April & March Empties

Hey guys!  I didn't do an empties post or video last month as I didn't have that much, so I saved it all up to bring you a slightly more meaty post today :)

The easiest products for me to finish - I loved them all :)

 

Summary

I really mean it when I say I loved all of these products.  Something I really regret is changing up my shampoo & conditioner because these two babies are awesome, they left my hair feeling soft and smelling great :)  Next the Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser, who doesn't love this?  It smells great, it removes makeup really well and the lovely muslin cloth gently exfoliates your skin.  I haven't replaced it yet as I'm using another hot cloth cleanser (N Spa) as well as my Bioderma :)

Superdrug Vitamin E hot cloth cleanser. This is a great cleanser, like the Liz Earle it takes makeup off really well and with ease, but at a fraction of the price.  My only reservation with it is that I find it a bit thick so not as easy to remove.  I much prefer their Naturally Radiant hot cloth cleanser, I prefer the smell and lack of residue it leaves on my skin :)  But even saying that, if they'd run out of the naturally radiant one, I'd still be really happy to pick this one up in it's place.

The Korres shower gel was in a Birchbox and it was so good, I bought a full size one (not that scent though, but Vanilla & Cinnamon) which I also adore!  And finally, my Dove deodorant in pomegranate.  This is my 3rd can, currently on my 4th - I always used to use Sure roll on, I'd been using it for 15 years, but fancied a change.  Even after 10+hours of wearing this I'll still get pleasant fragrant 'whiffs' of this lovely fragrance and no nastiness.  It doesn't irritate my skin or leave white residue on my clothes, I love it! 

What were your April empties?

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass

 

Keeping it local - Hculture hairdressers

You may recall one of the things I wanted to focus on this year is supporting local businesses (focussed on skincare mostly), and after having my hair done by my local mobile hairdresser for the 3rd time I thought it would be nice to feature him on here too :)  I know this is quite a local post but if we don't support our local businesses they may not be here in the long run.

Hculture
Let me introduce you to Craig from Hculture.  Craig started up Hculture back in 2007, but has been a hairdresser for the last 9 years.  He trained at Coleg Glan Hafran & Barry College where he now trains other aspiring hairdressers too.  His team both cover hair & beauty.

Here's some of Craig's work from his site.

My experience
So I've had my hair done by Craig 3+ times now.  First time was just a cut, but he did an amazing job, without me telling him he knew exactly what I wanted and gave me a great cut.  Second time I had a colour too, black with purple in it, it looked amazing!  He cut a side fringe too which looked great :)  This last time I had it re-dyed and trimmed.  Unlike a lot of hairdressers, he's not trigger happy with the scissors, I asked for a tiny bit off (like 1cm) and that's all he took off.

Then there's the little things.  He doesn't burn me with the hair dryer unlike every other hairdresser I've ever had dry my hair!  He listens to what cut & colour you want.  The dye he uses is Osmo which contain lots of natural ingredients :)  Lots and lots of great reasons to give them a try if you live in the Cardiff & surrounding area :)

Prices:
Cuts from £18 for women (£14.50 for men)
Colour from about £33
Hculture also cover waxing, massage, brows, lashes and facials.

Where you can find them:
Website | Twitter | Facebook

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

The #CDFmeet

One of the reasons there was no blog post yesterday, is because I, along with Chantelle, Laura & Leanne were finishing putting together the goody bags for the Cardiff blogger meet up (#CDFmeet) and then attending the event to meet 27 other beautiful local bloggers :)  Here's a bit of a photo diary of the day :)

The goody bags (kindly donated by Ollie & Nic) 

The venue (The Brewhouse in Cardiff)

Laura's delicious cupcakes

Laura from What Laura Did, one of our organisers :) 

Leanne from A Slice of my life Wales - the organiser who started this event :) 

Chantelle from Daisy Dayz, our other organiser :) 

Starting off with some BOGOF Cocktails (I had cosmoploitans!) 

