Lee stafford Treatment For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length

I am writing this today as I absolutely LOVE this product!

About 4 years ago I made the biggest mistake ever by getting my shoulder length hair cut really short, I immediately regretted it and spent the next year or so having to put up with frizzy unruly hair that I was so unhappy with. As it grew longer it just got worse and worse as there was no shape to it and I didn't want to get it cut as didn't want to lose any length. Now if I knew back then what I know now I don't think this would have been half as stressful as it was.

I saw a review of this on a YouTube video in about March and I knew that I needed to get this product, It is the Lee Stafford Treatment For Hair That Never Grows Past a Certain Length. A little bit pricey at around £7.99 a tub but it is the BEST thing I have ever put on my hair. I have been using it now for around 5 months. I love the smell, the texture of the product and even though it might seem expensive you do get a good amount of product for your money (200ml). 

I really think as well that it has made a difference to my hair, I stopped using it for a month or 2 and my hair growth definitely seemed to slow down, now I've started using it again I'm hoping it will have another growth spurt! 

All round brilliant product and does exactly what is says on the tin :)

If you love this product or have any similar products that are similar let me know in the comments 

Shell xxx

Little Update!

Last week I wrote a post about me possibly having PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). Later on that day I had and appointment with the DR and got the ball rolling with a diagnosis.

Now I haven't yet mentioned that me and Lloyd are currently TTC baby no 2 and this is what has spurred me into action on getting all my problems under control and made me realise that I need to go to the Dr's. Even though the Dr couldn't diagnose any problems there and then I have made an appointment to go and have some bloods taken.

The Dr mentioned that a lot of things could be causing the problems that I have been having so they are testing my blood for all sorts of things from Thyroid Function, PCOS, Diabetes, Iron levels and Kidney and Liver function. So hopefully soon I Will have some answers.

Meanwhile I have been trying to eat a little better and get a bit more sleep to get some of my symptoms under control. I have been doing some research and started to look for some easy, simple, low carb, PCOS fighting recipes. Even if I don't have it surely anything that can help me control my weight is worth a try! So will keep you informed of anything that I give a go.

I think from now on I will do a post similar to this on a Tuesday, if there are any questions, advice or stories that you would like to share please comment below, I would love to hear from you 

Shell xxx

Homemade face Primer :)

I've seen a lot of information about face primers recently and I really wanted to give them a try but the one thing that kept niggling in the back of my mind was - can something really make my make-up easier to apply, smooth out my skin and minimise my pores and is it really worth the price!

I looked around at various brands, MUA, Maybelline, Rimmel etc and I just couldn't find one that looked like you got a good amount of product for the price. So I did what I do best and I came home, put the laptop on and did a bit of research and found a recipe for HOMEMADE FACE PRIMER- and the best thing about this was that I already had the ingredients at home.

So I set to making some and it was really very easy to do. I made it a few weeks ago and now I feel I have given it a fair trial. What has prompted me to write this today Is that I applied my make-up forgetting to use the primer and I just feel back to my old crappy, greasy and make-up sliding off my face skin.

I must say that I haven't ever used a 'purchased' primer so I don't know how different it would be or how well it would work compared to my homemade one.

So here is how I did it.....

Ingredients:
* Aloe Vera Gel (Mine is from Boots and is by a company called Banana Boat £9.99)
* Moisturiser (You can use any moisturiser you like for this but I find you need to have one that doesn't leave your skin too greasy - I used the Avon Anew Daily Moisturiser and as It was the last little bit in the pot I used this to store it in)
* Something to put your Primer in once you have made it

I started off with a large round tub, with not having any measurements of product to go by I wanted a larger tub so that I could experiment with the amounts (I ended up making far more than I needed). So All I did to make the primer was to add some Aloe Vera Gel and the Moisturiser and give it a good stir - Now I looked and searched online and everywhere said that there wasn't a certain amount of each product you need to add, so all I did was experiment a bit to find what worked best for me. I found that my skin suited my primer to have a higher ratio of Aloe Vera to moisturiser. But have a play around and see what you prefer!

