Beauty Box Journey - My Little Box #2

I really didn't know what to expect for the next My Little Box as my first one was so different to any kind of beauty box i've received before. But I was really excited to open it! This month's theme was Dolce Vita which means a little bit of pleasure or luxury. 

The first thing in my box was a smaller box that said 'Rome is on my mind'. When I opened it up it was a turban style headband in this beautiful kind of Aquamarine colour with pink and yellow. It really is beautiful however I don't think it would suit my style. I will definitely try it though and if not i'll donate it to someone else. 

Then I found a cute little box that said 'Ciao Bella'. This box was so cute and shared the design of their beauty range My Little Beauty. When I opened this box there is a gorgeous gold leaf ring - as I have quite big fingers this ring only fits on my pinky! It's a nice ring and maybe once i've lost some weight i'll be able to wear it properly! According to My Little Box the ring is £12 but I would not pay that as it does feel really cheap and made of plastic. 

Just like last month I received 3 beauty products in a cute little cotton bag. I love this month's bag even more than last month's! It's so cute. 

The first product I got was from their own brand 'My Little Beauty'. I really like the style of packaging for their products it's always quite pastel-ey and plain. This is their Illuminating Moisturiser for your legs. I've been using Dove's Derma Spa Summer Revived Body Lotion and really liked it, so once i've finished using that i'll definitely try this out. This year is the first year where i've opted for gradual tan instead of instant so i'm looking forward to trying the different products out there. Like I said last time, they do not ship to the UK at the moment but you can see their full range online. 

Next I received a semi-dry oil by the brand Baija Paris. I'm not a huge fan of body oils as I always feel sticky afterwards - perhaps i've just not found a good enough one yet! I'm always up for trying things so I will definitely give it a go. The packaging is so nice and floral. The fragrance is in Green Tea Jasmine and it smells really strong and a bit sickly - maybe this changes once applied. I can't really translate the website and there's no option to have it in English so I don't imagine they ship to the UK unfortunately. 

The last thing I got is by far my favourite item out of the box. I am usually a bit disappointed when I receive fragrance samples in beauty boxes because I have so many perfumes and the samples tend to be for high-end fragrances that I will never purchase. But oh my.. this perfume. It is a fragrance by Courreges which of course is a French brand but they do ship to the UK. The fragrance is La Fille de l'air. This is such a gorgeous smell - it's a very mature smell with a light citrus but musky scent that lingers. It is beautiful and i'm already considering purchasing the full size product. 

Last but not least the magazine was really interesting to read. It has tons of content and to be honest I prefer it to a lot of other magazines that I actually buy! Very good quality and lots of things to read about. 

I really liked this box and I find myself wondering what next month's box might bring!

Compare this to my first box!

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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Hawaiian Tropic Protective Dry Oil SPF15

As you all know I'm not a massive fan of body oils as i feel like i'd be uncomfortable and greasy. This was a conclusion I came to after trying just one product which is wrong but sometimes it's hard to ignore once you've made your mind up about something. I received the Hawaiian Tropic Protective Dry Oil SPF15 in my third Glossybox and I just kind of put it to one side and moved on to the next product; it didn’t really catch my eye. I've seen this product before in supermarkets but i've never really been in the market for buying tanning oil mostly due to living in Scotland and I always pile on a high SPF to  save myself from burning. 

I found myself reaching for it when I was packing to go away for a week at a lodge and it was due to be quite hot weather. I tried it for the first time when we all went out fishing late morning, I put it on my legs and arms but then used a higher factor sun cream on my shoulders and face. 

When I was applying the product I instantly regretted putting it on because of the burnt smell the product gives off with a hint of coconut - its not a nice smell to be covering your body in but I persevered  When I was looking at pictures that we had taken from that fishing trip my skin looked so much more tanned, and that was in a matter of hours. That evening I had a check over myself and I was a really nice brown colour. I was so happy because I never tan, only burn. Considering this is only a 15 SPF and it’s an oil it was quite comfortable to wear - more comfortable than standard suncream. The oil does sit on your skin so once you’re done sunbathing it would be advisable to wash it off if you're putting different clothes on etc. Despite the smell, I liked how it made my skin look healthy and glowing. I definitely think I will be reaching for this over suncream in the future and it really has changed my perspective on body oils. 

