Monday Message

Hope you have a happy Monday - and rest of the week!

.xxx.

Weekly Wishes (11 - 17 August)

Weekly Wishes is part of a worldwide link up by The Nectar Collective, where women get to put their short term goals out there for everyone to see, support and encourage one another. I've been following Roxy over at City Girl Searching and absolutely love the idea! It’s so clichéd, but it really is so much easier to achieve something great when you’re focusing on the little steps that will get you there.

Last Week…

So much for my theory that it would make my goals more tangle by putting them out there for the world to see…

Never mind not waking up early to exercise – I’m blaming a crazy week at work (coupled with some horrible PMS) on the fact that I barely ate a balanced meal, and definitely didn’t make it onto the treadmill.

On the bright side, a large bottle of water on my desk kept up my daily H20 requirements.

I chatted to a couple of friends that I haven’t spoken to in a while. Its so refreshing to find those couple of minutes to catch up with people close to you.

And after a crazy week, I cancelled all my plans for the weekend and just indulged in some me time… I turned off my phone, read my book and worked my way through all the shows recorded on my PVR. Pure bliss!

 

So here goes for this next week…

1. Be Healthy

Take 2. At least 4 mornings this week I am going to drag my lazy bum onto that treadmill. Summer is a whole week closer (not that the cold weather this weekend would make you think that!)

2. Be Patient

I’m an Aries. I’ve never been known for my patience.

You may see this one on here a couple of times…

3. Moisturise

After I posted my Weekly Wishes for last week, I realized that I probably should have added this. My poor skin is taking a beating this winter so I really need to be better about moisturizing. My lovely mum spolit me with the Kiehl’s Crème de Corps – I adore all of the Kiehl’s products that I have tried so far so I’m really looking forward to pampering my skin!

♥

So that’s me – I’ve got some catching up to do from last week, and I’m going to try get a head start on this one with a relaxing bubble bath – followed by a deep layer of body butter!

What have you got planned?

.xxx.

Happy Women's Day!

Happy Women's Day to all the wonderful, strong, beautiful women reading this blog!

I hope you have a truly incredible day - today, and every day.

.xxx.

Things I’m Loving…

I absolutely LOVE trying out new products. I’m probably guilty of getting so excited to try something new that I never give one product enough of a chance before I move swiftly on to the allure of new packaging, new scents and a new experience.

On a recent trip to Clicks, I found myself drawn to the shelf packed with shiny blue Dirty Works loveliness. 

Dirty Works packaging always reminds me of Soap & Glory – just a whole lot more affordable and more available – but even so, I’ve never actually tried any of their products.

Since I feel like winter has seriously taken its toll and my skin is feeling very dry and dull and flaky, their Vitamin Boost Brightening Mask sounded like just the thing. Vitamins are supposed to be good for you - right? Well so far, this mask has lived up to my expectations and kept my attention!

It’s labelled a deep exfoliating mask with Vitamin C, Pomegranate and Goji fruit extracts and Kaolin. 
It smells slightly of oatmeal - which I always find a bit odd. With that ingredient list, I would have expected a more fruity scent - but I supposed that is the active clay coming through.

My best thing about this mask though is how quick it is to use!

I pop it on before I brush my teeth in the morning, and rinse it off to reveal a sparkling face, ready to take on the day! The exfoliating granules are gentle enough to leave my skin feeling properly scrubbed without feeling like I'm scraping away the top layer, and my skin is so super-soft. It sounds cliched but I really do notice a difference - it really does look like it is glowing!

Apparently Dirty Works also have a Detox Mask and a Moisture Mask – I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye out for those!

Have you tried any other Dirty Works products? Or just any other great masks?

Would love to hear what you use!

.xxx.

Thankful Thursday

Lately it seems like everyone around me is looking for ways to be happy – or rather, acknowledging how beneficial it can be to take the time to appreciate the things that make them happy.

I’ve been doing the 100 Happy Days photo challenge – which is great for making you find something every day that makes you happy, or something that you are thankful for. Some days it’s really quite tough to think what made me happy that day (and there’s only so many photos of coffee that people want to see on my Instagram feed!)

Every week, I’m going to write down three things from the past week that I am thankful for. Aside from the belief that putting things on paper makes them more tangible, I also think it would be nice to be able to go back and take a look when I’m having a really bad day or week, and feel like the whole world is out to get me…

So here goes...

1. Putting aside my fears of what people will think (or that no one will be interested) and creating this blog. And for the support that I have already received from other bloggers. Thank you to the lovely ladies who have left comments or tweets in response to this space.
2. Friends. I mentioned already that this week, 2 years ago, I lost a good friend. His passing made me appreciate the time that I have to spend with the people close to me, and although I try to remember that always, I am particularly reminded of that this week.
3. Spring is on it’s way! I am not a winter person – I really feel the cold. I couldn’t be happier for the change in the air and the whole 1 degree temperature increase that means that Spring is coming.

Sweetpeas always make me think of Spring.

If you like this idea, feel free to make your own Thankful list, either in the comments below or on your own list. I would love to see what you’re thankful for.

.xxx.

