Zebra Print Nails

I never used to be into animal print but recently I've been enjoying having little animal print accents in my wardrobe. As I write this in sitting wearing a scarf with zebras on it, I also have a pair of zebra print heels and leopard print flats. I also now have zebra print nails!!

This weekend I purchased some zebra print nail foils from Primark for the huge sum of £1!!! These are adhesive foils that you simply trim to fit your nail and stick on and voila you have fancy nails! They are a little fiddly and might be easier to apply if someone helps you but it is possible to apply them yourself!

Unfortunately the foils didn't last, I put gloves on to clean the kitchen and when I took them off a couple of the foils had peeled! Still I think if you wanted to wear these in a night out you cant go wrong with them costing a pound!!!! Luckily I have some spare foils so I'll be reapplying! Amazingly though the reapplied foils did last while washing my hair this morning so its not all bad!

Signing off with supercute nails
Lauren x x x

Youthful skin!!

Having turned 26 this year *sob* I'm becoming more aware of needing to keep my skin looking young and prevent wrinkles. There are some really important steps which will help fight those wrinkles and keep us looking younger for longer!

First, and this is one I really struggle with, drinking plenty of water. Letting your skin get dehydrated reduces its elasticity and becomes thinner and more prone to wrinkles.

The sun is the skin's biggest enemy, along with the risks of skin cancer the sun can cause dark spots on the skin and leads to premature ageing. Now I'm not innocent when it comes to sun exposure, I've been silly and burnt my face on a number of occasions and had a number sunbeds before my wedding. Sunbeds are really not good for your skin, go to any tanning salon and look at the people that work there I can almost guarantee that whilst they will be a lovely golden shade of brown their skin will definitely be more lined than someone of the same age who has not used sunbeds on a regular basis. To counteract the sun I always use facial products with an SPF, whether it is my moisturiser or my foundation. BB creams are great in the summer as they provide protection from the sun but also are lightweight.

Next, always take off your make up at night! Yes I know there are nights when I can't be bothered (or am slightly under the influence) to fully cleanse my face and for these instances I always have a pack of face wipes in the house so laziness never gets the better of me!! This not only saves your pillows from getting covered in make up it also stops your pores from becoming clogged.

Use the correct skin care for your skin type. Using the right skin care means that that product will take care of the specific needs of your skin, so for example balancing an oil ucomplexion or hydrating an dry skin. Having said that there are some great products on the market which cater for all skin types, such as the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser.

Exfoliate! Using an exfoliater twice a week helps to slough off dead skin cells and let the new skin underneath shine through. It's important to use a scrub with fine particles such as the St Ives scrub for sensitive skin as exfoliaters with large particles can damage the skin leading to broken capillaries.

Use a good moisturiser. Having oily skin is no excuse not use a moisturiser. If you have oily skin your skin's sebaceous glass produce excess amounts of oil because it believes it needs to hydrate the skin. Therefore using a moisturiser for oily skin can actually help reduce the amount of oil produced by the skin.
Keeping dry skin hydrated will help prevent the skin from drying out and causing wrinkles. Using a cream such as Clinique Youth Surge which is specifically designed to slow down the ageing process and is available for all skin types will help prevent premature aging.

Finally using a good eye cream is also important to prevent crows feet and help keep the fragile skin around your eyes hydrated. It is important to apply the cream not only to the under eye area but also around the eye and up into the brow bone to ensure that you are treating the entire area. It is crucial to be gentle when doing this as the skin around the eyes is very thin and fragile, using your ring finger to pat the cream into the area will help the product to melt into the skin and be gentle on the skin.

It's never too early to start using anti aging products, I use anti ageing products which are designed for those in their 30s which will help deal with the changing needs of my skin as I move towards the scary "30"!

I hope that this is helpful to you all!

Lauren x x x

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Those of you that saw my August favourites will know I talked about my new favourite concealer.

I ran out of my mac moisture cover and didn't want to put in an order for just one item so I decided to try this concealer. I had seen the pixiwoo sisters talk about this product so I decided to give it a try.

