Summer Savings. Days Out.

My step into the bloggersphere hasn't gone too smoothly. I think my trouble is that I worry too much that people won't find what I write very interesting rather than just doing what I like. To help me in my quest to post more I'm going to try and come up with some regular features so that I have some inspiration when it comes to posting.

As the summer is finally showing here in England I'm going to do some investigating for you lovely readers and find some interesting places to visit that are both great for this weather and great for the purse strings too! Which brings me onto today's post:

This week I visited Hitchin Lavender Fields. Now hold on before you click off thinking it's not your cup of tea/not child orientated. For £4 (adults) and £1 (children) you can go on a tour of the fields which includes beautiful views, interesting information for adults, lavender bunch picking (great for children) and a free drink* at the end. 

As for dogs I saw a few around but I'm not sure if you are allowed to actually take them in to the growing area but there are picnic benches outside and a shaded area before you get to the main picking area.

For under £10 it's a brilliant way to lap up the sunshine. You could even bring your own picnic or enjoy a light lunch in the rustic looking café.

*Although this was advertised as a complimentary tea or coffee if you ask at the counter they will allow you to have a free cold drink instead which is great for the little ones.

Amsterdam.

I've never really visited many places outside of the United Kingdom. The two occasions I have ventured onto a plane have been a day trip to Lapland at the age of eight and then, this year, Amsterdam.

As this year was my boyfriend's 21st I thought it would be nice to get him a present that was not only different from the usual but also something which he would be able to treasure. He'd always wanted to visit Amsterdam so I took the plunge and booked us a week long trip. Amsterdam had never been somewhere I'd thought of visiting as I (wrongly) thought it was more for 'lads' holidays not romantic getaways. It. was. amazing. Our hotel was situated right next to Vondelpark which is full of dog walkers, beautiful places to sit and the occasional parrot. When walking through we were also followed by a heron which hopped from lamppost to lamppost after us, almost landing on the head of my 6ft6 companion. 
Although we were too far from the traditional museums and Anne Frank's house we still had a fantastic time visiting things such as the sex museum, wandering around Dam Square and the red light district (don't be afraid to visit the red light district it's nothing like I thought it would be and it's at least worth one trip in the early evening). We loved discovering small little cafes down the sides of the main streets and admiring the wonky houses.

I love how relaxed and beautiful Amsterdam is. The city at night is something I'll never forget and I can't wait to go back again to explore different parts and I really want to visit Vrolik Museum.

The April Glossybox.

It has come to the time of the month when a beautiful boxed package arrives unexpectedly on my doorstep, or in the meter box if I happen to be out. If I'm having a bad day the site of the delivery fills me with excitement as if it were Christmas all over again. Although the Glossybox in general can be very hit and miss I still love trying beauty items I'd never heard of or come across before.

 

The thing I love most about Glossybox is the fact that each month has a different theme and this doesn't only apply to the obvious such as Christmas.This month's box is celebrating the start of Spring which is brought out by the amazing Pearl Lowe designed box print it just SCREAMS springtime.

LOOK HOW PRETTY THAT IS!

 What's inside?

Left to Right: Modelco cheek and lip tint in Rosy Red, Sunsense daily face, So Elixr Purple - Yves Rocher, Nip+Fab dry skin fix body butter in pistachio & Essie - Nice is Nice.

I'm most excited about the Essie nail polish as these are raved about in the beauty world and the colour is perfect for summer. As for my least favourite this will have to be the body butter as the smell isn't one I'd usually go for as it's a bit sickly.

Did you get anything different in your box? What's your favourite product?

If you'd like try out Glossybox you can join here!

Spring Clean.

As it’s finally beginning to get warmer here in England I decided to take a little step out of my beauty comfort zone* this week and give my winter face a good spring clean. I delved deep into my treasure trove of Glossy Box samples to see what I could find. 

I finally stumbled upon this little kit:

'Dermalogica day/night 3 step mini kit'

Now, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Dermalogica products before and having tried their daily microfoliant I had high hope for this little number. When it comes to the state of my skin I have combination/oily. I also have a suspicion that my skin may be a slightly sensitive little bugger as I can suffer from random outbursts of spots.

So what's actually in this kit?  It contains three different products to be used on a daily (sometimes twice daily) basis.

'Wash Off' - A lathering facial wash. This is meant to be used both in the morning and evening. This product has a light citrusy smell which leaves your skin feeling lemony fresh.

'Rinse' - A toner. which is to be used after 'Wash Off' in the morning and evening. This product smells slightly of tea-tree oil which is known for helping to sooth skin.

'Welcome Matte' - A mosturiser. This product is just for the mornings. Although the smell isn't as fresh as the other two products it makes up for this with the added SPF15 which is just perfect for spring/summer!  

I used these products for a week, following the same daily routine which worked for me.

Step One:

(AM/PM)

I wet my face and applied 'Wash Off' to my fingertips, massaging it into my skin using a circular motion until it had turned from gel to foam. For a deeper clean I used my Clarasonic Mia but obviously you don't have to follow this step as I'm sure a flannel will work just as well with this product. I then washed off the rest of the residue with warm water, patted my face dry with a clean towel and left it to air dry thoroughly before moving onto step two.

Step Two:

(AM/PM)

I spritzed a little of the 'Rinse' toner all over my face. I again left this to air dry. On several occasions I waved my hands in front of my face, as though winning an award, so that all of the goodness would sink in.

Step Three:

(AM)

 Every morning I finished off this routine with a little bit of 'Welcome Matte' moisturiser. I again applied a little bit of this product to my fingertips and massaged it into my skin. This product sunk in beautifully and I instantly saw a difference. No shiny face - Hooray! It was the perfect base to start applying my make up to.

My final thoughts:

After each routine I felt as though my skin felt and looked instantly cleaner and clearer. There was no redness from all scrubbing, no uncomfortable tight feeling and everything sank into the skin quickly, meaning that there wasn't too much waiting around in the mornings. Out of all three the moisturiser was my favourite. Although the products were good I am still deciding whether or not to purchase the full sized bottles. I find the prices of Dermalogica products off putting especially as you seem to need more than one product for the perfect end result. I can also be quite lazy with my skincare especially in the evenings and I don't know whether I would use the products to the same extent if I wasn't reviewing them. Saying that though, they did make my skin better in 1 week so maybe it's worth it just for the occasional monthly pick-me-up!

Have you ever tried this kit? What do you think of Dermalogica?
Please also let me know what kind of things you would like to see from my blog. I'm new to all this so any suggestions are most certainly welcome! 

*My skin is like a minefield - one wrong step and it explodes into a spotty mess.