have a guarenteed chip in my nails by the end of the day which I was not impressed with! If anyone has any tips for getting Seche Vite not to chip that I'm clearly missing, then please leave a comment! Anyways, Kensington Caviar is doing much, much better on the chip proof test! I painted my nails on Tuesday and it's now Sunday and it's only been today that I've got a real chip on my nails which is pretty good going! I currently have two of these mini bottles to get through, thanks to the free gift from Nails Inc after I spent above a certain ammount on their website and then I can definitely see myself purchasing the full size! 

Ok, onto products that aren't nail polish!! I thought that was never ending hehe...

Dermalogica Daily Microexfoliant

This was another product from the November Glossybox and at first, I admit I was a tad sceptical. It's a powder, rice based exfoliant which when mixed with water becomes a paste and you use it as any other scrub after that. I couldn't believe that a powder could exfoliate but I was definitely very wrong and this has quickly become one of my favourite ever products and not just for November! It's a very strange product to use the first time but it has a nice smell and texture to it and it leaves my skin feeling so soft and smooth and just lovely! The only downside I have to this product is it's difficult to gauge how much to use as it just pours out the top really quickly. It is expensive at £38.50 for 75g which I would pay because it is such a good product! 

Garnier Skin Naturals Pure Active Fruit Energy Daily Energising Gel Scrub

This is the face scrub that I've been using for the past few months (and there is also a gel wash which I haven't tried yet) and it's the best one for my skin that I've found so far. My skin can be quite oily (lovely I know!) but I also have patches of dry skin, especially across my cheeks and my nose. This is meant for use on oily skin prone to imperfections and it's definitely the best scrub I've found for my oily skin but I'm sure if I'm a fan of the actual scrub. After using it my face does feel a bit tight but once I apply moisturiser it's fine so that doesn't bother me. It has extracts of grapefruit, pomegranate and Vitamin C and has a really nice fruity scent to it. 

So, after feeling like I would never get to the end of this post i finally made it! Hooray!! I hope you enjoyed reading about my favourite things from this month- what have been some of yours? 

Also, my next post will be a review of The Body Shop 3-in-1 Honey and Oat scrub mask which has also been one of my other faves this month. Keep an eye out for that, it should be up sometime this week, if not the next few days! 

Lauren
xx

Movember Favorites 2012

Hey,

Now, you might be looking at the title of this post and thinking “Lauren, that isn’t how you spell November” or possibly even “Well… it’s finally happened- Lauren has lost her marbles” but fear not, the spelling is totally intentional.

See...even my calendar knows it's Movember...with a little help from a Sharpie that is! 

 For those of you that haven’t heard about Movember, it’s a charity fundraising event where for the whole month of November, guys agree to grow a moustache (or Mo as they’re known, hence Movember) and keep it for the whole month in order to raise money for Men’s Health and  awareness of the subject, specifically for Male cancers. I’ve only really known about it for the last couple of years but it started in Australia in 2003 and has gradually become more and more famous and worldwide as the years have gone by. Loads of famous people do it each year but anyone is welcome to sign up, grow their Mo and raise money. Last year, more than 854'000 people -known as MoBros and MoSistas (girls who support Movember but obviously can't participate themselves)- took part, raising 79.3 million pounds! I think it’s a really cool idea and it really gets people talking about the cause and of course raises lots of money which can never be a bad thing. (Links to more info at the end!)

So, back to the reason for this post. I know that this is the end of Movember but I decided this month that since I can’t grow a moustache and raise money myself, as well as donating, I’ve gone slightly ‘Movember Merchandise’ crazy this month… basically if I saw anything with a moustache on it, I had to buy it! Also, in my defence my mum has been doing the same and buying things for me, knowing that I’ve developed a small obsession with Moustachey things! I thought it might be a good idea to do a post on the things I’ve collected together, sort of like a usual monthly favourites post but with the Movember twist just in case anyone hadn’t heard of the cause or was wondering why loads of guys have suddenly decided to grow a moustache. I’m pretty sure that donations will be accepted into the month of December if you haven’t had time yet (that was the case last year, so I’m assuming the same will apply this year but if not please don’t go crazy!!).

Also, where possible, I've included links to the products online! :)

Moustache PhoneCase – amazon

This is the thing that started the whole of my little obsession off. A few months back I decided that since I couldn’t grow a moustache for Movember, instead I would show my support by having an iPhone case with a moustache on it. This is the one I chose, but there were loads of different designs if you just search ‘Moustache phone case’ and they were all pretty cheap. I did see some other ones available when I searched the same on Etsy, but these were much more expensive. My favourite (slightly childish) thing to do all month has been to hold my phone up against my mouth to make it look like I had a moustache!

