Magazine Freebies!

Every month I read reviews about magazine freebies and it is very rare I am excited enough to go out and buy them, though last month I did get the mini REN hot cloth cleanser which was fabulous. This month, I feel a little bit more spoilt for choice with the choices on offer, there are just so many good ones to get, plus my very friendly newsagent has been a little generous with some of the extra freebies which didn't seem to belong to any of the magazines for sale in his shop, so when he asked if me I would like them, how could I refuse?

So what did I manage to get my hands on?

Yes I think I have done pretty well this month with getting my hands on the whole Clinique set which comes from Glamour magazine. There are two Chubby Sticks in Super Strawberry and Woppin' Watermelon, a mini High Impact Mascara and a mini bottle of Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+ though I seem to have two of these. All of these together are said to be worth £30 and given Glamour Magazine costs just £2 perhaps it would have been worth shelling out that extra £6? I had initially opted for the Chubby Stick in Woppin' Watermelon as I like the look of the colour, but as I was given both Chubby sticks plus the mascara and two Moisturising lotions, I am more than chuffed with this little haul!

With Instyle magazine comes a free Neal's Yard Geranium and Orange Hand Cream in a 50ml tube, which is worth £10 and given Instyle costs just £3.90 this in itself is an absolute bargain and I am a huge fan of Neal's Yard products and am yet to try a hand cream, of which I go through quite a lot, so I am hoping this is good.

The magazine I really wanted besides Glamour was Red magazine because they have a Rodial Stemcell Super Glam Balm Lip 10ml, a 7ml version in Marks and Spencer and Harrods which has an RRP £17, so this is an absolute bargain given I paid just £4 for the magazine!

In Cosmopolitan this month you can choose from four freebies from a brand called New CID Cosmetics, those freebies are a Black Mascara and three shades of their Lip and Cheek Tint, all together worth £60, I have the Mascara which I was given and the Lip and Cheek Tint in Rose Tint which is a shade I really like.

Marie Claire Magazine has a freebie from one of my favourite brands Balance Me this month and there is a choice of the Luxury Face Cream 15ml or Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm 40ml which together are said to be worth around £25. I opted for the Face Balm which I have had my eye on for some time and I can't wait to see what it is like. This Magazine usually costs £3.90 but if you go to Tesco it is just £2.50 which means even more of a saving for a fab freebie.

The one magazine I didn't buy was Elle which has a skincare travel set by Malin and Goetz and the kit contains a Grapefruit Face Cleanser 10ml, Lip Moisturiser 5ml and Vitamin E Face Moisturiser 10ml which together are worth £10, the only reason I don't have it is because someone had stolen all the freebies from the magazines on offer, but if you do want it, then Elle is £4.

The Lip Crayons I am really looking forward to using and this is how they swatch:

The Mascaras I am also looking forward to using and they look like this:

So there you have this months magazine freebies and the ones I was lucky enough to get.

Have you managed to get your hands on any of these freebies this month? 

Are there any that you really want to try?

My fabulous cupcake mug

I work in an office with a seven other people and we have a vast amount of mugs, many of which have been donated by companies wanting to sell us something over the years. One member of the team decided she was bored of using a mug that everyone else had and promptly went and bought one for herself that has become her mug, if you use it, you are in trouble.

When I was asked if I would like my own mug in the shape of a Cupcake, obviously I said yes and it is this one is from Hawkins Bazaar, how cute is it? I absolutely love the design and what I like about it even more is that when it is on my desk of waiting to be washed, everyone notices it and now knows it is my mug. It also has this cute little lid which comes with it.

The Cupcake mug costs just £3.49 which is actually a bargain, if this isn't quite your cup of tea (see what I did there) then you can find a few more designs on the Hawkins Bazaar website along with a wide selection of gifts, toys and gadgets.

Do you have a mug that you call your own?

Micro Mist Hair Treatment at Easton Regal Salon

Last week I was very lucky to go be invited along to the Easton Regal Salon Clerkenwell to try out a treatment called 'The Micro Mist'.   The salon itself is rather quirky from the outside as it sits right on the edge of St John's square it is both tranquil yet manic all in one go.  

