October Favourites

Hello everyone, 

This month was a good month for trying new products and here is my picks for the month:

Products

Middle - Lush R & B Hair Moisturiser
Clockwise from the top - Yves Rocher Hydra Vegetal,  Lacura Anti-Aging Hyaluronic Gel,
L'oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint,  Lola Marc Jacobs.

Lush R & B Hair Moisturiser
Claire and I got given a sample of this when we attended a Lush Event a good few months back. I fell in love with the scent immediately as soon as I opened it. Once I finished my sample I bought a full size straight away. This stuff is great at taming fly aways and a little goes a very long way. You only need a dab of this other wise it is really easy to end up with greasy looking hair. You can also use this on wet hair too for blow drying to 'lock in the oils'.

Yves Rocher Hydra Vegetal
I got this in a beauty box a while back and this stuff is great! Really lightweight and moisturising and doesn't leave my skin feeling oily. This lotion also contains Hyaluronic Acid - which I am obsessed with at the moment! Not sure if I would buy this again though just because it's not the easiest to get hold of. 

Lacura Anti-Aging Hyaluronic Gel
This has been a favourite of mine for a couple of months now. This is really cheap from Aldi and only comes in every now and again. If you see it don't buy just one of them, buy two. Otherwise you'll regret it once you fall in love. It's more purse friendly than the Indeed Labs Hyaluron and it only around £5. Hyaluronic Acid is the latest IT product at the moment in terms of moisturisation and anti-ageing and for good reason - It really is a wonder ingredient! I'm rationing mine out at the moment because I don't want to run out as I haven't seen it in my local Aldi for a while. The serum itself sinks in really nicely and very quickly. My mam has also been using this too and her skin is looking visibly younger and smoother.

L'oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint
When I first tried this I thought it was a bit weird. At first test it seemed to be like a oily water type liquid which wasn't getting me very excited at all. I haven't tried or seen a product anything like this - like the advert says it really is lighter than water! After giving it a good shake I applied a drop to my finger following the directions on the back of the bottle and applied it to my face using only my fingers. I was really surprised to see that it dried semi matte and blended really nicely. It's a very very light coverage but creates a lovely sheer wash of colour which does well in evening out the skin.

Lola Marc Jacobs
This is my first fragrance from Marc Jacobs and I absolutely love it! I'm rubbish at describing fragrances so I'm not going to bother. Have a sniff in boots next time you're in!


Eats

Mid-week dinner - Avocado, Grass Fed Feta Cheese, Spinach Salad with a homemade mayonnaise dressing.
Paleo Scotch Egg and homemade caramelised red onions.

Paleo weekend breakfast - Fried Egg, Kohlrabi 'hash' and liver and bacon.

I've been adopting a Paleo/Primal way of eating at the moment. Paleo is dubbed the caveman diet as it bases itself around to only eating what was available during Paleolithic times. I'm taking an 80/20 approach to the diet at the moment - allowing myself some 'cheats'. For example in the first dish I used grass fed feta cheese which isn't strictly Paleo and I've been opting for gluten free options whenever I can. If you want to learn more about this diet a quick google search will bring up loads of great resources for you. I really enjoy reading the blog nomnompaleo.

Next month I'm looking forward to...

• Getting closer to putting the Xmas tree up!
• Finishing off my Xmas shopping so I can relax for the rest of the month.

Bryden x

July Favourites

Hello Everyone!
Claire's still sorting her house stuff out at the moment so it's just a monthly favourites from myself again this month.

Products

Top - Left - Aldi Lacura Aqua Complete Multi Intensive Serum.  Right - Tresemme Liquid Gold Restorative Complex.
Bottom - Left - Mac Blush in Melba. Right - Maybellie Eye Studio Mono in Silken Taupe.

Tresemme Liquid Gold Restorative Complex
Another month... another hair oil... 

I always use a hair oil when drying my hair and this has been the one I've been reaching for this month. I got this on a 3 for £10 offer at Asda so it's great value for money. Works just as good as the more expensive oils I've tried. I really rely on these products to keep the split ends at bay.

