Urban Veda Soothing Body Scrub

Hope you are all having an amazing weekend so far. I’ve been testing out some natural and organic products out recently after featuring a Holland & Barrett haul earlier in the month here. I love trying out new brands and had never come across Urban Veda before. What I loved about this scrub initially was it was organic and had no SLS, parabens or GM ingredients. I also discovered it was marketed as gentle and soothing on this skin. For the 200ml it was £8.99 but there were offers on Holland & Barrett so I paid a little less. Buy here.

I have been happily using this scrub a few times a week and have found it a pleasure to use. The texture isn’t too gritty but when exfoliating it leaves a lovely impression on the skin. While using it in the shower, it stimulates circulation yet has a very therapeutic quality and improves moisture balance. The scent is very earthy and pleasant. It does exactly what it claims on the bottle in my eye and it does seem to claim to do a lot but it met up to expectations. The packaging is quite nice but it’s one of those products which just does its job well. Overall it’s a really lovely body scrub and would recommend it to my blog readers.

Have you tried any products by Urban Veda before? Have I tempted you to make a cheeky purchase? :-) Xx

My Current Beauty, Clothing and Lifestyle Favourites

Something I’ve not done before over on my blog is a favourites post and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to show what I’ve been loving at the moment (and there’s a lot!). With Christmas and the January sales I’ve been indulging in the things I love, mostly to combat January blues.

I’m currently reading Caroline Flack's autobiography and thoroughly enjoying it as it’s really interesting. Plus it’s easy to get absorbed with the easy writing style and I am flying through the pages. I know everyone’s been loving Adele’s new album me included but my current playlist is Leona’s and Jason Derulo’s new albums. I'm so into ‘Get Ugly’ as it’s a great upbeat dance track.

I have a few new clothing favourites including a pastel check scarf, which is such great quality. The fabric is very generous so it’s nice to wrap around the neck for a super cosy and chic look. The cossack hat is something really different in style and works wonders paired with the scarf. A few other bits I’ve mentioned in previous posts have added joy to my day, including drinking a Whittard hot chocolate, wearing my Lavera eyeshadow, applying Laura Mercier hand cream and lots more!

What things have you been spoiling yourself with lately? Do we have similar taste in something? :-) Xxx

Info & Links

Mink Ballerina Slippers from Store Twenty One £4
Pastel Check Scarf from Store Twenty One £8 £5
Mink Faux Fur Cossack Hat from Store Twenty One £8 £4
Grey and Navy Joggers from Next £24 (Buy here)
Blue Denim Joggers £24 (Buy here)
Laura Mercier Hand Creams (Review here)
Lavera Mineral Eyeshadow Quad (Review here)
Caroline Flack, Storm In A C Cup Autobiography (Buy here)
Leona Lewis ‘I am’ CD (Buy here)
Jason Derulo ‘Everything Is’ CD (Buy here)
Whittard Hot Chocolate (Review here)
Paperchase 2016 Diary (Buy here)

Lavera Mineral Eyeshadow In 02 Cappuccino Cream

Hi! I’m a little bit excited to be writing todays post as I have a makeup item that has really impressed me. I bought this eyeshadow quad in a health shop on holiday last summer and since then I have been wearing the eyeshadows most days I go out. There were a couple of different shades to choose from, I went for a neutral palette which I have found incredibly wearable for day or night.

There is a cream colour perfect for highlighting and this has a sophisticated shimmer to it and I apply this all over the lid but mostly on my brow bone. The other three shades are different variations of brown which are beautiful too. These also have a very natural shimmer to them. They are mineral based and can be applied to look natural or built up to look more prominent.

I was actually going to get the Urban Decay neutral palette originally but so glad I bought this first. I have been really impressed by the Lavera brand. As follows some extra information about the product: 100% natural. Certified organic. Vegan. Free from parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals, silicones, synthetic dyes, artificial fragrance. I would thoroughly recommend this product to anyone, the eyeshadows create a really classy look to the eye, and the product is very high quality. It was priced at £12.50. Click here to buy online.

Do you like the look of this product? What eye products do you reach for daily? :-) Xxx

Holland & Barrett Natural Beauty Haul

I feel like I haven’t done a beauty blog post in so long with having so many lifestyle posts in the lead up to Christmas so now finally I have got round to this natural beauty haul. I got into natural/organic beauty products after visiting and revisiting a health shop on holiday. I slowly started collecting related products and realised I really enjoyed using them. I think you can expect better quality ingredients and for that reason I trust associated brands more with my slightly sensitive skin. I don’t like using skincare with lots of chemicals either.

I began just buying things from the health shop I mentioned but I think this is the first time I’ve gone and ordered natural/organic products online. I’m really looking forward to trying them out and then hopefully reviewing them. In fact I’ve tried one or two things already but I will give you my thoughts on these with review posts coming later.

