Can anybody else hear sleigh bells...?

A short happy post today! I'm sure most people will think I'm crazy but I am so excited about Christmas today! The Boots christmas shop opened today on their website, yes it is a sad commercialised world but those little green 3 for 2 symbols have come to be a recognised sign of Christmas. So yes it is freakishly early but I am now officially counting down to Christmas!!! So excited!!! :-)

So for all of you Christmas lovers like me I thought I would indulge a little and tell you my ten favourite things about Christmas....

• Christmas Tree Shopping - I love shopping for our Christmas tree for our home
• Harrods Christmas department - my Mum & I go every year to buy a few tree decorations
• Stocking fillers - I like to find lots of little surprises to fill stockings
• Present wrapping - I turn this into an art form to make sure my presents look lovely under the tree
• Christmas Dinner - so so much food, its the only day of the year you don't feel guilty for eating so much
• Mince Pies - so yummy heated up with cream
• Present buying - I love planning what to get everyone & making sure its something they will love
• Christmas songs - the classics can make a drive home in the cold so magical
• Cosy evenings in - nothing like snuggling up by the tree on a cold winter's evening
• Family - I have always grown up with family Christmas's and I love the big get togethers

So thats my list in no particular order. What are your favourite things about Christmas? What are you looking forward to the most this year? If you'd like to do your top ten things about Christmas I'd love to read them.

Hope you're having a good day. Xx

Benefit Make Up Purchases

I recently picked up a couple of items from the Benefit counter that I have decided to share with you...

I went to the counter at the Debenhams on Oxford Street after to work the other day. I didn't really get any customer service which I was a bit disappointed about but luckily I knew what I was planning to get. Do you ever find that with make up counters?

Anyhoo, firstly I have wanted to pick up a primer for a while now and have decided to try out the "Porefessional". This makes my skin so smooth to touch its amazing, I love it. I wouldn't say it is a miracle cream but I have noticed a difference in the appearance of my daily make up. I wear Mac Mineralized Skin Finish natural on my face. I feel like I have quite large pores, particularly to the side of nose and I do think this primer makes a slight difference.

Second up, I needed to repurchase my "Boing" concealer as I hit pan a few weeks ago. However, I decided to spend £10 more and get the "Confessions of a Concealaholic". I figured as this set contains Boing, it would be worth spending the extra tenner to have the chance to try out these extra products.

The set comes with:
Boing Concealer in shades 1 and 2
I have used shade one for a few months now and as I said I was intending to repurchase, which correctly suggests that I do like this product. I have been using on both my dark circles and my chin (I have some acne scarring here), however, since I bought this set I have just been using it on my chin. I find this has good coverage and last a credible amount of time. Its easy to use, either with the small brush provided or by patting on with your fingers. My only quibble here is that I doubt I will ever use the shade 2 because I'm so pale.




Erase Paste in Shade 2
I was excited to try this. I have been using it under my eyes and although its probably not the best match for my skin colour, it is doing a very good job at covering my very dark circles! The only tip I would give is, if you are starting to get a line or two under your eye (yes I am - and at 24 its so depressing!), don't use too much! It has quite a thick consistency and just accentuates any lines!

Lemon Aid Eye Primer
I am a devout user of urban decay primer potion. That said I love this, it kept my eyeshadow in place all day, smells gorgeous and might just be tempting me in its direction!


Eye Bright Highlight
I have this product already, for those of you in the UK it came free in pencil form in Glamour magazine a couple of years ago. I use it occasionally in the inner corner of my eye, particularly when I need to look wide awake (perfect for early morning meetings!). Its handy having it in this set, but I think I prefer to apply using the pencil because I think you get a thicker, more noticeable application (or perhaps I just need to go to bed earlier before meetings!).

That Gal Primer
I wasn't so bothered about this product as I had also purchased a primer. However, where as the Porefessional is designed to reduce the appearance of pores, this is designed to give you a gorgeous glow to the skin. Again I wouldn't say this is a miracle cream but I did notice a difference in my skin when I used it. I felt like I had a dewy glow to my face, without looking shiny!



That's it for now folks. I did get some more make up from Boots but I didn't want to make this post too long (think I failed though!). I will do another post this week with all the make up I bought at Boots.

Hope you are all keep well! And I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to my first two followers ... its so exciting to know that someone is reading my general chit chat! Have a wonderful day! X x

What's in my bag...

I was sitting wondering what post to write this weekend when I read Laura's what's in my bag post over on buy now, blog later. So in response to her post here is my what's in my bag.... Not quite everything I didn't think you would want to see all my loose change and receipts, plus 5 points for those who spot the obvious missing item ...

 The Bag - From Zara in April. I love this bag it looks so much more expensive than it actually was (£40), its nice and roomy, too pockets and credit card slots inside! Also has a long strap which I tend to keep inside the bag.

Purse - From H&M a few years ago (2008 I think!) I love this purse because its so big and has 12 card slots - still not enough but more than my other purses!

