Lancaster Tan Maximiser

Hey guys had a little bit of an absence as been to Cyprus with my family and I didn't take my phone laptop or any kind of device to connect me to any kind of social media and it was actually really really nice to be away from it.  But I'm back and hello social media and hello new post.  So today I'm writing about a product that you literally cannot or shouldn't not get for your holiday and even you return.

If you like to get a safe tan but prolong it then you literally have to buy the Lancaster Tan Maximiser I cannot find anything close to it equal to it or better.  I buy it every time I go away and sweat if I can't find it.  I don't understand why Lancaster sun products are not as huge as they should be, they should be huge, they are in Europe you can pick them up in most shops or pharmacies but for me I get it in the airport every time I go away.  I bought a 400 ml size (so a large family size) at Bristol Airport and they actually had Lancaster Sun products on offer and if you bought two products a third was free, so hello shopping basket.  I did actually pick up a Clarins 50 SPF for the face and that was amazing for keeping out the nasty rays of the sun on your face.

So Lancaster are typically encased in bright orange packaging which distinguishes them in there range, they are not a cheap brand by a long shot but in this case you really get what you pay for.  Why do I love the tan maximiser and why do I always use it.

The tan maximiser is basically an after sun, so after you have been out in the sun all day or however long you spend out, I shower as normal and then use this aftersun liberally everywhere.  I do this the whole time I'm away and for ten days after I return depending on how much I have left.  This consistency is milky but not runny where it will go everywhere and soaks in well into the skin.  It does have a distinctive smell which I can only describe reminds me of holidays, but that's because I always use it, it's not a horrible scent but not floral or coconuty so don't expect that. The reason I use it is it literally helps my skin rebalance after the sun, as my legs and arm tend to feel dry after sun exposure and this helps soothe the skin and counteract drying.  Not only that it helps deepen your tan and it really does.  Infact when I went into work my colleagues asked me if I had sunbathed using oils and a really low SPF when infact I literally used SPF 30 the whole time I was away and never dipped below that the whole time.  They looked at me amazed as if I was lying when I really wasn't this is what I've used and I didn't tell them, but luckily for you I'm telling you.

Laura x

Tk Maxx a little Mecca of bargains

So you know what I haven't stepped into TK Maxx for years,  I've viewed it in years gone by as a bit of hit and miss.  You know when you go in and have high expectations and come out deflated and gutted you really wanted to buy something and you couldn't. So my daughter was nagging and nagging and nagging some more please can we go up to TK Maxx so we did.  Clothes wise I wasn't winning as I couldn't go through the rails and rails but she did I was more drawn to the homewear and  skincare that was right up in my level.

If your looking for shampoos and conditioners and good quality hair masques I would say you would get a bargain but it's a case of if you see it get it as you will go back up to get what you didn't get but then decide you want and it's gone. There was a huge bottle of Redken Allsoft shampoo I wished I had bought but didn't and my next visit up there it was gone.  Also great for suncreams I bought some Lancaster Suncreams for my children as I really like it for them and online it's expensive but it was half the price in TK Maxx I was loving getting that at a tidy price. Also I picked up some oval sponge brushes you know the Artis dupes but without the humongous price tag.  I had been dying to try them for ages so I was chuffed to get them as I thought even if I don't like them for just over a tenner it won't matter.

I did notice some Elizabeth Arden skincare and Clinique so again great if you are looking for a bargain, these were incased in security boxes in guessing people may have been trying to help themselves to these.  I didn't buy any skincare but it was nice to see great brands up there, oh I did buy a round brush I can't remember the brand it was one I hadn't heard of but I remember on the packaging it said it helped reduced frizz and anti static ness on the hair and infairness it has helped give my hair a good finish and that's great for me as I hate blow drying my hair,

After rummaging round there I went back to the home department they had loads of candles very JO Malone inspired now some made me gag but some were really nice but I didn't buy any I did get a lovely good quality cushion though.

I did buy this huge Wella Enrich shampoo to with all my kids will prob last me about 4 weeks as I'm sure they tip it down the sink or empty it out in the shower.  But it's perfect for fine hair so great days.

My daughter bought some old school Ellesse clothes no thanks I said I wore that when it was out the first time gulp.

Laura

Ps this is not sponsored this is just my general shopping observations

Budget V Premium Mascara can you tell the difference

Hello guys so I'm sat in today having a lazy day huts chilling out really. I went to see Girls Trip last night with 5 of my friends and I have to be fair it literally is one of the funniest things I've seen in years.  I couldn't even drink my water in fear of me spitting it out in laughter the whole cinema was in hysterics constantly the sign of a good film. Defo what I needed and if anyone of you haven't seen it and were thinking of going do go it's worth it.

So I was sorting out my makeup the other day and I was horrified to that I had only three active mascara's left, infairness I haven't bought any for a while plus I've been quite skint so haven't bought too much anyway.  But what I wanted to do was review two out the three that I am using.

So here they are one is by Estée Lauder  the sumptuous extreme mascara in black and the other is from Esscence and is the Rock and Doll mascara which incidentally I picked up in Wilko.