Some locally themed art on the wall (Aled Jones, Catherine Jenkins and Bryn Terfel)

Bloggers starting to arrive :) 

The St Davids Fashion show (Model is wearing Boux Avenue)

Then we got to meet the stylist of the fashion show - he's wearing a Vivienne Westwood suit 

He also got asked for an autograph from some little fans :)

Finally home after a wonderful but tiring day, with a cup of tea and American Pie the Reunion

Lovely earrings from Little Moose

The goodies in my bag :)  I donated my Birchbox and Benefit mascara (and Twisted Sister serum) to another bag as I already have them and have reviewed them :)

All in all the day was amazing, everything came together beautifully and timings worked out perfectly too :)  I want to say a massive thank you to everyone that came, the fact that we didn't have masses of people drop out really meant a lot, so thank you all :)

And, a super duper massive thank you to all the brands that donated products for the goody bags too: Birchbox, Benefit, Ollie & Nic, Macadamia, New Look, Escentual, Elemis, Thomas Sabo, SheSaidBeauty, Vera Mode, Lush, Twisted Sister, Little Moose & Crabtree & Evelyn - sorry if I've missed anyone but I think that's it :)

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

Lovely April Advertisers

So it's that time of the month to showcase my wonderful April advertisers.  Laurie from A Scottish Lass had an entire post dedicated to her yesterday as she's my Biggest-Pixi3 advertisers, but here's the other two beauties :)

Firstly, I'd like to introduce you to the every so lovely Sarah from Life in a Breakdown.

Sarah has the wonderful position of being able to write about anything as she's a lifestyle blogger :)  Here's what she has to say about her blog :)

Hi I'm Sarah and I blog over at Life in a Break Down, I don't really have a topic - I just randomly ramble about whatever takes my fancy, so hopefully you might find a bit you enjoy - I would love it if you took a minute to stop by and say hi!
Blog:  http://www.lifeinabreakdown.com/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Life_BreakDown

Next up I have the lovely Blushing Apprasial.  This beauty is not just a beauty blogger, but also a civil engineer!  A very rare combination :)  My favourite post of hers from April is about her amazing venture into Accutane treatment for Acne, it's amazing how much better her skin looks :)
Blog:  http://www.blushingappraisal.com/
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/blushappraisal

Be sure to check out these lovelies :)  And if you're interested in being featured on here, just pick a plan on the advertising tab and follow the PassionFruit buttons :)

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

Wonderful April Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser

If you're a blogger you're able to advertise on my blog (see the Advertising tab above this & prices) and depending on the package you pick (all apart from little-pixi3) you get to be featured in a blog post like this :)

Today it's all about the lovely Laurie from A Scottish Lass.  She's been my Biggest-Pixi3 advertiser for April (she's also got a MAC milestone giveaway that she's just launched) :)

Over April there have been 2 posts in particular that I've really enjoyed of Laurie's.  The first is a lifestyle post about when she went to see Emeli Sande - she took some really beautiful photo's of the concert, here's a teaser for you, and my personal favourite photo :)

Next post I loved was on her 30 by 30 plan - Laurie turns 30 later this year and has set a bunch of goals to achieve, some of which sound amazing :)

I must admit, the one I'm most jealous about is visiting New York.  Hubby and I went there for our honeymoon and I completely fell in love with the city, I've been dying to go back ever since, it's still a plan of ours to go back, and for longer than 3 days which is all we managed the first time, so well done on booking it Laurie, you're going to love it!

I love number 24 too, I think every woman should have a signature lipstick and perfume :)

Make sure you head over and visit her blog, and enter her awesome giveaway :)

Blog: http://www.ascottishlass.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurziecooper

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

NYX & Macadamia beauties

Seeing that I was the March NYX blogger of the month, it's pretty obvious that I'm a fan of NYX.  So, when 123 Hair & Beauty contacted me offering me some NYX goodies, I seriously couldn't say no!  All together I picked three items, two of which were NYX products and one Macadamia goodie.

