Cherci's: 2014

The Body Shop Purchase

Following my new look purchase here, recently I've been on a small shopping spree which consisted of 4 main purchases; shoes which I've already documented, hair and body (which is this post), clothes, and books.

First of all let me start by saying that I LOVE the body shop products, they have lovely delicious scents, good quality and they are fair trade!

Unlike my usual body shop purchase which consists of body and make up products, this time I bought some of their hair range and facial stuff as well.

The first item I bought is a make up bag, which is a limited edition product by the London college of art and fashion along with a nail buffer from the same range.

After reading some reviews on the camomile cleansing oil I decided to try it myself. I love cleansing balms, mostly the Emma Hardie and Clinique take the day of balm, which I reviewed here and here however during summer seasons these balms turn into oil which defeat the balmy texture of such products, therefore I decided to try a cleansing oil instead for the hot seasons. I have used this product a couple of times so far and I like the texture and it dissolves makeup really easily, however I haven't used it enough to give a full review on it.

Another purchase is the Vitamin E SPF15 lip balm which I love, however I would have preferred it if it had the same scent as the moisturiser in the same range. I also purchased the almond hand and nail cream which I love, this is actually a re purchase and I love the scent and texture of this product, it really nice lightly sweet and fresh sort of almondy / honey scent.

I have purchased some hair stuff from the body shop as well, I never tried any of their hair care items before, and I have only tried them a couple of times so far, but I must admit I am quite impressed with the Ginger Anti Dandruff Shampoo. In addition to this shampoo I have also purchase the Rainforest Moisture Shampoo (in travel size), Rainforest Moisture Conditioner, and Grapeseed hair serum.

I have also purchased a shaving cream and a deodorant from the Men Range (which is obviously intended as a gift :))

I am quite happy with my purchase and I have tried to film a quick video of my products display (as you can see above) for better viewing :)

Do you have any body shop products suggestions? please let me know :)

Until next time...

New Look - Shoe Purchase

I haven't blogged in quite some time, as I was very busy lately and I haven't bought anything in quite some time. But today it was time to go shopping and stock up on some essentials for the new season.

My first purchase was from new look and I got 2 pairs of shoes, the first one is a nude patent wedge which feels really comfortable and I think is a staple for a spring summer wardrobe (a nice change from the black and dark brown boots I've been wearing all winter) and I think that this would go with almost anything.

The next pair of shoes is a red court shoe and I am really excited about this as I've never owned a red shoes before and I think they are quite "glamorous" and would add a touch of elegance to any outfit. The heel isn't very high nor very low, in my opinion this has the best heel size for my feet. Recently I've really been into navy and white combo and I think a red shoe would go perfectly with such outfit. Not sure what colour handbag would go with it though, should I invest in a red handbag or does a black hand bag go with a red shoe?

Instead of posting photos I thought I would do a very small video to get all angles of the shoes in. Please excuse the quality of the video as this is my first time and am not very steady with the camera and don't own a high quality camera either.

Don't want to have a really long post, so I will be posting my other purchases in separate posts soon!

Until then... :)

12 Weeks New Body Makeover Challenge - done!

So the new body makeover challenge is now over. I managed to stick to it around 80 to 90% of the time, and I am quite happy with my results. This challenge changed the way I feel and think about eating and making healthier choices.

To be honest I did start this challenge during a challenging time being the Christmas season and all, and this is not any sort of excuse, in fact I have managed to stick to it most of the time, despite the food temptation and being really busy.

I have tried to do meal prep and this made it much more easier to follow the plan especially during a very busy work schedule, however I did have some failures with my meal prep and as I came to realize some food is better left unfrozen such as apples and celery stalks. But as the saying goes... you learn from your own mistakes and have been trying new ways to meal prep. I'm far from good at it and any tips and suggestions are highly appreciated :)

I will try to stick to clean eating as much as possible and will definitely incorporate some of the recipes from the plan in my daily meals as I really loved some of them especially the breakfast ones.

I need to work more on my exercise routine, I have kept on with it for around 2 months, but I have been sick lately and couldn't keep up with my routines and I have sort of lost my tempo. I need to work on it to re incorporate exercise as a part of my daily routine, not only because it keeps me fit but because it seems to improve my mood, reduce stress and makes me feel more energized.

This was a really interesting challenge, it felt hard at time but was definitely worth it :)

New Purchases - @Blogilates

I am so excited about my latest purchase. This different from my usual purchases as lately I have put my mind on being healthier and I have started eating clean and trying to exercise most days.

I am currently following a blog called blogilates which I find really interesting and supportive and the creator also designs and sells training gear and stuff which are really cool and most of which includes motivational quotes.

Having new stuff keeps me motivated and I have decided to try and have a colourful and cool workout wardrobe ax this makes it more fun to keep up with :)

My purchase includes:

A blue yogamat with the quote "Train Insane or Remain the Same" which I will look at while working out and feel like quitting. This lovely mat came in a cool black bag with the blogilates logo
A 2014 fit journal with motivational tips and some awesome recipes
The pop pilates dvd
And a mint amd black yoga pants with the "train insane" phrase

I am so pleased with my purchases everything is of amazing quality, I will definitely purchase more items.

Do you follow blogilates? Amd have you purchased any of the products?

Weeks 3-5 Progress - #newbodymakeover

chicken & broccoli stir fry

I haven't documented anything here for the past couple of weeks as I have been really busy with work and with the festive season and all, but I will quickly document these weeks into 1 post.

Unfortunately, I haven't followed the plan as much as I liked. I've been tempted with a lot of seasonal festive food and I haven't been able to resist all of it. I followed the breakfast plan everyday except for 2 days, however I skipped like 3 healthy dinners and 2 lunches , which have been swapped for restaurant meals which weren't really healthy choices. My biggest issue however is snacks, I have snacked on some festive sweets and although I didn't take full slices (usually took half or quarter of a slice to moderate my intake) it was still a lot when totaled especially this past week.

Now that the festive season is over and a new year has just started, I have no more excuses to swap my clean eating, and I will continue the plan to the book! (hopefully)

To kick my own butt and make me think twice before snacking again, I have joined dietbet with blogilates which will start in less than 2 days, and it is a good and fun way to stay motivated. This is the link if you are interested.

Anyone else joined dietbet? what do you thing of such "game"?

Have you been following the plan fully during this festive season. If you have tips on how to stop yourselves from snacking please let me know :)

Here are some more images of the healthy meals I did manage to eat :)