#bloggersball hosted by Scarlett London

Good Morning

Happy Saturday

Hope your all well. Today I'm travelling up to London for the #Bloggersball hosted by the gorgeous Scarlett London.

I'm so excited but nervous at the same time as this will be my first blogging event. I honestly cannot wait to meet the girls and get this show underway.
I've got my new business cards ready as well as my netbook to keep new contacts in. I'm really looking forward to meeting loads of new people and get my blog out there which will encourage me more to feel more confident about posting and getting myself recognised.

Update- Well im back from London and bloggers ball was absolutely amazing. I got to London Paddington at 1220, and headed on the tube to Bank to meet the 4 Chloe's and Kristy at Brown's Brasserie and Bar. We had a gorgeous lunch which i could'nt fault and it was cheaper for what you got. I opted for the steak sandwich with fries and a peach melba mocktail. 

 

Just a little shot of the train journey up and my gorgeous steak sandwich ( i forgot to take a photo of my drink)

So after lunch we headed over to the venue which was at The Trading House on Gresham Street. The inside was beautiful with the bar laid out in the middle with room to mingle and move around. it really was just the perfect setting, Having had the chance to chat to Scarlett it gave me even more inspiration to make my blog more noticed. 

We had a little wonder around the venue and picked up our welcome drink which was prosecco and started interacting with the brands which were in attendance, 

 By far my favourite brand had to be the Candy kitten's stand who were giving out samples of their sweets who are created by Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing. They have so many yummy flavours including sour watermelon, eton mess and the newest flavour sweet peach.The best thing about this company are that the sweets are gluten free.
We Spent some more time spending time with some of the brands including again Candy Kittens, Style  Sportif who are a sports clothing brand and eureka shoes who are coming to the UK this year.

I entered a few competitions including the chance to win an ipl hair removal system and the chance to work along side eureka shoes.
below is the gorgeous goody bag we was given after the event.

In the goody bag there was 

• lighter life pesto and sundried tomato chickpea chips
• lighter life chocolate and cookie caramel bar
•  2 x walkers shortbread
• chirps sea salt and black pepper egg white bites
• good 4u super bites cocoa and orange
• zeo orange and mango drink
• funkin cocktail in skinny mojito
•  fab little bags 
• white glow diamond series 
• janina whitening toothpaste spray
• OGX brazilian keratin smooth shampoo and conditioner 
• smooth skin rock

i was really grateful for everything i got this weekend, thank you Scarlett for an amazing event and i cant wait for the next one.

Thanks for reading 

Lauren xox

Real Techniques luminous lips kit and prep and prime kit

Good morning 

Happy Friday!

How are you all today?

Today's post is a bit of a surprise post to me as on Wednesday a parcel turned up from superdrug which I wasn't expecting, I unboxed it and inside was the Real Techniques luminous lips kit and the prep and prime kit. I know full well I didn't order them then I checked my emails to say that I had been selected to review the brushes.

The first kit is the prep and prime kit which contains 5 items. 

Firstly there is the beauty spatula with its flexible slanted tips you can reach the bottom of your moisturisers and make up making the most of them and leaving little waste.

Next there is the under eye reviver which is a aluminium ball which can give you a cooling under eye massage a top tip for this is to use it with your favourite under eye cream.

You get a brush which is firm to allow evenly applied primers,moisturisers and serum.

Finally in this kit you get the miracle complexion sponge and stand which is shaped to create the perfect base and to build cover using liquid foundation. A top tip again is to use damp for a dewy glow or dry for full coverage, the stand is perfect for storing the sponge and perfect for drying your sponge.

These photos have been have been taken from the superdrug website and I have no ownership of them

The second set I was kindly send was the Real techniques luminous lips kit which again contains 5 items.

The first item is exfoliating brush which you can use with your favourite lip scrub. My personal favourite is from lush.

