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 :)

chicken and black bean salad

flourless pizza base

oatmeal + 3 egg whites

turkey & bean salad with rice

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Everyone :) I wish u all the best of health and happiness!!

Recent Purchases - other make up bits

Following  my previous recent purchase post here on lip products, I thought I should document some other recent make up purchases

My first purchase is the Real Techniques make up sponge - which I have used quite a lot during the past couple of weeks and I really like it.

My second 2 products are 2 eye colours from essence, the one on the left is pink and grey shimmery eye shadow in 03 irresistible first love which doesn't give much colour however it gives a lovely shimmer.

The one on the right is a lovely purple colour in 56 hyped up, which is also shimmery and gives a lovely light pinkish shade

The last product to be mentioned in this post is the Collection Shimmer Shades in 2 Blushalicious which consists of 2 matte (the top 2 shades) and 2 shimmery blushes (the bottom 2 shades) which combined together gives a lovely radiant colour. 

Have you purchased any makeup products recently?

Recent Purchases - Lip Products

I went a bit lip crazy recently, and although I haven't bought all these products at once, I have bought them withing the past 2 month.

The first 3 products are all from Kiko, and have been mentioned in the kiko purchases post here, and these are:

• Kiko Extra Volume lipgloss (plumping and moisturising action) in 10
• Kiko - Crystal Sheer Lipstick in 411
• Kiko lip gloss pencil in 07

The second 2 products are from 2 different brands:

• Sephora Glossy Gloss in 12 think pink (mentioned here)
• Catrice Ultimate Colour in 050 Princess Pizza

And the third and last batch are 4 products all from Rimmel, and these are:

• Rimmel Moisture Renew in 720 Notting Hill Nude (back left)
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush in 710 Drive Me Nude (back right)
• Rimmel Apocalypse in 600 Nude Eclipse (front left)
• Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 kisses in 100 Endless Blossom (front right)

As you may have noticed, most of my purchases were of nude light colours, and now I want to inject some more colours into my collection. Any tips or suggestions?

Have you used any of these products? 

Until next time!

Empties - Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm

I have only done 1 other empties post here, mostly because I don't tend to finish products very often, but this is a different story and this product deserves a whole post to itself.

As defined in the title this is about the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm and I have previously posted first impressions of such product here. I have been using this product for the past 5 months nearly everyday and I love it, and I am sad that it came to an end but I am also impressed that I have managed to use up a full size cleanser in such a short amount of time. I will definitely repurchase this product but for the time being, I will be trying out the Clinique Balm which is similar, and I have posted my first impressions here.

Back to the Emma Hardie Balm, I love using this cleanser, it is soft and smooth and very gentle on my skin. In fact I could also use it even during my worse eczema and acne breakouts (which unfortunately I suffered both from during the past couple of months and still have acne scars). During such times most cleansers I tried made my skin more red, sore and tingled alot during application. On the contrary the Emma Hardie Balm had none of these effects on my skin and I could use it everyday without worsening my condition while leaving me with clean soft face.

It is an amazing product to use everyday and makes it possible to massage your face with every application. It also dissolves makeup very easily, even eye makeup as it is gentle enough to use on the eye area.

I would highly recommend this balm as I do think that this suit most skin types, however it does have a fragrance, which may cause irritation to some. The scent is soft with a light hint of citrus/woody fragrance which I love.

The texture is soft and very gentle and the product turns to oil upon application.

Final Verdict: This balm feels like heaven on my face, I would highly recommend it and although it is a bit pricey, I would definitely repurchase as it is worth every penny.

Until next time

First Impressions: Clinique - Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Clinique TTDO packaging (I got a little xmasy with this pic )

I have been using the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm for quite some time now, but as it is approaching the bottom, (and a dedicated post to thoughts on the EH balm will follow) I wanted to try something different for the time being.

My skin is quite sensitive and recently I have been having breakouts on my cheeks, so  I am quite conscious when choosing facial products. I wanted something balmy, as this is my favourite type of cleanser and without a lot of fragrance. After researching quite a lot of products, I settled on purchasing the Clinique TTDO balm, and after reading a review by Caroline Hirons where she recommended such product, I was sure that this is the product I want to try.

I purchased this product a couple of days ago, (literally 2 days ago) and I have since used it for both my double evening cleanse and my morning cleanse, and my first impressions so far is that I love this cleanser.

Its formulation is a thick balm,which turns into oil upon application, which is great for removing make up and giving the skin a deep cleanse.

How the balm looks - the dent is the amount I used so far

In comparison to the Emma Hardie balm, the texture of the clinique is thicker, however it turns oilier upon application. Also the clinique one is scent less where as the EH has a soft scent.

Final Verdict on First Impressions: I am loving this product and I think I would love using it as much as I have loved the Emma Hardie one. Well at least I hope so. The only downfall in my opinion is in the packaging, as when you open the lid, it doesn't have an extra protection cap, it opens directly to the cleanser and it comes without a box!

