No.7 Colour Matching

If there is one thing that's never easy, that's finding the right colour foundation. I haven't worn foundation on a daily basis now for over a year and I'm happy with not having to feel the need to wear it. But there are, on occasion times when I want to wear it, and with my wedding coming up this July I thought I'd best find a foundation that matched my skin tone.

So I headed to Boots to seek our their No.7 Colour match service.
I took a seat and after a brief discussion about what I was looking for (natural looking coverage) and how my skin acts over a day (starts out ok and becomes oiler as the day wears on) we settled on what type of foundation I would be best for me.

The No.7 Beautifully Matte Light Foundation £14.50

Using their special Match Made device the assistant worked out the perfect colour for me (Deeply Ivory). She then applied a primer & the foundation to my skin & using the information from the device, applied a corresponding concealer & powder & found the right tone blusher for me (Peach Velvet).

So simple! And you know what, everything matched perfectly!
I came away with the foundation & blusher & an eyelash primer. The whole experience was really nice & the assistant was so helpful. I was a bit nervous about asking for help but I'm so glad I did. Its something I would definitely recommend if your struggling to find the right colour plus its free with no obligation to buy!

The Mooncup | my experience

I'd never given much thought to menstrual cups, one way or another until a few months ago. I was researching all the un-savories that appear in tampons and pads and wanted to find an alternative.

The Mooncup is a soft medical grade silicone menstrual cup that's safe and eco-friendly.
The mooncup comes in 2 sizes A & B.
Size A is designed for those over the age of 30 or any who has given birth naturally.
Size B is designed for those under the age of 30 & not given birth naturally.

I chose size A, most women will know what size will work best for them. I bought my Mooncup from Boots for £21.99.

the little tab with need to be cut down to the correct size for your body

How to use |

Before you use the cup the first time you will need to boil it in water over the stove. I bought my self a cheap sauce pan use, dedicated for use with my cup.
Menstrual cups can take a good few tries to get the knack of using, but once you have it down its really easy!

Step 1 | wash your hands!
Step 2 | rinse the cup, its easier to insert when its wet
Step 3 | fold -

I use folding technique 2.

Step 4 | insert like you would a tampon with out an applicator. I find using my thumb the easiest way.
Step 5 | your done!

My experience |

I've been using the mooncup now since November 2016, and I've had 3 periods since then (sorry TMI I know!) I found the first few times inserting was a bit awkward but with every time it got easier and easier.
When the cups inside you can't feel it at all, on occasion if the cups not in quite far enough I can feel the little pull tab, so when I'm able I just do a quick sort out.
I only need to worry about emptying the cup twice a day, and that's not even too bad. I think a lot of women are turned off the idea of using menstrual cups as they kind of make you confront your menstrual blood, but I think its no different than when you use a tampon or pad. I actually feel cleaner using the mooncup.
So emptying is none to difficult. I find one of the best tricks is to stand up (over the loo) insert thumb and forefinger and find the tab, and pinch the very base of the tab where the tab meets the cup. Occasionally I have found I need to push with my pelvic muscles to help move the cup down. Once I have hold of it, gently wiggle it out. Deposit the blood down the loo, and rinse out the cup in the sink. Then re-insert.
One thing I have noticed is that the cup stains very quickly. As its made from clear silicone just 3 uses as stained my cup brown (nice!) but that doesn't affect is performance.
Since using the cup I don't loath my period, and that's a big thing! Its so comfortable I forget it in there! I'm not wasting money going out and buying tampons & in the long run its better for the environment & myself. I will definitely not be going back to tampons!

So if I was to rate the mooncup I'd give it a resound 10/10!

Are your tampons toxic?

Did you know, the average woman will use approximately 16,800 tampons/ sanitary pads in her life time? That's a lot of sanitary products!

Ever wondered whats in them? Yeah I hadn't either, not for a long time. Not till I started to think about TSS - Toxic Shock Syndrome. All tampons come with the TSS label warning.

Toxic Shock Syndrome is a rare but serious medical condition that is caused when the bacteria, Staphylococcus Aureus gets into your bloodstream. It has been linked to the use of tampons.

