The New Fully Loaded Range from Bed Head

Tangle Teezer Lulu Guinness Limited Edition Review

Lancome Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser Review

I’m a big fan of Lancome, I like their makeup (you can read about my favourite products here and I’ve loved the skin care that I’ve tried; my favourites being Lancome Hydra Zen and Genifique serum. So I was keen to try Lancome’s new range Energie de Vie . Like lots of new skincare in the UK and Europe Energie de Vie is influenced by Korean beauty technology. I’m really excited to see the way skincare in Europe is being affected by Asian trends, there’s so much fascinating technology to be harnessed. Lancome’s newest moisturiser, I think, is the start of skincare going in a new direction in this country, and I’m very interested to see what we’ll be getting next. 

There’s three new products in the range, they are: Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* , Energie de Vie Pearly Wake-up Lotion and Energie de Vie Sleeping Mask. I was sent a week’s worth of Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* to try and I’ve just finished it up so here’s my thoughts! ( I bet you can’t wait).

Lancome Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* is enriched with Goji berry extract and Lemon balm oil, both of which give the moisturiser a fresh scent. It’s not overpowering though and disappears pretty fast on the skin. As well as giving the moisturiser its scent Goji berry and Lemon balm extract brighten and liven up the skin. The texture of Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* is really interesting, it actually feels more like a serum not dissimilar to their Genifique serum mentioned above. It’s much more liquid than a standard moisturiser and as such gives an amazing boost of hydration to the face. It sinks in really quickly leaving no tackiness or excess residue just comfortable, hydrated and smooth skin. Making it a perfect base for makeup application.  As well as Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* giving a shot of hydration it adds a brightness or healthy glow to the skin. Lancome say it’s a post-gym glow in a bottle. I say it definitely adds a glow, thankfully without all the redness and sweatiness of a workout. 

I’ve only had a week’s worth, I usually like around a month to try out skincare or longer. Your skin generally renews every 8 weeks and this is when you get to see the real benefit of your products. But a week is still a decent enough time to find out if it's suitable and get a good feeling for it overall. Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser* would suit all skin types. It targets dullness, roughness and dry skin but it sinks in so fully and leaves the skin so hydrated that I think all skin types would benefit. It’s not at all greasy so if you’re oily but need hydration I’d think about giving this a go, it’ll keep your skin moisturised without any uncomfortableness. It brightens the skin up instantly and leaves it smooth. Energie de Vie Liquid Moisturiser is particularly nice in warmer weather because it feels so fresh and quenching on the skin. My skin loves this moisturiser, I have combination/sensitive with a slightly oily t-zone and occasional dry cheeks, and my skin just drinks this stuff up. I haven’t experienced any aggravation, it hasn’t caused spots or redness or any other problems. In fact, when I’m finished working through my current moisturiser(s!) I’m going to treat myself to a full bottle of this and maybe the Pearly Wake-Up Lotion and I may as well get the Sleeping mask too. 

Have you tried anything from the new Energie de Vie range?

*PR Sample

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Lacura 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel Mask

Last year Aldi launched their Lacura Caviar range which is a much more affordable version of the expensive La Prairie skin care. I was too slow when it hit the shops the first time and only managed to pick up the 7 Day Intensive Treatment which I blogged about here. I was so impressed with it that I was keen to try some other products from the range. Aldi had the Caviar range as a special buy on Sunday, but if it’s sold out in your local store or you can’t get to an Aldi you can now also buy some products through their app and online, it’s currently free delivery. So I bought the Lacura Caviar Illumination 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel Mask.

