Weight Watchers - week 2!

So - my first week of weight watchers, let me tell you - it was fab :) I've tried maaaany many diets in my time, including the atkins diet (do NOT recommend, it made me dread mealtimes.), a freaky 2 week only diet that resulted in me consuming about a carton of grape fruit juice a day and so on and so on, but nothing has ever made me feel so comfortable and at ease! I got to eat pretty much whatever i wanted, had three full meals a day, with a cheeky snack when i came back from lessons! and as long as i tracked my points, everything was fine.  I felt that having to track my points through-out the day gave me something to focus on, and i could really see the diet coming together, therefore helping to keep me on track! At no point in the week was i tempted to teach or go over my daily allowance of points, and considering it's exam week - i think that's an achievement in itself!

So, as my meeting and weighing on Monday approached i began to get more nervous - not that I hadn't lost weight, but the disappointment i knew i'd feel if i hadn't when I knew i'd be soon good! But low and behold, scales time came and i'd lost a fab 3 and a half lbs! which i was very much pleased with :) 

On my high, i must admit i did impulse buy! on the counter i spotted a cracking deal that I knew would not only make my points counting easier, but would also keep me interested and therefore motivated :)

I purchased this fantastic little box, called the Deluxe Starter Kit - it contained a journal that held 12 weeks, with page long days to track your points and events, a shopping guide, to tell you the points values of everything you can think of in all your local supermarkets, no matter where you live in the UK, The propoints calculator that allows you to work out the points of something on the go without needing to log in online or look up in your pocket guide, a weight watchers pen - double ended with a Biro and highlighter, a complimentary shopping list note pad and finally an eating out guide containing the menu's of almost all the mainstream resturaunts around the UK.  Unfortunaly the stand had sold out of the eating out guides, so i'm currently awaiting mine to arrive in the post :) 

Here's to another good week! :)

what are your experiences with weightwatchers? how are you getting on?

thanks for watching beautiful's!

BeccxBeauty

xoxoxo

MUA products!

MUA, (Make Up Academy) is a fairly recent make up brand, available in Superdrug, and i think it may be available in Boots too! The first thing that attracted me to this brand was the price.. £1! with a few exceptions, the vast majority of the products available in this line retail and just £1.  The brand has quite rightely been compared to ELF (Eyes Lips Face), with the added value of being available to buy on the high street, where-as in the UK, ELF is an online store only.  

Apologies for the rubbish lighting - alot of these swatchers aren't appearing true to their colour, but whats a girl to do! 

I especially want to comment on the two trio pallet's.. the amount of pigmentation and product you get, all for £2.50 is incredible! 

The MUA proffessional eyeshadow trio, in "innocence"

The perfect combination for a lid colour, crease and highlighter.  Personally, i like to mix, match and combine these gorgeous colours with those from my other pallet... 

"Chocolate box"

Personally, this trio doesn't compliment all the different colours as well as Innocence.  I could easily use the first trio to create a look that i'd be happy with all day - but i don't feel like the chocolate box allows you to do that without incorporating some other shadows.  None the less, a gorgeous trio :)

The line also offers singular eyeshadows.  

The single eyeshadows definitely have mixed reviews with me! The second and the fourth picture, featuring shades 1 & 2 are extremely sheer.  The swatches you can see come from me digging my finger in to the shadow and applying 4 or 5 layers - so all in all, very disappointing.  Other than that, the colours are extremely matt, if that's the look your going for - i guess the white could be seen as a staple colour, but the more skin coloured tone is a powdery and really oranged toned.  

However! the two darker shadows, shades 11 & 12 have really impressed me.  They're very similar, with shade 11 having more red, burgundy tones.  Both shades shimmer beautifully, but don't glitter, which can often look too over done on the crease, and are extremely pigmented.  

My attention was then drawn to the amazing range of lipsticks! although they don't have many variations of colours, they make up for it in that they carry every staple colour a girl could need! 

Now, the lipsticks aren't the most pigmented available, but if you're anything like me, that's perfect! I love to have a bit of colour on my lips but i'm not brave enough to pull of the bold colours! 

So all in all, the brand has many positives and negatives! the biggest issue is the pigmentation,  but for the price ladies, can we really complain?!

Let me know what you all thought of the brand if you've tried it out, and whether i'm neglecting any must haves!

thanks for reading!

BeccxBeauty

xoxoxoxoxo

Weight Watchers - week 1!

So! New Year, new me and all that... or maybe not!

I've decided to sign up to weight watchers for the new year :) 

my motivation comes from my brothers wedding this August requiring me to wear a very skimpy dress, and also the booking of my girls holiday in August, wooooooooo!

So, at first impressions - i loved it! The women were so lovely and friendly, and I felt i could talk openly about any weight issue's or problems in front of them.  

My group leader, Phillipa, was so welcoming, asking what my reasons were for joining, what my motivation was and my goals.  She came across as very approachable by giving me her phone number and telling me to phone her anytime.  

I was given a blue binder to keep any leaflets or info i'm given, and also the weekly magazine, as seen above.  I'm not yet accustomed to what the whole situation is, but this week the theme of the magazine was motivation :)

This handy pocket guide provides almost all of the basic foods you could think of on a day to day basis, states the recommended weight and amount and then the propoints value of the food! 

I decided to get a monthly pass, i paid £14.99 for the first month in cash, and then would have to pay £19.99 every month onwards from a debit account.  It works out that i'm paying something like £3.45 a week, instead of the normal weekly fee £5.99! so i ended up with a really reasonable deal :) 

I was provided with so many informative booklets to get me through the week, and found it all extremely motivating!

i'm looking forward to going again on Monday!

thanks for reading, let me know you're experiences with weight watchers!

beccxbeauty

xoxoxo

Soap & Glory's birthday box!

