Friday 29 April 2016

T3 Pink Compact Travel Hairdryer




 When travelling abroad (and packing my suitcase for travelling abroad) I often wish I could take a couple of items that will make my life a little easier when I'm there. I'm not talking the full kitchen sink here but I am thinking more along the lines of some home comforts that I just can't live without when I'm at home, let alone when I'm on holiday. One of those items is a hairdryer; I am in love with my hairdryer at home, which funnily enough was actually my boyfriend's originally and was so much better than mine, so I nabbed it. It does such a great job of drying my hair quickly, which for all the long-haired girls out there, you'll know exactly what I mean when I say that that was a must have feature. From a good 30 mins down to about 10-15; it'll be a sad day when that one dies! However, as much as I love that hair dryer, it's just not really practical to take on holiday with me. I know there will be hair dryers in my hotel but honestly the only experiences I've ever had with hotel dryers have always been bad ones so I do prefer to take my own one with me now.

I'd been struggling for a while to find one that I really liked enough to part with my money for and then I got an invite to a launch party in London for a new compact hairdryer from T3. Unfortunately I couldn't attend but the PR Company were generous enough to send me one to test out and I have to say it must have been fate because it is the perfect one to take on holiday with me! The T3 Featherweight Pink Compact Hairdryer is first of all, baby pink, so do I really need to say any more? It's also super lightweight (sorry featherweight) meaning that it doesn't add any extra unneccessary weight to my luggage and as the name suggests, compacts to a much easier size for travelling! As you can see in my photos above, there's a hinge at the top of the handle that allows it to fold in on itself, it makes it so much easier to pack away and is perfect for folding up into my suitcase.

As for power this hairdryer is pretty good at what it does. I wouldn't say it's as powerful as my trusty Remmington one, but for one that folds down and is easy to travel with it's definitely way up there above the ones provided in hotel rooms! I've used this to dry my hair multiple times over the last couple of weeks and it does quite a good job of it. Considering how thick my hair is, it actually doesn't take too long to dry compared to my Remmington, probably around 15-20 minutes, but within 10 it's probably acceptable to go out with! The temperatures on it are perfect, with the hottest it goes being nowhere near scalding like some hair dryers I've tried in the past. I like this a lot more than those types because with how long I have to sit with this next to my head the last thing I like is when I get a burnt scalp! Hairdryers can often be far too hot for my liking and T3 have hit the nail on the head here with the perfect temperature. There's also a cool setting which I really like too; for many years I always though the cool temperature was ridiculous but it actually helps set the hair into place once you've finished drying so it's great that even though this one is small and compact-able that they haven't removed that feature.

The T3 FeatherweightPink Compact Hairdryer is such a saviour for my holiday in 2 weeks time! It's a little pricey at £125 but if you're a frequent traveler or don't mind the splurge on a decent hairdryer for at home and away then this one is definitely for you! What do you think about taking a hair dryer on holiday with you? Would this be something you'd think of purchasing?



BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*May contain PR samples* 

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Wednesday 27 April 2016

Kylie Lip Kit Review and Swatches






When I first heard that Kylie Jenner was bringing out her own lip kit collection I wasn't fussed. Out of all of the Kardashian/Jenner clan I have to say that recently she's become one of my least favourite's, however that didn't stop me jumping onto the band wagon later down the line as she started releasing more shades. I initially saw how hard they were to get hold of and so didn't even bother to look into them at all; I didn't know the price of them, I didn't know where to get hold of them and at the time, I just didn't care. Then of course Kylie started swatching them on her snapchat and I got a little bit more excited. I heard of people I knew having them delivered and my whole perception of them changed. I needed them. So fast forward to just over a month later and I now have had several late nights, a lot of credit card currency change charges and a whopping great customs punch to the face and best of all, I have three of the highly sought after Kylie Lip Kits

I made two separate purchases to get my hands on these and with shipping to the UK being around $15, I don't think I'll be making another purchase anytime soon (unless of course she brings out something I just have to have). My first purchase was Mary Jo K, not one that I set out to buy but all the same, a shade that I will definitely wear on a night out. It was the first one to arrive and I was dead excited when it got delivered to my work. The next two were part of my second purchase and arrived only a day after my first parcel which was I was really happy about as I'd actually ordered them about a week apart and the first package had taken a ridiculous two weeks to arrive. I didn't actually get hit with any customs charges on these two packages, which was fantastic, but I did on my Kylie Glosses and I'll be talking about those in another post because that was a very sad moment. 

