Essie sparkly combo (Love and Acceptance + Set in Stones)

Hi everyone,

I wish I could elaborate a bit more about this post. But all I can think of is: I just felt like sparkles. What do you guys think? These photos are from Instagram so the lilac-y colour shows a bit paler than in real life. I think I can get away with wearing it in Autumn.

Sylwia x

St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Body Scrub

Good body scrub should be simple enough item to find in the shops, right? Well, not for me. I have been looking for a good one for quite some time now. Yes, I have found some worth recommending over the course of time. But I am on a budget these days  and I simply can't afford £10 body scrub.

I have recently discovered St. Ives Body Scrub. I used to use their face scrubs and always thought they were nice. So I gave a body version a go and it definitely wasn't a waste of money.

To me this product is everything I am looking for in a body scrub :)

• Good price - ranges from £3 to £5 (depending if on deal or not) for 300ml
• Thick consistency
• Lots and lots of little scrubbing granules - not too harsh but not too gentle either
• Lovely apricot smell
• Does not dry my skin out
• Formulated without parabens

I have de-potted mine into a Yankee candle jar. I think it just looks little bit prettier in my bathroom. All in all I think it's a great product. Highly recommended :)

Sylwia x

Empties #12

Batiste Tropical and Fresh - defnitely my favourite dry shampoo. Works really well, smells lovely and gives volume. Unfortunately it leaves white powder on the hair so it worked great when I was a blond but I can't use it as a read head now :(

Lazyhead Dry shampoo - I got this from Home Bargains for 50p. I thought it was worth a try for that price... well ... it wasn't. It did absolutely nothing!

Loreal Preference shampoo - this came with a red hair colour I got a while back. It lasted for about 4 washes and my hair felt lovely after using it. Unfortunately red washed out super quick anyway.

Bioderma Sebium Matt Gel - I would highly recommend this product to the girls with oily skin. It definitely helped oils coming through during the day.

Radox Moisture Shower gel - this belonged in my gym bag and I used it in the shower after a gym session. It lathered well and didn't dry my skin out. I would re-purchase.

Tresemme Platinum Strenght Deep Conditioning Treatment - My hair has been going throught super dry faze for quite some time now and I used this treatment as a regular conditioner. It worked really well and decreased hair tangling.

Naked Volume shampoo - All time favourite. Not sure how many bottles of this I have already used up.

Organic Surge Daily Care face wash - I didn't really think much of this. Regular face wash, little bit drying. I wouldn't re-purchase it.

Neal's Yard Remedies Orange Flower facial wash - I adore Neal's Yard products and this wash is not exeption. It hardly lathers but that's not a problem for me. I used it in the mornings to re-fresh and cleanse the skin after the night. It always made my face look looking brighter and more awake.

Naked Hydrating Shampoo - I like this just as much as the volume shampoo. This one is more hydrating but I can't use it too often as it does weigh don my hair (they are super thin). It works great as a shower gel too, very moisturising.

Nivea Invisible anti-perspirant - works good and true to the label doesn't leave any white marks.

Clarins Daily Energizer Cream - I have to admit that this cream did feel more luxourious than a high street brand. It did smell lovely too but I didn't think it actually energized my skin. I didn't really notice any difference in my skin's appearance.

Clinique superfit foundation - I wouldn't say it was long wearing, bit dry formula. Not bad but not great.

Sanctuary Body Souffle - nice texture but not moisturizing enough for my dry skin.

Cleansing with Boots Botanics

As usual I got lured into buying my first Botanics products by little red 'Offer' label in Boots. I have tried quite a few products from this range since then. Overall I really like this affordable natural range. Products are formulated without parabens and packaging is often made using recycled materials.

Three products I've been especially enjoying are from cleansing category.

Gentle Cleansing Cream All Bright - I got this little guy when my skin was going through dry phase. It will go through it again now that Autumn is here and Winter is getting closer.
Creamy formula of this feels lovely on the skin and removes make up pretty well. To remove everything it needs two applications but it can be used as a good make up 'melting' stage before deep cleansing.

Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm - This stuff is very different to previous hot cloth cleansers I owned (Liz Earle and Superdrug). It's not a thick cream but it has a super thick, almost a paste type formula. It comes with one muslin cloth which is little bit thicker than the ones from Liz Earle but still gentle enough.
This cleanser works really well. It deeply cleanses and smooths the skin just like the packaging says. My skin always feels really nice after using it and my black heads seem to be reduced. It's a very efficient product. I've been using it for quite some time now and it's hardly got a little dent in it.

Microdermabrasion Polish - I would say that this basically is a face scrub. But a really nice one. It's got loads of tiny tiny particles that very gently but effectively remove dead skin. This is an extra step in a cleansing routine and I wouldn't use it more than twice a week. I'm not sure about the whole radiant youth effect but it definitely cleanses very well and makes my skin looks very clean and fresh.

Any fans of Batanics out there? I would love to hear your recommendations :)

Sylwia x
 

Braun Silk-épil Xpressive Pro 7681 Epilator Review

I have been using an epilator for many years now. I have never gone back to shaving since I bought my first Philips Ice Epilator about 6 years go. It had a detachable part which sat in the freezer. I had to attach it before epilating and it gave a lovely cooling effect. Eventually however I got used to epilating so much that I didn't use the part at all. After many years of use the epilator itself was still going strong but the wire snapped and that was the end of it's life.

I did some research and went for Braun Silk-epil. This is much of an upgrade from my good old Philips. It's chargeable, it can be used dry or wet and it has quite a few different heads and caps. It has two different speeds but I always use faster speed as I am used to it. It has a bright light which comes very handy when epilating.

I have read some opinions saying this is the least painful epilator out there. Perhaps that's true but I didn't really experience massive difference from my Philips one (that's without the frozen cap). It have always felt little pinching but nothing that I would call a pain. Hair have to be fairly short thou, the longer they are the more you're going to feel it.
Althou I'm all tough when it comes to legs I can't work up my courage to epilate my underarms. I just can't do it... maybe one day... There is a cap with a lot smaller epilating surface provided for that purpose.

My epilating advice:

• Don't epilate long hair
• Pull the skin taught. It will be less painful but it will also help the epilator to grab the hair
• Exfoliate your skin regularly to avoid in-grown hair
• You could use it while in the shower but I find that it doesn't slide on as easily as on dry skin
• If your hair grow fast, epilate approximately once a week. Thanks to this you will catch hair that grow at different stages

I also use Braun Silk-Epil for shaving my underarms. I have to admit it is not my favourite way of shaving. I do prefer good old razor. But it is convenient and it saves me some pennies. The only razor that doesn't irritate my underarm skin is Wilkinson Intuition with soap attached to it. But replacement pads are quite expensive and the razor tends to get rusty pretty quick if not dried properly (can't really wipe it cause it has soap around it :/). So I switched to the Braun electric shaver. There is one thing that frustrates me about this method of shaving. It is only possible to do a good job if underarms are fully dry. Even drying them very well after shower isn't good enough. It's hard to explain but if there is any kind of moisture on the skin it just won't slide/glide on the skin and won't shave. Other than that I have no problems with it.

Another handy tool Silk -Epil has is a trimmer. It is attached to the shaving cap and has lock/unlock button. I like to use it on my bikini area. As we know skin around there can be very delicate and sensitive. Therefore I avoid shaving or epilating it altogether as those horrible red rash looking like spots come out after. Trimming is a great alternative. Trimmed hairs are so tiny that they're practically invisible. Skin is happy and not irritated.

One last thing to add is that Silk-Epil comes with those wipes that are supposed to be used before epilating. I have never used them so can't say much but I need to check them out to see if they help/make any difference.

Sylwia x

Foot care - Ped egg and Burt's Bees

Unfortunately my feet aways had a tendency to build up a lot of rough hard skin on them. I have always used these black filing pads and they seemed to work ok. But it was never quite as good as I would have wanted.

I have been running on a treadmill for a few months now and 'feet situation' started to get worse and worse.

