Saturday 18 June 2011

Riding Echo

Today I had my first horse riding lesson. Well maybe riding isn't the right word, more like slowly walking.
I was lucky enough to ride Echo. He is such a beautiful horse.


I was terrified! I am a bit scared of height and when Echo took his first steps I really thought that I was going to end up on the floor. With help from my trainers I managed to relax a bit. Echo and  I circled the grounds a few times. I learnt how to let him know when to turn and when to stop. Once I mastered my fear it was a wonderful experience.
After the lesson we went to see some other horses. I think Teddy is just the cutest. They teach 6 year olds on him because he is so small.


I also checked in on Blossom. She was the first horse I met the first time I visited the stables.


I had a great time and can't wait till my next lesson.

Thursday 16 June 2011

BM Beauty

I came across BM Beauty when I was making an order from Love the Planet. This is a new mineral make-up line co-founded by Kimberly Wyatt (ex pussy cat doll) and Laura McComiskie (owner of Love the planet). Now i have not had any luck with mineral make-up so far. I tried bare escentuals, inika and lily lolo and they all made me itchy. I thought I'd give this brand a go and if it doesn't suit i might just give up on mineral powders.
The BM beauty range is free from bismuth oxychloride, parabens, nano particles and synthetic dyes and fragrances.
I purchased three tester samples of foundation (at £1.25 each) in stripped, honey mist and naked. I have pale skin with yellow undertones and some pinkiness on my cheeks, so will see which one of these will be best.
I also ordered a lip gloss in cherry bomb.

There are five colours in BM Beauty lip glosses. Two are sheer with a hint of colour and the rest are pigmented. Cherry bomb is the one with just the hint of colour. It looks very red in the tube but on the lips it is almost clear so I think it would suit everyone.

 I love the texture (reminds me of Lancome juicy jelly). Not at all sticky, makes lips look plump and shiny (no glitter). If there is a fragrance to it I couldn't really smell it. I really like it as a day time product. Just don't expect it to be high impact it isn't. I will be definitely purchasing other colours (corsage and maybe indian summer).
Have you guys tried BM beauty foundation? Any luck with mineral make-up in general?

Wednesday 8 June 2011

It's my birthday!

So yeah it's my birthday today and I have exams which means no real celebrations until after. But my hubby got me an awesome present and had a really nice surprise for me.
He took me to the Silvemere stables and I got to meet some gorgeous horses. That was amazing! And then we had lunch at a bistro. I forgot to take my camera so no pictures.
Now to my present. It is a yoga mat from holistic silk. I have been eyeing them up for almost 2 years now but could never justify spending that much money. Mine is blue (which happens to be my favourite colour) on the outside and the inside is creamy-white fleece. It is just so pretty and smells of lavender.



For more info http://www.holisticsilk.com/Yoga_Rug_Mat

Some of my internet orders arrived today and that was extra nice as I won't be getting most of my presents until later this week. I got a 5 piece kit from eco tools and it came with 2 bonus brushes which was a pleasant surprise.

I love eco tools brushes (I have a few besides these). They are super soft, easy to clean and great for travel.
The only negative is that they are better with loose powders than with pressed powders.                              
                                             
On the weekend I saw that content beauty started stocking Tata Harper. I was curious about the brand ever since I saw it in the American edition of Marie Clare. I ordered the trial kit and it arrived today. Travel kit includes moisturising floral essence, serum, eye cream, rebuilding moisturiser, resurfacing mask, regenerating cleanser, body oil and replenishing nutrient complex. It came packaged in a pretty velvet like green pouch.



I'm really looking forward to trying it out. You can find more info on the products and their ingredients at content http://www.beingcontent.com/filter/brand/tata-harper.html/viewall

Despite being so low-key I think it has been one of the nicest birthdays.

Sunday 22 May 2011

Oskia facial

Content beauty had an Oskia event this Saturday and I was lucky enough to get a place. It was a 1 hour facial and the £50 you payed for it was fully redeemable against oskia products purchased on the day. Personally I think it is a pretty sweet deal.
Oskia is a British natural brand, there main focus is on beauty benefits of msm. The range is aimed at people in there mid twenties to late forties. Being 25 I totally qualify.
I actually have bought micro exfoliating balm and msm supplements from them already and will do a review on them in a few weeks.
Now back to the facial. It was really very nice. Luck would have it that I actually had an irritation on Friday from a product, so I was a little worried coming in. However my skin calmed down so much and just felt really soft after the facial. My skin really liked the products.
Esthetician was absolutely wonderful. She used most of the products from the range: perfect cleanser, exfoliating balm, renaissance mask, daily moisturiser and the eye serum. All them apart from the eye serum have a subtle fragrance of rose and lychee which is just delicious, even my husband commented (and that is a rare thing).
I chose the renaissance mask to take with me. I think the cleanser might have been my first choice, but currently there is a problem with the packaging for the cleanser, the dispenser was getting blocked, so it is unavailable for purchase.
Now me being me I could not resist getting couple of other things while I was there.


