Wednesday 30 July 2014

Dove Purely Pampering Body Oils..


After reading a few different beauty bloggers reviews on this product and  hearing nothing but praise, i decided to head down to my local Tesco where i was lucky enough to find these being sold for £5.99 instead of £8.99. I was nervous about using the product as i'm not a fan of putting oil onto my skin, i have always thought it would either clog my pours or make me look extremely oily and greasy. However i purchased the Shea Butter and Warm Vanilla which has now quickly become a July and summer favourite! 

The product is a gorgeous golden colour which you can see through the bottom of the bottle, it also has a subtle shimmer which gives your skin a healthy glow without making you look like you've fallen into a giant pot of glitter! The smell is amazing and really absorbs well into the skin leaving the Shea Butter and Vanilla scent to linger all day. This formula instantly dries and doesn't leave your skin oily, which i think is a must. I have worn this for the last couple of days and I'm loving how moisturised my skin feels! The bottle itself has a small hole where the liquid comes out meaning you only get what you need and won't be wasting a drop! The Shea butter in this product is rich in essential fatty acids which help soothe and nourish your skin whilst the sunflower seed oil is used to improve skin hydration!

I highly recommend this product to anyone with dry skin looking at trying something new!

Who has tried these products and would you recommend the pistachio and magnolia?

Jess x
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Sunday 27 July 2014

What's In My Shower?

Being a girl that loves to try and buy new products frequently i probably hoard way more than i should do in my shower and bath. I also love being nosey and seeing what other bloggers are using and loving! With this in mind i decided to share a few of these products with you.


From left to right..

John Frieda, Go Blonder Shampoo & Conditioner - For years i have mix and matched my shampoo and conditioner and have never really found that one shampoo which you can't live without. I recently had a friend recommend these to me as i was complaining that my blonde hair was looking dull and dry. She told me to give this a go and so far i have re bought it 3 times! I love the way it can instantly brighten up dull hair without using any nasty chemicals, it is completely peroxide and ammonia free which is great! They often have fantastic deals in boots on the John Frieda range!

Gillette Satin Care with a Touch of Olay Sensitive Shave Gel & Tesco Razer- To be 100% honest, I'm not the best when it comes to shaving my legs with shaving gel as i tend to use the razors with built in strips of soap. However, seeing as its summer and festival season i picked up this shaving gel in the hope of keeping my legs moisturised! So far so good..

The Scrub of Your Life, Soap and Glory - Ahh, Soap and Glory products are my all time favourite. Every single product has a delicious marsh mellow and sweetie smell which i love. It has the perfect ratio of scrubbing beads and isn't to harsh on the skin. It's quite a thick product but also foams up lovely if mixed with water! I always have at least one Soap and Glory product in my shower and this is currently top of my list!

Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Cream Wash, Neutrogena - I don't use this product every day i feel it's a little to harsh on the skin to be a daily cleanser, however if your feeling particularly sleepy from a late night i use a small amount and foam it up with water just for a burst of freshness in the morning!

Exfoliating Gloves, Tesco - These are self explanatory and most girls have a pair of these in their shower / bath, they where very cheap but do the job well and are a must if your going to fake tan after!

Gentle Face Exfoliator, Liz Earle - I use Liz Earle in my daily face washing routine, however i keep a small tube of the gentle face exfoliator in the downstairs shower, sometimes its nice to scrub your face in the morning or after a night out! It contains fine jojoba beads to help buff away dead skin, eucalyptus oil to purify and cocoa butter and sweet almond oil to keep the skin moisturised.

These are some of my top shower products, what are your current favourites? 

Jess x 
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Tuesday 15 July 2014

Taking it outside...

Recently i have had no motivation to go to the gym! It's full of sweaty BO ridden people running really loudly on running machines which in the summer when the sun is shinning doesn't really appeal to me, even the swimming pool seems to be packed full of kids jumping in and out like complete idiots!! I really enjoy being outside, not only is the cool breeze a nice change but i feel like it just makes you so much more happy!

Last night me and Jess decided to go for a run around Tilgate Park! It has flat paths, some steep inclines and declines and lots of steps you can exercise on! We got about half way round and decided to try out my new app 'Nike Training Club' and we were defiantly not disappointed.. This is a fitness work out app which even includes work outs from professionals such as Maria Sharapova and Julia Mancuso.


When the app opens you click  'Get Workout'  and then choose between a list of 4 options.. these include 'Get Lean', 'Get Toned', 'Get Strong'  & 'Get Focused' we decided to select get lean which includes high interval cardio drills.. And then all you have to do is press download and you are ready to get your sweat on.. It's as easy as that!

 

Our workout was called 'Fighter Fit' and was a 30 minute workout which included back pedals, lunges, squats, planks, burpees and more! This particular app links up to your music library and is so easy to use! It tell you when to switch sides, when to rest and even includes a few motivational speech'ss (which are hilarious!) Even if you feel like giving up because you don't no the moves, don't fear.. all you have to do is click on the picture and it will bring up a video demonstrating the full move! 

The app counts calories burned and turns them into Nike fuel points which add up on your homepage. Once you have reached certain mile stones it unlocks further workouts for you!