Make Up Bag - Yes I admit it, I have been known to be that girl on the train doing her make up in the morning (my excuse being I live in England and sometimes the weather makes it too depressing to get out of bed on time!) I bought this bag at Primark - cheap, practical & easy to keep clean.

Filofax - Despite being young and loving my phone & google calendar etc. I still like to write everything down and I like to write lists and lists and more lists, so this simple but stylish Filofax contains it all!

Umbrella - I live in England - enough said!

Marc Jacobs Daisy Perfume - I love the fresh scents of this perfume and this tends to be my go to scent at the moment. Will definitely be repurchasing when its all out.

A selection of pens - boring but necessary for all my list making :-)

Burts Bees Lip Balm - amazingly moisturising, I prefer the original because it has that tingly feeling. This one has acai berries in it.

Comb - for dealing with my windswept tresses.

Tre-semme Ultimate Hold hairspray - for holding down those pesky little flyaways!

Impulse Romantic Spark body spray - a relatively light fragrance for Impulse.

Hand Food - fantastic hand cream, suitably moisturising, not sticky and the smell is Ha-mazing!

Tissues - for when I have the sniffles!

Season ticket & Oyster Card - not forgotten to take these to work yet but I'm sure one day I will.

Unlimited magazine - I went to the cinema to see Friends with Benefits (would recommend btw!) and picked up this magazine.

Debenhams Beauty Club Card - I didn't have one of these yet, so I picked one up while I was at the Benefit Counter on Friday.

Phone - that's rights, 5 points if you guessed it, my phone isn't included because I used it to take the photo!

So that's it folks! Hope you are having a suitably lazy sunday! Enjoy your weekend! Xx

Reebok Easy Tone Trainers

You might have seen in my weight loss post that I bought a pair of Reebok Easy Tone trainers. I thought I would do a quick review. 

I bought some black simple Reebok Easy Tone trainers. I wanted a good comfortable pair of trainers to wear to and from work. I have just changed jobs and now commute by train which involves a bit of walking. I wanted a simple black pair that would look subtle with my office work wear. The inside of the trainers is a gorgeous dark purple which fulfils my craving for all things purple hehe!  

As I am now walking a couple of miles a day I thought it would be worth getting a pair of Easy Tone or Sketchers Shape Ups trainers to see if they do anything. I can’t say I chose Reebok over Sketchers for any particular reason other than I saw these in a shop and they were a good price.

I picked this pair up at an outlet shopping centre, so they were at a reduced price of £37. I found the same trainers on www.jdsports.co.uk. They are sold for £75 on their website, although some styles are currently in the sale for £50. 

I have picked up the Reebok Reenew design of trainers. TheReebok website says:

“A better butt and legs with every step. Built specifically for walking and everyday activities, the EasyTone Reenew is designed to work your key leg and butt muscles with every step.”

I have worn these trainers several times since I bought them only a few days ago. They are incredibly comfortable and not at all weird to walk in. My only comment about the fit is that the back of the shoe fits quite low down on the back of the ankle.

 I gave these shoes a thorough test on their first outing with a three mile walk in the Scottish highlands. This walk involved some small inclines, some steep inclines, some steep downhill slopes, forest paths, stone paths and some paved areas. I had no problems at all; they were very comfortable and provided sufficient support. There was no rubbing on my ankles even after an hour and half of walking.

I thought the Easy Tone design would take some getting used to in terms of walking and that it would require a stable balance but not at all. They are easy to walk in and if anything actually improve my walking. My boyfriend jokes about my heavy footing when I walk. These shoes force me to walk from heel to toe because of the shape which I’m sure is a lot better for my legs and back. 

These are just my initial thoughts and I’ve only had a few days so I can’t really comment on their ability to tone your derrière.  I am thinking that I will keep some notes on these trainers over the next few months and then do a longer term review in six months or so. I will also measure my hips and thighs now and give you an update in six months.  I am planning to incorporate these trainers into my longer term exercise and weight loss plans so if I manage to lose any weight it won’t just be down to the trainers but at least it will be an indication. If you want to see my blog post on longer term weight loss goals click here. 

I hope you found this useful. Whilst I can’t yet comment on the Easy Tone technology I would recommend these trainers as a comfortable shoe with a decent but subtle design.

Update
I actually wrote this post a few weeks ago but didn't get round to posting it, so I can now update after wearing them to and from work for a couple of weeks. They have continued to be incredibly comfy. The only niggle is still that they sit low down on the back of the ankle. I can't say if they've toned because I haven't really thought about it but I will say I can definitely feel something working in my thighs and butt, especially after a long walk.

Also since I bought these I find that I am keen to go walking more, maybe because the shoes are a novelty or because after two years of commuting by motorway I enjoy the walk but I am certainly making use of them. Last week I chose to walk an hour to the 3rd train station down the line rather than get  on at my normal stop and another day I decided not to get the bus home from the station but instead walked which took about 40min. 

Has anyone else ever tried these or any other brand of toning trainers? If you have got any hints or tips or other suggestions of what works best please leave a comment below I’d be really interested to know other people’s experiences with these types of trainers.

Hope you’re having a good day! X x