The concealer retails for just over £4 and is available from Boots and Superdrug. It comes in 4 shades ranging from fair to deep. I bought mine in the shade medium. I'm quite fair but I found the fair and light shades were really light which is why I bought the medium. Its really important that you try the shades in the store before you buy as I probably would have bought the light if I'd not tried it. To give you an idea Sam from pixiwoo also wears medium.

For the price this concealer is amazing, I apply it from the wand and then buff it in to the skin with a mac 224 brush, you could also use a Real Techniques delux crease brush or a regular concealer brush. It looks completely natural and doesn't sit in any fines. The longevity was what really blew me away, this stuff lasts ALL DAY literally through everything. It even lasted through 2 gym sessions in one day!

This would be a great concealer for blemishes as it's so long wearing but it's also great for under eye circles and hiding any redness in the skin.

Yet another Collection product which I've been really surprised by. I'm tempted to try the Lasting Perfection foundation now because if it's anything like this concealer it will be amazing!

Let me know if you've tried this product I'd love to hear what you think!!!

Lauren x x x

My August Favourites

A little late but I wanted to share with you my August favourites. To watch my August favourites video Click Here!

First up my two favourite eyeliners this month come from Avon. I have been loving my super shock gel eyeliner which is my go to black eyeliner. It's amazingly pigmented and goes on smoothly and lasts all day! This really is my holy grail black eyeliner, unless I'm wearing contacts when it can get a bit smeary! The second eyeliner is the glimmer stick diamonds in smokey diamonds which is an amazing dark grey pencil with flecks of sparkle. This is great for when you want the definition of a dark liner without it looking too harsh!

My new mascara find this month is the Givenchy Noir Couture mascara in satin black. This is a lovely mascara which gives great volume and is super black, it's only downfall is the price , it's priced at £22.50 which i just can't justify spending!

I've also been loving my Avon ideal flawless foundation. Read my review here.



I've found an amazing concealer as well. I decided to try the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer in medium. Stay tuned for a full review soon.

My favourite nail varnish this month has been Chanel's June it's a gorgeous coral colour. This can out in their spring collection so may not be available any more as I can't seem to find it online. The price is also a bit of a sticking point at £16 a bottle! However when I went to put the bottle away the other day I came across Barry M's peach melba nail polish which is very similar at a fraction of the price.

I have also been loving benefit's Cha Cha tint. When I got this product I really didn't think I would use it as it is such a bright coral and being quite fair I wasn't sure if it would work with my skin tone but having applied it with a duo fibre brush I can say that I absolutely love this product for giving a great pop of colour to the cheeks when used sparingly!

Finally I have been loving my Avon advanced techniques shampoo and conditioner. For a full review click here!

Thanks again for taking the time to read my little blog!

Have a great weekend!

Lauren xx

Something a little bit different....

As I've mentioned in previous blogs I got married earlier this year, in fact we have been married six months already, I can't believe that it's gone so fast!!

My friends will tell you i lost a lot of weight prior to my wedding, so much so that my wedding dress had to have over 3 inches taken out of the boddice so it would fit me! I achieved this by eating more healthily and exercising 3 times a week at a local branch of the gym franchise Curves.

I have had gym memberships before and spent over an hour in the gym 3 times a week and not really seen any results so, having heard good things about curves I decided to go and check it out. The work out takes just 30 minutes and much to my pleasure there's not a treadmill or rowing machine in sight. It is basically a circuit of hydraulic machines which each work a different part of your body. These machines each have a recovery board in between each of them. You start at any point on the circuit using each machine for 30 seconds. The idea is that you work as hard as you possibly can for those 30 seconds and then you move onto a recovery board which allows your muscles to recover while you do some kind of cardio exercise to keep your heart rate up.  In my club you go round the circuit twice and then finish by stretching.  All in all you are in and out in hald an hour. I read a lot about curves before I joined and there were differing opinions of whether it worked or not with some people commenting they didn't break a sweat when working out there. I honestly don't understand these comments, my mum and I have both worked out at curves and will both admit that sometimes we've worked so hard we've actually felt sick after a session.