Monday Message

It's Monday.
Whether you're having a bad hair day, running behind schedule or, like me, unable to communicate before 4 cups of coffee - own it! Embrace it and have an incredible week!

.xxx.

Weekly Wishes (4 - 10 August)

Roxy over at City Girl Searching has been posting Weekly Wishes as part of a link up by The Nectar Collective. 

This is a worldwide link up of women who are putting their short term goals out there for everyone to see, support and encourage one another. I absolutely love the idea! It’s so clichéd, but it really is so much easier to achieve something great when you’re focusing on the little steps that will get you there.


1. Be Healthy
I’ve been pretty good on my treadmill recently (helped along by the boyfriend’s continued references to it as the clothes hanger), but I find that as soon as I have evening plans with friends, that takes priority over the monotonous walk in one place.

Along with practically every other girl in the Southern Hemisphere, I’m working towards losing weight and firming up for summer. This week I want to try and stay off the carbs (and chocolate), drink at least 2l of water a day and drag my lazy bum out of bed early and onto the treadmill before the sun comes up. Well, for at least 4 mornings anyway.

2. Get In Touch

Life can get so busy it’s sometimes easy to get so wrapped up in everything that we “need” to do that we overlook the things that we should be doing.

Tuesday marks the 2 year anniversary of the passing of a good friend.

This week I am going to make an effort to pop a message to friends overseas that I haven’t chatted to in a while, make a call to the friend who I haven’t spoken to in a while, and make time to visit a friend who I haven’t seen in a while.

Life is short. Anything can happen. I never want to be in a situation where I regret being too busy for the people who I care about.

3. Turn Off

Source: Pinterest

With this growing list of commitments for this week, I’m also going to find one evening to turn off. Turn off my phone. Turn off the tv. Take a Lush bubble bath. And spend some time genuinely doing nothing.

♥

So thats what I'll be trying to do during this coming week.

I’d love to hear the things that you’d like to achieve over the next few weeks – why don’t you give it a go as well and we can motivate each other?

.xxx.

July Favourites

Hi lovelies!

Here are some of my most recent favourite products that I've been using this July.
I haven't really ever taken a step back to look at which products I use most frequently - but I have been taking part in the Super Gorgeous July photo challenge on Instagram and thought I would share my July favourites with you. Sorry in advance - this is a bit of a long one - so grab a cup of coffee before you start reading!

♥

Clinique Cheek Pop (Peach Pop)

I've been looking for the perfect soft peach coloured blush for a while now. Something that gives a nice pop of colour to the cheeks without making me look like one of those dolls that I used to have as a kid with the pink cheeks painted onto the plastic!

I think I'm a little late to the party with this one - there have been loads of reviews on this blush already and I  finally gave in and indulged in this beautiful blush.

The clear container reveals a perfectly embossed daisy that is almost too pretty to use for fear of diminishing the pretty petals - but so far I haven't even made a mark. It still looks as good as new!

The blush itself isn't too powdery and leaves a soft sheen of colour across the cheeks - and lasts all day.

You can pick up Clinique make up pretty much everywhere - or online from Red Square.

♥

MAC In Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash

As part of my never ending search for the perfect mascara that lengthens and thickens and doesn't clump - I happily stumbled across this wonder.

The bristles are quite short - which initially I found quite intimidating - but the result is perfectly defined, separated lashes, and the waterproof formula means that my lashes look great all day!

You can buy it online here from Mac's online store.

♥

Lush Ultrabland Cleanser

This was an impulse buy after hearing such good reviews on a couple of other blogs - and I certainly wasn't disappointed. In my head, I rationalised that it must be a good thing to clean your face using only natural products.

The Ultrabland contains almond oil and rosewater and leaves my skin feeling super clean, soft and moisturised every time. I'll be visiting Cape Town at the end of August and this is one product that will absolutely be on my list when I visit Lush!

♥

The Body Shop Chamomile Silky Cleansing Oil

I have very sensitive eyes and for years the old make up remover that I have been able to use has been The Body Shop Chamomile Gentle Eye Make Up Remover - but I would always spend ages trying to remove all the traces of dark eye make up, and would often still wake up in the morning with black smudges under my eyes from left-over mascara.

Initially, the thought of using oil on my face made me think of clogged pored and irrationally greasy skin - but this soft oil seems to dissolve even my waterproof mascara so quickly and easily!

♥

OPI Nail Envy

This winter has seriously taken it's toll not only on my skin, but also on my nails. Add to that a bad Gelish application (and subsequent removal) and my poor nails were brittle and peeling. Someone suggested to me that this could be as a result of drinking too much coffee, but I don't think that I dramatically increased my caffeine intake so much that it would have had such an intense damaging effect on my nails.

A friend suggested that I try the Nail Envy and I couldn't be more impressed with how beautiful, strong and healthy my nails are looking and feeling. 

♥

Essie Mamba

Essie Mamba might just be the perfect nude nail colour!

Often nude nail colours are quite yellow-y and just look washed out and flat against my skin - but this colour has a slight peachy undertone that still has the sophistication of the classic nude without making my fingers look beige and boring.

So those are my favourite products from July.

Let me know what you think - and if there's anything that I should be trying out in August.

xxx.