bareMinerals Locked & Coated™ Waterproof Lash Topcoat Review

bareMinerals  Locked & Coated™ Waterproof Lash Topcoat £12.00

It's not often I can say I've found myself a new, wonder product, but today I can. I've been using bareMinerals Locked & Coated Waterproof topcoat for two weeks now and I can already say my make-up bag will never be without this product.

I know I hark on about when I was a teenager a lot (that was a couple of decades ago now, eek!) but I'm going to do it again. You either had mascara or you had waterproof mascara, those were your options. These days 95% of mascara products have the aim of giving you that false lash effect, scouring the shelves for a waterproof mascara has proven to be unsuccessful locally (I live in a small town) so I took my search online and found this product instead.

Now I have a few mascaras that I love to bits, but none are waterproof. They usually do okay but I have two issues - when I'm caught in a downpour (not only do I live in a small town but I live in a small, wet town) and when I spend my days laughing my tits off, this is quite common, I also screw my face up an awful lot. This leads to smudging and disappointment. I could just adopt a dour attitude but the topcoat seems like a preferable option.

The topcoat is a clear coat that you add on top of your normal mascara, the brush is very fine which also serves to lift and separate the lashes which, of course, is an extra bonus. It takes no time to add, or dry, I actually apply quite slapdash but this hasn't prevented it working how it should.

As mentioned this is a wonder product, it has left my lashes looking the same as when I first applied my mascara, even up to 12 hours later, no smudging, not even a hint of Alice Cooper about me, it is absolutely perfect in every way. At £12.00 it's also rather reasonable as it will turn the cheapest mascara into a long lasting beauty.

This is the first product in a long time, that I'm now worried will be discontinued, please bareMinerals, produce this product forever, my lashes and face will thank you for it!

Midweek Health & Fitness Update 18/05/2015 to 24/05/2015

My first post since my long weekend away, I guess you can guess I've been busy! Last week was busy too but I took the opportunity to keep it together and carry on as normal.

This did mean being flat-out busy all week, work, exercise then planning what to pack, packing or shaving!

Food has been pretty standard with the usual yoghurt, granola and blueberry breakfast. I have however been having a slightly different lunch, mainly down to being cheap and not bothering to pick up more durum wheat. Instead I've been having eggs, carrots, cucumber along with some other bits usually some fruit and a nutrition shake. It's nice to have a change but I haven't cut out the wheat completely. My evening meals haven't been that exciting, I think I find it harder to work out what to do for myself, so no big meals. I just don't fancy much right now, at least that is healthy and clean. I'm in a total blah mood with my evening meals.

The weekend date went very well, it was three nights away. I had whatever I fancied, we have a couple of meals out at night and room service one night. But, as we weren't leaving the hotel until late we were simply having breakfast then dinner! So it wasn't too bad at all.

My steps were down slightly although overall I did more at the weekend than usual so they really aren't that terrible. I'd like to work my way back up to averaging 70,000 a week by the second week of June ideally.

As I had the three night date at the weekend I certainly made sure I kept up with my exercise, although I realise now I forgot to log Thursday - possibly as I was rushing about shaving and re-packing! I'm doing a mixture of HIIT, Pilates and Yogalates - it all seems to be working for me right now and I want to build on this, I plan to do one week 4 days of exercise the next 5, then back to 4, I want to both mix it up and give me the chance of having an extra rest day every other week.

Everything seems to be going along swimmingly, I feel like I've lost some inches, I just want to kick everything up a notch.

Midweek Health & Fitness Update 11/05/2015 to 17/05/2015

Well I returned to work last week after having a week off. After the successful date of the weekend before I was still in a positive mood and was able to continue the good work of the previous week.

My steps were up this week although I'm hardly getting close at the weekend. I really find it hard to balance this as I try and get things done that I need to, exercise, but steps are hard to keep up with. I will try but I somewhat find it to be slightly pointless, well, as long as I make sure I workout. I think I'll make sure I aim to increase my steps in the week rather than concentrate on the weekend. Once the weather is nice I'll get out more but at the moment the appalling weather makes it impossible.