The Lip Kits themselves I actually have mixed reviews on. I'd heard such great things about these products and I was excited to try them out for myself so when they first arrived obviously the first thing I did was swatch them and then get them on my lips! The packaging for these products is gorgeous. I'm not really ever a fan of celebrity endorsed products as I think they can look quite cheap and tack but honestly I think they've done really well with these. The Liquid lipstick tube is clearly one of Kylie's with the dripping lipstick marks and her signature and I just think that overall the collections is really pretty; I even have the boxes still on display on my makeup table because the colour-coded packaging is just beautiful against my white dresser. It's clearly part of the Kylie Cosmetics range and that excites me because I am such a materialistic person. The liner again is gorgeous and I love the subtlety of the branding; just a little embossing of Kylie's signature on these with the shade clearly marked on the end. It's not too dissimilar from MAC's liner packaging and looks good mixed in with the rest of my collection.

The products themselves are actually really good. When it came to the hype of how amazing they actually were I was a little skeptical, after all, they are attached to Kylie Jenner and not a well known makeup brand, but after giving them a go I have been happy with the end results. The liners are probably the best ones I've ever tried. They're extremely soft, creamy and glide on effortlessly with great pigmentation. There's no need for much pressure with these and the pencil's really easy to sharpen too. I kind of wish that they sold the liners on their own as I'd definitely pick up a couple mor shades on their own. The liquid lipsticks have been a little bit of a mix for me. Candy K has definitely been my favourite and with a single layer applied lightly it's the best thing since sliced bread, until it's been on for about 4 hours + where I find it can start to feel a little too dry on my lips. I've heard from several reviews that they're 'not drying at all' but honestly I'd have to disagree with that. Overall, yes for a matte liquid lipstick, they're pretty darn good, but when it comes to a few hours down the line, I do struggle with trying to keep my lips feeling good. Especially with Mary Jo K, I'm not sure if the formulation for this bright red is slightly different or not, but if you put a little too much of this on then I find that it can start crumbling and going patchy. Not great.

I actually really like the Kylie Lip Kits and I would buy some more happily if she brought out any more shades that I liked the look of, and for the money they are (in my opinion) worth the $29 + $15 shipping for even just one kit (as long as you luck out on not having to pay customs) because compared to the likes of MAC and Charlotte Tilbury, these kits actually come up a little cheaper. But I don't think I'd make a purchase any time soon, even though I do really want to try and get my hands on KoKo K! What do you think of the Kylie Lip Kits? Do you have one or are you tempted to buy one? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

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Sunday 24 April 2016

Results with Lucy Final Thoughts & Photos

Results With Lucy Review Progress photos

It's now the beginning of my sixth *official* week of my Results with Lucy Program, however as I'm writing this it's actually a week before this post should go live so technically I guess I'm now at the end of my week 6 exercises. I've had a little bit of a week of not eating quite as well as I could have been but with how much I've been working out my progress thankfully has still been quite good. I'm loving how my body is looking and am still loving the Results with Lucy workouts which is great as by now I am usually bored of a set plan. I've even started prepping my meals in advance for the week and have been stepping out of the box a little bit with the kinds of meals that I'm making. 

As the weeks have progressed I have noticed more and more of a change within my body and also how I have been feeling. The Results with Lucy workouts have been amazing and I have absolutely loved how they have gotten slightly harder each week, it's meant that my workouts have been interesting and not at all repeptive. Before I started the Results with Lucy Beach Body plan I'd always had my doubts about an online subscription like this. I was dubious that it could actually work and was under the impression that it was just another celebrity endorsed gimmick, however I was completely wrong and now cannot recommend Results with Lucy enough. Over the past couple of weeks, through doing my workouts, following the meal plan and seeing how active Lucy is on her twitter and on the live workouts I've completely fallen in love with the site and am now looking at the other plans to see which I could complete afterwards. With my holiday now only 19 (?!?!?!) days away I'm even more determined to keep my body in shape so that I look good in my shiny new bikinis! ( I wish they were actually shiny)...

