Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for supporting this blog!
I’m so excited to say that I have moved this blog to my brand new website: www.aliceinalookingglass.com
Please come and follow my blog on www.aliceinalookingglass.com where I’ll be continuing to blog all things beauty, fashion and life!
Thank you!
Alice xx
With Panatone naming Orchid as their Colour of the Year 2014, Benefit Cosmetics have cleverly taken the purple-pink hue and incorporated it into their range of lip and cheek stains.
Lollitint, launched in UK stores today is a candy-orchid tinted lip and cheek stain and offers a fresh take on Benefit’s existing stains trio of Benetint, Chachatint and Posietint.
It’s a beautiful and unusual lilac colour and is certainly something different to brighten up every make-up lovers January!
As I only purchased this product at its launch today (25/01/2014), I can’t offer a full, in-depth review so I’m just going to give my first impressions of using Lollitint.
One of Benefit’s real selling points is its colourful and unique packaging and Lollitint is no exception. The vibrant pink box and stunning pink chrome bottle add to the product’s luxurious and on-trend feel and makes this a must-have product for girlie girls like myself.
The application seems quite easy and there’s no need for brushes as you simply brush the product onto each cheek with three strokes and then blend it into your skin quickly with your fingertips. However, you do need to make sure you blend it immediately as being a stain, the colour sets very fast and can cause streaks if it’s not blended properly.
The bright colour does look a little scary in the bottle, but on the cheeks it gives a gorgeous pop of colour.
It’s also an easily buildable shade so you can choose to create a subtle or a more intense look. The stain formula also means it should last you all day and many hours on it still hasn’t moved from my cheeks. In fact, after I swatched Lollitint for this review, I really struggled to even remove the colour from my hand with make-up remover!
I particularly love the colour on my lips as it’s pretty but striking and is very smudge proof. I do think it’s brighter and more noticeable on the lips than the cheeks. It’s also really easy to apply as you simply swipe it on your lips and blend it in, using more or less product depending on how bright you want the colour to be. It would be the perfect colour for a night out where staying power is particularly important! It does seem to have a bit of a drying effect but using lipbalm before applying Lollitint should solve this.
Lollitint retails at £24.50, which isn’t the cheapest considering you only get 12.5ml of product, but a little does go a long way. It’s long-lasting formula also means you won’t need to be constantly applying more product throughout your day.
Overall, I love the eye-catching colour of Lollitint and I think this will be my new go to colour both for the daytime and nights out!
What’s your favourite Benefit product?
Are you going to try Lollitint?
Alice xx
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With 2014 in full swing, many of our New Year’s Resolutions will have involved eating healthily and hopefully dropping a few pounds along the way. A delicious and convenient way to detox your system and get your five a day is through a juice cleanse.
I personally love enjoying the natural goodness of fruit and vegetables from juices and smoothies. However, although I have tried creating my own juices, the time, inconvenience and preparation needed for daily juicing often puts me off making them. Luckily, there’s an exciting new Cardiff based juicing company here to help…
Fresh Start, established by Eve at the beginning of 2014, are an online company taking the hard work out of juicing by delivering juice cleanses straight to your door.
Although Fresh Start are currently only delivering to Cardiff and the surrounding areas, they’re hoping to make their fresh juices available for delivery to the rest of the UK very soon! Their juices are 100% natural, made from local produce and contain no added sugars or water, so are perfect for detoxing if you over-indulged over Christmas.
(Credit: Fresh Start)
Juicing is not only a convenient way to get more fruit and vegetables into your system, but has a whole host of reported benefits, including weight loss! Juicing is also said to be an easier way of absorbing nutrients than consuming fruit and vegetables in their whole form. Juices contain the calcium and iron found in fruit and vegetables, among other vitamins and minerals.
For beauty lovers like myself, the ‘Get The Glow 3 Day Beauty Cleanse‘ is a great option and my favourite at £79.00. This juice blend is tailored to improve complexion or give a natural boost to a bride to be.
Fresh Start currently offer a range of five juice cleanse programmes and you can even customise your cleanse to build a bespoke juicing package if you have specific requirements.
