Thinking Slimmer - Slim Pod - Week 7

I had quite a few posts planned for the weekend but instead I ignored you - the lure of a deckchair in a sunny spot and watching Mr Murray won out instead - sorry :) I've already had an hour in the garden today and I'm probably going to have a another one but I decided to take a shade break and start the week as I mean to go on with a blog post.

It's Monday so that means it's time for a Thinking Slimmer update. I'm pretty gutted this week because for the 3rd week in a row I've only managed a maintain. I have to be honest and say that I haven't tried particularly hard this week so it's not that surprising. I set myself a bit of a goal and maybe I was a bit too optimistic but it's going to be a bit harder now to achieve it in the 83 days I have left before my holidays. I'm not giving up though and I'm definitely going to keep at it, watching what I eat and using the Slim and Chill Pods every night. I've already lost 16lbs which is amazing, I'm just going to keep thinking positive and keep trying. I know that quite a few of you guys are trying to lose a bit of weight and get a bit fitter this summer so lots of luck to you all and thanks for your support xx To find out more about Thinking Slimmer please check out their website here xx 

(The Thinking Slimmer Slim Pod "Create That Summer Beach Body" Was Provided For Review Promotional Purposes)

Foodie Friday - Cheese And Marmite Pasta

The advertising tag line is so true with Marmite, you either love it or you hate it, there is simply no in between. This salty, savoury yeast extract certainly divides opinion but I'm firmly in the love camp. It's suitable for vegetarians and gives food that amazing savoury flavour, that often seems to be lacking. My favourite way to eat Marmite is on a slice of hot buttered toast, mmmmm. but over the last year or so I've started to experiment with is a bit, adding it to soups and stews to give them a bit of extra flavour. I'm a huge fan of UKTV Food and Food Network and I love watching old cookery shows, whilst watching a Nigella show recently I was reminded of something I used to eat an awful lot, that I hadn't made for ages, this is my version of her Marmite Spaghetti.

Cheese And Marmite Pasta

300g Pasta

1oz Butter 

2 tsps Marmite

2oz Grated Cheddar

1. Cook your pasta in a large pan of salted water - I'm using gluten free spirals here but anything will do, the original recipe calls for spaghetti but I'm much more of a fan of pasta shapes :) why? well they're less messy to eat ;)

2. In the meantime measure out your cheese and your butter 

3. When your pasta is cooked drain it well

4. Turn off the heat and put the empty pan back on the ring, put your butter in the pan and the heat of the pan should start to melt it.

Then add your Marmite, I'm using the squeezy version as it's much easier to deal with, Marmite is notoriously sticky, so I'm just guessing the measurements to be honest, to avoid getting sticky.

Mix the butter and the Marmite together, it should just about melt, with the heat of the pan and the residual heat in the ring.

5. Add your pasta

and most of the grated cheese and mix well till all the pasta is coated in the butter / Marmite mixture 

6. Done, serve sprinkled with the remaining grated cheese :) This amount served me and Mummy Lou as a main meal x

It a bit embarrassing to call this a recipe to be honest, as it is soooo easy to make, It probably takes less than 20 minutes including the time it takes to cook the pasta. This recipe can be easily adapted to serve more or less by altering the amount of pasta, you could also add more or less Marmite depending on how strong you want the flavour to be. The amounts I used give it that intense savoury taste without leaving it too salty or too strong, the butter really does mellow it out. You could also leave out the cheese if you like - I'm a cheese fiend however so I always add some if I have it :) You could also pop it into a baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese and pop it under the grill for an even bigger cheese hit x This is a great fail safe one pan meal for when you just can't be bothered to cook. Do you love Marmite like me? let me know in the comments x

Lips Of The Day - L'Oreal Paris Glam Stain Splash - 101 - Lolita

Like a lot of products released lately the name of this baby doesn't exactly roll of the tongue that easily, but I'll forgive L'Oreal on this occasion because I love this product.

Glam Stain Splashes are a lipgloss / stain hybrid, there seem to be a lot of these around at the moment but what sets this one apart is the fact that the formula contains a massive 30% water, so unlike a lot of stains which can dry the lips out this one actually provides the lips with moisture and hydration. I think we currently have six shades to choose from in the UK and the one I went for is 101- Lolita, a gorgeous neutral pink shade with a tiny touch of sparkle

These glosses come with an a teardrop shaped sponge applicator which enables you to get right into the contours and points of your lips.