I joined just under a year before my wedding and was astounded with the results! I was toned and actually had abs! I came across one of my honeymoon photos the other day where I was in my bikini and I can't believe how much weight I had lost.

Unfortunately having returned from honeymoon, where we ate and drank like it was going out of style. 2 weeks in an all inclusive resort in Mexico where the food is all a la carte and having 3 courses for lunch and dinner is no friend to a trim waistline. When I got home I'd got out of the habit of going to the gym and slipped back into my old eating habits. We love eating out and so the weight slowly crept back on. Then in June I slipped on the kitchen floor and tore ligaments in my ankle and foot and was told by the dr not to do any exercise at all for 2 months. This was the final nail in the coffin and I suddenly realised that I was very uncomfortable with my size. Some of my clothes really didn't fit me any more and seeing the photos from honeymoon really gave me a kick up the back side. So now I'm embarking on a new health regime to loose some weight. I'm only doing this because I am no longer happy with the way I look and want to loose some weight. It's immensely important that you loose weight for the right reasons, I.e for yourself not for anyone else!

For the last few weeks I've been eating a lot more healthily with the help of my husband. We've been making fruit salads for breakfast, not snacking on crisps and having more balanced evening meals and virtually no eating out! I've also gone back to curves! I've thought long and hard about documenting this journey on here and have decided that I will share with you all my progress because I actually think it will help keep me motivated.

Next week I will have a weigh and measure session at curves, which I am very scared about as I have put on a lot of weight, and I will share those with you so you can follow my progress with Curves.

This evening I'm going to a BBQ for my friend Becky's birthday, no doubt she'll read this so Happy Birthday for tomorrow Becks! I've made a rice salad for this evening which is really healthy, I've stolen the recipe from my Mum so I'll give her the credit for it.

I don't have exact measurements because I sort of just eyeballed the amounts, in hindsight I think I've made quite a lot but there are a few of us this evening so fingers crossed it will all go!

You will need:
Long grain rice
Cucumber
Red onion
Sweetcorn
Peas
Coriander
Green or red pepper
Apple
Dressing - I used honey and mustard
Mayonnaise
Garlic purée

First I cooked the rice and then chopped all my veg up into small chunks. I cooked the frozen peas and then ran them under cold water to cool. I mixed all the veg and the apple in a large serving bowl and when the rice was cooked ran it under cold water until cool and then mixed this in as well. I then added about 6 tablespoons of light honey mustard dressing to the salad and gave it a good mix. I mixed a small amount of garlic purée with 3 good heaped tablespoons of light mayo and then added this in as well. Voila the recipe is complete!

I hope you all are enjoying this rare sunny day in the uk and have a great weekend!!

Lauren x x x x x

Cheating on your hair dresser....

A few months ago when I was driving home and listening to Radio1 I heard Scott Mills talking about moving hair dressers and feeling like he'd cheated on his old one and was worried they would find out. This made me laugh but mainly because I'd never experienced that feeling myself having been going to my regular hair dresser for 8 years and knowing the owner since I was about 4!

Recently I was offered an amazing package at a local salon in Reigate which included a cut and blow dry, colour, conditioning treatment and blow dry and a "spa" style treatment of a back, neck and shoulder massage, a facial and a wash and blow dry for just £60. For me this deal was near impossible to resist and after some long deliberation I decided I was going to cheat on my hair dresser!! Well I wish I hadn't!

My first visit was for my hair cut and I walked into the salon at 515 on a Tuesday evening to find the salon with only one other client, seemed a bit strange to me as my normal hair dresser is normally very busy but I assumed it was just a quiet day! I was asked to be there 15 minutes before my appointment for my consultation and my leaflet stated that if I was not there this amount of time before my appointment I may have my appointment time cut short. This bemused me, if I'm expected to be there 15 minutes before each appointment for my consultation why not just build this into my slot?? I was introduced to my stylist who, within the first 2 minutes criticised me for colouring my own hair and letting it grow out and made it quite clear she didn't approve of the way my hair was cut despite the fact I loved the way it was cut last time. Not a good start and immensely unprofessional!

