Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate

Whenever I look in the mirror I see a face looking back at me which is definitely now on the wrong side of 25 but also a face that has laughed, cried, smiled and so far enjoyed life and the signs are slowly starting to show. I'm not very good at hiding what I think, it often reads all over my face as well as being a very facially expressive person so the lines are starting to get deeper and more obvious.

I don't want to erase the signs of the life I've enjoyed but I want to slow down the rate at which they are appearing as well as reducing how obvious these are. Step forward, Khiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate.

I was lucky enough to get a little tube of this as part of a set for my birthday and within a week of using it I was in love. It's a lovely gel that you apply a tiny amount to the areas you need and you can feel it get a little bit warmer and there is a slight difference in the lines but not a great deal. The magic ingredient is the 10.5% Vitamin C which is supposed to help reduce the appearance of lines and help prevent new ones forming.

I've been using this for about 4 months and I apply it only to the traditional crows feet area as well as to the big furrow on my forehead that is there cause I raise my eyebrows an awful lot. A little blob on each spot twice a day and in 4 months  the lines are much less noticeable. The ones around my eyes are much less obvious and no new ones have appeared. The one on my forehead has reduced in depth and looks much smoother. 

A very pricey product at £49.00 for 50ml but you really need only the smallest amount and I'm barely half way through the bottle after 4 months.

If you're after something to slow the onslaught of wrinkles or reduce the ones you already have then this is a total worth it product!

What do you think, would you invest? Have you tried this or any other vitamin C rich products?

xx

Review - Upbeat Protein Drink

As part of my new, healthy attitude towards food I've been looking for ways to make better choices when it comes to snacking. I'm awful at picking the right thing, I will always pick crisps over fruit, or chocolate over healthy bars, or a bottle of coke over a bottle of water.

I know in my meal plan I need to up the amount of protein I consume to help fill me up for longer, but I'm not yet ready for some of the protein dense meals I see on Instagram for breakfasts so I've been adding protein powder to my smoothies, but sometimes during the day I need a bit of a top up so I've been grabbing an Upbeat protein drink.

Upbeat is a ready made protein drink that comes ready to drink and easy to grab whenever you need it. I always pick up the Strawberry flavour and the Chocolate & Orange flavour as it helps to have them in the fridge to throw in my bag if I haven't had the chance to prepare a protein dense snack. It's honestly like drinking a strawberry yoghurt, so easy to drink and tastes great.

Each bottle contains 20g of protein, less then 150 calories and helps keep you full between meals or as a bit of a pick me up after a gym session, I always grab one on my way home from Bodyjam on a Thursday night as a bit of a treat or I have emptied a bottle into a bowl and then frozen it for a few hours to make a frozen yoghurt style pudding.

At £1.84 in Tesco, these little bottles are fairly priced and great for grabbing on the go.

Have you tried Upbeat? How do you make sure you get enough protein?

xx

* I have been given vouchers to buy these by the team at Upbeat however I have bought these before and all opinions are my own.

Eating Out - Shaka Zulu London

  Buried underneath the busy streets of Camden Stables Market is a little taste of Africa. Right in the heart of  market is a huge African statue and a glass door that leads to one of the most decedent escalators down under the ground. Into the darkness, through another door and you arrive in the most wonderful place ever.

Shaka Zulu is a South African restaurant which offers a little taste of African dining as well as a wide range of cocktails and drinks. Split over 2 floors there are loads of gorgeous areas to eat and drink. We were seated on the first floor, right next to the champagne bar and ordered our cocktails. The girls all had champagne cocktails while I had a non-alcoholic because I was the driver!

We spent a long time searching through the menu, having to ask lots of questions about what things were and if we would like it.

I started with a smoked Snoek Pate which is a North African fish, which was delicious, incredibly well seasoned and amazingly presented. My friends tried the Ostrich, Chicken and Harissa Roulade as well as the Springbok Carpaccio, both of which were amazing, the Springbok was so soft and melt in the mouth.

Next up was mains and we all opted for the Kingklip which again is fish. This was beautifully cooked and so soft. We added sides of Peri-Peri chips, creamed kale, Sweet Potato Mash and Roasted Cinnamon Butternut Squash. This was amazing, I've never had fish cooked like this, it was light yet filling.

Pudding was a Coconut Panna Cotta. I've never had panna cotta before but after eating this, I will happily eat this again with pleasure. It was delicious. The other girls had a dark chocolate tart which was incredibly rich.