They have a super smooth texture and the pigmentation is excellent, and they have an almost rose based taste and smell x

It does feel a tiny bit tingly on the lips, I assume it contains some sort of alcohol but the sensation doesn't last long and my lips didn't feel dry or uncomfortable whilst wearing it, in fact they actually probably felt softer than they had before. This product leaves the lips looking super shiny, the initial gloss on the surface of the lips only lasts for about an hour on me but the stain underneath lasts for a  good few hours even through eating and drinking. This picture isn't amazing (I didn't realise my camera lens need cleaning eek) but hopefully it gives you some idea of the glossy finish.

I really like these and I can definitely see myself picking up the shade Romy and from what I gather they are a pretty good budget alternative at just £7.99  to the YSL Glossy Stain Lips, which retail at £22.50! I haven't tried the YSL ones so if you have let me know and of course let me know if you've tried these xx

Trimming My Stash - June Edition - Empties And Mini Reviews

After my sort out last month I'm feeling a little less overwhelmed by the amount of beauty products that I own. I know exactly what I have, and what I will potentially need to repurchase  (not a lot it seems lol). I'm going to make a conscious effort to cut down on my beauty buying and try to only buy what I need at least for a couple of months.

As per usual in June I made a huge effort to use things up and to document what I've used up - et voila!

Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask - 75g

Leighton Denny Hyda-Flex Polish Remover - 50ml

L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder - W3 Golden Beige - 9g

Yes To Tomatoes Clear Skin Daily Clarifying Cleanser - 95g

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub - 300ml

Lancome Juicy Tube - 18ml

Marc Jacobs Daisy EDT - 2ml

Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean 4 in 1 Wash Off Deep Cleansing Milk - 200ml

The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner - 250ml

Boots Cooling Foot Gel - 100ml

Total - 10 Items

Yes I've done it again, in every month so far this year I've finished 10 or 11 items, and June was another 10 month. I finished another nice combination of items, including some make up, and some skincare, and some items that I thought would never end.

1. Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask - 75g

I got this mask in my goodie bag from the North East Bloggers Lush Event, you can read my review here xx

2. Leighton Denny Hydra-Flex Polish Remover - 50ml

This was one of my finds from my recent sort out. I love all the polish removers from Leighton Denny and this one for dry, brittle nails is no exception.

3. L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder - W3 Golden Beige - 9g

Yeah a make up item :) I received this in a birthday package last year from a fellow blogger and I have to say I quite liked it. It was a tad powdery but it was super smooth and silky. I would potentially buy this again but I think I'd maybe go for a different shade x

4. Yes To Tomatoes Clear Skin Daily Clarifying Cleanser - 95g

I'm a bit gutted to have finished this to be honest because I've really enjoyed using it. This was provided by My Pure for review purposes and you can read my review here x

5. Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub - 300ml

What can I say about this product that probably hasn't already been said? It's nice and scrubby, and it smells like key lime pie! It's gorgeous. This was my first tub and it definitely won't be my last. I want to try The Breakfast Scrub but I will definitely buy this again.

6. Lancome Juicy Tube - 18ml

Oh Lancome Juicy tube, I wish I knew your name, I've had you so long that your name wore off long ago, you tasted like raspberry ripple ice cream, and I thought you'd never end. I've gone off sticky tube glosses lately but Lancome's are probably the best of the bunch if that's your thing - this gloss has gone on for years and to be honest I'm not sad to see the back of it so I can use something new.

7. Marc Jacobs Daisy EDT - 2ml

I love samples like this for taking on holiday and for popping in my make up. I love Marc Jacobs fragrances and I have a fully bottle of Daisy, another tube like this and a solid perfume to use up :)

8.Soap & Glory Peaches And Clean 4 in 1 Wash Off Deep Cleansing Milk - 200ml

Another product from the Soap & Glory Christmas set. I wasn't sure about this at first but it's really grown on me. The smell is a little bit odd a mixture of peach and mint to my nose, but it leaves my skin sooo soft.

9. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner - 250ml

One of my favourite toners of all time, and something that I'll always pick up for those hormonal times.

