Christmas Round Up

I know this is a little late, but I thought I'd share with you a few things I got for Christmas:

1. Bella Pierre Mineral Eyeshadows: You may know my love of Bella Pierre mineral makeup, so I was so happy to receive 3 of their eye shadow gift sets for christmas! I haven't had a chance to test them out properly yet, but I will be doing a review of these soon.

2. Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver: I have been lusting after this for months now, and I'm so happy I finally own one! I've used it once so far, and absolutely love it! Definitely expect a review of this soon!

3. OCC Lip Tar Mixing Palette: I've been looking for an empty lip palette for a while now, so I'm really happy I got this. Its perfect for mixing together Sleek Pout Paints, of for storing the lipsticks I save/make with my japonesque kit...

4. Japonesque Lipstick Palette Kit: I love the idea of this. You can rescue a lipstick, melt one down into a pan/empty palette or mix 2 lipsticks together to make a new colour. I can't wait to play around with this!

5. MAC Lipstick, "Up The Amp": I've been wanting to try this colour for a while now. I play it too safe with lip colours, and the only thing that stopped my buying it was how bold it is. But I love it!

6. Viktor & Rolf, "Eau Mega" Eau de Parfum: My boyfriend gave this to me with the words "You smelled this before and you hated it" lol. But when I smelled it this time round I actually really liked it. I don't remember hating it, but apparently I did! It was a bit of a weird risk to take, but I'm glad he did. Plus the way you spray it is amazing!

7. "Really Useful" Hobby Box: I saw this on a blog (I'm sorry I can't remember who's it was), but they were using this to store their jewellery. I thought this was an amazing idea as I always forget what I have in an ordinary jewellery box. Plus I run out of space quick. No chance of that with this though!

8. Smoothie Maker: My boyfriends family bought me this, and I'm so grateful they did. 2012 is all about getting healthy for me, and making my own fresh smoothies is a good way to go! Though I wouldn't recommend the smoothie I'm making in the photo - it was pretty awful!

9. Zumba: I have been wanting to try zumba for so long, but didn't really have the confidence to attend a class on my own, so this it the perfect present for me! I've already completed my beginners week, and am now about to start a 10 toning programme. So far I'm absolutely loving it, and can feel it pushing my fitness (or lack of it).

10. Speed Rope: You can kind of see a theme here. As part of my health kick, my boyfriend got me this speed skipping rope. Still haven't got round to using it yet, but that will definitely change soon.

11. Ikea Pepparkaka Hus: I love the ginger thins in Ikea, and my boyfriend bought me a ginger thin house. The roof kept falling off, so in the photo I may be holding it on. But no one needs to know ;)

I've loved looking through peoples Christmas posts, so feel free to link me to more.
I hope you all had a good Christmas and new year!

A Rather Blustery Day

It's been a pretty awful day in terms of weather, with rain and winds reaching speeds of up to 70mph. I would have happily stayed in all day wrapped in a duvet, but my dog was desperate to go out for a walk. Apparently just throwing a ball around the house isn't good enough...

Once it had settled down outside I took her out, and there was so much flooding in the fields. I thought all the trickling of water was quite beautiful so I took a few photos. I even got a glimpse of the sun whilst out! Though the weather is back to being miserable again now. 

I hope no one got too affected by the winds and rain, and that you're still enjoying your start to 2012!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a good Christmas, and a great start to 2012!

I thought by now I'd have given up on making new years resolutions as I never keep them! But after recent health scares, and due to the fact I go back to university this month to finish my degree, I've realised a few big changes need to happen in my life. So the start of a new year is the perfect time to put these changes in motion:

1- Eat healthily & reduce carbs - Probably 90% of my diet is carbohydrates, and as a result I am quite malnourished, and always tired. I'm going to reduce the amount of rubbish I eat, and eat a hell of a lot better.

2- Drink more - I always forget to drink throughout the day, so I become very dehydrated (which you can definitely see in my skin)

3- Exercise - After suffering from a bad back for a very long time I finally found out I have degenerative disc disorder :( which means I need to build up the muscles in my legs, abs and back. Not that I need an excuse to finally start exercising!

4- Natural is Best - My skin is becoming more and more sensitive lately, and I'm becoming very conscious about what I'm putting on my skin. I'm going to start making my own beauty products in an attempt to be as natural as possible. Any I think work I will post up on here as I test them :)

5- Be motivated and do something! - I find it very hard to actually get off my backside and do things sometimes. I go back to university soon, and have a lot to do beforehand (as well as during) and so to make sure I succeed I need to push myself hard. Its too easy to relax when I really can't afford to do so.

I know this is a lot to change, but I'm determined to make it happen!
Have you made any new years resolutions?

Wahanda Treatment Review

This is my first post after a rather busy month of not writing, and I'm glad to finally be back!
I didn't mean to be away for so long, but 2 weeks of working every single day meant I was too drained to post. Then I got ill and DEFINITELY wasn't up to writing (I wouldn't have made much sense any way).
But I'm happy to say I'm better now, and won't be stopping again any time soon!

I thought I'd start my posts with a catch-up by reviewing a mini spa day I went on via Wahanda.

Last year for mine and my boyfriends 2 year anniversary I purchased a 1 hour dermalogica Swedish massage plus full use of the gym, sauna and steam room facilities. Through Wahanda this cost just £20 each, and the voucher was valid for a year. Though stupidly we left it right to the last minute to book it, we were lucky enough to get an appointment for October 1st.

The Park Plaza Victoria Therapy Suite was about a 5 minute walk from Victoria Station, and the suite was on the bottom floor of the hotel.

Above are a few shoddy photos of the inside, on the left is part of the gym (the main area you walk into), and the middle and right photo's are of inside the changing room. The photo's don't do the place justice as it was difficult to take them when no one was around.

In the photo of the gym you can just about see me reflected in the mirror - behind me is where the sauna, steam room and changing rooms are, and the therapy rooms are to the left of the mirror.

I went for my massage first while my boyfriend worked out, and then we changed over once mine was done.

Once he was out we relaxed in the steam room and sauna.

This is us after we left, looking and feeling a bit more relaxed.

Overall it was a really lovely day. The massage was amazing, and the masseuse was lovely. Though I would recommend arriving early so you can use the gym BEFORE your massage, or you'll end up undoing all the work the massage did, and end up tense again like me! :/
The suite as a whole is small, BUT it has a lot packed into it, and you definitely wouldn't leave feeling it lacked anything.
The sauna was lovely, but personally I find steam rooms very claustrophobic so I didn't stay in there for long - I don't think I even lasted a minute!

I would definitely recommend both Wahanda and the Park Plaza Victoria Therapy Suite, and would 100% go back sometime in the future. Though getting to London takes about an hour for me, so it would be a rare treat, rather than a regular indulgence.

Have you used a deal through Wahanda/Groupon before?
Would love to hear your recommended bargains!