Their prices range from a one day juice cleanse for £29.00 to £109.00 for a 5 day juice cleanse supply. Free daily deliveries are available to all Cardiff postcodes. Cleanses can be booked from up to a month to 3 days in advance from when you wish to begin your juice cleanse. Fresh Start hope to be involved with events featuring juice demonstrations and tasters soon to spread the word of their juice cleanses through the local community and beyond.
You can order their juice cleanses through their website at www.freshstartjuice.co.uk .You can also Tweet them @FreshStartJuice or visit the Fresh Start Facebook page.
So if you live in or near Cardiff why not give them a try? If you’re based elsewhere in the UK, keep a look out for when Fresh Start juices are available to be delivered direct to you soon.
Have you tried a juice cleanse before?
Are any of you Cardiff based lovelies thinking of giving Fresh Start juice cleanses a go?
Alice xx
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* This is NOT a sponsored post.
I was thrilled to be nominated by both Lottie from http://fallinginapassionpit.blogspot.co.uk and Lisa from http://lovefrom-lisa.blogspot.co.uk The Liebster Blogging Award!
Fellow bloggers nominate their choice of bloggers from the blogging community for this award to recognise new blogs that are just beginning to build up their readership and show their future potential.
From reading Lisa’s post I know now that ‘Liebster’ means ‘love’ in German so I’m so pleased that both Lottie and Lisa enjoy my blog enough to nominate me for this! Thank you girls!
The RulesThe Rules are as follows:
1) Mention the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog in your post
2) Answer the 11 questions set by the blogger who nominated you.
3) Nominate 11 bloggers of your choice whom have a small following at the moment but lots of potential for the future.
4) Include 11 questions for the bloggers you have nominated to answer.
As I was lucky enough to be nominated by both Lottie and Lisa for the award, I’m going to answer both of their sets of questions in my post!
So read on if you wan’t to know (way too many) facts about me!
Spiders without a doubt- it scares me just thinking about them! I would also say death but then it’s starting to get a bit morbid…
To be a successful and respected journalist with a nice big house in the country. Oh and write the next book series to rival Harry Potter. A girl can dream…
Hopefully, I will have my own home by then with a blue french bulldog wearing sky high Christian Louboutins and in a job that challenges me and that I enjoy! Extreme wishful thinking here again!
Oooh hard one! Chocolate as being a vegetarian I can’t eat a lot of sweets out there anyway!
Only more make-up than anyone could need if that counts!
I hate coffee and love tea so that one is very easily answered! This question is now making me crave a cup of tea!
My mum, soppy but true, she always deals with whatever life throws at her, good and bad and she’s always there to help and support me.
Summer- but not a British one, we never get much sun!
Is it extremely lazy if I say my onesie…? I have about five of these and to be honest, if I don’t need to leave the house, then I’m not getting out of my onesie ha!
Famous for doing something I was proud of!
Being a vegetarian and animal lover, animal rights are really important to me.
1) Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?
Yes mostly to be more organised- so I hope I can achieve this in 2014!
I’ve always wanted to go on Safari so I would love to travel to Africa and experience a full safari there!
High-end, if I could afford it! But realistically, on a student budget, high-street!
Urban Decay- I think their products are beautiful and worth the slightly higher price tag!
I started this blog as part of one of my modules for my University master’s degree but I absolutely love blogging now so I can’t wait to continue to grow my blog- hopefully for years to come!
Trying to be more organised in life (not very exciting I know) and hopefully graduating from my master’s degree.
Probably something frivolous like a Chanel handbag…
I love http://www.boohoo.com
9) Trousers or skirt?
It depends on the weather, but I would go with a skirt!
I’m going to stay true to my Welsh roots and say Cardiff.
The Urban Decay Naked Palette, I’m too obsessed with it!
