Pretty Pictures of the Week #8

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you have all had a wonderful week, before I get cracking just a small apology as my blog has been lacking posts this week, I won't bore you with my medical condition and all that jazz but because of this hiccup in my health I haven't been well enough to write, so my blog may be slightly sparse over the next few weeks, but that's enough doom and gloom now to the highlights!  

• First is flowers, they weren't sent to me but they always make me happy.
• The second pic is some homemade apple crumble enough to cheer anyone up.
• I got a postcard from my parents from their travels to Crete, I love receiving post.
• On Sunday I watched my brother and step-brother play badminton in the garden.
• Last of all a naughty ice cream during the English heatwave.

Hope everyone has a lovely week.

DIY Floral Crown

Hello Lovelies,

I love floral crowns and wanted one for a party I am going, but gosh they are expensive in the shops, so instead of shelling out I got my DIY on, grabbed the glue gun and set to work.  For this little project you will need:

• fake flowers (mine were from Hobbycraft)
• floral wire
• floral tape
• a glue gun
• and spare glue
• sharp scissors 

The first thing to do is plait your wire so you have enough to wrap around your head, my wire came in lengths so I had to use two and tape it twice.

Once the wire is all ready in your little halo, you need to get cracking with the flowers, start with your small flowers that you are going to cover the majority of the crown with you need to snip them of the main stalk then pull of the silk flower part so there is no plastic left, then start sticking around the wire crown.

After you have added your small flowers start adding the larger ones place them around your crown until you are happy with your floral creation.

To finish it all off and make it nice and neat I like to snip off the leaves from one of the plants and line the crown, it makes it look pretty on the inside and you can also see a slight hint of green from the outside.

Hair up or hair down I love the finished

product. 

Summer Floral Makeup 

1. Estee Lauder Pure Color Five Colour Eyeshadow Palette in Bronze Dunes (£36.00) I love the browns and bronze in this palette they are perfect for a subtle eye.
2. Maybelline Volum-Express Mega Plush Mascara (£7.99), fab for full soft lashes.
3. benefit high beam (£19.50) I love this as an all purpose highlighter. 
4. Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Bashful Blush (£21.00) is a lovely rosey blush.
5. benefit Dallas (£23.50) the perfect mixture of a blush and bronzer, I love using this on my cheeks.
6. Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One B.B Cream in medium (£7.49) is perfect for the summer, it gives a little coverage but lets all my freckles show through. 
7. Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder in number 5 (£38.00) I love this as an all over bronzer, it is light and give your skin a lovely sun kissed glow.
8. Clinique Continuous Coverage Foundation in Creamy Glow (£22.00) it is my favourite concealer and I have used it for years.
9. Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sorbet (£7.99), I love Revlon Lip Butters and this one was perfect to give my lips a pop of moisturising colour.  

Cruciani Bracelets // Review

Hello Lovelies,

As a lot of you will know I love a bit of "arm candy" and these two lovely bracelets by Cruciani C the sister brand of the luxurious Cruciani Italian cashmere brand are just perfect to add to my little permanent collection on my wrist.  Cruciana C uses macramé lace to create gorgeous, intricate light weight bracelets, they are fab worn layered or on there own as a statement bracelet and are perfect for any occasion.      

I got the Cruciani Mars Silver and Vanity Fair in Neon Peach (both are £10.00 and available at Argento)and I just have to say how much I love them.  I thought they would just be a rather fancy friendship bracelet, (there is nothing wrong with friendship bracelets in fact I have had one on my wrist for the last year, but it finally gave up the ghost).  These are however much than your average friendship bracelet they are dainty, feminine and come in so many colours and styles that it was hard to choose, these little beauties are definitely the perfect replacement to brighten up my wrist   

   

As I mentioned the little intricacies of these bracelets are what really makes them appeal, I love the C for Cruciani and the little flower that along with the loop is part of the fastening system.

Rather awful pictures of my hand, but I thought I would show you what they look like layered with my other bracelets.

Does anyone else like layering bracelets?

Clinique Blushing Blush in Bashful Blush // Review

Hello Lovelies,

This Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Bashful Blush (£21.00) is rather old as you can probably see from the packaging!  It is one of those blushes I go through phases of using, I either pop it on my cheeks everyday or opt for Benefit Dandelion (£23.50) which is a much lighter soft sheer ballerina pink with a subtle shimmer, its absolutely perfect for my skin during the winter when I lose all trace of a tan and turn back to my fair skinned self.  Bashful Blush on the other hand is great when I have a bit of colour it is a kind of peachy/rose/pink colour with a hint of shimmer, just enough to give you a radiant glow (I am great at describing things!)   

The staying power of this blush is really good, it lasts all day which is pretty rare with most powders.  The quality of the pigment is  also fab, I don't find I need much to achieve my desired look, which is probably why I haven't gone through it that quickly.  I would give this product an A as it's one of those products I keep going back to and would recommend to anyone in the market for a rosey blush. 