The finished Product - A lovely mint colour!

I think this is a really great thing to try if you are thinking of purchasing a primer, its also nice to be able to make a product for your face and knowing exactly what has gone into it, it gives you an idea of whether it will work for you and also whether it is worth purchasing if you are just going to keep forgetting to put it on! I really love this primer and don't think I will ever be purchasing one - I love my homemade version :)

I find it keep my makeup in place all day and also gives me a really smooth base for my foundation!

*** TIP***
I also read online that you can use lip balm as a eyelid primer, I have tried this and it does give your eyeshadow something to 'cling' to, not sure if it made my eyeshadow last much longer than usual but I did feel it helped to to apply and blend it better!

If you have any other homemade beauty product, tips or tricks please feel free to comment below! I would love to hear from you.

Shell xxx

Nail Care Haul

Recently My nail care has been shockingly bad, lack of time and patience probably is to blame for this, but I have also been a little lazy when it comes to doing anything more than removing very old chipped nail polish and then re applying a different colour.

Since my nails have been so neglected I decided it was time to go out buy some stuff to cheer them up and put it to good use, so today I am going to be showing you the items I bought, I will try them out and will post a review on all the products - along with some products I will be using alongside them that I have had for a while. Also I will eventually (once I have perfected using them) do a nail care tutorial.

Even though the shocking state of my nails has kicked me into doing this there is something else that inspired me to take a bit more interest into my nail care routine (that used to be none existent). That thing is a blogger/YouTuber called Vivianna Does makeup and the video that inspired me was her DIY Manicure that is on youtube.

Enough blabbing now for the products.

So firstly I went into Superdrug and I purchased 2 products from there:

Conditioning Cuticle Oil Pen With Vitamin E

I purchased this as knowing that I was on the hunt for a cuticle remover I wanted something to use afterwards to help moisturise and this product claims to 'lock-in' moisture and also protects against brittleness and breakage and at only £3.09 it was worth a try

QVS Cuticle Groomer

This I just bought to use to tidy up my nails as they are looking a bit drab, I used to bite my nails and even though I do seem to have kicked the habit, every now and again, especially if I am nervous or bored I revert back to my old ways. It had a little blade on one side and a cuticle pusher on the other so it is a very good multitasking tool and it was only £2.99

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover 

I've seen and heard a lot about this product on YouTube recently so have kept my eye out for it in places like Boots and Superdrug, Yesterday when I went shopping I had a good look for it but couldn't find it. I decided that I would try and order it online instead. However when I walked into the B&M Bargains shop to purchase something else I thought I would have a look on the cosmetics section (sometimes you get real bargains) and would you believe it - I found this! The last one left! I was so excited to have finally found this, that I grabbed it without even looking at the price! However I then realised that it was only £1.99 - a total bargain! Very excited to try this product.

lastly I went to Boots as I still needed a buffing block for my nails and Superdrug had sold out.

Boots 4 Way Block

So I found this and thought it would be worth a try

There was a buffer that had 6 sides but thought I would keep it simple and 4 sides was enough for me! I am going to try and only use this once a month as that is all that is recommended. This was also a bit of a bargain at only £2.00

If you have any tips of tricks for nail care please let me know in the comments.

Shell xxx

Something Different!

I spent a little time today trying to think about what to write about, I thought about doing a review or tutorial type post but I decided to go with something a little different.

So instead I decided to go with a post that will begin a whole other series of posts, so as well as the usual reviews etc there will also be lifestyle posts like this one.

This is quite personal to me so I have been putting of blogging about it however as I have not yet been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) this post may soon become irrelevant anyway.

This is my story.