I got myself suvana paw paw & honey balm that is just a great multitasker and smells really nice well of honey. And a jade facial roller, I'm not sure what make this one is but I've seen some similar ones on cult beauty they start from £28 I think. It is meant to help keep your skin nice and supple from the massaging and jade has cooling properties or something like that. I can report that jade indeed feels cool on my skin, we'll see about the rest. Oh if you care about that sort of thing paw paw and honey balm is certified organic by ecocert is 100% natural and 98.1% organic. If you want morte informtation you can go to the content website http://www.beingcontent.com/

Thursday 28 April 2011

People tree summer accessories

I tend  to wear a lot of grey and neutral clothes in the summer, so when I came across these bangles on people tree website i thought they would be perfect to liven up my ensembles!
 
 


People tree is a fairtrade fashion company that works closely with communities in developing countries. They use organic cottons and silks for their clothing and always give description of materials used for each garment.
I feel like the picture doesn't do them justest. Although the colours are true somehow the bangles look brighter when I look at them. They are handmade from palmleaves and very light on your wrist. I absolutely love them and they were £12 from the website.

I also couldn't resist some earings.
 


They are also £12 pounds. Handmade with glass beads. Really beautiful crafftsmanship. When I put them on I do feel the weight a little bit. They are not exactly heavy but you can tell they are there unlike with studs. 
So here are the links if you want to take a closer look or find out more about people tree.             http://www.peopletree.co.uk/products/multi-crescent-earrings/ and http://www.peopletree.co.uk/products/palm-leaf-bangle-set/                                                      Note: the bangles on the website have slightly different colours to the ones I have.

Monday 25 April 2011

Easter sunday

Our original plans for Easter fell through as one of the family was not feeling well. So me and my husband found ourselves with nothing much to do on sunday. He suggested a lunch out and after a few internet searches (to see what places were open) we decided to go to The Wharf.

Luckily they had picked up the phone and we got a reservation for lunch. We have been there before only once and that was almost 4 years ago, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of food and service.

Restaurant was busy but not filled to capacity. Service very friendly and quick. I didn't feel neglected or rushed. Staff even topped up the glasses with water or wine when they noticed them empty (not that I expect that sort of thing but it just felt like everyone was being taken care of).

Now to the food. We had bread, olives and chilli aioli to share.



I did not take a picture of the bread :)

For starter I had jasmine smoked chiken salad with peanuts and chilli. That was so good! It was a little mixture of sweet and spice, yet the chilli wasn't overpowering so you could still taste the flavour of the food.


For main I had wild mushroom fettuccini with roast vegetables.

It was a nice simple tasting dish, with very clean flavours. However I was rather full from my starter so I could only manage to eat half of it.  I'm thinking maybe if I had two different starters I would've finished my food. And I enjoy my starters too much to give them up!

It was a really nice day so I took a photo from the pier outside the restaurant.


Here is the link to there website if you are intrested in checking it out. http://www.thewharfteddington.co.uk/

Oh and here is what I wore.


How did you spend your easter?

Saturday 23 April 2011

Pre-exam stress and shopping...

So this is my first post, expect it to be a bit of trial and error. I have exams coming up in the next two weeks all the way through to mid June. Which means I am freaking out! When that happens I tend to spend money like there is no tomorrow. In an effort of saving myself from going bankrupt I have decided to blog about the things I already purchased.

Last Thursday before work I popped into body shop. Haven't been there for ages and wasn't expecting to get anything as I've been trying to use more eco friendly products. So i was pleasantly surprised to find a whole shelf fool of ecofriendly shower gels!
The range is called Earth Lovers and comes in different scents. I bought  two (they were on offer buy 1 get 1 half price) apricot and basil, watermelon and eucalyptus.
They are said to be 100% biodegradable, sulfate free, without parabens and colourants. Suitable for sensitive skin and friendly to aquatic life.
Now I only used the apricot one so far. Personally i thought it smelled like peach, but that might just be me. Normally I can not use shower gels as they give me a rash on my back, so I always just used castile soap or lush soaps in the shower. The scent of these so nice i just had to give it a try. And so far I had no reaction. Usually I have a reaction straight away so it is safe to assume that this product is fine. I used it with a shower sponge and it foamed really well. There was a faint sweet smell left on the skin but not overpowering, so you could use perfume if you wanted it wouldn't clash. Here is the link if you want to find out more http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/_en/_gb/catalog/list.aspx?CategoryCode=C_BathBody_EarthLovers&ParentCatCode=C_BathBody

So what are your habits when it comes to dealing with stress?
Has anyone tried this range? What are your thoughts?