Review - I Let You Go

I'll be the first to admit I am terrible when it comes to reading.

After years of studying at University, and now hours of reading and marking students work, I have to say I get bored of looking at words on paper.

However during the holidays I like to indulge a little, and love a good book. I ordered a few from Tesco Direct, including 'I let you go' by Clare Mackintosh. 

And I gotta say... I loved it! As did my friend who I passed this on to straight after. Considering she told me she's not that into books, she managed to whizz through this in just 3 days.

The story is of young woman who escapes to the Welsh coast after a young boy was murdered. However the plot is full of twists and turns as you follow her story, and the characters were extremely engaging.

I can't give much more without giving parts away, but you've gotta read it!

H&M Sportswear

As soon as the spring arrives in the UK I love to go cross country running as much as possible. 

This does mean using lots more sportswear, resulting in lots more washing - boo !

Something I like to indulge in are nice sports bras. They need to be supportive and brightly coloured - my mind tells me the brighter they are the faster I run. Ridiculous I know, but distance running is always a mind over matter game.

Anyway, back on with the post, below are a couple of recent H&M purchases. All I can say is that I love love love them! Perfect under all sportswear, supportive and most importantly - they're goddam comfortable! They don't rub or snag at all (which is an annoyance I've had with previous sports bras from Sports Direct).

At £12.99 they are such a bargain, and they come in a huge range of colours. Make sure you go grab some and make the most of the summer weather to exercise outdoors!

The best mascara yet?

One feature that I like to accentuate as much as possible are my eyes.

I have a lack of cheekbones, leading to what I like to call my 'hamster cheeks' (in half attempt to make a chubby face sound cute).

I hate hate hate buying a mascara, only to find that it does eff all for my eyelashes.... cue most of the No.7 and waterproof ones I've tried.

Since I've bought the L'Oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume mascara I've never looked back! 

On the first coat you have the longest lashes I've ever seen! By the time you've built it up a little you're left with super big, super voluminous lashes.

Safe to say, this one is a huge winner in my books. If it's ever discontinued I shall cry my eyes out!

Sleek Palette - Contour/Highlighter duo

So after losing my Sleek bronzer/blush/highlighter trio I decided I needed another one back in my life! 

I chose the lightest palette, and despite the power emitting an orangey-glow before blending (see below) it leaves a beautiful low-light beneath the cheekbones.

The champagne coloured highlight also looks great on pale skin - not too shiny, but enough to bring your skin a little life!

I felt it gave a really pretty glow to the skin (especially vampire white skin :)!)

Have you found any other affordable contour/highlight palettes?

Work outfits for under £30 - 1

Teaching is a stressful job, and I'm sure every other teacher will tell you the same!

Starting my first year last September I bought a few odds and sods - some of them tight pencil skirts, some more stretchy pieces. Unfortunately these skirts won't last my summer clothing cull! They are just impractical when you're rushing round, switching classrooms etc etc!

When perusing the summer sales I spotted a few bits and pieces that I thought would be just right to survive my second year, and it came in at under £30 for the outfit (£26.99 to be exact!).

First off were these shoes - reduced to £12 in New Look they were just too good to say no to! 

Loafers are sometimes a marmite shoe .... but they're just so goddam practical!

Second off is this gorgeous red wrap dress. At £14.99 (again New Look) it was great value - both pretty and practical it won't restrict me moving all over the shop, and ensuring my little classroom peas are getting on with their work!

Are there any other good sale bargains you've seen?

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick - Kate Nude Collection

After browsing the Boots website I came across a new lipstick collection I'd not seen before...and I couldn't resist purchasing one.

The new (to me at least) nude collection by Kate Moss for Rimmel has 5  colours - I went for No.45 - a darker looking dull pink.

It looks gorgeous on the lips and (despite my vampire pale skin) looks quite light pink in natural light.

It's a lovely cream texture which feels super-moisturising, but the wear of it isn't great.... 

Still, at £5.49 I'd definitely buy more from the collection, and take the hit with regularly re-applying.

Have you tried anything of the nude collection? 

Amsterdam - hits and misses

A break in the Dam

Last weekend me, D and a couple of friends went on a little adventure over to Amsterdam and had (despite the atrocious weather) the best weekend!

I've been to Amsterdam twice before, once a uni trip, and another one a stop-off before inter-railing through Europe. It always exceeds my expectations, and is such a beautiful city. 

A few must see's/must do's that you should definitely try if you happen to head over there:

- Heineken Experience - SUCH GOOD VALUE! As a group of couples, we spent a lot of our time drinking....wine, beer, champagne, anything! With the Heineken experience you were given 3 small drinks and a free beer glass (great for D's collection)! It had the factual faff at the start, and then a bar and interactive experiences downstairs. Definitely one of the best things we did. If you go, please try out the interactive tables!

- Max's restaurant - best meal of our trip! It's a very small, reserved place, with Indonesian food to die for! We saved up for this place as we knew it could get pricey, but it was so worth it!

- Ice bar - yep another drink themed attraction. Bit of a weird experience where you're thrown into a themed part at the start, but good drinks and a really fun atmosphere when you're inside. Be prepared to feel frozen to the bone and dissolve all attitude to caring for your appearance as you pop on your trawler-man style jacket.

- Vondelpark - Just go for the fresh air and pretty lakes! We loved having a wander around the park on our last day, getting some air through our lungs and wiping away the hangover. 

Misses

- Canal cruise - so NOT worth the money! No guide, slow, poor view, just a general underwhelming experience. Plus getting to know the city on foot is a wayyyy better way to see the sights.

IAMSTERDAM sign - so busy, not that interesting, generally just a photo opportunity if you can clamber your way through the crowds!

