May Beauty Favourites

Paul Mitchell* - Moisture Mist 100ml

I'm always looking for products to make my hair that bit more healthier. With bleach blonde hair, my hair often gets very dry. I'm always a little bit sceptical of any product that is essentially a leave in conditioner but this product has been fantastic. It made my hair that little bit more shiny and silky yet didn't make my hair feel greasy like some leave in conditioners. I especially love how the product can be used for both hair and skin. 

Lee Stafford - Hair growth treatment 200ml

What better way to describe a product then saying it does exactly what it say on the tin. Again since I insist on having blonde hair my hair is rather prone to breaking and snapping. I'v only been using this product for a few weeks yet I have already noticed the condition of my hair improve a lot. It also smells great.

Skinetica* - Anti blemish solution 80ml

Designed to tackle problem skin and breakouts I really love this product. Recently I'v suffered quite a few break outs what's a bit bizarre since I'v never really had spotty skin and yet when I hit 22 suddenly those little blemishes have been making appearances. The product is super easy to use just apply twice a day with cotton wool to clean skin. 

Lush* - Charisma skin tint 20g

This product can be worn under make up or mixed with a little moisturiser to give skin a healthier glow or used as a bronzer. The product is really good value as a little goes a long long way. I'm always a bit cautious of bronzing products as they either look chalky on the skin or make me look orange but this product was light and gave an amazing sun kissed colour. 

Benefit* - The pore-fessional 

I'm often paranoid I have large pores on and around my nose and I'm always looking for a good primer product to conceal this. The Benefit pore-fessional is like the polyfilla of the make up world. (Am I aloud to say that in a beauty review?) It concealed all those little pores instantly was easy to blend and despite me just comparing the product to polyfilla it actually feels very light on the skin. I was really shocked how well this product worked and it has now become a staple in my make up bag. 

Sammie

Products marked with a * have been gifted

How hot would you like it?

I quite like the idea of giving cocktails their own posts and this little number for reasons I'm yet to decide deserved its moment of glory. The Wasabi Martini from Angelica in Leeds was a unique experience. It wasn't the most pleasant of drinks and the wasabi made the drink somewhat grainy however it was slightly addictive and for once a cocktail took me more then a few seconds to drink. 

What the strangest cocktail you've tried?

Sammie

The Alchemist (Trinity Leeds)

So this bank holiday (what already feels like it was months ago) me and my friends headed over to try The Alchemist restaurant in the new trinity shopping centre in Leeds. 

When we arrived I quickly fell in love with the place when I noticed the words popping candy on the cocktail menu. This was in fact part of the delicious bubblegum daiquiri £5.95. With the sun making an appearance for the afternoon we headed out onto their rooftop terrace for a view of the city centre. 

After our much needed vitamin d dose we headed back inside for a bite to eat. I had the crispy pork skewers followed by the classic club sandwich. 

Crispy pork skewers

with sage and apple sauce 

£5.75

Classic club sandwich

roast chicken, bacon, fried egg, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise with salad or fries 

£7.95

The starter was delicious however I was a little disappointed by the main course. I can't expect too many amazing things from a sandwich but it was rather dry and I was disappointed the egg wasn't runny. However there was very good service and whilst I had a little nosey at other peoples food seated nearby there seemed to be some rather exciting Heston B' style dished been delivered. 

I finally treated myself to more cocktails my favourite been the Cheesecake Martini £6.95. I must add all the cocktails are amazing expect wizardry style smoking drinks. 

The rest of my bank holiday was spent having a simple BBQ with friends. Although I did have an awful I'm getting old moment when I bumped into friends in the supermarket. Supermarkets are not suppose to become social places for a good 10 years yet. 

How was your bank holiday?

Sammie

Shoe wish list

I tried creating weekly wishlists some time back but I never really kept up to it. I'm always browsing the internet wishing for things and I'm never really stuck for ideas on what to buy. However my guilt pleasure really lies in shoes. So from now on I aim to product monthly shoe wish lists.

