Magazine Freebie Of The Month

I am lead to believe that magazine freebies are very much a European thing and that you lovely American and Canadian ladies miss out of these little incentives :( Over the last year or so I have to say they are getting much better, with branded make up and nail polish now being common place.

This month is no exception, the March issue of one of my favourite magazines ELLE with Keira Knightly on the cover, includes an eye pencil from the newly launched Neals Yard Remedies make up line.

One of the first eyeliners to certified by the soil association, they contain vitamins, natural mineral pigments and antioxidant's, and are free from mineral oils, talcs and parabens.

The shade I got with my mag was Midnight - a rich black -  you can get a nice sharp line with it or you can blend it our for a smokey look. It has a nice texture, and you get a smooth line with no dragging.

I think this is a decent freebie especially if you are interested in trying out some "natural" cosmetics, and after all when does a black eyeliner pencil ever come in wrong. The magazine is a pretty hefty £3.80, but the pencil retails at £9.50 so it's pretty good value

Not only that but inside the magazine to celebrate Neals Yards 30% anniversary there is a 20% off coupon to use in any Neals Yard Remedies store , alas there isn't one near me but if your based down south it's definitely worth a look.

I haven't been asked to write this post but I love a freebie and can't wait till next month for the Glamour / Clinique freebies xx

Cough, Wheeze, Sniffle

Well yet again this week I have been a bit AWOL. At the beginning of the week I have a sore throat which has since developed into a full blown cold, with a dry tickly cough and pains in my face :( It seems lately as though I am skipping from one illness and disaster to another so erm yeah I'm sorry for going AWOL again. I will try and make up for it over the weekend although reviews and stuff involving my face may have to wait till I look less ghastly, posts planned include a little peek at a magazine freebie, and a review come product rave, just pray for better lighting for me to take some pics- after a little bit of sunshine the other day we are back to grey, dull, dank misery again grr

I have to say though despite my melancholy whinging, this week hasn't been all bad I have been managing to walk a little bit (less of the Bambi on ice comments Mummy ;) with my special cast shoe and my walking frame, it's a little bit surreal as you can't really feel the floor too well but at least I can get upright again and I can stand for a little bit. I am getting more confident with it everyday so hopefully I should be okay when my cast comes off in two weeks fingers crossed. Till then I am going to have a little blow into a tissue, eat some graze box (use my code 97N1BP13 for a free box ), drink plenty of fluids, and try to find a better light dance somewhere on the Internet all be it one I can do on 1 leg :) See you tomorrow xx

Kiss Me Quick For Valentines Day

I have to admit Valentines Day leaves me feeling a little low, as a single lady for the last year or so I often feel a little left out in the cold but never mind jealousy is never a good look ;) so I take the approach that February 14th should be the day for all of us to spoil ourselves. I was therefore delighted to receive a pre Valentines Day offering  for my favourite hairbrush manufacturer Denman.

I've previously shown my love for Denman brushes in a big way so I was thrilled to receive a brush from their new Kiss Me Quick Valentines range. In the classic D3 style, the Kiss brush features seven rows of nylon bristles on an anti static rubber pad

I received the glossy pink, which is a lilac based pink with embedded sparkles which I hope you can see on my pics. The brush also features a silver lips print.

I've said it before and I'll say it again I love these brushes so much, you can use them on wet or dry hair without any pulling or tugging and they are great for blow drying.