So the thing you're probably all wanting to see now is my final set of photos. Now I have to admit that at the beginning of this past week I was super down on myself for how I've been looking and feeling after my binge at the weekend and so this week I've stepped it up again to try and get back to the happy place that I was before the Peanut M&M's and Fruit Pastels cast their spell on me. It's been working well and I've been feeling a little happier again and starting to feel improvements again already. I'm not entirely sure how I actually looked this past weekend or whether I put on any weight or not but in my head I felt like I'd put on at least 7 stone... Obviously I didn't, but that's how it felt to me. I felt bad about eating the sweets, but I didn't punish myself for it and I'm proud of myself for that! So here they are, here are my Results With Lucy final photos. I really hope that you can see the differences that I can! I feel so much more confident and would happily wear a bikini on the beach now without feeling self conscious. I'm still not 100% where I want to be, but over the last 6/7 weeks I've definitely made an incredible difference in how I feel, look and act and I am super happy with it. I can start seeing definition too which I am super excited about!

Results With Lucy Before and After Progress Photos

Results With Lucy has been an amazing program to follow and the workouts and meal plans / recipes have been great. I've been recommending it to everyone and I am completely meaning it when I say I'm going to be looking at other programs on the site to keep myself going. However, I understand that I am a very fitness focused person, what with all of the classes that I also go to, so if you still don't quite think that this is the right thing for you, just pop over to the Results With Lucy Twitter and join in with one of their live workouts. I think for the past couple of weeks these have been on a Tuesday at 8pm (which unfortunately I miss due to Bootcamp) but they're such a great workout and are just like the ones on the site, so no gimmicky free trial rubbish here and you can fully test it out and see if this will work for you. Perfect!

I just want to take this time now to thank the team over at Results With Lucy for letting my try this plan out, again if you want to do the specific plan that I tried, just keep your eyes peeled as I think it should be launching soon! Let me know in the comments how you're getting along with your fitness plans and what you're doing to keep yourselves motivated as we come closer to Summer!




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*Some of the items in this post were gifted to me for PR purposes*



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Friday 22 April 2016

Skincare Routine 2016 ft Liz Earle, Jurlique & Clarins

Skincare routine, Jurlique, Liz Earle, Clarins
Hello you lovely lot! So today I thought I'd do an updated version of my skincare routine, not something that I've done in a while and it has definitely changed dramatically. I don't think I'm using a single product that I used in my last routine! My skin is pretty good at the moment and especially since changing up my routine to include the products above. I haven't had many spots or breakouts at all recently *touch wood* and I'm certainly thanking these products for this skin success.

The first products that I reach for is my Makeup remover. I've been loving the Garnier Micellar water but also really like gel formulations like the Bliss Makeup Melt Cleanser before I then go in with  my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and Instant Boost Skin Tonic which I use religiously. These have been my holy grail products since I first started using them a couple of months ago and I don't think I could live without them. They've been my skin saviours and I love them! In fact, when Liz Earle had the bargain sale on their website (C&P for £9.50 including 2 muslin cloths) I actually bought 3 bottles and 2 bottles of the Skin Tonic (which was also £9.50), it was probably a bit OTT looking back on it now, but let's be honest when your favourite products are on sale, you've just got to go for it! I use my Cleanse and Polish every evening to remove the remains of my makeup with my damp muslin cloth and then dab my face with some of the Skin Tonic on a cotton pad after drying my face. Even if I skip out the other steps on my skincare routine, these are the two steps that I have to do. I always feel so fresh after doing this and it's an amazing combo to remove all of the cr*p from my face. I also do this in the morning when I wake up to make sure my face is prepped and ready for the day.

I then move on to using my Bare Minerals Active Cell Renewal Night Serum, which sadly, I will no longer be able to use as straight after taking these blog photos, I dropped it and smashed it all over my bathroom floor. To tell you I was heartbroken is an understatement. But, before I'd done that, I'd just pop out a tiny bit onto my fingers and massage it all over my face. In the morning, instead of this step, I spritz over my Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist to wake me up that little bit extra and it leaves my skin feeling so bright and ready for the day.

