Laura's Ways

The Body Shop & Brow Bar experience....

Laura's Ways Wednesday, 3 June 2015 Leave a Comment

I received a very exciting email recently which asked me if I wanted to go to The Body Shop store on Grafton street Dublin to experience their brow bar treatment of threading and tinting. Of course I had to say yes, if you've read my blog for a while now you will have seen my obsession with The Body Shop. I had already planned to go to Dublin for the Irish Bloggers Conference on the 30th of April so was pleased that I was able to fit this in as well.

As I live in Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) my local Body Shop doesn't provide this eyebrow service so I was thoroughly excited to be invited, I was intrigued to see how they incorporate this service within the store. I went to the Grafton Street store on Saturday and was booked in to get the dye patch test behind my ear which is necessary in case of any allergic reactions. I was then booked in for the Sunday to get my threading and tinting, so while I was in the store a lovely Body Shop lady (I think her name was Jess... sorry if I'm wrong) showed me around the products. She was great and knew the products very well, I loved finding out about products I hadn't used before and also smelling all the new wonderful ranges like the mojito and green tea ones. I was lucky enough to be given a lot of samples to try out (very excited/thankful). I can't wait to try all these samples, especially the mango sugar scrub and the mojito scrub as they just smell insanely good.

Just before leaving the store (on the Saturday) Jess pointed out the charity that The Body Shop are currently supporting, Front Line Defenders they are currently doing a raffle in store to raise money for this cause and there's a chance to win an amazing Body Shop hamper (I've got my raffle tickets).

When I returned to the store the next day for my threading and tinting the lady double checked my patch test to make sure I didn't have a reaction (thankfully I didn't). This was the first time I've ever had my eyebrows threaded never mind being tinted. The ladies in the brow bar were really nice and gave their expert knowledge.

I was made feel at ease and relaxed in one of these super comfy chairs, firstly came the eyebrow tinting. I went for medium brown, the dye is only left on for a few minutes then removed. Once the dye has been done the threading begins. Once this process was complete I was shown my new brows in a hand mirror, I was so surprised at how thick my brows now look just by having them tinted. I did find it slightly more painful than waxing but the end results to me out way the pain involved. My eyebrows honestly now look the best they've ever looked. I now don't have to try and shape my eyebrows every morning, yay!

Finally before leaving the store I spotted the Vitamin E Eyes Cube that I have been wanting to try for a while now, of course I couldn't resist it and ended up buying it. I've only been using it the past two days and so far I'm really liking it. It is nice and cooling which feels divine when you've only woke up. Not only does it have the lovely cooling effect but it has a iridescent sheen (last pic) to it, big bonus!

Thanks again to The Body Shop for my lovely experience and my wonderful new brows, just wish Dublin was closer:(

Has anyone else tried this brow service?

~Laura~

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Eco warrior mode...

Laura's Ways Friday, 8 May 2015 Leave a Comment

I am slowly trying to swap all my household cleaning products for their eco-friendly counterparts. Eco products are not only safer/better for the environment, but they also help protect you from being exposed to toxic chemicals. I know so many people who are obsessed with bleach products in their home but personally I think it is so harsh not only when you are cleaning and breathing it in but household waste water from sinks, toilets, washing machines and baths drains into sewers. Eventually this waste water flows to the treatment works, and afterwards to rivers, lakes and seas. Just think of all those chemicals getting into our rivers lakes & seas (cry). I've read that most of the chemicals get removed during treatment, but some do inevitably end up in rivers and the sea where they can harm wildlife.

My mother constantly rings me to see if I need bleach, disinfectant or toilet cleaner.lol. She even drops into my house sneakily (has a key) and leaves toilet cleaner etc in my cupboards... I really need to take that key off her.

I have so many 'normal' products I need to use up as I don't want to waste them but the thought of using them and knowing what they are doing to our environment is making it hard for me to actually use them.

The only downside to these eco products is the price, they can be more expensive than the usual products but this doesn't phase me as I would rather have a few eco products rather than a cupboard full of harsh ones. I suppose it's like beauty in a way as I'm starting to cut down on buying lots of drugstore products that are hyped and rely on what I truly want in a product.