This would make a super cute little Valentines gift or even a great treat for yourself, as well as the glossy pink there are two more colourways available red with black lips, and black with red lips. The D3 Kiss retails at around £7.31 from all Denman stockists. For more information check out the Denman website

(ETA - Excuse the hairs on the brush in the photos, it was the first brush my mum grabbed for my hospital bag - before I had taken any pics thanks mum ;)

(The Denman D3 Kiss Hair Brush was provided by PR for review purposes)

Have A Snack and Help Comic Relief At The Same Time

Time for a post a little away from the norm for me, but I'm sure you think it's worth it.I was recently contacted by Walkers the crisp people regarding their new Comic Relief promotion. Since its foundation in 1985 Comic Relief has used the simple philosophy of making us laugh to raise over £600 million to help those disadvantaged or in poverty both in the UK and abroad. The charity's showpiece event as always is Red Nose Day - an all evening long telethon filled with comedy, parodies and usually lots of laughs - this years event will take place on Friday 18th March. As per usual their will be lots of fundraising merchandise to get your hands including a Vivienne Westwood designed t-shirt from TK Maxx, red noses of course and crisps.

Crisps I hear you cry, well this year Walkers have joined forces with  four top comedians Stephen Fry, Frank Skinner, Al Murray and Jimmy Carr to raise 1 million pounds for Comic Relief. Each comedian has created their own crisp flavour, and 5p from each special variety will go straight to Comic Relief. That isn't all though in an added Red Nose Day twist, we have Clash of the Comics, by buying special packs you are voting for your favourite flavour and therefore comedian to avoid a losers forefit on the March 18th live show -The 3 losing comedians will be undergoing a body wax from a mystery celebrity -eek

Walkers were kind enough to send my a 6 pack of each flavour to review for you - a hard task I'm sure you'll agree so I roped Mummy LouLou into help, see I'm not a not a total piggy ;)

Steak and Al Pie - Steak and Ale Pie Flavour Potato Crisps

First up Al Murry better known as the Pub Landlord and his Steak and Ale Pie Flavour. Well what can I say about these, they certainly are unusual an initial meaty/beef/marmite kick followed by a sort of beery, lager taste. I have to say they were mine and Mummy Lou's least favourites but I imagine with a pint of something cold they would go down well x


Frank's Roast Dinner - Roast Chicken Dinner Flavour Potato Crisps

West Brom supporting comedian Frank Skinner's choice of flavour is Roast Chicken Dinner, and I have to say that is exactly what they taste like. An initial hit of Chicken, and then Sage and Rosemary herb stuffing, if you like a traditonal roast or Christmas dinner then these are the ones for you


Jimmy Con Carrne - Chilli Con Carne Flavour Potato Crisps

Comedian Jimmy Carr's Chilli Con Carne flavour crisps and Mummy LouLou's favourite. A spicy little number these ones, they taste like a proper chilli with a spicy pepper, and tomato hit very nice :)


Stephen Fry Up - Full English Fry Up Flavour Potato Crisps

Stephen Fry's traditional English breakfast flavour and my favourite. Close your eyes and you seriously could be eating a full English.Crispy bacon, eggs, beans and tomato are all there in this yummy flavour.

Which one do you fancy trying? All the flavours are vegetarian friendly and are available in single bags for 43p and multipacks of 6 are £1.81 - Go on treat yourself and help a worthwhile charity and the same time x For more information check out the Comic Relief and  Red Nose Day websites (above) and the Walkers Clash of the Comics site. Any questions please ask x

(The crisps were provided by Walkers for review and promotional purposes)    

Good News For NARS Fans

The title says it all really this morning I received the March issue of the ASOS magazine and guess which brand is coming soon to the site  - NARS :) I mentioned this on twitter and causes muchos excitement :) It doesn't appear to have launched on the site yet but coming soon is good enough for me, so keep your eyes peeled x Oh and not only that but the magazine also contained a discount code for 15% off, just enter the code SPRINGVIP before midnight on Wednesday 16th February - feeling very tempted but must be strong x Enjoy x

ETA: NARS cosmetics are now live on ASOS

A Mini Bargain Buy

If you are super observant you may have noticed that in my January spends, there was a little Nails Inc purchase from ebay :) I had it all planned a little trip to the Metro Centre to pick up lots of Diet Coke and a few of the limited edition Nails Inc polishes, I didn't however take into account a week in hospital at the height of the promotion :( The lovely Lydia very kindly tried to get me the polish of my fantasies but despite her best efforts it proved elusive, so my only option was ebay. Some sellers were clearly trying to cash in on the promotion but I manged to get Nails Inc Denim for less than £4.00 with postage.