Moustache Jumper & Travel Cup – Both Primark

These were the first things my Mum picked up for me when she was Christmas shopping and she actually had to go back into Primark when she spotted them, so unfortunately I’m not sure how much they were or if they are still available in store. There’s not much to say about the cup really, except it has a rubberised bottom to stop it slipping over and also a ribbed, rubberised hand grip around the middle. I’m currently keeping paperclips in it so I’m not sure how effective it is at keeping drinks hot or anything but I just thought it was really cute.

The jumper is probably my favourite thing out of the whole lot as it is so soft and cosy even though it only has half sleeves. I’ve worn it slouched off one shoulder with a black vest top underneath as it is quite baggy but personally I loved the way it looks like that. I can see it becoming a winter favourite and not just for Movember as it’s so cosy for during the cold weather.  

‘I Moustache You AQuestion’ Wristband &  Moustache Ring - Both Grindstore.com

I know it's horribly blurry but you get the idea!

I bought these for myself when doing a little bit of Christmas shopping on Grindstore and I just thought they were really cute. Grindstore had quite a lot of Moustache things like mugs and cookie cutters and tshirts- again, just search moustache and it will all come up. I managed to restrain myself to just these two things and although unfortunately they are both a little too big for me, I still love them!

Also, in the picture of the ring you can see my Movember nail art that I attempted with Models Own Snow White Nail polish, Models Own Juicy Jules Glitter Nail Polish and a Models Own Nail Art Pen in Black. I’m really pleased with how it came out, although I may need to practice my moustache drawing for next year!! (Also there will be a more in depth review/ramble about those two Nail Polishes in my ‘normal’ November Favourites Post, if you’re interested!)

‘I <3 Moustaches’ Cushion – Primark £6

This, again, was bought for me for my mum the other day but luckily I haven’t taken the price tag off yet so I can tell you that it was £6 which isn’t bad for a cushion and a cushion cover if that makes sense. The cover has a zip so you could take it off if you wanted to or it needed washed or something which I think is quite useful. On one side the cushion is a sort of linen material in cream with I, then a red and white polka dot heart and then a black with flowers print moustache which I thought was really cute and quite unusual as well. The other side of the cushion is just the black with flower print pattern, which I’m not that keen on to be honest but because of the moustache side, I can live with it!

So, that was the things I’ve collected together in my kinda month long Movember haul if you like and I love all of it! There were a few other bits and pieces that I’ve seen that I would really love to get so maybe I’ll just have to gather them together for Movember 2013 and be super organised and ready for it. I’ve already started trying to convince my dad to do Movember next year, by shaving off the moustache he has had for nearly 40years and starting again… I guess we’ll just have to wait and see next year!!

Hopefully, if you know anyone that’s done Movember this year (whether it be someone you know personally or a famous person) you’ll have already sponsored them but if not, as I said before I’m sure there’s still time heading into December!

UK Movember- http://uk.movember.com/ 

Ireland Movember- http://ie.movember.com/

Worldwide Movember Site- http://www.movember.com/

More Information about Movember which explains it all way better than I ever could!- http://uk.movember.com/about/

Thanks for taking the time to read this and happy end of Movember!!

Lauren

xx

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Winter/Christmas Candle Haul

Hey,

So... I have a confession... I like have an obsession addiction to scented candles. Particularly Yankee Candles, although I will buy any scented candle that smells nice to be honest. With it coming into the winter months and Christmas time, I decided to get some more Christmassy scented candles to make the room smell more cosy and to get me in the Christmas spirit early. I admit, I did go a little bit crazy but I'm sure that these candles will get burned up in no time the rate I'm going! 

Yankee Candle Medium Jar- Christmas Cookie

This candle is described on the website as "buttery rich, vanilla scented, Holiday sugar cookies" and that is really the only way I can describe it! It isn't my favourite of the ones I bought as I usually don't like vanilla scented things but this smells yummy so it passes the smell test, which is all that matters. The medium jars burn for around 65-90 hours. 

Primark- Festive Fig Three Wick Candle & Cinnamon Clove Scented Candle

(Left: Cinnamon Clove Right: Festive Fig)

My mum picked these up for me in Primark a while ago now, so I can't remember how much they were but I'm sure both of them were under £5. Unfortunately the snowflake design on the top of the smaller one didn't last more than a few uses which was disappointing but to be expected really. The cinnamon clove one smells sweet more than spicy cinnamon, and reminds me of clove sweets and claims to burn for around 20 hours. The Festive Fig scent is more woody and not something I would have usually gone for but I was sold on the fact it has three wicks (shallow I know but shhh) and the scent has grown on me the more I've burned it. It claims to burn for 15hours, which I can't understand as it's the larger of the two but burns for five hours less! Overall I would definitely recommend picking these up, even for the price being so much cheaper than Yankee Candles for example, but just as good. 

