Lifestyle | Fight that Fatigue!

Hello hello hello!

So while my blog's having a revamp, I thought i'd take this opportunity to introduce you to a product i've found that has genuinely saved my behind on more than one occasion now!

This product is from a cosmetic/skincare company called Arbonne (discover more about it at Arbonne.com).

And they're called Fizz Sticks!

Source

I was introduced to these by my friend Jen, and I was a bit sceptical at first, but I read up on them and decided to give them a go!

As I have fibromyalgia, during longer shifts I usually start to flag. I get really tired, and i just need to sit down and do nothing for a while, while my body resets itself and gives me a boost.

That's where these come in! They are packed full of natural goodness, B vitamins, natural caffiene, fruity-flavours, green tea extract, and only 5 calories!

So I was at work on a mad long shift, something like 14 hours... And it got to around 4pm, and the fatigue set in.... I was very close to getting in the staff bed and thinking of how I could possibly explain to my manager why I was in bed in the middle of the afternoon, when I remembered I had a fizz stick in my bag!

I mixed it in with a bit of water (note; let it rest for a while once you've mixed, or you'll get a mouthful of powder, like the cinnamon challenge, but slightly more fragrant!)

This tiny little packet gave me enough energy to work all the way through to 10pm! 

I've used these whilst i had a horrid cold/cough, and am usining them at the moment while battling a kidney infection, and i'm quite convinced that these are helping me recover much faster than usual!

I also use then while at the gym. I split the packet, and put half in my bottle while working out and half in the one i drink after, and I feel like my performance has improved so much! (So far i've been able to complete all exercises with my personal trainer without havung to stop in between, but shh lets not jinx it!)

So what do you say? Do you fancy giving your fatigue a kick up the bum?

Have a look on EmilyStansfield.arbonne.com and search for Fizz Sticks! They come in Pomegranite of Citrus flavor!

Beauty | Halloween Master Class with Peaches and Cream

I'm back... again!

So the thing is I was quite poorly/recovering from surgery throughout most of October, and therefore, I decided to mostly concentrate on my 30 Days of Halloween hoohar to make that amazeballs, instead of keeping up with my blog and doing the halloween things, which would have made them both a bit half arsed...

But yes, i'm back! And i've got a whole month of shenanigans to catch up on, starting with my visit to Peaches and Cream in Liverpool on the 14th October!

Source

This place was my fortress of happiness. It was pink, there's glitter everywhere. I have honestly never been to a place which made me so happy just by how pink it looked! If I could have moved in, I would have.

The reason I was here was for a Halloween Make Up masterclass, and for those of you that know Peaches, you know it's about to get epic!

It was Kate who took the class that day, and immediately upon walking through the door you were greeted with the biggest smile (and the best accent). She explained to us how the outfit she'd created was made from rolls of bondage tape (not just a pretty face!), and how today we'd be learning how to create the look of Maleficent. 

She took us through the look step by step, mentioning how you should start on the eyes so that any excess product that fell onto the face can be wiped off without ruining your base make up... which seems obvious, but this never actually occurred to me until she mentioned it...

She was more than happy to stop and answer any questions we had, and she even made time to show us a few little techniques for creating a 'spider web' look using eyeliner!

To say that I travelled all the way from Leeds to Liverpool to attend this workshop, it was definitely worth it!

The techniques I learnt at the workshop have already been put into practise, and i've got to say, my halloween clients this year were 10 times better than last year thanks to Peaches and Cream!

Lifestyle | Adventures Down South!

So this week I finally got to get away from it all and go on a little holiday down south to Guildford! (That's in Surrey for those of you that don't know, (don't worry, i didn't either at first)).

My sister was at university down there, so we decided that before she came back home, i'd pop down for a few days to do some exploring!

First, lets talk about the commute... People in London Victoria bus station are mean!

I don't know if it's because I'm used to friendly Northerners who say hello to everyone they meet, irrelevant of whether they know them or not, but I was definitely not feeling that vibe there! Not to mention the lady in her mobility scooter who decided to stop, complain about something, then proceeded to reverse into the reams of people behind her trying to get to their connecting coaches... According to my sister, I managed to witness every type of person you could meet in London in the space of 10 minutes.

But once i'd met my sister at the other end, everything seemed much brighter!