What a gorgeous blue - as you know I really love my blue polishes so this was a bit of a must. The only thing that confused me is that it has no Diet Coke branding on it maybe it wasn't a limited edition after all hmm...

A Nails Of The Day Post :)

Well I haven't posted one of these for ages but after a disastrous spell of snapping and peeling whilst I was in hospital, a few weeks on my Leighton Denny system (which I promise I will review soon for you) and I have nails again. What better way to celebrate than with one of my favourite polishes Milani 3D Holograpic in 509 HD. I know you've all seen this before but I love Milani 3D polishes and holographic polishes in general. I really want GOSH Holographic but I can't seem to find it so in the meantime I give you this x

The photos don't do it justice at all but its a really pretty glittery, holographic silver - love, love, love. Next up another nail post - a sneaky January purchase xx

January Japes

Well January really has been a month to forget for me - a certain slip on the ice and a poorly foot has curtailed my plans left, right and centre, In some ways this has been a good thing my inability to walk at the moment has meant that I can't go shopping booo. Well I could always shop online, but the continuation of project 10 pan and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for anything has meant shock of horrors that I am way under for the first month of my 2011 spending diet I spent the grand total of £9.41

Nails Inc Denim Nail Polish - ebay - £3.49
Made Bangles x 3 - ebay - £5.92
Total So Far - £9.41
£30.59 Under


So from my January 2011 limit of £40 I have £30.59 left which has to be some sort of record for me, admittedly I have purchased a nail polish but I still think that's pretty good going :) Now onto trimming my stash well predictably January has been a bit of a fail

Dove Beauty Care Body Wash Go Fresh Burst 55ml
Lacura 3 in 1 Facial Cleansing Wipes x 30
Philosophy Carrot Cake Ultra Rich Shampoo, Shower Gel, and Bubble Bath 473.1ml
Trilogy Smooth Shine Shampoo 250ml
Total - 4 Items

I managed 4 items this month which to be honest wasn't great I have a few bath things on the way out but obviously me ability to have a bath has been postponed for a bit so they will have to wait. I managed no make up items this month probably because I've barely worn any :) but I do have a mascara that should be done in the next week or so which will hopefully get me back on track :)
My other plan for 2011 was to try and eat a bit more healthily and lose a bit of weight well I haven't weighed myself for a bit I think the cast would give a false reading ;) but my clothes certainly feel a bit looser thanks to rubbish hospital food and a lack of appetite - every cloud as they say ;)
I certainly hope that you have all had a better start to 2011 than I have, as they say things can only get better xx

Lovea Bio Hair Care - Two Reviews For My Pure

Well it's that time again, time for my monthly reviews for My Pure - for January I selected a few hair care products. Whether we like it or not our hair suffers as the seasons change, cold wintry weather can be just as damaging as hot summer sun. Added to that a spell in hospital when I was unable to wash my hair for a week and you can imagine the poorly state of my hair. The products that I had already chosen for January came from the French brand Lovea Bio. I've discovered this brand purely through my relationship with My Pure and I have to say like A'kin I've generally been impressed by the products I've tried. Certified organic and free from Parabens, the two products I chose were the Lovea Bio Tahitian Monoi Moisturising Shampoo and the Lovea Bio L'Argan Detangling Leave in Conditioner Spray.

Lovea Bio Tahitian Monoi Moisturising Shampoo

This is the second shampoo I've reviewed by Lovea, I'd previously tried out the Lovea Bio L'Argan Shine Shampoo, which I liked but this time I wanted something a bit more moisturising.

Containing genuine Tahitian Monoi oil, which is Tiare flowers, soaked in pure coconut oil, and vegetable glycerin, this shampoo is designed, to moisturise and add shine to the hair

It has a slightly cloudy appearance, and quite a runny texture as you can see. Because of the texture I think you tend to use slightly more than you would normally but the shampoo produces a fine creamy lather, which cleanses well and rinses easily without tangling.