Next steps in my evening routine is either a face mask or straight onto my moisturiser. If I am going to do a facemask I usually go for a mix of different ones. Sometimes I head to my fridge and use a bit of the latest Lush face mask that I have or I use one of these Nugg face masks. These are available in Selfridges and are so nice and re-hydrating. I just pop a bit of this all over my face and leave it on for around half an hour to an hour before wiping it off with a flannel. These pouches are actually really good value for money too as even though they can seem a little pricey at £13 for 4, I've managed to get at least 3 uses out of each one! I also then use one of my Nugg eye masks once a aweek and I've found that these work really well re-hydrating my under eyes and bringing them back to life so that I don't look tired all the time! I then use my Clarins Multi-Active Moisturisers to soften my skin for the night / day ahead.

The Clarins Multi-Active Morning and Night moisturisers are a great start/end to the day and always leave my skin feeling so soft. Packed full of plant extracts and the latest in botanical research these two beauties keep your skin looking youthful by diminishing signs of ageing and keeping your skin radiant and hydrated. Obviously I'm only 21 so anti-ageing isn't my biggest concern right now, but you can't really beat tackling it from the off. These moisturisers smell gorgeous and are another brilliant release from Clarins (when don't they release something anything less than amazing?). I really love that these are separate creams as it just means that I know that each cream is doing something specific for my skin; the morning one definitely makes me feel a little more awake and smells so fresh and the night time Multi-Active feels a little thicker and I just feel like it's doing me wonders overnight!

So that's it! That is my updated skincare routine and the routine that I am using at the moment, although obviously I'm going to have to find myself a new serum now I stupidly smashed my Bare Minerals one! Let me know in the comments if you have any recommendations, that one really was a favourite of mine and I can't believe I dropped it! I'd love to know what products you're loving at the moment and what you think I should try out next! This post has kindly been in collaboration with Blissworld a great skincare brand, so make sure you go and check out their site too.




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*May contain PR samples* / *This is a sponsored post*

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Wednesday 20 April 2016

Organising my blog with Ohh Deer



One thing I have been terrible at recently (which is actually really unusual for me) has been my organisation and specifically when it comes to my blog. I've been leaving my emails to pile up, I've been forgetting about products I've been sent to review and worst of all, I've not been keeping an eye on anything like my stats or my blog growth. It's been terrible and my inner organisational freak has been having a bit of a mental breakdown. I just let it all get away from me a bit and it took me a while to realise and shake myself up a bit! However, now I have been very generously sent some gorgeous new stationery bits from Ohh Dear I have absolutely no excuse and really need to step up my organisation game! Below are some of my top tips for keeping organised (because I promise you that when I can be bothered, I'm pretty much an organisation Queen).


1 - List. Lists are your best friend when you're trying to stay organised. I find it so much easier when I jot everything down and can visualise what I need to do. 

2 - Objectives. I've been using my new Ohh Dear x Urban Outfitters Marble Daily Journal to set myself daily objectives; they give me something to work towards for each day and make me feel a little bit inadequate if I don't complete them (I'm kidding here, but objectives do help I me stick to doing certain things each day). This Daily Journal is perfect for listing your objectives as it has sectioned out specific areas for your daily objectives and projects.

3 - Plan your days. Again, my new marble Daily Journal from Ohh Dear is another perfect piece of kit for planning my days out. Down the right hand side of each page there is an area divided into time slots for quickly separating your day into manageable chunks. I always find that planning my day makes me far more productive as I know where I should be with managing my time (which I am honestly rubbish at) and it helps me get more done!

4 - Separate your projects! Something I usually do is try and take everything on at once. It's the worst habit ever and it always makes me stress out far more than I need to. Making sure that I have separate pages for my different projects, lists or topics is crucial for me otherwise it just confuses me even more! I've been using my Ohh Deer Marble Notebook to jot down my ideas in and love that the pages are such a great size, it makes keeping my pages organised so much easier as there's a lot more room to note stuff down!

5 - Keep notes! I cannot stress to you enough how important I think it is to keep notes! Whenever I have an idea I need to just write it down in a notepad or on my phone as I know that if I don't I'll end up beating myself up in the future for not remembering it! I actually have a notebook and a pen next to by bed as I often find that my best ideas come to me at the strangest times and it just means that I'll never forget them.

6 - Don't rush things! Another thing that I do sometimes is rush things. If I don't have a blog post ready for that evening or I'm running late for something and am trying to rush to get something finished before I leave I always end up completing something that really isn't worth while. I'm always disappointed with the content I create when I rush and so one of my main rules is to not rush anything and to take my time.