1) Ruby from http://rubylions.blogspot.co.uk
2) Nat from http://theremightbecoffee.wordpress.com
3) Steph from http://stephellis531.blogspot.co.uk
4) Julie from http://justjulie81.blogspot.co.uk
5) Heidi from http://blushandbelle.blogspot.co.uk
6) Amy Rhian from http://lipsticksandliner.blogspot.co.uk
7) Sian from http://sm-beautyblog.blogspot.co.uk
8) Collette from http://shrewd-fox.blogspot.co.uk
9) Hannah from http://pinaforesandpies.blogspot.co.uk
10) Emma from http://aprettypeach.blogspot.co.uk
11) Taylor from http://www.taylorscollectionn.com
I hope you enjoyed this post and I’d love to read your answers to any of the Liebster questions above in the comments!
Alice xx
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For any new blogger, one of the key goals you have when you start your blog is often to generate more interest in your content and expand your readership. Engaging with social networks can be a great way to interact with other bloggers and get your blog noticed by your fellow bloggers in the blogging community. You can see my post on some of my favourite blogs here: http://bit.ly/194suA9
As many of your blog’s readers are often bloggers themselves, social networking is a vital tool to share your links, increase the audience of your blog and heighten that view count!
Twitter, is in my opinion the easiest and most effective way of networking with other bloggers and participating in Twitter chats is a brilliant way to share your blog with other bloggers and also discover some new reads for yourself!
Not only will you meet some new blogging friends but expand your knowledge of the industry and subjects you have chosen to blog about. The chats usually officially last an hour, but many bloggers will continue chatting after this!
As a beauty blogger with a keen interest in fashion and lifestyle, here’s my pick of the best Twitter chats for my fellow #fblbloggers to get involved with:
1) #bbloggers- This is probably the biggest and well-known chat for beauty bloggers on Twitter. It’s run by @bbloggerschat from 8pm UK time (3pm EST) every Wednesday and Sunday. Beauty bloggers can tweet with the hashtag #bbloggers at that time to interact with and discuss issues in the beauty blogging community with other bloggers. There will often be a specific chat topic- which bloggers can vote on at http://www.bbloggerschat.blogspot.co.uk or it will just be a general chat with the opportunity to communicate and introduce yourself and your blog to other bloggers.
2) #lbloggers- The lifestyle bloggers chat hosted by @LbloggersChat also takes place on Sundays from 7pm-8pm UK time or 2pm EST. Bloggers tweeting with #lbloggers can join in with the weekly topic chat. Bloggers can suggest a topic by tweeting the Twitter account and can also apply to be the host of the chat.
3) #fbloggers– For all the fashion bloggers , there’s a specific fashion related chat using the hashtag #fbloggers on Friday nights at 8pm for UK bloggers or 3pm EST.
4) #sbloggers- Student bloggers like myself can join in with the brand new #sbloggers chat, run by @charleylucy to discuss blogging issues faced by students every Friday 8pm-9pm UK time (3pm EST).
5) #fblchat– Another regular Twitter chat for beauty, fashion and lifestyle bloggers is run by @fashbeautylife and takes place every Tuesday at 8pm or 3pm EST. This uses the hashtag #fblchat and the weekly topic is voted for by participating bloggers themselves using a poll on the Twitter page.
6) #BlogHour– This is a popular Twitter chat for bloggers of all genres hosted by @UKBlogAwards with the hashtag #BlogHour and begins at 9pm UK time every Tuesday or 4pm EST.
7) #BlogTrends– For all you night owls living in the UK, @BlogTrends hosts the #BlogTrends twitter chat every Monday at 2am for UK bloggers or at 9pm EST. The chat focuses on how beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogs can improve their blogs and increase their readership as a result.
8) #iFabboTweetMeets– Another American Twitter chat that’s perfect for UK insomniacs is the #iFabboTweetMeets, hosted by @ifabbo. It takes place fortnightly on Wednesdays 9pm EST or 2am Thursdays UK time. This chat is for fashion and beauty bloggers and is a great source for learning about networking with brands.The next chat will be held on Wednesday 5th February 2014 for American bloggers or the early hours of Thursday 6th February for bloggers from the UK. It will then run every other week from there.
