On trial: La Roche-Posay Eye Make-up Remover

Recently I've been using and loving Vichy's Pureté Thermale Make-up Remover and astonishingly I used up every single drop. For me that's quite unusual as I tend to flit between products but as the Vichy make-up remover was now sitting empty, it was time to find a new one. Vichy's make-up remover retails at around £11 in Boots, but with it being the tail end of the month my purse was groaning slightly so instead of splashing out £11 I instead splashed out £9.50 on La Roche-Posay's alternative option.

Surprisingly I've never tried La Roche-Posay but I've always heard good things about it and the clinical looking blue colour of some of the products always stands out to me on the shelves in Boots so I thought it was about time I went for it.

On a daily basis I only ever really use eyeshadow and mascara (adventurous, I know!) so because of this I was only really looking for a make-up remover that was dedicated to this area in particular. A lot of eye make-up removers can sting or irritate the eyes but the La Roche-Posay was like a dream. I put only a few small drops onto a cotton wool pad and brushed it quite firmly over my eyes, it took the make-up off in a couple of swoops and it didn't sting my eyes at all. There was the odd occasion I may have used too much of the product and thought 'uh oh' it would sting as it got into my eye but nothing. I'm super impressed!

£9.50 for 125ml isn't too bad, especially as you only really need a small amount of product for each eye. It's worth splashing out on if you want to stay kind to your eyes and have your make-up thoroughly removed each time without any harsh rubbing. I'd definitely recommend giving this a whirl if you're in the market for trying a new eye make-up remover.

Have you tried the La Roche-Posay Eye Make-up Remover? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Manicure Monday: L'Oreal Paris Color Riche L'Huile Polishes

After a brief break I'm back with some polishes that I've been meaning to feature on the blog for quite a while - the new L'Oreal L'Huile polishes in their new quilted effect bottles. The range includes 22 shades in total but of course I wouldn't be able to purchase them all, however much I want to, so instead I opted for three shades, Cobalt Indecent, Moka Chic and Gris Decadent. I think I must have been in a bad/gloomy mood while shopping as the shades I picked up are all quite dark but still extremely wearable. I have spied the different pink shades available too, which are extremely pretty and perfect for spring.

Cobalt Indecent is a gorgeous almost navy blue, Moka Chic is pretty much what you'd expect, a chocolatey/mocha beige and Gris Decadent is a moody grey!

I bought these three shades on 3 for 2 in Boots. They're £4.99 each, which is a pretty standard price for some of the higher end Boots/Superdrug polishes and I don't mind paying a little bit more when a polish turns out to be as fab as this. Starting from the outside the pretty quilted effect bottle is a new look for L'Oreal and a welcome change. It really gives the polish a bit more of a luxury feel.

I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover or a nail polish by its bottle in this case but it's so pretty! But onto the important stuff...the polish itself is packed full of precious oils, which L'Oreal have apparently been researching for 10 years and they blend beautifully with intense colour pigmentation, meaning the polishes apply like a dream, dry in no time at all and have a super shiny finish and now I'm not sure if this is just me, but I've found there to be quite a pleasant, almost fizzy scent to the polish once it's dried too.

The brushes on these polishes are lovely too, as they're so wide they apply the polish quite liberally over the nail. You can cover the entire nail in one swoop! I found two coats does the trick and you can go for a top coat if you fancy it but they dry pretty shiny as they are. I found they lasted a good 3 - 4 days before slight chipping began to occur. You could limit this with the top coat I expect but 3 - 4 days wear isn't too bad, it's pretty standard and better than a lot of other polishes.

Personally I'm a big fan of the new look, L'Oreal oil nail polishes and my favourite shade of the three I picked has got to be Cobalt Indecent. I'm definitely going to be picking up a few more shades for my collection, perhaps you'll see them on the blog in the future!

Five good things this week

I thought I'd start a bit of a new series here on the blog, a bit of re-invention of my Sunday Summary posts, but instead of talking about everything that went on in the week I thought I'd instead talk about five things in particular that really made my week. The first three months of this year have been absolute poo to put it politely so I thought focusing on some of the positives might be a nice change.

