The Lip Product Addict Tag

The Lip Product Addict Tag was something that I saw on YouTube a while back and really enjoyed so I thought I'd bring it back:

Favorite Balm/Treatment - NUXE Reve De Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm. It's the only one I've tried that actually works for in the long term, I find most lip balms just add a layer of moisture on top of the lips but the soothing feeling fades as the product wears off but this actually gets rid of dryness.

Best Eye-Catching Red - Chanel Rouge Allure in "97 Incandescente". I love everything about this lipstick. Firstly the tube is so luxurious with the black gloss finish and the gold detailing, the clicky function with the lid is a nice touch and the weight on this tube is just lovely. The shade is stunning as well, a warm red with a creamy finish - probably not as practical as a matte but it's such a fresh faced look.

Best Luxury & Best Drugstore - Best luxury need to go to the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, I have shades 1 and 2 and I wear these all the time. They're a creamy texture so they have a decent amount of colour pay-off for a sheer lipgloss and the shine on them is pretty but not over the top. Such a nice low-maintenance lip product. 

For a "drugstore" option I'd say I reach for the Rimmel The Only One Lipstick, specifically in the shade "700 Naughty Nude" the most out of all the lipsticks in my collection. I have a few shades of this lipstick and while I can't honestly say I love them all equally, I think this shade is so flattering on my skin tone and with it being a nude it goes with anything and everything. Love.

Best MAC Lipstick - I just have to give this to the shade "Lady Bug". It's a lustre finish red and it's just lovely. It's light and comfortable on the lips with just enough colour. It's a really good tone of red as well, not too warm but not too cool and it's a slightly deeper take on a sheer red. Definitely something to look into if you're in search for the perfect day-time red.

Most Disappointing - Lip Tattoos. If you want to make your lips feel like they haven't been exfoliated in about 10 years, you'll love these. Waaaaaaaaaaaay too uncomfortable for me.

Liner- Yes or No? Yes. My favourite lip liners are the No7 Precision Lips Pencils. Unless I'm down the sheer-and-shiny route, I pretty much always wear a liner, I just like the definition and they really help with lasting power.

Best Gloss - The Lipstick Queen Big Bang Illusion Lipgloss in "Creation". It's another one of those your-lips-but-better shades that's super low maintenance. I also like how these glosses have a heavy bit of shimmer to them but the glittery particles give great shine but are super fine so it doesn't feel grainy on the lips at all.

Something Extra - Lip Creams. I feel like matte liquid lipsticks are having a moment right now but I still love the good old lip cream formulas like the NXY Soft Matte Lip Creams or the Collection Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Creams. They might not be as long lasting as the matte ones but they're so much more comfortable on the lips. I have the shades "San Paulo" in the NYX and "Cotton Candy" in the Collection and I wear them all the time.

My New Go-To Denim

So a while back I mentioned that the TopShop Leigh Jeans were my jeans of choice and, while I've been buying and wearing that style for years now, they just weren't cutting it for me anymore. So say hello to my new pick of the denim patch: River Island Molly Jeans.

These are more of a true denim than the TopShop Leigh style so they're not as skin-tight on the legs which I think makes them a bit more flattering and comfortable. They're also a full length rather than an ankle grazer, (I always used size-up on my leg dimensions when I bought the Leigh style as I want a full length leg). They come in loads of different colours but my favourite is the standard light-wash blue denim with light distressing.

My only problem with these? The pockets are fake. Why oh why River Island?

Slimming World Survival: My Top Five Free Foods For When I’m Craving Something Syn-tastic

I think we've all had one of those moments where, we know we're trying to eat well, but we just need something that at least tastes bad for you. When I'm in the mood for comfort food but I don't want to digging into my syn-stash, I usually rustle up one of the following, at a whopping 0 syns per serving:

1. (Spiced Up) Slimming World Chips. So the Slimming World Chips recipe is an oldie but a goodie. At first I was making them exactly the way their recipe states, but I found them a little... Bland? They made a reasonable side-dish to whatever meal you're having but they definitely didn't fill the void left by proper deep-fat-fryer home made chips. So I spiced them up a little bit. After I've boiled my potatoes and let them dry off a little, I sprinkle them with Nando's Peri Peri Salt (although I'm sure other spices would work fine). I also use the Garlic Infused Fry Light instead of plain as it adds a little something extra to the chips. Yum.