Lacura at Aldi Aqua Complete Multi Intensive Serum
I originally tried my mam's hyaluronic acid serum which she got from Aldi which is absolutely amazing. It has really improved her skin. It showed visible results in 1 month which I was really impressed with! Unfortunately I was unable to get some of this for myself but picked this serum up instead as it also contained hyaluronic acid. This serum is only £3.99 and boasts an incredible ingredients list. It contains hyaluronic acid and amino acid complex, glacier water and aloe vera. I've found it's great to use under my anti-shine moisturisers and really quenches the skin. My skin looks smoother and I've noticed its really evened out my skin tone. For the price you really can't go wrong.

Mac Blush in Melba
I've had this for a while, hence the really scruffy packaging! I've brought this back out to use as the weather has really heated up recently up north. It's really pigmented so I need to use a light hand with it. As I'm really pale it gives a lovely peach flush to the cheeks and I find it really warms my face up without having to use a bronzer. 

Maybelline Eye Studio Mono in 610 Silken Taupe
I remember buying this a few years ago to satisfy my craving to buy Mac Satin Taupe when my local Mac store didn't have this in stock. I've been wearing this most days for work. It's not the most pigmented eye shadow in the world but it just looks really pretty.

Eats

Top Left - Mocha Crumble Starbucks and Krispy Kreme Lemon Drizzle Cake Donut. Right - Redhouse Pie.
Bottom - The Brandling, Gosforth. Reuben Burger.

Starbucks and Krispy Kreme in the garden
I bought a Groupon voucher for Starbucks so I've been enjoying using that lately. I usually get a frappacino coffee light but I decided to have a go at their new mocha cookie crumble frap. The Metro Centre Drive thru Starbucks is right next to Krispy Kreme so I decided to pick up a donut as well.

Redhouse, Newcastle Quayside
Steven and I tried the Redhouse pie eatery on the Quayside this month and it was awesome. We opted to go on a Wednesday where it is 2 for £10. 

The Brandling, Gosforth
The Brandling have a massive burger menu at the moment with loads of Man Vs Food style combinations. This one is the Reuben burger. I'd recommend this place to everyone who wants a big meal or to defeat a hangover.

Room with a View Sharing Starter - Garlic Prawns (in the pot), Sweet potato mini soups with clams, Smoked Haddock fish cakes, Potted Crab and Prawn and Cream Cheese Pate.

Room with a View, Aberdour
This is the restaurant we visited on our recent trip to Scotland. My Dad and I shared this sharing starter and it came beautifully presented in a picnic basket. Every thing was amazing! We were exited to hear that the chef who works there is also a fellow Geordie! I can't wait to go back to this restaurant.


Other Stuff

Claire - Ready for battle

Left - Looking like a Christmas reindeer with my stag shirt
Right - Getting ready for battle

This month we were kindly invited along to our own Stag do by Eclipse Leisure who specialise in organising Stag do's and activities. They wanted to see if Stag activities would be enjoyed by girls on hen nights so we were invited, along with some other bloggers including our friend Carla of Messy Carla, to test the water. 

We went paint balling and quad biking. After a few teething problems at first with the paint balling (we were originally put in a huge group with a bunch of IDIOTS who ended up getting chucked out of the venue) we started to have fun. Claire's competitive side reared it's head and she got really into it!

I liked the quad biking the best but Claire liked the paint balling. 

We decided that these activities would be good for hen nights but only in a small group of girls. We started to have the most fun when we had a few games of paint balling in our own group. 

Massive thanks to Eclipse Leisure for inviting us along. We probably wouldn't have ever considered doing these activities if it wasn't for them!

Next Month I'm looking forward to...

• Going Camping - Steven and I are going camping instead of Leeds Festival this year (boo hoo). We're going to be camping in Keld which is near Darlington so it's not too far to travel. We're going with a big group of friends so it should be fun!

Hope you're all well, 

Bryden x