The Righteous Butter, 300ml.

Clean On Me shower gel, 500ml. 

oversized shower puff. 

Okay, so no it's not my birthday, and yes i did buy this for myself... but never-the-less! a fabulous buy! 

As i went on my mission to Boots to TRY and catch the last of the January sales from the Soap & Glory xmas sets, i failed! although i did find this little beauty from the 'everyday, any day' range.  

The Birthday Box includes the classic Clean On Me shower gel, the Righteous Butter body butter and finally a gigantic shower puff!

Firstly, if you're an avid Soap & Glory fan you'll know exactly what i'm talking about, the smell of both of these products are very distinct and recognisable, but above all - ABSOLUTELY FRIKKIN GORGEOUS! 

I use these two products every morning, and the fruity fragrances  set me up for the whole day! 

If you've ever tried the Body Shop body butters, the moisture and effect of the Righteous Butter is very similar in the indulging feeling they leave, although personally i feel the scent of Soap & Glory wins hands down.  

The Clean on Me shower gel is such a humungous size, and so handy just to leave in the shower and squirt a few pumps on to the body puff.  The product lathers so nicely that two pumps is plenty for the whole body! 

The size of the body puff feels very luxurious and helps the shower gel lather excellently.  


The box retails at £15.00, an absolute bargain! with the righteous butter retailing at £10.21, the Clean on Me shower gel at £5.11, and the shower puff at £3.50, you'd be mad not to snap up this deal :)

Let me know what you think of these products, and what other Soap & Glory products are worthy of a purchase!

Thanks for reading! remember to follow :)

Beccxbeauty 

xoxoxo

bit o' Barry love! collection and review.

As i'm sure you've all seen numerous times, Barry M has a wide range of nail paints in various colours, suitable for every season and occasion.  They're available in most Boots and Superdrug stores, and retail at £2.99 each with 'buy 3 get one free' deals on regularly! Many of the 'effects' e.g. foil, glitter, crackle, are often dearer, but still the only £3.99.  As far as i'm aware the collection is still ever expanding.  

a fairly new obsession, but my collection is ever growing!

L-R; Lilac Foil (142), Foil effects (141), Foil (319)


The collection has a fab 'effects' range, with 3 different foil effects including a gorgeous matt purple, a gold with very orange tones and a bold silver. 

The collection also includes a glitter range, perfect for the holiday seasons! 
The pink iridescent applies a sheer coat, with more rainbow tones than pink - the light reflects shades of blue, green, pink and yellow gorgeously.  


The silver glitter applies a much thicker coat.  With one coat, the glitter compliments the chosen base colour on your nails, however the nail paint could be worn alone for an all over, opaque look with two/three coats.  


Both nail paints have proven difficult to remove with my strongest nail varnish remover! and if you're like me and can't abide the feel of cotton wool, this may be a problem! however i simply used my Acetone remover (for any gel/acrylic removal) and the problem was solved :) 


L-R; Silver Glitter (147), Pink Iridescent (264) 

L-R; Peach Melba (318), Coral (296), Pink Flamingo(305), Shocking Pink (272)

These next paints are far more summery! with a few coats, they can brighten up the most miserable of days; for me anyway! 


In the picture the Peach looks far more yellow, although an accurate swatch proves to be the perfect neutral :) if you're looking for simple with a bit of oopmh this is the one for you! a gorgeous, plain paint with very pink tones.  The tone of your skin is a huge factor in the buying of this paint, as i'm not sure it would compliment every tone! 


The coral is much more of an orange, rather than a nice inbetween pink and orange.  Still a lovely colour, although not entirely true to it's name! 


Pink Flamingo is a much brighter, almost neon pink! lovely for the right occasions in summertime, but personally not one of my 'go-to' colours!


Shocking pink is a bold, sexy pink.  Comes across as much more mature compared to colours like baby pink, and personally the only shade of pink I can wear comfortably! easy to tone down or to glam up!

These beauties are my naughty nautical paints! Perfect for Autumn/Winter seasons.  These colours are so elegant and really help to elongate yours nails.  


The Colbalt Blue is very much for the brave hearted, but still a lovely bold, matt blue that would be perfect for Spring/Summer.  


Navy is almost black with reflections of blue from the light, perfect for an evening event.  


Racing Green is similar to Navy in that it could be mistaken for black, with the slightest reflections of dark green.  Again, a very sexy, seductive shade.  


L-R; Colbalt Blue (291), Navy (292), Racing Green (299)

PLEASE IGNORE THE NAIL PAINTS IN THE LEFT CORNER. PHOTO FAIL. 


Rasberry was love at first sight! my first Barry M purchase.  This deep red is again a very seductive, sophisticated shade if you're not brave enough to go for a full out and out bus decker red!


Dusty Mauve is a very intriguing shade.  An off, tope-esque brown with very visible tones of purple and blue - a lovely neutral with a twist! 


Mushroom is one of my very favourite shades.  THE PERFECT NEUTRAL! so 


Matt White is exactly what it says on the tin.  A very useful, staple colour for any girls collection!










As i said, my collection is ever growing as i can't pop into Boots or Superdrug without being indulged! if you've never tried this brand i highely, highely, highely recommend :) apply so easily, with only 2 coats needed and such an affordable price!


Feel free to comment and let me know what you think of the brand or if there are any colours i'm missing that are note worthy!


thanks for reading beautifuls,


Beccxbeauty 
xoxooxox

Blog #1!

me and my lovely other half, taken at our new years eve fiesta.

morning folks, welcome to my first ever blog post! I'm new to all this, so you'll have to bear with me.  Here you'll find everything from beauty reviews and fashion, to books and media, and even diet progression. You may see a few guest appearances of a few "eager beavers" in the mean time also :) look forward to seeing you soon, bye for now! xoxo