7 - Set aside the time. Setting aside the time to do tasks like replying to my emails, taking blog photos or planning posts always makes me less stressed. I always seem to think I can conquer the world and then have the issue of being disappointed when I haven't managed to complete things. Along with my 3rd tip of planning out your day, making sure that you allocate a realistic amount of time to each task will always make you feel more organised and on top of things.

8 - Don't take on too much at once. Again, something that I am guilty of. Sometimes the emails I get coming into my inbox can seem too exciting to turn down, but I think that I need to realise that sometimes it's okay to say "You know what? Actually that's an amazing idea, but can we do it next week instead?" it leaves me with more time to sort things out, doesn't leave the PR annoyed or disappointed that I haven't completed the content in time and also keeps the relationship there for a possible next time collaboration too. After all, I'm not Superwoman and there isn't 1000 hours in a day.

9 - Schedule, Schedule, Schedule. One thing that has been helping me out recently is scheduling my Tweets and Blog posts. Although it may seem like a basic step to all of you other bloggers out there, it's one that I've never really been bothered to do before. Spending an hour on writing and scheduling Tweets has never appealed to me, but after taking the time on a Sunday evening to do it over the last couple of weeks it's made me realise how beneficial a task it is. Same goes for writing and scheduling blog posts in advance, it means that I always have content ready and don't miss an opportunity to post.

10 - Generally keep organised. A bit of a vague one, but keeping organised in the basic sense of the word with files and a diary to keep track of events and deadlines is one of the easiest things I've never done before. Ever since I've started popping event reminders into my phone and sectioning out my emails into sub-folders on Gmail, my life has become so much easier! It's definitely something I recommend to all of you!



Thank you so much to Ohh Dear for sending me across these gorgeous bits, they've definitely given me some more motivation to keep organised and I love the marble designs! The Daily Journal has been my absolute go-to recently as it's been the perfect size to carry around with me in my handbag and it's been so easy to write in as a daily activity. It's definitely kept me on top of things and I already feel so much calmer when it comes to being organised with my blog! Ohh Deer do so many gorgeous stationary pieces and little greetings cards too which are so cute (Pugtato?!) so make sure you pop across and check them out as they are so inexpensive too! What do you do to keep yourselves organised? Let me know your top tips in the comments.




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*Some of the items in this post were gifted to me for PR purposes*


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Sunday 17 April 2016

An Afternoon of Cross Fit with Pink Soda Sport


Of the many amazing events I get invited to, I have to say that the best one by far that I have attended has been the Pink Soda x Cross Fit event in Manchester just over a week ago. I was super excited to get to go along as the brand is one that I've been eyeing up for a while and let's face it, we all know I'm a huge fitness freak! Before we arrived we were actually sent out an outfit of our choice from the Pink Soda Sports Gym Wear collection and I opted for the Space Dye Capri Leggings (which were definitley not capri on me - #shortgirlproblems), the Pink Soda Logo Crop Sports Bra and their Panel Zip through Hoodie. We were very generously gifted these items in advance so that we could actually wear them to the event and give them a thorough testing! I have to say that I'm normally a bit dubious when it comes to fashionable sportswear as it doesn't usually do that well for high intensity workouts but these pieces have definitely been carefully designed and you can tell that the sportswear properties were at the forefront of their minds when being created.

The event itself was organised really well, the lovely ladies from Pink Soda and JD were so inviting and really nice to just chat too and get along with and a couple of them actually participated in the event too which I absolutely loved! Myself and Eryn (from   Four W's and a H) were taken to one side for a quick interview before the workout and then we were all taken into the gym at Train in Manchester for a quick overview of the Cross Fit session we were about to do. For me, as an avid fitness junkie I was really excited to get going with the exercises and as soon as we heard that it was a competition between our pairs, Eryn and I got into full combat mode and were ready to thrash everyone else (not that we're in the slighted competitive). It gave us a much more intense workout and we ended up winning so we were incredibly proud of ourselves!

