Long time no see...

Bonjour everyone! ça va? ／おげんきですか？


I've not posted in quite a while so here's what I've been up to...

Oddly, I've been painting quite frequently. It's
 strange because I've always believed that I'm 
incapable of painting anything decent but I'm
 getting better the more that I paint.

I've been channeling my inner gardener. I love
 flowers but I've never really bothered to try to
 grow anything. I've got a lot more time to waste
 now (due to unemployment) so at present I'm 
growing tête-à-têtes,cosmos, primroses (primulas)
 and Chinese forget me nots. 

I've been working on my new blog : *Click*

Oz doesn't really understand it...

Me and Oz have been enjoying the
large amount of snow.

I got a coupon from my friend Jade for two free boxes from
 Graze. Graze is a website where you choose healthy nibbles
 to be sent to you by snail mail, they're super yummy.
 I may review some of their snacks in the near future.

I've also been baking a lot of cupcakes, trying out new flavours and colourings. I love using different coloured frosting... *drools*

Apart from these things, I've recently bought a new Macbook Pro and quit my job so I guess it's been a pretty weird start to 2013 but hey-hoh life's full of mysteries.

Thanks for reading, here's a little favourite song of mine, enjoy!

Beckie Adlington

x x x 

Twenty minute reviews- Love Lettuce.

Looking hilarious...

 Hi guys, today I'm reviewing Lush's 'Love Lettuce' fresh face mask. As I mentioned in my previous Lush review, I'm a big fan of their products (mainly due to the ingredients and the scent) so I have a tendency to wander into the store and buy far too much...so this is a review of something I bought in the 'spur of the moment'.

First, I'll set one thing straight, I'm not a fan of ready-made face masks. I've never really been interested in them as, for me they haven't really improved my skin. The first Lush face mask I've ever used was 'Cupcake' which was bought for me as a Christmas gift. Normally I wouldn't be drawn to face masks in Lush but on this occasion I was feeling a little run down and felt like treating myself.
It was a good decision, lets just say that for now...




So, first the ingredients...as I've said Lush takes pride in it's products, using natural ingredients to produce vegetarian/vegan cosmetics. The ingredients in this mask are as follows: Agar Agar Gel, Kaolin, Honey, Fullers Earth, Glycerine, Almond Oil, Ground Almond Shells, Ground Almonds, Lavender Oil, Chlorophyllin, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool and Perfume.

So, lets look at all the ingredients...
To start with, agar agar gel is best known as a vegetarian version of gelatine made from a species of seaweed called 'agarophytes'. It's a jelly-like consistency which softens and moisturises the skin. Kaolin is said to draw out toxins and impurities from the skin and to add texture to the mask. Honey is packed full of antioxidants which help to prevent free radicals, it protects the skin from the damaging effects of the sun and it also adds moisture to the skin. Fullers Earth is a natural clay which adds texture and reduces excess oils and dirt from the skin. Glycerine is used for it's moisturising qualities and similarly, almond oil is used to moisturise and soften skin. Both ground almond shells and ground almonds are used as an exfoliant; they are gentle and help to improve skin tone. Lavender oil is very beneficial as it can help treat a range of skin problems, it is antiseptic and anti-bacterial so helps to rid the skin of dirt. Chlorophyllin I believe is a variant of chlorophyll, it is used to make the mask a green colour.
Geraniol, limonene and linalool occur naturally in essential oils and are used for their fragrance. Finally, perfume is of course used for the fragrance also.

So ingredients aside...how do you use it?

As shown on the photo the mask is a thick creamy consistency and green in colour.
Obviously because it's a mask, you would apply a generous amount onto your face, leave on for five-ten minutes until it begins to dry out and then wash it off with warm water. Per pot, I would say that there would be enough to apply three times.

So...does it actually work?

According to the pot the mask will leave your face feeling fresh and exfoliated.
I definitely agree with this. As I have combination skin I usually find most products leave my skin either too dry or feeling greasy and dirty but this mask makes my skin feel fresh and moisturised to the correct level.
Because the mask is made fresh and should be kept refrigerated it might come as a shock when applied but I think this makes the skin feel even more replenished and hydrated.
To test the mask somewhat more, I've tried using it to remove make up when I haven't cleansed beforehand and if massaged into the skin I found that it does remove all traces of foundation and concealer, so this mask is an all-rounder really.

Because the mask is fresh it does have a shelf life, they normally keep well in the fridge for just under a month but if you use home remedies/home-made masks like myself then you may have to make sure you don't leave it in the fridge for months and waste it.
Also because the mask is very thick it may be a little messy when applying and removing from the face so may be slightly problematic for those who don't use products like this.
Otherwise I would recommend the mask, it's hydrating and cleanses and exfoliates gently.

