LIFESTYLE: Fitbit Charge 2 HR

Before I owned my Fitbit I thought I was getting (on average) enough steps in a day. When I was bought a Fitbit as part of my leaving gifts from my last job I was shown just how wrong I was! The suggested number of steps you should be hitting per day is 10,000 and I wasn't getting close to that which is unsurprising for someone who has what's technically a "desk job". 

Some days I won't even reach 5,000 and that's with walking around the Hospital (I now work in a Hospital) as much as I can. I've tried to up my water intake over the last few weeks which inevitably means more trips to the loo..! But even this isn't helping. 

I try to walk as much as I can outside of work, but let's face it at the end of the day I really don't want to go out for a walk, I just want to relax! I'm trying to find ways to increase my activity during the day and Furniture at Work are doing the exact same with their campaign sharing some easy "Office Yoga" moves to help desk workers be more active during the day. 

In our Hospital we have a Physiotherapy Centre which, once a week, puts on a Pilates class and as a team we are actively encouraged to attend. I'm going to go this week and see if that increase in structured activity helps. We've also almost finished the gym at the bottom of our garden so working out at home will be easier too. 

I've also set the notifications on my Fitbit so that if I don't move a certain number of steps in an hour it will buzz to tell me!

Twitter | Facebook | Youtube| Blog Lovin | Instagram
*Collaborative Post

BEAUTY: What's going to be the Summer 17 beauty trend?

Being a beauty blogger there is no hiding from the latest beauty trends that are posting about throughout the year. I go through phases of really enjoying makeup and thinking about what to reach for each day, to just not caring as long as my eye bags and red cheeks are covered. When I first started beauty blogging, way back nearly 8 years ago, I used to love looking out for the newest products and buying into the latest beauty trends.

 Ellisons have recently published an e-book all about the beauty trends for the coming season. They are predicting; 

• Matte lips will be replaced with a glossy look.
• Eyeliner will go from perfect to a smudged look.
• Finally, skin will be all about the dewy finish.

Are these trends that you will take on board?

For me there are three other trends that have recently (or not so recently) been bought into the spot light that I will be carrying on into Summer 2017. The trends may have been around a while and not new to some at all, but I've recently got my hands on the products!

• Warm coloured eye-shadow.
• I think the trend here for me started when the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette was being posted about everywhere! I've recently bought a warm palette from BH Cosmetics and it's a trend that I can't see me giving up any time soon.

• Nude matte lips
• I really wasn't interested in the nude matte lip trend at all, especially as it was so over-hyped. Then I tried the By Chloe Ferry Matte Lipstick and the colour "Envy" is just perfect, great for work and also great to wear with the warm coloured eye shadows. Apparently Chloe is famous for being on TV but I have to admit I have no idea where she's from but I love the fact her products are vegan and cruelty free! 

• Correcting Concealers
• Years and years ago when I was having one of my first melt downs over my red cheeks I was told about correcting concealers. No one had ever mentioned them to me before and they weren't widely talked about so I pretty much ignored it. I still wouldn't use a green concealer but I am a big fan of the under eye ones. Recently I picked up the LA Girl yellow concealer and I am really happy with how it helps to (almost) get rid of my eye bags!

Twitter | Facebook | Youtube| Blog Lovin | Instagram

*Collaborative Post

LIFESTYLE: 27

27. Wow.

BEAUTY: Peel off blackhead mask

If you haven't heard of one of these masks then where have you been?

From the Instagram and Facebook videos to the numerous bloggers and their hilarious videos of peeling off the mask. These masks a huge at the moment and being the type of person that will stare at a nose strip analysing what's been pulled out of my face, I bought one. 

Rightly or wrongly I've picked up one from eBay for around £3. Searching online and doing as much research as I could there wasn't really a clear winner and I'm pretty sure they are all the same but have just been white labeled. 

Anyway, I haven't used a pore strip for weeks so this nose is really ready for a mask. Let the pain commence.

Smell wise there isn't really anything significant to report but the consistency is really thick, thicker than any other mask that I have used. I guess it has to be to pull as much as it says it will out of my skin! 

Immediately after application it's a little cold (?) like most masks and I can feel it tightening already, especially on the edges where the product is a little thinner. 

I've just peeled it off and to be honest with you, this first go has left me a little underwhelmed. There was no real grand reveal and my nose looks the same. However, there wasn't as much pain as people made out and there was a little bit of dirt on peeled off piece of mask. 

Here's the up close gross photo: 

Not as much as I was expecting to be honest with you, which is a shame. Although after speaking to people on social media I think I may have put too little product on. 

I hope you've enjoyed the close up of my eye bags and uneven skin :) 

Twitter | Facebook | Youtube| Blog Lovin | Instagram