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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10 Steps to Deal with Period Pain

Every female has a different experience with period pain (dysmenorrhea) - I have lots of friends who have never experienced it and then I have others, including myself, who can be in agony whilst on their period. My experience is a little different; because I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) I can go months without having a period, but then when it finally makes an appearance it can last weeks (my record is 2 months). I feel this contributes to having extra pain when I do come on and I’m physically ill for the majority of it. Period pain is caused by contractions that are pushing the lining of the womb out when your eggs are unfertilised. It is really normal and there are so many things you can do to make yourself feel better! Here are the things I do to make star week easier:

1.Pain Relief

The best type of medicine to take for period pain are NSAIDs (non-steriordal anti-inflammatory drugs). Most of the branded NSAIDs contain ibuprofen in some form. I usually use Feminax which specially designed for menstrual cramps but i’ve more recently tried using Panadol (a lot cheaper) and it worked really well. Start off by trying regular ibuprofen (remember to buy supermarket owned brands as they're so much cheaper) and if they don't have an effect just keep trying different things to see what works best for you. 

2. Tampons VS Sanitary Towels

This is a hard one because for comfort I prefer tampons but tampons exacerbate my cramps. I’ve tried to do some research online to why this may be but there’s no scientific reason to say why they could make them worse - but a lot of woman feel the same as me. I usually wear tampons when out and about but then when i’m at home I wear towels, especially as it’s advised not to wear tampons over night anyway. 

3. Hydrate Yourself

Keeping hydrated is even more vital when it’s your time of the month. Our bodies need about 8 cups of water a day and that doesn’t change when you’re on. Some people avoid drinking water for fear of being bloated, but actually it’s been shown that the more you drink, the less water retention you have. Avoid salty snacks, drink plenty of water and you’ll lessen that horrible bloating feeling. 

4. Chocolate

I know, I know, do girls really need a reason to eat chocolate? No, but if you’re on a diet and have some period pains… go on then! Chocolate genuinely makes me feel better, I don’t know if it’s the sugar or the boosted serotonin levels but it really does give me a pick up so make sure you’ve got your favourite chocolate bar to hand - my favourite just now is the Cadbury Medley with dark chocolate, fudge and biscuit pieces.

5. Heat

This is one of my favourite remedies. There’s nothing more comforting than lying on the couch with a hot water bottle watching your favourite TV show on Netflix (anyone excited for the new PLL series?). Heat soothes the muscles that are cramping and also can help you sleep if you’re tired. You can also get specialist heat patches.

6. Tea

This ties in with staying hydrated but there can be medicinal benefits to drinking herbal tea. Ginger has so many health benefits and one is that it can ease pain from cramps. I’m not a fan of ginger tea, so I drink peppermint and I find it to have a good effect too. Plus the heat from the tea can help too! My favourite brand of peppermint tea is Tetley's and Marks and Spencers Moroccan Mint Tea.

7. Bananas

Eating healthily can help to minimise period pain but bananas are particularly good. This is because of the vitamin B6 and potassium which can help with bloating and a lack of potassium can cause increasing cramping which is the last thing we want.

8. Stay Occupied

There’s nothing worse than lying in bed feeling sorry for yourself - keep yourself occupied by reading magazines, watching Netflix or even planning a day out with friends. Even though you may be in pain or discomfort if you are able to go out and feel okay don’t let your period stop you!

9. Be Prepared

I always carry a small bag in my main hand bag just for items that I may need when out and about. Due to PCOS I have no idea when I’m going to start my period so I always carry sanitary pads, tampons and also Femfresh wipes with me. I really like the Femfresh wipes because they’re handy to carry around and are really gentle in that area. 

10. Be positive

When I get down about star week, I remember that this annoying thing that only causes grief will eventually be the reason I will have children in the future! 

I hope that my little remedies make you feel better. Period pain is completely natural - but if you are in pain than usual or have any unusual symptoms remember to go and see your GP. Don’t be afraid, doctors see and hear things every day so something that might be a little embarrassing is completely normal to doctors - it’s what they’re paid for! 

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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Beauty Box Journey - Glossy Box #2

If you receive Glossy Box you will realise that this is rather late - oops! I've actually already received my third and final box when i'm writing this so I will be sure to get that up faster than I got this one up. 

I received a Brow Lift Perfecting Liner by Studio 10 in a medium-brown kind of colour. I usually use powder on my eyebrows and have never been a fan of using a pencil on them. The pencil had one end which was for your eyebrows and then the other end was a highlight kind of colour. I really admire Studio 10 for being a part of the #raise1brow which provides help to anyone who is affected by the visible side effects of cancer. Every pencil purchased, another one is donated to the charity LGFB. Aside from that, I found the pencil to be quite waxy and not very comfortable to apply. They describe the colour as a 'universal' shade which I don't agree with as it was too light for me and I imagine too dark for people with lighter hair than myself. I wasn't overly impressed with this product but I like the  charitable side of it. 