Yankee Candle Small Tumblers- Red Apple Wreath, Sugared Apple & Christmas Eve

(Top: Sugared Apple Left: Christmas Eve Right: Red Apple Wreath)

 The small tumblers burn for around 35-45 hours and are a simple cylinder shape compared to the more famous jar candles from Yankee. Sugared Apple was new for this Christmas Season and to me, has quite a subtle apple scent compared to some of the other apple candles available, such as Red Apple Wreath. Red Apple Wreath is one of my favourite candles from Yankee and pretty much smells like red apples to me, mixed with something sweet as well. Christmas Eve is the only candle of the haul that I haven't burned so far because I am saving it for (surprise surprise) Christmas Eve. That's also my birthday so I couldn't resist buying this candle and it smells like fruit and a little bit of spice. 

Glade- Spiced Apple Candle & Limited Edition Spiced Apple and Cinnamon

(Left: Spiced Apple Right: Spiced Apple & Cinnamon)

(Can anyone else sense a theme running through my candle choices!?)

These are another two that my Mum picked up for me because they were on offer in our local shop and well, who can have too many candles that all smell of similar things! Not me! The packaging of these is really Christmassy and festive which is nice but might look a bit strange if I'm still burning them in July, which is possible with how many I have to get through. The scent doesn't seem to be as strong with these which is a shame as I like candles that can fill a whole room with fragrance as they're burning. The Spiced Apple and Cinnamon one is definitely my favourite of the two as it smells really strongly of cinnamon, which I love and it's really Christmassy. These burn for up to 30hours. 

Yankee Candle Large Jar- Black Cherry

 Now... This isn't technically one of my Christmas candles but I bought it at the same time as the other Yankee Candles so it's going in the haul post! The Black Cherry scent is one of my favourite all time flavours/scents from Yankee Candle and when I saw the Large Jar on offer (more on that later) I just had to snap it up, knowing I would get through all 110-150hours of it. This candle smells exactly like the cherry jam part of a Muller Corner yogurt and every time I smell it, I just want to eat it to be honest! It's amazing!! 

Now, I know Yankee Candles can be really expensive in the shops but I have discovered a way to slightly reduce the price. First of all, there are ways to buy the Yankee Scents before you invest in a giant expensive candle you might not like such as the tea lights or (my favourite way) the wax tarts that are put in a special burner above an unscented tea light. The second thing I would reccomend doing is buying the candles online from either Yankee Direct.com or Yankeedoodle.co.uk (which is where I bought these from although I have used both sites). The only downside to this is you can't smell the candles before you buy them but I think it's worth it for the reduced prices these sites offer. For example the RRP of the Large Jar Candle is £20 but I bought the Black Cherry one for only £14.25 which is pretty good. Also I'm sure on both sites if you spend over a certain ammount you qualify for free P&P and also free gifts, which are usually sampler size candles of a selection of scents.

I hope you enjoyed my little haul and thanks for reading, I'm now off to go and sit smelling the cherry candle coz it's just that good!!!

Lauren
xx 

Headache Helpers...

Hey, 

Firstly, i have an apology to make which is related to the subject of this post. I'm sorry I had such a big break between my last post and now but I had a few days where I had really bad headaches and being on the computer always seems to make them worse so i had to have a little while off until I was sure it wouldn't hurt my head or eyes to look at a computer screen. Thankfully today seems to be that day so I'm back! 

I get headaches or migraines quite a lot, usually for about a week at a time then they die down again for a few weeks and I'm fine. The problem is because of my emetophobia I find it impossible to take painkillers in a tablet form and it's very difficult for me to take medicine of any kind. I'm nearly 22 now and from the age of about 14 until earlier this year I didn't take any kind of medication for anything. Finally this year I was able to manage soluble paracetemol but only when it's mixed with water and juice and it takes me ages to sip it slowly. So because of this I had to start finding other ways to help when I was in pain. The following are my top three things that I reach for whenever I feel a headache coming on!