As I've mentioned before, Lush products are relatively expensive, for a 75g pot of Love Lettuce, it's £5.95 but again the pot will last for a while as most don't use masks daily. If you prefer to use a ready-made mask often then I wouldn't recommend it as it may break your bank balance, maybe this one is best as a treat for you?
Overall, I would give this product 4.7/5 .

Oh, and again a little thank you to Przemek for this pot of Love Lettuce, Thanks Przemek!

Thanks for reading my review, I hoped it helped you in some shape or form.

Bisous

Beckie Adlington.

P.S If you would like to read more about Love Lettuce then here's the link: * Click me*

Life at the moment...

Bonjour encore! Sorry that it's been a while...

I know that I promised a 'Love Lettuce' face mask review for you which I haven't finished as of yet, but now that I've got a few days to put my feet up, you'll expect to find a few new posts soon. 

Here's a few photos depicting my life at the moment: 

1. I've discovered a new love for Twinings hot chocolate...especially when made with hot milk, cream and mini marshmallows in my new Tigger mug.

2. Happy belated Halloween everyone! I had a lot of fun carving my cute little pumpkin. Thinking of Halloween, happy belated Bonfire night too! I spent Bonfire night at my auntie's eating all of her delicious butternut squash soup and toffee apples...

3. Even on the freezing cold days I'm still taking Ozzy for walks, he loves going out... apart from when the wind is blowing towards him and when I don't walk him on the concrete.

4. I finally bought the cat cushion that I've been staring at for weeks... as well as two other cushions for my collection. 

5. Ozzy finally got a haircut! Hurrah! He looks a little skinny and strange but his fur is growing back rather quickly...

6. We also bought Oz a new Frisbee, which he can't carry because it's huge, so he decides to run around with it hung around his body.

 Anyways, I'll leave you with a lovely cover of Mcfly's 'Love is Easy' by Barnaby from Dive Bella Dive.

Thanks for reading.
Bisous
Beckie Adlington (and Ozzy)



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Twenty minute reviews- Angels on Bare Skin.

Today, I'm reviewing Lush's 'Angels on Bare Skin' facial cleanser.
I've been a big fan of Lush products for a good number of years, so now and then I wander in to buy my favourite products or try new ones.

I walked into Leeds' Lush store for a walk around and the lady who was showing me new products introduced me to this cleanser when I asked for facial scrubs...

So, first the ingredients. Obviously Lush takes pride in it's products, using natural ingredients and usually producing vegan or at least vegetarian cosmetics.
The ingredients in this cleanser are:
Ground Almonds, Glycerine, Kaolin, Water, Lavender Oil, Rose Absolute, Chamomile Blue Oil, Tagetes Oil, Benzoin Resinoid, Lavender Flowers, Limonene and Linalool.

Let's go through the ingredients...
To begin with, ground almonds are good for removing dead skin cells and dirt so will work in a similar way to rice or sugar in your typical supermarket facial scrubs but are much more gentle to the skin.
Glycerine adds moisture to the skin and kaolin draws out impurities and toxins. Lavender is very beneficial for the skin by being able to treat a range of skin problems, in particular Eczema when used with chamomile, although sometimes it should be taken with a pinch of salt as with some skin types it can cause allergic reactions. Rose absolute is used for it's anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, as well as it's lovely fragrance.
Tagetes oil works as a sedative, an insecticide, an antiseptic and disinfectant (as does chamomile blue oil) . It helps to rid the skin of bacteria and parasites and calms skin problems such as dermatitis. However, tagetes oil can sometimes cause irritation in some cases so must again be taken with a pinch of salt.
Benzoin Resinoid is yet another ingredient which is used to calm the skin and can be used as a preservative.
Finally, both limonene and linalool occur naturally in many essential oils and have moisturising properties.


So, ingredients aside...how do you use it?

Inside the pot the cleanser looks like this (see photo). It's slightly sticky and almost a clay/dough consistency. Following the directions, you pinch a small amount of clay which is about the size of your thumbnail and add small amounts of water until it is a thick paste or runny consistency (depending on your preference). It is then applied to the face.

So...does it actually work?

According to the pot the cleanser 'evens out skin tone, reduces redness and improves the health and appearance of your skin, giving a natural healthy glow'.
I agree with this entirely. I have combination skin and find it difficult to find a cleanser that isn't too drying nor moisturising but this one is perfect. My skin looks less irritated and feels very soft and fresh.
I chose this product as it was the most popular and I loved the smell. Packed full of lavender, it was perfect for me.
Obviously it would be good for people with oily skin too but I don't think I would recommend it to people with dry skin as it does moisturise to a certain extent  but works to rid the skin of oil too.

