Mickey Flanagan - Shall we go out out?

For my birthday in April my friend told me I had the choice to open a present or an envelope. Despite slightly materialistic tendencies I chose the envelope as I rightly suspected it would contain details of a night out with friends. I made the right choice on this occasion as it was tickets to see one of my favourite comedians Micky Flanagan at the O2.

We were originally due to see the show in October but unfortunately it was rescheduled but this made for great timing as it kicked off December for us and Monday evening we made the trip to Greenwich after work.

We decided to grab a quick burger and margarita in TGI Friday's which apart from the sweet potato fries I wouldn't recommend. Sticky tables, cold bacon and overcooked onions rings all served whilst we watched a member of staff emptying microwaved bags of vegetables onto plates wasn't ideal but thankfully the cocktails numbed the pain.

I've only recently become a fan of stand up comedy and was interested to see how a one man show would work in such a large venue as I'd only ever seen bite sized performances at The Comedy Store. We had great seats and Micky was fantastic and we laughed throughout his 2 hour performance (which I assure you had nothing to do with the beer we were drinking).

His style of comedy is very near the mark so I would suggest if you're not a fan of shall we call it un-pc humour you'd be advised to steer clear but otherwise you'll be rolling in the aisles with laughter.

Are you a fan or seen the show for yourself?

Bicester Village Shopping Haul #2

Last week during a day off of work my mum and I took a trip to Bicester Village shopping outlet to once again snap up some bargains for ourselves.

I don't think it's any surprise to any of my regular readers that I love a handbag so when I saw the Michael Kors bag for 34% discount I couldn't resist treating myself to a new Christmas bag. Red is my favourite colour and the size and style of the bag will be perfect for the festive season. One of the chain straps can be worn long on the shoulder, across the body or both for a shorter handheld style. 

I can actually remember admiring this bag in the Michael Kors store on Regent Street on a shopping trip with my mum some time ago so it was great to pick it up for a bargain price and was certainly cheaper than the Mulberry bags I spent some time swooning over.

I always have an idea of the sort of things I'd like to find at Bicester Village. Of course as a shopping outlet it's not something you can rely on but I try to think positively and send some good vibes out to the shopping fairies and on this occasion they were smiling down on me. 

I wanted a thinner, lighter Swarovski pen to use in my filofax (original post here) as the one I already owned (original post here) is quite heavy to use but I love writing with it. I really hit gold on this occasion as there was a gift set, original intended as a wedding gift available for the same price as buying one pen direct from a Swarovski store - a whopping 40% discount - bargain.

And the final treat for myself was a hand cream from Cowshed. For only £5 compared to the usual £8 and as a lover of hand cream how could I resist?

You can find my first Bicester Village shopping haul here

Week 48 // The Festive Season has arrived



Last week I had some time off work with the intention to tackle my rather long to do list for the festive season. As always things take longer than one expects and I was side tracked by outings and shopping trips.

After spending Monday stocking up on some winter clothes Tuesday was spent rearranging my lounge and decluttering within an inch of my life. The charity shops have gratefully received boxes of clothes and clutter I no longer have need for. Festive good deed - check.

Wednesday I headed into London for a couple of blogger events with QVC and Paul & Joe - stay tuned for some exciting news about QVC and Tarte Cosmetics later in the week. I also treated myself to the afternoon tea at BRGR which was fun but failed to knock Patty & Bun off my favourites list (which you can read about here).

Thursday mum and I made a pre-Christmas pilgrimage to Bicester Village and I'll be revealing my purchases later today (post here) and putting together a review for you of the shopping experience later in the month.

Friday was spent pottering about at home in preparation for a weekend of festive family fun. On Saturday I had breakfast with Father Christmas, followed with a performance of Christmas songs from my nephews class at school. Of course the first thing you do when you visit a Christmas fete is hunt out the hog roast and I was happily munching crackling within seconds of spotting the stand.

It's become something of tradition for my niece and nephew to help me decorate my tree which always results in clustered decorations that I will spend the rest of December rearranging to my liking. This year it made a change from them all being located at the bottom as they both enjoyed climbing up on a chair so at least they're a little higher than usual!

So it's back to work this week and as always lot's going on which I'll be sure to share with you along the way. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for a peek along the way.



Lotil Original Cream Review

I was most intrigued when given the opportunity to try multi-purpose cream Lotil Original* as it was a brand I'd never heard of but with it's claims of working for many ailments such as dry skin, shaving rashes and even recommended for eczema and psoriasis sufferers it sounded like it was worth trying.

I first used this to tackle some small psoriasis patches I have on my elbows. I'm lucky that this patches are small but they do need some additional attention beyond my usual everyday moisturisers so I put Lotil Original to work. 