Now onto exercise, I've managed to keep up my workouts, fitting in four last week. Slightly less during the weekday but stepping it up a notch at the weekend. I'm hoping to stick with a minimum of four a week, maximum five.

Food wise, It's been dull, I love my yoghurt - granola - blueberries, start to the day and I'm keeping everything in moderation and mainly healthy but I just don't feel inspired by any of it. I need to work on exciting my palate because although it's good, it just isn't exciting which leads to disappointment and eventual unhealthy snacking!

Purrfectbox April 2015 Review

My postman has been cruel this month losing my parcel but fortunately Purrfectbox were only to happy to send Samhain another box to review*

Samhain loves a surprise box as much as I do, when I arrived home he was patiently lounging by the box waiting for it to be opened. As he has had quite a bit of excitement recently - not the good kind, new cat on the block causing him to become quite stressed which has led to cystitis - poor boy! So it is nice for him to have a treat whilst he is being treated, although, I thought it would be best to take it downstairs to avoid over excitement in my bedroom!

I love the size of the Purrfectboxes, they're usually, if not completely, packed with full sized items. Sometimes a sample isn't quite enough to get a proper idea on how well your pussy will take to an product. I also like the fact that it is usually full of brands that I haven't heard of or can't get locally. Not being able to get them locally isn't a big deal for me, I'm in a small town so I usually order items online I just don't necessarily think to order them online when I'm simply wishing to try things out.

Free trial alert! 

Purrfectbox are currently offering a free trial box - there is a cost for delivery £2.90 but as the products total over £30 it's well worth it. More details on the free trial can be found here but as they're a very helpful bunch feel free to contact them if you have a query.

So what did Samhain get in his box?

Posing like a pro

before curiosity got the better of him

A quick sniff of the nip before filling up the toy

Samhain has a painful grip when he wants something

KeekaBoo Buzzy Frog Catnip Toy
I can be a bit wary with catnip brands I don't know, some are better quality than others so I tend to stick to brands I know and have tested with him. Samhain went crazy for this, I allowed him to sniff the tube of catnip first and he became incredibly excited. The catnip is 100% organic American catnip, which I think has to be Samhain's favourite kind. I decided to fill the toy to see if he was still gaga for it and he was, much to my displeasure, just look at the grip he has on me, even when I dropped the toy he continued to grip onto various body parts whilst rubbing, licking and "making love" to his new catnip toy. I love the fact that I'll be able to keep topping up the toy easily for freshness.


Zolux Feathered Mice (pack of 3)
Samhain might be (approximately) 10 years old but he plays like a kitten, I can't believe how active and playful he can be. I usually try and play with him daily but he is quite keen on playing with himself when the odd ball is left out. He loves toys that are feathered, and soft, he loves to "catch" but doesn't always for for little mice. I like them as these mice are light enough but it is possible to throw them for him to go after, although right now he is simply snuggled up with one feeling sorry for himself.


Vitakraft Luffa
I honestly didn't have a clue what the luffa was or how it applied to cats but I decided to use it on him how I would use one, without the water. This went down a treat, I don't know why but he just loves to be rubbed with this. It's such a cute little design and very well made. It also removes loose bits of fur from him meaning that I'll be storing this with his brush.


Camon Animal Farm Treats&Snacks Complementary Feed for Cats in Chicken & Cod
There are a lot of varieties of cat snacks on the market (although nowhere near as many as there are for dogs), but these have to be the oddest. An Italian brand with an interesting range. These snacks are almost like like a meaty liquorice allsort for cats! At first Samhain wasn't quite sure how to eat them, he would lick them quite keenly but he couldn't quite chew them properly. Samhain has lost a number of teeth but doesn't usually struggle but at first this was a problem, we had another go and on second attempt he could easily chow down them and enjoyed them very much - I must have been holding them at the wrong angle at first.


Affinity Advance Adult Salmon & Rice Complete Biscuits
Samhain is a real biscuit muncher, he loves a crunchy biscuit - I love a complete cat food, so we're both winners here. It also covers another must for me, fish, I would like him to eat more fish but as he can be picky with his wet food a fish dry food is perfect. This is a salmon and rice mix offering high protein protection, natural polyphenols, healthy skin & coat, urinary care, dental protection and intestinal health. Samhain deserves to be looked after and a good quality food is something I'm happy to pay a little more for.

