My Little Box – Summer Vibes

Time for another My Little Box review – this time the most recent one! The months box focused on ‘Summer Vibes’ something which was clear throughout all of the box, so straight onto what was inside:

This months art postcard was infact a summer checklist, most of which I’m quite happy to say I already have, so am pretty much summer ready – now just need the weather!

Along with the three usual cosmetic based products this month came with three extra products! Firstly there was a packet of iced tea mix from Kusmi Tea, this is actually a tea back which can be used to make iced tea, the full recipe is found within the My Little World magazine – and is something I’m highly looking forward to try out, being a big iced tea fan! I’ve also received Kusmi Tea products in My Little Box before and they really are very tasty!

Secondly a t-shirt/tank top branded ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Sun’ from My Little Beauty (RRP £15) was included. This looks like more of an oversized crop top, but feels lovely and soft, something I will definitely be wearing on holiday.

Thirdly there was a Swimsuit Pouch also by My Little Box (RRP £6), this does amuse me slightly as it is rather small, although will be great for carrying suncream, lip balm etc down to the beach or pool!

The three cosmetic based products were as follows:

1. Glitter Glue Deluxe, Too Faced, RRP £10 – In essence this is a eye shadow primer which is supposed to add a glittery shine to any eye shadow. Its something I haven’t tested just yet but from experience Too Faced is a great brand, and I’m sure it will do what it says on the box.
2.   Ciate Paint Pot Mini in shade ‘the gossip’, £6, – I’m not the biggest fan of Ciate, most of my nail varnish collection is made up from Barry M, this is mainly due to cost! This little nail varnish does certainly look cute and is a lovely bright summery colour It also has one of the new wider flat brushes so will be easy to apply, it is rather tiny though at only 5ml!
3. Sea Salt Spray, My Little Beauty, RRP £7 – A standard sea salt spray to give hair that natural wavy look, this one also stating that it can help protect from UV rays. One thing I do have to mention about this is how amazing it smells, very fresh and clean!

And another box done! I have had a few friends asking about My Little Box recently and I really would recommend them to anyone!

Keep your eyes open for next months box! Cx!

My Little Box – Dolce Vita

Its been quite a while since my last review of a My Little Box, but I am still receiving them and loving every single one! April’s box was all themed around Rome and Italy, bursting with colourful and fun items! So straight onto the review:

As per usual the box came with an art post card with the quote ‘Everything sounds better in Italian’. The My Little World magazine also kept to the Italian theme a fair amount centred on cooking with an interview with Eleonra Galasso about her cooking, along with a few recipes.

Along with the three usual cosmetic based products this month included two gifts, the first being a lovely leaf style ring from My Little Beauty (RRP £12). Its actually very nice, and fits (amazingly, but can be easily adjusted). Then secondly a turban/headband/headwrap also from My Little Beauty (RRP £11), although I love its bright and cheery colours I’m not sure its quite its my style or will suit me, but we will see!!

The three cosmetic based products were as followed (and are pictured in order above)

1. Croisere Celadon Body Oil, Baija, 30ml – 16,90€ Per 50ml.  – I’m quite keen on packaging, always have been and believe that it really does say something about the quality of a product and for some reason the packing for this body oil really caught my eye, its brightly coloured but stylish, which gives high hopes for the product itself.The product itself comes in a little glass bottle, with a dripper style top. On the label it is described as ‘a semi-dry oil with a light, delicately scented texture. The scent has to be one of the first things I noticed, as per to the bottle you can definitely tell its green tea jasmine, being able to pick up both in a single sniff. This oil can be used in a few different ways, being applied directly to the skin or in bath water. Straight onto the skin it soaks in leaving your skin feeling soft but not greasy (thankfully!!) it also really does smell nice – keep smelling my hand where I’ve applied it while writing this!
2. La Fille De L’Air, Courreges, 8.5ml, €69 per 50ml – In the summer I’m always looking for different perfumes, and was very happy to receive this little spray, its also the perfect size for a handbag, or even something smaller. At first the perfume is slightly overpowering, and as with many perfumes takes a couple of minutes to properly settle. I would mostly describe it as a floral scent with a few soapy hints, which is growing on me more and more, its subtle in some ways but its obvious that its a perfume. I think its something which I’ll need to wear a few times and get a few more opinions on, although so far most people like it too.
3. Summer Sunbathing Illuminating Moisturiser for Legs, My Little Beauty, £8 – A self-tanning moisturiser, a perfect product for starting off the tan! Although I haven’t properly started using it, which does have something to do with a slightly scent of aniseed which fades into a very sweet smell, a little too sweet for me – although I have been a bit scented out with these products! Its lovely to apply, a tad runny, but leaves the skin feeling lovely and smooth!

And thats it, another box done! Again I have enjoyed this box and its now been well over a year since I first signed up to My Little Box, but loving it every month!!

I am also going to try my best efforts to start doing these reviews more regularly so keep your eyes open!! Cx!

My Little Magic Box

This months My Little Box took on a magic theme, and with a certain app the figures on the box and post card do actually move and dance! A clever little trick! The box certainly got me more into a cosy christmasy mood too!

Contents:

My Little ‘Creative’ Box – October

When I found out that Octobers My Little Box was themed on ‘Creativity’ I had high expectations about receiving a box full of creative ideas and a couple of DIY bits…but this is what actually came:

As usual the box came with the art post card, magazine, three cosmetic products and two other gifts.