The second item is the lip lining brush which is fine tipped to help precisely apply your favourite lipstick or lipliner.

The next brush is the lip colour brush which is flat sided and has a tapered tip to smoothly blend your favourite colours onto your lips.

The final brush in this collection is the texturising fan brush which is a multifunctional fan shaped brush which allows you to blur products outwards from the centre ,you can also use this brush to set colour and apply powder to the outer edges of your lips to prevent smearing.

Finally you get a quirky brush storage case for on the on the go top ups with a smart built in mirror on the lid.

These photos have been have been taken from the superdrug website and I have no ownership of them.

I am so grateful for superdrug sending these to me and I'm really looking forward to using them more.

Thanks for reading and look out for a video on your tube over the next week and an a post on the #bloggersball which I'm heading to tomorrow. I'm so excited as its my first blogging event 

Thanks again 

Lauren ❤️

What a week it's been!

Hello lovely ladies and gents

Well it's been a hectic week. I ended up in hospital last Monday, yes bank holiday which really sucked. I went to the Minor Injuries Unit which is about 8 miles from my house as i had a temperature of 40.9'C which then went up to 41.4'C and I couldn't get it to come down even with paracetamol and ibruprofen. The week before this i was given anti-biotics for a UTI and Kidney infection but they didnt work. So as i was saying i headed over the the local MIU and i went in straight away as it was empty. The nurse practitioner seen me and told me that i needed to head to the main hospital about 11 miles away from the MIU  as i needed to be seen by the doctor at the out of hours service.

We got to the main hospital and i went into the doctors and hoped i didnt need to wait to long as i was in quite alot of pain and it was really uncomfortable. i got there and registered then was told to do a urine sample for the doctor to test and see whats going on. By this point i hadn't eaten since the saturday as i just wasnt able to keep anything down and was fed up of been really sick. The Doctor called me though and he was really nice. He checked my temperature and it had come down a little bit, he checked my pulse, blood pressure and dipped my urine and said that i had an infection which needed treating with IV antibiotics and painkillers so he called the on-call doctor, who told said i had to go to the surgical admissions unit.

I went up to the unit and was given a wrist band and put on a trolley as i was been sick. The doctor came and put a cannula in and the nurse took some blood to send off. then i was given some antisickness medication and some IV painkillers to make me feel more comfortable.  I was evenually moved to a comfy bed about 2 am the following morning. i felt so much better in a comfy bed where i could make myself into a certain position to get comfy and take less pressure off my back.


The next day was a blur and i spent most of it sleeping and been given painkillers and antisickness medications. the wednesday came the first of two scans which was of my bladder and ovaries to check they werent causing the problem which they werent thank god.  Thursday was another scan to check my kidneys after having 2 days of been catheterised due to retention.This scan showed that my left kidney was swollen by a condition called hydronephosis.

ive been waiting 12 months for this diagnosis, i was discharged on the friday and now have a follow up on wednesday with the nephrologist (renal consultant)   and hopefully with give me some more answers.

im going to leave this post here as its getting a bit long winded.

thanks for reading

Lauren xoxo

UFIT Protein Drink review

Good Afternoon to you lovely people

Today's post is all about the gorgeous protein drinks from UFIT. First of all, i would like to say a massive thank you to Heather at UFIT for been so so helpful and for been so kind when sending out these drinks.

As many of you know I'm doing slimming world and currently just over 1 stone down and have started the gym so needed some sort of protein drink to keep me going, this is where Heather came in. she was kind enough to send out 4 varieties of their drinks, I was sent the following 4 flavours:  the lactose-free vanilla shake, the chocolate flavour shake, the iced latte shake and finally the strawberry flavour collagen and beauty milk.

All 4 flavours tasted absolutely delicious when they were fresh from the fridge, each tasted smooth and not how usual protein shakes taste.

