5 January 2014

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish


I'm sure i'm not the only one when I say my skin suffers over the winter months; all of those cold winds and rainy days really plays havoc with my complexion and I was hoping over Christmas that I would receive some decent skincare products.. well I must have been on Santa's good girl list as I received the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth cleanse, tone and polish kit - perfect!

I couldn't wait to give it a try and let you all know about it. I've got to say it is one of the best skincare products that I have used.(seriously!) It comes with a lovely muslin cloth that helps gently exfoliate your face as you use it, and you can really feel the difference.

This cleanse and polish is ideal for morning or evening and the formulation works on all skin types. My skin type is typically quite dry and oily around the T-Zone area and the fact that the cleanser is free from mineral oil and contains naturally active ingredients and has a thick creamy texture has really helped keep the oily complexion at bay as well as moisturising my skin where it is needed.

The cleanser has a two-phase action. Phase 1 is cleansing; applying one to two pumps of the cleanser onto dry skin on your face and neck twice a day removes all traces of face and eye make up - including that stubborn mascara that never wants to shift! Phase 2 is where you 'polish' the cream off using the muslin cloth (be sure to rinse the muslin cloth in hand-hot water and wring out gently before wiping the cream off; this helps exfoliate your skin by dislodging any dead skin cells leaving your skin feel super clean, soft and as smooth as a babies bottom!

The kit that I received also included an Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer which revitalises, soothes and tones for instant radiance and you apply it by spraying a fine mist over the face and body for an instantly reviving and refreshing boost. I have not used the spritzer yet but I bet it would be great whilst you are on holiday in the heat and need a bit of a refreshing lift!

I was also pleasantly surprised when I read the ingredients of the cleanser learning that it has naturally active ingredients including eucalyptus and cocoa butter. A full list of ingredients is listed below (taken off the Liz Earle website)

Beeswax
The beeswax used comes from the honeycombs in which bees store their pollen. It has skin protecting properties and helps to relive chapped and dry skin.

Eucalyptus Oil
The cooling essential oil is produced from leaves and twigs of a eucalyptus plant and has decongestant properties and is often used by aromatherapists to ease muscular aches and pains.

Glycerin
The glycerin we use is vegetable derived and attracts water by drawing atmospheric water onto the skin to aid hydration

Hops Extract
This herbal extract comes from the pine-cone like fruit of the hop plant and has astringent and toning properties

D-Panthenol
This ingredient is otherwise known as pro-vitamin B and is necessary for normal functioning of the skin. It also has a moisturising effect and helps stimulate cellular renewal.

Cocoa Butter
This rich, creamy butter has moisturising effects on the skin and is made from the roasted seeds of the cocoa tree. (the same seeds that give us chocolate - yum!)

Rosemary Essential Oil / Extract
This sacred herb has been used for centuries in beauty preparations and rosemary oil has a fresh pungent aroma and is very invigorating and stimulating and has beneficial anti-oxidant properties.

Chamomile Essential Oil
The essential oil is considered to be a gentle oil by aromatherapists and it is often used to sooth skin. It has a sweet apple like fragrance which is divine!

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who wants to try and revive their skin after the harsh winter; it’s perfect and comes in perfect sized bottles that aren't too big and bulky.

I have noticed the difference after just a week of using the product and I can't wait to go out and buy some more Liz Earle products! A must have product!!

Have any of you used this product or one similar? What are your thoughts?



Lots of Love & Hugs

4 January 2014

New Year; New Adventures!



Jen here! 

You have all probably read so many '2014 resolutions' posts but the positivity floating around has made me want to write a similar post about what I have planned in the New Year. Its great to hear off you all so leave your New Years resolutions in the comments box below!

1. Work Harder
I love nothing more than a good challenge; whether it be work related or deciding to start this blog! 
Before Christmas I was feeling a little bit deflated and run down (dry skin, full of cold and constantly tired) so the Christmas break has been perfect timing for me to recharge my batteries ready to face 2014 head on!
I am probably one of the very few that can say they love their job; I love going to work and seeing what the day will bring, but there are days when you would rather be tucked up on the sofa under a duvet with a strong brew and a catalogue of Disney films... so I really want to push myself this year and see what I can achieve; I am also at college studying the level 7 advanced diploma in Human Resource Management (not beauty related whatsoever!) Along with this and starting this blog with Soph, i'd say this resolution has got off to a good start! 

