PILLOW TALK....

Did you know that Saturday 4th April 2015 is National Pillow Fight Day? Nope? Me neither! But apparently this organised feather flailing event happens every year all over the world and this weekend it will all be happening in Trafalgar Square in Central London. Whilst I sadly won't be attending, the event inspired me to blog about pillows! Or pillowcases to be more specific, silk pillowcases...

I had recently read about the many reputed benefits of swapping the old cotton sack for a silky case.
Reported benefits include:

• The fabric is naturally hypoallergenic and has a natural resistance to dust mites and other allergies
• It helps keep your skin moisturised as, unlike cotton, it doesn't absorb all that lovely face cream you've remortgaged to get
• Sleeping on a silk pillowcase can help your skin remain healthy looking and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles 
• The smoothness of the fabric can help reduce friction on your hair which can lead to damage and split ends
• Silk is super breathable and cool to touch so if your of a certain age and suffer with night sweats or just get too warm in bed you will really benefit from feeling the coolness on your skin.
• Silk is a luxurious fabric and given we spend many an hour with our faces pressed up against it, shouldn't it feel like a lovely experience?

 Interested in all these benefits, I bought a Gingerlily silk pillowcase from John Lewis.

I wanted to give it a try myself because I tend to get hormonal breakouts around my chin and I had started to notice that the majority of spots were appearing on the right side on my face and I sleep on my right side so, putting two and two together I thought that maybe the breath-ability of silk might help reduce this. I have been resting my head on my pillowcase for about 6 weeks now and I have to say I really love my pillowcase! It feels nice and cool to lay on but they do crease a lot! I have certainly noticed a reduction in breakouts. I still get the odd one on that side, which is just how my skin is, but nothing like I used to so I feel that it really has proved to be worth the hype. Although at £39.00, if I were to attend a national pillow fight, I'd probably take a cotton one!

Have you tried a silk case? Have you read this blog? Leave me a comment!

Until next time, Steph :)


Twitter- @SFayBlog


 This is not a sponsored or paid for post just purely my thoughts and options.

IN MARCH I LOVED.....

Hello! I thought I'd upload a bit of a monthly favourite blog today and talk about a mix of  things I've been loving lately. So this is my March favs...

Starting of with a product that I blogged about not long ago (scroll down the blog page to read the full article) and it is Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. The reason I wanted to include this product in my favourites is because I've become a bit obsessed with it! I am now using it every night and I mentioned in my blog that a tip they give you is once you've cleansed and dried your skin, apply a thin layer of the balm over the skin and leave it overnight. OMG! My skin looked amazing the next day! I have had a few breakouts this month following too much rosé (oops!) but this helped to clear my skin and calmed everything down as well as making my skin super duper soft. I really love it!

The next thing I've been loving is Nars Sheer Glow Matte foundation which I've been using since the beginning of the year. I have used quite a few different liquid foundations in the past and at the start of the year I really wanted a change and I think I must have tried five or six others before I opted for Nars. At this point I don't want to name and shame but some I tried were awful!! I looked so shiny it looked like I was ill and breaking into a hot sweat! (Idea for a future blog? What do you think?) With my previous staple foundation I felt I had to use a pressed powder over the top to set the foundation and prevent that mid-day shine situation. But I spend a lot of time looking after my skin that and I hated the feel of getting my skin lovely and clean in the morning and them reaching for the trowel to pile loads of make-up on. So from reading lots of recommendations and watching tones of tutorials on YouTube I popped on down to Space NK and got matched to the sheer glow foundation in the colour Santa Fe. I opted for this one over the newer All Day Luminous as I didn't want full coverage and I have really enjoyed using it and I haven't had to use a pressed powder over the top so I'm thrilled to have got rid of that extra step! I feel less caked up and my healthy skin is enhanced by it rather than masked. The cover is perfect and I think this foundation is a great for Spring/Summer make-up bag addition. A little tip for choosing a new foundation is don't buy online. Go into a department store and ask to be colour matched by an adviser, talk to them about the coverage level you want to achieve, any sensitivity you might have and your skin type. Ask them to take off your make up and have their recommendation applied to your whole face, not just a patch on your jawline and then leave the store to road test it. Go shopping and look at the foundation in different lights, in other shops an in daylight to check you like the shade, see how it wears whilst your shopping and if your skin is comfortable with it. Then when you've decided you like it, you can pop back and purchase it knowing you've got the right shade, coverage and texture.

