Hair Removal For Scaredy Cats - Nair Argan Oil Shower Power Cream*

Although the weather over the last few days feels more like January than July, it is officially summer time. It hasn't all been bad though, we have had some nice days, and hopefully there are some more to come, and whether your staying at home in the UK or your lucky enough to be heading off for some guaranteed sunshine, you can pretty much guarantee that most of us will at some point be revealing a little bit more skin than normal.

Like most things, whether or not you remove your body hair has now become a big issue, and whilst I'm very much in favour of people doing what they want to do with their own bodies, personally I'm not a fan. In the winter I must admit that I'm a bit lazy but in the summer I want smooth and silky skin, so off it comes.

Of all the steps in my beauty routine hair removal is probably the biggest chore of all time. It takes forever but thankfully times are changing and modern hair removal methods are quicker and easier than ever. Whilst I swear by waxing and epilation for my legs, I do have a bit of a soft spot for hair removal creams when it comes to my more sensitive bits.

Okay using a hair removal cream doesn't offer any long term solutions, and yes they can be a bit smelly and a bit messy but they're ideal for sensitive areas, and for people who just don't like the idea of pain.

If you haven't used a depilatory cream for a while, maybe it's time to give them another try. Modern day hair removal creams are a world away from the smelly, eye watering, drying products from yesteryear.

Nair are one of the best known names around when it comes to home hair removal, and their range includes everything from wax strips, to shaving products and of course depilatory creams. They recently launched their Argan Oil Collection which is a range of products which harness the powerful skin care benefit of this cult Moroccan oil.

I was sent a few of the products to try and the first one that I tried is the Nair Argan Oil Shower Power Cream. Formulated for the legs, bikini line, and underarms, it contains extracts of Argan Oil, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter and Orange Blossom. It also contain an exclusive patented "odour control technology" to cut down on the nasty smells that we normal associate with hair removal creams. It's designed for dry and sensitive skin and it's both clinically and dermatologically tested.

The 200ml tube is boxed and comes complete with full instructions and a plastic spatula. The cream itself is slightly, off white in colour and has a thick creamy texture. It has a subtle almost face cream type aroma with virtually no hint of the familiar rotten egg smell that you traditionally associate with products like this.

It's recommend that you do a small patch test 24 hours before you use the cream just to make sure that it doesn't cause any allergies or irritation. My patch test was fine so I decided to try it out on my legs. Whilst the hair on my legs is dark, thanks to years of waxing and epiliation, it's quite fine and I do actually have a few bald patches, this though is probably a couple of months growth (blushes).

The cream is quite simple to use, you just spread an even layer of cream over the areas that you want to treat, avoiding any broken, sunburned or inflamed skin.

You can either use your fingers, or for larger areas it's much easier to use the spatula, as it makes it easier to achieve an even layer. Although it's quite a thick cream it does still drip a little bit so I would either do it in the bath or shower cubicle or I would cover the floor with an old towel.

Then you just leave it for a few minutes, after that what you can do is actually get into the shower, hence the name shower power, and you can have a shower as normal providing you don't direct the shower head at the area your treating, Then after 3 minutes use the spatula to remove a little bit of the cream, and then you can either wash the cream away or do what I did, I actually preferred to gently remove the cream with the spatula. The shape of the spatula means that it fits the contours of your
body perfectly and it also helps to remove the final stubborn hairs. Then you just finish your shower and you're left with hair free skin. I would recommend you give the shower or bath a good rinse when you're done though, as well as all of those nasty hairs, the cream itself can leave it a bit slippery under foot.

My legs were left a tiny little bit pink after I'd removed the cream but that could have been down to the heat of the shower. They felt smooth and almost as though I'd used a body lotion. There was no dryness and no irritation whatsoever. Nair claim that the effects of this cream can last up to 7 days but I think that very much depends on your own hair growth cycle, for me it was about 4 days before I noticed any real regrowth.