2. I definitely wasn't the worst for drinking fizzy drinks, but every now and then I just have a real craving for something sweet and fizzy. When the sugar craving hits I mix a little bit of no-added-sugar cordial (I like the Apple and Blackcurrant from Robinson's) with diet lemonade. Sweet, fruity, fizzy... and best of all, not a single syn in sight.

3. My biggest food vice is probably toast. For me, there is nothing you can eat that is more comforting than a piece of white or seeded bread, lightly toasted and coated in butter (just thinking about it is making me hungry). But alas, a single piece of white toast with butter is around 7-ish syns. So to fill the void I've been using my healthy extra's to rustle up cheese on toast, I take 28g of Cheddar Cheese (or the amount allowed of your preferred cheese from your Healthy A list) and 2 slices of wholemeal bread from a 400g loaf from Healthy B.

4. Mark's and Spencers "Just Add" range. Now not all of these are free, but my favourite pick from this range by far is the "Mexican Chicken" and it's on the list of syn-free options. It's great for an on-the-go snack or a light lunch. This is what's in my bag for lunch when I'm on late finishes at work since it's tasty and totally satisfying but it's syn free and also good for SP days. I try to avoid carbs on my late finishes and this is the thing that totally saves the day for me.

5. Steak, Bacon and Gammon. These three meats all come under the same heading for me: something I can have at home or away that always tastes like a proper treat. If you're making sure that the cuts you're going for are lean and that you're not frying them in fat then they're all deliciously slimming.

The Answer To My Liquid-Liner Prayers

Now I'm a self-confessed liquid eyeliner rookie. I've always been the girl who opts for a smokey eye for a night out because I just couldn't get the hang of eye liner, and I'd tried so many products and techniques. However recently I found something that has me on board with the winged liner: the Stile Stay-All-Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.

It's one of those felt-tip style eyeliners and the nib is a little longer than some and comes to a really nice sharp point that makes doing liquid liner a breeze. The formula is great too, it's super black and smooth so it aids the application. I also find that when it dries down it's not too shiny so it gives amazing definition to the eyes. The waterproof claim seems to be pretty fair too, I haven't noticed any smudging with the formula and it doesn't flake off either so really long-wearing.

To apply the liner, I just lay the nib along my lash-line and press it down, then draw a little triangle flick on the end and colour it in if needed. Being an eyeliner novice I must admit I generally just do a three-quarter line (rather than starting the line from the very inner corner of my eye, I usually start it from where my iris starts if I'm looking straight forward. Generally I find the smaller you make the flick, the easier it is to keep both eyes relatively symmetrical. And trust me, If I can do it, anyone can.

If My Skincare Stash Disappeared...

When it comes to skincare, I think we can all agree, I'm somewhat obsessed. I have a bathroom cabinet that's practically overflowing with cleansers, a whole drawer dedicated to masks and enough serums, oils and moisturisers to last me a few years at least. I'm starting to cut back a bit on my obssesive collecting and it got me thinking - if I got rid of everything and had to start again, what would be on my shopping list?

Cleansers

In my cutting down I managed to get this down to three. As much as I absolutely love a lot of cleansers - seriously, I may have t dedicate a whole post to my favourites. The absolute have-to-have-it list is just these: the Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil (shock horror), the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (surprise surprise) and a more recent love in the Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser.