2. Buy a House
If you have read our 'About Us' page you will know that my boyfriend Kraig & I are looking to buy a house in the next few months. After literally years of saving money and missing out on our annual summer holiday last year it is finally time to start looking! (yay!) I would say that this resolution is at the top of my list at the minute and I have been doing nothing but obsessing on Pinterest and Next home! 

3. Feel Happier with myself
I'm not going to head down the 'lets get skinny' route, but I would definitely like to feel more body confident and cut out the fast food and replace it with more healthy foods. My sister gets married in May this year so that is my motivation for the next few months. All my friends and family know that I am not the greatest exerciser... I go with good intentions, but never seem to keep it up so as well as eating healthier I think this resolution needs to have some exercising in there too! Some classes that I would love to take up are MetaFit and Yoga. 

5. Blog Blog Blog! 
So as you know if you have stumbled across our (kind of empty) blog you will notice that Soph & I have have started our new venture by entering the blogging world. Along with pushing myself in work and with my studies, I will try and blog as much as I can. I have lots of pretty little things I want to share with you (as does Soph) and we can only hope that we can be a popular blogspot and hope to have lots of fun along the way! I can't wait to try new products and blog my little butt off! 

Here's to an amazing 2014!


Lots of love & hugs




30 December 2013

Our favourite bloggers


Hey everyone!

So in our first blog post we talked about some of our inspiration for starting a beauty & lifestyle blog coming from the likes of Zoella, Couture Girl & Birds Words.

These are only a few of the blogs we follow & love so we thought we would do a little post on some of our favourite bloggers (there's so many!) and realistically, our inspiration has come from each and every blog we read as they are all so different! These ladies who have been blogging for months, even years make it look so much fun we just couldn't resist giving it a whirl! (Once we have got past HTML & Blog Design crisis!)

As you already know, we LOVE all things beauty related as well as fashion, lifestyle and tutorials, and reading the blog posts on BlogLovin' is a perfect past time when your getting cosey on the sofa with a brew, or even on your travels to work (We can't resist  having a sneak peak on our dinner breaks in work!) 

Blogs are also fab to see whats new and up and coming in the world of beauty; we can't wait to rush to the shops to buy new products and the majority of the time its these blogs that we see it on first! There are also some fab ideas you see on other peoples blogs that you wouldn't usually have seen... We have to admit, reading Couture Girl's blog made us go straight to Ikea & buy the Malm dressing table & drawer tidy's (Thanks Kayleigh!)

This page is to show our appreciation to the above ladies for giving us the motivation & inspiration to start blogging; were both so excited to begin this blogging venture and can only hope that our blog is as good as yours!

Links to all of the blogs shown in the picture are listed below:

Birds Words
Couture Girl
Zoella
Sprinkle of Glitter
Tanya Burr
Essie Button
Sparkly Vodka
S Walker Make Up
Dizzy Brunette
Away with the fairies
Gabriella Rose
Ghost Parties
The Sunday Girl
Milk Teef
A Little Obsessed
Autumn Leaves
Lydia Rose
Emily Grace

Lots of Love & Hugs 




28 December 2013

Our very first blog!...




Well, here it is; Our very first blog. I suppose we best introduce ourselves!...

We're Jen & Soph; two cousins who have a passion for beauty, fashion and all things pretty. We have both wanted to start a blog for so long now and over the Christmas period we thought, why not create a blog together so that we can both share our thoughts on our favourite things.

As avid readers of other beauty blogs such as  Couture Girl, Zoella and Beths Bird's Words, our inspiration comes from these lovely ladies as they make blogging look so much fun.

So a bit of background about us... (You can head over to our about us page to find out more!); Sophie is 24 and works in Recruitment and is also a trained beauty therapist who has previously worked for Elemis & Bliss. Jen is a 26 year old HR professional and both have a healthy (some may say unhealthy...) obsession for all things Beauty.

Between the two of us, our make up collection (although not huge) is substantial enough to write blog posts and share thoughts on any new products that we may come across. We're constantly texting eachother and talking about new products and we CANNOT WAIT to begin our blogging venture and share our thoughts with you lovely lot!

We have lots of ideas for blog posts and look forward to sharing them with you and hearing your thoughts! 

That's enough from us for now! We hope you enjoy our blogs on all things pretty! 

Lots of love & hugs