A London haul with my two best friends

Phew, what a hectic week it's been. Since starting work full time, I feel like I never get a minute to myself - not that I'm complaining, I adore my job - I just miss blogging a lot. Last weekend I visited London with my two best friends. It was lovely as we hadn't seen each other since May. Keeping up with friends is a nightmare when you leave uni but I think it really shows you who your true friends are. And Anna and Lauren are definitely the best a girl could wish for. During my break up, even though they couldn't physically be there, they were always on the end of the phone and I can't thank them enough for that. 

Anyway, enough of the sobby stuff. A bit about London. We had a lot of fun! The biggest event of the weekend was going to see The Lion King. It's without a doubt my favourite animated film and I'd been wanted to watch the stage show for as long as I can remember. The show was a spectacle and completely breathtaking. It's definitely one of those "you need to see it to believe it" shows and I couldn't stop crying; it was that unreal. Before the Lion King, we went out for food and cocktails (although I had a glass of a Coke because I'm a non-drinker) which of course, was lovely. 

The following day we visited Regent Street for a spot of shopping. One of the best things about being in the capital was the fact that we all have really good jobs, so money wasn't a worry. It was wonderful to be able to do as we please. We went for breakfast and had cake, spent too much money in KIKO (eeeeek my first time in the store of my favourite brand) and Ted Baker and had lots of fun in H&M's in store photobooth. Needless to say, the weekend was perfect and we had a lot of gossip and laughs to exchange. I was sad to leave the pair of them but I'm looking forward to our next adventure. 

The main items I bought:

Ted Baker Caleena Bow Leather Matinee purse in Dusky Pink - £75

I couldn't resist this purse when I saw it. It's the perfect shade of pink and I adore rose gold. I'm currently saving for the matching bag which is even more beautiful.

KIKO Body Exfoliant Wipes - £6.90

I saw these nifty wipes and immediately put them into my basket. I barely get time to exfoliate any more so hopefully these will come in handy.

KIKO Long Lasting Eyeshadow Sticks in 05 and 07 - £6.90 each

As soon as I saw these, I knew I had to pick a couple up. They're incredibly long lasting and beautifully pigmented.

KIKO Luscious Cream Creamy Lipstick in 502 - £6.90

I didn't originally set out to get a lipstick but the moment I saw this nude, I knew it'd suit me wonderfully. And I was right. It's nice and pigmented and super creamy.

KIKO Kiss Balm in Pineapple - £5.90

I LOVE the Kiss Balms so I desperately wanted to add another to my collection. I chose Pineapple because it's a gorgeous wearable nude that's perfect for the day time.

The Body Shop Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt - £8.00

I'm obsessed with anything honey-scented and this smells delicious. I've used it in a couple of baths since and I adore it. I need more from the Honeymania range.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder in Light Matte - £13.00

Did I need a new bronzer? Nope. But I couldn't resist this as it's the most perfect shade for my fair skin. It blends beautifully onto the skin and the packaging is to die for.

What products have you been buying recently?

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My photos from London

I love London and it was only last week that I was complaining about how much I wanted to go back and visit. Just being in London makes me happy. Everything it so beautiful. From my previous two posts (and countless amounts of tweets) I'm sure that you already know about my journey to London and I promise you that this is the last post about it. You can view my experience with meeting the Spice Girls here and view my outfit and make up post here.

I travelled down to London on Monday 4th February and stayed overnight in a Travelodge at Bethnal Green until the Tuesday. On Monday evening, I took a trip around my favourite places (minus Buckingham Palace unfortunately). I went to St Paul's Cathedral, Covent Gardens, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, Embankment & the Eye and of course, Tower Bridge.
You can view all of my photos from my time in London here and see a few pictures in HQ on my Flickr. All photos above were taken with my new Fujifilm FinePix S2980.
xxx
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REVIEW: Freedomhealth Clinic

On the 17th of July I was invited down to London to the Freedomhealth Clinic where I was offered a treatment of Microdermabrasion with the lovely Lee Garrett. As someone who's a big lover of London and someone who suffers with their skin, I couldn't pass this opportunity up and quickly booked myself a train.

Before I tell you about my experience, I'll give you a little bit of background information on the clinic and Lee Garrett so that you're more familiar with them both. Freedomhealth is a clinic that is based on Harley Street in London. It offers the latest in Cosmetic Treatments for both males and females. The treatments available range from Dermal Fillers to Botox, anti-ageing treatments to chemical peels. The director of Cosmetic Treatments, Lee Garrett has worked with some of the world's biggest names and can be seen frequently in the national media. He has been providing cosmetic treatments since 2002 and works full time at Freedomhealth.

