My Week #7

I don't really feel like there's much to report from this week if I'm honest.  I guess the most exciting thing would be that I managed a trip out the house on Tuesday to go shopping (again!). Tuesday seems to be my day for going out of the house! 

The mothership called... 

Then the rest of the week was mostly spent doing this... 

(Making loom bands - it's really addicting!)

And this.... 

Friday was exciting though because we had a technology-free day, played board games, had a water fight, made loom bands and just generally hung out as a family. 

M.E-wise I've not been too bad this week. The pain has been okay but my throat has been very sore and I've had lots of ulcers which really grosses me out - I'm really worried about accidentally popping them whilst eating! Gross! I've really been struggling to sleep this week (the hot weather hasn't helped) and haven't managed to nod off before 2am most nights so have been super tired in a tired-sleepy way, not just a totally-exhausted way. 

Next week I'm hoping to leave the house a couple of times, so we'll see how that goes. 

How was your week?

Chloe xx 

Body Shop, Yankee Candle and Next Haul

Last week, me, my nan and mum ventured out to the shops for a few hours. This is not something I do all the time so when it does happen, it is very exciting and I thought if share with you what I got!

The first place we stopped off at was The Body Shop... 

I picked up the Papaya shower gel and matching body butter. I really love the smell of these and I've never tried this scent before. 

Next up, I bought the Raspberry shower gel which is one of my all time favourite scents! I got the body butter for my birthday and have been using it at the moment. I honestly can't get enough of the scent - it's amazing and smells exactly like fresh raspberries! However, the other day, I did make the mistake of reaching over to my bedside cabnet to sniff the body butter whilst laying down and dropped the whole tub on my face - ouch! 

I've heard a lot about the Silky Camomile Cleansing Oil for a while and decided to give it a go as all the reviews have been positive with a lot of bloggers singing it's praises. This is the only product I've tried so far and although I only used it once, it is ah-may-zing! Seriously! I might even love it more than the Botantics Cleansing Balm. One pump covered my whole face and took all my waterproof mascara off - I'm really impressed! 

Last but not least from the Body Shop, the Vitamin E Serum. I have heard good things about this one too so decided to give it a go after realising that my current oil contains mineral oil :(

I was also debating whether to pick up the toning spray/mist too so let me know if you have tried it and if it is any good. 

Now on to Yankee Candle ...

(L-R, Beach Wood, Fresh Cut Roses, Fireside Treats, Macintosh, Home Sweet Home) 

Beach Wood is probably the post subtle of all the scents I picked up. I'm honestly not very good at describing scents so I looked on the Yankee candle website and they describe it as "a modern blend of vetiver, salt air and driftwood". I think most people would like this one as it's not too strong or offensive! 

Fresh Cut Roses fills my 'floral' catergory. I tried to pick up some different scents as I didn't want too many similar ones. It literally just smells like straight-up roses - that's all I can really say! 

I heard about Fireside Treats from Anna Saccone so made a mental note to give it a good 'ole sniff if I saw it in store. Turns out I really like the scent, it's sweet but not too sickly or vanilla-y and I don't think it will be too over-whelming whilst it's being burnt. 

Macintosh literally just smells like apples. It smells of straight-up fresh apples and is quite fresh. I think I'm going to save it for the Autumn time.. Mmm! 

Home Sweet Home is a warm, homely scent (as the name would suggest!). This again, will be great for Autumn or Winter. The website describes it as being "a heartwarming blend of cinnamon, baking spices, and a hint of freshly poured tea"

(L-R, Coastal Waters x2, Fruit Fusion, Bahama Breeze, Blissful Autumn) 

I picked up some smaller candles too. I picked up two Costal Waters candles because I've had this scent before and really loved it. To me, it smells like a sexy male model (not that I imagine what they smell like... Well, not too often at least!). I'm super sad they are only avaliable in the smaller size otherwise I would have gotten a bigger one! 

Fruit Fusion looked like it would be good for summer and I think the main scent is orange but it smells a bit lime-y too and kinda like fruit punch. 

Bahama Breeze is another summer-y one and according to Yankee Candle, smells of "a tropical blend of pineapple, grapefruit and mango."

Blissful Autumn is another repurchase and I think it is now discontinued - boo! It smells spicy but not in a heavy way and maybe has a hint of apple/pear in it too?

And finally, I picked up these sandals from the Next outlet store. They were £16 and I have honestly been looking for some sandals for AGES. 

I really like these ones and I think they will be a good staple piece and will go with a lot of outfits. 

