Soothing Sunday's

Hi everyone

I would like to welcome you to my first addition of Soothing Sunday's. 

I love Sunday mornings waking up and knowing I don't have to dive out of bed but that I can snuggle with my doggie and leisurely browsing my social media. 

It's the best feeling but come about 2pm I start to feel slightly tense like I am some how running out of time so I've started to think about what I can do to keep that Sunday feeling going a bit longer.

So what am I doing today???  I'm reading a book. 

I love to read but I never do it. I just always feel like I never have the time. When I sit on the sofa I am normally eating my dinner, thinking of a blog post, reading someone else's blog or checking social media and deciding what to watch that evening. I am never doing just one thing. 

Whereas when you read a book all you do is read that book, you get lost in the world you are reading about and your outside world stops for a bit. This is exactly what I am looking for on my Soothing Sunday. 

I decided to go back to a book I was reading at Christmas called The Miniaturist.

I got this as a gift at Christmas and I read about 3 pages and put it down not because it wasn't good (it is) but because I was so busy doing the 4 things I mentioned earlier.

As a very short brief it is about a newly married young women who gets a gift of a doll house that is identical to her husbands house complete with minature version of the furniture, artefacts and people. It's all very nice until the miniatures seem to predict the future. I would highly recommend this book if you like suspense and mystery. 

So today I pulled up my garden chair, drank a nice beverage and dived into the world of The Miniaturist. 

Let me know what you are doing with your Sunday.

Thanks for reading

AKL

My new Barry M cruelty free brow kit

Hi everyone

Brows are such a major part of make up routines now that I thought I had better jump on the band wagon and start paying mine a little bit more attention.

I currently use a eyebrow pencil from Rimmel which is not only a brand that isn't cruelty free but the pencil itself is very over used. So it was time to upgrade, I was originally going to go for the elf kit (as you will have seen if you read my Wishlist) but I was shopping and saw this one. It is the Barry M Shape and Define Light to Medium Brow kit.

Firstly can we just comment on how cute it is. It's a mini pallet and even comes with a mini tweezers and mini brush its got its own mirror so actually perfect for carrying around.

Inside the kit you have 3 squares of product, firstly the light brow square on the left is a wax and this is the first thing you use to shape you brows in the shape you want and ensure your hairs are all going one way. 

Secondly you use the darkest colour in the middle to add in colour to any patches you have and generally darken and define your brows. Although this is the light to medium kit it still quite dark so I would rate commend starting slow and working your way up. The cute little brush is really good for this.

As you can see in the above photo it does actually come with instruction in the back. It's advising to use the lightest colour to highlight your brow, I normally use a concealor but I might change my mind.

I am really impressed with this kit, it was so inexpensive at £3 and a really good start if you have never used this product before.

Thanks for reading

AKL

My new cruelty free pallet - Naked 3 dupe

Hi everyone

I've never been one to buy pallets much but every You Tube video I watch uses pallets and I really like them so I had been thinking about making a purchase when I stumbled on this one. I recently watched a video that Sally Jo on YouTube did and it was a Kendell Jenner inspired look with a smokey eye using an Olive colour and when I saw the olive colour in this pallet I knew I wanted it. Apparently this is also a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3.

There was 4 different palettes in Superdrug for the Revolution range and as well as the olive colour the others thing that appealed to me was the fact that most of the colours were shimmery not matte. They are actually more shimmery than they look in the picture.

I feel eye shadow is sort of special in make up. My foundation, concealor, blusher and primer I use because I feel I have to for coverage of blemishes, fine lines etc and mascaras are to open up my eyes. Eyeshadow however I use because I want to, there are endless choices and it's to me the most artistic and most expressive piece of make up. 

It really adds to a make up look and can dress up day to night make up. My favourites in this palette are the olive of course then the gold and brown. This palette cost only £4 so it's really good value for money and the colours do seem quite pigmented at first swatch. I think I may be heading back to Superdrug for the other sets.

Let me know if you have tried any of the Revolution palettes and what you thought of them?

