CaBella Makeup Masterclass | Smoky Eye Secrets Revealed

When it comes to full-on glamour, nowhere in Nottingham does it better than independent beauty boutique CaBella.

A treasure trove of makeup, glitter and all things girlie, it's tucked away off the city’s upmarket Bridlesmith Gate and offers serious pampering. If you’ve always wanted someone to decode the mysteries of that Insta-perfect look, this is the destination.

Whether it’s a special occasion or just a night out, Cabella offers makeovers, beauty treatments including injectables and the chance to shop some great brands that can be harder to get hold of in the UK, such as Milani and LA Girl.

To say I was excited when they invited me along to a Bloggers’ Beauty Masterclass is a bit of an understatement.

Easiweft Styling Station | A Must-Try for Extensions

Sometimes, a product comes along that’s just such a great idea, you wonder how you managed without it. And for anyone who uses hair extensions, I think I’ve just found one!

Most people are a bit surprised when they find out I wear clip in extensions regularly, mainly because I like them to look subtle. If you don’t know I have them in, that’s the goal!

I have several different sets, and a couple are purely for volume – they’re the same length as my real hair. I also wore very natural clip-in extensions on my wedding day, because I wore my hair in a half-up half-down style with a beehive and plaited sections, and I wanted to have enough hair to do all that and not have the bit that was left down look too thin and scraggly.

As a busy working mum, with very little time or patience for hair styling, it’s a massive advantage to me if I can pre-style some extensions, clip them in and go. But washing, styling and caring for extensions can be a fiddly job.

Luckily, Easiweft has now arrived to help take care of those problems!

Beauty Haul | Hylamide, Rodial, Too Faced & more

Don’t you love a good haul? It’s one of the oldest posts in the book (along with ‘What’s in my bag?’ which I also find endlessly fascinating!) but it’s always a good one!

This month’s beauty haul was one of those that creeps up you -  do you ever have those? You don’t think you’ve been shopping but then you seem to have quite a lot of stuff at the end of the month. Oops…

Natura Siberica Northern Soap | Review

What do you think about when you hear the word ‘Siberia’? Arctic oceans? Snow leopards? Frozen tundras?  Would you think of a region rich in natural plant life that has developed the properties to survive in harsh wintery conditions?

Well a new line of skincare from Natura Siberica has opened my eyes to the rich natural flora of the fertile black earth found there.

When Natura Siberica got in touch to see if I’d like to try out their Northern Soap product, I was excited to discover what it could do for my skin. Following a philosophy of using wild-harvested Siberian herbs the brand is proudly ‘Born in Siberia, Made in Europe’.

The plants that do grow here are exceptionally rich in protective, anti-oxidant properties in order to survive. If these herbs are hardy enough to flourish in some of the most challenging conditions on earth, what would their goodness do for my skin?

Birchbox review | July 2017

Can you believe another month has gone by? It doesn’t seem live five minutes since the June Birchbox landed in all its candy-striped glory, and now here we are with the July offering.

This month’s box is printed with tropical palm trees, and the theme is definitely high summer – far-flung adventures and getting away from it all. But would the products that made the edit have me dreaming of cocktails on the beach? Take a peek…

Life, Lately | July 2017

Well, it seems like this is it. Summer, I mean! Finally here in full force, just when we least expected it.

Of course, this being the UK there has to be the odd day where it plummets back into midwinter after a week of blazing sunshine, so it’s never quite safe to pack away your winter woollies entirely. But generally, it's been really nice.

Have you been making the most of it? I feel like there is a pressure to be doing stuff because it's so uncertain that summer is actually here to stay.  We need to do ALL OF THE THINGS before the sun abandons us!