10.  Boots Cooling Foot Gel - 100ml

Another one of my stash discoveries, I suffer from really hot, burning hot itchy feet on occasions, (when their not icy cold that is) and this really helped. It's filled with menthol and arnica and feels really cooling on the skin. I will definitely consider repurchasing  x

So those were my June empties x Are you doing something similar? let me know in the comments xx 

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June Buys And Gifts - Magazine Freebies, Avon, And Ebay

It's the start of a new month and that means it's time to you all the goodies that I picked up last month. You've already seen the majority of my June buys with my purchases at the two blogger events that I talked about yesterday (you can see what I bought here and here) but I did make another couple of cheeky purchases :)

Ebay - my love, you make me money but you also take so much from me, I made 6, yes 6 ebay purchases last month - whoops a diddle - first up another phone case

I love the psychedelic swirl design rubber cover that I've been using but it's already starting to look a bit battered and faded, so I thought I'd get a new more long wearing one. I already have a similar one for my ipod touch so I thought I'd pick up this clear crystal effect silicone case to match. It was just 99p including postage from this seller.

My next couple of purchase came after an nearly an hour of trying to untangle a couple of sets of earphones - the cloud winder was 99p with postage from this seller

and I also got a set of 3 fish winders for 99p from this seller. I'm intending to wrap all the cables I'm taking on holiday in these, to avoid all that detangling.

It's been a month or so since I indulged in my scarf obsession, so I picked up this lovely star scarf. I love the monochrome and slightly dirty olive colour of this one - it was just £1.89 including postage from this seller.

I also got this black stone faceted ring which has been on my wanted list for some time which was just 99p with postage from this seller x

My final ebay purchase of the month was a nail polish - I debated over whether to get another Etude House ice cream polish but instead I went for a colour from their Color Pop range instead.

The shade is CBL601, and it's a real bright aqua, turquoise in colour. It was £2.87 from this seller x

My final purchase of the month was a magazine - a copy of Red, which came with a 15ml tube of Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm - I haven't tried this yet but I've heard so good things about it x

It was all going so well spending wise, until Wednesday's Top Shop event, before that I'd spent just £15.72, add £39.75 to it and you've got one bad month.

Top Shop Haul - £39.75
Phone Case - ebay - 99p
Senor Picklesworth Mini Cushion - £5.00
Fish Cable Winders - ebay - 99p
Cloud Cable Winder - ebay - 99p
Ring - ebay - 99p
Star Scarf - ebay - £1.89
Etude House Color Pop Nail Polish - ebay - £2.87
Red Magazine - £2.00
Total - £55.47
£15.47 Over

If it hadn't been to the event then I wouldn't have gone over lol so I'm not going to beat myself up over it, and I'm just going to try harder in July.

Mummy Lou has also been amazing this month and she bought me a few magazines whilst I was on my sickbed - the freebies are amazing at the moment - first up ELLE which came with a tube of Rodial Brazilian Tan - I got the shade Light.

She also got me Glamour which came with a free Model Co product - I got a lipgloss in Berry Pink.

and finally she got me Marie Claire which came with a mini Ciate Caviar Manicure kit, the nail polish is Cookies And Cream, and the beads are Shooting Stars. I've already done a mani with this which I'll show in the next week or so x

She also very kindly paid for this months Avon order, what can I say - I was asleep when my neighbour came with the order ;) First up a lovely sparkly blue polish - Celestial Blue.

This looks so pretty in the bottle but each coat is so thin, it will probably be best layered over a solid navy.

The other thing I got one of the new baked / mineralized Cosmic Eye Shadows. The shade I got was Jaded Moon, a gorgeous multi toned olive green / gold.

The pictures above are taken without the flash, but I've also taken some with the flash so you can see the metallic sheen.

This is a lovely eyeshadow that could be used wet or dry, I've just swatched it dry here, but I can't wait to use it wet.

So that was my June haul, if you have any questions on anything I've bought please leave me a comment xx

Thinking Slimmer - Slim Pod - Week 6

Well I maintained again, I have to be honest and say that I'm a bit disappointed. I was pretty good all week until I was hit by the hideous tummy bug that decided to return for another instalment on Thursday night - the human body certainly works in strange ways. Still my health is more important and at least I didn't gain. I only listened to the Slim and Chill Pods about 3 times last week but I'm starting afresh again today and I'm going to go back to listening to it every night again to keep me motivated and to keep me focused on achieving a loss next week. For more information on the Thinking Slimmer system, please check out their website here x and as per usual thank you so much for your support xx

(The Thinking Slimmer Slim Pod "Create That Summer Beach Body" Was Provided For Review Promotional Purposes)