Thanks for reading

AKL

Empties - cruelty free skin care and body care

Hi everyone

So hopefully you have seen my empties for my hair care products, I have so many empties I split them in 2. So here is the second instalment and it's my face and body care products.

Firstly let's talk body care. Bayliss and Harding is a brand that keeps popping up in my collection and I really like it. They tend to do really nice packaging and gift packs. This is one of the last pieces from one of my Christmas gift packs and it's the body moisturiser, it runs in well, smells nice but not over powdering and it's a big pack so you can't go wrong.

Next I have a Pattisserie de Bain body lotion in the scent cranberries and cream this was part of a free gift that I got in Superdrug. I looked this brand up online and they look like some of there products are vegan but not all so I would do a bit more research before purchasing this brand again but it is a lovely product.

Next I have one of my old favourites it's the Original Source Vanilla and Raspberry shower gel. It's smells so lovely and at 95p in Superdrug you cannot go wrong.

Next we go a little more high end with Sanctuary products and it's the Cleansing Burst Body wash. It's such a lovely fragrance and it feels so luxurious on your skin. It's quite an expensive product to purchase each month but as a treat it's lovely.

We have to go back to Lush of course and this is also left over from Christmas. The packaging has fallen apart but it was the Santas belly jelly wash. I love these, I didn't think that they would be my kind of product at first but I was wrong they last so long like a bar of soap would but they don't dry out your skin. I would highly recommend this product and I will be repurchasing.

Last on my skincare list is the Superdrug Vitamin E all over body cream, I love just diving into a big tub of moisturiser after my bath or shower and this is perfect. It's also really inexpensive. 

Moving on to my face care empties, leftover right again I have the B. Nourished Night Serum. I have nothing bad to say about this product but I'm not sure that I have amazing things to say either. It's very smooth on my skin and rubs in so nicely but I just don't feel that it has added much to my routine that my moisturiser doesn't already do. I have stopped using it now for about a week and I haven't noticed a difference so I will be using B. products again but I think I may choose a different serum next time.

The next 2 products I have used and talked about so much. It's the Simply Pure foaming face wash and also the face moisturiser. I have been purchasing these for well over a year and will continue to do so. I am on the market for something richer for a night cream though. 

Next is the Simply Pure Gentle face wash and it is a gel. I brought this because they were out of the foaming version but I wouldnt repurchase, I used it so quickly as I felt I needed more product to clean my face.

Last but not least for my empties is the Superdrug Vitamin E eye cream, this is such a great product. It's creamy, rubs in well, cools the eye area and lasts so long. This small tub lasted aprox 2 months.

So there we go my last empty, hope you enjoyed my 2 blog posts. I'm sure I will have plenty more empties next month.

Thanks for reading

AKL

Empties - cruelty free haircare

Hi everyone

For some reason I have so many empties all at once this month so I've split them into 2, this one is the haircare one and next I will have a skincare/body care one.

So here are all my hairs are empties, which unfortunately means I need to spend a fortune replacing them (but also means I get to go shopping).

Let's start with hair styling. From the left I have the Superdrug Style Expertise straightening cream. I am a big fan of this, it's very creamy but non greasy. I feel it spreads through my hair well and doesn't leave any residue on my hair brush. I use this before drying my hair and I really feel this has made a difference in the condition of my hair.

Next I have made shampoo and conditioner, this is slightly different to my normal one as I normally use both in the coconut scent but this time they were all out so I go the Macadamia nut shampoo and the coconut conditioner. I've blogged about the, before so let's just say I love them.

Back to styling and I have the Superdrug Style Expertise Heat Protector. This is an amazing product, none greasy even on dry hair, soaks in well and doesn't smell chemically or too strong. I feel safer straightening my hair and is so quick to use before work.

One I've used less but still love is the Superdrug Style Expertise Root Boost. I have an endless quest for volume and I do think this holds the volume in my roots when I blow dry, like other products it doesn't leave any greasy residue or soaks in really well.

Last but not least, it's the Lee Stafford Dehumifier. I'm always a bit fan of this product it smells so lovely and I think it works. I've repurchased over and over again and proberley will continue to do so.