There is a 20% discount on Advance which you can use by going to MedicAnimal.com or Pet-SuperMarket.co.uk:

ADD25 for Puppy Food and Treats from Advance.

ADS25 for Dog Food and Treats from Advance.

ADC25 for Cat Food from Advance.

Valid until the 31/05/2015

Biospotix from Biogance
Of course Samhain cares very little for dealing with parasites, that is down to me, the easier the better and these pipettes containing a natural solution are ideal for me - and him - too much fuss and he will hide! One application offers up to four weeks protection. I really love the fact that Purrfectbox includes a "health" product as with so many out there it's sometimes hard to know which to go for,


It has been a great box for new discoveries this month, the catnip toy is a huge hit as are the weird snacks - now he has worked out how to munch them. Another nice bonus is the little booklet that not only includes information on the contents of the box but a wealth of cat related information, it really is a nice quality pamphlet.

*The box was sent complimentary to Samhain and myself for an honest and open review.



Purrfectbox costs £19.90 a month or sign up for half a year and pay the equivalent of £17.90 and an even better deal if you sign up for a year, just £15.90 a month. Not only that but you'll also be helping out a great cause. For each box Purrfectbox that is sent out the company donate part of the proceeds to help pet charities, so even better, you aren't just treating your own puss but also those less fortunate moggies. More information on this can be found on their website.

Life of Samhain - Update 1

I realise I haven't been blogging much at all recently, work and life commitments have kept me busy. Samhain has also been absent from my blog posts but I thought it would be nice to do an update every so often on him, in-between reviewing surprise boxes and catnip!

Now for those that don't know Samhain is a rescue cat, I adopted him last July and there is little information about him. Samhain was found my someone who thought he had been hit by a car, was taken to a local vet and then, when no owner could be found, ended up under the care of the RSPCA. I saw him online and knew he was the one, six days later he was adopted, I made the right decision even though he does get himself into trouble.

His age is a guess, around 10, but as he has poor teeth it is hard to tell. Samhain is still capable of eating normally he just doesn't have the ability to use his teeth when fighting which is possibly a good thing. He is sprightly, athletic but bonkers. Unfortunately he has a slight issue with some other cats and has been in some awful fights, for some reason he picks on cats twice his size!

Recently he has suffered with a few abscesses which has resulted in multiple trips to the vets but he is now on the mend. He is been coping well with dad being back in the house and spends his time sleeping in whichever room takes his fancy on the night. Sometimes I awake to find him massaging my feet, this is good, last week I was woken by him humping my leg - not so good!

Now that is plenty of text, time for some adorable photos.

Samhain is adverse to selfies, I've been trying for months, I get some half decent ones but he never looks happy!

A surprise shot - I've just woken him and snapped

Sneaking up behind him for another surprise shot

Well my knee is in the shot and he chose to lie next to me! 

But he doesn't mind having his photo taken when I'm not in the mix.

Guarding the garden from gruesome gremlins

The tongue is usually out, as is his old chap

 More after the cut, I realise I'm going slightly bonkers with my photos.

Lipstick Queen Frog Prince Review

Lisptick Queen Frog Prince £22.00 - from Space NK

Now the gimmick of the lipstick isn't new, "mood" lipsticks have been around for a while, still, this isn't enough for me to stay away from this product. Even with my long lasting fear of frogs I had to have it, plus, green is my favourite colour add to that the allure of something new from Lipstick Queen and I'm there.

How it looks on my hand

Now reviewing the colour is pretty impossible as it depends on the person but you can at least see how it looks on me, someone that is naturally very pale. I applied the lipstick on my hand just to show the lustrous qualities, it really is quite a gloss. Now whatever your skin tone the end result will be some form of pink. I did find the more I applied the darker it got so I did have some control over the colour. I loved the shade, it's quite a delicate, dark, subdued pink making it practical for in the day - the gloss also makes it work as a subtle colour for a night out. It really is a perfectly practical shade.

and how it looks on my lips

The thing I loved about this lipstick is how well it conditioned the lips, it wasn't just glossy but also had a balm quality to it meaning my lips were left soft. Longevity isn't the best feature, there was some colour remaining but for the gloss I did find myself touching it up every so often - the good thing about this is I love the double take people do when I've applied it in public, they really want to see if I'm really applying green lipstick to my lips!

