Holy Grail Mascara!!

After searching far and wide for the perfect mascara I have finally found 2 that work for me.

Firstly I will tell you about my eyelash woes:
My eyelashes aren't terrible but they are really long, too long in fact and also not very thick. Which means they have a tendency to clump really easily and look spidery (I hope everyone knows what I mean by that)

I have brought numerous mascaras over the years only to use them a couple of times and then pass them on to friends because I know I will not use them again. I have finally found 2 that seem t work perfectly for me, they are ...... drumroll .....:

Avon Super Shock - Black £8.50 Link here, (packaging slightly different)
I had this as a birthday present back in February, it has sat in my makeup draw since then to be honest as I wasn't expecting much. I have never really used Avon makeup before but I will definitely be trying more if this is anything to go by.

It has the plastic bristle wand, which works much better for my lashes. It gives instant volume and colour, best off all it doesn't clump!

I tend to use this for everyday when I need to define my lashes but I am not looking for anything too dramatic.

Next up is:

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Excess £10.99 Link Here
This is currently on offer at Boots - 2 L'Oreal products for £14.

As with the Avon mascara this has a plastic wand, although this has a shaped wand which allows you to reach all of your lashes - even the inner corner.

This give fantastic volume with no clumps, the shape of the wand lends itself to a more dramatic looks I tend to keep this for weekends or evenings when I tend to wear slightly heavier eyeliner.

 

 

 

Have you got any Holy Grail makeup items to share??

 

 

Thanks

Becky xxxxx

Rebecca Minkoff Mac Daddy

I totally blame Miss Budget Beauty for this purchase :-)

I saw her you tube video back in January when she had her black Rebecca Minkoff bag and loved it. I have visited The Little Black Book of Style website regularly since then and when I saw the red version I just had to have it!!

I have been on the look out for a new red bag for a while and this was the last one, so it was meant to be! (at least that's what I told my husband when her saw the bank statement).

Firstly I would like to say how good the service is from this website, the bag come within a few days and was really well packaged. It even came with a hand written note, which I thought was a lovely touch.

The bag itself is beautiful!! I must admit I am a bit of a handbag addict, so I don't expect everyone to share my excitement!

On the website the colour looked more of an orangey red which worried me slightly because it was not really to the colour I was looking for, but when it came it was exactly what I had been looking for. It is a lovely deep red which is set off perfectly by the gold handle and studs.

In terms of the size, it is not a huge bag so I will not be using it for an 'everyday' work bag but it is perfect for shopping and you could even probably get away with using it for a night out.
It has 1 big pocket, with a side pocket that fits my iPad and a smaller zip pocket that fits a phone.

The leather is so soft and such good quality, I would say it is on a par with my Marc Jacobs bag (a 30th birthday present from my husband) which was much more expensive.

At £180 I know it is not a bargain purchase, but it does honestly look much more expensive and I have so many compliments on it every time I have worn it.  

Its save to say I am really pleased with this, I would highly recommend both the bag and the website.

Becky xxxxxx

Mini Escentual Haul

Hi

Like the rest of the world, after seeing Caroline Hirons video with Pixiwoo (Link here for those of you that have not yet seen it) I decided to give me skincare regime a bit of an overhaul.

I will do a full blog on my new skincare regime soon, but for now I wanted to share with you a cheeky order I placed with Escentual.com.

 

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner 125ml - £20

Firstly I was looking for an exfoliating toner, my first choice was the Pixi Glow Tonic but I couldn't get hold of it anywhere! I live no where near London and have emailed countless times with no reply, so I gave up.

After scouring the internet (if you haven't already guessed that is how I spend most of my spare time) I decided to go for the Clarins option.
At £20 for 125ml it is quite expensive, but having used it a couple of times I can tell it will last me a while. The added bonus is it smells like holidays!! :-)

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil 45ml - £21.85

This is a completely new step in my regime, having fairly oily skin I always assumed it would make my skin worse (I now realise I was wrong).

Again it is on the expensive side for me but it comes with a pipette and you only need 4 drops at a time, so I see this lasting me a while. I have been using this for 3 days and I have honestly seen a big difference in my skin already. My skin is much less dehydrated and smoother.

Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner 100ml - £14.00

I brought this as on her blog Caroline always recommends using 2 toners, and who am I to argue.

I was slightly disappointed in this, I really don't like the smell - It is very floral which is not my taste. Also in terms of performance I feel the other 2 products have made a difference to my skin but I don't feel this product has. I use 3 sprays twice a day and my skins feels no different afterwards, I will perceiver with it and will include my final thoughts when I review this product separately. 

I would love to hear what products you use,

 

Becky xxxxx

Depression and Me

Hi

I started off writing this posts in response to the 'Our Fertility Struggle' that was posted on Meet The Millards YouTube channel but I realised it was actually my battle with depression that underpins the whole journey. So I decided to change it slightly, so here goes (deep breath):

I have battled with low self esteem and anxiety all my life really, looking back I was not raised in an environment where I was ever made to feel good about myself. My parents had me when they were very young and split up soon after I was born, I honestly don't think either of them ever meant to but I spent most of my life feeling like I had ruined theirs by being born. My dad was mostly indifferent to me and my mums idea of motivating me was telling me not to get pregnant and ruin my life like she had!!