Week off
I've had the past week off work, my first week off since Christmas and it's been rather lovely. Vince also managed to book off two consecutive days so on Tuesday we popped out for breakfast and Wednesday we headed out for lunch and some shopping, but more on that later. Every time I say I have a week off work people ask me where I'm off to or what I'm doing but to be honest I never have anything planned. It's just nice to be at home and I managed to get some blog photos taken during the daylight!

Yoga
On Monday I went to my very first yoga class! I've been doing yoga at home on Youtube on and off but it caused pain in my shoulders and neck so I'm not sure I was really doing it properly and it was about time I found a 'proper' class to go to. I took my mum along with me and it was pretty relaxing for a Monday night workout...it's really my kind of workout when you get to spend about 20 minutes 'asleep' on the floor. Score! I'm really looking forward to the next class.

Exercise bike
All that sleeping and relaxing in Yoga means I do need to do something a bit more vigorous so I have finally ordered myself an exercise bike to save me all the embarrasment of having to run out of my spin class to throw up. Yes it happened, twice. I thought I'd get my own bike so I can go at my own pace instead of pushing myself too hard to meet what the spin class teacher is shouting at me to do. I need to be sure I do push myself a little bit, building up resistance on the bike etc but I'm starting off very simply for the first week.

Lunch and shopping!
On Wednesday Vince and I decided to pop to Bristol for a spot of shopping and some lunch at one of our fave all-you-can-eat restaurants. Although my purse was quite literally groaning, I picked myself up a new pair of jeans, a jumper and a new sports bra top for all that working out I am yet to do. Vince treated me to lunch and we absolutely stuffed ourselves silly as per usual. It's a Pan Asian restaurant so has all of our faves but Vince went all out with chinese followed by roast dinner and then curry! I stuck to mostly chinese food and it was delish!

It was really nice to go a shopping centre on a week day as everyone else was at work so it was nice and quiet! Primark was a dream!

Masterchef!
Masterchef may be a slight exaggeration but this week has been full of baking and 'proper' cooking. I've been trying to make some 'different' dishes for our dinner recently, using recipes online and a couple of cook books. I started out with Red Pesto Chicken Pasta followed by a Chicken and Mushroom Pie on Friday. I whipped up some Rocky Road Mini Egg bites, which you can see here and I have Spanish Sausage Goulash planned as well before needing to research some more recipes. I'm not sure what prompted me to do some proper cooking for a change, I guess it's because Vince has been working so late most evenings and apart from this week off, I will usually be at home around 6.30pm so thought I better put my time to good use. I'm not usually a good cook so this will give me lots of practice!

What have been five good things that have happened to you this week? Let me know in the comments.

Idiot-proof Rocky Road Mini Egg Bites

Happy Easter everyone! This is the first and probably last baking post on this blog. On Friday I gave these Mini Egg Rocky Road Bites a go and I thought I'd feature them on the blog just to prove that even baking idiots like me can create some delicious snacks!

The best thing about these is not that you can sneakily eat handfuls of mini marshmallows and mini eggs as you go but there is absolutely no baking involved. That means no ovens, no burning tops and no soggy bottoms. You literally only need the hob for melting the chocolate and even an idiot like me can do that!

Ingredients

• Mini eggs - alternatively you could use Smarties as they aren't so seasonal!
• Mini marshmallows - I was hoping for pink and white ones but only white ones were left!
• 400g chocolate - the original recipe specifies white chocolate, but I used milk, yum!
• A pack of digestives - the original recipe specified 400g but I only used around 8 biscuits in total!

Method

• Line a cake tin or even an oven tray (like I did!) with clingfilm or grease proof paper
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
• Crush up the digestives, I'd recommend crushing three to four at a time so you can judge how many you need
• Mix in the digestives, a couple of handfuls of mini marshmallows and mini eggs
• Add more digestives if you think they're needed
• Make sure everything is coated in the chocolate
• Pour into the cake tin and even out
• Pop more mini eggs on top
• Put in the fridge for 2-3 hours depending on how much you've made - I found mine took 3-4 hours to properly cool
• Cut to size!

Easy! Please tweet me your pics @cherryp13 if you give these a go yourself! I'd love to see.