Does anyone else alternate their blushes?

Pretty Pictures of the Week #7

Hello Lovelies,

This week has been lovely, while my parents were sunning themselves in the Med I was enjoying the lovely weather we were blessed with at home.  It was a week of juicing, fruit eating, sunbathing and of course a picnic.

• I have really got back into juicing, so this week I put on my chefs hat and did a bit of experimenting with some different green juices all very yummy and good for my tummy.
• As the weather was so lovely I had a little picnic with my friends, and a picnic is never complete without fruit especially cherries.
• I have been lounging around working on my tan this week, although this picture makes it look like a rather dodgy fake one! 
• The fourth and final picture is picnic related again, what can I say apart from I love a good picnic.

Hope you have all had a lovely week.  

Summer Days with Clarins UV Plus HP // Review

Hello Lovelies,
My face just has to see the sun then seems to cover itself in little freckles, so using a daily sun cream is an absolute must, and my holy grail of products for this job is Clarins UV Plus HP Ecran Multi-Protection SPF 40 (£31.00) (bit of a mouthful I know). 

  This product is one of those products that in all honesty isn't particularly interesting however it managed to wheedle its way onto my most loved list and is one of those things I couldn't do without.  I sat down and tried to think about why such a mundane little thing could be so highly loved, and the conclusion I came to was that, one it is mineral based rather than full of chemicals which is always a bonus, two is the texture, you would expect such a product to err on the greasy side but in fact it is silky and smooth and doesn't feel like you have covered your face in sun cream.  The third and final plus for me is that my makeup sits really well over it, which is a must as every girl needs a bit of war paint!

According to Clarins it "defends against the elements with a patented antipollution complex.... Fights free radicals and DNA damage deep within the skins surface with organic Cantaloupe"

This day screen is pretty spectacular and is my trusty friend when it comes to protecting my skin from those pesky UVA/UVB rays.
Does anyone else use a facial sun cream everyday? 

dr.organic Tea Tree Cream

Hello Lovelies,

I love the smell of tea tree, it just reminds me of clean.  Apart from it's lovely smell it has a myriad of uses.  This lovely bottle was actually nabbed from my Grandma and since I have had it, it has been used again and again.  The Organic Tea Tree Cream (£5.19) contains antibacterial organic tea tree oil combined with aloe vera, sunflower oil and cocoa butter which together form a cooling cream.  It is fab for cleansing minor irritations and problem skin and is also great for sun damaged skin or insect bites, which I am currently covered in.  Normally mozzies don't like me, I went sailing in Croatia one summer and my friend I were sleeping in bunk beads in a berth, she got bitten to pieces and I stayed bite free, but this summer every morning I wake up with a new collection of bites!  This stuff is fab and so useful I give it an A*.
     

Does anyone else like tea tree products?

Hay Max - How to Stop the Sneezing

Hello Lovelies,

If you are anything like me and sneeze continually as soon as that pesky pollen appears then this little pot may just be the answer to your prayers.  Hay Max (£5.99) is a solid oil based balm in a little lip balm sized pot. 

Hay Max is a completely organic product that has only two components Beeswax and Sunflower Oil.  It is all pretty simple, there is no jiggery-pokery when it comes to this balm, by applying a tiny bit to the base of each nostril, the balm acts as a barrier and prevents the pesky pollen from entering your nasal passages and causing havoc with your nose and eyes.  I have never suffered with really itchy watery eyes so I can't comment on how effective it is on that front, but it definitely stops my sneezing.  For me it is a product I would definitely repurchase.  

Has anyone else used Hay Max to conquer that pesky thing that is hayfever? 

Beetroot Juice

Hello Lovelies,

This is one of my favourite red juices, I personally cannot stand beetroot but in a juice I could drink it all day.  Beetroot's have amazing health benefits they contain potassium, magnesium and iron as well as Vitamin A, B6 and C and folic acid.  They contain powerful antioxidant properties which are believed to help reduce cholesterol  which in turn protects artery walls and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.  They also contain folic acid which is essential for normal tissue growth and crucial to the development of a babies spinal cord so is great for expectant mothers.  Beets also have a low GL (Glycaemic Load)of 2.9 which means it's converted into sugars very slowly and therefore helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.  Enough of the info, now to the juice. 

For this juice you will need one beet, four small carrots or two large, a chunk of cucumber and one apple.  After peeling your beet chop all the veg up so it is easier to blitz, once it is the consistency of a smoothie pour it through a jelly strainer to separate the pulp from the juice, once you have squeezed all the juice out pour the lovely red juice into an airtight bottle then decant to drink, its not compulsory to add a pretty straw but I think it makes the juice drinking experience 10x better!