It wasn't until my late teens / early 20s when I slipped into a deep deep depression, looking back now it scares me to think how close I came to actually taking my own life. I would spend hours and hours googling ways to commit suicide, my biggest fear wasn't dying it was actually waking up. I was terrified it wouldn't work and I would be back at square one. I would truly wish to get ill, so that the decision was taken out of my hands! that sounds awful but I would wish to take the place of people who had everything to live for as I thought I had nothing.

If you are reading this and thinking I am selfish for even thinking about it and not considering the people I was going to leave behind, then I agree 100% with you. At the time my opinion of myself was so low I honestly thought I was doing everyone a favour, I had a fantastic boyfriend (now my Husband) and I was convinced he didn't really love me and just felt sorry for me.

During this time I would have massive food binges, I still don't quite know why I did this it was just another way to punish myself I think! which resulted in my gaining around 100lbs in 2 years!! (this is the link to my fertility, I am no longer ovulating which the doctors think is linked to my weight).

I know this post has gotten quite dark, but I decided if I was going to do this I was going to be 100% honest. Also I wanted to show how far I have come, and hopefully if 1 person reads this and it gives them a bit of hope then it was all worth it.

I can happily say now I 100% believe I am winning my battle with depression, I don't think it will ever fully go away but at the moment I am on top of it which is the best I can hope for.

My biggest break through was talking openly to my boyfriend, over the years I had been quite good at hiding how low I was and I don't think he every fully understood until I told him everything. The second thing was I went to the doctors and told them my anti-depressants were not helping me (I am not in any way suggesting people come off their anti depressants but for me they didn't work), it was suggested I have Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which is one of the best things I have ever done. It helped me to realise I was spending my time trying to be the person I thought people wanted me to be and as a result I had lost myself (I know that sounds very cheesy and cringey but I don't know how else to describe it). I slowly started to build myself up again and made sure I surrounded myself with people who liked me for being me.

As part of my therapy I also realised I am never going to change my parents or the rest of my family, the only thing I can change is my reaction to them and how I let them make me feel. You should never let other peoples insecurities and behaviours effect how you feel about yourself!!

I turned 30 this year and I feel truly happy for the first time in my life. My mission for the next couple of years is to get healthy and loose weight, not by any stupid crazy diets but just changing my life style and doing it sensibly. We are currently seeing a fertility specialist but are at a bit of a stale mate until I loose weight. I am determined not to let this beat me and I will NOT go down the road I have in the past, most of all I will be honest when I am having down days or feeling anxious. My husband is a truly amazing man and has been with me every step of the way and I now realise this is our battle not mine to face alone.

Sorry to have rambled on so long! but this has been strangely therapeutic and I now realise how far I have come.

I would love to hear your stories,

Becky xxx

Barry M - Berry Lilac

This was my first ever Barry M purchase, but when I saw the nail polishes on 3 for 2 in Superdrug I couldn't resist!

The colour is very daring for me, I am very much a pink and red kinda gal when it comes to nail polish. I decided to live on the edge and try lilac 😄

The colour is beautiful!! I love it. It is a gorgeous pastel lilac and not as bright as I originally thought. 

I have had several compliments on the colour every time I have worn it. 

My only negative would be the brush, I prefer the wider brushes to apply nail polish. That is purely a personal choice so should not put you off buying it.

I am wearing the seche vite top coat in the pictures above, I will review this soon

Becky

Xoxo 

Fat Free Fruit Cake

I am currently going through the same weight battle as lots of women are, so I am always on the lookout for low fat / healthy snacks.

I have slightly adapted a fat free tea cake recipe, I now make this cake every week and take to work for a snack. Even if I say so myself I think it is delicious

Ingredients:

200g plain wholemeal flour
300g currants / raisins (I normally do half and half)
1/2 pint cold tea
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 mixed spice (this can be reduced to taste)
1 over ripe bananas

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4

2. Soak the currants / raisin in the cold tea over night. Don't be tempted to skip this step as it is what makes the cake really moist.

3. Mash the banana with a fork and add to a clean mixing bowl

3. Add the rest of the ingredients (including the currants / raisins) 
to the mixing bowl and stir until all mixed together, see picture below:

4. Grease a small loaf tin and pour in the mixture

5. Bake for approx 1 hour until golden brown and risen

6. Remove from tin and cool on wire cooling rack

7. When completely cool slice and store in an air tight container.

I slice this into 12 - 15 slices,

Nutritional Information (based on 15 slices, as per MyFitnessPal.com):

Calories - 109
Carbs - 27
Fat - 0
Protein - 2
Sodium - 1
Sugar- 19

Let me know your thoughts, or share any low calorie recipes you have (I could do with all the help I can get)

Happy Baking

Becky xoxox

Coconut oil - Fact or Fiction ????

I have been reading everywhere lately all about the wonders of coconut oil, I have been very intrigued to say the least.

Even though I  have literally dozens of half used beauty products in my draws, I decides one more wont hurt and purchased this organic coconut oil from amazon.

The main reasons for the purchase is that my skin is really sensitive recently and I am really struggling to find skincare products that don't cause irritation, especially to take all my makeup off.

Reading some of the reviews it sounds like coconut oil solves just about every problem known to man, I am planning on testing it out over the next few weeks on both my skin and hair. I will write a full review to let you know if it lived up to the hype.

I would love to know your experiences, so let me know if you have used it or there are any other wonder products you ave tried.

Wish my luck........

Becky xoxo