Have you tried the Clinique TTDO balm? or do you use a different balm cleanser? I am always looking to try different products.

Until next time!

Week 2 Progress - #newbodymakeover

As mentioned in previous posts here and here, I have been following  the 12 weeks new body makeover hosted by blogilates, and I think I am doing good so far.

Meal 1 - Bfast for week 2

Meal 5 - Friday

Meal 5 - Friday (the muffin like pieces are supposed to be a quesadilla tortilla but I had a little accident with the mixture)

I liked most of the meals this week, however I wasn't so keen on the breakfast as it included vegetables and I thought it was a bit too much for early mornings (usually at around 6.30am), however by mid week I was used to this meal and during the last couple of days I was almost enjoying it. To be truthful, I added a couple of teaspoons non fat yoghurt to this meal to make it more breakfast like,which wasn't included in the plan, but it made it more tasteful and made it easier for me to stick to this meal without adding a lot of calories, sugar and fats.

Apart from this adjustment to my breakfast meal I have also skipped the protein shake meal a couple of times this week because I didn't manage to eat all the meals due to a busy working schedule. I will rectify this during the coming week as I will try to stick better to my schedule!

We are entitled to 1 YOLO meal a week, and this week I swapped 1 of the meals in the plan to 1 restaurant meal , cos I couldn't pass the occasion as it was a birthday celebration of a family member.

I will do my best to follow and stick to my plan better in the coming week, however being the Christmas season it is way more difficult as I have been offered a lot of Christmas desserts this past week and it was difficult, however I have managed to avoid the temptation most of the time.

I am also following the December workout Calendar and up till now I have managed to do 5 days out of 6 days workouts during the past 2 weeks + the Sunday relax day stretches which are lovely. This is also a difficult task as I am waking up at 5am every morning in order to fit the workouts but it is extremely worth it!!

I am already seeing progress with regards to the way I feel and look so hopefully I will continue this journey to the very end.

What do you think of this challenge?

NOTD #2

I have recently posted a picture of my nails with a quick and simple design here, and I decided to post and image with a quick description of how I achieved the look every time I do a design which I like and is quick and simple enough to do another time. So here is my NOTD #2

As I have said in my previous post, I am not very good at nails design, and this time again, I have used the dotting tool to help me embellish my nails from just simple coat of colour.

The base colour is a navy blue, lightly shimmered from essence in 76 hard to resist. I love the navy blue colour in every thing and I love this colour especially this time of year as a different alternative to red. 

I then used my dotting tool  and a white (manicure) polish to dot flower like designs on my thumb and ring finger, whereas on my other nails I dotted 3 dots on the left hand side of each.

Do you do nail art yourselves? Do you have any quick nail art tips especially for the festive season?

Until next time!

Sally Hansen - Insta Dry

I love doing my nails and changing my nail colours iften, however I used to find it impossible to properly do my nails because unless I sit still ( or at least leaving my hands still) for a long time or else I would end up with messed up nails.

About a year ago, I discovered the sally hansen insta dry top coat, and I can honestly say I have never looked back. This product does exactly what it says on the box 'nails are touch dry in 30 seconds', and it keeps my nail polish colour  bold, glossy and chip free.

I really like this product, as it makes doing my nails such an easy task. I can do my nails and go to sleep in less than 5 minutes and I would still wake up with nice polished nails.

Thank you Sally Hansen



This post is not sponsored in any way, and this is not a pr product. This is just my honest opinion on such product

Week 2 Preparation - #newbodymakeover

If you have read my other posts, here and here, you know that I have been following the 12 week new body makeover plan for the past week now.

The meals are quite simple to make, however during the week I find little time to do a lot of cooking for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, therefore to make my life easier during the week, I prepared a lot of the meals today (Saturday) and will be freezing the portions I won't be using withing the next 2 days This is the first time I have tried it, so I am not sure how the meals will turn out. I'm hoping for the best!

Do you plan/prepare your foods prior to the week?

Do you have any tips for easy food preparation or freezing tips?

Week 1 Progress - #newbodymakeover

As I mentioned in an earlier post this week, here, I have been following the 12 week new body makeover challenge, and it is nearly the end of week one.

My progress so far was quite good, actually I think it went really well. The meals have all been really good. At first I thought I would find some of the meals strange and I lacking taste, but boy was I wrong, everything was delicious and it kept me full all day. There weren't much moments were I wanted to snack on unhealthy  stuff, and I managed to beat the temptation and kept to my plan.

During this past week, breakfast was my favourite meal of the day. Lets see what week 2 brings!

Sunday's Meal 1 

Tuesday's Meal 1

Wednesday's Meal 5 - Although it doesn't look it, it tastes delicious.                              

Brushes haul

I've recently submitted a post on my favorite brushes, however I was also looking for new additions to my very small brush collection and since my current favorite brushes are from real techniques, I though I should purchase more of their brushes.