I have invested in a Ped Egg. Just like many other people I was frightened of the 'cheese grater' look at first. I can say now that it's completely safe to use and it did not grate my feet to the bone :)
I don't know if Ped Egg is the best thing for rough skin but it certainly is far better than typical filing pads. First time took quite a long time to get rid of all of the roughness. But I've been using it regularly since then and it only takes couple of minutes now.

I still use my filing pad but only to smooth the skin out. Ped Egg leave it a bit 'scruffy' feeling. Couple of swiped of the pad and my feet feel so much better.
I've been also recently using Burt's Bees Coconut foot cream. However I would call it a gel rather than a cream. It has a clear, stickyish texture to it.
I do quite like it so far but it does not sink in very fast. I have not yet found a foot cream that would do. That's the only reason why I have hardly ever bothered with a foot cream.... not sinking in fast enough. I just hate that slippery, greasy feeling on my feet!

My simple, quick routine seems to be working so far and brought my feet back to their normal looking state. But it's not just about the look. Hard skin did actually cause me pain which was very unpleasant.

I would love to know your foot product recommendations as I could probably improve from here :)

Sylwia x

Primark transitional dress

I do love Primark! That shop is crazy. Sometimes I am just shocked by the prices there. I was recently lured into a Primark in Torquay when saw new Autumn pieces. I got a lovely nude blouse for £4! I just could not believe it. Next thing was this lovely pattern dress for £8. I thought it's going to be perfect for the summer/autumn/winter transition. I can still wear it with bare legs and sandals while warm. Then I can just keep adding... cardi... boots.... tights... and so on :) well... not much left to add beside a jacket... but you get the idea.

There is a little problem though. It's a bit tight in the chest area. These are the moments where I wish my boobs were smaller. The material does not have any give or stretch. It fits fine everywhere else but my chest. They had size 12 but zipper was broken so I was stuck with 10 and obviously had to have it there and then.
So I decided not to breathe while wearing it and it all turned out good lol But seriously now, it's not that bad but I wish Primark would sort out their sizing. It always runs a bit small. Every other shop I am dead on size 10. With Primark thou... it sometimes is 10, sometimes 12 and sometimes nothing cause 10 is too small and 12 too big ha ha
Anyone else has that problem or am I just unsizable?

Sandals - H&M probably 2 years ago
Cardi - Car boot 2 weeks ago for 50p (comes from H&M)
Boots - Dorothy Perkins last year

Sylwia x

Torquay Bank Holiday Weekend

One of the things I am absolutely grateful in my new job are weekends off. That includes Bank Holidays. Since I have started working 8 years ago I have never had a job were I didn't have to work weekends or Bank Holidays. I never had that Friday feeling or long weekend excitement. All that has changed since May and I am enjoying it to the maximum.

I have spent past weekend in Torquay. I have never been in Devon or Cornwall before. I was very surprised (althou I probably shouldn't have been at all) to realise that booking a hotel in a place like that, at a time like that won't be easy. There was NOTHING available. Or rather nothing that wasn't ridiculously priced.
But we went anyway. We arrived there Saturday morning and prospects of finding a room were slim. So we decided to just enjoy the day and go with the flow. I did get a bit miserable when I realised we'll have to spend the night in the car! I didn't mind that so much but it was the next day when I would feel gross! In the end I just relaxed about it and thought 'whatever! we're young, let's do it!'. Then we saw a B&B just by the sea with a sign saying 'Rooms availabe'. I don't think I was ever so happy to take a shower and lie down in bed ha ha
We've spent another day and night in Torquay and had a lovely time. It was a great mini break at the of summer.

Ferris Wheel

A tid bit high and a tid bit scary!

Trying to look sexy... didn't work

Making faces!

Algae

Shells (bit gross but still...shells)

Tide was out and revealed the rocks

Got myself a floppy hat :)

How did you guys spend your long weekend if you're lucky enough to have it off?

Sylw x

Something light and funny please!