Here is some nutritional information which i have taken from the UFIT website which i will link below.
 "UFIT is packed with 22g of protein goodness with added fibre, vitamins and minerals. Made from milk protein, UFIT is designed to support the demands of an active lifestyle.

What’s inside?

• 22g essential protein
• 3.2g heart healthy fibre
• Vitamins & Minerals
• No added sugar "

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

"UFIT is our best selling high protein nutrition drink, specifically formulated with passion and goodness to support busy and healthy lifestyles! UFIT comes in a delicious chocolate or strawberry flavour and is bursting with 22g of protein and added vitamins and minerals. Just pop one in your bag or grab one at any time during the day for the healthiest, high protein snack."

you can purchase UFIT in a case of 8 shakes for £16.99 and the link for purchasing can be found here UFIT SHOP

Thank you again Heather for been so kind and sending out these for me to review and I look forward to purchasing more of these gorgeous drinks. 

Love and hugs to all my readers 

Lauren xoxo

Spatone Liquid Iron Reivew

Hello Everyone and happy weekend

Todays blog post is my review on the Spatone Liquid Iron that was kindly sent to me by Laura at Spatone.

Heres a little bit of infomation about Spatone before I get into my review. (Information has been taken from the Spatone website found here - Spatone )

 "Spatone is a naturally occurring iron-rich water which is collected and packed straight from the source in the heart of Snowdonia, North Wales. We collect it, we filter it and we fill it straight into our convenient, easy-to-open sachets. 

Suitable for vegetarians - No artificial colours - Gluten free

The iron in Spatone is highly absorbable

It is not actually how much iron we consume that matters but the amount of iron that our body is able to absorb. The absorption of iron is a very complex process and iron is generally recognised as a mineral that is difficult for our system to absorb. Spatone has been scientifically shown to have a bioavailability of iron (the amount of iron available to be absorbed) average of 40%*. This is much higher than the iron absorption from food sources (5 - 15%).

Spatone is gentle on the stomach

Since the iron in Spatone is easily absorbed, you only need to take a small quantity to get your entire nutrient reference value (NRV) of absorbed iron. This is why Spatone leads to fewer of the side effects often associated with conventional iron food supplements such as constipation, stomach irritation or headaches.

Each sachet of Spatone only contains 5mg of elemental iron but with an average absorption of 40% you will get all the iron your body needs without having to excrete too much iron.

Spatone is suitable during pregnancy

Some women when they are pregnant may need extra iron because the baby needs the iron it gets from the mother to grow and develop. Spatone is suitable for use in pregnancy but always check with your Doctor or midwife before you start taking it.

Spatone is also available with a delicious Apple taste.Spatone Apple combines 100% natural iron rich water with a delicious apple taste and added vitamin C, which aids the absorption of iron."

Now onto my Review, The reason I contacted spatone was that i was really suffering with  been extortionately tired all the time and after having an iron test at my gp's surgery told me that my iron level was lower than normal it wasnt low enough to require iron tablets, That where Laura at Spatone came in. I popped an email to Nelsons (The company of Spatone ) and Laura kindly emailed me back almost instantly. She said she would kindly send me a box of the liquid iron supplements. The package arrived last weekend and this is what i received. 

Laura Kindly sent me 28 days worth of the apple flavor liquid iron. I was a little ambiguous about what they would taste like as i've tried liquid iron before and it wasn't very pleasant to taste but Spatone is very different. It has a fresh apple taste and doesnt leave an unpleasant after taste in your mouth. After just a few days of taking Spatone i found already that my energy levels had become more bearable and i wasn't feeling so tired. I will continue to take the sachets everyday and see what a difference it makes over the month.

To purchase Spatone you can visit their online shop below

Spatone Online shop

Once again a massive thank you to Laura and thank you everyone for supporting my blog. 

Lauren xox 

 

Mini Beauty And Clothing Haul

Good evening to my awesome followers

Today has been an amazing day. I have a new job, my sister is in early labour and Ive have a fantastic day getting some beauty bargains.