I wanted each of the products in this list to serve a specific purpose and I feel like these 3 work different enough to earn a spot in my hall of fame. The Una Brennan is a liquid consistency and is the product I reach for to remove makeup more often than not. I love the Oskia gel for a morning cleanse or a second cleanse post-makeup-removal in the PM. While the Tata Harper is a more recent purchase, I've nearly used up my travel mini and have a backup ready for when it's finished (and when you have as many cleansers as I do, that's a big deal). I'd been shying away from manual exfoliators for such a long time but this is nice and gentle but leaves the skin so soft and smooth, and the scent is so lovely.

Toners

I've pin-pointed two toner-step products that are must haves for me and, again, I don't think they'll be much of a surprise: For an exfoliating toner my pick is the Pixi Glow Tonic, it's effective and affordable. Enough said. I also love the La Roche Posay Serozinc since it's got anti-bacterial properties but also doubles up as a refreshing spritz since the mist is so fine. I think that both of these work equally well in the AM or the PM and they can be used together or separately. I have used lots of more expensive toners but I genuinely think these two are the ones I reach for the most and that they're the ones I'd be repurchasing once I've worked my way through my current beauty stock room.

Serums/Moisturisers/Oils

I've let myself have a few options here since I like to switch things up a bit. For AM, I love the Indeed Labs Hydralyron serum, the Clarins Lotus Facial Oil and the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I've spoken about Hydralyron on this blog so many times now but it's still a firm favourite for an affordable hydrating serum. My Clarin's Oil has been another one I've been quite consistent with, it's a good quality oil and it doesn't break the bank as hard as others that I enjoy and the scent is so refreshing in the morning. Then the Charlotte Tilbury cream is just lovely under makeup, I couldn't use it everyday since it's quite a rich cream and my skin isn't dry enough to warrant using this constantly but it's great when I do reach for it.

In the evening, I just love using the Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum, another product that I've chirped on about before. It's a thin jelly-ish texture and it just fixes your skin, that's all I can say about it. Although the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil is a very recent addition to my skincare stash, it's such an SOS saviour of a product that I know I'll be going back for more once I'm out. Finally, while the Indeed Labs Fillume moisturiser isn't something I talk about much on the blog, I've been using it for a while now and it's such a good night cream, it's really plumping on the skin and makes you wakeup looking fresh.

Inside My “Womanhood Survival Kit”

Despite the somewhat ridiculous nickname I've given it, the collection of items that I've nicknamed my "Womanhood Survival Kit" has come in handy on many occasions since it's birth and I can't believe I went so long without one. It's basically a little makeup bag that I can move from bag to bag that houses useful things, and here's what's inside mine:

I have my top three most-used medicinal products in there: pain killers, flu capsules and throat lozenges. My job involves a lot of talking so I've found carrying throat lozenges to be a good move, I find myself needing these every now and then and it's nice to have them when you need them. I've also started carrying around flu capsules recently since there seems to be a lot of bugs going around at the moment and these are great since they have paracetamol and caffine in them. I've also got standard painkillers since I'm prone to headaches and get stomach cramps, speaking of stomach cramps...

I don't know many girls who don't carry around supplies for when mother natures monthly gift arrives. Toilets everywhere have them but they're so expensive in the machines and they're never anything good. I always have a few on hand just in case of an emergency.

I've got a small Soap & Glory Hand Maid Hand Sanitiser in there, it's my sanitiser of choice since it has that classic Soap & Glory scent to it that I love. Another hygiene-related item is a deodorant or body spray - the amount of times I've been to the gym and forgot to pack one is ridiculous so I've started carrying one in my handbag to avoid disasters.

For miscellaneous items I have a black biro pen (I like the Bic ones) and a bobble (hair tie for you folks in the States). When I decided that I wanted to get dieting I added in a travel-friendly container of sweeteners - I've been finding this great as it's meant I can cut back on sugar wherever I am. A few weeks back I had a dry-skin issue that was super uncomfortable so I've added a mini tube of the Pommade Divine Nature's Remedy Balm to the bag and that's been working great - after just one day of continuous use it eased off my dry skin almost completely.