I have always been a fan of crime and thriller books. I eagerly read to find out what the spin is or who the murderer is in the book.
But this kind of books can get a bit 'heavy' on the brain. There normally are a lot of characters that names I need to remember. Plot of the story can be long, thick and complicated. Basically what I mean is that sometimes after long tiring day at work I really can't be bother to think hard lol

So I decided to read something light that won't involve a lot of thinking ha ha I'm not big on chick lit type of books so wasn't really sure what else is out there. But one day I had a little rummage thru my friend's books and found three books that were perfect for me. These are stand-up comics biographies. I never read biographies before but figured since these guys are funny on stage, their writing must be funny too.
I wasn't disappointed. I didn't read Stephen Fry just yet but other two were hilarious. Alan Carr especially... this guy just cracks me up... Apart from the funniness thou it was a good insight to their lives before the fame. It showed how much hard work they've put and risk they took into becoming who they are now.

Alan Carr 'Look who it is!'
Michael McIntyre 'Life & Laughing'
Stephen Fry 'The Fry Chronicles'

We all need a bit of comedy and lighthearted humor in out lives. Sometimes it's so easy to get yourself wound up in everyday stressful craziness and forget that little funny story can make us laugh and forget all the troubles for a moment :)

Sylwia x

Bunny Rabbit Cutness

I have seen these cute bunny LED lamps all over blogs and instagram. I always thought they're adorable! But I never really rushed to buy them.
The other day I walked past this cute 'handmade' kind of store and saw the bunny lights in the window. Since I was there already.... I caved in.
These actually give out quite a bit of light. You couldn't read to it but it creates nice dimmed atmosphere. I adore them :)

I continued with the rabbit theme and ordered bunny ear phone case. Just like the lamps I think it's the most adorable thing ever :) It has a detachable tail that's meant to serve a purpose of a stand for the phone but it keeps falling off. I don't mind that cause it makes holding the phone little bit awkward.

I do apologise if this post was too much of a bunny cuteness. But bunnies are the most adorable things ever. And if you don't like them then I think you need to have a serious talk with yourself and sort it out ha ha ha

Sylwia x

Haul + First impressions

I got paid. This means one thing and one thing only. Shopping. Does anyone else go crazy when they get paid and then moan they're skint for the rest of the month? Well, I do that and it's not very smart. But on the bright side I've got a bunch of lovely new products to enjoy throughout the month.

No7 Cleansing Brush - First two uses felt really harsh on my skin. But I got used to it after that and it just feels normal now. I am trying different foaming cleansers with it to see what works best. So far I think it cleanses really well but definitely not a everyday use for me.
Ped Egg - I was actually petrified to use this! It looks like a cheese grater! But it's absolutely fine. I walk a lot and run on a treadmill at the gym so my feet get a horrible build up of callous on a daily basis. I only used it once and it took quite a long time... result wasn't super smooth skin but that's not what it's designed for.

Burt's Bees Head To Toe Kit - I have only used hand salve and foot cream from this little kit. Hand salve seems very thick and foot cream is more like a gel formula.
Burt's Bees Radiance Facial Cleanser - I only used this with the No7 brush and I really liked this combination of products.

Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Cleansing Gel - I found this little drying. When used with the No7 brush it made the whole process quite harsh and uncomfortable. I definitely prefer Burt's Bees cleanser to this.
Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm - This has super thick formula. It's almost difficult to get out of the tub. My skin felt nice after but I didn't get that deeply cleansed feeling.
Dr.Organic Manuca Honey Deodorant - This stuff does stop the sweat smell. I can vouch for that. However it has very overwhelming honey scent which can be little bit irritating.

I will continue to use all of the above products and will do separate reviews. We all know first impressions can be very misleading sometimes. I hope you enjoyed the read nevertheless.