9) #beautychat– Another one for the beauty bloggers, #beautychat created by @beautyhigh, begins on Fridays at 2pm EST or 7pm UK time. This American based beauty chat offers a fantastic opportunity for bloggers to connect with high-end brands such as MAC and Illamasqua!
10) #psbloggers– This chat is for plus size bloggers and is held every Sunday from 9pm UK time (4pm EST).
11) #tbloggers- If you’re a teenage blogger, check out the #tblogger Twitter chat hosted by @teenbloggerchat. This chat takes places every Saturday at 8pm UK time and every Thursday at 9pm UK time (or 3pm Saturdays and 4pm Thursdays on EST time). This is a great opportunity to network with other teenage bloggers!
12) #Mybchat-A new Twitter chat has recently started by @MarketYrBlogCht discussing how to increase exposure for your blog and work effectively with brands. This runs on a Tuesday at 7pm UK time (2pm EST) using the hashtag #mybchat. The Chat took place for the first time last week and proved popular with bloggers- even trending in the UK!
The large volume of blog chats available to bloggers may appear slightly overwhelming, but if you have commitments meaning you can’t always participate every week, don’t worry!
You can always participate next time or search the hashtag and catch up on what you have missed after the chat!
I hope you enjoyed my ultimate Twitter chat list and please comment with any chats you love or think I may have missed below and I will add them to the list!
Alice xx
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A few months ago when I started this little blog, I never could have imagined the supportive, lovely and genuinely helpful blogging community out there on the vast expanse of the internet. One of my favourite things about blogging, aside from the writing has been learning about and interacting with many different bloggers. You can see my post about how to use Twitter chats to network with other bloggers here: http://bit.ly/1gMiDP0
We all share a passion for displaying our thoughts and opinions on a wide array of subjects and providing honest and useful content for our readers, whom very often are bloggers themselves.
While there are thousands of blogs and bloggers out there, the blogging world still feels very intimate. I can’t underestimate the excitement of seeing a new comment on a blog post I worked so hard on, or the value gained from the new follower on Twitter who you can swap blog links with. I know many bloggers will feel the same.
Having your own small space of the internet to share your creativity, broadcast the thoughts that overrun in your head and project your passion for words and photography really is so special and something we should enjoy cultivating with our readers and fellow bloggers. By appreciating and helping one another, we can all reach our blogging hopes and dreams that much quicker.
With this in mind if you’re a blogger like me or a reader of my blog, (thank you!) I would like to share (in no particular order) just some of my favourite beauty and lifestyle blogs of last year and the content they worked so hard on.
Read their posts and if you like them, follow their blog, share their posts, email a useful post to a friend or just post a thoughtful comment that really will make that bloggers day…
I recently discovered Rebecca’s lovely blog, Autumn Leaves and I’m so glad I did. It has everything you want in a beauty blog- beautiful clear photos, in-depth reviews of products you have been desperate to try and a mix of high-end and more affordable beauty buys to suit all her readers.Her best of 2013 posts are a must read to show you the beauty gems of last year and her lifestyle posts are so well researched and useful.
Some of my favourite posts of Rebecca’s include her advice for beauty bloggers which I am personally using to help me develop my blog: http://bit.ly/1bGq4CL and her amazingly detailed post about moving out which offers such good advice for someone taking that big step: http://bit.ly/1lGZajB.
She Might Be Loved is a beauty blog run by the fabulous Georgina and always manages to get the similarly named Maroon 5 song stuck in my head every time I have a read! Georgina’s make-up looks are truly amazing and she really is so talented with the make-up brushes!
Her beauty tutorials show you how to create her dramatic and flawless makeup looks and her Halloween looks were also nothing short of incredible! Georgina works at beauty blogger’s favourite Lush so you also see some lovely posts and an insider’s view of their smellies and latest bath collections!
