Pink Parcel, you done me wrong!

Well I think from the title you can guess how I feel about Pink Parcel this month. Maybe I’ve been overly spoilt by previous Pink Parcel boxes but this month’s was somewhat of a let-down.

Got my usual tampons (great, I’m a Kotex Click convert) but the contents of the ‘For You’ box was mostly a repeat of last month … with less items. I’m not moaning (much) as two of the repeat items I loved last month (OPI nail varnish and Paw Paw balm) so I’m happy to have them again BUT I always get a bit excited about getting one of the first boxes of the month and now it looks like I’ll be relegated to April’s box right at the end of April.

Pink Parcel did contact everyone to say they were changing distributors but I was expecting a delay, not a poohy repeat box. Anyway, here is the review of the one item that wasn’t repeated ..

BubbleT – Lemongrass and Green Tea hand cream

A gorgeous fresh scent that reminds me of Refreshers! Lovely thick texture and melts into the hands quickly leaving them feeling soft and freshed.

 

So I'm a bit disappointed, although the contents of this monthly box can't be match for £9.99. I wait with bated breath to see what next months will bring ...I hope I'm not pushed to jump ship and join Period Box ... who's name alone makes me cringe.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone else who subscribes to tampon subscription boxes, what's been your experience? If you liked this review please follow me on Twitter or bloglovin for regular updates.

Lip balm addiction

This is probably an unknown fact within my circle of friends but I’m a total lip balm addict. I love the smells, colours and textures of them and to top it off (but please don’t psychoanalyse me) my dad once said to me that women with thin lips are aggressive and cold.

So to keep myself from becoming an old, lonely, unhappy spinster I ‘invest’ in every lip balm I come across and add them to my pile.

Currently I’m on a four lip balm daily rotation; one for the morning, at work, evenings and before bed. Yes I really am that sad.

 

Morning balm – Pixi Shea Butter in Natural Rose.

This is a totally gorgeous soft, smooth light pink balm. I don’t smell any fragrance with this but the balm just melts into your lips and adds a light pink tint to perk up your face. I would say you can it on your lips for 2 hours before feeling the need to reapply.

At work balm – Simply M (by Michelle Robillard)

This is a US handmade lip balm I was made aware of by my fiancé. All the ingredients are 100% natural and organic using essential oils of a therapeutic grade. This equals amazing fragrances in a very soft textured balm which sinks into your lips leaving them soft and non-sticky. The lavender and Grapefruit smells amazing, a very calming effect – great for office stress.

Evening balm – The Body Shop Lip Butter – Hazelnut

Being a self-proclaimed connoisseur of lip balms I have to say I’m not keen on the stick-your-finger-in-a-pot style balm. Nails get in the way and although I’m not a germ freak, it does seem a bit unhygienic. Having said that this butter smells gorgeous and is great to slather on after a long day.

Before bed balm – Papaya Gold Paw Paw

Although this balm is multipurpose i.e. it can be used for dry skin patches on elbows etc and isn’t in the best packaging to spread, the morning effects of using this in the evening are amazing. After a night covered in this balm my lips are soft, hydrated and no peeling skin or yucky bits. A big thumbs up for the Down Under balm.

I would love to hear what your top lip balms are so leave a comment, contact me or drop me a message on Twitter! If you like this post and would like to follow me click on the Bloglovin button or submit your email to receive notification when I post again.  

Diet Update – Everything alright on the 8th night

I’ve now been on my VLCD for a week which basically consists of bar, snack, meal, shake, milk, water repeat. The main aim of this slightly restrictive diet (aren’t all diets restrictive?) is to lose the weight quickly (2-3lbs a week consistently). This means the food isn’t gourmet but edible and the meal isn’t coated in breadcrumbs.

The first 7 days of this type of diet is probably the worst. You have to remain focus, wait for the protein to kick in (which will reduce your appetite) and avoid temptation! The weight loss will be big in the first week as you’ll lose ‘water weight’ and what I like to call ‘loose weight’ from the feasts you consumed in the days before you started your diet. Nothing better than a pre-diet feast, it’s like eating whatever you like with no consequences because you know you’ll lose the weight in the next week.

The one BIG motivating factor in all this is the weight loss and you aren’t going to see that unless you weigh yourself. I’m currently not weighing myself and won’t start doing that until next Monday. The thought of getting on those scales and seeing how much I’ve gained since I last restarted this diet would just be too depressing. So I’ve given myself two weeks before the big event.

One tip if you have to step on the scales and face your weight reality is to change the scales to total pounds or kg rather than stones and pounds. As I have always weighed myself using stones and pounds, seeing total pounds means very little to me (unless I divide by 14) but still shows my loses and still shows how far I have to go before reaching my ‘ideal weight’.    