Just before finding out I was pregnant with my son Zach I was told that I may have PCOS and would most likely need help to conceive if and when the time came, little did I know that while the doctor told me this I was already pregnant with Zachary. I wasn't totally aware that there were many symptoms associated with PCOS and thought the only real issue could conception. I was told that I wouldn't need any medication or further tests at that time.

The only reason I was tested at all was because of my weight and as I was struggling to lose it even while going to slimming world they wanted to test my thyroid and a few other things. This was April 2011. After having Zach in december 2011 some of the symptoms returned and some of them are now a lot worse than before having Zach. I have been putting off going to see the Dr for quite a few months and its only now that we are wanting to expand our family that I have really taken notice of what is going on with my body. 

So today I have an appointment to hopefully get to the bottom of it. Even if its not PCOS.

Now the main reason for me posting this is because I have been doing a lot of reading on different diets that could possibly help with PCOS. I have read that Vegetarian/Vegan diets can help and also a low carbohydrate diet can drastically reduce symptoms. So I guess I am wanting some advice. I don't really know where to start or if I even have the willpower to stick to not eating much pasta and potatoes, bread and chocolate. Also this is going to be a real journey for me in terms of a drastic diet change so wanted to bring you along with me. I am going to try to post regular updates on the food I am eating, whether or not my symptoms improve and my weight loss.

Please comment below if you have any tips/ reciepes/ advice or you are going through something similar. I would love to hear from you!

Shell xxx

Rimmel Nail Polish Review!

Rimmel Salon Pro Range

For quite some time now I have had a very strange obsession with Rimmel nail polishes. Now the reason I think it is strange is because as much as I love the colour range and also most of the brush applicators I just cannot stand how fast they seem to chip! 

A few weeks ago now I purchased the new Rimmel Salon PRO range nail colour in 500 Peppermint - the shade is a lovely vibrant, minty, summer shade and It is now one of the favourite colours in my nail collection. The first time I applied it I didn't use a base coat or top coat and so I blamed this for its lack of staying power!

However last night I applied it again this time using a base coat, the one I used was the Superdrug 3 in 1 Base Coat, Ridge Filler and Growth Enhancer, I must just say that I paid about £2 for this in Superdrug and it is A-MA-ZING. It dries super quick, does everything it says on the tin and usually I do find it makes my nail colour last a lot longer than applying without! What prompted me to write this review was that looking at my nails now (less than 24 hours later) They are chipped, which does make me feel a little disappointed, however I did expect it from a Rimmel nail polish!

I do have around 15 Rimmel Polishes and I don't find any of them long lasting. They do however have a large colour range so are perfect if you are just wearing for a night out and they are also really reasonably priced, from around £2.99 in boots, superdrug and some supermarkets.

If you have any tips or tricks for making these last a bit longer please let me know in the comments!

shell xxx

Beauty products I couldn't survive without!

Here are some of the products that I use on a very regular basis, that I feel do a tremendous job of making me feel good. Some of them feel more necessary than others and some are in here because they are just my favorites! Also I may have mentioned some of them in previous posts!

So here goes:

Dirty Works You Soft Touch Hand cream

This product is a must have for me, it is by far one of the best hand creams I have EVER used, It smells gorgeous and your hands smell lush until you next wash them, it leaves them feeling soft but not greasy, its brilliant value at only £1.20 in Sainsburys. It claims to be an intensive moisturiser and contains Cocoa butter and Jojoba Oil, I just love this product and will definitely be re-purchasing!

Batiste Dry Shampoo

I put my love of this product down to the fact that I am a Mum and though I do wash my hair every other day, sometimes if we are going to a playgroup or we need to be ready in next to no time it is just so handy to put some dry shampoo on my hair, rub it in and voila - my hair looks and smells like its just been washed! I have tried a few different dry shampoos recently but the Batiste range is by far the best! Even though I have dark hair I never feel like it looks obvious that I have used dry shampoo and more importantly doesn't look like I have used talc either! I have the Original and the Tropical and I must say I don't love the smell of the Original one but it does the job! The Tropical on the other hand smells divine, I love anything Coconut and so for me this is a real winner!!