Check out her party makeup look for some amazing beauty inspiration: http://bit.ly/1f3oDpU
I first came across Chelsea’s blog, Through Chelsea’s Eyes after watching some of her amazing Youtube videos. I actually got chatting to Chelsea on Twitter as I’ve been thinking about venturing into the scary world of Youtube for a while now and she sent me some really useful and much appreciated advice about how to start making videos! Take a look at her fantastic Youtube channel where she regularly posts ‘Get Ready With Me’, ‘Monthly Favourites’ and ‘Haul’ videos: http://bit.ly/1a7Zl62
Back to her blog, Chelsea uses her gorgeously girly platform to post her beautiful outfits to give us all some style inspiration, and lots of make-up reviews, with a particular fondness for Mac lipstick posts!
After writing my contribution in a colab with lots of other beauty bloggers on Michelle’s blog, Thou Shalt Not Covet on our most wished for Christmas beauty product, (http://bit.ly/1cwXSCo) Michelle’s blog became a regular read of mine.
I love her mixture of outfit and jewellery posts and her detailed make-up reviews always feature great swatches. Seeing a glimpse into Michelle’s beautiful family life is lovely and as a newbie blogger, I’m especially looking forward to reading her ‘Blogging for Beginners’ series which is starting soon!
While the blogs I’ve mentioned above are all UK based beauty blogs, I also really enjoying reading the thoughts of beauty bloggers from across the globe. One of my favourites is American beauty blog Josephine Nycole.
Nykki, as she likes to be known supports fellow bloggers by helping to host regular blog hops and has lots of beauty posts to enjoy. I particularly love her reviews on much lusted after make-up products such as this really detailed review on the beautiful Urban Decay Naked 3: http://bit.ly/1a84nzi
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of my favourite blogs of 2013 and will enjoy checking out the blogs I love just as much as me.
What are your favourite beauty blogs?
Alice xxx
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I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to what 2014 may bring for you!
I thought I would just do a quick post to thank everyone who read and (hopefully) enjoyed my blog in 2013 and share my 2014 beauty resolutions with you!
1) Take better care of my skin. I have to admit I’m rather lazy when it comes to skincare and having spot prone skin, I should probably spend a bit longer ensuring I remove all traces of make-up from my face and moisturise daily.
2) Try some more adventurous lip colours. I love lip products, probably too much… but I would like to step out of my comfort zone with the colours next year and try out some brighter shades.
3) Eat healthier. This might not seem like an obvious beauty resolution but I definitely subscribe to the notion that we ‘are what we eat.’ I hope by eating a healthier diet, I can improve the appearance of my skin, hair and nails and not just my waistline! You can read my post on the importance of healthy eating ft. an interview with Marco Pierre White himself here: http://bit.ly/1a8uEQj.
4) Use up the products I already own. As most beauty junkies will know, the temptation to buy new makeup products when you don’t necessarily ‘need’ them is very high! This year I’m going to try and only buy things when I have run out of a similar product. Though I have to be honest, I don’t anticipate this resolution lasting very long…
5) Organise my make-up. I am probably the untidiest person you could ever meet but I’m hoping to change this in 2014 by sorting through my bedroom- my makeup organisation is at the top of my ‘to do’ list!
I hope you enjoyed reading my beauty resolutions and I will leave you with my top three most popular posts of 2013:
As well as having a fantastic, shopping-filled day at The Clothes Show Live 2013, (see my thoughts on the day here: http://wp.me/p42P0z-6b) Alice In The Looking Glass Blog was lucky enough to speak to some of the many celebrities attending the show!
Listen to my interviews with The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star Sam Faiers, X Factor alumni Sam Callahan and Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing below!
After she had met her seemingly endless queue of fans for her signing with gorgeous swimwear brand South Beach, I chatted with Sam Faiers, star of The Only Way Is Essex ! She told us more about her day, South Beach and how her pop-up shop was going for her brand Minnies Boutique which she owns alongside her sister and fellow TOWIE star Billie Faiers !
Listen to my interview with Sam here:
Sam’s beauty tips: “Always exfoliate before you fake tan and make sure you moisturise and take off your makeup before you go to bed.”
Sam was at the Clothes Show to promote celebrity favourite South Beach . South Beach are a new, on-trend swim and beachwear brand that launched this spring. Their pool-side designs are unique and eye-catching and they have also launched an amazing loungewear range to cozy up in this winter! One of their super-soft onesies is definitely on my Christmas list! South Beach have recently started an incredible sale with many of their beautiful designs at up to 70% off!