This product certainly doesn't offer a long term hair removal solution but unlike a lot of similar products in the past it's much easier to use, it smells nicer, and it leaves the skin feeling soft, smooth and comfortable. I'll definitely use this product again and I would thoroughly recommend it for anyone who doesn't want to shave or use any of the more painful methods, or for treating more sensitive areas such as the bikini line. Nair Argan Oil Shower Power Cream has a RRP of £6.69, and is available from Boots, Superdrug, and Tesco. If you have any questions on this review please let me know x

*Sample

A Belated Birthday Haul And Some Mini Book Reviews - Sali Hughes And Fleur De Force

I'm almost embarrassed to post this but I did promise that I'd show you some of the things that I got for my birthday. Life got in the way unfortunately but way back in May I celebrated my birthday x As per usual I was very, very spoiled by my amazing friends and family and I'm eternally grateful to have them. Since so much time has passed though  instead of doing a proper post I thought I'd do a couple of videos to show you my pressies x

I'm going to be doing a full review of the Benefit Do The Hoola kit in the next few weeks, and I'm going to be doing a video review of the Laura Geller Life In Rose kit, so make sure following both my blog and my You Tube channel x

As well as the things that you can see in the videos I also got a few other bits and pieces, including some Lush items, some money, some jewellery, lots of sweeties and some beauty books - Sali Hughes - Pretty Honest, and The Glam Guide by Fleur De Force. 

I would thoroughly recommend the Sali Hughes book to anyone who has any interest in beauty, whilst I don't agree with everything in it, I love her no nonsense attitude and after reading it I really felt as though I'd learnt something. It covers everything from skin care, to make up, to salon etiquette and beauty and illness.

Fleur's book on the other hand is everything that I thought it would be. I've watched and enjoyed Fleur's videos for a long time, and this is an  easy to read book, that seems to embody Fleur and the variety of her videos. The Glam Guide  covers everything from beauty, and fashion to lifestyle content including food, relationships, self confidence, and blogging and You Tube advice. Unlike some of the other You Tuber books I think that Fleur's book is pitched perfectly for readers of all ages, I'm in my 30's and I enjoyed reading it x I loved the illustrations and I'm definitely going to be giving some of her recipes a try x 

Apologies again that this post has taken so long but if you have any questions on any of the goodies that I received please leave me a comment xx

Foodie Friday On A Saturday - My Hello Fresh Experience

I think at some point we've all pondered the question - what do I have for dinner? It's one of the most obvious questions we ask ourselves on almost a daily basis but sometimes it's one of the hardest to answer.

How many times have you stood in front of the fridge, and all of a sudden your mind goes blank. Even if there is food in there, you can sometimes feel uninspired when it comes to food. Don't get me wrong I love cooking and I do experiment occasionally with food, when I have the time, but more often than not I make, and eat the same things over, and over again.

So what do you do when you're bored, the fridge is empty and you're lacking in inspiration? Well the most obvious answer is to let somebody else do the cooking, and go out for a meal or have a takeaway, but if you love being in the kitchen, there are other ways, you can read through some cookery books, you can take a trip to your local supermarket or farm shop or you could try one of the many meal delivery or box schemes that are out there.

Probably like most of you I'd seen the adverts for Hello Fresh on TV but it wasn't  something that I'd never thought much about, that was until I received a £25 gift card in a recent Glossybox. An odd collaboration with a beauty box but after a little discussion with Mummy Lou and a look at the Hello Fresh website, we decided to use the voucher and order a box.

Some meal boxes on the market deliver ready prepared meals but Hello Fresh is a little bit different. Every week the chefs at Hello Fresh create delicious, and nutritious recipes in their own kitchens, and instead of being sent a ready meal, you're sent the freshest and best quality ingredients to make the recipes in your own kitchen, usually in less than half an hour.

There are a few different boxes to choose from a Classic Box, a Family Box, and a Veggie Box. Obviously being a vegetarian, I went for the Veggie Box, which is ideal for lacto ovo vegetarians like myself - It contains no meat or fish but it does potentially contains eggs, and dairy products. My one issue is that some of the recipes do contain wheat or gluten but as you'll see there are ways round it.

The Veggie Box that I got costs £36 and comes with the ingredients to make three, generous main meals for 2 people, but you can also get a Veggie box that makes 3 meals for 4 people if you have more mouths to feed. The Classic Box works in a similar way and you also have the option of getting a 5 meal box, and the Family box provides 4 meals a week for 4-5 people.

The good thing about the Hello Fresh scheme is that it flexible, you don't have to buy what you don't want, you can pause and stop deliveries at any time or you can just get a one off box when you feel like it. All the boxes are delivered on a Monday and then you can see a preview of the next weeks meals and if you don't want them you can just pause your account.

I enjoyed my first box so much that I got another one delivered on Monday and this was it.