At £22 this isn't the cheapest green lipstick out there but the quality of the product, and condition of my lips afterwards, makes this the perfect product for myself - plus an awesome present for those who like the new and the weird. 

Midweek Health & Fitness Update 04/05/2015 to 10/05/2015

Well last week was busy, which is why I posted about nothing else since my last midweek update. Three things were occurring, firstly I was on holiday, secondly it was my dads first proper week from hospital and lastly, I went on a date, yup an actual date!

I always knew my steps wouldn't be at their best but I have to say I did do pretty okay for a holiday at home. I made the effort to do more walking on some days and on the other days I made sure I exercised my bum off. Now my date was on Saturday and lasted an amazing 10 hours. We did a lot of wandering around the city as well as some canoodling, it really was a fantastic date but enough of that, well at least for now.

I really made the effort to up my exercise game and it worked, I got back on track with most areas, really getting into the swing of it and getting super pumped!

Now I know there are only 4 days of exercise but just look at the calories I managed to burn! Plus rest days are necessary. It has given me the push to do more when I am at work, okay, it might be a twenty minutes session on weekdays but it will be a super hyper, full on, session!

Food wise I did really well, possibly because of the recent split and the imminent date, I just didn't feel like indulging so I mainly had my usual yoghurt, granola, blueberries breakfast and a lot of eggs for lunch, random stuff for tea and not really much snacking. It was actually a good week.

Now I'm feeling quite a bit on track with life. I have some stresses which I have to admit make me eat less, this isn't a good thing. I'm hoping to keep everything as it should for the next couple of weeks and then I reckon it's about time I actually weigh in again!

Midweek Health & Fitness Update 27/04/2015 to 03/05/2015

Another week that I'm sticking my midweek update in one day early. I'm actually on holiday, hooray! Just not one that includes actually going away. Dad is back at home so it's nice to be around him, plus I needed a rest from work. Enough about this week, time to discuss last week.

Frankly it was fabulous, there is a new positivity in my life that is making the urge to eat less and workout hard a lot easier. I'm full of energy and happiness.

Now I only worked Monday to Thursday lunchtime, I never do as many steps at home but I did manage to get my steps up further than the week before.

Now my steps weren't even, some days were a lot better than others, but I am happy to have my overall steps up.

I upped my fitness working out extra hard at the weekend along with a couple of days over the week, HIIT style training is the main thing but I also try and do yoga on a Sunday. I've really been pushing myself which has left me feeling sore but incredibly satisfied.

I've also been making healthier choices, eating slightly less along with snacking slightly less.

I feel like I'm on the right tracks, I just need to keep pushing myself. Who knows, in a few weeks I may even weigh myself again!

Now as I mentioned earlier in the post I am on leave this week. It is a holiday at home so unfortunately there are limited possibilities, I'm not beating myself up about it, I know my steps will be down this week but I'm going to compromise and aim to try to make it to 5,000 on days I workout, more on those I don't/ I'm going to eat healthy most of the time with just the odd little treat now and then.

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick - Raise The Bar Review

bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick - Raise The Bar £17.00

This was a blind online purchase for me, although I actually only paid £8.19 for it back in February, a total utter bargain. I had been searching for a lipstick I would associated with either the 90s or 70s and Raise The Bar appeared to for the bill.

The effect wasn't quite what I expected, it was actually more spectacular. Described as a pearl plum, the pearl part is particularly impressive as this shimmery, sparkle to the shade really gives some oomph to the lips. This sparkle also gave what would usually be a very dark shade a lighter aspect.

It felt gorgeous and tingly on the lips, making them feel slightly plump. It conditioned them and sat comfortably on my lips, lasting for hours without a touch up.

Works well with just a slick of mascara

I love the colour but what really stands out for me is the effect, my lips felt and looked plumper and more lush.