NYX Single eyeshadow in My Favourite Colour £4.50 available here

NYX Blusher in Summer Peach £5.50 available here (n.b. the photo makes it look darker than it is)

Macadamia Deep Repair Masque 30 ml £2.90 available here

My Thoughts

Lets start with the blusher.  This is the thing I drooled about most when picking it online, and I was quite justified in my drooling, this is such a pretty blusher!  It's perfectly pink and peachy with a beautiful amount of shimmer.  I've been wearing this for the last 1-2 weeks since I've had it and really do love it.  It's so so pretty, and with intense pigmentation - you don't need a lot of this product to give you a beautiful flush of colour on your cheeks.
Cost: £5.50

Next, the eye shadow in 'My Favourite Colour'.  Once this was sitting pretty on my desk, I pulled out my other two NYX single shadows and realised, they're all pretty much the same colour :P  This is the more glittery of the three with a little fallout.  It's a good well pigmented shadow with decent staying power, much like any of the other NYX shadows I've tried.  When I wear this, I favour it either on the centre of the lid, or on the inner third just to help brighten and lift the eye.
Cost: £4.50

And last but certainly not least, the Macadamia hair masque.  I've tried a few hair masques in recent months and read a gazillion reviews of this, so I was pretty sure it was going to be something special.  Boy oh boy was I right!  Even as I was washing it out of my hair, my hair felt really soft.  Once I dried it my hair had a lovely soft sheen and felt light, soft with lots of movement.  This is a product I am most definitely buying a full size tub of!
Cost: £2.90 for a 30ml sachet

All of these can be found at www.123hairandbeauty.co.uk

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder

After my spending ban one of the products consistently on my wish list was the Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder.  I see so many of the YouTubers I watch and blogs I read raving about it (namely Tanya Burr) that I thought I'd give it a re-try.  I used to use this when I was a young teenager but I think it's fair to say, that was a long time ago and it was a different product back then.  I know previously lots of people had complained that the lid would just lift off, so not great for your makeup bag, but it seems they've updated the packaging now so it's a twist on lid, yay :)

My Thoughts

It's true that this is a very different product from the one I used to use years and years ago.  I didn't like it back then (too heavy and cakey) but I love it now :)  I apply it with a fluffy brush to set my foundation, that way it's not too heavy either.  Now, it didn't keep me shine free all day (I do have particularly oily skin), but it kept me matte for longer than any other powder I've used, and instead of going shiny, I'd be more dewey.

All in all it's a great product, one I would definitely re-purchase.  Rimmel have certainly upped their game compared to what they were like when I was a teenager - impressed!

The lowdown
Where to find it: In Boots and Superdrug (and online)
My Shade: 001 Transparent
Cost: £3.99
Would I repurchase?  Yes!

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

Chanel lipstick GIVEAWAY!

One of the pleasures I take most out of my blog is the wonderful position it puts me in to do lovely giveaways for you guys :)  I love treating you to a little thank you for reading & commenting here, as my way of saying a massive thank you :)

So I decided to do another one for you :)  Rules on entering are below, best of luck!

RULES
1.  You MUST subscribe to my blog via GFC.  Any entries found not to have subscribed will be void.
2.  If you're under 18, make sure you have permission from your parent/guardian as if you're a winner, you'll need to give me your address for postage.
3.  This giveaway is open Internationally.
4.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

Revlon Nearly Naked foundation

One of the products that I nearly broke my spending ban for was the Revlon Nearly Naked foundation, I was so eager to try it, I ran out and bought it the day after my spending ban ended.  At the same time I also picked up the Max Factor CC cream and the Bourjois Healthy Mix serum.  Here's what I thought of the nearly naked.

I haven't taken pictures of swatches of this because it just looked terrible on my skin, and I didn't really want to put a terrible picture of my face up like that :P

My Thoughts

On first application is applies very fluidly, it's quite a thick foundation but blends in well.  You certainly don't need a lot of it as a little goes a long way.  As for coverage, I would say it's medium/heavy.  The scent is ok, nothing special.

What I didn't like is how this foundation found any dry skin on my face and clung to it, emphasising it. The foundation shifted and melted during the day and cracked a lot over any fine lines which meant it needed to be blended back in, which would have been fine, but when I touched it to blend it back in, it pretty much wiped the foundation off my face leaving a patch of skin visible.  It kind of reminds me of Double Wear in that way, which is a foundation I hated.

All in all, I was really disappointed by it, I just don't think I have the right skin type for it.  I know so many people who love this, which really makes me think it's just my skin it didn't like.  If you're wondering what my skin type is, it's combination skin with a very oily t-zone and some blemishes which have dry skin around them.  I just don't think I get on with heavier foundations any more, which for me, this is.

Where you can find it: In Boots and Superdrug
Cost: £8.99
Would I repurchase:  Definitely not.