Tan kickers: I would love to link you to a pair but I'v been constantly watching these on eBay for a few months now either missing the listings or been out bid etc.

I love the idea of owning a pair of Kickers again as these take me right back to my primary school childhood days.

Hunter Wellies £78.99 Spartoo

I'm pretty sure these was on my old wishlist. I am still to purchase a pair! I think with the festivals coming around soon I will defiantly be getting around to making a purchase.

Havaianas flip-flop  £20 Schuh

Having walked around most of today in flip flips I forgot how comfortable they could be. Therefore these are heading straight to the top of the wishlist.

Tan Loafers £58 Office

I have no idea yet what I would wear these with but I really want a pair of leather loafers. I think these are more of a buy now think about later purchase. On the plus side they are very practical what usually can't be said for my shoe purchases. 

I really could sit wishing for shoes all day and make this page a mile long but for now I want to keep it reasonable and even possibly affordable.

Sammie

Through Douglas's Eyes

Hey it's you again, long time no see, do you remember me? I'm Douglas Sammie's little brother. This week I've been one busy little pooch as its been my 4th birthday. I know right I sure as hell don't look that old. I had a lovely walk with all my friends and got some new toys. I'v also been helping Sammie train for the 5k run she entered into. I think she said it was called the Major Series and it sure looks a lot of hard work. I'm going to offer her my expert advise as I'm a pro at running through muddy fields. 

Well that's all from me, was nice to catch up with you all again. Back to sunbathing for me.

Enjoy the bank holiday.

Douglas

Introducing Jeffrey Campbell

So it's never been a secret that I love shoes. Recently I've been going a bit mad on the shoe purchases and I couldn't resist sharing my 2 favourite purchases with you guys. Now I'm not writing this to boast "I bought myself 2 pair of Jeffrey Campbell shoes" instead I want to share with what a bargain these purchases was. I had shopped around for these shoes for quite a while when I came across both pairs on sale at Harvey Nichols. The claw suede boots available at £55 and the lita skull stud boots available at £65. P.S. both still in stock online. 

However as nice as Jeffrey Campbell shoes are no one seemed to tell me what large fits the shoes are. I would defiantly recommend purchasing a size down or even better try them on first in a store so you know they will fit you, if you order a pair on-line.

I adore the claw boots the most and I've never seen a pair of shoes like them let. My imagination gets a little carried away (it doesn't take much) when I look at these and I imagine a little monster trying to drag me away or steal my shoesies. 

What are your favourite shoes?

Sammie

Dear your name here

So a few weeks ago I realised I needed a Filofax in my life. When I had to print out my outlook calendar from work to know what was going on in my life I decided enough was enough. From hair appointments, gigs, trips planned for the summer,attempting to train for a 5k and trying to bring some organisation to Little Blonde Life, I'm usually one busy bee. 

I had some trouble finding the perfect filofax (plus there rather pricey) and in the end the lovely Ella suggested I try Paperchase where I came across this beauty. I know to a lot of people me raving on about my Paperchase organiser is a little boring but I can't wait to go buy all the different inserts and start putting my little diary together. I think I'v convinced myself this will bring some organisation to my life however in the mean time I'm simply going to marvel at the amazing geometric print. 

Verdicts on the organiser? 

Sammie

Lush Fun

During the #SheffieldMeetUp we was all kindly invited down to Lush for a demonstration of some of there new products and in particularly their new product FUN. 

FUN is a multi-purpose product and can be used as a soap, bubble-bath, shampoo or simply for FUN. 

So where does the FUN part come in to all this I hear you ask? Well, FUN is also like playdoh! Yes you read that correctly. Playdoh. Remember the joys of playdoh as a child well now there's an excuse to re-live that, except this smells a lot better! I also thought the green one had a smell of skittles but unfortunately the products might be multi-purpose but it's not edible. (Although as a child apparently I did eat playdoh on a number of occasions according to my mother. Sam be quite now, no one need to know that story). 

The product can be used like a soap or crumbled under running water to create a bubble bath. I really loved using this product and it made my skin smell amazing.