You can see their sale here: http://www.southbeachofficial.com/products-2/sale
Former X Factor contestant Sam Callahan also spoke to me about meeting his hordes of ‘Callafans’, his new album and promoting stylish, high performance headphones brand BassBuds at The Clothes Show.
Have a listen here:
Everyone’s favourite Chelsea Boi Jamie Laing was at the Clothes Show promoting his young, fun (and very pink) brand Candy Kittens. Candy Kittens is basically a sweet shop meets fashion boutique, with added Chelsea charm. Featuring fashion collections for both ‘girls and guys’ and Willy Wonka esque lollipops, Candy Kittens is the perfect place to buy gifts for your Chelsea loving friends!
As a Made in Chelsea super-fan, I was delighted to be able to grab a (really quick) chat with a very energetic Jamie Laing whilst he was doing a meet and greet:
I bumped into TOWIE star, the lovely Gemma Collins who was promoting her plus-size clothing range, The Gemma Collins Collection and spotted former TOWIE cast member Amy Childs on the stall for her fashion range!
I also spoke to some of the exhibitors at the Clothes Show about the exciting products they had for sale!
With the likes of Cara Delevingne, Kim Kardashian and Beyonce all sporting big beautiful brows, eyebrows are a current beauty must-have. I spoke to Laura, a trainer from eyebrow specialists HD Brows about how they can help you to achieve this coveted look:
Confectionery king Jelly Belly UK were another crowded stand at the Clothes Show. With their trademark jelly beans and a whole host of Jelly Belly themed products on offer, customers had plenty of choices to satisfy their sweet tooth! The world’s most famous jelly bean may be renowned for its varied and exciting flavours, but are you brave enough to try their latest addition…?
Jelly Belly UK’s managing director told me more:
I hope you enjoyed listening to my interviews and I’d love you to comment below with your style tips!
Alice xx
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I consider 7am far too early for any self-respecting person to rise on a Sunday morning, but the first week of December saw my doing just that. One coach that failed to stop, a taxi, a short train ride and a two hour drive later, I had arrived at The Clothes Show Live 2013 with my mum and sister in tow!
After being subjected to the £10.00 car-parking fee (a bit steep considering we had paid thirty pounds each for a ticket), we hopped on the free bus provided to arrive at the entrance to the venue, The NEC in Birmingham.
The Clothes Show is best described as a five day fashion and beauty showcase, with shops to splurge in, new brands to discover, fashion shows to watch and celebrities to rub shoulders with! The Show celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, so this is clearly a winning formula! Indeed, as soon as we entered, we were greeted with an arena packed full to the brim with clothes shops, makeup stalls and catwalk areas- basically a fashion and beauty obsessive’s dream! It looked like it was going to be worth the early wake-up call…
It was my first time ever attending the Clothes Show Live and overall, I had a fantastic day and would definitely love to go back to the Clothes Show next year. See my top Clothes Show tips and my haul below:
I composed a short list of my tips on how to make the most of your day if you’re planning on attending the show next year.
Now on to what you’ve all been waiting for- what I bought! As a serial shopaholic, I was actually surprised to have some cash left at the end of the day! I certainly took up the opportunity to buy more (and probably unnecessary) makeup however! The deals on the beauty stands were amazing and were certainly the highlight of the shopping for me! There were lots of different beauty brands to choose from at prices you would never see in the shops! The December show dates also meant it was the perfect time to pick up some Christmas stocking fillers (or just buy gifts for yourself like me…)
I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with the clothes and accessories for sale, as being at The Clothes Show, I would have expected the offerings to be a bit more…well fashionable. The clothes stalls had a mostly market- place kind of vibe as a lot of what was on offer looked a bit cheap and un-original and many of the stands seemed to be selling the same things.
So here’s all my Clothes Show buys…
Having paid my £3.00 for this goody bag in advance when I bought my Clothes Show tickets, I was very excited to pick this up on the day! I was however, really disappointed with what was included.
