April Favourites 2017

It's that crazy time of the month again, where we take a few moments to reflect that we are even further in the year of 2017. April is the month of birthday's in my family; we celebrated my nephew turning one and having his first birthday which included lot's and lot's of toys! I also had both of my parent's birthday's in the same month too - so safe to say I did a lot of shopping. I always find it a lot harder to buy presents for the men in your life than the women - maybe because I have more interest in girly presents but my Dad was pleased with money for his boating trip.

 

I also hosted an Easter Egg hunt at my Nan and Granddad's house for my nephews and had a lovely time with my family, for me, Easter is all about spending time with your loved ones and making those precious memories so my heart was pretty content that weekend.

I brought everything from the Card Factory which included bunting, Easter egg baskets and much more! - Here are a few photo's from that weekend:

 

 

Review & Haul: The BirchBox Shop

Hi everyone,

For today's post I am going to show you all what I have purchased recently using my Birch Box points. I have subscribed to BirchBox's monthly subscription service (search Review or BirchBox in the search bar of my blog to see what's inside my boxes) and as a bonus to being apart of this subscription service, you can review the products in each month's box and also refer your friends to earn points and money to spend in their online shop!

There are so many brands to choose from, ranging from make-up tools, cosmetics, hair care and skin care products to spend your money on. I had built up quite a lot of points and decided to treat myself with some new products. I just want to give some kind of idea about how amazing the BirchBox point scheme is - ask yourself, could you have purchased all of the make-up below with £11 of your own money?! I'm pretty sure you couldn't! and if you love trying out new make-up and brands, the whole BirchBox scheme is fantastic. If you have any questions feel free to leave me a message and I will answer them.

 

Here is a sneak peak of what I brought below:

 

Best Of: Fake Tans on the High-Street

I want to discuss with you all a few of the different fake tan brands available on the market which I have tried and tested (as a fake tan lover!)  and tell you about my newest fake tan discovery! There are lots out there, but I've narrowed it down for one for now! If you are a fan of fake tan like myself then I'm sure you can admit that there have been times where you've applied too much (and it goes more orange than tanned!) and some tans don't apply to the skin very well, and leave a scaly look to your skin. It's important to learn that less is more with fake tan and to do your research on the best ways to apply tan... however, if you've stumbled across my post today look no further as I'll cover all aspects.

LET'S TALK - Anxiety

Hello beauties,

I have pondered across the idea since I first started blogging in January this year about opening up and letting you see the real me, and I felt this would be a good place to start. It's really important to understand firstly before discussing 'Anxiety' as a topic, that there are an uncountable amount of different types of anxiety that people suffer with each and every day, and everyone who has gone through or is going through this emotional roller coaster of emotions is a real person but can be seen as a bit more fragile than others - and it's also important for those with anxiety to understand that not everyone will know how what it is like to go through this or even how to help someone who does have anxiety and both types are completely normal. 

GHD Hair Styling Tool & Service Review

Hello beauties,

I recently had to send my GHD hair straighteners back which was very upsetting as you can imagine they are so expensive and I was not impressed that they went wrong. It was quite odd as I'd had these hair straighteners for over a year with no problems, and my pair before I had for roughly 5 years with again no problems, until they hit the end of their sell by date and finally packed up - and to date, I've used these hair straighteners for well over 6 years and I have never found any other styling tool I prefer. So you may be thinking? Yes Em, we've got it.. they are your favourite hair styling tools (and probably yours too!) but what is the reason for the review?

Review/First Impressions: Mary Kay Skincare

Hello blog lovers,

For today's post I am sharing my first impressions and an overall review of Mary Kay skincare. I have recently been introduced to this brand through a colleague at work who follows my blog and very kindly gifted me an evening pamper set of Mary Kay's skincare products, a company that she works with. 

I love trying new skincare products and putting them to the test, do they work? are they worth the money? Well, if you'd like to know.. just keep reading.

First of all I wanted to say this is the first time I've tried any products from this brand and I am been pleasantly surprised. This brand is extremely girly as you can probably tell from the bag, card and pink packaging! The products I received were all package beautifully and a lovely light pink colour. I would rate the appearance very high!

Products -

Pamper Evening Set - Mary Kay

• Botanical Effects cleansing gel, Timewise Microdermabrasion refine, Timewise pore minimizer and a mask

When I know I'll be trying new products out that can result in a pamper session, I have to rummage in my collection add a bath bomb into the remix and here is one I used from Lush Cosmetics! This is a repurchase and an absolute favourite - how many people are in envy of how amazing my bath looked? Only bad thing is... It did leave a lot of glitter residue! 

I started off with using the cleanser to remove my make-up, it is a gel formula and I applied a small amount of this cleanser into my hands and massaged the product into my skin taking off both my face, and eye make-up. I then rinsed the cleanser off and applied the TimeWise Microdermabrasion refine scrub across my face and then rinsed, this had mini beads inside which felt as if it thoroughly cleansed my skin and got into my pores. I must admit my skin felt squeaky clean afterwards and I like to feel a product working!