Of course with Lush products, the cosmetics are quite expensive, Angels on Bare Skin is £6.25 for 100g but really the pot will last a long period of time as you don't need much of the product to cleanse on a daily basis.
Overall, I was very pleased with the cleanser and will rate it a 4.9/5.

Oh, and just a little thank you to Wiola who made this pot of Angels on Bare Skin, thanks Wiola!

Thanks for reading this review, I hope it helped you in some way.

Bisous

Beckie Adlington

P.s if you'd like to read more about Angels on Bare skin, here's a link to it on Lush's website: *Click me*

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Désolé...

Drunk?

Bonjour encore!
Evidémment, je n'ai pas écrit récement...pour un mois je pense...

Ouais, je ne devrais pas dire en français maintenant...ce n'est pas utile pour les gens qui ne parlent pas français...J'imagine que je pourrais dire le même chose pour les gens qui ne parlent pas en anglais...

Encore...désolé...je ne crois pas ma grammaire est correct mais ce n'est pas la fin de la monde ou est-ce que?

...I'm sorry I've not been blogging lately (if you care).
I've of course been really busy working and studying...and seeing friends and other such things....

Ohai

Looking drunk and happy with Sammy.

Well, there's not much to tell you really... I guess first of all I've been to Leeds to see Dive Bella Dive.
Few photo's from the night... (from friends' cameras...I forgot mine).














Anyway, in other news...

Yesterday I went to YO! Sushi with friends...


I also ended up buying loads of food from the Chinese supermarket so I can make yummy meals, hurrah!

Something I live on at the moment is Omurice（オムライス）(which I need to stray away from) 。
Basically it's chicken rice inside an omelette with ketchup/tomato sauce...it's really good. Takes a while to cook I suppose (but that's probably because I take more time using a rice cooker).
I might show you how I make my Omurice in another post later on...

I also took a trip to Lush in Leeds and came out with a few new products, reviews are to come guys...





To end this lovely post I'll leave you some photos of my pooch Ozzy...

Little Scruff ¬_¬

It's taken about a week but he's finally walking on the lead and we go for really long walks now...bless him.

Merci beaucoup encore mes amis (Thanks for reading).

Bisous

Beckie & Ozzy

xxxxxxx

Autumn.

Well hello mes amis! 
I've been tagged by lovely Rachel to answer some questions about autumn, so here you go, enjoy...

1. It's finally autumn, what are you most looking forward to this season?
Probably the cold weather. I bet you're thinking 'WHAT? WHY?' Well, I don't like the hot weather in the summer (if we get any summertime), I much prefer the cold and getting snuggled under my covers at night. Plus, when autumn-time begins, that means it's closer to winter and therefore Christmas (my favourite time of year).

2. Which autumn item in your closet are you most looking forward to pulling out?
Probably my jumpers that my granddad donated to me last winter, they're really fluffy and warm and best for the very very cold months, I also really like to pull out my boot cuffs and Russian style hat (basically anything fluffy and really warm does the trick).


3. Since Halloween is the first holiday to celebrate, we all get treated with a horror movie marathon all month long. What is your favourite scary movie to watch?
I'm a real horror movie lover and I have quite a large collection. The first scary movie I saw was Nightmare on Elm Street directed by Wes Craven. I bought the box set and was completely hooked, I also have a little obsession with the Saw movies (again I have them all). Others I really like are 'The Hills Have Eyes', 'Child's Play', 'The Grudge' (Japanese version) and 'Orphan'.



4. What is your favourite autumn treat?
Well, I love caramel Macchiatos from Starbucks (like Rachel) and also the white chocolate mochas but I mostly look forward to gingerbread lattes at Christmas.

5. Now that summer is finally over, what will you miss about it?
Probably like Rachel said, daylight hours. It's hard to juggle full time work with a puppy, I've got a lack of hours with him through the week as it is, and the days closing in means I get less time to play with him *sad face*.

6. Which make-up/beauty products do you love for autumn?
I'm not really into tonnes of make-up, just the essentials. I love nail polish but obviously I can't wear it through the week when I'm working but non-the-less I'd go for a nice orange/red colour and paint my nails variations of autumn.

7. What have you recently bought in preparation for the autumn season?
Nothing in particular, as sad as it is, I've bought lots of socks and slippers because my feet get really cold when it starts getting into autumn.

8. Have you ever been trick or treating?
Yes, I used to go practically every year, normally as a witch or more recently a scary doll (I covered myself in lace and fake blood and wore a patterned pink dress). I normally go to my aunt and uncle's for Halloween and meet up with family so it's always good.

9. Name the first five things that come to mind when you think of autumn...
Trees (obviously), Bobble hats, hot water bottles, lay-ins and candles....

10. What is your favourite season and why?
Probably winter because I like cold weather, in particular snow and because in winter we have the best holiday, Christmas! I really love Christmas...