So first of all onto the price points the Estée Lauder  comes in at a jaw dropping £22.95 and that's actually the cheapest I've seen it at Allbeauty.  So what are my thoughts? It's packaged beautifully as you would generally expect from a premium beauty brand encased in an elegant gold case which is not bulky or annoying it's great for travel when your restricted really with your makeup items and you don't want a huge bulky thing hanging out your makeup bag. I use this this with the lash primer that I'm identically I won in a competition. The brush is huge which you can see from my picture it's like a big Christmas tree style brush well I think it looks like one anyway.  You do get a lot of product on the brush and a lot of wetness feeling on your lashes so it feels a bit like a paintbrush slapping paint on the wall.  I use two coats of this and it does give you a good coating on the lashes.  I didn't get any clumps which I do like, I do not like this brush at all for the lower lashes I find this too awkward and big really for getting in at the lower lash, I much prefer the Clinique mascara designed solely for the bottom lashes.  

After a day of wear this did hold well and still looked quite fresh not the best when I've been to gym but then it's not labelled as water proof and lately my face has been a hot sweaty mess after the gym.  Oh and I don't put makeup on to go to the gym I just can't be arsed removing it before work to go.

Now onto the Esscence one you can see from the picture the brush is completely different to the Estee  Lauder one much smaller and difference in shape. The price point I picked this up for about £4.00 so value wise tons cheaper than it's premium friend above.  Packaging wise it's ok a bit clumpy but not gross, quite trendy with the rock n doll slogan this would appeal to my 15 year old daughter. Application wise much drier than the Estée Lauder one, I like the brush easy to use and apply. Now for me I did get quite spiky looking lashes I wouldn't say clumpy but a bit of a weird hedge hog style eyelash look.  Not horrific just different, but after a day I did experience a bit of smudging.  Didn't irritate my eyes or anything like that though.  Again I would prefer the Clinique mascara for the bottom lashes as nothing beats that one for them.  In terms of price I think it's ok, I'm at the age where I want my eyelashes to look like classy sweeping brushes so I wouldn't say this is my favourite but my daughter has now stolen if off me, I don't recommend sharing makeup I will add. 

I like the Estée Lauder one but I don't think anything currently beats Lancome Hypnose or Magnificels unless you can let me know if any can. 

Laura x 

Nivea double effect eye makeup remover

Now as a lover of a lot of eye makep including sometimes waterproof eyeliner I often struggle to get all my eye makeup off after doing my normal cleansing routines.  I am quite fanatical about my skincare and like to go to bed without any makeup on and I don't like to wake up to panda eyes.  So when I was in Boots the other day I thought do you know what I know that this eye makeup remover has been around for a little while now, I did think hmmmm perhaps this may be a big gimmicky with the separation in the bottle and the shake together solution but I thought let's give it a whirl.

Granted this is a small bottle it's only 125ml you don't really need a lot even for a heavy Eye makeup wearing person. The ingredients are ok they are suitable for sensitive skin types there is no fragrance no soap and no Parabens in,  there is sodium chloride in which some people may find a bit drying.  I shake the bottle to mix together and put some remover on a big square makeup pad I then place over my eyelid and hold it there for a while to let the product soak in so I can just wipe away my makeup instead of dragging and tugging the eye area. I fold the cotton pad over and then run this under my eye area to remove my eyeliner.

What I do then is to just wet another cotton pad in lukewarm water and wipe this over my eyelid and
around my eye area just to remove any last bits of product from around my eyes that gives me a clean base then for my eye creams and moisturisers.  I do find this eye makeup remover small but quite mighty in size it's really effective for removing even my hardcore water proof really good mascara's and even after a night out when I have literally layered on the mascara and eyeliner it's really really good at helping me not wake up looking like a panda.



Laura x

Elemis marine cream breast cancer limited edition pack

Evening guys I literally haven't bought anything for ages been proper skint but payday came and I was desparate for a new moisturiser,  I had a scroll through QVC website thinking hmmm please let's have a good moisturiser on offer or at least on easy pays.  I am quite strict on my skincare regime I am more into this than I am clothes, and its true your skin will like you if you like it first.  Really I need cleansers oils and allsorts as I'm running out of everything but moisturiser has to be the first purchase.  So I purchased the limited edition Elemis Marine cream  which incidentally was on 3 easy payments thank god......when it arrived it was in a bright pink gift box which looked too pretty to actually open, it looked like something that glitter would burst out of and unicorns would appear. That aside I opened it and my gigantic marine cream was there saying "hello come get me" in a beautiful pink jar with the breast cancer symbol on the top of the jar and also a spatula to use the cream.

So what is the deal with the marine cream and is it worth the price tag,  here is the science, complete with marine extracts Padina Pavonica with claims to transform the complexion in just over 2 weeks. Trials have proved that the appearance in wrinkle depth was reduced by up to 78% and that hydration was increased by up to 45%. Skin firmness and elasticity are dramatically increased whilst providing superior free radical protection.  