March #Paperhaul Subscription Box

Quite an image heavy post today but that's only because I couldn't not photograph absolutely everything in the #Paperhaul March subscription box*. I've had my fair share of beauty boxes in the past, which have all been great, but stationery based boxes are always so much fun.

Each box features a different illustrator each month. Last month was the fab Jemma at Dorkface blog, which I'm sad to have missed out on, however this month's box features the equally talented Jodie Goolding, whose work is based around adult colouring. All of the illustrations, ranging from cards, notebooks and postcards could be coloured in if you fancied, just make sure you have the right sort of pens!

As well as the notebooks, postcards and illustrations there was also a super cute washi tape, which I absolutely love, as well as some stickers and even greetings cards. There is really something for everyone. I personally can use the notebook and cards, maybe even send a postcard or too and my niece and nephew could make good use of the stickers. The washi tape is going straight into my blog photo prop box!

At £10 a month this is a fab subscription box, with a great opportunity for subscribers to discover new, really talented artists. The range of goodies that come with the box is great too and you really get a good amount for your money. Definitely one I'd recommend stationery addicts sign up to.

Have you tried the #Paperhaul subscription box? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

*This post contains a PR sample.

A bunch of carrots for your bath...Lush Easter range

Every year I tell myself I'm going to buy something from the Lush Easter collection and every year I don't or I forget and it becomes too late but this year I made sure to buy myself a little treat to get me back in the mood for having baths again.

I go through phases of having baths loads then not at all (don't worry I do still wash, just in the shower!) as I get bored with the products. I find most bath products, such as bubble baths and bath oils, come in bottles that are way too big and they take ages to use up so things like bath bombs or bubble bars from Lush keep things a bit more interesting and fresh!

I decided to go for the Bunch of Carrots from the Easter collection just because they're so fun. When you think about it, you're running a carrot under your bath tap, it's so strange but it produces such lovely results, with lashings of buchu, lemon and grapefruit oils spilling out into the water. What's even better is that they're reusable so you can run one under the bath for a little while and then put it to one side to use for another time.

£6.25 for three carrots is pretty reasonable, especially as you can reuse them so one is going to last absolutely ages. They small amazing too and they're a pretty good size. They'd make a fab little gift if you're putting some kind of Easter basket together for someone who's a bit too old for an Easter egg hunt! I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on these if you can!

Will you be buying yourself a bunch of carrots for your bath? Let me know in the comments.

On trial: Lancer - The Method

Back in January I received the January Look Fantastic Beauty Box, which contained a little mini Lancer Polish. It wasn't a brand I had heard of before but I was in the market for some new skincare so thought I'd give it a little try. I was using it for a week or two and my skin was feeling fab after every use so when I was contacted and asked if I'd like to try the entire Lancer - The Method range, I couldn't refuse.

The Method, by Dr Lancer, focuses on stimulating the skin's epidermis, or upper-most layer of the skin, shifting the dermis into high gear. Cell turnover speeds up, more collagen and elastin are produced and skin visibly glows - the skin effectively begins to follow a more youthful cycle, becoming more resilient and younger looking! It is made up of 3 steps – Polish, Cleanse and Nourish.

Polish
The polish is an exfoliating scrub that should be used on a daily basis in order to speed up cell turnover and produce collagen. I use a small amount for each cheek, another little dollop for my chin and a tinier amount for my nose. My chin and nose have quite visible pores that I'm really keen to get rid of so I've been concentrating mostly on these areas, however, scrub-a-dub-dubbing the rest of my face won't hurt surely. I have quite sensitive skin but the scrub is really gentle and contains brown sea algae, which helps to moisturise. I simply remove the scrub with a cotton pad soaked in warm water and instantly my skin feels super smooth. It is definitely removing any impurities in my skin as small blemishes have appeared but they've cleared up pretty quickly. Now the scrub is battling any dead skin and keeping it lovely and refreshed.

Cleanse
The cleanser is a super silky formula, which removes any residual exfoliation debris left on the skin. I've actually been applying the cleanser with my Magnitone Cleansing Brush to make sure it really gets in deep into my skin to work its magic. The cleansing product has a PH that interlocks with the Polish and the Nourish products, helping to enhance each step and leaves skin feeling really clean and refreshed.