I've also been loving using my bargain buy Collection Brow Kit. I have quite dark eyebrows but recently I've started to notice more sparse areas and I wanted to have more definition and shape so for £3.99 I thought I would give this a go. I have to say I really enjoy using it, it's really simple and easy and defines my brows nicely. I use the middle brown shade first and applying the shadow using the slanted brush included and then apply the clear gel which comes as a mini mascara wand to tame any stray hairs. There are a lot of different brow kits out there and the price ranges are huge but if you want an effective, fuss free and inexpensive kit, give this one a go it's great!

Sometimes it's the simple things that make a difference and this month I'd loved seeing the evenings are slowly but surely starting to get lighter (in the UK that is!) It makes such a difference, I always feel more inspired, happier and adventurous and with the clocks going forward by an hour this weekend it will be nice to have longer and lighter days. I'm so excited for gorgeous Spring days and fingers crossed a lovely Summer ahead. I haven't booked any holidays yet which I need to get on do and but I'm excited for what the year ahead has!

The last thing I'm going to mention in my favourites blog is..... my blog site itself! Cheesy I know but what can I say I am loving having a small space on the net which is my own and I'm just starting out still so plenty to learn but it's great to have a place where I can empty my heads of thoughts, share things I think others might like and have fun getting all creative. And once more having real people like you, yes you I see you reading! You are actually reading what I have written. That to me is mind blowing. I don't know who you are or where in the world you are but you are reading every world my fingers have typed and that makes me feel sooooooo happy! Thank you! So please dear reader, stick with me, enjoy the content, please comment below, follow me on my blog and on Twitter and let's see where it takes us!

Roll on April!

Until next time, Steph :)


Twitter- @SFayBlog


This is not a sponsored or paid for post just purely my thoughts and options.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS- LUSH BATH TIME

Now I know this may come as a shock, but I have never used a single Lush product until I recently had a bit a of haul shopping spree. I know I know "how can that be possible?" I hear you say "it's literally everywhere!" Well, the reason I have never tried a bath bomb, bubble bar or bath melt is walking past a Lush shop can be a slightly overpowering on the old nose and they are always rammed with eager bath goers! Plus when I was a kid I used to love the little animal shaped soaps that The Body Shop used to do (are they still a real thing?) however I was so allergic to them! I used to buy them in the hope that maybe it was a one off reaction but a red rash later I had to say bye to my little molded rhino friends (I have no idea why I chose a rhino- it must have smelt good!)

I was slightly apprehensive that I could end up the same way with Lush but I went for a shopping day with my bestie to Leeds and we both ended up in Lush with our cute wicker baskets getting stuck in to sniffing and choosing ones we liked and I asked for ones which were good for sensitive skin to be on the safe side. I have to say the girls in the store were amazing, they were so friendly and I swear Lush must make them swallow an ingredients encyclopedia as part of their initiation as they really know their stuff! It felt a bit like a Willy Wonka trip with big bowls of fizzing bombs everywhere it was actually quite fun in there.

So down to business, I opted for three bath bombs and one bubble bar. I bought a Butterball, Rose Bombshell and Twilight bath bomb and the Yuzu and Cocoa bubble bar. They are so pretty looking and I loved the smell of all of them. It was quite exciting watching them whiz around the bath and thankfully I had no reactions just super soft skin hooray! Obviously I didn't use them all at the same time (can you imagine what a crazy bath that would be!) but I've written a bit a review on each.

The Butterball was the first one I tried and my skin was really nice and soft after using it and it did make my bath smell nice. I could see the oil released into the bath as it broke down so I knew this would be nice and moisturising however the down side of this one for me was the next day I could smell the oil on my skin which kind of smelt like cod liver oil and I did feel a bit oily too!

The next one I used was the Rose Bombshell and I chose this one because the lovely sales assistant told me then roses are inside the bomb and will be released into the bath once it's broken down in the water! How cute! I liked this one a lot, I'm not a massive floral fan but I liked it and the petals were lovely to. It turned the water red which was interesting but it did look like a bit like a scene from a horror film!

I have to say Twilight I really loved this one! For a start it's huge and it took quite a long time to fully dissolve but it was so fun to watch turn the water from pink to blue to purple and then when I got in I realised it had glitter in it too! The reminiscence of this is still covering the inside of my bath! I loved the fizz show, the smell and the glitter and my skin felt nice and soft. I'll definitely get this one again.

My last one to use was the Yuzu Cocoa bubble bar which you crumble under running water rather than dropping it into your bath water. This was another one I really liked because it creates bubbles and that is key for a bubble bath and I did miss having some bubbles when I used the bath bombs. My skin felt so soft after using it and it smells gorgeous too!   