Lacura Caviar Illumination 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel Mask is Aldi’s version of the much more expensive La Prairie Cellular 3 Minute Peel, it costs a whopping £153. Here’s a comparison of the ingredients:

La Prairie Cellular 3 Minute Peel Ingredients:

Water, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Lactic Acid, Polysorbate 40, Glycolic Acid, Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Hexylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Malic Acid, Glycoproteins, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail) Extract, Sucrose, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glucose, Fructose, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Disodium Lauriminodipropionate Tocopheryl Phosphates, Butylene Glycol, Dextrin, Urea, Polyquaternium-7, Alanine, Fragrance, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool, Citronellol, Hydroxycitronellal, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Methylparaben, Titanium Dioxide

Lacura 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel Mask Ingredients:

Aqua, panthenol, sodium acrylate/ sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, caviar extract, tocopherly acetate, disodiumlauriminodipropionate tocopheryl phosphates, carbomer/papain crosspolymer, gluconic acid, ascorbic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, algin, xanthan gum, propylene glycol, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, parfum, benzyl salicylate, alpha-isomethyl ionine, linalool, phenoxyethanol, benzoic acid, dehydroacetic acid, ethylparaben, methylparaben, CI 77891. ( sorry if I’ve made any spelling mistakes, I’m not a chemist and I typed this out by hand, and my eyesight isn’t brilliant!) 

Lacura 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel mask relies on several ingredients to chemically exfoliate the top layer of skin, they’re a mix of AHAs, papaya enzyme complex and caviar extract which is essentially what La Prairie’s version does. La Prairie’s is so pricey because it contains professional strength AHAs and BHAs, I’m unsure how the Lacura version compares here. But I can tell you how effective Lacura 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel mask is: VERY.

If you have particularly sensitive skin or reactive skin I’d do a patch test of this first because wow does it pack a punch. I applied a thin layer of the white mask to my damp skin making sure to avoid the eye and lip area. The texture reminds me of a thick moisturiser. It’s not gloopy nor does it run when applied. You don’t need much product to get good coverage so I think this would last quite a while. Once applied you can really feel the ingredients getting to work. If you’ve used a powerful peel mask before you’ll recognise the sensation, or of course it might just be my skin. I had to remove the mask around the 2 minute mark because it just felt so strong. 

I’m so impressed with the results of Lacura 3 Minute Cell Renewal Peel mask after just one go. If my thoughts change I’ll update but I can’t see why I would. My skin immediately felt so much smoother, more so than pretty much any other peel mask I’ve used. My skin tone looked slightly more even and brighter, and my pores refined. It really is quite a brilliant mask and I’d quite happily pay much more for this but it’s only £6.99! 

There’s a couple of things I don’t like though. It states that it’s for all skin types but I wouldn’t recommend this on sensitive skin. This is a powerful mask and I had to remove it just shy of the three minutes recommended because it was so strong on my skin. It hasn’t caused any further aggravation but oh boy this mask packs a real punch. Secondly, and this is a mini gripe though. The brush that it comes with is rubbish. It fell apart when I went to clean it so I would recommend using your own brush for it. I suppose you could use your fingers but a brush will give you a nice even layer. These are my only issues with this mask, it’s otherwise absolutely brilliant. I think I might stock up!

Have you tried anything from the Lacura Caviar range?

Jamie's Italian Glasgow

I was kindly invited to try out the new evening meal deal at Jamie’s Italian in Glasgow. The Evening Meal Deal is three courses for £18.95 which I think is a pretty good offer. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Jamie’s Italian and the man himself is slightly contentious but I was keen to see (and taste) for myself. 

Jamie’s Italian in Glasgow is handily situated at the corner of George Square. The restaurant is vibrant, lively and welcoming. I went with just my husband but it’d be great for a family meal too. My son has a dairy and egg allergy and one of the things that I really liked about viewing Jamie’s Italian menu online is that you can select dairy free choices which saves a lot of hassle looking through the ingredient list. In fact you can select vegan, gluten-free, healthy or vegetarian which really is a nice touch for people on special diets.

There’s a range of seating available at Jamie’s Italian and if you read my previous food reviews such as Prezzo here you’ll see that seating is important for me. We chose to sit on booth type seats. Our server was incredibly helpful and polite, taking time to go through the menu and any other questions we had.