Nourish
Exfoliating and cleansing my skin makes it feel like it's been through a tough workout afterwards so the final step, Nourish, is a lovely, cool moisturising cream that really helps to calm my skin down a little if I've been a bit over the top with the scrubbing. It leaves the skin soft and supple, helping to retain moisture and boosy the skin's oxygen levels.

Since using The Method routine I've noticed the pores on my face have definitely got smaller. They were really visible beforehand so I'm pretty pleased with that. I feel like the products have really given my skin a deep clean and it's looking really well moisturised and just generally in a much better condition. I'm so glad I was introduced to the range because it's really given my skin the shakeup it needed.

Have you tried Lancer's The Method skincare routine? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

*This post contains PR samples.

Blogger behind the scenes
Oh my God - this has got to be some of the trickiest blog photos I've ever shot. I wanted to steer clear of the usual product flat lay on a marble background but literally EVERYTHING I tried came out as a big fat fail. I ended up in all sorts of awkward positions in my bathroom trying to photograph these products standing up and looking lovely in great light but absolutely nothing worked. Why don't I have the perfect all white bathroom like every other blogger? I tried fixing the camera to my tripod after about half an hour of trying to find the connector bit and holding a piece of wood on a rail in my shower room with the products balanced precariously on it. It fell off many times and even when I got it situated perfectly the shots came out rubbish so I returned to my original flat lay style - that'll teach me for trying to be adventurous.

Manicure Monday: Rimmel Super Gel

I love it when I'm in Boots and I spot something I've not seen before and instantly pop it in my basket. I'm sure my purse doesn't like it very much but I love the feeling of finding something new and that I've not used before. In this case I've not really properly used a polish and gel top coat polish before so I was really keen to get this on my nails and a trial underway, after all it claims to last 'up to 14 days' and that is definitely something I can get on bored with.

I painted my nails with the shade 'punk rock', which is a lovely dusky purple, and it went on like a dream. It dried in no time and the brush was so wide that I only needed one swoop to cover the whole nail. It was a good start. This was on the Sunday evening and by the Tuesday there was already a significant chip on one nail. Disappointing, but I put it down to me possibly catching it on something. That was only three days in and by the Thursday/Friday most of the nails were chipped. Actually, my nails looked awful, one was missing at least half of its polish and they no longer looked nice at all so I had to remove the polish.

I have to say I am super disappointed. I know Rimmel have covered their backs by saying 'up to 14 days wear' so you can't really complain because technically it has lasted between one and 14 days, but I was definitely expecting it to last longer than three. I feel like I would have been better off just using a normal non-Gel polish. I think it's a gimmick and a complete waste of money, especially at £5.99 each! It's a shame because proper gel nails are very expensive and I was hoping this might be a nice little budget alternative but I certainly wouldn't recommend it. I'd much rather pop a Barry M Gelly polish on my nails as it has just as good a finish and lasts longer!

Have you tried the Rimmel Super Gel polish? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Rose Gold Beauty Buys for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this Sunday people! Are you prepared? I am definitely not. I am going to have to go shopping on Saturday but I'm feeling very uninspired! I did pop up a little gift guide last week so if you're struggling too, that might help you or continue reading here!

I personally don't think rose gold is going away anytime soon so I've put together a fab little gifr guide of rose gold or rose-themed beauties you could buy Mum (or yourself!)

Zoeva Powder Polish Brush (107) and Zoeva Cream Shader Brush (233)
Zoeva's rose gold make-up brushes are absolutely stunning. They're so soft and just super pretty, almost too pretty to mess them up with make-up if you ask me! They make really lovely gifts as they look much more expensive than they actually are! You could pick up a nice set or just pick and mix a few different ones to give your Mum.

Pixi Rose Oil Blend Face Oil
Pixi Beauty is a more recent discovery for me. I'm currently trialling some of its skincare, which also makes a lovely gift for your Mum, alongside this really lovely face oil. It contains sweet almond, rosehip, jojoba, pomegranate seed, and rose geranium oils that nourish the skin leaving it super soft and smooth. It comes in bottle form with a cap or you can use the pipette. It's paraben free and not tested animals!