Sylwia x

Empties #11

• Boots Botanics Instantly Volumising Shampoo - I am a fan of many products from botanics range but not this one. I don't feel it gave my hair any bounce and it irritated my scalp a bit too. I have another bottle (it was on buy one get one free offer) and I will use it as a shower gel :)
• Boots Botanics Instantly Hydrating Conditioner - I wouldn't say it was anything great. It didn't weigh my hair but it didn't moisturise it all that well. Bearing it mind, many natural hair conditionerS don't actually do much for my hair.
• Naked Little Miracle - all around lovely product. Doesn't weigh the hair, helps with detangling and makes it a bit softer. This is my second bottle and I will definitely repurchase
• Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion - Savior for dry skin. Instantly soothes and re-hydrates dry and irritated skin. I would recommend this for winter time for dry skin sufferers.
• Benefit It' Potent Eye Cream - this claims to brighten dark circles. I don't have any so can't really comment on that. It felt nice on the skin but I don't think it was very moisturising.
• Pharmaceris Cleansing Lotion - very gentle, felt nice on the skin. I'd say it's an average product.
• Elemis Sharp Shower Gel, Aromising Shampoo, Pro-Vitamin Conditioner (gotta love hotel goodies) - shower gel had a lovely scent. Shampoo was too runny and conditioner made my hair their softest ever.
• Organic Surge Daily Moisturiser - really nice face cream. Does what it claims and I don't really have anything bad to say about it. I consider buying a full size.
•  Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser - can't say it repaired my skin in any way but was lovely to use. It kept my skin hydrated and had this lovely soothing effect when applied.
• Carmex Mint - I need to get a full size of this! I love the freshness of this! Kept my lips soft too.
• Vichy Sollution Micellaire - this never really took all of my make up off. It took a lot of time and rubbing to take some of it off but there was always little bit left.
• Kamille Regenerating Hair Mask - this is a random sample I got in a Polish pharmacy. I didn't expect much but was so pleasantly surprised after using this. It made my hair super soft and the effect lasted even after a first wash. I asked my dad to buy me a full sized one and bring it over when he visits :)
• Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser - this is my all time favourite. Whole process of using this product is soothing and refreshing. It really does give a good clean to the skin and leaves it looking bright. I will definitely repurchase.
• Dove DeepCare Hand Cream - nice stuff. Can't fault it.
• Asda Mouthwash - does the job, costs 1 squid.
• Sanctuary Body Butter - I can't say I'm impressed with this. It absorbs well and feels lovely on the skin... but the moisturising effect does not last at all. I need a body stuff that keeps my skin feeling hydrated all day. Not itchy and dry by midday. This unfortunately does not have a lasting effect.

Sylwia x

Tea Tree Oil Goodness

I have learnt by now that expensive fancy products don't always work. It's always worth going back to the nature and trying out simple cheap product. Very often these natural things are multipurpose too.

I've been mainly using tea tree oil on pimples and sweat spots (gross, I know) but recently found out there are so many more purposes for it. Little bottle of this antiseptic goodness costs only around 4 squids. I got mine from Holland&Barret.
Getting back to the spots thou... It is a great antiseptic and will get rid of any spots over night. At least it's been working for me. One thing I've got to warn you about. This oil is very concentrated and strong! You don't want it anywhere near your eyes! I had a spot between my eyebrow and above my eyelid once (super weird place to have a spot). Happily applied tiny bit of oil on the cotton bud and dabbed it on the victim. My eye started to water like crazy and it stung like hell. So please don't make the same mistake and keep it away from your eyeballs. I promise it's save to use around the face, neck and whenever else you need.

Check out this website with 20 uses for tea tree oil. Worth a read! I am going to make the oil/water mold mixture. Mold keeps reappearing in my bathroom (again, gross) and I am desperate to get rid of it for good.

 Sylwia x

Good times in Tenerfie

I realised I never posted any pictures from my holiday in Tenerife. I had an amazing time and I miss that 'no care, no worries' feeling so much. Such good times.

Extreme swimming



View from the room



View from the roof where the pool was



I would love to have own a house there!



Posing lol



We hired a boat and went swimming there



Up in the mountains



Pretty views



Volcano



Too much shampagne at the sunset



Lava!



Pina Coladas! Yummy!



I look better in those!



Aren't we cute? lol



Hotel cool area



Looking at the Poker Tournament winner :D