I would 100% suggest this to anyone who doesn't have the time to go the gym or simply just can't afford it! You can pick between 15, 30 and 45 minute work outs! So you have no excuse! It's not just cardio either it has yoga, pilates and weight training! Oh and i forgot to mention.. It's completely FREE! 

 Jess x
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Tuesday 8 July 2014

Beautiful Wales...

I had the most perfect weekend in up in Wales thanks to my lovely boyfriend who had planned an amazing birthday surprise for me! After the drama of the passport which i mentioned in my first post he told me he had booked me a surprise! To say i was excited was an understatement and me being a typical annoying girl i pestered him until he let slip we where going to wales for the weekend!!


We packed the car and rushed off at around 6.30pm on the Friday night. He had booked us into the most beautiful B & B (massive boyfriend points!) The Courthouse (Henllys) as the name suggests the building once served as a police station and magistrates court for Betws - y - Coed. We actually stayed in one of the original cells which has now been restored and refurbished and turned into a very attractive bedroom. The room was spacious (apart from the bed which is in the cell) and very well equipped, it had fresh bottles of water daily, tea's, coffees, biscuits and even hot chocolate! We pre ordered our breakfast the night before and i can honestly say it was the best cooked breakfast i have ever eaten, i particularly liked that you ate your breakfast in the conservatory next to the river Conwy.

www.guesthouse-snowdonia.co.uk

With full belly's we decided to go and attempt to tackle Snowdonia!This was a massive challenge, but the weather was on our side and we had the most perfect day, despite being lost in the welsh countryside for about an hour due to Darrell's sat nav taking us round in circles! Oh and also the most ridiculous burn marks i have ever had!!

We decided to go for a less busy route up the mountain and went from the bottom of Rhyd Ddu, this is said to be the quietest of the 6 routes which go up to the summit! The path starts off on a gradual climb along an old slate quarry track, you then leave the track and climb steeply up over rocky terrain towards the top of the ridge, you then climb your way over the ridge just before you make your final climb to the summit. I would say the final climb was the hardest, but everyone up there is so friendly and encouraging giving you a hello and telling you how long you have left to climb. The climb down was a lot easier and we managed to do the full 8 mile walk in 6 hours!
 Below are some of my favourite snaps from the journey!
Half way up the track

The top of Snowdonia!
On day 2 we decided to keep it more chilled (as i defiantly was having trouble walking) we decided to visit Conwy Castle. I would suggest this to anyone in the area, the scenery is amazing! They have a very pretty town filled with craft shops, shabby chic shops, cute cafes and tea rooms! The walls of the castle actually run around the town and they have built shops and houses within them.

You can walk around the walls for free, but to go inside the castle is £6.75 per person. We thought the price was pretty high as there is not much to do inside the castle.  The views are incredible expecially up the top!
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/conwycastle/?lang=en 

The whole weekend was so much fun, i would recommend anyone visiting wales to climb Snowdonia, the views are breathtaking and it's such a personal challenge!! I LOVE birthdays!!

Jess x

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Thursday 3 July 2014

New shoes and a very muddy 5k!

I realise this blog won’t be every ones cup of tea and is not as exciting as Disney and dolphins! But I enjoy my new shoes and I wanted to blog about it!



I have been waiting to come back from holiday before taking the plunge and buying my first pair of expensive and well supported gym / running shoes! I know this sounds incredibly boring but even running up hills had become painful in my rubbish nikes, so this makes me very happy! I went down to ‘Runners Need’ in Brighton on Sunday, the shop is tucked away down Market street in Brighton inside Snow and Rock.

www.runnersneed.com

When I arrived I went straight onto the running machine, the lovely lady Isobel fitted me in a pair of asics with no support. I then ran on the treadmill for 20 seconds at a time whilst being recorded, the footage is then slowed down, analysed and played back to you. This is when we quickly discovered even though I was landing correctly I had flat feet and my ankles where bending inwards! Ouch! Once she had analysed this she was able to suggest different shoes with different levels of support! I proceeded to try on different brands, each time jumping back on the treadmill and watching the footage back! The way I ran improving with each trainer, it's so helpful being able to watch the way you run!

After being in runners need for about 20 minutes I found the perfect pair and they have basically corrected the way I run! They feel incredible compared to my old shoes, they are asics GT-2000 2, very light weight with 2 cushioned layers! They are classed as a stability shoe which I really needed and they aren't too ugly either! She then gave me some fantastic advice regarding my shin splints! I got some compression tights, which a few people have suggested to me (I did however buy these from sports direct as they are about half the price!! Last night i took my new shoes and sexy compression socks out for a trial run and i was very impressed, i had no pain in my shins and the shoes where so comfortable and felt very supportive and lightweight!




I also decided to sign up to the pretty muddy 5k obstacle course run for cancer research! It takes place in clapham common on the 5th of October! This is my first 5k I’ve signed up for and it’s a charity close to my heart! I’m going to be running for my gorgeous auntie who sadly lost her life to breast cancer, it’s the first thing I’ve done to raise money for cancer research and I feel very excited to be doing it! It's going to be a tough personal challenge but i will enjoy running over the finish line! 


 So if you’re feeling generous please click the link below and sponsor me there will also be some hilarious mud shots after which everyone can laugh at! And I will appreciate it so much!


Jess x
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