My boxes were delivered by DHL and I received emails from both them and Hello Fresh ahead of my delivery. My goodies came in a strong cardboard box divided up into a couple of section depending on the food type. All of the chilled items came with ice packs and well wrapped up in insulated packaging, and the rest of the items were well protected with brown paper.

All of the vegetables, fresh herbs and tinned items arrived in excellent condition.The vegetables were firm and unblemished, I received pasta that was made in Italy and the tinned tomatoes and lentils that I got were organic.

I also received a paper bag containing two fresh garlic cloves, and little individual, portion controlled plastic pots of spices.

Finally I received an insulated bag, filled with ice packs and my refrigerated items - fresh peas, real Cypriot Halloumi, a small tub of Creme Fraiche and some real Italian Buffalo Mozzarella. No smart price items here - just good quality, premium, authentic products

So you've got your ingredients then what ? Well for every recipe you received a full colour recipe card, that gives you full instructions on how to prepare every aspect of the dish. The card also provides allergy advice, and nutritional and calorie information. It also gives you a little bit of inspiration behind the dish and an idea of what to expect from it.

The first recipe that I tried this week was Lentil And Charred Vegetable Halloumi Salad.

I am probably the worlds biggest halloumi lover (read my post in praise of the squeaky cheese here) so this recipe was right up my street. Basically you char grill the red pepper and the courgette in a little bit of olive oil, before mixing with the drained green lentils and rocket. You then top it with an
easy salad dressing made with a sprig of thyme, some lemon juice, seasoning and olive oil. Then you toss the halloumi in a little olive oil and some lemon zest before frying it till golden. Top your salad mix with the halloumi and you're done x

In a word - amazing - The saltiness of the halloumi combined perfectly with the tangy dressing, the earthiness of the lentils, the pepperiness of the rocket and the sweetness of the peppers. This was a really nice, and surprisingly filling dish that I'll definitely make again. The only things I needed to add were some salt, pepper and olive oil, and I had some thyme and some lemon left over.

The next meal that I made was something I wasn't sure about at first but it's something that I will definitely make again - Mustard Seed Green Bean Salad With Roasted Sweet Potato.

This was probably the most complicated of the 3 recipes, because you were really making three separate things, it was still pretty simple though and the step by step instructions were easy to follow.
Seeing as I'm a bit of a sweet potato addict the wedges were easier enough to make and they were served with a creamy creme fraiche, lemon and ginger dip. Alongside that you made a salad with fresh peas, sugar snap peas, and green beans, with added red onion, red chilli, garlic and lemon zest, all topped with mustard, nigella, and coriander seeds roasted in oil.

This dish was a real taste explosion that made the most of some really fresh ingredients. The sweet potatoes were sweet and caramelised, the dip was zingy and creamy, and the bean salad was full of fresh flavours, with a hit of warmth from the raw onion, garlic and chilli, and spiciness from the roasted seeds. As I say this dish really surprised me by just how good and how filling it was, and by the multitude of different flavour sensations. I didn't use all the chilli as it was a little on the warm side and I had some ginger and some lemon leftover, and again the only thing I needed to add was oil, salt and pepper.

The final recipe was a nice quick and filling Italian meal, Rigatoni Caprese With Olives And Mozzarella.

This recipe came with a packet of Italian made dried rigatoni pasta which was obviously crammed full of wheat and gluten so I substituted it for the same amount of gluten free pasta. I couldn't find any free from rigatoni but pasta is pasta so fusilli it was. All of the recipes list the allergens quite clearly and it's pretty easy to substitute or replace your own ingredients if your don't like something or if you are allergic.

This was probably the quickest and easiest recipe of the three, you just a really basic tomato sauce, with organic tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, black olives and lots and lots of fresh basil. Just mix your sauce in with pasta and top with some fresh basil and torn up buffalo mozzarella.

This was a really simple recipe but again it was a recipe that came into it's own because of the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The olives were strong and salty, the basil was hot and peppery and the mozzarella was incredible and easily the nicest that I've ever had. It was firm on the outside and beautifully creamy on the inside. The only additions were salt, pepper and olive oil but I have to admit that I add the a little bit of red chilli to give it a bit more of a bite. This wasn't the most exciting recipe of the 3 but it was a good staple recipe that could be the base for many more meals.

My Hello Fresh experience so far has been a good one,  the quality of the ingredients has really, really impressed me and the recipes have all been tasty, plentiful and easy to follow. Even if your not a regular cook I don't think you'd have a problem following the recipes and if like me you are a dab hand in the kitchen then these recipes will hopefully inspire you to experiment and try out new things and different ingredient combinations.