I really enjoyed the novelty of these products and my skin did feel nice and soft after using them. I would buy a selection again and I think I will definitely pick up the Yuzu bubble bar and the Twilight bath bomb next time. I'm interested to see the Easter one's they release too! It's hard work testing these bath products (not!)

Which are you favourites?

Until next time, Steph :)



This is not a sponsored or paid for post just purely my thoughts and options.

YOUTUBE YOGA

My names Steph and I'm a YouTube addict. Yep. There I said it. I watch something a YouTube everyday. I love watching video's hearing people's opinions and reviews, laughing at hilarious clips and being inspired with tutorials. One thing I never expected to gain from the video-sharing website, was an exercise regime...... but I have!

I'm not a gym freak but I do like to fit keep and I would love to be able to go to a class every week but I work different shifts every day and every week so I can't really commit to going to a class. I spend all day long on my feet and from working as a spa therapist for 5 years previously I have taken care of my client's backs and sadly neglected my own. So around Christmas time (2014) I thought I'd delve further into my usual searches on YouTube and looked for yoga videos. I simply typed in 'Yoga' and the second line that came up was 'Yoga With Adriene'.

 Adriene is an Austin based yoga guru! She is an a wonderful teacher and is so endearing. Sometimes when you watch YouTube video's you just don't gel with the person talking to you and your not interested in what they have to say but Adriene has a lovely way of looking at life through yoga in a playful, expressive way 'no yoga robots' is one of her messages. Whilst you may be able to achieve a pose, her yoga is about the transition of getting there, using the whole body and exploring the body and matching breath with movement. She explains the poses really clearly and in a fun way so if your newbie like I was, you'll have no trouble diving in! I have been to three yoga classes before I started doing her video's so I was no where near an expert but I can feel that I have developed my own practice so much from watching her channel. I initially started randomly picking video's I liked the look of and then in January the channel launched it's '30 Day of Yoga Challenge' where a new video was uploaded everyday throughout January. This was so exciting, I loved logging on and having a new video to work through not knowing what the focus would be! The series was made up of video's ranging from 15 to 30 minutes and they build throughout so in the first few video's Adriene takes you slowly step by step explaining transitions and towards the end of the series more challenging poses are included and you feel you have learned so much. When Adriene says 'you got it' you feel empowered that "yes I know how to do this now!" As an extra motivator, I signed up to her website and received a weekly newsletter from her checking in with the channel community and these were lovely to read! To help me get my 'yoga head' on, I invested in some super funky purple Nike leggings and a sports bra because I felt that if I stayed in my comfy joggers I would probably end up remain sat on the sofa but by putting on my leggings it motivates me and means it's time to workout. As Adriene says in her video's "you don't need anything fancy" but for me this helps me get in the zone!

I feel so much stronger in my arms, I've toned up and my previously weak back feels a lot better too. For me it's really become more than that, it's become a part of my daily routine. I have to say I felt a tad emotional finishing the challenge as it felt like a real achievement and I won't spoil what the last day's video included but it's something I never thought I'd be able to do and I have continued to do Adriene's videos everyday since. Yoga is definitely challenging and some video's in particular I felt like 'I'm never going to be good at this' but when I revisit those challenging sequences I find I can sink into them more mindfully and with more ease which tells me I'm getting the hang of it! I'm so proud of myself for keeping up with it! I prefer to do a video at the end of the day as I always feel the need to take some deep breaths, stretch out the kinks and let go of the day. I've dipped back into the 30 day series and cherry pick the ones I want to do and a new video goes up every Wednesday too which is super fun! I find if a video is 15 minutes long I choose a second one to do straight after so that I always get at least 30 minutes done a day which means I'm managing to do three and a half hours of yoga a week! Way more than I would have done going to a class once a week and I get to do it whenever I want to, I don't have to leave the house and I get a great workout ! Perfect!

I absolutely love Yoga With Adriene! I love doing the video's and being inspired by Adriene. If only I lived in Austin, Texas so I could go to her classes for real! Thank goodness for YouTube! 

Thank you Adriene for making amazing videos and sharing your positivity!

Have you had a go at her videos? Let me know if I've inspired you to take up the challenge!

All this talk of yoga...... it's time to get on the mat. Namaste!