When in London, I ended up feeling very proud of myself for how I navigated myself around the busy city. I found my way onto Harley Street and I was amazed by how beautiful it was. It looked exactly how I imagined it would and whenever I picture 'London homes' in my head, this is how they'd look. After walking for what seemed like miles, I found my way into the clinic. It's a stunning building in itself and when you get behind the doors, it's even more beautiful. Let's put it this way, if I was to fall asleep on those carpets, it'd probably more comfortable than if I was to fall asleep on my bed. I was greeted by two lovely receptionists who kindly offered me a cup of tea to which I responded to with a very grateful 'yes please!' After a lot of travelling, it was just what I needed. Anyway, I sat in the waiting room taking in my surroundings and finally, I was called downstairs to Lee Garrett. He's a very kind gentleman that when you see him, you can tell he really wants to help you.

When I sat down, Lee kindly explained that we wasn't able to do the microdermabrasion today as he noticed that I had an active outbreak on my skin. If we were to go ahead and do it, it'd spread the bacteria and I'd be left with god knows how many active breakouts! I must admit, I was a little worried that Lee noticed my spots straight away as I did have quite a bit of make up on but I put it down to him being a professional and not me having worse skin than I originally thought, of course. He also noticed my scarring - once again, what an eye! And said that my scars are pretty deep. He explained that no matter what I did, some of the scarring would remain on my face for the rest of my life as the skin was too damaged. Now, I've been to many doctors before and they had just told me to leave the scarring alone and within a few years, it'd disappear. So although it was hurtful to find out that my skin would be permanently scarred, it was also what I needed to hear so I wouldn't be filled with hope like the previous doctors had given to me. Lee told me that I could however have a chemical peel. My first question was, 'but will it hurt?!' And he told me that I would feel some mild discomfort but nothing too bad. So we went ahead with the procedure. 

I sat back in the chair and Lee applied something onto my skin - I'm no genius, I'm not dermatologist but it smelt nice and I accepted it. I did feel some stinging but strangely, it felt quite nice. I laid back and let it soak into my skin while Lee explained more to me about my skin. When I left, I felt like I'd been given so much information that maybe I could take up a degree in dermatology. He was so helpful and I am forever grateful. I also left with a face wash, a toner and a spot treatment which I will be writing about in a separate post as I realise this is already VERY long. 

I didn't take any make up with me to be applied after the treatment but Lee realised how insecure I was about my skin and provided me with some foundation to apply so I wouldn't scare the whole of London. When I left the clinic, I went back to my hotel, took my make up off and relaxed for a little bit before I headed off out to meet some friends of mine for drinks. When I went to apply my make up again, my skin was very red. It wasn't sore but it was red. I had expected this but my Skin 79 BB Cream really helped with this. The next day, my skin had returned to normal and there was no pain. However, the day after this my skin started peeling quite badly and it was pretty painful. Lee did say to expect this. I was applying a lot of Sudacrem to soothe my skin and luckily, it only lasted for a day. After this, I felt no more pain and had no more peeling. The only thing I experienced was the reduction in my active breakout and since then, I haven't had a single spot - magic!

I really loved my trip to London and also my trip to the Freedomhealth clinic. Like I said before, I came away with a lot of information and I now feel more savvy about my skin. I know what causes breakouts, I know was causes scarring and I also know how to prevent them and take care of them. If skin treatments are something that you're after, I'd highly recommend taking a trip down to see Lee at Freedomhealth. Or just giving the clinic a quick call or email to find out what they can do for you.

The chemical peel that I had was £350 for a single treatment or £900 for a course of 3.

Have you ever had any skin treatments? Have you ever visited this clinic? Find out more here.

xxx

*The treatment and consultation that I received was free of charge but this as always, has not affected my review at all.

Wilkinson Health & Beauty Exclusive Preview Evening‏

If you follow me on Twitter then you'll probably know that yesterday, I took a casual stroll down to London for the Wilkinson's Health and Beauty event. It is pretty much my first event that I've been to - other than the TRESemme one which was in Nottingham so it was a lot easier to get to. And doubt about it, I was very nervous. For starters, I had to navigate myself around two train stations and for me, that's as bad as it gets because quite frankly, my sense of direction is shocking. But surprisingly, I managed it! I then had to find my way around the tube (which cost me £7 by the way) which could've resulted in a disaster. I have been to London before with my sister and I got on pretty well with the tube but back then, I wasn't alone. Luckily, I did it perfectly. Not bigging myself up here or anything but I waltz around the tube like I was a seasoned Londonder. But then came the hard part; finding the venue. No joke, it took me a full hour to walk from Covent Garden underground station to The Hospital Club. Now, if you're a true Londoner (like I myself now am) then you'll know that the walk from those two places is around 10 minutes. So yes, it took me a very long time to find it. But nevertheless, I made it. In one piece! And in fact, I was early so I was allowed to have a 'sneak preview' at the items before anyone else was!