The workout itself was comprised of three sections with five minute intervals inbetween and my god were they difficult! I've written out the workouts we did below for you to see that we really were put through our paces! I have to say that the Pink Soda clothing lasted really well during the workout and I was really impressed with how it felt too. As I mentioned before, I'm used to fashionable fitness gear lasting all of 3 minutes when I'm working out so this was such a lovely surprise. My leggings were super thick and really held me together nicely which is always another bonus; I also didn't have that awkward moment where my sports bra didn't quite support me enough and my boobs were strapped down really well. An unsuportive sports bra is normally the make or break with fashion sports brands and I have to say that Pink Soda passed with flying colours. Their kit is great and I throughly enjoy working out in it as it's just so comfortable!

The Workout (In Pairs):

WARM UP:
200m run
Then 2 sets of:
10x 8KG Kettlebell swings (head hight)
10x Burpees (chest to floor)
10x Squat jumps (ass to grass)

ROUND ONE:
One to stand and hold 2x 16kg weights // One to row as fast as they can
Swap every time the weights are put down. Fastest to 150 calories burned between the pair.

ROUND TWO:
(Between the pair, 10 minutes to complete)
60x Squat + 7kg Ball throw (against the wall)
60x 12kg kettlebell swings (chest height)
60x Burpees (chest to floor)

ROUND THREE:
(As many reps as possible, 3 minutes each station)
Straight arm extension above head with 5kg plate
Box Jumps
12kg Kettlebell Upright Row
Rower machine (as many calories burnt as possible)

Honestly I loved the workout so much and it was so fun knowing that it was for a brand event as well as just another exercise class. As you've probably gathered by now if you read a lot of my blog posts, I attend a lot of fitness classes so for a blogger event to incorporate something I love anyway, I was well up for it! I'm so impressed with the Pink Soda Sport range and can't wait to see what new pieces they bring out soon too! I'll definitely be getting my hands on more, in fact, if I could, I'd easily have the whole collection!

What are your favourite things to do at blogger events? Have you tried out the Pink Soda Sport range? Keep following my blog via the Bloglovin' link below for my Pink Soda Fitness Lookbook post coming soon!




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*All photos used in the post were taken and approved by Pink Soda Sport*
*This post contains PR samples*



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Friday 15 April 2016

6 Tips for the best Fake Tan!


One of the things that I promised myself (and Jordan) when we first moved to Manchester was that I would start fake tanning more. Being from a little town in the middle of nowhere there was really no need for me to fake tan or for me to feel the need to hide my pale, so I promised myself that I would become more of a 'better' girl when I moved. That didn't really happen straight away and so now that I am finally getting into my groove with tanning more often I thought that I would do a tip and tricks post for how I get my best fake tan!

Tip 1:Exfoliate and shave beforehand

So I know this is probably the most basic tip ever and it's probably number one on everyone's tan tips but it is the most crucial! The last thing you want when you're trying to tan is hairy legs and patchy knees and elbows! I absolutely love using Lush's Rub Rub Rub along with a single exfoliation glove (who's got time for putting on two gloves) as I find that this is the best way to exfoliate my skin ready for the tan (and to get rid of my tan).

Tip 2: Moisturise

I would 100% recommend that you do this the day before. Moisturising just before you tan (especially on your knees and elbows) can actually make your tan stick there more. I've heard controversial things about moisturising but from my experience, softening your skin the day before always has the best results for my tan!

Tip 3: Use Vaseline!

Vaseline is my absolute go-to for when I am tanning. I pop a little bit of this over my fingernails and toe nails and across my lips just so that the tan doesn't stick to those parts of my body. Fake tan can be tricky business if you get it where it shouldn't be and so vaseline is a godsend for making sure that it doesn't stain where it shouldn't be.

Tip 4: Use a double sided extra soft mitt

This might sound like a little bit of an odd one, but I personally use the Cocoa Brown Double sided Velvet mitt and find that it's the nicest thing ever to apply my tan with, you can also get one from Sienna X if you can't find the Cocoa Brown one anywhere as it can be quite difficult to find. I absolutely love the velvet finish and find that it allows my tan to glide on so so well and having it double sided makes doing my back so much easier when Jordan isn't around! Yes, I shove a hair brush in my mitt and flap around trying to tackle the patches with the help of my mirror!

Tip 5:  Leave your tan on for a decent amount of time!

