Graze boxes!

A couple of days ago, I received my first ever Graze box and liked it so much I thought I would do a whole blog post on it. Graze is a subscription service which, every month, sends you four healthy and natural snacks through the post.

Before your box comes you can go on line and choose which foods you like and which foods you don't like - this way you can be sure not to receive anything you know you're not going to like in your box. I love the box and how the snacks come packaged, you even get a little tissue!

I got:

1. Apple and Cinnamon flapjack: a rustic rolled oat flapjack with apple and cinnamon

2. Inspired by Jaffa Cake: belgian dark chocolate, orange sultanas and roasted hazelnuts

3. Billionaire's shortbread: belgian milk chocolate, almonds, cranberries and fudge

4. Habas Tapas: jumbo chilli maize, roasted maize and chilli broad beans

I'm not too keen on the Habas Tapas, so I'm going to go their website and say I don't want to receive it again. 

You also receive a little welcome booklet and a booklet telling you all the nutritional information of your snacks and some codes to give to your friends so they can try a Graze box for free. 

I really like this idea and loved my first box. I plan to stay subscribed for a few more months to see what the next boxes are like!

If you bought this month's Glamour magazine, you may have spotted a coupon in there for a free box but if you didn't and would like to try Graze, I have the code 2PZYFJ4D, which (for a limited time only) entitles you to try your first box for free and I believe the following box is also half price!

The boxes usually cost £3.79 with free postage to the UK. If you want to read more about Graze, you can do so on their website at Graze.com

Do you already receive Graze boxes? What is your favourite snack?

*Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Graze. I used the coupon inside Glamour magazine to receive this box for free. All opinions are my own.

NOTD: Essie 'Mint candy apple'

Essie's 'Mint candy apple' is a pastel green colour which is perfect for summer and would look perfect with tanned skin. This polish isn't streaky which I thought it could be since it's a pastel colour and I was impressed with the longevity of it. In the picture I'm wearing two coats with Barry M's clear polish over the top.
If you would like to buy Essie online, you can do so here at Boots.com.

Do you own Mint candy apple?

NOTD: Essie 'Cute as a button'

'Cute as a button' is a solid red/pink colour which dries with a super glossy finish . It goes on pretty opaque but after applying two coats you could just faintly see the white tips of my nails which I don't like but I think you would have to look pretty close to notice it and could always add another coat. I didn't wear a top coat over this and noticed it started chipping pretty quickly which was disappointing. 

What are you favourite Essie polishes?

Blue nail polish!

NYC - Water Street Blue £1.79 

Barry M - Cyan Blue £2.99

Models Own - Indian Ocean £5.00

I have never really been a big fan of blue nail polish (except for the odd dark navy blue colour here and there) but I recently saw someone wearing Butter London's 'Slapper' and absolutely loved the way the bright, vibrant turquoise blue looked on their nails. So, I decided to creep out of my comfort zone and pick some blue polish up for myself. After doing a little bit of research, I decided the best high street dupe I could get for 'Slapper' would be Barry M's 'Pure Turquoise' which I thought I had picked up but - and this will teach me in future to actually look at the names of the products I pick up before buying them - I ended up with 'Cyan blue' which, as you can see from the picture, is still a pretty bright colour.

I purchased all three of these polishes from either Superdrug or Boots.


What are you favourite blue polishes for summer?

Review: Soap & Glory's Smoulder Kohl eye liner pencil

When were on our way home recently having been out all day my sister looked at me and commented that my make up was still there and that even my eye liner was still on and that she knew I hadn't reapplied it during the day. This has got to be the best pencil eye liner I have ever tried. It's super black, it's creamy so it applies easily and smoothly and it has amazing lasting power (it also comes with a sharpener attached to the lid).

The only downside to this eye liner is that I find it smudges a little bit and that sometimes at some point throughout the day I feel like I need to check and maybe wipe under my eyes. I have also noticed that next day after wearing it - even after using eye make up remover and washing my face - I still seem to get black around my eyes but that's a very small price to pay for such a lovely eye liner.

I lost the lid to mine and have noticed that it seems to have dried out a little bit but once you start using it again (or even if you were to slide it across your hand before using it on your eyes) it goes back to working perfectly.

If you're interested in trying this eye liner out for yourself you can buy it here for £5.00.

Have you tried this eye liner? Do you love it as much as I do?
What other Soap and Glory products do you recommend?

NOTD: OPI 'Bright lights, Big color'

For the last couple of days I have been wearing OPI's 'Bright lights, Big color' on my nails, which is a very pretty orange/pink colour that has a golden shimmer in it. I absolutely love this colour and don't have anything else quite like it. The only problem with this polish is the longevity is terrible and I feel like it starts to chip almost instantly (even with a topcoat). I think this may be one of the worse polishes I own chipping wise which is disappointing. The colour definitely makes up for it though and I think this will be one of my most worn polishes this summer!

Do you own this colour? Do you have problems with it too?

OPI Nail Polish Haul

L-R: My Address is Hollywood, Cajun Shrimp, Pink Friday, 

Bright Lights Big Colour and Gouda Gouda Two Shows

I recently went over to France and while on the boat popped into the Duty Free shop and came across an OPI stand. They were £8.80 each (so around £3 cheaper than the normal price in the UK) and since I ended up not spending very much at all while on holiday, I decided to use the rest of my Euros and pick some up!

I'm sorry this one isn't in natural light. It's basically a very vibrant red. 

I'm sure I will do a NOTD with this soon!

The boat we took over to France was P&O and their duty free shop was actually pretty impressive (although, it's not mean to be called 'Duty Free' anymore). They had lots of beauty brands in there, more than I expected. So if you're ever on a P&O, you should definitely check it out!

Do you own any of these colours? What do you think of OPI polish?

Photography

Creative hobbies for me have become something I don't really tend to enjoy, I always end up unhappy with the results which leave me wishing I hadn't started in the first place (I guess one of the downfalls of being a perfectionist is always being frustrated with everything you do). Photography though, is something that I enjoy doing and I enjoy the end results. In particular I like how photography and people - through their pictures - seem to pick up on the little things that I think would usually go unnoticed.

Anyway, I thought I would share a couple of my old photos with you (you can click on them if you want to see them a little bit bigger). I am in no way and in no way claim to be a professional.. I take pictures because I enjoy taking them, nothing else.

NOTD: Barry M 'Peach Melba'

I wasn't too sure how much I liked Peach Melba when I first applied it but after having worn it for a couple of days I started to really like the pretty pastel peach colour and think it would look especially good with a tan. You need at least two coats to get an opaque finish which is what is what I have on in the picture.

Have you worn this colour?

What's in my travel make up bag

Hey guys, I spent a few days in France and Belgium over the Easter weekend and thought I would show you what make up I took with me. I knew I would be spending a lot of time at a Speedway so I kept my make up very simple and basic the entire weekend. 

Rimmel stay matte pressed powder in 003 

L'Oreal rouge caresse lipstick in Tempting Lilac

Chanel vitalumiere aqua foundation in B20

Original Carmix lip balm

Collection 2000 supersize mascara 

Soap and Glory smoulder kohl eyeliner 

MUA clear mascara 

Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer

Cath Kidston make up bag

Have you tried any of these products?