I have  fallen in love with the city, and we all agreed another reunion next year, same flat, same group.....just maybe a less windy and wet time of year!

Have you been? What do you think of it?

Origins Surprise Twists

For Christmas I asked for a few beauty bits, including this Origins Surprise Twists gift set.

Now that I've had time to try these out, I thought it might be a good time to let you know a little more about them!

Included in the twists were:

4 x Make a difference (hand creams)

2 x Drink up intensive night treatment

2 x Make a difference plus (face moisturiser)

1 x Modern friction

1 x Clear Improvement

1 x Ginger Souffle

1 x Ginger body wash

Whilst that sounds like a lot, firstly, and importantly, I think the difference in how many of each product given is hugely disproportionate. Why would you need 4 hand treatments? The contents could be spread out either by trying a great range of different products or more of those where there were only 1. That's one area Origins got this wrong for me, especially as the set costs £40.00 full price.

On a brighter note, I have thoroughly enjoyed trying out the different products.

Favourites include the Clear Improvement Charcoal face mask which has hugely helped to unclog my pores on bad skin days. It's super gentle and very effective at making my skin look that bit brighter on a dull winter's day. Secondly, the Make a Difference Plus face moisturiser has been perfect at injecting some moisture in the mornings.

Things I wouldn't purchase after trying are the ginger scented products. Whilst they do the job, I'm just not keen on their pungent scent, and the scent seems to aggravate my skin around small eczema patches.

All in all, I love the idea of these Christmas crackers for trying a couple of Origins products out, but this year that balance in products wasn't quite there for me to give it a 10/10 rating.

At this rate I'll have enough hand cream treatments to last me until Christmas 2015!

What do you think? Would you buy them?

Shaka Zulu - a review

D and I made a little trip to London as part of my Christmas present this week (a surprise trip to a London restaurant with Red Letter Days).

After an awesome day of browsing Borough Market, devouring doughnuts and strolling along the river we headed over to Camden for dinner.

Considering I mostly eat vegetarian, D's choice of restaurant as a present was interesting....South African theme. Sadly, I am a bit of a pansy when it comes to food. I'm not fussy with much ...except for meat. Meat is the one thing I find difficult to trust, and the South African cuisine is mainly based around deer, crocodile and other wild animals.

You can see why this will be a difficult review.

Sadly I didn't love the food. With limited vegetarian options, I had to opt for a corn soup followed by vegetable curry. The food was fine, however if I was a bit more into meat I think the dishes on offer could have afforded a much more enticing experience.

D chose ostrich roulade followed by the spitroast which he assured me was tasty, though didn't convince me to try it.

Despite the disappointing menu, there were two great things about this restaurant.

1. The cocktails! We tried a couple of different cocktails, and D's raspberry mule was delicious (see below)!

2. The interior. The South African decor was just insane! The whole restaurant turns into a bar/club later in the evening, and it was just the most incredible place. Located underground, you have to get an escalator down into the restaurant which is kitted out in huge statues of animals, elephants and other tribal decorations. Spread over two floors, you really can't believe it exists. It looks so authentic and definitely is an experience you have to try.

We would definitely go back, but only for drinks and to try the club out.

Do you fancy a bit of crocodile? Let me know if you go and what you think!

A super quick, skin care saviour

A super quick, time saving, skin care saviour (wow that's a mouthful!)

Recently I picked up this Vaseline moisturiser in the hope it would help me to take better care of my skin. For people without much time on their hands (mums, teachers, or generally everyone) moisturising you body is way down the to do list. 

However this product really does make daily moisturising achievable! Just a quick spritz along the arms, legs and torso, this glorious smelling stuff makes my skin feel that little bit fresher, smoother and all round brighter. It's been a firm favourite in my daily routine for the last few months now, and I can see it staying that way.

Just be prepared for how cold it is! 

Changing outfits with a statement accessory

When I first saw this chunky beaded necklace I couldn't tell whether I loved it or hated it. It was one of those where you're not keen on it for a while, but you can't stop looking at it.

After trying it with a few black and white tops, just to jazz up a boring monochrome outfit, it still wasn't working quite right. Instead I thought that the necklace is such a mishmash of colours and textures in itself, with stripes, beads and chains all rolled into one, that perhaps that's what it needed to be paired with in an outfit.

Recently I've been loving wearing it with a stripy tee, plus a cosy textured cardigan. Personally I think it looks best this way. 

What do you think? 

How else could you style a statement piece?

Bourjois Eyeshadow & Liner .. my newest beauty lust!

Firstly.... I know its been over 2 months and I haven't written anything! 

The world of teaching just runs away with you...where on earth have the last few weeks gone?  Actually wait, I can probably answer that....planning lessons, attending parents evenings, and sending at least four thirteen year old's to the medical room during our first lesson back, due to multiple injuries including staples through fingers, nosebleeds and spots they had picked. Yes, my life is just dreamy!

Secondly, this Bourjois dual liner/eyeshadow is just WOW!

I picked up this little gem in Boots a couple of weeks ago and instantly fell in love. It's waterproof, yet has a really creamy consistency that is easy to blend and not too heavy on the lid, though very build-able if you wanted to.

It comes in a nice (yet compact) range of colours, of which I chose 'Mauve'  to contrast with greeny-blue eyes. It really compliments them, and out of all the colour choices it is definitely one of the easiest to wear. Some of the other shades may be a little too 'drag queen-esque' to wear as a full on eyeshadow, but feel free to prove me wrong!

At only £5.99 I'm pretty pleased with this little purchase, and may need to grab a few more from the collection!

Do you think they're as good?