Pamper night

After a long and difficult few weeks we knew we needed a relaxing weekend to unwind and enjoy ourselves. We ate good food (Isabelle's mums homemade pizza is insane!) listened to our favourite music and relaxed. Best weekend for a long time! On top of that we watched 3 good chick flicks (read further down to find out our favourites).

The first thing we did (after the pizza) was to make our very own face masks. Despite the look of them they really did work. We basically mixed about 5 recipes to get as much out if it as we possible could! 

First we cut up 2 bananas. These have brilliant nutrients for all skin types. 

Then added 2 sachets of Oh So Easy Oats original .  This thickens the mixture up and makes it much more substantial. 

We then mixed in 4 Table Spoons of Honey and 2 Table Spoons of Granulated sugar. Sugar is a brilliant exfoliator and honey helps to keep your skin exceedingly smooth. 

After that we mixed in 1 Table Spoon of Salt. This adds to the exfoliating and helps to unblock pores and blackheads. 

We also added brown sugar. This again helps with exfoliating and also makes it thicker. It also made it a much nicer colour.

Don't forget to properly mush up the bananas and mix everything together. 

It was a really nice mask, it took a while to dry and we had a lot of fun trying to put it on. We cried with laughter! I think we might use a food colouring next time to make it look a bit more appetising. Our skin was so nice afterwards. It felt really refreshed and reduced redness around problem areas of our faces. 

You can check online for other good recipes but if you want a bit of everything then definitely give ours a go. Add a bit of lemon if you want to use it before you go out. It will really brighten up your skin. 

We then filled a bath with warm shallow water, just deep enough for our feet and filled it with a mixture of these three bath foams. We don't know where they are from as I (Isabelle) got them for Christmas but all of them smell amazing! While we sat on the edge of the bath in our comfy PJs we put on the face masks. We didn't have any candles but you could always light some scented candles to set the atmosphere. 

The consistency of the facemasks wasn't the greatest and we struggled to get it to stay on our faces but we managed. We waited about 10 minutes before washing it all off with a tea tree foaming face wash from superdrug.

We then we used the simple toner and I used this simple moisturiser.

After we had cleaned up our faces we filled up the kettle ready to boil and chose some films to watch. These were: Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, a Cinderella Story and yes, He's Just Not That Into You, all typical chick-flick rom-coms. Of course there are plenty of others like; The Notebook, 500 Days of Summer, Mean Girls or even Charlie St. Cloud. The choices are endless. We then poured our matching mugs with half milk, half water and two teaspoons of m&s hot chocolate powder, before putting it into the microwave for 2 minutes and adding a lot (I mean a lot) of cream and marshmallows.

We then snuggled down and enjoyed our hot chocolate and movie, with a fresh feeling face and soft feet!

How do you and your friends relax? Let us know in the comments!
 

Toodle-oo

Isabelle and Izzy

❣

Ted Baker body care

For my birthday last year, Izzy bought me four items from Ted Baker which came in a really sweet, clear Ted Baker bag. As they were a present, prices can't be told. It included a body foam, body wash, body moisturiser and body spray. Yes, I have only just started using the body wash and body foam 8 months after Izzy gave it too me (sorry Izzy). So here is a quick review on these four products. Also sorry in advance for the poor quality photos! 

As I hardly ever have baths (haha) I have only used the body foam once but I did like it and think I might squeeze a little into the bottom of my shower before I go in as the smell is Amazing. It doesn't irritate my skin which is a bonus as I find a lot of other body foams make my sensitive skin go all red and itchy. As I don't have baths often I doubt I will buy this again but for all you bath lovers, i do recommend it. 

Next up is the moistiriser. This I finished about 2 months after Izz gave it too me and have still kept the pot to remined me to buy it again! I found it was non-greasy and moisturising. And once again, the smell is so good! I occasionally have to just smell the pot as each product smells slightly different. 

Talking about smells leads on to the next product. The body spray. Now this is a life saver for when you have those days were you just feel a little dull and need a spritz. It is also the perfect size to carry around in your school bag or handbag and perfect to use after P.E! I will definetaly buy it again as it does smell amazing.

Finally, the body wash. Not only does it make the whole bathroom smell amazing after being used but it makes you smell amazing as well! It smells just like the body spray which is great and leaves you feeling refreshed. However, I think I may be slightly allergic to it as it does make me go a bit pink. I recon I would buy this again but maybe not right after I have finished. 

If you have tried any of the products let us know in the comments as we'd love to hear what you think about them :)

Isabelle

Toodle-oo

❣

Bath and Body...

Hello! 

My most recent obsession (second to lipsticks of course-have more on the way) has been digging out my unloved bath and body bits from Christmases and birthdays past. There is nothing quite like soaking in the bath with bubbles candles around you. Its the best cure after a long day. The Yankee Candle Company have many scents to suit anyone and everyone.

Firstly I have fallen deeply in love with the Soap and Glory Rich and Foamous shower gel. Both Isabelle and I have raved to everyone that will listen about our love of soap and glory. That you can also read about here in Isabelle's post a few weeks back. 

When it comes to things like this I am super fussy, like you wouldn't believe, so for me to love it as much as I do is probably a first. It is a gorgeous almond smell and it makes your skin so silky and smooth. It's not the type of smell that hangs around and is overpowering. It is light and refreshing. As it is so foamy you only have to use a little at a time. This is why I was willing to pay a little extra for it as I know it'll keep me going for a long time. I got the large one from Boots at £6.50 but I think there are smaller ones available online. 

 

My next two items are body shop. Everyone knows their products are of a brilliant standard and for this you do pay a little extra. The first one is an Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream. It does exactly what it says on the tin and I love it. As you can see I have used it ALOT! It smells amazing and I am one of the unlucky ones with very dry hands. This stuff has completely stopped this. I will never stop buying this and I cannot wait to try the other scents. You can't not trust the ingredients The Body Shop uses as they have an all natural guarantee with most of their products.

The next Body Shop item is a body wash. It is a lovely scent 'White Musk' It always reminded me of rose. It is your average body wash but the smell meant I couldn't not suggest it, well there whole body wash line in general.

I am also Love Love Loving the tea tree range at Superdrug. All the products are cheaper and aimed at teenage blemish-prone skin. I know these don't really count but I wanted to suggest them any way. The foaming wash and cleanser are very refreshing and they help to keep down shine and the cleanser is fantastic to minimise pores and blackheads. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that doesn't want to spend loads of money or buy lots of different products. The products are a few pounds each. I don't know if they are available in the US however Tea Tree products in general are a brilliant solution to spot and shine prone skin. The tea tree moisturisers are perfect for dry to combination skin too.

A few other things are;

This cute 'Black Sheep' foaming soap;

Elizabeth Arden Exfoliating Scrub, that I have managed to get paint or makeup on; 

Also this really sweet mini Spa Treatment Shower Cream by Champneys; 

Let us know what products help you to relax after a long week.

Toodle-oo

Izzy
❣

Revision tips

So its gotten to that time of year where preparation for nearing exams is needed, so I thought I'd share some revision tips that are working for me.

First of all, make sure you don't leave it to the last minute. The weeks will soon fly by and before you know it you'll have only two weeks to cram loads of information into your head. I promise you, this doesn't work (I tried and ended up with an F in my exam). Start revising 2 or 3 months before and it will pay off.

Get rid of all distractions. Whether its a book you can't put down, instagram, tumblr or just any internet site. Yes, this is an extremely difficult thing to do and I had to use all my will power to delete my tumblr app (not my account) this weekend, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Lock your book away and freeze the key. Scrolling through tumblr thinking to yourself i'll start revising in 5 minutes and 20 minutes go by with nothing acomlished other than a few rebloggs won't get you good grades or a good job! 

Next, make a revision timetable. Prioratise certain subjects. There are online websites you can use that will make one for you if you'd prefer not to make it by hand.

 But make sure you don't overload on revision, your brain will need breaks even just for 5 minutes at a time. 40 minutes of a subject should be enough with a break in between and treat yourself to a sweet or chocolate afterwards. Try not to revise past a certain time in the day. I usually revise 40 minutes on 1 subject before 6pm and another 40 minutes on another subject after 7pm but I don't revise past 8pm.

Organize your revision. Put it in a folder with you different subjects and tick off things once you've revised them. 

Lastly, revision techniques. Both me and Izzy like to use spider diagrams and bright colours. Did you know that memory works better in colour because colour has a stronger appeal to the senses, prompting a better connection to parts of the brain involved with memory (ahhh, science!). Also, make sure you do past papers, as knowing how to answer questions helps as well. Its no good knowing loads of information but not knowing how to put it onto paper and get the marks. 

Here's a quote from the famous Anne Frank to end this blog post "Earning happiness means doing good and working, not spectulating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction". 

Isabelle

Toodle-oo

❣