Method lemon mint & Method sweet water hand washes. Asda own grapefruit & kiwi washing liquid. Ecover washing liquid in camomile & marigold.

Asda planet clean & ecover dishwasher tablets

Tesco expert natuarlly powered lemon surface spray. Method shower & bathroom cleaner.

I hope you liked this post, it is quite different to my usual beauty ones but never the less I enjoy these kind of blog posts just as much.

Have you ever thought about changing the products you use to clean your home?

~Laura~

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Dupe for Estee Lauder Double wear light...

Laura's Ways Monday, 27 April 2015 Leave a Comment

~Double wear light in Intensity 1 - £29.50. I usually only buy this when I'm in duty free as it's at least £5 cheaper there.

~Max Factor Face Finity All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation in warm almond which is the second lightest shade - £12.99

This is not a colour match but the product itself is quite similar.

The top one is Estee Lauder which is in the lightest shade, in this picture it looks dark for my skin but I only use a small amount and when blended it matches my skin really well.

Apart from the colour difference to me they both have a pretty similar texture, they are quite thick which I like when I want a flawless finish to last throughout the day. With the both of these I feel you need to blend them quickly as they set pretty quickly on the skin as they are designed to last longer.

The Estee Lauder one has SPF 10 and the Max Factor one has SPF 20 which I love in Foundations as I sometimes forget to put suncreen on before my foundation.

My skin is more dry/combination, I only use the Max Factor one when my face is really moisturised and has no dry patches as it would tend to cling these areas.

I use a real techniques blending sponge and fix plus to finish with both of these foundations to blend under my eyes and around my nose area.

Overall I do find the Estee Lauder one to be more moisturising and conceals my skin imperfections better but as there is a price difference of £16.51 I would be happy enough to use the Max Factor one if I didn't own this.

Have you tried these foundations?

~Laura~

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My gluten free kitchen essentials...

Laura's Ways Monday, 13 April 2015 Leave a Comment

These are some of my staple items to have in my kitchen.

Toaster with 4 slots - having a toaster like this is handy as I keep the two left slots just for my gluten free products (left for Laura.lol)

Separate chopping boards - it is so important that you use a seperate chopping board for gluten free products so no cross contamination happens.

Gluten free baking powder, gf bicarbonate soda - until I started making my own gluten free goodies I had no idea that 'normal' baking powder/bicarbonate of soda contained gluten. Xanthium gum - I add this to all my buns, cakes etc - this keeps the products from crumbling.

Gluten free soy sauce/ tamari soya sauce - my first ever night of being gluten free I made a stir fry and forgot that soy sauce had wheat in it.lol. I've recently started using this tamari sauce as it's naturally gluten free and tastes just like soy sauce.

Gluten free vinegar - as malt vinegar is gluten I like using cider vinegar, white wine vineger and I recently found the below gf chip shop vinegar which is great.

Gluten free brown sauce - I've only recently been able to find this gf brown sauce that actually tastes like brown sauce, well what I can remember of the taste.

Gluten free flours - I always have gf self raising and gf plain flour in my cupboard to cook and bake with. Rice flour is also good to have in your cupboard.

Cornflour - this is the best product to use when thickening gravy and sauces.

Stock cubes - some gluten free meals can be bland so I like to use various stock cubes. Knorr have some gluten free stock cubes but always check the ingredients as one time it said gluten free on the packaging but when I looked at the ingredients it included barley.

Quinoa - this is such a great alternative instead of cooking with rice all the time, I find it quite bland so I always cook it with a vegetable or chicken stock cube. I've seen recipes to make porridge and desserts with this but I haven't ventured to try these yet.

Gluten free oats - some people may choose to eat 'normal' oats but as my coeliac is very sensitive I have always used gluten free oats. I like to make porridge and also bake with them. I enjoy adding them to pancake mixture.