Day Four and Five – salad bar, the dieter's best fwend!

Yesterday was not good. I woke up late, running around like a nutter trying to get my bus on time and totally forgot to pack my diet products. This would usually result in me panicking, feeling hungry and justifying a cheese and pickle sandwich for lunch.

However, with my new determination to fight the flab I sat down at work, had a think and realised that my diet gives me around 750 kcals a day based on high protein low calorie nutrition. So how can I achieve that without my pre-packed diet products? In short … meat and veg. What did I do? I hit the salad bar!

 

Had a couple of cups of coffee to keep me going to lunch and then hit the works salad bar with lashings of mackerel, salad goodness and balsamic vinegar. I kept it smallish so I could have a MRP shake and small tea when I got home.

The alternatives to a salad bar – If you aren’t lucky enough to have a salad bar at work (or money is tight), what is the alternative if you go to work without your diet products? For this particular diet the aim is low calorie, high protein. It may be for your working day you focus on one of the priorities. If it’s low calorie you can have low fat crisps, fruit or some kind of salad sandwich. If you’re focusing on high protein you could have Mini Babybels, stringy cheese, ham slices or even nuts to keep you going. This doesn’t stick to the diet guidelines but these are good alternatives to throwing in the towel and sinking your teeth into something Oh So naughty.

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souksouk - Brits do skincare??

Firstly, sorry about the photo quality. I took the photos in my bedroom and they look like I'm trying to use a sepia filter and I wasn't, it was my terrible bedroom lighting.

This is the first time I've ordered from souksouk which sells organic/natural skin care products. I ordered a mix box for normal skin at £20 and I got quite a few products, the majority having a really fresh citrus/rose/herb scent to them.

Conscious skincare body lotion and body wash - made in Britain with a strong scent of grapefruit and cedarwood (because they contain grapefruit and cedarwood essential oils) these products both have a lovely rich texture and the body lotion soaks in quickly leaving your skin smooth and soft.

Sranrom 'Calm Down' hand cream - contains so many strong fragrances it's hard to identify them all ... so I cheated and read the label. A massive mixture including spearmint, lemongrass, licorice and kaffir lime so its full of fragrance and leaves your hands feeling lovely and soft.

Micosalud Mico-Serum - they recommend you use this twice a day but who has the time to do that? There wasn't much information on the small sachets I received but I found this 'The serum contains highly concentrated extracts of organic mushrooms, chosen for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties' plus extra info about the products here. I'm not sure how I feel about rubbing fungus into my face but if it gets rid of my 'fine lines' it's worth a go!

BalmBalm lip balm - imaginative product title! This is a balm that can be used on your lips or any dry patches. Multi-use products are so in right now ... well we are in a recession! HAHA This company actually sells loads of different products including candles. This is the full size Tea Tree balm containing shea butter, sunflower, beeswax, jojoba, calendula & tea tree essential oil. Smooths onto the lips nicely, good softening feeling and not overly scented.

 Dr Alkaitis Organic soothing gel, eye cream and facial cleanser samples - all three samples have a very woody smell to them which is probably the wild chamomile and other herbs contained in the products. The facial cleanser is a bit on the murky brown side, reminds me of the sea at Great Yarmouth ... yuck. The soothing 'gel' is actually liquid so maybe that needs to go in the fridge to solidify? Currently these aren't hitting high on my rating scale.


Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner - these are both full on scents again with peppermint and rosemary shining through the mix. Apparently these hair products do everything you could ever wish for 'anti-aging, antioxidant, rich, volumising, super smooth, non-frizzy, scalp and hair nourishing with colour protection'! Blimey, if this shampoo and conditioner can do all that I'll pay the £18 each for full sized ones! FYI the travel size (which is what I received) costs £9 each on the Intelligent Nutrients website!

There was another shampoo in the box of goodies but it was such a sh*tty looking half filled tube I won't review it.

Bloom Remedies Daily Balance Face Cream - handmade in Cornwall and contains Sweet Orange, Geranium and Rose. This cream smells gorgeous but then I've always loved the scent of rose water. Gorgeous thick cream which I would probably use as a night cream because the soothing fragrance would make me nod off in no time.

Mel Millis Mist Tonic Neroli Hydrolate - this mist is meant to be used as an energy boost for the face, 'Neroli Has Both A Rejuvenating And Regenerative Effect On The Skin. It Promotes The Generation Of New Cells, Stimulating Those Already Present And Protecting The Epidermis From Extrinsic Factors'. There website is full of technical terms but it all sounds amazing. I'm not sure if it's the mist tonic or the rather forceful spray in the face but it feels fresh.

