Domestic Goddess

I've somehow turned into a bit of a housewife/domestic goddess this weekend (nothing to do with my slight obsession with the Great British Bake Off I'm sure!) and did more than a little bit of baking.

Apple & Cinnamon Pie (took me forever to make all those leaves!)

I used a recipe from the hummingbird bakery cookbook for their classic apple pie and I think it's turned out pretty good!  It definitely tasted alright, not sure Paul and Mary would be too impressed (it had a bit of a soggy bottom!) but everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Anyone else loving the Bake Off as much as me? Who's your fave to win?

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Pre-Holiday Haul

Tomorrow I'm off on a little break to the New Forest, I can't wait to go somewhere peaceful and relaxing and just chill out for a few days.

I'm sure you all know the slight panic of not feeling quite holiday ready when you realize mid-pack that you don't have this or that and you absolutely have to take it with you!  Well that was me a couple of hours ago and so I rushed down the road to pick up all the little bits that I'd been meaning to pick up for ages but never quite remembered to do.

As tends to happen whenever I enter a pharmacy (or drug store as I think you might call them in the US) I got a little distracted by the make up and skincare stands and had a little splurge.  So to ease my guilt a little I thought I'd turn it into a blog post and show you a few of the things I picked up and am excited to try over the next few days and after I get back.

Soap&Glory 'Scrub Atomic'

August seems to have left my skin in a bit of a sorry state with multiple breakouts and extremes of combination skin.  I'm a little confused as to why my face has decided this is the time to throw a fit but nothing seems to be working too well at the mo, so I picked up the 'Scrub Atomic' daily face polish from Soap & Glory.  

I love love love soap and glory products and seeing as Boots had the range on an offer I thought I'd give this a go.  I'll definitely do a post on it in a few weeks to let you know if it's improved my face at all and if it's worth it.

Soap&Glory 'Off Your Face'

I also picked up the Soap & Glory 'Off Your Face' face wipes in the offer to give them a try.  Face wipes are such a handy thing to take away instead of taking a full cleansing set for just a couple of days (and I liked the packaging!) but hopefully they'll do my face some good too.

Rimmel 'Stay Matte' Pressed Powder

 I've been looking for a new powder for a little while now and have heard Tanya Burr recommend Rimmel's 'Stay Matte' Pressed Powder a few times in her videos, so I thought I'd try it out for myself.  I chose the transparent powder so that it wouldn't add a cakey look to my foundation and would just help to set it and keep shine at bay.

Rimmel 'Wake Me Up' Concealer

The last make up thing I got was the Rimmel 'Wake Me Up' concealer.  I've tried the 'Wake Me Up' foundation before and found it a little orangey for my skin, even in the lightest shade, but I've heard such good things about the concealer that I thought I should give it a go.  Swatching it next to the foundation in the shop it definitely seems to be a lighter colour so fingers crossed!

I'll test these all out on my holiday and let you know if any of them work  miracles!  I hope you all have a lovely relaxing week and if any of you are back to school/college/uni this week that it all goes well :)

x

Lee Stafford ~ Hair Growth Review

Over the last year or so I've had real fun experimenting with my hair, I think I've now been every colour of the rainbow, and I've loved it!  However...this has come with some consequences, mostly that my hair turned dry and brittle and then started to break off near to the root.  This left me with an interesting (to say the least!) hair style of very short layers on top and longer hair underneath, kinda like a mullet...it wasn't a good look!

For the last six months I've been trying out the Lee Stafford hair growth range to see if it could make any difference to my poor hair.  The set is made up of a shampoo, conditioner and a hair mask which are 'a protein based complex to fertilize your follicles, creating a healthy environment on the scalp to help hair grow faster and reach its maximum potential length.'  

The system is supposed to increase the blood flow to your scalp making the hair grow faster as well as conditioning it to stop split ends etc. breaking off the hair from the tip.

Lee Stafford Hair Growth System

In terms of price these products definitely aren't cheap, £6.99 each for the shampoo and conditioner and £7.99 for the mask and they're all only 200 ml per container (pricey!).  I managed to get my set on a 3 for 2 offer at Boots so keep an eye out for a deal!

 After trying them out I'm not so sure I agree with the claims they make on the bottles.  I haven't seen my hair grow any faster at all.  My roots seem to grow back in at the same speed as they always have, and my hair is still shoulder length.  I wasn't expecting to hop out of the shower with waist length hair after one use but I thought it might have grown a little more than usual with all this 'Pro-Growth complex'.

However, the label also says it will give your hair 'strength from within' and in that respect it hasn't all been a waste of time and money.  

As I said before my hair was in awful condition.  If you've ever over bleached your hair you'll understand what I mean when I say it was like chewing gum.  It was brittle when dry, snapping off every time I even looked at a hair brush, and stretched a mile whenever it got wet before snapping off again, so not a good look!

Since I've been using the Lee Stafford set my hair is in much better condition.  The hair mask in particular has made a huge difference to the feel and strength of my hair and the days I washed my hair with out using it you could definitely tell the difference. I think the gentleness of the shampoo and conditioner, coupled with the deep conditioning, has also really helped.  My hair is no longer breaking off and those short little layers are starting to look like they're part of a style (thank god!)

I doubt I'll be purchasing these again, unless I go on another hair colouring spree, but I have enjoyed my little bit of luxury while it's lasted.  I'd say if you're looking for products to help your hair grow then don't waste your money, but if you've given your hair a bit of a hard time recently and are in need of some drastic help I'd give these a try.

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