So onto the food! There’s five starters to choose from. My husband went for the Cured Meat Plank. A selection of cured meats such as fennel salami and pistachio mortadella is beautifully presented on a wooden plank with mini buffalo mozzarella, pecorino and chilli jam with pickles, olives and rainbow slaw. This was absolutely gorgeous and makes a perfect starter (although it’d be great for a savoury end to the meal). There’s also an option to make this vegetarian. 

I went for Mushroom Fritti which is a mix of King oyster and Paris brown mushrooms coated with herby breadcrumbs and served with garlic mayo. I really enjoyed this starter and it was actually deceptively filling. The coating on the mushrooms was crispy and not greasy in the least while the garlic dip added very nicely to the flavours. My husband also enjoyed this. (Please don’t touch my food again).

There’s also five mains to choose from. There’s a good mix of dishes and I went for the Italian steak and fries. The flash-grilled prime steak was very tender and cooked beautifully. It comes served with heirloom tomato salsa (although I’d say they were sliced tomatoes) with Parmesan, and spiced fries on the side. I can’t fault this dish at all, the tomatoes were fresh and juicy, the steak tender and the fries were amazing. 

My husband chose the Famous Prawn Linguine. Prawns and locally sourced Scottish langoustine tails are used in this pasta dish. They’re mixed with garlic, fennel, tomatoes, chilli and saffron in a fish broth with lemony rocket. My husband said this was a well-balanced dish that didn’t have an overpowering seafood taste. Everything was cooked just right. ( I didn’t try this dish, I’m not a fan of prawns). 

By this time I was pretty full but for the sake of you guys I forced myself to have a dessert. How am I supposed to give you an idea of what the food’s like if there’s no dessert included? I’d be a terrible, terrible blogger. So, dessert! There’s a choice of four desserts, my husband went for the Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake. The cheesecake is made from mascarpone and served with fresh raspberries and smashed amaretti. Now this I did have some of. It’s rich but not overly sweet, just really creamy and delicious. 

I picked the Molten Chocolate Praline Pudding for my dessert. Oh my goodness, this was good. The soft and warm chocolate cake has an oozing praline centre. It’s a rich dessert and I couldn’t actually finish it all off, but I did try. The vanilla ice-cream helps off-set some of the richness of the praline pudding. It comes with a tiny Jamie’s Italian flag which is a cute touch. 

So despite my initial reservations I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at Jamie’s Italian. The food was good and the surroundings friendly and comfortable. The next time I go (and I will go back) I’d like to try out some of the cocktails. They looked absolutely amazing and there’s a brilliant selection to chose from. Also, I should mention they do a special lunchtime menu for just over a tenner for two courses of if you fancy £13 for three which I think is a really good deal. 

Have you been to a Jamie’s Italian? 

* Our meals were paid for but thoughts very much my own (and my husband’s).

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer

Bourjois, for me, is one of the best ‘high street’ makeup brands out there. They consistently bring out high quality yet affordable makeup that’s also beautifully packaged. The newish Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer is no different, in fact it’s one of the best under eye concealers I’ve used. The only thing really letting this down is the poor colour selection. There’s only 3 available and that isn’t going to suit everyone. 

This little gem of a product is a colour corrector and brightener. It does a great job at both. I have quite a cracking set of dark circles thanks to my toddler and chronic illness and an under eye concealer is one of my everyday must haves to make me look a bit, well, alive. Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer is highly pigmented, a tiny bit of this goes a long way and I find you can layer up easily too. As well as concealing my under eye circles it brightens the whole eye area up very nicely. I’m using the lightest shade 01 Ivory which suits my pale, cool skin tone perfectly. 

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer comes in a rather nice bottle with a handy doe foot applicator. Application is super easy but I do find it’s best to remove some of the excess concealer before applying to the face. You’ll most probably need less of this product than you think. 

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer contains Mont Blanc glacier water and hyaluronic acid which both hydrates as well as helps smooth away fine lines, apparently. I can’t say I’ve noticed much effect on fine lines but it does feel very hydrating and soothing on my eyes. Due to its very creamy consistency I do find it settles slightly into lines and creases a bit. To stop this happening I use my finger to pat the concealer into my skin gently then use a bit of powder to set it and that helps stop this problem. The concealer doesn’t dry up throughout the day like some other concealers can which is brilliant if you have dry skin around your eye area or are a little bit older.