New Years Blog Resolutions!

Happy New Year, welcome to 2015!!!

With the beginning of a new year comes New Years Resolutions and one of mine is to try to concentrate more on my blog, starting by setting up a proper posting routine!

This will hopefully consist of a weekly nail tutorial and Tea Time blog posts along with my monthly My Little Box reviews and a few others inbetween – I’m hoping to make it all more regular and easier to follow, although it will probably take me a few weeks to get into the flow of it!

Keep your eyes open as usual, hope you’ve had a good Christmas and New Year! – Speak to you soon! X

Advent Day 22 – Getting Busy…

On Saturday I returned back to my family home for Christmas which is partially the reason why I’ll fallen behind by a number of days with my advent blog however, I will be catching back up with the missed days to make sure that I really do complete a blog post for everyday!

Being home is great and starting to make me feel a lot more Christmassy, with tons of decorations around! Its also getting rather busy helping to finish off the last few bits of Christmas shopping and preparing for having friends over while being graciously woken up every morning by a 8 month old cocker-spaniel jumping on me, something I don’t completely appreciate!

Today I am off out again with my mum to the shops to pick up a few more bits and try to work out what we are going to have for Christmas dinner before heading out to a carol concert in my local town this evening!

Another short and sweet post, keep your eyes open for the missed days posts going up! Speak to you very soon! X

Advent Day 21 – Christmas Wreaths Inspiration

Walking and driving around town there are a lot more Christmas wreaths appearing in many different shapes and sizes as well as a few more interesting an unique ideas! Below I’ve done a little wreath inspiration board of some of my favorite!

The centre wreath in the above collection made from brussels sprouts and chilies was actually made by my mum and is currently hanging on our front door at home! (she caught the postman taking a cheeky photo a few days ago)

Speak to you soon! x

Advent Day 17 – Christmas Lights Nail Tutorial

A few posts ago I made a Christmas nail inspiration board and I have decided to try to recreate a few of the different nails arts – firstly the Christmas Lights. Although it looks like it could be slightly difficult this nail design is really easy and takes no time at all!!

First I simply used a top coat on my nails, just for the usual protection, I didn’t decide to use a base colour over this, just went with the natural colour of my nails.

I then used my black nail pen (you can easily use a cocktail stick for this) to draw on the main length of the lights – a thin black line, with a few twists and turns to make it more dynamic and unique.

To create the lights themselves I simply dotted the edges of the different coloured varnished onto my nails near the black lines – if possible its best to try to elongate the dots out to make them look a more like little lightbulbs.

Then its is really, you can use any colours you wish, add some nail gems for a bit more sparkle, really up to your personal taste!

Enjoy – Speak to you soon! x

Advent Day 15 – Christmas Cocktails

Around Christmas there’s always an abundance of parties, which generally involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages, but are you bored of the same old drink? I’ve been doing a bit of hunting around on the internet and found some quite interesting looking cocktails and mocktails!

 The Classic – Mulled Wine:

• 100g/4oz light muscovado sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 150ml water
• 1 lemon
• 2 clementines
• 150ml Cointreau
• 750ml/ 1¼pint bottle light red wine, such as Beaujolais
• Twist of orange zest and a star anise, to serve

1. Place 100g light muscovado sugar in a pan along with 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 150ml water. Slowly bring to the boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Simmer for 2 mins, then pour into a large jug and leave to cool. Thinly slice and add 1 lemon and 2 clementines to the jug along with 150ml Cointreau and a 750ml bottle light red wine, such as a Beaujolais. Stir the mix well, then cover and chill for at least 2 hrs.
3. Serve chilled or over ice, with a twist of orange zest and a star anise. If you’d like to serve a traditional warm mulled wine, there’s no need to chill – simply warm through without boiling and serve in heatproof glasses.

Aroma Infusion – Bitter Orange & Cardamom Martinis

• 12 cardamom pods
• 6 tbsp Seville orange marmalade, plus more to serve
• 400ml vodka
• 125ml Cointreau
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• ice, to serve

1. Crush 6 cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar until they split.
2. Melt the marmalade in a pan before whisking in the vodka. Add the crushed pods. Do not boil the mix, simply warm it for a few mins. Leave to infuse off the heat for 20 mins, then strain off.
3. Add the Cointreau and lemon juice and chill (or keep in the freezer). Serve in glasses with a little more marmalade in the bottom, ice and a cardamom pod floating on top.

Advent Day 14 – Tea Time

Morning all, anyone who has been following my Advent Calender blog would have realised that I have actually missed the last couple of days! – ah – but that will all change today! I will have posts for both days finished and posted by the end of today!

Today I have actually been doing a few more bits of preparation for some of the future Advent posts – as I’m writing this with my cup of tea I’m also waiting for a few things to dry and bake (spoilers), posts which when complete I am looking forward to sharing with you – any of my close friends reading this will probably be getting a few early sneak-peaks until I publish the posts.

As it gets closer and closer to Christmas I’m certainly starting to feel a lot more Christmassy, wrapping presents certainly enhances this and is actually something I quite enjoy doing!

So now I’m going to get on with wither friday or saturdays post before dinner and then another one after – hopefully I won’t be missing any more, but had a very busy and late couple of days!

Speak to you soon! x