I cannot stress this enough. The amount of time you leave on your tan (especially if you use rapid tans) is crucial. When I first started using 1 hour tans I literally left them on for just one hour and I was always so disappointed with how I looked afterwards. When I tan I feel like I want a dramatic tan and when I was first experimenting with rapid tans I didn't really know how dark they would be. I now leave my tans on for around 2-3 hours of development and then wash off the remainder and I love the colour that it leaves me. My best advice here is just trial and error and see what works for you!

Tip 6: Don't use deodorant!

Never use deodorant after you've just tanned. Your armpits are a tricky area to get correct anyway and applying deodorant straight after you've tanned is never really wise. Leave it over night and then get up fresh in the morning and shower / add your deodorant as normal. Believe me, it makes all of the difference and has a big effect on how tanned / white your pits are in  the long run!

So that's it! Those are 6 of my top tanning tips for you all! As I start tanning more I think I'll probably pick up some more tips so will share them soon with you all! This post has kindly been in collaboration with Capital Hair and Beauty (including another link) who are the UK's largest salon suppliers so make sure you pop over to their site to have a look at their amazing tanning products including Sienna X and Crazy Angel and also all of the beauty and hair products they have too. Let me know what your top tanning tips are in the comments below!





BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

*This post was sponsored*



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Wednesday 13 April 2016

What's In My Carry On? | Long Haul Flight Essentials

As I type this, it is currently now under a month until I set off to Manchester Airport and board my 9 hour flight to Florida for two weeks of non stop fun and all things Disney in Orlando. This is my first post in a series of Travel blog posts for this trip and I know that by now you're probably already sick of me going on about how excited I am to get going (especially if you follow me on social media)! One of the main things that I've been thinking about for the longest time since booking our trip has been what I'm going to take on the plane. I am one of the worlds worst packers and always imagine myself taking barely anything but by the time it comes to packing I always realise that I can never pack light! So for this post I've managed to narrow down my in-flight carry on items to the essentials and thought I'd share them with you all!

My Carry On

First things first I thought I'd show you the bag that I am taking on my fight. I like to take a slightly large bag to the airport with me to make sure that I've got room for other bits and pieces should I pick anything up at Duty Free or any snacks before I fly. I also like to make sure that my bag is easily accessible when I'm at the airport so the bag that I have chosen to take with me is absolutely perfect for that too. The bag I will be taking with me is the LYDC Lulu Traveller Tote which is a large PU tote bag with a zip fastening all along the top and two internal pockets. I am obsessed with the print on this bag as it's so girly and perfect for spotting amongst the many other bags in the overhead compartments. It's the perfect size and I actually love that the measurements are clearly displayed on the website because that made sure that before I chose it I could check with Virgin Alantic to make sure that it complied with the Carry on baggage requirements - amazing!




Documents & Money

Since this trip is my first big trip away on my own (you know without the 'rents) I thought it was time to start looking after my travel documents properly. For keeping my passport, boarding pass, flight documents and a little bit of cash in I have very generously been sent this Ted Baker Coral Travel Document Holder from Amara Living. I literally fell in love with this as soon as I saw it and couldn't have picked anything prettier out if I had tried. It's so perfect to keep all of my important documents in and will be easily found in my massive bag with it being so beautifully neon pink. As with all of Ted Baker bits the hardware on this is rose gold too which makes me super happy! This Document Holder also comes with a little rose gold pen too ready for any situations where you may need to sign something or write down any information which I definitely think sets this one aside from the rest too when I was choosing from the selection  that Amara have on their site, it's super handy and just perfect for travelling to America as if  I remember correctly there are some forms you need to fill out on the plane before you land.

As obviously America have a different currency to us and I'm not going to want to be taking my usual purse with me as it's jam packed with all of my loyalty cards and such, I will also be taking this LYDC Lulu Traveler Purse with me. This is in the same print as my carry on tote and is the perfect size for storing my American Dollars in and some little  bits of loose change. It's not bulky at all and so will also be perfect for carrying around in the theme parks as I don't want to really be taking much with me at all then.