And in fact I did. I purchased a total of 5 brushes, 3 of which came in the travel collection set which includes a Multi task brush, Domed Shadow brush and a foundation brush. The other 2 brushes are single brushes which are the blush brush and the powder brush. I also bought a pack of eye shadow sponges and  I bought all of these from www.feelunique.com and I must say I was really impressed with the fast delivery and the packing of the products which came in a very nice sealed box, with everything properly packed.

Since i purchased these brushes, I have only used them a couple of times but I must admit I am loving these brushes, they are so soft and gentle on my skin and pick up products well. I think I will be adding more to my favorite brushes.

Did you try any of these brushes? and what makeup brushes do you prefer?

Until next time

12 week challenge - #newbodymakeover

I've been following a blog called blogilates for quite sometime now, which is a health and fitness blog, and I like how easy she makes healthy eating and living. Recently she announced that she collaborated with weight training  and produced a 12 week meal plan for a total body transformation #newbodymakeover, which I am really excited for. I signed up for this meal plan which will start on the 1st of December. I just received the plan a couple of days ago and it seems really good, all the food in the plan seem really tasty unlike most diets / "healthy meals".

(image adapted from blogilates.com)

The plan comes with a fit journal which is really cool, but unfortunately I am still waiting to receive it, but I will definitely start the challenge this Sunday. My only concern is that some of the food might not be easily available in Malta (which is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea), but I will try to substitute for something else, if you are doing this challenge and have the same issue, let me know .

(image copied from ogorgeous.com)

Well I though I should document my progress to keep myself motivated into finishing the 12 week challenge and adapting my eating habits.

If you follow blogilates or will be following this meal plan let me know how it goes :)

Until next time!

Sephora Purchases

Following the Kiko Purchases post, I've recently also visited a sephora store and I couldn't decide on what to choose as I really liked a lot of their products. I finally decided on 2 main scents being Peony and cotton and as much as I wanted to try a lot of their makeup products as well this time I settled for more body products.

The first item is a shower gel in Peony which I haven't tried yet but I really love the smell which is a lightva fresh floral scent.

Two more products are a hand cream and a body butter in the scent cotton, and ohhh I cannot stop smelling these products it is so light and clean and fresh and it is one of my current favourite scents.

The last couple of products are a small candle in cotton, and two small handbag friendly sized perfumes in peony and in cotton and last but not least a lipgloss in sheer nude pink which smells and tastes amazing mostly fruit like.

I am quite impressed with these sephora purchases, this was my first purchase from sephora as these are not available in my country but I certainly hope it wouldn't be my last!

NOTD #1

I really like nails and nail art but unfortunately I am not very good at designing my nails especially my left nails since I am left handed, but today I did this nail design which is really simple and I thought I should document it for future ideas and reference.

All I used for this NOTD is a dotting tool, and 2 nail polishes, which in my case were Mavala in 164 Rose Dust, which is a nude brownish tone which I used for the base. Then I used and purple glittery polish for the dots which is Essence in 112 time for romance.

I dotted one dot at the bottom of each nail bed except for the thumb and ring finger where I dotted 3 vertical dots and covered the tip of the nail in dots on my thumb, whereas I dotted 3 diagonal dots on my ring finger.

If you have any simple nail design ideas please let me know, I am always looking forward to try new designs.

Until next time

Kiko Purchases

As mentioned in my Whats in my travel make-up bag I have recently been abroad and once I had the chance I couldn't resist going into Kiko and try some of their products.  

I wanted to try quite a lot of their porducts as they all seem amazing and are very reasonably priced but I ended up settling on 3 lip products which I really like.

Kiko - Extra Volume Lipgloss in no 10

First product is a very thick and shiny lip gloss (extra volume lip gloss pictured above) in a very light pink colour. It is quite nude on the lips but it gives an amazing  plump and shine.

Kiko - Crystal Sheer Lipstick in 411

The second product is a sheer lip colour in very light pink. I wanted a lip colour which lightens my lips as my lips are naturally quite red most times and this product does the trick without it being too pigmented or thick. It is also quite moisturising which is a plus in my books.

Kiko - Pencil Lip Gloss in 07

The last product is this lip gloss pencil, which I have never had anything similar  before. This pencil doesn't really give much colour, but being a very nude pink it gives almost more than I expected and it gives a lot of shine as well. It is not as glossy as the first product mentioned but it gives a nice shine without leaving your lips feel sticky and unnatural. 

As you may have noticed all these products are of a pinky nude shade which was what I was looking for, I am currently trying to build up my lip collection and I quite like a nude lip, but most of the nude lip products I own are more brownish tones and I wanted some alternative pink shades. I am very happy with my selection and I really like these kiko products. My only disappointment is that I did not purchase more products and these are not available in Malta. Well maybe next time.