Collins Elite Mid-Year Diary

I have a really busy job, well busy life to be honest with you and I tend to store most of it in my iPhone, relying on it to tell me which meetings are when and where, whether that is work life, home life or blog life and do you know what, it isn't the best method, I need a back up plan.

When Collins Diaries got in touch to see if I would like to try out one of their products I jumped at the chance and this little beauty came into my life.

The Collins Elite Planning System is a Mid-Year Pocket Week diary which starts in July 2015 and ends in July 2016.  The diary is fully refillable and wire bound with a removable personal directory within which you store all your important names, address and phone numbers.  I absolutely adore the padded case which protects my diary, it is quite retro in design and as soon as I saw it, I knew it is the one I would choose.

Inside the planner, the actual diary is week to view, which I find really helpful. There is more than enough space to record 4-5 meetings, events or even write reminders in each of the dates provided and it has a handy little cream ribbon to use a book mark so your diary opens on the right week.

Aside from the diary part, there is also a front section which contains all sorts of useful information.  In the front of the diary there is a list of International Holidays, A Conversion Guide, World Standard Times Guide so you always know what time it is somewhere in the world, International Dialing Codes.  Then at the back of the diary, as well as having somewhere to write notes, there is a Financial Summary which allows you to write a brief guide of incoming and outgoing monies, a list of useful numbers such as National Rail Enquiries, a London Tube Map (uber handy) and a Map of the UK.

The diary planner is the perfect size for any handbag and is so lightweight, it makes it much easier to transport around than a Filofax, which can be quite bulky.  For a hectic life in London, this for me is brilliant and it costs just £10.50.

What do you use to keep yourself on track, on time and punctual?

Don’t Step on a Bee Day - Bee Good Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator

Bee Good is one of my favourite brands, I am yet to dislike one of their products and I love the brand ethos. Today is #DontStepOnABeeDay and Bee's are quite precious. Did you know that globally the lives of our bees are still severely under threat. There's the deadly mite called Varroa accidentally imported from Asia, the loss of natural habitat, a lack of forage from declining wildflower meadows and a toxic cocktail of pesticides used widely in crop production. Just as these tiny insects have a vital role to play in the sustainability of humanity, we all have a role to play in their survival and the sustainability of their environment. Below are some top tips to help look after bees!

Aside from not stepping on Bees, Bee Good have just released the latest installment from their beauty range, the Honey & Camelina Facial Exfoliator and I have been using it for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. 

Why do I like it so much? Well 
it is packed full of amazing ingredients such as:

• British Wild Flower Honey - helps to moisturise the skin
• British Propolis (extract) - Using its antibacterial properties on problematic skin
• British Camelina sativa seed oil - helps to moisturise the skin
• Wheatgerm oil - soothes and helps restore moisture
• Milled Lavender flowers - gently yet effectively exfoliate without irritating

The advice for this exfoliator has been to use it one or twice a week, which I have been doing.  Texture wise it is really creamy and smells absolutely divine, but on the skin, whilst you can feel it working on the skin, it isn't overly abrasive and therefore doesn't scratch, but wow does it make your skin feel not only clean, but soft and smooth after using.  

This is a great product to try, especially if you want an exfoliator that is kind to your skin, is a great one a week treat and is British!  It is a great way to fly the flag and help Bees.

Don’t Step on a Bee Day

Here are our Top 5 Bee Care Tips to give you inspiration for Don’t Step on a Bee Day:

1. Don’t step on a bee! (Of course)
2. Buy British! The majority of our honey here in the UK is imported, but with the wealth of bee keepers on our doorstep there is really no need. Support your local bee keeper by visiting a near-by farm shop or deli and enjoy their precious produce for breakfast on some warm buttered toast - yum!
3. Plant seedballs! We send you these with every Bee Good order placed on beegood.co.uk – it couldn’t be easier! Simply scatter these seed balls containing wildflower seeds, clay, compost & chilli powder in your garden to create hundreds of attractive, bee-friendly blooms.
4. Build a bee hotel! Did you know that bees need somewhere to rest when they venture out on their pollen mission? Get the kids involved and get building! Find out more at: www.foe.co.uk.
5. Adopt a bee! If you want to help the honeybees but don’t have the space or time, you can adopt a colony for as little as £25 per month! This includes a certificate, e-mail updates and you can even get a plaque with your name on the side of the hive. Find out more at: www.barnesandwebb.com.

Nailbox - A new kind of Subscription Box

It's no lie that I am a huge fan of subscription boxes, I love the excitement (and sometimes disappointment) of what you might find in the box and equally there is usually something you would probably never buy or have come across if it wasn't in your box, which for me has been true on numerous occasions.

So when I was asked if I would like to try a Nailbox**, I was intrigued. I love nail polish as much as everyone else and am always bamboozled by how much choice there is out there. I am one of those people who is awful at making a decision, so picking a new nail polish is just often beyond me and I always seem to opt for the same sort of shade - a dark purpley red/black and I often chastise myself for not trying something new.