4Head Stick

(picture from the 4Head Website linked above) 

This was the first non-tablet sort of headache relief that I came across and it's simply a little twisty up stick that you rub across your forehead and it somehow stops the headache. I like this 'coz it's easy to carry about with you because it's small and has a lid on it- I always had one in my schoolbag- and it's quick. I think it works by using menthol type ingedients to numb your head although the downside of this is do not under any circumstances get it in your eyes or ears. If you apply it and then touch your head with your hand, it transfers really easily and it's easy to accidentally rub your eye or whatever and it stings! Also do not put water or anything cold near your head when you have this on either, it's not worth the pain! It's about £4 or £5 which sounds kinda expensive compared to how cheaply some tablets are sold for but I think it lasts for much longer than a packet of tablets would so it evens out to about the same really. 

Kool 'n' Soothe For Migraines Cooling Strips

(picture taken from the Kool 'n' Soothe Website linked above)

This is my favourite product for using in the house because, quite frankly, you look ridiculous when you have it on but it works which is all that matters to me! Once when I was wearing one of these my Godson came in and he gasped, asking me what had happened to me because he thought I had a bandage on my head. It's a white, soft sort of material on the outside and then the side that you stick to your head is a blue gel that is freezing cold and they last for about 8 hours before they dry out. They don't stick to hair, clothing or wet skin and they're (as the name might suggest) really soothing and nice to have on. They come in a box of 4 with two each in a paper packet. They have to be used as soon as they're opened or they dry out but if you keep the spare in the packet folded over twice it seems to be alright. I've since seen a few rip offs of this product in cheap chemists or pound shops, which sounds good because these can be quite pricey, but they simply don't match up to the original. I'm sure they can be bought in most chemists and some supermarkets but I can't remember how much exactly they are. However there is more than one in the packet so they usually last for a while, unless you have a really bad headache and use the whole box in a few days, which I have previously! 

Tiger Balm White Ointment

(The White Ointment inside)

(The box and pot)

This is my latest discovery and probably now my favourite of the three. I heard about this through one of my best friends Marion and she told me about it knowing how bad my headaches had been at the time. It's sort of similar to the 4Head Stick except you have to apply the oitment with your fingers which can be a bit messy and you have to remember to wash your hands straight away but I find it works better for me than the stick now. It smells really mentholly again, it sort of reminds me of something you would use when you have a cold like Vicks but I love those sorts of smells. It says you should apply it at half hour to hour intervals until the headache goes but it seems to sort me out after only one application which is amazing. It can also be used in the same sort of way as the original Red Tiger Balm which is for muscular aches and pain I think, sort of like Deep Heat. It's a proper little wonder product for me and although it seems quite a small pot, a little goes a long way with it although I am guilty of piling it on just because I love the smell of it. It tingles and it just feels like it's working which sounds a bit lame but I love that about it. Again its £4.70 from the link above with free P&P but I think it's totally worth this price and lasts for ages anyways. 

I hope that if you suffer from headaches but don't like to take tablets either that this post has helped you find something that might make it better. Has anyone got anymore headache cures like these? Or ways to get around taking traditional painkillers? 

Thanks for reading

Lauren
xx

October '12 Favourites...

Hi,

Ok so it's the start of November (jeez this year has flown by so quickly, hasn't it?) so it's time to look back on my favourite products/things of the month. Firstly, I would just like to say I know some of the photos in this post aren't the best but I only took them quickly on my phone so hopefully they do the job alright! Also, where possible I've included links to each of the products online :)

The Body Shop Born Lippy Stick Lip Balm

(L-R: Toffee, Lychee Shimmer, Plum, Pomegranate)

(L-R: Toffee, Lychee Shimmer, Plum, Pomegranate)

(Top to Bottom: Toffee, Lychee Shimmer, Plum, Pomegranate)

 I'm a sucker for anything lip balm related because I can rarely find any that I really like or (more often than not) I have so many on the go at once that others get forgotten. I'd always liked the potted versions of these lip balms but sometimes they can be a bit messy and it can be off putting to use potted lip balms when you can't be sure your hands are clean, so when I saw these on The Body Shop website I thought I would give them a try. As you can probably gather by the fact I now have four different flavours, I loved them! They are very moisturising and you can feel them on your lips for quite a long time which I like. They have a slight tint to them, except for the Lychee one which is clear with subtle shimmer in it which I would have to say is my favourite because you don't have to worry about the colour smudging! They all have a really nice scent, although to me the toffee one smells more like chocolate and I love the comic book style packaging and the fact they all have their own design but are all similar if that makes any sense! The other two flavours are Pink Berry and Strawberry and they are all £3 which I think is a bargain given how well they work. 