When I bought my first jar it was a much smaller version of this one, I literally used to plaster it all over my face and leave it.  I know now that's not the way to use it at all,.  Now I use the spatular and take out a tiny tiny bit less is more in this particular case.  I rub it between my hands to warm it up and activate the ingredients and then pat into my skin.  It's quite a nice routine once you get int it, you need to spend a little doing it but the results show on your face so keep at it.

I believe that proceeds go to breast cancer care from all sales of this product. It will take me a while to use this one up and the little bottle is to pretty to throw out.

On another news it's the school summer holidays although I'm not sure where the summer bit fits in as the weather has been shocking, but on the weekend I took my children to see CARS3 and we loved it, they are telling me they want to see captain underpants next omg....

Laura x

Botanics #theplantone review*

I was really kindly sent a large selection of skincare from Botanics, I love skincare so I was so happy to receive it.  Botanics is a natural skincare range that combine powerful plant extracts for a healthy looking complexion whilst being very reasonably priced. This weekend I had been painting my fence and shed out my back garden I had no idea it would take so long plus I didn't realise it was so hot so guess what I burnt my face and nose a bit ahhhhhhh. So these products have been so welcome to use to try and soothe my poor face. So let's have a little look at what I had.

My favourite: Organic Facial Oil, basically this is described as a meal for the skin, a little bottle of facial oil complete with a dropper to dispense the product, I put three drops into my palms and warmed then pressed into my skin, I was hoping that I wouldn't be met with that gross greasy feel and I wasn't this oil soaked quickly into my skin and made if feel lovely and hydrated, combined with rosehip oil which is rich in omega oils this may explain the nourished feeling and plumping, oils are my go to with skincare now as I feel they are essential in maintaining healthy skin and I was impressed by this little gem.

Day Cream: sometimes I skip it then do my makeup and I wish I hadn't when my makeup looks rubbish, so I try and find something lightweight I can use before makeup and this cream is good for that lightweight and non tacky I massage this cream in and let it sink in for about 10 minutes then apply my makeup, this cream is enriched with clary sage extract which helps moisturise dehydrated skin for hours.  As you get older it's been more important to keep your skin moisturised and hydrated because if you don't it will look rough and prune like and aged and you don't want that, so try not to skip it try and keep it moisturised, cleanse and then moisturise whilst you have your cup of tea in the morning.

Radiant youth refining microdermabrasion polish: now in truth I haven't used any exfoliating products on my face for a little while, so when this arrived I thought ok lets have a little go, now products I've used before have put me off for being quite rough, now when I used this yes it is a rough but I used it in areas that I felt my skin would benefit from getting rid of gross dead skin cells particularly my forehead and round by my nose and my chin, so a little scrub gently in circular motions and then I rinsed off oh my word my skin felt like velvet after using it I was so happy, this is the best time then to apply a facial oil or serum as your skin will literally soak it right in. My skin was a little red after using it, but that's to be expected after giving it a little scrub. My skin was glowing after this, now for me I will use this only once a week I feel like that is enough as rubbing your skin too much is not good for it and it's more effective to use it less frequently.


The triple age renewal facial super serum: this serum is formulated to help hydrate and nourish skin and reduce the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles,  this one wasn't my favourite but only as I found it a bit drying for me, I'm more of an oil person than a serum I've come to realise, but combined with the combination of skincare this is a good little product.  You cannot beat the prices of these products and for the record my skin is normal to combination and I didn't receive any irritation or breakouts the only redness I experienced was when using the micro Dermabrasion but that's to be expected.  No dryness spots or weirdness so I would recommend.

Laura x

How to live life to the full

Hello beauts hope you are all well, today I'm writing another positive post, in view of so much sad things around at the moment and me knowing 4 people my age with terminal illness I thought it was time to reflect on positive things and blessings.  I'm a massive believer in life is too short to not enjoy it and for me I love travelling and going different places and doing that with my children as that is what makes happy memories.
If you can't go abroad then going to the park or for a nice walk is just as good, fresh air and quality time with your family is priceless and doesn't matter where you are.
If like me you suffer from anxiety or depression sometimes you may not feel that your life is positive or you can even live your life to the full but with that my best advice is to take small steps every day and try and dig out positive aspects of your life and what I'm trying to remember that your kids are only little kids for such a short time they grow up so quickly and then don't want to do things with you when they get older.
I have started doing exercise now to, I used to shut off when I heard people talk about going to the gym or running and think how boring and actually I don't do any of those things but I do an exercise class with wicked music that helps me through it, I don't find it one bit boring and I actually really love it and I get home and feel good and less stressed when I do that.
If you have lots of friends try and meet up where possible and spend time with them, people are very busy with life but try and fit in time for your friends you need them as much as they need you. And to have a good laugh and a giggle is something to look back on when you don't feel too great.

I'm a firm believer of not saving for when I'm old this doesn't mean it's advisable and not for everyone, I think to myself sod it spend it now, if I do get to old age il be skint but at least il have good memories a good skincare collection and I will have good memories with the kids.

What do you do to live your life to the full??

Laura