Theatre trips for me are like buses. I can spend years not going to the theatre and then I'll go twice in a week!!
I've been a bit of a fan of Agatha Christie's stories now since Christmas time, when 'And Then There Were None' was televised on BBC1 (based on the book, Ten Little Soldier Boys). Since then I've been thinking about doing a murder mystery night and so when I saw tickets for the Mousetrap at my local theatre I was super excited!
I had absolutely NO idea what the storyline was - but honestly, I didn't mind! With mysteries like this it's nice not knowing! (Although admittedly, when I went to see the Woman in Black, I made sure I knew exactly what was going to happen as I'd heard it was terrifying!)
The other day my colleague told me about an App that she had downloaded on her phone, called TodayTix, which allows you to buy last minute theatre tickets for super cheap prices. After her recommendation I decided to have a look at the deals.
Last week Mac released their latest Special Edition lipstick in collaboration with American rapper and singer, Brooke Candy. Of the six shades available, (only four of which come in the metallic siver bullet!) I opted for 'Whirl' which is one of Mac's existing shades, but one that I feel is more wearable on a daily basis.
Last weekend we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Shooter's Hill in London, as we'd seen a Dog Show advertised online. As we had nothing else to do (and we love dogs!) we went along.
I think we both underestimated just how many people and dogs were going to be at this event - and even Professor Green showed up!
I thought I would simply share with you some of the beautiful dogs that were there...
Zac Posen is renowned in the fashion world, particularly for his handbags and wedding dresses and last month teamed up with Mac to release three new lipsticks.
This has to be the prettiest Birchbox package so far!
This month's Birchbox contains the following:
- Benefit's 'BADgal Lashes' mascara
- eyeliner by Cynthis Rowley
- tinted 'wonder eye cream' by Balance Me
- Hydro Nutritive shampoo and conditioner by Beaver Professional and
- foot cream by Kueshi
To finish off a great Easter holiday, the boyfriend fiancée and I took a trip around the coast to a number of seaside towns in Kent. We started by visiting Ramsgate, which both of us have been to as kids, but neither of us can remember!
As it's the Easter holidays and my friend and I have time off from work, we decided to meet up and have a mamoth shopping trip. As usual we hit Primark (or as we call it, Primani!) and I couldn't beloieve what I found... a BATMAN MAKE UP RANGE!!!
Last week my friend celebrated her 27th Birthday and she decided the only way to do it was to go to Cream's Cafe for sundaes and milkshake!
I'm so happy the weather's finally getting better - I hate taking photos in the winter time because they all come out really dark! Anyway... this month's Birchbox is called 'Word Up' and contains the following:
- Polaar IceSource Moisturising Gel
- a nourishing hair mask by amika
- a brow wand by ModelCo in the shade medium-dark
- Philip B's drop dead straightening baume
- colour enhancing lip balm by Arrow Boostand
- a sleep plus pillow spray by This Works
To be honest, sometimes I prefer an autobiography to a fiction book - as long as it's well written that is! I picked up Cheryl's book a couple of years ago when it was on offer in WHSmith and I've only just got around to reading it, which is kind of embarrassing! I'm not 100% sure what it was that made me procrastinate so much - but then again, I'm not entirely sure what made me buy it in the first place, apart from the fact that I like a bargain!
Well, yesterday was officially the first day of Spring!
This winter seems to have flown by and we didn't even get one single flake of snow where I live. (Don't worry though, I still got to experience a snow machine in Rochester high street - although it literally went everywhere, including in the cup of hot chocolate that I was carrying!).
When I reflect on this last quarter, I actually did quite a lot! Since September, I've seen Fall Out Boy, Alan Carr and Jason Derulo... I visited the Clothes Show and the Cosmopolitan cocktail party... I've been to numerous Christmas Fairs... I had a Christmas Quiz party with some friends and had a wonderful Christmas day, closely followed by a 21st Birthday and a 30th Birthday in January... I visited Canterbury for the week to enrol in my final year at Uni... oh, and I GOT ENGAGED!!!
