Habitat Birchbox for March

This month Birchbox have teamed up with lifestyle and homeware guru Habitat to bring to you this brightly coloured box full of amazing treats! This month sees the announcement of Habitat's new SS15 collection of dressing tables and beauty storage boxes - a perfect partnership in my opinion.

The theme of 'Do Try This At Home' brings to you the best of beauty and home right to your door.  It is a celebration of makeovers of all types: whether it is your beauty regime or your at-home furnishings and decoration, March is the time for renewal, renovation and refreshment.  Enclosed within the box is a series of cards which are designed to help and encourage you to 'shake off, shake up and spring clean your everyday' whether that is a home make-over with new beauty products or the introduction of new scents.

For March, Birchbox have given their subscribers a chance to pick their own Benefit mascara sample which includes the new Roller Lash, They're Real or BADgal - So I hope you got the sample you wanted the most!  The rest of the items in my box are as follows:

Catherine Malandrino Style De Paris - A Playful yet sophisticated fragrance with citrus top notes and a fruity twist.   I am a fan of perfume samples and I really like this scent.  It is quite fruity to begin with, but once it settles down there is a lovely floral scent which settles.  The description is that "It opens with accords of ruby red grapefruit, Nashi pear and Italian mandarin. The heart features orange blossom, gardenia, violet and ocean breeze accord, laid on the base of patchouli"  The floral for me is the Gardenia and it is just so lovely.

Philip Kingsley Smooth Cream -  Tame your curly, frizzy hair with Philip Kingsley Smooth Cream. It’s a protective styling cream that smoothes your hair, while adding incredible shine. Philip Kingsley Smooth Cream helps to prolong the life of colour treatments you have in your hair. It also safe to use when you are sun bathing, as this styling cream contains sunscreen.

TanOrganic Self Tanning Oil - Said to contain only natural and organic ingredients that nourish and hydrate the skin, this fake tan is Aloe Vera based and is the worlds first tanning oil.  I have to admit, I am not a fake tan fan, I am always convinced I will end up looking like an Oompa Loompa.  That said, I am intrigued by the fact this is an oil and I might give it a go on my legs to see how it turns out.

Janjira Pomegranate & Acai Facial Scrub Cleanser - This scrub cleanser helps to deeply cleanse and exfoliate whilst retaining moisture and brightening the complexion. Walnut shell gently removes dead skin cells, dirt and black heads leaving the skin soft and smooth. While fruit oils help to reduce the appearance of pores and moisturise the skin.  This scrub smells absolutely delightful, very fruity and the walnut shell as an exfoliant isn't as abrasive as I was expecting, though if you add a little pressure you can certainly feel it more.

Now my Benefit Sample is the Roller Lash Mascara which I was delighted to see as I am still on the fence as to how much I like it.  Described as being a super curling and lifting mascara. The Roller Lash wand is designed so it hooks your lashes to lift and curl them.  I have used mine a few times now and think it is a pretty good mascara, I'm just not too sure about the formula.

The final two items in my box are Lifestyle items and they are:

A Birchbox and Habitat Exclusive Notebook -  a petitie but perfectly formed jotter to pen all of your ideas and inspirations.  Titled 'Here's the plan' this notebook is really well made and full of blank pages making it perfect for those blog ideas on the go, beauty wishlists, words of wisdom and random jottings.

A Perfect Heritage by Penny Vincenzi - Birchbox have done this before with a chapter of a novel and I think it is a brilliant idea.  It takes on the Kindle idea of downloading a sample to try before you buy.  This novel is an epic tale of ambition, ego and passion with the beauty industry as its backdrop. I didn't think I would enjoy this novel I have to admit, but I was hooked on the chapter in my box and read it within an hour, it is now downloaded onto my Kindle so I can continue and find out what happens in the end.

So there you have the box for March and overall I think it is brilliant.  There is a nice mixture of products included and all a nice size, so you can at least try them before you think about buying them.  At the minute, I really like both the Catherine Malandrino perfume and the Janjira Facial Scrub Cleanser plus I love the two lifestyle inclusions which gives this box a massive thumbs up from me.

What do you think to this months Birchbox? Have you got it? If so link me below so I can come and see what you have!

Dr Salts+ Sleep Therapy

I am no stranger to bath salts, infact I think they are very underrated and should be championed much more than they are. For centuries, bathing in bath salts has been renowned for their therapeutic benefits particularly when it comes to the water of the Dead Sea. Dr Salts+ Therapeutic Solutions is a recent addition to my bath routine and I absolutely love them, seriously love them.

Dr Salts+ has four different therapy salts in their range; three using salt from the Dead Sea which have been combined with essential oils to maximise their benefits and one from the Himalayas. The four different salts are:

• Dr Salts Muscle Therapy Bath Salts with Eucalyptus 
• Dr Salts Sleep Therapy Bath Salts with Rosemary 
• Dr Salts Relax Therapy Bath Salts with Rose
• Dr Salts Himalayan Bath Salts

I was very kindly sent DrSalts Sleep Therapy Salts with Rosemary as I had explained to the lovely Abi that I had been suffering with sleep. I drift off to sleep with no problem, but then wake constantly through the night because there is so much going on in my life right now which is pretty stressful and I just wanted to have one full nights sleep.