I've actually got quite a few beauty products in there: I always keep a mascara in there for emergency teary eyed moments. A pressed powder and a concealer are always nice to keep in there for general touch ups. At the moment I'm carrying the Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Perfect and cover Concealer which is nice if a little too dark for me (more shades please Maybelline!) and the Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder which I prefer for touch ups since it has a little coverage in there.

I always have at least one lip balm on hand, at the moment I have the Arrow Boost Color Enhancing Lip Balm which isn't the most hydrating lip balm out there but the hint of colour it gives the lips is nice. For actual hydration I've also got the Malin+Goetz Mojoito Lip Balm, can you tell I like my lip balms sweet?

The final thing I have in there is a couple of the Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths. These are so travel friendly since they take up no room at all and you just add water and all you need to wash your face is in there. I have a few friends that live a little further away than I'd like them too and these are useful for times when I'm planning to go for a day visit but end up staying the night.

So there we have it - does anyone else have something like this? I can't be the only one.

Tips For Eating Healthier: Meal Planning

When I decided to start trying to get back into shape (and I know round is technically a shape) I looked to Slimming World to be the healthy-eating push that I needed but getting used to cooking from scratch most nights was difficult at first. I have a schedule that's all over the place (shout out to anyone on a shift rotation!) and some weeks traditional meal-times just wasn't working for me. That's when I started looking into meal planning.

I must admit, going into it I wasn't sure; I thought meal planning would be really restrictive and that I'd struggle with not fancying what I'd planned for that meal, but it's been a lot easier than I thought it would be. Here's how I've been making it work for me:

1. Work out your schedule. A pretty standard tip I'm sure you'll agree, but one that's so important. If it's not just you that you're meal planning for take their schedule into account too: there's no point planning a meal for 2 people if the other one isn't home for that meal. I find this helps especially if you don't really have a set work routine - I work a shift rotation and my mum (who I'm meal planning with) also has a job with varying working hours but we meal plan together where we can.

2. Have a consistent day of the week to actually do your meal plan, I do my planning on Sunday's. I start by looking at what I have that needs using up, find recipes that involve those ingredients and then make a list of the things I need that I don't already have. Simples. If you want to get clever with this step, you can work your plan to have things that you can switch up in there too. For instance I like getting full chicken breasts because while my meal plan may have been for chicken kievs, if when that meal arrives I don't fancy them, I can marinate and roast my chicken breast, or I can cut my chicken breast into small chunks and have peri peri chicken pieces. I find having a well stocked spice rack helps with spontaneity which can help keep you from getting bored with your meal planning.

3. Plan things that actually work realistically with your schedule. My first week on late shifts, I was planning a proper evening meal and taking it to work in a Tupperware. Which meant I was waking up earlier to cook and I actually ended up hungrier and more tired for it. Now I'm more realistic and have a big breakfast before I leave and take pre-prepared fruit, veg and maybe a packet of pre-cooked meat or pasta with me to snack on and that's working much better than a proper meal on those shifts. Similarly when I'm on early starts I try to pre-prepare my lunch the night before so I can throw it in my bag and go in the morning.

4. Work your food shops into your plan. This is another area where I was messing up initially with my meal planning. I'd plan to something with fresh ingredients 3-4 days after my initial food shop and then have to give up on that plan as I didn't have time to go out and re-stock mid-week. We generally do the main shop on a Sunday and try to nip out again on the Wednesday or Thursday to restock if I can. If you know you're not going to have time to nip out for fresh ingredients mid-week, maybe plan to have fresh things like salads earlier in the week, and get your veg in later in the week by cooking up and freezing meals for days 5-7.

5. The most important thing to remember with meal planning is to not be too hard on yourself if you don't stick to it 100%. Things change, plans get switched up. Don't beat yourself up if you meal planned to have a healthy breakfast every day this week but woke up on the weekend in need of pancakes: you still had the healthy breakfast 6 days that week which (if you're anything like I used to be) is probably more than you normally would have.

Hope this helps!