So what's next for this season? Well I've already kickstarted the quarter with a Christening and I've got a birthday next weekend and a 70th birthday celebration next month. I'm also looking forward to seeing Busted and Sarah Millican perform, as well as a performance of The Mousetrap (an Agatha Christie play).
I'm literally so happy right now. My Mac's Viva Glam Ariana lipstick has arrived!! I must admit it was a bit of an indulgence for me, since I rarely wear deep shades, but I figured I would try it, and I'm so pleased I did!
Oh my gosh, what I would do for summer to hurry on up already! I've literally been looking forward to the end of term, planning what I'm going to do and where I'm going to be going. My friends are finally coming back from a 7-month backpacking trip around Asia and I can't wait to celebrate a mid-year Christmas with them and make up for all the Birthdays that we've missed. We're supposed to be going to Norfolk together in the summer and thinking about it has really put me in the mood for a weekend break somewhere. We travelled to Bath last summer for a weekend and that was beautiful; historical and serene, and we ventured to York for 4 nights in the Autumn, which was very similar, so perhaps somewhere similar to those? Maybe Oxford, or Cambridge?
Any suggestions?
February's Birchbox theme is 'Shine Bright Like a Diamond' - which falls in line with Valentine's day - and also introduces Birchbox's new line, 'Love Of Colour' (aka, LOC). This month's box contains:
- 'Patagonia' Body Butter by AYRES
- One and Done Eyeshadow stick by LOC in the shade 'Champagne Problems'
- Spectrum Collection's tapered finishing brush
- theBalm cosmetics' 'Frat Boy' blush
- a vial of 'Style de Paris' eau de parfum by Catherine Malandrino
and
- Firming collagen day cream by Eslor
As usual, the box is finished with a handy 'what's inside' leaflet, giving all the relevant information and instructions.
This is probably my most used product in this month's box as the smell is so fresh and clean! It's a day cream that I've started wearing under my make up and gives a really radiant, dewy look that brightens your skin. I've not really noticed any firming action going on though!
My only complaint with this sample is the size. It's tiny! So small in fact that the only brush I can get to fit in the powder is an eye-shadow brush! I have to say though, that the pigmentation of this product is really strong, so in that respect it's great.
This is the first product from Birchbox's Love of Colour range. To be honest, this hasn't really got much use as of yet as I find that eye pencils are quite oily and often fade away or disappear into the crease of my eye, giving me a not-so-attractive brown line on my eyelid. Perhaps I'll think differently if I try an eye lid primer first...
This is a lovely product that smells SO good! It's not greasy like some body butters are, and I don't feel the irritating need to wipe it off after I use it, which is great!
I have mixed feelings about this brush. It's so pretty and colourful and soft, but I don't feel like the bristles pick up very much of the product!
The last product in the box is the CM eau de parfum. I have to say I'm not really a fan of this particular product as I think the smell is quite sickly and sweet. Definitely not what I was expecting!
PLEASE NOTE: Before anyone gets uppity about how weight loss pills are bad for you, etc. let me just say now that these are NOT weight loss pills. They are NOT a food replacement tablet or anything crazy like that - believe me I love my food way too much for that! They are vitamin tablets that ensure you're still getting the right vitamins while your body is changing due to weightloss.
I've long wanted to try the BOOTEA detox tea but in all honesty I just detest tea. Seriously, I've tried all the fruity ones, herbal ones and natural ones, hoping that a different flavour might tempt my taste buds but I just cannot bear it. I'm dieting normally by eating healthily instead (I'm using the Weight Watchers diet, which is the only one recommended by the NHS, so it's very safe!) but in order to sustain my vitamin levels and make sure I'm not depleting myself of anything, I thought I'd try the herbal Multi Vits by BOOTEA. They cost £11.99 on the BOOTEA website but they're only £9.99 in Holland and Barrett, so that's where I went. (Unfortunately this product isn't included in the penny sale!)