After lunch we had a wander around the market to help our food settle, although it wasn't too heavy which was great.  It was nice to experience a different type of food, it's not something we would eat everyday so its nice for a change. 

The restaurant was absolutely stunning, I guess in the evening the atmosphere must be amazing for cocktails before heading out into Camden, I would definitely head back there for more cocktails!

If you fancy trying something new then check it out, we were able to enjoy this 3 course meal thanks to a Wowcher voucher so keep an eye out for a voucher  or check out the restaurant here.

What do you think of Shaka Zulu? What's the weirdest food you've ever tried? xx

MAC Eyeshadow x9 - Amber Times Nine

See, beauty isn’t gone completely! I'm a sucker for MAC palettes, I'm slowly building my main collection but without being able to get to a counter, I can't always test out colours I want first to see if they suit me. When the email advertising the X9 palettes the Amber x9 caught my eye and just happened to fall into my basket then it appeared at my front door!! 

Amber x9 has a mixture of neutral colours to create a natural look with mini versions of everyone’s favourite. There's a nice mixture of matte and shimmer colours all in a handy size, perfect for travelling this summer - it's so much easier to carry around then my larger palettes.

Colours are:

- Cozy Grey, Kitties, Georgia Peach

- Rice Paper, Creative Copper, Cork

- Don't Tell, Aromatic, Pepper Please

For £30, I don't think it’s too bad a price for the little collection - I've been wearing it all week for work and have had lots of compliments on my makeup - who doesn't like compliments?!

What do you think of the palette?

Recipe - Sweet Potato Falafel

I've been trying to find healthier lunch options, I'm so sick of salad and soups, all I want is bread and cheese and packets of crisps! So I decided to make something which I could throw in with my salads to give me a bit more taste and flavour, or I use these as part of a pitta or a wrap with some salad and ham.

These were so easy to make and lasted ages! You will need:

2 Medium Sweet Potato

1 Tin Chickpeas

Spices or seasoning of your choice

- Pre-heat the oven to around 200oC, heat up 2tbs of Coconut Oil

- Peel and cube the sweet potato, roast in a tin for about 20mins, seasoning with a little mixed herbs

- Once the potato is cooked and started to cool, put in a bowl and add 1 tin of chickpeas, mash up using a potato masher

- Split into balls or patties and place in the oven for about 20mins until golden on the outside

- Take them out to cool.

These are so easy to make and last all week, perfect for lunch or as a little snack. Next time I think I'm going to mix in some spices and give me a bit more heat! 

Let me know if you make these!

Health & Fitness - Setting Goals

So after a brief return I took more time off, it seems that blogging about beauty isn't what I love to write about any more - I can see this being more of a lifestyle blog, somewhere for me to track my life rather than review the shed loads of nail polish and make up that I own. As I've written about before, fitness is something I've been enjoying more and more, I love feeling active and the aches after leave me feeling brilliant as I grow stronger and more toned.

This post is about setting goals - I've got 12 weeks until I start my new job, 8 weeks until I see my friend get married and 7 weeks until the summer holidays, all of those I want to enjoy rather than feeling fat and uncomfortable. I know I'm not massive, so it’s harder for me to lose significant amounts of weight but I think it’s important to still track the changes.

My Goals:

- Drink more water - an easy one to start with but one I need to do more as I often forget and get home feeling awful, using my water bobble really helps and tracking my water on my Fitbit app keeps me accountable.

- Eat Clean 80% of the time - I struggle with this 100% but using a few new cook books I've been picking cleaner recipes as well as cooking from scratch more, I've got a few recipe posts coming up so keep a look out.

- Track using Myfitness Pal and a tape measure instead of the scales - The scales have been hidden away and will only be brought out once a month to weigh in, I need to use the tape measure more and how my clothes feel as well as take progress pictures. 

My workout for this week looks like this currently; it might change with work etc.:

Monday - Bodycombat

Tuesday - Bodypump

Wednesday - Barre Pilates

Thursday - BodyJam

Friday - Rest Day (maybe Youtube Yoga)

Saturday - Metafit & Dog Walk

Sunday - Dog Walk

It looks like a lot but I love to keep busy and throw on my gym gear, so comfy!! Plus it's only an hour so not a great deal of time out of my day. If I get my butt in gear and get my eating on point, hopefully I can get myself a bit fitter, more toned and in a month’s time hopefully a bit healthier!

What are your goals for this month?