So there you go, hope you enjoyed reading this post, I'm going to tag Jess but anyone that would like to do this tag is welcome to. Hopefully I'll be blogging again soon, probably including a lot of photos of Ozzy...

I'll leave you with a music video...this one was uploaded recently and I'm hooked.
Dive Bella Dive- School

Bisous 

Beckie Jayne Adlington.

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Why hello there.

Hey there, I'm sorry I've not been posting recently...

I've been really busy working lately. Working as a dental nurse is possibly the strangest thing I've ever  experienced...

I've seen a lot of bad teeth but I've met some really interesting people and I'm starting to recognise patients (as odd as that is).

...I've learnt a lot in five weeks of working at the practice and I'll be working with my mother and a new trainee starting Monday.

So yes, just a little update on life really, working, baking cupcakes and playing with this little rascal...

Say hello to Ozzy, he's a Maltipoo (A Maltese cross Apricot poodle). He's almost twelve weeks now and he's a naughty little munch-kin but I love him loads. It's taken three years to persuade my nan and I finally found my little bundle of fluff to give cuddles to and take for walks.

Thanks for reading mes amis!

À bientôt!

Beckie Adlington (and Ozzy).

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Geek Feast.

Look, it's K-9 !

Salut encore!

Comment allez-vous?

I thought I would update you on my life (that's if you're interested).
I've spent six days working nine till five (cue Dolly Parton) as a trainee dental nurse as you've probably read in my previous posts.
I'll probably post something tomorrow explaining my day-to-day happenings, but for now lets just say that there's lots to tell so expect a long ramble tomorrow.

Last Saturday I met up with my friends Jade and Samantha (Samantha, who moved south a year ago and I've not seen since) for what I called a 'Geek Feast'.
Basically, in xscape there was lots of people dressed as superheroes and Doctor Who monsters and lots of American cars and movie props; so we walked around through the mass of people.
Here's a few photos...

I hope you liked this post, it was pretty 'geeky' but welcome to my world...
...So yes, thanks again for reading and I'll update soon (when I have a spare five minutes).

Merci beaucoup!

Bisous

Beckie Adlington

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Just a quick hello...

Well hello, it's been a while since I last did one of these 'strange rambling type' posts so I thought I'd have a little talk about things that are happening at the moment...

Earlier this week I sat in the cinema with about fifty, eight year old kids watching Brave with my friend Jade.
I recommend you all go to see the movie, it's one of my new favourites...I mean come on, Merida has ginger long curly hair and her brothers turn into adorable bears, what's not to like?

In other news, after begging my nan for a puppy for over three years, she's finally agreed so I should be going to find my little furry friend sometime soon, watch this space!


Anything else to mention?
Ah yes...

These charts are confusing...
I went to do some paperwork for my new job today and ended up being given these dental charts to practice on as homework.
It looks a lot more complicated than it actually is after studying the parts of the mouth for the last few hours.
But, I finish working at TGI's on Sunday and start as a trainee dental nurse on Tuesday so that'll be pretty fun.

Anyway I'll leave you with a dance cover by 'Danceroid' dancing to one of my favourite songs.

Much love.

Bisous.

Becki Jayne Adlington

x x x x 

Lucky stars tutorial.

Bonjour mes amis, ça va?
Or in english, Hello my friends how are you?
I've finally gotten round to doing something which I've wanted to do for a while.
A lucky star tutorial!

In case you've not realised I like crafts, particularly origami.
So for this, all you'll need is some strips of paper, which can either be made yourself or found in some craft shops (don't hold me to that) or where I bought mine, a Chinese/Japanese gift shop.
If you want to make your own then I think cutting them of a width between 1cm-2cm and around 30cm in length.

So, let's start.

First, get yourself a strip of paper and put it down with the white side facing up.
Hold one end of the paper while you loop the other end round and through the loop to make a knot.

Pull both ends of paper so there is only a small part of paper sticking out of the knot on the left, squash the knot down so it's flat. Then flip the knot over and tuck the bit of paper into the knot shape.
If you turn the paper over it should look like a pentagon with a long strip of paper coming out of the bottom (see photo). Take the end of the paper and fold it over to the left of the pentagon.

After folding the paper to the left, turn the pentagon over and then fold to the right (which should feel automatic because of the angle of the paper). Continue this until there is a small amount of paper left to be folded (see photo).

Turn the pentagon shape over and tuck the extra bit of paper into the shape (see photo).
Then pinch each side of the pentagon and your lucky star is finished.
Make lots of these little cuties and pop em' in a jar or use them to make presents look fancy.
I hope my tutorial was helpful and thanks for reading. More tutorials to come.

Merci beaucoup, bisous

Beckie

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