Every one seems to walk everywhere in Guildford, which for those of you that know me, understand that this is foreign to me! So what they do, so that you can cut through the train station instead of having to lug yourself all the way around town, is they give you this thing called a bridge pass. What is basically is, is a little slip of cardboardy-plastic that means you can walk through the station (or over the bridge), and get out the other side, without buying a ticket! Nifty eh?

So the first night was pretty relaxed. Hannah and I went out for dinner at TGI Friday's and had a catch up on each other's lives, then we came back to her room and watched some movies. Now as she was a student, (I say was because technically when I went down she was, but now she's home she's actually finished her degree), I got to stay in student halls and see a little bit what life would be like if i'd have gone to university. To summarise, the take-aways get dropped off at the other end of campus, the kitchen is literally so far away, and I can't seem to understand why anyone would want to transport their food 5 miles between cooking and eating (clearly i'm exaggerating), and if you have a ground floor room, it is absolutely essential that you make sure the curtains are drawn when you are coming out of the shower!

On day 2, Hannah decided to take me around the shops in Guildford, which are pretty similar to the ones in Leeds, but it was in Guildford where I was on holiday, so it was better. I bought a couple of make-up bits i'd been dying to try, and we treated ourselves to some new clothes from Urban Outfitters! I classed mine as a necessity as that morning I realised the only 'outerwear' type thing i'd brought down with me, excluding my coat, was a Harry Potter Gryffindor hoody which i'd travelled down in! Therefore, I definitely had to buy a new cardigan!

Later that day, once we'd got back to her room, caught up on Coronation Street, and rebooted ourselves, we went out for dinner with one of Hannah's uni friends, and my best friend Emily, who also went to university in Surrey! The Nando's down there had just had a re-vamp, and the open day was that day, so we went there to have yet another catch up, and some food! 

Next up, it was time for pudding. We were all really full after the Nando's, but before I went down, Hannah had told me about a place called Creams, which was literally a dessert restaurant. Everything on the menu was some form of pudding. Literally  everything! 

One portion of one of their puddings was the equivalent to a main course, but as I was on holiday, and at times I can turn my stomach into a bottomless pit, I just about managed to force down a slice (slab) of cheesecake and a scoop of ice cream. (The waffle was my sisters, but I could have definitely eaten that too).

Day 3! My absolute favourite day of the whole time I spent there! Hannah and I went to the Harry Potter Studio tour!

It was truly one of the best days ever! A little bit of me thought that it may ruin the magic, knowing everything behind the scenes, but it didn't, if anything it made it more magical!

I won't bombard you with pictures, because I don't want to spoil it if any of you are going, but it's brilliant! 

Conveniently, at the end of the tour, you're led right into the gift shop, so it'd be rude not to spend any money, right?

After getting home from what can only be described as the day where it was officially confirmed that I am not a muggle, it was quite late, so we ordered a chinese. For those of you keeping count, that's 3 meals out and a take away in as many days... Do not tell my bootcamp instructor!

The next day was all about the travel back up north. So armed with snacks, my headphones, and a phone charger, we got on a coach at 10.50 to start our 7 hour journey back home! After about 30minutes into the journey, I fell asleep anyway...

So if any of you want a more detailed blog about the tour, do let me know, I just didn't want to let out too many spoilers!

MakePals by EmScissorhands

I'm back again! For the second time in 2 days!

The reason for this post is to bring you an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while now, and it's time to share it with the world!

 It's called 'MakePals'. It's a play on words you see, it's a Make-Up Pen Pal.

The general gist is that you are paired up with a MakePal based on some different factors, whether it be your location, your skin type, your age, and every 3 months, March, June, September and December, with the budget of £20, you send each other  a package of beauty products you've been loving!

If you're paired with someone with a similar skin type, you can share products you think help your skin, or if you're paired with someone from a different country you can share products from brands that you might not get in their country.

So, if this sounds like something you're interested in, or you just want more details, send me an email emilystansfieldmua@gmail.com and i'll send you the questions you need to answer to get you paired up with someone as soon as i can!

Beauty | Zoella Beauty - New Collection!

She's done it again! Another fabulous set of beauty products to make you feel and smell delicious! I wont jabber on like I normally do at the start of a post, so i'll just jump straight in!