Ive been around all of the local shops after my job interview. So I started off at Home Bargains where  I picked up some straightener sectioning clips for 39p, a shower comb ( because i can never get my conditioner through my hair) for 49p and 2 maybelline baby lips in pina colada and bubblegum pop for 99p each.

Next stop was Poundland where I picked up a Rimmel London creme blush in peach flush and a Ciate London feathered manicure set worth £8.99 for £1 its beautiful.

My last beauty buys were in Tesco, where I picked up a Rimmel London nail polish in Red ginger and a collection nail polish in pink bikini for 25p each.

I also picked up some gorgeous gorgeous underwear and pj's in primark today. i got around £30 worth of clothes for £11 which i am chuffed about. Under each picture below is the price of each item.

Lacy Bralette camasol was £5 down to £2

Black and white floral bra was £2 down to £1

Blue and pink floral bra was also £2 down to £1 

 Green and blacl maximiae bra was £8 down to £3 

Black and white striped, black and white polka dots and pink knickers were £3 per pack down to £1 per pack. 

Wearing the lacy bralette 

Thats all in my beauty and clothing haul. ive got a couple of review items on the way in the post so ill soon be reviewing them. Thank you for all my likes and new followers on instagram and twitter.. and thank you for taking the time to read this post..

Lauren XoX

I'm back and ready for 2017

Good morning everyone

It's been a long while since I last posted. A lot has changed since I last posted.ive moved house. I've changed jobs and lost a tonne of weight since the new year. 

I'm planning on having a bit of a blog revamp over the next couple of days. 

I'm going to plan my blog and the content I hope to have on my blog. This hopefully should include  brand new product reviews, monthly favourites, shopping hauls and general life updates in which I think is appropriate..

Thank you for being patient with me over these last few months

Thank you so much 

Lauren xoxo

Glossybox June 2016 review

Hello everyone 

I just want to apologise for the delay in posting this review. Its just taken ages as I didn't want to ruin the box but I bit the bullet and opened it. 

So June was my first ever glossybox and I was so excited about it arriving. Sadly the day it got delivered I was at work so I had to wait 😔 and go and pick it up from the post office delivery centre two days Later! When i got to the delivery centre there was two glossy boxes there which I couldn't understand because I only ordered one. 

I couldn't wait to get home and open it. As soon as I got back I sat down and literally ripped the outside packaging off. And this is what I got. 

I could not get over how gorgeous the box design was. Even though it was a simple pink colour with the Glossybox logo on the top with "Glossybox" embossed also. The box is of amazing quality and really sturdy so the box is a definite keeper to store things in after. I'm the top of the box came a card saying welcome to Glossybox and the Glossybox magazine telling you all the products that are in the box. There was a beautiful ribbon around the tissue paper with the Glossybox sticker over the top. 

The first item in the box was the starskin bio-cellulose soothing eye catcher gel sheets. These are meant to help soothe dark circles and bags under your eyes as I got the two boxes I saved one to take pictures of and used the products out the other one. So trying these I followed the instructions of leaving them on for 20 minutes as instructed. After removing the sheets I have to be honest my eyes dos look brighter and felt tighter which I was amazed at. This was a full size product and the RRP for this is £8 I think. 

The next item in the box was from Aussie, it was their 3 minute conditioning reconstructer for damaged hair. I've not got around using this product yet but having used it in the past I know how well it works already. It smells absolutely Devine and I know I'll definitely be purchasing the full size product of this when I get paid. The sachet of this costs around £1.50 and the full size around £6 in all major supermarkets and shops such as boots and superdrug

Next up is a lip and cheek tint from a company called emite make up. This is another full size product it's a really really nice deep pink colour and really shows up on your lips. If I'm honest I wouldn't have a clue how to use it on my cheeks 😂 I really wouldn't. It's an amazing colour though and like I said its lush on my lips. The RRP on this is £12.50 

Next up is a product from a company called ladival they have kindly send out a full size product of their sun protection cream in spf 15. I've not tried this yet as the British summer just hasn't let me. So I honestly can do a proper review but it smells amazing I can tell you that and it's not greasy like some sun products you can use. The RRP for this is £19.99 and I have two of them that's £40 worth of product in two things. 