Let’s take a look at the contents:
So included in the goody bag was: The December issues of Cosmopolitan and Company Magazines and a Men’s Health Christmas 2013 Gift Guide for Him, a rather bizarre tasting lemon and mint drink (which I drank at the show), a mini Andrex Toilet Tissue, two sachets of Kenco Millicano Instant Coffee, one Lindt Lindor Chocolate, a sachet of James Bond 007 Quantum Aftershave, a small tube of Colgate Max White One Toothpaste and a mini Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation.
Although in terms of value for money the goody bag was worth buying as Cosmopolitan and Company Magazine together retail for well over £3.00, I was expecting more from my favourite magazines. I was certainly surprised to see toilet paper included and a sample of men’s aftershave was also a strange choice for a goody bag from a women’s magazine.
The best picks from the bag were the mini toothpaste and foundation– although the foundation was perhaps a poor choice as the colour ‘Ivory’ included would only suit some of their reader’s skin tones. All in all, I think this was a poor effort for a ‘goody bag’ and the magazines were the only inclusion I will actually enjoy.
I’m pleased to say I wasn’t let down by Barry M and their goody bag was definitely worth their £10.00 charge! Their stall was easily one of the busiest in the beauty section and it’s easy to see why when you see what was in the bag:
There were slightly different products included in the goody bags but I was really pleased with the selection I received. My bag held an intense black mascara, a lipgloss, several eye-pencils, two dazzle-dusts and a selection of their infamous nail paints.
The nail polishes alone retail for £2.99 each so this bag of treats was a real bargain! Barry M is one of my favourite beauty brands so I can’t wait to try out all the products in my bag!
The Models Own goody bag was another great £10.00 buy at the show! There were rows upon rows of nail polish colours to choose from and you could choose any three you liked to go with your free gifts. I chose red, white and black glitter polishes for the Christmas season and received a goody bag with them including a copy of Closer Magazine, a bubblegum flavour lip-balm, eye-shadow applicators, four eye-pencils, a purple powder eye-shadow, a nail file and buffer, a pocket mirror and the official Models Own Clothes Show nail polish.
This was my favourite buy from the show as not only were you able to pick which three polishes you wanted, but the goody bag contents were absolutely amazing for the mere price of £10.00!
Jelly Pong Pong isn’t a brand I’ve tried before so I can’t wait to sample the products included in my beauty bags! I love the quirky name of the brand and the packaging on the products is pretty and colourful. Included in my beauty bags was a bronzer duo, an illuminating palette , a 2 in 1 eye-pencil and eye-shadow and a lip and cheek stain. Best of all, it was only £5.00 for two goody bags which was certainly too good to miss!
I’ve wanted to try Sleep In Rollers for a long time so I was really excited to see them for sale at the show. This set was just £10.00 and included the gorgeous pink glitter rollers set, a velour pouch with kirby grips, an instructional DVD and two reusable bags! The exact same set is on the Sleep In Rollers website for £29.99 so I’m really pleased with my buy! I’m planning on doing a review post when I try out these rollers so I hope they meet my high expectations!
As a massive Made in Chelsea and Jamie Laing Fan, the pink-filled Candy Kittens stall was a must visit! I picked up this pink bauble for my tree for £5.00 so here’s hoping for a ‘Candy Christmas!’
Although I wasn’t overly impressed with most of the clothes stalls, I did spot this gorgeous, glittery top and matching skirt on the Oh My Love Stand! At just £20 for the set, I think this sparkly outfit is perfect for the festive season and I love that I can wear it together and as separates!
Did you go to the Clothes Show this year or are you planning on attending next year? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments!
Alice xx
Healthy eating. It’s seemingly the ‘buzz word’ of the moment and a phrase we’re all too used to hearing. Eat your five a day, consume more fibre, stop eating sugary foods… But why should we listen to this advice and ditch the cakes for carrots? What health benefits can we derive from the food we choose to eat? I looked at what we need in our diets to lead a healthy lifestyle and why eating healthily is an important choice.