Here are the 2 current Batiste products that I own

Johnson's 24 Hour Day Moisturiser

I have been using a few moisturisers recently but have found this one the best, It is a day moisturiser so I usually use it after cleansing my face in the mornings before applying any makeup. With the hot weather that we have been having lately, there were a few days where I didn't want to wear any makeup and so this moisturiser was just perfect. It doesn't feel greasy on the skin at all and just left my skin feeling very soft and moisturised. It has an SPF of 15 too, which meant I knew I wasn't going to end up with unsightly red patches of sunburn on my face! An all round brilliant product and well worth the money!


Dirty Works Bye Bye Dark Circles

This is definitely a product that I can NOT live without, sleep deprivation, stress and everything else that comes with being a Mum, means that I constantly have big black bags under my eyes.

so far this is the only concealer I have found that actually really works! There is however a downside (or 2), it can get messy, it comes in a little pot that holds 2 shades, one dark, one light and you mix the 2 to get the shade that you feel is right, this means that the colours get all mixed up. The other downside is it is quite powdery on the skin and wipes off very easily, however I do find putting a little extra powder to set it works quite well. But the main thing is that it does a good job of covering my dark circles which is after all what it claims to do! Also another bargain at around £3/4 at Sainsburys.

I Hope you enjoyed reading this post, if there are any beauty products you feel you couldn't live without please comment and let me know!

Shell xxx

Daily Skin care routine :)

Morning

As you know I have a toddler which sometimes means that my morning skin care routine would be pretty much none existent until it comes to applying my makeup!

If by some chance I do get to have 5 mins in the bathroom without Zachary walking in and trying to play in the toilet this is what i do:

In the morning I do one of 2 things, I either use a hot cloth cleanser or use a cleanser and toner and which ever I do in the morning I do the opposite in the evening. I tend to prefer to use the hot cloth cleanser to remove my makeup. 

So firstly I lay out all the products that I am going to use, at the moment I am using the Boots Botanics All Bright Cleanser and Toner

 

I really love these products, I find they make my skin feel really fresh in the morning and are also really good at removing makeup if I was to use them in the evening. One thing I have found with some cleansers and toners is that they can really make my face sting, which is quite unpleasant, then over the next few days I will just get loads of blemishes and red patches however these do not do that. I just use normal cotton wool pads with plenty of the product - another perk of using budget products is you can use loads without feeling like its costing you a fortune!
After using these I will sometimes use a moisturiser, at the moment I have been using 

JOHNSON'S® Face Care Hydrating 24 Hour Day Cream 50ml

I really love this moisturizer  it leaves my skin feeling super soft, it is not greasy in the slightest and it has a really lovely smell, perfect for using before applying a foundation. That is it, so simple yet really effective, my skin has never really been better!

Evening

I always spend more time on my skin care in the evening, Zach is in bed and I've normally had make up on all day, so not only do I have peace to do it but I also want to make sure I remove my make up properly. I find the best thing for getting all my make up off is to use a hot cloth cleanser, I have heard rave reviews about the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, However is it a little out of my price range so I went in search for a suitable replacement. I found the Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser 200ml - It is perfect, I have never used the Liz Earle product but I do find this one really good at removing make up and making my skin feel really clean, soft and fresh. 

It was an absolute bargain too! The Products in the Superdrug Vitamin E range were on 3 for 2 and so at £4.99 each i got 3 for £9.98!! Less than the price of 1 bottle of the Liz Earle stuff. Each bottle also came with 1 muslin cloth - perfect!

So firstly I put a hairband on to get my hair out the way, I then take a biggish blob of product and rub it into my skin - paying particular attention to my eyes, I then wet my cloth (using the hottest water my hands can cope with) and take my eye make up off, I then take another smaller blob of product and go over my eyes once more. I then rinse my cloth and go over my whole face with the cloth, I repeat this several times until my skin feels really clean. If I ever feel I need to I will re cleanse and rinse. To finish off I splash my face with some cold water to close my pores.