My next item out the box is an after sun product from the company de bruyere . Again like I said in the last post I can't do a full review on this one as the British summer just hasn't let me. Really annoying but it amazing it has a really nice scent to it and leaves my skin really soft. The RRP for is is £9.48 seems such a random price. 

The final product in this month is from spa to you with the natural Konjac sponge. I've been wanting one of these for ages but haven't wanted to pay out the expense for them. At £6.99 it's not that expensive but when you have to replace then every 6/8 weeks it could get an expensive habit. Anyway I've been using this for about 4 weeks now and I can say it's made a small difference to my skin. But if I can get one cheaper then I'll carry on using them. 

This concludes the June Glossybox and my review 

Thank you for reading 

Lauren xox 

My July make up favourites

Hello girlys and guys 

I just thought I would do something a little different I thought I would do my July make up favourites and then do my general July favourites when I'm home from hospital. 

So these are my July make up favourites 

So the first one is maybelline baby skin primer. I love this it makes a massive difference to my skin it completely covers up my pores that show. Leaves my skin feeling really smooth and gives it a nice base ready for the foundation. The RRP for this is usually £7.99 

My next favourite is from make up revolution and it's their vivid baked highlighter, this looks amazing after I've put on my foundation and powder just gives my skin a small bit of shimmer and make my eyes stand out more which is amazing. This was around £3 in superdrug. 

Next up is from make up academy or  MUA. It's the brow gel in dark brown  these just fills in the gaps in my brows which is perfect. This was £2 from superdrug.

Following on with my brows I got the benefit ready set brows Brow gel for free in the Marie Claire magazine which was  £3.99 and the gel it's self is worth £9 for the size I've got. I've been using it for a week now and it's absolutely amazing it's sets my brows and has been perfect in keeping my brows tame for the whole day. 

Next up is from collection, it's the lengthening last mascara in ultra black. I've been using this for for around 18 months now. It's a favourite every month. It's just amazing, it doesn't smudge it leaves my eyes look open and bright and makes my lashes look perfect! I love the  brush that comes with the mascara it spreads my lashes so they do not get stuck together and this is definitely a firm favourite. This is usually £3.99 from all major retailers such as boots, superdrug, Asda etc

My last favourite is again from MUA. It's a lipstick in a nude colour called bare. It slides on with no trouble and stays on a lot longer than some of the more expensive lipsticks you can buy on the market which i have purchased in the past. For £1 you certainly cannot go wrong especially this colour it can go with any outfit been a nude colour.

So these are my make up favourites from July 2016. I love all of these products. When I get home from hospital I will do a post about my general favourites from July. 

Thank you for reading and be sure to follow my blog. 

Thank you 

Lauren xox

Birchbox review June 2016

Hello girls and gents 

Once again I'm delayed about writing this review as it is from the June Birchbox.

Basically I signed up to Birchbox because there was so much hype on Twitter and online about it so i had to sign up and see what all the fuss was about.

The sign up process was really easy and quick.

The box arrived about a week later. And I was impressed. The box it's self was a little smaller than what i had imagined it to be but it was ideal because it fitted through my letter box, saved me a trip to the post office to collect it later that week.

Once the the outside packaging had arrived I fell in love with the actual box. It was covered pineapples and was formed so there was a draw that slipped out. 

And this is what was in my Birchbox 

See how pretty the box,'it's definitely a keeper to add to my little collection to my desk as tidy or something along those lines. 