Please take the time to read this heartbreaking story HERE, it really makes you think about TSS.

So in the very short of it, yes tampons have the potential to be very toxic to our bodies. 

So whats in these bad boys?

According to Tampax.com:

The Applicator is usually made of tightly wound cardboard or plastic with pigments of colour
The Absorbent core is usually made of cotton or rayon 
The thin fabric around the absorbent core is usually made of rayon & polyester or polyethylene & polypropylene 
The string is usually made of cotton &/or polyester polypropylene braid
The thread used to attach the string to the core is usually made from cotton wrapped polyester or polyester
The fragrance if applicable - fragrance ingredients like those found in other women's feminine products - I'm sorry but could that be any more obscure?!!

So each ingredient is synthetic except for the cotton, which would have been through a bleaching process so that its nice a white. 
Both polyethylene & polypropylene are forms of plastic. 
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber.
Polyester is another synthetic fiber.

All these fibers can get caught inside our bodies during the use of tampons, collecting bacteria which can lead to illness and TSS.
The bleaching process that the ingredients go through can also leave traces of dioxin in the product, and studies show that dioxin can collect in your bodies fatty tissues. Dioxin can cause cell abnormalities & suppress your immune system.



In my next post I will share an amazing alternative to tampons and my experience in using it!

flushed away

did you know that water companies across England & Wales are getting hundreds of calls a day about sewage blockages!?!

one of the main culprits..."flushable wet wipes"

wet wipes have been around for decades. we use them to remove make-up, wipe our babies bottoms, wipe our bottoms & clean the house. there are so many forms of wet wipe on the market & many of them have been found to be made up of three quarters polyester, which makes them extremely tough.

in the last few years 'flushable' bum wipes have been pushed by brands such as Andrex to the consumer. yes they do a fab job at cleaning your botty, but are in no way flushable. during the testing stage, yes after minutes & minutes of being sloshed back and forth they do eventually break down, but this is not a true representation of what happens in your toilet at home.

you flush your toilet, there is a little swirl or gush of water to push everything down & that is it!

so thanks to many of us using these little wipes and chucking these & god know's what else down the toilet, daily sewer blockages across the UK are a big & expensive deal! we're talking about £1 million a month just on cleaning out sewer blockages. & that's nothing on the detrimental effects wet wipes have on the environment!

i must point out that its not just wet wipes that end up down our toilets; tampons, sanitary towels, condoms & nappies all add to the problem.

so to taking a look at the environmental damage this stuff is causing, did you know it can take up to 100 years to biodegrade! with the constant use they will accumulate for many years to come.

with our flushing these items they can end up getting washed out to sea & the polyester fibers can clog up an animal's stomach if ingested, effectively making them feel full & thus causing a risk of starvation.

these fibers can also be swallowed by barnacles, scallops, crabs & fish, which runs the risk that they could get into the human food chain.

everything we humans do has a knock on effect on our environment. the safest way to dispose of any of these products, is to bag it & bin it. i have a draw full of nappy sacks in my bathroom so if either of us use a wipe we pop it in a bag & put it in our bathroom bin. its such an easy thing to do & it saves our sewers & helps the environment.

Lush Roots | DIY

A few years ago I picked myself up a tub of Lush Roots to give a try. Then, like now I was trying to grown out my hair as quick as possible and I'd seen via YouTube that Roots by Lush was a good purchase to try!

So I bought it and gave it ago. I loved the scent but hated using it on dry hair, as the directions suggest. So I used it on wet hair and it lasted a couple months as I used it sparingly, but noticed no real difference.

Recently I popped in to Lush and picked up one of their shampoo bars called New geared towards hair growth containing cinnamon. I can definitely say this about Lush products they do smell divine! 

I was thinking about picking up another tub to use in conjunction with the shampoo bar, but decided I'd go home and have a think about it as for me it's a tad pricey at £10.00 a tub.

I hopped online and had a Google of the ingredients and had a thought, why not do a DIY! I'm a total lover of DIY's and if I could make something similar my self why the devil not!