Seperate butter - at home I buy proper butter and keep it in this seperate container. My biggest annoyance with being coeliac is that some people just don't understand the importance of keeping products totally gluten free and not leaving crumbs on my butter or in my jam. In work I constantly have to put huge labels on my butter and jam and still people use it and leave their crumbs!

Gluten free pasta - some nights I want to make a quick easy meal so use various pasta shapes to make pasta bakes or spaghetti bolognese.

Hand blender - I use the small blender attachment to make hummus & guacamole and love making soups with the hand blender. This also came with a whisk attachment which is great for baking.

Another tip is to buy toaster bags - these are great to use if you are staying at someone's house to reduce the risk of crumbs getting onto your gluten free bread.

What's your kitchen essentials?

~Laura~

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My fail proof gluten free cake...

Laura's Ways Monday, 30 March 2015 2 comments

Ingredients

220grams of butter - I use Stork baking butter
220 caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla essence
200 grams of gluten free self raising flour
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum - this helps keep it together and not crumble
Icing sugar for dusting
Double cream
Cocoa powder - I estimate this when blending by how dark I want the mixture, also this is optional if you want a chocolate cake or plain sponge cake
100g of ground almonds - this is optional but I didn't have any this time and it is just as nice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius and grease 2 circular 20cm/8 inch cake tins

I use a food processor to make cakes as I feel it gives it a lighter taste, but it can be done by hand or using a hand whisk.

Firstly cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time blending after every egg.
Add the vanilla and mix.
Add the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and cocoa powder and mix.
Ta da it's as simple as that, you now have your cake mixture ready to put into your tins.
Evenly disribute the mixture over the two tins and put in the oven for 30-35 mins (I always keep an eye on it).
Meanwhile whisk the double cream and a tsp of vanilla essence in a seperate bowl. If you like it sweeter just add some icing sugar.

Once the cakes are baked, remove from the oven and let them cool in the tins for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn them onto a wire rack until completely cool.

When they are totally cool you can add the cream to the base cake, then add the top cake. To finish dust with icing sugar and you will have a beautiful light chocolate sponge cake, delicious!

If you want to make a plain victoria sponge just leave out the cocoa powder and add strawberry jam between the layers.

Let me know if you make this and I would love to see your pics on twitter @misslmakeup

~Laura~

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Boots splurge #2...

Laura's Ways Saturday, 28 March 2015 2 comments

Why do boots always have good offers, so good and bad at the same time.

~Boots oval cotton pads - buy one get one half price

~Sanex shower cream and gel - two for £4

~Venus travel shaver £4.99

~Haircare is currently on 3 for 2 so I took this chance to pick up the Lee Stafford dark dry shampoo, Lee Stafford leave in hair treatment and the John Frieda leave in conditioner.

~Max Factor Wild Mega Volume waterproof mascara

I love thick lashes so I was drawn in by this wand as I feel this type of wand gives my lashes a fuller look, can't wait to start using this.

~Max Factor eyeshadow pencil in carmel rage - I used this to take the swatch on my arm (below), then I used it once below my lower lash line to create a smokey eye, I took an allergic reaction to it within seconds and it stung/burnt my eyes. I quickly removed the makeup and sat for 30 mins with cotton pads soaked in cold water over my eyes to relieve the pain, the rest of the night my eyes were watering, not pleasant at all, this has never happened to me before. I'm so disappointed as I loved the colour. I tweeted Max Factor and they've said to get in touch with them, I would love to send it to them to see what has went wrong.

~Max Factor colour precision eyeshadow in coffee I'm sort of scared to use this now in case I get the same reaction as I did with the pencil.

~Maybelline forever strong nail varnish rose podure (repurchase)

~Maybelline color tattoo in metallic pomegranate and pink gold

~Finally I'm running out of the collection concealer so I picked one up in the lightest shade.

From left to right is the Max factor eye pencil in caramel rage, Max Factor eyeshadow in coffee, Maybelline pink gold and Maybelline metallic pomegranate. ps I'm wearing one of my favourite jumpers from New Look and my ASOS multi toned boyfriend watch.

What have you picked up in boots lately?