Now I didn't buy everything from the collection, but i'll tell you about what I did buy...

Fresh Fizz, the bath bomb you can use 4 times! With the signature tutti frutti scent that Zoe has across her collection, all you have to do is sniff this and you already start to feel cleaner! It's a very gentle product that cleans your skin without irritating even my sensitive skin! This relaxing bath fizzer is ther perfect addition to your bath at the end of a hard day! (Note: Using this with Soak Opera from her first collection is the best thing I ever did!)

Best.Sugar scrub. EVER! All the scrubs i've used in the past have just been too... scrubby I guess? Like they felt as though they were scratching of about 7 layers of skin. Not relaxing at all! This however, is so gentle on my skin, you can feel it working, but not in a painful way! In more of a 'gently-buffing-dead-skin' kind of way. My body has never been so soft! I use this everywhere except my face, (even my feet!) and every time I get out of the bath I feel like a brand new person, with baby soft skin!

I use this every single day! I use it after my bath to compliment the sugar scrub, and the tiny bursting beads inside this lotion really work to soften this skin. Even using this alone leaves your skin beautifully soft, and it smells so good. I can't remember how many people have asked me what perfume I'm wearing, and I tell them 'well actually, it's my body lotion'. I can get quite dry skin on my arms and legs, and this works wonderfully helping them to stay soft and not flakey.

This is my favourite item in the new collection. The cosmetic/coin purse. Now, I don't use it as either. I call this my 'essentials purse'. It's the perfect size to go into every one of my bags, and inside I have everything I consider as an essential to take out with me.

~ Carmex

~ Painkillers

~ Plasters

~ Hair pins/ties

~ Sanitary towels

~ A pen

~ Handcream

Yep, all of that fits inside this! So when i'm on my way out of the house and I check my bag, I make sure i've got my purse, phone, car keys, and my essentials purse, and i'm good to go! Instead of having all of these things rattling around in my bag, and having to hunt for them when I need them they're all in one place, and it's bright pink, so you can't miss it!

I love all these items that i've been testing out this month, and I can't wait to see what's in her next collection! 

Have you tried any of Zoe's new bits? What are your favourites?

Beauty | MAC Fix+ Review!

15.50

A lightweight, mineral rich finishing mist that refreshes the skin and finishes makeup. Helps create an even surface for a smooth makeup application. Same Fix + formula with upgraded packaging.

(Taken from maccosmetics.co.uk)

I know recently MAC have had some bad press due to some bad customer service people have received at their counters, but you can't deny it, their products are pretty awesome!

For the past few weeks i've been trying out Fix+, which can be used not only to prep your skin but also to set your make-up!

I decided to put it to the ultimate test. A 12 hour day, sat in a hospital waiting room with dodgy air conditioning, while doing coursework, and stressing about being starving...

 This is how I started the day. 6am, Barely there make-up with eyeline, mascara, and of course some eyebrow pencil. 

 I needed this make-up to last me all day, because who wants to reapply make-up at a hospital?

On the face;

~ MAC studio fix liquid and power foundation

~ MUA Bronzed Perfection in Shade 1

~ Soap and Glory Brow Archery in Brownie Points

~ Maybelline gel liner in Dark Brown

~ L`Oreal Miss Manga Mascara in Black

This is my go-to look for everyday, nothing too over the top, that I can do in about 15minutes before work.

Now I was dubious, because i've tried setting sprays before, and they don't last very long, but this one, I was pretty impressed with.

I do a light spray before applying my make up and it helped it go on a lot smoother, I think I use half the amount of liquid foundation than I usually would, and I felt like my powders blended a lot easier when contouring.

Then once I'd finished, another light spray, and you're good to go!

Those of you that have been in a hospital waiting room for long periods of time know that you vary from being too warm, to too cold. You find yourself leaning in positions that aren't even comfortable, fighting to keep your eyes open. You're rubbing your eyes to try and stay awake, leaning on your face, massaging your temples, if there's any place your make-up just wont last, it's here.  And this is how I came out...

Now the picture is really bad quality, and the dark circles are begining to creep through, but after 12 hours, the spots are still covered, eyebrows still intact, and only the tiniest smudge of eyeliner has creeped across my face. Not bad right?

Definitely got the Scissorhands stamp of approval!