The tablets are large, white capsules - perhaps a little larger than I'd like them to be - but they're generally quite easy to swallow with a drink, but the smell is quite strong; so strong in fact that after you've touched the capsule, your fingers will indeed still smell herbal for quite some time.
So how did I feel? Well, I felt good - not necessarily any different, but I didn't feel like taking these had had any adverse reactions. The label does state that one possible side effect is a tingly feeling in your fingertips, which is due to an overdose of vitamin B6, which can be dangerous if sustained, but I personally didn't encounter this problem.
The only problem I personally had, was that the taste repeated on me quite a lot during the day and gave me quite strong, herbal halitoses.
This Valentine's day, my bf and I have decided not to go out for a fancy meal this year partly because every other time we've done it, it's always felt a bit rushed because the restaurant needs to get another couple seated at your table asap and also because neither of us particularly like the set menu that a lot of restaurants lay on. Instead we had a nice, quiet, realxed meal last week while we were away and then settle in with Netflix and a take-away tonight.
I thought I'd compile a little Valentine's wishlist and show you. Unfortunately I have expensive taste!
1. Cartier Love Ring - £4,700 - Selfridges
2. Yves Saint Laurent EDT Perfume - £75 - Selfridges
3. Ted Baker heart shaped earrings - £19 - Ted Baker
4. Vivienne Westwood heart shaped keyring - £30 - Asos
5. Lancome lipcolor - £22 - Selfridges
6. Zoe Karssen crew neck tshirt - £88 - House Of Fraser
7. Nails Inc Alexa heart nail polish - £14.99 - Very.co.uk
8. Heart shaped wooden spoon - £9.95 - Notonthehighstreet.com
9. Heart shaped mug - £14.95 - Notonthehighstreet.com
Christina Aguilera's perfume has been on my wishlist for some time now, ever since I sampled it in a magazine a few years ago, however it wasn't untill I was in B&M the other day that I decided to buy it.
This was Aguilera's first fragrance and was released in 2007, but the scent and design of the bottle are clearly very popular as it's still readily available in both 30ml or 50ml sizes. The delicate lace design on the bottle makes it feel really feminine and sexy and the shape of the bottle is really comfortable to hold.
The smell is light and fresh with floral and vanilla tones and is quite a 'grown up' scent I think, but unfortunately, it doesn't last very long and becomes almost unnoticeable after about an hour. It's still not my favourite perfume but I've been wearing it now for about a week (and I love that my scarf now smells of it!)
I'm a little bit addicted to magazines. Shameful! But I stumbled across one in the supermarket that I hadn't seen before and I gave in to temptation. Every month I buy Women's Health magazine so when I saw Healthy magazine I thought I'd give it a try and see whether it was on par with my usual.
This month's edition came with a choice of two free gifts; a mascara or a lipgloss. Although I should probably point out now that I saw this exact magazine in Holland & Barrett the other day and it didn't come with any free gifts, so it seems there are two editions of this magazine!
I picked up the magazine with the mascara by Beautiful Lashes. I love the dual textured tube and the fact that it is cruelty free but if you're looking for a thickening or lengthening mascara then this one isn't for you! The wand is quite basic and so doesn't really coat the lashes very well, but for this reason it makes a fantastic daytime mascara when you want the 'barely there', natural look! It's also not waterproof.
The magazine itself has some great articles in it, particularly the story about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I suffer from SAD myself and so it was really interesting being able to read about it and relate to everything that was being said.
The recipes inside look so good and are really easy to follow. It goes to show that healthy food doesn't have to be bland and boring!
There's also a section about wearable tech, such as the wristbands that can be worn to monitor your daily activity. I'm still not completely sure if I trust these, but I like reading up on other people's views and the hints and tips page got me thinking!