Monu Rosewood Reviving Mist
Monu is another brand I'm loving at the moment and its reviving mist makes a lovely gift on its own or with a few other products. You could even put together a rose/rose gold themed gift box if you fancied! The mist is perfect for setting make-up or to just spritz all over as the lemon, rosewood, sandalwood and geranium essential oils will leave your skin feeling super refreshed in warm weather.

What do you think of these rose and rose gold-themed beauty ideas for Mother's Day? Will you be picking any up for your mum or for yourself? Let me know in the comments.

*This post contains PR samples.

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Last week I put together this gift guide but I have so many products that would make nice gifts that I thought I'd do another one - after all the more ideas you have for gifts the better right?

AEOS Optimal Essentials (Blue) Kit
This AEOS kit is a great little gift for any Mum wanting to take her skincare regime up a gear. I think a lot of Mums tend to find their skincare routine in their younger years and stick to it but it's always good to shake things up a bit. This handy little kit comes with 10 miniature products that are designed to introduce hydration and nourishment to the skin. It comes with 10 miniature products, which makes it the perfect kit for travelling with too. I'll be featuring a full review of it later on in the year!

DermaTx Microdermabrasion Tool
Continuing with the idea of shaking up her skincare regime, this Microderbabrasion Tool from DermaTx is another great gift for Mother's Day. We've all seen the popular cleansing brushes but this brush focuses more on exfoliating the skin to improve skin tone and texture and ultimately leave your Mum's face glowing! The microdermabrasion treatment exfoliates dead skin cells to help reduce the appearance of fines lines and wrinkles, open pores, pigmentation and acne scarring so is quite an investment gift but ultimately one that I think a lot of Mum's would appreciate.

There are three different systems to choose from, Brighten, which helps uneven skin tone, sun-damaged and ageing skin, Clarify, which is designed to tackle acne, oily skin and enlarged pores and Rejuvenate, which is designed for normal to sensitive skin.

At £70 this is quite a big spend but Mum is definitely worth it, right? I'll be reviewing this in full soon so please keep an eye out for it on the blog!

Argan Springs 100% Pure Organic Argan Oil
I promise I didn't mean for this gift guide to take a skincare theme! The Argan Spring Argan Oil is possibly a bit more of a purse-friendly gift at £12.99 and is a beautifully packaged, frosted glass bottle of pure Moroccan oil, which can be used on skin, hair, nails and face to target any conditions. The oil is packed full of unsaturated fatty acids and rich vitamins helping to boost cellular regeneration, it also has anti-inflammatory properties too. It's one of those products that all Mum's have, that they whip out when you have any kind of skin complaint. Great for rubbing into dry skin or just use a luxury oil for your face and body!

Aura-Soma Pegasus Perfumes
If you're mum is a fan of perfumes then the Aura-Soma Pegasus Perfumes make a great gift idea. I've featured samples in the photos above but the full size versions demonstrate the visual and non-visual energies of colour. The entire range is created with natural and organic essential oils extracted from plants and flowers and the alcohol, which carries the fragrance, is certified Organic by the Soil Association.

There is such a huge range of scents available and looking at the full size bottles, it's so hard to choose just one. They're all so eyecatching and fun and they make fab gifts as each colour bottle has it's own traits linked with it meaning you can select one that matches your Mum's personality. At £85 for a full size bottle this is another pricey one but it's a really interesting way to choose a perfume and I think it will really show that a lot of thought has gone into the selection.

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation and Vichy Dermablend Setting Powder
Finally I have two make-up products that would make great gifts for Mother's Day. Vichy's Corrective Foundation targets uneven skin tone, dark circles, spots, scars, redness, which are common concerns that Mum's might be facing and wanting to tackle. You can also pair it with the setting powder to hold it in place longer. The powder comes with a really cute face puff that you can use to apply too. These are definitely more purse-friendly pressies that are perfect for Mums!

What are you buying your Mum for Mother's Day this year? Has this gift guide inspired you? Let me know in the comments.

*This post contains PR samples