I saw the Weleda gift set in a Christmas gift guide on JustEmma.co.uk blog and thought it would be a perfect way to try out three individual products and if I like them I can buy them full size. The shampoo I bought is organic and does not have any nasty chemicals such as parabens, I’m hoping it will balance my hair like the name suggests. I loved the sound of a soothing body scrub so had to add the Urban Veda one to my shopping basket. And finally the Purity facial wash, I have my fingers crossed for this product that it works well with my skin and I’ve been after a nice gentle face wash for a while.

I ordered these at Holland & Barrett when they had a special offer on, I would look out for those but have included the original prices in the description.

What are your favourite natural/organic products? Did you enjoy this haul post? :-) Xx

Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Shampoo £7.99 (buy here)

Urban Veda Soothing Body Scrub £8.99 (buy here)

Purity Facial Wash £5.29 (buy here)

Weleda Mini Almond Trio £8.50

(Gentle Cleansing Milk 10ml, Almond Facial Cream 7ml, 

Almond Sensitive Skin Body Lotion 20ml) (Unavailable, try eBay?)

Whittard Hot Chocolate Gift Set Thoughts

I’m back with a review today. I received a beautiful Whittard hot chocolate set at Christmas, in fact the year before I was gifted a very similar set. So I thought it was about time I shared my related thoughts on my blog. Luckily this particular set is still available on the Whittard website, buy here. I thought maybe it might just be limited edition but there is quite a wide choice of gift sets available to choose from. I think this set is probably one of the best though and retails at £20 which in my opinion is great value for six barrels each with a different flavour. I have been really enjoying testing the different varieties and so far I love the mint and rocky road one the best.

I think it makes a wonderful gift if it’s someone’s birthday coming up or if you are struggling for a Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one this may be a great option. The weather has been so cold lately so coming in and warming yourself with a luxury hot chocolate is bliss. There’s just something magical about the quality and taste of this hot chocolate brand. It’s probably one of the best hot chocolates I have ever tasted including ones I have had in cafes or restaurants. I would describe the taste as rich, authentic and dreamlike!

Flavours included: Luxury, Rocky Road, Praline, Mint, Orange and Salted caramel. (Each 120g)

Have you tried Whittard hot chocolate before? Which flavours are your favourite? :-) Xx

My Fun and Realistic Goals for 2016

Hello – I thought I would do my take on setting resolutions for this year. I think sometimes it’s easy to be too hard on yourself when setting them so I thought I would lead by example and write some fun goals for 2016. I’m hoping I will enjoy completing them! Let me know if you have any similar aspirations or if you like leave a blog link and I will take a look at yours. Click here for my 2015 goals, I completed a good amount of them :-)

Have an amazing year and wishing you all happiness in 2016!

Try a Starbucks/Café Nero drink
Be ready for opportunities
Update Bucketlist.org account
Read some books outside my comfort zone
Learn to make an exceptional cup of tea
Develop style by wearing up clothes that are already in my wardrobe
Try out new Lush products
Discover a few new holy grail beauty items
Try out more natural and organic beauty brands
Listen to and develop knowledge of newly released music artists
Finish watching Dawson’s creek DVD series
Experiment with new makeup looks including winged eyeliner
Get crafty with a few new creative projects
Develop driving confidence
Drive in car a bit further a field
Practice a few new hair styles
Be brave and watch a horror film
Read a crime novel
Find and buy a few second hand books
Have a go at Miranda Hart’s fitness DVD
Buy a luxurious scarf
Buy self a Halloween hamper set
Be grateful for the things I have
Tweet a few celebrities on twitter
Smile at a stranger
Meet and greet horses, dogs and other animals when I see them
Be organised with card making for 2016
Read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying book and review
Get back into horse riding at the local stables and ride on the beach
Follow my heart

January Sales Shopping Haul

I thought today I would post my sales purchases from just after Christmas. I only got a few key items that I really liked or needed this year. I was in desperate need of some new everyday boots, my others were falling to pieces. These ones from Store Twenty One are stylish and the material is so soft. From the same store I spotted a beautiful shimmery rose gold purse, although this was not in the sale it was too nice to pass up.

One of my fav purchases were these gorgeous slipper socks from Dorothy Perkins, I haven’t stopped wearing them in the house since I got them. They are incredibly cosy with a fleece lining and subtle sequins on the bobbles outside. I couldn’t resist them and bought them alongside some polar bear cosy socks.

I passed up many of the online sales, I visited the online Boots sale but felt I didn’t want to be tempted by any more gift sets, I find these aren’t as easy to blog so instead I bought a few special natural/organic toiletries from Holland & Barrett when they had offers on. Post coming up in a little while!

So how did you do in the sales? Find any amazing bargains? :-) Xxx

Store Twenty One

Soft material brown buckle boots SALE £25 £15

Rose gold lace purse £6

Dorothy Perkins

Fleece lined grey sequin slipper socks SALE £12 £7 (buy here)

Pack of two cosy socks in white/grey SALE £6 £4 (buy here)