I asked Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White why he thinks a healthy diet is important:
NHS guidelines state we need to include the following in our diets in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle:
– Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin A, Vitamin B, C, D, E and K are all essential nutrients needed in our diets.
– We should aim to consume vitamin filled foods such as Garlic which is rich in both vitamins B6 and vitamin C.
Heidi from garlic producer, The Garlic Farm On The Isle Of Wight told me more about its specific health benefits:
– Folic Acid- This is an especially important nutrient for pregnant women. Folic acid combines with vitamin B12 to create healthy blood cells and aids in reducing central nervous birth defects. It is found in many foods including broccoli and spinach.
– Calcium- This is essential for the development of strong teeth and bones, the regulation of muscle contractions and maintaining normal blood clot functioning. Dairy products and green leafy vegetables are rich in calcium.
– Iron- Iron is utilised to create red blood cells which then carry oxygen through the body. Foods containing iron include dried fruit and the majority of dark green leafy vegetables.
– Fibre- Having fibre in our diets is important to reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. It also plays a key role in improving digestive function. Foods containing fibre include wholemeal bread and fruits like bananas and prunes.
I spoke with Maxine from The California Prune Board about the health benefits of eating fibre-rich prunes:
– A limited Fat allowance, Protein and Carbohydrates are also essential components of a balanced diet.
According to the NHS, people should aim to eat a balanced diet containing a mix of all food groups.
You should try to include:
– Fruit and vegetables
– Milk and dairy products
– Starch based foods like bread
– Meat and fish (for non- vegetarians) and non-dairy protein sources
– Limited amounts of high-fat and high-sugar foods.
This Eatwell plate diagram is useful to see how much of each food group we should be consuming: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Documents/Eatwellplate.pdf
– Additionally, following the advice of The European Food Safety Authority, women should drink eight 200ml glasses of water per day while men should drink ten to avoid experiencing dehydration.
The most obvious negative impact of an unhealthy diet is weight gain. In fact, the Welsh Health Survey of 2012 indicated that more than half of adults in Wales were either overweight or obese. The British Heart Foundation has also warned that if current obesity patterns continue, almost fifty percent of British people will be labelled as obese by the year 2030.
The NHS state that being overweight increases your likelihood of suffering from type 2 diabetes, heart disease and particular cancers including breast cancer. Eating healthy food is therefore claimed to be essential not only to maintain a healthy weight but to consequently reduce your risk of developing life-threatening diseases.
Eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is also important for our physical health following information issued by The Department of Health. Their studies have shown that eating more fruit and vegetables can markedly lessen the risk of several chronic diseases. Further, the antioxidants produced by these foods can help to stop damage to tissues which could lead to cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
A quick and easy way to consume more fruit and vegetables is by juicing.
Rich from juicing company Mannings Juice told me more:
I spoke to Beca Lyne Pirkis, semi-finalist on The Great British Bake Off about how to make healthy bakes using vegetables and why she believes eating foods in moderation is important:
The Mental Health Foundation point to growing evidence which shows that our mental wellbeing can be influenced by what we eat. Research has indicated that people reporting daily mental health concerns are less likely to consume fruit or fruit juices than those who do not report problems.
Foods high in sugar may be released into the bloodstream quickly and cause an initial energy ‘high’ that will not have a long-lasting effect. This can negatively impact on energy levels and general mood. Fruit and vegetables and wholegrain foods are better choices to maintain mental well-being as they raise blood sugar slowly and the vitamin B1 they contain has been considered to have positive effects on mood.
Mental health charity, Mind also note how excessive caffeine in our diets can lead to signs of anxiety, nervousness and depression. On the other hand, drinking water and consuming your five a day of fruit and vegetables can provide essential nutrients to aid mental wellbeing.
If you would like more information on mental health issues you can visit the following websites:
http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
I asked some exhibitors at The BBC Good Food Show what they thought:
So healthy eating is arguably important both for the health of our bodies and our minds.
It seems the well known phrase “You are what you eat” may well be true.
Alice In The Looking Glass 