As well as being a great under eye concealer Bourjois Radiance Reveal is a rather lovely highlighter too. It blends out beautifully and lasts well throughout the day. It adds a nice touch of radiance and freshens up the complexion. Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer is also perfect on days when you don’t want to wear foundation but just want to brighten and even the skin tone. I should add that if you’re looking for a spot concealer then this isn’t the one. Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer is very much an under eye concealer and highlighter, and a damn good one at that.

Have you tried Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer?

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Revolution Edinburgh

Revolution Edinburgh is just a short walk away from Edinburgh University and is also just across the road from the National Museum making its prime location on Chambers Street incredibly handy to drop in for a bite to eat or a drink from their very extensive cocktail and drinks menu. I think there’s practically every cocktail invented on the menu, there’s The Bramble, Espresso Martini, Gin n Juice, all sorts of Mojitos and sours, and lots lots more. Seriously, Revolution have you completely covered when it comes to cocktails. 

Revolution Edinburgh is in the old dental hospital and comprises of two floors with three bars. I was invited to try out their new menu. My husband and I went along on a Friday afternoon to sample the extensive and varied lunch menu. Our waitress was very helpful explaining the new choices available.  And there's a really good mix on there that would suit most tastes such as burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, seafood, steak, halloumi, duck and even courgetti. There’s an amazing looking burger called The Mother Clucker and a pizza called the Vodfather. This is pub grub with a twist.

The restaurant has a nice mix of tables and booths. We sat at the booths which are also laid out with cushions to make it nice and comfy.  My husband picked the Seafood Mixed Grill. This has a mix of patagonian prawns, calamari, grilled sea bream, celeriac remoulade, toast, and extra virgin olive oil. While this was cooked nicely unfortunately it was a bit cold. 

 

I'll be honest it took me quite a while to choose, there's a really good selection of food here and all sound delicious with a bit of a twist. Like the Smokin' Bacon Burger, this is a beef burger with smoked cheddar, chorizo ketchup, streaky bacon, smokinnaise, wotsits and crispy onions. Wait, what? yes, wotsits but I went for the chicken and houmous wrap which also has cauliflower & quinoa salad, baby gem lettuce and chorizo ketchup. There’s a good selection of sides such as mac n cheese and garlic fries but I can never resist sweet potato fries. Oh and they were good. There's also an option to "go skinny" on some of the meals if you want to cut back on calories. I’m not one for that as you can see from my dessert choice...

The dessert menu has a nice selection such as Chocoberry Sundae which is a warm chocolate brownie with salted caramel chocolate and vanilla ice cream with blackberry sauce crème fraîche and fresh blackberries. I very nearly ordered that but how am I to resist something called a Nutella Fluffwich? This thing of wonder has marshmallow fluffwich, nutella chocolate sandwiched between sweet sourdough with blueberry sauce. Unsurprisingly this is a very filling dessert but it finished off our meal nicely. 

Have you visited Revolution in your area?

*Our meal was paid for but thoughts very much my own.

GOSH Makeup Haul

Lately I’ve been really interested in how good (or bad) budget friendly makeup brands are. I most recently done a post on Seventeen cosmetics but I’ve previously focused on the best from Rimmel and Maybelline. If you want to see a higher end version I did Lancome here. 

GOSH are an innovative Danish makeup brand offering budget friendly quality products. Their Foundation Drops are very similar to the much more expensive Armani Fusion makeup and they also have an affordable lip oil to try. Unlike Maybelline and Rimmel I’ve only used a few products from GOSH previously but I liked what I tried. I had read good things about their X-Ceptional Wear Foundation so after purchasing and using that for a few days I decided to pick up some more products. Superdrug were doing a 3 for 2 and who can resist that? (not me). And I’m so glad I did. (BTW I think the current offer is £2 off selected GOSH products so I may have just bought some more..)