The boxes aren't cheap but with the box that I get each meal works out at around £6 per potion, per person which isn't that bad when you consider what you spend on a takeaway or in a restaurant. That said I won't be buying a box every week but for an occasional treat or for a when time is precious or when I'm lacking in inspiration, I'll definitely indulge again.

If you fancy trying out a Hello Fresh for yourself, just go to the Hello Fresh website, sign up using my referral code A2NEYL, and get £20 off your first box x  Whether you're a hardcore foodie or even if your just a lazy, this could be the answer to your stomachs prayers. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x

Sunday Fun Courtesy Of Lush Newcastle - #GeordieLush

Hey Guys x It's been a few days since I last posted but I've been seriously lacking in spoons, chronic illness you suck! It's always the way I do something I enjoy and I pay the price, it annoying really because last Sunday was probably the best and most positive that I've felt in a long time.

Instead of having my customary lie in on Sunday morning, I boarded a bus and headed into Newcastle to meet up with some of my favourite North East bloggers for a mini blog event at Lush Newcastle. Unlike the previous Lush blogger event that I attended, this was a very small, intimate event that gave us the opportunity to have a play and ask as many questions as we liked.

We were met at the door by the lovely Graeme, who was to be our guide and our host, and our first task was to get our hands dirty, and make one of Lush's most popular skincare products, Angels On Bare Skin

If you've been reading my blog for a little while now, you'll know that it isn't the first time that I'd made Angels On Bare Skin. Way back in May 2013 I attended a blog event at Lush's Metro Centre store, and this was one of the products that we made. You can read a full review here but it's a product that I love, it's a fabulous cleanser and gentle exfoliator for all skin types, and it smells absolutely fantastic. Compared to last time though this event was a lot more intimate so there was plenty of opportunity to get involved and to get our hands dirty (or should I say clean?).

The first thing that went into the bowl were the liquid ingredients. In this case, vegetable glycerin, plain old tap water, and Lush's special fragrance and colour mix which includes lavender essential oil and rose absolute.

Next it was time for the dry ingredients, there are just two dry ingredients but they make this cleanser what it is - kaolin which is clay that absorbs grease and dirt, and ground almonds to tone and brighten the skin.

Then it was time to get our hands in and give it a good mix. You're really trying to create an almost dough like consistency so you need to pull in and combine the dry and liquid ingredients and give it a good knead.

Then it was time to form our cleansers. We were each given a ball of dough which we had to roll into a log shape, then we had to flatten it out, sprinkle it with lavender flowers and then roll it into a sort of a Swiss roll shape.

Finally it was time to squish our cleansers into the familiar black plastic pots, sprinkle it with a bit more lavender and pop the lid on - Voila!

Although Angels On Bare Skin is probably best known as a facial cleanser, Graeme told us that it can also be used as a gentle body cleanser, particularly on areas prone to redness, and congestion such as the upper arms, and as you can see here it also makes a fabulous hand scrub and cleanser.

After we'd dried our hands Graeme then give us a guided tour of the store, and told us a little bit about some of the soon to be discontinued products, and about some of the newer launches and of course about the new Oxford Street exclusives (stamps feet I want the Comforter Shower Gel!)

We also had a little try of some of the fragrances and learnt about some of the back stories and the reasoning behind some of the stranger names. Although my sense of smell was still lacking I came away wanting, no needing ! both Kerbside Violet and Death And Decay!

We also spent a bit of time finding out more about the Lush sun protection line. It's so hard to create cruelty free sun protection but Lush seem to have done it with their Sesame Sun Tan Lotion and The Sunblock, a solid sunscreen wash! which I'm very keen to try.

After a bit of chit chat to Graeme about blogs and blogging it was time to leave. As well as our tubs of Angels On Bare Skin we also received a little goodie bag containing a mini New Charity Pot, a Braziliant Shampoo Bar, an Avobath Bath Ballistic and some discontinued Love You Mum soap that went straight to Mummy Lou ;)

I'll definitely be reviewing some of these products in future posts and I'll also be reviewing something that I purchased on the day x More on this little packet to come soon x 

I would like to thank both my fellow bloggers, and Graeme and the rest of the staff at Lush Eldon Square for a fun morning, and for their obvious enthusiasm for the brand and it's products. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x