Sun Glasses

Sunglasses are a big love of mine and I can't help but always fall in love with new pairs so I'm not just taking one pair to Florida with me; however I will only be taking one 'main' pair with me in my carry on. These babies are my new Polaroid Sunglasses: the PLD1017S Rose Gold Polarised Aviators to be precise.  I chose these frames as they are my favourite aviator style (perfect for covering my tired eyes from many late nights at the parks) and are also Polarised, meaning they will be much better for my eyes than your bog standard pair from Primark for £2. Polaroid are a brand that many people may know about because of their cameras, but they're also up their with the greats for their sunglasses. This pair is only £45 which I think is an absolute bargain in the world of designer frames, especially since they are so much better for your eyes being Polarised. You can check out the Sunglasses Shop website to find out more information on the benefits of Polarised Sunglasses, but basically it minimises the types of reflective light that can penetrate the lenses and get into your eyes. I'm not totally sure if I 100% understand, but I definitely know that they're better for me than a pair that aren't polarised and that's good enough for me. I'm a big advocate for sun protection and the first step in that has always been a decent pair of sunnies!




Technology

Now obviously on a long haul flight like this there will be quite a lot of in-flight entertainment on those cute little tv's that they have in the back of the seats. Being Virgin, I know that their range of films and tv shows are actually quite good and so I should be sorted for most of the flight along with having a nap in between. Because of this I don't really plan on taking much in terms of entertainment tech with me except of course from some headphones and my phone! I'll be taking two lots of headphones with me just because my ears get quite tired of in-ear headphones quite quickly and I don't want to have to be dealing with painful ears on a flight that long. So because of this I'll be taking my trusty Apple headphones that came with my phone and also a pair of Skullcandy Crusher Headphones  that I bought on a whim just over a month ago as they vibrate with bass-heavy music and that really excited me! You can see why I never have any money as I'm easily tempted to buy! Of course, I'll also be taking a phone charger and my U.S Plug adapter!




Beauty

Of course I couldn't pack my Carry On without including some beauty products! I will obviously have a makeup bag in there too with some bits and pieces in in case my suitcase is delayed but that will be in a separate post for you soon! My must have bits (beauty and skincare wise) will be the ones in the photos above. Nine hours is a long time to be up in the air with bad air conditioning and other people's germs and so pampering my skin is a must! The first item is the Neals Yard Remedies White Tea Facial Mist, a must have for keeping my skin hydrated whilst on the plane (and will double up perfectly for cooling me down when walking around the theme parks). I find that facial mists are great for just spritzing on every couple of hours to keep me feeling fresh and this one from NYR smells amazing! Secondly I have the Clarins HydraQuench Bi-Phase Serum which is supposedly amazing for re-hydrating ultra thirsty skin. Perfect for when I'm high in the clouds in the drying air, this serum is designed for restoring the skin's natural hydration and radiant appearance. I've actually used this a couple of times recently and it seems perfect for popping in my carry on and using on the plane every now and again!

I definitely couldn't leave the UK without a mini can of Batiste dry shampoo! This is the perfect size to throw into my carry on and freshen my hair up as I step off of the plane. It's also the perfect size for me to then carry around the parks. Next is this Palmer's Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Healthy skin, I'm not actually entirely sure what this is meant to be for, but I'm going to be taking this with me to use as a hand cream as my hands always get super dry when i'm flying. The Clarin's 50+ Sun Wrinkle Control Cream for Face is the next must-have in my carry on. Even though I'm going to be arriving at around 5pm local time, I never know how sunny it's going to be or whether my luggage will be delayed (preparing for the worst here) and I burn like there's no tomorrow so a mini, high-factor sun cream is an absolute staple! This Clarins one is designed specifically for the face and is super light weight.

For my lip balm I've opted for my Dr PawPaw Beauty Balm, which is absolutely amazing at keeping my lips full of moisture and also doubles up as a balm for all over the skin. The universal uses for this balm is the reason why I've decided to pack this one over many of my other favourites, but I just think that for one product that has so many possibilities, you can't really go wrong! Last but not least I've packed my Neal's Yard Remedies, Remedies To Roll travel tube. This is designed to relieve headaches, improve circulation and create a sense of calmness throughout travel; just simply roll this across your pulse points and sit back and relax. Specifically designed for long haul travel I think this will definitely come in handy!

Let me know what you'd usually take in your carry on bag or if you think I'm missing anything in the comments below! I can't wait for these next few weeks to hurry up for me to get jetting off!




BekyLou, Beauty, Fashion, Fitness and Lifestyle Blog based in Manchester

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