I’ll start with Velvet Touch Matte lipstick in Smoothie. This is a beautiful mauve pink/dusky rose shade that I absolutely love. Not only is the colour beautiful but the formulation is great too. It’s a comfortable long-wearing matte that applies easily straight from the bullet. There’s no feathering and little transfer. Easily one of the best  budget lipstick formulas I’ve tried in ages, in fact just one of the nicest formulas I’ve tried. Definitely purchasing more.

GOSH X-Ceptional Wear Foundation is a long-wearing medium cream foundation. I have Porcelain which is the lightest shade and would be a good match for most pale skin tones. It’s neither too pink nor yellow, a good neutral undertone. The cream formula blends easily and doesn’t sink into pores or fine lines. The finish looks natural with a matte yet slightly radiant finish. Again I love this, it lasts practically all day on my combination skin, it provides a good medium coverage that’s buildable without looking mask like and it also feels really comfortable. Thumbs up.

I’ve been using GOSH BB Powder as a finishing powder as the coverage is very light. If you like a barely there finish that mattifies you’ll probably like it as it is but I prefer a bit more coverage. This is a lovely powder. The shade I have is no.2 which I think is the lightest shade available. The powder is finely milled and sets makeup nicely. The packaging comes with a mirror and applicator which is actually quite good. I’m really impressed with it, another repurchase for me.

And finally is GOSH Forever Eyeshadow Pencil in Twisted Brown. I accidentally picked up the wrong colour. I meant to pick up Silver Rose which is the most beautiful colour but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Twisted Brown. This is a matte dark taupe and is perfect for everyday wear and goes really well with the lipstick I bought. It’s also incredibly easy to apply. It takes a few minutes to set properly so you have time to blend out if you like. Once it’s set it last all day without budging or smudging. I’m so impressed with this seemingly innocuous eyeshadow. It’s a strong staple product. I’ll also be purchasing more of these, they’re so easy to wear.

I haven’t picked one duff product. Every single thing has been a hit and really quite beyond my expectations. Also what I like about GOSH is that while the products are budget friendly the packaging is solid. I feel like some cheaper brands forget that packaging is vital on makeup products but not with GOSH. 

Are you a fan of GOSH? Any products I should definitely get?

Recent Clothing and Shoe Purchases

It’s been a while since I’ve shared clothing on my blog and I figured it was about time I remedied that. I’m terrible for impulse buying, instead I’m trying to buy clothing that I’ll keep for ages. I’m not entirely sure my latest purchases will fall into that category but I couldn’t resist buying them. So yeah my progress into “slow-fashion” is well, going slowly (I’m sorry). I am going to make more of a concerted effort though. 

First up is a bunny breton top from Lazy Oaf. This sold out incredibly fast on ASOS and I’m unsure if it’ll become available again but they’re definitely worth a look anyway. They do cute prints that just make fashion a bit more of a happier place. I bought a size 14 and it is a bit of a neat 14 in case you’re curious what their sizing is like. I bought this for an everyday top, plus my son loves the bunny on it.

Similarly Monki make fashion fun. I bought this amazing oversized print dress from ASOS here. And it really is oversized. I have the small and it’s still huge on me (I’m currently a 14/16 UK size). I bought a skinny belt to bring it in a bit at the waist but it looks great without it too. Oh and it also has pockets, everyone loves a dress with pockets, right? I foresee lots of Monki dress purchases in my near future.

Here’s my trusty little helper endlessly improving my shots. He’s a hard taskmaster and settles for nothing less than perfection from me.

Finally, I picked up these shoe/boot/sandals from Primark for £14. I was looking at similar ones in ASOS and Topshop for considerably more. They’re actually quite well-made. The sole has a decent amount of cushioning in it so hopefully they’ll see me right through to autumn. For chillier days I’ve bought some fancy socks, these ones from ASOS and also this pair of fishnet socks. 

Are you an impulse buyer like me or are you more organised with your purchases? If you are I’d love to know how you do it!

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