Inside the salon it was nothing at all like I expected it to be.  I was expecting to find a nice quaint little salon but in its place was a huge gallery like space with the most amazing decor and the cutest little dog called Teddy, I have ever seen.  All of the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming and really attentive, which for me is a huge plus because there is nothing worse than going into a salon for the first time and being told to simply sit and wait.

So the treatment, The Micro Mist comes all the way from Japan and the machine used is said to have taken over to years to develop and perfect!  Slightly different to any other treatment that I have ever had in salon, where a lotion or potion is applied to the hair, some clingfilm put over the top and then you are put under a heater for 5-10 minutes wondering whether or not it has melted into your hair (I can't be the only one??). Instead the machine under which you are placed, looks totally space age which you can see below:

So what is it and how does it work? It uses the power of water to penetrate deep into your hair, in doing so it swells your hair and allows the treatment to work much better by locking it into your hair, instead of just sitting on it.  A treatment is applied to your hair once it has been separated into sections and then you are placed under the machine for around 6 minutes, during those 6 minutes this happens:

Convenient steamers boil water at 100 degrees to create steam. However the height of this temperature often causes more damage to the hair than it repairs. The micro mist system is different as it doesn't steam water; it uses ultra sound to generate mist and warms it in accordance to your hair type; keeping the temperature far below 100 degrees.

The micro mist treatment main functions are:

• Hot wind - for warming up
• Hot fog - for helping hair absorb nutriments via utilizing the energy generated through cavitations effect.
• Cold fog - for helping the hair cortex absorb nutriments by adapting the quantum technique
• Ozone - for sterilizing and disinfecting
• Aromatic remedy - purifying the hair with water

I was told that it will make my hair silky, stronger and give it an amazing gloss, all of which it most definitely did and that the affects will last for 7-10 days.  Well after 8 days I can still see a huge difference in the silkiness of my hair and when I have washed it, left it to dry and then straightened it, the ease of doing that is amazing. No flyaway hair, just lovely straight hair with a bit of volume and a lot of shine.

I would highly recommend this treatment to everyone, it is like nothing I have ever had before, it is fun to watch and the results are as long lasting as you are told they would be.  You can read more about Easton Regal Salon and their treatments by going to their Website.

Have you ever tried anything like this or have you had this treatment?

Mia by Ted Baker

 If you haven't guessed by now, I am a huge fan of the Ted Baker beauty range and have featured some of the products on my blog which you can see here, here, here, here, here and here. The handbag sized perfumes are simply brilliant and I was lucky enough to be sent Mia to try out.

I am a huge fan of perfume, though I can be quite picky about which ones I like and I tend to loathe ones which are really popular. Mia by Ted Baker** is one of those scents that I adored from the very first spritz. Like similar products from the range, Mia is housed inside this funky triangle shaped box which is the lightest of pink shades with pretty rose gold edging which matches the logo in the centre. Inside the box is a lovely slimline bottle of the fragrance which has a spray applicator. The bottle for me mirrors the packaging really well and it has a dusky pink shading to it with the lid mirroring the rose gold colour and you can clearly see the TB logo.

Written on the packaging Mia is described as being:

'Sassy, stylish and sophisticated, Mia lights up the room effortlessly. With an irresistible blend of warmth, charm and allure, she is every girl's best friend.'

For me this is a perfect description of Mia, it is a really lovely scent which I prefer to use for daytime wear, perfect for these lovely warm sunny days. It has top notes of fresh lemon, raspberry, blackcurrant, freesia and rose blooms are combined with a seductive base of warm patchouli and golden amber which make this scent subtly sweet and for me the floral ingredients are really noticeable. Once I have spritzed it onto my skin, I find that the scent lasts on average between 4-6 hours before I need to re-apply.

It is a convenient size for having in your handbag and if you like the sound of Ma and want to try can find Mia available at Ted Baker and Boots for jut £15.00 which is worth every penny.

What is your favourite Summer fragrance? Have you tried any from the Ted Baker range?