The first thing I must mention about this product is the smell which reminds me of marzipan which I know is a bit of a love it or hate scent for many, for me I enjoy it. The cream itself is of a thick yet smooth texture which applies easily to the skin. Lotil Original absorbs into the skin quickly and the area immediately felt moisturised and rehydrated. After a day or two of use I found my dry patches on the elbows were significantly clearer than before.

Encouraged by this initial testing I have also used Lotil on a dry patch of skin on one of my legs from where I sit with them crossed at work (does anyone else get this is or is it just me?) and between my toes which I can find get particularly dry. 

I've expanded my test to a recent burn from a curling tong and using as a hand cream the latter of which was the least successful only due to it leaving the skin a little tacky initial although this does disappear quickly.

Naturally if you have any severe dry skin complaints I would take the necessary precautions when testing a new product but there are many positive reviews from people with chapped hands and the like that have had similar positive results from Lotil.

Overall this is a great product to have in your beauty kit, particularly at this cold time of year and would be ideal for travelling due to it's multi-purpose use all at the great price of £3.59 for a 50ml tube available from Boots here as well as many pharmacies.

Is this a cream you're familiar with?

*PR Sample

November Empties

November appears to have been the month all of my Yankee Candles came to an end at once and only one or two products so I thought I'd throw them into this months empties post.

Lemon Lavender is my favourite bedroom scent. I light this before I head to bed and find the lemon takes away from too much lavender which if too strong I'm not a fan of. Vanilla Cupcake was a gift from my mum as she knows I'm a fan of vanilla. If you know any vanilla fans you can't go wrong with this one.

Movie Night was a radical purchase which was slightly more successful than the bacon scent I tried (I know, don't ask!). This literally does smell like the popcorn scent of cinemas so if you're a fan this is perfect. I'm undecided how I feel about this, I didn't hate it but it's not one I'd repurchase.

Witches Brew and Trick or Treat were discovered in my box of Halloween decorations which I completely forget I had in my stash. Witches Brew has what I'd describe as a manly aftershave scent but sadly Trick or Treat's scent had disappeared during storage.

I have been using VO5 Plump It Up Amplifying Blow Dry Lotion* daily for months now and am so impressed with both how long it has lasted and the effects on my hair. I've mentioned before how hit and miss my hair can be but this has stopped my hair from experiencing those flyaway hairs that can often occur after blowdrying - particularly as I'm partial to the quick hair upside down routine.

Arbonne's shampoo was a sample thrown my way by a friend. I was only able to get one or two washes from this tube and found it didn't give me the best results for my hair unfortunately - I'm hoping for more positive findings from the skincare products she's treated me to. 

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo was a blogger hit back in the Summer and as a fan of the Brunette range I jumped on the bandwagon. I often find I need to chop and change shampoos to maintain good results but any of the John Frieda shampoo's seem to work well for me and this is certainly one I'd repurchase.

I rediscovered this bottle of Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish so mum and I took this on holiday to share. Whilst I feel that 'at my age' I should be using heavy duty cleansers and following the double cleanse routines of an evening I do enjoy using this in the morning. I managed to get my hands on the Limited Edition Grapefruit & Patchouli version a few months ago which I love and am inclined to say I prefer to the original.

Following my the long haul flight and air conditioned air of Las Vegas I went through both Heaven Skincares Peppermint Clarifying Lotion* and Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Both similar products I enjoyed both and would happily purchase either for travel in the future and use during the Summer when a refreshing spritz is called for. Peppermint fans will love Heaven Skincare's offering and I know some people are not fans of Caudalie's scent but as soon as I would spray this I was taken back to luxurious spas which can only be a good thing.

Another Heaven Skincare product was the Bee Venom Mask*. Again I used this during my flight to Las Vegas and on my return I used of an evening to combat drier than usual skin due to the cold weather and heating being switched on. I find if I don't use the right products my skin can switch to being too oily but the Bee Venom Mask was just right for my skins needs.  

Another holiday leftover was Sure's Crystal Deodorant* in Clear Aqua. Unfortunately on my return to the UK and despite being a big fan this really didn't stand the test of time to my daily commute. I love these cans and have them dotted around handbags and office draws and they work for a refresher but for a sweaty betty such as myself I need something with a bit more protection.

Of course there would be two hand creams in this months empties post, one from Arbonne and the star product, Heaven Skincare Vanilla Pod Cream*. I loved this cream, from the scent to how it left my hands and was truly sad when I finally scraped the last out of the pot. I would repurchase this certainly and my only negatives is I prefer a tube to the tub so I don't have to dip my fingers in it.

So that ends my empties post for November, one more to go for 2013 and I can't wait to see what products are used over the festive period. Don't forget to comment and let me know what products you've been using up this month and if you haven't done so already please enter my giveaway in this post for your chance to win some goodies from that Las Vegas trip I still seem to be talking about.

*PR Sample