The product retails at £5 and comes in pink, blue, green, yellow and red. 

Sammie

Item gifted by Lush

Handmade Burger Co

So if you're a regular reader of Little Blonde Life or if you follow me on twitter @LilBlondeSammie then you will be aware this weekend I attended my first blogger meet at Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield. The meet was organised by the lovely Rachel, Caroline and Charlotte. 

The meet was held at Handmade Burger Co who was excellent at accommodating all 30 of us. Since meets usually involve lots of lovely chit chat which this one certainly did, I was remarkably pleased that no one rushed us to order our food and clear us out quickly. Even when the raffle caused a bit of fuss with us all clapping and taking lots of photos causing a bit of stir amongst other diners the staff was very pleasant. I would defiantly recommend Handmade Burger Co for large bookings or a birthday. 

Now onto the grub! The burgers were delicious. I must admit I'v never been a massive burger fan but I think the Handmade Burger Co may have converted me. In fact hand on heart I think I can say I am a burger convert. After some humming and ahhrring and maybe a little drooling, I ordered the blue cheese and bacon burger £7.95 and it was delicious (obviously the cheese fiend in me won the burger choice).

The burger was juicy and oozing in flavour and the blue cheese sauce was full of flavour yet not too over powering.  I ordered a side of fresh cut chips £2.95 and you could instantly tell these was home made almost as thought my mum had made them. It defiantly reflected the restaurants views of using fresh produce, these was no frozen chips!  

I will admit when I realised the restaurant used a "Nandos" ordering style system I was a litter concerned. You may have noticed by now I hate Nandos and GBK for this very reason as it usually gives the staff an excuse to do no work and the customer service goes out the window. Well I couldn't of been more wrong. The staff was very attentive and did extremely well serving us all. Even in such a large group of 30 all our food arrived together and piping hot.

Sammie

The true meaning of YOLO

So if your a regular reader of  Little Blonde Life you will already be aware I like a good rant. One of the things that has been bugging me lately is the overuse of stupid phrases. The first of these phrases been "first world problem" for example "omg my mum won't buy me a new iphone #firstworldproblem" or "As if I have to wait 2 hour wait for a table at the Ritz #firstworldproblem". seriously get a grip. The second of the phrases that bugs me is: you only live once, or as is it is better known YOLO. Now if you're not familiar with the saying YOLO, you're probably thinking "that sure sounds like a motivating little phrase you kids today have going on" well yes it is motivating however it is used in the most stupid ways for example "go on, have that 10th Jager bomb you only live once" or "I just blew all my wage in Topshop but hey you only live once".

It fails to shock me that people now a days believe its worthwhile to moan about these kinds of things and with the increasing use of social media there is an audience who listens. It seems we don't  always use the rise of social media for the better so I aim to change that.

Therefore I'm aiming to bring back some true meaning to #YOLO #FirstWorldProblem

Who will be joining me? 

"I stopped smoking to improve my health #YOLO"

"It's such a shame in 2013 we still test on animals for cosmetic purposes #FirstWorldProblem"

Sammie

Berlin Zoo

Can you sport the baby elephant. So cute!

 Make sure you get my best side.

 This is were Skippy has been hiding. 

When there not busy filing insurance adverts the meerkats are hanging out in the zoo. 

Just checking my nail polish isn't chipped. 

 What i would consider the cutest animal ever. The otter. 

 Or maybe its the Penguins.

Having never been to a zoo, one of the main attractions I was looking forward to visiting in Berlin was Berlin Zoo. I was a little unsure what to expect but I had such a good time visiting the Zoo. All the animals seemed happy and lively and they all seemed to have good living conditions. The entry fee to the zoo was 13 euros what was very reasonable as the zoo was massive! The zoo was also in a very central location and was super easy to find. My favourite of the animals was the Zebra's and the Elephants and since seeing otters a few weeks ago at the sea life centre I have decided they are the worlds cutest creatures. 

What's your favourite animal?

Sammie