What did you think of the Nearly Naked foundation?

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertisers who this month are Sarah from Life in a Breakdown and the lovely Luchessa from Beauty Expression by Luchessa - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3

 

London April 2013

If you follow me on Twitter you'll probably be aware that on Monday 15th April I headed down to London for the #LDNBBMeet organised by the lovely Sophia from Tattooed Tea Lady.  The hubby and I decided to make a break out of it and stay there until Weds (17th) as it was my birthday then.  Sadly, for me it wasn't the best break.  The blogger meetup was fantastic and the highlight of the trip, but within about an hour of leaving it, I was in Guys & St Thomas A&E Resus being very poorly.  Here's what happened.  *there'll be a separate post of the goody bag*

Monday morning, getting ready and getting onto the train with my lovely hubby (Chris) to head to London.

Once we were there, we checked into our hotel (our room wasn't ready so they upgraded us, woot), and we headed out to Selfridges to grab some lunch before the meet.  I was over the moon that Pinkberry was there, I've only ever seen these on American YouTubers videos, so we had to indulge :)

Then I met up with the lovely Sophia, did some shopping with some other lovely bloggers and headed to the SheSaid Beauty event.  The highlight for me was having the speckled liner done by Illamasqua and my brows filled in by HD Brows :)

I left there at about 7:30, met up with my hubby and headed to Covent Garden for dinner.  As we were walking through Covent Garden, I had some heart palpatations.  This is really common for me as it's a side effect of taking asthma medication.  But these were different, the longest they've lasted before is about 10 seconds, but after 10 minutes of trying to breathe calmly they weren't easing.  I tried to walk to the restaurant but I was really light headed and dizzy.

After sitting down in the restaurant, I got straight back up and said I needed to leave.  I made Chris called NHS direct who advised me to get to A&E asap.  Too embarrased to call 999 we got a taxi to the nearest A&E where I was seen immediately (after Chris spoke to the nurses about why I was there).  As soon as they connected the finger pulse to me, they called for a Resus bed, my pulse which should have been around 85bpm was over 200bpm.  They wheeled me through, stuck an ECG on me, put a line in and with that, it stopped.

In total I was at 200bpm for an hour, which made my heart feel like it had run a marathon, so understandably I was exhausted.  At this point, I still hadn't even seen our hotel room.  After being given some IV Magnesium and having my bloods back, I was discharged under the proviso of seeing my Dr to refer me to a Cardiologist when I get back to Cardiff.  What I had was something called a STV (Supra ventricular Tachicardia) - it's not life threatening, but I do need to go to A&E if it happens again.  I spent a total of 3 hrs in the hospital, discharged at midnight.  On a side note, the staff there in St Thomas' resus were amazing - and taking a lot of abuse from someone in the bed next to me :/

Understandably the next day we were both exhausted.  I'd planned to go to Bills cafe for breakfast (near Piccadilly) before we went to London, I wanted blueberry pancakes, so off we headed :)  It was amazing there, Chris had a full English breakfast, I had pancakes with a side of toast - all of it was fantastic :D

After a yummy brunch there, we walked back to Piccadilly station, stopping outside Ripley's Believe it or not so I could take a photo of my super tall hubby (6ft 5) standing next to a life size model of the worlds tallest man.  Then we went to the Natural History Museum, saw the worlds oldest tree and some other fun stuff (dinosaurs, blue whale etc) but it was so busy there we left and headed to Harrods.

On the way to Harrods we saw this cute little van out doing its deliveries :)  And while we were there looking for a Longchamp bag, I saw this amazing ceiling in their Egyptian area :)

So, it wasn't the best trip, we were constantly exhausted and quite stressed from spending time in A&E, we headed home on Wednesday (which was my birthday), got a takeaway and had an early night ready for work the next day.

I had loads of lovely comments on my Instagram & Twitter after being in A&E, thanks all for those :)  Needless to say, I'm back to normal now :)

Hopefully the next time I come to London won't be quite as eventful!

This months bigest pixi3 advertiser is the lovely Laura from A Scottish Lass,
And be sure to check out my lovely middle-pixi3 advertiser who this month is Sarah from Life in a Breakdown - be sure to head over to check out their beautiful blogs <3