Until next time, Steph :)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS- EMMA HARDIE MORINGA CLEANSING BALM

So as you know from my very first blog post, I am a Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish user and have been for many years. However I have seen Emma Hardie's Moring Cleansing Balm constantly popping up lately in the media with so many positive things written about it so I thought I'd give it a try to see what all the fuss is about! I've never really been too keen on the idea of using a balm to cleanse with and haven't particularly liked the ones I've tried in the past where they have felt almost slimy and thick so I was looking forward to giving this one a go. I bought the 'Amazing Face Starter Kit' from Marks and Spencer (who knew!?) as it was on a fab one day offer which I tweeted a link to it was that good! The set comes with the cleansing balm, cleansing cloth and a mini sized Age Support cream but this blog is all about the balm!

My skin is generally normal to combination and the notion of an oily texture has always made me wary but the benefits of this type of cleanser can be huge for your skin.  They are packed full of vitamins and essential oils which provides you with the nourishment and hydration your skin needs and they are brilliant at dissolving make up and dirt on the skin. Another skin-loving bonus is that they require you to spend time massaging the product into your skin, melting the balm with the warmth of your fingertips and giving the circulation a boost and bringing the nutrients up to the epidermis and giving the skin more of a glow as a result. The massage motions also helps the skin's appearance as it helps to aid the drainage of toxins sat underneath the skin's surface and gives the cheeks a perk up too.

With make up, it's pretty quick to give my first impressions as the results are instant but skincare takes a few more test to really know if it's worth the buck so I've been using the Emma Hardie Moringa balm for a week now and I have to say I'm really enjoying using it. Dare I say, it's converted me to the potential of a balm cleanser. It is used by massaging over dry skin and removing with a cleansing cloth. The texture of the product is much more lightweight to balm's I've used before and I find it sweeps over the skin really easily and dissolves make up really well. I've stuck to using a separate eye make up remover as I don't fancy using it over my eyes but for the rest of my make up it's tested very well.

The oils that will nourish your skin in this cleanser smells delicious too! It literally contains some my favourite essential oils and aromas bergamot (love), orange (love), neroli (love), mandarin (love) rose and jasmine (love a little less but there not overpowering at all!). The scent of a product is important for me, I am passionate about my skin care and I love products that are an experience to use both visually having an effect on my skin but also evoking with aromas. If I'm going to take the time to use it, I want to feel time has been taken to create it.

Overall I'm really impressed with this product. My preference is to use it as my evening cleanser and I've noticed my skin is nice and plump in the mornings and feels nourished. One of the tips for using this product is to leave it on overnight which I've yet to try but I definitely will! And coming from being a balm avoid-er previously, I would have never relished the prospect of that! Good work Emma Hardie, you've gained a new fan! I love it!

 Have you tried it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Until next time, Steph :)
 

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This is not a sponsored or paid for post just purely my thoughts and options.

BEAUTIFUL BRIGHTON

Hello lovely! I thought I'd write a post today about what I got up to over the weekend as I went away to Brighton! It's the first time I've been and has been somewhere I'd quite fancied checking out so I thought I'd let you in on it!

I had such a brilliant weekend Brighton is a really interesting place to be. There are so many amazing restaurants and cafes, quirky independent shops (my favourite kind of shop!) art galleries, markets there is so much to see. The famous lanes were so exciting, the twists and turns of narrow streets and little shops around every corner. In one area practically every shops was a jewelers! A very special area to visit and I literally spend all day mooching around these winding streets taking it all in. Also North Laine is so vibrant and has so much personality with lots of shops and a market selling everything from leather bags to wooden hand made gifts it must be lovely to live there and have that right on your doorstep to explore. Being by the sea on a sunny day is my favourite type of day!

As well as my first time in Brighton, it was my first time eating at Jamie Olivers restaurant. I pre booked knowing it would be busy and had a gorgeous meal (pics below for you to drool over!) Three courses of deliciousness starting with a super fresh meat platter with olives, mozzarella and a kale coleslaw followed by pasta bolognese and then a chocolate fudge brown with toasted popcorn. Sadly my dessert was so good it didn't hang around long enough for a photo! Seriously good grub and then drinks at The Mesmerist which was a cool bar.

On Sunday I paid a trip to the Sea Life centre but the highlight of the day was courtesy of a super tasty ice cream from Boho Gelato. This little gem came as a recommendation from blogger and vlogger  Suzie @'Hello October' (pretty sure you'll know who i mean!) and it was the BEST ice cream!! So tasty it makes me cry inside that I live 3 hours away from it! Blueberry cheesecake ice cream. Yep, as good as it sounds my friends! A great way to end my little trip down South.