Anyway, Nailbox is a brand new, monthly subscription box full of the hottest nail polish and essential nail tools.  The contents of the box are kept as a total surprise, all you know is that each month you'll receive a nailbox with three or four nail colours, and one or two nail tools or treatments. Occasionally they may send other beauty or cosmetic items instead of a nail tool or treatment.

So how does it work?  Well, there are four different subscription plans which you can read more about here, that said costing just £15 per month (inclusive of packaging) and is an absolute bargain when you see the contents, I think you will be pleasantly surprised too. Once the payment is taken, your box should arrive around 21st of each Month and it comes via Royal Mail.   When it arrives, it comes in a brown cardboard box which is nothing fancy or over the top, but the contents inside are really securely wrapped.  So here are the contents of my box:

So as you can see in my box, I have four stunning shades of polish which are most definitely summery shades and they are from some amazing brands - Essie, OPI, Rimmel and Orly.  I really like each of the shades which are as follows:

• Orly - Fiery Orange and within it, it has chunks of glitter which looks great on their own or over other polishes. It has an rrp £9.50
• Essie - Status Symbol which is a fiesty hot pink shade which I really like and is perfect for the summer. It has an rrp £7.99
• Rimmel - Lucky Lilac is a lovely lilac shade and it literally does dry in 60 seconds and ive only used one coat. It has an rrp £4.99
• Nicole by OPI - Alex by the books which is quite a cool name is a minty seagreen shade once it has dried. It has an rrp £7.95

Add to that to the Elegant Touch Cuticle Pusher and nail cleaner which has an rrp £9.50 and is used to tidy up those cuticles and help with cleaning underneath nails.

The total value of this box is just under £40 which is absolutely amazing value for money and I just love the whole concept.

Is this something you would like to subscribe too?

Magnitone Lucid Daily Cleanser & Exfoliating Brush

A few weeks ago, you might have seen the hashtag #BHTWITTERPARTY with the lovely people of the bloggers hub, this is the second one I have taken part in and essentially it is an opportunity to tweet and become lucky to try some fabulous products. I was lucky enough to be sent the magnitone lucid* in this fabulous pink shade and having never used one before, despite buying one as a present for my goddaughter, I was excited to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about.

Despite being a blogger for years, I have never tried a cleansing brush before. This Magnitone brush claims to leave your skin not only feeling softer, brighter but also clearer skin in just seven days due to its ability to gently exfoliate and give those pores some deep cleaning, all of which is quite a bold statement to make.

In the box there is an adaptor plug, this is already a huge massive thumbs up from me because the number of products I have bought/been sent which don't have a UK plug with them is really annoying. Not only does it have the plug, but on the bottom of the brush handle is this magnetic plug point, which you can remove whilst using, to helpfully charge it and keep everything together, once fully charged it lasts for 2 weeks before you need to charge it again, so it is a great device for holidays.

Powered by what is referred to as 'Active Electromagnetic Technology™', the Magnitone Lucid uses enhanced electromagnetic pulsations which send rapid vibrations into skin. Sounds quite scary when you read that but what they actually are doing is unclogging those pores whilst sweeping away dry and dead skin cells. This is then said to leave you with that clearer complexion. As you use the brush, it is said that it does over 10,000 movements per minute (wow) and this allows your skin to absorb all those products you put onto it to keep it soft, smooth, wrinkle and line free much better because those lotions, potions, gels and serums don't have to fight their way through the skin, past all that dirt and grime to work their magic.

When it comes to using, the Magnitone Lucid could not be easier, though I would always recommend reading the manual which accompanies it for reference, you need to ensure your face is damp and then taking your cleanser of choice, ensure you have got some on the white brush, (not your face) choose your setting, be it normal or one for those with senstive skin and then once switched on, move it around your face in circular motions.  When I first used this I was quite surprised at how quiet it was compared to what I was expecting, though there is of course some buzzing as you use it.  The bristles on the brush are incredibly soft, so they are not overly abrasive and they don't scratch your skin but you can feel it on the skin.  As you move around your face, I tend to stick to problematic areas for around 20-30 seconds each time I use it, my cleanser, which is a foaming cleanser, gets to work its magic.

My skin is combination. I have an oily tzone with dry patches of skin on both cheeks. I don't have enlarged pores and I do double cleanse every night because living in London, all that pollution is not good for your skin, so to that end, my skin has adapted really well to the Magnitone, bearing in mind I was told not to use one. I don't use the brush every day as I don't feel my skin needs it, but I do use it three times a week currently and I absolutely love it. Like a twit, I deleted all my before photos when trying to free up memory space on my card, but my work colleagues have noticed a difference in my skin. Not only does it feel clean after using the brush, the kind of clean you feel after a really good facial, but it is so soft and smooth and probably in better condition than it has been since I moved to London 15 years ago, that is how impressed I am with this little device. 

The Magnitone Lucid is priced at just £69.99 but right now you can get 20% off, in the colour of your choice using my discount code BLOVE20 so be sure to go and snap one up here quick! (expires 31st July 2015)

Will you be getting yourself a Magnitone Lucid? What do you think of brush cleansers? Do you have a favourite one?