February Favourites

FLEUR DE FORCE EYESHADOW QUAD // As February is the month of St Valentine, I've been turning to my pretty pink Fleur De Force eyeshadow quad in 'Lunar Rose' almost every day. The formula of the shadows is amazing; buttery, pigmented and crease proof, you can create gorgeous lots of gorgeous looks that last all day. The top right shade might just be my favourite ever.

FRANK BODY SCRUB // If you haven't heard of Frank Body's natural coffee based skincare before, then it's time to get better acquainted. I've been obsessed with the Original Body Scrub and whole brand in general this month- it's slowly but surely saving my grumpy skin and leaving everything silky smooth in the process. Frank's Insta is also pure genius.    

BAREMINERALS COMPLEXION RESCUE // In the bid to get my troublesome skin back on track, I've been turning to a lighter every day base that I can easily take off/reapply when I'm gyming- bareMinerals Complexion Rescue completely fits the bill, with light gel texture that blends beautifully when applied with the fingers, it evens skintone, hydrates and when combined with concealer, gives a nice level of coverage too. 

BENEFIT GIMME BROW // I just missed my monthly brow appointment for the first time in about a year and I'm thanking my lucky stars that Benefit invented Gimme Brow so no one will be able to tell! This fibre gel shapes, smooths and fills the brows in a matter of seconds, making it the perfect apply-on-the-tube product that somehow always manages to look totally natural. #HolyGrailStatus 

UNITE 7SECONDS DETANGLER // I've tried a serious amount of post wash, pre blowdry products and have never found one that does everything I need. Until now that is, because UNITE's leave in spray detangles, heat protects, and conditions with proteins, all in -you guessed it- 7 seconds. I've noticed a serious reduction the amount of hair breakage and fall when brushing after using this and in general my hair is feeling the best it has in a long time!

What are your February Favourites? 

The #LoveList // Food & Fitness Gurus

Beauty was my first love and it shall be my last (obvs), but moving through the twenties I'm finding more room in my heart for these two things called healthy food and fitness. If you told that to the girl who ate snickers sandwiches for lunch and thought shopping was exercise enough (spoiler alert, that girl was me), she would have laughed, but here I am actually ENJOYING going to different gym classes at least 3-4 times a week and getting as excited about superfoods as smoky eyes. Although age-and working next to a gym- has played a part in this change, it's not a journey I could make on my own. So for my first post of February (there will now be a new post each Sunday, promise!), I'm sharing major love for the top 5 ladies in my healthy lifestyle #LoveList, who constantly inspire me to move, mash and be more mindful...

FYI: I learnt almost everything I know about nutrition from Deliciously Ella (and very much enjoy wearing her avocado related sweaters), but as I'm sure you all know and love her already I wanted to give some other ladies the limelight!

1. THE YOGI // Madeleine Shaw

Madeleine is the ultimate all-round guru on fitness, fresh food and fabulous skin. Her mission? Reveal the 'hottest, happiest, healthiest you'... I absorb everything this goddess tells me and keep her book 'Get The Glow' close by at all times in order to steal as much of her 'zen' as possible ('Ready, Steady, Glow' is, of course, on preorder).

2. THE YOUTUBER // Naomi Smart

She needs no introduction, but if you're just getting into clean eating and working out then you must introduce yourself to Naomi's plant based 'What I Eat In A Day' videos and her new healthy snack box business, Sourced Box. She'll give you a crazy amount of meal inspiration and sort those sugar crave moments between meals in minutes.

4. THE VEGAN // Aine Carlin 

I try to generally eat clean, rather than eat vegan, but Aine's brilliant book 'Keep It Vegan' is accessible to even the biggest meat and dairy eater- with recipes like snickerdoodle bowls/breakfast brownie and reassurance that it's okay to use the odd pre made sauce when you need food fast, this lovely lady has my heart. And stomach.

4. THE BRAND // Frank Body 

A brand?! I know, I know, but if you don't adore coffee based skincare brand Frank Body already then go and get acquainted immediately. The products are amaze, but it's their hilarious insta & blog posts entitled 'How to Work Out In Bed...' which makes this the most feel good brand around, always giving me a kick up the old bum to look after myself inside and out. 

5. THE BLOGGER // Vivianna Does Makeup

Anna will always be my number one makeup maven, but recently she's been getting right into her healthy cookery videos and 'fitness files' too and I am lapping it up. We're both on a journey from coco pops to cacao nibs and sofa sitting to spinning, so I feel she's the perfect partner to take on my current lifestyle trip and I'm sure she'd love to keep you company too.  

Which fabulous folk would make your food & fitness #LoveList?

3 Mane Changing Hair Hacks

Happy Monday/February! Today I wanted to do a little throwback to the 'beauty hack' posts you guys always seem to love- good timing as I've just discovered 3 hair hacks I'm not sure how I've gone for 24 predominantly beauty obsessed years without knowing...

1. CONDITION AFTER APPLYING TREATMENTS // OMG, who knew?! Having dry, heat styled and coloured hair, I've always reached for the most intense mask formulas possible to sort out my mane after shampooing, but never knew you still needed to apply a normal conditioner afterwards! These deep treatments really open the hair follicles in order to penetrate them as much as possible- so it's important to use a regular conditioner afterwards to seal them again, leaving you with much smoother, softer, less porous hair once styled. I did this for the first time a few weeks ago and couldn't believe how much sleeker and more manageable my barnet became.

2. ALWAYS COMB CONDITIONER THROUGH YOUR HAIR // This may seem like a mightily simple/obvious hack and yet I'm pretty sure it's one product bottles (& Meg's former hairdressers) never instruct you to do. I've previously only worked the aforementioned conditioner through my hair with fingers, waiting until I'm out of the shower and ready to get blow drying before brushing with a tangle teaser. However, if you brush your hair in the shower whilst it's wet with conditioner still in, not only does the product evenly reach every hair on your head, but the conditioner acts as a lubricant (oo la la), which massively reduces breakage and tangling.

3. PROTEIN IS YOUR HAIR'S BEST FRIEND // No, I'm not suggesting you start smothering your hair with egg yolk & chicken each morning (hair omelette anyone?), but pick any hair product packed with proteins and you're well on your way to repairing the blow dries, 90's poker straight curtains and retro curls we've all exposed our hair to. They might not make your hair feel quite as silky, but high end protein based products will make a real difference to breakage, split ends and growth- they won't be filled with silicones or hidden nasties either! Two new favourite ranges in my routine are: Organic Power Build & TIGI Oatmeal & Honey.

Do you abide by any hair hacks?