I have been using E45 cream as my moisturizer in the evening lately and I find that I wake up with lovely soft smooth skin, though can leave it a little greasy, but my morning routine always deals with this nicely.

So there you have it, my very minimal but very effective skincare routine

If you have any tips/ products you would like to recommend - please comment below and let me know!

Shell xxx

This month I am loving....

             JULY

So as usual I have totally missed posting this in the correct month so I will have to play catch up!

July already seems like so long ago, the heatwave feels like forever ago and I am now missing the sunshine.

But anyway on with the faves...

The first thing I must mention has got to be my skin care routine, I have finally found products that work for my skin, I must admit that in the past I have been quite lazy with skincare. I have been using the Boots Botanics All bright cleanser and toner. They are amazing!! I am going to do a full review on these as I love them so much and may also so a skincare routine post! They make my skin soft, take all my make up off effortlessly and don't cost a fortune.

Next has got to be a make up item I have been loving and its lipsticks! I have always shyed away from lipsticks as I have never found shades to suit me, but after being brave and Purchasing a few I have found some that I love wearing. My favourite this month has got to be the Boots 17 in Beehive, its a gorgeous silky formula and the colour is very easy to wear in the daytime, even for me!

Boots 17 in Beehive

 

A blog I have been reading a lot of this month is Vivianna does makeup, I love the way she writes, very honest to goodness and down to earth, please give it a read as I think its amazing http://www.viviannadoesmakeup.com/

lastly this month I have been addicted to, Harry Potter, I know this is kinda random but It has been a massive part of my free time this month, We have watched all 8 movies and I have now started re reading all the books. I forgot how amazing the books are. I have been struggling lately to get into reading anything but as soon as I picked these back up I was hooked!

Hope you enjoyed this post, If you have been loving any of these things this month please tell me about it!

Shell xxx

Review: Sleek Contouring and Blush Palette

Today I am going to be reviewing the new to my collection Sleek Palette! I have used this a lot so thought I would share my views.

After hearing a lot of positive comments on YouTube about the Sleek brand I decided to treat myself to something. I didn't splurge and end up buying too much as I would usually do as I wanted to see how I got on with it first.

After peroozing the stand for a good 20 mins (no mean feet with toddler in tow) I made the decision to go for the Contouring and Blush palette as I have a few blushers but no highlight/bronzers. I went for the light palette as I thought it would suit me best. I purchased my palette from Superdrug and it was around £9.99.

The Sleek contour and Blush palette

Before setting out to use it I watched a few contouring videos to make sure I was putting it on correctly and also in the right places. I have to say on the first go I wasn't all that impressed, It was not very pigmented and didn't seem to stay put on my skin for very long either, also the blusher just seemed to add an odd gold shimmer to my cheeks but no colour!

However I gave it another go and the second time around it seemed a lot better. I used a different foundation to the first time (Maybelline 24 hour super stay) which has a more powder finish than the one I originally used (No7 Lift and Luminate) Which I always find makes my skin quite greasy. I have done a review of this product on here if you would like to see my thought on it. This did seem to make the product easier to apply.

Now I have been using the products on a daily basis for a couple of weeks I feel I can be honest and say, I do not love it. It is hard as I have never tried a contouring palette before, however I love the bronzer and highlighter and use them every day. The only issue I have is the blusher as to me its not a blusher! The colour in the palette looks beautiful a very deep but cheery pink, I have tried different brushes and to no avail, it just still doesn't work for me!

Swatches of the Sleek palette, from the left is the Bronzer,
 highlighter and as much colour as I could get from the Blusher

If you are wanting a good highlighter and bronzer though I would recommend giving this product a try!

If you have tried this product or have suggestions of blushers, contouring kits or any products that you would recommend, let me know in the comments, I would love to hear from you!

Shell xxx