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

 One of the things I hate about most nail polish removers is the fact they are such a faff to use- you have to get cotton wool and pour it out, you always use too much and they all smell awful. This nail polish remover solves all of those problems. There's a sponge inside and you just stick your finger in and twist it about and the polish is gone pretty quick (although normally not in the 1 second that the bottle claims!) and the red fruit and vanilla smell left on your hands is quite sweet, unless you try and smell the product in the bottle and it smells just the same as any other nail polish remover! The only issues I really have with this product is I'm not entirely sure how you know how much is left and it's not the best at removing glitter nail polishes but then again, most regular nail polish removers have issues with them too. It is quite expensive for a nail polish remover at £4.99 for only 75ml but I'm willing to pay that for the speed and less hassle that this provides when removing nail polish. 

Nails Inc London Pinkie Pink Nail Polish Supporting Breast Cancer Campaign

This is a gorgeous pink glitter polish, with the idea being to paint your pinkie finger nail with this colour to show your support for the Breast Cancer Campaign that ran during the month of October. Nails Inc donated £1 from the sale of every bottle to the campaign and I thought that this was a really great idea for such a good cause. The price is a little steep at £11 a bottle but then most Nails Inc polishes are around this price. Unlike with most glitter polishes, I felt that there was a good ammount of glitter with the application- I didn't feel that the glitter was staying in the bottle rather than making it onto my nails so this makes the price tag a little easier to deal with and I'm pretty sure that most of the Nails Inc glitter polishes are like this. The one problem I did find was that if you apply the nail polish too thickly it can peel off easily but when I reapplied it with thinner coats, it didn't happen again. Also if I remember correctly, there is a 10 or 20% discount code available to first time customers on the Nails Inc website, it should come up automatically the first time you enter the site and then just put in your email address and they send the code to you. 

Here's some more information about the Pinkie Pink Campaign =) 

Broadway Nails Impress Press On Manicure

(D090 Space Cadet)

 I first used these after receiving them in a GlossyBox (I'm not sure which month it was but they were in the design 'Over The Moon' which is sort of maroon with a gold flowery design) and these are now my third box. They're self adhesive nails but they feel more like a very thick plastic than your typical hard but thin plastic fake nails which I much prefer. They come in lots of different colours and designs so there's something to suit everyone and they cost around £7.99-£8.99 I think. They're good for speed of doing your nails, especially if you want a cool design but don't have the time or artistic skills needed to make it look amazing and I like that the packaging is similar to a nail polish bottle so you could store it with your regular polishes and it wouldn't look out of place. The main problems I have is that they claim to last for up to a week but within a few days mine were starting to fall off. I managed to make them stick on for about four days before they gave up and wouldn't stick again but that was with a lot of hand washing and contact with water which would have affected their staying power. Also the sizes of the nails can be a bit difficult to work with- you might find only a couple of nails to fit each finger with lots of spares that are either too big or too small. I ended up butchering one of the larger nails to fit when one of mine fell off and I couldn't find another of the right size. I would definitely use these again but probably more for a party or special occasion, rather than for everyday wear! 

So, those were my favourite products from October... I wonder what I'll be loving this month! What have some of your faves been? =)

Lauren xx

A Quick Introduction...

...that probably won't end up that quick knowing me!

So, I will be the first to admit that I'm useless at these sorts of 'describing yourself' things, so bare with me here! 

Hi, I'm Lauren and I'm nearly 22 (but my brain still feels about 17 to be honest) and I live near Edinburgh in Scotland. One of my favourite things to do is writing, mostly creative, but I thought that starting this blog would be another good way of writing something a bit different to my usual. Basically this blog is going to be a mixture of everything that I love and want to write about, or things that are important to me. It's hard to say what that might- one day I might write about my favourite things of the month and the next it might be about my love of Irish rugby players or music and bands I love. Who knows what's going to end up on here!! Also I would like to warn everyone at this point, I have been known to ramble on quite a bit so if you can handle that brilliant! :) 

The other main thing I will probably blog about quite a bit is suffering from emetophobia and anxiety issues. Emetophobia is basically a phobia about anything to do with being sick, including me, other people, any thing you can think of that comes under that subject really! It's been a major part of my life since I was at Primary School but it has been at its worst for the last four years. It effects all aspects of my life currently, for example I find it difficult to leave the house without feeling anxious and I feel anxious most of the time. I'll go into it more in another post but I felt it was important to mention it here because it is such a major part of my life. 

Ok, I think that's enough for now but I'll leave my links here, feel free to follow me on Twitter and Instagram =D you'll probably notice a pattern in my usernames!

Twitter- https://twitter.com/LaurenM26

Instagram Name- LaurenM262

More Information about Emetophobia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetophobia 

                                                              - http://www.emetophobiaresource.org/

Bye for now!

Lauren xx