Next I received the Oils of Life Facial Oil by The Body Shop. As I have mentioned a hundred times before, I am not a fan of body oils - they leave me feeling greasy and horrible but i'm looking forward to switching this in instead of moisturiser to see how much of a difference it makes to my skin. I've never tried any products from the Body Shop except for their infamous body butters so i'm looking forward to seeing how this lives up to them. 

I thought this next product was a bit of a gimmick really. It's the Leighton Denny Expert Nails Miracle Mist. This product claims that it drys your nails in seconds which I struggle to believe. I wish there was a product that genuinely did this as painting my nails is my all time worst thing (except for plucking my eyebrows - ugh!) but unfortunately I will believe it when I see it. 

Again another gimmicky item were these STYLondon Temporary Henna Tattoos. I don't know of any adult that would genuinely wear these - i'm unsure of whether Glossy Box know who their target market is as this box is a bit mish-mashed. A young teenager wouldn't be using things such as face oils and adults definitely wouldn't be using temporary tattoos. 

Last but not least is a Mosaic Compact Powder from Essence. I really liked the look of this bronzer but unfortunately it's a little too shimmery for me and when I apply it to my face it looks slightly muddy. It's not a very high quality product and it reflects in the RRP of £3.00. 

Overall i'm not overly impressed with this month's Glossy Box - it seems to be confused, messy and a bit cheap to be honest. Hopefully we finish on a better note!

Read my first Glossy Box review here.

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette Review

I love an eye shadow palette. I mean who doesn't? My favourite eye shadow palettes are The Balm Nude'Tude and of course, my trusty Naked Smokey Palette. Even though I probably have every shade under the sun, I love trying out new eye shadows. I really love the Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eye Shadows so I decided to try some of their powder ones too. This palette really caught my eye. So much so that I was dying for it to be delivered so I could try it out. I mean, look at the picture online:

(picture provided by Superdrug.com)

The palette looked beautiful. When I received it, I was actually slightly disappointed as it didn't seem to look as good as it did online. The palette is set out in a really interesting way - it's set out so you can use the neighbouring colours in 2s, 3s or 4s to create the perfect look. It contains all shimmer shades except for a random matte pink. This could just be because the shades are so powdery, the shimmer has spilt onto the other colours.

That brings me to my next point. I was disappointed when I first used these as the fall out was insane. There was just as much, if not more, colour on in the palette as there was on my brush. You definitely need to be as gentle as possible when using these shadows. Saying that the pigment is really good and they blend really nicely. I specifically like using these onto of my Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eye Shadow in the colour Pink Gold. I use that as a base, then pat on 2 (left to right, top row then bottom row) which is a champagne pink. Then I use 11 in my crease and I really liked the effect it gave. I'm not one to use lighter shadows, it's usually darker ones for a smoky look but I'm really loving this look at the moment.

Overall I'm a little disappointed in the products but I can make them work and they blend really nicely. It has been my go-to palette recently and I'm learning to love it. It would just be better if the pans were deeper and if there was less fall out from the colours. For £9.99 I won't be purchasing the other palette in the range as I don't think it's worth the money. 

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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April 2016 Favourites

Welcome to May! The month of Spring (unless you live in "sunny" Scotland where it has been snowing this week...). I love Spring - the pastel colours, the flowers and if you're lucky a bit of sun. Here are the things I have been loving in April.

Starting off with haircare - I bought this conditioner about a week and a half ago and I am amazed by it already. Nicky Clarke's Smooth Silk Frizz Conditioner has totally transformed my hair. I've mentioned before that my hair is not straight nor curly; it's a frizzy in between that gets even angrier when blow dried. To start off with, this product smells incredible; a mix of coconut and something fruity that I can't place. It's a really thick consistency and is infused with shea butter and argan oil. I noticed from the very first time I used it that it made a difference to my hair. Once i've used up my current shampoo I want to try their frizz shampoo as together I think it would make my hair so amazing.

With my new frizz-free hair, i've been styling it a lot more. Using my curling wand was getting too much especially for work; I feel that it was too 'done up' and took way too much time. Bring in the BaByliss Boutique Salon Ceramic Rollers. These rollers heat up super fast and old take about 20 minutes to create big bouncy curls. I have been using these so much this month, it's a perfect way to style your hair without the hassle of going full ringlets. My hair lasts really well when I use the rollers which is unusual as curls don't last very well in my hair.