What sells this shampoo to me though is the smell, exactly like the Lovea Body Milk I previously reviewed, it has the most gorgeous, sensual fragrance of tropical flowers and a tiny bit of coconut, amazing! Once dried my hair was left feeling soft and fairly sleek even without the use of a conditioner (a matching conditioner is available though).
I have to say I loved this shampoo, it's gentle enough to be used every day, the hair was left soft, and none greasy and smelling amazing - a big thumbs up for me - it's definitely something I would consider repurchasing:) Lovea Bio Le Monoi Moisturizing Shampoo retails at £4.99 for 200ml from My Pure making it very affordable too :)

Lovea Bio L'Argan Shining Non Rinse Conditioner

I have to say I am a huge fan of leave in conditioner sprays - even since a disastrous experimentation with Sun In, in my late teens, when it was the only way to get a comb though my hair, I have always had at least one on the go. I've found brilliant ones at both the high end and low end of the spectrum, the key thing I look for is to add moisture without adding grease. I was interested to try Lovea's version of a leave in conditioner spray primarily because it contains the famous Moroccan oil, Argan. 

This hugely prized oil which crops up in a lot of Lovea's products is well known for it's moisturising and regenerative properties - a prefect inclusion in a hair conditioner. The leave in spray comes in a pump action bottle, with a fine spray. It looks yellow in the bottle but it looks quite clear when its sprayed. It has the same citrus, nutty smell as Lovea's other products containing Argan oil, it's quite pleasant but I can see how some people could find it a bit overpowering. I used the product in two ways on damp hair after shampooing, and on dry hair as a detangler / refresher. I found that my hair was a lot easier to comb and that it felt a lot softer and less tangled. On dry hair I found that it freshened the hair and added shine whilst getting rid of any tangles without leaving the hair greasy or oily. I have to say again though the fragrance does have a tendency to linger on the hair, so whilst this would be good for getting rid of cooking smells etc it does last so it may interfere with fragrance and so on.

I have to say I did like this product, my biggest fear was that it would be oily but it certainly wasn't, it provided just enough moisture and slip to the hair. Having said that I'm not sure I would repurchase as I've already found my hold grail leave in sprays which unfortunately I still prefer to this but if you want a good, organic leave in conditioner this may be the one for you. Lovea Bio L'Argan Shining Non Rinse Conditioner retails at £5.49 for 125ml from My Pure

(Both Lovea Bio Products Were Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

The Bionic Woman

Hey my loves first up thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post I really appreciate it and yes I know you are all right my health comes first.
Well today was my hospital appointment, as you know I was feeling a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, the first hurdle obviously came when I had to get to the car - we have steps at both sides of the house and torrential rain made it a bit hairy on my zimmer but I managed it.
The first task when I got to the hospital was to have my old cast removed, and my little staples removed - eeek to be honest the staple removal wasn't that bad a little bit stingy but nothing more, what surprised me was the length of the scar it goes 1/4 of the way up my calf :( I then had it re plastered with a full purple plaster cast - chic no?

Then it was time for another x-ray and to see my consultant - it was the first time I had seen my x-rays since before my op and I have to say I was a bit shocked - as well as a huge long pin through my bone, there are also a few metal plates and screws in my foot holding all the bones together  hmm it looks like someone has been playing with a mecanno set - the bionic women indeed. But I have to say despite me visible blanching when I saw the pics he was very happy with my progress and I'm ahead of schedule so I was given a very unattractive surgical shoe and I can start to try and use my foot and begin to weight bear from next week - wahoo - I have to go back in a month for cast removal and continue with my daily injections and just to confirm everything is OK but that's good enough for me for now -a great weight has lifted from my mind and I certainly feel a lot happier. So thanks again for your nice words I really appreciate it, all we need is some decent light and blogging properly can resume xx