Moving on to hair care and I've got to start off with my holy grill product the Superdrug Hair Therapy Oli with Argon. I've blogged and blogged about this and it never lets me down. I feel better each time I use it and it repairs damaged hair amazingly.

Next I have my good old faithful Coconut Oil. I mix this in with my hair oil to make it even better. I also use this as an eye make up remover but as its mainly for my hair I've included it in these empties.

Last but not least it's the Lush R&B hair moisturiser. It's such a lovely smelling product, I have to be soooooo careful with it as it is a fine line between enough and too much product and this leaves my hair with product build up. I love Lush and most likely I will be repurchasing this again just like every Lush product I've tried.

Thank you for reading and look out for the skin care and body care empties.

AKL

Make up Monday's - My new concealer

Hi everyone

I've been looking for a good concealor for a little while. In the past I have always used concealor to cover blemishes but recently I've been looking for a really good under eye concealor. I feel there is a different criteria for an under eye concealor, I'm looking for brightening and reflective so I look for a whiter consistancy whereas to cover blemishes I am looking for one that matches my skin tone better.

On my hunt I found this one and it's the Collection Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealor. It comes with a brush end and you twist the other end to get the product out. It's a really creamy texture and pats well into the skin with my beauty blender. It looks slightly darker when it comes out than it looks when it is on the skin but it conceals really well. It also lasts really well even in the hot weather we are having at the moment and a full day at work. I would highly recommend this product.

Thanks for reading

AKL

The Disney princess tag

Hi everyone

It's Sunday morning and it's a bank holiday which makes me very happy. So it seemed the perfect time for a Tag so here goes. I tag all of you to do this as well, it's the ultimate light relief.

Q1) WHICH PRINCESS DO YOU ADORE THE MOST ?! 
It's got to be Cinderella, I feel like she really deserves to be a princess in the end.

Q2) WHICH PRINCESS DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST ?! 
I would like it to be sleeping beauty as I love sleep and I love animals.

Q3) WHICH SIDEKICK DO YOU WISH YOU HAD ?! 

Flounder in The little mermaid 

Q4) WHICH BEST FRIENDS WOULD YOU LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH ?! 
The seven dewarfs 

Q5) WHICH PRINCE WOULD LOVE YOU ?! 
Prince Eric

Q6) WHICH PARENTS WOULD RAISE YOU ?! 
The 3 fairy god mothers in sleeping beauty

Q7) WHICH TOWN DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN ?! 

Corona

Q8) WHICH CASTLE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN ?! 
Does the cottage in Sleeping Beauty count?

Q9) WHICH DRESS DO YOU WISH YOU OWNED ?! 
Cinderellas dress for the ball

Q10 ) WHICH VOICE DO YOU WISH YOU HAD ?! 
Sleeping beauty, to sing to the animals

Q11) WHICH TWO PRINCESSES WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS ?! 

Aurora and Belle

Q12) WHICH TWO PRINCESSES DO YOU THINK THAT WOULD HATE EACH OTHER ?! 
There princess, they would all get on.

Q13) WHICH TWO SIDEKICKS WOULD MAKE A GOOD DUO ?! 
Gus and Jaq (Cinderella) and Flounder (Little Mermaid) they are all very sweet.

Q14) WHICH TWO PRINCES WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS ?! 

Prince Charming and Prince Eric

Q15) WHICH SCENE MAKES YOU CRY ?! 
I don't think I've cried at any of the Princess movies

Q16) WHAT SCENE MAKES YOU CHEER ?! 
Cinderella when the slipper fits

Q17) WHAT MOVIE IS YOUR FAVOURITE SOUNDTRACK ?! 
Little Mermaid

Q18) WHAT SCENE MAKES YOU CRINGE ?! 
I can't think of any?!?

Q19) WHICH STORY DO YOU WISH WAS YOUR LIFE ?! 

Beauty and The Beast

Q20) WHICH MOVIE DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ?! 
Sleeping Beauty

Thanks for reading I'm off to put on my glass slippers, talk to the animals and finger out what forks are used for?!?!

AKL