To make my skin even cleaner, and softer and to help with minimizing pores I went in with another product from the TimeWise collection which is the pore minimizer this product is very moisturizing. I lastly applied the mask to my face (with all of the products, apart from the cleansing gel I definitely can have about 2-3 uses out of them - which is great for sample products!) this mask is very refreshing, and the best thing (if you're tired that is) you can keep the mask on overnight - I loved the concept of this mask, it left my skin feeling very soft and refreshed! 

Overall I have enjoyed trialing these products out for you all. They applied very nice to the skin and have left my skin feeling very refreshed, soft and smooth, and extremely clean. There are a lot of brands out there to try and test but I do rate these products highly. I have also been given a brochure of their products to learn more about the brand, as from what I have learnt so far with my research they have different products/ranges for different skin types and ages to tailor to your skin type. I will continue to try the rest of my samples out before deciding whether I'll purchase, as I feel you have to try new products out for a certain amount of time to know whether the benefits of the products work for you!

DISCLAIMER - *On an post where I have been generously gifted products to try, all opinions and thoughts are my own. I will only ever give honest reviews on my Blog*

Love Beauty with Em oxo

Review: April's BirchBox

Hello everyone,

It's the beginning of another month, and for those who have subscriptions' - like myself, get pretty excited waiting for the postman at this time! I currently am only subscribed to Birchbox at the moment and pondering around the thought of joining Glossybox - what are your favourite subscription boxes if you have them?

So far, so many of you and my work friends have since joined! as they love the idea of getting 5 products tailored to you delivered to the door each month. I can't blame them, can you? Who doesn't want it to feel like Christmas or Birthday's every month! If you would like to sign up also please message me for my discount link where you can get £5 OFF your first box!

This month, Birchbox have partnered up with Boden clothing to create this uniquely bold and beautiful Spring box. It definitely does pop and looks super pretty and cute - one of my fave designs so far! I enjoy seeing the different designs as much as the products!

Drugstore Make-Up Tutorial | Beauty

                     Good evening gorgeous viewers,

For today's post I wanted to do a drugstore make-up tutorial so I could find out the new-in and best products on the market and featuring more affordable products into my posts as I know that I am a lover of brands which are quite pricey, but that's not to say that drugstore brands aren't killing the scene at the moment.

 

Beauty Haul

 

                                      Hello beauties, ♥

The sun is shining, and we haven't had a football match to go to this Saturday so my boyfriend & I had the perfect excuse to get in the car and travel to a local shopping centre. I needed to pick up some drugstore make-up items for a new make-up tutorial I have planned to get up this weekend, and also couldn't resist spending my morning and afternoon in the sunshine!

I posted on my Facebook page for your recommendations of a drugstore foundation, as my next post is going to be a drugstore make-up tutorial! I honestly have not brought a foundation from Boots or Superdrug in at least 2 years as I've been hooked on my MAC studio-fix fluid foundation.

If you'd like to be an active member of our page, please hit the 'like' button to show your interest! I should of remembered how busy it would be on a Saturday afternoon! The aisles were full of different brands, and the employee's restocking the shelves and beauty-lovers filling their baskets. I should of realised I'd be picking up quite a few items and grabbed one, but no between us we managed (only because I forgot!) - and I love to look at each product and each brand as I've noticed the cheaper, more readily available products are right up there with the trends of the expensive brands which makes me so happy!

Healthy Eating, Gym Regime & Better Choices | Lifestyle

 

 

Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Update :

 
It has officially been 4 months since I set my New Year's Resolutions, so I feel like now is the right time to let you know just how I'm getting on. This is a good chance for you all to reflect on your resolutions/aims for the year also. I hope you're still sticking to them and not just the 31 days!

 

I took the plunge and joined the gym at the beginning of January, as I knew that telling myself I wanted to 'diet' and loose weight would be challenging. I don't really like the word diet, it makes it seem impossible to reach your end goal, when really nothing's impossible, you just have really want it and I hand on heart promise you'll get there.

 

I have now decided to take a new outlook and think of it as 'making healthier choices' and really learning about what I'm putting into my body and ensuring I fuel myself with fresh products and  nourished food that'll help improve the brain, organ function and body and make you healthier overall. These simple changes, even by just simply drinking more water and challenging yourself to try and drink roughly 3 litres a day, will have a huge impact on your health and mind.

 

I honestly feel so much more healthier since I have started working out and eating clean. This is definitely NOT a diet, this is a lifestyle choice and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

March Favourites 2017

March is finally over | WELCOME APRIL ♥
 

Closing the chapter of my birthday month, whilst welcoming the beautiful sunshine, I've had a fab month and hope you all have too! And as always, the end of the month brings the post of my all time favourite for that month! Here are my favourites for the month, a mix of beauty, health & randoms: