Going into 2014 | Reflection on 2013's resolutions

2013

At the start of the year I made some new years resolutions and wrote about them here. Now I’d like to take the time to reflect on my year and see if I actually achieved my resolutions from the past year as 2014 is fast approaching.

Firstly I made the resolution to be more focussed and motivated - specifically when it came to college work. I’m happy to say that I have achieved this resolution. At the start of last year I was taking some subjects that I really didn’t enjoy and most likely resulted in my slump when it came to college work. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned this year it would be that you can’t force yourself to do something that you whole heartedly hate. I changed a few of my subjects in September and have turned my grades around. I still have a long way to go though, with seven exams in the summer it could all go pear-shaped again.

My second resolution was to be more spontaneous this year. Throughout the year I’ve struggled with anxiety - something which has never effected me so much before - and so I haven’t been as spontaneous as I’d planned. However, Lucy & I did venture to London on our own for the first time this year - which can be seen here - so I’d like to say I’m getting there. I also passed my driving test this past October so with this new sense of freedom I’m hoping I’ll  have more spontaneous adventures next year.

Instead of making new resolutions for 2014 I’m going to stick with the same ones going into the new year. Both resolutions are still very relevant to me and I wouldn’t say I have completely achieved them yet - although I am getting there.



Did you achieve your resolutions for 2013?

~ Jade xx



Side note: Sorry for the lack of posts on here over the past couple of months but college work piled up and personal issues also prevailed. Also, the lack of decent natural lighting has made it difficult to take blog pictures. Hopefully in the new year things will get back to normal. We hope you all had a very happy holidays!

This Works deep sleep pillow talk | Review

deep sleep pillow spray

“Insomnia is the chronic inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for an adequate length of time.”

I struggle with sleep and I have done for a number of years. Most night’s I only get around three to four hours sleep which as you probably know, isn’t enough. I’ve tried a number of things in the past to help - even taking herbal remedies as to me ‘sleeping tablets’ are just a no-go - but nothing has seemed to work. I’d heard a lot about the This Works Deep Sleep range and so decided to test out their ‘Deep Sleep Pillow Spray’ and ‘Deep Sleep Stress Less Oil’. Both products are a blend of lavender and chamomile which gives a rich blend of relaxing oils which supposedly help to calm your senses so that you can sleep more easily. 

I ordered the ‘Deep Sleep Pillow Talk’ duo which comes in at £22. In the duo you receive a full sized version of the pillow spray (75ml) and a half size version of the oil (5ml). I ordered mine from ASOS so that I could benefit from my student discount but you can order it straight from the This Works website too, as well as other sites such as beauty-bay etc. £22 may seem like a lot for a pillow spray and an oil however This Works believe in using quality ingredients and don’t ‘water down’ the oils in their products which means you don’t need a lot for good pay off.

You can spray the pillow spray either on your pillow or duvet - I spray it on the top of my duvet as my head never stays on my pillow for long - about half an hour before you plan on going to sleep so that it has time to work into the fabric and isn’t too overwhelming. I normally use around 6-8 sprays to do this and then leave it whilst I brush my teeth and carry out my nighttime skin routine.

The oil comes in a small roller-ball which makes for easy application. The point is to either apply it to your wrists or on a tissue to inhale before sleep. I put it on my wrists as I tend to sleep with my hands close to my face and then it works throughout the night. 

I’ve been using the combination of both products for a few weeks now and I’ve noticed an improvement in my sleep. I’m still not at the stage of a ‘normal’ sleeping pattern but my sleeping has definitely improved although I do still wake up throughout the night and sometimes I still feel just as tired when I wake up because my quality of sleep isn’t that great. Though, these products don’t claim they’ll ‘cure’ sleeping problems it just states they’ll help, which I definitely agree with.

There are other products in the deep sleep also including a balm for lips, elbows and heels, a shower gel, a bath soak, a body oil, a cream and a candle which I would be interested in trying in the future also - they even have a pillow spray for babies, so they have all bases covered.



Have you tried any This Works products before?


~ Jade xx

The Lush edit | Christmas present ideas for her

bath melt


Lush at Christmas time is a bounty full of sweet smells and glitter which can become quite overwhelming if you’ve never ventured in before - I know that’s how I felt when I first started shopping in Lush. When it comes to Christmas, Lush bring out their own loot of Christmas goodies which are nice but some of their permanent stock can also make really luxurious Christmas presents. Today I’ve put together two present ideas from Lush. One for the more mature lady perhaps - mine is for my lovely mum - and the other for a younger female in you life - mine is for a friend.

First up, the gift for mum. My mum is a hard working lady so I wanted to get her something that she can pamper herself with. Bath products weren’t an option as my mum rarely dips her toes into a steaming bath and much prefers showers. I wanted to get her something very moisturising and generally something she can pamper herself with. In the end I chose the ‘Olive Branch’ shower gel and the ‘Therapy’ massage bar. The shower gel is a mix of olive oil, mandarins, bergamot oil and vine leaves which altogether create a very moisturising product. I’ve bought one of these for my mum in the past and it lasted her a good three months because you really don’t need a lot os product, which is good because Lush products are more expensive than the average. The second product is one of Lush’s massage bars. The idea behind them is that they’re a solid body butter which you smooth over your body in the bath or shower to give your skin extra hydration. Therapy is a mix of shea butter, cocoa butter and natural oils which overall give moisturising and also relaxing qualities. The small bottle of the Olive Branch shower gel is £4.50 and the massage bar is £6.50. To go with these two products I also bought my mum a candle from NEOM so she truly can pamper herself.

The gift for teens. I decided to go for more sweet smelling things opposed to the more mature scents that I chose for my mum. ‘Snow Fairy’ is a limited edition scent which comes out every year. It smells - to me anyway - like candy floss in a bottle and I love candy floss. As with the Olive Branch shower gel you don’t need a lot of the Snow Fairy shower gel to get a good lather and they last a good while. The large bottle is £10.95. The second product is ‘Star Light, Star Bright’ which is a bath melt. These work like regular bath bombs in the sense that you put them in the bath and wait for them to dissolve, but a bath melt is different in that instead of creating a fizz and spectacular colour these dissolve to leave a luxurious mix of moisturising ingredients and natural oils. These melt very easily in your hands - which is why part of the glitter is missing in the picture above, it was on my fingers - which just shows how moisturising they are. They are coated in silver glitter however this doesn’t continue to inside, so when you leave the bath you won’t look like a disco ball! These are £3.30 and are also limited edition.



Will you be delving into Lush this Christmas?

~ Jade xx

Photography information

Canon 600D with 18-55mm lens, Canon 24mm lens or Sigma 70-300mm lens. Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens or Canon 24mm lens. Any edited photos are edited using Photoshop CS6. Picture source is given for any photo used that is not directly ours.