So there we have it, quite a big haul. I hope you enjoyed seeing what I bought and if you have any recommendations of any candles or Body Shop products you think I will like, leave them in the comments below. Thanks so much for reading! 

Chloe xx 

Resting

I think a lot of people struggle to understand what exactly counts as resting when you have M.E. When 'healthy' people get sick with a cold or virus, they may stay in bed and read, watch TV, listen to music etc but when you have M.E, 'resting' means complete rest. 

For an M.E patient to rest, we have to rest our minds and our bodies. Every part of us has to be in a state of rest. This means that we can't listen to music when resting, talk to people, watch television or even be in the same room as someone else. 

If we were watching television, our minds and senses would still be working and in overload. There would be bright lights, sounds, people talking and our brains would have to work to follow the programme, work out what was going on and keep up with the constantly changing picture. This is not resting. 

Resting is laying on/in a bed, with your eyes closed, with little or no sound and being in a relaxed state where both your body and mind are completely resting. 

I hope this helps some of you that we're not too sure on how an M.E sufferer rests and why we can't do something and rest at the same time. 

Chloe xx 

Butter London - Teddy Girl

I have a guinea pig called Teddy so I think that is part of the reason I picked up this polish. Names play a huge part in nail polish buying for me! 

Teddy Girl is a baby pink milky cream polish (more pink than Essie Fiji) and it kinda reminds me of a strawberry milkshake! 

Pastel formulas are really hard to get right and I think Butter London have done pretty well on this one. The application wasn't the best and did require a bit more concentration than some polishes. The Butter London brushes are quite small and thin unlike a wide Essie brush and as you can see in the second picture, even after 3 coats, the polish was still a bit patchy especailly around the top of the nail which is a bit disappointing considering BL is sold for around £10 a bottle. 

The wear time of Butter London polishes is amazing and you really can't fault it. They don't chip at all and would probably last a good week and a half on most people. 

So, what do you think? Is Butter London worth the hefty price tag? 

My week #6

After suffering from payback on Monday, i was still determined to go out on Tuesday (sometimes you have to do something even if you know you're body will hate you for it). Me, my mum and nan went shopping and I had the best day! 

I bought quite a few bits (I'll do a haul post soon!) and I got my eyebrows threaded for the first time which was super exciting (I was kinda scared too)! I expected it to really hurt but it didn't hurt at all, don't get me wrong, I could feel it being done but it wasn't painful. 

The finished result ... They are a lot tidier! 

My hips hurt quite a lot from walking which was a bit strange and it's usually my legs and knees that suffer more but that evening, I had a bath with my Aromatheropy Associates Relax Light bath oil (which was a gift for my birthday).  I had been umm-ing and ahh-ing over buying the AA trial set which comes with mini bottles of all 9 of their oils for a while and finally decided to give them a go. I thought I'd start with Relax Light rather than Relax Deep and it really helped me to get to sleep. I mention quite a lot that the more I do, the harder I find it to sleep. I always seem to take a good 4/5 hours to get to sleep after a busy day but this time I only took about 15/20 minutes which is amazing and I slept for 12 hours too! 

My cousin made me a loom bracelet which made my day! 

The rest of the week was spent resting and recovering from going out on Tuesday. It was pretty hot which I like because the heat helps burn up some of my pain but it also makes me a lot more tired and I find it more difficult to rest because I get too hot in bed. We seemed to have about 2 million thunderstorms though which made it difficult to sleep. 

Still awake at this ridiculous hour! 

Since I have been ill, I feel like my eyes are so much more sensitive than they used to be. After the lightening, I kept seeing flashes for at least 48 hours afterwards. I promise I'm not paranoid, my eyes just seem to hold onto light for longer! 

Cuddles with Teddy Brown at the end of the week..

So that was my week, how was yours? 

Chloe xx

Essie Status Symbol

This polish was a birthday gift from my ah-may-zing friend Charlotte - she knows how much I love Essie! 

Status Symbol is basically just the perfect pink. It is definitely not a blue toned pink and is warm without being orange or coral-y and is bright without being a neon. 

The first coat went on quite sheer but after the second coat it was completely opaque and being an Essie polish, the wide brush made it a dream to apply. Status Symbol is also one of the glossiest Essie polishes I have. I have found that some of Essie's more pastel colours are less glossy than the darker or brighter shades. I've had it on my toes for two weeks without a top coat and it's still super shiny. I often find that some polishes are only glossy for 24 hours or they lose their shine after a shower or bath but this one doesn't and it has lasted really well. 