It's not a great picture but it shows the bounciness of my hair without the full on curls!

When curling my hair (with a wand or rollers) it's always important for me to have volume at my roots. I have been using the Urban Fudge Iced Raspberry & Vanilla Styling Mousse. It's a really nice product and gives me volume without making my hair heavy or greasy. I've tried a couple of different mousses and this one is my favourite by far. Not to mention the smell is amazing.

Underneath my makeup I've been using the NYX Studio Perfect Photo-Loving Primer. This product smooths out my skin and helps to blur any imperfections. It's a non-greasy formula and helps my makeup look flawless.

To help my flawless makeup look, I've fallen in love with Revlon Colourstay Foundation this month. You can find my full review here which explains more about why I love this foundation. I've used nothing else for my foundation i've loved it so much.

You all know my love for the Kat Von Dee Tattoo Eyeliner, but I have found a very close runner up. Ted Baker's Liquid Eyeliner gives a really sharp, jet black finish. It's so easy to apply which is helped by the pen type nib, using the tip for a thin line or the sides for a thicker line. I'd recommend this for beginners and makeup experts. (Notice how it bleeds on my hand but not on my eyes.. so strange!)

You can't beat a good highlighter - especially one that costs £3.00! The MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder gives such an incredible shimmer to the skin, I don't know why I haven't heard all beauty bloggers raving about it. It will be perfect for the Spring and Summer months when the sun decides to show face!

I've had one colour on my nails the whole month of April (and it's not because I'm too lazy to change it... okay well maybe a wee bit). It's the Barry M Nail Paint in Blueberry. It's such a Spring colour and i've had so many comments from people thinking they were a shellac manicure. I really like this polish and I will probably keep wearing it through Spring.

A non-beauty related product I have loved this month has been my Living Well One Line A Day. I bought this book when we were in Bruges. It's a small notebook that you record one line a day for 5 years. I wanted to do this because I thought it would be nice to look back on the years and see how my life has changed from when I first wrote in. A bit like a physical Time Hop!

My favourite TV/Film/Music has been the band Scouting for Girls. Yes, very old school! I have been putting a playlist together for when me and my friends go away to a log cabin and i've been revisiting my teenage years and I have been loving Scouting for Girls.

My favourite person of the month is a fellow Scottish blogger Katie from Little Katie's Little Thoughts. I've been loving her blog this month and I highly recommend going over and saying hi to her - let her know I sent you!

                                                                  Thanks for reading!

                                                                           Lorah x

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Revlon Colourstay Foundation Review

Revlon is a brand that I grew up with. It was always one of those brands that I saw my older sister or my Mum wear, however it's I don't own too many products from. The exception is the Colorstay foundation.

I bought this product a couple of years ago and I really liked using it - the only thing that put me off was the bottle had no pump which meant you had to use the stick to transfer the product to your hand and then to the brush. It was a load of hassle that I just don't have time for in the mornings! This must have been an issue for a lot of people as Revlon have finally changed it to a pump! Hooray! They changed a couple of months ago and I have heard nothing but metaphoric fist pumps in the air from every beauty user. Why Revlon didn't do this years ago, I don't know.

I use the colour Buff in the Combination/Oily formulation. I couldn't actually remember what formula I had last time I used it  because even though I have oily skin I can also get dry patches too. I bought this foundation online so for me to pick a colour that was so perfect for my skin was a miracle. I find it hard to get a pale foundation without it being either orange or cakey but this is just amazing on the skin. It  blends really nicely so there's no line between my neck and face.

The consistency of the foundation is a really thick, almost gel like texture. I was a bit weary because I have been using BB Creams for the past few months as I had been put off by heavy foundations. I used the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and I used it damp and it created a beautiful dewy finish on my skin. It was a light-medium coverage.

I think I preferred to use the foundation with a dry sponge as this created a medium-full coverage foundation and as I am quite prone to spots around my chin area this covered them perfectly.

The foundation claims it enables 24 hour wear, and whilst I haven't ever had the need to keep my foundation on for that amount of time, I have worn it for around 12-14 hours and it hasn't budged in the slightest. If you have oily skin, you know that this is such an important thing.

I really liked this foundation and I think it is great value at £12.99. I have been using it exclusively for around two weeks and I have used barely any product. I highly recommend trying this out if you're after a very versatile foundation.

Thanks for reading!

Lorah x

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