So here is what you'll need:

• A clean glass jar to pop your scalp treatment in

• 7 tbsp of coconut oil 

• 2 tbsp of castor oil

• 2 tbsp of olive oil *

• 10 drops of peppermint oil *

• 10 drops of orange oil *

• 10 drops of grapefruit oil * 

• 15 drops of tea tree oil

• 15 drops of clary sage oil 

• 8 drops of cedar wood oil

• 15 drops of rosemary oil

* used in the Lush version

The method is simple combine all the ingredients in a bowl then using an electric hand whisk mix it all up.

Place your treatment in a jar and voila!

Use it once a week, massage all over the scalp, leave on for at least 30 minutes before shampooing out. The peppermint oil is the strongest scent, so if you think it will be too over powering use less, but I personally love it!

Post Workout Smoothie Recipe

Recently I've been trying to take my workouts more seriously and I'm following more of a routine. I want to get in shape ready for my wedding next year (yes I said wedding eep) and also my honeymoon. I try to work out 5 out of 7 days anything form 30 minutes to an hour, and I really like working out with the Tone IT Up girls. The make working out fun and it also kills you!

Did you know that if you want to help build lean muscle - which you want if you want to tone up, you need to consume some form of protein within 30 minutes of completing a workout!
So today I am sharing with you my post work out smoothie.
This has been my go too, its quick and easy and tastes delicious!

Ingredients |

• 2 spotted/ripe banana's 
• 1/2 pint of a milk of your choice 
• 1 table spoon of smooth peanut butter - I like Whole Earth peanut butter :)
• 1 table spoon of protein powder  
• a dash of cinnamon powder 

Method |

The method is simple, break up the banana's in to a blender, add in the milk, peanut butter and protein powder along with a dash of cinnamon and blend until fully mixed and pour in to your desired glass! You can add an additional dash of cinnamon to the top for extra flavour! Enjoy!

The protein powder I currently have is THIS ONE from Holland and Barrett. I bought 3 sachets for £5.00, you are supposed to use the entire sachet as one drink but I'm cheap and use 1 tablespoon to make it last! I have found some fairly reasonable protein powders in my local Asda so I'll be buying from there next time, and its definitely worth a shop around first before buying a big tub for £40.00!

If you don't have any protein powder or find its too expensive...because it is, just use 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Peanut butter in its self is an amazing source of protein, body builders swear by it! The banana's are a great carbohydrate and perfect source of healthy sugars to give you that added boost after your work out!

Donating my hair..

So if you read my previous post, you'll know I recently cut off 12 inches of my hair. With the hair that was cut off, I have chosen to donate it to the LITTLE PRINCESS TRUST. A charity that provides wigs free of charge to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland who have lost their hair through cancer treatment. 

The charity works with specialist suppliers and hairdressers who offer wigs that can be tailored to the child's needs. 

The Little Princess Trust is a children’s cancer charity and our mission is to supply real hair wigs to children suffering with cancer, for the duration of their treatment.  However, in addition we assist children with other conditions which also result in hair loss, the most common being alopecia.  Our commitment to these children is different.  Despite being set up to help children with cancer, the Trust is able to supply children that do not have a cancer diagnosis with a single wig.  Whilst we are unable to commit to supplying more than one wig, we hope that this gesture will help the child and family whilst they decide on their long-term plans for dealing with this condition.

On their website there are a couple of video's that outline what the charity does and how much a good quality wig can change the life of a child suffering through hair loss. 

Their are of course guidelines to follow when donating hair such as the hair needs to be of good quality, of natural colour (not dyed blue, pink, green...) and at least 7 inches long (ideal 12 inches & longer).

I spent a long time going through my severed pony tail snipping out split ends to bring it up to standard. There of course is no guarantee that my hair will be used, but hopefully it will! Just the chance to change the life of a child is a wonderful reason to donate my hair, and over the last few years the charity has experienced a great increase in hair donation. 

So if you have #hairtospare or are thinking of having a dramatic hair cut from long to short its definitely worth looking in too!