So inside the there was the Birchbox magazine telling you about each product, the price of each product, whether or not it was full size. The products found in the Birchbox was the following:

*Huygens exfoliating cream which was the Birchbox exclusive product which  retails at £17.90

* Percy& Reed reassuring firm session hold hairspray which was a 50 ml travel size. Usually retails at £12.00 for 250ml 

* which CC body cream (a shimmery body cream) this was again a sample size  but I don't have the product with me for the size but for 142ml it retails st £24.70

* jelly pong pong lighten up (brighten and waterline the, this again was a full size product that retails at £14.95 

* bioderma photoderm AKN mat spf 30 this was a bonus item and had around 7mls in the full size product has 40mls and retails at £14.00 

These were all the products in this months box. 

As this is my first box I have nothing to compare it to but overall i was really impressed. My favourite product has to be the whish CC cream as it leaves my skin soft and shimmery on a night out. 

The price of Birchbox is £10 per month plus £2.95 p+p 

To find out more and to subscribe go to 

https://www.birchbox.co.uk/subscriber 

May thanks for reading 

Lauren xox

Cheeky my cheeky little beauty haul 15/07/16

Good evening girlys and gents.

Your all going to be totally fed up of me by the end of this evening but this is the post I've wanted to do for absolutely ages even though I only bought the stuff 2 weeks ago. So basically i had a job interview just on the outskirts of Exeter and after I popped into Exeter when're I purchased a few beauty treats for myselfs and some necessary bits also. 

This is the pictures of the items I bought I will try and add the prices as I go through the items but please do excuse me if you I do not put them in. 

So start with I popped to superdrug and bought: 

The Lottie London 5 piece best of brushes collection £19.99 which is amazing value as its value is worth £32 separately. In the box come the following:

*flawless base foundation brush which retails at £7.99 (mint green handle)

*powder power brush £7.99 (violet handle)

*blend in, blending brush £4.99 (lemon handle)

* all eyes on you eye shadow brush £4.99 (red handle)

* shade and shadow angle brush £4.99 (baby pink handle)

I then also purchased the conceal it concealer brush which was £4.99 (mint green handle again) 

These were both part of the superdrug 3 for 2 across all the make up ranges.

Next I picked up the baby lips peach punch lipbalm which was £1.99 and on the 3 for 2 offer. The batiste was purchased in boots and was on offer for £1.99 

Then finally I picked up the following bits: 

The co lab dry shampoo in New York scent which is fruity was £1.29 in the travel section I also got a voucher for another free travel size (50ml) when I paid. 

From make up revolution again on the 3 for 2 offer I picked up the eyebrow defining mascara at £2, the concealer in light i should have picked up medium for £2 and the vivid baked highlighter for £3.

The collection Matt lip butter stick in marshmellow pink was £2.99 and the collection lasting gel nail polish in think pink was £2.50 and was part of the 2 for £5 range. 

All in all in was so excited about Trying out all of these products and a very happy customer I was especially with all the savings I made on these purchases. All in all including the boots items I paid £35 ish. In superdrug I had 2x 3 for 2 offers plus student discount at 10% and the 2 for £5 offer in boots.

I have linked each shop below so feel free to have a look on each website 

Lottie London 

http://www.superdrug.com/b/Lottie%20London

Make up revolution 

http://www.superdrug.com/brandshop/makeup-revolution

Maybelline 

http://www.superdrug.com/c/makeup-lips/b/Maybelline?q=%3AbestBiz%3Abrand%3A412020

Boots 

Bastite

http://m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FBatiste-Dry-Shampoo-Cherry-Fruity-Cheeky-200ml_1250645%2F&unCountry=uk

Collection nail polish

http://m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FCollection-Lasting-gel-Nail-Polish_1321746%2F&unCountry=uk

Collection lip butter 

http://m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FCollection-Lasting-gel-Nail-Polish_1321746%2F&unCountry=uk

Thank you for reading, I've really enjoyed writing this beauty post 

Lauren xox