Freshness of the Morning Antioxidant facial mask - '100% natural exfoliating and detoxifying mask that provides a gentle ex-foliation to reveal a clearer, younger and brighter complexion. Works by targeting age spots and reduces the appearance of fine lines.' I haven't tried this product yet but wanted to add some information about it as they advise you to use the dry powder on wet skin first to exfoliate and then mix some of the powder to make a mask. Very intriguing!

Konjac puff sponge - this is made from natural vegetable fibres and is used wet on your face to cleanse and exfoliate. You can use it with or without cleansing products and it will last for around 3 months. This particular sponge is £7.99 but I'm guessing you can find it cheaper on eBay. It's softly cleansing on the skin and I think a nice addition to your morning/night routine.

I am really happy with the mixed box I ordered from souksouk and I'm amazed that Britain has so many skincare companies ... when did that happen? The quality is high but so are the prices for these organic and natural products. BUT I might just treat myself occasionally to a sample box for £20.

Have you got any organic or natural products you can't live without? It would be great to hear from you so leave a comment below or come say hi on Twitter.

Day Three – Coffee for breakfast?

There are so many opinions on coffee and dieting. Personally I’m addicted (in the least possible way) to vending machine coffee for my breakfast (along with my MRP bar). Rest assured the machine uses skimmed milk and the coffee is on the vile tasting side but my morning just wouldn’t be the same without it.

So what effect will this have on my diet? Although caffeine is a stimulant and can increase your morning metabolism I doubt very much that the vending machine coffee I consume has nearly enough caffeine in it to make my lazy metabolism move an inch. In fact I’m 99% sure that the coffee I drink contains a minuscule amount of caffeine as fresh coffee with a full whack of caffeine over-stimulates my intestines … if you get what I mean! And that does not happen with vending machine coffee.

Caffeine may affect your insulin levels, in a good or bad way. This is all ‘ifs, buts and maybes’ so it really depends on your body and how it handles coffee/caffeine.

There’s a Doctor online who’s created a list of ‘Ten reasons why you should quit your coffee’. I can only assume this is all based on fresh, high quality coffee … rather than the nasty but good coffee from vending machines or instant.

To entice you to stick with your steaming cup of morning sunshine I’ve just discovered flavoured instant coffee only 2 calories a cup (not including milk etc)!

 

Beanies coffee is seriously good, I’ve got several of their instant coffees (they also do fresh ground) and the double chocolate and hazelnut flavours are yum! They infuse the bean before they make the coffee, so it full of flavour without the calories of syrups. FYI I’m not sponsored by them, they’re just a good low calorie treat which I can incorporate into my diet.

What low calorie treats have you added to your diet? Pop a comment below or drop me a line on Twitter!

Day Two - already looking at burger menus!

I was watching one of my favourite YouTubers (Ken Domik) when he talked about his review of Holy Chuck, a burger bar in Toronto. I live in the UK so there's no way I'll be making my way there any time soon but Oh My God ... is that not the most amazing gorgeous stack of burgery cheesey goodness?

That's a heart attack on a plate but I bet it tastes amazing (hence me morphing it into an angelic god-like cloud frame). This does make me think though, once I lose the weight I'm still going to have these crazy cravings for full fat, artery blocking, carb crambed junk ... so what do I do then?

However much weight you lose the prospect of putting it all back on again may make you quit before you've begun or keep dreaming that one day you'll fall in love with lettuce. This is something I will have to focus on as my diet progresses, maintenance doesn't start once the diet stops. Maintenance is about changing your bad habits, setting goals once the diet stops and realising that however much you want that cow on a plate it should be seen as a treat and not a daily menu option.

It would be great to hear from anyone that has lost the weight and kept it off. Leave me a comment below or drop me a line on Twitter! 

Day One - all the help I can get!

It's another diet restart! YIPPEE, not! I've been on and off diets for many years and its gotten to the point that I actually think this is becoming a hobby. What would I do if I didn't need to diet? What would I think about? What would I worry about? It's a very first world problem. People in the First World worry about getting fat or becoming thin. People in the Third World worry about where their next meal is coming from.

Anyway, enough reflection, I'm going to add a blog post every day for a week re my diet. This is more to motivate myself and keep me on track than it is to entertain or educate readers ... although hopefully my posts will provide a bit of that too.

I'm back on the Slim2BTrim diet, I chose this diet as I've done VLCD before and their product prices seemed good and there is a Facebook Support Group which can be very comforting when you're having a bad diet day.

It would be great to hear from anyone who is also restarting a diet today or anyone who's on a VLCD. Leave a comment below or drop me a message on Twitter!