My week #5

I was freezing cold for the whole beginning of the week. My body really doesn't seem to be able to control or regulate my temperature at the moment. On Tuesday my fingers went blue/purple. 

My mum dropped me off at college to hand in an assignment, then we popped into Starbucks so I could get one of these bad boys ....

.... A mocha cookie crumble frappachino!  Yum!

We then went for a drive, mum popped to Argos whilst I sat in the car and then we went to matalan. I'm actually really impressed that I managed all this because it sounds like a lot, even though it only took a couple of hours and I was sat in the car for most of it. I felt so rough when I woke up that morning and I had a few moments, especailly in college and Starbucks when I just had to focus on the most random things and pray my legs wouldnt give way. I honestly felt amazingly ill. It's crazy how just waking up can make you feel so bad! 

Essie - Status Symbol 

On Friday it was my sisters birthday... Here's a picture of her cake... 

Me and my mum had a girls night in and watched About Time - love that film!! And I had the best Caeser Salad of all time..! Then this happened... Oops...! 

#sorrynotsorry 

On Saturday, I made my mum a birthday cake... (Is it me or is this weeks post basically just food?! I've kinda fallen off the healthy eating wagon!) 

Then on Sunday, it was my mums birthday and we went out for a pub lunch. 

 My mummy!!

How was your week?

Chloe xx 

I think I've found a dupe...?!

I think I've found a dupe...?!

Everyone raves about Models Own Utopia but I hate the formula. It's thick, it doesn't apply well at all, it's gloopy and it just doesn't look very nice or smooth on the nails. 

But Barry M Almond (from their new Gelly Hi Shine Summer 2014 additions) is a lovely formula and is pretty much the same colour. 

P.S I think both these nail polishes are dupes of Nails Inc. Porchester Square too!  

Birthday Make Up

As promised, here's a peek at what make up I wore for my birthday. It's pretty natural and simple and something that I would wear on an "everyday" basis. I hope you enjoy this post as I've never really done anything like this before! 

Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in the shades 100 and 103 mixed together. Soap and Glory KickAss concealer. Sleek Cappuccino eyeshadow from the Au Natural palette in my brows. And the Natural Collection clear mascara to set my brows in place. I then curled my lashes and used Maybelline The Rocket Waterproof Mascara. Next some Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef on my cheeks. A bit of Bourjois bronzer. Revolution vivid baked highlighter in Peach lights. And finally some Rimmel Stay Matte Powder to set it all into place. (And nothing on the lips, although I did add a bit of Tanya Burr Picnic in the Park lipgloss later on) 

Essie Turquoise and Caicos

Daylight 

  Artificial light

Essie is one of my favourite nail varnish brands and although I'm slightly late to the party with this shade, I absolutely love it. I usually go for brighter turquoise-y shades and this one is a bit more muted. I love the brush on the Essie diffusion line polishes so the application was amazing if a little sheer at first. This is the perfect shade if you want something a little bright and summery but still want to look grown-up and sophiscated or don't think you can pull off a neon. 

Essie A Splash Of Grenadine

I had been umm-ing and ahh-ing whether to get this polish for about two years and let me tell you, I'm so glad I did! It looks quite dark in the picture but the colour is such a unique lilacy/pink/lavender shade. It's quite blue-toned and I wasn't sure if it was going to suit me but it's GORGEOUS! 

I used two coats in the picture above and you know how I feel about Essie brushes and their formulas. Perfection. 

My week #4

Wesnesday night was kinda strange. Do you ever get when you're boiling hot, freezing cold, shivering, shaking and sweating all at the same time? Yep, well that's what I had. What's a girl to do when you're all hot and cold at once? 

The freezing cold-ness lasted most of Thursday too even though it was about 25C. Unfortunately I didn't manage college on Thursday and it was my last day! SO annoying/frustrating/stressful/upsetting! 

On Friday, my friend Lucy (otherwise known as Bruce - don't ask!) came over. 

Saturday I did a little college work and washed m hair. I watched an episode of Gossip Girl. No,  I haven't seen them all yet, yes, I am very late to the par-tay! I'm on Season 5 episode 22. P.S who knew Bart Bass was still alive? Crazy times, crazy times! 

On Sunday, we went to a teddy bears picnic for my cousins second birthday. I was super annoyed I forgot to take any pictures as I wasn't feeling well beforehand and wasn't sure if I felt well enough to go, I forgot to take my phone. I did take a picture of my make up before hand...

And here's the teddy I took... Well she's technically a rabbit and her names Pansy! 

How was your week? 

Chloe xx