I had a great time it felt like I'd gone on holiday! I will definitely be back in the future and recommend you to go too!

The cutest Cath Kidston store!

Beautiful Brighton

The old pier

yum!

Jamie Olivers restaurant

I hope you enjoy reading about what I've been up to and the photo's from my trip.

Until next time, Steph x

Twitter- @SFBlog

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING

As today is World Book Day, I thought I'd take the opportunity to write a blog and tell you what I've been reading lately without ruining the story for you!

I love reading a good book. I find it so relaxing to escape into another world. My favourite way to end the day is to get into bed and catch up on a few chapters before going sleep. The book I've just finished reading is The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern and I really enjoyed it! I have to say I think this is the first of Ahern's books I've actually read *pauses to mull this over then 'yep I'm pretty sure it is'* I did see the film p.s I love you (and cried a lot!) but I now need to read more of her books.

The story is based around successful businesswoman Jasmine who is made unemployed and has to take a years gardening leave before she can seek work again. Having been so consumed with work, she is now forced to look at her life around her and her relationships. An interesting twist to the book is how another of the central characters is addressed as though it's the reader. Matt Marshall is a controversial radio DJ, alcoholic and general rubbish husband and he is addressed as 'you'.  It did take a while for me to get my head into how this would work throughout but here's a snippet from the page 19 of the book to explain:
'You have always lived opposite me, ever since I moved in, and you have always bothered me beyond belief, but going to work every day and all that came with that for me- distraction and knowing that there are more important things in the world- took me away from caring, from complaining and marching over there and punching your lights out.'

I bet that has got you wanting to read more! The fiery relationship between these two neighbours is the main focus of the plot along with Jasmine coming to terms with how her Down syndrome Sister Heather, is leading a far more independent life than Jasmine.

The Year I Met You is an endearing look at two characters who are polar opposite but are key in each others life recovery and uses gardening as a strong metaphor for lives needing to be pruned and cared for in order to grow and flourish.

I really enjoyed this book and if you decide to read it let me know what you think. I just need to find another book to start now, any suggestions?

Until next time, Steph :)

Want to know more about World Book Day? click here
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EYE SHADOWS ON A SHOESTRING!

Revolution Iconic 1 Palette (above)

Revolution Iconic 2 Palette (above)


When Urban Decay released the Naked eyeshadow palettes, I fear I must have had my head in a beauty black hole as they never really came onto my radar until fairly recently. I've usually been quite a minimalist when it comes to eyeshadow and had got into a bit of a Groundhog day rut, tending to go with a light creamy toned shadow livened up with a flick of eye liner and making more of a statement with a bold lipstick or gloss. However I kept hearing and reading about them so decided to check them out. My preference from all three were the Naked 1 and the Naked 2, Naked 3 had too many pinkish tones for me. However, as I hadn't yet experimented far into eye colours I couldn't justify spending £37 on them let alone being my usual indecisive self and spending £74 and getting both!

After going home empty handed, I did a bit of research, I found some really good no-where-near-as-expensive dupes from Superdrug coming in at unbelievable £4 each for 12 different shades! This time I could afford to be indecisive and bought both!

The Revolution Iconic 1 palette is a pretty darn exact colour copy of the Naked 1 and the Iconic 2 is a Naked 2 copy. Obviously I can't comment on the differences quality wise however the colours are a really good match and I am really enjoying playing around with different combinations and looks I can get from using these. I've found the colours build easily, blend really well and last all day so for £4 I can't complain at all!

What I also like about them is having a palette is so much easier than trying to fish around my Cath Kidston make up bag to try and find individual eye shadows lurking somewhere at the bottom. It's like having an artist paint board ready to go! I've not really used one more than the other, I tend to get them both out in the morning and see which colours I'm drawn to and what look I'm in the mood for making it really fun and expressive.

So if you want to try some new looks and venture more into eye shadows I would definitely recommend the Revolution palettes. I think they've do an amazing job at such a bargain price, you just can't go wrong!

Until next time, Steph :) x


Links below.... give them a go!

http://www.superdrug.com/Makeup-Revolution/Makeup-Revolution-Redemption-Palette-Iconic-1/p/979699#.VPS6L8a19FU

http://www.superdrug.com/Makeup-Revolution/Makeup-Revolution-Redemption-Palette-Iconic-2/p/979703#.VPSi88a19FU



Leave me a comment and join me on Twitter- @SFayBlog

  This is not a sponsored or paid for post just purely my thoughts and options.