These bath salts contain 100% Dead Sea Salts and the waters of The Dead Sea have been renowned for their therapeutic benefits since ancient times and they are packed full of key minerals such as:

• Magnesium - An essential mineral for staying healthy. It helps to improve mood and relieve stress as well s encourage healthy skin tissue and aid detoxification.
• Sodium - Helps cells absorb nourishment and expel waste
• Calcium - Prevents water retention, increases circulation and strengthen bones and nails
• Potassium - Helps to balance the skin's natural moisture levels and is a crucial mineral to replenish following intense exercise.
• Bromides - Acts to ease muscle stiffness and relax muscle
• Chlorine - Is necessary for maintaining the correct balance of alkaline and acid in the body
• Iodine - Is vital for both energy and cell metabolism

These salts also have two extra ingredients with Rosemary and Lavender essential oils being added, both of which are known for their sleep inducing properties.

To use all you have to do is add two handfuls of the salt to your warm bath water, lie back and then relax.  As soon as the packet is opened both Lavender and Rosemary are the first things you can smell and it is absolutely wonderful.  As soon as the salt comes into contact with the water, the scents of both oils fill the bathroom and are instantly relaxing.  You can literally feel all the days stresses and strains melt away as you take in the aroma around you, but after bathing did they bring about the sleep I was promised?

If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen my tweet, but if you don't (why not?) then you will not have seen my whooping of delight that for once I woke up feeling totally refreshed and ready to start the day.  No waking up in the middle of the night, no tossing and turning, no waking up at 5am and not being able to go back to sleep... in fact it was my alarm that woke me.

Unsure as to whether or not it was the salts, I left it almost a week before yet again, being totally worn out, I used the salts again and yet again they worked, as before, a whole nights sleep.

I cannot rave about these bath salts enough, they are absolutely amazing and as I have said already, underrated.  They are also free from Parabens, SLS, artificial colours, fragrances and harsh preservatives.  If you haven't tried these bath salts, I urge to try them, they are just brilliant and they are available from leading Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose stores and online and are priced around £6.99 for 1kg.

Have you ever tried bath salts?

Do you 'Catalogue'?

Online credit catalogues allow you to spread cost of goods on either a weekly or monthly basis. Each month, you receive a “statement of account” from the catalogue company which includes all of your expenditure and information about your monthly repayment and credit limit.

If you manage these monthly repayments in time, your credit limit may be increased; hence allowing you to increase your expenditure. By paying back what you owe on time then you're credit score is likely to increase!

In this article, we shall exclusively look at the two of the best online credit catalogues in terms of their credit options and product range. One of the first things to note is that both of these stores provide an almost-instant online decision as to whether you've been approved for a credit account.

Source: bigislandcolor.com

Argos:

As many of you will already know, Argos have a huge range of products to choose from, making them an ideal place to shop for anything you need. With the Argos Card, you can purchase now and pay later over a 6-12 month period dependent upon the price of the product.

It’s simple! You only need to choose the products that you want or like at the checkout. Select the “Buy Now Pay Later” option and fill in your details.

If successful, you will receive an Argos Card in the post in a few days, however, you don't have to wait until it arrives to start buying on credit.

The application process is quite straightforward, and the most interesting thing is that it can be approved online, and your items delivered right to your doorstep! You can use it in-store or online. 

Littlewoods:

The Littlewoods catalogue has a broad range of seasonal fashion, from popular and respected brands such as Adidas, Converse, Firetrap, Nike, Henley’s, Everlast Voi jeans and many more.

It also includes a significant choice of home essentials including gadgets, home appliances and furniture.

Just like Argos, Littlewoods is one of a large selection of catalogues in the UK that offer credit however, they offer interest free credit periods and respectable interest rates making them the starting point for buying on finance.

It is worth pointing out here that both of these retailers do have strict credit checks so those with no credit history may find themselves getting refused. In this case, there are other credit catalogues you can choose from that are more lenient. Creditcatalogues.org.uk provide a comprehensive list of the top UK catalogues. Remember though, before you apply for a credit account, double check the terms and conditions to ensure you fully understand how much interest you might have to pay.

**SP

 

MAC Fanfare Lipstick

MAC Fanfare lipstick is the latest addiction to my collection and is one I chose from a blogger competition win. I had swatched it a few times in the Covent Garden store and decided that as I wanted it, I might as well ask for it with my win.

My growing collection of MAC lipsticks consists mainly of pinks such as Angel, Creme Cup and Viva Glam V so it is probably not that surprising that I have added Fanfare and love the look of Lovelorn, Syrup and Please Me - none of which I have bought (yet).

Fanfare is best described as being a light salmon pink shade lipstick with a slight coral undertone. You will find this lipstick in amongst those with a cremesheen finish. So texture wise it is really creamy formula which is quite smooth when applied as it glides right across your lips leaving behind a wonderful shade of pink. 

The one thing I dislike about Creme Cup as a cremesheen finish is that if you have dry patches on your lips, it clings to them, so I can only wear it or feel comfortable wearing it when my lips are in really good condition.

Texture wise Fanfare is smooth and pigmented and on me it has a staying power of around 3 hours before it begins to fade, but as with any product like this, I am one of those people who applies lipstick regularly throughout the day. During those three hours it is more than likely that I will have had copious glasses of water and probably 1-2 cups of green tea, so for a 3 hour stay, I think it is actually quite good. 

As a shade, it is one that I really really love. It looks lovely on its own or with a gloss over the top, something else from MAC which I am a bit of a sucker for. I personally feel this is a daytime lipstick and it is one I wear for work all the time, though for an evening, you could wear it as it is buildable.

Priced at £15.50 it is quite pricey in my opinion but it is a lovely lipstick and I like the shade, plus I won it and I am super chuffed with it.

What MAC lipsticks do you love?