Walking into the beautifully decorated room felt like a magical experience. It took me back to being on holiday back in September and of course, who doesn't want to be on holiday?! All the products were surrounded by tropical fruit and the TV was playing a lovely sea tune - definitely a relaxing and chilled atmosphere. I was also offered some champagne and of course I said yes - who would pass up on that offer? So I wandered around the room looking and sniffing all of the products, drinking champagne.. I definitely felt very professional. 

First up is their wonderful bath and body range. One great thing I learnt at the event is that the buyers of the products actually go to a lab and hand pick every single scent themselves. This means that the smells of these products are 100% exclusive to Wilkinsons - how amazing! And because they're exclusive, you definitely need to pick them up from there because I can confirm that they smell incredible. The great thing about this range is definitely the price; prices start at 68p and go up to no more than £1.48. Plus there are '2 for..' offers on the majority of them so you're definitely saving a lot.

The Skin Therapy skin care range is a big hit and includes one of their biggest selling the products - their skin wipes which retail at just 57p! The whole range is designed for those with sensitive skin. The range includes a cleanser, toner, moisturiser, hand & nail cream, chin & forehead strips, nose strips, face was, eye make up remover, shower cream, bath cream and shower gel. So a lot to choose from! And once again, the most expensive product in the range is £1.48 for 200ml of hand and nail cream.

The hair ranges are really beautiful. One range is very bright whilst the other range is more professional looking. The Salon Styling range includes a heat protectant that protects hair up to 220 degrees and also improves smoothness. There's also a setting lotion, a hair serum and a dry shampoo. All of these are on par with more high end hair products and the dry shampoo has even been compared to Batiste! Prices start at just 98p and go up to just £1.75. The hairsprays and mousses have been specially formulated to contain Pro-Vitamin B5 which gives hair added strength, extra shine and protects against UV damage. These start at 55p and go up to £1.17 for 450ml of hairspray.

And finally, the suncare range which surprisingly, I was most interested in. I'm very fair skinned so when it comes to sun protection I'm willing to spend a lot. But thanks to this range, I don't have to. Each product has a 5 star UV rating (which is on par with Sol-Tan and higher than Nivea) and prices start from just £1.50. There are lotions, sprays, aftersun lotions, gels, body butters, scalp protection, lip butters and even a kids range to take your fancy! Each product ranges from SPF 15 all the way up to SPF 50 for the kids. But the real gem in this range is the £10 family care pack which is has everything you need - SPF 15, SPF 30, aftersun lotion and SPF 50 kids lotion all in a plastic travel bag!

In true tourist style I took a picture of the underground. But I actually got shouted at by the 'underground man' for taking flash photography on the underground. I apologised but he felt the need to tell everyone on the platform just in case they followed my lead because I'm so influential you see!

The goody bags we received were exceptionally generous and I received a Fruity Berry Shower Smoothie, Extra Firm Hairspray, Skin Therapy Face Wash, Thermal Defence Protection, Fruity Tropical Hair Mist, Express Refresh Dry Shampoo, Facial Sun Cream, Total A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals, Scalp Protector and Skin Therapy Fragranced Facial Wipes.

And I thought I'd leave you with a few things I found out whilst on my journey to London -

• Trains don't have seatbelts. Sounds obvious yes but I was genuinely shocked by this revelation!
• Trains do have plugs. And the plugs they do have are very handy. Unless the girl next to you is sleeping and blocking the plug.
• Try not to listen to music on headphones whilst travelling on a train because you probably will miss your stop.
• No flash photography on the tube!
• In London you have to pay to use the toilet. They charge you for natural urges.
• London is posh. It took me forever to find a McDonalds and it was tiny.
• It's hot in London. A lot hotter. I know it's closer to the equator but only by a teeny, tiny bit! 
• Trains go really fast. I thought I was going to die when one shot past me at Newark station!

I'd just like to say a big thank you to all of the lovely PR girls and Wilkinsons team. They truly made the event special and their hospitality was outstanding. It was lovely being able to chat about beauty products and get all excited about new products and ideas!

xxx