I've just come back from my second visit and feel as irritated as I did last time. I arrived ten minutes before my appointment (I blame the customer services director at work for me being late!) to a totally empty salon and was sat in a chair and told my stylist would be with me in 10 minutes, wait I was told to be here 15 mins before for my consultation and she won't be ready for 10 minutes??? 18 minutes later my stylist appeared, admittedly apologising for keeping me waiting but I do wonder why she was late given that the salon was empty!

After my hair colour was washed out, one of the trainees did a fantastic job of blow drying my hair, she was struggling with my fringe so asked my stylist to help who promptly talked to her like a piece of shit on her shoe followed by "darling" which she seemed to think made it ok. Yes I know this goes on at all sorts of salons but it doesn't happen at my normal salon and I think it's hugely unprofessional!

I still have to go back for my spa visit and my blow dry but I can't say I'm looking forward to it!

So having cheated on my hair dresser and initially being worried about her finding out you might wonder why I'm writing about this in such a public place well I think she should know I'm sorry and I won't be doing it again!! Lol

I usually go to Sue Jane Hairdressing in Horley, Surrey and I will never cheat on them again! Sue Jane did my hair for me at my wedding which looked amazing! I've attached a picture below and a link to their website!

http://www.suejane.com/intro.php

I love this salon, everyone is so friendly and accommodating and you always receive a great hair cut or colour!

So the moral of the story is, if you feel guilty about cheating on your hairdresser and you're happy with the service you are receiving don't go else where!

For those of you who were wondering if I did do anything drastic with my hair, I didn't! I was thinking about having it lighter but after considering the upkeep of highlights I decided to stick with the red!

Hope you all have had a great week so far and are looking forward to what looks be a warm weekend coming up!

Lauren x x x x x

My hair care routine

Hi everyone,

I've recently changed my hair care routine and I'm finally happy with it so I thought I'd write about it in my blog.

I have colour treated hair which is extremely fine and my roots get greasy very easily but the ends can get quite dry so I regularly struggle with finding products that suit my hair.

I think I've finally found some products that will work for my hair. In the past I've used Aussie shampoo which was lovely but I found it just wasn't nourishing enough for my hair. Then I moved on to Tressemme split repair as I was really struggling with split ends, this shampoo did absolutely nothing for my split ends and also left my hair looking greasy after 12 hours or so which is just awful. I then tried Tigi Bed Head shampoo which I liked but wasn't crazy about and at over £10 a tube I just couldn't justify spending the money on a product I didn't love. On a whim I decided, when I was putting my Avon customers orders through, that I would order the Avon Advanced Techniques Volume shampoo and conditioner. Seeing as I paid £1.50 each for the shampoo and conditioner I wasn't holding out much hope, well I couldn't have been more wrong! This shampoo is what I have been looking for! It leaves my hair feeling really clean and keeps my hair looking fresh the whole day and into the evening. With a little spritz of batiste dry shampoo I can go 2 days without having to wash my hair. I wouldn't necessarily say that my hair has a lot more volume but it has more texture.

I don't like to weigh my hair down with loads of product so before I blow dry my hair I use Avon's Argan oil leave in treatment which helps keep the ends of my hair soft and gives the hair amazing shine.

I can't imagine changing my hair routine now so let's hope Avon never discontinue my favourite shampoo!!!

I usually colour my hair using L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss in a variety of colours with my favourites being iced chocolate and mahogany, however the last time I dyed my hair I used Avon's Advanced Techniques hair colour in deep mahogany red. I like both hair colours and have no complaints about the Avon one except that it takes 10 minutes longer to develop than the L'oreal, which can make all the difference when you're trying to dye your hair before a night out!!

On Thursday i'm actually going to have my hair coloured at a salon for the first time in about 4 years and I'm thinking about a drastic change so watch this space!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Lauren x x x x x x